Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Far right

2015-03-08T23:27:07Z

Tharpa:

"'''Far right'''" is an ambiguous political terms which means one thing literally, but is used instead in a loose sense to mean something almost completely different - typically in an effort to disparage someone's character and/or position.

For example, [[Adolf Hitler]] is sometimes described as having been on the "far right". But in reality, he was the leader of the National Socialist Party, so he was really an example of someone on the left. Similarly, he is sometimes described as "Fascist". However, in reality, there were no Fascists in Germany. Fascism was a political party in Italy, led by Hitler's fellow Axis leader Benito Mussolini.

The main difference between Hitler and other totalitarians (like the [[Josef Stalin]] of the [[Soviet Union]]) is that they were war enemies. The systems of government and economy they imposed on their respective empires had more similarities than differences.

In the US, Europe, and the Middle East opponents of democracy typically apply the term "far right" to anyone who criticizes their human rights record or plans to replace the [[free market system]] with [[socialism]]. The idea behind this sort of name-calling is to associate the critics with the "worst mass murderer ever" (i.e., Adolf Hitler). This is erroneous, if only because both Stalin and [[Mao Tse-Tung]] killed at least six times more innocent people. (It is argued, however, that Hitler was also responsible for all of the deaths from World War II, and thus is in the same league as Stalin and Mao.)
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Fascism]]
[[Category:Liberal Bias]]

Embryonic stem cells

2011-09-21T02:18:27Z

Tharpa: It formerly said that pro-life conservatives consider that a potential human life is ended. Pro-aborts pretend that it's just a potential human-life. Pro-lifers know that it is a human life.

'''Embryonic stem cells''' are taken from a young embryo. They may be taken from the inner part of the embryo, also known as a [[blastocyst]], or split off at the 4 or 8 cell stage before this, leaving a viable embryo. An embryo reaches the blastocyst stage about 4-5 days after [[fertilization]]. At that point they contain about 50-150 cells.

Embryonic stem cells can differentiate into the three "germ layers": [[ectoderm]], [[endoderm]] and [[mesoderm]]. The 220 types of cells in humans are all based on these germ layers. Some scientists have shown effectively that embryonic stem cells have greater differentiation potential, and divide into greater numbers, than [[adult stem cells]] can.

In 2001 President [[George W. Bush|Bush]] allowed [[federal funding]] for research performed only on the 60 human embryonic stem cell lines that were in existence at the time<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010809-2.html </ref>. Cell lines drift genetically and morphologically over time, and due largely to the ban on producing more embryonic stem cell lines with NIH funds, researchers focused on producing embryonic-like stem cells from adult (differentiated) cells; these cells are known and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). These cells have similar properties to embryonic stem cells but do no require the destruction of or any use of human embryos - humans donate their own cells (e.g. skin cells) and though slight genetic manipulation these cells, they can be reverted into essentially an undifferentiated state and gain the ability to become nearly any cell in the body (i.e. pluripotency). This major advance in the stem cell and medical fields came much sooner than most researchers expected; this can be credited largely to the Bush ban regarding human embryonic stem cells.

Despite the strong genetic similarities, the production of chimpanzee stem cell lines have been problematic, though stem cells have been produced for other non-human primates.

==Controversy==
[[Pro-life]] conservatives consider taking stem cells from human embryos tantamount to [[abortion]], as a human life is ended.

: Those who value human life from the point of [[conception]], oppose embryonic stem cell research because the extraction of stem cells from this type of an embryo requires its destruction. In other words, it requires that a [[human life]] be killed.<ref> [http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/pros-and-cons-of-stem-cell-research.htm Pros And Cons Of Stem Cell Research]</ref>

Many [[liberals]], on the other hand, claim that the embryos used for stem cell research are already condemned to death because most of them are the byproduct of [[in vitro fertilization]] procedures which generate many more embryos than are needed to implant in the woman. With no further use for these embryos, they are often destroyed. Thus, liberals claim that embryonic stem cell research does not result in the destruction of any additional embryos. <ref>http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/18/4/672</ref> Conservative argue that this reasoning fails to mention that embryos can be adopted within the 10 year window of viability <ref>http://www.embryoadoption.org/</ref> and thus saved from destruction.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Biology]][[Category:Medicine]][[Category:Reproduction]]

American

2011-09-20T23:36:49Z

Tharpa:

The term '''American''' in common parlance around the world, means "resident of the United States", or "pertaining to the [[United States]]." Thus: American citizen, American history, American foreign policy.

Leftists in recent years have attacked this meaning, claiming that all the residents of North and South America are just as much Americans. They claim that people in Latin America are offended. They want no one to use the term.

In fact people outside the United States almost never call themselves "Americans", and almost always limit the term to the U.S. The people of Canada, for example, almost never call themselves "Americans."

The term "North America" usually refers only to the U.S. and Canada, but sometimes Mexico is included, as in the "North American Free Trade Agreement" (NAFTA).

In Spain, the Spanish term "Americano" means someone who lived in Spanish Latin America and has now returned to Spain.

The term "[[Latin America]]" (and "Latin American") was invented by the French in the 1860s as part of their goal of controlling Mexico. The term has caught on and usually means the resident of any Spanish-speaking or Portuguese speaking country south of the U.S.

==Further reading==
* Villafañe G. Santo, . Luís Cláudio. "American, United Statian, Usamerican, or Gringo?" ''AmeriQuests'' (2005) 2#1 [http://ejournals.library.vanderbilt.edu/ameriquests/viewarticle.php?id=21&layout=html&OJSSID=4d93ed8e8b059174a7b4b41c3d215eff online edition]

[[Category:Ethnicities]]
[[Category:North America]]
[[Category:South America]]
[[Category:United States]]

Max Weber

2011-09-20T23:17:30Z

Tharpa:

{{Template:Sociology}}
'''Max Weber''' (1864-1920) was a German [[sociologist]], [[economist]], [[political scientist]], and writer. One of Weber's main interests was developing a methodology for social science. His works had a considerable influence on 20th-century sociologists. He devised the concept of "ideal types," generalized models of historical situations that could be used as a basis for comparing societies. He opposed the orthodox Marxian view of the time that economics was the primary determining factor in social causation, and instead stressed the plurality and interdependence of causes. Weber emphasized the role of religious values, ideologies, and charismatic leaders in shaping societies. In his most famous work, ''Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'', he developed a thesis concerning the connection between the ascetic ideal fostered by Calvinism and the rise of capitalist institutions.

Weber viewed the [[Reformation]] as a critical period in European history that saw a reorientation of basic cultural frameworks of spiritual direction and human outlook, destined to have a great impact on economic life as well as other aspects of modern culture. Weber tended to view Protestant rationalism as one further step in the series of stages of increasing rationalization of every area of modern society.

== The Iron Cage ==

Weber's point in the seminal work ''Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'' is not the success of protestant nations or capitalism over other nations or economic organizations. He actually questioned the historicist conclusion that the protestant ethic or capitalism were responsible for the "success" of modernity. In fact, such a conclusion is entirely Marxist, who Weber was in deliberate argument with. This is expressed in Weber's notion of the '''Iron Cage''' from a passage in the conclusion of his book:

:''"...care for external goods should lie on the shoulders of the "saint like a light cloak, which can be thrown aside at any moment." But fate decreed the cloak should become an iron cage"''

Weber's point is that the rationalization of individual behaviors towards a capitalist organization would create a rigid, authoritarian, materialistic, and dehumanized bureaucracy. Some argue Weber was a pessimist in this regards but that he actually thought this was the best means of social organization. Others note that he has argued that capitalism and its benefits existed before protestantism and that the protestant ethic only rationalized individual behavior towards this mode of production. These people claim he was lamenting the ways in which human society had come to serve their tools and organizations (such as capitalism) rather than let these things serve them.

Regardless of which interpretation of Weber we take on this point, he was very clear that due to the rationalization of capitalism, the entire globe would be effected by it, perhaps forced to adopt it. Whether or not this is a good thing is, of course, a point of debate related directly to the interpretation of the '''Iron Cage'''.

== Sources ==
http://www.answers.com/topic/max-weber#Encyclopedia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Max}}

[[Category:Sociologists]]
[[Category:Economists]]
[[Category:Political Scientists]]

Max Weber

2011-09-20T23:17:00Z

Tharpa:

{{Template:Sociology}}
'''Max Weber''' (1864-1920) was a German [[sociologist]], [[economist]], [[political scientist]], and writer. One of Weber's main interests was developing a methodology for social science. His works had a considerable influence on 20th-century sociologists. He devised the concept of "ideal types," generalized models of historical situations that could be used as a basis for comparing societies. He opposed the orthodox Marxian view of the time that economics was the primary determining factor in social causation, and instead stressed the plurality and interdependence of causes. Weber emphasized the role of religious values, ideologies, and charismatic leaders in shaping societies. In his most famous work, "Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism", he developed a thesis concerning the connection between the ascetic ideal fostered by Calvinism and the rise of capitalist institutions.

Weber viewed the [[Reformation]] as a critical period in European history that saw a reorientation of basic cultural frameworks of spiritual direction and human outlook, destined to have a great impact on economic life as well as other aspects of modern culture. Weber tended to view Protestant rationalism as one further step in the series of stages of increasing rationalization of every area of modern society.

== The Iron Cage ==

Weber's point in the seminal work ''Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'' is not the success of protestant nations or capitalism over other nations or economic organizations. He actually questioned the historicist conclusion that the protestant ethic or capitalism were responsible for the "success" of modernity. In fact, such a conclusion is entirely Marxist, who Weber was in deliberate argument with. This is expressed in Weber's notion of the '''Iron Cage''' from a passage in the conclusion of his book:

:''"...care for external goods should lie on the shoulders of the "saint like a light cloak, which can be thrown aside at any moment." But fate decreed the cloak should become an iron cage"''

Weber's point is that the rationalization of individual behaviors towards a capitalist organization would create a rigid, authoritarian, materialistic, and dehumanized bureaucracy. Some argue Weber was a pessimist in this regards but that he actually thought this was the best means of social organization. Others note that he has argued that capitalism and its benefits existed before protestantism and that the protestant ethic only rationalized individual behavior towards this mode of production. These people claim he was lamenting the ways in which human society had come to serve their tools and organizations (such as capitalism) rather than let these things serve them.

Regardless of which interpretation of Weber we take on this point, he was very clear that due to the rationalization of capitalism, the entire globe would be effected by it, perhaps forced to adopt it. Whether or not this is a good thing is, of course, a point of debate related directly to the interpretation of the '''Iron Cage'''.

== Sources ==
http://www.answers.com/topic/max-weber#Encyclopedia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Max}}

[[Category:Sociologists]]
[[Category:Economists]]
[[Category:Political Scientists]]

Max Weber

2011-09-20T23:15:36Z

Tharpa: Removed dead link.

{{Template:Sociology}}
'''Max Weber''' (1864-1920) was a German [[sociologist]], [[economist]], [[political scientist]], and writer. One of Weber's main interests was developing a methodology for social science. His works had a considerable influence on 20th-century sociologists. He devised the concept of "ideal types," generalized models of historical situations that could be used as a basis for comparing societies. He opposed the orthodox Marxian view of the time that economics was the primary determining factor in social causation, and instead stressed the plurality and interdependence of causes. Weber emphasized the role of religious values, ideologies, and charismatic leaders in shaping societies. In his most famous work, ''Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'' he developed a thesis concerning the connection between the ascetic ideal fostered by Calvinism and the rise of capitalist institutions.

Weber viewed the [[Reformation]] as a critical period in European history that saw a reorientation of basic cultural frameworks of spiritual direction and human outlook, destined to have a great impact on economic life as well as other aspects of modern culture. Weber tended to view Protestant rationalism as one further step in the series of stages of increasing rationalization of every area of modern society.

== The Iron Cage ==

Weber's point in the seminal work ''[[Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]]'' is not the success of protestant nations or capitalism over other nations or economic organizations. He actually questioned the historicist conclusion that the protestant ethic or capitalism were responsible for the "success" of modernity. In fact, such a conclusion is entirely Marxist, who Weber was in deliberate argument with. This is expressed in Weber's notion of the '''Iron Cage''' from a passage in the conclusion of his book:

:''"...care for external goods should lie on the shoulders of the "saint like a light cloak, which can be thrown aside at any moment." But fate decreed the cloak should become an iron cage"''

Weber's point is that the rationalization of individual behaviors towards a capitalist organization would create a rigid, authoritarian, materialistic, and dehumanized bureaucracy. Some argue Weber was a pessimist in this regards but that he actually thought this was the best means of social organization. Others note that he has argued that capitalism and its benefits existed before protestantism and that the protestant ethic only rationalized individual behavior towards this mode of production. These people claim he was lamenting the ways in which human society had come to serve their tools and organizations (such as capitalism) rather than let these things serve them.

Regardless of which interpretation of Weber we take on this point, he was very clear that due to the rationalization of capitalism, the entire globe would be effected by it, perhaps forced to adopt it. Whether or not this is a good thing is, of course, a point of debate related directly to the interpretation of the '''Iron Cage'''.

== Sources ==
http://www.answers.com/topic/max-weber#Encyclopedia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Max}}

[[Category:Sociologists]]
[[Category:Economists]]
[[Category:Political Scientists]]

German language

2011-09-20T04:39:35Z

Tharpa: Gothic link led to irrelevant definition of Gothic.

'''German''' (''Deutsch'') is a major world language, spoken by some 120 million people worldwide. The German vocabulary is closely related to [[English]] and [[Dutch]], and all three use the [[Latin alphabet]] in writing. German is widely spoken in [[Germany]], [[Austria]], [[Liechtenstein]], [[Luxembourg]], and [[Switzerland]].<ref>[http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=deu Ethnologue:German]</ref> Liechtenstein is the only state that has German as its only official language.

==German Alphabet==
The German alphabet consists of every letter in the English alphabet, with additional letters. German makes use of the letter ß, called the ''scharfes S'' ("sharp s"), which is a ligature of the letter "s" and "z" from cursive scripts. It is used for occurrences of the ''voiceless alveolar fricative'', the sound of the "s" in the English word "sea", after long vowels and diphthongs, for which German otherwise uses "s" or "ss". This to avoid confusion with the ''voiced alveolar fricative'', the sound of "z" in the English word "zoo", for which German always uses the letter "s". It is sometimes called the by the German pronunciation of "sz," however, if the letter is not available it has to be replaced by the letters "ss", and not by "sz". In Switzerland and Liechtenstein this letter is generally omitted in favor of "ss". The other additional letter are the three vowels ''ä'', ''ö'' and ''ü'', also known in English as Umlauts. If not present on a keyboard they customarily are substituted by ''ae'', ''oe'', and ''ue''.

==History==

The modern German language is descended from the language known as Proto-Germanic, which is believed to have been spoken in central and northern Europe during the first millennium BC. Proto-Germanic was eventually divided into several different but similar languages, specifically East Germanic, West Germanic and North Germanic. Gothic is the only known East Germanic language, while North Germanic evolved into the modern Scandinavian languages.

Generally, the later development of the West Germanic language can be divided in two distinct lines of descent: Upper German, spoken in Central and Southern Germany, and Low German, spoken in Northern Germany. "Low" and "Upper" are geographic terms, referring to the lowlands of Northern Germany and the more mountainous areas of Southern Germany, respectively.

The term "High German" refers to the standardized version of German that derives mostly from Upper and Central German dialects. It evolved through Old High German (c. 200-1000 AD), Middle High German (c. 1000-1500 AD), Early New High German (c. 1500-1700) and finally to the present New High German, which is the standard modern German language. Low German went through a similar development, starting with Old Saxon and similar languages, through Middle Low German into the modern Low German, which is in linguistics often referred to a Low Saxon. It was the standard language of the Hanseatic league, but was superseded as standard language in North Germany when High German was accepted as official language in Prussia. Due to the influence of Prussia as political power, and later Hamburg as media center, a more Northern German pronunciation has been adopted as standard pronunciation in television and radio. It is said that the best High German is spoken in Hanover, while the traditional dialect of the Hanover area is a dialect of Low German.

