267 résultats pour "official"
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Belgium - country.
European Union (EU) directives aimed at improving Belgium’s environmental conditions concern water treatment and water quality, both significant issues in such anindustrial center. Before these directives were issued, the Meuse River, a major source of drinking water, had become polluted from steel production wastes. Otherrivers were polluted with animal wastes and fertilizers. However, Belgium failed to meet EU targets set for the early 2000s for protecting its rivers from farm pollutionand for...
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El Salvador - country.
III PEOPLE The Spanish subjugated the native population of El Salvador in the 16th century. Few Spanish women came to the country, however, so many Spanish men took NativeAmerican women as their mates. Today nearly 90 percent of the population is mestizo , of mixed European and Native American descent. People of purely Native American descent represent about 5 to 10 percent of the population, while people of European descent represent only about 1 percent. El Salvador’s population, 5.2 millio...
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Albania - country.
Joining the international community in its concern over the degradation of the environment, Albania is party to international agreements concerning biodiversity, climatechange, and wetlands. III THE PEOPLE OF ALBANIA In 2008 Albania’s population estimate was 3,619,778, resulting in an average density of 132 persons per sq km (342 per sq mi). More and more people have left ruralareas for urban ones, particularly in the northern districts, such that in 2005 some 45 percent of the population live...
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Sudan - country.
B Principal Cities and Political Divisions The principal city is Khartoum, the capital; other major cities include Omdurman and Khartoum North, major industrial centers, and Port Sudan, a seaport on the RedSea. Sudan is divided into 26 states. C Religion and Language About 70 percent of the people of Sudan are Muslims, some 15 percent are Christians, and most of the remainder follow traditional religions. The people of northernSudan are predominantly Sunni Muslims (Sunni Islam). Most of the pe...
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Soccer.
Two assistants, known as linesmen or referees’ assistants, aid the referee. Their primary job is to alert the referee when balls go out of the playing area and to assist inmaking offsides calls (see Rules section below). The assistants carry flags, which they wave when the ball leaves the playing area or use to point to the spot where a foul was committed. V EQUIPMENT Soccer is played with a round leather ball. It is between 68 and 71 cm (27 and 28 in) in circumference and weighs between 396...
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United States House of Representatives.
Because of the high cost of elections and the short two-year term of office, members of the House campaign almost constantly. They spend much of their time raisingcampaign funds, and they frequently return to their districts to keep in touch with voters. Because the elections are so frequent, House members tend to pay closeattention to how their votes in Congress will be seen in the short term. House members tend to come from wealthier family backgrounds than average Americans. Few working class...
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Laos - country.
by the year 2025. About one-quarter of Laos’s people live in mountainous regions. The rest live in upland valleys or on the flood plains of the Mekong and its tributaries.Just over three-quarters of the population live in rural areas, although the proportion of people living in urban areas is steadily increasing. Vientiane is the capital and largest city of Laos. Louangphrabang, the former royal capital, is an increasingly popular tourist destination. Other major cities are theregional capitals...
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Vietnam War.
rigged, since about 150,000 more people voted in Saigon than were registered. Diem then deposed Bao Dai, who had been the only other candidate, and declaredSouth Vietnam to be an independent nation called the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), with himself as president and Saigon as its capital. Vietnamese Communists and manynon-Communist Vietnamese nationalists saw the creation of the RVN as an effort by the United States to interfere with the independence promised at Geneva. III THE BEGINNING OF THE...
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Vietnam War - History.
rigged, since about 150,000 more people voted in Saigon than were registered. Diem then deposed Bao Dai, who had been the only other candidate, and declaredSouth Vietnam to be an independent nation called the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), with himself as president and Saigon as its capital. Vietnamese Communists and manynon-Communist Vietnamese nationalists saw the creation of the RVN as an effort by the United States to interfere with the independence promised at Geneva. III THE BEGINNING OF THE...
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Vietnam War - U.
rigged, since about 150,000 more people voted in Saigon than were registered. Diem then deposed Bao Dai, who had been the only other candidate, and declaredSouth Vietnam to be an independent nation called the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), with himself as president and Saigon as its capital. Vietnamese Communists and manynon-Communist Vietnamese nationalists saw the creation of the RVN as an effort by the United States to interfere with the independence promised at Geneva. III THE BEGINNING OF THE...
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Kentucky - geography.
