ShutBranch

Promotional pens: everyone seems to want one.

2007-02-06T05:35:00.000-08:00

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they travel well). But not forget to consider other effective products:t-shirt
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mugs and travel Mugs, magnets, desk Items, calendars. Think carefully about your
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Cohens V. Virginia

2005-04-04T00:48:00.000-07:00

(1821), U.S. Supreme Court case in which the court reaffirmed its right to review all state court judgments in cases arising under the federal Constitution or a law of the United States. The Judiciary Act of 1789 provided for mandatory Supreme Court review of the final judgments of the highest court of any state in cases “where is drawn in question the validity of a treaty or statute

Taoka Kazuo

2005-04-02T16:32:00.000-08:00

Taoka was born to a poor farm family in a village on the island of Shikoku;

Shieldtail Snake

2005-04-01T23:48:00.000-08:00

The

Guatemala, History Of

2005-03-31T03:14:00.000-08:00

Following independence from Spain (1821) and Mexico (1823), Guatemala was the political centre of the United Provinces of Central America. The principal factor in the collapse of the federation was the backcountry uprising in Guatemala led by Rafael Carrera, who established himself as the military arbiter of the state (1838) and, from the executive's chair or from behind it, controlled

Yahweh

2005-03-30T05:19:00.000-08:00

The God of the Israelites, his name being revealed to Moses as four Hebrew consonants (YHWH) called the tetragrammaton. After the Exile (6th century BC), and especially from the 3rd century BC on, Jews ceased to use the name Yahweh for two reasons. As Judaism became a universal religion through its proselytizing in the Greco-Roman world, the more common noun Elohim, meaning “god,

Aymé, Marcel

2005-03-29T03:47:00.000-08:00

He grew up in the country among farmers, in a world of close-knit families bounded by the barnyard on one side, the schoolhouse on the other.

Bhagavata-purana

2005-03-28T23:59:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “Ancient Stories of the Lord”), the most celebrated text of a variety of Hindu sacred literature in Sanskrit that is known as the Puranas, and the specific text that is held sacred by the Bhagavata sect. Scholars are in general agreement that the Bhagavata-Purana was probably composed about the 10th century, somewhere in the Tamil country of South India;

Sorrentino, Gilbert

2005-03-27T22:00:00.000-08:00

From 1956 to 1960 Sorrentino was editor and publisher of Neon, a magazine that featured works by Beat writers; he was also book editor (1961–65) for Kulchur. His poetry collections

Staffordshire Moorlands

2005-03-26T09:38:00.000-08:00

District, administrative and historic county of Staffordshire, central England, directly east of the city of Stoke-on-Trent. Staffordshire Moorlands includes part of the Peak District National Park in the northeast, where it is characterized by many bleak gritstone and limestone moorlands. Within the southern extremity of the Pennines, the moorlands extend

Earth Exploration, Gravity methods

2005-03-25T22:18:00.000-08:00

The gravity field of the Earth can be measured by timing the free fall of an object in a vacuum, by measuring the period of a pendulum, or in various other ways. Today almost all gravity surveying is done with gravimeters. Such an instrument typically consists of a weight attached to a spring that stretches or contracts corresponding to an increase or decrease in gravity.

L'engle, Madeleine

2005-03-25T11:34:00.000-08:00

L'Engle attended boarding schools in Europe and the United States and graduated with honours from Smith College (B.A., 1941). She pursued a career in the theatre before

Robert The Devil

2005-03-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

French Robert Le Diable, legendary son of a duke of Normandy, born in answer to prayers addressed to the devil. He uses his immense strength only for crime. Directed by the pope to consult a certain holy hermit, he is delivered from his curse by maintaining absolute silence, feigning madness, taking his food from the mouth of a dog, and provoking ill-treatment from the common people without retaliating.

