Taiwan or Tai Wan can refer to:

Taiwan (Formosa)

Taiwan, the country itself in geography also known as Formosa
The historical name "Taiwan Prefecture" or "Taiwan-fu" may refer to Tainan City in the 19th century
Republic of Formosa, the 1895 Taiwan Republic
Republic of China, the political entity known as Taiwan governing the island

• Taiwan Province, the administrative division of the Republic of China governing most of the island and all surrounding islets
  Taiwan Province (People's Republic of China), the administrative division claimed by the People's Republic of China (mainland China)
  Republic of Taiwan, the proposed nation-state of Taiwan

Little Havana (Spanish: La Pequeña Habana) is an ethnic enclave in Miami, Florida, with many Cuban immigrant residents. Little Havana is named after Havana, the capital and largest city in Cuba. The high number of Cuban refugees in Miami is due to its proximity to Cuba. Little Havana is famous as the cultural and political capital of Cuban Americans, and the neighborhood is a center of the Cuban exile community.
In recent years increasing numbers of Nicaraguan, and Puerto Rican immigrants have moved into the neighborhood, as increasing numbers of Cubans leave the area for the suburbs in western Miami and southwest Broward County. Part of Little Havana is now occasionally referred to as Little Managua after Managua, the Nicaraguan capital, although the city of Sweetwater several miles to the west is more popularly known as Little Managua due to its higher concentration of Nicaraguan Americans.

Places of interest
Entrance to Cuban Memorial Plaza (SW 13th Ave) as seen from Calle Ocho (SW 8th St) in Little Havana.
Bay of Pigs monument
Bust of Jose Marti
Memorial plaque with island of Cuba embossment
A cafeteria with an artistic wall in Little Havana
A Calle Ocho park known for the playing of Dominoes

Johann Gottlieb Rall (ca. 1726 - December 26, 1776 ) was a German colonel in command of Hessian troops in Trenton, New Jersey.

Early life and career
Rall was probably born as a so-called "soldier child" ca. 1725. He was a son of Captain Joachim Rall from Stralsund, who served in the regiment of Major General Donop. The first mention of Johann Rall was as a new cadet of the same regiment on 1 March 1740, commanded at this time by Colonel Prince Casimir von Isenburg of Isenburg-Birstein.
He was promoted to warrant officer on 25 July 1741; to second lieutenant on 28 August 1745; and to captain on 10 May 1753. Rall was promoted to major on 7 May 1760, under Major General Bischhausen and transferred, in January 1763, into the Stein garrison regiment, where he was appointed lieutenant colonel. On 22 April 1771, he was transferred to the Mansbach Infantry Regiment as a colonel. He became commander of the regiment in January 1772.
During this time, Rall fought in the War of the Austrian Succession and participated in campaigns in Bavaria, on the Rhine, in the Netherlands, and served in Scotland. He fought in the Seven Years' War (also called the French and Indian War) and was involved in many battles. From September 1771 until August 1772, he was in Russia and fought for Catherine the Great under Count Orlov in the Fourth Russo-Turkish War.

Dubravka Vukotić is a Montenegrin actress.

Biography
Dubravka Vukotić (Дубравка Вукотић) was born on June 25, 1976 in Titograd (now Podgorica), Montenegro, Yugoslavia.

The city of Dunedin, New Zealand has played an important role in the history of New Zealand. Archaeological evidence points to the area having been long inhabited by the Māori prior to European arrival and the establishment of a settlement in 1848 by the Free Church of Scotland.
The discovery of gold inland from Dunedin in 1861 led to the new city becoming the colony's main industrial and commercial centre. The successful export of frozen meat from the city provided an extra impetus to the city's importance and growth, as did the establishment of the country's first university.
Though the city's fortunes waned during much of the twentieth century, it is now again experiencing growth and is seen as a centre for tertiary education, eco-tourism, and culture.