== German Dialects ==
Dialects of Low German or Low Saxon spoken in the North of Germany are Westphalian, Eastphalian, East-Frisian, North Low Saxon, Sleswickian, and Holastian, and Pommerian, Margravian. The Low Saxon dialects spoken in the east of the Netherlands are often included as East Dutch Low Saxon. One might encounter also ''Missingisch'', a Low Saxon - High German pidgin. In modern times however standard New High German with a Northern accent has become the norm for spoken language in the North of Germany.

The dialects of German are classified as central and upper German. Central German dialects are Ripuarian, Central Franconian, Rhine Francoinian, Hessian, Thurinigian, Saxonian, and Berlinerish. Luxemburgish is often included as a Moselle Franconian dialect. Upper German dialects spoken in the South of the German speaking area, which includes Bavaria, Austria, Liechtenstein and northern areas of Italy, the northern part of Switzerland, and eastern parts of France are Bavarian, East and South Franconian, Swabian, Allemanic, and Alsatian.

Official Minority languages in Germany are [[Frisian]], a west germanic language, [[Sorbian]], a slavic language, and [[Danish]].

==Grammar==
German has a great deal of inflection compared to English, including three genders of nouns (plus the plural), and four cases. Adjectives are also given endings based on their gender and case. The plural forms of nouns follow complex patterns that are difficult for a non-native speaker to master. The system of auxiliary verbs for various tenses works similarly to English. Word order has some definite differences compared to English, but also has greater flexibility in several aspects.

===Noun inflection===
German nouns can have one of three genders: masculine, feminine, or neutral. The definite articles in the nominative case are as follows:

*'''Der''' Hund (Nouns are always capitalized in German.) = The dog
*'''Die''' Ente = The duck
*'''Das''' Schwein = The pig

These three genders collapse into a single plural form, using the definite article '''die''', as in

'''Die''' Schweine = The Pigs

Indefinite articles are represented by only two types in the nominative case, ''ein'' and ''eine'':

*'''Ein''' Hund = A dog
*'''Eine''' Ente = A duck
*'''Ein''' Schwein = A pig

As in English, there is no indefinite article for plural nouns.

===The four cases===
In German, four cases are used, known as the ''nominative'', the ''accusative'', the ''dative'', and the ''genitive''. Nominative is the case which is used in the subject of sentences, or to say A=B. Accusative indicates a direct object relationship, as in "I bought '''the book'''." The dative case shows an indirect object relationship, as in "I gave '''you''' the book." The genitive case has slowly fallen into disuse, but indicates possession; this usage is often replaced by the dative in most cases.

The definite and indefinite articles change according to the case:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Definite
! Nominative
! Accusative
! Dative
! Genitive
|-
! Masculine
| '''Der''' Hund
| '''Den''' Hund
| '''Dem''' Hund
| '''Des''' Hund'''es'''*
|-
! Feminine
| '''Die''' Ente
| '''Die''' Ente
| '''Der''' Ente
| '''Der''' Ente
|-
! Neutral
| '''Das''' Schwein
| '''Das''' Schwein
| '''Dem''' Schwein
| '''Des''' Schwein'''s'''*
|-
! Plural
| '''Die''' Schweine
| '''Die''' Schweine
| '''Der''' Schweine'''n'''*
| '''Den''' Schweine
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Indefinite
! Nominative
! Accusative
! Dative
! Genitive
|-
! Masculine
| Ein Hund
| Ein'''en''' Hund
| Ein'''em''' Hund
| Ein'''es''' Hund'''es'''*
|-
! Feminine
| Ein'''e''' Ente
| Ein'''e''' Ente
| Ein'''er''' Ente
| Ein'''er''' Ente
|-
! Neutral
| Ein Schwein
| Ein Schwein
| Ein'''em''' Schwein
| Ein'''es''' Schwein'''s'''*
|}
<nowiki>*With the genitive case, masculine and neutral nouns take the "s" or "es" ending, while the plural form of masculine and neutral nouns take the "n" ending in dative.</nowiki>

Any other articles take endings by gender and case according to one of these two models. Other examples of article types include possessive (mein Hund = my dog) negative (kein Schwein = no pig), and "this one" (diese Ente = this duck).

===Adjective declension===
When adjectives appear modifying a noun, their ending must agree with both the case and gender of the noun. These endings follow separate rules from those of the definite and indefinite articles, making this extremely difficult for the non-native speaker.

The endings with a definite article always take either an "e" or "en" as ending:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Nominative
! Accusative
! Dative
! Genitive
|-
! Masculine
| Der schwarz'''e''' Hund
| Den schwarz'''en''' Hund
| Dem schwarz'''en''' Hund
| Des schwarz'''en''' Hund'''es'''
|-
! Feminine
| Die gelb'''e''' Ente
| Die gelb'''e''' Ente
| Der gelb'''en''' Ente
| Der gelb'''en''' Ente
|-
! Neutral
| Das schlau'''e''' Schwein
| Das schlau'''e''' Schwein
| Dem schlau'''en''' Schwein
| Des schlau'''en''' Schwein'''s'''
|-
! Plural
| Die schlau'''en''' Schweine
| Die schlau'''en''' Schweine
| Der schlau'''en''' Schweine'''n'''
| Den schlau'''en''' Schweine
|}
(schwarz = black, gelb = yellow, schlau = clever)

So-called "strong" declension occurs when there is no article, or when the determiner has no gender (as in "some" or "many"). In strong declension, the ending of the adjective takes on the ending of the definite article:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Nominative
! Accusative
! Dative
! Genitive
|-
! Masculine
| schwarz'''er''' Hund
| schwarz'''en''' Hund
| schwarz'''em''' Hund
| schwarz'''en''' Hund'''es'''
|-
! Feminine
| gelb'''e''' Ente
| gelb'''e''' Ente
| gelb'''er''' Ente
| gelb'''er''' Ente
|-
! Neutral
| schlau'''es''' Schwein
| schlau'''es''' Schwein
| schlau'''em''' Schwein
| schlau'''en''' Schwein'''s'''
|-
! Plural
| schlau'''e''' Schweine
| schlau'''e''' Schweine
| schlau'''en''' Schweine'''n'''
| schlau'''er''' Schweine
|}

So-called "mixed declension" is used with indefinite articles and possessive articles. Both the article and the adjective take an ending, but the masculine and neutral forms change in the nominative case to carry the "lost" ending caused by the use of an indefinite determiner:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Nominative
! Accusative
! Dative
! Genitive
|-
! Masculine
| mein schwarz'''er''' Hund
| mein'''en''' schwarz'''en''' Hund
| mein'''em''' schwarz'''en''' Hund
| mein'''es''' schwarz'''en''' Hund'''es'''
|-
! Feminine
| mein'''e''' gelb'''e''' Ente
| mein'''e''' gelb'''e''' Ente
| mein'''er''' gelb'''en''' Ente
| mein'''er''' gelb'''en''' Ente
|-
! Neutral
| mein schlau'''es''' Schwein
| mein schlau'''es''' Schwein
| mein'''em''' schlau'''en''' Schwein
| mein'''es''' schlau'''en''' Schwein'''s'''
|-
! Plural
| mein'''e''' schlau'''en''' Schweine
| mein'''e''' schlau'''en''' Schweine
| mein'''en''' schlau'''en''' Schweine'''n'''
| mein'''er''' schlau'''en''' Schweine
|}

===Plural forms===
In contrast to English's simple addition of "s" to make a noun plural, German plural forms use several different inflections depending on the word. They fall into seven types:

;1. No change
:der '''Zimmer''' (room) → die '''Zimmer'''
;2. No ending, with Umlaut
:der Apfel (apple) → die '''Ä'''pfel
;3. Add -e
:das Ziel (goal) → die Ziel'''e'''
;4. Add -e, with Umlaut
:der Tanz (dance) → die T'''ä'''nz'''e'''
;5. Add -er, with Umlaut
:das Glas (glass) → die Gl'''ä'''s'''er'''
;6. Add -n or -en
:die Frau (woman) → die Frau'''en'''
;7. Add -s
:das Tabu (taboo) → die Tabu'''s'''

There is no logical formula to determine which plural form a given noun will take, so the plural form must also be learned as one learns a new noun.

===Auxiliary verbs===
Just as in English, the German language uses helping verbs for most of its tenses. When this occurs, it is the helping verb which is conjugated. The perfect tense exists in German, which uses either the verb ''haben'' (to have) or ''sein'' (to be) together with a past participle. The future tense also uses a helping verb, ''werden'', which is also used for the passive voice (i.e. The lawn is watered daily.). German also uses modal verbs just as in English:

''können'' = to be able to 
''dürfen'' = to be allowed to 
''müssen'' = must 
''sollen'' = should

While German has two forms of the past tense which are constructed like the English past simple and perfect, they are used for different reasons. Generally speaking, the two types of past in German have the same meaning, but the simple past is used for writing and the perfect for speaking. The past participles for many irregular verbs follow similar vowel transformations as in English:

English: I sing. I sang. I have sung. 
German: Ich singe. Ich sang. Ich habe gesungen.

Many of the most important verb forms in German have irregular verb forms, so it is necessary to learn all three forms when one learns a verb.

===Word order===
German word order in complex sentences is based on a so-called "bracket construction," with the most important parts being close to the beginning and at the end. In sentences with more than one verb, the remaining verb or verbs go at the very end:

''Ich habe ihr das Buch in der Schule gegeben.'' (I gave her the book at school.)

In the example above, the verb ''haben'' is conjugated in the first person singular and placed just after the subject, and the past participle of ''geben'' (to give) is placed at the end of the sentence. The sentence also contains a direct object (das Buch = the book), an indirect object (ihr = her), and a place indicator (in der Schule = at school).

Word order other than this bracket construction is somewhat flexible. For example, the following sentences have the same meaning:

''Das Buch habe ich ihr in der Schule gegeben.'' 
''In der Schule habe ich ihr das Buch gegeben.''

This bracket construction is a defining characteristic of German word order. It is also used with modal verbs and with the future tense:

''Ich kann ihn überhaupt nicht verstehen.'' (I can't understand him at all.) 
''Sie wird vielleicht morgen in die Oper gehen wollen.'' (She'll probably want to go to the opera tomorrow.)

Notice that however the constituent parts are arranged, the main verb always is placed in the second position, and the remaining verbs are placed at the end.

This structure also holds true for the so-called "seperable verbs." An example of this is the verb ''abgeben'', which means to "give up." When it is the only verb appearing in the sentence, the prefix "ab" is separated from the rest of the verb, which is conjugated and placed in the second position, and the prefix is placed at the end of the sentence:

''Ich gebe jetzt ab.'' (I'm giving up now.)

German has many such verbs, which are always constructed from a definable preposition and a main verb. However, when using the past tense, future tense, or a modal verb, these sepearable verbs appear at the end of the sentence in the appropriate form:

''Er wird irgendwann abgeben müssen.'' (He'll have to give up sometime.)

==Bibliography==
Martin Durrell, Katrin Kohl, Gudrun Loftus, ''Essential German Grammar'', 2002. 
Christian Stief and Christian Stang, ''Langenscheidt German Grammar in a Nutshell'', 2002.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Germanic languages]]

German language

2011-09-20T04:38:09Z

Tharpa: Removed dead link.

'''German''' (''Deutsch'') is a major world language, spoken by some 120 million people worldwide. The German vocabulary is closely related to [[English]] and [[Dutch]], and all three use the [[Latin alphabet]] in writing. German is widely spoken in [[Germany]], [[Austria]], [[Liechtenstein]], [[Luxembourg]], and [[Switzerland]].<ref>[http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=deu Ethnologue:German]</ref> Liechtenstein is the only state that has German as its only official language.

==German Alphabet==
The German alphabet consists of every letter in the English alphabet, with additional letters. German makes use of the letter ß, called the ''scharfes S'' ("sharp s"), which is a ligature of the letter "s" and "z" from cursive scripts. It is used for occurrences of the ''voiceless alveolar fricative'', the sound of the "s" in the English word "sea", after long vowels and diphthongs, for which German otherwise uses "s" or "ss". This to avoid confusion with the ''voiced alveolar fricative'', the sound of "z" in the English word "zoo", for which German always uses the letter "s". It is sometimes called the by the German pronunciation of "sz," however, if the letter is not available it has to be replaced by the letters "ss", and not by "sz". In Switzerland and Liechtenstein this letter is generally omitted in favor of "ss". The other additional letter are the three vowels ''ä'', ''ö'' and ''ü'', also known in English as Umlauts. If not present on a keyboard they customarily are substituted by ''ae'', ''oe'', and ''ue''.

==History==

The modern German language is descended from the language known as Proto-Germanic, which is believed to have been spoken in central and northern Europe during the first millennium BC. Proto-Germanic was eventually divided into several different but similar languages, specifically East Germanic, West Germanic and North Germanic. [[Gothic]] is the only known East Germanic language, while North Germanic evolved into the modern Scandinavian languages.

Generally, the later development of the West Germanic language can be divided in two distinct lines of descent: Upper German, spoken in Central and Southern Germany, and Low German, spoken in Northern Germany. "Low" and "Upper" are geographic terms, referring to the lowlands of Northern Germany and the more mountainous areas of Southern Germany, respectively.

The term "High German" refers to the standardized version of German that derives mostly from Upper and Central German dialects. It evolved through Old High German (c. 200-1000 AD), Middle High German (c. 1000-1500 AD), Early New High German (c. 1500-1700) and finally to the present New High German, which is the standard modern German language. Low German went through a similar development, starting with Old Saxon and similar languages, through Middle Low German into the modern Low German, which is in linguistics often referred to a Low Saxon. It was the standard language of the Hanseatic league, but was superseded as standard language in North Germany when High German was accepted as official language in Prussia. Due to the influence of Prussia as political power, and later Hamburg as media center, a more Northern German pronunciation has been adopted as standard pronunciation in television and radio. It is said that the best High German is spoken in Hanover, while the traditional dialect of the Hanover area is a dialect of Low German.

== German Dialects ==
Dialects of Low German or Low Saxon spoken in the North of Germany are Westphalian, Eastphalian, East-Frisian, North Low Saxon, Sleswickian, and Holastian, and Pommerian, Margravian. The Low Saxon dialects spoken in the east of the Netherlands are often included as East Dutch Low Saxon. One might encounter also ''Missingisch'', a Low Saxon - High German pidgin. In modern times however standard New High German with a Northern accent has become the norm for spoken language in the North of Germany.

The dialects of German are classified as central and upper German. Central German dialects are Ripuarian, Central Franconian, Rhine Francoinian, Hessian, Thurinigian, Saxonian, and Berlinerish. Luxemburgish is often included as a Moselle Franconian dialect. Upper German dialects spoken in the South of the German speaking area, which includes Bavaria, Austria, Liechtenstein and northern areas of Italy, the northern part of Switzerland, and eastern parts of France are Bavarian, East and South Franconian, Swabian, Allemanic, and Alsatian.

Official Minority languages in Germany are [[Frisian]], a west germanic language, [[Sorbian]], a slavic language, and [[Danish]].

==Grammar==
German has a great deal of inflection compared to English, including three genders of nouns (plus the plural), and four cases. Adjectives are also given endings based on their gender and case. The plural forms of nouns follow complex patterns that are difficult for a non-native speaker to master. The system of auxiliary verbs for various tenses works similarly to English. Word order has some definite differences compared to English, but also has greater flexibility in several aspects.