Ben Jelloun, Tahar

2005-03-22T00:35:00.000-08:00

Ben Jelloun's first collection of poetry, Hommes sous linceul de silence (1971; “Men Under

Rzeszów

2005-03-21T15:32:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Rzeszów województwo (province), southeastern Poland. It lies along the Wislok River at the juncture of the Carpathian Mountains and the Sandomierz Basin. The town lies on the main Kraków-Lviv (Ukraine) road and rail line. The city's economy has expanded greatly since World War II, and some of Poland's largest metal-production plants are located there, as

Brucite

2005-03-20T11:37:00.000-08:00

Mineral composed of magnesium hydroxide, Mg(OH)2. It generally forms soft, waxy to glassy, white or pale-green, gray, or blue crystals, plate aggregates, or fibrous masses associated with other magnesium minerals (e.g., magnesite and dolomite). It commonly is present in serpentine and sometimes in phyllites, crystalline schists, and metamorphosed magnesian limestone. Notable

Exxon Corporation

2005-03-19T06:48:00.000-08:00

Formerly (until 1972) Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) one of the world's largest corporations in terms of sales, with investments and operations in petroleum and natural gas, coal, nuclear fuels, chemicals, and such ores as copper, lead, and zinc. It also operates pipelines and one of the world's largest fleets of tankers and other ships. Exxon engages in every phase of the petroleum industry from oil fields to service stations.

Ilbert Bill

2005-03-18T07:20:00.000-08:00

In the history of India, a controversial measure proposed in 1883 that sought to allow senior Indian magistrates to preside over cases involving British subjects in India. The bill, severely weakened by compromise, was enacted by the Indian Legislative Council on Jan. 25, 1884. The bitter controversy surrounding the measure deepened antagonism between British and Indians

Muravyov, Nikolay Nikolayevich, Count (graf) Amursky

2005-03-18T06:47:00.000-08:00

A lieutenant general in the Russian army, Muravyov was appointed governor-general of eastern Siberia in 1847. Despite the opposition

Protestantism, Germany

2005-03-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a reaction against the Enlightenment occurred in Germany. In philosophy, literature, and music it found expression in German Idealism and Romanticism. Indeed, a number of religious thinkers sought to point out the banality of the Enlightenment and to preserve and awaken genuine Christianity. Among these was Johann Georg

Cruise Missile

2005-03-17T18:42:00.000-08:00

Type of low-flying strategic guided missile. The German V-1 missile used in World War II was a precursor of the cruise missile, which was developed by the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s and '70s. Capable of carrying either a nuclear or a conventional warhead, the cruise missile was designed to have a very low radar cross section and to hug the ground while traveling

Cheju

2005-03-17T03:40:00.000-08:00

City and provincial capital, Cheju do (province), on the northern coast of Cheju Island, off the southern coast of South Korea. It is the island's largest city and has its only airport, which handles both domestic and international flights. The political, commercial, and cultural centre of the island since it was an independent kingdom in ancient times, it developed as

Allende, Isabel

2005-03-15T10:25:00.000-08:00

Allende worked as a journalist in Chile until she was forced to flee to Venezuela after the assassination (1973) of her uncle, Chilean president Salvador Allende Gossens. In 1981 she began writing a letter to her terminally ill grandfather

Ibn Al-farid

2005-03-15T09:01:00.000-08:00

Son of a Syrian-born inheritance-law functionary, Ibn al-Farid studied for a legal career but abandoned law for a solitary religious life in the Muqattam hills near Cairo. He spent some years in or near Mecca, where he met the renowned Sufi as-Suhrawardi of

Ringling Brothers

2005-03-15T00:05:00.000-08:00

The sons of August Rüngeling, a German-born harness maker, Charles, Albert, Otto,

Ufj Holdings, Inc.

2005-03-13T07:41:00.000-08:00

Japanese bank holding company that became one of the world's largest banking institutions through the merger of Sanwa Bank, Tokai Bank, and Toyo Trust in 2001. With headquarters in Osaka, UFJ operates banks, issues credit cards, provides venture capital funding, and offers other banking and financial management services.