The climate of Kentucky is characterized by warm or hot summers and cool winters. Throughout the year, temperatures do not vary greatly from place to place,although they are generally slightly lower in the Appalachian Plateaus region than elsewhere in the state. Average July temperatures are usually from 24° to 27°C (76°to 80°F) in the central and western areas and from 23° to 24°C (74° to 76°F) in the east. January averages range from below 1°C (34°F) in the northern Bluegrassregion to more tha...
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Kentucky - USA History.
The climate of Kentucky is characterized by warm or hot summers and cool winters. Throughout the year, temperatures do not vary greatly from place to place,although they are generally slightly lower in the Appalachian Plateaus region than elsewhere in the state. Average July temperatures are usually from 24° to 27°C (76°to 80°F) in the central and western areas and from 23° to 24°C (74° to 76°F) in the east. January averages range from below 1°C (34°F) in the northern Bluegrassregion to more tha...
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Puerto Rico - geography.
the length of the day remains fairly constant throughout the year. San Juan has a mean July temperature of 28°C (83°F) and a mean January temperature of 25°C (77°F). The average temperature of the seawater surrounding theisland is 27°C (81°F), with little variation during the course of the year. The entire island is cooled by the trade winds from the northeast. This air also contains much water vapor. As the air is forced to rise over the mountains, it becomescooler and the water vapor condenses...
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Uruguay (country) - country.
Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the constitution of Uruguay. Three-quarters of the people belong to the Roman Catholic Church. There are also sizable Protestantand Jewish congregations. The official language is Spanish, which in Uruguay has been influenced by Italian vocabulary and pronunciation. C Education Uruguay has one of the highest rates of literacy in Latin America, at 98.2 percent of the adult population. Six years of primary education is compulsory, and Uruguay isone of the few n...
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Latvia - country.
The population of Latvia is about 2,245,423 (2008 estimate), yielding an average population density of 35 persons per sq km (91 per sq mi). Latvia is highly urbanized.Some 66 percent of the population lives in urban areas, with nearly one-third of the total population residing in the capital, Rīga. Other important cities includeDaugavpils, an industrial center in the southeast, on the Daugava River; Liep āja, an important port on the Baltic Sea; Jelgava, an industrial center near Rîga; J ūrmala,...
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Bolivia - country.
E Plants and Animals Because of the wide variations in elevation, plant and animal species of nearly every climatic zone are found in Bolivia. A coarse grass, called ichu, grows on the largelybarren high plateau in the west. Para rubber trees, more than 2,000 species of hardwood trees, and vanilla, sarsaparilla, and saffron plants are common in the tropicalforests of the east. The llama, found chiefly on the Altiplano, is an efficient beast of burden. Alpacas and vicuñas also inhabit the platea...
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Pluto - astronomy.
depended on how Pluto was classified. The status of Pluto drew world attention in 2006 when the official body that governs the naming of astronomical objects, the International Astronomical Union (IAU),voted for an official definition of the term planet . According to the standards adopted, a “classical planet” must orbit the Sun, must have a rounded shape from effects of its own gravity, and must be the dominant object in its region of space, having cleared the neighborhood of its orbit of oth...
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USSR Defeats USA in Basketball.
Tom McMillen, the 7-ft (2.1 m) center for the U.S. team, guarded the inbounds passer, waving his arms to disrupt the throw-in. But the referee ordered McMillen toback off. When McMillen did so, the Soviet player drew back and threw the ball the length of the court. Under the USSR basket, Aleksander Belov was guarded by two smaller American players, Kevin Joyce and Robert Forbes. All three went up for the ball, but Belovmuscled the U.S. players aside and caught the ball in front of the basket...
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Beijing - geography.
other polluting materials contributes to the city’s severe air and water pollution. V EDUCATION AND CULTURE Beijing has more colleges and universities than any other Chinese city. The most prominent institutions are Peking University, founded in 1898; and Tsinghua University,founded in 1911, which is the most prestigious scientific and technical institution in the country. Both institutions are located in the northwest suburbs, an areaassociated with higher education and research. Also in this...
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Diseases of Animals.
infected animal. It may also spread in milk or in garbage that contains contaminated meat. Typical symptoms include blisters that appear on the mouth and feet;animals may become lame when their hooves degenerate. Canine distemper is a highly contagious disease caused by the paramyxovirus, which is transmitted in discharges from the nose and eyes. Symptoms begin with fever,malaise, and nasal and ocular discharges and may progress to convulsions and other nervous system disorders. Parvoviruses aff...
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Gerald Ford.