Scottish settlement
In this first time of prosperity many institutions and businesses were established in Dunedin, New Zealand's first daily newspaper, its first university, art school and medical school among them. A combination of money, good building stones and the then Scottish international pre-eminence in architecture saw a remarkable flowering of substantial and ornamental buildings, unusual for such a young and distant colony. R.A. Lawson's First Church of Otago and Knox Church are notable examples. Maxwell Bury's clock tower complex for the University and F.W. Petre's St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Cathedral are others started in this time. The city's landscape and burgeoning townscape were vividly portrayed by George O'Brien.
Difficult economic conditions led to the 'anti-sweating' movement led by a Presbyterian Minister, Rutherford Waddell, and the Otago Daily Times (under the editorship of Sir George Fenwick). From it came the establishment of the New Zealand Labour Party. Early in the 1880s the inauguration of the frozen meat industry, with the first shipment leaving from Port Chalmers, saw the beginning of a later great national industry. In the mid 1890s the gold dredging boom began and by the turn of the century Dunedin was experiencing another time of prosperity.
This was a fertile period in the visual arts. William Mathew Hodgkins, the 'father of art in New Zealand' - according to his daughter Frances Hodgkins - certainly presided over a vital scene. From the interlocking circles of Turneresque Romantic landscape painters and younger impressionistic practitioners, G.P. Nerli helped to launch Frances Hodgkins on her career as New Zealand's most distinguished expatriate artist.
From the 1890s the Assyrians, religious refugees from what is now Lebanon, started to arrive, packing into the inner city slums largely occupied by Chinese. It was in this milieu John A. Lee grew up, the later Labour firebrand whose novels exposing these conditions would shock the country. But merchants like Edward Theomin built his grand town house Olveston and the Dunedin Railway Station was an opulent building, both completed in 1906. More companies and institutions were founded in these years, the Dunedin Public Art Gallery in 1884, the Otago Settlers Museum in 1898 and the Hocken Collections in 1910, all first of their types in New Zealand. But Dunedin was no longer the biggest city.
Determined to defeat demographic gravity Otago and Dunedin sent proportionately more personnel to the First World War than the other New Zealand districts and the losses were proportionately greater. The Anglican Cathedral, St. Paul's started in 1915 and consecrated in 1919 was the last great Gothic Revival building, and remains uncompleted. In another act of demographic self-promotion the 1925 New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition was staged at Logan Park to co-incide with the five yearly census. 3.3 million people visited, more than attended any New Zealand exhibition before or since. The tramways' profits paid for a new town hall, still New Zealand's largest. But population growth continued to slow. With the 1930s the international depression set in. In early 1932 there were urban riots later repeated in the northern centres.
Despite the city's slow growth the university continued to expand boosted by its monopoly in health sciences. The developing Colleges and Halls saw the establishment of a student quarter. In this time too people started to notice Dunedin's mellowing, the ageing of its grand old buildings, with writers like E.H. McCormick pointing out its atmospheric charm. R.N. Field at the art school inspired young students to break from tradition with M.T. (Toss) Woollaston, Doris Lusk, Anne Hamblett, Colin McCahon and Patrick Hayman forming the first cell of indigenous Modernism. The Second World War saw the dispersal of these painters, but not before McCahon had met a very youthful poet, James K. Baxter, in a central city studio.
After the war prosperity and population growth revived, although Dunedin trailed as the fourth 'main centre'. A generation reacting against Victorianism started demolishing its buildings for redevelopment, which in Dunedin often meant open air car parks. Many buildings were lost, notably the Stock Exchange in 1969. The university expanded, the rest of the city did not. Between 1976 and 81 it went into absolute decline. This lent support to the proposal to establish an aluminium smelter at Aramoana as one of Sir Robert Muldoon's 'think big' projects.Its economics were doubtful and once exposed by Otago Professor, Paul Van Moeseke, the government backed off. But the city became bitterly divided.
This was a culturally vibrant time with the university's new privately endowed fellowships for writers, composers and visual artists, bringing such luminaries as James K Baxter, Ralph Hotere, Janet Frame, Hone Tuwhare, back to the city, or to Dunedin for the first time, where some stayed and many lingered. Good Modernist buildings appeared, such as the Dental School and Ted McCoy's Otago Boys' High School and Richardson building, evidence that this born-in-Dunedin designer could find a way of marrying Modernism to the revivalist inheritance.
In the 1980s, these trends were paralleled by a burgeoning popular music scene which made Dunedin and its "Dunedin Sound" well-known to rock music fans. Local bands such as The Chills, Straitjacket Fits, The Clean, and The Verlaines became popular both nationwide and internationally.
Population decline steadied. By 1990 Dunedin had re-invented itself as the 'heritage city' with its main streets refurbished in Victorian style and R.A Lawson's Municipal Chambers in the Octagon handsomely restored. The university's growth accelerated. North Dunedin became New Zealand's largest and most exuberant residential campus. Local body reform saw the creation of the present huge territorial Dunedin, the country's largest city, in 1989, a distinction many found dubious.
The city has continued to refurbish itself, rehousing the Dunedin Public Art Gallery in the Octagon in 1996 and buying and restoring the Railway Station and now embarking on a large development of the Otago Settlers Museum. Dunedin continues to be preoccupied with its population and economic future but people have lived here for nine centuries through radically changing fortunes. Unlike other New Zealand cities something of that is reflected in its atmosphere with its constant recall of the past and promise of future surprises.

Oracle bone script (Chinese: 甲骨文; pinyin: jiǎgǔwén; literally "shell bone writing") refers to incised (or, rarely, brush-written) ancient Chinese characters found on oracle bones, which are animal bones or turtle shells used in divination in ancient China. The vast majority of the such bones are ox scapulae and tortoise plastrons which record the pyromantic divinations of the royal house of the late Shang dynasty, primarily at the capital of Yin (modern Anyang, Henan Province), and date from around 1200-1050 B.C., while a very few date to the beginning of the subsequent Zhou dynasty. The late Shang oracle bone writings, along with a few contemporary characters in cast bronzes, constitute the earliest significant corpus of Chinese writing, but contrary to popular belief are not the earliest Chinese characters. Some have proposed that oracle bone script is linked with Jiahu Script.

Structure
Replica of ancient Chinese script on an oracle turtle shell
Oracle script from a divining
Oracle script script inquiry about rain
Oracle script script inquiry about rain (annotated)
Oracle script for Spring
Oracle script for Autumn
Oracle script for Winter

Notes

Keightley, David N. (1978). Sources of Shang History: The Oracle-Bone Inscriptions of Bronze Age China. University of California Press, Berkeley. Large format hardcover, ISBN 0520029690 (out of print); A 1985 ppbk 2nd edition also printed, ISBN 0-520-05455-5.
Keightley, David N. (2000). The Ancestral Landscape: Time, Space, and Community in Late Shang China (ca. 1200 – 1045 B.C.). China Research Monograph 53, Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California – Berkeley. ISBN 1-55729-070-9, ppbk.
Qiu Xigui (裘錫圭) Chinese Writing (2000). Translation of 文字學概要 by Gilbert L. Mattos and Jerry Norman. Early China Special Monograph Series No. 4. Berkeley: The Society for the Study of Early China and the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley. ISBN 1-55729-071-7.
Woon, Wee Lee (雲惟利) (1987). Chinese Writing: Its Origin and Evolution (漢字的原始和演變), originally published by the University of East Asia, Macau (no ISBN).