Kuwait

2005-03-12T22:42:00.000-08:00

Low oil prices caused 1998 to be an extremely difficult year for all oil producers, and Kuwait was obliged to take a hard look at its industry and initiate some significant

Eckhart, Meister

2005-03-12T05:33:00.000-08:00

Johannes Eckhart entered the Dominican order when he was 15 and studied in Cologne, perhaps under the Scholastic

Kirkcaldy (of Grange), Sir William

2005-03-10T14:11:00.000-08:00

Kirkcaldy was one of the Protestant conspirators who murdered the powerful cardinal David Beaton at St. Andrews Castle in May 1546. From 1550 to 1556 he served in France as a secret agent for England. He returned to Scotland in 1557 and two years later joined the Protestant lords

Hadron

2005-03-10T14:02:00.000-08:00

In physics, any of the subatomic particles that are built from quarks and thus react through the agency of the strong nuclear force. The hadrons embrace mesons (e.g., pions and kaons), baryons (e.g., protons, neutrons, and sigma particles), and their many resonances. All observed subatomic particles except bosons (e.g., photons, W particles, and Z particles) and leptons (e.g., electrons,

Classical Scholarship, The early Middle Ages

2005-03-10T07:06:00.000-08:00

The period during which the Merovingian dynasty founded by Clovis (c. 466–511) was in power was a dark age for learning, but there was no complete breach with the past. Under the influence of the church the barbarian invaders wished to base their civilization on the Latin model, and since it was the language of the church, Latin continued to be the language of literature. Although

Plymouth

2005-03-09T04:24:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Grafton county, central New Hampshire, U.S. It lies on the Pemigewasset River north-northwest of Laconia, west of Squam Lake, and overlooked (southwest) by Plymouth Mountain (2,187 feet [667 metres]). The town includes the communities of Plymouth and West Plymouth. Chartered in 1763, it annexed parts of Hebron and Campton in 1845 and 1860. Agriculture, lumbering, and light manufacturing

Hadron

2005-03-08T18:07:00.000-08:00

Major Canadian professional gridiron football organization, formed in 1956 as the Canadian Football Council, created by the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU) and the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU). Though the IRFU still referred to their sport as rugby football, the member clubs played a gridiron style of football. The WIFU and IRFU became,

Gympie

2005-03-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern Queensland, Australia, lying on Gympie Creek and the Mary River. It was first known as Nashville, after James Nash, who discovered gold there in 1867; its present name comes from gimpi-gimpi, the Aboriginal word for the stinging tree. Proclaimed a town in 1890, it was made a city in 1905. In addition to gold, which was mined until 1930, limestone and silver have been worked in

Ailly, Pierre D'

2005-03-07T16:33:00.000-08:00

D'Ailly studied at the College of Navarre of the

Rourke, Constance Mayfield

2005-03-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

After earning an A.B. from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., (1907) and studying at the Sorbonne in Paris, Rourke taught English at Vassar. In 1915 she resigned, thereafter working as a research historian and free-lance writer devoted to defining the historical aspects

Nilus Of Ancyra, Saint

2005-03-06T00:51:00.000-08:00

A protégé of the staunchly orthodox and reform patriarch of Constantinople,

Accent

2005-03-05T22:26:00.000-08:00

Also called Stress, in music, momentary emphasis on a particular rhythmic or melodic detail; accent may be implied or specifically indicated, either graphically for example, >, —) or verbally (sforzato, abbreviated sfz). In metrically organized music, accents serve to articulate rhythmic groupings, especially in dances where regular accentuation facilitates the patterning of steps.

