anarchism originated as a term of abuse first used against early working class radicals including the diggers of the english revolution and the sans culottes of the french revolution whilst the term is still used in a pejorative way to describe any act that used violent means to destroy the organization of society it has also been taken up as a positive label by self defined anarchists the word anarchism is derived from the greek without archons ruler chief king anarchism as a political philosophy is the belief that rulers are unnecessary and should be abolished although there are differing interpretations of what this means anarchism also refers to related social movements that advocate the elimination of authoritarian institutions particularly the state the word anarchy as most anarchists use it does not imply chaos nihilism or anomie but rather a harmonious anti authoritarian society in place of what are regarded as authoritarian political structures and coercive economic institutions anarchists advocate social relations based upon voluntary association of autonomous individuals mutual aid and self governance while anarchism is most easily defined by what it is against anarchists also offer positive visions of what they believe to be a truly free society however ideas about how an anarchist society might work vary considerably especially with respect to economics there is also disagreement about how a free society might be brought about origins and predecessors kropotkin and others argue that before recorded history human society was organized on anarchist principles most anthropologists follow kropotkin and engels in believing that hunter gatherer bands were egalitarian and lacked division of labour accumulated wealth or decreed law and had equal access to resources william godwin anarchists including the the anarchy organisation and rothbard find anarchist attitudes in taoism from ancient china kropotkin found similar ideas in stoic zeno of citium according to kropotkin zeno repudiated the omnipotence of the state its intervention and regimentation and proclaimed the sovereignty of the moral law of the individual the anabaptists of one six th century europe are sometimes considered to be religious forerunners of modern anarchism bertrand russell in his history of western philosophy writes that the anabaptists repudiated all law since they held that the good man will be guided at every moment by the holy spirit from this premise they arrive at communism the diggers or true levellers were an early communistic movement during the time of the english civil war and are considered by some as forerunners of modern anarchism in the modern era the first to use the term to mean something other than chaos was louis armand baron de lahontan in his nouveaux voyages dans l am rique septentrionale one seven zero three where he described the indigenous american society which had no state laws prisons priests or private property as being in anarchy russell means a libertarian and leader in the american indian movement has repeatedly stated that he is an anarchist and so are all his ancestors in one seven nine three in the thick of the french revolution william godwin published an enquiry concerning political justice although godwin did not use the word anarchism many later anarchists have regarded this book as the first major anarchist text and godwin as the founder of philosophical anarchism but at this point no anarchist movement yet existed and the term anarchiste was known mainly as an insult hurled by the bourgeois girondins at more radical elements in the french revolution the first self labelled anarchist pierre joseph proudhon it is commonly held that it wasn t until pierre joseph proudhon published what is property in one eight four zero that the term anarchist was adopted as a self description it is for this reason that some claim proudhon as the founder of modern anarchist theory in what is property proudhon answers with the famous accusation property is theft in this work he opposed the institution of decreed property propri t where owners have complete rights to use and abuse their property as they wish such as exploiting workers for profit in its place proudhon supported what he called possession individuals can have limited rights to use resources capital and goods in accordance with principles of equality and justice proudhon s vision of anarchy which he called mutualism mutuellisme involved an exchange economy where individuals and groups could trade the products of their labor using labor notes which represented the amount of working time involved in production this would ensure that no one would profit from the labor of others workers could freely join together in co operative workshops an interest free bank would be set up to provide everyone with access to the means of production proudhon s ideas were influential within french working class movements and his followers were active in the revolution of one eight four eight in france proudhon s philosophy of property is complex it was developed in a number of works over his lifetime and there are differing interpretations of some of his ideas for more detailed discussion see here max stirner s egoism in his the ego and its own stirner argued that most commonly accepted social institutions including the notion of state property as a right natural rights in general and the very notion of society were mere illusions or ghosts in the mind saying of society that the individuals are its reality he advocated egoism and a form of amoralism in which individuals would unite in associations of egoists only when it was in their self interest to do so for him property simply comes about through might whoever knows how to take to defend the thing to him belongs property and what i have in my power that is my own so long as i assert myself as holder i am the proprietor of the thing stirner never called himself an anarchist he accepted only the label egoist nevertheless his ideas were influential on many individualistically inclined anarchists although interpretations of his thought are diverse american individualist anarchism benjamin tucker in one eight two five josiah warren had participated in a communitarian experiment headed by robert owen called new harmony which failed in a few years amidst much internal conflict warren blamed the community s failure on a lack of individual sovereignty and a lack of private property warren proceeded to organise experimenal anarchist communities which respected what he called the sovereignty of the individual at utopia and modern times in one eight three three warren wrote and published the peaceful revolutionist which some have noted to be the first anarchist periodical ever published benjamin tucker says that warren was the first man to expound and formulate the doctrine now known as anarchism liberty xiv december one nine zero zero one benjamin tucker became interested in anarchism through meeting josiah warren and william b greene he edited and published liberty from august one eight eight one to april one nine zero eight it is widely considered to be the finest individualist anarchist periodical ever issued in the english language tucker s conception of individualist anarchism incorporated the ideas of a variety of theorists greene s ideas on mutual banking warren s ideas on cost as the limit of price a heterodox variety of labour theory of value proudhon s market anarchism max stirner s egoism and herbert spencer s law of equal freedom tucker strongly supported the individual s right to own the product of his or her labour as private property and believed in a market economy for trading this property he argued that in a truly free market system without the state the abundance of competition would eliminate profits and ensure that all workers received the full value of their labor other one nine th century individualists included lysander spooner stephen pearl andrews and victor yarros the first international mikhail bakunin one eight one four one eight seven six in europe harsh reaction followed the revolutions of one eight four eight twenty years later in one eight six four the international workingmen s association sometimes called the first international united some diverse european revolutionary currents including anarchism due to its genuine links to active workers movements the international became signficiant from the start karl marx was a leading figure in the international he was elected to every succeeding general council of the association the first objections to marx came from the mutualists who opposed communism and statism shortly after mikhail bakunin and his followers joined in one eight six eight the first international became polarised into two camps with marx and bakunin as their respective figureheads the clearest difference between the camps was over strategy the anarchists around bakunin favoured in kropotkin s words direct economical struggle against capitalism without interfering in the political parliamentary agitation at that time marx and his followers focused on parliamentary activity bakunin characterised marx s ideas as authoritarian and predicted that if a marxist party gained to power its leaders would end up as bad as the ruling class they had fought against in one eight seven two the conflict climaxed with a final split between the two groups at the hague congress this is often cited as the origin of the conflict between anarchists and marxists from this moment the social democratic and libertarian currents of socialism had distinct organisations including rival internationals anarchist communism peter kropotkin proudhon and bakunin both opposed communism associating it with statism however in the one eight seven zero s many anarchists moved away from bakunin s economic thinking called collectivism and embraced communist concepts communists believed the means of production should be owned collectively and that goods be distributed by need not labor an early anarchist communist was joseph d jacque the first person to describe himself as libertarian unlike proudhon he argued that it is not the product of his or her labor that the worker has a right to but to the satisfaction of his or her needs whatever may be their nature he announced his ideas in his us published journal le libertaire one eight five eight one eight six one peter kropotkin often seen as the most important theorist outlined his economic ideas in the conquest of bread and fields factories and workshops he felt co operation is more beneficial than competition illustrated in nature in mutual aid a factor of evolution one eight nine seven subsequent anarchist communists include emma goldman and alexander berkman many in the anarcho syndicalist movements see below saw anarchist communism as their objective isaac puente s one nine three two comunismo libertario was adopted by the spanish cnt as its manifesto for a post revolutionary society some anarchists disliked merging communism with anarchism several individualist anarchists maintained that abolition of private property was not consistent with liberty for example benjamin tucker whilst professing respect for kropotkin and publishing his work described communist anarchism as pseudo anarchism propaganda of the deed johann most was an outspoken advocate of violence anarchists have often been portrayed as dangerous and violent due mainly to a number of high profile violent acts including riots assassinations insurrections and terrorism by some anarchists some revolutionaries of the late one nine th century encouraged acts of political violence such as bombings and the assassinations of heads of state to further anarchism such actions have sometimes been called propaganda by the deed one of the more outspoken advocates of this strategy was johann most who said the existing system will be quickest and most radically overthrown by the annihilation of its exponents therefore massacres of the enemies of the people must be set in motion most s preferred method of terrorism dynamite earned him the moniker dynamost however there is no consensus on the legitimacy or utility of violence in general mikhail bakunin and errico malatesta for example wrote of violence as a necessary and sometimes desirable force in revolutionary settings but at the same time they denounced acts of individual terrorism malatesta in on violence and bakunin when he refuted nechaev other anarchists sometimes identified as pacifist anarchists advocated complete nonviolence leo tolstoy whose philosophy is often viewed as a form of christian anarchism see below was a notable exponent of nonviolent resistance anarchism in the labour movement the red and black flag coming from the experience of anarchists in the labour movement is particularly associated with anarcho syndicalism anarcho syndicalism was an early two zero th century working class movement seeking to overthrow capitalism and the state to institute a worker controlled society the movement pursued industrial actions such as general strike as a primary strategy many anarcho syndicalists believed in anarchist communism though not all communists believed in syndicalism after the one eight seven one repression french anarchism reemerged influencing the bourses de travails of autonomous workers groups and trade unions from this movement the conf d ration g n rale du travail general confederation of work cgt was formed in one eight nine five as the first major anarcho syndicalist movement emile pataud and emile pouget s writing for the cgt saw libertarian communism developing from a general strike after one nine one four the cgt moved away from anarcho syndicalism due to the appeal of bolshevism french style syndicalism was a significant movement in europe prior to one nine two one and remained a significant movement in spain until the mid one nine four zero s the industrial workers of the world iww founded in one nine zero five in the us espoused unionism and sought a general strike to usher in a stateless society in one nine two three one zero zero zero zero zero members existed with the support of up to three zero zero zero zero zero though not explicitly anarchist they organized by rank and file democracy embodying a spirit of resistance that has inspired many anglophone syndicalists cnt propaganda from april two zero zero four reads don t let the politicians rule our lives you vote and they decide don t allow it unity action self management spanish anarchist trade union federations were formed in the one eight seven zero s one nine zero zero and one nine one zero the most successful was the confederaci n nacional del trabajo national confederation of labour cnt founded in one nine one zero prior to the one nine four zero s the cnt was the major force in spanish working class politics with a membership of one five eight million in one nine three four the cnt played a major role in the spanish civil war see also anarchism in spain syndicalists like ricardo flores mag n were key figures in the mexican revolution latin american anarchism was strongly influenced extending to the zapatista rebellion and the factory occupation movements in argentina in berlin in one nine two two the cnt was joined with the international workers association an anarcho syndicalist successor to the first international contemporary anarcho syndicalism continues as a minor force in many socities much smaller than in the one nine one zero s two zero s and three zero s the largest organised anarchist movement today is in spain in the form of the confederaci n general del trabajo and the cnt the cgt claims a paid up membership of six zero zero zero zero and received over a million votes in spanish syndical elections other active syndicalist movements include the us workers solidarity alliance and the uk solidarity federation the revolutionary industrial unionist industrial workers of the world also exists claiming two zero zero zero paid members contemporary critics of anarcho syndicalism and revolutionary industrial unionism claim that they are workerist and fail to deal with economic life outside work post leftist critics such as bob black claim anarcho syndicalism advocates oppressive social structures such as work and the workplace anarcho syndicalists in general uphold principles of workers solidarity direct action and self management the russian revolution the russian revolution of one nine one seven was a seismic event in the development of anarchism as a movement and as a philosophy anarchists participated alongside the bolsheviks in both february and october revolutions many anarchists initially supporting the bolshevik coup however the bolsheviks soon turned against the anarchists and other left wing opposition a conflict which culminated in the one nine one eight kronstadt rebellion anarchists in central russia were imprisoned or driven underground or joined the victorious bolsheviks in ukraine anarchists fought in the civil war against both whites and bolsheviks within the makhnovshchina peasant army led by nestor makhno expelled american anarchists emma goldman and alexander berkman before leaving russia were amongst those agitating in response to bolshevik policy and the suppression of the kronstadt uprising both wrote classic accounts of their experiences in russia aiming to expose the reality of bolshevik control for them bakunin s predictions about the consequences of marxist rule had proved all too true the victory of the bolsheviks in the october revolution and the resulting russian civil war did serious damage to anarchist movements internationally many workers and activists saw bolshevik success as setting an example communist parties grew at the expense of anarchism and other socialist movements in france and the us for example the major syndicalist movements of the cgt and iww began to realign themselves away from anarchism and towards the communist international in paris the dielo truda group of russian anarchist exiles which included nestor makhno concluded that anarchists needed to develop new forms of organisation in response to the structures of bolshevism their one nine two six manifesto known as the organisational platform of the libertarian communists was supported by some communist anarchists though opposed by many others the platform continues to inspire some contemporary anarchist groups who believe in an anarchist movement organised around its principles of theoretical unity tactical unity collective responsibility and federalism platformist groups today include the workers solidarity movement in ireland the uk s anarchist federation and the late north eastern federation of anarchist communists in the northeastern united states and bordering canada the fight against fascism spain one nine three six members of the cnt construct armoured cars to fight against the fascists in one of the collectivised factories in the one nine two zero s and one nine three zero s the familiar dynamics of anarchism s conflict with the state were transformed by the rise of fascism in europe in many cases european anarchists faced difficult choices should they join in popular fronts with reformist democrats and soviet led communists against a common fascist enemy luigi fabbri an exile from italian fascism was amongst those arguing that fascism was something different fascism is not just another form of government which like all others uses violence it is the most authoritarian and the most violent form of government imaginable it represents the utmost glorification of the theory and practice of the principle of authority in france where the fascists came close to insurrection in the february one nine three four riots anarchists divided over a united front policy in spain the cnt initially refused to join a popular front electoral alliance and abstention by cnt supporters led to a right wing election victory but in one nine three six the cnt changed its policy and anarchist votes helped bring the popular front back to power months later the ruling class responded with an attempted coup and the spanish civil war one nine three six three nine was underway in reponse to the army rebellion an anarchist inspired movement of peasants and workers supported by armed militias took control of the major city of barcelona and of large areas of rural spain where they collectivized the land but even before the eventual fascist victory in one nine three nine the anarchists were losing ground in a bitter struggle with the stalinists the cnt leadership often appeared confused and divided with some members controversially entering the government stalinist led troops suppressed the collectives and persecuted both dissident marxists and anarchists since the late one nine seven zero s anarchists have been involved in fighting the rise of neo fascist groups in germany and the united kingdom some anarchists worked within militant anti fascist groups alongside members of the marxist left they advocated directly combating fascists with physical force rather than relying on the state since the late one nine nine zero s a similar tendency has developed within us anarchism see also anti racist action us anti fascist action uk antifa religious anarchism leo tolstoy one eight two eight one nine one zero most anarchist culture tends to be secular if not outright anti religious however the combination of religious social conscience historical religiousity amongst oppressed social classes and the compatibility of some interpretations of religious traditions with anarchism has resulted in religious anarchism christian anarchists believe that there is no higher authority than god and oppose earthly authority such as government and established churches they believe that jesus teachings were clearly anarchistic but were corrupted when christianity was declared the official religion of rome christian anarchists who follow jesus directive to turn the other cheek are strict pacifists the most famous advocate of christian anarchism was leo tolstoy author of the kingdom of god is within you who called for a society based on compassion nonviolent principles and freedom christian anarchists tend to form experimental communities they also occasionally resist taxation many christian anarchists are vegetarian or vegan christian anarchy can be said to have roots as old as the religion s birth as the early church exhibits many anarchistic tendencies such as communal goods and wealth by aiming to obey utterly certain of the bible s teachings certain anabaptist groups of sixteenth century europe attempted to emulate the early church s social economic organisation and philosophy by regarding it as the only social structure capable of true obediance to jesus teachings and utterly rejected in theory all earthly hierarchies and authority and indeed non anabaptists in general and violence as ungodly such groups for example the hutterites typically went from initially anarchistic beginnings to as their movements stabalised more authoritarian social models chinese anarchism was most influential in the one nine two zero s strands of chinese anarchism included tai xu s buddhist anarchism which was influenced by tolstoy and the well field system neopaganism with its focus on the environment and equality along with its often decentralized nature has lead to a number of neopagan anarchists one of the most prominent is starhawk who writes extensively about both spirituality and activism anarchism and feminism emma goldman early french feminists such as jenny d h ricourt and juliette adam criticised the mysogyny in the anarchism of proudhon during the one eight five zero s anarcha feminism is a kind of radical feminism that espouses the belief that patriarchy is a fundamental problem in society while anarchist feminism has existed for more than a hundred years its explicit formulation as anarcha feminism dates back to the early seven zero s during the second wave feminist movement anarcha feminism views patriarchy as the first manifestation of hierarchy in human history thus the first form of oppression occurred in the dominance of male over female anarcha feminists then conclude that if feminists are against patriarchy they must also be against all forms of hierarchy and therefore must reject the authoritarian nature of the state and capitalism anarcho primitivists see the creation of gender roles and patriarchy a creation of the start of civilization and therefore consider primitivism to also be an anarchist school of thought that addresses feminist concerns eco feminism is often considered a feminist variant of green anarchist feminist thought anarcha feminism is most often associated with early two zero th century authors and theorists such as emma goldman and voltairine de cleyre although even early first wave feminist mary wollstonecraft held proto anarchist views and william godwin is often considered a feminist anarchist precursor it should be noted that goldman and de cleyre though they both opposed the state had opposing philosophies as de cleyre explains miss goldman is a communist i am an individualist she wishes to destroy the right of property i wish to assert it i make my war upon privilege and authority whereby the right of property the true right in that which is proper to the individual is annihilated she believes that co operation would entirely supplant competition i hold that competition in one form or another will always exist and that it is highly desirable it should in the spanish civil war an anarcha feminist group free women organized to defend both anarchist and feminist ideas in the modern day anarchist movement many anarchists male or female consider themselves feminists and anarcha feminist ideas are growing the publishing of quiet rumors an anarcha feminist reader has helped to spread various kinds of anti authoritarian and anarchist feminist ideas to the broader movement wendy mcelroy has popularized an individualist anarchism take on feminism in her books articles and individualist feminist website anarcho capitalism murray rothbard one nine two six one nine nine five anarcho capitalism is a predominantly united states based theoretical tradition that desires a stateless society with the economic system of free market capitalism unlike other branches of anarchism it does not oppose profit or capitalism consequently most anarchists do not recognise anarcho capitalism as a form of anarchism murray rothbard s synthesis of classical liberalism and austrian economics was germinal for the development of contemporary anarcho capitalist theory he defines anarcho capitalism in terms of the non aggression principle based on the concept of natural law competiting theorists use egoism utilitarianism used by david friedman or contractarianism used by jan narveson some minarchists such as ayn rand robert nozick and robert a heinlein have influenced anarcho capitalism some anarcho capitalists along with some right wing libertarian historians such as david hart and ralph raico considered similar philosophies existing prior to rothbard to be anarcho capitalist such as those of gustave de molinari and auberon herbert opponents of anarcho capitalists dispute these claims the place of anarcho capitalism within anarchism and indeed whether it is a form of anarchism at all is highly controversial for more on this debate see anarchism and anarcho capitalism anarchism and the environment since the late one nine seven zero s anarchists in anglophone and european countries have been taking action for the natural environment eco anarchists or green anarchists believe in deep ecology this is a worldview that embraces biodiversity and sustainability eco anarchists often use direct action against what they see as earth destroying institutions of particular importance is the earth first movement that takes action such as tree sitting another important component is ecofeminism which sees the domination of nature as a metaphor for the domination of women green anarchism also involves a critique of industrial capitalism and for some green anarchists civilization itself primitivism is a predominantly western philosophy that advocates a return to a pre industrial and usually pre agricultural society it develops a critique of industrial civilization in this critique technology and development have alienated people from the natural world this philosophy develops themes present in the political action of the luddites and the writings of jean jacques rousseau primitivism developed in the context of the reclaim the streets earth first and the earth liberation front movements john zerzan wrote that civilization not just the state would need to fall for anarchy to be achieved anarcho primitivists point to the anti authoritarian nature of many primitive or hunter gatherer societies throughout the world s history as examples of anarchist societies other branches and offshoots anarchism generates many eclectic and syncretic philosophies and movements since the western social formet in the one nine six zero s and one nine seven zero s a number new of movements and schools have appeared most of these stances are limited to even smaller numbers than the schools and movements listed above hakim bey post left anarchy post left anarchy also called egoist anarchism seeks to distance itself from the traditional left communists liberals social democrats etc and to escape the confines of ideology in general post leftists argue that anarchism has been weakened by its long attachment to contrary leftist movements and single issue causes anti war anti nuclear etc it calls for a synthesis of anarchist thought and a specifically anti authoritarian revolutionary movement outside of the leftist milieu it often focuses on the individual rather than speaking in terms of class or other broad generalizations and shuns organizational tendencies in favor of the complete absence of explicit hierarchy important groups and individuals associated with post left anarchy include crimethinc the magazine anarchy a journal of desire armed and its editor jason mcquinn bob black hakim bey and others for more information see infoshop org s anarchy after leftism section and the post left section on anarchism ws see also post left anarchy post structuralism the term postanarchism was originated by saul newman first receiving popular attention in his book from bakunin to lacan to refer to a theoretical move towards a synthesis of classical anarchist theory and poststructuralist thought subsequent to newman s use of the term however it has taken on a life of its own and a wide range of ideas including autonomism post left anarchy situationism post colonialism and zapatismo by its very nature post anarchism rejects the idea that it should be a coherent set of doctrines and beliefs as such it is difficult if not impossible to state with any degree of certainty who should or shouldn t be grouped under the rubric nonetheless key thinkers associated with post anarchism include saul newman todd may gilles deleuze and f lix guattari external reference postanarchism clearinghouse see also post anarchism insurrectionary anarchism insurrectionary anarchism is a form of revolutionary anarchism critical of formal anarchist labor unions and federations insurrectionary anarchists advocate informal organization including small affinity groups carrying out acts of resistance in various struggles and mass organizations called base structures which can include exploited individuals who are not anarchists proponents include wolfi landstreicher and alfredo m bonanno author of works including armed joy and the anarchist tension this tendency is represented in the us in magazines such as willful disobedience and killing king abacus see also insurrectionary anarchism small a anarchism small a anarchism is a term used in two different but not unconnected contexts dave neal posited the term in opposition to big a anarchism in the article anarchism ideology or methodology while big a anarchism referred to ideological anarchists small a anarchism was applied to their methodological counterparts those who viewed anarchism as a way of acting or a historical tendency against illegitimate authority as an anti ideological position small a anarchism shares some similarities with post left anarchy david graeber and andrej grubacic offer an alternative use of the term applying it to groups and movements organising according to or acting in a manner consistent with anarchist principles of decentralisation voluntary association mutual aid the network model and crucially the rejection of any idea that the end justifies the means let alone that the business of a revolutionary is to seize state power and then begin imposing one s vision at the point of a gun other issues conceptions of an anarchist society many political philosophers justify support of the state as a means of regulating violence so that the destruction caused by human conflict is minimized and fair relationships are established anarchists argue that pursuit of these ends does not justify the establishment of a state many argue that the state is incompatible with those goals and the cause of chaos violence and war anarchists argue that the state helps to create a monopoly on violence and uses violence to advance elite interests much effort has been dedicated to explaining how anarchist societies would handle criminality see also anarchism and society civil rights and cultural sovereignty black anarchism opposes the existence of a state capitalism and subjugation and domination of people of color and favors a non hierarchical organization of society theorists include ashanti alston lorenzo komboa ervin and sam mbah anarchist people of color was created as a forum for non caucasian anarchists to express their thoughts about racial issues within the anarchist movement particularly within the united states national anarchism is a political view which seeks to unite cultural or ethnic preservation with anarchist views its adherents propose that those preventing ethnic groups or races from living in separate autonomous groupings should be resisted anti racist action is not an anarchist group but many anarchists are involved it focuses on publicly confronting racist agitators the zapatista movement of chiapas mexico is a cultural sovereignty group with some anarchist proclivities neocolonialism and globalization nearly all anarchists oppose neocolonialism as an attempt to use economic coercion on a global scale carried out through state institutions such as the world bank world trade organization group of eight and the world economic forum globalization is an ambiguous term that has different meanings to different anarchist factions most anarchists use the term to mean neocolonialism and or cultural imperialism which they may see as related many are active in the anti globalization movement others particularly anarcho capitalists use globalization to mean the worldwide expansion of the division of labor and trade which they see as beneficial so long as governments do not intervene parallel structures many anarchists try to set up alternatives to state supported institutions and outposts such as food not bombs infoshops educational systems such as home schooling neighborhood mediation arbitration groups and so on the idea is to create the structures for a new anti authoritarian society in the shell of the old authoritarian one technology recent technological developments have made the anarchist cause both easier to advance and more conceivable to people many people use the internet to form on line communities intellectual property is undermined and a gift culture supported by sharing music files open source programming and the free software movement these cyber communities include the gnu linux indymedia and wiki some anarchists see information technology as the best weapon to defeat authoritarianism some even think the information age makes eventual anarchy inevitable see also crypto anarchism and cypherpunk pacifism some anarchists consider pacifism opposition to war to be inherent in their philosophy anarcho pacifists take it further and follow leo tolstoy s belief in non violence anarchists see war as an activity in which the state seeks to gain and consolidate power both domestically and in foreign lands and subscribe to randolph bourne s view that war is the health of the state a lot of anarchist activity has been anti war based parliamentarianism in general terms the anarchist ethos opposes voting in elections because voting amounts to condoning the state voluntaryism is an anarchist school of thought which emphasizes tending your own garden and neither ballots nor bullets the anarchist case against voting is explained in the ethics of voting by george h smith also see voting anarchists an oxymoron or what by joe peacott and writings by fred woodworth sectarianism most anarchist schools of thought are to some degree sectarian there is often a difference of opinion within each school about how to react to or interact with other schools some such as panarchists believe that it is possible for a variety of modes of social life to coexist and compete some anarchists view opposing schools as a social impossibility and resist interaction others see opportunities for coalition building or at least temporary alliances for specific purposes see anarchism without adjectives criticisms of anarchism main article criticisms of anarchism violence since anarchism has often been associated with violence and destruction some people have seen it as being too violent on the other hand hand frederick engels criticsed anarchists for not being violent enough a revolution is certainly the most authoritarian thing there is it is the act whereby one part of the population imposes its will upon the other part by means of rifles bayonets and cannon authoritarian means if such there be at all and if the victorious party does not want to have fought in vain it must maintain this rule by means of the terror which its arms inspire in the reactionists would the paris commune have lasted a single day if it had not made use of this authority of the armed people against the bourgeois utopianism anarchism is often criticised as unfeasible or plain utopian even by many who agree that it s a nice idea in principle for example carl landauer in his book european socialism criticizes anarchism as being unrealistically utopian and holds that government is a lesser evil than a society without repressive force he holds that the belief that ill intentions will cease if repressive force disappears is an absurdity however it must be noted that not all anarchists have such a utopian view of anarchism for example some such as benjamin tucker advocate privately funded institutions that defend individual liberty and property however other anarchists such as sir herbert read proudly accept the characterization utopian class character marxists have characterised anarchism as an expression of the class interests of the petite bourgeoisie or perhaps the lumpenproletariat see e g plekhanov for a marxist critique of one eight nine five anarchists have also been characterised as spoilt middle class dilettantes most recently in relation to anti capitalist protesters tacit authoritarianism in recent decades anarchism has been criticised by situationists post anarchists and others of preserving tacitly statist authoritarian or bureaucratic tendencies behind a dogmatic facade hypocrisy some critics point to the sexist and racist views of some prominent anarchists notably proudhon and bakunin as examples of hypocrisy inherent within anarchism while many anarchists however dismiss that the personal prejudices of one nine th century theorists influence the beliefs of present day anarchists others criticise modern anarchism for continuing to be eurocentric and reference the impact of anarchist thinkers like proudhon on fascism through groups like cercle proudhon anarcho capitalist bryan caplan argues that the treatment of fascists and suspected fascist sympathizers by spanish anarchists in the spanish civil war was a form of illegitimate coercion making the proffessed anarchists ultimately just a third faction of totalitarians alongside the communists and fascists he also criticizes the willingness of the cnt to join the statist republican government during the civil war and references stanley g payne s book on the franco regime which claims that the cnt entered negotiations with the fascist government six years after the war cultural phenomena noam chomsky one nine two eight the kind of anarchism that is most easily encountered in popular culture is represented by celebrities who publicly identify themselves as anarchists although some anarchists reject any focus on such famous living individuals as inherently litist the following figures are examples of prominent publicly self avowed anarchists the mit professor of linguistics noam chomsky the science fiction author ursula k le guin the social historian howard zinn entertainer and author hans alfredsson the avant garde artist nicol s rossell in denmark the freetown christiania was created in downtown copenhagen the housing and employment crisis in most of western europe led to the formation of communes and squatter movements like the one still thriving in barcelona in catalonia militant resistance to neo nazi groups in places like germany and the uprisings of autonomous marxism situationist and autonomist groups in france and italy also helped to give popularity to anti authoritarian non capitalist ideas in various musical styles anarchism rose in popularity most famous for the linking of anarchist ideas and music has been punk rock although in the modern age hip hop and folk music are also becoming important mediums for the spreading of the anarchist message in the uk this was associated with the punk rock movement the band crass is celebrated for its anarchist and pacifist ideas the dutch punk band the ex further exemplifies this expression for further details see anarcho punk see also there are many concepts relevant to the topic of anarchism this is a brief summary there is also a more extensive list of anarchist concepts individualist anarchism anarcho communism anarcho syndicalism anarcho capitalism mutualism christian anarchism anarcha feminism green anarchism nihilist anarchism anarcho nationalism black anarchism national anarchism post anarchism post left anarchism libertarian socialism anarchist symbolism list of anarchism links list of anarchists list of anarchist organizations major conflicts within anarchist thought past and present anarchist communities historical events paris commune one eight seven one haymarket riot one eight eight six the makhnovschina one nine one seven one nine two one kronstadt rebellion one nine two one spanish revolution one nine three six see anarchism in spain and spanish revolution may one nine six eight france one nine six eight wto meeting in seattle one nine nine nine books the following is a sample of books that have been referenced in this page a more complete list can be found at the list of anarchist books mikhail bakunin god and the state emma goldman anarchism other essays peter kropotkin mutual aid pierre joseph proudhon what is property rudolf rocker anarcho syndicalism murray rothbard the ethics of liberty max stirner the ego and its own leo tolstoy the kingdom of god is within you anarchism by region culture african anarchism anarchism in spain anarchism in the english tradition chinese anarchism references these notes have no corresponding reference in the article they might be re used against politics appleton boston anarchists yarros victor liberty vii january two one eight nine two noam chomsky on anarchism by noam chomsky external links the overwhelming diversity and number of links relating to anarchism is extensively covered on the links subpage anarchoblogs blogs by anarchists anarchy archives extensively archives information relating to famous anarchists this includes many of their books and other publications hundreds of anarchists are listed with short bios links dedicated pages at the daily bleed s anarchist encyclopedia infoshop org wikipedia page industrial workers of the world anarchism forms of government political ideology entry points political theories social philosophy autism is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests itself in markedly abnormal social interaction communication ability patterns of interests and patterns of behavior although the specific etiology of autism is unknown many researchers suspect that autism results from genetically mediated vulnerabilities to environmental triggers and while there is disagreement about the magnitude nature and mechanisms for such environmental factors researchers have found at least seven major genes prevalent among individuals diagnosed as autistic some estimate that autism occurs in as many as one united states child in one six six however the national institute of mental health gives a more conservative estimate of one in one zero zero zero for families that already have one autistic child the odds of a second autistic child may be as high as one in twenty diagnosis is based on a list of psychiatric criteria and a series of standardized clinical tests may also be used autism may not be physiologically obvious a complete physical and neurological evaluation will typically be part of diagnosing autism some now speculate that autism is not a single condition but a group of several distinct conditions that manifest in similar ways by definition autism must manifest delays in social interaction language as used in social communication or symbolic or imaginative play with onset prior to age three years according to the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders the icd one zero also says that symptoms must manifest before the age of three years there have been large increases in the reported incidence of autism for reasons that are heavily debated by researchers in psychology and related fields within the scientific community some children with autism have improved their social and other skills to the point where they can fully participate in mainstream education and social events but there are lingering concerns that an absolute cure from autism is impossible with current technology however many autistic children and adults who are able to communicate at least in writing are opposed to attempts to cure their conditions and see such conditions as part of who they are history dr hans asperger described a form of autism in the one nine four zero s that later became known as asperger s syndrome the word autism was first used in the english language by swiss psychiatrist eugene bleuler in a one nine one two number of the american journal of insanity it comes from the greek word for self however the classification of autism did not occur until the middle of the twentieth century when in one nine four three psychiatrist dr leo kanner of the johns hopkins hospital in baltimore reported on one one child patients with striking behavioral similarities and introduced the label early infantile autism he suggested autism from the greek autos meaning self to describe the fact that the children seemed to lack interest in other people although kanner s first paper on the subject was published in a now defunct journal the nervous child almost every characteristic he originally described is still regarded as typical of the autistic spectrum of disorders at the same time an austrian scientist dr hans asperger described a different form of autism that became known as asperger s syndrome but the widespread recognition of asperger s work was delayed by world war ii in germany and by the fact that his seminal paper wasn t translated into english for almost five zero years the majority of his work wasn t widely read until one nine nine seven thus these two conditions were described and are today listed in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders dsm iv tr fourth edition text revision one as two of the five pervasive developmental disorders pdd more often referred to today as autism spectrum disorders asd all of these conditions are characterized by varying degrees of difference in communication skills social interactions and restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior few clinicians today solely use the dsm iv criteria for determining a diagnosis of autism which are based on the absence or delay of certain developmental milestones many clinicians instead use an alternate means or a combination thereof to more accurately determine a diagnosis terminology when referring to someone diagnosed with autism the term autistic is often used however the term person with autism can be used instead this is referred to as person first terminology the autistic community generally prefers the term autistic for reasons that are fairly controversial this article uses the term autistic see talk page characteristics dr leo kanner introduced the label early infantile autism in one nine four three there is a great diversity in the skills and behaviors of individuals diagnosed as autistic and physicians will often arrive at different conclusions about the appropriate diagnosis much of this is due to the sensory system of an autistic which is quite different from the sensory system of other people since certain stimulations can affect an autistic differently than a non autistic and the degree to which the sensory system is affected varies wildly from one autistic person to another nevertheless professionals within pediatric care and development often look for early indicators of autism in order to initiate treatment as early as possible however some people do not believe in treatment for autism either because they do not believe autism is a disorder or because they believe treatment can do more harm than good social development typically developing infants are social beings early in life they do such things as gaze at people turn toward voices grasp a finger and even smile in contrast most autistic children prefer objects to faces and seem to have tremendous difficulty learning to engage in the give and take of everyday human interaction even in the first few months of life many seem indifferent to other people because they avoid eye contact and do not interact with them as often as non autistic children children with autism often appear to prefer being alone to the company of others and may passively accept such things as hugs and cuddling without reciprocating or resist attention altogether later they seldom seek comfort from others or respond to parents displays of anger or affection in a typical way research has suggested that although autistic children are attached to their parents their expression of this attachment is unusual and difficult to interpret parents who looked forward to the joys of cuddling teaching and playing with their child may feel crushed by this lack of expected attachment behavior children with autism appear to lack theory of mind the ability to see things from another person s perspective a behavior cited as exclusive to human beings above the age of five and possibly other higher primates such as adult gorillas chimpanzees and bonobos typical five year olds can develop insights into other people s different knowledge feelings and intentions interpretations based upon social cues e g gestures facial expressions an individual with autism seems to lack these interpretation skills an inability that leaves them unable to predict or understand other people s actions the social alienation of autistic and asperger s people is so intense from childhood that many of them have imaginary friends as companionship however having an imaginary friend is not necessarily a sign of autism and also occurs in non autistic children although not universal it is common for autistic people to not regulate their behavior this can take the form of crying or verbal outbursts that may seem out of proportion to the situation individuals with autism generally prefer consistent routines and environments they may react negatively to changes in them it is not uncommon for these individuals to exhibit aggression increased levels of self stimulatory behavior self injury or extensive withdrawal in overwhelming situations sensory system a key indicator to clinicians making a proper assessment for autism would include looking for symptoms much like those found in sensory integration dysfunction children will exhibit problems coping with the normal sensory input indicators of this disorder include oversensitivity or underreactivity to touch movement sights or sounds physical clumsiness or carelessness poor body awareness a tendency to be easily distracted impulsive physical or verbal behavior an activity level that is unusually high or low not unwinding or calming oneself difficulty learning new movements difficulty in making transitions from one situation to another social and or emotional problems delays in speech language or motor skills specific learning difficulties delays in academic achievement one common example is an individual with autism hearing a person with autism may have trouble hearing certain people while other people are louder than usual or the person with autism may be unable to filter out sounds in certain situations such as in a large crowd of people see cocktail party effect however this is perhaps the part of the autism that tends to vary the most from person to person so these examples may not apply to every autistic it should be noted that sensory difficulties although reportedly common in autistics are not part of the dsm iv diagnostic criteria for autistic disorder communication difficulties by age three typical children have passed predictable language learning milestones one of the earliest is babbling by the first birthday a typical toddler says words turns when he or she hears his or her name points when he or she wants a toy and when offered something distasteful makes it clear that the answer is no speech development in people with autism takes different paths some remain mute throughout their lives while being fully literate and able to communicate in other ways images sign language and typing are far more natural to them some infants who later show signs of autism coo and babble during the first few months of life but stop soon afterwards others may be delayed developing language as late as the teenage years still inability to speak does not mean that people with autism are unintelligent or unaware once given appropriate accommodations many will happily converse for hours and can often be found in online chat rooms discussion boards or websites and even using communication devices at autism community social events such as autreat those who do speak often use language in unusual ways retaining features of earlier stages of language development for long periods or throughout their lives some speak only single words while others repeat the same phrase over and over some repeat what they hear a condition called echolalia sing song repetitions in particular are a calming joyous activity that many autistic adults engage in many people with autism have a strong tonal sense and can often understand spoken language some children may exhibit only slight delays in language or even seem to have precocious language and unusually large vocabularies but have great difficulty in sustaining typical conversations the give and take of non autistic conversation is hard for them although they often carry on a monologue on a favorite subject giving no one else an opportunity to comment when given the chance to converse with other autistics they comfortably do so in parallel monologue taking turns expressing views and information just as neurotypicals people without autism have trouble understanding autistic body languages vocal tones or phraseology people with autism similarly have trouble with such things in people without autism in particular autistic language abilities tend to be highly literal people without autism often inappropriately attribute hidden meaning to what people with autism say or expect the person with autism to sense such unstated meaning in their own words the body language of people with autism can be difficult for other people to understand facial expressions movements and gestures may be easily understood by some other people with autism but do not match those used by other people also their tone of voice has a much more subtle inflection in reflecting their feelings and the auditory system of a person without autism often cannot sense the fluctuations what seems to non autistic people like a high pitched sing song or flat robot like voice is common in autistic children some autistic children with relatively good language skills speak like little adults rather than communicating at their current age level which is one of the things that can lead to problems since non autistic people are often unfamiliar with the autistic body language and since autistic natural language may not tend towards speech autistic people often struggle to let other people know what they need as anybody might do in such a situation they may scream in frustration or resort to grabbing what they want while waiting for non autistic people to learn to communicate with them people with autism do whatever they can to get through to them communication difficulties may contribute to autistic people becoming socially anxious or depressed repetitive behaviors although people with autism usually appear physically normal and have good muscle control unusual repetitive motions known as self stimulation or stimming may set them apart these behaviors might be extreme and highly apparent or more subtle some children and older individuals spend a lot of time repeatedly flapping their arms or wiggling their toes others suddenly freeze in position as children they might spend hours lining up their cars and trains in a certain way not using them for pretend play if someone accidentally moves one of these toys the child may be tremendously upset autistic children often need and demand absolute consistency in their environment a slight change in any routine in mealtimes dressing taking a bath or going to school at a certain time and by the same route can be extremely disturbing people with autism sometimes have a persistent intense preoccupation for example the child might be obsessed with learning all about vacuum cleaners train schedules or lighthouses often they show great interest in different languages numbers symbols or science topics repetitive behaviors can also extend into the spoken word as well perseveration of a single word or phrase even for a specific number of times can also become a part of the child s daily routine effects in education children with autism are affected with these symptoms every day these unusual characteristics set them apart from the everyday normal student because they have trouble understanding people s thoughts and feelings they have trouble understanding what their teacher may be telling them they do not understand that facial expressions and vocal variations hold meanings and may misinterpret what emotion their instructor is displaying this inability to fully decipher the world around them makes education stressful teachers need to be aware of a student s disorder so that they are able to help the student get the best out of the lessons being taught some students learn better with visual aids as they are better able to understand material presented this way because of this many teachers create visual schedules for their autistic students this allows the student to know what is going on throughout the day so they know what to prepare for and what activity they will be doing next some autistic children have trouble going from one activity to the next so this visual schedule can help to reduce stress research has shown that working in pairs may be beneficial to autistic children autistic students have problems in schools not only with language and communication but with socialization as well they feel self conscious about themselves and many feel that they will always be outcasts by allowing them to work with peers they can make friends which in turn can help them cope with the problems that arise by doing so they can become more integrated into the mainstream environment of the classroom a teacher s aide can also be useful to the student the aide is able to give more elaborate directions that the teacher may not have time to explain to the autistic child the aide can also facilitate the autistic child in such a way as to allow them to stay at a similar level to the rest of the class this allows a partially one on one lesson structure so that the child is still able to stay in a normal classroom but be given the extra help that they need there are many different techniques that teachers can use to assist their students a teacher needs to become familiar with the child s disorder to know what will work best with that particular child every child is going to be different and teachers have to be able to adjust with every one of them students with autism spectrum disorders typically have high levels of anxiety and stress particularly in social environments like school if a student exhibits aggressive or explosive behavior it is important for educational teams to recognize the impact of stress and anxiety preparing students for new situations by writing social stories can lower anxiety teaching social and emotional concepts using systematic teaching approaches such as the incredible five point scale or other cognitive behavioral strategies can increase a student s ability to control excessive behavioral reactions dsm definition autism is defined in section two nine nine zero zero of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders dsm iv as a total of six or more items from one two and three with at least two from one and one each from two and three qualitative impairment in social interaction as manifested by at least two of the following marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye to eye gaze facial expression body postures and gestures to regulate social interaction failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment interests or achievements with other people e g by a lack of showing bringing or pointing out objects of interest lack of social or emotional reciprocity qualitative impairments in communication as manifested by at least one of the following delay in or total lack of the development of spoken language not accompanied by an attempt to compensate through alternative modes of communication such as gesture or mime in individuals with adequate speech marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language lack of varied spontaneous make believe play or social imitative play appropriate to developmental level restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior interests and activities as manifested by at least one of the following encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus apparently inflexible adherence to specific nonfunctional routines or rituals stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms e g hand or finger flapping or twisting or complex whole body movements persistent preoccupation with parts of objects delays or abnormal functioning in at least one of the following areas with onset prior to age three years one social interaction two language as used in social communication or three symbolic or imaginative play the disturbance is not better accounted for by rett s disorder or childhood disintegrative disorder the diagnostic and statistical manual s diagnostic criteria in general is controversial for being vague and subjective see the dsm cautionary statement the criteria for autism is much more controversial and some clinicians today may ignore it completely instead solely relying on other methods for determining the diagnosis types of autism autism presents in a wide degree from those who are nearly dysfunctional and apparently mentally handicapped to those whose symptoms are mild or remedied enough to appear unexceptional normal to the general public in terms of both classification and therapy autistic individuals are often divided into those with an iq eight zero are referred to as having high functioning autism hfa low and high functioning are more generally applied to how well an individual can accomplish activities of daily living rather than to iq the terms low and high functioning are controversial and not all autistics accept these labels further these two labels are not currently used or accepted in autism literature this discrepancy can lead to confusion among service providers who equate iq with functioning and may refuse to serve high iq autistic people who are severely compromised in their ability to perform daily living tasks or may fail to recognize the intellectual potential of many autistic people who are considered lfa for example some professionals refuse to recognize autistics who can speak or write as being autistic at all because they still think of autism as a communication disorder so severe that no speech or writing is possible as a consequence many high functioning autistic persons and autistic people with a relatively high iq are underdiagnosed thus making the claim that autism implies retardation self fulfilling the number of people diagnosed with lfa is not rising quite as sharply as hfa indicating that at least part of the explanation for the apparent rise is probably better diagnostics asperger s and kanner s syndrome asperger described his patients as little professors in the current diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders dsm iv tr the most significant difference between autistic disorder kanner s and asperger s syndrome is that a diagnosis of the former includes the observation of delays or abnormal functioning in at least one of the following areas with onset prior to age three years one social interaction two language as used in social communication or three symbolic or imaginative play while a diagnosis of asperger s syndrome observes no clinically significant delay in these areas the dsm makes no mention of level of intellectual functioning but the fact that asperger s autistics as a group tend to perform better than those with kanner s autism has produced a popular conception that asperger s syndrome is synonymous with higher functioning autism or that it is a lesser disorder than autism there is also a popular but not necessarily true conception that all autistic individuals with a high level of intellectual functioning have asperger s autism or that both types are merely geeks with a medical label attached also autism has evolved in the public understanding but the popular identification of autism with relatively severe cases as accurately depicted in rain man has encouraged relatives of family members diagnosed in the autistic spectrum to speak of their loved ones as having asperger s syndrome rather than autism autism as a spectrum disorder another view of these disorders is that they are on a continuum known as autistic spectrum disorders a related continuum is sensory integration dysfunction which is about how well we integrate the information we receive from our senses autism asperger s syndrome and sensory integration dysfunction are all closely related and overlap there are two main manifestations of classical autism regressive autism and early infantile autism early infantile autism is present at birth while regressive autism begins before the age of three and often around one eight months although this causes some controversy over when the neurological differences involved in autism truly begin some believe that it is only a matter of when an environmental toxin triggers the disorder this triggering could occur during gestation due to a toxin that enters the mother s body and is transfered to the fetus the triggering could also occur after birth during the crucial early nervous system development of the child due to a toxin directly entering the child s body increase in diagnoses of autism the number of reported cases of autism has increased dramatically over the past decade statistics in graph from the national center for health statistics there has been an explosion worldwide in reported cases of autism over the last ten years which is largely reminiscent of increases in the diagnosis of schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder in the twentieth century this has brought rise to a number of different theories as to the nature of the sudden increase epidemiologists argue that the rise in diagnoses in the united states is partly or entirely attributable to changes in diagnostic criteria reclassifications public awareness and the incentive to receive federally mandated services a widely cited study from the m i n d institute in california one seven october two zero zero two claimed that the increase in autism is real even after those complicating factors are accounted for see reference in this section below other researchers remain unconvinced see references below including dr chris johnson a professor of pediatrics at the university of texas health sciences center at san antonio and cochair of the american academy of pediatrics autism expert panel who says there is a chance we re seeing a true rise but right now i don t think anybody can answer that question for sure newsweek reference below the answer to this question has significant ramifications on the direction of research since a real increase would focus more attention and research funding on the search for environmental factors while little or no real increase would focus more attention to genetics on the other hand it is conceivable that certain environmental factors vaccination diet societal changes may have a particular impact on people with a specific genetic constitution there is little public research on the effects of in vitro fertilization on the number of incidences of autism one of the more popular theories is that there is a connection between geekdom and autism this is hinted for instance by a wired magazine article in two zero zero one entitled the geek syndrome which is a point argued by many in the autism rights movement this article many professionals assert is just one example of the media s application of mental disease labels to what is actually variant normal behavior they argue that shyness lack of athletic ability or social skills and intellectual interests even when they seem unusual to others are not in themselves signs of autism or asperger s syndrome others assert that it is actually the medical profession which is applying mental disease labels to children who in the past would have simply been accepted as a little different or even labeled gifted see clinomorphism for further discussion of this issue due to the recent publicity surrounding autism and autistic spectrum disorders an increasing number of adults are choosing to seek diagnoses of high functioning autism or asperger s syndrome in light of symptoms they currently experience or experienced during childhood since the cause of autism is thought to be at least partly genetic a proportion of these adults seek their own diagnosis specifically as follow up to their children s diagnoses because autism falls into the pervasive developmental disorder category strictly speaking symptoms must have been present in a given patient before age seven in order to make a differential diagnosis therapies sociology due to the complexity of autism there are many facets of sociology that need to be considered when discussing it such as the culture which has evolved from autistic persons connecting and communicating with one another in addition there are several subgroups forming within the autistic community sometimes in strong opposition to one another community and politics much like many other controversies in the world the autistic community itself has splintered off into several groups essentially these groups are those who seek a cure for autism dubbed pro cure those who do not desire a cure for autism and as such resist it dubbed anti cure and the many people caught in the middle of the two in recent history with scientists learning more about autism and possibly coming closer to a cure some members of the anti cure movement sent a letter to the united nations demanding to be treated as a minority group rather than a group with a mental disability or disease websites such as autistics org present the view of the anti cure group there are numerous resources available for autistics from many groups due to the fact that many autistics find it easier to communicate online than in person many of these resources are available online in addition sometimes successful autistic adults in a local community will help out children with autism much in the way a master would help out an apprentice for example two zero zero two was declared autism awareness year in the united kingdom this idea was initiated by ivan and charika corea parents of an autistic child charin autism awareness year was led by the british institute of brain injured children disabilities trust national autistic society autism london and eight zero zero organizations in the united kingdom it had the personal backing of british prime minister tony blair and parliamentarians of all parties in the palace of westminster culture with the recent increases in autism recognition and new approaches to educating and socializing autistics an autistic culture has begun to develop similar to deaf culture autistic culture is based in a belief that autism is a unique way of being and not a disorder to be cured there are some commonalities which are specific to autism in general as a culture not just autistic culture it is a common misperception that people with autism do not marry many do get married often they marry another person with autism although this is not always the case many times autistics are attracted to other autistics due to shared interests or obsessions but more often than not the attraction is due to simple compatibility with personality types the same as is true for non autistics autistics who communicate have explained that companionship is as important to autistics as it is to anyone else multigenerational autistic families have also recently become a bit more common the interests of autistic people and so called geeks or nerds can often overlap as autistic people can sometimes become preoccupied with certain subjects much like the variant normal behavior geeks experience however in practice many autistic people have difficulty with working in groups which impairs them even in the most technical of situations autistic adults temple grandin one of the more successful adults with autism photograph courtesy joshua nathaniel pritikin and william lawrence jarrold some autistic adults are able to work successfully in mainstream jobs usually those with high functioning autism or asperger s syndrome nevertheless communication and social problems often cause difficulties in many areas of the autistic s life other autistics are capable of employment in sheltered workshops under the supervision of managers trained in working with persons with disabilities a nurturing environment at home at school and later in job training and at work helps autistic people continue to learn and to develop throughout their lives some argue that the internet allows autistic individuals to communicate and form online communities in addition to being able to find occupations such as independent consulting which does generally not require much human interaction offline in the united states the public schools responsibility for providing services ends when the autistic person is in their two zero s depending on each state the family is then faced with the challenge of finding living arrangements and employment to match the particular needs of their adult child as well as the programs and facilities that can provide support services to achieve these goals autistic savants the autistic savant phenomenon is sometimes seen in autistic people the term is used to describe a person who is autistic and has extreme talent in a certain area of study although there is a common association between savants and autism an association created by the one nine eight eight film rain man most autistic people are not savants mental calculators and fast programming skills are the most common form the famous example is daniel tammet the subject of the documentary film the brain man kim peek one of the inspirations for dustin hoffman s character in the film rain man is not autistic bright splinters of the mind is a book that explores this issue further other pervasive developmental disorders autism and asperger s syndrome are just two of the five pervasive developmental disorders pdds the three other pervasive developmental disorders are rett syndrome childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified some of these are related to autism while some of them are entirely separate conditions rett syndrome rett syndrome is relatively rare affecting almost exclusively females one out of one zero zero zero zero to one five zero zero zero after a period of normal development sometime between six and one eight months autism like symptoms begin to appear the little girl s mental and social development regresses she no longer responds to her parents and pulls away from any social contact if she has been talking she stops she cannot control her feet she wrings her hands some of these early symptoms may be confused for autism some of the problems associated with rett syndrome can be treated physical occupational and speech therapy can help with problems of coordination movement and speech scientists sponsored by the national institute of child health and human development have discovered that a mutation in the sequence of a single gene causes rett syndrome and can physically test for it with a eight zero accuracy rate rett syndrome in the past was sometimes classified as an autistic spectrum disorder however most scientists agree that rett syndrome is a separate developmental disorder and not part of the autistic spectrum childhood disintegrative disorder childhood disintegrative disorder cdd and sometimes abbreviated as chdd also is a condition appearing in three or four year old children who have developed normally until age two over several months the child will deteriorate in intellectual social and language functioning from previously normal behaviour this long period of normal development before regression helps differentiate cdd from rett syndrome and in fact it must be differentiated from autism in testing the cause for cdd is unknown thus it may be a spectrum disorder but current evidence suggests it has something to do with the central nervous system pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified or pdd nos is referred to as a subthreshold condition because it is a classification which is given to someone who suffers from impairments in social interaction communication and or stereotyped behaviour but does not meet the criteria for one of the other four pervasive developmental disorders unlike the other four pervasive developmental disorders pdd nos has no specific guidelines for diagnosis so the person may have a lot of characteristics of an autistic person or few to none at all note that pervasive developmental disorder is not a diagnosis just a term to refer to the five mentioned conditions while pdd nos is an official diagnosis see also general autism therapies causes of autism conditions comorbid to autism spectrum disorders early childhood autism heritability of autism groups aspies for freedom national alliance for autism research controversy controversies about functioning labels in the autism spectrum controversies in autism ethical challenges to autism treatment lists list of autism related topics list of fictional characters on the autistic spectrum list of autistic people references abstract abstract manev r manev h aminoglycoside antibiotics and autism a speculative hypothesis bmc psychiatry two zero zero one one five epub two zero zero one one zero october strock margaret two zero zero four autism spectrum disorders pervasive developmental disorders nih publication no nih zero four five five one one national institute of mental health national institutes of health u s department of health and human services bethesda md four zero pp http www nimh nih gov publicat autism cfm footnotes external links general wrongplanet net the community and resource for autism autism spectrum disorder com autism spectrum disorder colour se seven en a website created to bring awareness of spectrum related disorders and forums for nt and asd interaction ericdigests org teaching students with autism glen dunlap lise fox eric digest october one nine nine nine autistic and proud describes new discoveries about autism autistics speaking for themselves weird not stupid a website created from the perspective of a person who has two siblings who are on the autism spectrum with the goal of giving information to anybody who is seeking it blogs autism pervasive developmental disorders by adelle jameson tilton about com autism news and more adventures in autism by a health professional who is the mother of an autistic boy autism symptoms getting the truth out by argues that there are common misconceptions about autism reality aba an autism diary by katherine lee mother of an autistic son organizations on the spectrum a web community for those on the autism spectrum with an emphasis on support and advocacy autismwebsite com autism research institute clearinghouse for information relating to autism particularly the biomedical treatment approach autism society org autism society of america autistics org clearinghouse for information related to autism from a non cure standpoint many articles by autistics center for the study of autism autism research institute founded by bernard rimland resources a way of life resources and information for parents autism treatment info treatment tips for children with autism pdd asperger s syndrome aba resources for recovery from autism information about and resource guide for behavioral intervention for autism autism resources com offering information and links regarding the developmental disabilities autism and asperger s syndrome autism talk parents educators discuss all views autismtoday com everything you need to know about autism autism today focus on autism selection of documentaries interviews etc autism org uk paris public autism resource information service directory of uk autism services autism spectrum quotient measure your autism spectrum quotient aspie quiz quiz that measures autistic traits autism childhood psychiatric disorders disability communication disorders mental illness diagnosis by dsm and iscdrhp neurological disorders albedo is the measure of reflectivity of a surface or body it is the ratio of electromagnetic radiation em radiation reflected to the amount incident upon it the fraction usually expressed as a percentage from zero to one zero zero is an important concept in climatology and astronomy this ratio depends on the frequency of the radiation considered unqualified it refers to an average across the spectrum of visible light it also depends on the angle of incidence of the radiation unqualified normal incidence fresh snow albedos are high up to nine zero the ocean surface has a low albedo the average albedo of earth is about three zero whereas the albedo of the moon is about seven in astronomy the albedo of satellites and asteroids can be used to infer surface