Brutality was a death metal band from Tampa, Florida, USA. The band was founded in 1986 as Abomination by Larry Sapp and Jeff Acres. The band quickly changed their name to Darkness and finally settled on Brutality in spring 1987. After several demos and line-up changes, the band got a record deal with Nuclear Blast. Before they recorded their debut album, Sapp left the band to form Astaroth.
They released their debut album Screams of Anguish in 1993 and went on a European tour with Hypocrisy in the beginning of 1994. A second album was released in 1994, titled When the Sky Turns Black a second European tour followed in 1995, in support of Bolt Thrower. After a third album In Mourning the band split up in 1997. In 2001, the band was revived with original member Larry Sapp and released a demo and started working on a new album. Larry Sapp died on 3 May 2004, causing the split-up of the band.

Discography

Larry "Mausolus" Sapp - guitar, vocals (1986-1991, 2001-2004)
Jeff Acres - bass (1986-1997, 2001-2004)
Donnie Yanson - drums (1986 - 1987)
Jim Coker - drums (1987, 1983-1997, 2001-2004)
Kenny "Foz" Karg - drums (1987-1988)
Bill Benson - guitar (1987)
Tim Mitchell - guitar (1988)
Don Gates - drums (1989), guitar (1989-1995, 2001-2004)
Ben Williams - guitar (1989)
Jay Fernandez - guitar (1991-1993)
Scott Reigel - vocals (1991-1997, 2001-2004)
Bryan Hipp - guitar (1994-1995)
Demian Heftel - guitar (2002-2004)
Dana Walsh - guitar (1995-1998)
Danny Gay - guitar (1995-1996)
Pete Sykes - guitar (1996-1997)
Jim Harris - guitar (1989)
Steve Pantley - guitar (1989)
Edwin Webb - guitar

The Matchlock was the first mechanism or "lock" invented to facilitate the firing of a hand-held firearm. This design removed the need to lower a lighted match into the flash pan by hand and made it possible to have both hands free to keep a firm grip on the weapon at the moment of firing, and more importantly to keep both eyes on the target.
The classic European matchlock gun held a burning slow match in a clamp at the end of a small curved lever known as the serpentine. Upon pulling a second lever (or in later models a trigger) protruding from the bottom of the gun and connected to the serpentine, the clamp dropped down, lowering the burning match into the flash pan and igniting the priming powder. The flash from the primer travelled through the touch hole igniting the main charge of propellant in the gun barrel. On releasing the lever or trigger, the serpentine would move in reverse, driven by a spring, and bring the match out of the pan.
Earlier types had only an "S"-shaped serpentine pinned to the stock either behind or in front of the flash pan (the so-called "serpentine lock"), one end of which was manipulated to bring the match into the pan.
A variety of matchlock was also developed called the snapping matchlock, in which the serpentine was strongly spring-loaded, and released by pressing a button, pulling a trigger, or pulling a short string passing into the mechanism. As the match was often extinguished after its relatively violent collision with the flash pan, this type fell out of favour with soldiers, but was often used in fine target weapons.
An inherent weakness of the matchlock was the necessity of keeping the match constantly lit. Being the sole source of ignition for the powder, if the match was not lit when the gun needed to be fired, the mechanism was useless, and the weapon became little more than an expensive club. This was chiefly a problem in wet weather, when damp match cord was difficult to light and to keep burning. Another drawback was the burning match itself. At night, the match would glow in the darkness, potentially giving away the carrier's position. The distinctive smell of burning match-cord was also a give away of a musketeer's position (this was used as a plot device by Akira Kurosawa in his movie Seven Samurai). It was also quite dangerous when soldiers were carelessly handling large quantities of gunpowder (for example, while refilling their powder horns) with lighted matches present. This was one reason why soldiers in charge of transporting and guarding ammunition were amongst the first to be issued self-igniting guns like the wheellock and snaphance.
The matchlock was invented in Europe some time in the mid 1400s, although the idea of the serpentine appears some 40 years previously in an Austrian manuscript. The first dated illustration of a matchlock mechanism dates to 1475, and by the 1500s they were universally used. The technology was transported to India, China and Japan (in 1543) by the Portuguese and flourished there until the 1900s, particularly in India and Japan. The Japanese Matchlock, or Tanegashima was based on an unknown model of Portuguese snapping matchlock, but was refined so that the difficulties with self-extinguishing matches were almost eliminated (Japanese technology however was unable to produce steel springs until much later, unreliable brass springs being used at first). Improvised matchlock guns were last used by pro-Indonesia Timor Leste militias in the 1999 conflict.
Despite the appearance of better ignition systems, such as that of the wheellock and the snaphance, the low cost of production, simplicity, and high availability of the matchlock kept it in use in European armies until about 1720. It was eventually completely replaced by the flintlock as the foot soldier's main armament.

Colgate University

Colgate University is a private liberal arts college located in the Village of Hamilton in Madison County, New York, USA. It was originally founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary, but has since become non-denominational.
As of 2007, Colgate is ranked 16th (up one from the previous year) in U.S. News and World Report's rankings of liberal arts colleges in the United States. It is also listed as one of thirty Hidden Ivies. Colgate students compete in 23 NCAA Division I sports.
Colgate has a distinct architectural style. Its first building, West Hall, was built by students and faculty from stones from Colgate's own rock quarry, and a majority of the newer buildings are built in a similar fashion. The most distinctive building on campus is the Chapel (Colgate Memorial Chapel), which is used for lectures, performances, concerts, and religious services.