In May 1973 the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Activities opened hearings and in a series of startling revelations, Dean testified that Mitchell had ordered thebreak-in and that the president had authorized payments to the burglars to keep them quiet. The Nixon administration vehemently denied these assertions. In March 1974 a grand jury indicted Mitchell, Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and four other White House officials for their part in covering up the Watergate break-in andreferred to Nixon...
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Gerald Ford
In May 1973 the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Activities opened hearings and in a series of startling revelations, Dean testified that Mitchell had ordered thebreak-in and that the president had authorized payments to the burglars to keep them quiet. The Nixon administration vehemently denied these assertions. In March 1974 a grand jury indicted Mitchell, Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and four other White House officials for their part in covering up the Watergate break-in andreferred to Nixon...
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Fidel Castro.
result, Castro formed a radical branch of the Ortodoxo Party called the Radical Action Orthodox wing. This organization supported Chibás in the 1948 election. PrioSocarrás won the election, despite Castro’s efforts. After Chibás committed suicide in 1951, Castro believed he should become the leader of the Ortodoxo Party and ran for a seat in the Cuban House of Representatives inthe 1952 election. Before that election could occur, however, General Fulgencio Batista staged a bloodless coup d’etat...
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Czech Republic - country.
enforcement of environmental regulations. Environmental considerations have also led some government officials to promote nuclear energy as a key source of powerfor the country’s future. The Czech Republic produces most of its energy by burning domestic coal. Much of the coal burned is low quality with a high ash and sulfur content—a key componentof acid rain—producing high levels of air pollution. Forests in the Czech Republic are among the most seriously affected by acid rain in all of Europe....
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Spanish Empire.
Spain’s royal government quickly imposed its own officials, first to collect taxes and then to administer the colony. Its goal was to assert royal control over both settlersand indigenous peoples. In Spain the government established a House of Trade to supervise colonial affairs and to oversee, license, and tax all trade and commerce. Asthe royal government asserted more authority over colonial activities, Columbus lost effective power, and was eventually replaced by other colonial governors. Wi...
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Spanish Empire .
Spain’s royal government quickly imposed its own officials, first to collect taxes and then to administer the colony. Its goal was to assert royal control over both settlersand indigenous peoples. In Spain the government established a House of Trade to supervise colonial affairs and to oversee, license, and tax all trade and commerce. Asthe royal government asserted more authority over colonial activities, Columbus lost effective power, and was eventually replaced by other colonial governors. Wi...
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Christianity.
history of architecture. See Basilica; Church; Early Christian Art and Architecture;Prayer. C Christian Life The instruction and exhortation of Christian preaching and teaching concern all the themes of doctrine and morals: the love of God and the love of neighbor, the twochief commandments in the ethical message of Jesus (see Matthew 22: 34-40). Application of these commandments to the concrete situations of human life, bothpersonal and social, does not produce a uniformity of moral or polit...
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Law.
I
INTRODUCTION
Law, body of official rules and regulations, generally found in
their rules are reviewable by the courts. U.S. constitutional law is the most extensive and pervasive of any country in the world. It is embodied in the Constitution and in the opinions of the U.S. Supreme Courtrendered over time. Through its power of judicial review, the Supreme Court may invalidate any legislation or other governmental actions that it finds to be in violationof the Constitution. Constitutional courts in some civil-law countries have similar powers. In the United Kingdom no equ...
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F.Y.R.O. Macedonia Facts and Figures.
BASIC FACTS
Official name
The Former Yugoslav Republic
Other 3 percent Religious affiliationsOrthodox Christian (mostly Macedonian Orthodox) 60 percent Muslim 29 percent Nonreligious 7 percent Other 4 percent HEALTH AND EDUCATIONLife expectancy Total 74.5 years (2008 estimate) Female 77.1 years (2008 estimate) Male 72 years (2008 estimate) Infant mortality rate 9 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate) Population per physician 392 people (2006) Population per hospital bed 207 people (2002) Literacy rateTotal Not availabl...
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Impeachment.
In February 1868 the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson and appointed a committee to preparearticles of impeachment. The House passed 11 articles of impeachment against Johnson in March 1868. Ten of the articles concerned the president’s alleged violation ofthe Tenure of Office Act, an 1867 statute that required the president to seek congressional approval before dismissing officials confirmed by the Senate. The othercharge against J...
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Canada Facts and Figures.
English (official), French (official), Chinese, Italian, Punjabi, Spanish, indigenous languages Religious affiliationsRoman Catholic 43 percent No religion 16 percent United Church 10 percent Anglican 7 percent Baptist 3 percent Lutheran 2 percent Other 19 percent HEALTH AND EDUCATIONLife expectancy Total 80.5 years (2008 estimate) Female 84 years (2008 estimate) Male 77.1 years (2008 estimate) Infant mortality rate 5 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate) Populat...