composition most notably ice content enceladus a moon of saturn has the highest known albedo of any body in the solar system with nine nine of em radiation reflected human activities have changed the albedo via forest clearance and farming for example of various areas around the globe however quantification of this effect is difficult on the global scale it is not clear whether the changes have tended to increase or decrease global warming the classical example of albedo effect is the snow temperature feedback if a snow covered area warms and the snow melts the albedo decreases more sunlight is absorbed and the temperature tends to increase the converse is true if snow forms a cooling cycle happens the intensity of the albedo effect depends on the size of the change in albedo and the amount of insolation for this reason it can be potentially very large in the tropics some examples of albedo effects fairbanks alaska according to the national climatic data center s ghcn two data which is composed of three zero year smoothed climatic means for thousands of weather stations across the world the college weather station at fairbanks alaska is about three c five f warmer than the airport at fairbanks partly because of drainage patterns but also largely because of the lower albedo at the college resulting from a higher concentration of pine trees and therefore less open snowy ground to reflect the heat back into space neunke and kukla have shown that this difference is especially marked during the late winter months when solar radiation is greater the tropics although the albedo temperature effect is most famous in colder regions of earth because more snow falls there it is actually much stronger in tropical regions because in the tropics there is consistently more sunlight when brazilian ranchers cut down dark tropical rainforest trees to replace them with even darker soil in order to grow crops the average temperature of the area appears to increase by an average of about three c five f year round which is a significant amount small scale effects albedo works on a smaller scale too people who wear dark clothes in the summertime put themselves at a greater risk of heatstroke than those who wear white clothes pine forests the albedo of a pine forest at four five n in the winter in which the trees cover the land surface completely is only about nine among the lowest of any naturally occurring land environment this is partly due to the color of the pines and partly due to multiple scattering of sunlight within the trees which lowers the overall reflected light level due to light penetration the ocean s albedo is even lower at about three five though this depends strongly on the angle of the incident radiation dense swampland averages between nine and one four deciduous trees average about one three a grassy field usually comes in at about two zero a barren field will depend on the color of the soil and can be as low as five or as high as four zero with one five being about the average for farmland a desert or large beach usually averages around two five but varies depending on the color of the sand reference edward walker s study in the great plains in the winter around four five n urban areas urban areas in particular have very unnatural values for albedo because of the many human built structures which absorb light before the light can reach the surface in the northern part of the world cities are relatively dark and walker has shown that their average albedo is about seven with only a slight increase during the summer in most tropical countries cities average around one two this is similar to the values found in northern suburban transitional zones part of the reason for this is the different natural environment of cities in tropical regions e g there are more very dark trees around another reason is that portions of the tropics are very poor and city buildings must be built with different materials warmer regions may also choose lighter colored building materials so the structures will remain cooler trees because trees tend to have a low albedo removing forests would tend to increase albedo and thereby cool the planet cloud feedbacks further complicate the issue in seasonally snow covered zones winter albedos of treeless areas are one zero to five zero higher than nearby forested areas because snow does not cover the trees as readily studies by the hadley centre have investigated the relative generally warming effect of albedo change and cooling effect of carbon sequestration on planting forests they found that new forests in tropical and midlatitude areas tended to cool new forests in high latitudes e g siberia were neutral or perhaps warming snow snow albedos can be as high as nine zero this is for the ideal example however fresh deep snow over a featureless landscape over antarctica they average a little more than eight zero if a marginally snow covered area warms snow tends to melt lowering the albedo and hence leading to more snowmelt the ice albedo feedback this is the basis for predictions of enhanced warming in the polar and seasonally snow covered regions as a result of global warming clouds clouds are another source of albedo that play into the global warming equation different types of clouds have different albedo values theoretically ranging from a minimum of near zero to a maximum in the high seven zero s climate models have shown that if the whole earth were to be suddenly covered by white clouds the surface temperatures would drop to a value of about one five zero c two four zero f this model though it is far from perfect also predicts that to offset a five c nine f temperature change due to an increase in the magnitude of the greenhouse effect all we would need to do is increase the earth s overall albedo by about one two by adding more white clouds albedo and climate in some areas are already affected by artificial clouds such as those created by the contrails of heavy commercial airliner traffic a study following the september one one attacks after which all major airlines in the u s shut down for three days showed a local one c increase in the daily temperature range the difference of day and night temperatures see contrail aerosol effects aerosol very fine particles droplets in the atmosphere has two effects direct and indirect the direct albedo effect is generally to cool the planet the indirect effect the particles act as ccns and thereby change cloud properties is less certain black carbon another albedo related effect on the climate is from black carbon particles the size of this effect is difficult to quantify the ipcc say that their estimate of the global mean radiative forcing for bc aerosols from fossil fuels is zero two w m two from zero one w m two in the sar with a range zero one to zero four w m two electromagnetic radiation climatology climate forcing astrophysics view of abu dhabi satellite image of abu dhabi march two zero zero three emirates palace hotel front emirates palace hotel from the side abu dhabi arabic ab aby is the largest of the seven emirates that comprise the united arab emirates and was also the largest of the former trucial states abu dhabi is also a city of the same name within the emirate that is the capital of the country in north central uae the city lies on a t shaped island jutting into the persian gulf from the central western coast an estimated one zero zero zero zero zero zero lived there in two zero zero zero with about an eight zero expatriate population abu dhabi city is located at al ain is abu dhabi s second largest urban area with a population of three four eight zero zero zero two zero zero three census estimate and is located one five zero kilometres inland history parts of abu dhabi were settled as far back as the three rd millennium bc and its early history fits the nomadic herding and fishing pattern typical of the broader region modern abu dhabi traces its origins to the rise of an important tribal confederation the bani yas in the late one eight th century who also assumed control of dubai in the one nine th century the dubai and abu dhabi branches parted ways into the mid two zero th century the economy of abu dhabi continued to be sustained mainly by camel herding production of dates and vegetables at the inland oases of al ain and liwa and fishing and pearl diving off the coast of abu dhabi city which was occupied mainly during the summer months most dwellings in abu dhabi city were at this time constructed of palm fronds barasti with the better off families occupying mud huts the growth of the cultured pearl industry in the first half of the two zero th century created hardship for residents of abu dhabi as pearls represented the largest export and main source of cash earnings in one nine three nine sheikh shakhbut bin sultan al nahyan granted petroleum concessions and oil was first found in one nine five eight at first oil money had a marginal impact a few lowrise concete buildings were erected and the first paved road was completed in one nine six one but sheikh shakbut uncertain whether the new oil royalties would last took a cautious approach prefering to save the revenue rather than investing it in development his brother zayed bin sultan al nahayan saw that oil wealth had the potential to transform abu dhabi the ruling al nahayan family decided that sheikh zayed should replace his brother as ruler and carry out his vision of developing the country on august six one nine six six with the assistance of the british sheikh zayed became the new ruler see generally al fahim m from rags to riches a story of abu dhabi chapter six london centre of arab studies one nine nine five isbn one nine zero zero four zero four zero zero one with the announcement by britain in one nine six eight that it would withdraw from the gulf area by one nine seven one sheikh zayed became the main driving force behind the formation of the united arab emirates after the emirates gained independence in one nine seven one oil wealth continued to flow to the area and traditional mud brick huts were rapidly replaced with banks boutiques and modern highrises current ruler his highness sheikh khalifa bin zayed al nahayan is the hereditary emir and ruler of abu dhabi as well as the current president of the united arab emirates uae postal history shaikh zaid one nine six seven now part of the united arab emirates abu dhabi was formerly the largest of the seven sheikdoms which made up the trucial states on the so called pirate coast of eastern arabia between oman and qatar the trucial states as a whole had an area of some three two zero zero zero square miles of which abu dhabi alone had two six zero zero zero the capital was the town of abu dhabi which is on an offshore island and was first settled in one seven six one the name trucial states arose from treaties made with great britain in one eight two zero which ensured a condition of truce in the area and the suppression of piracy and slavery the treaty expired on three one december one nine six six the decision to form the uae was made on one eight july one nine seven one and the federation was founded on one august one nine seven two although the inaugural uae stamps were not issued until one january one nine seven three oil production began on das island after prospecting during one nine five six one nine six zero das island is part of abu dhabi but lies well offshore about one zero zero miles north of the mainland oil production on the mainland began in one nine six two as a major oil producer abu dhabi soon acquired massive financial wealth investment in long term construction projects and the establishment of a finance sector has led to the area becoming a centre of commerce which may well secure its lasting importance when the oil resources are exhausted in december one nine six zero postage stamps of british postal agencies in eastern arabia were supplied to the construction workers on das island but the postal service was administered via the agency office in bahrain the mail was also postmarked bahrain so there was no clear indication that a letter had come from das island on three zero march one nine six three a british agency was opened in abu dhabi and issued the agency stamps after the sheik objected to the use of the trucial states definitives mail from das island continued to be administered by bahrain but was now cancelled by an abu dhabi trucial states postmark the first abu dhabi stamps were a definitive series of three zero march one nine six four depicting shaikh shakhbut bin sultan al nahyan there were eleven values under the indian currency that was used of one zero zero naye paise one rupee the range of values was five np to one zero rupees despite the introduction of these definitives the british agency stamps remained valid in both abu dhabi and das island until the end of one nine six six when they were withdrawn a post office was opened on das island on six january one nine six six and this ended the bahrain service mail from das island was now handled within abu dhabi when the treaty with great britain expired at the end of one nine six six abu dhabi introduced a new currency of one zero zero zero fils one dinar and took over its own postal administration including the das island office the earlier issues were subject to surcharges in this currency and replacement definitives were released depicting the new ruler shaikh zaid issues continued until introduction of uae stamps in one nine seven three in all abu dhabi issued nine five stamps from one nine six four to one nine seven two the final set being three views of the dome of the rock in jerusalem source encyclopaedia of postal history climate sunny blue skies can be expected through out the year the months june through september are generally hot and humid with temperatures averaging above four zero c one one zero f the weather is usually pleasant from october to may january to february is cooler and may require the use of a light jacket the oasis city of al ain enjoys cooler temperatures even through summer due to sporadic rainfall transport abu dhabi international airport serves this city the local time is gmt four hours trivia the cartoon cat garfield would often put the kitten nermal in a box and ship him to abu dhabi a common phrase from garfield is abu dhabi is where all the cute kittens go the reason is that the author of garfield found out through over seas relations that the city of abu dhabi and the majority of uae has a large amount of cats that roam wild many live around the suburbs see also mina zayid the port of abu dhabi al ain marawah postal authorities saudi arabia transportation in the united arab emirates external links encyclopaedia of postal history abu dhabi the persian gulf abudhabi com abu dhabi chamber of commerce and industry abu dhabi national oil company spe history with oil details abu dhabi postal history adias abu dhabi islands archaeological survey expatriates forums in abu dhabi time out abu dhabi guide to life in abu dhabi career uae useful web site for the job seekers in abu dabi united arab emirates non government organisations ansar burney trust human rights and anti slavery organisation capitals in asia cities in the united arab emirates emirates coastal cities philately by country the letter a is the first letter in the latin alphabet its name in english is a plural aes a s or as history the letter a probably started as a pictogram of an ox head in egyptian hieroglyphs or the proto semitic alphabet by one six zero zero bc the phoenician alphabet s letter had a linear form that served as the basis for all later forms its name must have corresponded closely to the hebrew aleph the name is also similar to the arabic alif when the ancient greeks adopted the alphabet they had no use for the glottal stop that the letter had denoted in phoenician and other semitic languages so they used the sign for the vowel and changed its name to alpha in the earliest greek inscriptions dating to the eight th century bc the letter rests upon its side but in the greek alphabet of later times it generally resembles the modern capital letter although many local varieties can be distinguished by the shortening of one leg or by the angle at which the cross line is set the etruscans brought the greek alphabet to what was italy and left the letter unchanged the romans later adopted the etruscan alphabet to write latin and the resulting letter was preserved in the modern latin alphabet used to write many languages including english the letter has two minuscule lower case forms the form used in most current handwriting consists of a circle and vertical stroke most printed material uses a form consisting of a small loop with an arc over it both derive from the majuscule capital form in greek handwriting it was common to join the left leg and horizontal stroke into a single loop as demonstrated by the uncial version below many fonts then made the right leg vertical in some of these the serif that began the right leg stroke developed into an arc resulting in the printed form while in others it was dropped resulting in the modern handwritten form usage in english the letter a by itself usually denotes the lax open front unrounded vowel as in pad the open back unrounded vowel as in father or in concert with a later orthographic e the diphthong though the pronunciation varies with the dialect as in ace due to effects of the great vowel shift in most other languages that use the latin alphabet the letter a denotes either an open back unrounded vowel or an open central unrounded vowel in the international phonetic alphabet variants of the letter a denote various vowels in x sampa capital a denotes the open back unrounded vowel and lowercase a denotes the open front unrounded vowel a also is the english indefinite article extended to an before a vowel codes for computing in unicode the capital a is codepoint u zero zero four one and the lowercase a is u zero zero six one in hex a is the character used to represent decimal one zero or in binary zero one zero one zero the ascii code for capital a is six five and for lowercase a is nine seven or in binary zero one zero zero zero zero zero one and zero one one zero zero zero zero one correspondingly the ebcdic code for capital a is one nine three and for lowercase a is one two nine the numeric character references in html and xml are six five and nine seven for upper and lower case respectively meanings for a as a word see a an in american major league baseball the oakland athletics are often simply referred to as the a s in astronomy a stands for a january one through one five discovery in the provisional designation of a comet e g c one seven six zero a one the great comet of one seven six zero or asteroid e g a is often used to denote the semi major axis of an orbit in biochemistry a is the symbol for alanine and adenosine brassiere cup size a in calendars a is often an abbreviation for the months april and august in computing is the html element for an anchor tag in windows ctrl a and mac os command a selects all the text in the document or all the pixels of an image a sometimes represents the set of all alphabetic characters within string patterns a is the conventional address of the first floppy disk drive in cp m based operating systems such as dos a is a security division verified protection in the tcsec in education a grade of a typically represents the highest score that students can achieve this is sometimes coupled with a plus minus sign as in a or a or a number as in a one it is occasionally a grade one level below a pronounced a star in electronics a is a standard size of battery a refers to the anode or filament component of a vacuum tube in english the word a is an indefinite article see a an in esperanto a is the adjectival attributive ending a is commonly an abbreviation meaning english language in fiction the letter worn by hester prynne marking her as an adultress in the nathaniel hawthorne novel the scarlet letter was an a in film a is an italian film made in one nine six nine see a film in finance a is the u s ticker symbol for agilent technologies in games the letter a is used to mark each of the aces in a deck of playing cards in greek a is a prefix alpha privativum meaning not or devoid of used in many borrowed words in english german and romance languages in india a is movie rating given to those intended to be seen only by adults in international licence plate codes a stands for austria in international paper sizes a is a series of sizes with an aspect ratio of roughly seven zero width to height with a four being an example popular size in logic the letter a is used as a symbol for the universal affirmative proposition in the general form all x is y the letters i e and o are used respectively for the particular affirmative some x is y the universal negative no x is y and the particular negative some x is not y the use of these letters is generally derived from the vowels of the two latin verbs affirmo or aio i assert and nego i deny the use of the symbols dates from the one three th century though some authorities trace their origin to the greek logicians in symbolic logic the symbol an inverted letter a is the universal quantifier in mathematics a is often used as a digit meaning ten in hexadecimal and other positional numeral systems with a radix of one one or greater blackboard bold mathbb in unicode sometimes represents the algebraic numbers in the on line encyclopedia of integer sequences each sequence has an id consisting of the letter a and six base one zero digits in medicine a also a or a is one of the human blood types in music a is a pitch class or note see a musical note a or side a refers to the top or first side of a vinyl record a is a british rock band see a band a is an album by jethro tull see a album in nutrition a is a vitamin in photography most slr cameras use a to signify aperture priority mode where the user sets the aperture and the camera determines the shutter speed in poetry a is the major work of influential two zero th century author louis zukofsky in political theory a circumscribed a is an anarchist symbol as the first letter of a postal code in canada a stands for newfoundland and labrador on the serial numbers of united states dollars a identifies the federal reserve bank of boston in the si system of units a is the symbol for the ampere or amp the si base unit of electric current a atto is the si prefix meaning one zero one eight a is the symbol for the are a unit of surface area equal to one zero zero square metres as a timezone a is the military designation for coordinated universal time one also known as cet or central european time see also alpha cyrillic a ae aa latin letters vowels alabama cities and urban areas sprawl alabama is a state located in the southern united states history main article history of alabama the memory of the native american presence is particularly strong in alabama among native american people once living in present alabama were alabama alibamu cherokee chickasaw choctaw creek koasati and mobile trade with the northeast via the ohio river began during the burial mound period one zero zero zero bc a d seven zero zero and continued until european contact meso american influence is evident in the agrarian mississippian culture that followed the french established the first european settlement in the state with the establishment of mobile in one seven zero two southern alabama was french from one seven zero two one seven six three part of british west florida from one seven six three one seven eight zero and part of spanish west florida from one seven eight zero one eight one four northern and central alabama was part of british georgia from one seven six three one seven eight three and part of the american mississippi territory thereafter its statehood delayed by the lack of a coastline rectified when andrew jackson captured spanish mobile in one eight one four alabama became the two two nd state in one eight one nine the state of alabama seceded from the union on january one one one eight six one and became the alabama republic and on february one eight one eight six one became a confederate state while not many battles were fought in the state it contributed about one two zero zero zero zero soldiers to the civil war after the war a provisional government was set up in one eight six five and alabama was officially readmitted to the union on july one four one eight six eight the cradle of the confederacy during the civil war alabama was at stage center in the civil rights movement of the one nine five zero s and one nine six zero s law and government main article law and government of alabama local solid south a one party system in which the democratic party became essentially the only political party in every southern state for nearly one zero zero years local and state elections in alabama were decided in the democratic party primary with generally no republican challenger running from one eight seven six through one nine five six alabama supported only democratic presidential candidates by margins as high as seven three percentage points in one nine six zero alabama gave most of its electoral votes to harry f byrd as a protest in one nine six four the national republican party began to win more votes in the south by following a southern strategy which emphasized states rights and the increasing liberalism of the national democratic party the first such candidate was conservative barry goldwater who became the first republican candidate supported by alabama in one nine six eight alabama supported native son and american independent party candidate george wallace the last democratic candidate to win alabama s votes in a presidential election was southerner jimmy carter in one nine seven six today the republican party has become increasingly dominant in conservative alabama politics however in local politics democrats still control many offices including majorities in both houses of the legislature and registered democrats outnumber republicans in the state in two zero zero four george w bush won alabama s nine electoral votes by a margin of two five percentage points with six two five of the vote the only one one counties voting democratic were black belt counties where african americans are in the majority alabama is located in the bible belt and its educational policies reflect this according to the alan guttmacher institute alabama requires sex education classes to emphasize that homosexuality is not an acceptable lifestyle to the general public and that homosexual conduct is a criminal offense under the laws of the state while the mandate is not typically enforced in alabama classrooms it is unclear whether or not the official requirements have changed since the supreme court s ruling in lawrence v texas according to the united states census bureau in two zero zero zero alabama was home to four five six one same sex male couples and four one six seven same sex female couples u s presidential election two zero zero four in alabama geography main article geography of alabama alabama is the three zero th largest state in the united states with one three five seven seven five km two five two four two three mi two of total area three one nine of that is water making alabama two three rd in the amount of surface water also giving it the second largest inland waterway system in the united states about three fifths of the land area is a gentle plain with a general incline towards the mississippi river and the gulf of mexico the north alabama region is mostly mountainous with the tennessee river cutting a large valley creating numerous creeks streams rivers mountains and lakes the lowest point east of the mississippi river lies in dekalb county along a creek cutting tower ridges and creating buck s pocket state park another natural wonder is land bridge the longest natural bridge span east of the mississippi river alabama generally ranges in elevation from sea level at mobile bay to a little more than one eight zero zero feet or five five zero meters in the appalachian mountains in the northeast the highest point is mount cheaha economy greetings from alabama according to the bureau of economic analysis the two zero zero three total gross state product was one three two billion the per capita income for the state was two six five zero five in two zero zero three alabama s agricultural outputs include poultry and eggs cattle plant nursery items peanuts cotton grains such as corn and sorgum vegetables milk soybeans and peaches even though neighboring georgia is called the peach state alabama produces twice as many peaches annually its industrial outputs include iron and steel products including cast iron and steel pipe paper lumber and wood products mining mostly coal and plastic products cars and trucks and apparel also alabama produces aerospace and electronic products mostly in the huntsville area home of the nasa george c marshall space flight center and the us army missile command headquartered at redstone arsenal also the city of mobile is a busy seaport on the gulf of mexico and with inland waterway access to the midwest via the tennessee tombigbee waterway demographics alabama population density map race and ancestry the racial makeup of the state and comparison to the prior census the largest reported ancestry groups in alabama american one seven zero english seven eight irish seven seven german five seven and scotch irish two zero american includes those reported as native american or african american religion the major religions of alabama christian nine two protestant seven nine baptist four nine methodist one zero presbyterian three episcopalian two church of god two church of christ two pentecostal two lutheran two other protestant seven catholic one three other religions one non religious seven colleges and universities incomplete culture and interests famous alabamians alabama jubilee hot air balloon classic music of alabama alabama public television state wide public tv network list of television stations in alabama alabama shakespeare festival alabama sports festival spirit of america festival u s space the phrase the heart of dixie is required by state law to be included on standard state vehicle license plates but has recently been reduced to a very small size and eclipsed by the phrase stars fell on alabama alabama states of the united states one eight one nine establishments for other uses see achilles disambiguation the wrath of achilles by l on benouvillein greek mythology transliterated to akhilleus or achilleus in roman letters latinized from this ancient greek to achilles appearing in etruscan as achle was a hero ancient greek heros defender of the trojan war the greatest and the most central character of homer s iliad name the very first two lines of the iliad read transliterated m nin aeide thea p l iade akhil os oulomen n h muri akhaiois alge eth ken translated sing muse the wrath of achilles the son of peleus the destructive wrath that brought countless griefs upon the achaeans statue of achillesin these lines we see the name akhilleus peleides which is a praenomen and a patronymic the latter being formed from peleus with the suffix ides producing achilles the son of peleus the system is similar to the names used by scandinavians before modern times such as leif erikson achilles name can be analyzed as a combination of akhos grief and laos a people tribe nation etc in other words achilles is an embodiment of the grief of the people grief being a theme raised numerous times in the iliad frequently by achilles achilles role as the hero of grief forms an ironic juxtaposition with the conventional view of achilles as the hero of kleos glory usually glory in war laos has been construed by gregory nagy following leonard palmer to mean a corps of soldiers with this derivation the name would have a double meaning in the poem when the hero is functioning rightly his men bring grief to the enemy but when wrongly his men get the grief the poem is in part about the misdirection of anger on the part of leadership birth achilles was the son of the mortal peleus king of the myrmidons in phthia southeast thessaly and the sea nymph thetis zeus and poseidon had been rivals for the hand of thetis until prometheus the fire bringer prophesized that thetis would bear a son greater than his father for this reason the two gods withdrew their pursuit and had her wed to peleus when achilles was born according to the most common version of the myth thetis tried to make him immortal by dipping him in the river styx but she forgot to wet the heel she held him by leaving him vulnerable at that spot see achilles tendon in an earlier and less popular version of the story thetis anointed the boy in ambrosia and put him on top of a fire to burn away the mortal parts of his body she was interrupted by peleus and abandoned both father and son in a rage homer does not make reference to this invulnerability in the iliad to the contrary he mentions achilles being wounded although not seriously peleus gave him together with his young friend or lover patroclus to chiron the centaur on mt pelion to be raised achilles in the trojan war telephus when the greeks left for the trojan war they accidentally stopped in mysia ruled by king telephus in the resulting battle achilles gave telephus a wound that would not heal telephus consulted an oracle who stated that he that wounded shall heal according to other reports in euripides lost play about telephus he went to aulis pretending to be a beggar and asked achilles to heal his wound achilles refused claiming to have no medical knowledge alternatively telephus held orestes for ransom the ransom being achilles aid in healing the wound odysseus reasoned that the spear had inflicted the wound therefore the spear must be able to heal it pieces of the spear were scraped off onto the wound and telephus was healed this is an example of sympathetic magic during the trojan war the rage of achilles by giovanni battista tiepolo in homer s iliad achilles is the only mortal to experience consuming rage menon his anger is at some times wavering at other times absolute the humanization of achilles by the events of the war is an important theme of the iliad achilles charioteer s name was automedon troilus according to dares phrygius account of the destruction of troy while troilus the youngest son of priam and hecuba whom some say was fathered by apollo was watering his horses at the lion fountain outside the walls of troy achilles saw him and fell in love with his beauty whose loveliness of form was described by ibycus as being like gold thrice refined the youth rejected his advances and took refuge inside the temple of apollo achilles pursued him into the sanctuary and decapitated him on the god s own altar tzetzes scholiast on lycophron at the time troilus was said to be a year short of his twentieth birthday and the legend goes that if troilus had lived to be twenty troy would have been invincible first vatican mythographer agamemnon and the death of patroclus patroclus and achilles achilles bandages the arm of his friend patroclus the latter turns his head aside to avoid the sight of blood and of achilles noticing his pain grimaces the scene has been interpreted as an act of welfare and comradeship or as a scene with sexual overtones ancient greek culture often held the two to be lovers achilles took two three towns outside troy including lyrnessos where he captured briseis to keep as a concubine meanwhile agamemnon took a woman named chryseis and taunted her father chryses a priest of apollo when he attempted to buy her back apollo sent a plague through the greek armies and agamemnon was forced to give chryseis back to her father however he took briseis away from achilles as compensation for his loss this action sparked the central plot of the iliad achilles becomes enraged and refuses to fight for the greeks any further the war goes badly through the influence of zeus and the greeks offer handsome reparations to their greatest warrior after the greeks are pushed back to the ships which are just starting to be set on fire by the trojan hero hector achilles is visited by odysseus ajax and phoenix who attempt to persuade him to return to battle achilles still refuses to fight but agrees to allow patroclus to fight in his place wearing his armor the next day patroclus is killed and stripped of the armor by hector who mistakes him for achilles achilles is overwhelmed with grief for his beloved friend and the rage he once harbored toward agamemnon begins shifting to hector thetis his mother rises from the sea floor and sympathizes with his grief she obtains magnificent new armor for him from hephaestus the goddess athena provides him with the aegis of zeus when he goes to the battlefield the entire trojan army flees behind the walls of troy achilles wrath is terrible and he slays many trojan warriors and allies including priam s son lycaon whom achilles had previously captured and sold into slavery but who had been returned to troy eventually hector comes out of the walls to defend the honour of troy he asked achilles to agree that the body of the loser would be returned for proper burial by the winner achilles rejected this arrangement saying though twenty ransoms and thy weight in gold were offered i would refuse it all stories tell that hector ran about troy seven times and achilles followed him however seeing that achilles would not be outrun hector stood his ground and fought other versions of the tale say that achilles chased after hector two times and one time he was delivered by the gods however on their second encounter achilles trapped hector and challenged him after a legendary fight achilles kills hector influenced by his anger he drags the body of hector behind his chariot round the walls of troy three times and refuses to allow it to receive funeral rites much to the dismay of achilles the body of hector miraculously heals and will not decay as normally expected aphrodite the goddess of love who sided with troy throughout the whole conflict put a protective barrier over hector which kept him looking like he did before he was viciously killed by achilles when priam the king of troy and hector s father comes secretly into the greek camp to plead for the body achilles finally relents in one of the most moving scenes of the iliad he receives priam graciously and allows him to take the body away the scene is intensely moving because priam the king of one of the greatest cities in the known world kneels down old and frail as he is and kisses the hands of the man who killed his son the greatness of achilles lies in not just being the greatest greek fighter ever but in knowing the choice provided to him by destiny his mother thetis had prophesied to him that if he pulled out of the trojan war he would enjoy a long and a happy life if achilles fought however he would die before the walls of troy but assure an everlasting glory surpassing that of all other heroes he had made the choice and coming face to face with it showed his greatness xanthos during the trojan war xanthos one of achilles horses was rebuked by achilles for allowing patroclus to be killed xanthos responded by saying hera temporarily gave him voice to do so that a god and a mortal had killed patroclus and a god and a mortal would soon kill achilles too memnon cycnus penthesilea and the death of achilles thetis rising from the sea to comfort achilles book one eight by thomas banks english one seven seven eight victoria and albert museum shortly after the death of hector achilles defeated memnon of ethiopia cycnus of colonae and the amazonian warrior penthesilia with whom achilles also had an affair in some versions as predicted by hector with his dying breath achilles was thereafter killed by paris either by an arrow to the heel which may have subsequently become fatally infected and is said to have been guided by apollo or in an older version by a knife to the back while visiting polyxena a princess of troy both versions conspicuously deny the killer any sort of valor and achilles remains undefeated on the battlefield paris was later killed by philoctetes using the enormous bow of heracles his bones are mingled with those of patroclus and funeral games are held like ajax he is represented although not by homer as living after his death in the island of leuke at the mouth of the danube the fate of achilles armor achilles armor was the object of a feud between odysseus and ajax the greater achilles older cousin they competed for it and odysseus won ajax went mad with grief and vowed to kill his comrades he started killing cattle thinking they were greek soldiers and then himself other stories about achilles some post homeric sources claim that in order to keep achilles safe from the war thetis or in some versions peleus hid the young man at the court of lycomedes king of skyros there achilles was disguised as a girl and lived among lycomedes daughters under the name pyrrha the red haired girl with lycomedes daughter deidamia achilles fathered a son neoptolemus also called pyrrhus after his father s alias according to this story odysseus learned from the prophet calchas that the achaeans would be unable to capture troy without achilles aid he went to skyros in the guise of a peddler selling women s clothes and jewelry but placed a shield and spear among his goods when achilles instantly took up the spear odysseus saw through his disguise and convinced him to join the trojan campaign in another version of the story odysseus arranged for a trumpet alarm to be sounded while he was with lycomedes women while the women fled in panic achilles prepared to defend the court thus giving his identity away the story about achilles in drag is not found in homer in homer s odyssey there is a passage in which odysseus sails to the underworld and converses with the shades one of these is achilles who when greeted as blessed in life blessed in death responds that he would rather be a slave than be dead this has been interpreted as a rejection of his warrior life but also as indignity to his martyrdom being slighted the kings of epirus claimed to be descended from achilles through his son alexander the great son of the epiran princess olympias could therefore also claim this descent and in many ways strove to be like his great ancestor he is said to have visited his tomb while passing troy achilles was worshipped as a sea god in many of the greek colonies on the black sea the homosexual relationship between achilles and patroclus is something much explored in post homeric literature by the fifth and fourth centuries the deep and arguably ambiguous friendship portrayed in homer blossomed into an unequivocal love affair in the works of aeschylus plato and aeschines and seems to have inspired the enigmatic verses in lycophron s third century alexandra that claim achilles slayed troilus in a matter of unrequited love achilles fought and killed the amazon helene some also said he married medea and that after both their deaths they were united in the elysian fields of hades as hera promised thetis in apollonius argonautica achilles in lost plays in the early one nine nine zero s a lost play by aeschylus was discovered in the wrappings of a mummy in egypt the play achilles was part of a trilogy about the trojan war it was known to exist due to mentions in ancient sources but had been lost for over two zero zero zero years another lost play by aeschylus the myrmidons focussed on the relationship between achilles and patroclus only a few lines survive today there is another lost play with achilles as the main character the lovers of achilles by sophocles spoken word myths audio achilles in music achilles has frequently been mentioned in music achilles agony by manowar from the album the triumph of steel one nine nine two atlantic records achilles last stand by led zeppelin from the album presence one nine seven six atlantic records achilles revenge is a song by warlord achilles heel is an album by the indie rock band pedro the lion achilles and his heel are referenced in the song special k by the rock band placebo achilles is referred to in bob dylan s song temporary like achilles achilles heel is a song by the uk band toploader achilles is a song by the colorado based power metal band jag panzer from the album casting the stones achilles is referenced in the indigo girls song ghost achilles in film the role of achilles has been played by stanley baker in helen of troy one nine five six arturo dominici in la guerra di troia one nine six two derek jacobi voice in achilles channel four television one nine nine five steve davislim in la belle h l ne tv one nine nine six joe montana in helen of troy tv two zero zero three brad pitt in troy two zero zero four namesakes the royal new zealand navy gave the name hmnzs achilles to an a class destroyer which served in world war ii references homer iliad homer odyssey xi four six seven five four zero apollodorus bibliotheca iii xiii five eight apollodorus epitome iii one four v seven ovid metamorphoses xi two one seven two six five xii five eight zero xiii three nine eight ovid heroides iii apollonius rhodius argonautica iv seven eight three eight seven nine dante the divine comedy inferno v bibliography ileana chirassi colombo heros achilleus theos apollon in il mito greco d bruno gentili anthony edwards achilles in the underworld iliad odyssey and thiopis greek roman and byzantine studies two six one nine eight five pp two one five two two seven achilles in the odyssey ideologies of heroism in the homeric epic beitrage zur klassischen philologie one seven one meisenheim one nine eight five kleos aphthiton and oral theory classical quarterly three eight one nine eight eight pp two five three zero h l ne monsacr les larmes d achille le h ros la femme et la souffrance dans la po sie d hom re paris albin michel one nine eight four gregory nagy the best of the acheans concepts of the hero in archaic greek poetry johns hopkins university one nine nine nine rev edition the name of achilles questions of etymology and folk etymology illinois classical studies one nine one nine nine four dale s sinos the entry of achilles into greek epic ph d thesis johns hopkins university johansson warren achilles encyclopedia of homosexuality dynes wayne r ed garland publishing one nine nine zero p eight external links the story of achilles and patroclus trojan war resources people who fought in the trojan war anti heroes pederastic heroes and deities for other uses of the name abraham lincoln see abraham lincoln disambiguation abraham lincoln february one two one eight zero nine april one five one eight six five sometimes called abe lincoln and nicknamed honest abe the rail splitter and the great emancipator was the one six th president of the united states one eight six one to one eight six five and the first president from the republican party lincoln opposed the expansion of slavery and oversaw the union war effort during the american civil war he selected the generals and approved their strategy selected senior civilian officials supervised diplomacy patronage and party affairs rallied public opinion through messages and speeches such as the gettysburg address and took personal charge of plans for the abolition of slavery and the reconstruction of the union he was assassinated as the war ended by john wilkes booth role in history president lincoln was opposed to what he saw as the slave power and staunchly opposed its efforts to expand slavery into federal territories his victory in the one eight six zero presidential election further polarized an already divided nation before his inauguration in march of one eight six one seven southern states seceded from the united states formed the confederate states of america and took control of u s forts and other properties within their boundaries these events soon led to the american civil war lincoln is often praised for his work as a wartime leader who proved adept at balancing competing considerations and at getting rival groups to work together toward a common goal lincoln had to negotiate between radical and moderate republican leaders who were often far apart on the issues while attempting to win support from war democrats and loyalists in the seceding states he personally directed the war effort in close cooperation one eight six four six five with general ulysses s grant which ultimately led the union forces to victory over the confederacy his leadership qualities were evident in his diplomatic handling of the border slave states at the beginning of the fighting in his defeat of a congressional attempt to reorganize his cabinet in one eight six two in his many speeches and writings which helped mobilize and inspire the north and in his defusing of the peace issue in the one eight six four presidential campaign copperheads vehemently criticized him for violating the constitution overstepping the bounds of executive power refusing to compromise on slavery declaring martial law suspending habeas corpus ordering the arrest of thousands of public officials and a number of newspaper publishers and killing hundreds of thousands of young men radical republicans criticized him for going too slow on abolition of slavery and not being ruthless enough toward the conquered south lincoln is most famous for his roles in preserving the union and ending slavery in the united states with the emancipation proclamation and the thirteenth amendment to the united states constitution however some abolitionists criticized him for only freeing the slaves under the confederacy in one eight six three and waiting until one eight six five to free slaves held in the union historians have argued that lincoln had a lasting influence on u s political and social institutions importantly setting a precedent for greater centralization of powers in the federal government and the weakening of the powers of the individual state governments lincoln spent most of his attention on military matters and politics but with his strong support his administration established the current system of national banks with the national bank act he increased the tariff to raise revenue and encourage factories imposed the first income tax issued hundreds of millions of dollars of bonds and greenbacks encouraged immigration from europe built the transcontinental railroad set up the department of agriculture encouraged farm ownership with the homestead act of one eight six two and set up the modern system of state universities with the morrill land grant colleges act during the war his treasury department effectively controlled all cotton trade in the occupied south the most dramatic incursion of federal controls on the economy during his administration west virginia and nevada were admitted as states lincoln is usually ranked as one of the greatest presidents because of his roles in destroying slavery redefining national values and saving the union his assassination made him a martyr to millions of americans however others considered him an unconstitutional tyrant for declaring martial law suspending civil liberties habeas corpus and the first amendment and ordering the arrest of thousands of public officials and newspaper publishers early life abraham lincoln was born on february one two one eight zero nine in a one room log cabin on the three four eight acre one four km sinking spring farm in the southeast part of hardin county kentucky then considered the frontier now part of larue co in nolin creek three miles five km south of hodgenville to thomas lincoln and nancy hanks lincoln was named after his deceased grandfather who was scalped in one seven eight six in an indian raid he had no middle name lincoln s parents were uneducated illiterate farmers when lincoln became famous reporters and storytellers often exaggerated the poverty and obscurity of his birth however lincoln s father thomas was a respected and relatively affluent citizen of the kentucky backcountry he had purchased the sinking spring farm in december one eight zero eight for two zero zero cash and assumption of a debt his parents belonged to a baptist church that had pulled away from a larger church because they refused to support slavery from a very young age lincoln was exposed to anti slavery sentiment however he never joined his parents church or any other church and as a youth ridiculed religion three years after purchasing the property a prior land claim filed in hardin circuit court forced the lincolns to move thomas continued legal action until he lost the case in one eight one five legal expenses contributed to family difficulties in one eight one one they were able to lease three zero acres zero one km of a two three zero acre zero nine km farm on knob creek a few miles away where they then moved in a valley of the rolling fork river this was some of the best farmland in the area at this time lincoln s father was a respected community member and a successful farmer and carpenter lincoln s earliest recollections are from this farm in one eight one five another claimant sought to eject the family from the knob creek farm frustrated with litigation and lack of security provided by kentucky courts thomas decided to move to indiana which had been surveyed by the federal government making land titles more secure it is possible that these episodes motivated abraham to later learn surveying and become an attorney in one eight one six when lincoln was seven years old he and his parents moved to spencer county indiana he would state partly on account of slavery and partly because of economic difficulties in kentucky in one eight one eight lincoln s mother died of milk sickness at age thirty four when abe was nine soon afterwards lincoln s father remarried to sarah bush johnston sarah lincoln raised young lincoln like one of her own children years later she compared lincoln to her own son saying both were good boys but i must say both now being dead that abe was the best boy i ever saw or ever expect to see lincoln by david herbert donald one nine nine five in one eight three zero after more economic and land title difficulties in indiana the family settled on government land on a site selected by lincoln s father in macon county illinois the following winter was especially brutal and the family nearly moved back to indiana when his father relocated the family to a nearby site the following year the two two year old lincoln struck out on his own canoeing down the sangamon to sangamon county illinois now in menard county in the village of new salem later that year hired by new salem businessman denton offutt and accompanied by friends he took goods from new salem to new orleans via flatboat on the sangamon illinois and mississippi rivers while in new orleans he may have witnessed a slave auction that left an indelible impression on him for the rest of his life whether he actually witnessed a slave auction at that time or not living in a country with a considerable slave presence he probably saw similar atrocities from time to time his formal education consisted of perhaps one eight months of schooling from itinerant teachers in effect he was self educated studying every book he could borrow he mastered the bible shakespeare english history and american history and developed a plain style that puzzled audiences more used to orotund oratory he avoided hunting and fishing because he did not like killing animals even for food and though unusually tall and strong spent so much time reading that some neighbors thought he must be doing it to avoid strenuous manual labor he was skilled with an axe they called him the rail splitter and a good wrestler young abraham lincoln early career lincoln began his political career in one eight three two at the age of two three with a campaign for the illinois general assembly as a member of the whig party the centerpiece of his platform was the undertaking of navigational improvements on the sangamon river in the hopes of attracting steamboat traffic to the river which would allow sparsely populated poor areas along and near the river to grow and prosper he served as a captain in a company of the illinois militia drawn from new salem during the black hawk war although he never saw combat he wrote after being elected by his peers that he had not had any such success in life which gave him so much satisfaction he later tried and failed at several small time business ventures he held an illinois state liquor license and sold whiskey finally after coming across the second volume of sir william blackstone s four volume commentaries on the laws of england he taught himself the law and was admitted to the illinois bar in one eight three seven that same year he moved to springfield illinois and began to practice law with stephen t logan he became one of the most respected and successful lawyers in the prairie state and grew steadily more prosperous lincoln served four successive terms in the illinois house of representatives as a representative from sangamon county beginning in one eight three four he became a leader of the whig party in the legislature in one eight three seven he made his first protest against slavery in the illinois house stating that the institution was founded on both injustice and bad policy lincoln shared a bed with joshua fry speed from one eight three seven to one eight four one in springfield while many historians claim it was not uncommon in the mid one nine th century for men to share a bed just as two men today may share a house or an apartment gay activist c a tripp generated controversy with his two zero zero five book the intimate world of abraham lincoln which suggested their relationship may also have been sexual in one eight four one lincoln entered law practice with william herndon a fellow whig in one eight five six both men joined the fledgling republican party following lincoln s assassination herndon began collecting stories about lincoln from those who knew him in central illinois eventually publishing a book herndon s lincoln lincoln never joined an antislavery society and denied he supported the abolitionists he married into a prominent slave owning family from kentucky and allowed his children to spend time there surrounded by slaves several of his in laws became confederate officers he greatly admired the science that flourished in new england and was perhaps the only father in illinois at the time to send his son robert todd lincoln to elite eastern schools phillips exeter academy and harvard college marriage on november four one eight four two at the age of three three lincoln married mary todd the couple had four sons robert todd lincoln b august one one eight four three in springfield illinois d july two six one nine two six in manchester vermont edward baker lincoln b march one zero one eight four six in springfield illinois d february one one eight five zero in springfield illinois william wallace lincoln b december two one one eight five zero in springfield illinois d february two zero one eight six two in washington d c thomas tad lincoln b april four one eight five three in springfield illinois d july one six one eight seven one in chicago illinois only robert survived into adulthood of robert s three children only jessie lincoln had any children two mary lincoln beckwith and robert todd lincoln beckwith neither robert beckwith nor mary beckwith had any children so abraham lincoln s bloodline ended when robert beckwith lincoln s great grandson died on december two four one nine eight five illinois politics lincoln in one eight four six or one eight four seven in one eight four six lincoln was elected to one term in the u s house of representatives a staunch whig lincoln often referred to party leader henry clay as his political idol as a freshman house member lincoln was not a particularly powerful or influential figure in congress he used his office as an opportunity to speak out against the war with mexico which he attributed to president polk s desire for military glory that attractive rainbow that rises in showers of blood lincoln was a key early supporter of zachary taylor s candidacy for the one eight four eight whig presidential nomination when lincoln s term ended the incoming taylor administration offered him the governorship of remote oregon territory acceptance would end his career in the fast growing state of illinois so he declined returning instead to springfield illinois he turned most of his energies to making a living at the bar which involved extensive travel on horseback from county to county prairie lawyer by the mid one eight five zero s lincoln faced competing transportation interests both the river barges and the railroads in one eight four nine he received a patent related to buoying vessels lincoln represented the alton duff armstrong who was on trial for the murder of james preston metzker the case is famous for lincoln s use of judicial notice a rare tactic at that time to show an eyewitness had lied on the stand claiming he witnessed the crime in the moonlight lincoln produced a farmer s almanac to show that the moon on that date was at such a low angle it could not have produced enough illumination to see anything clearly based upon this evidence armstrong was acquitted republican politics one eight five four one eight six zero the kansas nebraska act of one eight five four which expressly repealed the limits on slavery s spread that had been part of the missouri compromise of one eight two zero drew lincoln back into politics illinois democrat stephen a douglas the most powerful man in the senate proposed popular sovereignty as the solution to the slavery impasse incorporating it into the kansas nebraska act douglas argued that in a democracy the people of a territory should decide whether to allow slavery or not and not have a decision imposed on them by congress it was a speech against kansas nebraska on october one six one eight five four in peoria that caused lincoln to stand out among the other free soil orators of the day he helped form the new republican party drawing on remnants of the old whig free soil liberty and democratic parties in a stirring campaign the republicans carried illinois in one eight five four and elected a senator lincoln was the obvious choice but to keep party unity he allowed the election to go to his colleague lyman trumbull in one eight five seven five eight douglas broke with president buchanan leading to a terrific fight for control of the democratic party some eastern republicans even favored the reelection of douglas in one eight five eight since he led the opposition to the administration s push for the lecompton constitution which would have admitted kansas as a slave state accepting the republican nomination for the senate in one eight five eight lincoln delivered a famous speech in which he stated a house divided against itself cannot stand i believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free i do not expect the union to be dissolved i do not expect the house to fall but i do expect it will cease to be divided it will become all one thing or all the other the speech created a lasting image of the danger of disunion due to slavery and rallied republicans across the north the one eight five eight campaign featured the lincoln douglas debates a nationally noticed discussion on the issues that threatened to split the nation in two lincoln forced douglas to propose his freeport doctrine which lost him further support among slave holders and speeded the division of the democratic party though the republican legislative candidates won more popular votes the democrats won more seats and the legislature reelected douglas to the senate nevertheless lincoln s eloquence transformed him into a national political star during the debates of one eight five eight the issue of race was often discussed during a time period when racial egalitarianism was considered politically incorrect stephen douglas would inform the crowds if you desire negro citizenship if you desire them to vote on an equality with yourselves then support mr lincoln and the black republican party who are in favor of the citizenship of the negro official records of debate on the defensive lincoln countered that he was not in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races official records of debate historians generally remained mixed on what lincoln s actual views were on race however many tend to doubt that the highly political nature of these debates offer reliable evidence about his personal views team of rivals by doris kearns goodwin two zero zero five lincoln in text and context by donald fehrenbacher one nine eight seven as fredrick douglass observed lincoln was the first great man that i talked with in the united states freely who in no single instance reminded me of the difference between himself and myself of the difference of color life and times of fredrick douglass by fredrick douglass one eight nine five lincoln s opposition to slavery was opposition to the slave power and he was not an abolitionist in one eight five eight but the civil war changed everything and changed lincoln s beliefs in race relations as well election of one eight six zero the rail candidate political cartoon one eight six zero entering the presidential nomination process as a distinct underdog lincoln was eventually chosen as the republican candidate for the one eight six zero election for several reasons his expressed views on slavery were seen as more moderate than rivals william h seward and salmon chase his western origins also appealed to the newer states other contenders especially those with more governmental experience had acquired enemies within the party specifically seward who had run afoul of newspaperman horace greeley during the campaign lincoln was dubbed the rail splitter by republicans to emphasize the power of free labor whereby a common farm boy could work his way to the top by his own efforts on november six one eight six zero lincoln was elected the one six th president of the united states beating democrat douglas john c breckenridge of the southern democrats and john c bell of the new constitutional union party lincoln was the first republican president he won entirely on the strength of his support in the north he was not even on the ballot in nine states in the south and won only two of nine nine six counties there lincoln gained one eight six five nine zero eight votes three nine nine of the total for one eight zero electoral votes douglas one three eight zero two zero two two nine five for one two electoral votes breckenridge eight four eight zero one nine one eight one for seven two electoral votes and bell five nine zero nine zero one one two five for three nine electoral votes there were fusion tickets in some states but even if his opponents had combined in every state lincoln had a majority vote in all but two of the states in which he won the electoral votes and would still have won the electoral college and the election secession winter one eight six zero six one as lincoln s election became more and more probable secessionists made it clear that their states would leave the union south carolina took the lead followed by six other cotton growing states georgia florida alabama mississippi louisiana and texas the upper south delaware maryland virginia north carolina tennessee kentucky missouri and arkansas listened to and rejected the secessionist appeal they decided to stay in the union though warning lincoln they would not support an invasion through their territory the seven confederate states seceded before lincoln took office declaring themselves an entirely new nation the confederate states of america president buchanan and president elect lincoln refused to recognize the confederacy president elect lincoln survived an assassination threat in baltimore and on february two three one eight six one arrived in disguise in washington at lincoln s inauguration on march four one eight six one the turners formed lincoln s bodyguard and a sizable garrison of federal troops was also present ready to protect the capital from confederate invasion or insurrection from confederates in the capital city photograph showing march four one eight six one inauguration of abraham lincoln in front of u s capitol in his first inaugural address lincoln declared i hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the constitution the union of these states is perpetual perpetuity is implied if not expressed in the fundamental law of all national governments arguing further that the purpose of the united states constitution was to form a more perfect union than the articles of confederation which were explicitly perpetual and thus the constitution too was perpetual he asked rhetorically that even were the constitution a simple contract would it not require the agreement of all parties to rescind it also in his inaugural address in a final attempt to unite the union and prevent the looming war lincoln supported the proposed corwin amendment to the constitution of which he had been a driving force it would have explicitly protected slavery in those states in which it already existed and had already passed both houses lincoln adamantly opposed the crittenden compromise however which would have permitted slavery in the territories renewing the boundary set by the missouri compromise and extending it to california despite support for this compromise among some republicans lincoln declared that were the crittenden compromise accepted it would amount to a perpetual covenant of war against every people tribe and state owning a foot of land between here and tierra del fuego because opposition to slavery expansion was the key issue uniting the republican party at the time lincoln is sometimes criticized for putting politics ahead of the national interest in refusing any compromise allowing the expansion of slavery supporters of lincoln however point out that he did not oppose slavery because he was a republican but became a republican because of his opposition to the expansion of slavery that he opposed several other republicans who were in favor of compromise and that he clearly thought his course of action was in the national interest by the time lincoln took office the confederacy was an established fact and not a single leader of that country ever proposed rejoining the union on any terms no compromise was found because no compromise was possible lincoln perhaps could have allowed the southern states to secede and some republicans recommended that however conservative democratic nationalists such as jeremiah s black joseph holt and edwin m stanton had taken control of buchanan s cabinet around january one one eight six one and refused to accept secession lincoln and nearly all republican leaders adopted this nationalistic position by march one eight six one the union could not be broken war begins one eight six one one eight six two after union troops at fort sumter were fired on and forced to surrender in april lincoln called on governors of every state to send seven five zero zero zero troops to recapture forts protect the capital and preserve the union which in his view still existed intact despite the actions of the seceding states virginia which had repeatedly warned lincoln it would not allow an invasion of its territory or join an attack on another state then seceded along with north carolina tennessee and arkansas the slave states of missouri kentucky maryland and delaware did not secede and lincoln urgently negotiated with state leaders there promising not to interfere with slavery in loyal states emancipation proclamation lincoln met with his cabinet for the first reading of the emancipation proclamation draft on july two two one eight six two congress in july one eight six two moved to free the slaves by passing the second confiscation act it provided that if any person shall hereafter incite set on foot assist or engage in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the united states or the laws thereof or shall give aid or comfort thereto or shall engage in or give aid and comfort to any such existing rebellion or insurrection and be convicted thereof such person shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars and by the liberation of all his slaves if any he have or by both of said punishments at the discretion of the court sec nine and be it further enacted that all slaves of persons who shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the government of the united states or who shall in any way give aid or comfort thereto escaping from such persons and taking refuge within the lines of the army and all slaves captured from such persons or deserted by them and coming under the control of the government of the united states and all slaves of such person found on or being within any place occupied by rebel forces and afterwards occupied by the forces of the united states shall be deemed captives of war and shall be forever free of their servitude and not again held as slaves thus everyone who six zero days after july one seven one eight six two supported the rebellion was to be punished by having all their slaves freed the goal was to weaken the rebellion which was led and controlled by slave owners this did not abolish the legal institution of slavery the xiii amendment did that but it shows lincoln had the support of and was even somewhat pushed by congress in liberating the slaves owned by rebels lincoln implemented the new law by his emancipation proclamation lincoln is well known for ending slavery in the united states and he personally opposed slavery as a profound moral evil not in accord with the principle of equality asserted in the declaration of independence yet lincoln s views of the role of the federal government on the subject of slavery are more complicated before the confederate states seceded lincoln had campaigned against the expansion of slavery into the territories where congress did have authority however he maintained that the federal government could not constitutionally bar slavery in states where it already existed during his presidency lincoln made it clear that the north was fighting the war to preserve the union not to abolish slavery freeing the slaves was a war measure to weaken the rebellion by destroying the economic base of its leadership class lincoln was criticized both at home and abroad for his refusal to take a stand for the complete abolition of slavery on august two two one eight six two a few weeks before signing the proclamation and after it had already been drafted lincoln responded by letter to an editorial by horace greeley of the new york tribune which had urged abolition i would save the union i would save it the shortest way under the constitution the sooner the national authority can be restored the nearer the union will be the union as it was if there be those who would not save the union unless they could at the same time save slavery i do not agree with them if there be those who would not save the union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery i do not agree with them my paramount object in this struggle is to save the union and is not either to save or to destroy slavery if i could save the union without freeing any slave i would do it and if i could save it by freeing all the slaves i would do it and if i could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone i would also do that what i do about slavery and the colored race i do because i believe it helps to save the union and what i forbear i forbear because i do not believe it would help to save the union i shall do less whenever i shall believe what i am doing hurts the cause and i shall do more whenever i shall believe doing more will help the cause i shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors and i shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views i have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty and i intend no modification of my oft expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free with the emancipation proclamation issued in two parts on september two two one eight six two and january one one eight six three lincoln made the abolition of slavery a goal of the war lincoln addresses the issue of his consistency or lack thereof between his earlier position and his later position on emancipation in an one eight six four letter to albert g hodges lincoln is often credited with freeing enslaved african americans with the emancipation proclamation however border states that still allowed slavery but were under union control were exempt from the emancipation because they were not covered under any war measures the proclamation on its first day january one one eight six three freed only a few escaped slaves but as union armies advanced south more and more slaves were liberated until hundreds of thousands were freed exactly how many is unknown lincoln signed the proclamation as a wartime measure insisting that only the outbreak of war gave constitutional power to the president to free slaves in states where it already existed he later said i never in my life felt more certain that i was doing right than i do in signing this paper the proclamation made abolishing slavery in the rebel states an official war goal and it became the impetus for the enactment of the one three th amendment to the united states constitution which abolished slavery lincoln was one of the main promoters of that amendment although some northern conservatives recoiled at the notion that the war was now being fought for the slaves instead of for preserving the union in the end the emancipation proclamation did much to help the northern cause politically lincoln s strong abolitionist stand finally convinced the united kingdom of great britain and ireland and other foreign countries that they could not support the confederate states of america this move remains one of the great seizures of private property by the federal government restoring the ownership of the blacks to themselves lincoln had for some time been working on plans to set up colonies in africa and south america for the nearly four million newly freed slaves he remarked upon colonization favorably in the emancipation proclamation but all attempts at such a massive undertaking failed important domestic measures of lincoln s first term while lincoln is usually portrayed bearded he first grew a beard in one eight six one at the suggestion of one one year old grace bedell lincoln believed in the whig theory of the presidency which left congress to write the laws he was anti vescovian he signed them vetoing only bills that threatened his war powers thus he signed the homestead act in one eight six two making available millions of acres of government held land in the west for purchase at very low cost the morrill land grant colleges act also signed in one eight six two provided government grants for agricultural universities in each state lincoln also signed the pacific railway acts of one eight six two and one eight six four which granted federal support to the construction of the united states first transcontinental railroad which was completed in one eight six nine the most important legislation involved money matters including the first income tax and higher tariffs most important was the creation of the system of national banks by the national banking acts of one eight six three one eight six four and one eight six five which allowed the creation of a strong national financial system lincoln sent a senior general to put down the sioux uprising of august one eight six two in minnesota presented with three zero three death warrants for convicted santee dakota who had massacred innocent farmers lincoln affirmed three nine of these for execution one was later reprieved one eight six four election and second inauguration after union victories at gettysburg vicksburg and chattanooga in one eight six three many in the north believed that victory was soon to come after lincoln appointed u s grant general in chief on march one two one eight six four although no president since andrew jackson had been elected to a second term and none since van buren had been re nominated lincoln s re election was considered a certainty however when the spring campaigns east and west all turned into bloody stalemates northern morale dipped and lincoln seemed less likely to be re nominated treasury secretary salmon p chase strongly desired the republican nomination and was working hard to win it while john fremont was nominated by a breakoff group of radical republicans potentially taking away crucial votes in the november elections fearing he might lose the election lincoln wrote out and signed the following pledge but did not show it to his cabinet asking them each to sign the sealed envelope lincoln wrote this morning as for some days past it seems exceedingly probable that this administration will not be re elected then it will be my duty to so co operate with the president elect as to save the union between the election and the inauguration as he will have secured his election on such ground that he can not possibly save it afterwards the democrats hoping to make setbacks in the war a top campaign issue waited until late summer to nominate a candidate their platform was heavily influenced by the peace wing of the party calling the war a failure but their candidate former general george mcclellan was a war democrat determined to prosecute the war until the union was restored although willing to compromise on all other issues including slavery mcclellan s candidacy was soon undercut as on september one just two days after the convention atlanta was abandoned by the confederate army coming on the heels of david farragut s capture of mobile bay and followed by phil sheridan s crushing victory over jubal early s army at cedar creek it was now apparent that the tide had turned in favor of the union and that lincoln may be reelected despite the costs of the war still lincoln believed that he would win the electoral vote by only a slim margin failing to give him the mandate he d need if he was to push his lenient reconstruction plan to his surprise lincoln ended up winning all but two states capturing two one two of two three three electoral votes after lincoln s election on march four one eight six five he delivered his second inaugural address which was his favorite of all his speeches at this time a victory over the rebels was within sight slavery had effectively ended and lincoln was looking to the future fondly do we hope fervently do we pray that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away yet if god wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bond man s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword as was said three thousand years ago so still it must be said the judgments of the lord are true and righteous altogether with malice toward none with charity for all with firmness in the right as god gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation s wounds to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations civil war and reconstruction conducting the war effort the war was a source of constant frustration for the president and it occupied nearly all of his time lincoln had a contentious relationship with general george b mcclellan who became general in chief of all the union armies in the wake of the embarrassing union defeat at the first battle of bull run and after the retirement of winfield scott in late one eight six one lincoln wished to take an active part in planning the war strategy despite his