History
Colgate offers 51 undergraduate concentrations [3] leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree, all of which are registered officially with the New York State Department of Education. The three most common majors are biology, economics, and political science. In addition, Colgate has strong foreign language, physics, history, psychology/neuroscience and geology departments.
The University has a small graduate (Master of Arts) program for Education, which graduates 3-7 students each year.
In addition to regular campus courses, the university offers some 20, semester-long off-campus study groups each year, including programs in Australia, China, Japan, India, several Western European countries, Washington, DC, and the National Institutes of Health. Approximately two-thirds of Colgate undergraduates study abroad, which is a high proportion considering other colleges and universities in the United States. About 95% of seniors graduate, and most alumni proceed to graduate schools in law, administration, engineering, medicine, the arts and the sciences, as well as to financial, administrative or scientific occupations. There is hardly a walk of life where alumni of Colgate University are not represented. However, a significant clustering occurs in business, the media, and the life and earth sciences.

Academics
Colgate founded the Upstate Institute in 2003. The Institute was created to be a center of information and knowledge about upstate New York. Currently, they do research on counties in the area, as well as support outreach and volunteer organizations.
The school has also provided assistance to the town of Hamilton in its attempts to revitalize and renovate its buildings and businesses. Colgate was one of the initial sponsors of the Partnership for Community Development, which seeks economic development and growth in the area.

Initiatives

Campus life
All first-year students are required to live "up the hill" in residence halls located close to the academic buildings. West Hall, the oldest building on campus (built in 1827), is still used as first-year housing. Second-year students can live in dorm housing on campus or apartments off the hill. Upperclassmen can choose to live in campus housing, including apartments, "townhouses" built down Broad Street, or themed houses. Around 250 seniors can choose to live in off-campus homes or apartments.
Students involved in Greek life have the options of living in their organization's house. As of the Fall 2005 semester, there are six fraternities and four sororities recognized on campus.

Campus media
Colgate has four a cappella groups.
The Colgate Thirteen, an all-male a cappella group, was founded in 1942 in a split from the University Glee Club and is the country's third oldest. Known as the "thirteen," they notably performed the National Anthem at Super Bowl XIII.
The Swinging 'Gates, Colgate's all-female a cappella group, was founded in 1974. The group has built many traditions with the Colgate Thirteen over the years and roam the country singing for alums. The 'Gates were complimented by columnist Peter King in Sports Illustrated.
Colgate has two coed a cappella groups: The Colgate Resolutions, and The Colgate Dischords. The former was founded in 1992; the latter in the fall of 2001, making it the newest a cappella group on campus. They perform at Colgate and other schools at both formal and informal venues. [4]

A cappella
Konosioni, Colgate's senior honor society, honors outstanding achievement in co-curricular activities and the spirit of Colgate. Each year 26 students (a multiple of 13) are peer-selected for membership.
It is said that Colgate was founded by thirteen men with thirteen dollars, so the number 13 is lucky to Colgate. This manifests itself in a number of ways, such as Colgate's address and the number of students in certain groups such as Konosioni.
The 1932 Colgate football team was the only team in history to be undefeated, untied, and unscored upon. They finished the season 9-0. [5] The team became known as "Undefeated, untied, unscored upon, and uninvited," after not getting a bid to the Rose Bowl that season.
In 1936, the Colgate swim team made its first trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for spring break training at the Casino Pool. This became a regular tradition for Colgate that caught on with other schools across the country, and proved to be the genesis of the college spring break trip.[6]
The Colgate University Rugby Football Club is the oldest club sport at Colgate, founded in 1967. It participates in the New York State Rugby Football Conference, Division II. Their games are played on Academy Field, near Oak Drive on campus.
Ellis Island National Monument displays an anti-immigration statement by George Cutten, Colgate's eighth President, warning that "The danger the 'melting pot' brings to the nation is the breeding out of the higher divisions of the white race...." [7]

Traditions and legacies
Colgate is listed as one of America's 25 "new Ivies" by Newsweek magazine.[8] It is also on the list of "100 best campuses for LGBT students."[9] In October 2006, Colgate was ranked as the 2nd most fit college in America by Men's Fitness.[10] The University's campus is recognized by many as one of the most beautiful in the country and earned a 5th place ranking on the StudentsReview poll in 2005.[11]

Acknowledgements

• 2234 accepted out of 8759 applications

• The admissions office is not looking at the writing section of the new SAT until they can see if it is an accurate predictor of academic achievement in college.