===Noun inflection===
German nouns can have one of three genders: masculine, feminine, or neutral. The definite articles in the nominative case are as follows:

*'''Der''' Hund (Nouns are always capitalized in German.) = The dog
*'''Die''' Ente = The duck
*'''Das''' Schwein = The pig

These three genders collapse into a single plural form, using the definite article '''die''', as in

'''Die''' Schweine = The Pigs

Indefinite articles are represented by only two types in the nominative case, ''ein'' and ''eine'':

*'''Ein''' Hund = A dog
*'''Eine''' Ente = A duck
*'''Ein''' Schwein = A pig

As in English, there is no indefinite article for plural nouns.

===The four cases===
In German, four cases are used, known as the ''nominative'', the ''accusative'', the ''dative'', and the ''genitive''. Nominative is the case which is used in the subject of sentences, or to say A=B. Accusative indicates a direct object relationship, as in "I bought '''the book'''." The dative case shows an indirect object relationship, as in "I gave '''you''' the book." The genitive case has slowly fallen into disuse, but indicates possession; this usage is often replaced by the dative in most cases.

The definite and indefinite articles change according to the case:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Definite
! Nominative
! Accusative
! Dative
! Genitive
|-
! Masculine
| '''Der''' Hund
| '''Den''' Hund
| '''Dem''' Hund
| '''Des''' Hund'''es'''*
|-
! Feminine
| '''Die''' Ente
| '''Die''' Ente
| '''Der''' Ente
| '''Der''' Ente
|-
! Neutral
| '''Das''' Schwein
| '''Das''' Schwein
| '''Dem''' Schwein
| '''Des''' Schwein'''s'''*
|-
! Plural
| '''Die''' Schweine
| '''Die''' Schweine
| '''Der''' Schweine'''n'''*
| '''Den''' Schweine
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Indefinite
! Nominative
! Accusative
! Dative
! Genitive
|-
! Masculine
| Ein Hund
| Ein'''en''' Hund
| Ein'''em''' Hund
| Ein'''es''' Hund'''es'''*
|-
! Feminine
| Ein'''e''' Ente
| Ein'''e''' Ente
| Ein'''er''' Ente
| Ein'''er''' Ente
|-
! Neutral
| Ein Schwein
| Ein Schwein
| Ein'''em''' Schwein
| Ein'''es''' Schwein'''s'''*
|}
<nowiki>*With the genitive case, masculine and neutral nouns take the "s" or "es" ending, while the plural form of masculine and neutral nouns take the "n" ending in dative.</nowiki>

Any other articles take endings by gender and case according to one of these two models. Other examples of article types include possessive (mein Hund = my dog) negative (kein Schwein = no pig), and "this one" (diese Ente = this duck).

===Adjective declension===
When adjectives appear modifying a noun, their ending must agree with both the case and gender of the noun. These endings follow separate rules from those of the definite and indefinite articles, making this extremely difficult for the non-native speaker.

The endings with a definite article always take either an "e" or "en" as ending:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Nominative
! Accusative
! Dative
! Genitive
|-
! Masculine
| Der schwarz'''e''' Hund
| Den schwarz'''en''' Hund
| Dem schwarz'''en''' Hund
| Des schwarz'''en''' Hund'''es'''
|-
! Feminine
| Die gelb'''e''' Ente
| Die gelb'''e''' Ente
| Der gelb'''en''' Ente
| Der gelb'''en''' Ente
|-
! Neutral
| Das schlau'''e''' Schwein
| Das schlau'''e''' Schwein
| Dem schlau'''en''' Schwein
| Des schlau'''en''' Schwein'''s'''
|-
! Plural
| Die schlau'''en''' Schweine
| Die schlau'''en''' Schweine
| Der schlau'''en''' Schweine'''n'''
| Den schlau'''en''' Schweine
|}
(schwarz = black, gelb = yellow, schlau = clever)

So-called "strong" declension occurs when there is no article, or when the determiner has no gender (as in "some" or "many"). In strong declension, the ending of the adjective takes on the ending of the definite article:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Nominative
! Accusative
! Dative
! Genitive
|-
! Masculine
| schwarz'''er''' Hund
| schwarz'''en''' Hund
| schwarz'''em''' Hund
| schwarz'''en''' Hund'''es'''
|-
! Feminine
| gelb'''e''' Ente
| gelb'''e''' Ente
| gelb'''er''' Ente
| gelb'''er''' Ente
|-
! Neutral
| schlau'''es''' Schwein
| schlau'''es''' Schwein
| schlau'''em''' Schwein
| schlau'''en''' Schwein'''s'''
|-
! Plural
| schlau'''e''' Schweine
| schlau'''e''' Schweine
| schlau'''en''' Schweine'''n'''
| schlau'''er''' Schweine
|}

So-called "mixed declension" is used with indefinite articles and possessive articles. Both the article and the adjective take an ending, but the masculine and neutral forms change in the nominative case to carry the "lost" ending caused by the use of an indefinite determiner:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Nominative
! Accusative
! Dative
! Genitive
|-
! Masculine
| mein schwarz'''er''' Hund
| mein'''en''' schwarz'''en''' Hund
| mein'''em''' schwarz'''en''' Hund
| mein'''es''' schwarz'''en''' Hund'''es'''
|-
! Feminine
| mein'''e''' gelb'''e''' Ente
| mein'''e''' gelb'''e''' Ente
| mein'''er''' gelb'''en''' Ente
| mein'''er''' gelb'''en''' Ente
|-
! Neutral
| mein schlau'''es''' Schwein
| mein schlau'''es''' Schwein
| mein'''em''' schlau'''en''' Schwein
| mein'''es''' schlau'''en''' Schwein'''s'''
|-
! Plural
| mein'''e''' schlau'''en''' Schweine
| mein'''e''' schlau'''en''' Schweine
| mein'''en''' schlau'''en''' Schweine'''n'''
| mein'''er''' schlau'''en''' Schweine
|}

===Plural forms===
In contrast to English's simple addition of "s" to make a noun plural, German plural forms use several different inflections depending on the word. They fall into seven types:

;1. No change
:der '''Zimmer''' (room) → die '''Zimmer'''
;2. No ending, with Umlaut
:der Apfel (apple) → die '''Ä'''pfel
;3. Add -e
:das Ziel (goal) → die Ziel'''e'''
;4. Add -e, with Umlaut
:der Tanz (dance) → die T'''ä'''nz'''e'''
;5. Add -er, with Umlaut
:das Glas (glass) → die Gl'''ä'''s'''er'''
;6. Add -n or -en
:die Frau (woman) → die Frau'''en'''
;7. Add -s
:das Tabu (taboo) → die Tabu'''s'''

There is no logical formula to determine which plural form a given noun will take, so the plural form must also be learned as one learns a new noun.

===Auxiliary verbs===
Just as in English, the German language uses helping verbs for most of its tenses. When this occurs, it is the helping verb which is conjugated. The perfect tense exists in German, which uses either the verb ''haben'' (to have) or ''sein'' (to be) together with a past participle. The future tense also uses a helping verb, ''werden'', which is also used for the passive voice (i.e. The lawn is watered daily.). German also uses modal verbs just as in English:

''können'' = to be able to 
''dürfen'' = to be allowed to 
''müssen'' = must 
''sollen'' = should

While German has two forms of the past tense which are constructed like the English past simple and perfect, they are used for different reasons. Generally speaking, the two types of past in German have the same meaning, but the simple past is used for writing and the perfect for speaking. The past participles for many irregular verbs follow similar vowel transformations as in English:

English: I sing. I sang. I have sung. 
German: Ich singe. Ich sang. Ich habe gesungen.

Many of the most important verb forms in German have irregular verb forms, so it is necessary to learn all three forms when one learns a verb.

===Word order===
German word order in complex sentences is based on a so-called "bracket construction," with the most important parts being close to the beginning and at the end. In sentences with more than one verb, the remaining verb or verbs go at the very end:

''Ich habe ihr das Buch in der Schule gegeben.'' (I gave her the book at school.)

In the example above, the verb ''haben'' is conjugated in the first person singular and placed just after the subject, and the past participle of ''geben'' (to give) is placed at the end of the sentence. The sentence also contains a direct object (das Buch = the book), an indirect object (ihr = her), and a place indicator (in der Schule = at school).

Word order other than this bracket construction is somewhat flexible. For example, the following sentences have the same meaning:

''Das Buch habe ich ihr in der Schule gegeben.'' 
''In der Schule habe ich ihr das Buch gegeben.''

This bracket construction is a defining characteristic of German word order. It is also used with modal verbs and with the future tense:

''Ich kann ihn überhaupt nicht verstehen.'' (I can't understand him at all.) 
''Sie wird vielleicht morgen in die Oper gehen wollen.'' (She'll probably want to go to the opera tomorrow.)

Notice that however the constituent parts are arranged, the main verb always is placed in the second position, and the remaining verbs are placed at the end.

This structure also holds true for the so-called "seperable verbs." An example of this is the verb ''abgeben'', which means to "give up." When it is the only verb appearing in the sentence, the prefix "ab" is separated from the rest of the verb, which is conjugated and placed in the second position, and the prefix is placed at the end of the sentence:

''Ich gebe jetzt ab.'' (I'm giving up now.)

German has many such verbs, which are always constructed from a definable preposition and a main verb. However, when using the past tense, future tense, or a modal verb, these sepearable verbs appear at the end of the sentence in the appropriate form:

''Er wird irgendwann abgeben müssen.'' (He'll have to give up sometime.)

==Bibliography==
Martin Durrell, Katrin Kohl, Gudrun Loftus, ''Essential German Grammar'', 2002. 
Christian Stief and Christian Stang, ''Langenscheidt German Grammar in a Nutshell'', 2002.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Germanic languages]]

Sigmund Freud

2011-09-20T04:33:04Z

Tharpa:

[[Image:freud-thumb.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Sigmund Freud in his laboratory]]
'''Sigmund Freud''' (1856–1939) was the founder of [[psychoanalysis]], an [[atheist]] and [[pseudoscientist]]. Because of the groundbreaking nature of most of his theory, Freud remains influential in the field of psychology, literary studies and history.

[[Jewish]] by birth, in 1938 he fled Vienna and persecution by the [[Nazi]]s to North [[London]], [[England]], where he lived until his death in 1939.

In every generation, Freud's work has inspired debate:
{{cquote|Freud did more than perhaps any other man to insidiously conflate atheism with science, religion with mysticism, more than LaPlace, Darwin, or even Marx... While groundbreaking, his theories set back psychoanalysis for more than half a century.<ref>Gregory Zilboorg, ''Freud and Religion: a Restatement of an Old Controversy,'' 118. Statement written in the 1950s; Freud's psychoanalysis continues to be applied to the detriment of patients.</ref>}}

== Religious studies==
Freud wrote two works on the psycological dimension of religion, ''Moses and Monotheism,'' and ''The Future of an Illusion.'' <ref>Gregory Zilboorg, ''Freud and Religion: a Restatement of an Old Controversy,'' 49.</ref>

== Theories ==
Today Freud is best known for his theories of the [[unconscious mind]], especially involving the mechanism of [[repression]]; his symbolic interpretation of dreams; his redefinition of sexual desire as mobile and directed towards a wide variety of objects; and his therapeutic technique, especially his understanding of [[transference]] in the therapeutic relationship and the symbolic interpretation of dreams as sources of insight into [[unconscious desire]]s. <ref> [http://www.amazon.com/Unconscious-Before-Freud-Lancelot-Whyte/dp/0312828705 See also The Unconscious Before Freud, by Lancelot Law Whyte, 1979]</ref>

Freud proposed that the human [[psyche]] consists of three parts -- [[ego]], [[super-ego]], and [[id]] -- and that [[defense mechanism]]s are an attempt by the mind to resolve conflicts between the super-ego and the id. According to Freud's personality theory, the id represents the innate animal-like drives and instincts of the human being, consisting primarily of sexual and aggressive impulses. The super-ego consists of the learned rules and norms of the human being in their environment, derived from sources such as parental values, societal expectations, and religious teachings. When the id introduces impulses into the consciousness that are in conflict with the "rules" of the super-ego, anxiety can arise. For example, if one feels sexually attracted to the spouse of a family member, the super-ego promptly springs to action to remind us that these impulses are entirely unacceptable and offensive. The conflict between the id and the super-ego is thus born and the ego must resolve it or experience great anxiety.

== Science issues==
Freud's theories are viewed by some as unscientific because they lack [[falsifiability]], as pointed out by [[Karl Popper]].<ref>Popper, Karl R.: [http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/popper_falsification.html 'Science as Falsification'], ''Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge'' (London, 1963) </ref>

Freud's therapeutic methods continue to have a lasting importance in psychotherapy. As recently as 1987 approximately 75% of practicing therapists relied on Freud's psychoanalytic ideas in therapy. (Pope, K.S., Tabachnick, B. & Keith-Spiegel, P. (1987). Ethics of practice: The beliefs and behaviors of psychologists as therapists. ''American Psychologist, 42,'' 993-1006). Among the techniques instituted by Freud that are still in use today are talk therapy (simply talking through problems), free association (allowing the client to say whatever comes to mind), and transference (promoting an emotional relationship between the therapist and client in order to aid in the healing process).

Psychoanalysis as a [[clinical psychology | clinical]] method has in many cases been shown to be as effective as other talk therapies.<ref>[http://ask.metafilter.com/99906/Different-types-of-therapy Different types of therapy]</ref>

Sigmund Freud died of maxillary [[cancer]] at the age of 82 due to cigar smoking.

==World War II==
In order to prevent [[Nazis]] from banning psychoanalysis as "Jewish science", Sigmund Freud thought he needed a non-Jewish spokesperson for the psychoanalysis movement. He choose [[Carl Jung]], an early supporter who later partially diverged from Freud's [[psychiatric]] theories.

== External links ==

*[http://www.jewishmag.com/71mag/freud/freud.htm The Jewish Side of Freud.]

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:psychologists|Freud, Sigmund]]
[[category:atheists]]

Religion

2011-09-20T03:55:59Z

Tharpa: Scientology was apparently placed in this list as a malicious joke. There are indeed Scientologists who actually believe the tenets of their religion.

"'''Religion'''" refers to a set of core beliefs upon which people base their lives. Morality is often based on religion. Beyond this general definition, the word "religion" is used in several ways:

* '''Formal definition''': "The service and worship of [[God]] or the [[supernatural]];"<ref>[http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=religion "Religion"] in Merriam Webster dictionary.</ref> Under this definition, [[atheism]], [[agnosticism]], and [[secular humanism]] are not "religions." <ref>Religious Groups Participating in Religious Congregations & Membership Study 2000. [http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/alldenoms.asp]</ref>.
* '''Functional definition''': "A cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith"<ref>[http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=religion "Religion"] in Merriam Webster dictionary.</ref> By this definition, non-theistic belief systems such as [[atheism]], [[humanism]], and [[agnosticism]] could be considered religions. Indeed, the Supreme Court of the [[United States of America]] has acknowledged that "religion" does not need to include a belief in a god or gods, and included Secular Humanism as an example of a non-theistic religion.<ref>"Among religions in this country which do not teach what would generally be considered a belief in the existence of God, are Buddhism, Taoism, Ethical Culture, Secular Humanism, and others.". [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=367&invol=488#t11 Torcaso v. Watkins, (1961)]</ref><ref>"A federal court of appeals ruled ... Wisconsin prison officials violated an inmate's rights because they did not treat [[atheism]] as a religion." [http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45874 Court rules [[atheism]] a religion] WorldNet Daily</ref>
* '''Organisational definition''': Under the definition, the term refers to a particular religious organisation or movement, such a [[Roman Catholic|Catholicism]], [[Methodist|Methodism]], or [[Lutheran]]ism. These groups generally consist of a central creed or body of beliefs, an ethical component (i.e. a code of morals), a body of literature or holy texts or stories, and a set of individual and communal practices. Under this definition, a person might say, "I'm not religious, because I don't go to church—but I believe in God."
* '''Practical definition''': Under this definition, the term refers to a set of practices, rites, or rituals observed by followers. Under this definition, a person might say, "I'm not religious, because I'm not into rituals. My relationship with God is enough."