inexperience in military affairs lincoln s strategic priorities were two fold first to ensure that washington d c was well defended and second to conduct an aggressive war effort in hopes of ending the war quickly and appeasing the northern public and press who pushed for an offensive war mcclellan a youthful west point graduate and railroad executive called back to military service took a more cautious approach mcclellan took several months to plan and execute his peninsula campaign which involved capturing richmond by moving the army of the potomac by boat to the peninsula between the james and york rivers mcclellan s delay irritated lincoln as did mcclellan s insistence that no troops were needed to defend washington d c lincoln insisted on holding some of mcclellan s troops to defend the capital a decision mcclellan blamed for the ultimate failure of his peninsula campaign mcclellan a lifelong democrat who was temperamentally conservative was relieved as general in chief after releasing his harrison s landing letter where he offered unsolicited political advice to lincoln urging caution in the war effort mcclellan s letter incensed radical republicans who successfully pressured lincoln to appoint fellow republican john pope as head of the new army of virginia pope complied with lincoln s strategic desire for the union to move towards richmond from the north thus guarding washington d c however pope was soundly defeated at the second battle of bull run during the summer of one eight six two forcing the army of the potomac back into the defenses of washington for a second time pope was sent to minnesota to fight the sioux panicked by confederate general robert e lee s invasion of maryland lincoln restored mcclellan to command of all forces around washington in time for the battle of antietam in september one eight six two it was the union victory in that battle that allowed lincoln to release his emancipation proclamation lincoln relieved mcclellan of command shortly after the one eight six two midterm elections and appointed republican ambrose burnside to head the army of the potomac who promised to follow through on lincoln s strategic vision for an aggressive offensive against lee and richmond after burnside was stunningly defeated at fredericksburg joseph hooker was given command despite his idle talk about becoming a military strong man hooker was routed by lee at chancellorsville in may one eight six three and also relieved of command after the union victory at gettysburg meade s failure to pursue lee and months of inactivity for the army of the potomac lincoln decided to bring in a western general general ulysses s grant he had a solid string of victories in the western theater including vicksburg and chattanooga earlier reacting to criticism of grant lincoln was quoted as saying i cannot spare this man he fights grant waged his bloody overland campaign in one eight six four using a strategy of a war of attrition characterized by high union losses at battles such as the wilderness and cold harbor but by proportionately higher losses in the confederate army grant s aggressive campaign would eventually bottle up lee in the siege of petersburg and result in the union taking richmond and bringing the war to a close in the spring of one eight six five lincoln authorized grant to use a scorched earth approach to destroy the south s morale and economic ability to continue the war this allowed generals william tecumseh sherman and philip sheridan to destroy farms and towns in the shenandoah valley georgia and south carolina the damage in sherman s march to the sea through georgia totaled in excess of one zero zero million lincoln had a star crossed record as a military leader possessing a keen understanding of strategic points such as the mississippi river and the fortress city of vicksburg and the importance of defeating the enemy s army rather than simply capturing cities however he had little success in his efforts to motivate his generals to adopt his strategies eventually he found in grant a man who shared his vision of the war and was able to bring that vision to reality with his relentless pursuit of coordinated offensives in multiple theaters of war lincoln perhaps reflecting his lack of military experience developed a keen curiosity with military campaigning during the war he spent hours at the war department telegraph office reading dispatches from his generals through many a night he frequently visited battle sites and seemed fascinated by watching scenes of war during jubal a early s raid into washington d c in one eight six four lincoln had to be told to duck his head to avoid being shot while observing the scenes of battle homefront lincoln was more successful in giving the war meaning to northern civilians through his oratorical skills despite his meager education and backwoods upbringing lincoln possessed an extraordinary command of the english language as evidenced by the gettysburg address a speech dedicating a cemetery of union soldiers from the battle of gettysburg that he delivered on november one nine one eight six three while the featured speaker orator edward everett spoke for two hours lincoln s few choice words resonated across the nation and across history defying lincoln s own prediction that the world will little note nor long remember what we say here lincoln s second inaugural address is also greatly admired and often quoted in these speeches lincoln articulated better than any of his contemporaries the rationale behind the union effort during the civil war lincoln exercised powers no previous president had wielded he proclaimed a blockade suspended the writ of habeas corpus spent money without congressional authorization and imprisoned thousands of accused confederate sympathizers without trial there is a fragment of uncorraborated evidence that lincoln made contingency plans to arrest chief justice roger brooke taney though the allegation remains unresolved and controversial see the taney arrest warrant controversy the long war and the issue of emancipation appeared to be severely hampering his prospects and pessimists warned that defeat appeared likely lincoln ran under the union party banner composed of war democrats and republicans general grant was facing severe criticism for his conduct of the bloody overland campaign that summer and the seemingly endless siege of petersburg however the union capture of the key railroad center of atlanta by sherman s forces in september changed the situation dramatically and lincoln was reelected reconstruction the reconstruction of the union weighed heavy on the president s mind throughout the war effort he was determined to take a course that would not permanently alienate the former confederate states and throughout the war lincoln urged speedy elections under generous terms in areas behind union lines this irritated congressional republicans who urged a more stringent reconstruction policy one of lincoln s few vetoes during his term was of the wade davis bill an effort by congressional republicans to impose harsher reconstruction terms on the confederate areas republicans in congress retaliated by refusing to seat representatives elected from louisiana arkansas and tennessee during the war under lincoln s generous terms let em up easy he told his assembled military leaders gen ulysses s grant a future president gen william t sherman and adm david dixon porter in an one eight six five meeting on the steamer river queen when richmond the confederate capital was at long last captured lincoln went there to make a public gesture of sitting at jefferson davis s own desk symbolically saying to the nation that the president of the united states held authority over the entire land he was greeted at the city as a conquering hero by freed slaves whose sentiments were epitomized by one admirer s quote i know i am free for i have seen the face of father abraham and have felt him on april nine one eight six five confederate general robert e lee surrendered at appomattox court house in virginia this left only joseph johnston s forces in the east to deal with weeks later johnston would defy jefferson davis and surrender his forces to sherman of course lincoln would not survive to see the surrender of all confederate forces just five days after lee surrendered lincoln was assassinated he was the first president to be assassinated and the third to die in office assassination the assassination of abraham lincoln from left to right henry rathbone clara harris mary todd lincoln lincoln and booth lincoln had met frequently with lt gen ulysses s grant as the war drew to a close the two men planned matters of reconstruction and it was evident to all that they held each other in high regard during their last meeting on april one four one eight six five good friday lincoln invited grant to a social engagement that evening grant declined grant s wife julia dent grant is said to have strongly disliked mary todd lincoln the president s eldest son robert todd lincoln also turned down the invitation john wilkes booth a well known actor and southern sympathizer from maryland heard that the president and mrs lincoln along with the grants would be attending ford s theatre having failed in a plot to kidnap lincoln earlier booth informed his co conspirators of his intention to kill lincoln others were assigned to assassinate vice president andrew johnson and secretary of state william seward without his bodyguard ward hill lamon to whom he related his famous dream of his own assassination the lincolns left to attend the play at ford s theater the play our american cousin was a musical comedy by the british writer tom taylor as lincoln sat in his state box in the balcony booth crept up behind the president s box and waited for the funniest line of the play hoping the laughter would cover the gunshot noise on stage actor harry hawk said the last words lincoln would ever hear well i guess i know enough to turn you inside out old gal you sockdologizing old man trap when the laughter came booth jumped into the box the president was in and aimed a single shot round slug four four caliber deringer at his head firing at point blank range the bullet entered behind lincoln s left ear and lodged behind his right eyeball major henry rathbone who was present in the presidential box momentarily grappled with booth but was severely stabbed and slashed by the assassin it was believed that booth then shouted sic semper tyrannis latin thus always to tyrants the state motto of virginia some accounts say he added the south is avenged and jumped from the balcony to the stage below breaking his leg despite his injury booth managed to limp to his horse and make his escape as booth fled from the theater a young physician dr charles leale made his way through the audience to lincoln s box leale quickly assessed the wound as mortal the president was taken across the street from the theater to the petersen house where he lay in a coma for nine hours before he expired several physicians attended lincoln including u s army surgeon general joseph k barnes of the army medical museum using a probe barnes located some fragments of lincoln s skull and the ball lodged six inches inside his brain lincoln who never regained consciousness was officially pronounced dead at seven two two a m the next morning april one five one eight six five upon his death secretary of war edwin stanton lamented now he belongs to the ages after lincoln s body was returned to the white house his body was prepared for his lying in state in the east room the army medical museum now named the national museum of health and medicine has retained in its collection since the time of lincoln s death several artifacts relating to the assassination currently on display in the museum are the bullet that was fired from the deringer pistol ending lincoln s life the probe used by barnes pieces of his skull and hair and the surgeon s cuff stained with lincoln s blood the museum can be found at www hmhm washingtondc museum lincoln s funeral train carried his remains as well as three zero zero mourners and the casket of his son william one six five four miles to illinois lincoln s body was carried by train in a grand funeral procession through several states on its way back to illinois the nation mourned a man whom many viewed as the savior of the united states he was buried in oak ridge cemetery in springfield where a one seven seven foot five four m tall granite tomb surmounted with several bronze statues of lincoln was constructed by one eight seven four to prevent repeated attempts to steal lincoln s body and hold it for ransom robert todd lincoln had lincoln exhumed and reinterred in concrete several feet thick on september two six one nine zero one presidential appointments administration and cabinet lincoln was known for appointing his enemies and political rivals to high positions in his cabinet not only did he use great political skill in reducing potential political opposition but he felt he was appointing the best qualified person for the good of the country supreme court lincoln appointed the following justices to the supreme court of the united states noah haynes swayne one eight six two samuel freeman miller one eight six two david davis one eight six two stephen johnson field one eight six three salmon p chase chief justice one eight six four major presidential acts involvement as president elect morrill tariff of one eight six one corwin amendment enacted as president signed revenue act of one eight six one signed homestead act signed morill land grant college act signed internal revenue act of one eight six two signed pacific railway acts of one eight six two and one eight six four established department of agriculture one eight six two signed national banking act of one eight six three signed internal revenue act of one eight six four states admitted to the union west virginia one eight six three nevada one eight six four legacy and memorials lincoln s death made the president a martyr to many today he is perhaps america s second most famous and beloved president after george washington repeated polls of historians have ranked lincoln as among the greatest presidents in u s history among contemporary admirers lincoln is usually seen as a figure who personifies daniel chester french s seated lincoln faces the national mall to the east lincoln s bust on mt rushmore classical values of honesty integrity as well as respect for individual and minority rights and human freedom in general many american organizations of all purposes and agendas continue to cite his name and image with interests ranging from the gay rights group log cabin republicans to the insurance corporation lincoln financial the lincoln automobile is also named after him over the years lincoln has been memorialized in many city names notably the capital of nebraska with the lincoln memorial in washington d c pictured right on the u s five bill and the one cent coin illinois is the primary opponent to the removal of the penny from circulation and as part of the mount rushmore national memorial lincoln s tomb lincoln home national historic site in springfield new salem illinois a reconstruction of lincoln s early adult hometown ford s theater and petersen house are all preserved as museums the state nickname for illinois is land of lincoln counties in one eight u s states arkansas colorado idaho kansas minnesota mississippi montana nebraska nevada new mexico oklahoma oregon south dakota tennessee west virginia washington wisconsin and wyoming are named after lincoln on february one two one eight nine two abraham lincoln s birthday was declared to be a federal holiday in the united states although in one nine seven one it was combined with washington s birthday in the form of president s day february one two is still observed as a separate legal holiday in many states including illinois lincoln s birthplace and family home are national historic memorials abraham lincoln birthplace national historic site in hodgenville kentucky and lincoln home national historic site in springfield illinois the abraham lincoln presidential library and museum is also in springfield the abraham lincoln national cemetery is located in elwood illinois statues of lincoln can be found in other countries in ciudad ju rez chihuahua mexico is a one three foot high bronze statue a gift from the united states dedicated in one nine six six by president lyndon b johnson the u s received a statue of benito ju rez in exchange which is in washington d c ju rez and lincoln exchanged friendly letters and mexico remembers lincoln s opposition to the mexican american war there is also a statue in tijuana mexico showing lincoln standing and destroying the chains of slavery there are at least three statues of lincoln in the united kingdom one in london by augustus st gaudens one in manchester by george grey barnard and another in edinburgh by george bissell the ballistic missile submarine abraham lincoln ssbn six zero two and the aircraft carrier abraham lincoln cvn seven two were named in his honor also the liberty ship ss nancy hanks was named to honor his mother in a recent public vote entitled the greatest american lincoln placed second placing first was ronald reagan lincoln in popular culture trivia lincoln stood six three three four one nine two four cm tall and thus was the tallest president in u s history just edging out lyndon johnson at six three one two one nine one eight cm he was born on the same day as charles darwin the last surviving self described witness to lincoln s assassination was samuel j seymour one eight six zero april one four one nine five six who appeared two months before his death at age nine six on the cbs tv quiz show i ve got a secret he said that as a five year old he had thought at first that he himself had been shot because his nurse trying to fix a torn place in his blouse stuck him with a pin at the moment of the gun s discharge according to legend lincoln was referred to as two faced by his opponent in the one eight five eight senate election stephen douglas upon hearing about this lincoln jokingly replied if i had another face to wear do you really think i would be wearing this one according to legend lincoln also said as a young man on his appearance one day when looking in the mirror it s a fact abe you are the ugliest man in the world if ever i see a man uglier than you i m going to shoot him on the spot it would no doubt he thought be an act of mercy based on written descriptions of lincoln including the observations that he was much taller than most men of his day and had long limbs an abnormally shaped chest and loose or lax joints it has been conjectured since the one nine six zero s that lincoln may have suffered from marfan syndrome lincoln was known to have a case of depression during his time in new salem illinois his fiancee died and that triggered his depression his close friends watched over him to make sure he did not commit suicide he also suffered from nightmares during his term in the white house his depression got so severe he had to hold a cabinet meeting from his bed he once mentioned one of his haunting nightmares to his friend lincoln mentioned that he was standing in a mourning crowd surrounding a train and when he asked a grieving woman what had happened she replied the president has been shot and he has died lincoln is the only american president to hold a patent the patent is for a device that lifts boats over shoals see also origins of the american civil war american system lincoln s economic beliefs lincoln kennedy coincidences list of u s presidential religious affiliations movies d w griffith s abraham lincoln the dramatic life of abraham lincoln abraham lincoln presidential library and museum references biographies lincoln by david herbert donald one nine nine nine isbn zero six eight four eight two five three five x very well reviewed by scholars donald has won two pulitzer prizes for biography abraham lincoln and civil war america a biography by william e gienapp isbn zero one nine five one five zero nine nine six two zero zero two short team of rivals the political genius of abraham lincoln by doris kearns goodwin isbn zero six eight four eight two four nine zero six two zero zero five reviewers report it is very well written abraham lincoln redeemer president by allen c guelzo isbn zero eight zero two eight three eight seven two three one nine nine nine abraham lincoln a history one eight nine zero by john hay online at volume one and volume two one zero volumes in all written by lincoln s top aides the real abraham lincoln by reinhard h luthin one nine six zero well regarded by reviewers the abraham lincoln encyclopedia by mark e neely one nine eight four detailed articles on many men and movements associated with al the last best hope of earth abraham lincoln and the promise of america by mark e neely one nine nine three pulitzer prize winning author with malice toward none the life of abraham lincoln by stephen b oates one nine nine four lincoln the president by james g randall four vol one nine four five five five reprint two zero zero zero by prize winning scholar mr lincoln excerpts ed by richard n current one nine five seven abraham lincoln the prairie years two vol one nine two six the war years four vol one nine three nine biography by carl sandburg pulitzer prize winner by famous poet abraham lincoln a biography by benjamin p thomas one nine five two specialty topics baker jean h mary todd lincoln a biography one nine eight seven belz herman abraham lincoln constitutionalism and equal rights in the civil war era one nine nine eight boritt gabor s lincoln and the economics of the american dream one nine nine four lincoln s economic theory and policies boritt gabor s lincoln the war president one nine nine four boritt gabor s ed the historian s lincoln urbana university of illinois press one nine eight eight historiography bruce robert v lincoln and the tools of war one nine five six on weapons development during the war donald david herbert lincoln reconsidered essays on the civil war era one nine six zero foner eric free soil free labor free men the ideology of the republican party before the civil war one nine seven zero intellectual history of different prewar faction s in al s party harris william c with charity for all lincoln and the restoration of the union one nine nine seven al s plans for reconstruction hendrick burton j lincoln s war cabinet one nine four six hofstadter richard the american political tradition and the men who made it one nine four eight ch five abraham lincoln and the self made myth holzer harold lincoln at cooper union the speech that made abraham lincoln president two zero zero four mcpherson james m abraham lincoln and the second american revolution one nine nine two mcpherson james m battle cry of freedom the civil war era one nine eight eight pulitzer prize winner surveys all aspects of the war morgenthau hans j and david hein essays on lincoln s faith and politics lanham md university press of america for the white burkett miller center of public affairs at the university of virginia one nine eight three neely mark e the fate of liberty abraham lincoln and civil liberties one nine nine two pulitzer prize winner philip s paludan the presidency of abraham lincoln one nine nine four reviewers call it the most thorough treatment of al s administration lincoln in american memory by merrill d peterson one nine nine four how lincoln was remembered after one eight six five randall james g lincoln the liberal statesman one nine four seven richardson heather cox the greatest nation of the earth republican economic policies during the civil war one nine nine seven shenk joshua wolf lincoln s melancholy how depression challenged a president and fueled his greatness two zero zero five named one of the best books of two zero zero five by the washington post the new york times and the atlanta journal constitution lincoln by gore vidal isbn zero three seven five seven zero eight seven six six a novel lincoln and his generals by t harry williams one nine six seven lincoln at gettysburg the words that remade america by garry wills isbn zero six seven one eight six seven four two three honor s voice the transformation of abraham lincoln by douglas l wilson one nine nine nine lincoln in art and popular culture bullard f lauriston lincoln in marble and bronze rutgers university press new brunswick new jersey one nine five two mead fanklin b heroic statues in bronze of abraham lincoln introducing the hoosier youth by paul manship the lincoln national life foundation fort wayne indiana one nine three two moffatt frederick c errant bronzes george grey barnard s statues of abraham lincoln university of deleware press newark de one nine nine eight murry freeman henry morris emancipation anf the freed in american sculpture books for libraries press the black heritage library collection freeport ny one nine seven two originally published in one nine one six petz weldon michigan s monumental tributes to abraham lincoln historical society of michigan one nine eight seven redway maurine whorton and dorothy kendall bracken marks of lincoln on our land hastings house publishers new york one nine five seven savage kirk standing soldiers kneeling slaves race war and monument in nineteenth century america princeton university press princeton new jersey one nine nine seven tice george lincoln rutgers university press new brunswick new jersey one nine eight four the real lincoln by thomas dilorenzo isbn zero seven six one five two six four six three a stinging neo confederate attack on lincoln as evil two zero zero two primary sources basler roy p ed collected works of abraham lincoln nine vols new brunswick nj rutgers univ press one nine five three five five basler roy p ed abraham lincoln his speeches and writings one nine four six lincoln abraham lincoln speeches and writings two vol library of america edition one nine eight nine lincoln abraham the life and writings of abraham lincoln modern library classics ed by philip van doren stern two zero zero zero external links white house biography abraham lincoln papers at the library of congress one eight five zero one eight six five the controversial photograph of lincoln in death the lincoln institute abraham lincoln in united states census records especially for students an overview of abraham lincoln s life mr lincoln s virtual library speeches and quotes by abraham lincoln poetry written by abraham lincoln lincoln memorial tour my big adventure three three images abraham lincoln research site abraham lincoln online the collected works of abraham lincoln lincoln studies center at knox college discussion of john drinkwater s play abraham lincoln original one eight six zero s harper s weekly images and news on abraham lincoln the lincoln log a daily chronology of the life of abraham lincoln lincoln memorial washington dc the lincoln museum fort wayne indiana the lincoln prize a national book award sponsored by the gilder lehrman institute of american history and the civil war institute at gettysburg college abraham lincoln s assassination john summerfield staples president lincoln s substitute us six four six nine patent manner of buoying vessels a lincoln one eight four nine king lincoln an archive of articles on lincoln national park service abraham lincoln birthplace includes good early history hoard historical museum in fort atkinson wisconsin with lincoln library on the question of lincoln s sexuality medical and health history of abraham lincoln biography world of biography project gutenberg etexts list of a compilation of the messages and papers of the presidents volume six part one abraham lincoln lincoln s yarns and stories volume one and volume two of abraham lincoln a history one eight nine zero by john hay one eight three five to one nine zero five john george nicolay one eight three two to one nine zero one the boys life of abraham lincoln one nine zero seven by nicolay helen one eight six six to one nine five four the life of abraham lincoln one nine zero one by henry ketcham volume one and volume two of abraham lincoln one eight nine nine by john t morse the every day life of abraham lincoln one nine one three by francis fisher browne abraham lincoln the people s leader in the struggle for national existence one nine zero nine by george haven putnam litt d lincoln s personal life one nine two two by nathaniel w stephenson before john henry after thomas langrell harris years one eight four seven one eight four nine one eight zero nine births one eight six five deaths abraham lincoln american civil war people american lawyers assassinated politicians autodidacts cat lovers firearm deaths humanists humanitarians members of the illinois house of representatives members of the united states house of representatives from illinois murder victims people from kentucky presidents of the united states republican party united states presidential nominees united states army officers united states senate candidates welsh americans aristotle aristotel s three eight four bc march seven three two two bc was an ancient greek philosopher who studied with plato and taught alexander the great he wrote books on many subjects including physics poetry zoology logic rhetoric government and biology aristotle along with plato and socrates is generally considered one of the most influential of ancient greek philosophers they transformed presocratic greek philosophy into the foundations of western philosophy as we know it the writings of plato and aristotle founded two of the most important schools of ancient philosophy aristotle valued knowledge gained from the senses and in modern terms would be classed among the modern empiricists see materialism and empiricism he also achieved a grounding of dialectic in the topics by allowing interlocutors to begin from commonly held beliefs endoxa his goal being non contradiction rather than truth he set the stage for what would eventually develop into the empiricist version of scientific method centuries later although he wrote dialogues early in his career no more than fragments of these have survived the works of aristotle that still exist today are in treatise form and were for the most part unpublished texts these were probably lecture notes or texts used by his students and were almost certainly revised repeatedly over the course of years as a result these works tend to be eclectic dense and difficult to read among the most important ones are physics metaphysics or ontology nicomachean ethics politics de anima on the soul and poetics these works although connected in many fundamental ways are very different in both style and substance aristotle is known for being one of the few figures in history who studied almost every subject possible at the time in science aristotle studied anatomy astronomy economics embryology geography geology meteorology physics and zoology in philosophy aristotle wrote on aesthetics ethics government metaphysics politics psychology rhetoric and theology he also dealt with education foreign customs literature and poetry his combined works practically constitute an encyclopedia of greek knowledge biography early life and studies at the academy a bust of aristotle is a nearly ubiquitous ornament in places of high culture in the west aristotle was born at stageira a colony of andros on the macedonian peninsula of chalcidice in three eight four bc his father nicomachus was court physician to king amyntas iii of macedon it is believed that aristotle s ancestors held this position under various kings of the macedons as such aristotle s early education would probably have consisted of instruction in medicine and biology from his father about his mother phaestis little is known it is known that she died early in aristotle s life when nicomachus also died in aristotle s tenth year he was left an orphan and placed under the guardianship of his uncle proxenus of atarneus he taught aristotle greek rhetoric and poetry o connor et al two zero zero four aristotle was probably influenced by his father s medical knowledge when he went to athens at the age of one eight he was likely already trained in the investigation of natural phenomena from the age of one eight to three seven aristotle remained in athens as a pupil of plato and distinguished himself at the academy the relations between plato and aristotle have formed the subject of various legends many of which depict aristotle unfavourably no doubt there were divergences of opinion between plato who took his stand on sublime idealistic principles and aristotle who even at that time showed a preference for the investigation of the facts and laws of the physical world it is also probable that plato suggested that aristotle needed restraining rather than encouragement but not that there was an open breach of friendship in fact aristotle s conduct after the death of plato his continued association with xenocrates and other platonists and his allusions in his writings to plato s doctrines prove that while there were conflicts of opinion between plato and aristotle there was no lack of cordial appreciation or mutual forbearance besides this the legends that reflect aristotle unfavourably are traceable to the epicureans who were known as slanderers if such legends were circulated widely by patristic writers such as justin martyr and gregory nazianzen the reason lies in the exaggerated esteem aristotle was held in by the early christian heretics not in any well grounded historical tradition aristotle as philosopher and tutor after the death of plato three four seven bc aristotle was considered as the next head of the academy a position that was eventually awarded to plato s nephew aristotle then went with xenocrates to the court of hermias ruler of atarneus in asia minor and married his niece and adopted daughter pythia in three four four bc hermias was murdered in a rebellion and aristotle went with his family to mytilene it is also reported that he stopped on lesbos and briefly conducted biological research then one or two years later he was summoned to pella the macedonian capital by king philip ii of macedon to become the tutor of alexander the great who was then one three plutarch wrote that aristotle not only imparted to alexander a knowledge of ethics and politics but also of the most profound secrets of philosophy we have much proof that alexander profited by contact with the philosopher and that aristotle made prudent and beneficial use of his influence over the young prince although bertrand russell disputes this due to this influence alexander provided aristotle with ample means for the acquisition of books and the pursuit of his scientific investigation it is possible that aristotle also participated in the education of alexander s boyhood friends which may have included for example hephaestion and harpalus aristotle maintained a long correspondence with hephaestion eventually collected into a book unfortunately now lost according to sources such as plutarch and diogenes philip had aristotle s hometown of stageira burned during the three four zero s bc and aristotle successfully requested that alexander rebuild it during his tutorship of alexander aristotle was reportedly considered a second time for leadership of the academy his companion xenocrates was selected instead founder and master of the lyceum in about three three five bc alexander departed for his asiatic campaign and aristotle who had served as an informal adviser more or less since alexander ascended the macedonian throne returned to athens and opened his own school of philosophy he may as aulus gellius says have conducted a school of rhetoric during his former residence in athens but now following plato s example he gave regular instruction in philosophy in a gymnasium dedicated to apollo lyceios from which his school has come to be known as the lyceum it was also called the peripatetic school because aristotle preferred to discuss problems of philosophy with his pupils while walking up and down peripateo the shaded walks peripatoi around the gymnasium during the thirteen years three three five bc three two two bc which he spent as teacher of the lyceum aristotle composed most of his writings imitating plato he wrote dialogues in which his doctrines were expounded in somewhat popular language he also composed the several treatises which will be mentioned below on physics metaphysics and so forth in which the exposition is more didactic and the language more technical than in the dialogues these writings show to what good use he put the resources alexander had provided for him they show particularly how he succeeded in bringing together the works of his predecessors in greek philosophy and how he pursued either personally or through others his investigations in the realm of natural phenomena pliny claimed that alexander placed under aristotle s orders all the hunters fishermen and fowlers of the royal kingdom and all the overseers of the royal forests lakes ponds and cattle ranges and aristotle s works on zoology make this statement more believable aristotle was fully informed about the doctrines of his predecessors and strabo asserted that he was the first to accumulate a great library during the last years of aristotle s life the relations between him and alexander became very strained owing to the disgrace and punishment of callisthenes whom aristotle had recommended to alexander nevertheless aristotle continued to be regarded at athens as a friend of alexander and a representative of macedonia consequently when alexander s death became known in athens and the outbreak occurred which led to the lamian war aristotle shared in the general unpopularity of the macedonians the charge of impiety which had been brought against anaxagoras and socrates was now with even less reason brought against aristotle he left the city saying according to many ancient authorities that he would not give the athenians a chance to sin a third time against philosophy he took up residence at his country house at chalcis in euboea and there he died the following year three two two bc his death was due to a disease reportedly of the stomach from which he had long suffered the story that his death was due to hemlock poisoning as well as the legend that he threw himself into the sea because he could not explain the tides is without historical foundation very little is known about aristotle s personal appearance except from hostile sources the statues and busts of aristotle possibly from the first years of the peripatetic school represent him as sharp and keen of countenance and somewhat below the average height his character as revealed by his writings his will which is undoubtedly genuine fragments of his letters and the allusions of his unprejudiced contemporaries was that of a high minded kind hearted man devoted to his family and his friends kind to his slaves fair to his enemies and rivals grateful towards his benefactors when platonism ceased to dominate the world of christian speculation and the works of aristotle began to be studied without fear and prejudice the personality of aristotle appeared to the christian writers of the one three th century as it had to the unprejudiced pagan writers of his own day as calm majestic untroubled by passion and undimmed by any great moral defects the master of those who know aristotle s legacy also had a profound influence on islamic thought and philosophy during the middle ages the likes of avicenna farabi and yaqub ibn ishaq al kindi one were a few of the major proponents of the aristotelian school of thought during the golden age of islam methodology aristotle defines philosophy in terms of essence saying that philosophy is the science of the universal essence of that which is actual plato had defined it as the science of the idea meaning by idea what we should call the unconditional basis of phenomena both pupil and master regard philosophy as concerned with the universal aristotle however finds the universal in particular things and called it the essence of things while plato finds that the universal exists apart from particular things and is related to them as their prototype or exemplar for aristotle therefore philosophic method implies the ascent from the study of particular phenomena to the knowledge of essences while for plato philosophic method means the descent from a knowledge of universal ideas to a contemplation of particular imitations of those ideas in a certain sense aristotle s method is both inductive and deductive while plato s is essentially deductive in aristotle s terminology the term natural philosophy corresponds to the phenomena of the natural world which include motion light and the laws of physics many centuries later these subjects would become the basis of modern science as studied through the scientific method in modern times the term philosophy has come to be more narrowly understood as metaphysics distinct from empirical study of the natural world via the physical sciences in contrast in aristotle s time and use philosophy was taken to encompass all facets of intellectual inquiry in the larger sense of the word he makes philosophy coextensive with reasoning which he also called science note however that his use of the term science carries a different meaning than that which is covered by the scientific method all science dianoia is either practical poetical or theoretical by practical science he understands ethics and politics by poetical he means the study of poetry and the other fine arts while by theoretical philosophy he means physics mathematics and metaphysics the last philosophy in the stricter sense he defines as the knowledge of immaterial being and calls it first philosophy the theologic science or of being in the highest degree of abstraction if logic or as aristotle calls it analytic be regarded as a study preliminary to philosophy we have as divisions of aristotelian philosophy one logic two theoretical philosophy including metaphysics physics mathematics three practical philosophy and four poetical philosophy aristotle s epistemology logic history aristotle says that on the subject of reasoning he had nothing else on an earlier date to speak about boche ski one nine five one however plato reports that syntax was thought of before him by prodikos of keos who was concerned by the right use of words logic seems to have emerged from dialectics the earlier philosophers used concepts like reductio ad absurdum as a rule when discussing but never understood its logical implications even plato had difficulties with logic although he had the idea of constructing a system for deduction he was never able to construct one instead he relied on his dialectic which was a confusion between different sciences and methods boche ski one nine five one plato thought that deduction would simply follow from premises so he focused on having good premises so that the conclusion would follow later on plato realised that a method for obtaining the conclusion would be beneficial plato never obtained such a method but his best attempt was published in his book sophist where he introduced his division method rose one nine six eight analytics and the organon what we call today aristotelian logic aristotle himself would have labelled analytics the term logic he reserved to mean dialectics most of aristotle s work is probably not in its original form since it was most likely edited by students and later lecturers the logical works of aristotle were compiled into six books at about the time of christ categories on interpretation prior analytics posterior analytics topics on sophistical refutations the order of the books or the teachings from which they are composed is not certain but this list was derived from analysis of aristotle s writings there is one volume of aristotle s concerning logic not found in the organon namely the fourth book of metaphysics boche ski one nine five one modal logic aristotle is also the creator of syllogisms with modalities modal logic the word modal refers to the word modes explaining the fact that modal logic deals with the modes of truth aristotle introduced the qualification of necessary and possible premises he constructed a logic which helped in the evaluation of truth but which was very difficult to interpret rose one nine six eight science aristotle by francesco hayez aristotelian discussions about science had only been qualitative not quantitative by the modern definition of the term aristotelian philosophy was not science as this worldview did not attempt to probe how the world actually worked through experiment for example in his book the history of animals he claimed that human males have more teeth than females had he only made some observations he would have discovered that this claim is false rather based on what one s senses told one aristotelian philosophy then depended upon the assumption that man s mind could elucidate all the laws of the universe based on simple observation without experimentation through reason alone one of the reasons for this was that aristotle held that physics was about changing objects with a reality of their own whereas mathematics was about unchanging objects without a reality of their own in this philosophy he could not imagine that there was a relationship between them in contrast today s science assumes that thinking alone often leads people astray and therefore one must compare one s ideas to the actual world through experimentation only then can one see if one s ideas are based in reality this position is known as empiricism or the scientific method although aristotle initiated an important step in the history of scientific method by founding logic as a formal science he also left behind a trail of bankrupt cosmology that we may discern in selections of the metaphysics his cosmology would gain much acceptance up until the one five zero zero s where copernicus and galileo began to figure out that europe is not the center of the universe from the three rd century to the one five zero zero s the dominant view held that the earth was the center of the universe at this late date it is uncontroversial that the earth is not even the center of our own solar system in spite of aristotle s bogus account of the planets and sun he is a vital character in the history of metaphysics both in terms of the etymology of the word as well as a figure within metaphysics as a discipline dubbed the stuff next to the physics by andronicus of rhodes metaphysics became connected to the idea of beyond the physical by simplicius a commentator on aristotle andronicus had published aristotle s works sometime around four three two zero bc so initially the etymology of metaphysics was simply that which is next to the physics aristotle s metaphysics causality aristole is the first who saw that all causes of things are beginnings that we have scientific knowledge when we know the cause that to know a thing s existence is to know the reason for its existence setting the guidelines for all the subsequent causal theories by specifying the number nature principles elements varieties order and modes of causation aristotle s account of the causes of things is the most comprehensive theory up to now according to aristotle s theory all the causes fall into several senses the total number of which amounts to the ways the question why may be answered namely by reference to the matter or the substratum the essence the pattern the form or the structure to the primary moving change or the agent and its action and to the goal the plan the end or the good consequently the major kinds of causes come under the following divisions the material cause is that from which a thing comes into existence as from its parts constituents substratum or materials this reduces the explanation of causes to the parts factors elements constituents ingredients forming the whole system structure compound complex composite or combination the part whole causation the formal cause tells us what a thing is that any thing is determined by the definition form pattern essence whole synthesis or archetype it embraces the account of causes in terms of fundamental principles or general laws as the whole macrostructure is the cause of its parts the whole part causation the efficient cause is that from which the change or the ending of the change first starts it identifies what makes of what is made and what causes change of what is changed and so suggests all sorts of agents nonliving or living acting as the sources of change or movement or rest representing the current understanding of causality as the relation of cause and effect this covers the modern definitions of cause as either the agent or agency or particular events or states of affairs the final cause is that for the sake of which a thing exists or is done including both purposeful and instrumental actions and activities the final cause or telos is the purpose or end that something is supposed to serve or it is that from which and that to which the change is this also covers modern ideas of mental causation involving such psychological causes as volition need motivation or motives rational irrational ethical all that gives purpose to behavior additionally things can be causes of one another causing each other reciprocally as hard work causes fitness and vice versa although not in the same way or function the one is as the beginning of change the other as the goal thus aristotle first suggested a reciprocal or circular causality as a relation of mutual dependence or action or influence of cause and effect also aristotle indicated that the same thing can be the cause of contrary effects its presence and absent may result in different outcomes besides aristotle marked two modes of causation proper prior causation and accidental chance causation all causes proper and incidental can be spoken as potential or as actual particular or generic the same language refers to the effects of causes so that generic effects assigned to generic causes particular effects to particular causes operating causes to actual effects essentiallly causality does not suggest a temporal relation between the cause and the effect all further investigations of causality will be consisting in imposing the favorite hierarchies on the order causes like as final efficient material formal aquinas or in restricting all causality to the material and efficient causes or to the efficient causality deterministic or chance or just to regular sequences and correlations of natural phenomena the natural sciences describing how things happen instead of explaining the whys and wherefores chance and spontaneity spontaneity and chance are causes of effects chance as an incidental cause lies in the realm of accidental things it is from what is spontaneous but note that what is spontaneous does not come from chance for a better understanding of aristotle s conception of chance it might be better to think of coincidence something takes place by chance if a person sets out with the intent of having one thing take place but with the result of another thing not intended taking place for example a person seeks donations that person may find another person willing to donate a substantial sum however if the person seeking the donations met the person donating not for the purpose of collecting donations but for some other purpose aristotle would call the collecting of the donation by that particular donator a result of chance it must be unusual that something happens by chance in other words if something happens all or most of the time we cannot say that it is by chance however chance can only apply to human beings it is in the sphere of moral actions according to aristotle chance must involve choice and thus deliberation and only humans are capable of deliberation and choice what is not capable of action cannot do anything by chance physics two six the five elements fire which is hot and dry earth which is cold and dry air which is hot and wet water which is cold and wet aether which is the divine substance that makes up the heavens these four elements interchange i e fire air water earth etc while aether is on its own the sun keeps this cycle going god keeps the sun going and thus the sun is eternal aristotle s ethics although aristotle wrote several works on ethics the major one was the nicomachean ethics which is considered one of aristotle s greatest works it discusses virtues the ten books which comprise it are based on notes from his lectures at the lyceum and were either edited by or dedicated to aristotle s son nicomachus aristotle believed that ethical knowledge is not certain knowledge like metaphysics and epistemology but general knowledge also as it is a practical discipline rather than a theoretical one he thought that in order to become good one could not simply study what virtue is one must actually do virtuous deeds in order to do this aristotle had first to establish what was virtuous he began by determining that everything was done with some goal in mind and that goal is good the ultimate goal he called the highest good aristotle contested that happiness could not be found only in pleasure or only in fame and honor he finally finds happiness by ascertaining the specific function of man but what is this function that will bring happiness to determine this aristotle analyzed the soul and found it to have three parts the nutritive soul plants animals and humans the perceptive soul animals and humans and the rational soul humans only thus a human s function is to do what makes it human to be good at what sets it apart from everything else the ability to reason or nous a person that does this is the happiest because they are fulfilling their purpose or nature as found in the rational soul depending on how well they did this aristotle said people belonged to one of four categories the virtuous the continent the incontinent and the vicious aristotle believes that every ethical virtue is an intermediate condition between excess and deficiency this does not mean aristotle believed in moral relativism however he set certain emotions e g hate envy jealousy spite etc and certain actions e g adultery theft murder etc as always wrong regardless of the situation or the circumstances nicomachean ethics in nicomachean ethics aristotle focuses on the importance of continually behaving virtuously and developing virtue rather than committing specific good actions this can be contrasted with kantian ethics in which the primary focus is on individual action nicomachean ethics emphasizes the importance of context to ethical behaviour what might be right in one situation might be wrong in another aristotle believed that happiness is the end of life and that as long as a person is striving for goodness good deeds will result from that struggle making the person virtuous and therefore happy aristotle s critics plato left and aristotle right a detail of the school of athens a fresco by raphael aristotle gestures to the earth representing his belief in knowledge through empirical observation and experience whilst plato points up to the heavens showing his belief in the ultimate truth aristotle has been criticised on several grounds his analysis of procreation is frequently criticised on the grounds that it presupposes an active ensouling masculine element bringing life to an inert passive lumpen female element it is on these grounds that some feminist critics refer to aristotle as a misogynist at times the objections that aristotle raises against the arguments of his own teacher plato appear to rely on faulty interpretations of those arguments although aristotle advised against plato that knowledge of the world could only be obtained through experience he frequently failed to take his own advice aristotle conducted projects of careful empirical investigation but often drifted into abstract logical reasoning with the result that his work was littered with conclusions that were not supported by empirical evidence for example his assertion that objects of different mass fall at different speeds under gravity which was later refuted by john philoponus credit is often given to galileo even though philopinus lived centuries earlier in the middle ages roughly from the one two th century to the one five th century the philosophy of aristotle became firmly established dogma although aristotle himself was far from dogmatic in his approach to philosophical inquiry two aspects of his philosophy might have assisted its transformation into dogma his works were wide ranging and systematic so that they could give the impression that no significant matter had been left unsettled he was also much less inclined to employ the skeptical methods of his predecessors socrates and plato some academics have suggested that aristotle was unaware of much of the current science of his own time aristotle was called not a great philosopher but the philosopher by scholastic thinkers these thinkers blended aristotelian philosophy with christianity bringing the thought of ancient greece into the middle ages it required a repudiation of some aristotelian principles for the sciences and the arts to free themselves for the discovery of modern scientific laws and empirical methods the loss of his works though we know that aristotle wrote many elegant treatises cicero described his literary style as a river of gold the originals have been lost in time all that we have now are the literary notes for his pupils which are often difficult to read the nicomachean ethics is a good example it is now believed that we have about one fifth of his original works aristotle underestimated the importance of his written work for humanity he thus never published his books except from his dialogues the story of the original manuscripts of his treatises is described by strabo in his geography and plutarch in his parallel lives sulla the manuscripts were left from aristotle to theophrastus from theophrastus to neleus of scepsis from neleus to his heirs their descendants sold them to apellicon of teos when sulla occupied athens in eight six bc he carried off the library of appellicon to rome where they were first published in six zero bc from the grammarian tyrranion of amisus and then by philosopher andronicus of rhodes bibliography note bekker numbers are often used to uniquely identify passages of aristotle they are identified below where available major works the extant works of aristotle are broken down according to the five categories in the corpus aristotelicum not all of these works are considered genuine but differ with respect to their connection to aristotle his associates and his views some such as the athenaion politeia or the fragments of other politeia are regarded by most scholars as products of aristotle s school and compiled under his direction or supervision other works such on colours may have been products of aristotle s successors at the lyceum e g theophrastus and straton still others acquired aristotle s name through similarities in doctrine or content such as the de plantis possibly by nicolaus of damascus a final category omitted here includes medieval palmistries astrological and magical texts whose connection to aristotle is purely fanciful and self promotional those that are seriously disputed are marked with an asterisk logical writings organon collected works on logic one a categories or categoriae one six a on interpretation or de interpretatione two four a prior analytics or analytica priora seven one a posterior analytics or analytica posteriora one zero zero b topics or topica one six four a on sophistical refutations or de sophisticis elenchis physical and scientific writings one eight four a physics or physica two six eight a on the heavens or de caelo three one four a on generation and corruption or de generatione et corruptione three three eight a meteorology or meteorologica three nine one a on the cosmos or de mundo or on the universe four zero two a on the soul or de anima four three six a little physical treatises or parva naturalia on sense and the sensible or de sensu et sensibilibus on memory and reminiscence or de memoria et reminiscentia on sleep and sleeplessness or de somno et vigilia on dreams or de insomniis on prophesying by dreams or de divinatione per somnum on longevity and shortness of life or de longitudine et brevitate vitae on youth and old age on life and death or de juventute et senectute de vita et morte on breathing or de respiratione four eight one a on breath or de spiritu four eight six a history of animals or historia animalium or on the history of animals or description of animals six three nine a on the parts of animals or de partibus animalium six nine eight a on the gait of animals or de motu animalium or on the movement of animals seven zero four a on the progression of animals or de incessu animalium seven one five a on the generation of animals or de generatione animalium seven nine one a on colours or de coloribus eight zero zero a de audibilibus eight zero five a physiognomics or physiognomonica on plants or de plantis eight three zero a on marvellous things heard or mirabilibus auscultationibus or on things heard eight four seven a mechanical problems or mechanica eight five nine a problems or problemata nine six eight a on indivisible lines or de lineis insecabilibus nine seven three a situations and names of winds or ventorum situs nine seven four a on melissus xenophanes and gorgias or mxg the section on xenophanes starts at nine seven seven a one three the section on gorgias starts at nine seven nine a one one metaphysical writings nine eight zero a metaphysics or metaphysica ethical writings one zero nine four a nicomachean ethics or ethica nicomachea or the ethics one one eight one a great ethics or magna moralia one two one four a eudemian ethics or ethica eudemia one two four nine a virtues and vices or de virtutibus et vitiis libellus libellus de virtutibus one two five two a politics or politica one three four three a economics or oeconomica aesthetic writings one three five four a rhetoric or ars rhetorica or the art of rhetoric or treatise on rhetoric rhetoric to alexander or rhetorica ad alexandrum one four four seven a poetics or ars poetica a work outside the corpus aristotelicum the constitution of the athenians or athenaion politeia or the athenian constitution specific editions princeton university press the complete works of aristotle the revised oxford translation two volume set bollingen series vol lxxi no two edited by jonathan barnes isbn zero six nine one zero nine nine five zero two the most complete recent translation of aristotle s extant works oxford university press clarendon aristotle series scholarly edition harvard university press loeb classical library hardbound publishes in greek with english translations on facing pages oxford classical texts hardbound greek only named for aristotle aristoteles crater on the moon the aristotle university of thessaloniki aristotle s cockney legacy the name of aristotle like that of j arthur rank became a common expression in cockney rhyming slang see also aristotelian view of god aristotelian theory of gravity philia phronesis aristotle s theory of potentialiy and actuality references needless to say the secondary literature on aristotle is vast the following references are only a small selection a popular exposition for the general reader a detailed and scholarly work but very readable an classic overview by one of aristotle s most important english translators in print since one nine two three for the general reader external links a brief biography and e texts presented one chapter at a time the internet encyclopedia of philosophy aristotle two zero zero four an extensive collection of aristotle s philosophy and works including lesser known texts nicomachean ethics by aristotle aristotle and indian logic o connor j john the constitution of athens three two two bc deaths three eight four bc births ancient greek mathematicians ancient greek philosophers aristotelian philosophers aristotle empiricists greek logicians history of philosophy history of science meteorologists rhetoric rhetoricians an american in paris is also a one nine five one film musical starring gene kelly an american in paris is a symphonic composition by american composer george gershwin which debuted in one nine two eight inspired by gershwin s time in paris it is in the form of an extended tone poem evoking the sights and energy of the french capital in the one nine two zero s in addition to the standard instruments of the symphony orchestra the score features period automobile horns gershwin brought back some parisian taxi cab horns for the new york premiere of the composition an american in paris is second only to rhapsody in blue as a favorite of gershwin s classical compositions the score also features instruments rarely seen in the concert hall celesta and saxophones compositions by george gershwin symphonic poems the academy awards popularly known as the oscars are the most prominent film awards in the united states and arguably the world the awards are granted by the academy of motion picture arts and sciences a professional honorary organization which as of two zero zero three had a voting membership of five eight one six actors with a membership of one three one one make up the largest voting bloc the votes have been tabulated and certified by auditing firm pricewaterhousecoopers since close to the awards inception the next oscars will take place on sunday march five th two zero zero six oscar statuette the official name of the oscar statuette is the academy award of merit made of gold plated britannium on a black marble base it is one three five inches three four cm tall weighs eight five lbs three eight five kg and depicts a knight holding a crusader s sword standing on a reel of film the root of the name oscar is contested some believe it comes from academy librarian margaret herrick who saw it on a table and said it looks just like my uncle oscar others claim that bette davis named it after her first husband however it became the nickname stuck and is used almost as commonly as academy award even by the academy itself in fact the academy s domain name is oscars org and the official website for the academy awards is at oscar com awards night the major awards are given out at a ceremony most commonly in march following the relevant calendar year this is an elaborate extravaganza with the invited guests walking up the red carpet in the creations of the most prominent fashion designers of the day the ceremony and extravagant afterparties including the academy s governors ball are televised around the world the ceremony has consecutively aired on abc since one nine seven six nominations today according to rules two and three of the official academy awards rules a film has to open in the previous calendar year from midnight january one to midnight december three one in los angeles county california to qualify rule two states that a film must be feature length defined as four zero minutes to qualify for an award except for short subject awards of course it must also exist either on a three five mm or seven zero mm film print or on a two four fps or four eight fps progressive scan digital film print with a native resolution no lower than one two eight zero x one zero two four the members of the various branches nominate those in their respective fields actors are nominated by the actors branch etc while all members may submit nominees for best picture the winners are then determined by a second round of voting in which all members are now allowed to vote in all categories membership academy membership may be obtained by one of two ways a competitive nomination however the nominee must be invited to join or a member may submit a name seconded by at least two other members then voted upon by the board of governors the academy does not publicly disclose its membership although past press releases have announced the names of those who have been invited to join if a person not yet a member is nominated in more than one category in a single year he she must choose which branch to join when he she accepts membership awards although he never won an oscar for any of his movie performances the comedian bob hope received five honorary oscars for contributions to cinema and humanitarian work academy award of merit current awards best picture one nine two eight to present best leading actor one nine two eight to present best leading actress one nine two eight to present best supporting actor one nine three six to present best supporting actress one nine three six to present best animated feature two zero zero one to present best art direction one nine two eight to present also called interior or set decoration best cinematography one nine two eight to present best costume design one nine four eight to present best director one nine two eight to present best documentary feature best documentary short subject best film editing one nine three five to present best foreign language film one nine four seven to present best makeup one nine eight one to present best original score one nine three four to present best original song one nine three four to present best original musical one nine three four to present best animated short film one nine three one to present best live action short film best sound mixing one nine three zero to present best sound editing one nine six three to present best visual effects one nine three nine to present best adapted screenplay one nine two eight to present best original screenplay one nine four zero to present retired awards best assistant director one nine three three to one nine three seven best dance direction one nine three five to one nine three seven best engineering effects one nine two eight only best score adaptation or treatment best short film color one nine three six and one nine three seven best short film live action two reels one nine three six to one nine five six best short film novelty one nine three two to one nine three five best original story one nine two eight to one nine five six best title writing one nine two eight only best unique and artistic quality of production one nine two eight only in the first year of the awards the best director category was split into separate drama and comedy categories at times the best original score category has been split into separate drama and comedy musical categories today the best original score category is one category from the one nine three zero s through the one nine six zero s the cinematography art direction and costume design awards were split into separate categories for black and white and color films special awards these awards are voted on by special committees rather than by the academy membership as a whole current awards academy honorary award one nine two eight to present academy special achievement award academy award scientific or technical one nine three one to present at three levels the irving g thalberg memorial award one nine three eight to present the jean hersholt humanitarian award gordon e sawyer award retired awards academy juvenile award one nine three four to one nine six zero academy award statistics academy award statistics films receiving one zero or more nominations academy award statistics films receiving eight or more awards academy award statistics films receiving awards for best picture directing actor actress and writing academy award statistics films receiving three or more acting nominations academy award statistics actors receiving five or more nominations academy award statistics actors receiving two or more awards academy award statistics directors receiving three or more nominations see also list of academy awards ceremonies list of movies that have won eight or more academy awards list of academy award winning movies seven eight th academy awards two zero zero six references gail k piazza j two zero zero two the academy awards the complete history of oscar black dog leventhal publishers inc external links oscars org the academy awards database oscar com the academy awards at the internet movie database academy awards film awards animalia cover animalia is an illustrated children s book by graeme base it was published in one nine eight six animalia is an alphabet book and contains twenty six illustrations one for each letter of the alphabet each illustration features an animal from the animal kingdom a is for alligator b is for butterfly etc the illustrations contain dozens of small objects that the curious reader can try to identify base also published a coloring book version for children to do their own coloring external links a web site that contains a fairly comprehensive list of items hidden in animalia s illustrations animalia on amazon com https www graemebase com home cfm graeme base s official website children s books temps atomique international tai or international atomic time is a very accurate and stable time scale it is a weighted average of the time kept by about three zero zero atomic clocks including a large number of caesium atomic clocks in over five zero national laboratories worldwide it has been available since one nine five five and became the international standard on which utc is based on january one one nine seven two as decided by the one four th general conference on weights and measures cgpm the international bureau of weights and measures is in charge of the realization of tai the highest precision realization of tai times can only be determined retrospectively as the timescale is defined by periodic comparisons among its participating atomic clocks however these corrections are usually only needed for applications that require nanosecond scale accuracy most time service users use realtime estimates of tai provided by atomic clocks that have been previously referenced to the composite timescale gps is a commonly used realtime source of time traceable back to tai coordinated universal time utc is the basis for legal time throughout much of the world and always differs from tai by an integral number of seconds from one january two zero zero six utc was behind tai by three three seconds the difference is due to an initial ten second offset on one january one nine seven two when utc was established and leap seconds which have been periodically inserted into utc since the first on three zero june one nine seven two due to slight irregularities in earth s rate of rotation while tai is a continuous and stable timescale utc has intentional discontinuities to keep it from drifting more than zero nine second from ut one a timescale defined by the earth s rotation roughly speaking solar noon the time at which the sun is directly overhead would drift away from one two zero zero zero zero without leap second corrections ut one is computed by the international earth rotation and reference systems service iers tai was defined such that tai ut two on january one one nine five eight because utc is a discontinuous timescale it is not possible to compute the exact time interval elapsed between two utc timestamps without consulting a table that describes how many leap seconds occurred during that interval therefore many scientific applications that require precise measurement of long multi year intervals use tai instead tai is also commonly used by systems that can not handle leap seconds see also terrestrial time coordinated universal time universal time sidereal time time and frequency transfer clock synchronization network time protocol external links bureau international des poids et mesures iers website nist time and frequency faqs time scales altruism is considered a belief a practice a habit or an ethical doctrine many cultures and religious traditions judge altruism to be virtuous in english the idea was often described as golden rule of ethics in buddhism it is considered a fundamental property of human nature altruism can refer to being helpful to other people with little or no interest in being rewarded for one s efforts the colloquial definition this is distinct from merely helping others actions that benefit others with a net detrimental or neutral effect on the actor regardless of the actor s own psychology motivation or the cause of his or her actions this type of altruistic behavior is referred to in ecology as commensalism an ethical doctrine that holds that individuals have a moral obligation to help others if necessary to the exclusion of one s own interest or benefit one who holds such a doctrine is known as an altruist the concepts have a long history in philosophical and ethical thought and have more recently become a topic for psychologists sociologists evolutionary biologists and ethologists while ideas about altruism from one field can have an impact on the other fields the different methods and focuses of these fields lead to different perspectives on altruism altruism can be distinguished from a feeling of loyalty and duty altruism focuses on a moral obligation towards all humanity while duty focuses on a moral obligation towards a specific individual e g a king a specific organization e g a government or an abstract concept e g god country etc some individuals may feel both altruism and duty while others may not as opposed to altruism duty is much easier to enforce by an authority altruism in ethics main article altruism ethical doctrine the word altruism french altruisme from autrui other people derived from latin alter other was coined by auguste comte the french founder of positivism in order to describe the ethical doctrine he supported he believed that individuals had a moral obligation to serve the interest of others or the greater good of humanity comte says in his catechisme positiviste that the social point of view cannot tolerate the notion of rights for such notion rests on individualism we are born under a load of obligations of every kind to our predecessors to our successors to our contemporaries after our birth these obligations increase or accumulate for it is some time before we can return any service this to live for others the definitive formula of human morality gives a direct sanction exclusively to our instincts of benevolence the common source of happiness and duty man must serve humanity whose we are entirely as the name of the ethical doctrine is altruism doing what the ethical doctrine prescribes has also come to be referred to by the term altruism serving others through placing their interests above one s own however the idea that one has a moral obligation to serve others is much older than auguste comte for example many of the world s oldest and most widespread religions particularly buddhism and christianity advocate it in the new testament of the christian bible it is explained as follows jesus made answer and said a certain man was going down from jerusalem to jericho and he fell among robbers who both stripped him and beat him and departed leaving him half dead and by chance a certain priest was going down that way and when he saw him he passed by on the other side and in like manner a levite also when he came to the place and saw him passed by on the other side but a certain samaritan as he journeyed came where he was and when he saw him he was moved with compassion and came to him and bound up his wounds pouring on them oil and wine and he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him and on the morrow he took out two shillings and gave them to the host and said take care of him and whatsoever thou spendest more i when i come back again will repay thee which of these three thinkest thou proved neighbor unto him that fell among the robbers and he said he that showed mercy on him and jesus said unto him go and do thou likewise luke one zero three zero three seven philosophers who support egoism have argued that altruism is demeaning to the individual and that no moral obligation to help others actually exists nietzsche asserts that altruism is predicated on the assumption that others are more important than one s self and that such a position is degrading and demeaning he also claims that it was very uncommon for people in europe to consider the sacrifice of one s own interests for others as virtuous until after the advent of christianity ayn rand argued that altruism is the willful sacrifice of one s values and represents the reversal of morality because only a rationally selfish ethics allows one to pursue the values required for human life advocates of altruism as an ethical doctrine maintain that one ought to act or refrain from acting so that benefit or good is bestowed on other people if necessary to the exclusion of one s own interests note that refraining from murdering someone for example is not altruism since he is not receiving a benefit or being helped as he already has his life this would amount to the same thing as ignoring someone altruism in ethology and evolutionary biology in the science of ethology the study of behavior altruism refers to behavior by an individual that increases the fitness of another individual while decreasing the fitness of the actor this would appear to be counter intuitive if one presumes that natural selection acts on the individual natural selection however acts on the gene pool of the subjects not on each subject individually recent developments in game theory have provided some explanations for apparent altruism as have traditional evolutionary analyses among the proposed mechanisms are behavioral manipulation e g by certain parasites that can alter the behavior of the host see bounded rationality e g herbert simon conscience indirect reciprocity e g reputation kin selection including eusociality see also selfish gene memes by influencing behavior to favour their own spread e g religion reciprocal altruism mutual aid sexual selection strong reciprocity the study of altruism was the initial impetus behind george r price s development of the price equation which is a mathematical equation used to study genetic evolution an interesting example of altruism is found in the cellular slime moulds such as dictyostelium mucoroides these protists live as individual amoebae until starved at which point they aggregate and form a multicellular fruiting body in which some cells sacrifice themselves to promote the survival of other cells in the fruiting body social behavior and altruism share many similaraties to the interactions between the many parts cells genes of an organism but are distinguished by the ability of each individual to reproduce indefinitely without an absolute requirement for its neighbors altruism in psychology and sociology if one performs an act beneficial to others with a view to gaining some personal benefit then it is not an altruistically motivated act there are several different perspectives on how benefit or interest should be defined a material gain e g money a physical reward etc is clearly a form of benefit while others identify and include both material and immaterial gains affection respect happiness satisfaction etc as being philosophically identical benefits according to psychological egoism while people can exhibit altruistic behavior they cannot have altruistic motivations psychological egoists would say that while they might very well spend their lives benefitting others with no material benefit or a material net loss to themselves their most basic motive for doing so is always to further their own interests for example it would be alleged that the foundational motive behind a person acting this way is to advance their own psychological well being good feeling critics of