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Chinese Literature
I
INTRODUCTION
Chinese Literature, writings of the Chinese people, with a continuous history of more than 3,000 years.
(Huang) River basin region in the north. The verses are in lines of four characters (or syllables) and use rhyme and alliteration (repetition of the initial letter). Confuciusquoted them in his works. Because he described them as “without depraved thoughts,” all the verses in the Shi jing have been treated as moral allegories. (4) The Li ji (Book of Ritual ) contains detailed discussions of the principles of conduct at court and in private ceremonies. Although the Han dynasty and later ruler...
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Chinese Literature
I
INTRODUCTION
Chinese Literature, writings of the Chinese people, with a continuous history of more than 3,000 years.
(Huang) River basin region in the north. The verses are in lines of four characters (or syllables) and use rhyme and alliteration (repetition of the initial letter). Confuciusquoted them in his works. Because he described them as “without depraved thoughts,” all the verses in the Shi jing have been treated as moral allegories. (4) The Li ji (Book of Ritual ) contains detailed discussions of the principles of conduct at court and in private ceremonies. Although the Han dynasty and later ruler...
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Track and Field.
VI RUNNING EVENTS Running events are competitions that test athletes’ quickness, speed, and endurance. Athletes win running races by completing the distance or course in the leastamount of time. A Sprints The shortest running events, called sprints or dashes, are the premier events at a track-and-field meet. The outdoor sprints consist of the 100-meter, 200-meter, and400-meter events. Sprints contested at indoor meets include the 50-meter, 60-meter, 200-meter, and 400-meter events. Past champ...
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Prison.
Furthermore, experts disagree about whether imprisoning criminals actually prevents further crime. Some critics charge that American prisons simply warehouseviolence—meaning that U.S. prison inmates are confined and incapacitated in large numbers, with little or no effort made to rehabilitate them. Critics have labeled theresult of this process turnstile justice, referring to the fact that most inmates are chronic and persistent offenders and return to prison following conviction for new crime...
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Byzantine Empire .
Emperor Alexius I, founder of the Comnenian dynasty, nevertheless appealed to the pope for aid against the Turks. Western Europe responded with the First Crusade(1096-99). Although Byzantium initially benefited from the Crusades, recovering some land in Asia Minor, in the long run they hastened the empire's decline. Italian merchant citieswon special trading privileges in Byzantine territory and gained control of much of the empire's commerce and wealth. The Byzantines experienced a superficialp...
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Confucius
official to several of the highest positions in the land. Nor does the story end there. By the time of the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), Confucius was celebrated as the ‘uncrowned king' of the state of Lu, and by the fourth century AD, any prefecture wanting to define itself as a political entity was required by imperial decree to erect a temple to Confucius. Gods in China are local cultural heroes who are remembered by history as having contributed meaning and value to the tradition, and of...
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Burkina Faso - country.
powers to promote the welfare of the people. The Lobi live in the southwest as farmers and hunters. Defiant of newcomers, they live in small terraced fortifications. The Bobo are chiefly farmers, artisans, and metalworkers living in large villages in the west-central part of the country. The Gourounsi are mainly artisans and farmers in the south-central areas. Their society is lesshighly structured than that of the other Voltaic groups. Christianity has made substantial inroads among them. The M...
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Kiribati - country.
mainly from Japan, the European Union (EU), and Australia. Kiribati’s only major exports are copra (dried coconut meat), cultivated seaweed, and fish. The United States, Australia, and New Zealand are the leading purchasers ofthe country’s exports. Despite the cultivation of crops for local consumption, Kiribati is heavily dependent upon imported foods. Other imports include machinery andequipment, manufactured goods, and imported fossil fuels, which supply most of the country’s energy. Australi...
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Moscow (city, Russia) - geography.
V RECREATION About 30 percent of Moscow’s territory is occupied by parks and public gardens, which were important elements of Soviet city planning. Gorky Park, which providesactivities such as amusement rides and boating, sits on the right bank of the Moscow River; the park’s display of a retired Soviet space shuttle dominates the riverside.The Moscow Zoo is located just west of the city center. The Botanical Gardens, administered by the Russian Academy of Sciences, offers a diverse display of...
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Armenian Massacres .