Toad

2005-03-05T16:29:00.000-08:00

Any squat, rough-skinned, tailless amphibian of the order Anura, and especially a member of the family Bufonidae. The true toads (Bufo), with more than 300 species, are found worldwide except in Australasia, Madagascar, polar regions, and Polynesia, though Bufo marinus has been introduced into Australia and some South Pacific islands. Besides Bufo, the family

Madariaga Y Rojo, Salvador De

2005-03-04T11:34:00.000-08:00

The son of a Spanish army officer, Madariaga was trained at his father's insistence as an engineer in Paris but abandoned his career to become a journalist. In 1921 he joined

Giordano, Luca

2005-03-03T18:58:00.000-08:00

The most celebrated and prolific Neapolitan painter of the late 17th century. His nickname Luca fa presto (“Luca, work quickly”) is said to derive from his painter-copyist father's admonitions, which were certainly heeded. His other nickname, Proteus, was acquired as a result of his reputed skill in producing pastiches in the style of almost any artist.

Clodomir

2005-03-03T10:22:00.000-08:00

The eldest son of Clovis I by Clotilda, Clodomir shared in the fourfold partition of his father's kingdom in 511, receiving lands in western and central France; his was the only one of the four kingdoms to form a single geographical unit on both sides of the Loire River. In 523, with his two full brothers, Chlotar

Galiwinku

2005-03-02T21:10:00.000-08:00

Formerly Elcho Island, island in the Arafura Sea, 2 miles (3 km) across Cadell Strait from Napier Peninsula, a part of Northern Territory, Australia, and of the Arnhem Land Aboriginal Reserve. It is low-lying, 30 miles (48 km) long by 7 miles (11 km) wide, and is separated from the Wessel Islands (east) by Brown Strait. The town of Galiwinku, on the southwestern coast, which began as a Methodist mission (established

Roman Catholicism, The nature of the church

2005-03-01T14:25:00.000-08:00

In 1965 M.-J. le Guillou, a Roman Catholic theologian, defined the church in these terms: “The Church is recognized as a society of fellowship with God, the sacrament of salvation, the people of God established as the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit.” The progress of Roman Catholic theology can be seen in the contrast between this statement and the definition still

Argentina, Alfonsín's administration

2005-02-28T18:14:00.000-08:00

Soon after his inauguration in December 1983, Alfonsín reversed legislation passed under Bignone by announcing plans to prosecute several members of the defunct military government, including former presidents Videla, Viola, and Galtieri. He also repealed a law granting amnesty to those accused of crimes and human rights violations during the Dirty War, and hundreds

Gauge Theory

2005-02-28T05:43:00.000-08:00

Class of quantum field theory, a mathematical theory involving both quantum mechanics and Einstein's special theory of relativity that is commonly used to describe subatomic particles and their associated wave fields. In a gauge theory there is a group of transformations of the field variables (gauge transformations) that leaves the basic physics of the quantum

Hypothyroidism

2005-02-27T22:19:00.000-08:00

Hypothyroidism may be caused by any of a number of factors, including inadequate iodine intake (iodine being a key constituent of thyroid hormone); a defect in the synthesis of thyroid hormone; excessive intake of agents that block iodine metabolism (e.g., cobalt, resorcinol, cyanate); inborn errors

Siddha

2005-02-27T00:11:00.000-08:00

In Jainism, one who has achieved perfection. By right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct a siddha has freed himself from the cycle of rebirths and resides in a state of perpetual bliss in the siddha-sila, at the top of the universe. The siddha and the other ascetics constitute the pañca-paramesthin, the five chief divinities of the Jainas. Their figures are represented

Crusade, The institutions of the First Kingdom

2005-02-26T13:53:00.000-08:00

The four principalities established by the crusaders—three after the loss of Edessa in 1144—were loosely connected, and such limited suzerainty as the king of Jerusalem exercised over the others became largely nominal after the midcentury. Each of the states was organized into a pattern of feudal lordships by the ruling minority. The institutions of the Kingdom of

Gynecological Examination

2005-02-25T10:51:00.000-08:00

Procedures aimed at assessing the health of a woman's reproductive system. The general examination usually makes use of a speculum for a view of the vagina and cervix. More specialized procedures include the Pap smear (q.v.) for the detection of cancer of the cervix. In the diagnosis of possible infertility, useful procedures include the Rubin's test, which helps determine