== List of religions ==
Religions can be classified according to how many gods the religion recognises.
=== Monotheistic religions ===

Monotheistic ("one god") religions are followed by the vast majority of the world's population.

* [[Bahá'í]]
* [[Christianity]]
* [[Messianic Judaism]]
* [[Islam]]
* [[Jehovah's Witnesses]]
* [[Judaism]]
* [[Rastafari movement]]
* [[Sikhism]]
* [[Zoroastrianism]]

=== Polytheistic religions ===
Polytheistic ("many gods") religions believe in and worship multiple gods or spirits or other supernatural beings. Polytheism has declined since the rise of Christianity, but has seen a recent resurgence among pagan cults in developed nations.

* [[Cao Dai]]
* [[Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints|Mormonism]]
* [[Paganism]]

* [[Shamanism]]
* [[Shinto]]
* [[Wicca]]

=== Pantheistic religions ===
Pantheistic ("all is god") religions believe that all of creation or nature is divine.

* [[Hinduism]]
* [[Jainism]]
* [[New Age]] beliefs

It is also worth noting the existence of 'Panentheism' and the importance of distinguishing it from Pantheism. Panentheism is the belief that God is ''in'' all things and is chiefly manifest in [[Animism]]. Nonetheless, Pantheism and Panentheism have also been shown to feature in some outlooks generally defined as 'Monotheistic' (cf. [[Baruch Spinoza]]).

=== Non-theistic religions and philosophies===
Non-theistic religions do not have a belief in God or gods. Some consider the existence of God to be unknown or irrelevant, while (strong) [[Atheism]] is the belief that asserts it is false.
* [[Agnostic]]ism
* [[Atheism]]
** [[Strong atheism]]
** [[Weak atheism]]
* [[Buddhism]] (though with elements of [[Polytheism]]. The ''devas'' that are found in a supporting role in the Tipitika are not strictly comparable to gods, as they are ultimately mortal.)
* [[Secular Humanism]]

=== Parody and joke religions ===
Several "religions" have been invented in an effort to denigrate or parody traditional religions. As a rule, these religions do not have followers who actually believe the tenets of the religions.

* [[Flying Spaghetti Monster|The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster]]
* [[Discordianism]]
* [[Jedi]]
* [[Last Thursdayism]]
* [[Church of the SubGenius|SubGeniism]]

== Faith in organised religion ==

The percentage of respondents answering they had a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in organised religion has decreased in the [[United States]] according to a [[Gallup]] poll taken in 2007. Only 46% of respondents selected either of the choices above. The numbers peaked at 68% in May 1975.<ref>Christian Examiner, Sept. 2007, Vol 25, No 9, Pg. 24</ref>

== Development of religion ==

Secular scholars and liberals, in order to justify their own postmodernist ideal that religious faith is a subjective issue, all religions are equally valid, there are no absolutes and consequently morality is relative, tend to take an evolutionary approach to the development of religion in human societies.

They usually suscribe to the idea that religion first started off as a primitive form of Animism or Spirit Worship, then evolved into polytheistic tribal/national religions, and then from one of these religions emerged Zoroastrianism which saw a gradual decrease in its number of gods until it eventually was transformed into a monotheistic religion, which in turn evolved into the well organized, theologically complex and philosophically deep monotheistic faiths of today such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

This idea regarding the development of religion continues to appear in liberal publications, despite the fact that it has little real substantiation and is merely an assumption by liberal scholars, who often hold a certain kind of prejudice towards organized religion.

In reality, the exact opposite viewpoint has more substantiating anthropological evidence. Namely, the viewpoint that Monotheism (faith in one sole creator deity) was the original form of religion, but gradually corrupted until it fragmented into various polytheistic religions, which in turn decayed further giving rise to pantheistic and atheistic religions.

For example, expert egyptologist Flinders Petrie suggests there is sufficient archaological evidence to conclude that the religion of the ancient Egyptians, which is normally categorized as a typical polytheistic religion, was not originally polytheistic, but in fact a monotheistic faith, which only in the later years of the Egyptian empire shifted from monotheism to polytheism.

similarly, doctor Steven Rangdon of Oxford University based on his research of ancient Babylonian inscriptions concludes that the ancient Babylonian religion like the ancient Egyptian religion was also originally monotheistic, and only in the later stages of the Babylonian civilization did it start to transform into a polytheistic and idolatrous religion. Interestingly, this was also the case with the ancient Sumerian religion. The Sumerians believed in over 5000 gods at the time of the end of their civilization. At the start of their history, however, they only worshiped one god, the god of the sky. It is more than likely that the Sumerian god of the sky is the same God of the heavens of the Hebrew Bible.

Interestlingly, this trend can also be seen in far Eastern religions. Shinto (神道), a native polytheistic religion of Japan which now believes in the existence of thousands of deities, was in fact originally a religion with only three gods. As time passed, however, the religion started to fall into a state of decay as believers started to arbitrarily created more and more new gods of their own. The further one goes back in Japanese history the number of gods in Shinto lessens significantly. In addition, some Japanese scholars, for example evangelical theologian Kubo Arimasa, postulate that it is possible that Shinto was in fact originally monotheistic, and the three originals gods decribed in the opening of the oldest known Shinto text ''Kojiki'' were, in fact, originally one creator God, identical to the creator of the Old Testament.

This monotheism → polytheism → pantheism religion curruption hypothesis is also in concordance with the scriptures of the Old Testament which tells explicitly that the origin of polytheistic, idolatrous and pagan religions was the rebellion of sinners who sought to free themselves from the laws of the true creator, the Lord Yahaweh.

==References==
<references/>

==See also==
* [[World Religions by Number of Followers]]
*[[Christianity in Conservapedia]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/religion/ What Liberals Say - Category: Religion], [[Accuracy In Media]]
*[http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/is-there-a-god Opposing Views: Is There a God?]

[[Category:Religion]]

Religion

2011-09-20T03:53:07Z

Tharpa: Buddhism does not have any elements of pantheism. See the Tipitika for details.

"'''Religion'''" refers to a set of core beliefs upon which people base their lives. Morality is often based on religion. Beyond this general definition, the word "religion" is used in several ways:

* '''Formal definition''': "The service and worship of [[God]] or the [[supernatural]];"<ref>[http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=religion "Religion"] in Merriam Webster dictionary.</ref> Under this definition, [[atheism]], [[agnosticism]], and [[secular humanism]] are not "religions." <ref>Religious Groups Participating in Religious Congregations & Membership Study 2000. [http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/alldenoms.asp]</ref>.
* '''Functional definition''': "A cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith"<ref>[http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=religion "Religion"] in Merriam Webster dictionary.</ref> By this definition, non-theistic belief systems such as [[atheism]], [[humanism]], and [[agnosticism]] could be considered religions. Indeed, the Supreme Court of the [[United States of America]] has acknowledged that "religion" does not need to include a belief in a god or gods, and included Secular Humanism as an example of a non-theistic religion.<ref>"Among religions in this country which do not teach what would generally be considered a belief in the existence of God, are Buddhism, Taoism, Ethical Culture, Secular Humanism, and others.". [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=367&invol=488#t11 Torcaso v. Watkins, (1961)]</ref><ref>"A federal court of appeals ruled ... Wisconsin prison officials violated an inmate's rights because they did not treat [[atheism]] as a religion." [http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45874 Court rules [[atheism]] a religion] WorldNet Daily</ref>
* '''Organisational definition''': Under the definition, the term refers to a particular religious organisation or movement, such a [[Roman Catholic|Catholicism]], [[Methodist|Methodism]], or [[Lutheran]]ism. These groups generally consist of a central creed or body of beliefs, an ethical component (i.e. a code of morals), a body of literature or holy texts or stories, and a set of individual and communal practices. Under this definition, a person might say, "I'm not religious, because I don't go to church—but I believe in God."
* '''Practical definition''': Under this definition, the term refers to a set of practices, rites, or rituals observed by followers. Under this definition, a person might say, "I'm not religious, because I'm not into rituals. My relationship with God is enough."

== List of religions ==
Religions can be classified according to how many gods the religion recognises.
=== Monotheistic religions ===

Monotheistic ("one god") religions are followed by the vast majority of the world's population.

* [[Bahá'í]]
* [[Christianity]]
* [[Messianic Judaism]]
* [[Islam]]
* [[Jehovah's Witnesses]]
* [[Judaism]]
* [[Rastafari movement]]
* [[Sikhism]]
* [[Zoroastrianism]]

=== Polytheistic religions ===
Polytheistic ("many gods") religions believe in and worship multiple gods or spirits or other supernatural beings. Polytheism has declined since the rise of Christianity, but has seen a recent resurgence among pagan cults in developed nations.

* [[Cao Dai]]
* [[Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints|Mormonism]]
* [[Paganism]]

* [[Shamanism]]
* [[Shinto]]
* [[Wicca]]

=== Pantheistic religions ===
Pantheistic ("all is god") religions believe that all of creation or nature is divine.

* [[Hinduism]]
* [[Jainism]]
* [[New Age]] beliefs

It is also worth noting the existence of 'Panentheism' and the importance of distinguishing it from Pantheism. Panentheism is the belief that God is ''in'' all things and is chiefly manifest in [[Animism]]. Nonetheless, Pantheism and Panentheism have also been shown to feature in some outlooks generally defined as 'Monotheistic' (cf. [[Baruch Spinoza]]).

=== Non-theistic religions and philosophies===
Non-theistic religions do not have a belief in God or gods. Some consider the existence of God to be unknown or irrelevant, while (strong) [[Atheism]] is the belief that asserts it is false.
* [[Agnostic]]ism
* [[Atheism]]
** [[Strong atheism]]
** [[Weak atheism]]
* [[Buddhism]] (though with elements of [[Polytheism]]. The ''devas'' that are found in a supporting role in the Tipitika are not strictly comparable to gods, as they are ultimately mortal.)
* [[Secular Humanism]]

=== Parody and joke religions ===
Several "religions" have been invented in an effort to denigrate or parody traditional religions. As a rule, these religions do not have followers who actually believe the tenets of the religions.

* [[Flying Spaghetti Monster|The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster]]
* [[Discordianism]]
* [[Jedi]]
* [[Last Thursdayism]]
* [[Church of the SubGenius|SubGeniism]]
* [[Scientology]]

== Faith in organised religion ==

The percentage of respondents answering they had a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in organised religion has decreased in the [[United States]] according to a [[Gallup]] poll taken in 2007. Only 46% of respondents selected either of the choices above. The numbers peaked at 68% in May 1975.<ref>Christian Examiner, Sept. 2007, Vol 25, No 9, Pg. 24</ref>

== Development of religion ==

Secular scholars and liberals, in order to justify their own postmodernist ideal that religious faith is a subjective issue, all religions are equally valid, there are no absolutes and consequently morality is relative, tend to take an evolutionary approach to the development of religion in human societies.

They usually suscribe to the idea that religion first started off as a primitive form of Animism or Spirit Worship, then evolved into polytheistic tribal/national religions, and then from one of these religions emerged Zoroastrianism which saw a gradual decrease in its number of gods until it eventually was transformed into a monotheistic religion, which in turn evolved into the well organized, theologically complex and philosophically deep monotheistic faiths of today such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

This idea regarding the development of religion continues to appear in liberal publications, despite the fact that it has little real substantiation and is merely an assumption by liberal scholars, who often hold a certain kind of prejudice towards organized religion.

In reality, the exact opposite viewpoint has more substantiating anthropological evidence. Namely, the viewpoint that Monotheism (faith in one sole creator deity) was the original form of religion, but gradually corrupted until it fragmented into various polytheistic religions, which in turn decayed further giving rise to pantheistic and atheistic religions.

For example, expert egyptologist Flinders Petrie suggests there is sufficient archaological evidence to conclude that the religion of the ancient Egyptians, which is normally categorized as a typical polytheistic religion, was not originally polytheistic, but in fact a monotheistic faith, which only in the later years of the Egyptian empire shifted from monotheism to polytheism.

similarly, doctor Steven Rangdon of Oxford University based on his research of ancient Babylonian inscriptions concludes that the ancient Babylonian religion like the ancient Egyptian religion was also originally monotheistic, and only in the later stages of the Babylonian civilization did it start to transform into a polytheistic and idolatrous religion. Interestingly, this was also the case with the ancient Sumerian religion. The Sumerians believed in over 5000 gods at the time of the end of their civilization. At the start of their history, however, they only worshiped one god, the god of the sky. It is more than likely that the Sumerian god of the sky is the same God of the heavens of the Hebrew Bible.

Interestlingly, this trend can also be seen in far Eastern religions. Shinto (神道), a native polytheistic religion of Japan which now believes in the existence of thousands of deities, was in fact originally a religion with only three gods. As time passed, however, the religion started to fall into a state of decay as believers started to arbitrarily created more and more new gods of their own. The further one goes back in Japanese history the number of gods in Shinto lessens significantly. In addition, some Japanese scholars, for example evangelical theologian Kubo Arimasa, postulate that it is possible that Shinto was in fact originally monotheistic, and the three originals gods decribed in the opening of the oldest known Shinto text ''Kojiki'' were, in fact, originally one creator God, identical to the creator of the Old Testament.

This monotheism → polytheism → pantheism religion curruption hypothesis is also in concordance with the scriptures of the Old Testament which tells explicitly that the origin of polytheistic, idolatrous and pagan religions was the rebellion of sinners who sought to free themselves from the laws of the true creator, the Lord Yahaweh.

==References==
<references/>

==See also==
* [[World Religions by Number of Followers]]
*[[Christianity in Conservapedia]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/religion/ What Liberals Say - Category: Religion], [[Accuracy In Media]]
*[http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/is-there-a-god Opposing Views: Is There a God?]

[[Category:Religion]]

Italy

2011-09-20T03:45:34Z

Tharpa:

{{Country
|name =''Repubblica Italiana''
|map =Italy rel 2004.jpg
|map2 =Italy location.png
|flag =Italyflag.gif
|arms =Italy-Emblem.png
|capital =Rome
|capital-raw =
|government =Parliamentary Republic
|government-raw =
|language =Italian
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Giorgio Napolitano
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Silvio Berlusconi
|pm-raw =
|area =116,340 sq mi
|pop =60,302,441 (2009)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =
|gdp-year =$1.76 trillion (2009)
|gdp-pc =$30,300 (2009)
|currency =euro
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}}
'''Italy''' is a country in [[Europe]], and was the center of the [[Roman Empire]] until its collapse. Italian cities led the [[Renaissance]], with world-class artists such as [[Leonardo da Vinci]], [[Donatello]], [[Michelangelo]], [[Titian]], [[Tintoretto]], [[Caravaggio]], and [[Giotto]]. Major cities today include [[Rome]], [[Milan]], [[Naples]] (Napoli), [[Turin]] (Torino), [[Palermo]], [[Genoa]] (Genova), [[Bologna]], [[Florence]] (Firenze) and [[Venice]] (Venezia).<ref> The [[Vatican City]], the governmental center of the [[Roman Catholic Church]], lies entirely within the boundaries of the capital city, Rome. The equally tiny sovereign state of [[San Marino]] is also entirely within Italy.</ref>

==Geography==
Italy, slightly larger than [[Arizona]], is a long peninsula shaped like a boot, surrounded on the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and on the east by the Adriatic. It is bounded by [[France]], [[Switzerland]], [[Austria]], and [[Slovenia]] to the north. The [[Apennine Mountains]] form the peninsula's backbone; the Alps form its northern boundary. The largest of its many northern lakes is Garda (143 sq mi; 370 sq km); the Po, its principal river, flows from the [[Alps]] on Italy's western border and crosses the Lombard plain to the Adriatic Sea. Several islands form part of Italy; the largest are [[Sicily]] (9,926 sq mi; 25,708 sq km) and [[Sardinia]] (9,301 sq mi; 24,090 sq km).
*Area: 301,225 sq. km. (116,303 sq. mi.); about the size of Georgia and Florida combined.
*Cities: Capital--Rome (pop. 2.8 million, 3.7 million metro). Other cities--Milan (1.3 million, 3.9 metro), Naples (975,000, 3 million metro), Turin (900,000, 2.1 million metro).
*Terrain: Mostly rugged and mountainous.
*Climate: Generally mild Mediterranean; cold northern winters.