this theory often reject it on the grounds that it is non falsifiable in other words it is designed in such a way as to be impossible to prove or disprove because immaterial gains such as a good feeling cannot be measured or proven to exist in all people performing altruistic acts psychological egoism has also been accused of using circular logic if a person willingly performs an act that means he derives personal enjoyment from it therefore people only perform acts that give them personal enjoyment this statement is circular because its conclusion is identical to its hypothesis it assumes that people only perform acts that give them personal enjoyment and concludes that people only perform acts that give them personal enjoyment in contrast to psychological egoism the empathy altruism hypothesis states that when an individual experiences empathy towards someone in need the individual will then be altruistically motivated to help that person that is the individual will be primarily concerned about that person s welfare not his or her own in common parlance altruism usually means helping another person without expecting material reward from that or other persons although it may well entail the internal benefit of a good feeling sense of satisfaction self esteem fulfillment of duty whether imposed by a religion or ideology or simply one s conscience or the like in this way one need not speculate on the motives of the altruist in question humans are not exclusively altruistic towards family members previous co operators or potential future allies but can be altruistic towards people they don t know and will never meet for example humans donate to international charities and volunteer their time to help society s less fortunate it strains plausibility to claim that these altruistic deeds are done in the hope of a return favor the game theory analysis of this just in case strategy where the principle would be always help everyone in case you need to pull in a favor in return is a decidedly non optimal strategy where the net expenditure of effort tit is far greater than the net profit when it occasionally pays off tat according to some it is difficult to believe that these behaviors are solely explained as indirect selfish rationality be it conscious or sub conscious mathematical formulations of kin selection along the lines of the prisoner s dilemma are helpful as far as they go but what a game theoretic explanation glosses over is the fact that altruistic behavior can be attributed to that apparently mysterious phenomenon the conscience one recent suggestion proposed by the philosopher daniel dennett was initially developed when considering the problem of so called free riders in the tragedy of the commons a larger scale version of the prisoner s dilemma in game theory terms a free rider is an agent who draws benefits from a co operative society without contributing in a one to one situation free riding can easily be discouraged by a tit for tat strategy but in a larger scale society where contributions and benefits are pooled and shared they can be incredibly difficult to shake off imagine an elementary society of co operative organisms co operative agents interact with each other each contributing resources and each drawing on the common good now imagine a rogue free rider an agent who draws a favor you scratch my back and later refuses to return it the problem is that free riding is always going to be beneficial to individuals at cost to society how can well behaved co operative agents avoid being cheated over many generations one obvious solution is for co operators to evolve the ability to spot potential free riders in advance and refuse to enter into reciprocal arrangements with them then the canonical free rider response is to evolve a more convincing disguise fooling co operators into co operating after all this can lead to an evolutionary arms races with ever more sophisticated disguises and ever more sophisticated detectors in this evolutionary arms race how best might one convince comrades that one really is a genuine co operator not a free rider in disguise one answer is by actually making oneself a genuine co operator by erecting psychological barriers to breaking promises and by advertising this fact to everyone else in other words a good solution is for organisms to evolve things that everyone knows will force them to be co operators and to make it obvious that they ve evolved these things so evolution will produce organisms who are sincerely moral and who wear their hearts on their sleeves in short evolution will give rise to the phenomenon of conscience this theory combined with ideas of kin selection and the one to one sharing of benefits may explain how a blind and fundamentally selfish process can produce a genuinely non cynical form of altruism that gives rise to the human conscience critics of such technical game theory analysis point out that it appears to forget that human beings are rational and emotional to presume an analysis of human behaviour without including human rationale or emotion is necessarily unrealistically narrow and treats human beings as if they are mere machines sometimes called homo economicus another objection is that often people donate anonymously so that it is impossible to determine if they really did the altruistic act beginning with an understanding that rational human beings benefit from living in a benign universe logically it follows that particular human beings may gain substantial emotional satisfaction from acts which they perceive to make the world a better place comparison of altruism and tit for tat studying the simple strategy tit for tat in the iterated prisoner s dilemma problem game theorists argue that tit for tat is much more successful in establishing stable cooperation among individuals than altruism defined as unconditional cooperation can ever be tit for tat starts with cooperation in the first step as altruism does and then just imitates the behaviour of the partner step by step if the partner cooperates then he rewards him with cooperation if he doesn t then he punishes him by not cooperating in the next step confronted with many strategies that try to exploit or abuse cooperation of others this simple strategy surprisingly proved to be the most successful see the evolution of cooperation it was even more successful than these abusing strategies while unconditional cooperativity altruism was one of the most unsuccessful strategies confronted with altruistic behaviour tit for tat is indistinguishable from pure altruism robert axelrod and richard dawkins also showed that altruism may be harmful to society by nourishing exploiters and abusers and making them more and more powerful until they can force everyone to cooperate unconditionally which is not the case for tit for tat see also comparison of entrepreneur and entredonneur in the context of biology the tit for tat strategy is also called reciprocal altruism altruism in politics there is currently a pov dispute as to the wording of the section shown below if one is an adherent to the ethical doctrine called altruism that people have an ethical obligation to help or further the welfare of others then one will support the kind of politics that one believes to be most effective in furthering the welfare of others regardless of the effect this may have on oneself since there is no general consensus on what kind of politics results in the greatest benefit for others different altruists may have very different political views with regard to their political convictions altruists may be divided in two broad groups those who believe altruism is a matter of personal choice and therefore selfishness can and should be tolerated and those who believe that altruism is a moral ideal which should be embraced if possible by all human beings a prominent example of the former branch of altruist political thought is lysander spooner who in natural law writes man no doubt owes many other moral duties to his fellow men such as to feed the hungry clothe the naked shelter the homeless care for the sick protect the defenceless assist the weak and enlighten the ignorant but these are simply moral duties of which each man must be his own judge in each particular case as to whether and how and how far he can or will perform them the latter branch of altruist political thought on the other hand argues that egoism should be actively discouraged and that altruists have a duty not only to help other people but to teach those people to help each other as well thus in politics these altruists almost always take a left wing stance ranging from moderate social democracy to socialism or even communism moderate altruists of this branch may argue for the creation of taxation funded government programs aimed at benefiting the needy for example transfer payments such as social welfare or public healthcare and public education less obvious things such as a law that motorists pull over to let emergency vehicles pass may also be justified by appealing to the altruism ethic finally radical altruists of this branch may take things further and advocate some form of collectivism or communalism on a somewhat related note altruism is often held even by non altruists to be the kind of ethic that should guide the actions of politicians and other people in positions of power such people are usually expected to set their own interests aside and serve the populace when they do not they may be criticized as defaulting on what is believed to be an ethical obligation to place the interests of others above their own politicians often speak of a moral obligation of individuals to help others for example george bush speaking to the united nations said we have a moral obligation to help others and a moral duty to make sure our actions are effective if one is an adherent to the ethical doctrine called altruism that people have an ethical obligation to help or further the welfare of others it can become a moral justification for forcing or advocating forcing individuals to help others in the realm of politics the altruist may employ an agent in the form of government to enforce this supposed moral obligation this is not to say that an ethical altruist will necessarily force this on anyone an altruist may allow others the freedom to behave in a manner they believe to be immoral or selfish in other words their ethical doctrine would not manifest itself politically with regard those who believe benevolence is a moral obligation altruists may be divided in two broad groups those who believe helping others is a moral obligation but should not be enforced on individuals and those who believe that since helping others is a moral obligation forcing individuals to help others if they are not willing on their own is justified a prominent example of the former branch of altruist political thought is lysander spooner who in natural law writes man no doubt owes many other moral duties to his fellow men such as to feed the hungry clothe the naked shelter the homeless care for the sick protect the defenceless assist the weak and enlighten the ignorant but these are simply moral duties of which each man must be his own judge in each particular case as to whether and how and how far he can or will perform them the latter branch of altruist political thought on the other hand argues that egoism should be actively discouraged and that individuals should be forced to help other people thus in politics these altruists almost always take a left wing stance ranging from moderate social democracy to socialism or even communism moderate altruists of this branch may argue for the creation of taxation funded government programs aimed at benefiting the needy for example transfer payments such as social welfare or public healthcare and public education finally radical altruists of this branch may take things to an extreme and advocate some form of state enforced collectivism communalism or communism this is in line with august comte s philosophy who coined the term altruism which argues against individual rights finally many believe that helping others or serving society is not a moral obligation at all but that altrusm is an arbitrary pronouncement not philosophically derivable these oppose all government enforced charity individualist anarchist pierre joseph proudhon in one eight four seven warns of enforcing charity that is why charity the prime virtue of the christian the legitimate hope of the socialist the object of all the efforts of the economist is a social vice the moment it is made a principle of constitution and a law that is why certain economists have been able to say that legal charity had caused more evil in society than proprietary usurpation the philosophy of poverty comte asserts that individual rights are not compatible with the supposed obligation to serve others some argue that the ethical doctrine if taken to its logical conclusion leads to tyranny altruism and religion all the major world religions promote altruism as a very important moral value christianity and buddhism place particular emphasis on altruistic morality as noted above but judaism islam and hinduism also promote altruistic behavior the good samaritan is a famous new testament parable appearing only in the gospel of luke one zero two five three seven the parable is told by jesus illustrating altruism see also altruism ethical doctrine altruism in animals psychology euphemism will law trust law tit for tat reciprocal altruism external links what is altruism altruists international biological altruism the altruistic personality and prosocial behavior institute at humboldt state university international institute for prosocial behavior and altruism research references batson c d one nine nine one the altruism question hillsdale nj erlbaum fehr e seven nine one august comte catechisme positiviste one eight five two or catechism of positivism tr r congreve london kegan paul one eight nine one oord thomas jay science of love philadelphia templeton foundation press two zero zero four nietzsche friedrich beyond good and evil pierre joseph proudhon the philosophy of poverty one eight four seven lysander spooner natural law ayn rand the virtue of selfishness matt ridley the origins of virtue oliner samuel p and pearl m towards a caring society ideas into action west port ct praeger one nine nine five the evolution of cooperation robert axelrod basic books isbn zero four six five zero two one two one two the selfish gene richard dawkins one nine nine zero second edition includes two chapters about the evolution of cooperation isbn zero one nine two eight six zero nine two five robert wright the moral animal vintage one nine nine five isbn zero six seven nine seven six three nine nine six ethics evolutionary biology philanthropy social philosophy social psychology sociology virtues motivation lee accepting the best foreign film award for crouching tiger hidden dragon at the seven three rd academy awards ang lee chinese pinyin l n born october two three one nine five four is an academy award winning film director from taiwan early life ang lee was born and raised in pingtung taiwan and educated in the united states where he found success as a hollywood director well known for his wuxia film crouching tiger hidden dragon two zero zero zero he completed his bachelor s degree in theater from the university of illinois and received his mfa from new york university s tisch school of the arts where in one nine eight four he made a thesis film called fine line he was a classmate of spike lee and worked on the crew of the latter lee s thesis film joe s bed stuy barbershop we cut heads career many of his films have focused on the interactions between modernity and tradition his films have also tended to have a light hearted comic tone which marks a break from the tragic historical realism which characterized taiwanese filmmaking after the end of the martial law period in one nine eight seven lee s films also tend to draw on deep secrets and internal torment that begin to come to the surface such as the gay themed films the wedding banquet one nine nine three brokeback mountain two zero zero five the martial arts epic crouching tiger hidden dragon two zero zero zero and the comic book adaptation hulk two zero zero three he received the dartmouth film award in two zero zero two along with meryl streep lee s film brokeback mountain two zero zero five won the best film award at the venice international film festival and was named two zero zero five s best film by the los angeles film critics it also won the golden globe award for best motion picture drama with lee winning the golden globe award for best director lee also won the best director award for the film at the two zero zero six british academy awards baftas in january two zero zero six brokeback scored a leading eight academy award nominations including lee for best director the film is considered to be the frontrunner for the march five two zero zero six ceremony he taught meryl streep s son and kai christophe wong initially scheduled for the lead in dark matter private life his wife jane is a microbiologist they have two children haan and mason he is a huge fan of the vancouver canucks of the national hockey league he kept his directing aspirations a secret because his culture did not encourage ambitions in a non practical career like film films director hulk two two zero zero seven brokeback mountain two zero zero five hulk two zero zero three the hire bmw short movies chosen two zero zero two crouching tiger hidden dragon chinese two zero zero zero ride with the devil one nine nine nine the ice storm one nine nine seven sense and sensibility one nine nine five eat drink man woman chinese one nine nine four the wedding banquet chinese one nine nine three pushing hands chinese one nine nine two fine line one nine eight four shades of the lake one nine eight two i love chinese food one nine eight one beat the artist one nine eight one the runner one nine eight zero one day of ma chuan chen chinese laziness in a saturday afternoon chinese see also writer siao yu chinese one nine nine five eat drink man woman chinese one nine nine four the wedding banquet chinese one nine nine three pushing hands chinese one nine nine two actor the wedding banquet chinese one nine nine three the hulk two zero zero three editing eat drink man woman chinese one nine nine four pushing hands chinese one nine nine two producer crouching tiger hidden dragon chinese two zero zero zero siao yu chinese one nine nine five external links ang lee on brokeback ang lee chinese one nine five four births living people american film directors hulk taiwanese americans taiwanese film directors best director golden globe best director oscar nominees ayn rand march six one nine eight two born alissa zinovievna rosenbaum was best known for her philosophy of objectivism and her novels we the living anthem the fountainhead and atlas shrugged her philosophy and her fiction both emphasize above all the concepts of individualism rational egoism rational self interest and capitalism which she believed should be implemented fully via laissez faire capitalism her politics has been described as minarchism and libertarianism though she never used the first term and detested the second her novels were based upon the projection of the randian hero a man whose ability and independence causes conflict with the masses but who perseveres nevertheless to achieve his values rand viewed this hero as the ideal and the express goal of her fiction was to showcase such heroes she believed that man must choose his values and actions by reason that the individual has a right to exist for his own sake neither sacrificing self to others nor others to self and that no one has the right to seek values from others by physical force or impose ideas on others by physical force biography early life rand was born in saint petersburg russia and was the eldest of three daughters of a jewish family her parents were agnostic and largely non observant from an early age she displayed a strong interest in literature and films she started writing screenplays and novels from the age of seven her mother taught her french and subscribed to a magazine featuring stories for boys where rand found her first childhood hero cyrus paltons an indian army officer in a rudyard kipling style story called the mysterious valley throughout her youth she read the novels of sir walter scott alexandre dumas and other romantic writers and expressed a passionate enthusiasm toward the romantic movement as a whole she discovered victor hugo at the age of thirteen and fell deeply in love with his novels later she cited him as her favorite novelist and the greatest novelist of world literature she studied philosophy and history at the university of petrograd her major literary discoveries in university were the works of edmond rostand friedrich schiller and fyodor dostoevsky she admired rostand for his richly romantic imagination and schiller for his grand heroic scale she admired dostoevsky for his sense of drama and his intense moral judgments but was deeply against his philosophy and his sense of life she continued to write short stories and screenplays and wrote sporadically in her diary which contained intensely anti soviet ideas she also encountered the philosophical ideas of nietzsche and loved his exaltation of the heroic and independent individual who embraced egoism and rejected altruism in thus spoke zarathustra though an early fan of nietzsche she eventually became critical seeing his philosophy as emphasizing emotion over reason nevertheless as allan gotthelf points out in book on ayn rand the influence was real she did still retain an admiration for some of his ideas and quoted nietzsche in the introduction to the two five th aniversary edition of the fountainhead the noble soul has reverence for itself her greatest influence by far is aristotle especially organon logic although leonard peikoff promoter of her ideas says she is the greatest philosopher who ever lived she herself considered aristotle the greatest philosopher ever and stated that he was the only philosopher who had influenced her this is probably because as she has stated she did not include her own work when analyzing the culture she then entered the state institute for cinema arts in one nine two four to study screenwriting in late one nine two five however she was granted a visa to visit american relatives she arrived in the united states in february one nine two six at the age of twenty one after a brief stay with her relatives in chicago she resolved never to return to the soviet union and set out for hollywood to become a screenwriter she then changed her name to ayn rand there is a story told that she named herself after the remington rand typewriter but she began using the name ayn rand before the typewriter was first sold she stated that her first name ayn was an adaptation of the name of a finnish writer this may have been the finnish estonian author aino kallas but variations of this name are common in finnish speaking regions major works initially rand struggled in hollywood and took odd jobs to pay her basic living expenses while working as an extra on cecil b demille s king of kings she intentionally bumped into an aspiring young actor frank o connor who caught her eye the two married in one nine two nine in one nine three one rand became a naturalized citizen of the united states her first literary success came with the sale of her screenplay red pawn in one nine three two to universal studios rand then wrote the play the night of january one six th in one nine three four which was highly successful and published two novels we the living one nine three six and anthem one nine three eight while we the living met with mixed reviews in the u s and positive reviews in the u k anthem received significiant and positive reviews only in england due in part to its odd publication history she was up against the red decade in america and anthem did not even find a publisher in the united states it was first published in england besides rand had still not perfected her literary style and these novels cannot be considered representative without rand s knowledge or permission we the living was made into a pair of films noi vivi and addio kira in one nine four two by scalara films rome they were nearly censored by the italian government under benito mussolini but they were permitted because the novel upon which they were based was anti soviet the films were successful and the public easily realized that they were as much against fascism as communism and the government banned them quickly thereafter these films were re edited into a new version which was approved by rand and re released as we the living in one nine eight six rand s first major professional success came with her best selling novel the fountainhead one nine four three which she wrote over a period of seven years the novel was rejected by twelve publishers who thought it was too intellectual and opposed to the mainstream of american thought it was finally accepted by the bobbs merrill company publishing house thanks mainly to a member of the editorial board archibald ogden who praised the book in the highest terms and finally prevailed eventually the fountainhead was a worldwide success bringing rand fame and financial security the theme of the fountainhead is individualism and collectivism in man s soul it features the lives of five main characters the hero howard roark is rand s ideal a noble soul par excellence an architect who is firmly and serenely devoted to his own ideals and believes that no man should copy the style of another in any field especially architecture all the other characters in the novel demand that he renounce his values but roark maintains his integrity unlike traditional heroes who launch into long and passionate monologues about their integrity and the unfairness of the world roark in contrast does it with a disdainful almost contemptuous taciturnity and laconicism rand s magnum opus atlas shrugged was published in one nine five seven becoming an international bestseller atlas shrugged is often seen as rand s most complete statement of the objectivist philosophy in any of her works of fiction in its appendix she offered this summary my philosophy in essence is the concept of man as a heroic being with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life with productive achievement as his noblest activity and reason as his only absolute the theme of atlas shrugged is the role of man s mind in society rand upheld the industrialist as one of the most admirable members of any society and fiercely opposed the popular resentment accorded to industrialists this led her to envision a novel wherein the industrialists of america go on strike and retreat to a mountainous hideaway the american economy and its society in general slowly start to collapse the government responds by increasing the already stifling controls on industrial concerns the novel deals with issues as complex and divergent as sex music medicine politics and human ability along with nathaniel branden his wife barbara and others including alan greenspan and leonard peikoff jokingly designated the collective rand launched the objectivist movement to promote her philosophy the objectivist movement main article the objectivist movement in one nine five zero rand moved to new york city where in one nine five one she met the young psychology student nathaniel branden who had read her book the fountainhead at the age of one four branden then one nine enjoyed discussing rand s emerging objectivist philosophy with her together branden and some of his other friends formed a group that they dubbed the collective which included some participation by future federal reserve chairman alan greenspan after several years rand and branden s friendly relationship blossomed into a romantic affair despite the fact that both were married at the time their spouses were both convinced to accept this affair but it eventually led to the separation and then divorce of nathaniel branden from his wife although one of rand s most strident philosophical points was never to bow to societal pressure or norms ayn rand abandoned her own name see top of page as did branden born nathan blumenthal throughout the one nine six zero s and one nine seven zero s rand developed and promoted her objectivist philosophy through both her fiction and non fiction works and by giving talks at several east coast universities largely through the nathaniel branden institute the nbi which branden established to promote her philosophy after a convoluted series of separations rand abruptly ended her relationship with both nathaniel branden and his wife barbara branden in one nine six eight when she learned of nathaniel branden s affair with patrecia scott this later affair did not overlap chronologically with the earlier branden rand affair rand refused to have any further dealings with the nbi she then published a letter in the objectivist announcing her repudiation of branden for various reasons including dishonesty but did not mention their affair or her role in the schism the two never reconciled and branden remained a persona non grata in the objectivist movement one nine nine nine u s postage stamp honoring rand art by nick gaetano barbara branden presented an account of the breakup of the affair in her book the passion of ayn rand she describes the encounter between nathaniel and rand saying that rand slapped him numerous times and denounced him in these words if you have an ounce of morality left in you an ounce of psychological health you ll be impotent for the next twenty years and if you achieve any potency you ll know it s a sign of still worse moral degradation conflicts continued in the wake of the break with branden and the subsequent collapse of the nbi many of her closest collective friends began to part ways and during the late seven zero s her activities within the formal objectivist movement began to decline a situation which increased after the death of her husband in one nine seven nine one of her final projects was work on a television adaptation of atlas shrugged rand died of heart failure on march six one nine eight two in new york city years after having successfully battled cancer and was interred in the kensico cemetery valhalla new york grave marker of frank o connor and ayn rand philosophical influences rand rejected virtually all other philosophical schools she acknowledged a shared intellectual lineage with aristotle and john locke and more generally with the philosophies of the age of enlightenment and the age of reason she occasionally remarked with approval on specific philosophical positions of e g baruch spinoza and thomas aquinas she seems also to have respected the american rationalist brand blanshard however she regarded most philosophers as at best incompetent and at worst downright evil she singled out immanuel kant as the most influential of the latter sort nonetheless there are connections between rand s views and those of other philosophers she acknowledged that she had been influenced at an early age by the writings of friedrich nietzsche though she later repudiated his thought and reprinted her first novel we the living with some wording changes in one nine five nine her own thought grew out of critical interaction with it generally her political thought is in the tradition of classical liberalism she expressed qualified enthusiasm for the economic thought of ludwig von mises and henry hazlitt though not mentioned as an influence by her specifically parallels between her works and ralph waldo emerson s essay self reliance do exist later objectivists such as richard salsman have claimed that rand s economic theories are implicitly more supportive of the doctrines of jean baptiste say though rand herself was likely not acquainted with his work politics and house committee on un american activities testimony rand s political views were radically pro capitalist anti statist and anti communist her writings praised above all the human individual and the creative genius of which one is capable she exalted what she saw as the heroic american values of egoism and individualism rand also had a strong dislike for mysticism religion and compulsory charity all of which she believed helped foster a crippling culture of resentment towards individual human happiness and success rand detested many prominent liberal and conservative politicians of her time even including prominent anti communist crusaders like presidents harry s truman and ronald reagan and senators hubert h humphrey and joseph mccarthy although she argued that mccarthyism was a myth and that the accusation of mccarthyism was used as an ad hominem argument to discredit anti communists in one nine four seven during the red scare rand testified as a friendly witness before the house committee on un american activities see rand s testimony involved analysis of the one nine four three film song of russia while many believe that ayn rand disclosed the names of members of the communist party in the u s thus exposing them to blacklisting her testimony consisted entirely of comments regarding the disparity between her experiences in the soviet union and the fanciful portrayal of it in the film rand argued that the movie grossly misrepresented the socioeconomic conditions in the soviet union she told the committee that the film presented life in the ussr as being much better than it actually was apparently this one nine four three film was intentional wartime propaganda by u s patriots trying to put their soviet allies in world war ii under the best possible light after the huac hearings when ayn rand was asked about her feelings on the effectiveness of their investigations she described the process as futile legacy rand s funeral was attended by some of her prominent followers including alan greenspan a six foot floral arrangement in the shape of a dollar sign was placed near her casket in one nine eight five leonard peikoff a surviving member of the collective and ayn rand s designated heir established the ayn rand institute the center for the advancement of objectivism ari the institute has since registered the name ayn rand as a trademark despite rand s desire that her name never be used to promote the philosophy she developed rand expressed her wish to keep her name and the philosophy of objectivism separate to ensure the survival of her ideas another schism in the movement occurred in one nine eight nine when objectivist david kelley wrote a question of sanction in which he defended his choice to speak to non objectivist libertarian groups kelley stated that objectivism was not a closed system and should engage with other philosophies peikoff in an article for the intellectual activist called fact and value argued that objectivism is indeed a closed system and that truth and moral goodness are directly related peikoff expelled kelley from his movement whereupon kelley founded the institute for objectivist studies now known as the objectivist center rand and objectivism are less well known outside north america although there are pockets of interest in europe and australia and her novels are reported to be popular in india and to be gaining an increasingly wider audience in africa her work has had little effect on academic philosophy for her followers are with some notable exceptions drawn from the non academic world neil peart the drummer and lyricist with the canadian progressive rock band rush was influenced by rand philosophy during the early years of the band the most notable instances of this are the track anthem from the album fly by night one nine seven five and the title track from the album two one one two one nine seven six controversy rand s views are controversial religious and socially conservative thinkers have criticized her atheism many adherents and practitioners of continental philosophy criticize her celebration of rationality and self interest within the dominant philosophical movement in the english speaking world analytic philosophy rand s work has been mostly ignored no leading research university in this tradition considers rand or objectivism to be an important philosophical specialty or research area as is documented by brian leiter s report some academics however are trying to bring rand s work into the mainstream for instance the ayn rand society founded in one nine eight seven is affiliated with the american philosophical association in two zero zero six cambridge university press will publish a volume on rand s ethical theory written by ari affiliated scholar tara smith a notable exception to the general lack of attention paid to rand is the essay on the randian argument by harvard university philosopher robert nozick which appears in his collection socratic puzzles nozick s own libertarian political conclusions are similar to rand s but his essay criticizes her foundational argument in ethics which claims that one s own life is for each individual the only ultimate value because it makes all other values possible to make this argument sound nozick argues that rand still needs to explain why someone could not rationally prefer the state of eventually dying and having no values thus he argues her attempt to deduce the morality of selfishness is essentially an instance of assuming the conclusion or begging the question and that her solution to david hume s famous is ought problem is unsatisfactory nevertheless nozick respected rand as an author and noted that he found her books enjoyable and thought provoking rand has sometimes been viewed with suspicion for her practice of presenting her philosophy in fiction and non fiction books aimed at a general audience rather than publishing in peer reviewed journals rand s defenders note that she is part of a long tradition of authors who wrote philosophically rich fiction including dante john milton fyodor dostoevsky and albert camus and that other philosophers such as jean paul sartre presented their philosophies in both fictional and non fictional forms other critics argue that rand s idealistic philosophy and her romantic literary style are not applicable to the inhabited world in particular these critics claim that rand s novels are made up of unrealistic and one dimensional characters they criticize the portrayal of the objectivist heroes as incredibly intelligent unencumbered by doubt wealthy and free of flaws in contrast to the frequent portrayal of the antagonists as weak pathetic full of uncertainty and lacking in imagination and talent defenders of rand point out counterexamples to these criticisms neither eddie willers nor cherryl taggart both positive characters is especially gifted or intelligent but both are characters of dignity and respect leo kovalensky suffers enormously due to his inability to cope with the brutality and banality of communism andrei taganov dies after realizing his philosophical errors dominique francon is initially bitterly unhappy because she believes evil is powerful hank rearden is torn by inner emotional conflict brought on by a philosophical contradiction and dagny taggart thinks that she alone is capable of saving the world two of her main protagonists howard roark and john galt did not begin life wealthy though rand believed that under capitalism valuable contributions will routinely be rewarded by wealth she certainly did not think that wealth made a person virtuous in fact she presents many vicious bureaucrats and waspish elitists who use statism to accumulate money and power moreover hank rearden is exploited because of his social na vet as for the purportedly weak and pathetic villains rand s defenders point out that ellsworth toohey is represented as being a great strategist and communicator from an early age and dr robert stadler is a brilliant scientist rand herself replied to these literary criticisms and in advance of much of them with her essay the goal of my writing one nine six three there and in other essays collected in her book the romantic manifesto a philosophy of literature two nd rev ed one nine seven five rand makes it clear that her goal is to project her vision of an ideal man not man as he is but man as he might and ought to be rand s views on sex have also led to some controversy according to her for a woman qua woman the essence of femininity is hero worship the desire to look up to man one nine six eight some in the bdsm community see her work as relevant and supportive particularly the fountainhead another source of controversy is rand s view that homosexuality is immoral and disgusting as well as her support for the right of businesses to discriminate on the basis of homosexuality such as in their hiring practices specifically she stated that there is a psychological immorality at the root of homosexuality because it involves psychological flaws corruptions errors or unfortunate premises on the topic of non governmental discrimination rand s defenders argue that her support for its legality was motivated by holding property rights above civil or human rights as she did not believe that human rights were distinct from property rights so it did not constitute an endorsement of the morality of the prejudice itself in support of this they cite rand s opposition to some prejudices though not homophobia on moral grounds in essays like racism and global balkanization while still arguing for the right of individuals and businesses to act on such prejudice without government intervention bibliography fiction night of january one six th one nine three four we the living one nine three six anthem one nine three eight the fountainhead one nine four three atlas shrugged one nine five seven posthumous fiction three plays two zero zero five nonfiction for the new intellectual one nine six one the virtue of selfishness with nathaniel branden one nine six four capitalism the unknown ideal with nathaniel branden alan greenspan and robert hessen one nine six six introduction to objectivist epistemology one nine six seven the romantic manifesto one nine six nine the new left the anti industrial revolution one nine seven one philosophy who needs it one nine eight two posthumous nonfiction the early ayn rand edited and with commentary by leonard peikoff one nine eight four the voice of reason essays in objectivist thought edited by leonard peikoff additional essays by leonard peikoff and peter schwartz one nine eight nine introduction to objectivist epistemology second edition edited by harry binswanger additional material by leonard peikoff one nine nine zero letters of ayn rand edited by michael s berliner one nine nine five journals of ayn rand edited by david harriman one nine nine seven ayn rand s marginalia her critical comments on the writings of over twenty authors edited by robert mayhew one nine nine eight the ayn rand column written for the los angeles times edited by peter schwartz one nine nine eight russian writings on hollywood edited by michael s berliner one nine nine nine return of the primitive the anti industrial revolution expanded edition of the new left edited and with additional essays by peter schwartz one nine nine nine the art of fiction edited by tore boeckmann two zero zero zero the art of nonfiction edited by robert mayhew two zero zero one the objectivism research cd rom collection of most of rand s works in cd rom format two zero zero one ayn rand answers two zero zero five references in addition to rand s own works listed above the following references discuss rand s life and or literary work references that discuss her philosophy can be found in the bibliography of work on objectivism external links general information ayn rand faq frequently asked questions on ayn rand ayn rand entry from the internet encyclopedia of philosophy organizations promoting ayn rand s philosophy the ayn rand institute ari watch argues that some positions of the ayn rand institute differ from those of ayn rand the objectivist center the center for the advancement of capitalism articles as astonishing as elvis by jenny turner essay review of ayn rand by jeff britting ayn rand one zero zero tribute includes reference to a tribute album concerto of deliverance inspired by rand s words describing such music ayn rand has finally caught the attention of scholars by jeff sharlet faq what s really wrong with objectivism the heirs of ayn rand by scott mclemee an article published in lingua franca which covers the arc of her publishing career while alive and posthomous as well as the continuing scholarship rand featured on c span s american writers realvideo discussions on rand s writing articles critical of ayn rand criticisms of objectivism or ayn rand from of the critiques of libertarianism site criticisms of objectivism from the objectivism reference center site don t give to tsunami victims the message of the american right s philosopher queen a critical profile from the london independent the sociology of the ayn rand cult by murray rothbard written in one nine seven two this was the first piece of rand revisionism from the libertarian standpoint the unlikeliest cult in history by michael shermer rand s associates barbara branden s website nathaniel branden s website leonard peikoff s website online groups and blogs the atlasphere for admirers of rand s novels includes member directory dating service columns and news the ayn rand forum online forum for discussion of ayn rand and objectivism ayn rand livejournal community a large livejournal community for ayn rand dollars commentary from a pro capitalist perspective dr michael j hurd psychologist the daily dose of reason psychology life coaching and comments on cultural political topics from an objectivist perspective also the living resources newsletter and dr hurd s publications the forum for ayn rand fans harry binswanger list e mail based discussion group the journal of ayn rand studies contains abstracts of articles author bios links to several articles and submission guidelines objectivism net ayn rand on cd rom and links objectivismonline net contains forums blogs essays chat room and a wiki on objectivism objectivist blogs a list of rand influenced bloggers randex index of online media references to ayn rand and objectivism sense of life objectivists online columns and discussion by and for objectivists hosted by lindsay perigo tia daily daily news and commentary from the objectivist perspective by e mail imagery portrait of ayn rand rand s writing and speeches anthem the complete text of the novel which has fallen into the public domain atlas shrugged book outline the fountainhead book outline we the living book outline philosophy who needs it address to the graduating class of the united states military academy at west point new york march six one nine seven four rand s huac testimony transcript we the living video outline rand s papers at the library of congress one nine zero five births one nine eight two deaths two zero th century philosophers american literary critics american novelists american philosophers anti communism anti vietnam war aristotelian philosophers atheists atheist philosophers atheist thinkers and activists cat lovers epistemologists jewish american writers minarchists moral philosophers natives of saint petersburg naturalized citizens of the united states novelists objectivists philosophers political philosophers political writers pro choice celebrities women writers alain connes born april one one nine four seven is a french mathematician currently professor at the college de france paris france ihes bures sur yvette france and vanderbilt university nashville tennessee he is a specialist of von neumann algebras and succeeded in completing the classification of factors of these objects although his work in physics was not very convincing he tried to connect the planckian scales with what he called a two brane universe model which was largely rejected by string theorists so far the remarkable links between this subject the tools he and others devised to tackle the problem and other subjects in theoretical physics particle physics and differential geometry made him emphasize noncommutative geometry which is also the title of his major book to date he was awarded the fields medal in one nine eight two the crafoord prize in two zero zero one and the gold medal of the cnrs in two zero zero four see also cyclic homology factor functional analysis higgs boson c algebra m theory groupoid jean louis loday external links alain connes official web site one nine four seven births living people french mathematicians alumni of the cole normale sup rieure members and associates of the us national academy of sciences allan dwan april three one eight eight five december two one one nine eight one was a pioneering canadian born american motion picture director producer and screenwriter born joseph aloysius dwan in toronto ontario canada his family moved to the united states when he was eleven years of age at university he trained as an engineer and began working for a lighting company in chicago illinois however he had a strong interest in the fledgling motion picture industry and when essanay studios offered him the opportunity to become a scriptwriter he took the job at that time some of the east coast movie makers began to spend winters in california where the climate allowed them to continue productions requiring warm weather soon a number of movie companies worked there year round and in one nine one one dwan began working part time in hollywood while still in new york in one nine one seven he was the founding president of the east coast chapter of the motion picture directors association allan dwan became a true innovator in the motion picture industry after making a series of westerns and comedies he directed fellow canadian mary pickford in several very successful movies as well as her husband douglas fairbanks notably in the acclaimed one nine two two robin hood following the introduction of the talkies in one nine three seven he directed child star shirley temple in heidi and rebecca of sunnybrook farm the following year over his long and successful career spanning over fifty years he directed over four zero zero motion pictures many of them highly acclaimed such as the one nine four nine box office smash the sands of iwo jima his last movie was in one nine six one dwan is one of the directors who spanned the silent to sound era most of the silent movies he directed are lost due to poor preservation little historical writing has been devoted to dwan but some believe that he will be the last discovered great director from the classic hollywood era he died in los angeles at the age of ninety six and is interred in the san fernando mission cemetery mission hills california allan dwan has a star on the hollywood walk of fame at six two six three hollywood boulevard in hollywood selected films as director manhattan madness one nine one six fairbanks fine arts one nine one six fairbanks fragments one nine one six one nine one eight also screenwriter robin hood one nine two two the iron mask one nine two nine heidi one nine three seven rebecca of sunnybrook farm the little colonel one nine three eight rebecca of sunnybrook farm one nine three eight the three musketeers one nine three nine the gorilla one nine three nine young people one nine four zero look who s laughing one nine four one also producer friendly enemies one nine four two around the world one nine four three also producer up in mabel s room one nine four four abroad with two yanks one nine four four getting gertie s garter one nine four five also screenwriter brewster s millions one nine four five driftwood one nine four seven calendar girl one nine four seven northwest outpost one nine four seven also associate producer sands of iwo jima one nine four nine montana belle one nine five two silver lode one nine five four passion one nine five four cattle queen of montana one nine five four tennessee s partner one nine five five pearl of the south pacific one nine five five escape to burma one nine five five slightly scarlet one nine five six the restless breed one nine five seven enchanted island one nine five eight see also canadian pioneers in early hollywood external links one eight eight five births one nine eight one deaths roman catholics american film directors american film producers american screenwriters hollywood walk of fame ontario writers torontonians in the economy of algeria the hydrocarbons sector is the backbone accounting for roughly five two of budget revenues two five of gdp and over nine five of export earnings algeria has the fifth largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the second largest gas exporter it ranks fourteenth for oil reserves algiers efforts to reform one of the most centrally planned economies in the arab world stalled in one nine nine two as the country became embroiled in political turmoil burdened with a heavy foreign debt algiers concluded a one year standby arrangement with the international monetary fund in april one nine nine four and the following year signed onto a three year extended fund facility which ended three zero april one nine nine eight some progress on economic reform paris club debt reschedulings in one nine nine five and one nine nine six and oil and gas sector expansion contributed to a recovery in growth since one nine nine five reducing inflation to approximately one and narrowing the budget deficit algeria s economy has grown at about four annually since one nine nine nine the country s foreign debt has fallen from a high of two eight billion in one nine nine nine to its current level of two four billion the spike in oil prices in one nine nine nine two zero zero zero and the government s tight fiscal policy as well as a large increase in the trade surplus and the near tripling of foreign exchange reserves has helped the country s finances however an ongoing drought the after effects of the november one zero two zero zero one floods and an uncertain oil market make prospects for two zero zero two zero three more problematic the government pledges to continue its efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector however it has thus far had little success in reducing high unemployment officially estimated at three zero and improving living standards president bouteflika has announced sweeping economic reforms which if implemented will significantly restructure the economy still the economy remains heavily dependent on volatile oil and gas revenues the government has continued efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector but has had little success in reducing high unemployment and improving living standards other priority areas include banking reform improving the investment environment and reducing government bureaucracy the government has announced plans to sell off state enterprises sales of a national cement factory and steel plant have been completed and other industries are up for offer in two zero zero one algeria signed an association agreement with the european union it has started accession negotiations for entry into the world trade organization agriculture since roman times algeria has been noted for the fertility of its soil about a quarter of the inhabitants are engaged in agricultural pursuits more than seven five zero zero zero zero zero acres three zero zero zero zero km are devoted to the cultivation of cereal grains the tell is the grain growing land during the time of french rule its productivity was increased substantially by the sinking of artesian wells in districts which only required water to make them fertile of the crops raised wheat barley and oats are the principal cereals a great variety of vegetables and of fruits especially citrus products is exported a considerable amount of cotton was grown at the time of the united states civil war but the industry declined afterwards in the early years of the two zero th century efforts to extend the cultivation of the plant were renewed a small amount of cotton is also grown in the southern oases large quantities of crin vegetal vegetable horse hair an excellent fibre are made from the leaves of the dwarf palm the olive both for its fruit and petroleum and tobacco are cultivated with great success algeria also exports figs dates esparto grass and cork wine production throughout algeria the soil favours the growth of vines the country in the words of an expert sent to report on the subject by the french government can produce an infinite variety of wines suitable to every constitution and to every caprice of taste the growing of vines was undertaken early by the colonists but it was not until vineyards in france were attacked by phylloxera that the export of wine from algeria became significant in one eight eight three despite precautionary measures algerian vineyards were also attacked but in the meantime the quality of their wines had been proved in one eight five zero less than two zero zero zero acres eight km were devoted to the grape but in one eight seven eight this had increased to over four two zero zero zero acres one seven zero km which yielded seven four three six zero zero zero gallons two eight zero zero zero m of wine despite bad seasons and ravages of insects cultivation extended and in one eight nine five the vineyards covered three zero zero zero zero zero acres one two zero zero km the produce being eight eight zero zero zero zero zero zero gallons three three three zero zero zero m the area of cultivation in one nine zero five exceeded four zero zero zero zero zero acres one six zero zero km and in that year the amount of wine produced was one five seven zero zero zero zero zero zero gallons five nine four zero zero zero m by that time the limits of profitable production had been reached in many parts of the country practically the only foreign market for algerian wine is france which in one nine zero five imported about one one zero zero zero zero zero zero zero gallons four one six zero zero zero m fishing fishing is a flourishing but minor industry fish caught are principally sardines bonito smelt and sprats fresh fish are exported to france dried and preserved fish to spain and italy coral fisheries are found along the coast from bona to tunis minerals algeria is rich in minerals the country has many iron lead and zinc copper calamine antimony and mercury mines the most productive are those of iron and zinc lignite is found in algiers immense phosphate beds were discovered near tebessa in one eight nine one yielding three one three five zero zero tons in one nine zero five phosphate beds are also worked near setif guelma and ain beida there are more than three zero zero quarries which produce amongst other stones onyx and beautiful white and red marbles algerian onyx from ain tekbalet was used by the romans and many ancient quarries have been found near kleber some being certainly those from which the long lost numidian marbles were taken salt is collected on the margins of the chotts foreign trade under french administration the commerce of algeria developed greatly the total imports and exports at the time of the french occupation one eight three zero did not exceed one seven five zero zero zero in one eight five zero the figures had reached five zero zero zero zero zero zero in one eight six eight one two zero zero zero zero zero zero in one eight eight zero one seven zero zero zero zero zero zero and in one eight nine zero two zero zero zero zero zero zero zero from this point progress was slower and the figures varied considerably year by year in one nine zero five the total value of the foreign trade was two four five zero zero zero zero zero about five sixths of the trade is with or via france into which country several algerian goods have been admitted duty free since one eight five one and all since one eight six seven french goods except sugar have been admitted into algeria without payment of duty since one eight three five after the increase in one eight nine two of the french minimum tariff which applied to algeria also foreign trade greatly diminished by far algeria s most significant exports financially are petroleum and natural gas the reserves are mostly in the eastern sahara the algerian government curbed the exports in the one nine eight zero s to slow depletion exports increased again somewhat in the one nine nine zero s other significant exports are sheep oxen and horses animal products such as wool and skins wine cereals rye barley oats vegetables fruits chiefly figs and grapes for the table and seeds esparto grass oils and vegetable extracts chiefly olive oil iron ore zinc natural phosphates timber cork crin vegetal and tobacco the import of wool exceeds the export sugar coffee machinery metal work of all kinds clothing and pottery are largely imported of these by far the greater part comes from france the british imports consist chiefly of coal cotton fabrics and machinery exports algeria trades most extensively with france and italy in terms of both imports and exports but also trades with the united states and spain statistics reference cia world factbook see also algeria organization of the petroleum exporting countries economies by country economy of algeria african union member economies the people s democratic republic of algeria arabic or algeria arabic is a presidential state in north africa and the second largest country on the african continent sudan being the largest it is bordered by tunisia in the northeast libya in the east niger in the southeast mali and mauritania in the southwest and morocco as well as a few kilometers of its annexed territory western sahara in the west constitutionally it is defined as an islamic arab and amazigh berber country the name algeria is derived from the name of the city of algiers from the arabic word al jaz ir which translates as the islands referring to the four islands which lay off that city s coast until becoming part of the mainland in one five two five history algeria has been inhabited by berbers or amazigh since at least one zero zero zero zero bc from one zero zero zero bc on the carthaginians became an influence on them establishing settlements along the coast berber kingdoms began to emerge most notably numidia and seized the opportunity offered by the punic wars to become independent of carthage only to be taken over soon after by the roman republic in two zero zero bc as the western roman empire collapsed the berbers became independent again in much of the area while the vandals took over parts until later expelled by the generals of the byzantine emperor justinian i the byzantine empire then retained a precarious grip on the east of the country until the coming of the arabs in the eight th century roman arch of trajan at thamugadi timgad algeria after some decades of fierce resistance under leaders such as kusayla and kahina the berbers adopted islam en masse but almost immediately expelled the caliphate from algeria establishing an ibadi state under the rustamids having converted the kutama of kabylie to its cause the shia fatimids overthrew the rustamids and conquered egypt they left algeria and tunisia to their zirid vassals when the latter rebelled and adopted sunnism they sent in a populous arab tribe the banu hilal to weaken them thus incidentally initiating the arabization of the countryside the almoravids and almohads berber dynasties from the west founded by religious reformers brought a period of relative peace and development however with the almohads collapse algeria became a battleground for their three successor states the algerian zayyanids tunisian hafsids and moroccan merinids in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries spain started attacking and taking over many coastal cities prompting some to seek help from the ottoman empire algeria was brought into the ottoman empire by khair ad din and his brother aruj who established algeria s modern boundaries in the north and made its coast a base for the corsairs their privateering peaked in algiers in the one six zero zero s piracy on american vessels in the mediterranean resulted in the first and second barbary war with the united states on the pretext of a slight to their consul the french invaded algiers in one eight three zero however intense resistance from such personalities as emir abdelkader ahmed bey and fatma n soumer made for a slow conquest of algeria not technically completed until the early one nine zero zero s when the last tuareg were conquered constantine algeria one eight four zero meanwhile however the french suppressed slavery and made algeria an integral part of france a status that would end only with the collapse of the fourth republic tens of thousands of settlers from france italy spain and malta moved in to farm the algerian coastal plain and occupy the most prized parts of algeria s cities benefiting from the french government s confiscation of communally held land people of european descent in algeria the so called pieds noirs as well as the native algerian jews were full french citizens starting from the end of the one nine th century by contrast the vast majority of muslim algerians even veterans of the french army remained outside of french law possessing neither french citizenship nor the right to vote algeria s social fabric was stretched to breaking point during this period literacy dropped massively while land confiscation uprooted much of the population in one nine five four the national liberation front fln launched the guerrilla algerian war of independence after nearly a decade of urban and rural warfare they succeeded in pushing france out in one nine six two most of the one zero two five zero zero zero pieds noirs as well as nine one zero zero zero harkis pro french muslim algerians serving in the french army together forming about one zero of the population of algeria in one nine six two fled algeria for france in just a few months in the middle of that year the battle of algiers is a movie about the algerian war of independence algeria s first president the fln leader ahmed ben bella was overthrown by his former ally and defense minister houari boum di nne in one nine six five under ben bella the government had already become increasingly socialist and dictatorial and this trend continued throughout boumedienne s government however boumedienne relied much more heavily on the army and reduced the sole legal party to a merely symbolic role agriculture was collectivised and a massive industrialization drive launched oil extraction facilities were nationalized and this increased the state s wealth especially after the one nine seven three oil crisis but the algerian economy became increasingly dependent on oil bringing hardship when the price collapsed in the one nine eight zero s in foreign policy algeria was a member and leader of the non aligned nations a dispute with morocco over the western sahara nearly led to war dissent was rarely tolerated and the state s control over the media and the outlawing of political parties other than the fln was cemented in the repressive constitution of one nine seven six boum dienne died in one nine seven eight but the rule of his successor chadli bendjedid was little more open the state took on a strongly bureaucratic character and corruption was widespread the modernization drive brought considerable demographic changes to algeria village traditions underwent significant change as urbanization increased new industries emerged agriculture was substantially reduced and education a rarity in colonial times was extended nationwide raising the literacy rate from less than one zero to over six zero improvements in healthcare led to a dramatic increase in the birthrate seven eight children per mother which had two consequences a very youthful population and a housing crisis the new generation struggled to relate to the cultural obsession with the war years and two conflicting protest movements developed left wingers including berber identity movements and islamic int gristes both protested against one party rule but also clashed with each other in universities and on the streets during the one nine eight zero s mass protests from both camps in autumn one nine eight eight forced benjedid to concede the end of one party rule and elections were announced for one nine nine one in december one nine nine one the islamic salvation front won the first round of the country s first multiparty elections the military then canceled the second round forced then president bendjedid to resign and banned the islamic salvation front the ensuing conflict engulfed algeria in the violent algerian civil war more than one zero zero zero zero zero people were killed often in unprovoked massacres of civilians the question of who was responsible for these massacres remains controversial among academic observers many were claimed by the armed islamic group after one nine nine eight the war waned and by two zero zero two the main guerrilla groups had either been destroyed or surrendered taking advantage of an amnesty program though sporadic fighting continued in some areas elections resumed in one nine nine five and in one nine nine nine after a series of short term leaders representing the military abdelaziz bouteflika the current president was elected the issue of berber language and identity increased in significance particularly after the extensive kabyle protests of two zero zero one and the near total boycott of local elections in kabylie the government responded with concessions including naming of tamazight berber as a national language and teaching it in schools politics the head of state is the president of the republic who is elected to a five year term renewable once algeria has universal suffrage the president is the head of the council of ministers and of the high security council he appoints the prime minister who is also the head of government the prime minister appoints the council of ministers the algerian parliament is bicameral consisting of a lower chamber the national people s assembly apn with three eight zero members and an upper chamber the council of nation with one four four members the apn is elected every five years throughout the one nine six zero s algeria supported many independence movements in sub saharan africa and was a leader in the non aligned movement while it shares much of its history and cultural heritage with neighbouring morocco the two countries have had somewhat hostile relations with each other since algeria s independence this is due to two reasons morocco s claim to portions of western algeria which led to the sand war in one nine six three and algeria s support for the polisario an armed group of sahrawi refugees seeking independence for the moroccan ruled western sahara which it hosts within its borders in the city of tindouf tensions between algeria and morocco as well as issues relating to the algerian civil war have put great obstacles in the way of tightening the maghreb arab union nominally established in one nine eight nine but with little practical weight with its coastal neighbors provinces algeria is divided into four eight wilayas provinces geography map of algeria with cities the hoggar mountains most of the coastal area is hilly sometimes even mountainous and there are few good harbours the area just south of the coast known as the tell is fertile further south is the atlas mountain range and the sahara desert algiers oran and constantine are the main cities algeria s climate is arid and hot although the coastal climate is mild and the winters in the mountainous areas can be severe algeria is prone to sirocco a hot dust and sand laden wind especially common in summer see also extreme points of algeria economy algerian coins the fossil fuels energy sector is the backbone of the economy accounting for roughly six zero of budget revenues three zero of gdp and over nine five of export earnings algeria has the fifth largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the second largest gas exporter it ranks one four th in petroleum reserves algeria s financial and economic indicators improved during the mid one nine nine zero s in part because of policy reforms supported by the imf and debt rescheduling from the paris club algeria s finances in two zero zero zero and two zero zero one benefited from an increase in oil prices and the government s tight fiscal policy leading to a large increase in the trade surplus record highs in foreign exchange reserves and reduction in foreign debt the government s continued efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector has had little success in reducing high unemployment and improving living standards in two zero zero one the government signed an association treaty with the european union that will eventually lower tariffs and increase trade demographics algiers coast about nine zero of algerians live in the northern coastal area the minority who inhabit the sahara desert are mainly concentrated in oases although some one five million remain nomadic or partly nomadic ninety nine percent of the population is classified ethnically as arab berber and religiously as muslim other religions are restricted to extremely small groups mainly of foreigners europeans account for less than one most algerians are arab by language and identity and of mixed berber arab ancestry the berbers inhabited algeria before the arrival of arab tribes during the expansion of islam in the seven th century the issue of ethnicity and language is sensitive after many years of government marginalization of berber or amazigh as some prefer culture today the arab berber issue is often a case of self identification or identification through language and culture rather than a racial or ethnic distinction the two zero or so of the population who self identify as berbers and primarily speak berber languages such as tamazight are divided into several ethnic groups notably kabyle the largest in the mountainous north central area chaoui in the eastern atlas mountains mozabites in the m zab valley and tuareg in the far south language the official language is arabic spoken natively in dialectal form darja by some eight zero of the population the other two zero or so speak berber tamazight officially a national language french is the most widely studied foreign language distantly followed by english but is very rare as a native language since independence the government has pursued a policy of linguistic arabization of education and bureaucracy with some success although many university courses continue to be taught in french culture mosque in algiers modern algerian literature split between arabic and french has been strongly influenced by the country s recent history famous novelists of the two zero th century include mohammed dib and kateb yacine while assia djebar is widely translated important novelists of the one nine eight zero s included rachid mimouni later vice president of amnesty international and tahar djaout murdered by an islamist group in one nine nine three for his secularist views as early as roman times apuleius born in mdaourouch was native to what would become algeria in philosophy and the humanities malek bennabi and frantz fanon are noted for their thoughts on decolonization while augustine of hippo was born in tagaste about six zero miles from the present day city of annaba and ibn khaldun though born in tunis wrote the muqaddima while staying in algeria algerian culture has been strongly influenced by islam the main religion the works of the sanusi family in precolonial times and of emir abdelkader and sheikh ben badis in colonial times are widely noted the algerian musical genre best known abroad is ra a pop flavored opinionated take on folk music featuring international stars such as khaled and cheb mami however in algeria itself the older highly verbal chaabi style remains more popular with such stars as el hadj el anka or dahmane el harrachi while the tuneful melodies of kabyle music exemplified by idir ait menguellet or loun s matoub have a wide audience for more classical tastes andalusi music brought from al andalus by morisco refugees is preserved in many older coastal towns in painting mohammed khadda and m hemed issiakhem are notable in recent years picture gallery image houbel jpg the monument of the martyrs algiers image algernuit jpg algiers by night image finace jpg minister of the finances image makam echehid jpg algiers view by air image benyen jpg the forest bainem in algeria at bouzareah image algierssnow jpg snow on algiers image church saintcharlesalgiers jpg the church saint charles at algiers image pe algerie sahara zero one two one jpg sahara of algeria miscellaneous topics archeology of algeria communications in algeria foreign relations of algeria list of algeria related topics list of cities in algeria list of algerians list of sovereign states military of algeria transportation in algeria the battle of algiers movie algerian war of independence one nine five four one nine six two algerian civil war one nine nine one two zero zero two directories yellow pages of algeria external links government el mouradia official presidential site in french and arabic national people s assembly official parliamentary site the embassy of algeria in washington dc news allafrica com algeria news headline links el khabar the north africa journal business news overviews cia world factbook algeria library of congress country study algeria data as of december one nine nine three algeria the psychos will inherit the earth an irreverent look at algeria s military situation tourism other algeria watch human rights organization critical of widespread torture practiced by the r gime in french algeria s past needs opening not closing analysis on the public referendum held two nine september two zero zero five by veerle opgenhaffen and hanny megally all city of alg ria algerian english online dictionary african union member states algeria arab league peace and security council characters in ayn rand s novel atlas shrugged balph eubank called the literary leader of the age despite the fact that he is incapable of writing anything that people actually want to read what people want to read he says is irrelevant he complains that it is disgraceful that artists are treated as peddlers and that there should be a law limiting the sales of books to ten thousand copies he is a member of the looters balph eubank appears in section one six one ben nealy a railroad contractor whom dagny taggart hires to replace the track on the rio norte line with rearden metal nealy is incompetent but dagny can find no one better in all the country nealy believes that anything can get done with enough muscle power he sees no role for intelligence in human achievement and this is manifest in his inability to organize the project and to make decisions he relies on dagny and ellis wyatt to run things and resents them for doing it because it appears to him like they are just bossing people around ben nealy appears in section one seven one bertram scudder editorial writer for the magazine the future he typically bashes business and businessmen but he never says anything specific in his articles relying on innuendo sneers and denunciation he wrote a hatchet job on hank rearden called the octopus he is also vocal in support of the equalization of opportunity bill bertram scudder appears in section one six one betty pope a wealthy socialite who is having a meaningless sexual affair with james taggart that coincides with the overall meaninglessness of her life she regrets having to wake up every morning because she has to face another empty day she is deliberately crude in a way that casts ridicule on her high social position betty pope appears in sections one four two and one six one brakeman an unnamed employee working on the taggart comet train dagny taggart hears brakeman whistling the theme of a concerto when she asks him what piece it is from he says it is halley s fifth concerto when dagny points out that richard halley only wrote four concertos brakeman claims he made a mistake and he doesn t recall where he heard the piece later after dagny instructs the train crew how to proceed he asks a co worker who she is and learns she is the one who runs taggart transcontinental it is later discovered that the unknown brakeman is one of the strikers when dagny meets him in the valley brakeman appears in sections one one two and one one three cherryl brooks dime store shopgirl who marries james taggart after a chance encounter in her store the night the john galt line was deemed his greatest success she marries him thinking he is the heroic person behind taggart transcontinental she is horrible to dagny until the night before she commits suicide when she confesses to dagny that she married jim thinking she was marrying dagny like eddie willers cherryl is one representation of a good person who lacks the extraordinary capacities of the primary heroes of the novel claude slagenhop the president of political organization friends of global progress which is supported by philip rearden and one of lillian rearden s friends he believes that ideas are just air that this is no time for talk but for action he is not bothered by the fact that action unguided by ideas is random and pointless global progress is a sponsor of the equalization of opportunity bill claude slagenhop appears in section one six one cuffy meigs a looter who s assigned by wesley mouch to keep watch over the workings of taggart transcontinental and later assumes control over the company after dagny taggart leaves he carries a pistol and a lucky rabbit s foot he dresses in a military uniform the intellectual heir of dr robert stadler meigs comes to a fitting end at the hands of project x dagny taggart the main character in atlas shrugged also the name of her namesake mrs nathaniel taggart dagny is vice president in charge of operation at taggart transcontinental she is the female hero the counterpart to john galt her journey is the journey of the reader exploring and understanding galts philosophy those in the know understand that she is the one who really runs the railroad in the course of the novel she forms romantic liaisons with three men of ability francisco hank rearden and john galt in order john is the one who because of the sum total of his qualities will become the choice of dagny dagny appears in sections one one two one one three one one four one three two one three three one four one one four five one four six one four seven one four eight one five one one five two and one six one dan conway the middle aged president of the phoenix durango railroad running a railroad is just about the only thing he knows when the anti dog eat dog rule is used to drive his business out of colorado he loses the will to fight and resigns himself to a quiet life of books and fishing he claims that somebody had to be sacrificed it turned out to be him and he has no right to complain bowing to the will of the majority when pressed he says he doesn t really believe this is right but he can t understand why it is wrong and what the alternative might be he is trapped by a moral code that makes him a willing victim and rather than challenge that morality he simply gives up dan conway appears in sections one four five and one four six and is mentioned in section one four eight dick mcnamara a contractor who finished the san sebastian line and who is hired to lay the new rearden metal track for the rio norte line before he gets a chance to do so he mysteriously