Dragonfish

2005-02-25T04:41:00.000-08:00

Also called sea moth any of about five species of small marine fishes comprising the family Pegasidae and the order Pegasiformes. Dragonfish are found in warm Indo-Pacific waters. They are small (to about 16 centimetres [6 1/2 inches] long), elongated fish encased in bony rings of armour. The armour is fused on the head and body but not on the tail, which is thus flexible. The pectoral

China, Taxation

2005-02-24T00:47:00.000-08:00

The Ming laissez-faire policy in agrarian matters had its counterpart in fiscal administration. The Ming state took the collection of land taxes—its main revenues by far—out of the hands of civil service officials and entrusted this responsibility directly to well-to-do family heads in the countryside. Each designated tax captain was, on the average, responsible

Strasburger, Eduard Adolf

2005-02-23T16:47:00.000-08:00

Strasburger was educated at the universities of Paris, Bonn, and Jena, where he received a Ph.D. in 1866. He taught at the universities of Warsaw (1868), Jena (1869–80), and Bonn (1880–1912). Strasburger's earliest research was a continuation of the work begun

Sørensen, Rasmus Møller

2005-02-23T04:44:00.000-08:00

In the 1820s and 1830s Sørensen, serving as tutor on the estates of several progressive landowners, developed his ideas of peasant reform. He championed the opening of folk high schools for practical

Ahram, Al-

2005-02-22T17:56:00.000-08:00

It was founded in 1875 by two Lebanese-Christian brothers, Salim and Bishara Takla. As a daily from 1881, the paper became famous for its independence and objectivity, despite British censorship and control, and for its coverage of international

Oman, Flag Of

2005-02-21T10:18:00.000-08:00

The ruling sultan was deposed on July 23, 1970, and the new sultan, Qabus ibn Sa'id, began to modernize the nation: he changed its name to Sultanate of Oman and, on December 17, 1970, introduced the new national flag. White symbolizes peace and prosperity, red

Leap Of Faith

2005-02-21T04:38:00.000-08:00

Metaphor used by the 19th-century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard in his Afsluttende uvidenskabelig Efterskrift (1846; Concluding Unscientific Postscript) to describe commitment to an objective uncertainty, specifically to the Christian God. For Kierkegaard, God is totally other than man; between God and man there exists a gulf that faith alone can bridge. Kierkegaard

Alekseyev, Vasily Ivanovich

2005-02-20T11:39:00.000-08:00

Alekseyev was the son of a lumberjack; at age 12 he was felling trees alongside the men and at age 14 was wrestling them on even terms. He enrolled in a forestry institute in 1961 and graduated from Novocherkassk Polytechnical Institute

Commercial Fishing, Shellfish

2005-02-18T20:34:00.000-08:00

The crustaceans include lobsters, crabs, crayfish, and both shrimp and the closely related but larger prawns. The shells consist mainly of a hard, inedible substance called chitin. Crustaceans molt frequently

Graves, Michael

2005-02-18T18:55:00.000-08:00

Graves trained to be an architect at the University of Cincinnati and at Harvard University, earning a master's degree at Harvard in 1959. He then studied in Rome from 1960 to 1962 and upon his return took a teaching position at Princeton University, becoming

Ramanathapuram

2005-02-18T13:30:00.000-08:00

Ramanathapuram district occupies part of the flat southern coastal plain, including the island of Rameswaram. Protected

Widmann, Joseph Viktor

2005-02-17T09:53:00.000-08:00

As literary editor of the Bern daily newspaper Der Bund from 1880 to 1910, Widmann occupied an authoritative position in Swiss letters and promoted many talented writers. He was himself an accomplished though not a strikingly original writer, and he handled such

Addison, Joseph

2005-02-17T04:49:00.000-08:00

English essayist, poet, and dramatist, who, with Richard Steele, was a leading contributor to and guiding spirit of the periodicals The Tatler and The Spectator. His writing skill led to his holding important posts in government while the Whigs were in power.