Acceptance rate: 25.5%
2234 accepted out of 8759 applications
SAT middle 50%: 660-750 verbal, 660-740 math
The admissions office is not looking at the writing section of the new SAT until they can see if it is an accurate predictor of academic achievement in college.
ACT middle 50%: 30-33
Students from public/private high schools: 69%/31%
Tuition / Tuition, Fees, Room and Board - $34,795/$43,560
Student-Faculty Ratio - 10:1
Average class size - 19 Statistics (Class of 2011 - as of summer 2007)
80% of Colgate students are involved in sports on three different levels, varsity, club and intramural. Approximately 25% of students are involved in varsity athletics. There are 23 varsity teams, over 40 club sports teams, and 18 different intramural sports.
Colgate is part of NCAA Division I for all varsity sports except football, which is Division I-AA. The athletic teams are called the "Raiders," and the traditional team colors are maroon and white, with a more recent addition of gray in the 1970s. Colgate plays as part of either the Patriot League or the ECAC Hockey League, depending on the sport.
For much of its history, Colgate's sports teams were called the "Red Raiders." The origin of the name is disputed -- some claim it was in reference to the school color, maroon, while others say that it was a reference to the team's ability to defeat its much larger rival, the Cornell University "Big Red." In the 1970s, the school debated changing the name because of concerns that it was offensive to Native Americans. At that time the name was kept, but the mascot was changed from a Native American to a hand holding a torch. In 2001, a group of students approached the administration with the concern that the name "Red Raiders" still implied a Native American mascot. The school agreed to drop the word "Red" from the team name starting in the 2001-02 school year, due to concerns about the lingering association of "Red" with previously used Native American iconography (whether or not the use of the term "Red" was intended as such). Maroon News editorial, 27 April 2001 Some local TV outlets still use the logo with "Red Raiders" on it. A new mascot was introduced in 2006-07.
In 1989-90, Colgate became the smallest school in NCAA Division I history to reach the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship Tournament Final, where they lost to the University of Wisconsin.
Colgate University's football team has a rich history. The team was given a Division I first place ranking by Parke Davis in 1875 and 1932, and appeared in the Associated Press Division I polls in 1942 and 1977. Colgate began playing in NCAA Division I-AA in 1982, and made the Division I-AA football playoffs in 1982, 1983, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, and 2005. [12],[13]
In the 2003 season, for the first time, the Raiders made it to the NCAA I-AA championship game in football, where they lost to the University of Delaware. Their season record was 15-1. At the time, they had the longest winning streak in all of Division I football, including one win over a Division I-A team, SUNY Buffalo. The team received a second place ranking by Sports Network at the conclusion of the season.
Cornell is a common rival in all sports, while most of the teams other than football, golf, and hockey also compete annually against Syracuse University. Hockey games against Cornell are major events on campus, with students lining up for hours before the game in order to secure tickets. Cornell and Syracuse are both within two hours of Colgate's campus. Colgate and Syracuse were once fierce rivals in football (there are some old traditions related to their game), but a variety of factors, including the splitting of Division I football into Division I-A and Division I-AA (wins against I-AA opposition do not help a I-A team gain BCS eligibility) helped end the annual football rivalry after 1961, with the exception of games taking place in 1981, 1982 and 1987. Their lacrosse rivalry resumed in 2006, after the teams had not met for a few years.

Athletics
Colgate has a very strong Outdoor Education program. Courses are taught by student instructors who undergo a rigorous six-month training program including Wilderness First Responder certification. Trainees are chosen by an application process in the early fall that is open to all first-year and sophomore students. Courses include hiking, backpacking, sea kayaking, whitewater kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, caving, geo-caching, outdoor cooking, cross-country skiing, ice climbing, telemark skiing, x-country ski touring, and winter camping. Each August before first-year orientation, OE takes between 160 and 300 first-year students on 8-person, week-long back country canoeing, backpacking, and kayaking trips (called 'Wilderness Adventure') to the Adirondacks.

Controversy over Greek reorganization

Main article: List of Colgate University people

The Phaeno Science Center is a new interactive science center in Wolfsburg, Germany. Phaeno arose from progressive urban planning by the City of Wolfsburg. In 1998 City officials were developing a plot of vacant, public land immediately adjacent to Wolfsburg's railway station and just south of VW's huge, then-unfinished attraction Autostadt. An art museum was planned for the site, but Dr. Wolfgang Guthardt, then the City's Director for Culture, Sports and Education, knew that such an institution would compete with Wolfsburg's successful Kunst Museum (Art Museum) and needed other options. Guthardt visited Technorama, a science center in Switzerland and became convinced that a science center in Wolfsburg would complement both Autostadt and the Kunst Museum.
Preliminary planning began in November 1998, and one year later Joe Ansel, an American consultant and designer, was approached to handle the exhibitions and other operational aspects of the project. An architectural design competition was held in January 2000 and the prominent architect Zaha Hadid won. About five years later, phaeno opened to the public on November 24, 2005 with over 250 interactive exhibits from Ansel Associates, Inc. all enclosed in an astounding concrete structure designed by Zaha Hadid and her German associate, Mayer Bährle architects. The architectural design has been described as a "hypnotic work of architecture - the kind of building that utterly transforms our vision of the future."
The building effectively stands on concrete stilts allowing visitors to the Autostadt to pass through without having to interfere with the workings of the building. Phaeno is connected to the Autostadt via a metal bridge accessed by escalators and stairs either side. The underside of Phaeno is illuminated and the "stilts" are too.
Dr. Guthardt is now Phaeno's first Executive Director. Phaeno has enjoyed high attendance and broad public acceptance since its opening.

Coordinates: 26°54′N 75°48′E / 26.9, 75.8 Rājasthān (Devanāgarī: राजस्थान, IPA: [raːdʒəst̪ʰaːn]) pronunciation (help·info) is the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert (Thar Desert), which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with Pakistan. The region borders Pakistan to the west, Gujarat to the southwest, Madhya Pradesh to the southeast, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to the northeast and Punjab to the north. Rajasthan covers an area of 342,239 km² (132,139 mi²).
The state capital is Jaipur. Geographical features include the Thar Desert along north-western Rajasthan and the termination of the Ghaggar River near the archeological ruins at Kalibanga, which are the oldest in the subcontinent discovered so far.
One of the world's oldest mountain ranges, the Aravalli Range, cradles the only hill station of Rajasthan, Mount Abu, and its world-famous Dilwara Temples, a sacred pilgrimage for Jains. Eastern Rajasthan has two national tiger reserves, Ranthambore and Sariska, as well as Keoladeo National Park near Bharatpur, famous for its bird life.
Rajasthan was formed on 30 March 1949, when all erstwhile princely states merged into India. The only difference between erstwhile Rajputana and Rajasthan is that certain portions governed directly by the British Government, in the former province of Ajmer-Merwara, were included. Portions lying geographically outside of Rajputana and belonging to Tonk state were given to Madhya Pradesh.