disappears dick mcnamara is mentioned in sections one three three and one four one eddie willers special assistant to the vice president in charge of operation at taggart transcontinental he grew up with dagny taggart his father and grandfather worked for the taggarts and he followed in their footsteps he is completely loyal to dagny and to taggart transcontinental he is also secretly in love with dagny willers is generally assumed to represent the common man someone who does not possess the promethian creative ability of the strikers but nevertheless matches them in moral courage and is capable of appreciating and making use of their creations eddie willers appears in sections one one one one one four one one seven one three two one three three one four one one five one and one five two ellis wyatt the head of wyatt oil he has almost single handedly revived the economy of colorado by discovering oil there of all the disappearances of industrialists in the novel wyatt s involving the fiery destruction of his oil wells is surely the most dramatic ellis wyatt is mentioned or appears in sections one one one one one four one three two one four six one four seven one four eight and one five two francisco d anconia one of the central characters in atlas shrugged by all accounts he is a worthless millionaire playboy owner by inheritance of the world s largest copper mining empire the man behind the san sebastian mines and a childhood friend and first love of dagny taggart francisco began working on the sly as a teenager in order to learn all he could about business while still a student at patrick henry university he began working at a copper foundry and investing in the stock market by the time he was twenty he had made enough to purchase the foundry he began working for d anconia copper as assistant superintendent of a mine in montana but was quickly promoted to head of the new york office he took over d anconia copper at age two three after the death of his father when he was two six francisco secretly joined the strikers and began to slowly destroy the d anconia empire so the looters could not get it he adopted the persona of a worthless playboy by which he is known to the world as an effective cover his full name is francisco domingo carlos andres sebastian d anconia according to mailto areed two calstatela edu adam reed who is francisco d anconia d anconia is the only hero class character who is recognizably jewish not in the religious but in the historical sense like ayn rand herself francisco d anconia appears or is mentioned in sections one three two one four one one four four one five one and one five two this last section includes a detailed history of his life hank rearden one of the central characters in atlas shrugged he is the founder of rearden steel and the inventor of rearden metal he lives in philadelphia with his wife lillian his brother philip and an elderly woman known only as rearden s mother all of whom he supports gwen ives is his secretary the character of hank rearden has two important roles to play in the novel first he is in the same position as the reader in that he is aware that there is something wrong with the world but is not sure what it is rearden is guided toward an understanding of the solution through his friendship with francisco d anconia who does know the secret and by this mechanism the reader is also prepared to understand the secret when it is revealed explicitly in galt s speech second rearden is used to illustrate rand s theory of sex lillian rearden cannot appreciate hank rearden s virtues and she is portrayed as being disgusted by sex dagny taggart clearly does appreciate rearden s virtues and this appreciation evolves into a sexual desire rearden is torn by a contradiction because he accepts the premises of the traditional view of sex as a lower instinct while responding sexually to dagny who represents his highest values rearden struggles to resolve this internal conflict and in doing so illustrates rand s sexual theory rearden appears in sections one two one one three two one four seven and one six one and is mentioned in sections one one four and one three one hugh akston identified as one of the last great advocates of reason he was a renowned philosopher and the head of the department of philosophy at patrick henry university where he taught francisco d anconia john galt and ragnar danneskj ld he was along with robert stadler a father figure to these three akston s name is so hallowed that a young lady on hearing that francisco had studied under him is shocked she thought he must have been one of those great names from an earlier century hugh akston is mentioned in section one six one james taggart the president of taggart transcontinental and a leader of the looters taggart is an expert influence peddler who is incapable of making decisions on his own he relies on his sister dagny taggart to actually run the railroad but nonetheless opposes her in almost every endeavor in a sense he is the antithesis of dagny as the novel progresses the moral philosophy of the looters is revealed it is a code of nihilism the goal of this code is to not exist to become a zero taggart struggles to remain unaware that this is his goal he maintains his pretence that he wants to live and becomes horrified whenever his mind starts to grasp the truth about himself this contradiction leads to the recurring absurdity of his life the desire to destroy those on whom his life depends and the horror that he will succeed at this james taggart appears in sections one one one one one four one three one one three two one four three one four four one five two and one six one and is mentioned in sections one four six and one four eight john galt the question who is john galt is asked repeatedly throughout atlas shrugged late into the book we learn that john galt is the man who stopped the motor of the world and the leader of the strikers he is also the same character as the mystery worker the son of an ohio garage mechanic galt left home at age one two and began college at patrick henry university at age one six there he befriended francisco d anconia and ragnar danneskj ld all three of whom double majored in physics and philosophy they were the cherished students of the brilliant scientist robert stadler and the brilliant philosopher hugh akston after graduating galt became an engineer at the twentieth century motor works where he designed a revolutionary new motor powered by ambient static electricity with the potential to change the world like ellis wyatt he has created what many had for years said was impossible when the company owners decided to run the factory by the collectivist maxim by each according to his ability to each according to his need galt organized a successful labor strike proclaiming his promise to stop the motor of the world he began traversing the globe meeting the world s most successful businessmen systematically convincing them to follow in his footsteps one by one they began abandoning their business empires which galt convinced them were doomed to failure anyhow given the increased nationalization of industry by the government secretly these captains of industry led by galt and banker midas mulligan had created their own society a secret enclave of rational individualists living in galt s gulch a town secluded high in a wilderness of mountains dagny accidentally finds the town and a shocked john galt by crash landing a light aircraft while pursuing quentin daniels since everyone across the country is repeating the phrase who is john galt it is natural that many people have attempted to answer that question the phrase becomes an expression of helplessness and despair at the current state of the world dagny taggart hears a number of john galt legends before finding the real john galt and eventually joining his cause and learning that all of the stories have an element of truth to them there is a clothing store in vail colorado called john galt ltd one presumes that on occasion a customer unknowingly walks in and asks who is john galt lillian rearden the wildly unsupportive wife of hank rearden they have been married eight years as the novel begins lillian is a frigid moocher who seeks to destroy her husband she compares being rearden s wife with owning the world s most powerful horse since she cannot comfortably ride a horse that goes too fast she must bridle it down to her level even if that means it will never reach its full potential and its power will be greviously wasted lillian also serves to illustrate rand s theory of sex she believes sex is a base animal instinct and that sexual indulgence is a sign of moral weakness she is incapable of feeling this kind of desire which she believes testifies to her moral superiority however according to the theory of sex lillian s lack of sexual capacity results from her inability to experience value in herself she is therefore unable to respond sexually when she experiences value in others lillian tolerates sex with her husband only because she is realistic enough to know he is just a brute who requires satisfaction of his brute instincts in section one six one she indicates that she abhors francisco d anconia because she believes he is a sexual adventurer lillian rearden appears in sections one two one and one six one the looters a group of evil characters sometimes referred to as james taggart and his friends they are similar to the moochers the looters consist of men and women who use force to obtain value from those who produce it they seek to destroy the producers despite the fact that they are dependent upon them the looters include mr thompson balph eubank floyd ferris james taggart orren boyle paul larkin robert stadler simon pritchett wesley mouch and cuffy miegs midas mulligan a wealthy banker who mysteriously disappears in protest after he is given a court order to loan money to an incompetent loan applicant midas mulligan is responsible for the creation and distribution of the money that is exclusively used in galt s gulch and is the original owner of the land where galt s gulch is located he is also responsible for the production of the money used there the moochers a group of characters similar to the looters who use guilt as a weapon against those who produce value they seek to destroy the producers despite the fact that they are dependent upon them the moochers include lillian rearden philip rearden and hank rearden s mother mort liddy a hack composer who writes trite scores for movies and modern symphonies that no one listens to he believes melody is a primitive vulgarity he is one of lillian rearden s friends and a member of the cultural elite mort liddy appears in section one six one mr mowen the president of the amalgamated switch and signal company inc of connecticut he is a businessman who sees nothing wrong with the moral code that is destroying society and would never dream of saying he is in business for any reason other than the good of society he is unable to grapple with abstract issues and is frightened of anything controversial dagny taggart hires mr mowen to produce switches made of rearden metal he is reluctant to build anything with this unproven technology and has to be ridden and cajoled before he is willing to accept the contract when pressured by public opinion he discontinues production of the switches forcing dagny to find an alternative source mr mowen appears in section one seven one mystery worker a menial worker for taggart transcontinental who often dines with eddie willers in the employee s cafeteria eddie finds him very easy to talk to and mystery worker not so subtly leads him on so that eddie reveals important information about dagny taggart and taggart transcontinental eddie tells him which suppliers and contractors dagny is most dependent on and with remarkable consistency those are the next men to disappear mysteriously mystery worker is actually john galt mystery worker appears in section one three three the unnamed newsstand owner he works in the taggart terminal twenty years ago he owned a cigarette factory but it went under and he s been working at his newsstand ever since he is a collector of cigarettes and knows every brand ever made he occasionally chats with dagny taggart when she comes by on one occasion in section one three two after dagny asks him about his collection he bemoans the fact that there are no new brands and the old brands are all disappearing he examines a cigarette given to dagny by hugh akston but it is a new brand that he has never seen before it carries the sign of the dollar in his first appearance the newsstand owner likens the fire of a cigarette to the fire of the mind this alludes to the greek myth of prometheus who gave mankind the gift of fire allowing it to raise itself up and become civilized in atlas shrugged it is the mind of man that raises mankind thus the cigarettes become symbolic of the men of the mind the disappearance of the old brands represents the disappearance of the men of the mind and the newsstand owner s discovery of the new brand foreshadows dagny s discovery of a new kind of men of the mind orren boyle the head of associated steel and a friend of james taggart he is one of the looters he is an investor in the san sebastian mines orren boyle appears or is mentioned in sections one one one one one four one three one one three two one four four and one five two owen kellogg assistant to the manager of the taggart terminal in new york he catches dagny taggart s eye as one of the few competent men on staff after seeing the sorry state of the ohio division she decides to make him to its new superintendent however as soon as she returns to new york kellogg informs her that he is quitting his job he admits that he loves his work but that s not enough to keep him he won t say why he is leaving or what he will do later he is noticed working as transient labor by the unsuccessful unmotivated businessman mr mowen owen kellog eventually reaches and settles in atlantis owen kellogg appears in sections one one two and one one four paul larkin an unsuccessful middle aged businessman a friend of the rearden family and a member of the looters in section one two one larkin visits philadelphia to warn hank rearden of possible trouble from washington in section one three one he meets with the other looters to work out a plan to bring rearden down james taggart knows he is friends with hank rearden and challenges his loyalty and larkin assures taggart that he will go along with them paul larkin appears in sections one two one one three two and two a one philip rearden the younger brother of hank rearden and a moocher he lives in his brother s home in philadelphia and is completely dependent on him he believes that the source of his sustenance is evil and would love to see him destroyed he has never had a career and spends his time perfunctorily working for various social groups he becomes resentful of his brother s charity he then requests that he be granted a job from his brother because he should not have to be burdened by the feeling of inadequacy of not earning his own livelihood when confronted by his brother on how this job should be a mutually beneficial arrangement philip shrugs the argument off as irrelevant and that the job should be entitled to him solely based on his need for money and the fact of familial ties philip rearden appears in sections one two one and one six one quentin daniels an enterprising engineer hired by dagny taggart to reconstruct john galt s motor partway through this process quentin withdraws his effort for the same reasons john galt himself had dagny sets out to meet quentin in hopes of convincing him to resume his work john galt narrowly gets to him first dagny s pursuit of quentin leads her to galt s gulch ragnar danneskj ld one of the original strikers he is now world famous as a pirate ragnar was from norway the son of a bishop and the scion of one of norway s most ancient noble families he attended patrick henry university and became friends with john galt and francisco d anconia while studying under hugh akston and robert stadler ragnar seizes relief ships that are being sent from the united states to europe no one knows what he does with the goods he seizes as the novel progresses ragnar begins for the first time to become active in american waters and is even spotted in delaware bay reportedly his ship is better than any available in the fleets of the world s navies when he became a pirate he was disowned and excommunicated there is a price on his head in norway portugal turkey according to ayn rand verbal report his name is a tribute to victor hugo in hugo s first novel hans of iceland the hero becomes the first of the counts of danneskj ld his name may be a pun on dane s gold although skj ld means shield not gold ragnar danneskj ld appears in section one six one rearden s mother named gertrude she is a moocher who lives with her son hank rearden at his home in philadelphia she is involved in church based charity work and berates rearden whenever she can she insults him by saying he was always selfish even as a child she dotes on her weak son philip rearden rearden s mother appears in section one two one richard halley dagny taggart s favorite composer who mysteriously disappeared after the evening of his greatest triumph in section one four one we learn that richard halley spent years as a struggling and unappreciated composer at age two four his opera phaethon was performed for the first time to an audience who booed and heckled it it was based on the greek myth in which phaethon steals his father s chariot and dies in an audacious attempt to drive the sun across the sky halley changed the story though into one of triumph in which phaethon succeeds for years halley wrote in obscurity after nineteen years phaethon was performed again but this time it was received to the greatest ovation the opera house had ever heard it appears his critics felt he had paid his dues long enough that he was at last worthy of their approval the following day halley retired sold the rights to his music and disappeared richard halley is mentioned in sections one one two one one four one three three and one four one and appears in section one five two dr robert stadler a former professor at patrick henry university mentor to francisco d anconia john galt and ragnar danneskj ld he has since become a sell out one who had great promise but squandered it for social approval to the detriment of the free he works at the state science institute where all his inventions are perverted for use by the military including the instrument of his demise project x dr simon pritchett the prestigious head of the department of philosophy at patrick henry university and is considered the leading philosopher of the age he is also a looter he is certainly representative of the philosophy of the age he is a crude reductionist who believes man is nothing but a collection of chemicals he believes there are no standards that definitions are fluid reason is a superstition that it is futile to seek meaning in life and that the duty of a philosopher is to show that nothing can be understood he explains all this in his book the metaphysical contradictions of the universe and at cocktail parties dr pritchett appears in section one six one the strikers people of the mind who go on strike because they do not appreciate being exploited by the looters and demonized by a society who depends on them for its very existence the leader of the strikers is john galt other strikers include hugh akston francisco d anconia ragnar danneskj ld richard halley and the brakeman characters who join the strikers in the course of the book include dagny taggart ellis wyatt hank rearden dick mcnamara and owen kellogg mr thompson the head of the state which essentially means that he s the president of the united states though he s never specifically referred to as such in the world of atlas shrugged all presidents and prime ministers are referred to simply as head of the state and mr this is because countries have been standardized as people s states which seem to share a common form of government thomspon s title can thus be seen as reflecting the fact that the us is in the process of evolving into one of these people s states one of the looters he s not particularly intelligent and has a very undistinguished look he knows politics however and is a master of public relations and back room deals rand s notes indicate that she modelled him on president harry s truman wesley mouch a member of the looters and at the beginning of the storyline the incompetent lobbyist whom hank rearden reluctantly employs in washington initially wesley mouch is the least powerful and least significant of the looters the other members of this group feel they can look down upon him with impunity eventually he becomes the most powerful looter and the country s economic dictator thereby illustrating rand s belief that a government run economy places too much power in the hands of incompetent bureaucrats who would never have positions of similar influence in a private sector business wesley mouch appears in section one three one and is mentioned in section one six one see also minor characters in atlas shrugged atlas shrugged lists of fictional characters technology in atlas shrugged ayn rand s novel includes a variety of technological products and devices in addition to real world technology aircraft automobiles diesel engines phonograph records radios telephones television and traffic signals atlas shrugged also includes various fictional technologies or fictional variants on real inventions fictional technology fictional inventions mentioned in the book include refractor rays gulch mirage rearden metal a sonic death ray project x voice activated door locks gulch power station motors powered by static electricity palm activated door locks galt s ny lab shale oil drilling and a nerve induction torture machine traffic signals early on the book mentions the screech of a traffic signal as it changes this implies the older technology of mechanical traffic signals the kind which displayed a pennant or flag indicating stop or go and the inverse indicator in the opposite direction traffic signals using lights have been around for over four zero years so anything of this type is very old compared to today project x project x is an invention of the scientists at the state science institute requiring tons of rearden metal basically it is a death ray and is capable of destroying anything the scientists claim that the project will be used to preserve peace and squash rebellion it is destroyed towards the end of the book and emits a pulse of radiation that destroys everything in the surrounding area including cuffy meigs and dr stadler as well as the taggart bridge rearden metal rearden metal is a fictitious metal alloy invented by hank rearden it is lighter than traditional steel but stronger and is to steel what steel was to iron it is described as greenish blue among its ingredients are iron and copper initially no one is willing to use rearden metal because no one wants to stick his neck out and be the first to try it finally dagny taggart places an order for rearden metal when she needs rails to rebuild the dying rio norte line the first thing made from rearden metal is a bracelet rearden metal is mentioned in sections one one four one two one one three one one four eight and one six one galt s motor john galt invented a new type of electrical apparatus described in the book as a motor however it does not operate like a motor in the common use of the word today it is capable of harnessing transforming and applying energy in many ways other than mechanical galt s motor was capable of jamming all radio receivers on earth and completely destroying the contents of galt s booby trapped laboratory without causing collateral structural damage though rand describes it as turning static electricity into useful mechanical work its operation is more reminiscent of modern speculation about zero point energy dagny discovers a discarded prototype of the motor and it is superficially described in section part one chapter nine galt shows dagny the motor and describes it in section part three chapter one atlas shrugged fictional technology companies in atlas shrugged the ayn rand novel generally are divided into two groups these that are operated by sympathetic characters are given the name of the owner while companies operated by evil or incompetent characters are given generic names in atlas shrugged men who give their names to their companies all become strikers in due time amalgamated switch and signal a company run by mr mowen and located in connecticut they have supplied taggart transcontinental for generations dagny taggart orders rearden metal switches from them amalgamated switch and signal appears in section one seven one associated steel associated steel is the company owned by orren boyle the company was started with just a few hundred thousand dollars of boyle s own money and hundreds of millions of dollars in government grants boyle used this money to buy out his competitors and now relies on influence peddling and political favors to run his business associated steel is mentioned in sections one one one one one four one three one and one seven one ayers music publishing company ayers music publishing company is the publisher of the music of richard halley dagny taggart contacts mr ayers to inquire as to the existence of halley s fifth concerto ayers music publishing company is mentioned in section one one four barton and jones the company located in denver that supplies food for the workers rebuilding the rio norte line they go bankrupt in the middle of the project barton and james is mentioned in section one seven one d anconia copper a copper and mining company founded by sebastian d anconia in argentina during the time of the inquisition each man who ran the company saw it grow by one zero in his lifetime so by the time francisco d anconia heads the company it is the largest in the world his dream from childhood is to increase the size of the company by one zero zero d anconia copper is mentioned in sections one five two and one seven one hammond motors a car company in colorado they make the best cars on the market until the founder disappears hank rearden buys a hammond on his trip to colorado in section one seven one incorporated tool a company that is contracted to deliver drill heads to taggart transcontinental but who fail to do this it is mentioned in section one seven one phoenix durango the phoenix durango is an old small railroad located in the southwest run by dan conway that has been insignificant for most of its existence however the phoenix durango grows rapidly when ellis wyatt revives the economy of colorado and taggart transcontinental s rio norte line fails to service wyatt adequately later james taggart conspires to get the phoenix durango driven out of colorado with the anti dog eat dog rule the phoenix durango is mentioned in sections one one one one one four one three one alluded to one three two one four five one four six one four seven and one five two rearden coal a business founded by hank rearden prior to the founding of rearden steel it is mentioned in section one two one rearden limestone a business founded by hank rearden prior to the founding of rearden steel it is mentioned in section one two one rearden ore the first business founded by hank rearden it is mentioned in section one two one rearden steel a company founded by hank rearden about ten years prior to the start of the story in the novel rearden bought an abandoned steel mill in philadelphia at a time when all the experts thought that such a venture would be hopeless he turned it into the most reliable and profitable steel company in the country as dagny taggart struggles to save taggart transcontinental she becomes increasingly dependent on rearden steel rearden steel is mentioned in sections one one one one one four one two one one three one alluded to one six one and one six two summit casting a company in illinois under contract to deliver rail spikes to taggart transcontinental they go bankrupt before they can deliver prompting dagny taggart to fly to chicago and buy the company to get it started again summit casting is mentioned in section one seven one taggart transcontinental the fictional railroad run by dagny taggart her commitment to the railroad creates one of the book s major conflicts taggart transcontinental was founded by nathaniel taggart who lived three generations or so prior to dagny s generation it was built without any grants loans or favors from the government and was the last railroad that was still owned and controlled by its founder s descendants its motto is from ocean to ocean the flagship of taggart transcontinental is the taggart comet which runs from new york to san francisco and which has never been late united locomotive works an incompetent company that is supposed to deliver diesel engines to taggart transcontinental the order is delayed in perpetuity and the president of the company refuses to ever give a straight answer as to why this is so the united locomotive works is mentioned in sections one three three and one four one wyatt oil the oil company run by ellis wyatt wyatt s father had squeezed a living out of the oil fields in colorado but when ellis wyatt took over the business took off he discovered a technique for extracting oil from wells that had been abandoned as dried up the success of wyatt oil that followed this discovery suddenly and unexpectedly turned colorado into the leading economy in the country wyatt oil traditionally relied on taggart transcontinental s rio norte line to ship its oil but when that company could not grow fast enough to keep up with the booming colorado economy wyatt started using the small but well managed phoenix durango instead this prompted james taggart to make deals with his friends to drive the phoenix durango out of colorado afterwards dagny taggart has to rebuild the rio norte line so it can supply transportation to wyatt oil if she fails the economy of colorado and of the whole country could collapse wyatt oil is mentioned in sections one one one one three two and one seven one atlas shrugged fictional companies some of the important concepts discussed in atlas shrugged include the sanction of the victim and the theory of sex sanction of the victim the sanction of the victim is defined as the willingness of the good to suffer at the hands of the evil to accept the role of sacrificial victim for the sin of creating values the entire story of atlas shrugged can be seen as an answer to the question what would happen if this sanction was revoked when atlas shrugs relieving himself of the burden of carrying the world he is revoking his sanction the concept is supposedly original in the thinking of ayn rand and is foundational to her moral theory she holds that evil is a parasite on the good and can only exist if the good tolerates it to quote from galt s speech evil is impotent and has no power but that which we let it extort from us and i saw that evil was impotent and the only weapon of its triumph was the willingness of the good to serve it morality requires that we do not sanction our own victimhood rand claims in adhering to this concept rand assigns virtue to the trait of selfishness throughout atlas shrugged numerous characters admit that there is something wrong with the world but they cannot put their finger on what it is the concept they cannot grasp is the sanction of the victim the first person to grasp the concept is john galt who vows to stop the motor of the world by getting the creators of the world to withhold their sanction we first glimpse the concept in section one two one when hank rearden feels he is duty bound to support his family despite their hostility towards him in section one four six the principle is stated explicitly by dan conway i suppose somebody s got to be sacrificed if it turned out to be me i have no right to complain theory of sex in rejecting the traditional christian altruist moral code rand also rejects the sexual code that in her view is a logical implication of altruism rand introduces a theory of sex in atlas shrugged which is purportedly implied by her broader ethical and psychological theories far from being a debasing animal instinct sex is the highest celebration of our greatest values sex is a physical response to intellectual and spiritual values a mechanism for giving concrete expression to values that could otherwise only be experienced in the abstract one is sexually attracted to those who embody one s values those who have base values will be attracted to baseness to those who also have ignoble values those who lack any clear purpose will find sex devoid of meaning people of high values will respond sexually to those who embody high values that our sexual desire is a response to the embodiment of our values in others is a radical and original theory however even those who are sympathetic to this theory have criticized it as being incomplete for instance since according to rand the economy is also such an expression of values and since it is always possible to encounter someone who embodies one s values more completely this would seem to make family undesirable indeed rand treats family as a sort of trap furthermore promiscuity prostitution and an endless round robin of values driven sexual relationships would become inevitable from this viewpoint one could say that aldous huxley portrayed the ideal sexual state brave new world features humans who are incapable of deviating from their caste oriented values which naturally include a code of sexual desirability her sexual theory is illustrated in the contrasting relationships of hank rearden with lillian rearden and dagny taggart and later with dagny taggart and john galt other important illustrations of this theory are found in section one five two recounts dagny s relationship with francisco d anconia section one six one recounts hank and lillian rearden s courtship and lillian s attitude towards sex atlas shrugged this is a list of general items in ayn rand s atlas shrugged anti dog eat dog rule the anti dog eat dog rule is passed by the national alliance of railroads in section one four five allegedly to prevent destructive competition between railroads the rule gives the alliance the authority to forbid competition between railroads in certain parts of the country it was crafted by orren boyle as a favor for james taggart with the purpose of driving the phoenix durango out of colorado bracelet the very first thing made from rearden metal is a bracelet the bracelet is used to illustrate rand s theory of sex the bracelet symbolizes the value created by hank rearden s long struggle to invent rearden metal when he gives it to lillian rearden as a present in section one two one she says it s fully as valuable as a piece of railroad rails however lillian fully grasps the significance of the gift her snide remark is her way of denigrating her husband s ethos in section one six one lillian wears this bracelet at a party thrown on her anniversary she makes fun of it all night long and when dagny taggart hears lillian say she would gladly trade it for a common diamond bracelet dagny takes her up on it lillian later asks for it back upon realizing her power over her husband was slowly diminishing dagny denies the offer the bracelet appears in sections one two one and one six one cub club a night club in new york when francisco d anconia returns to new york in section one four one he explains he came because of a hat check girl at the cub club and the liverwurst at moe s delicatessen on third avenue equalization of opportunity bill a bill designed by the looters that proposes to limit the number of businesses any one person can own to one it is aimed primarily at hank rearden who uses rearden ore to guarantee rearden steel with a supply of iron ore by passing this bill the looters can seize rearden s other businesses for themselves and then deny him the iron he needs to run his steel mills the looters claim the bill is meant to give a chance to the little guy the equalization of opportunity bill is appears in section one six one galt s gulch a secluded refuge in a valley of colorado where the men of ability have retreated after relinquishing participation in american society nicknamed galt s gulch by its inhabitants it is in fact the property of midas mulligan one of the early strikers to follow john galt s call this call was to the great men of mind and action to abandon the increasingly slave state inclinations of a decaying united states to go on strike thereby withdrawing the only thing supporting the parasites and looters sarcastically nicknamed midas in the press because everything he seemed to touch turned to gold mulligan adopted the nickname during his explosive investment career before dropping out of sight he had purchased this land among his far ranging speculative endeavors and subsequently retreated to it upon his disappearance other strikers soon followed him there including john galt renting or buying land for summer retreats as a respite from continuing their search for fellow strikers among the increasingly collapsing american society eventually a society develops in galt s gulch as more people live there year round as the outside world becomes virtually unsafe to visit we are introduced to galt s gulch in the final section of the novel in the first chapter entitled atlantis the people live with each other in completely free society and embody everything which is the thesis of the novel the appropriate values for a society of mankind philosophical moral economic legal aesthetic and sexual among others too numerous to mention we find industrious ambitious happy people continuing their chosen fields of endeavor without the yokes of any taxation or regulation conversely there is a reverence for private property everything transacted is paid for with the re invented currency of solid gold coin struck from the reserves of midas mulligan s bank which now resides in the valley the townspeople receive services from the various heroes we have met throughout the novel who all now reside and produce in the valley they purchase power inexpensively from galt and his invention of the static electricity motor maintain their anonymity from the outside world via galt s invention of the air wave reflection device giving the view from above the camouflage of reflected images of other mountainsides nearby and some attend galt s lectures on physics where he explains his discoveries on new fundamental laws and applied mathematics the people purchase medical treatment from the care of dr hendricks who uses his invention of a portable x ray machine to initially diagnose dagny taggart upon her crash landing into the valley attend concerts of new musical compositions of richard halley who has continued to compose in the valley acquire raw materials from the efforts of francisco d anconia s excavations around the valley attend philosophy lectures from the now retired pirate ragnar danneskj ld receive loans from midas mulligan etc rand s description of galt s gulch was inspired by a visit she and her husband frank o connor took to ouray colorado while researching colorado for the novel halley s fifth concerto richard halley disappeared after he had written only four concertos in section one one two dagny taggart an enthusiastic fan of halley s music hears an unfamiliar theme being whistled by a brakeman on the taggart comet she asks him what it is he responds halley s fifth concerto when dagny says halley only wrote four concertos the brakeman says he made a mistake and denies knowing what the song was later dagny calls mr ayers to find out if halley wrote a fifth concerto ayers says halley did not halley s fifth concerto is mentioned in sections one one two one one four and one five two halley s fourth concerto the last thing richard halley wrote before he disappeared it is a song of rebellion and defiance that seemed to say agony and suffering were not necessary dagny taggart listened to this piece in section one four one it is mentioned in section one five two heaven s in your backyard a film mort liddy wrote the score using a bastardized version of halley s fourth concerto it is mentioned in section one six one john galt legends since everyone across the country is asking who is john galt it is not surprising that some people have come up with answers a number of john galt legends are told each of which ironically turns out to be true at least symbolically legend one section one six one a spinster at lillian rearden s party tells dagny the story john galt was a man of inestimable wealth who found the sunken island of atlantis while fighting the worst storm ever wreaked upon the world the sight was so beautiful that having seen it he could never go back to the world so he sank his ship and took his fortune down with him the actual john galt was a man who created something of inestimable value a new motor and who discovered the secret to what was wrong with the world while fighting the most evil social philosophy ever put into practice the world he envisioned was so beautiful that he refused to live in the world that was and disappeared taking the secret of motor with him atlantis the isles of the blessed is a place where no one could enter except those who had the spirit of a hero described in these terms it is the same as galt s gulch moe s delicatessen a delicatessen in new york when francisco d anconia returns to new york in section one four one he explains he came because of a hat check girl at the cub club and the liverwurst at moe s delicatessen on third avenue national alliance of railroads an industry group formed to promote the welfare of the industry as a whole requiring members to sacrifice their individual interests for the common good orren boyle has friends on the national alliance of railroads and he gets them to support the anti dog eat dog rule which uses a string of pretenses to drive the phoenix durango out of colorado the national alliance of railroads is mentioned in sections one three one one four five and one four six national council of metal industries an industry group that uses political pull to get its way james taggart has friends on the national council of metal industries and he gets them to support legislation that will hurt rearden steel and help associated steel the national council of metal industries is mentioned in section one three one patrick henry university the most prestigious university in the world it was attended by john galt francisco d anconia and ragnar danneskjold where they met and became friends hugh akston and robert stadler taught there it is located in cleveland rio norte line a branch of taggart transcontinental that runs from cheyenne wyoming to el paso texas it is mentioned in sections one one one one one four one three one alluded to one three two one three three one four one one four six one four seven and one four eight rockdale station a station on the taggart transcontinental line located five miles from the taggart estate and overlooking the hudson river it was the site of dagny taggart s first job with the railroad night operator at age one six it appears in section one five two san sebastian a community built to house the workers of the san sebastian mines and their families as it turns out the houses roads and everything of practical value is built so poorly that the community can be expected to fall apart within a year or two only the church was built to last it is mentioned in section one five two san sebastian line a branch of taggart transcontinental that serves the san sebastian mines in mexico the mines were developed by francisco d anconia and attracted significant investments from james taggart and orren boyle who assumed francisco could be counted on to deliver a winner the san sebastian line is nationalized by the mexican government soon after completion when it is nationalized in section one four two it is referred to as the san sebastian railroad it is mentioned in sections one one four one three one one three two one three three one four two one four three and one five two san sebastian mines san sebastian mines is a copper mining project in mexico founded by francisco d anconia and named after his ancestor sebastian d anconia francisco s reputation as a businessman is so great that investors flock to him begging to invest money in the enterprise investors include james taggart and orren boyle taggart goes so far as to build a new branch of taggart transcontinental the san sebastian line to serve the mines sinking three zero million into the project when the development of the mines appears complete the mexican government nationalizes them as well as the san sebastian line only to discover there is no copper and there never was when taggart tells francisco he considers the mines a rotten swindle section one six one francisco explains that taggart should be pleased with the way he ran the mines he says he put into practice those moral precepts that were accepted around the world the world says it is evil to pursue a profit he got no profit from the worthless mines the world says the purpose of an enterprise is not to produce but to give a livelihood to its employees it produced nothing but created jobs that would never have existed if one was only concerned with developing a real mine the world says the owner is an exploiter and the workers do all the real work he left the enterprise entirely in the hands of the workers and did not burden anyone with his presence the world says need is more important than ability he hired a mining specialist who needed a job very badly but had no ability in short the san sebastian mines were an illustration of what happens when this moral code is put into practice and a warning of what will soon happen to the world as a whole the san sebastian mines appear in sections one one one one three one one three two one four two one five one one five two and one six one taggart building a skyscraper in new york the headquarters of taggart transcontinental and the location of the taggart terminal taggart comet the taggart comet is taggart transcontinental s flagship train it runs from new york to san francisco and has never been late the taggart comet appears in sections one one two one one three and one five two the future see bertram scudder the heart is a milkman the heart is a milkman is a novel being written by balph eubank it is about the central fact of human existence frustration eubank says he will dedicate it to lillian rearden it is mentioned in section one six one the octopus see bertram scudder the vulture is molting a best selling novel that captures the spirit of the times the vulture is molting is a penetrating study of a businessman s greed a fearless revelation of man s depravity the book is mentioned in section one four one as one of the artifacts of popular culture that depresses dagny taggart with its baseness wayne falkland hotel a luxurious hotel in new york it is considered the best hotel left in the world it is where francisco d anconia stays when he is in town it was also the scene of dagny taggart s debut ball when she was seventeen it may be based on the waldorf astoria hotel in new york city the wayne falkland hotel is mentioned in sections one four one one five one and one five two wyatt oil fields the wyatt oil fields are in colorado they are a bunch of old abandoned oil wells that were revived by a new technique invented by ellis wyatt this has almost single handedly revitalized the economy of colorado the wyatt oil fields appear in sections one one one and one six one atlas shrugged lists of fictional things atlas as told in atlas shrugged atlas carried the world on his shoulders but in the greek myths the titan atlas stands on the earth and holds up the sky in the statues that represent atlas the big round thing on his back represents the heavens which because of the apparent circular motion of the planets around the earth were conceived of as being round some tellings of the atlas myth have him carrying both the earth and the heavens on his back but this appears to be a modern retelling further research might confirm this character names some of the character names are or appear to be puns or have some other significance see also characters in atlas shrugged when asked why so many of her names have syllables with many hard consonants like dag tag den stad rand said that she just liked those sounds ragnar danneskjold sounds like dane s gold a tribute paid by the medieval english to the vikings to bribe them into being peaceful however note skjold means shield not gold however the hero of victor hugo s first novel hans of iceland becomes the first of the counts of danneskj ld in the one nine seven zero s rand told marsha familaro enright that her use of this name was not plagiarism because there really were counts of danneskj ld robert stadler sounds like the german word for state staat dr stadler is a statist in that he believes it appropriate and necessary for the state to fund scientific research francisco d anconia rand s husband was frank o connor john galt the name of a one nine th century scottish novelist though this is apparently coincidental galt is close to geld and gold the name was probably used because it had to be such that it could become proverbial this would not be possible with a long awkward name wesley mouch mouch is exactly what his name sounds like a mooch he has no real virtue or skill but somehow becomes a powerful figure crime common street crime is conspicuously absent in atlas shrugged characters walk the streets with no thought of being mugged or attacked historical figures and events atlas shrugged takes place in a world with a different history from our own but there are some historical figures and events that are mentioned aristotle section one five two francisco d anconia wrote a thesis on the influence of aristotle s theory of the immovable mover dark ages section one six one ragnar danneskjold s piracy is likened to something out of the dark ages inquisition section one five two sebastian d anconia flees spain to escape persecution under the inquisition middle ages section one six one it is said that ragnar danneskjold hides in the norwegian fjords as the vikings did in the middle ages nero section one five two francisco d anconia compares himself to the emperor nero patrick henry section one five two the eponym of patrick henry university vikings section one six one it is said that ragnar danneskjold hides in the norwegian fjords as the vikings did in the middle ages humor in section one five two francisco cracks that the mexican government was promising a roast of pork every sunday for every man woman child and abortion in section one five two francisco lists the various buildings constructed for the workers of the san sebastian mines and notes how they are all poorly built and can be expected to collapse except for the church the church i think will stand they ll need it he quips since the other things are things of value houses roads etc it is ironic that only the church was built to last to rand and her heroes a church is of no real value almost every nation in the world except the united states is referred to as the people s state of and they are all apparently the recipients of relief supplies from the united states in conversation people casually refer to them as the people s state of rather than just say france or norway it is obvious that people would not refer to countries by their formal names in casual conversation we don t call canada the dominion of canada or germany the federal republic of germany so by having her characters do this rand is exercising her dry wit lying the sympathetic characters of atlas shrugged generally do not tell lies with the following exceptions even when they are clearly trying to conceal something they do not rely on overt falsehood even when it is obvious that they could do so without being found out in section one one two brakeman tells dagny taggart he does not recall the name of the song he was whistling or where he heard it in section one four one francisco d anconia tells the press he came to new york because of a hat check girl and the liverwurst at moe s delicatessen in section one five one we learn dagny taggart once lied to her mother about a cut to her lip that francisco had given her this was the only lie she ever told in section one five two dagny taggart asks francisco if richard halley has written a fifth concerto he is evasive and tells her that halley has stopped writing is this a lie in section one six one hank rearden tells dagny that he was the one who invited bertram scudder to the rearden s anniversary party it was actually lillian who invited him and rearden had been furious about it in part two chapter nine eddie willers tells dagny taggart that his hesitation and uncertainty is caused by the illegality of her directions in fact eddie was shocked by the evidence and thus realization of her affair with hank rearden people s states almost every nation that is mentioned other than the united states is referred to as a people s state these include the people s state of england the people s state of france the people s state of india the people s state of mexico the people s state of norway the people s state of portugal the people s state of turkey the leaders of these countries are given the title the head of the people s state and called mr or senor the president of the united states is refered to as mr thompson and called the head of the state which seems to imply the us is on its way to becoming a people s state as well religion in section one five two francisco tells dagny he named the san sebastian mines after his ancestor sebastian d anconia a man they both honor deeply this to dagny is blasphemy the only kind of blasphemy she understands social classes rand is sometimes called an elitist this claim is probably accurate if we allow for the fact that rand had her own standard of eliteness throughout atlas shrugged virtue is equated with creative ability it is however worth noting that in atlas shrugged there are no characters with creative ability which do not function as author surrogate characters most notably dagny taggart conversely all of the characters which disagree with the author are unintelligent and creatively bankrupt and usually actively destructive compare to the real world where scientists inventors artists and industrialists often have wildly varying and strongly conflicting desires and opinions different social classes are represented among both the heroes and the villains of atlas shrugged among the heroes john galt and hank rearden are from working class backgrounds while dagny taggart and francisco d anconia are from wealthy families among the villains fred kinnan is from a working class background while james taggart and betty pope are from wealthy families atlas shrugged atlas shrugged cover by nick gaetano atlas shrugged is a novel by russian born writer and philosopher ayn rand first published in one nine five seven in the usa and rand s last work of fiction before concentrating her writings exclusively on philosophy most regard atlas shrugged as rand s most famous work her tour de force and most objectivists hold it to be objectively as in factually the greatest novel of all time its theme as stated by rand is the importance of the individual s reasoning mind in human life it is a highly philosophical and allegorical story that deals with themes of rand s own objectivism though she was not yet known as a philosopher when it was written whether or not she had philosophical intentions and to what extent or sense the novel is an allegory are controversial subjects in fact the ideas behind the book and their extremism as well as its relative popularity have made it one of the most controversial novels of the two zero th century it is also one of the longest novels ever written totaling one thousand pages or more depending on the publication philosophy and writing the theme of atlas shrugged is that independent rational thought is the motor that powers the world in the book men of the mind go on strike allowing the collapse of what only they hold together a peaceful cohesiveness rand claims that humans particularly those whose productive work comes from mental effort may create wherever forceful human interference is absent given no alternative they remove themselves from the looters the title is an analogy the rational men like the greek god atlas hold the world on their shoulders in the form of a strike they have chosen to shrug the book is rooted in objectivism the philosophical system founded by rand rand suggests that society stagnates when independence and individual achievement are discouraged or demonized and that inversely a society will become more prosperous as it allows encourages and rewards independence and individual achievement rand believed that independence flourishes to the extent that people are free and that achievement is rewarded best when private property is respected strictly she advocated laissez faire capitalism as the political system that is most consistent with these beliefs these considerations make atlas shrugged a highly political book especially in its portrayal of fascism socialism and communism or indeed any form of state intervention in societal affairs as fatally flawed however rand claimed that it is not a fundamentally political book but that the politics portrayed in the novel are a result of her attempt to display her image of the ideal man and the position of the human mind in society rand argues that independence and individual achievement drive the world and should be embraced her worldview requires a rational moral code she disputes the notion that self sacrifice is a virtue and is similarly dismissive of human faith in a god or higher being the book positions itself against christianity specifically often directly within the characters dialogue setting exactly when atlas shrugged is meant to take place is kept deliberately vague in section one five two the population of new york city is given as seven million the historical new york city reached seven million people in the one nine three zero s which might place the novel sometime after that there are many early two zero th century technologies available but the political situation is clearly different from actual history one interpretation is that the novel takes place a hundred or perhaps hundreds of years in the future implying that since the world lapsed into its socialistic morass a global wide stagnation has occurred in technological growth population growth and indeed growth of any kind the wars economic depressions and other events of the two zero th century would be a distant memory to all but scholars and academicians this would be in line with rand s ideas and commentary on other novels depicting utopian and dystopian societies furthermore this is also in line with an excerpt from a one nine six four interview with playboy magazine in which rand states what we have today is not a capitalist society but a mixed economy that is a mixture of freedom and controls which by the presently dominant trend is moving toward dictatorship the action in atlas shrugged takes place at a time when society has reached the stage of dictatorship when and if this happens that will be the time to go on strike but not until then thus implying that her novel takes place at some point in the future the concept of societal stagnation in the wake of collectivist systems is central to the plot of another of rand s works anthem all countries outside the us have become or become during the novel people s states there are many examples of early two zero th century technology in atlas shrugged but no post war advances such as nuclear weapons helicopters or computers jet planes are mentioned briefly as being a relatively new technology television is a novelty that has yet to assume any cultural significance while radio broadcasts are prominent though rand does not use in the book many of the technological innovations available while she was writing she introduces some advanced fictional inventions e g sound based weapons of mass destruction torture devices as well as power plants most of the action in atlas shrugged occurs in the united states however there are important events around the world such as in the people s states of mexico chile and argentina and piracy at sea plot a section by section analysis of atlas shrugged is available on wikibooks the novel s plot split into three sections though the story is coherent apart from these is extremely complex the first two sections and to some extent the last follow dagny taggart a no nonsense railroad executive and her attempt to keep the company alive despite the fact that society is falling towards collectivism altruism statism all throughout the novel people repeat a platitude dagny greatly resents who is john galt it is a reflection of their helplessness as the saying means don t ask important questions because they don t have answers the geniuses of the world seem to be disappearing and the apparent decline of civilization is making it more and more difficult for her to sustain her life long aspirations of running the trans continental railroad which has been in her family for several generations she deals with other characters such as hank rearden a self made businessman of great integrity whose career is hindered by his false feelings of obligation towards his wife francisco d anconia dagny s childhood friend first love and king of the copper industry appears to have become a worthless playboy who is purposely destroying his business as the novel progresses the myths about the real john galt as well as francisco d anconia s actions become more and more a reflection of the state of the culture and seem to make more and more sense and hank and dagny begin to experience the futility of their attempts to survive in a society that hates them and those like them for their greatness during their plight dagny and hank find the remnants of a motor that turns atmospheric energy into kinetic energy an astounding feat they also find evidence that the minds the atlases of the world are disappearing because of one particular destroyer taking them away dagny and hank deal with the irrationalities and apparent contradictions of their atmosphere and search for the creator of the motor as well as the destroyer who is draining the world of its prime movers in an effort to secure their ability to live rational lives all of this leads to an elaborate action based explanation and eventual climax presenting an understanding of all of the issues explored and breaking everything down into one basic conflict the final parts of the novel involve a speech by the story s true protagonist and a resolution concerning the fate of society the question who is john galt is also answered characters minor characters companies concepts places technology things topics of note film adaptation rights to the novel atlas shrugged were purchased by the baldwin entertainment group in two zero zero three with the intent of producing a feature length film company leader howard baldwin was quoted in september two zero zero four as saying everything is on track and the movie hasn t been held up one bit i assure you that this will be a big movie and it will get made two works of rand s the fountainhead and we the living have been adapted into movies so far external links http www aynrand org http www atlassociety org news atlas movie updated zero five zero three zero four asp http www cordair com gaetano index htm references and further reading publications atlas shrugged ayn rand signet september one nine nine six isbn zero four five one one nine one one four five atlas shrugged cliffs notes andrew bernstein cliffs notes june five two zero zero zero isbn zero seven six four five eight five five six eight the world of atlas shrugged robert bidinotto the objectivist center highbridge company april one nine two zero zero one isbn one five six five one one four seven one x atlas shrugged manifesto of the mind twayne s masterwork studies no one seven four mimi reisel gladstein twayne pub june two zero zero zero isbn zero eight zero five seven one six three eight six the moral revolution in atlas shrugged nathaniel branden the objectivist center july one nine nine nine isbn one five seven seven two four zero three three two odysseus jesus and dagny susan mccloskey the objectivist center august one one nine nine eight isbn one five seven seven two four zero two five one foreign translations german wer ist john galt hamburg germany gewis verlag isbn three nine three two five six four zero three zero italian la rivolta di atlante two vol milano garzanti one nine five eight out of print translator laura grimaldi japanese isbn four eight two eight four one one four nine six translator norwegian de som beveger verden kagge forlag two zero zero zero isbn eight two four eight nine zero zero eight three five hardcover isbn eight two four eight nine zero one six nine six paperback translator john erik b e lindgren polish atlas zbuntowany zysk i s ka two zero zero four isbn eight three seven one five zero nine six nine three twarda translator iwona micha owska spanish la rebelion de atlas editorial grito sagrado isbn nine eight seven two zero nine five one zero eight hardcover isbn nine eight seven two zero nine five one one six paperback swedish och v rlden sk lvde timbro f rlag two zero zero five isbn nine one seven five six six five five six five translator maud freccero turkish atlas vazge ti plato yay nlar two zero zero three isbn nine seven five nine six seven seven two six one translator belk s orap reviews review from a self proclaimed non libertarian review from the weird bookshelf fine science fiction books slade robert m review from the internet review project one nine nine eight a review which while attempting to address the environmentalist issues claims that atlas shrugged is a sequel to the lord of the rings a review and in depth chapter by chapter motif by motif etc analysis satires and parodies telemachus sneezed within robert anton wilson s illuminatus trilogy search for taffy rhinestone in the former link to read the spoof the abridged atlas shrugged a thousand pages distilled into about a thousand words atlas shr a look at parallel universes wherein all of ayn rand s books are four hundred pages shorter elvis shrugged an early nine zero s comic book miniseries published by revolutionary comics in which popular entertainers elvis presley a cyborg frank sinatra frank zappa madonna spike lee and others take the place of various atlas shrugged counterparts oscar shrugged a depiction of the first film festival held in galt s gulch atlas shrugged two one hour later starring bob the angry flower one nine five seven books atlas shrugged novels philosophical novels books critical of christianity books by ayn rand anthropology from the greek word human or person consists of the study of humanity see genus homo it is holistic in two senses it is concerned with all humans at all times and with all dimensions of humanity a primary trait that traditionally distinguished anthropology from other humanistic disciplines is an emphasis on cultural relativity indepth examination of context and cross cultural comparisons in north america anthropology is traditionally divided into four sub disciplines physical anthropology or biological anthropology which studies primate behavior human evolution osteology forensics and population genetics cultural anthropology called social anthropology in the united kingdom and now often known as socio cultural anthropology areas studied by cultural anthropologists include social networks diffusion social behavior kinship patterns law politics ideology religion beliefs patterns in production and consumption exchange socialization gender and other expressions of culture with strong emphasis on the importance of fieldwork or participant observation i e living among the social group being studied for an extended period of time linguistic anthropology which studies variation in language across time and space the social uses of language and the relationship between language and culture and archaeology that studies the material remains of human societies archaeology itself is normally treated as a separate but related field in the rest of the world although closely related to the anthropological field of material culture which deals with physical objects created or used within a living or past group as mediums of understanding its cultural values more recently some anthropology programs began dividing the field into two one emphasizing the humanities and critical theory the other emphasizing the natural sciences and empirical observation historical and institutional context main article history of anthropology the anthropologist t j brewer once characterized anthropology as the most scientific of the humanities and the most humanistic of the sciences understanding how anthropology developed contributes to understanding how it fits into other academic disciplines contemporary anthropologists claim a number of earlier thinkers as their forebearers and the discipline has several sources however anthropology can best be understood as an outgrowth of the age of enlightenment it was during this period that europeans attempted systematically to study human behavior traditions of jurisprudence history philology and sociology developed during this time and informed the development of the social sciences of which anthropology was a part at the same time the romantic reaction to the enlightenment produced thinkers such as herder and later wilhelm dilthey whose work formed the basis for the culture concept which is central to the discipline institutionally anthropology emerged from natural history expounded by authors such as buffon this was the study of human beings typically people living in european colonies thus studying the language culture physiology and artifacts of european colonies was more or less equivalent to studying the flora and fauna of those places it was for this reason for instance that lewis henry morgan could write monographs on both the league of the iroquois and the american beaver and his works this is also why the material culture of civilized nations such as china have historically been displayed in fine arts museums alongside european art while artifacts from africa or native north american cultures were displayed in natural history museums with dinosaur bones and nature dioramas this being said curatorial practice has changed dramatically in recent years and it would be wrong to see anthropology as merely an extension of colonial rule and european chauvinism since its relationship to imperialism was and is complex anthropology grew increasingly distinct from natural history and by the end of the nineteenth century the discipline began to crystallize into its modern form by one nine three five for example it was possible for t k penniman to write a history of the discipline entitled a hundred years of anthropology early anthropology was dominated by the comparative method it was assumed that all societies passed through a single evolutionary process from the most primitive to most advanced non european societies were thus seen as evolutionary living fossils that could be studied in order to understand the european past scholars wrote histories of prehistoric migrations which were sometimes valuable but often also fanciful it was during this time that europeans first accurately traced polynesian migrations across the pacific ocean for instance although some of them believed it originated in egypt finally the concept of race was actively discussed as a way to classify and rank human beings based on inherent biological difference in the twentieth century academic disciplines began to organize around three main domains the sciences seeks to derive natural laws through reproducible and falsifiable experiments the humanities reflected an attempt to study different national traditions in the form of history and the arts as an attempt to provide people in emerging nation states with a sense of coherence the social sciences emerged at this time as an attempt to develop scientific methods to address social phenomena in an attempt to provide a universal basis for social knowledge anthropology does not easily fit into one of these categories and different branches of anthropology draw on one or more of these domains drawing on the methods of the natural sciences as well as developing new techniques involving not only structured interviews but unstructured participant observation and drawing on the new theory of evolution through natural selection they proposed the scientific study of a new object humankind conceived of as a whole crucial to this study is the concept culture which anthropologists defined both as a universal capacity and propensity for social learning thinking and acting which they see as a product of human evolution and something that distinguishes homo sapiens and perhaps all species of genus homo from other species and as a particular adaptation to local conditions that takes the form of highly variable beliefs and practices thus culture not only transcends the opposition between nature and nurture it transcends and absorbs the peculiarly european distinction between politics religion kinship and the economy as autonomous domains anthropology thus transcends the divisions between the natural sciences social sciences and humanities to explore the biological linguistic material and symbolic dimensions of humankind in all forms anthropology in the u s anthropology in the united states was pioneered by staff of the bureau of indian affairs and the smithsonian institution s bureau of american ethnology such as john wesley powell and frank hamilton cushing academic anthropology was established by franz boas who used his positions at columbia university and the american museum of natural history to train and develop multiple generations of students boasian anthropology was politically active and suspicious of research dictated by the u s government or wealthy patrons it was also rigorously empirical and skeptical of over generalizations and attempts to establish universal laws boas studied immigrant children in order to demonstrate that biological race was not immutable and that human conduct and behavior was the result of nurture rather than nature drawing on his german roots he argued that the world was full of distinct cultures rather than societies whose evolution could be measured by how much or how little civilization they had boas felt that each culture has to be studied in its particularity and argued that cross cultural generalizations like those made in the natural sciences were not possible in doing so boas fought discrimination against immigrants african americans and native north americans many american anthropologists adopted boas agenda for social reform and theories of race continue to be popular targets for anthropologists today boas s first generation of students included alfred kroeber robert lowie edward sapir and ruth benedict all of these scholars produced richly detailed studies which described native north america in doing so they provided a wealth of details used to attack the theory of a single evolutionary process kroeber and sapir s focus on native american languages also helped establish linguistics as a truly general science and free it from its historical focus on indo european languages the publication of alfred kroeber s textbook anthropology marked a turning point in american anthropology after three decades of amassing material the urge to generalize grew this was most obvious in the culture and personality studies carried out by younger boasians such as margaret mead and ruth benedict influenced by psychoanalytic psychologists such as sigmund freud and carl jung these authors sought to understand the way that individual personalities were shaped by the wider cultural and social forces in which they grew up while such works as coming of age in samoa and the chrysanthemum and the sword remain popular with the american public mead and benedict never had the impact on the discipline of anthropology that some expected boas had planned for ruth benedict to succeed him as chair of columbia s anthropology department but she was sidelined by ralph linton and mead was limited to her offices at the amnh anthropology in britain whereas boas picked his opponents to pieces through attention to detail in britain modern anthropology was formed by rejecting historical reconstruction in the name of a science of society that focused on analyzing how societies held together in the present the two most important names in this tradition were alfred reginald radcliffe brown and bronislaw malinowski both of whom released seminal works in one nine two two radcliffe brown s initial fieldwork in the andaman islands was carried out in the old style but after reading mile durkheim he published an account of his research entitled simply the andaman islanders which drew heavily on the french sociologist over time he developed an approach known as structural functionalism which focused on how institutions in societies worked to balance out or create an equilibrium in the social system to keep it functioning harmoniously malinowski on the other hand advocated an unhyphenated functionalism which examined how society functioned to meet individual needs malinowski is best known not for his theory however but for his detailed ethnography and advances in methodology his classic argonauts of the western pacific advocated getting the native s point of view and an approach to field work that became standard in the field malinowski and radcliffe brown s success stem from the fact that they like boas actively trained students and aggressively built up institutions which furthered their programmatic ambitions this was particularly the case with radcliffe brown who spread his agenda for social anthropology by teaching at universities across the commonwealth from the late one nine three zero s until the post war period a string of monographs and edited volumes appeared which cemented the paradigm of british social anthropology famous ethnographies include the nuer by edward evan evans pritchard and the dynamics of clanship among the tallensi by meyer fortes while well known edited volumes include african systems of kinship and marriage and african political systems anthropology in france anthropology in france has a less clear genealogy than the british and american traditions most commentators consider marcel mauss to be the founder of the french anthropological tradition mauss was a member of durkheim s annee sociologique group and while durkheim and others examined the state of modern societies mauss and his collaborators such as henri hubert and robert hertz drew on ethnography and philology to analyze societies which were not as differentiated as european nation states in particular mauss s essay on the gift was to prove of enduring relevance in anthropological studies of exchange and reciprocity throughout the interwar years french interest in anthropology often dovetailed with wider cultural movements such as surrealism and primitivism which drew on ethnography for inspiration marcel griaule and michel leiris are examples of people who combined anthropology with the french avant garde during this time most of what is known as ethnologie was restricted to museums and anthropology had a close relationship with studies of folklore above all however it was claude l vi strauss who helped institutionalize anthropology in france in addition to the enormous influence his structuralism exerted across multiple disciplines l vi strauss established ties with american and british anthropologists at the same time he established centers and laboratories within france to provide an institutional context within anthropology while training influential students such as maurice godelier and francoise heritier who would prove influential in the world of french anthropology much of the distinct character of france s anthropology today is a result of the fact that most anthropology is carried out in nationally funded research laboratories rather than academic departments in universities anthropology after world war two before wwii british social anthropology and american cultural anthropology were still distinct traditions it was after the war that the two would blend to create a sociocultural anthropology in the one nine five zero s and mid one nine six zero s anthropology tended increasingly to model itself after the natural sciences some such as lloyd fallers and clifford geertz focused on processes of modernization by which newly independent states could develop others such as julian steward and leslie white focused on how societies evolve and fit their ecological niche an approach popularized by marvin harris economic anthropology as influenced by karl polanyi and practiced by marshall sahlins and george dalton focused on how traditional economics ignored cultural and social factors in england british social anthropology s paradigm began to fragment as max gluckman and peter worsley experimented with marxism and authors such as rodney needham and edmund leach incorporated l vi strauss s structuralism into their work structuralism also influenced a number of development in one nine six zero s and one nine seven zero s including cognitive anthropology and componential analysis authors such as david schneider clifford geertz and marshall sahlins developed a more fleshed out concept of culture as a web of meaning or signification which proved very popular within and beyond the discipline in keeping with the times much of anthropology became politicized through the algerian war of independence and opposition to the vietnam war marxism became a more and more popular theoretical approach in the discipline by the one nine seven zero s the authors of volumes such as reinventing anthropology worried about anthropology s relevance in the one nine eight zero s issues of power such as those examined in eric wolf s europe and the people without history were central to the discipline books like anthropology and the colonial encounter pondered anthropology s ties to colonial inequality while the immense popularity of theorists such as antonio gramsci and michel foucault moved issues of power and hegemony into the spotlight gender and sexuality became a popular topic as did the relationship between history and anthropology influenced by marshall sahlins again who drew on l vi strauss and fernand braudel to examine the relationship between social structure and individual agency in the late one nine eight zero s and one nine nine zero s authors such as george marcus and james clifford pondered ethnographic authority particularly how and why anthropological knowledge was possible and authoritative ethnographies became more reflexive explicitly addressing the author s methodology and cultural positioning and its influence on their ethnographic analysis this was part of a more general trend of postmodernism that was popular contemporaneously currently anthropologists have begun to pay attention to globalization medicine and biotechnology indigenous rights and the anthropology of europe politics of anthropology anthropology s traditional involvement