Kocaeli

2005-02-16T02:43:00.000-08:00

Il (province), of northwestern Turkey, with an area of 1,428 sq mi (3,698 sq km), bounded on the north by the Black Sea and on the west by the Sea of Marmara. It is drained by the lower course of the Sakarya River. It was once part of the kingdom of Bithynia (3rd century BC), and Hannibal was buried there (at modern Gebze) in 183 BC. The area was taken from the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Turks in the 14th century.

Piepoudre Court

2005-02-14T10:54:00.000-08:00

The court decided summarily and on the spot disputes arising

Toba, Go-

2005-02-14T10:18:00.000-08:00

After reigning for 15 years, Go-Toba in 1198 abdicated

Performing Arts, India.

2005-02-14T02:59:00.000-08:00

With the rise of an international taste for “Bollywood”—Indian commercial cinema—two spectacular all-star films vied for the claim to be the most costly films in Indian history; Devdas was directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali from a much-filmed early 20th-century novel with a Romeo and Juliet theme, and Karan Johar's Kabhi khushi kabhie gham ... (2001; Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes

Malawi

2005-02-12T15:09:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of Malawi , formerly Nyasaland landlocked country in southeastern Africa. A country of spectacular highlands and extensive lakes, it occupies a narrow, curving strip of land along the East African Rift Valley. Stretching about 520 miles (840 kilometres) from north to south, it has a width varying from 5 to 100 miles and is bordered by Tanzania to the north, Mozambique to the east and south, and Zambia to the

Football, Canadian, The early years

2005-02-12T05:47:00.000-08:00

Football in the form of rugby was taken to Canada by British immigrants not long after 1823—the year in which legend has it that William Webb Ellis ran with a soccer ball on the playing fields of Rugby School, thereby inventing rugby. The first account of rugby football in Canada dates to 1862, when British regiments in Montreal were playing the game on an informal basis, and the

Yi-dam

2005-02-12T03:09:00.000-08:00

In Tibetan Buddhism, a tutelary, or guardian, deity with whom a lama (monk) has a special, secret relationship. The lama first prepares himself by meditation, then selects from among the guardian deities the one that reveals itself as offering the right guidance for a specific or lifelong goal. The lama will thereafter begin each day by worshiping his yi-dam. Any of the

Mushroom Poisoning

2005-02-11T00:43:00.000-08:00

Among the mushrooms that most commonly cause poisoning are Amanita muscaria, A. phalloides, and the four white Amanita species called destroying angels.

Myanmar, The Toungoo dynasty

2005-02-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

In 1531 a dynasty was established at Toungoo by Tabinshwehti, and by then the new kingdom had become powerful enough to conquer northern Myanmar from the Shan and southern Myanmar from the Mon. In 1511 the great trading entrepôt of Malacca (Melaka) on the Malay Peninsula had been conquered by the Portuguese, which led to a renewal of interest in trade in Myanmar's coastal waters.

Avery, Milton (clark)

2005-02-10T05:55:00.000-08:00

Avery painted many landscapes, particularly

Domingo, Plácido

2005-02-09T15:15:00.000-08:00

Domingo's parents were noted performers in zarzuela, a form of Spanish light opera. He grew up in Mexico, where he studied piano at the National Conservatory of

Wappinger

2005-02-08T20:23:00.000-08:00

A confederacy of Algonquian-speaking Indians in eastern North America who early in the 17th century lived along the east bank of the Hudson River from Manhattan Island to what is now Poughkeepsie and eastward to the lower Connecticut River valley. They were semisedentary, moving seasonally between fixed sites as food resources required. They depended largely

Valle Central

2005-02-07T15:40:00.000-08:00

Also called Meseta Central, highland valley in central Costa Rica, containing most of the country's large cities and about 60 percent of the total population. The area of 3,500 square miles (9,000 square km) is actually formed by two basins separated by low volcanic hills, 3,000 to 5,000 feet (900 to 1,500 m) above sea level. The naturally rich soils are a result of the gradual weathering of volcanic material and basaltic lavas from