Geography
The Aravali Range runs across the state from the southwest peak Guru Shikhar (Mount Abu), which is 1,722 m in height, to Khetri in the northeast. This divides the state into 60% in the northwest of the range and 40% in the southeast. The northwest tract is sandy and unproductive with little water but improves gradually from desert land in the far west and northwest to comparatively fertile and habitable land towards the east. The area includes the Thar Desert.
The south-eastern area, higher in elevation (100 to 350 m above sea level) and more fertile, has a very diversified topography. in the south lies the hilly tract of Mewar. In the southeast, a large area within the districts of Kota and Bundi forms a tableland. To the northeast of these districts is a rugged region (badlands) following the line of the Chambal River. Farther north the country levels out; the flat plains of the northeastern Bharatpur district are part of an alluvial basin.

Topography
Historical traditions are that Rajputs,Nath, Jats, Bhils, Ahirs, Gujars, Meenas and some other tribes made a great contribution in building the state of Rajasthan. All these tribes suffered great difficulties to protect their culture and the land. Millions
Rajasthan's formerly independent kingdoms created a rich architectural and cultural heritage, seen today in their numerous forts and palaces (Mahals and Havelis) which are enriched by features of Muslim] and Jain architecture.

History

Main article: Economy of Rajasthan Economy
Rajasthan's economy is primarily agricultural and pastoral. Wheat and barley are cultivated over large areas, as are pulses, sugarcane, and oilseeds. Cotton and tobacco are cash crops. Rajasthan is among the largest producers of edible oils in India and the second largest producer of oilseeds. Rajasthan is also the biggest wool-producing state in India. There are mainly two crop seasons. The water for irrigation comes from wells and tanks. The Indira Gandhi Canal irrigates northwestern Rajasthan.

Agriculture
The industrialisation of Rajasthan slowly began in 1960s. The main industries are mineral based, agriculture based, and textiles. Textiles - Rajasthan is the second largest producer of polyester fibre in India. Bhilwara District produces more cloth than Bhiwandi in Maharashtra.

Mining
Rajasthan is immensely rich in culture,wildlife etc.
Bharatpur Bird sanctuary (Keoladeo National Park)and Ranthambore Tiger Reserve of Rajasthan are among the best and most popular in the world. Desert National Park and Sariska Tiger Reserve are two other important among the many others wilderness areas. It must be added that this is merely a sketch of the prominent biodiversity of Rajasthan the water lily and lotus, looper caterpillar and dung beetle, viper and cobra to name a few of the good variety, they all part of the rich natural heritage of this state.

Rajasthan wildlife
Endowed with natural beauty and a great history, tourism is flourishing in Rajasthan. The palaces of Jaipur, lakes of Udaipur, and desert forts of Jodhpur, Bikaner & Jaisalmer are among the most preferred destination of many tourists, Indian and foreign. Tourism accounts for eight percent of the state's domestic product. Many old and neglected palaces and forts have been converted into heritage hotels. Tourism has increased employment in the hospitality sector.

Tourism
A spin-off of tourism has been the growth of the handicrafts industry.

Handicrafts
Rajasthan has a mainly Rajasthani population. Hindus account for 79.8% of the population. Muslims make up 16.9%, Jains 1.9% and Sikhs 1.3% of the population.
Rajasthan state is also populated by Sindhis, who came to Rajasthan from Sindh province (now in Pakistan) during the India-Pakistan separation in 1947.

Demographics
Rajasthan is culturally rich and has artistic and cultural traditions which reflect the ancient Indian way of life. There is rich and varied folk culture from villages which is both fascinating and mesmerizing. Highly cultivated classical music and dance with its own distinct style is part of the cultural tradition of Rajasthan. The music is of uncomplicated innocence and songs depict day-to-day relationships and chores, more often focused around fetching water from wells or ponds.

Culture
The mother tongue of the majority of people in Rajasthan is Rajasthani. Rajasthani and Hindi (the official language of India) are the most widely used languages in Rajasthan. After independence, Rajasthani was used as a medium of instruction, along with Hindi and English, in some schools. Some other languages used in Rajasthan are Sindhi, Gujarati and Punjabi.

Language
Every region has its own dialect, music and dance. The Ghoomar dance from Udaipur and Kalbeliya dance of Jaisalmer have gained international recognition. Folk music is a vital part of Rajasthani culture. Kathputali, Bhopa, Chang, Teratali, Ghindar, Kachchhighori, Tejaji etc. are the examples of the traditional Rajasthani culture. Folk songs are commonly ballads which relate heroic deeds and love stories; and religious or devotional songs known as bhajans and banis (often accompanied by musical instruments like dholak, sitar, sarangi etc.) are also sung.

Music and dance
Rajasthan is known for its traditional, colorful art. The block prints, tie and dye prints, Bagaru prints, Sanganer prints, Zari embroidery are major export products from Rajasthan. Handicraft items like wooden furniture and handicrafts, carpets, blue pottery are some of the things commonly found here. Rajasthan is a shoppers' paradise, with beautiful goods found at low prices.

Art
Reflecting the colorful Rajasthani culture, Rajasthani clothes have a lot of mirror-work and embroidery. A Rajasthani traditional dress for females comprises of an ankle length skirt and a short top, also known as a lehenga or a chaniya choli. A piece of cloth is used to cover the head, both for protection from heat and maintainence of modesty. Rajasthani dresses are usually designed in bright colours like blue, yellow and orange.