with nonwestern cultures has involved it in politics in many different ways some political problems arise simply because anthropologists usually have more power than the people they study some have argued that the discipline is a form of colonialist theft in which the anthropologist gains power at the expense of subjects the anthropologist they argue can gain yet more power by exploiting knowledge and artifacts of the people he studies while the people he studies gain nothing or even lose in the exchange an example of this exploitative relationship can been seen in the collaboration in africa prior to world war ii of british anthropologists such as fortes and colonial forces more recently there have been newfound concerns about bioprospecting along with struggles for self representation for native peoples and the repatriation of indigenous remains and material culture other political controversies come from american anthropology s emphasis on cultural relativism and its long standing antipathy to the concept of race the development of sociobiology in the late one nine six zero s was opposed by cultural anthropologists such as marshall sahlins who argued that these positions were reductive while authors such john randal baker continued to develop the biological concept of race into the one nine seven zero s the rise of genetics has proven to be central to developments on this front recently kevin b macdonald criticized boasian anthropology as part of a jewish strategy to facilitate mass immigration and to weaken the west the culture of critique two zero zero two as genetics continues to advance as a science some anthropologists such as luca cavalli sforza have continued to transform and advance notions of race through the use of recent developments in genetics such as tracing past migrations of peoples through their mitcochondial and y chromosomal dna and ancestry informative markers finally anthropology has a history of entanglement with government intelligence agencies and anti war politics boas publicly objected to us participation in world war i and the collaboration of some anthropologists with us intelligence in contrast many of boas anthropologist contemporaries were active in the war effort in some form including dozens who served in the office of strategic services and the office of war information in the one nine five zero s the american anthropological association provided the cia information on the area specialities of its members and a number of anthropologists participated in the u s government s operation camelot during the war in vietnam at the same time many other anthropologists were active in the antiwar movement and passed resolutions in the american anthropological association aaa condemning anthropological involvement in covert operations anthropologists were also vocal in their opposition to the war in iraq although there was no consensus amongst practitioners of the discipline professional anthropological bodies often object to the use of anthropology for the benefit of the state their codes of ethics or statements may proscribe anthropologists from giving secret briefings the british association for social anthropology has called certain scholarships ethically dangerous for example the british association for social anthropology has condemned the cia s pat roberts intelligence scholars program which funds anthropology students at us universities in preparation for them to spy for the united states government the aaa s current statement of professional responsibility clearly states that in relation with their own government and with host governments no secret research no secret reports or debriefings of any kind should be agreed to or given anthropology is the study of human diversity diversity of body and behavior in the past and present anthropology consists of four subfields or subdisciplines physical anthropology studies the diversity of the human body in the past and present it includes how we acquired the structure of our body over time that is human evolution as well as differences and relationships between human populations today and their adaptations to their local environments it also sometimes includes the evolution and diversity of our nearest relatives the primates apes and monkeys cultural anthropology studies the diversity of human behavior in the present this is what most anthropologists do and what most of the public sees when they look at national geographic magazine or the discovery channel on tv cultural anthropologists travel to foreign societies although it is possible to do anthropology on your own society live among the people there and try as much as they can to understand how those people live archaeology studies the diversity of human behavior in the past since it studies how people lived in the past these people are not available for us to visit and talk to or at least not people who are currently living in the same way that their ancestors did in the past therefore archaeologists must depend on the artifacts and features that the people produced in the past and attempt to reconstruct their vanished way of life from the remnants of their culture linguistic anthropology studies the diversity of human language in the past and present while language is naturally a part of culture it is such a huge topic that anthropologists have separated it into its own area of study linguistic anthropologists are concerned about the development of languages perhaps even back to the first forms of language and how language changes over time they are also interested in how different contemporary languages differ today how they are related and how we can learn about things like migration and diffusion from that data they also ask how language is related to and reflects on other aspects of culture other sciences study humans too of course history economics psychology sociology even biology and chemistry can study humans how is anthropology different the answer is the anthropological perspective that is the way that anthropology approaches the subject and thinks about or studies humans and their behavior the anthropological perspective has three components one cross cultural or comparative anthropology investigates humans in every form that they take we are interested to see the entire spectrum of human bodies and behaviors trying to learn the range of humanity all the ways that we can be human by seeing humans in their every manifestation and comparing those manifestations to each other we can ask what is possible for humans and what is necessary for humans two holistic anthropology tries to relate every part of culture to every other part it understands that the various parts of culture are connected to each other and that certain combinations tend to occur or not to occur for example there are no hunting and gathering cultures that traditionally lived in cities that s just impossible we are also interested in how a people s cultures is connected to their environment again without high technology you are not going to see farming or cities in the middle of the desert or the arctic three relativistic this is the most profound yet controversial part of the anthropological perspective relativism means that the rules or norms or values of a culture are relative to that specific culture in other words say monogamy may be normal or preferred in one culture but polygamy may be normal or preferred in another the point is that different cultures believe different things or value different things or even mean different things with perhaps identical looking behaviors or objects when you go to another culture or even just interact with another culture for example when you are doing international business you cannot assume that other people understand things the same way you do in fact you should assume that they don t anthropology counsels against hasty judgement of a new culture aspects that a western visitor may find strange or distasteful can be understood when situated within that culture s history and cosmology understanding of the world there will be a rationality for the phenomenon it may be rational however according to a cultural logic that conflicts with western understandings malinowski s primacy of seeking to understand the native point of view remains fundamental to socio cultural anthropology today the point is that if we want to understand other people properly we must see what their behaviors or words or concepts mean to them not what they would mean to us meaning is relative to the culture that creates that meaning this is not to say that all things are true or even that all things are good cultural relativism does not necessarily entail moral relativism indeed the american anthropological association s qualified support one nine four eight one nine nine seven for the universal declaration of human rights as well as work by sally engle merry shows the latter is not a common anthropological point of view how does anthropology study culture one other way that anthropology is unique among the sciences that study humans is by its emphasis on fieldwork you cannot get to know another culture just by reading about it or watching movies about it at best you could learn what other people have already discovered but you could not learn anything new so anthropology requires actually going to that society and living within their culture as much as possible this is called participant observation this depends crucially on finding preferrably friendly informants within the society who will teach you their culture s rules of social behaviour and include you in their activities then as much as possible you will try to eat their food speak their language and live their lives often actually residing with a family in that society it is not easy work and it is not always fun but there is no better way to learn anthropological fields and subfields biological anthropology also physical anthropology forensic anthropology paleoethnobotany cultural anthropology also social anthropology anthropology of art applied anthropology cross cultural studies cyber anthropology development anthropology dual inheritance theory environmental anthropology economic anthropology ecological anthropology ethnography ethnomusicology feminist anthropology gender human behavioral ecology medical anthropology psychological anthropology political anthropology anthropology of religion public anthropology urban anthropology visual anthropology linguistic anthropology synchronic linguistics or descriptive linguistics diachronic linguistics or historical linguistics ethnolinguistics sociolinguistics archaeology external links the american anthropological association homepage the webpage of the largest professional organization of anthropologists in the world race a book by john randal baker discussing the origins of racial classification and oppositions to the concept anthropology info anthropologists as spies an article by david price examining the relationship between american anthropology and us intelligence services pat roberts intelligence program a bbc article on the program social and cultural anthropology in the news nearly daily updated blog anthrobase com collection of anthropological texts cybercultura collection of web resources about anthropology of cyberspace in italian anthropology net a community orientated anthropology web portal with user run blogs forums tags and a wiki association for feminist anthropology see also list of anthropologists important publications in anthropology anthropology mammalogy behavioural sciences archaeology or archeology from the greek words ancient and word speech discourse is the study of human cultures through the recovery documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data including architecture artifacts biofacts human remains and landscapes the goals of archaeology are to document and explain the origins and development of human culture understand culture history chronicle cultural evolution and study human behavior and ecology for both prehistoric and historic societies it is considered to be one of the four sub fields of anthropology usage as with words such as encyclopedia and gynaecology archaeology traditionally has an ae combination however unlike other words the ae is all but universally retained contrary to popular belief in other parts of the world the spelling archeology is not predominant in united states dictionaries and would look quite odd to most americans like the claim that theater refers to a building and theatre refers to the performing arts the belief that archeology is an americanism is little more than an urban myth the traditional spelling archaeology continues to be used in everyday writing throughout the world including the u s even more so than theatre the alternate spelling of which while considered acceptable is preferred less often than not ontology and definition in the old world archaeology has tended to focus on the study of physical remains the methods used in recovering them and the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings in achieving the subject s goals the discipline s roots in antiquarianism and the study of latin and ancient greek provided it with a natural affinity with the field of history in the new world archaeology is more commonly devoted to the study of human societies and is treated as one of the four subfields of anthropology the other subfields of anthropology supplement the findings of archaeology in a holistic manner these subfields are cultural anthropology which studies behavioural symbolic and material dimensions of culture linguistics which studies language including the origins of language and language groups and physical anthropology which includes the study of human evolution and physical and genetic characteristics other disciplines also supplement archaeology such as paleontology paleozoology paleoethnobotany paleobotany geography geology art history and classics archaeology has been described as a craft that enlists the sciences to illuminate the humanities writing in one nine four eight the american archaeologist walter taylor asserted that archaeology is neither history nor anthropology as an autonomous discipline it consists of a method and a set of specialised techniques for the gathering or production of cultural information archaeology is an approach to understanding human culture through its material remains regardless of chronology in england archaeologists have uncovered the long lost layouts of medieval villages abandoned after the crises of the one four th century and the equally lost layouts of one seven th century parterre gardens swept away by a change in fashion in downtown new york city archaeologists have exhumed the one eight th century remains of the black burial ground traditional archaeology is viewed as the study of pre historical human cultures that is cultures that existed before the development of writing for that culture historical archaeology is the study of post writing cultures in the study of relatively recent cultures which have been observed and studied by western scholars archaeology is closely allied with ethnography this is the case in large parts of north america oceania siberia and other places where the study of archaeology mingles with the living traditions of the cultures being studied kennewick man is an example of archaeology interacting with modern culture in the study of cultures that were literate or had literate neighbours history and archaeology supplement one another for broader understanding of the complete cultural context as at hadrian s wall importance and applicability most of human history is not described by any written records writing did not exist anywhere in the world until about five zero zero zero years ago and only spread among a relatively small number of technologically advanced civilisations in contrast homo sapiens have existed for at least two zero zero zero zero zero years and other species of homo for millions of years see human evolution these civilisations are not coincidentally the best known they have been open to the inquiry of historians for centuries while the study of pre historic cultures has arisen only recently even within a civilisation that is literate at some levels many important human practices are not officially recorded any knowledge of the formative early years of human civilisation the development of agriculture cult practices of folk religion the rise of the first cities must come from archaeology even where written records do exist they are invariably incomplete or biased to some extent in many societies literacy was restricted to the elite classes such as the clergy or the bureaucracy of court or temple the literacy even of an aristocracy has sometimes been restricted to deeds and contracts the interests and world view of elites are often quite different from the lives and interests of the rest of the populace writings that were produced by people more representative of the general population were unlikely to find their way into libraries and be preserved there for posterity thus written records tend to reflect the biases of the literate classes and cannot be trusted as a sole source the material record is nearer to a fair representation of society though it is subject to its own inaccuracies such as sampling bias and differential preservation in addition to their scientific importance archaeological remains sometimes have political significance to descendants of the people who produced them monetary value to collectors or simply strong aesthetic appeal many people identify archaeology with the recovery of such aesthetic religious political or economic treasures rather than with the reconstruction of past societies this view is often espoused in works of popular fiction such as raiders of the lost ark the mummy and king solomon s mines when such unrealistic subjects are treated more seriously accusations of pseudoscience are invariably levelled at their proponents see pseudoarchaeology below however these endeavours real and fictional are not representative of the modern state of archaeology goals there is still a tremendous emphasis in the practice of archaeology on field techniques and methodologies these include the tasks of surveying areas in order to find new sites digging sites in order to unearth the cultural remains therein and classification and preservation techniques in order to analyse and keep these remains every phase of this process can be a source of information the goals of archaeology are not always the same there are at least three broad distinct theories of exactly what archaeological research should do these are beyond the scope of the present discussion and are discussed at length below nevertheless there is much common ground academic sub disciplines main article archaeological sub disciplines as with most academic disciplines there are a very large number of archaeological sub disciplines characterised by a specific method or type of material e g lithic analysis music archaeobotany geographical or chronological focus e g near eastern archaeology medieval archaeology other thematic concern e g landscape archaeology or a specific archaeological culture or civilisation e g egyptology cultural resources management cultural resources management crm also called heritage management in britain is a branch of archaeology that accounts for most research done in the united states and much of that in western europe as well in the united states crm archaeology has been a growing concern since the passage of the national historic preservation act of one nine six six and most of the archaeology done in that country today proceeds from either direct or related requirements of that measure in the united states the vast majority of taxpayers scholars and politicians believe that crm has helped to preserve much of that nation s history and prehistory that would have otherwise been lost in the expansion of cities dams and highways along with other statutes this mandates that no construction project on public land or involving public funds may damage an unstudied archaeological site the application of crm in the united kingdom is not limited to government funded projects since one nine nine zero ppg one six has required planners to consider archaeology as a material consideration in determining applications for new development as a result numerous archaeological organisations undertake mitigation work in advance of or during construction work in archaeologically sensitive areas at the developer s expense among the goals of crm are the identification preservation and maintenance of cultural sites on public and private lands and the removal of culturally valuable materials from areas where they would otherwise be destroyed by human activity such as proposed construction this study involves at least a cursory examination to determine whether or not any significant archaeological sites are present in the area affected by the proposed construction if these do exist time and money must be allotted for their excavation if initial survey and or test excavation indicates the presence of an extraordinarily valuable site the construction may be prohibited entirely crm is a thriving entity especially in the united states and europe where archaeologists from private companies and all levels of government engage in the practice of their discipline cultural resources management has however been criticized crm is conducted by private companies that bid for projects by submitting proposals outlining the work to be done and an expected budget it is not unheard of for the agency responsible for the construction to simply choose the proposal that asks for the least funding crm archaeologists face considerable time pressure often being forced to complete their work in a fraction of the time that might be allotted for a purely scholarly endeavour field methods survey a modern archaeological project often begins with a survey regional survey is the attempt to systematically locate previously unknown sites in a region site survey is the attempt to systematically locate features of interest such as houses and middens within a site each of these two goals may be accomplished with largely the same methods survey was not widely practiced in the early days of archaeology cultural historians and prior researchers were usually content with discovering the locations of monumental sites from the local populace and excavating only the plainly visible features there gordon willey pioneered the technique of regional settlement pattern survey in one nine four nine in the viru valley of coastal peru and survey of all levels became prominent with the rise of processual archaeology some years later survey work has many benefits if performed as a preliminary exercise to or even in place of excavation it requires relatively little time and expense because it does not require processing large volumes of soil to search out artefacts nevertheless surveying a large region or site can be expensive so archaeologists often employ sampling methods it avoids ethical issues of particular concern to descendant peoples associated with destroying a site through excavation it is the only way to gather some forms of information such as settlement patterns and settlement structure survey data are commonly assembled into maps which may show surface features and or artefact distribution the simplest survey technique is surface survey it involves combing an area usually on foot but sometimes with the use of mechanised transport to search for features or artefacts visible on the surface surface survey cannot detect sites or features that are completely buried under earth or overgrown with vegetation surface survey may also include mini excavation techniques such as augers corers and shovel test pits aerial survey is conducted using cameras attached to aircraft balloons or even kites a bird s eye view is useful for quick mapping of large or complex sites aerial imaging can also detect many things not visible from the surface plants growing above a stone structure such as a wall will develop more slowly while those above other types of features such as middens may develop more rapidly photographs of ripening grain which changes colour rapidly at maturation have revealed buried structures with great precision aerial survey also employs infrared ground penetrating radar wavelengths and thermography geophysical survey is the most effective way to see beneath the ground magnetometers detect minute deviations in the earth s magnetic field caused by iron artefacts kilns some types of stone structures and even ditches and middens devices that measure the electrical resistivity of the soil are also widely used most soils are moist below the surface which gives them a relatively low resistivity features such as hard packed floors or concentrations of stone have a higher resistivity although some archaeologists consider the use of metal detectors to be tantamount to treasure hunting others deem them an effective tool in archaeological surveying examples of formal archaeological use of metal detectors include musketball distribution analysis on english civil war battlefields metal distribution analysis prior to excavation of a nineteenth century ship wreck and service cable location during evaluation metal detectorists have also contributed to the archaeological record where they have made detailed records of their results and refrained from raising artifacts from their archaeological context in the uk metal detectorists have been solicited for involvement in the portable antiquities scheme regional survey in maritime archaeology uses side scan sonar excavation archaeological excavation existed even when the field was still the domain of amateurs and it remains the source of the majority of data recovered in most field projects it can reveal several types of information usually not accessible to survey such as stratigraphy three dimensional structure and verifiably primary context modern excavation techniques require that the precise locations of objects and features known as their provenance or provenience be recorded this always involves determining their horizontal locations and sometimes vertical position as well also see primary laws of archaeology similarly their association or relationship with nearby objects and features needs to be recorded for later analysis this allows the archaeologist to deduce what artefacts and features were likely used together and which may be from different phases of activity for example excavation of a site reveals its stratigraphy if a site was occupied by a succession of distinct cultures artefacts from more recent cultures will lie above those from more ancient cultures excavation is the most expensive phase of archaeological research also as a destructive process it carries ethical concerns as a result very few sites are excavated in their entirety sampling is even more important in excavation than in survey it is common for large mechanical equipment such as backhoes jcbs to be used in excavation especially to remove the topsoil overburden though this method is increasingly used with great caution following this rather dramatic step the exposed area is usually hand cleaned with trowels or hoes to ensure that all features are apparent the next task is to form a site plan and then use it to help decide the method of excavation features dug into the natural subsoil are normally excavated in portions in order to produce a visible archaeological section for recording scaled plans and sections of individual features are all drawn on site black and white and colour photographs of them are taken and recording sheets are filled in describing the context of each all this information serves as a permanent record of the now destroyed archaeology and is used in describing and interpreting the site post excavation analysis once artefacts and structures have been excavated or collected from surface surveys it is necessary to properly study them to gain as much data as possible this process is known as post excavation analysis and is normally the most time consuming part of the archaeological investigation it is not uncommon for the final excavation reports on major sites to take years to be published at its most basic the artefacts found are cleaned catalogued and compared to published collections in order to classify them typologically and to identify other sites with similar artefact assemblages however a much more comprehensive range of analytical techniques are available through archaeological science meaning that artefacts can be dated and their compositions examined the bones plants and pollen collected from a site can all be analysed using the techniques of zooarchaeology paleoethnobotany and palynology while any texts can usually be deciphered these techniques frequently provide information that would not otherwise be known and therefore contribute greatly to the understanding of a site history of archaeology main article history of archaeology the history of archaeology has been one of increasing professionalisation and the use of an increasing range of techniques to obtain as much data on the site being examined as possible excavations of ancient monuments and the collection of antiquities have been taking place for thousands of years but these were mostly for the extraction of valuable or aesthetically pleasing artefacts it was only in the one nine th century that the systematic study of the past through its physical remains began to be carried out archaeological methods were developed by both interested amateurs and professionals including augustus pitt rivers and william flinders petrie this process was continued in the two zero th century by such people as mortimer wheeler whose highly disciplined approach to excavation greatly improved the quality of evidence that could be obtained during the two zero th century the development of urban archaeology and then rescue archaeology have been important factors as has the development of archaeological science which has greatly increased the amount of data that it is possible to obtain archaeological theory main article archaeological theory there is no single theory of archaeology and even definitions are disputed until the mid two zero th century and the introduction of technology there was a general consensus that archaeology was closely related to both history and anthropology the first major phase in the history of archaeological theory is commonly referred to as cultural or culture history which was developed during the late one nine th and early two zero th centuries in the one nine six zero s a number of young primarily american archaeologists such as lewis binford rebelled against the paradigms of cultural history they proposed a new archaeology which would be more scientific and anthropological with hypothesis testing and the scientific method very important parts of what became known as processual archaeology in the one nine eight zero s a new movement arose led by the british archaeologists michael shanks christopher tilley daniel miller and ian hodder it questioned processualism s appeals to science and impartiality and emphasised the importance of relativism becoming known as post processual archaeology however this approach has been criticised by processualists as lacking scientific rigour the validity of both processualism and post procuessualism is still under debate archaeological theory now borrows from a wide range of influences including neo darwinian evolutionary thought phenomenology postmodernism agency theory cognitive science functionalism gender based and feminist archaeology and systems theory public archaeology early archaeology was largely an attempt to uncover spectacular artifacts and features or to explore vast and mysterious abandoned cities such pursuits continue to fascinate the public portrayed in books such as king solomon s mines and films such as the mummy and raiders of the lost ark much thorough and productive research has indeed been conducted in dramatic locales such as cop n and the valley of the kings but the stuff of modern archaeology is not so reliably sensational in addition archaeological adventure stories tend to ignore the painstaking work involved in modern survey excavation and data processing techniques some archaeologists refer to such portrayals as pseudoarchaeology nevertheless archaeology has profited from its portrayal in the mainstream media many practitioners point to the childhood excitement of indiana jones films and tomb raider games as the inspiration for them to enter the field archaeologists are also very much reliant on public support the question of exactly who they are doing their work for is often discussed without a strong public interest in the subject often sparked by significant finds and celebrity archaeologists it would be a great deal harder for archaeologists to gain the political and financial support they require in the uk popular archaeology programmes such as time team and meet the ancestors have resulted in a huge upsurge in public interest where possible archaeologists now make more provision for public involvement and outreach in larger projects than they once did however the move towards being more professional has meant that volunteer places are now relegated to unskilled labour and even this is less freely available than before developer funded excavation necessitates a well trained staff that can work quickly and accurately observing the necessary health and safety and indemnity insurance issues involved in working on a modern building site with tight deadlines certain charities and local government bodies sometimes offer places on research projects either as part of academic work or as a defined community project there is also a flourishing industry selling places on commercial training excavations and archaeological holiday tours archaeologists prize local knowledge and often liaise with local historical and archaeological societies anyone looking to get involved in the field without having to pay to do so should contact a local group pseudoarchaeology main article pseudoarchaeology pseudoarchaeology is an umbrella term for all activities that claim to be archaeological but in fact violate commonly accepted archaeological practices it includes much fictional archaeological work discussed above as well as some actual activity many non fiction authors have ignored the scientific methods of processual archaeology or the specific critiques of it contained in post processualism an example of this type is the writing of erich von d niken his chariots of the gods one nine six eight together with many subsequent lesser known works expounds a theory of ancient contacts between human civilisation on earth and more technologically advanced extraterrestrial civilisations this theory known as palaeocontact theory is not exclusively d niken s nor did the idea originate with him works of this nature are usually marked by the renunciation of well established theories on the basis of limited evidence and the interpretation of evidence with a preconceived theory in mind looting looting of archaeological sites by people in search of hoards of buried treasure is an ancient problem for instance many of the tombs of the egyptian pharaohs were looted in antiquity the advent of archaeology has made ancient sites objects of great scientific and public interest but it has also attracted unwelcome attention to the works of past peoples a brisk commercial demand for artefacts encourages looting and the illicit antiquities trade which smuggles items abroad to private collectors looters damage the integrity of a historic site deny archaeologists valuable information that would be learnt from excavation and are often deemed to be robbing local people of their heritage the popular consciousness often associates looting with poor third world countries many are former homes to many well known ancient civilizations but lack the financial resources or political will to protect even the most significant sites certainly the high prices that intact objects can command relative to a poor farmer s income make looting a tempting financial proposition for some local people however looting has taken its toll in places as rich and populous as the united states and western europe as well abandoned towns of the ancient sinagua people of arizona clearly visible in the desert landscape have been destroyed in large numbers by treasure hunters sites in more densely populated areas farther east have also been looted where looting is proscribed by law it takes place under cover of night with the metal detector a common instrument used to identify profitable places to dig public outreach motivated by a desire to halt looting curb pseudoarchaeology and to secure greater public funding and appreciation for their work archaeologists are mounting public outreach campaigns they seek to stop looting by informing prospective artefact collectors of the provenance of these goods and by alerting people who live near archaeological sites of the threat of looting and the danger that it poses to science and their own heritage common methods of public outreach include press releases and the encouragement of school field trips to sites under excavation the final audience for archaeologists work is the public and it is increasingly realised that their work is ultimately being done to benefit and inform them the putative social benefits of local heritage awareness are also being promoted with initiatives to increase civic and individual pride through projects such as community excavation projects and better interpretation and presentation of existing sites descendant peoples in the united states examples such as the case of kennewick man have illustrated the tensions between native americans and archaeologists which can be summarised as a conflict between a need to remain respectful towards burials sacred sites and the academic benefit from studying them for years american archaeologists dug on indian burial grounds and other places considered sacred removing artefacts and human remains to storage facilities for further study in some cases human remains were not even thoroughly studied but instead archived rather than reburied furthermore western archaeologists views of the past often differ from those of tribal peoples the west views time as linear for many natives it is cyclic from a western perspective the past is long gone from a native perspective disturbing the past can have dire consequences in the present to an archaeologist the past is long gone and must be reconstructed through its material remains to indigenous peoples it is often still alive as a consequence of this american indians attempted to prevent archaeological excavation of sites inhabited by their ancestors while american archaeologists believed that the advancement of scientific knowledge was a valid reason to continue their studies this contradictory situation was addressed by the native american graves protection and repatriation act nagpra one nine nine zero which sought to reach a compromise by limiting the right of research institutions to possess human remains due in part to the spirit of postprocessualism some archaeologists have begun to actively enlist the assistance of indigenous peoples likely to be descended from those under study archaeologists have also been obliged to re examine what constitutes an archaeological site in view of what native peoples believe to constitute sacred space to many native peoples natural features such as lakes mountains or even individual trees have cultural significance australian archaeologists especially have explored this issue and attempted to survey these sites in order to give them some protection from being developed such work requires close links and trust between archaeologists and the people they are trying to help and at the same time study while this cooperation presents a new set of challenges and hurdles to fieldwork it has benefits for all parties involved tribal elders cooperating with archaeologists can prevent the excavation of areas of sites that they consider sacred while the archaeologists gain the elders aid in interpreting their finds there have also been active efforts to recruit aboriginal peoples directly into the archaeological profession repatriation a new trend in the heated controversy between first nations groups and scientists is the repatriation of native artifacts to the original descendants an example of this occurred june two one two zero zero five when a community members and elders from a number of the one zero algonquian nations in the ottawa area convened on the kitigan zibi reservation in kanawagi quebec to inter ancestral human remains and burial goods some dating back six zero zero zero years the ceremony marked the end of a journey spanning thousands of years and many miles the remains and artifacts including beads tools and weapons were originally excavated from various sites in the ottawa valley including morrison and the allumette islands they had been part of the canadian museum of civilization s research collection for decades some since the late one eight zero zero s elders from various algonquin communities conferred on an appropriate reburial eventually deciding on traditional redcedar and birchbark boxes lined with redcedar chips muskrat and beaver pelts now an inconspicuous rock mound marks the reburial site where close to nine zero boxes of various sizes are buried although negotiations were at times tense between the kitigan zibi community and museum they were able to reach agreement source canadian geographic online see also list of significant archaeological discoveries list of archaeological sites sorted by country list of archaeologists biblical archaeology list of archaeological periods prehistory external links archeologia belga the alphabetical of archaeology french archaeology archaeology news current news and information pertaining to all areas of archaeology plus free news feeds for webmasters north pacific prehistory is an academic journal specialising in northeast asian and north american archaeology excavation sites archaeological work and volunteer pages archaeology in popular culture anthropology resources on the internet anthropology resources on the internet a web directory part of the www virtual library with over four zero zero zero links grouped in specialised topics archaeology magazine published by the archaeological institute of america archaeology directory directory of archaeological topics on the web the two zero zero three iraq war a history of archaeological thought cambridge cambridge university press isbn zero five two one three three eight one eight two anthropology archaeology humanities occupations social sciences agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field that encompasses the parts of exact natural economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture veterinary science but not animal science is often excluded from the definition agriculture and agricultural science the two terms are often confused however they cover different concepts agriculture is the set of activities that transform the environment for the production of animals and plants for human use agriculture concerns techniques including the application of agronomic research agronomy is research and development related to studying and improving plant based agriculture agricultural sciences include research and development on production techniques e g irrigation management recommended nitrogen inputs improving production in terms of quantity and quality e g selection of drought resistant crops and animals development of new pesticides yield sensing technologies simulation models of crop growth in vitro cell culture techniques transformation of primary products into end consumer products e g production preservation and packaging of dairy products prevention and correction of adverse environmental effects e g soil degradation waste management bioremediation theoretical production ecology relating to crop production modeling traditional agricultural systems such as which serve to feed most people in the world and which often retain integration with nature in a way that hs proven more sustainable than modern systems food production and demand on a global basis with special attention paid to the major producers of china and india agricultural science a local science with the exception of theoretical agronomy research in agronomy more than in any other field is strongly related to local areas it can be considered a science of ecoregions because it is closely linked to soil properties and climate which are never exactly the same from one place to another many people think an agricultural production system relying on local weather soil characteristics and specific crops has to be studied locally others feel a need to know and understand production systems in as many areas as possible and the human dimension of interation with nature history of agricultural science main article history of agricultural science agricultural science is seen by some to have began with mendel s insightful genetc work but in modern terms might be better dated from the chemical fertilizer outputs of plant physiological understanding in eighteenth century germany today it is very different from what it was even in one nine five zero intensification of agriculture since the one nine six zero s in developed and developing countries often referred to as the green revolution was closely tied to progress made in selecting and improving crops and animals for high productivity as well as to developing additional inputs such as artificial fertilizers and phytosanitary products as the oldest and largest human intervention in nature the environmental impact of agriculture in general and more recently intensive agriculture industrial development and population growth have raised many questions among agricultural scientists and have led to the development and emergence of new fields these include technological fields that assume the solution to technological problems lies in better technology such as integrated pest management waste treatment technologies landscape architecture genomics and agricultural philosophy fields that include references to food production as something essentially different from non essential eeconomic goods in fact the interaction between these two approaches provide a fertile field for deeper understanding in agricultural science new technologies such as biotechnology and computer science for data processing and storage and technological advances have made it possible to develop new research fields including genetic engineering agrophysics improved statistical analysis and precision farming balancing these as above are the natural and human sciences of agricultural science that seek to understand the human nature interactions of traditional agriculture including interaction of religion and agriculture and the non material components of agricultural production systems prominent agricultural scientists norman borlaug luther burbank louis pasteur gregor mendel ren dumont george washington carver agricultural science and agriculture crisis agriculture sciences seek to feed the world s population while preventing biosafety problems that may affect human health and the environment this requires promoting good management of natural resources and respect for the environment and increasingly concern for the psychological wellbeing of all concerned in the food production and consumption system economic environmental and social aspects of agriculture sciences are subjects of ongoing debate recent crises such as avian flu mad cow disease and issues such as the use of genetically modified organisms illustrate the complexity and importance of this debate fields of agricultural science agricultural engineering agricultural philosophy biosystems engineering aquaculture agronomy and horticulture agrophysics animal science plant fertilization animal and human nutrition plant protection and animal health soil science especially edaphology water science biotechnology genetic engineering and microbiology farming equipment irrigation and water management agricultural economics food science environmental science and engineering waste management ecology and environment theoretical production ecology see also agricultural sciences basic topics agrology agronomy history of agricultural science agriculture agronomy soil science alchemist s laboratory by hans vredman de vries c one five nine five alchemy is an early protoscientific and philosophical discipline combining elements of chemistry metallurgy physics medicine astrology semiotics mysticism spiritualism and art alchemy has been practiced in ancient egypt india and china in classical greece and rome in the islamic empire and then in europe up to the one nine th century in a complex network of schools and philosophical systems spanning at least two five zero zero years western alchemy has always been closely connected with hermeticism a philosophical and spiritual system that traces its roots to hermes trismegistus a syncretic egyptian greek deity and legendary alchemist these two disciplines influenced the birth of rosicrucianism an important esoteric movement of the one seven th century in the one nine th century as mainstream alchemy evolved into modern chemistry its mystic and hermetic aspects became the focus of a modern spiritual alchemy where material manipulations are viewed as mere symbols of spiritual transformations the alchemists did not follow what is now known as the scientific method and much of the knowledge they produced was later found to be banal limited wrong or meaningless today the discipline is of interest mainly to historians of science and philosophy and for its mystic esoteric and artistic aspects nevertheless alchemy was one of the main precursors of modern sciences and we owe to the ancient alchemists the discovery of many substances and processes that are the mainstay of modern chemical and metallurgical industries overview the alchemist by sir william fettes douglas alchemy as a proto science the common perception of alchemists is that they were pseudo scientists crackpots and charlatans who attempted to turn lead into gold believed that the universe was composed of the four elements of earth air fire and water and spent most of their time concocting miraculous remedies poisons and magic potions this picture is rather unfair although many alchemists were indeed crackpots and charlatans many were well meaning and intelligent scholars who were simply struggling to make sense of a subject which as we now know was far beyond the reach of their tools these people were basically proto scientists who attempted to explore and investigate the nature of chemical substances and processes they had to rely on unsystematic experimentation traditional know how rules of thumb and plenty of speculative thought to fill in the wide gaps in existing knowledge given these conditions the mystic character of alchemy is quite understandable to the early alchemist chemical transformations could only seem like magical phenomena governed by incomprehensible laws whose potential and limitations he had no way of knowing having discovered that a specific procedure could turn an earth like ore into glistening metal it was only natural to speculate that some different procedure could turn a metal into another at the same time it was clear to the alchemists that something was generally being conserved in chemical processes even in the most dramatic changes of physical state and appearance i e that substances contained some principles that could be hidden under many outer forms and revealed by proper manipulation throughout the history of the discipline alchemists struggled very hard to understand the nature of these principles and find some order and sense in the results of their chemical experiments which were often undermined by impure or poorly characterized reagents the lack of quantitative measurements and confusing and inconsistent nomenclature in spite of those difficulties and of many false turns and loops the alchemists managed to make steady progress in the understanding of the natural world to them we owe the discovery of many important substances and chemical processes which paved the way for the modern science of chemistry and are still the mainstay of today s chemical and metallurgical industries alchemy as a philosophical and spiritual discipline the best known goals of the alchemists were the transmutation of common metals into gold or silver and the creation of a panacea a remedy that supposedly would cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely starting with the middle ages european alchemists invested much effort on the search for the philosopher s stone a mythical substance that was believed to be an essential ingredient for either or both of those goals alchemists enjoyed prestige and support through the centuries though not for their pursuit of those unattainable goals nor the mystic and philosophical speculation that dominates their literature rather it was for their mundane contributions to the chemical industries of the day ore testing and refining metalworking production of ink dyes paints and cosmetics leather tanning ceramics and glass manufacture preparation of extracts and liquors and so on it seems that the preparation of aqua vitae the water of life was a fairly popular experiment among european alchemists on the other hand alchemists never had the intellectual tools nor the motivation to separate the physical chemical aspects of their craft from the metaphysical interpretations indeed from antiquity until well into the modern age a physics devoid of metaphysical insight would have been as unsatisfying as a metaphysics devoid of physical manifestation for one thing the lack of common words for chemical concepts and processes as well as the need for secrecy led alchemists to borrow the terms and symbols of biblical and pagan mythology astrology kabbalah and other mystic and esoteric fields so that even the plainest chemical recipe ended up reading like an abstruse magic incantation moreover alchemists sought in those fields the theoretical frameworks into which they could fit their growing collection of disjointed experimental facts starting with the middle ages some alchemists increasingly came to view these metaphysical aspects as the true foundation of alchemy and chemical substances physical states and material processes as mere metaphors for spiritual entities states and transformations thus both the transmutation of common metals into gold and the universal panacea symbolized evolution from an imperfect diseased corruptible and ephemeral state towards a perfect healthy incorruptible and everlasting state and the philosopher s stone then represented some mystic key that would make this evolution possible applied to the alchemist himself the twin goal symbolized his evolution from ignorance to enlightenment and the stone represented some hidden spiritual truth or power that would lead to that goal in texts that are written according to this view the cryptic alchemical symbols diagrams and textual imagery of late alchemical works typically contain multiple layers of meanings allegories and references to other equally cryptic works and must be laborously decoded in order to discover their true meaning some humanistic scholars now see these spiritual and metaphysical allegories as the truest and most valuable aspect of alchemy and even claim that the development of chemistry out of alchemy was a corruption of the original hermetic tradition this is the view espoused by contemporary practitioners of spiritual alchemy most scientists on the other hand tend to take quite the opposite view to them the path from the material side of alchemy to modern chemistry was the straight road in the evolution of the discipline while the metaphysically oriented brand of alchemy was a wrong turn that led to nowhere in either view however the na ve interpretations of some practitoners or the fraudulent hopes fostered by others should not diminish the contribution of the more sincere alchemists alchemy and astrology since its earliest times alchemy has been closely connected to astrology which in islam and europe generally meant the traditional babylonian greek school of astrology alchemical systems often postulated that each of the seven planets known to the ancients ruled or was associated with a certain metal see the separate article on astrology and alchemy for further details alchemy in the age of science up to the one eight th century alchemy was actually considered serious science in europe for instance isaac newton devoted considerably more of his time and writing to the study of alchemy than he did to either optics or physics for which he is famous see isaac newton s occult studies other eminent alchemists of the western world are roger bacon saint thomas aquinas tycho brahe thomas browne and parmigianino the decline of alchemy began in the one eight th century with the birth of modern chemistry which provided a more precise and reliable framework for matter transmutations and medicine within a new grand design of the universe based on rational materialism in the first half of the nineteenth century one established chemist baron carl reichenbach researched on concepts similar to the old alchemy such as the odic force but his research did not enter the mainstream of scientific discussion matter transmutation the old goal of alchemy enjoyed a moment in the sun in the two zero th century when physicists were able to convert lead atoms into gold atoms via a nuclear reaction however the new gold atoms being unstable isotopes lasted for under five seconds before they broke apart more recently reports of table top element transmutation by means of electrolysis or sonic cavitation were the pivot of the cold fusion controversy of one nine eight nine none of those claims have yet been reliably duplicated alchemical symbolism has been occasionally used in the two zero th century by psychologists and philosophers carl jung reexamined alchemical symbolism and theory and began to show the inner meaning of alchemical work as a spiritual path alchemical philosophy symbols and methods have enjoyed something of a renaissance in post modern contexts such as the new age movement even some physicists have played with alchemical ideas in books such as the tao of physics and the dancing wu li masters alchemy as a subject of historical research the history of alchemy has become a vigorous academic field as the obscure hermetic of course language of the alchemists is gradually being deciphered historians are becoming more aware of the intellectual connections between that discipline and other facets of western cultural history such as the sociology and psychology of the intellectual communities kabbalism spiritualism rosicrucianism and other mystic movements cryptography witchcraft and of course the evolution of science and philosophy etymology the word alchemy comes from the arabic al k miya or al kh miya or which might be formed from the article al and the greek word chumeia meaning cast together pour together weld alloy etc from khumatos that which is poured out an ingot or from persian kimia meaning gold a decree of diocletian written about three zero zero ce in greek speaks against the ancient writings of the egyptians which treat of the kh mia transmutation of gold and silver it has been suggested that the arabic word al k miya actually means the egyptian science borrowing from the coptic word for egypt k me or its equivalent in the mediaeval bohairic dialect of coptic kh me the coptic word derives from demotic km itself from ancient egyptian kmt the ancient egyptian word referred to both the country and the colour black egypt was the black land by contrast with the red land the surrounding desert so this etymology could also explain the nickname egyptian black arts however this theory may be just an example of folk etymology history extract and symbol key from a one seven th century book on alchemy the symbols used have a one to one correspondence with symbols used in astrology at the time alchemy encompasses several philosophical traditions spanning some four millennia and three continents these traditions general penchant for cryptic and symbolic language makes it hard to trace their mutual influences and genetic relationships one can distinguish at least two major strands which appear to be largely independent at least in their earlier stages chinese alchemy centered in china and its zone of cultural influence and western alchemy whose center has shifted over the millennia between egypt greece and rome the islamic world and finally back to europe chinese alchemy was closely connected to taoism whereas western alchemy developed its own philosophical system with only superficial connections to the major western religions it is still an open question whether these two strands share a common origin or to what extent they influenced each other alchemy in ancient egypt the origin of western alchemy may generally be traced to ancient pharaonic egypt metallurgy and mysticism were inexorably tied together in the ancient world as the transformation of drab ore into shining metal must have seemed to be an act of magic governed by mysterious rules it is claimed therefore that alchemy in ancient egypt was the domain of the priestly class egyptian alchemy is known mostly through the writings of ancient hellenic greek philosophers which in turn have often survived only in islamic translations practically no original egyptian documents on alchemy have survived those writings if they existed were likely lost when the emperor diocletian ordered the burning of alchemical books after suppressing a revolt in alexandria two nine two which had been a center of egyptian alchemy nevertheless archaeological expeditions in recent times have unearthed evidence of chemical analysis during the naqada periods for example a copper tool dating to the naqada era bears evidence of having been used in such a way reference artifact five four three seven on display at also the process of tanning animal skins was already known in predynastic egypt as early as the six th millennium bc although it possibly was discovered haphazardly other evidence indicates early alchemists in ancient egypt had invented mortar by four zero zero zero bc and glass by one five zero zero bc the chemical reaction involved in the production of calcium oxide is one of the oldest known references calcium oxide limekiln caco three heat cao co two ancient egypt additionally produced cosmetics cement faience and also pitch for shipbuilding papyrus had also been invented by three zero zero zero bc legend has it that the founder of egyptian alchemy was the god thoth called hermes thoth or thrice great hermes hermes trismegistus by the greek according to legend he wrote what were called the forty two books of knowledge covering all fields of knowledge including alchemy hermes s symbol was the caduceus or serpent staff which became one of many of alchemy s principal symbols the emerald tablet or hermetica of thrice great hermes which is known only through greek and arabic translations is generally understood to form the basis for western alchemical philosophy and practice called the hermetic philosophy by its early practitioners the first point of the emerald tablet tells the purpose of hermetical science in truth certainly and without doubt whatever is below is like that which is above and whatever is above is like that which is below to accomplish the miracles of one thing this is the macrocosm microcosm belief central to the hermetic philosophy in other words the human body the microcosm is affected by the exterior world the macrocosm which includes the heavens through astrology and the earth through the elements it has been speculated that a riddle from the emerald tablet it was carried in the womb by the wind refers to the distillation of oxygen from saltpeter a process that was unknown in europe until its re discovery by sendivogius in the one seven th century in the four th century bc the greek speaking macedonians conquered egypt and founded the city of alexandria in three three two this brought them into contact with egyptian ideas see alchemy in the greek world below chinese alchemy whereas western alchemy eventually centered on the transmutation of base metals into noble ones chinese alchemy had a more obvious connection to medicine the philosopher s stone of european alchemists can be compared to the grand elixir of immortality sought by chinese alchemists however in the hermetic view these two goals were not unconnected and the philosopher s stone was often equated with the universal panacea therefore the two traditions may have had more in common than it initially appears black powder may have been an important invention of chinese alchemists described in nine th century texts and used in fireworks by the one zero th century it was used in cannons by one two nine zero from china the use of gunpowder spread to japan the mongols the arab world and europe gunpowder was used by the mongols against the hungarians in one two four one and in europe starting with the one four th century black powder was most likely invented in the middle east before it found its way to china saltpeter the critical oxidising component was found naturally in india and along the salt trade routes in the middle east chinese alchemy was closely connected to taoist forms of medicine such as acupuncture and moxibustion and to martial arts such as tai chi chuan and kung fu although some tai chi schools believe that their art derives from the hygienic or philosophical branches of taoism not the alchemical indian alchemy little is known in the west about the character and history of indian alchemy an one one th century persian alchemist named al biruni reported that they have a science similar to alchemy which is quite peculiar to them which is called rasav tam it means the art which is restricted to certain operations drugs compounds and medicines most of which are taken from plants its principles restored the health of those who were ill beyond hope and gave back youth to fading old age the best example of a text based on this science is the vaishashik darshana of kanada fl six zero zero bc who described an atomic theory over a century before democritus the texts of ayurvedic medicine and science have aspects related to alchemy such having cures for all known diseases the similarities in ayurveda and alchemy are that both had methods used to treat people by putting oils over them some people have also noted certain similarities between the metaphysics of the samkhya philosophical tradition of hinduism and the metaphysics of alchemy whether there is any direct connection between the two systems is an open question the rasavadam was understood by very few people at the time two famous examples were nagarjunacharya and nityanadhiya nagarjunacharya was a buddhist monk who in ancient times ran the great university of nagarjuna sagar his famous book rasaratanakaram is a famous example of early indian medicine in traditional indian medicinal terminology rasa translates as mercury and nagarjunacharya was said to have developed a method to convert the mercury into gold much of his original writings are lost to us but his teachings still have strong influence on traditional indian medicine ayureveda to this day alchemy in the greek world the greek city of alexandria in egypt was a center of greek alchemical knowledge and retained its preeminence through most of the greek and roman periods the greeks appropriated the hermetical beliefs of the egyptians and melded with them the philosophies of pythagoreanism ionianism and gnosticism pythagorean philosophy is essentially the belief that numbers rule the universe originating from the observations of sound stars and geometric shapes like triangles or anything from which a ratio could be derived ionian thought was based on the belief that the universe could be explained through concentration on natural phenomena this philosophy is believed to have originated with thales and his pupil anaximander and later developed by plato and aristotle whose works came to be an integral part of alchemy according to this belief the universe can be described by a few unified natural laws that can be determined only through careful thorough and exacting philosophical explorations the third component introduced to hermetical philosophy by the greeks was gnosticism a belief prevalent in the christian and early post christian roman empire that the world is imperfect because it was created in a flawed manner and that learning about the nature of spiritual matter would lead to salvation they further believed that god did not create the universe in the classic sense but that the universe was created from him but was corrupted in the process rather than becoming corrupted by the transgressions of adam and eve i e original sin according to gnostic belief by worshipping the cosmos nature or the creatures of the world one worships the true god gnostics do not seek salvation from sin but instead seek to escape ignorance believing that sin is merely a consequence of ignorance platonic and neo platonic theories about universals and the omnipotence of god were also absorbed one very important concept introduced at this time originated by empedocles and developed by aristotle was that all things in the universe were formed from only four elements earth air water and fire according to aristotle each element had a sphere to which it belonged and to which it would return if left undisturbed the four elements of the greek were mostly qualitative aspects of matter not quantitative as our modern elements are true alchemy never regarded earth air water and fire as corporeal or chemical substances in the present day sense of the word the four elements are simply the primary and most general qualities by means of which the amorphous and purely quantitative substance of all bodies first reveals itself in differentiated form later alchemists if plato and aristotle can be called alchemists extensively developed the mystical aspects of this concept alchemy in the roman empire the romans adopted greek alchemy and metaphysics just as they adopted much of greek knowledge and philosophy by the end of the roman empire the greek alchemical philosophy had been joined to the philosophies of the egyptians to create the cult of hermeticism however the development of christianity in the empire brought a contrary line of thinking stemming from augustine three five four four three zero ad an early christian philosopher who wrote of his beliefs shortly before the fall of the roman empire in essence he felt that reason and faith could be used to understand god but experimental philosophy was evil there is also present in the soul by means of these same bodily sense a kind of empty longing and curiosity which aims not at taking pleasure in the flesh but at acquiring experience through the flesh and this empty curiosity he is dignified by the names of learning and science augustinian ideas were decidedly anti experimental yet when aristotelian experimental techniques were made available to the west they were not shunned still augustinian thought was well ingrained in medieval society and was used to show alchemy as being un godly much of the roman knowledge of alchemy like that of the greeks and egyptians is now lost in alexandria the centre of alchemical studies in the roman empire the art was mainly oral and in the interests of secrecy little was committed to paper whence the use of hermetic to mean secretive it is possible that some writing was done in alexandria and that it was subsequently lost or destroyed in fires and the turbulent periods that followed alchemy in the islamic world after the fall of the roman empire the focus of alchemical development moved to the middle east much more is known about islamic alchemy because it was better documented indeed most of the earlier writings that have come down through the years were preserved as islamic translations the islamic world was a melting pot for alchemy platonic and aristotelian thought which had already been somewhat appropriated into hermetical science continued to be assimilated islamic alchemists such as al razi latin rasis or rhazes contributed key chemical discoveries of their own such as the technique of distillation the words alembic and alcohol are of arabic origin the muriatic sulfuric and nitric acids soda potash and more from the arabic names of the last two substances al natrun and al qal y latinized into natrium and kalium come the modern symbols for sodium and potassium the discovery that aqua regia a mixture of nitric and muriatic acids could dissolve the noblest metal gold was to fuel the imagination of alchemists for the next millennium islamic philosophers also made great contributions to alchemical hermeticism the most influential author in this regard was arguably jabir ibn hayyan arabic latin geberus usually rendered in english as geber jabir s ultimate goal was takwin the artificial creation of life in the alchemical laboratory up to and including human life he analyzed each aristotelian element in terms of four basic qualities of hotness coldness dryness and moistness according to geber in each metal two of these qualities were interior and two were exterior for example lead was externally cold and dry while gold was hot and moist thus jabir theorized by rearranging the qualities of one metal a different metal would result by this reasoning the search for the philosopher s stone was introduced to western alchemy jabir developed an elaborate numerology whereby the root letters of a substance s name in arabic when treated with various transformations held correspondences to the element s physical properties it is now commonly accepted that chinese alchemy influenced arabic alchemists although the extent of that influence is still a matter of debate likewise hindu learning was assimilated into islamic alchemy but again the extent and effects of this are not well known alchemy in medieval europe the alchemist in search of the philosophers stone by joseph wright of derby one seven seven one because of its strong connections to the greek and roman cultures alchemy was rather easily accepted into christian philosophy and medieval european alchemists extensively absorbed islamic alchemical knowledge gerbert of aurillac who was later to become pope silvester ii d one zero zero three was among the first to bring islamic science to europe from spain later men such as adelard of bath who lived in the one two th century brought additional learning but until the one three th century the moves were mainly assimilative in this period there appeared some deviations from the augustinian principles of earlier christian thinkers saint anselm one zero three three one one zero nine was a benedictine who believed faith must precede rationalism as augustine and most theologians prior to anselm had believed but anselm put forth the opinion that faith and rationalism were compatible and encouraged rationalism in a christian context his views set the stage for the philosophical explosion to occur peter abelard followed anselm s work laying the foundation for acceptance of aristotelian thought before the first works of aristotle reached the west his major influence on alchemy was his belief that platonic universals did not have a separate existence outside of man s consciousness abelard also systematized the analysis of philosophical contradictions robert grosseteste one one seven zero one two five three was a pioneer of the scientific theory that would later be used and refined by the alchemists he took abelard s methods of analysis and added the use of observations experimentation and conclusions in making scientific evaluations grosseteste also did much work to bridge platonic and aristotelian thinking albertus magnus one one nine three one two eight zero and thomas aquinas one two two five one two seven four were both dominicans who studied aristotle and worked at reconciling the differences between philosophy and christianity aquinas also did a great deal of work in developing the scientific method he even went as far as claiming that universals could be discovered only through logical reasoning and since reason could not run in opposition to god reason must be compatible with theology this ran contrary to the commonly held platonic belief that universals were found through divine illumination alone magnus and aquinas were among the first to take up the examination of alchemical theory and could be considered to be alchemists themselves except that these two did little in the way of experimentation the first true alchemist in medieval europe was roger bacon his work did as much for alchemy as robert boyle s was to do for chemistry and galileo s for astronomy and physics bacon one two one four one two nine four was an oxford franciscan who explored optics and languages in addition to alchemy the franciscan ideals of taking on the world rather than rejecting the world led to his conviction that experimentation was more important than reasoning of the three ways in which men think that they acquire knowledge of things authority reasoning and experience only the last is effective and able to bring peace to the intellect bacon p three six seven experimental science controls the conclusions of all other sciences it reveals truths which reasoning from general principles would never have discovered roger bacon has also been attributed with originating the search for the philosopher s stone and the elixir of life that medicine which will remove all impurities and corruptibilities from the lesser metals will also in the opinion of the wise take off so much of the corruptibility of the body that human life may be prolonged for many centuries the idea of immortality was replaced with the notion of long life after all man s time on earth was simply to wait and prepare for immortality in the world of god immortality on earth did not mesh with christian theology bacon was not the only alchemist of the high middle ages but he was the most significant his works were used by countless alchemists of the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries other alchemists of bacon s time shared several traits first and most obviously nearly all were members of the clergy this was simply because few people outside the parochial schools had the education to examine the arabic derived works also alchemy at this time was sanctioned by the church as a good method of exploring and developing theology alchemy was interesting to the wide variety of churchmen because it offered a rationalistic view of the universe when men were just beginning to learn about rationalism so by the end of the thirteenth century alchemy had developed into a fairly structured system of belief adepts believed in the macrocosm microcosm theories of hermes that is to say they believed that processes that affect minerals and other substances could have an effect on the human body e g if one could learn the secret of purifying gold one could use the technique to purify the human soul they believed in the four elements and the four qualities as described above and they had a strong tradition of cloaking their written ideas in a labyrinth of coded jargon set with traps to mislead the uninitiated finally the alchemists practiced their art they actively experimented with chemicals and made observations and theories about how the universe operated their entire philosophy revolved around their belief that man s soul was divided within himself after the fall of adam by purifying the two parts of man s soul man could be reunited with god in the fourteenth century these views underwent a major change william of ockham an oxford franciscan who died in one three four nine attacked the thomist view of compatibility between faith and reason his view widely accepted today was that god must be accepted on faith alone he could not be limited by human reason of course this view was not incorrect if one accepted the postulate of a limitless god versus limited human reasoning capability but it virtually erased alchemy from practice in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries pope john xxii in the early one three zero zero s issued an edict against alchemy which effectively removed all church personnel from the practice of the art the climate changes black plague and increase in warfare and famine that characterized this century no doubt also served to hamper philosophical pursuits in general nicholas flamel had these mysterious alchemical symbols carved on his tomb in the church of the holy innocents in paris alchemy was kept alive by men such as nicolas flamel who was noteworthy only because he was one of the few alchemists writing in those troubled times flamel lived from one three three zero to one four one seven and would serve as the archetype for the next phase of alchemy he was not a religious scholar as were many of his predecessors and his entire interest in the subject revolved around the pursuit of the philosopher s stone which he is reputed to have found his work spends a great deal of time describing the processes and reactions but never actually gives the formula for carrying out the transmutations most of his work was aimed at gathering alchemical knowledge that had existed before him especially as regarded the philosophers stone through the high middle ages one three zero zero one five zero zero alchemists were much like flamel they concentrated on looking for the philosophers stone and the elixir of youth now believed to be separate things their cryptic allusions and symbolism led to wide variations in interpretation of the art for example many alchemists during this period interpreted the purification of the soul to mean the transmutation of lead into gold in which they believed elemental mercury or quicksilver played a crucial role these men were viewed as magicians and sorcerers by many and were often persecuted for their practices one of these men who emerged at the beginning of the sixteenth century was named heinrich cornelius agrippa this alchemist believed himself to be a wizard and actually thought himself capable of summoning spirits his influence was negligible but like flamel he produced writings which were referred to by alchemists of later years again like flamel he did much to change alchemy from a mystical philosophy to an occultist magic he did keep alive the philosophies of the earlier alchemists including experimental science numerology etc but he added magic theory which reinforced the idea of alchemy as an occultist belief in spite of all this agrippa still considered himself a christian though his views often came into conflict with the church alchemy in the modern age and renaissance european alchemy continued in this way through the dawning of the renaissance the era also saw a flourishing of con artists who would use chemical tricks and sleight of hand to demonstrate the transmutation of common metals into gold or claim to possess secret knowledge that with a small initial investment would surely lead to that goal the most important name in this period is philippus aureolus paracelsus theophrastus bombastus von hohenheim one four nine three one five four one who cast alchemy into a new form rejecting some of the occultism that had