Azulejo

2005-02-06T23:08:00.000-08:00

(from Arabic az-zulayj, “little stone”), Spanish and later principally Portuguese tiles produced from the 14th century onward. At first the term was used to denote only North African mosaics, but it became the accepted word for an entirely decorated tile about 5 to 6 inches (13 to 15 centimetres) square. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal imported azulejo tiles from Spain, and their

Domingo, Plácido

2005-02-06T15:55:00.000-08:00

The Malabar spiny tree mouse (Platacanthomys lasiurus) lives only in the old-growth rainforests of southwestern India. Nocturnal and arboreal, it builds nests in tree cavities and eats fruits and nuts. The animal is named for its flat, grooved spines

Down

2005-02-05T06:45:00.000-08:00

Down had an area of 952 sq mi (2,466 sq km), and it had three areas of high ground. In the south, the Mourne Mountains (Slieve Donard, 2,796 ft [852 m]) are composed of Eocene (38,000,000-year-old) granite;

Chaser

2005-02-04T01:16:00.000-08:00

A literary work or portion of a literary work that is of a light or mollifying nature in comparison with that which precedes or accompanies it. The metaphor may stem from the practice of following the consumption of strong alcoholic drink with consumption of a less-potent beverage or, occasionally, with food.

Christian Front

2005-02-03T16:38:00.000-08:00

In American history, anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi organization active from about 1938 until the United States entered World War II. Under the banner of anticommunism, it openly and clandestinely encouraged boycotts of Jewish merchants, used the slogan “Buy Christian,” and published the Christian Index, a directory of non-Jewish merchants in part of New York City. It received

Korea Cold Current, North

2005-02-03T11:32:00.000-08:00

Surface oceanic current flowing southward east of Korea near Vladivostok, Russia. The North Korea Cold Current forms a small counterclockwise gyre in the Sea of Japan.

Olsen, Tillie

2005-02-03T02:22:00.000-08:00

Olsen's early adult life was devoted to political activism and to rearing a family. Her first novel, begun at the age of 19, was set aside for 35 years. Though she never finished it, Olsen eventually published the reconstructed manuscript as Yonnondio:

Cramer's Rule

2005-01-31T03:35:00.000-08:00

In which det A is the determinant of the matrix A (in which the elements of each row are the coefficients

Gabon, Transportation

2005-01-31T03:22:00.000-08:00

The difficulty of building and maintaining all-weather roads led to an expansion of air transport

Interior Design, Egypt

2005-01-31T00:32:00.000-08:00

In contrast with the monumental tombs and temples of stone, many of which remained intact to the 20th century, Egyptian houses were built of perishable materials, and, therefore, few remains have survived. Sun-dried or kiln-burnt mud bricks were used for the walls; floors consisted of beaten earth, and a thin coat of smooth mud plaster was often used as an internal wall

Defamation

2005-01-29T19:02:00.000-08:00

Although defamation is a creation of English law, similar doctrines existed several thousand years ago. In Roman law abusive chants were

Atacamite

2005-01-29T08:38:00.000-08:00

Green, brilliant halide mineral, basic copper chloride [Cu2(OH)3Cl]. It is a secondary mineral, formed by the oxidation of other copper minerals, particularly under arid conditions; it is widespread as brittle, transparent to translucent crystals in Atacama Province, Chile; in Boleo, Mex.; and in South Australia. For detailed physical properties, see halide mineral

Kufah

2005-01-29T07:22:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kufa, medieval city of Iraq that was a centre of Arab culture and learning from the 8th to the 10th century. It was founded in 638 as a garrison town by 'Umar I, the second caliph. The city lay on the Hindiyah branch of the Euphrates River, about 7 miles (11 km) northeast of an-Najaf. It was populated largely by South Arabians and Iranians and served as the seat of the governor of Iraq, sometimes