Clothes
Rajasthan is famous for the majestic forts, intricately carved temples and decorated havelis, which were built by kings in previous ages. Jantar Mantar, Dilwara Temples ,Chittorgarh Fort, Lake Palace Hotel, City Palaces, Jaisalmer Havelis are part of the true architectural heritage of India. Jaipur, the Pink City, is noted for the ancient houses made of a type of sand stone dominated by a pink hue. At Ajmer, the white marble Bara-dari on the Anasagar lake is exquisite.
Jain Temples dot Rajasthan from north to south and east to west. Dilwara Temples of Mt. Abu, Ranakpur Temple dedicated to Lord Adinath near Udaipur, Jain temples in the fort complexes of Chittor, Jaisalmer and Kumbhalgarh, Lodarva Jain temples, Bhandasar Temple of Bikaner are some of the best examples.

Architecture
Rajasthan is often called a shopper's paradise. Rajasthan is famous for textiles, semi-precious stones and handicrafts. The attractive designs of jewellery and clothes are eye-catching and invite shoppers. Rajasthani furniture has intricate carvings and bright colours. Rajasthani handicrafts are in demand due to the intricate work on them.
Above all, Rajasthan's shopping appeals to both tourists and people from other parts of India due to its cheap prices for quality goods.

Shopping
Rajasthan is a colorful land. There are many holy festivals of Hindus, Islam and other religions. The main religious festivals are Deepawali, Holi, Gangaur, Teej, Gogaji, Makar Sankranti and Janmashtami, as the main religion is Hinduism.
Rajasthan's desert festival is celebrated with great zest and zeal. This festival is held once a year during winters. Dressed in brilliantly hued costumes, the people of the desert dance and sing haunting ballads of valor, romance and tragedy. There are fairs with snake charmers, puppeteers, acrobats and folk performers. Camels, of course, play a stellar role in this festival.
Camels are an integral part of the desert life and the camel events during the Desert Festival confirm this fact. Special efforts go into dressing the animal for entering the spectacular competition of the best-dressed camel. Other interesting competitions on the fringes are the moustache and turban tying competitions. Both the turban and the moustache are centuries old symbols of honor in Rajasthan.

Festivals

List of people from Rajasthan People from Rajasthan
Rajasthan's politics has mainly been dominated by the two state stalwarts, namely, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Mohan Lal Sukhadia of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress respectively. Shri Sukhadia ruled Rajasthan for 17 years and died in February 1982 while Shri Shekhawat is now in the national political horizon. The earlier politics were dominated by the Congress party. The main opposition party was the Bharatiya Jansangh, headed by Rajasthan's most popular leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and the Swatantra party headed by former rulers of Rajasthan. The Congress rule was untouched till the year 1962. But in the year 1967, Jansangh headed by Shekhawat and Swatantra party headed by Rajmata Gayatri Devi of Jaipur reached the majority point, but couldn't form a government. In 1972, the Congress won a landslide victory. But after the declaration of emergency, Shekhawat became immensly popular, especially after a forced arrest. As soon as the emergency was lifted, a joint opposition Janta Party won a thundering landslide victory winning 151 of the 200 seats. Shekhawat became the Chief Minister. The government was dismissed by Indira Gandhi in 1980 after she restored power in Delhi. In the 1980 elections, the Janta Party split at the centre giving Congress a victory in Rajasthan. Indira Gandhi was murdered in the year 1984, and in the year 1985, a sympathy wave let the Congress sail through in the elections. But in 1989, which could be called a Shekhawat wave, the BJP-JD alliance won all 25 Lok Sabha seats and 140 of 200 seats in the assembly. Shekhawat became the Chief Minister for the second term. After the Babri Mosque demolition in Ayodhya, Shekhawat government was suspended by the P.M., Narsimha Rao and President's rule was introduced in Rajasthan. Election took place in the year 1993 in which his party won even after the breaking of its alliance with the Janta Dal. Shekhawat became the Chief Minister for the third term. This time he ran a succesful third term. In 1998 elections, the BJP lost heavily due to the onion price rise issue. Ashok Gehlot ran a 5 year government. Shekhawat became the Vice-President of India in the year 2002 so he had to leave Rajasthan politics and the BJP. Vasundhara raje was appointed his succesor. She led the BJP in 2003 elections and led it to a victory. She is the Chief Minister of Rajasthan since then. Narpat Singh Rajvi is the Industry Minister, Ghanshyam Tiwari Education Minister and Gulab Chand Kataria Home Minister. Next elections are due in 2008.

Government and politics
The main universities in the state are :
The other major educational institutions are :

List of Universities in Rajasthan
University of Rajasthan, Jaipur
Mohanlal Sukhadia Univertsity, Udaipur
Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer
Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur
Rajasthan Agriculture University, Bikaner
National Law University, Jodhpur
( University of Bikaner), Bikaner
List of medical colleges in Rajasthan
Birla Institute of Technology and Science,Pilani
Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur
Banasthali Vidyapith, Jaipur
Mayo College, Ajmer
College of Technology & Engineering, Udaipur
MBM Engineering College, Jodhpur
Vardhman Mahaveer Open University,Kota Education
Though a large percentage of the total area is desert, and even though there is little forest cover, Rajasthan has a rich and varied flora and fauna. The natural vegetation is classed as Northern Desert Thorn Forest (Champion 1936). These occur in small clumps scattered in a more or less open forms. Density and size of patches increase from west to east following the increase in rainfall.
Some wildlife species, which are fast vanishing in other parts of India, are found in the desert in large numbers such as the Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps), the Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), the Indian Gazelle (Gazella bennettii) and the Indian Wild Ass.
The Desert National Park, Jaisalmer, spread over an area of 3162 km², is an excellent example of the ecosystem of the Thar Desert, and its diverse fauna. Great Indian Bustard, Blackbuck, chinkara, desert fox, Bengal fox, wolf, desert cat etc. can be easily seen here. Seashells and massive fossilized tree trunks in this park record the geological history of the desert. The region is a haven for migratory and resident birds of the desert. One can see many eagles, harriers, falcons, buzzards, kestrel and vultures. Short-toed Eagles (Circaetus gallicus), Tawny Eagles (Aquila rapax), Spotted Eagles (Aquila clanga), Laggar Falcons (Falco jugger) and kestrels are the commonest of these.
Tal Chhapar Sanctuary is a very small sanctuary in Churu District, 210 km from Jaipur, in the Shekhawati region. This sanctuary is home to a large population of graceful Blackbuck. Desert Fox and desert cat can also be spotted along with typical avifauna such as partridge and sand grouse.