==People==
[[File:Rowers in Venice.jpg|thumb|left|Rowers in Venice.]]
Italy is largely homogeneous linguistically and religiously but is diverse culturally, economically, and politically. Italy has the fifth-highest population density in Europe--about 200 persons per square kilometer (490 per sq. mi.). Minority groups are small, the largest being the German-speaking people of Bolzano Province and the Slovenes around Trieste. There are also small communities of Albanian, Greek, Ladino, and French origin. Immigration has increased in recent years, however, while the Italian population is declining overall due to low birth rates. Although Roman Catholicism is the majority religion--85% of native-born citizens are nominally Catholic--all religious faiths are provided equal freedom before the law by the constitution.
*Population (November 2009 est.): Above 60.3 million.
*Annual growth rate (2007 est.): 0.01%.
*Ethnic groups: Primarily Italian, but there are small groups of German-, French-, Slovene-, and Albanian-Italians.
*Religion: Roman Catholic (majority).
*Language: Italian (official).
*Education: Years compulsory--10. Literacy--98%.
*Health: Infant mortality rate--5.72/1,000 live births. Life expectancy--77.01 years for men; 83.07 years for women.
*Work force (24.63 million, 2006 est.): Services--63%; industry and commerce--32%; agriculture--5%. Unemployment rate is 7

===Religion===
[[File:Milan Cathedral.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Cathedral of Milan (Duomo).]]
About 87% of native-born citizens are nominally Catholic, but only 20% regularly participate in worship services.<ref> See [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108453.htm U.S. State Department "International Religious Freedom Report 2008"]</ref> Other significant Christian communities include Orthodox, Jehovah's Witnesses, Assembly of God, the Confederation of Methodist and Waldensian Churches, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and other small Protestant groups. Non-Catholic Christian groups, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Baha'is, and Buddhists constitute less than 5% of the population and, with the exception of Jews, are mainly foreign-born.

Immigration, both legal and illegal, continues to add large numbers of non-Christian residents, mainly Muslims, from North Africa, South Asia, Albania, and the Middle East. The Ministry of Interior reports that there are 258 places of Islamic worship (mainly "garage" mosques) and 628 Islamic associations concentrated in Lombardy, Veneto, Lazio, Emilia Romagna, and Tuscany. The Jewish community is estimated at 30,000 and maintains synagogues in 21 cities. The most recent data indicate that approximately 14% of the population identifies itself as either atheist or agnostic. (Numbers do not add up to 100% because of overlapping categories.)

===Italy's Cultural Contributions===
[[File:Caravaggio.JPG|thumb|[[Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio]]]]
Europe's Renaissance period began in Italy during the 14th and 15th centuries. Literary achievements, such as the poetry of [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]], [[Francesco Petrarch|Petrarch]], [[Torquato Tasso|Tasso]], and [[Ludovico Ariosto|Ariosto]] and the prose of [[Giovanni Boccaccio|Boccaccio]], [[Niccolò Machiavelli|Machiavelli]] and [[Alessandro Manzoni|Manzoni]], exerted a tremendous and lasting influence on the subsequent development of Western civilization, as did the painting, sculpture, and architecture contributed by giants such as [[Leonardo da Vinci]], [[Raphael]], [[Sandro Botticelli]], [[Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio|Caravaggio]], and [[Michelangelo|Michelangelo Buonarroti]].

The musical influence of Italian composers Monteverdi, Palestrina, and Vivaldi proved epochal; in the 19th century, Italian romantic opera flourished under composers Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, and Giacomo Puccini. Contemporary Italian artists, writers, filmmakers, architects, composers, and designers contribute significantly to Western culture.

==History==
[[Image:Tiber.jpg|thumb|300px|The River Tiber.]]
The migrations of Indo-European peoples into Italy probably began about 2000 B.C. and continued down to 1000 B.C. From about the 9th century B.C. until it was overthrown by the [[Romans]] in the 3rd century B.C., the Etruscan civilization dominated the area. By 264 B.C. all Italy south of Cisalpine Gaul was under the leadership of Rome. For the next seven centuries, until the barbarian invasions destroyed the western Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries A.D., the history of Italy is largely the history of Rome.

From 800 on, the Holy Roman Emperors, Roman Catholic popes, Normans, and Saracens all vied for control over various segments of the Italian peninsula. Numerous city-states, such as [[Venice]] and [[Genoa]], whose political and commercial rivalries were intense, and many small principalities flourished in the late [[Middle Ages]]. Although Italy remained politically fragmented for centuries, it became the cultural center of the Western world from the 13th to the 16th century.

In 1713, after the War of the Spanish Succession, [[Milan]], [[Naples]], and [[Sardinia]] were handed over to the Hapsburgs of Austria, which lost some of its Italian territories in 1735. After 1800, Italy was unified by Napoléon, who crowned himself king of Italy in 1805; but with the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Austria once again became the dominant power in a disunited Italy. Austrian armies crushed Italian uprisings in 1820–1821 and 1831.

=== Italian unification ===
In the 1830s, [[Giuseppe Mazzini]], a brilliant liberal nationalist, organized the Risorgimento (Resurrection), which laid the foundation for Italian unity. Disappointed Italian patriots looked to the House of Savoy for leadership. Count Camille di Cavour (1810–1861), prime minister of Sardinia in 1852 and the architect of a united Italy, joined England and France in the Crimean War (1853–1856), and in 1859 helped France in a war against Austria, thereby obtaining Lombardy. By plebiscite in 1860, Modena, Parma, Tuscany, and the Romagna voted to join Sardinia. In 1860, [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] conquered Sicily and Naples and turned them over to Sardinia. Victor Emmanuel II, king of Sardinia, was proclaimed king of Italy in 1861. The annexation of Venetia in 1866 and of papal Rome in 1870 marked the complete unification of peninsular Italy into one nation under a constitutional monarchy.

=== Fascism and World Wars ===
Italy declared its neutrality upon the outbreak of [[World War I]] on the grounds that Germany had embarked upon an offensive war. In 1915, Italy entered the war on the side of the Allies but obtained less territory than it expected in the postwar settlement. [[Benito Mussolini]], “Il Duce”. a former Socialist, organized discontented Italians in 1919 into the [[Fascism|Fascist Party]] to “rescue Italy from [[Bolshevik|Bolshevism]].” He led his Black Shirts in a march on Rome and, on Oct. 28, 1922, became prime minister. He transformed Italy into a dictatorship, embarking on an expansionist foreign policy with the invasion and annexation of Ethiopia in 1935 and allying himself with Adolf Hitler in the Rome-Berlin Axis in 1936. When the Allies invaded Italy in 1943, Mussolini's dictatorship collapsed; he was executed by partisans on April 28, 1945, at Dongo on Lake Como. Following the armistice with the Allies (Sept. 3, 1943), Italy joined the war against Germany as a cobelligerent.

=== Italian Republic ===
A June 1946 plebiscite rejected monarchy and a republic was proclaimed. The peace treaty of Sept. 15, 1947, required Italian renunciation of all claims in Ethiopia and Greece and the cession of the Dodecanese islands to Greece and of five small Alpine areas to France. The Trieste area west of the new Yugoslav territory was made a free territory (until 1954, when the city and a 90-square-mile zone were transferred to Italy and the rest to Yugoslavia).

Italy became an integral member of [[NATO]] and the European Economic Community (later the [[EU]]) as it successfully rebuilt its postwar economy.

Until recently, there had been frequent government turnovers since 1945. The dominance of the Christian Democratic (DC) party during much of the postwar period lent continuity and comparative stability to Italy's political situation. A prolonged outbreak of terrorist activities by the left-wing Red Brigades threatened domestic stability in the 1970s, but by the early 1980s the terrorist groups had been suppressed. “Revolving door” governments, political instability, scandal, and corruption characterized Italian politics in the 1980s and 1990s.

=== Silvio Berlusconi and the "Second Republic" ===
From [[1992]] to 1997, Italy faced significant challenges as voters--disenchanted with past political paralysis, massive government debt, extensive corruption, and organized crime's considerable influence--demanded political, economic, and ethical reforms. Scandal investigations touched thousands of politicians, administrators, and businessmen. In [[1993]] referendums, voters approved substantial changes, including moving from a proportional to a largely majoritarian electoral system and the abolishment of some ministries.

Major political parties, beset by scandal and loss of voter confidence, underwent far-reaching changes. The end of [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Communism]] caused a crisis on the Left, with a complex reshuffling of voters. Party changes were sweeping. The Christian Democratic Party dissolved; the Italian People's Party and the Christian Democratic Center emerged. Other major parties, such as the [[Socialist]]s, saw support plummet. For this reason this period is called "Second Republic".

New political forces and new alignments of power emerged in March [[1994]] national elections. A new populist and free-market oriented movement, Forza Italia, gained wide support among moderate voters. The National Alliance broke from the neofascist Italian Social Movement. The election saw a major turnover in the new parliament, with 452 out of 630 deputies and 213 out of 315 senators elected for the first time. The 1994 elections also swept media magnate [[Silvio Berlusconi]], and his Freedom Pole coalition, into office as Prime Minister. A trend toward two large coalitions--one on the center-left and the other on the center-right--emerged from the April 1995 regional elections.

Berlusconi, however, was forced to step down in January [[1995]] when one member of his coalition withdrew support. The Berlusconi government was succeeded by a technical government headed by Prime Minister Lamberto Dini, which fell in early [[1996]]. For the 1996 national elections, the center-left parties created the Olive Tree coalition while the center right united again under the Freedom Pole. The new elections in 1996 brought a center-left coalition to government for the first time after World War II.

A series of center-left coalitions dominated Italy's political landscape between 1996 and 2001. In April 1996, national elections led to the victory of a center-left coalition (the Olive Tree) under the leadership of Romano Prodi. Prodi's government became the second-longest to stay in power before he narrowly lost a vote of confidence (by three votes) in October 1998. A new government was formed by Democratic Party of the Left leader and former-communist Massimo D'Alema.

Italy adopted the [[euro]] as its currency in January [[1999]]. Treasury Secretary Carlo Ciampi, who is credited with the economic reforms that permitted Italy to enter the European Monetary Union, was elected president in May 1999. Italy joined its [[NATO]] partners in the [[Kosovo]] crisis. Aviano Air Base in northern Italy was a crucial base for launching air strikes into Kosovo and [[Yugoslavia]].

In April [[2000]], following a poor showing by his coalition in regional elections, D'Alema resigned. The succeeding center-left government, including most of the same parties, was headed by Giuliano Amato, who previously served as Prime Minister in 1992-93.

National elections, held on May 13, [[2001]], returned Berlusconi to power at the head of the five-party center-right Freedom House coalition, comprising the prime minister's own party, Forza Italia, the National Alliance, the Northern League, the Christian Democratic Center, and the United Christian Democrats. Berlusconi pledged to reduce unemployment, cut taxes, revamp the educational system, and reform the bureaucracy. His critics were alarmed by the apparent conflict of interest of a prime minister who also owned 90% of Italy's media. He was accused of Mafia connections and was under indictment for tax fraud and bribery. Found guilty in three out of four of his trials, he was acquitted in all of them on appeal. Several other cases are pending.

In Nov. [[2002]], Giulio Andreotti, who served as Italy's prime minister numerous times between 1972 and 1992, was sentenced to 24 years for ordering the [[Mafia]] to murder a journalist in 1979. At 84, however, he was deemed too old for prison.

At the end of [[2003]], Italian food giant [[Parmalat]] was accused of a massive accounting fraud scheme—$5 billion the company claimed was in fact nonexistent.

In April [[2005]], regional elections had disastrous results for Berlusconi's center-right coalition. The dismal state of the economy was blamed for the poor showing. Prime Minister Berlusconi resigned and formed a new government. The 60th government since the liberation of Italy was formed on April 23, 2005, with a new program emphasizing economic concerns. The previous Berlusconi government was the longest serving in Italy’s post-war history. In the same year parliament passed a new electoral law based on full proportional assignment of seats.

In national elections held April 9-10, [[2006]], the center-left Union coalition led by Romano Prodi, a successor to the Olive Tree, won 49.8% of the vote and Berlusconi's House of Liberties coalition won 49.7%—a mere 25,000 vote difference. The Union coalition includes the Democratic Party of the Left, the Daisy Party, UDEUR (Union of Democrats for Europe), Rose in the Fist (made up by Italian Social Democrats and Italian Radical Party), Communist Renewal, the Italian Communist Party, and the Greens. Berlusconi refused to concede and called for a recount. He eventually relented, and Prodi was given the go-ahead by the newly installed president Giorgio Napolitano to form a government. Prodi served as prime minister once before (1996–98) and also as president of the European Union. Prodi's government proved fragile almost immediately. Indeed, he submitted his resignation just nine months into his term after a key foreign-policy vote about the deployment of troops to Afghanistan and an expansion of a U. S. military base failed in the Senate. Days later, the Senate, facing the prospect of Silvio Berlusconi returning to power, narrowly passed a vote of confidence in Prodi's government. Prodi remained in office, surely to face similar obstacles in the near future.

In April 2006, Italy caught and arrested Bernardo Provenzano, the alleged boss of the Sicilian Mafia, who had eluded authorities for 42 years.

In October [[2007]], the Democrats of the Left and the Daisy parties officially merged to form the '''Democratic Party'''.

[[File:Logo-pdl-berlusconi.jpg|left|200px]]
The Prodi government collapsed on January 24, [[2008]], when it lost a vote of confidence in the Senate and the Prime Minster submitted his resignation to the President. The Prodi government fell when small coalition partner UDEUR withdrew support. In February, the President dissolved parliament and Silvio Berlusconi returned to power after defeating former Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni by a comfortable margin in elections on April 13-14, 2008. Berlusconi's winning coalition was composed of the '''People of Liberty''' (a union of Forza Italia and Gianfranco Fini's National Alliance), the Northern League, and the Movement for Autonomy. The election greatly simplified parliament, dramatically reducing the numbers of parties, and for the first time since World War II, leaving communist parties out of parliament. People of Liberty (37.4%) won the largest share of the vote and took power in coalition with a strengthened Northern League (8.3%) and the tiny Movement for Autonomy (1.1%). The Democratic Party scored 33.2% and ran in alliance with Italy of Values (4.4%), while the Union of the Center (5.6%) ran alone.

Berlusconi was sworn in as Prime Minister on May 8. Veltroni resigned as leader of the opposition in February [[2009]], and his deputy, Dario Franceschini, was elected new Democratic Party leader. In March 2009, Forza Italia and National Alliance changed the People of Liberty identification from an alliance to a party. The new mass center-right party is Italy's largest party and one of the largest in Europe. Party leaders define the party as post-ideological, charismatic, and pragmatic. It is led by Berlusconi.

In [[2010]], Gianfranco Fini's conservative party Future and Freedom emerged from a split from Berlusconi's People of Liberty party.

==Government==
Italy has been a democratic republic since June 2, 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum. The constitution was promulgated on January 1, 1948.

The Italian state is centralized. The prefect of each of the provinces is appointed by and answerable to the central government. In addition to the provinces, the constitution provides for 20 regions with limited governing powers. Five regions--Sardinia, Sicily, Trentino-Alto Adige, Valle d'Aosta, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia--function with special autonomy statutes. The other 15 regions were established in 1970 and vote for regional "councils." The establishment of regional governments throughout Italy has brought some decentralization to the national governmental machinery, and recent governments have devolved further powers to the regions. Many regional governments, particularly in the north of Italy, are seeking additional powers.