Zaanstad

2005-01-28T23:58:00.000-08:00

Gemeente (commune), Noord-Holland provincie, western Netherlands. It lies along the Zaan River near its junction with the North Sea Canal. An industrial area 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Amsterdam, Zaanstad was created in 1974 at the merger of the former gemeenten (communes) of Zaandam, Koog aan de Zaan, Zaandijk, Wormerveer, Krommenie, Assendelft, and Westzaan. Zaandam was an important

Addo Elephant National Park

2005-01-28T18:32:00.000-08:00

National park in Eastern province, South Africa. It has an area of 208 square miles (540 square km) and consists of two sections connected by a corridor. The southern part of the park lies in the Sundays River valley south of the Suurberg Range, north of Port Elizabeth, and was established as Addo Elephant National Park in 1931. It is largely covered with dense, impenetrable evergreen

Elf Owl

2005-01-27T09:27:00.000-08:00

(Micrathene whitneyi), tiny bird of prey of the family Strigidae (order Strigiformes) of Mexico and the southwestern United States. It is the smallest owl and is about the size of a sparrow. In the cactus deserts, elf owls are among the most common birds, but they also inhabit forested areas, dry grasslands, and wet savanna. They nest in holes in cacti

Silko, Leslie Marmon

2005-01-26T10:54:00.000-08:00

Silko, of mixed Laguna Pueblo, white, and Mexican ancestry, grew up on the Laguna Pueblo reservation in New Mexico, where she learned Laguna traditions and myths. After attending Bureau of Indian Affairs schools and graduating

Arundel, Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl Of

2005-01-26T09:56:00.000-08:00

Son of William Fitzalan (1483–1544), the 11th earl, he succeeded to the earldom in 1544. He took part in the siege of Boulogne (1544) and was appointed lord chamberlain and a privy councillor in 1546. In June 1553 he alone of the council refused the “engagement” of the council

Powhatan

2005-01-26T08:39:00.000-08:00

Powhatan was the son of an Algonkin chief whose tribe had migrated to Virginia during the 16th century. His father had vanquished five of the resident tribes and established a six-tribe confederacy. After Powhatan succeeded his father, he brought two dozen other tribes into the confederacy; at the peak

Sa'id, Aminah Al-

2005-01-24T17:05:00.000-08:00

At age 14, Sa'id joined the youth section of the Egyptian Feminist Union, and in 1931 she became one of the first women to attend the Egyptian University (now Cairo University). After graduating

Fuji, Mount

2005-01-23T14:05:00.000-08:00

Japanese Fuji-san , also called Fujiyama , or Fuji No Yama highest mountain in Japan, rising to 12,388 feet (3,776 metres) near the Pacific coast in Yamanashi and Shizuoka ken (prefectures), central Honshu, about 60 miles (100 km) west of Tokyo. It is a volcano that has been dormant since its last eruption in 1707 but is still generally classified as active by geologists. The mountain's name, of Ainu origin, means “everlasting life.” Mount Fuji, with its graceful

Brun, Rudolf

2005-01-23T03:17:00.000-08:00

Although a member of the old Zürich nobility, Brun put himself at the head of a coalition of discontented knights and artisans that in 1336 overthrew the old oligarchical

Latin Literature, The 12th to the 14th century

2005-01-22T22:59:00.000-08:00

The Carmina Burana (“Songs from Bavaria”), the largest and greatest collection of secular lyrics, comes from the Benediktbeuern, a Benedictine monastery in Bavaria. It was put together in the 13th century, though most of the songs are much older, and contains work by many of the finest poets of the age. The contents are divided by subject into moral and satirical verse, love

Arnoldson, Klas Pontus

2005-01-21T11:26:00.000-08:00

Arnoldson became a railway clerk and rose to stationmaster (1871–81) but then left the railway to devote himself entirely to politics. In 1881 he was elected to the Riksdag, the Swedish