Flora and fauna
Many sportpersons who have represented India at many international events.and they encourage spors

Sports
Rajasthan has a good inter city surface transport system both in terms of railways and bus network. If one is covering the state as a tourist, one of the best ways to do so is by road. The fact that each of the major cities is about 250-300kms from the next one, helps planning the trip much better. The roads connecting these cities are also very well maintained barring a few patches where some maintenance work is currently underway.

Transport

Main article: Districts of Rajasthan Districts
Jaisalmer
Udaipur
Jodhpur
Amber
Alwar
Churu
A view of Jaipur Ajmer Road
Ajmer Masjid
Udaipur
Udaipur
Ranakpur
Bada Bagh, near Jaisalmer
Wind turbines near Jaisalmer
Amber
Jodhpur
Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur

Statistics

Districts of Rajasthan

Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1941) is an Academy Award-winning English film actress. She was also a pop icon of the Swinging London era of the 1960s.

Biography
Christie was born in Assam, India, then part of the British Empire, as one of two children. Her mother, Rosemary Ramsden, was a Welsh-born painter and childhood friend of actor Richard Burton. Her father, Frank St. John Christie, ran the tea plantation around which Christie grew up. She had a brother and a half-sibling from her father's affair with an Indian mistress. before getting her big break in 1961 in a science fiction series on BBC television, entitled A for Andromeda.

Early life
Christie's first major film role was as Liz, the friend and would-be lover of the eponymous Billy Liar played by Tom Courtenay in the 1963 film directed by John Schlesinger. Schlesinger, who only cast Christie after another actress dropped out of his film, directed her in her breakthrough role, as the amoral model Diana Scott in Darling (1965), a role which the producers originally offered to Shirley MacLaine. Though virtually unknown before Darling (1965), Christie ended the year 1965 by appearing as Lara Antipova in David Lean's adaptation of Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago (1965), which was one of the all-time box office hits, and as Dasiy Battles in Young Cassidy, the John Ford-Jack Cardiff directed biopic of Irish playwright Sean O'Casey. In 1966, the 25-year-old Christie won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Darling (1965). Later, she played Thomas Hardy's heroine Bathsheba Everdene in Schlesinger's Far from the Madding Crowd (1967) and the lead character, Petulia Danner, (opposite George C. Scott) in Richard Lester's Petulia (1968).
In the 1970s, Christie starred in such films as Robert Altman's McCabe and Mrs Miller (1971) (her second Best Actress Oscar nomination), The Go-Between (again co-starring Alan Bates, 1971), Don't Look Now (1973), Shampoo (1975), Altman's classic Nashville (also 1975, in an amusing cameo as herself opposite Karen Black and Henry Gibson), Demon Seed (1977), and Heaven Can Wait (1978). She moved to Hollywood during the decade, where she had a high-profile (1967-1974), but intermittent relationship with actor Warren Beatty who described her as "the most beautiful and at the same time the most nervous person I had ever known".

Personal life

Billy Liar (1963)
Darling (1965)
Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)
Tonite Let's All Make Love in London (1967)
Petulia (1968)
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
The Go-Between (1971)
Don't Look Now (1973)
Shampoo (1975)
Nashville (1975)
Demon Seed (1977)
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Memoirs of a Survivor (1981)
The Return of the Soldier (1982)
Heat and Dust (1983)
The Railway Station Man (1992)
Hamlet (1996)
Afterglow (1997)
Belphégor - Le fantôme du Louvre (2001)
No Such Thing (2001)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Finding Neverland (2004)
Troy (2004)
Away From Her (2006)

This is a list of settlements in Cyprus. The list first lists the English name followed by the Greek name in Greek script - If this name differs from the English name, the Greek name is then rendered in the Latin alphabet - followed further by the Turkish names. And finally, the Old names are shown last. Note that eventhough some Turkish names existed for some villages/towns, prior to 1974 Turkish invasion, most of the villages/towns were given a different, Turkish name for political reasons.

Minor towns and villages

Amathus
Antiphonitis (a church)
Kantara Castle
Kourion
St. Hilarion Castle
Salamis
Soli
Vouni Historic sites

Akamas (a peninsula)
Akrotiri Bay
Chrysochous Bay
Cape Apostolos Andreas
Cape Arnauti
Cape Greco (Cape Gkreko / Pidalio)
Cape Elaia
Cape Kiti
Cape Kormakitis
Cape Platoki
Cape Zevgari
Episkopi Bay
Famagusta Bay
Karpass Peninsula
Kyparissovouno (a mountain)
Kyrenia mountain range
Larnaca Bay
Mesaoria (the great plains in eastern Cyprus)
Mount Olympus
Morphou Bay (Greek: Κολπος Μορφου, Kolpos Morfou; Turkish: Güzelyurt Körfezi)
Pedhieos (the island's longest river)
Pentadaktylos, Turkish: Beşparmak (A mountain. Both names mean Five fingers)
Pitsilia
Tillyria Turkish Dillirga (area in NW Cyprus)
Troodos Mountains (a mountain range) List of Greek and Turkish names for towns in occupied Cyprus

List of cities
Districts of Cyprus