Some of the Armenian revolutionaries and others hoped that the massacres would provoke the intervention of the European powers (Britain, France, Austria-Hungary,and Germany). Although the leaders of the European powers publicly condemned the actions of the sultan, they failed to intervene. Mutual rivalries and suspicions, aswell as the imprecise terms of Article 61 of the Treaty of Berlin, helped produce this inaction. But these bloody episodes soon paved the way for the rise of a newnationalist...
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Japanese Literature
I
INTRODUCTION
Japanese Literature, literature of Japan, in written form from at least the 8th century
AD
to the present.
The Man’yō’sh ū contains about 4,500 poems, most of them composed in the Nara period (710-784). Some of the poems are far older, however, and some of the verses date to earlier collections that have not survived. The work demonstrates a gradual change from basic verses on simple subjects to more sophisticated expressions with a broad range of subject matter. This text also shows the development of poetic forms such as the tanka (short poem), a form structured around alternating lines of 5 an...
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Croatia - country.
III PEOPLE OF CROATIA The total population of Croatia at the time of the 1991 census was 4,784,265; a 2008 estimate was 4,491,543. During and after the war ethnic Serbs fled Croatia whileethnic Croats moved in. Croatia’s population growth rate in 2008 was -0.04 percent, despite population gains due to immigration. Croatia’s natural population growthrate, which measures births and deaths, has been negative since 1998. Life expectancy at birth was 75 years in 2008. The population density in 2008...
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Cuba - country.
Only two land mammals, the hutia, or cane rat, and the solenodon, a rare insectivore that resembles a rat, are known to be indigenous. The island has numerous batsand nearly 300 kinds of birds, including vultures, wild turkeys, quail, finches, gulls, macaws, parakeets, and hummingbirds. The bee hummingbird of Cuba is thesmallest bird in the world. Among the few reptiles are tortoises, caimans, the Cuban crocodile, and a species of boa that can attain a length of 3.7 m (12 ft). More than700 speci...
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United States Senate.
providing for military forces, and declaring war. Article I, Section 8, also gives Congress implied powers—to “make all laws which shall be necessary and proper” forcarrying out the enumerated powers, and to investigate and oversee the executive branch. The Senate also has the power to conduct impeachment trials against thepresident, federal judges, and other officials. The Senate can only impeach someone after the House brings charges, however. A two-thirds majority vote of thesenators in the c...
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French Revolution.
B2 Assembly of Notables and Estates-General To pressure the parlements into accepting the plan, Calonne decided to gain prior approval of it from an Assembly of Notables—a group of hand-picked dignitaries hethought would sympathize with his views. But Calonne had badly miscalculated. Meeting in January 1787, the assembly refused to believe that a financial crisis reallyexisted. They had been influenced by Necker’s argument that state finances were sound and suspected that the monarchy was only...
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French Revolution .
B2 Assembly of Notables and Estates-General To pressure the parlements into accepting the plan, Calonne decided to gain prior approval of it from an Assembly of Notables—a group of hand-picked dignitaries hethought would sympathize with his views. But Calonne had badly miscalculated. Meeting in January 1787, the assembly refused to believe that a financial crisis reallyexisted. They had been influenced by Necker’s argument that state finances were sound and suspected that the monarchy was only...
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Missouri - geography.
Saint Francois Mountains, at the eastern end of the crest of the dome. Only in these mountains have the sedimentary rocks been sufficiently eroded away so that theunderlying igneous rocks are exposed. They form the rounded, knoblike peaks of an old mountain range. The peaks project, in isolation or in clusters, between 230 and300 m (750 and 1,000 ft) above the surrounding sedimentary basins. One of these knobs, Taum Sauk Mountain, reaches 540 m (1,772 ft) above sea level and is thehighest point...
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Missouri - USA History.
Saint Francois Mountains, at the eastern end of the crest of the dome. Only in these mountains have the sedimentary rocks been sufficiently eroded away so that theunderlying igneous rocks are exposed. They form the rounded, knoblike peaks of an old mountain range. The peaks project, in isolation or in clusters, between 230 and300 m (750 and 1,000 ft) above the surrounding sedimentary basins. One of these knobs, Taum Sauk Mountain, reaches 540 m (1,772 ft) above sea level and is thehighest point...
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Middle Ages .
Saints were very important in Late Antiquity. They were considered both models of virtue and powerful miracle workers. One of the most well-known saints of the periodwas Saint Anthony. Anthony gave away all his possessions and left his hometown in Egypt to live alone in the desert and pray. Anthony was one of the first Christianmonks. The word monk comes from a term meaning 'alone.' Gradually Anthony attracted followers, and he eventually became the center of a whole community of monks who wis...