The 1948 constitution established a perfectly bicameral parliament (Chamber of Deputies and Senate), a separate judiciary, and an executive branch composed of a Council of Ministers (cabinet), headed by the president of the council (prime minister). The president of the republic is elected for seven years by the parliament sitting jointly with a small number of regional delegates. The president nominates the prime minister, who chooses the other ministers. The Council of Ministers--in practice composed mostly of members of parliament--must retain the confidence of both houses.

The houses of parliament are popularly and directly elected by a proportional representation system. Under 2005 legislation, the Chamber of Deputies has 630 members (12 of which are elected by Italians abroad). In addition to 315 elected members (six of which are elected by Italians abroad), the Senate includes former presidents and several other persons appointed for life according to special constitutional provisions. Both houses are elected for a maximum of five years, but either may be dissolved before the expiration of its normal term. Legislative bills may originate in either house and must be passed by a majority in both.

The Italian judicial system is based on Roman law modified by the Napoleonic code and subsequent statutes. There is only partial judicial review of legislation in the American sense. A constitutional court, which passes on the constitutionality of laws, is a post-World War II innovation. Its powers, volume, and frequency of decisions are not as extensive as those of the U.S. Supreme Court.

===Principal Government Officials===
*President--Giorgio Napolitano
*Prime Minister--Silvio Berlusconi
*Foreign Minister--Franco Frattini
*Minister of Defense--Ignazio La Russa
*Minister of Finance--Giulio Tremonti
*Minister of Justice--Angelino Alfano
*Minister of the Interior--Roberto Maroni

===Foreign Relations===
Italy was a founding member of the European Community--now the [[European Union]] (EU). Italy was admitted to the [[United Nations]] in 1955 and is a member and strong supporter of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ([[NATO]]), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organization (GATT/WTO), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Council of Europe. It chaired the CSCE (the forerunner of the OSCE) in 1994, the EU from July to December 1990, January to June 1996, and July to December 2003, and the G-8 in 2001 and in 2009. Italy served a two-year term on the UN Security Council in 2007-2008.

Italy firmly supports the United Nations and its international security activities. Italy leads the UN mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and has actively participated in and deployed troops in support of UN peacekeeping missions in Somalia, Mozambique, and Timor-Leste. It provides critical support for NATO and EU operations in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Albania, Georgia, and Chad.

Italy, under NATO's ISAF, maintains a Provincial Reconstruction Team in the western [[Afghanistan]] province of Herat, commands RC-West, and maintains a Carabinieri police training center. Italy supports reconstruction and development assistance to the Iraqi people through humanitarian workers and other officials, particularly in Dhi Qar Province, and is a leading contributor to the NATO Training Mission-Iraq, with approximately 100 military personnel and Carabinieri police trainers. Currently almost 9,000 Italian troops are deployed, including 2,100 in Kosovo, 2,350 in Lebanon as part of UNIFIL, and over 2,600 in Afghanistan. It will send another 1000 troops for the surge in [[Afghanistan War|Afghanistan]] in 2010.

==Economy==
[[File:Banca Commerciale Italiana Milan.JPG|thumb|300px|Palace of the "Banca Commerciale Italiana", Milan.]]
The Italian economy has changed dramatically since the end of World War II. From an agricultural-based economy, it has developed into an industrial state ranked as the world's sixth-largest market economy. Italy belongs to the Group of Eight (G-8) industrialized nations; it is a member of the European Union and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Italy has few natural resources. With much land unsuited for farming, Italy is a net food importer. There are no substantial deposits of iron, coal, or oil. Proven natural gas reserves, mainly in the Po Valley and offshore Adriatic, constitute the country's most important mineral resource. Most raw materials needed for manufacturing and more than 80% of the country's energy sources are imported. Italy's economic strength is in the processing and the manufacturing of goods, primarily in small and medium-sized family-owned firms. Its major industries are precision machinery, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electric goods, and fashion and clothing.

Italy's economic growth averaged only 0.66% for the five years ending in 2005; 2006 GDP growth reached 1.9%, largely due to export growth to the Euro zone area.

Italy continues to grapple with budget deficits and high public debt--2.6% and 105.9% of GDP for 2008, respectively. Italy joined the European Monetary Union in 1998 by signing the Stability and Growth Pact, and as a condition of this Euro zone membership, Italy must keep its budget deficit beneath a 3% ceiling. The Italian Government has found it difficult to bring the budget deficit down to a level that would allow a rapid decrease of that debt. The worsening of the economic situation is expected to jeopardize this effort. The deficit is expected to grow well above the 3% ceiling in 2009 and 2010.

Italy's economic growth averaged only 0.8% in the period 2001-2008; 2008 GDP decreased 1.0%, largely due to the global economic crisis and its impact on exports and domestic demand. GDP is expected to contract further, with a huge decrease in 2009 (ranging from 2% to 3%) as the Euro zone and world economies slow.

Italy's closest trade ties are with the other countries of the European Union, with whom it conducts about 60.1% of its total trade (2007 data). Its largest EU trade partners are Germany (12.9%), France (11.4%), and the United Kingdom (5.8%). Italy continues to grapple with the effects of globalization, where China has undersold the Italian lower-end industrial product sector.

The Italian economy is also affected by a large underground economy--worth some 27% of its GDP. This production is not subject, of course, to taxation and thus remains a source of lost revenue to the local and central government.

*GDP (purchasing power parity, 2007 est.): $1.8 trillion.
*GDP per capita (purchasing power parity, 2007 est.): $31,000.
*GDP growth: 1.7% (2007); 1.9% (2006); 0.1% (2005); 0.9% (2003 est.); 0.4% (2002); 1.8% (2001).
*Natural resources: Fish and natural gas.
*Agriculture: Products--wheat, rice, grapes, olives, citrus fruits, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans beef, dairy products.
*Industry: Types--tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics.
*Trade: Exports (2007 est.)--$474.8 billion f.o.b.: mechanical products, textiles and apparel, transportation equipment, metal products, chemical products, food and agricultural products. Partners (2006)--Germany 13.2%, France 12.3%, U.S. 7.5%, Spain 7.5%, U.K. 6.6%. Imports (2007 est.)--$483.6 billion f.o.b.: machinery and transport equipment, foodstuffs, ferrous and nonferrous metals, wool, cotton, energy products. Partners (2006)--Germany 17.3%, France 10.0%, Netherlands 5.7%, China 5.2%, Belgium 4.5%, Spain 4.3%.

====U.S.-Italy Economic Relations====
The United States and Italy cooperate closely on major economic issues, including within the G-8. With a large population and a high per capita income, Italy was the United States' twelfth-largest trading partner in 2008, with total bilateral trade of $51.6 billion comprised of exports to Italy totaling $15.5 billion and imports worth $36.1 billion. The U.S.'s $20.7 billion deficit with Italy in 2008 was slightly below the $20.9 billion deficit registered in 2007. Machinery and aircraft are becoming important U.S. exports. U.S. foreign direct investment in Italy at the end of 2007 exceeded $28.4 billion.

====Labor====
Unemployment is a regional issue in Italy--low in the north, high in the south. The overall national rate is at its lowest level since 1992. Chronic problems of inadequate infrastructure, corruption, and organized crime act as disincentives to investment and job creation in the south. A significant underground economy absorbs substantial numbers of people, but they work for low wages and without standard social benefits and protections. Women and youth have significantly higher rates of unemployment than do men.

Unions claim to represent 40% of the work force. Most Italian unions are grouped in four major confederations: the General Italian Confederation of Labor (CGIL), the Italian Confederation of Workers' Unions (CISL), the Italian Union of Labor (UIL), and the General Union of Labor (UGL), which together claim 35% of the work force. These confederations formerly were associated with important political parties or currents, but they have evolved into fully autonomous, professional bodies. The CGIL, CISL, and UIL are affiliated with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and customarily coordinate their positions before confronting management or lobbying the government. The confederations have had an important consultative role on national social and economic issues.

====Agriculture====
Italy's agriculture is typical of the division between the agricultures of the northern and southern countries of the European Union. The northern part of Italy produces primarily grains, sugarbeets, soybeans, meat, and dairy products, while the south specializes in fruits, vegetables, olive oil, wine, and durum wheat. Even though much of its mountainous terrain is unsuitable for farming, Italy has a large work force (1.4 million) employed in farming. Most farms are small, with the average size being only seven hectares.

== See also ==
*[[Benito Mussolini]]
*[[Giuseppe Garibaldi]]
*[[Galileo Galilei]]
*[[Marco Polo]]
*[[The Renaissance]]
*[[Painting Schools]]

== External links ==
*[http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107658.html]

==References==
<references/>

{{Copyright Details (US Government)}}
[[Category:European History]]
[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]
[[Category:Christian-Majority Countries]]

Florence

2011-09-20T03:44:55Z

Tharpa:

[[Image:Map florence.gif|right]]
'''Florence''' (''Firenze'' in Italian) is a city on the River Arno in the [[Italy|Italian]] region of Tuscany. It is best known for [[Michaelangelo]]'s [[statue]] of [[David]], the Baptistery and the Brunelleschi's Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore. (Duomo means cathedral church in Italian)

<blockquote>
''In 1865, Florence was chosen to be the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and remained capital until 1871. In later years and until the beginning of the twentieth century, Florence was famous for its literary happenings, that produced works such as Pinocchio and which brought writers such as Papini, Palazzeschi, Pratolini to the fore, who were all members of the historical Literary Caffè group the "Giubbe Rosse".'' [http://www.travelplan.it/florence_guide_history_culture.htm]
</blockquote>
[[Image:Duomo Santa Maria di Fiore.jpg|thumb|Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore.]]
[[Image:Florence statue of David.jpg]]
<center>
 
<gallery perrow="5">
Image:Ponte Vecchio.jpg|Ponte Vecchio
Image:Donatello.jpg|Donatello
Image:Russian Orthodox Church Florence.jpg|Russian Orthodox Church
Image:St Christopher Basilica di San Lorenzo.jpg|St. Christopher
Image:Fountain Piazza del Annunziata.jpg|Fountain Piazza del Annunziata
</gallery>
</center>

<blockquote>
''The fingerprints of the architect Vasari are all over the city of Florence. Along with the famous corridor above Ponte Vecchio, Vasari also designed the city's most impressive museum, the Uffizi gallery, or Galleria degli Uffizi. Constructed at the behest of Cosimo I de' Medici in the 16th century to house the offices for Florentine magistrates, the [[museum]] is now home to the largest collection of Italian and Florentine [[Renaissance]] art in the world.'' [http://www.destination360.com/europe/italy/uffizi-gallery.php]
</blockquote>
<center>

[[Image:Uffizi Gallery.jpg|center|350px]]

Galleria degli Uffizi
</center>

== See also ==
[[Image:Dante Alighieri.jpg|thumb|Dante]]
* [[The Renaissance]]
*[[Donatello]]
*[[Dante Alighieri]]
*[[Francesco Petrarch]]
*[[Niccolò Machiavelli]]
*[[Sandro Botticelli]]
*[[Leonardo da Vinci]]
*[[Filippo Brunelleschi]]
*[[Art cities]]
*[[Venice]]
*[[Pisa]]
*[[Sienna]]
== External links ==
[[File:Duomo Florence Italy.JPG|thumb|340px|Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.]]
*[http://www.aboutflorence.com/ About Florence]
*[http://www.aboutflorence.com/art-and-culture-of-Florence.html ART AND CULTURE of Florence]

==Further reading==
* Andres, Glenn; Hunisak, John M.; and Turner, A. Richard. ''The Art of Florence'' (2 vol. 1988). 1312 pp.
* Brucker, Gene A. ''Renaissance Florence'' (2nd ed. 1983) [http://www.amazon.com/Renaissance-Florence-Updated-Gene-Brucker/dp/0520046951/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244534631&sr=1-10 excerpt and text search]
* Hook, Judith. ''Lorenzo de' Medici: An Historical Biography.'' (1984). 206 pp.
* Najemy, John M. ''A History of Florence, 1200–1575'' (2008), 528pp; the best scholarly history [http://www.amazon.com/History-Florence-1200-1575-John-Najemy/dp/1405182423/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244534740&sr=1-16 excerpt and text search]
* Partridge, Loren. ''Art of Renaissance Florence, 1400-1600'' (2009)
* Trexler, Richard C. ''Public Life in Renaissance Florence.'' (1980). 591 pp.
* Turner, Richard N. ''Renaissance Florence'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Renaissance-Florence-Reissue-Perspectives-Richard/dp/0131344013/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206862562&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]
* Wackernagel, Martin. ''The World of the Florentine Renaissance Artist: Projects and Patrons, Workshop and Art Market.'' (1981). 431 pp.

===Guide books===
* ''Rick Steves' Florence and Tuscany 2009'' by Rick Steves and Gene Openshaw (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Rick-Steves-Florence-Tuscany-2009/dp/1598801090/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244534404&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* ''Florence and Tuscany'' (Eyewitness Travel Guides) by DK Publishing (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Florence-Tuscany-Eyewitness-Travel-Guides/dp/0756615402/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244534404&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* ''Time Out Florence and the Best of Tuscany (Time Out Guides) (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Time-Florence-Best-Tuscany-Guides/dp/1846700299/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244534570&sr=1-18 excerpt and text search]
* Levey, Michael. ''Florence: A Portrait'' (1998) [http://www.amazon.com/Florence-Portrait-Michael-Levey/dp/0674306589/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244534631&sr=1-9 excerpt and text search]

[[Category: Italian Cities and Towns]]
[[category:Renaissance]]
[[Category:Urban History]]

Archipelago

2011-09-20T03:32:04Z

Tharpa:

An '''archipelago''' is a cluster of [[island|islands]] of related geological and topographical form. These are commonly formed as a result of [[volcano|volcanic]] activity.

Archipelago nations include [[Malta]] and the [[Maldives]], among many others.
== External links ==

*[http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geography/glossary/ Glossary]
[[Category:Archipelagos]]
[[category:geography]]

Great Britain

2011-09-20T03:29:36Z

Tharpa: Undo revision 912965 by Conservative (talk)

Great Britain

2011-09-20T03:28:04Z

Tharpa: Undo revision 912965 by Conservative (talk)

:''This article is about the island, for the historic state of the same name see [[Kingdom of Great Britain]]''

'''Great Britain''' is the largest island of the [[British Isles]]. It is politically divided into three parts; [[England]], [[Scotland]] and [[Wales]]. All three, with [[Northern Ireland]], make up the [[United Kingdom]] of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
[[Image:Carl weiland.jpg|thumbnail|150px|right|Dr. [[Carl Wieland]] is the Managing Director of Creation Ministries International ]]

== Britain and moral decline ==

''See also:'' [[Britain and morality]] and [[Atheism and morality]]

In 2011 and in recent years, there have been number of reports on the decline of morality in [[Britain]].<ref>
*[http://creation.com/britain-needs-god ''Britain needs God'' by Creation Ministries International]
*[http://creation.com/lying-as-survival-strategy ''Why is England burning? by Creation Ministries International'']
*[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8695318/UK-riots-David-Cameron-promises-to-restore-sense-of-morality-as-police-get-new-powers.html UK riots: David Cameron promises to restore 'sense of morality' as police get new powers]
*[http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Editorials/Article.aspx?id=171651 British morality, Jerusalem Post, By JERUSALEM POST, 03/24/2010]
*[http://www.socialaffairsunit.org.uk/blog/archives/000237.php The Strange Death of Moral Britain by Christie Davies]
*[http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/carl-mortished/uk-welfare-plan-saves-money-but-morally-bankrupt/article1790653/ U.K. welfare plan: Saves money, but morally bankrupt, Globe and Mail,Nov. 09, 2010 by Carl Mortished]</ref> [[Peter Hitchens]] is the [[ex-atheists|ex-atheist]] brother of atheist [[Christopher Hitchens]]. In an article entitled "Britain Needs God" [[Creation Ministries International]] wrote:
{{cquote|Peter also wrote of what he saw as the growing public discourtesy and incivility in [[Britain]]. When he returned to London, after a five-year absence, he was shocked by the decline in people’s behaviour. He commented, “The rapid vanishing of [[Christianity]] from public consciousness and life, as the last fully [[Christian]] generation ages and disappears, seems to me to be a major part of it. I do not think I would have been half so shocked by the squalor and rudeness of 1990 [[Moscow]], if I had not come from a country where Christian forbearance was still well-established. If I had then been able to see the [[London]] of 2010, I would have been equally shocked.” In many respects, Peter’s book is a warning to people, as to the kind of society they can expect if they continue to reject Christian beliefs.<ref>[http://creation.com/britain-needs-god ''Britain needs God'']</ref>}}

In an article entitled "Why is England Burning" [[Creation Ministries International]] wrote:
{{cquote|Few will have missed the shocking reports of the riots seen recently throughout [[England]]. Gangs of young adults and teenagers have been on the rampage, smashing windows, looting shops, and burning cars and warehouses. Even large deployments of police have been unable to contain them.