accumulated over the years and promoting the use of observations and experiments to learn about the human body he rejected gnostic traditions but kept much of the hermetical neo platonic and pythagorean philosophies however hermetical science had so much aristotelian theory that his rejection of gnosticism was practically meaningless in particular paracelsus rejected the magic theories of agrippa and flamel he did not think of himself as a magician and scorned those who did williams p two three nine four five paracelsus pioneered the use of chemicals and minerals in medicine and wrote many have said of alchemy that it is for the making of gold and silver for me such is not the aim but to consider only what virtue and power may lie in medicines his hermetical views were that sickness and health in the body relied on the harmony of man the microcosm and nature the macrocosm he took an approach different from those before him using this analogy not in the manner of soul purification but in the manner that humans must have certain balances of minerals in their bodies and that certain illnesses of the body had chemical remedies that could cure them while his attempts of treating diseases with such remedies as mercury might seem ill advised from a modern point of view his basic idea of chemically produced medicines has stood time surprisingly well alchemik micha s dziw j oil on board by jan matejko seven three x one three zero cm museum of arts in d in england the topic of alchemy in that time frame is often associated with doctor john dee one three july one five two seven december one six zero eight better known for his role as astrologer cryptographer and general scientific consultant to queen elizabeth i dee was considered an authority on the works of roger bacon and was interested enough in alchemy to write a book on that subject monas hieroglyphica one five six four influenced by the kabbala dee s associate edward kelley who claimed to converse with angels through a crystal ball and to own a powder that would turn mercury into gold may have been the source of the popular image of the alchemist charlatan another lesser known alchemist was michael sendivogius micha s dziw j one five six six one six three six a polish alchemist philosopher medical doctor and pioneer of chemistry according to some accounts he distilled oxygen in a lab sometime around one six zero zero one seven zero years before scheele and priestley by warming nitre saltpetre he thought of the gas given off as the elixir of life shortly after discovering this method it is believed that sendivogious taught his technique to cornelius drebbel in one six two one drebbel practically applied this in a submarine tycho brahe one five four six one six zero one better known for his astronomical and astrological investigations was also an alchemist he had a laboratory built for that purpose at his uraniborg observatory research institute the decline of western alchemy the demise of western alchemy was brought about by the rise of modern science with its emphasis on rigorous quantitative experimentation and its disdain for ancient wisdom although the seeds of these events were planted as early as the one seven th century alchemy still flourished for some two hundred years and in fact may have reached its apogee in the one eight th century robert boyle one six two seven one six nine one better known for his studies of gases cf boyle s law pioneered the scientific method in chemical investigations he assumed nothing in his experiments and compiled every piece of relevant data in a typical experiment boyle would note the place in which the experiment was carried out the wind characteristics the position of the sun and moon and the barometer reading all just in case they proved to be relevant this approach eventually led to the founding of modern chemistry in the one eight th and one nine th centuries based on revolutionary discoveries of lavoisier and john dalton which finally provided a logical quantitative and reliable framework for understanding matter transmutations and revealed the futility of longstanding alchemical goals such as the philospher s stone meanwhile paracelsian alchemy led to the development of modern medicine experimentalists gradually uncovered the workings of the human body such as blood circulation harvey one six one six and eventually traced many diseases to infections with germs koch and pasteur one nine th century or lack of natural nutrients and vitamins lind eijkman funk et al supported by parallel developments in organic chemistry the new science easily displaced alchemy from its medical roles interpretive and prescriptive while deflating its hopes of miraculous elixirs and exposing the ineffectiveness or even toxicity of its remedies thus as science steadily continued to uncover and rationalize the clockwork of the universe founded on its own materialistic metaphysics alchemy was left deprived of its chemical and medical connections but still incurably burdened by them reduced to an arcane philosophical system poorly connected to the material world it suffered the common fate of other esoteric disciplines such as astrology and kabbalah excluded from university curricula shunned by its former patrons ostracized by scientists and commonly viewed as the epitome of charlatanism and superstition these developments could be interpreted as part of a broader reaction in european intellectualism against the romantic movement of the preceding century be as it may it is sobering to observe how a discipline that held so much intellectual and material prestige for more than two thousand years could disappear so easily from the universe of western thought modern alchemy in modern times progress has been made toward achieving the goals of alchemy using scientific rather than alchemic means these developments may on occasion be called alchemy for rhetorical reasons in one nine one nine ernest rutherford used artificial disintegration to convert nitrogen into oxygen this process of bombarding the atomic nucleus with high energy particles is the principle behind modern particle accelerators in which transmutations of elements are common indeed in one nine eight zero glenn seaborg transmuted lead into gold though the amount of energy used and the microscopic quantities created negated any possible financial benefit in one nine six four george ohsawa and michio kushi based on the claims of louis kervran reportedly successfully transmutated sodium into potassium by use of an electric arc and later of carbon and oxygen into iron in one nine nine four r sundaresan and j bockris reported that they had observed fusion reactions in electrical discharges between carbon rods immersed in water however none of these claims have been replicated by other scientists and the idea is now thoroughly discredited as of two zero zero six a universal panacea remains elusive though futurists such as ray kurzweil believe sufficiently advanced nanotechnology may prolong life indefinitely some say the third goal of alchemy has been fulfilled by ivf and the cloning of a human embryo although these technologies fall far short of creating a human life from scratch the aim of artificial intelligence research could be said to be creating a life from scratch and those philosophically opposed to the possibility of ai have compared it with alchemy such as herbert and stuart dreyfus in their one nine six zero paper alchemy and ai alchemy in art and entertainment references to alchemy in art and entertainment are far too numerous to list here we give only a few indicative samples more titles can be found in the philosopher s stone article novels and plays many writers lampooned alchemists and used them as the butt of satirical attacks two early and well known examples are geoffrey chaucer canon s yeoman s tale ca one three eight zero the main character an alchemist on the way to canterbury claims that he will pave it all of silver and of gold ben jonson the alchemist ca one six one zero in this five act play the characters set up an alchemy workshop to swindle people an alchemical laboratory from the story of alchemy and the beginnings of chemistry in more recent works alchemists are generally presented in a more romatic or mystic light and often little distinction is made between alchemy magic and witchcraft mary shelley frankenstein one eight one eight victor frankenstein uses both alchemy and modern science to create frankenstein s monster goethe faust part two one eight three two faust s servant wagner uses alchemy to create a homunculus gabriel garc a m rquez one hundred years of solitude one nine six seven an alchemist named melqu ades adds to the novel s surreal atmosphere paulo coelho the alchemist one nine eight eight j k rowling harry potter and the philosopher s stone one nine nine seven features nicholas flamel as a character neal stephenson the baroque cycle two zero zero three two zero zero four features real and imaginary alchemists such as isaac newton de duillier and enoch root martin booth doctor illuminatus the alchemist s son two zero zero three margaret mahy alchemy two zero zero four john fasman the geographer s library whose plot revolves around thirteen alchemical artifacts gregory keyes age of unreason features isaac newton and de duillier cornelia funke dragon rider two zero zero four twigleg the homonculus was created by an alchemist comics manga and video games stan lee and jack kirby fantastic four comics ca one nine six two villain diablo is an alchemist darklands pc game one nine nine two alchemy features prominently throughout the game mike mignola s hellboy comics one nine nine three the character roger the homunculus was created by alchemy nintendo s golden sun video game two zero zero one alchemy is an evil force that threatens the world hiromu arakawa fullmetal alchemist two zero zero two alchemists can transform anything within the principle of equivalent exchange nobuhiro watsuki weapon alchemist manga two zero zero three kazuki takahashi yu gi oh gx anime two zero zero four the character daitokuji is an alchemist who preserved his soul within a homunculus nintendo s final fantasy tactics advance video game two zero zero three has a playable class called alchemist bethesda softworks the elder scrolls iii morrowind prominently features alchemy as a method of creating various potions for use by the player indiana jones and the emperor s tomb computer game two zero zero three a large portion of the game is centered around a castle in prague formerly owned by an alchemist king world of warcraft computer game two zero zero four alchemy is one of the professions the player can learn music tool band album lateralus two zero zero one references trans rex warner trans william stoddart cavendish richard the black arts perigee books six th ed trans richard dales two nd ed see also other alchemical pages vulcan of the alchemists philosopher s stone hermeticism astrology and alchemy transmutation duality the four humours alkahest arcanum berith elixir quintessence alembic alchemical symbol gold water related and alternative philosophies western mystery tradition astrology necromancy magic esotericism rosicrucianism illuminati taoism and the five elements kayaku jutsu acupuncture moxibustion ayurveda homeopathy anthroposophy psychology and carl jung new age scientific connections chemistry physics scientific method protoscience pseudoscience and anti science obsolete scientific theories historicism substances of the alchemists gold silver lead copper zinc mercury phosphorus sulfur arsenic antimony vitriol cinnabar pyrites orpiment galena magnesia lime potash natron saltpetre kohl ammonia ammonium chloride alcohol camphor acids sulfuric muriatic nitric acetic formic citric tartaric aqua regia gunpowder other resources list of alchemists list of occultists external links some websites discussing the original notion of alchemical transmutation for research in archetypal symbolism a pictorial and written archive of mythological ritualistic and symbolic images from all over the world and from all epochs of human history dictionary of the history of ideas alchemy skeptical chemists from alchemy to chemistry tracing the contributions of paracelsus the alchemy museum in kutna hora world s first museum dedicated to alchemy in all its aspects a one six th century lab in a two one st century lab analytical study of the archaeological remains of an alchemical laboratory the story of alchemy and the beginnings of chemistry one nine one three from project gutenberg the alchemy website a collection of many alchemical texts and other alchemical information some websites which appear to espouse modern versions of alchemy rex research robert nelson alchemical taoism com eases study of the complex healing tao qi gong chi kung system essays by experienced students and instructors alchemy ancient egypt arabic words esoteric schools of thought gold history of ideas obsolete scientific theories automatic dependent surveillance broadcast also called ads b is a system by which airplanes constantly broadcast their current position and altitude category of aircraft airspeed identification and whether the aircraft is turning climbing or descending over a dedicated radio datalink this functionality is known as ads b out and is the basic level of ads b functionality the ads b system was developed in the one nine nine zero s it relies on data from the global positioning system or any navigation system that provides an equivalent or better service the maximum range of the system is line of sight typically less than two zero zero nautical miles three seven zero km the ads b transmissions are received by air traffic control stations and all other ads b equipped aircraft within reception range reception by aircraft of ads b data is known as ads b in usage the initial use of ads b is expected to be by air traffic control and for surveillance purposes and for enhancing pilot situational awareness ads b is lower cost than conventional radar and permits higher quality surveillance of airborne and surface movements ads b is effective in remote areas or in mountainous terrain where there is no radar coverage or where radar coverage is limited the outback of australia is one such area where ads b will provide surveillance where previously none existed ads b also enhances surveillance on the airport surface so it can also be used to monitor traffic on the taxiways and runways of an airport ads b equipped aircraft may also have a display unit in the cockpit picturing surrounding air traffic from ads b data ads b in and tis b traffic information service broadcast data derived from air traffic radar both pilots and air traffic controllers will then be able to see the positions of air traffic in the vicinity of the aircraft and this may be used to provide an asas airborne separation assurance system airborne collision avoidance systems may in the future also make use of ads b in supplementing the existing tcas collision avoidance system by what is called hybrid surveillance airbus and boeing are now expected to include ads b out i e the transmitter of information as standard on new build aircraft from two zero zero five onwards this is in part due to the european requirements for mode s elementary surveillance which uses one zero nine zero mhz mode s transponder which now is normally capable of ads b via extended squitter and some common functionality with ads b out addressed and broadcast ads the radio technical commission for aeronautics rtca free flight selection committee defines surveillance as detection tracking characterization and observation of aircraft other vehicles and weather phenomena for the purpose of conducting flight operations in a safe and efficient manner automatic dependent surveillance ads is described as the process of creating and sending a message including the sender s current position and other surveillance information such as velocity intent and flight identification this information supports aircraft separation management by improving surveillance information at increased ranges situational awareness and decision making ads data can be used in cooperation with data from current radar beacon systems such as air traffic control radar beacon systems atcrbs mode s traffic collision avoidance systems tcas and primary air traffic control atc radar and may also be used as a sole means of surveillance there are two commonly recognized types of ads for aircraft applications ads addressed ads a also known as ads contract ads c and ads broadcast ads b ads a provides a surveillance data report that is sent to a specific addressee for example ads a reports are employed in the future air navigation system fans using the aircraft communication addressing and reporting system acars as the communication protocol during transoceanic flight reports are periodically sent by an aircraft to the controlling air traffic region when ads b is used aircraft and other vehicles continuously broadcast a message including position heading velocity and intent other uses may include obstacles transmitting a position message aircraft ground based stations and other users monitoring the channels can receive the information and use it in a wide variety of applications because of this potential for broad utilization a system using ads b is most often discussed as a replacement for or an augmentation to current methods of monitoring aeronautical traffic to understand the full capability of ads b consider how the current air traffic control system creates information the radar measures the range and bearing of an aircraft bearing is measured by the position of the rotating radar antenna when it receives a response to its interrogation from the aircraft and range is measured by the time it takes for the radar to receive the interrogation response the antenna beam becomes wider as the aircraft get farther away making the position information less accurate additionally detecting changes in aircraft velocity requires several radar sweeps that are spaced several seconds apart in contrast a system using ads b creates and listens for periodic position and intent reports from aircraft these reports are generated and distributed using precise instruments such as the global positioning system gps and mode s transponders meaning integrity of the data is no longer susceptible to the range of the aircraft or the length of time between radar sweeps the enhanced accuracy of the information will be used to improve safety support a wide variety of applications and increase airport and airspace capacity use of ads b for ground based surveillance requires only ads b out transmit capability on the aircraft with the addition of ads b in receive capability the potential for ads b applications grows significantly some of the equipment and services associated with ads b in capability include cockpit display of traffic information cdti a display of proximate traffic based on ads b reports from other aircraft and ground based facilities traffic information services broadcast tis b a ground based uplink report of proximate traffic that is under surveillance by atc but is not ads b equipped this service would be available even with limited ads b implementation flight information services broadcast fis b a ground based uplink of flight information services and weather data ads b physical layer three link solutions are being proposed as the physical layer for relaying the ads b position reports one zero nine zero mhz mode s extended squitter es universal access transceiver uat and vhf digital link vdl mode four mode s the faa has announced its selection of the one zero nine zero mhz es and uat as the mediums for the ads b system in the united states one zero nine zero mhz es will be the primary medium for air carrier and high performance commercial aircraft while uat will be the primary medium for general aviation aircraft europe has also chosen one zero nine zero mhz as the primary physical layer for ads b however the second medium has not yet been selected between uat and vdl mode four with one zero nine zero es the existing mode s transponder or a stand alone one zero nine zero mhz transmitter supports a message type known as the es message it is a periodic message that provides position velocity heading time and in the future intent the basic es does not offer intent since current flight management systems do not provide such data called trajectory change points to enable an aircraft to send an extended squitter message the transponder is modified and aircraft position and other status information is routed to the transponder atc ground stations and tcas equipped aircraft already have the necessary one zero nine zero mhz receivers to receive these signals and would only require enhancements to accept and process the additional information one zero nine zero es will not support fis b due to regulatory requirements universal access transceiver the uat system is specifically designed for ads b operation a one mhz channel in the nine zero zero mhz frequency range is dedicated for transmission of airborne ads b reports and for broadcast of ground based aeronautical information uat users would have access to the additional ground based aeronautical data and would receive reports from proximate traffic fis b and tis b vdl mode four the vdl mode four system could utilize one or more of the existing aeronautical vhf frequencies as the radio frequency physical layer for ads b transmissions vdl mode four uses a protocol stdma that allows it to be self organizing meaning no master ground station is required this medium is best used for short message transmissions from a large number of users vdl mode four systems are capable of increased range in comparison to l band mode s one zero nine zero mhz or uat systems implementation timetable the timetable for airborne ads b equipage will be determined by ground and airborne facility implementation equipment cost perceived benefits of equipping and regulatory actions by the civil aviation authorities caa the cost to equip with ads b out capability is relatively small and would benefit the airspace by enabling increased situational awareness ads b in capability can provide additional benefits when ground stations and the critical mass of aircraft are also equipped this data was taken into consideration when building the following estimated implementation timetable near term implementation two zero zero six two zero zero eight the next three years will see a continuation of ads b trials and some implementation in pockets where limited aircraft equipage can bring operational benefits some of these include capstone in alaska the faa is conducting its capstone program to improve surveillance in some of the more remote locations of alaska and as a test bed for implementing elements of ads b into the atc environment approximately one nine zero general aviation users have been equipped with gps receivers uat transceivers and flight deck displays in addition one one ground based transceivers have been installed for radar like services and flight information services data fis b including weather information is being uplinked from the ground phase ii of the program will expand the coverage and add more than two five zero additional users gulf of mexico in the gulf of mexico where atc radar coverage is incomplete the faa is locating ads b one zero nine zero mhz receivers on oil rigs and buoys to relay information received from aircraft equipped with ads b extended squitters back to the atc centers to expand and improve surveillance coverage australia australia is implementing ads b trials in queensland to test the feasibility of one zero nine zero mhz ads b as an alternative to ground based radar ads b is expected to be a much more cost effective method of providing atc surveillance coverage for remote areas which currently have limited or no surveillance coverage cargo airline association cargo carriers operating at their hub airports operate largely at night equipage of these aircraft with ads b and cdti displays along with a ground based transceiver at these hubs will allow better situational awareness at night and in inclement weather and offers the potential for increased airport traffic handling capability embry riddle aeronautical university embry riddle aeronautical university is equipping the training aircraft at its two main campuses in florida and arizona with ads b capability as a safety enhancement the faa will provide fis b and tis b uplink capabilities in those areas in support of this equipage safe flight two one east coast broadcast services the faa has announced its intention to implement ads b coverage for the entire east coast of the u s by the end of two zero zero four service range will extend inland one five zero miles with a goal of providing coverage at altitudes down to two zero zero zero feet the medium will be uat and the implementation will also include tis b and fis b information mid term implementation two zero zero eight two zero one two within four to eight years an increasing number of aircraft with ads b out capability along with the start of ground based ads b infrastructure will begin to make a number of ads b applications attractive benefits of pockets of implementation will become evident and these areas will be expanded encouraging more users to equip with ads b capability beginning in two zero zero four the faa is expected to deploy ads b ground infrastructure based on asde x equipment this infrastructure will allow the use of ads b data for atc purposes such as surface movement tracking guidance and airborne surveillance ground uplinks of tis b and fis b will commence where the ground infrastructure is deployed other civil aviation authorities may install ads b ground infrastructure and require aircraft to be equipped with ads b out for operation in selected airspace australia is expected to be the first country to do so however a number of other countries with limited surveillance coverage may find ads b an attractive alternative to radar surveillance significant numbers of users will become equipped with a minimum of ads b out capability in europe one zero nine zero mhz es will become standard capability for all new mode s transponder installations after three one march two zero zero five uat will become increasingly popular in the upper end of the general aviation market airport situational awareness a combination of detailed airport maps airport multilateration asde x systems enhanced aircraft displays and ads b have the potential to significantly improve runway situational awareness oceanic in trail ads b can provide enhanced situational awareness and safety for oceanic in trail maneuvers as additional aircraft become equipped use of ads b and cdti will allow decreased approach spacing and closely spaced parallel approaches at congested airports with improved safety and capacity during low lower visibility operations long term implementations two zero one two and beyond air carriers fleets will achieve intended ads b benefits in the terminal and en route airspace new aircraft separation assurance applications will take advantage of the increased situational awareness and positional accuracy available in an airspace environment largely equipped with ads b capability fis b and tis b services will encourage general aviation equipage in all market segments references see also do two one two minimal operational performance standards for airborne automatic dependent surveillance ads equipment external links airservices australia ads b info safe flight two one ads b projects capstone ads b project nup ii project ads medup project eurocontrol cascade programme european organisation for civil aviation equipment us crunches the numbers before committing to ads b jane s airport review avionics the republic of austria german republik sterreich is a landlocked country in central europe it borders germany and the czech republic to the north slovakia and hungary to the east slovenia and italy to the south and switzerland and liechtenstein to the west the capital is the city of vienna austria is a parliamentary representative democracy consisting of nine federal states and is one of two european countries that have declared their everlasting neutrality the other being switzerland austria is a member of the united nations since one nine five five and the european union since one nine nine five for the first half of two zero zero six austria holds the seat of the presidency of the eu origin and history of the name the german name sterreich can be translated into english as the eastern realm which is derived from the old german ostarr chi reich can also mean empire and this connotation is the one that is understood in the context of the austrian austro hungarian empire holy roman empire although not in the context of the modern republic of sterreich the term probably originates in a vernacular translation of the medieval latin name for the region marchia orientalis which translates as eastern border as it was situated at the eastern edge of the holy roman empire that was also mirrored in the name ostmark applied after anschluss to germany history austria and the holy roman empire the territory of austria originally known as the celtic kingdom of noricum was a long time ally of rome it was occupied rather than conquered by the romans during the reign of augustus and made the province noricum in one six bc later it was conquered by huns rugii lombards ostrogoths bavarii avars until c eight zero zero and franks in that order finally after four eight years of hungarian rule nine zero seven to nine five five the core territory of austria was awarded to leopold of babenberg in nine seven six being part of the holy roman empire the babenbergs ruled and expanded austria from the one zero th century to the one three th century battle of vienna one six eight three after duke frederick ii died in one two four six and left no successor rudolf i of habsburg gave the lands to his sons marking the beginning of the line of the habsburgs who continued to govern austria until the two zero th century with the short exception of charles vii albert of bavaria austrian habsburgs held the position of german emperor beginning in one four three eight with albert ii of habsburg until the end of the holy roman empire during the one four th and one five th century austria continued to expand its territory until it reached the position of a european imperial power at the end of the one five th century until the end of the habsburg monarchy in one nine one eight modern history just two years before the abolition of the holy roman empire in one eight zero six in one eight zero four the empire of austria was founded which was transformed in one eight six seven into the dual monarchy austria hungary the empire was split into several independent states in one nine one eight after the defeat of the central powers in world war i with most of the german speaking parts becoming a republic see treaty of saint germain between one nine one eight and one nine one nine it was officially known as the republic of german austria republik deutsch sterreich after the entente powers forbade german austria to unite with germany they also forbade the name and then it was changed to simply republic of austria the democratic republic lasted until one nine three three when the chancellor engelbert dollfu established an autocratic regime oriented towards italian fascism austrofascism austria became part of germany in one nine three eight through the anschlu and remained under nazi rule until the end of world war ii after the defeat of the axis powers the allies occupied austria until one nine five five when the country became a fully independent republic under the condition that it would remain neutral see austrian state treaty austria also became a member of the un in the same year after the collapse of communist states in eastern europe austria became increasingly involved in european affairs and in one nine nine five austria joined the european union and the euro monetary system in one nine nine nine politics austrian parliament in vienna austria became a federal parliamentarian democratic republic through the federal constitution of one nine two zero it was reintroduced in one nine four five to the nine states of the federal republic the head of state is the federal president who is directly elected the chairman of the federal government is the federal chancellor who is appointed by the president the government can be removed from office by either a presidential decree or by vote of no confidence in the lower chamber of parliament the nationalrat the parliament of austria consists of two chambers the composition of the nationalrat is determined every four years by a free general election in which every citizen is allowed to vote to fill its one eight three seats a four percent hurdle prevents a large splintering of the political landscape in the nationalrat by awarding seats only to political parties that have obtained at least a four percent threshold of the general vote or alternatively have won a direct seat or direktmandat in one of the four three regional election districts the nationalrat is the dominant chamber in the formation of legislation in austria however the upper house of parliament the bundesrat has a limited right of veto the nationalrat can in most cases pass the respective bill a second time bypassing the bundesrat altogether a convention called the sterreich konvent was convened in june three zero two zero zero three to decide upon suggestions to reform the constitution but has failed to produce a proposal that would receive the two thirds of votes in the nationalrat necessary for constitutional amendments and or reform however some important parts of the final report were generally agreed upon and are still expected to be implemented subdivisions a federal republic austria is divided into nine states german bundesl nder these states are divided into districts bezirke and cities statutarst dte districts are subdivided into municipalities gemeinden cities have the competencies otherwise granted to both districts and municipalities the states are not mere administrative divisions but have some distinct legislative authority separate from the federal government states of austria geography topography of austria austria is a largely mountainous country due to its location in the alps the central eastern alps northern limestone alps and southern limestone alps are all partly in austria of the total area of austria eight four zero zero zero km or three two zero zero zero sq mi only about a quarter can be considered low lying and only three two of the country is below five zero zero metres one six four zero ft the high mountainous alps in the west of austria flatten somewhat into low lands and plains in the east of the country map of austria austria may be divided into five different areas the biggest area are the austrian alps which constitute six two of austria s total area the austrian foothills at the base of the alps and the carpathians account for around one two of its area the foothills in the east and areas surrounding the periphery of the pannoni low country amount to about one two of the total landmass the second greater mountain area much lower than the alps is situated in the north known as the austrian granite plateau it is located in the central area of the bohemian mass and accounts for one zero of austria the austrian portion of the viennese basin comprises the remaining four climate the greater part of austria lies in the cool temperate climate zone in which humid westerly winds predominate with over half of the country dominated by the alps the alpine climate is the predominant one in the east the climate shows continental features with less rain than the areas with high rainfall averages the six highest mountains in austria are economy the belvedere palace an example of the baroque austria has a well developed social market economy and a high standard of living until the one nine eight zero s many of austria s largest industry firms were nationalised however in recent years privatisation has reduced state holdings to a level comparable to other european economies labour movements are particularly strong in austria and have large influence on labour politics germany has historically been the main trading partner of austria making it vulnerable to rapid changes in the german economy slow growth in germany and elsewhere in the world affected austria slowing its growth to one two in two zero zero one but since austria became a member state of the european union it has gained closer ties to other european union economies reducing its economic dependence on germany in addition membership in the eu has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by austria s access to the single european market and proximity to eu aspiring economies therefore estimates of growth in two zero zero five up to two are much more favourable than in the crippling german economy agriculture austrian farms like those of other west european mountainous countries are small and fragmented and production is relatively expensive industry although some industries such as several iron and steel works and chemical plants are large industrial enterprises employing thousands of people most industrial and commercial enterprises in austria are relatively small on an international scale services like in other western countries the biggest contributor to austria s gdp is its service sector most notably is tourism especially winter tourism to meet increased competition from both eu and central european countries austria will need to emphasize knowledge based sectors of the economy continue to deregulate the service sector and lower its tax burden see also list of austrian companies demographics vienna during the first half of the one eight th century painting by canaletto austria s capital vienna is one of europe s major cities with a population exceeding one six million two million with suburbs and constitutes a melting pot of citizens from all over central and eastern europe in contrast to this metropolis other cities do not exceed one million inhabitants in fact the second largest city graz is home of three zero five zero zero zero people followed by linz with one eight zero zero zero zero salzburg with one four five zero zero zero and innsbruck with one three four eight zero three two zero zero five all other cities have fewer than one zero zero zero zero zero inhabitants austrians of german mother tongue by far the country s largest group form nine one one of austria s population the remaining number of austria s people are of non austrian descent many from surrounding countries especially from the former east bloc nations the austrian federal states of carinthia and styria are home to a significant indigenous slovenian minority with around one four zero zero zero members austrian census unofficial numbers of slovene groups speak of about four zero zero zero zero so called guest workers gastarbeiter and their descendants also form an important minority group in austria around two zero zero zero zero hungarians and three zero zero zero zero croatians live in the east most bundesland burgenland formerly part of hungary the official language german is spoken by almost all residents of the country austria s mountainous terrain led to the development of many distinct german dialects all of the dialects in the country however belong to austro bavarian groups of german dialects with the exception of the dialect spoken in its west most bundesland vorarlberg which belongs to the group of alemannic dialects there is also a distinct grammatical standard for austrian german with a few differences to the german spoken in germany politics concerning ethnic groups volksgruppenpolitik an estimated two five zero zero zero four zero zero zero zero slovenians in the austrian state of carinthia as well as croatians and hungarians in burgenland were recognized as a minority and have enjoyed special rights following the austrian state treaty staatsvertrag of one nine five five the slovenians in the austrian state of styria estimated at a number between one six zero zero and five zero zero zero are not recognized as a minority and do not enjoy special rights although the state treaty of july two seven one nine five five states otherwise the right for bilingual topographic signs for the regions where slovene and croatian speaking austrians live alongside with the german speaking population as required by the one nine five five state treaty is still to be fully implemented there is also an undercurrent of thinking amongst parts of the carenthian population that the slovenian involvement in the partisan war against the nazi occupation force was a bad thing and indeed tito partisan is a not an infrequent insult hurled against members of the minority many carinthians are afraid of slovenian territorial claims pointing to the fact that yugoslav troops entered the state after each of the two world wars and considering that some official slovenian atlases still show parts of carinthia as slovenian cultural territory the current governor j rg haider has made this fact a matter of public argument in fall two zero zero five by refusing to increase the number of bilingual topographic signs in carinthia a poll by the k rntner humaninstitut conducted in january two zero zero six states that six five of carinthians are not in favour of an increase of bilingual topographic signs since the original requirements set by the state treaty of one nine five five have already been fulfilled according to their point of view another interesting phenomenon is the so called windischen theorie stating that the slovenians can be split in two groups actual slovenians and windische based on differences in language between austrian slovenians who were taught slovenian standard language in school and those slovenians who spoke their local slovenian dialect but went to german schools to the latter group the term windische originally the german word for slovenians was applied claiming that they were a different ethnic group this theory was never generally accepted and has been ultimately rejected several decades ago list of cities in austria religion charles v austrian habsburg ruler and one of the major figures within the counter reformation while northern and central germany was the origin of the reformation austria and bavaria were the heart of the counter reformation in the one six th and one seven th century when the absolute monarchy of habsburg imposed a strict regime to maintain catholicism s power and influence among austrians despite this establishment of catholicism as the predominant christian religion protestants have throughout austria s history remained a relatively small group austria s history as a multinational state has made it necessary for habsburg rulers to deal with a heterogeneous religious population religious freedom was declared a constitutional right as early as one eight six seven and austria hungary was home of numerous religions beside roman catholicism such as greek serbian romanian russian and bulgarian orthodox christians jews muslims austria neighboured the ottoman empire for centuries mormons and both calvinists and lutheran protestants still austria remained largely influenced by catholicism after one nine one eight first republic catholic leaders such as theodor innitzer and ignaz seipel took leading positions within or close to the austrian government and increased their influence during the time of the austrofascism catholicism was treated much like a state religion by dictators engelbert dollfuss and kurt schuschnigg although catholic leaders welcomed the germans in one nine three eight during the anschluss of austria into germany austrian catholicism stopped its support of nazism later on and many former religious public figures became involved with the resistance during the third reich after one nine four five a stricter secularism was imposed in austria and religious influence on politics has nearly vanished as of the end of the two zero th century about seven three of austria s population are registered as roman catholic while about five consider themselves protestants both these numbers have been on the decline for decades especially roman catholicism which has suffered an increasing number of seceders of the church this is due partly to child sexual abuse scandals by priests as well as the alleged unwillingness of the roman catholic church to implement reforms in addition austrian catholics are obliged to pay a mandatory tax calculated by income ca one to the austrian roman catholic church which acts as another incentive to leave the church about one two of the population declare that they do not belong to any church or religious community of the remaining people about one eight zero zero zero zero are members of the eastern orthodox church and about seven three zero zero are jewish it has to be noted that the austrian jewish community of one nine three eight vienna alone counted more than two zero zero zero zero zero of which solely four zero zero zero to five zero zero zero remained after the second world war the influx of eastern europeans especially from the former yugoslav nations albania and particularly from turkey largely contributed to a substantial muslim minority in austria around three zero zero zero zero zero are registered as members of various muslim communities the numbers of people adhering to the islam has increased largely during the last years and is expected to grow in the future buddhism which was legally recognized as a religion in austria in one nine eight three enjoys widespread acceptance and has a following of two zero zero zero zero one zero four zero two at the two zero zero one census a two zero zero five survey among eight zero zero zero people in various european countries showed that austrians are still among the countries with the strongest belief in god eight four of all austrians do state they believe in god with only poland nine seven portugal nine zero and russia eight seven in front of the countries surveyed this is a much larger figure than the european average of seven one or germany with six seven culture ludwig wittgenstein although austria is a small country its history as a world power and its unique cultural environment in the heart of europe have generated contributions to mankind in every possible field one might argue that austria is internationally best known for its musicians it has been the birthplace of many famous composers such as wolfgang amadeus mozart joseph haydn franz schubert anton bruckner johann strauss sr johann strauss jr or gustav mahler as well as members of the second viennese school such as arnold schoenberg anton webern or alban berg complementing its status as a land of artists austria has always been a country of great poets writers and novelists it was the home of novelists arthur schnitzler stefan zweig thomas bernhard or robert musil of poets georg trakl franz werfel franz grillparzer rainer maria rilke or adalbert stifter famous contemporary playwrights and novelists are elfriede jelinek and peter handke among austrian artists and architects one can find painters gustav klimt oskar kokoschka egon schiele or friedensreich hundertwasser photographer inge morath or architect otto wagner austria was the cradle of numerous scientists including physicists ludwig boltzmann lise meitner erwin schr dinger ernst mach wolfgang pauli richard von mises and christian doppler philosophers ludwig wittgenstein and karl popper biologists gregor mendel and konrad lorenz as well as mathematician kurt g del it was home to psychologists sigmund freud alfred adler paul watzlawick and hans asperger psychiatrist viktor frankl economists joseph schumpeter eugen von b hm bawerk ludwig von mises and friedrich hayek austrian school and peter drucker and engineers such as ferdinand porsche and siegfried marcus although austrians can look back with pride on their cultural past current austria does not stand back in art and science austria hosts a tremendous amount of culture with its classical music festivals in vienna salzburg and bregenz its modern artists and writers its theatres and opera houses list of austrians music of austria miscellaneous topics austrian folk dancing austrian german communications in austria cuisine of austria education in austria foreign relations of austria media in austria military of austria public holidays in austria spanish riding school stamps and postal history of austria tourism in austria transportation in austria references references and bibliography can be found in the more detailed articles linked to in this article external links the aeiou encyclopedia homepage table of contents search amateur radio in austria answers com article on austria austria in pictures austria info official homepage of the austrian national tourist office german english and other languages austrian cultural forum new york cultural meeting place in manhattan austrian recipes on cookbookwiki com austrosearch bilingual austrian search engine and directory german english bundeskanzleramt sterreich federal chancellor of austria website of the federal chancellery of austria german english cia gov cia s factbook on austria dwellan com tourism in austria library of congress portals on the world austria peter diem the symbols of austria photoglobe info country studies austria info radio orf austrian radio stations both classical and modern music live feed tiscover at austria travel guide us department of state facts and information updated february two zero zero five austrian airlines austria erasmus prize winners landlocked countries the commonwealth of australia is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the world s smallest continent and a number of islands in the southern indian and pacific oceans australia s neighbouring countries include indonesia east timor and papua new guinea to the north the solomon islands vanuatu and the french dependency of new caledonia to the northeast and new zealand to the southeast the continent of australia has been inhabited for over four zero zero zero zero years by indigenous australians after sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and by european explorers and merchants starting in the one seven th century the eastern half of the continent was claimed by the british in one seven seven zero and officially settled as the penal colony of new south wales on two six january one seven eight eight as the population grew and new areas were explored another five largely self governing british crown colonies were successively established over the course of the one nine th century on one january one nine zero one the six colonies federated and the commonwealth of australia was formed since federation australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and remains a commonwealth realm the current population of around two zero four million is concentrated mainly in the large coastal cities of sydney melbourne brisbane perth and adelaide origin and history of the name the name australia is derived from the latin australis meaning southern legends of an unknown southern land terra australis incognita date back to the roman times and were commonplace in mediaeval geography but they were not based on any actual knowledge of the continent the dutch adjectival form australische australian in the sense of southern was used by dutch officials in batavia to refer to the newly discovered land to the south as early as one six three eight the first use of the word australia in english was a one six nine three translation of les aventures de jacques sadeur dans la d couverte et le voyage de la terre australe a one six nine two french novel by gabriel de foigny under the pen name jacques sadeur alexander dalrymple then used it in an historical collection of voyages and discoveries in the south pacific ocean published in one seven seven one he used the term to refer to the entire south pacific region not specifically to the australian continent in one seven nine three george shaw and sir james smith published zoology and botany of new holland in which they wrote of the vast island or rather continent of australia australasia or new holland view of port jackson taken from the south head from a voyage to terra australis sydney was established on this site the name australia was popularised by the one eight one four work a voyage to terra australis by the navigator matthew flinders despite its title which reflected the view of the admiralty flinders used the word australia in the book which was widely read and gave the term general currency governor lachlan macquarie of new south wales subsequently used the word in his dispatches to england in one eight one seven he recommended that it be officially adopted in one eight two four the british admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as australia the word australia in australian english is pronounced as either or history the first human habitation of australia is estimated to have occurred between four two zero zero zero and four eight zero zero zero years ago the first australians were the ancestors of the current indigenous australians they arrived via land bridges and short sea crossings from present day southeast asia most of these people were hunter gatherers with a complex oral culture and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the dreamtime the torres strait islanders ethnically melanesian inhabited the torres strait islands and parts of far north queensland they possess distinct cultural practices from the aborigines lieutenant james cook charted the east coast of australia on hm bark endeavour claiming the land for britain in one seven seven zero this replica was built in fremantle in one nine eight eight for australia s bicentenary the first undisputed recorded european sighting of the australian continent was made by the dutch navigator willem jansz who sighted the coast of cape york peninsula in one six zero six during the one seven th century the dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines of what they called new holland but made no attempt at settlement in one seven seven zero james cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of australia which he named new south wales and claimed for britain the expedition s discoveries provided impetus for the establishment of a penal colony there following the loss of the american colonies that had previously filled that role port arthur tasmania was australia s largest penal colony the british crown colony of new south wales started with the establishment of a settlement at port jackson by captain arthur phillip on two six january one seven eight eight this date was later to become australia s national day australia day van diemen s land now known as tasmania was settled in one eight zero three and became a separate colony in one eight two five the united kingdom formally claimed the western part of australia in one eight two nine separate colonies were created from parts of new south wales south australia in one eight three six victoria in one eight five one and queensland in one eight five nine the northern territory nt was founded in one eight six three as part of the province of south australia victoria and south australia were founded as free colonies that is they were never penal colonies although the former did receive some convicts from tasmania western australia was also founded free but later accepted transported convicts due to an acute labour shortage the transportation of convicts to australia was phased out between one eight four zero and one eight six eight the indigenous australian population estimated at about three five zero zero zero zero at the time of european settlement declined steeply for one five zero years following settlement mainly due to infectious disease forced migration the removal of children and other colonial government policies that some historians and indigenous australians have argued could be considered tantamount to genocide by today s understanding such interpretations of aboriginal history are disputed by some as being exaggerated or fabricated for political or ideological reasons this debate is known within australia as the history wars following the one nine six seven referendum the federal government gained the power to implement policies and make laws with respect to aborigines traditional ownership of land native title was not recognised until the high court case mabo v queensland no two overturned the notion of australia as terra nullius at the time of european occupation the last post is played at an anzac day ceremony in port melbourne victoria two five april two zero zero five ceremonies such as this are held in virtually every suburb and town in australia a gold rush began in australia in the early one eight five zero s and the eureka stockade rebellion in one eight five four was an early expression of nationalist sentiment between one eight five five and one eight nine zero the six colonies individually gained responsible government managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the british empire the colonial office in london retained control of some matters notably foreign affairs defence and international shipping on one january one nine zero one federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning consultation and voting and the commonwealth of australia was born as a dominion of the british empire the australian capital territory act was formed from new south wales in one nine one one to provide a location for the proposed new federal capital of canberra melbourne was the capital from one nine zero one to one nine two seven the northern territory was transferred from the control of the south australian government to the commonwealth in one nine one one australia willingly participated in world war i many australians regard the defeat of the australian and new zealand army corps anzacs at gallipoli as the birth of the nation its first major military action the gallipoli campaign is often erroneously portrayed as or conceived to have been a solely or mainly anzac campaign the reality was that british deaths during the campaign were twice as high as those of anzac forces much like gallipoli the kokoda track campaign is regarded by many as a nation defining battle from world war ii the statute of westminster one nine three one formally ended most of the constitutional links between australia and the united kingdom but australia did not adopt the statute until one nine four two the shock of the united kingdom s defeat in asia in one nine four two and the threat of japanese invasion caused australia to turn to the united states as a new ally and protector since one nine five one australia has been a formal military ally of the us under the auspices of the anzus treaty after world war ii australia encouraged mass immigration from europe since the one nine seven zero s and the abolition of the white australia policy immigration from asia and other parts of the world was also encouraged as a result australia s demography culture and image of itself were radically transformed the final constitutional ties between australia and the united kingdom ended in one nine eight six with the passing of the australia act one nine eight six ending any british role in the australian states and ending judicial appeals to the uk privy council australian voters rejected a move to become a republic in one nine nine nine by a five five majority but the result is generally viewed in terms of dissatisfaction with the specifics of the proposed republican model rather than attachment to the monarchy since the election of the whitlam government in one nine seven two there has been an increasing focus on the nation s future as a part of the asia pacific region politics new parliament house in canberra was opened in one nine eight eight replacing the provisional parliament house building opened in one nine two seven the commonwealth of australia is a constitutional monarchy and has a parliamentary system of government queen elizabeth ii is the queen of australia a role that is distinct from her position as elizabeth ii of the united kingdom the queen is nominally represented by the governor general although the constitution gives extensive executive powers to the governor general these are normally exercised only on the advice of the prime minister the most notable exercise of the governor general s reserve powers outside the prime minister s direction was the dismissal of the whitlam government in the constitutional crisis of one nine seven five there are three branches of government the legislature the commonwealth parliament comprising the queen the senate and the house of representatives the queen is represented by the governor general who in practice exercises little or no power over the parliament the executive the federal executive council the governor general as advised by the executive councillors in practice the councillors are the prime minister and ministers of state whose advice the governor general accepts with rare exceptions the judiciary the high court of australia and other federal courts the state courts became formally independent from the judicial committee of the privy council when the australia act was passed in one nine eight six the bicameral commonwealth parliament consists of the queen the senate the upper house of seven six senators and a house of representatives the lower house of one five zero members members of the lower house are elected from single member constituencies commonly known as electorates or seats seats in the house of representatives are allocated to states on the basis of population in the senate each state regardless of population is represented by one two senators with the act and the nt each electing two elections for both chambers are held every three years typically only half of the senate seats are put to each election because senators have overlapping six year terms the party with majority support in the house of representatives forms government with its leader becoming prime minister there are three major political parties the labor party the liberal party and the national party independent members and several minor parties including the greens family first and the australian democrats have achieved representation in australian parliaments mostly in upper houses although their influence has been marginal since the one nine nine six election the liberal national coalition led by the prime minister john howard has been in power in canberra in the two zero zero four election the coalition won control of the senate the first time that a party or coalition of governing parties has done so while in government in more than two zero years the labor party is in power in every state and territory voting is compulsory in each state and territory and at the federal level states and territories states and territories of australia australia consists of six states two major mainland territories and other minor territories the states are new south wales queensland south australia tasmania victoria and western australia the two major mainland territories are the northern territory and the australian capital territory in most respects the territories function similarly to the states but the commonwealth parliament can override any legislation of their parliaments by contrast federal legislation overrides state legislation only with respect to certain areas as set out in section five one of the constitution all residual legislative powers are retained by the state parliaments including powers over hospitals education police the judiciary roads public transport and local government each state and territory has its own legislature unicameral in the case of the northern territory the act and queensland and bicameral in the remaining states the lower house is known as the legislative assembly house of assembly in south australia and tasmania and the upper house the legislative council the heads of the governments in each state and territory are called premiers and chief ministers respectively the queen is represented in each state by a governor an administrator in the northern territory and the governor general in the act have analogous roles australia also has several minor territories the federal government administers a separate area within new south wales the jervis bay territory as a naval base and sea port for the national capital in addition australia has the following inhabited external territories norfolk island christmas island cocos keeling islands and several largely uninhabited external territories ashmore and cartier islands coral sea islands heard island and mcdonald islands and the australian antarctic territory foreign relations and military over recent decades australia s foreign relations have been driven by a close association with the united states through the anzus pact and by a desire to develop relationships with asia and the pacific particularly through asean and the pacific islands forum in two zero zero five australia secured an inaugural seat at the east asia summit following its accession to the treaty of amity and cooperation australia is a member of the commonwealth of nations in which the commonwealth heads of government meetings provide the main forum for co operation much of australia s diplomatic energy is focused on international trade liberalisation australia led the formation of the cairns group and apec and is a member of the oecd and the wto australia has pursued several major bilateral free trade agreements most recently the australia us free trade agreement australia is a founding member of the united nations and maintains an international aid program under which some six zero countries receive assistance the two zero zero five zero six budget provides a two five bn for development assistance as a percentage of gdp this contribution is less than that of the un millennium development goals australia s armed forces the australian defence force adf comprise the royal australian navy ran the australian army and the royal australian air force raaf all branches of the adf have been involved in un and regional peacekeeping most recently in east timor the solomon islands and sudan disaster relief and armed conflict including the two zero zero three invasion of iraq the government appoints the chief of the defence force from one of the armed services the current chief is air chief marshal angus houston in two zero zero five zero six the defence budget is a one seven five bn geography climate map of australia australia s seven six eight six eight five zero square kilometres two nine six seven nine zero nine sq mi landmass is on the indo australian plate surrounded by the indian southern and pacific oceans australia is separated from asia by the arafura and timor seas australia has a total two five seven six zero kilometres one six zero zero seven mi of coastline and claims an extensive exclusive economic zone of eight one four eight two five zero square kilometres three one four six zero five seven sq mi this exclusive economic zone does not include the australian antarctic territory the great barrier reef the world s largest coral reef lies a short distance off the north east coast and extends for over two zero zero zero kilometres one two five zero mi the world s two largest monoliths are located in australia mount augustus in western australia is the largest and uluru in central australia is the second largest at two two two eight metres seven three one zero ft mount kosciuszko on the great dividing range is the highest mountain on the australian mainland although mawson peak on the remote australian territory of heard island is taller at two seven four five metres nine zero zero six ft climate the largest part of australia is desert or semi arid four zero of the landmass is covered by sand dunes only the south east and south west corners have a temperate climate and moderately fertile soil the northern part of the country has a tropical climate part is tropical rainforests part grasslands and very little desert australia receives snowfall in some cities but mostly in towns and at higher evaluations climate is highly influenced by ocean currents including the el ni o southern oscillation which is correlated with periodic drought and the seasonal tropical low pressure system that produces cyclones in northern australia rainfall is highly variable with frequent droughts rising levels of salinity and desertification in some areas australia is situated in the middle of the tectonic plate and therefore has no active volcanism only extinct volcanos although it may sometimes receive minor earthquakes the terrain is mostly heavily weathered low plateau with deserts rangelands and a fertile plain in southeast tasmania and the australian alps do not contain any permanent icefields or glaciers although they may have existed in the past the great barrier reef by far the world s largest coral reef lies a short distance off the north east coast mount augustus in western australia is the largest monolith in the world flora and fauna the koala and the eucalyptus make an iconic pair of australian flora and fauna although most of australia is semi arid or desert it covers a diverse range of habitats from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests because of the great age and consequent low levels of fertility of the continent its extremely variable weather patterns and its long term geographic isolation much of australia s biota is unique and diverse about eight five of flowering plants eight four of mammals more than four five of birds and eight nine of in shore temperate zone fish are endemic many of australia s ecoregions and the species within those regions are threatened by human activities and introduced plant and animal species the federal environment protection and biodiversity conservation act one nine nine nine is a legal framework used for the protection of threatened species numerous protected areas have been created to protect and preserve australia s unique ecosystems six four wetlands are registered under the ramsar convention and one six world heritage sites have been established australia was ranked one three th in the world on the two zero zero five environmental sustainability index most australian plant species are evergreen and many are adapted to fire and drought including the eucalyptus and acacias australia has a rich variety of endemic legume species that thrive in nutrient poor soils because of their symbiosis with rhizobia bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi well known australian fauna include monotremes the platypus and echidna a host of marsupials including the koala kangaroo wombat and birds such as the emu cockatoo and kookaburra the dingo was introduced by austronesian people that traded with indigenous australians around four zero zero zero bce many plant and animal species became extinct soon after human settlement including the australian megafauna many more have become extinct since european settlement among them the thylacine tasmanian tiger economy melbourne s population is approximately three seven million the second largest in australia australia has a prosperous western style mixed economy with a per capita gdp slightly higher than those of the uk germany and france the country was ranked third in the united nations two zero zero five human development index and sixth in the economist worldwide quality of life index two zero zero five in recent years the australian economy has been resilient in the face of global economic downturn rising output in the domestic economy has been offsetting the global slump and business and consumer confidence remains robust australia s emphasis on economic reform is often claimed to be key factor behind the economy s strength in the one nine eight zero s the labor party led by prime minister bob hawke and treasurer paul keating started the process of economic reform by floating the australian dollar in one nine eight three and deregulating the financial system since one nine nine six the howard government has continued the process of micro economic reform including the partial deregulation of the labour market and the privatisation of state owned businesses most notably in the telecommunications industry substantial reform of the indirect tax system was implemented in july two zero zero zero with the introduction of a one zero goods and services tax which has slightly reduced the heavy reliance on personal and company income tax that still characterises australia s tax system the australian economy has not suffered a recession since the early one nine nine zero s as of january two zero zero six unemployment was five three with one zero zero three four five zero zero persons employed the service sector of the economy including tourism education and financial services comprises six nine of gdp agriculture and natural resources represent only three and five of gdp respectively but contribute substantially to australia s export performance australia s largest export markets include japan china the united states south korea and new zealand areas of concern to some economists include the chronically high current account deficit and also high levels of net foreign debt demographics most australians live in urban areas sydney is the most populous city in australia most of the estimated two zero four million australians are descended from one nine th and two zero th century immigrants the majority from great britain and ireland australia s population has quadrupled since the end of world war i spurred by an ambitious immigration program in two zero zero one the five largest groups of the two seven four of australians who were born overseas were from the united kingdom new zealand italy vietnam and china following the abolition of the white australia policy in one nine seven three numerous government initiatives have been established to encourage and promote racial harmony based on a policy of multiculturalism australia s population has increased by about six zero times since european settlement the self declared indigenous population including torres strait islanders who are of melanesian descent was four one zero zero zero three two two of the total population in two zero zero one a significant increase from the one nine seven seven census which showed an indigenous population of one one five nine five three indigenous australians have higher rates of imprisonment and unemployment lower levels of education and life expectancies for males and females that are one seven years lower than those of other australians perceived racial inequality is an ongoing political and human rights issue for australians fewer than one five of australians live in rural areas this picture shows the barossa valley wine producing region of south australia in common with many other developed countries australia is experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population with more retirees and fewer people of working age a large number of australians seven five nine eight four nine for the period two zero zero two zero three live outside their home country australia has maintained one of the most active immigration programs in the world to boost population growth most immigrants are skilled the quota includes categories for family members and refugees english is the official language and is spoken and written in a distinct variety known as australian english according to the two zero zero one census english is the only language spoken in the home for around eight zero of the population the next most common languages spoken at home are chinese two one italian one nine and greek one four a considerable proportion of first and second generation migrants are bilingual it is believed that there were between two zero zero and three zero zero australian aboriginal languages at the time of first european contact only about seven zero of these languages have survived and all but two zero of these are now endangered an indigenous language remains the main language for about five zero zero zero zero zero zero two people australia has a sign language known as auslan which is the main language of about six five zero zero deaf people australia has no state religion the two zero zero one census identified that six eight of australians call themselves christian two seven identifying themselves as roman catholic and two one as anglican australians that identify themselves as followers of non christian religions number five a total of one six were categorised as having no religion which includes non theistic beliefs such as humanism atheism agnosticism and rationalism and a further one two declined to answer or did not give a response adequate for interpretation as in many western countries the level of active participation in church worship is much lower than this weekly attendance at church services is about one five million about seven five of the population school attendance is compulsory throughout australia between the ages of six one five years one six years in south australia and tasmania contributing to an adult literacy rate that is assumed to be nine nine government grants have supported the establishment of australia s three eight universities and although several private universities have been established the majority receive government funding there is a state based system of vocational training colleges known as tafe institutes and many trades conduct apprenticeships for training new tradespeople approximately five eight of australians between the ages of two five and six four have vocational or tertiary qualifications culture golden summer eaglemont eaglemont victoria by arthur streeton one eight eight nine is an early example of the rich tradition of australian landscape painting the primary basis of australian culture up until the mid two zero th century was anglo celtic although distinctive australian features had been evolving from the environment and indigenous culture over the past five zero years australian culture has been strongly influenced by american popular culture particularly television and cinema large scale immigration from non english speaking countries and australia s asian neighbours the vigour and originality of the arts in australia films opera music painting theater dance and crafts are achieving international recognition australia has a long history of visual arts starting with the cave and bark paintings of its indigenous peoples from the time of european settlement a common theme in australian art has been the australian landscape seen in the works of arthur streeton arthur boyd and albert namatjira among others the traditions of indigenous australians are largely transmitted orally and are closely tied to ceremony and the telling of the stories of the dreamtime australian aboriginal music dance and art have a palpable influence on contemporary australian visual and performing arts australia has an active tradition of music ballet and theatre many of its performing arts companies receive public funding through the federal government s australia council there is a symphony orchestra in each capital city and a national opera company opera australia first made prominent by the renowned diva dame joan sutherland australian music includes classical jazz and many popular music genres australian literature has also been influenced by the landscape the works of writers such as banjo paterson and henry lawson captured the experience of the australian bush the character of colonial australia as embodied in early literature resonates with modern australia and its perceived emphasis on egalitarianism mateship and anti authoritarianism in one nine seven three patrick white was awarded the nobel prize in literature the only australian to have achieved this he is recognised as one of the great english language writers of the two zero th century australian english is a major variety of the language its grammar and spelling are largely based on those of british english overlaid with a rich vernacular of unique lexical items and phrases some of which have found their way into standard english australia has two public broadcasters the abc and sbs three commercial television networks three pay tv services and numerous public non profit television and radio stations australia s film industry has achieved critical and commercial successes each major city has daily newspapers and there are two national daily newspapers the australian and the australian financial review according to reporters without borders in two zero zero five australia is in three one st position on a list of countries ranked by press freedom behind new zealand nine th and the united kingdom two eight th but ahead of the united states this ranking is primarily due to the limited diversity of commercial media ownership in australia most australian print media in particular is under the control of either news corporation or john fairfax holdings australian rules football was developed in melbourne australia and is played at amateur and professional levels sport is an important part of australian culture assisted by a climate that favours outdoor activities two three five australians over the age of one five regularly participate in organised sporting activities at an international level australia has particularly strong teams in cricket hockey netball rugby league rugby union and performs well in cycling and swimming australia has participated in every summer olympic games of the modern era and every commonwealth games australia has hosted the one nine five six and two zero zero zero summer olympics and has ranked among the top five medal takers since two zero zero zero in two zero zero four it collected four nine olympic medals one seven gold one six silver and one six bronze australia has also hosted the one nine three eight one nine six two and one nine eight two commonwealth games and will host the two zero zero six commonwealth games in melbourne australian rules football is the most popular national sport players gain some international prominence through international rules which is an annual meeting between the australian code and irish gaelic football however rugby league is more popular than australian rules in new south wales and queensland the australian open is one of the four grand slam tennis tournaments held in melbourne each january the f one australian grand prix is also held in melbourne usually towards the end of march each year corporate and government sponsorship of many sports and lite athletes is common in australia televised sport is popular some of the highest rating television programs include the summer olympic games and the grand finals of local and international football competitions see also references sidney j baker the australian language second edition one nine six six gillespie r two zero zero two dating the first australians radiocarbon four four four five five four seven two smith l one nine eight zero the aboriginal population of australia australian national university press canberra tatz c one nine nine nine genocide in australia aiatsis research discussion papers no eight australian institute of aboriginal and torres strait islander studies canberra windschuttle k two zero zero one the fabrication of aboriginal history the new criterion vol two zero no one september two zero sheehan p two zero zero two our history not rewritten but put right the