Many have been asking why all this is happening. Some reply that it is due to deep anger and frustration amongst youth, who feel they have no future, no possibility of getting a job and no stake in society. Others claim it is simply rebellion against authority and wanton criminality. Conservatives point to the disruption of family life, the promotion of single motherhood, the lack of discipline in schools and the ‘rights culture’. Liberals blame the lack of equality in society and say the answer lies in providing the young with more opportunities and better education. While there is some truth in all these views, they all fail to address the deeper issues and the true root cause of Britain’s moral and social decline.

What is happening in England is the inevitable consequence of a nation rejecting [[God]] and His [[Word]]. Instead of believing what God has said, people readily believe the modern academics and politicians, who assure us that the [[Bible]] is no more than a [http://creation.com/genesis-myth-or-history book of myths] and that we can forge a better society based on [[secularism]]. Accepting this view has led to there being no final authority, no absolute basis for [[moralit]]y and no clarity about who or what we are...

When I was at school in the 1960s and 1970s, the Christian thinking and values of previous generations were still evident. General behaviour, truthfulness and respect were still considered more important than academic or material success. This was based on the view that we were made in the image of God, and good character was necessary to preserve this...

In contrast to all this, much of today’s educational system places little if any value on such biblical ideas. This is not surprising; if even many church leaders claim Genesis is not real history, then original sin is but a myth. In fact, it is quite likely that the ‘progressive’ educationist will take a different view simply because they think that, if the Bible teaches something, it is probably wrong. The teachers know that they themselves lie, and the head teacher lies—so why should they expect their pupils not to lie? Indeed, a recent New Scientist article actually argued, from an evolutionary standpoint, that [http://creation.com/lying-as-survival-strategy lying in our personal, professional and social lives is a strategy for survival!] The objective of education is no longer to equip young people to serve in the community, but to maximize their ‘potential for self-fulfillment’. The great heroes of the modern age are not those who have sacrificially given themselves for others, but those who have fought for themselves and their ‘rights’. Humanists, in defiance of the true history in Genesis 3, assert the doctrine of the intrinsic goodness of humanity and see no need to teach right and wrong.<ref>[http://creation.com/lying-as-survival-strategy ''Why is England burning?'']</ref>}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Islands]]

Talk:Great Britain

2011-09-20T03:27:02Z

Tharpa: This page should be have the large section on Britain's alleged moral decline deleted, or at least moved to its own page.

Anyone for cleaning up this page? It seems pretty clear that someone had an ax to grind when making the majority of the page on Great Britain about its alleged moral decline.

Genesis

2011-09-20T02:49:51Z

Tharpa: Made link more specific.

[[Image:Creation of the sun.JPG|right|thumb|250px|''Creation of the Sun'', by [[Michelangelo]]]]
''For the rock band Genesis, please see [[Genesis (band)]]''

'''Genesis''' [Hebrew: '''בראשית'''] ([[Greek_language|Greek]]: "birth", "origin"), is the 'book of beginnings', and the first book of both the [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[Torah]] and the [[Bible]], recounts the beginning of the [[universe]], living things including [[homo sapiens|mankind]], and mankind's [[Society|social]] and [[Culture|cultural]] formations. It stands as the introduction of the entire body of the Bible, of the creation of the original nation of [[Israel]], and of the earliest promises of the coming [[Jesus Christ|Redeemer]].

The Hebrew word for God is plural, and the creation of man was by a plural form of God (Genesis 1:26: "And God said, Let '''us''' make man in '''our''' image, after '''our''' likeness"). The meaning of the plural form was not fully understood until the emergence of Christianity and the acceptance of the [[Holy Trinity]].<ref>http://www.bible.ca/trinity/trinity-oneness-unity-plural-nouns-pronouns-verbs-adverbs.htm</ref>

==Name==
The [[Hebrews]] had called the first book of [[Moses]] by the name of ''bereisheet'', meaning "in the beginning", based on the three words which start Genesis. The [[Septuagint]], the ancient Greek-language translation of the [[Old Testament]], rendered this title under the name ''he biblos geneseos'', from which came the current title of ''Genesis'', meaning "origin".<ref>Unger, 1966, p.396</ref>

==Overview==
The fifty chapters of the book of Genesis can be divided into two parts: the early, primeval history of man from the [[Creation]] to the fall of the [[Tower of Babel]], and the [[Patriarchs|Patriarchal History of Israel]] from [[Abraham]] and his son [[Isaac]], grandson [[Jacob]], and Jacob's sons, primarily [[Joseph]], although there is a continuous genealogy connecting both parts.

===The Creation===
''For more detailed treatments, see [[creation week]], [[creation story]], and [[Biblical creation account]].''

''In the beginning, God [[creation|created]] the [[heaven]]s and earth''. This is one of the most famous statements in the Bible, and it starts the account of God's creation. Genesis 1:1 through 2:3 involved the first seven days in history:<ref>Not all Christians accept that the days were literal days. See also [[Creation Week]], [[Gap theory]], and [[Old Earth Creationism]].</ref>
*The first day, the creation of the heavens and the Earth, and light ({{bible ref|Genesis|1|1-5}}).
*The second day, the creation of a "firmament" or ''expanse'', separating the waters ({{bible ref|Genesis|1|6-8}}).
*The third day, the creation of dry earth and plant life ({{Bible ref|Genesis|1|9-13}}).
*The fourth day, the creation of the Sun, the moon, and the stars, to mark the seasons ({{bible ref|Genesis|1|14-19}}).
*The fifth day, the creation of the creatures of the sea and the fowl of the air ({{bible ref|Genesis|1|20-23}}).
*The sixth day, the creation of the animals of the land, and the creation of Man ({{bible ref|Genesis|1|24-31}}).
*The seventh day, on which God rested from his task of creating ({{bible ref|Genesis|2|1-3}}).

The rest of chapter 2 through to the end of chapter 4 tell the story of Adam and Eve, the [[Garden of Eden]], and Adam and Steve's sons [[Cain]], [[Abel]], and [[Seth]].

The fall of mankind into [[sin]] began when the serpent questioned one of God's commands, namely not to eat of the [[tree of knowledge of good and evil]], and convinced Eve to eat the fruit, followed by [[Adam]]. The result of disobeying this command resulted in the driving away of Adam and Eve from the Garden to live a life of subsistence farming, and eventually dying. Eve was additionally cursed with painful childbearing, and to be subservient to Adam. All of these curses were also applied to Adam and Eve's descendants. {{bible ref|Genesis|3|15}} is cited as being the first reference to the coming [[Messiah]].

Chapter 5 is a [[chronogenealogy]] from Adam to [[Noah]] and his sons.

===The Flood===
Chapters 6 to 9 tell the story of the [[great flood]].

The wickedness of mankind becomes so great that God 'repents' of His creation and decides to destroy it all through a [[flood]]. Only Noah is righteous before God, and He instruct Noah to build an [[Noah's Ark|ark]] to carry himself, his family, and pairs of every creature on earth and in the air. God then destroys the earth with [[water]], the ark riding the waves until the waters abate and it comes to rest at the mountains of [[Ararat]]. God makes a promise never to destroy the earth by flood again, and shows Noah the sign of that covenant, a [[rainbow]].

Noah is also the first planter of a [[vineyard]], and during a drunken sleep one of his sons ([[Ham (son of Noah)|Ham]]) sees him naked. Noah awakes with the knowledge as to what he had done, and places a curse upon Ham's son Canaan, declaring that Canaan and his descendants would be slaves to the his brothers [[Shem]] and [[Japheth]]. All three sons would have their names and their descendants listed on the [[Table of Nations]], which is contained in chapter 10.

===Abraham===
Chapters 11 to 23 and the start of chapter 25 tells the story of Abram

Abram leaves the city of [[Ur]] with his wife, Sarai, on a journey towards [[Canaan]], where God has shown him what He was going to do: ''I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.''

Sarai, being unable to have children, tells Abram to take [[Hagar]], his [[Egypt]]ian maid, as his [[wife]]. Hagar becomes pregnant with [[Ishmael]], and God makes a promise that the child will be "a wild ass of a man, his hand against every man and every man's hand against him," with descendants beyond number.

God also makes a covenant with Abram: Abram will have many descendants as well as possession of the land of Canaan. Abram's name is changed to "[[Abraham]]”, and Sarai becomes "[[Sarah]]." A sign of the new covenant is the [[circumcision]] of all males. Abraham is also told that Sarah will bear a son who will be named [[Isaac]], and it is through Isaac and his descendants that the covenant will be established; although Ishmael is to be a great nation, he is left out of God’s covenant.

Two [[angel]]s appeared to Abraham and told him that Sarah, barren for years, will bear a son. They also tell him that the wickedness of the cities of [[Sodom]] and [[Gomorrah]] is very great, and God will shortly punish them.
Abraham asks if the cities can be spared if so much as ten righteous men are found inside.

The two angels are received by Abraham's nephew [[Lot]], much to the consternation of the townspeople who surround the house and demand sexual acts with the strangers.
The townspeople are blinded, and the angels warn Lot and his family to flee immediately for the mountains and never look back. Both Sodom and Gomorrah are consumed by [[fire]] and [[brimstone]].
Lot’s wife turns back to look and is turned to a pillar of salt.

Sarah gives birth to Isaac, and at her insistence demands that Hagar and Ishmael are driven into the wilderness. While Ishmael is near dying, an angel speaks to Hagar and promises that God will not forget them, and will make the descendants of Ishmael a great nation.

God puts Abraham to the test by demanding the sacrifice of Isaac. Abraham sets out to obey God by carrying out is request.
But just as he is about to thrust the knife into Isaac, God restrains him, and promises descendants beyond numbering. Abraham dies later, "full of years", and is laid to rest in the Tomb of Machpelah in [[Hebron]], which he had purchased shortly before as a place of rest for Sarah.

===Isaac and Jacob===
Isaac had prayed to God that He would give his wife [[Rebekah]] a child, even though Rebekah was unable to get [[pregnancy|pregnant]]. God grants Isaac's request, and Rebekah gives birth to the twins [[Esau]] and [[Jacob]]
However, prior to the birth God predicted division between the two, with the elder serving the younger. Esau, the elder, despised his own birthright and sold it to Jacob for a bowl of red porridge, allowing Jacob to enter his father’s tent and deceitfully take the blessing intended for Esau. He flees to [[Haran]], the home of his uncle [[Laban]]. Along the way he has a dream of a ladder to Heaven, where God tells him of prosperity for himself and his descendants. Jacob names the spot [[Bethel]] in commemoration.

Jacob had two wives, [[Leah]] and [[Rachel]], and two [[concubine]]s, [[Zilpah]] (Leah's handmaid), and [[Bilhah]] (Rachel's handmaid). Together they bore Jacob twelve sons:
*From Leah: [[Reuben]], [[Simeon]], [[Levi]], [[Judah]], [[Issachar]], [[Zebulun]].
*From Rachel: [[Joseph]], [[Benjamin]].
*From Zilpah: [[Gad]], [[Asher]].
*From Bilhah: [[Dan]], [[Naphtali]].

===Joseph===
Joseph was Jacob's favorite son and was given a special colorful [[coat]], which provoked jealousy in his brothers, who were also angered by Joseph's dreams indicating his brothers would bow down before him.
So his brothers took the opportunity one day to sell him into [[slavery]] and claim to a distraught Jacob that Joseph was killed by a wild animal.

His ability to explain [[dream]]s while a slave in Egypt came to the attention of [[Pharaoh]], who was troubled by a dream of seven skinny [[cattle|cows]] and withered stalks of [[corn]] which ate seven fat cows and healthy stalks of corn. Joseph interpreted the dream as that of Egypt going through seven years of plentiful [[harvest]]s, followed by seven years of severe [[famine]], and followed it up by recommending that Pharaoh appoint a wise man over Egypt to ensure enough is collected and stored during the plentiful years to act as a hedge against the years of famine. Pharaoh responds by appointing Joseph himself to this position.
During the famine "all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth."

Jacob, not knowing Joseph was still alive, sent his sons to buy [[grain]] in Egypt. The brothers appeared before Joseph, but did not recognize him.
Joseph however, recognized them, and after a series of tests which convinced Joseph their characters had changed, revealed himself to them, convinces them that what happened in the past was God’s plan, and told them to bring Jacob and their families to live in Egypt.

Genesis ends with the blessing of Jacob’s children, his death, and the death of Joseph, who exhorts his brothers to carry his bones to the [[Promised Land]] when they eventually reach there.

==Authorship==
Biblical tradition within and without the [[Old Testament]], [[Jesus]] in the [[New Testament]], as well as extra-Biblical writers such as [[Josephus]], [[Origen]], the early church fathers and many others, have claimed [[Moses]] as the author of Genesis, written during the time of the [[Hebrew]] wanderings in the Wilderness, between 1440-1400 B.C. Certainly, Moses was well able to have written Genesis in Hebrew, [[Akkadian]], or Egyptian. He was well educated and trained in the Egyptian court. [[Archaeology]] demonstrates that such a man would have the education necessary to accomplish this during that time in history. <ref>Unger, pp. 35-35</ref>

The higher critical view is that Moses did not write Genesis. Some biblical scholars identified five separate authors of the five 'books of Moses'<ref>[http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_tora.htm Who Wrote The Pentateuch, The Five Books of Moses?]</ref><ref>[http://lectionary.org/EXEG-English/OT/EOT01-Gen/Authorship-Genesis%20&%20Pentateuch.html Introduction to Genesis & the Pentateuch]</ref>. This idea is called the ''Documentary Hypothesis''. Although unidentified, each of these authors has been given the name of a letter:
* J who calls God ''YHWH'' (the ''Jehovist'' account), and who possibly wrote in the south of [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]], written c. 850 B.C.
* E who uses ''Elohim'' ('the gods', 'the spirits') as God's name, and possibly wrote in [[Ephraim]], written c. 750 B.C.
* D who wrote the book of [[Deuteronomy]], about 650 B.C.
* P who wrote an alternate history in what was called the ''Priestly Code'', about 550 B.C.
* R who joined the writings of J, E, D and P to form a single work.
**(Though recent Scholarship has moved toward a four source hypothesis, with the Priestly writer functioning as final contributor and editor.)
Under this hypothesis, looking at the Creation story
* Genesis 1:1 through 2:3 were written by P.
* Genesis 2:4 was written by R
* Genesis 2:5 through 4:26 were written by J.
This idea has gained in popularity among critics since it was first proposed in the late 19th century. However, it is inevitably a product of modern rationalistic research and the application of literary criteria. Opponents of this research point to the fact that it is difficult to reconcile with the historical, miraculous, and prophetic elements which they claim to be basic to the first five books of the Bible.<ref>Unger, p. 397; Young, pp. 183-276</ref>

== See also ==

*[[Sistine Chapel]]
*[[Dead Sea Scrolls]]
*[[Midrash]] for the treatment in Jewish literature of the offering by Abraham of his son Isaac.
*[[Genesis (Translated)]]

{{Old Testament Books}}

==References==

<references/>

==Sources==
*Holy Bible, King James Version (''Thompson Chain Reference''), B.B. Kirkbride Bible Co. Indianapolis, IN 1982.
*Unger, Merril F. ''Unger's Bible Dictionary'', Moody Press, Chicago, IL 1966.
*Unger, Merril F. ''Unger's Bible Handbook'', Moody Press, Chicago, IL 1967.
*Young, Edward J. ''Introduction to the Old Testament'', W.B. Eardmans Pub. Co. Grand Rapids, MI 1949.

==Links==
*[http://www.creationapologetics.org/table.html Table of Nations chart]
*[http://www.creationapologetics.org/creation.html Creation timeline]

[[Category:Old Testament Books| 1]]
[[Category:Book of Genesis| ]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]

Martial arts

2011-09-20T01:41:05Z

Tharpa: Removed dead link.

'''Martial arts''' is the collective name given to a variety of hand-to-hand fighting styles, or fighting styles that involve weapons that are used as an extension of the body. Most fighting styles are unique to a particular culture, such as [[Karate]] to [[Japan]], and [[Tae Kwon Do|TaeKwonDo]] to [[Korea]]. While many have roots in the period BC, there are variations of the styles that evolved in the last 200 years.

Interestingly enough, Karate is more of an anti-martial art, designed to help common folk prepare to fight against martial rule, during a time of weapons bans. ''Kara te do'' means "empty hand way" referencing this style without weapons. ''TaeKwonDo means'' "the way of the hands and feet".

Most martial arts were originally intended to be used for serious fighting, but in the modern age they are mainly practised as [[sport]]s, with strictly codified rules; indeed some, such as [[Judo]], were developed from other martial arts purely for sporting purposes. Many people, especially [[women]], also learn martial arts for [[self-defense]].

Stylised forms of martial arts, especially [[kung fu]], are widely found in [[cinema]]. Martial arts movies are so widespread that they are often considered a genre in their own right.

[[Category:Sports]]

Mesoamerica

2011-09-20T01:34:50Z

Tharpa: Removed dead link.

[[Image:Teotihuacan.jpg|250px|thumb|Teotihuacán, the biggest Mesoamerican city]]
'''Mesoamerica''' is the region of [[Mexico]] and [[Central America]], which extends from the [[Tropic of Cancer]] to [[Costa Rica]]. The term Mesoamerica is only applied in a historical context, when referring to the precolumbian civilizations of the area. The word Mesoamerica was coined by the German anthropologist Paul Kirchhoff.

Mesoamerican civilizations and peoples include:
* [[Aztecs]]
* [[Mayas]]
* [[Mixtecs]]
* [[Olmecs]]
* [[Tarascans]]
* [[Teotihuacán]]
* [[Toltecs]]
* [[Veracruz Civilization]]
* [[Xicallancas]]
* [[Zapotecs]]

[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Mexican History]]
[[Category:Archaeology]]

Debate:Where is the middle?

2011-09-20T01:06:05Z

Tharpa: /*= Yes=and=no */

==Premise==
I know that this is a very broad question but I want to try and put the world in perspective for myself.

* Is there a "middle" between liberals and conservatives?
* Is the meaning of liberal and conservative to be left and right respectively of the middle?
* If a line graph was drawn, would the placements of liberal, middle, and conservative change over time or are they more concrete?
* Is the ideology of society as a whole what one would call the middle or would one say that the middle is a definite point and the ideologies of the public change?

Sorry for the long question but I'd love to hear everyone's opinions!

==Is there a "middle" between liberals and conservatives?==
===Yes===
I believe there is a fuzzy line between [[liberal]] and [[conservative]] thought. I myself straddle that line. Some of my ideals are quite conservative, but some of them are liberal as well, dependent on the issue at hand. I designate myself as a ''centrist'' for this reason. [[User:WesleyS|WesleyS]][[User Talk:WesleyS|Hello!]] 22:43, 26 March 2009 (EDT)
[[Category:Conservapedia Debates]]

===Yes and No===
"If a line graph was drawn, would the placements of liberal, middle, and conservative change over time or are they more concrete? "
They would absolutely change over time. On the one hand, there's a tendency for things to become more liberal over time. People who have a collection of views that would be regarded as moderate nowadays, would be regarded as liberal in times past.

In addition, the collection of views that are regarded as liberal or conservative are somewhat arbitrary. There are few if any unifying principles on either side. They are historical quirks, exacerbated by our party-based primaries (in the U.S.).

I did a college term paper on "Bagehot: A liberal-conservative". The topic was chosen from a list of topics provided by the professor. I mentioned in passing in the paper that the concepts of liberal and conservative were arbitrary, but the professor didn't agree. Incidentally, he was an extreme liberal. At the time, I was a pro-life liberal.

Debate:Where is the middle?

2011-09-20T01:04:41Z

Tharpa: /* Yes and No */

==Premise==
I know that this is a very broad question but I want to try and put the world in perspective for myself.

* Is there a "middle" between liberals and conservatives?
* Is the meaning of liberal and conservative to be left and right respectively of the middle?
* If a line graph was drawn, would the placements of liberal, middle, and conservative change over time or are they more concrete?
* Is the ideology of society as a whole what one would call the middle or would one say that the middle is a definite point and the ideologies of the public change?

Sorry for the long question but I'd love to hear everyone's opinions!

==Is there a "middle" between liberals and conservatives?==
===Yes===
I believe there is a fuzzy line between [[liberal]] and [[conservative]] thought. I myself straddle that line. Some of my ideals are quite conservative, but some of them are liberal as well, dependent on the issue at hand. I designate myself as a ''centrist'' for this reason. [[User:WesleyS|WesleyS]][[User Talk:WesleyS|Hello!]] 22:43, 26 March 2009 (EDT)
[[Category:Conservapedia Debates]]

Yes and No
"If a line graph was drawn, would the placements of liberal, middle, and conservative change over time or are they more concrete? "
They would absolutely change over time. On the one hand, there's a tendency for things to become more liberal over time. People who have a collection of views that would be regarded as moderate nowadays, would be regarded as liberal in times past.

In addition, the collection of views that are regarded as liberal or conservative are somewhat arbitrary. There are few if any unifying principles on either side. They are historical quirks, exacerbated by our party-based primaries (in the U.S.).

I did a college term paper on "Bagehot: A liberal-conservative". The topic was chosen from a list of topics provided by the professor. I mentioned in passing in the paper that the concepts of liberal and conservative were arbitrary, but the professor didn't agree. Incidentally, he was an extreme liberal. At the time, I was a pro-life liberal.

Debate:Where is the middle?

2011-09-20T01:03:45Z

Tharpa: /* ==Yes=and=No */

==Premise==
I know that this is a very broad question but I want to try and put the world in perspective for myself.

* Is there a "middle" between liberals and conservatives?
* Is the meaning of liberal and conservative to be left and right respectively of the middle?
* If a line graph was drawn, would the placements of liberal, middle, and conservative change over time or are they more concrete?
* Is the ideology of society as a whole what one would call the middle or would one say that the middle is a definite point and the ideologies of the public change?

Sorry for the long question but I'd love to hear everyone's opinions!

==Is there a "middle" between liberals and conservatives?==
===Yes===
I believe there is a fuzzy line between [[liberal]] and [[conservative]] thought. I myself straddle that line. Some of my ideals are quite conservative, but some of them are liberal as well, dependent on the issue at hand. I designate myself as a ''centrist'' for this reason. [[User:WesleyS|WesleyS]][[User Talk:WesleyS|Hello!]] 22:43, 26 March 2009 (EDT)
[[Category:Conservapedia Debates]]

=Yes=and=No=
"If a line graph was drawn, would the placements of liberal, middle, and conservative change over time or are they more concrete? "
They would absolutely change over time. On the one hand, there's a tendency for things to become more liberal over time. People who have a collection of views that would be regarded as moderate nowadays, would be regarded as liberal in times past.

In addition, the collection of views that are regarded as liberal or conservative are somewhat arbitrary. There are few if any unifying principles on either side. They are historical quirks, exacerbated by our party-based primaries (in the U.S.).

I did a college term paper on "Bagehot: A liberal-conservative". The topic was chosen from a list of topics provided by the professor. I mentioned in passing in the paper that the concepts of liberal and conservative were arbitrary, but the professor didn't agree. Incidentally, he was an extreme liberal. At the time, I was a pro-life liberal.

Debate:Where is the middle?

2011-09-20T01:03:27Z

Tharpa: /* ==Yes=and=No */

==Premise==
I know that this is a very broad question but I want to try and put the world in perspective for myself.

* Is there a "middle" between liberals and conservatives?
* Is the meaning of liberal and conservative to be left and right respectively of the middle?
* If a line graph was drawn, would the placements of liberal, middle, and conservative change over time or are they more concrete?
* Is the ideology of society as a whole what one would call the middle or would one say that the middle is a definite point and the ideologies of the public change?

Sorry for the long question but I'd love to hear everyone's opinions!

==Is there a "middle" between liberals and conservatives?==
===Yes===
I believe there is a fuzzy line between [[liberal]] and [[conservative]] thought. I myself straddle that line. Some of my ideals are quite conservative, but some of them are liberal as well, dependent on the issue at hand. I designate myself as a ''centrist'' for this reason. [[User:WesleyS|WesleyS]][[User Talk:WesleyS|Hello!]] 22:43, 26 March 2009 (EDT)
[[Category:Conservapedia Debates]]

===Yes=and=No=
"If a line graph was drawn, would the placements of liberal, middle, and conservative change over time or are they more concrete? "
They would absolutely change over time. On the one hand, there's a tendency for things to become more liberal over time. People who have a collection of views that would be regarded as moderate nowadays, would be regarded as liberal in times past.

In addition, the collection of views that are regarded as liberal or conservative are somewhat arbitrary. There are few if any unifying principles on either side. They are historical quirks, exacerbated by our party-based primaries (in the U.S.).

I did a college term paper on "Bagehot: A liberal-conservative". The topic was chosen from a list of topics provided by the professor. I mentioned in passing in the paper that the concepts of liberal and conservative were arbitrary, but the professor didn't agree. Incidentally, he was an extreme liberal. At the time, I was a pro-life liberal.

Debate:Where is the middle?

2011-09-20T01:03:04Z

Tharpa: /* Yes and no*/

==Premise==
I know that this is a very broad question but I want to try and put the world in perspective for myself.

* Is there a "middle" between liberals and conservatives?
* Is the meaning of liberal and conservative to be left and right respectively of the middle?
* If a line graph was drawn, would the placements of liberal, middle, and conservative change over time or are they more concrete?
* Is the ideology of society as a whole what one would call the middle or would one say that the middle is a definite point and the ideologies of the public change?

Sorry for the long question but I'd love to hear everyone's opinions!

==Is there a "middle" between liberals and conservatives?==
===Yes===
I believe there is a fuzzy line between [[liberal]] and [[conservative]] thought. I myself straddle that line. Some of my ideals are quite conservative, but some of them are liberal as well, dependent on the issue at hand. I designate myself as a ''centrist'' for this reason. [[User:WesleyS|WesleyS]][[User Talk:WesleyS|Hello!]] 22:43, 26 March 2009 (EDT)
[[Category:Conservapedia Debates]]

===Yes=and=No=
"If a line graph was drawn, would the placements of liberal, middle, and conservative change over time or are they more concrete? "
They would absolutely change over time. On the one hand, there's a tendency for things to become more liberal over time. People who have a collection of views that would be regarded as moderate nowadays, would be regarded as liberal in times past.

In addition, the collection of views that are regarded as liberal or conservative are somewhat arbitrary. There are few if any unifying principles on either side. They are historical quirks, exacerbated by our party-based primaries (in the U.S.).

I did a college term paper on "Bagehot: A liberal-conservative". The topic was chosen from a list of topics provided by the professor. I mentioned in passing in the paper that the concepts of liberal and conservative were abitrary, but the professor didn't agree. Incidentally, he was an extreme liberal. At the time, I was a pro-life liberal.

Talk:Adverse events

2010-12-28T21:36:56Z

Tharpa: An example is given as the definition.

The phrase, "Adverse events" is certainly broader than referring to just side-effects of vaccinations.

Contradiction

2010-12-28T16:55:44Z

Tharpa: Punctuation and grammar corrected.

A '''contradiction''' is the simultaneous acceptance and denial of a proposition or statement. "It was the best of times and the worst of times" is a poetic example: the contradiction is being used to enhance the poetic nature of the piece.

In a [[proof]], if two contradictory [[inference]]s can be drawn from the [[premise]], this indicates either that a premise is false or that the argument is invalid.

It is often held that from a contradiction anything can be inferred. This can be demonstrated:

# Take any contradiction, “A” and “Not A”, and take it to be true.
# Take anything that you want to prove, “P”
# Now because “A and Not A” is true, “A” is true, by virtue of the simplification rule.
# “A or P” is true just so long as not both A and P are false.
# So, As “A” is true, “A or P” must be true.
# If “A or P” is true, then one of “A” or “P” must be true.
# As “Not A” is true then “A” is false which means that the remaining term in “A or P” must be true.
# “P”, absolutely anything you like, is true.

[[category:logic]]

Talk:Number theory

2010-12-27T18:03:10Z

Tharpa:

==The square of an even number is always even, and the square of an odd number is always odd==
Try to prove it yourself. Hint: try squaring some smallish odd and even numbers, doing the calculation in binary (base 2) arithmetic. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 20:16, 18 April 2007 (EDT)

==Towards a better article==

Lotsofsources to draw on, but this dicussionn is taken from http://www.math.uiuc.edu/ResearchAreas/numbertheory/guide.html

'''Elementary Number Theory'''
divisibility and prime factorization, residue classes, congruences, the quadratic reciprocity law, representation of numbers by forms, diophantine equations, continued fraction approximations and sieves.

'''Analytic Number Theory'''
An arithmetical phenomenon is represented by a related function, generally an analytic function of a complex variable. Information about the arithmetical problem is then extracted by analysis of the associated function.

'''Algebraic Number Theory'''
This deals with fields of algebraic numbers, that is with numbers which are roots of a polynomial equation with rational coefficients. Among areas of study are decomposition laws for primes in a number field, extensions of the famous quadratic reciprocity law and of Gauss and Jacobi sums, class numbers and units, and the connection between Stickelberger elements and p-adic L-functions.

'''Probabilistic Number Theory'''
In probabilistic number theory statistical limit theorems are established in problems involving "almost independent" random variables. Methods used include a combination of probabilistic, elementary and analytic ideas.

--[[User:AvengingAngel|AvengingAngel]] 18:36, 26 April 2007 (EDT)

The sentence, "Number theory typically deals with integers (as opposed to real numbers)" is awkward, because integers are not opposed to real numbers. Integers are a subset of real numbers.

Talk:Gannet

2010-12-25T22:38:00Z

Tharpa: Comment on the "in your face" theistic tone.

It is interesting to see the very unsubtle creationist wording, "God made them that way" Looking at the history, earlier it was more subtle, simply "this design protects their brains from damage from the pressure of the water."

However, if we wished to be consistent about the Intelligent Design viewpoint, then we should remove the phrase, "their closest relatives are the boobies", because related species implies evolution.

Disclaimer: Certainly conservatives are generally more sympathetic to intelligent design than liberals. However, I'm conservative mainly because conservatives are less enthusiastic than liberals about murdering human babies. (I'd never get away with saying that on Wikipedia!) As a rationalist (and a Buddhist), I think that natural selection explains things better than intelligent design.