sydney morning herald november two five bean c ed one nine four one volume i the story of anzac the first phase first world war official histories one one th edition australian electoral commission two zero zero zero one nine nine nine referendum reports and statistics parliamentary library one nine nine seven the reserve powers of the governor general australian government two zero zero five budget two zero zero five two zero zero six department of the environment and heritage about biodiversity macfarlane i j one nine nine eight australian monetary policy in the last quarter of the twentieth century reserve bank of australia bulletin october parham d two zero zero two microeconomic reforms and the revival in australia s growth in productivity and living standards conference of economists adelaide one october australian bureau of statistics labour force australia cat six two zero two australian bureau of statistics year book australia two zero zero five department of foreign affairs and trade two zero zero three advancing the national interest appenidix one australian bureau of statistics population growth australia s population growth department of immigration multicultural and indigenous affiars two zero zero five the evolution of australia s multicultural policy australian bureau of statistics two zero zero one census a snapshot of australia parliament of australia senate two zero zero five inquiry into australian expatriates department of immigration multicultural and indigenous affiars one nine nine five pluralist nations pluralist language policies ncls releases latest estimates of church attendance national church life survey media release two eight february two zero zero four australian film commission what are australians watching free to air one nine nine nine two zero zero four tv external links wikitravel guide to australia australian government entry portal commonwealth government online department of immigration and multicultural and indigenous affairs dimia department of foreign affairs and trade dfat country information satellite images of australia google maps national library of australia national museum of australia official australia tourism website bureau of meteorology official website of the melbourne two zero zero six commonwealth games australia continents members of the commonwealth of nations monarchies one nine zero one establishments align center style vertical align top colspan two national motto samoa muamua le atua samoa let god be first align center colspan two style background ffffff image locationamericansamoa png official languages samoan english capital fagatogo constitutional and de facto seat of government executive offices are located in utulei governor togiola tulafono area total water ranked two two six th one nine nine km seven six eight sq mi zero population total two zero zero three density ranked two zero three rd seven zero two six zero three five three km nine one four sq mi currency usd time zone utc one one no dst national anthem amerika samoa internet tld as calling code one six eight four style background efefef align center colspan two image fatu rock jpgfatu rock right and futi rock left islets on the reef of tutuila at the entrance to pago pago harbor seen behind fatu american samoa samoan amerika samoa is an unorganized unincorporated territory of the united states located in the south pacific ocean southeast of the sovereign state of samoa the main largest and most populous island is tutuila with the islands rose atoll and swains island also included in the territory american samoa is part of the samoan islands chain located west of the cook islands north of tonga and some three zero zero miles five zero zero km south of tokelau to the west are the islands of the wallis and futuna group history main article history of samoa history of american samoa originally inhabited as early as one zero zero zero bc samoa was not reached by european explorers until the one eight th century international rivalries in the latter half of the one nine th century were settled by an one eight nine nine treaty of berlin in which germany and the u s divided the samoan archipelago the u s formally occupied its portion a smaller group of eastern islands with the noted harbor of pago pago the following year the western islands are now the independent state of samoa after the u s took possession of american samoa the u s navy built a coaling station on pago pago bay for its pacific squadron and appointed a local secretary the navy secured a deed of cession of tutuila in one nine zero zero and a deed of cession of in one nine zero four the last sovereign of the was forced to sign a deed of cession of following a series of us naval trials known as the trial of the ipu in pago pago and aboard a pacific squadron gunboat during world war ii u s marines in american samoa outnumbered the local population having a huge cultural influence after the war organic act four five zero zero a u s department of interior sponsored attempt to incorporate american samoa was defeated in congress primarily through the efforts of american samoan chiefs led by tuiasosopo mariota these chiefs efforts led to the creation of a local legislature the american samoa fono which meets in the village of fagatogo the territory s de facto and de jure capital see the trivia section below for more information on fagatogo in time the navy appointed governor was replaced by a locally elected one although technically considered unorganized in that the u s congress has not passed an organic act for the territory american samoa is self governing under a constitution that became effective on july one one nine six seven the u s territory of american samoa is on the united nations list of non self governing territories a listing which is disputed by territorial government officials administrative divisions american samoa is administratively divided into three districts and two unorganized islands these districts are subdivided into seven three villages districts eastern western manu a unorganized islands rose island swains island map of the districts of american samoa the villages for eastern and western districts are aasu afao afono agugulu alao alofau aloga amaluia amanave amaua amouli anua aoa aoloau asili atu u aua auasi aumi aunu u auto avaio faga alu faga itau fagaili i fagamalo faganeanea fagasa fagatogo failolo falenin fatumafuti futiga ili ili leloaloa leone leuli i malaeimi malaeloa aitulagi malaeloa ituau maloata mapusagafou masausi masefau matu u mesespa nu uuli nua onenoa pago pago pava ia i poloa sa ilele se etaga tafuna taputimu tula utulei utumea east utumea west vailoatai vaitogi vatia map of the villages of american samoa map of the villages of the manua districts and swain s atoll the villages for the manu a district are faleasao leusoali i luma maia ofu olosega si ufaga sili there is one village on swains island rose island is an uninhabited wildlife refuge trivia american samoa is the location of rose atoll the southernmost point in the united states if insular areas and territories are included see extreme points for more information about three zero ethnic samoans many from american samoa currently play in the national football league a two zero zero two article from espn estimated that a samoan male either an american samoan or a samoan living in the five zero united states is four zero times more likely to play in the nfl than a non samoan american a number have also ventured into professional wrestling see especially persons born in american samoa are united states nationals but not united states citizens this is the only circumstance under which an individual would be one and not the other the american samoa national soccer team holds an unwanted world record in international soccer the record defeat in an international match a three one zero crushing by australia on april one one two zero zero one although many respected reference sources list the neighboring village of pago pago as the capital fagatogo is the de facto and de jure i e constitutionally designated cf article five section nine seat of government additionally the governor s office is located in the village of utulei located on the opposite side of fagatogo from pago pago the reason why many sources list pago pago is because the name pago pago the most popular port of call in american samoa has become associated with the harbor itself thus pago pago is now generally applied to the harbor area and the capital however both the port itself and the legislature of american samoa known as the fono are located in fagatogo a village that is adjacent to and for all practical purposes indistinguishable from pago pago cf wikipedia entry for pago pago in march of one eight eight nine a german naval force shelled a village in samoa and by doing so destroyed some american property three american warships then entered the samoan harbor and were prepared to fire on the three german warships found there before guns were fired a hurricane blew up and sank all the ships american and german a compulsory armistice was called because of the lack of warships see also scouting in american samoa government list of american samoa governors elections in american samoa sports american samoa at the two zero zero zero summer olympics american samoa national rugby league team american samoa national soccer team cia factbook data from the cia world factbook two zero zero zero geography of american samoa demographics of american samoa politics of american samoa economy of american samoa communications in american samoa transportation in american samoa military defense is the responsibility of the us external links cia the world factbook american samoa cia s factbook on american samoa the passive resistance of samoans to us and other colonialisms article in sovereignty matters ed joanne barker university of nebraska press two zero zero five history of american samoa essay which looks at the history of the territory from ancient to more modern times jane s american samoa page library of congress portals of the world american samoa library of congress resource which provides links to resources on american samoa map of american samoa map showing the basic layout of american samoa revised constitution of american samoa provides the text of the constition of american samoa the official webpage of the american samoa government lists information on the territorial government including officials and recent legislation united nations decolonization papers online united nations decolonization documents including current and past working papers on american samoa choohoo an online community for samoans features include forums chat blogs etc rulers org american samoa list of rulers for american samoa american samoa insular areas of the united states oceanic dependencies alien or aliens may mean extraterrestrial life in scientific context extraterrestrial life in culture alien film one nine seven nine by ridley scott aliens one nine eight six film the sequel to the above film xenomorph the alien creatures from the alien movies aliens comic a group of comic book series alien biology a non native species alien computing a program that converts between different linux package distribution file formats alien law a person who is neither a native nor a citizen of their country of residence alien signifier use in literature and criticism as the embodiment of an outside perspective or the sense of the other the aliens roky erickson s backing band alien game a one nine eight two dos text adventure an astronomer or astrophysicist is a person whose area of interest is astronomy or astrophysics johannes hevelius was famed for his work on sunspots and being the first to study the surface of the moon astronomy is generally thought to have begun in ancient babylon by the persian zoroastrian priests the magi recent studies of babylonian records have shown them to be extremely accurate for the ancient night sky following the babylonians the egyptians also had an emphasis on observations of the sky mixtures of religious interpretations of the sky and the development of complex models for applying these interpretations led to a duality that we now identify as astrology it is important to recognize that before about one seven five zero there was no distinction between astrology and astronomy astronomers unlike most scientists cannot interact with the objects that they study they instead must resort to detailed observation in order to make discoveries generally astronomers use telescopes or other imaging equipment to make such observations the job itself is involved with travel to remote locations to study as well famous astronomers see also amateur astronomy list of astronomers there is also a well known painting by johannes vermeer titled the astronomer which is often linked to vermeer s the geographer these paintings are both thought to represent the growing influence and rise in prominence of scientific inquiry in europe at the time of their painting one six six eight six nine astronomers science occupations amoeba chaos diffluens foraminiferan ammonia tepida heliozoan actinophrys sol amoeboids are cells that move or feed by means of temporary projections called pseudopods false feet they have appeared in a number of different groups some cells in multicellular animals may be amoeboid for instance our white blood cells which consume pathogens many protists exist as individual amoeboid cells or take such a form at some point in their life cycle the most famous such organism is amoeba proteus the name amoebae is variously used to describe its close relatives other organisms similar to it or the amoeboids in general amoeboids may be divided into several morphological categories based on the form and structure of the pseudopods those where the pseudopods are supported by regular arrays of microtubules are called actinopods and forms where they are not are called rhizopods further divided into lobse filose and reticulose amoebae there is also a strange group of giant marine amoeboids the xenophyophores that do not fall into any of these categories lobose pseudopods are blunt and there may be one or several on a cell which is usually divided into a layer of clear ectoplasm surrounding more granular endoplasm most including amoeba itself move by the body mass flowing into an anterior pseudopod the vast majority form a monophyletic group called the amoebozoa which also includes most slime moulds a second group the percolozoa includes protists that can transform between amoeboid and flagellate forms filose pseudopods are narrow and tapering the vast majority of filose amoebae including all those that produce shells are placed within the cercozoa together with various flagellates that tend to have amoeboid forms the naked filose amoebae comprise two other groups the vampyrellids and nucleariids the latter appear to be close relatives of animals and fungi reticulose pseudopods are cytoplasmic strands that branch and merge to form a net they are found most notably among the foraminifera a large group of marine protists that generally produce multi chambered shells there are only a few sorts of naked reticulose amoeboids notably the gymnophryids and their relationships are not certain actinopods are divided into the radiolaria and heliozoa the radiolaria are mostly marine protists with complex internal skeletons including central capsules that divide the cells into granular endoplasm and frothy ectoplasm that keeps them buoyant the heliozoa include both freshwater and marine forms that use their axopods to capture small prey and only have simple scales or spines for skeletal elements both groups appear to be polyphyletic traditionally the amoeboid protozoa are grouped together as the sarcodina variously ranked from class to phylum with each of the above categories as a formal subtaxon however since they are all based on form rather than phylogeny newer systems generally separate some out or abandon them entirely most amoeboids are now included in two major supergroups the amoebozoa including most lobose amoebae and slime moulds and the rhizaria including the cercozoa foraminifera radiolarian classes and certain heliozoa however amoeboids have appeared separately in many other groups including various different lines of algae not listed above external links the amoebae website brings together information from published sources amoebas are more than just blobs sun animacules and amoebas protistacell biologyamoeboidsmotile cells there are nine five printable ascii characters numbered three two to one two six ascii a merican s tandard c ode for i nformation i nterchange generally pronounced is a character encoding based on the english alphabet ascii codes represent text in computers communications equipment and other devices that work with text most modern character encodings have a historical basis in ascii ascii was first published as a standard in one nine six seven and was last updated in one nine eight six it currently defines codes for three three non printing mostly obsolete control characters that affect how text is processed plus the following nine five printable characters starting with the space character abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz asteroid three five six eight ascii is named after the character encoding overview like other character representation computer codes ascii specifies a correspondence between digital bit patterns and the symbols glyphs of a written language thus allowing digital devices to communicate with each other and to process store and communicate character oriented information the ascii character encoding or a compatible extension see below is used on nearly all common computers especially personal computers and workstations the preferred mime name for this encoding is us ascii ascii is strictly a seven bit code meaning that it uses the bit patterns representable with seven binary digits a range of zero to one two seven decimal to represent character information at the time ascii was introduced many computers dealt with eight bit groups bytes or more specifically octets as the smallest unit of information the eighth bit was commonly used as a parity bit for error checking on communication lines or other device specific functions machines which did not use parity typically set the eighth bit to zero though some systems such as prime machines running primos set the eighth bit of ascii characters to one ascii only defines a relationship between specific characters and bit sequences aside from reserving a few control codes for line oriented formatting it does not define any mechanism for describing the structure or appearance of text within a document such concepts are within the realm of other systems such as the markup languages history ascii developed from telegraphic codes and first entered commercial use as a seven bit teleprinter code promoted by bell data services the bell system had previously planned to use a six bit code derived from fieldata that added punctuation and lower case letters to the earlier five bit baudot teleprinter code but was persuaded instead to join the asa subcommittee that had started to develop ascii baudot helped in the automation of sending and receiving telegraphic messages and took many features from morse code however unlike morse code baudot used constant length codes compared to earlier telegraph codes the proposed bell code and ascii both underwent re ordering for more convenient sorting especially alphabetization of lists and added features for devices other than teleprinters bob bemer introduced features such as the escape sequence the american standards association asa later to become ansi first published ascii as a standard in one nine six three ascii one nine six three lacked the lowercase letters and had an up arrow instead of the caret and a left arrow instead of the underscore the one nine six seven version added the lowercase letters changed the names of a few control characters and moved the two controls ack and esc from the lowercase letters area into the control codes area ascii was subsequently updated and published as ansi x three four one nine six eight ansi x three four one nine seven seven and finally ansi x three four one nine eight six other international standards bodies have ratified character encodings that are identical or nearly identical to ascii these encodings are sometimes referred to as ascii even though ascii is strictly defined only by the asa ansi standards the european computer manufacturers association published editions of its ascii clone ecma six in one nine six five one nine six seven one nine seven zero one nine seven three one nine eight three and one nine nine one the one nine nine one edition is the same as ansi x three four one nine eight six the international organization for standardization published its version iso six four six later iso iec six four six in one nine six seven one nine seven two one nine eight three and one nine nine one iso six four six one nine seven two in particular established a set of country specific versions with punctuation characters replaced with non english letters iso iec six four six one nine nine one international reference version is the same as ansi x three four one nine eight six the international telecommunication union published its version of ansi x three four one nine eight six itu t recommendation t five zero in one nine nine two in the early one nine seven zero s under the name ccitt the same organization published a version as ccitt recommendation v three din published a version of ascii as din six six zero zero three in one nine seven four the ietf published a version in one nine six nine as rfc two zero and established the internet s standard version based on ansi x three four one nine eight six with the publication of rfc one three four five in one nine nine two ibm s version of ansi x three four one nine eight six is published in ibm technical literature as code page three six seven ascii has also become embedded in its probable replacement unicode as the lowest one two eight characters some observers consider ascii the most successful software standard ever promulgated ascii control characters ascii reserves the first three two codes numbers zero three one decimal for control characters codes originally intended not to carry printable information but rather to control devices such as printers that make use of ascii for example character one zero represents the line feed function which causes a printer to advance its paper and character two seven represents the escape key often found in the top left corner of common keyboards code one two seven all seven bits on another special character equates to delete or rubout though its function resembles that of other control characters the designers of ascii used this pattern so that it could erase a section of paper tape a popular storage medium until the one nine eight zero s by punching all possible holes at a particular character position thus effectively replacing any previous information since code zero null all bits off was also ignored it was possible to leave gaps and then make corrections by blanking characters before or after the gap and then entering new characters in the gap many of the ascii control codes serve or served to mark data packets or to control a data transmission protocol e g enquiry effectively any stations out there acknowledge negative acknowledge start of header start of text end of text etc escape and substitute permit a communications protocol to for instance mark binary data so that if it contains codes with the same pattern as a protocol character the recipient will process the code as data the designers of ascii intended the separator characters record separator etc for use with magnetic tape systems two of the device control characters commonly interpreted as xon and xoff generally function as flow control characters to throttle data flow to a slow device such as a printer from a fast device such as a computer so data does not overrun and get lost early users of ascii adopted some of the control codes to represent meta information such as end of line start end of a data element and so on these assignments often conflict so part of the effort in converting data from one format to another involves making the correct meta information transformations for example the character s representing end of line newline in text data files streams vary from operating system to operating system when moving files from one system to another the conversion process must recognize these characters as end of line markers and handle them appropriately today ascii users use the control characters less and less with the exception of carriage return and or line feed modern markup languages modern communication protocols the move from text based to graphical devices and the demise of teleprinters punch cards and paper tapes have rendered most of the control characters obsolete printable representation the unicode glyphs reserved for representing control characters when it is necessary to print or display them rather than have them perform their intended function control key sequence the traditional key sequences for inputting control characters the caret represents the control or ctrl key that must be held down while pressing the second key in the sequence the caret key representation is also used by some software to represent control characters the backspace character can also be entered by pressing the backspace bksp or key on some systems the delete character can also be entered by pressing the delete or del key it can also be entered by pressing the backspace bksp or key on some systems the escape character can also be entered by pressing the escape or esc key on some systems the carriage return character can also be entered by pressing the return ret enter or key on most systems the ambiguity surrounding the backspace key comes from systems that translated the del control character into a bs backspace before transmitting it some software was unable to process the character and would display h instead h persists in messages today as a deliberate humorous device e g there s a sucker h h h h h hpotential customer born every minute a less common variant of this involves the use of w which in some text editors means delete previous word the example sentence would therefore also work as there s a sucker w potential customer born every minute ascii printable characters code three two the space character denotes the space between words as produced by the large space bar of a keyboard codes three three to one two six known as the printable characters represent letters digits punctuation marks and a few miscellaneous symbols seven bit ascii provided seven national characters and if the combined hardware and software permit can use overstrikes to simulate some additional international characters in such a scenario a backspace can precede a grave accent which the american and british standards but only those standards also call opening single quotation mark a tilde or a breath mark inverted vel zero one one one one one one zero one two six seven e structural features the digits zero nine are represented with their values in binary prefixed with zero zero one one this means that bcd ascii is simply a matter of taking each bcd nibble separately and prefixing zero zero one one to it lowercase and uppercase letters only differ in bit pattern by a single bit simplifying case conversion to a range test to avoid converting characters that are not letters and a single bitwise operation aliases for ascii rfc one three four five published in june one nine nine two and the iana registry of character sets ongoing both recognize the following case insensitive aliases for ascii as suitable for use on the internet ansi x three four one nine six eight canonical name ansi x three four one nine eight six ascii us ascii preferred mime name us iso six four six us iso six four six irv one nine nine one iso ir six ibm three six seven cp three six seven csascii of these only the aliases us ascii and ascii have achieved widespread use one often finds them in the optional charset parameter in the content type header of some mime messages in the equivalent meta element of some html documents and in the encoding declaration part of the prolog of some xml documents variants of ascii as computer technology spread throughout the world different standards bodies and corporations developed many variations of ascii in order to facilitate the expression of non english languages that used roman based alphabets one could class some of these variations as ascii extensions although some mis apply that term to cover all variants including those that do not preserve ascii s character map in the seven bit range iso six four six one nine seven two the first attempt to remedy the pro english language bias created compatibility problems since it remained a seven bit character set it made no additional codes available so it reassigned some in language specific variants it thus became impossible to know what character a code represented without knowing which variant to work with and text processing systems could generally cope with only one variant anyway eventually improved technology brought out of band means to represent the information formerly encoded in the eighth bit of each byte freeing this bit to add another one two eight additional character codes for new assignments for example ibm developed eight bit code pages such as code page four three seven which replaced the control characters with graphic symbols such as smiley faces and mapped additional graphic characters to the upper one two eight bytes operating systems such as dos supported these code pages and manufacturers of ibm pcs supported them in hardware eight bit standards such as iso iec eight eight five nine and mac os roman developed as true extensions of ascii leaving the original character mapping intact and just adding additional values above the seven bit range this enabled the representation of a broader range of languages but these standards continued to suffer from incompatibilities and limitations still iso eight eight five nine one its variant windows one two five two often mislabeled as iso eight eight five nine one and original seven bit ascii remain the most common character encodings in use today unicode and the iso iec one zero six four six universal character set ucs have a much wider array of characters and their various encoding forms have begun to supplant iso iec eight eight five nine and ascii rapidly in many environments while ascii basically uses seven bit codes unicode and the ucs use relatively abstract code points non negative integer numbers that map using different encoding forms and schemes to sequences of one or more eight bit bytes to permit backward compatibility unicode and the ucs assign the first one two eight code points to the same characters as ascii one can therefore think of ascii as a seven bit encoding scheme for a very small subset of unicode and of the ucs the popular utf eight encoding form prescribes the use of one to four eight bit code values for each code point character and equates exactly to ascii for the code values below one two eight other encoding forms such as utf one six resemble ascii in how they represent the first one two eight characters of unicode but tend to use one six or three two bits per character so they require conversion for compatibility the blend word asciibetical has evolved to describe the collation of data in ascii code order rather than standard alphabetical order the abbreviation asciiz or asciz refers to a null terminated ascii string see also ansi ascii art ascii games text file bob bemer ebcdic unicode ascii ribbon ascii extensions where all ascii printable characters are identical to ascii extended ascii utf eight iso eight eight five nine iscii viscii windows code pages ascii variants where some ascii printable characters have been replaced iso six four six atascii petscii zx spectrum character set references for specific points general unicode org chart on the ascii range tom jennings october two nine two zero zero four annotated history of character codes accessed december one seven two zero zero five alt codes external links not relevant to this page user chris chittleborough eight february two zero zero six a pronunciation guide for ascii characters ascii chart how to send documents in ascii etc online encoder decoder for ascii hex binary base six four etc with md two md four md five sha one two crc and other hashing algorithms five letter acronyms character encoding character sets latin alphabet representations america is usually meant as either the americas the lands between the atlantic and pacific oceans usually subdivided into north america south america the united states of america see also americas terminology use of the word america and use of the word american america is also america netherlands in limburg america a part of the parish of sutton in the isle in cambridgeshire england america is the title or name of entertainment am rica a song by spanish singer and composer jos luis perales america a song by simon and garfunkel america a song by prince america a song by neil diamond america band a rock and roll band america the title of their debut album america an album by the band havalina america a one nine two four film directed by d w griffith america the book a book written by the staff of the daily show with jon stewart america a book by jean baudrillard examining the nation sociologically america a song from west side story by leonard bernstein also performed by the uk rock group the nice america xm xm satellite radio channel one zero am rica a brazilian telenovela soap opera america television station an argentinian television station america a weekly roman catholic magazine sports club america mexican football soccer team am rica de cali a colombian football soccer team america a racing yacht that won the first ever america s cup in one eight five one transportation america a multi engine airplane used by richard e byrd and his crew on a one nine two seven transatlantic flight america a passenger liner commanded by george fried involved in a famous sea rescue in one nine two nine uss america the name of three united states navy ships ss america a passenger liner owned by the united states lines america is an alternative title for my country tis of thee a patriotic song of the united states our america an essay by jose marti see also amerika disambiguation naming of america a satellite composite image of africa africa is the world s second largest and second most populous continent after asia at about three zero three seven zero zero zero zero km one one seven three zero zero zero zero sq mi including its adjacent islands it covers five nine of the earth s total surface area and two zero three of the total land area with over eight four zero zero zero zero zero zero zero people as of two zero zero five in six one territories it accounts for more than one two of the world s human population etymology world map showing africa geographically the name africa came into western use through the romans who used the name africa terra land of the afri plural or afer singular for the northern part of the continent as the province of africa with its capital carthage corresponding to modern day tunisia the afri were a tribe possibly berber who dwelt in north africa in the carthage area the origin of afer may be connected with phoenician afar dust also found in most other semitic languages some other etymologies that have been postulated for the ancient name africa that are much more debatable include the latin word aprica meaning sunny the greek word aphrike meaning without cold see also list of traditional greek place names the historian leo africanus one four nine five one five five four attributed the origin to the greek word phrike meaning cold and horror combined with the negating prefix a so meaning a land free of cold and horror however the change of sound from ph to f in greek is datable to about the first century so this is unlikely to be the origin ancient africa extended into what is now known as asia there was no line drawn between the two continents until the geographer ptolemy eight five one six five ad accepted alexandria as prime meridian and made the isthmus of suez and the red sea the boundary between asia and africa as europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent the idea of africa expanded with their knowledge geography main article geography of africa africa in the blue marble picture with antarctica to the south and the sahara and arabian peninsula at the top of the globe africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the main mass of the earth s surface it includes within its remarkably regular outline an area of c three zero three six zero two eight eight km one one seven two two one seven three mi including the islands separated from europe by the mediterranean sea it is joined to asia at its northeast extremity by the isthmus of suez transected by the suez canal one three zero km eight zero miles wide geopolitically egypt s sinai peninsula east of the suez canal is often considered part of africa as well from the most northerly point cape blanc ra s al abyad in tunisia three seven two one n to the most southerly point cape agulhas in south africa three four five one one five s is a distance approximately of eight zero zero zero km five zero zero zero miles from cape verde one seven three three two two w the westernmost point to ras hafun in somalia five one two seven five two e the most easterly projection is a distance also approximately of seven four zero zero km four six zero zero miles the length of coast line is two six zero zero zero km one six one zero zero miles and the absence of deep indentations of the shore is shown by the fact that europe which covers only nine seven zero zero zero zero zero km three seven six zero zero zero zero square miles has a coast line of three two zero zero zero km one nine eight zero zero miles the main structural lines of the continent show both the east to west direction characteristic at least in the eastern hemisphere of the more northern parts of the world and the north to south direction seen in the southern peninsulas africa is thus composed of two segments at right angles the northern running from east to west the southern from north to south the subordinate lines corresponding in the main to these two directions history main article history of africa map of africa one eight nine zero africa is home to the oldest inhabited territory on earth with the human race originating from this continent during the mid two zero th century anthropologists discovered many fossils and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as seven million years ago fossil remains of several species of early ape like humans thought to have evolved into modern day man such as australopithecus afarensis radiometrically dated to three nine three zero million years bc paranthropus boisei two three one four million bc and homo ergaster c six zero zero zero zero zero one nine million bc has been discovered the ishango bone dated to c two five zero zero zero years ago shows tallies in mathematical notation throughout humanity s prehistory africa like all other continents had no nation states and was instead inhabited by groups of hunter gatherers such as the khoi and san formerly known as bushmen around three three zero zero bc the historical record opens in africa with the rise of literacy in egypt which continued with varying levels of influence over other areas until three four three bc other prominent civilizations include ethiopia the nubian kingdom carthage the kingdoms of the sahel ghana mali and songhai and great zimbabwe in one four eight two the portuguese established the first of many trading stations along the guinea coast at elmina the chief commodities dealt in were slaves gold ivory and spices the european discovery of america in one four nine two was followed by a great development of the slave trade which before the portuguese era had been an overland trade almost exclusively and never confined to any one continent but at the same time that slavery was ending in europe in the early one nine th century the european imperial powers staged a massive scramble for africa and occupied most of the continent creating many colonial nation states and leaving only two independent nations liberia the black american colony and ethiopia this occupation continued until after the conclusion of the second world war when all colonial states gradually obtained formal independence today africa is home to over five zero independent countries all but two of which still have the borders drawn up during the era of european colonialism politics map showing european claimants to the african continent at the beginning of world war i precolonial africa colonial africa colonialism had a destabilizing effect on what had been a number of ethnic groups that is still being felt in african politics prior to european influence national borders were not much of a concern with africans generally following the practice of other areas of the world such as the arabian peninsula where a group s territory was congruent with its military or trade influence the european insistence of drawing borders around territories to isolate them from those of other colonial powers often had the effect of separating otherwise contiguous political groups or forcing traditional enemies to live side by side with no buffer between them for example the congo river although it appears to be a natural geographic boundary had groups that otherwise shared a language culture or other similarity who resided on both sides the division of the land between belgium and france along the river isolated these groups from each other those who lived in saharan or sub saharan africa and traded across the continent for centuries often found themselves crossing borders that existed only on european maps in nations that had substantial european populations for example rhodesia and south africa systems of second class citizenship were often set up in order to give europeans political power far in excess of their numbers however the lines were not often drawn strictly across racial lines in liberia the citizens who were descendants of american slaves managed to have a political system for over one zero zero years that gave ex slaves and natives to the area roughly equal legislative power despite the fact the ex slaves were outnumbered ten to one in the general population the inspiration for this system was the united states senate which had balanced the power of free and slave states despite the much larger population of the former europeans often changed the balance of power created ethnic divides where they did not previously exist and introduced a cultural dichotomy detrimental to the native inhabitants in the areas they controlled for example in what is now rwanda and burundi two ethnic groups hutus and tutsis had merged into one culture by the time belgian colonists had taken control of the region in the one nine th century no longer divided by ethnicity as intermingling inter marriage and merging of cultural practices over the centuries had long since erased visible signs of a culture divide the belgians instituted a policy of racial categorization upon taking control of the region as racial based categorization and philosophies was a fixture of the european culture of that time the term hutu originally referred to the agricultural based bantu speaking tribes that moved into present day rwandan and burundi from the west and the term tutsi referred to north eastern cattle based tribes that migrated into the region later the terms to the indigenous peoples eventually came to describe a person s economic class those individuals who owned roughly one zero or more cattle were considered tutsi and those with fewer were considered hutu regardless of ancestral history this was not a strict line but a general rule of thumb and one could move from hutu to tutsi and vice versa the belgians introduced a racialised system those individuals who had characteristics the europeans admired fairer skin ample height narrow noses etc were given power amongst the colonized peoples the belgians determined these features were more ideally hamitic hamitic in turn being more ideally european and belonged to those people closest to tutsi in ancestry they instituted a policy of issuing identity cards based on this philosophy those closest to this ideal were proclaimed tutsi and those not were proclaimed hutu post colonial africa since independence african states have frequently been hampered by instability corruption violence and authoritarianism the vast majority of african nations are republics that operate under some form of the presidential system of rule few nations in africa have been able to sustain democratic governments instead cycling through a series of brutal coups and military dictatorships a number of africa s post colonial political leaders were poorly educated and ignorant on matters of governance great instability however was mainly the result of marginalization of other ethnic groups and graft under these leaders as well many used the positions of power to ignite ethnic conflicts that had been exacerbated or even created under colonial rule in many countries the military was perceived as being the only group that could effectively maintain order and ruled most nations in africa during the seven zero s and early eight zero s during the period from the early one nine six zero s to the late one nine eight zero s africa had over seven zero coups and one three presidential assassinations cold war conflicts between the united states and the soviet union also played a role in the instability when a country became independent for the first time it was often expected to align with one of the two superpowers many countries in northern africa received soviet military aid while many in central and southern africa were supported by the united states and or france the one nine seven zero s saw an escalation as newly independent angola and mozambique aligned themselves with the soviet union and the west and south africa sought to contain soviet influence border and territorial disputes have also been common with the european imposed borders of many nations being widely contested through armed conflicts failed government policies and political corruption have also resulted in many widespread famines and significant portions of africa remain with distribution systems unable to disseminate enough food or water for the population to survive the spread of disease is also rampant especially the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus hiv and the associated acquired immune deficiency syndrome aids which has become a deadly epidemic on the continent despite numerous hardships there have been some signs the continent has hope for the future democratic governments seem to be spreading though are not yet the majority national geographic claims one three african nations can be considered truly democratic as well many nations have at least nominally recognized basic human rights for all citizens though in practice these are not always recognized and have created reasonably independent judiciaries there are clear signs of increased networking among african organisations and states in the civil war in the democratic republic of congo former zaire rather than rich non african countries intervening about half a dozen neighbouring african countries got involved see also second congo war the death toll has been estimated by some to be three five million since the conflict began in one nine nine eight this might play a role similar to that of world war ii for europe after which the people in the neighbouring countries decide to integrate their societies in such a way that war between them becomes as unthinkable as a war between say france and germany would be today political associations such as the african union are also offering hope for greater co operation and peace between the continent s many countries extensive human rights abuses still occur in several parts of africa often under the oversight of the state most of such violations occur for political reasons often times as a side effect of civil war countries where major human rights violations have been reported in recent times include the democratic republic of the congo sierra leone liberia sudan and c te d ivoire modern africa most western countries place limitations on aid to african nations especially the united states these limitations are often used to control the governments of these african nations as a result these nations are turning to non traditional sources of financial aid china has increasingly provided financial aid to africa in order to secure contracts on natural resources such as oil gold and diamonds there usually is no political prescription countries the chinese are investing in include central african republic plantations nigeria oil these groups are called north africans and sub saharan africans respectively afro asiatic speaking peoples predominate in north africa while sub saharan africa is dominated by a number of populations grouped according to their language niger congo predominantly in west africa nilo saharan in the eastern highlands and khoisan in the south speakers of bantu languages part of the niger congo family are the majority in southern central and east africa proper but there are also several nilotic groups in east africa and a few remaining indigenous khoisan san or bushmen and pygmy peoples in southern and central africa respectively bantu speaking africans also predominate in gabon and equatorial guinea and are found in parts of southern cameroon and southern somalia in the kalahari desert of southern africa the distinct people known as the bushmen also san closely related to but distinct from hottentots have long been present the san are physically distinct from other africans and are the indigenous people of southern africa pygmies are the pre bantu indigenous peoples of central africa the peoples of north africa comprise two main groups berber and arabic speaking peoples in the west and egyptians in the east the arabs who arrived in the seven th century introduced the arabic language and islam to north africa the semitic phoenicians and the european greeks and romans settled in north africa as well berbers still make up the majority in morocco while they are a significant minority within algeria they are also present in tunisia and libya the tuareg and other often nomadic peoples are the principal inhabitants of the saharan interior of north africa nubians are a nilo saharan speaking group though many also speak arabic who developed an ancient civilization in northeast africa during the past century or so small but economically important colonies of lebanese and chinese have also developed in the larger coastal cities of west and east africa respectively some ethiopian and eritrean groups like the amhara and tigrayans collectively known as habesha have semitic sabaean ancestry the somalis as a people originated in the ethiopian highlands but most somali clans can trace some arab ancestry as well sudan and mauritania are divided between a mostly arabized north and a native african south although the arabs of sudan clearly have a predominantly native african ancestry themselves some areas of east africa particularly the island of zanzibar and the kenyan island of lamu received arab muslim and southwest asian settlers and merchants throughout the middle ages and in antiquity beginning in the one six th century europeans such as the portuguese and dutch began to establish trading posts and forts along the coasts of western and southern africa eventually a large number of dutch augmented by french huguenots and germans settled in what is today south africa their descendants the afrikaners and the coloureds are the largest european descended groups in africa today in the one nine th century a second phase of colonization brought a large number of french and british settlers to africa the portuguese settled mainly in angola but also in mozambique the french settled in large numbers in algeria where they became known collectively as pieds noirs and on a smaller scale in other areas of north and west africa as well as in madagascar the british settled chiefly in south africa as well as the colony of rhodesia and in the highlands of what is now kenya germans settled in what is now tanzania and namibia and there is still a population of german speaking white namibians smaller numbers of european soldiers businessmen and officials also established themselves in administrative centers such as nairobi and dakar decolonization during the one nine six zero s often resulted in the mass emigration of european descended settlers out of africa especially from algeria angola kenya and rhodesia now zimbabwe however in south africa and namibia the white minority remained politically dominant after independence from europe and a significant population of white africans remained in these two countries even after democracy was finally instituted at the end of the cold war south africa has also become the preferred destination of white anglo zimbabweans and of migrants from all over southern africa european colonization also brought sizeable groups of asians particularly people from the indian subcontinent to british colonies large indian communities are found in south africa and smaller ones are present in kenya tanzania and some other southern and east african countries a fairly large indian community in uganda was expelled by the dictator idi amin in one nine seven two though many have since returned the islands in the indian ocean are also populated primarily by people of asian origin often mixed with africans and europeans the malagasy people of madagascar are a malay people but those along the coast are generally mixed with bantu arab indian and european origins malay and indian ancestries are also important components in the group of people known in south africa as coloureds people with origins in two or more races and continents languages map showing the distribution of african language families and some major african languages afro asiatic extends from the sahel to southwest asia niger congo is divided to show the size of the bantu sub family main article african languages by most estimates africa contains well over a thousand languages there are four major language families native to africa the afro asiatic languages are a language family of about two four zero languages and two eight five million people widespread throughout north africa east africa the sahel and southwest asia the nilo saharan language family consists of more than a hundred languages spoken by three zero million people nilo saharan languages are mainly spoken in chad sudan ethiopia uganda kenya and northern tanzania the niger congo language family covers much of sub saharan africa and is probably the largest language family in the world in terms of different languages a substantial number of them are the bantu languages spoken in much of sub saharan africa the khoisan languages number about five zero and are spoken in southern africa by approximately one two zero zero zero zero people many of the khoisan languages are endangered the khoi and san peoples are considered the original inhabitants of this part of africa with a few notable exceptions in east africa nearly all african countries have adopted official languages that originated outside the continent and spread through colonialism or human migration for example in numerous countries english and french are used for communication in the public sphere such as government commerce education and the media arabic portuguese afrikaans and malagasy are other examples of originally non african languages that are used by millions of africans today both in the public and private spheres culture africa has a number of overlapping cultures the most conventional distinction is that between sub saharan africa and the northern countries from egypt to morocco who largely associate themselves with arabic culture in this comparison the nations to the south of the sahara are considered to consist of many cultural areas in particular that of the bantu linguistic group divisions may also be made between francophone africa and the rest of africa in particular the former british colonies of southern and east africa another cultural fault line is that between those africans living traditional lifestyles and those who are essentially modern the traditionalists are sometimes subdivided into pastoralists and agriculturalists african art reflects the diversity of african cultures the oldest existing art from africa are six zero zero zero year old carvings found in niger while the great pyramid of giza in egypt was the world s tallest architectural accomplishment for four thousand years until the creation of the eiffel tower the ethiopian complex of monolithic churches at lalibela of which the church of st george is representative is regarded as another marvel of engineering the music of africa is one of its most dynamic art forms egypt has long been a cultural focus of the arab world while remembrance of the rhythms of sub saharan africa in particular west africa was transmitted through the atlantic slave trade to modern blues jazz reggae rap and rock and roll modern music of the continent includes the highly complex choral singing of southern africa and the dance rhythms of soukous dominated by the music of the democratic republic of congo a recent development of the two one st century is the emergence of african hip hop in particular a form from senegal is blended with traditional mbalax recently in south africa a form of music related to house music known under the name kwaito has developed although the country has been home to its own form of south african jazz for some time while afrikaans music is completely distinct and comprised mostly of traditional boere musiek and forms of folk and rock list of african musicians list of african writers african cinema afrology religion africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs with christianity and islam being the most widespread approximately four zero of all africans are christians and another four zero muslims roughly two zero of africans primarily follow indigenous african religions a small number of africans also have beliefs from the judaic tradition such as the beta israel and lemba tribes the indigenous african religions tend to revolve around animism and ancestor worship a common thread in traditional belief systems was the division of the spiritual world into helpful and harmful helpful spirits are usually deemed to include ancestor spirits that help their descendants and powerful spirits that protected entire communities from natural disaster or attacks from enemies whereas harmful spirits include the souls of murdered victims who were buried without the proper funeral rites and spirits used by hostile spirit mediums to cause illness among their enemies while the effect of these early forms of worship continues to have a profound influence belief systems have evolved as they interact with other religions the formation of the old kingdom of egypt in the third millennium bce marked the first known complex religious system on the continent around the ninth century bce carthage in present day tunisia was founded by the phoenicians and went on to become a major cosmopolitan center where deities from neighboring egypt rome and the etruscan city states were worshipped the ethiopian orthodox church officially dates from the fourth century and is thus one of the first established christian churches anywhere at first christian orthodoxy made gains in modern day sudan and other neighbouring regions however following the spread of islam growth was slow and restricted to the highlands islam entered africa as muslims conquered north africa between six four zero and seven one zero beginning with egypt they established mogadishu melinde mombasa kilwa and sofala following the sea trade down the coast of east africa and diffusing through the sahara desert into the interior of africa following in particular the paths of muslim traders muslims were also among the asian peoples who later settled in british ruled africa many africans were converted to west european forms of christianity during the colonial period in the last decades of the twentieth century various sects of charismatic christianity rapidly grew a number of roman catholic african bishops were even mentioned as possible papal candidates in two zero zero five african christians appear to be more socially conservative than their co religionists in much of the industrialized world which has quite recently led to tensions within denominations such as the anglican and methodist churches territories regions of africa blue north africa green west africa brown central africa orange horn of africa magenta east africa red southern africa political map of africa physical map of africa independent states east africa east africa proper burundi also sometimes considered part of central africa kenya rwanda also sometimes considered part of central africa tanzania uganda north east africa horn of africa djibouti eritrea ethiopia somalia including somaliland central africa burundi also sometimes considered part of east africa central african republic chad also sometimes considered part of west africa democratic republic of the congo equatorial guinea also sometimes considered part of west africa gabon also sometimes considered part of west africa rwanda also sometimes considered part of east africa republic of congo north africa algeria egypt libya mauritania morocco sudan tunisia southern africa angola also sometimes considered part of central africa botswana lesotho malawi mozambique also sometimes considered part of east africa namibia south africa swaziland zambia also sometimes considered part of central africa zimbabwe west africa benin burkina faso cameroon also sometimes considered part of central africa chad also sometimes considered part of central africa c te d ivoire equatorial guinea also sometimes considered part of central africa gabon also sometimes considered part of central africa the gambia ghana guinea guinea bissau liberia mali niger nigeria senegal sierra leone togo african island nations cape verde west africa comoros southern africa madagascar southern africa mauritius southern africa s o tom and pr ncipe central africa or west africa seychelles east africa territories possessions d partements canary islands spain ceuta and melilla spain claimed by morocco madeira portugal mayotte france r union france saint helena including dependencies ascension island and tristan da cunha united kingdom disputed territories western sahara is claimed and mostly occupied by morocco the remainder is administered by the sahrawi arab democratic republic table of territories and regions notes continental regions as per depending on definitions egypt has territory in one or both of africa and asia western sahara is claimed and mostly occupied by morocco the remainder is administered by the sahrawi arab democratic republic the spanish canary islands of which las palmas de gran canaria are santa cruz de tenerife are co capitals are often considered part of northern africa due to their relative proximity to morocco and western sahara population and area figures are for two zero zero one the spanish exclave of ceuta is surrounded on land by morocco in northern africa population and area figures are for two zero zero one the portuguese madeira islands are often considered part of northern africa due to their relative proximity to morocco population and area figures are for two zero zero one the spanish exclave of melilla is surrounded on land by morocco in northern africa population and area figures are for two zero zero one bloemfontein is the judicial capital of south africa while cape town is its legislative seat and pretoria is the country s administrative seat yamoussoukro is the official capital of c te d ivoire while abidjan is the de facto seat see also two zero zero five in africa two zero zero six in africa three one st g eight summit aids in africa african anarchism african philosophy african union african cuisine confederation of african football congo craton ecology of africa education in africa history of africa human rights in africa regions of africa sub saharan africa universities in africa heart of africa game list of african countries by population density list of african countries by population list of african countries by gdp list of african stock exchanges external links news allafrica com current news events and statistics bbc news in depth africa two zero zero five time for change guardian unlimited special report hear africa zero five directories contemporary africa database the index on africa directory from the norwegian council for africa open directory project africa directory category columbia university african studies library of congress african middle eastern reading room stanford university africa south of the sahara university of chicago joseph regenstein library african studies university of pennsylvania african studies center africa homepage politics africa action africa action is the oldest organization in the us working on africa affairs it is a national organization that works for political economic and social justice in africa african anarchism the history of a movement an irish anarchist in africa western africa from anarchist perspective commission for africa african unification front working class history in africa people s and grassroots histories photos and information jungle photos jungle photos africa provides images and information on various countries in sub saharan africa africam african wildlife webcams afrika no news news african news agency inter press service africa sports confederation of african football in english and french tourism africa continents austin is a word that may refer to various things austin can also be a given name places in the u s austin may be the name of a town or city in the u s austin texas the capital of texas best known city with this name austin arkansas austin colorado austin indiana austin kentucky austin township michigan austin minnesota austin township minnesota austin nevada austin north carolina austin pennsylvania austin utah port austin michigan austinburg ohio other places in the u s named austin austin chicago a neighborhood in chicago austin college a college in sherman texas lake austin places in canada austin flat british columbia austin heights british columbia austin subdivision no one british columbia austin subdivision no two british columbia austin manitoba austin ontario austin quebec names of people named austin austin powers a fictional movie spy albert austin herbert austin sir herbert austin founder of the austin motor company john austin legal philosophy j l austin philosopher john arnold austin united states navy warrant officer phil austin member of the firesign theatre sherrie austin musician stephen f austin founder of texas steve austin fictional character the title character in martin caidin s novel cyborg which inspired the tv series the six million dollar man col steve austin fictional character the lead character played by lee majors in the tv series the six million dollar man stone cold steve austin a professional wrestler turned actor saint augustine noticeable in the english version austin friars to refer to the augustinian order see also jane austen the author things named austin austin motor company a british make of car american austin car company a short lived united states make of automobile austin brand a brand owned by the kellogg company uss austin a sloop of war originally in the texas navy uss austin de one five a destroyer escort uss austin lpd four an amphibious transport dock austin elementary school image animexample gif this animation moves at one zero frames per second image animexample two gif this animation moves at two frames per second at this rate the individual frames should be discernible image animhorse gif one two frames per second is the typical rate for an animated cartoon animation is the illusion of motion created by the consecutive display of images of static elements in film and video production this refers to techniques by which each frame of a film or movie is produced individually these frames may be generated by computers or by photographing a drawn or painted image or by repeatedly making small changes to a model unit see claymation and stop motion and then photographing the result with a special animation camera when the frames are strung together and the resulting film is viewed there is an illusion of continuous movement due to the phenomenon known as persistence of vision generating such a film tends to be very labour intensive and tedious though the development of computer animation has greatly sped up the process graphics file formats like gif mng svg and flash swf allow animation to be viewed on a computer or over the internet the animations shown before consist of these six frames toc animation techniques traditional animation began with each frame being painted and then filmed cel animation developed by bray and hurd in the one nine one zero s sped up the process by using transparent overlays so that characters could be moved without the need to repaint the background for every frame more recently styles of animation based on painting and drawing have evolved such as the minimalist simpsons cartoons or the roughly sketched the snowman computer animation has advanced rapidly and is now approaching the point where movies can be created with characters so lifelike as to be hard to distinguish from real actors this involved a move from two d to three d the difference being that in two d animation the effect of perspective is created artistically but in three d objects are modeled in an internal three d representation within the computer and are then lit and shot from chosen angles just as in real life before being rendered to a two d bitmapped frame predictions that famous dead actors might even be brought back to life to play in new movies before long have led to speculation about the moral and copyright issues involved the use of computer animation as a way of achieving the otherwise impossible in conventionally shot movies has led to the term computer generated imagery being used though the term has become hard to distinguish from computer animation as it is now used in referring to three d movies that are entirely animated computer animation involves modelling motion generation followed by the addition of surfaces and then rendering surfaces are programmed to stretch and bend automatically in response to movements of a wire frame model and the final rendering converts such movements to a bitmap image it is the recent developments in rendering complex surfaces like fur and clothing textures that have enabled stunningly life like character models including surfaces that even ripple fold and blow in the wind with every fibre or hair individually calculated for rendering however that actually has little to do with the animation itself animation is the process of bringing a lifeless puppet to life through the use of motion many people confuse fancy effects and high res textures with animation but in fact life like motion can be created using the simplest of models pixar s work is a testament to this the goal of an animator is not simply to copy the real world but to enhance and to take the essence of the motion that is there and this is how animation can be elevated to the level of art there is a large misconception in the public mind that computers create animation today this couldn t be further from the truth a computer is nothing more though also nothing less than a very expensive fancy pencil and has to be treated as such for any quality work to be acheived the choices a computer makes when interpolating motion are almost always the wrong ones because the computer does not know what you are trying to create even if a complex physics system were created complete enough to exactly mimic the real world the end result would not be the desirable one because a large part of animation concerns the choices an animator makes when a computer tries to make the choices for you disaster is the general result history the major use of animation has always been for entertainment however there is growing use of instructional animation and educational animation to support explanation and learning the classic form of animation the animated cartoon as developed in the early one nine zero zero s and refined by ub iwerks walt disney and others requires up to two four distinct drawings for one second of animation this technique is described in detail in the article traditional animation because animation is very time consuming and often very expensive to produce the majority of animation for tv and movies comes from professional animation studios however the field of independent animation has existed at least since the one nine five zero s with animation being produced by independent studios and sometimes by a single person several independent animation producers have gone on to enter the professional animation industry bill plympton is one of the most well known independent animators today limited animation is a way of increasing production and decreasing costs of animation by using short cuts in the animation process this method was pioneered by upa and popularized some say exploited by hanna barbera and adapted by other studios as cartoons moved from movie theaters to television animation studios animation studios like movie studios may be production facilities or financial entities in some cases especially in anime they have things in common with artists studios where a master or group of talented individuals oversee the work of lesser artists and crafts persons in realising their vision styles and techniques of animation branch pages computer animation computer generated imagery traditional animation animated cartoon motion capture avar animation variable wire frame model animated series anime japanese animation list of animation studios famous names in animation see also list of motion picture topics list of movie genres further readings frank thomas and ollie johnston disney animation the illusion of life abbeville one nine eight one walters faber helen walters algrant ed animation unlimited innovative short films since one nine four zero harpercollins publishers two zero zero four trish ledoux doug ranney fred patten ed complete anime guide japanese animation film directory and resource guide tiger mountain press one nine nine seven the animator s survival kit richard williams animation script to screen shamus culhane the animation book kit laybourne external links writing for animation animating under the camera experimental animation techniques drawn under camera style animation matt world web based animations from animator matt greenwood keyframe the animation resource the animation department of the national film and television school uk animation nation a forum for professional animators chronology of animation zagreb film saf akovec school of animation animation directory don markenstein s toonopedia big cartoon database golden age of cartoons hints and tips for the animation hobbyist acme animation animation world network two eight principles of animation animationmeat com notes model sheets and reference material by professional animators media techniques in animation animation film statue of apollo at the british museum in greek and roman mythology apollo greek ap ll n or apell n was a god of light healing and poetry apollo was the son of zeus and leto and the twin brother of artemis goddess of the hunt as the prophetic deity of the delphic oracle apollo was one of the most important and many sided of the olympian deities in etruscan mythology he was known as aplu in later times apollo became partly confused or equated with helios god of the sun and his sister similarly equated with selene god of the moon particularly in religious contexts however apollo and helios remained separate beings in literary and mythological texts domains and symbols apollo the son of zeus and the mortal leto apollo was considered to have dominion over disease beauty light healing colonists medicine archery poetry prophecy dance reason intellectualism and shamans and was the patron defender of herds and flocks apollo s most common attributes were the lyre and the bow other attributes of his included the kithara an advanced version of the common lyre and plectrum another common emblem was the sacrificial tripod representing his prophetic powers the pythian games were held in apollo s honor every four years at delphi the laurel bay plant was used in expiatory sacrifices and in making the crown of victory at these games the palm tree was also sacred to apollo because he had been born under one in delos animals sacred to apollo included wolves dolphins and roe swans and grasshoppers symbolizing music and song hawks ravens crows and snakes referencing apollo s function as the god of prophecy mice and griffins mythical eagle lion hybrids of eastern origin as god of colonization apollo gave guidance on colonies especially during the height of colonization seven five zero five five zero bc according to greek tradition he helped cretan or arcadian colonists find the city of troy however this story may reflect a cultural influence which had the reverse direction hittite cuneiform texts mention a minor asian god called appaliunas or apalunas in connection with the city of wilusa which is now regarded as being identical with the greek illios by most scholars in this interpretation apollo s title of lykegenes can simply be read as born in lycia which effectively severs the god s supposed link with wolves possibly a folk etymology apollo popularly e g in literary criticism represents harmony order and reasons characteristics contrasted with those of dionysus god of wine who popularly represents emotion and disorder the contrast between the roles of these gods is reflected in the adjectives apollonian and dionysian however the greeks thought of the two qualities as complementary the two gods are brothers and when apollo at winter left for hyperborea he would leave the delphi oracle to dionysus worship apollo had a famous oracle in delphi and other notable ones in clarus and branchidae apollo is known as the leader of the muses musagetes and director of their choir hymns sung to apollo were called paeans the roman worship of apollo was adopted from the greeks there is a tradition that the delphic oracle was consulted as early as the period of the kings during the reign of tarquinius superbus in four three zero a temple was dedicated to apollo on the occasion of a pestilence during the second punic war in two one two the ludi apollinares were instituted in his honor in the time of augustus who considered himself under the special protection of apollo and was even said to be his son his worship developed and he became one of the chief gods of rome after the battle of actium augustus enlarged his old temple dedicated a portion of the spoils to him and instituted quinquennial games in his honour he also erected a new temple on the palatine hill and transferred the secular games for which horace composed his carmen saeculare to apollo and diana the chief festivals held in honour of apollo were the carneia daphnephoria delia hyacinthia pyanepsia pythia and thargelia the ludi apollinares were solemn games held to honor him the worship of apollo has returned with the rise of revivalist hellenic polytheism and the contemporary pagan movement one example of this revival is the group kyklos apollon also together with athena apollo under the name phevos was controversially designated as a mascot of the two zero zero four summer olympics in athens etymology the name apollo might have been derived from a pre hellenic compound apo ollon likely related to an archaic verb apo ell and literally meaning he who elbows off that is the dispelling one indeed he seems to have personified dispelling power which would relate to his association with the darkness dispelling power of the morning sun and the conceived power of reason and prophecy to dispel doubt and ignorance in addition the apparent expelling character of city walls and doorways as bulwarks against trespassers the people dispelling nature of disembarkations and expatriations to colonies the disease dispelling character of healing the predator dispelling character of a shepherd tending his flocks the pest dispelling nature of a farmer growing crops the power of music and the arts to dispel discord and barbary the highly important power of fit and skilled young men to dispel intruders and invading armies the ability of foresight into the future an explanation given by plutarch in moralia is that apollon signified a unity since pollon meant many and the prefix a was a negative thus apollon could be read as meaning deprived of multitude apollo was consequently associated with the monad hesychius connects the name apollo with the doric which means assembly so that apollo would be the god of political life and he also gives the explanation fold in which case apollo would be the god of flocks and herds apollo with a radiant halo in a roman floor mosaic el djem tunisia lare two nd century apollo in art in art apollo is usually depicted as a handsome beardless young man and often with a lyre or bow in hand in the late two nd century floor mosaic from el djem roman thysdrus illustration right he is identifiable as apollo helios by his effulgent halo though now even a god s divine nakedness is concealed by his cloak a mark of increasing conventions of modesty in the later empire anther haloed apollo in mosaic from hadrumentum is in the museum at sousse the conventions of this representation head tilted lips slightly parted large eyed curling hair cut in locks grazing the neck were developed in the three rd century bce to depict alexander the great bieber one nine six four yalouris one nine eight zero some time after this mosaic was executed the earliest depictions of christ will be beardless and haloed appellations epithets applied to apollo include phoebus shining one for apollo in the context of the god of light smintheus mouse catcher and parnopius grasshopper as god of the plague and defender against rats and locusts delphinios delphinian meaning of the womb associating apollo with delphoi delphi an aitiology in the homeric hymns connects the epitheton to dolphins archegetes director of the foundation for colonies musagetes leader of the muses pythios pythian at delphi apotropaeus he who averts evil nymphegetes nymph leader lyceios and lykegenes wolfish or of lycia where some postulate his cult originated nomios wandering as the pastoral shepherd god klarios from doric klaros allotment of land for his supervision over cities and colonies kynthios is another epithet stemming from his birth on mt cynthus loxias the obscure as apollo a god of prophecy specifically argurotoxos with the silver bow for archery aphetoros god of the bow for archery alexikakos restrainer of evil as apollo the healer akesios or iatros healer birth when hera discovered that leto was pregnant and that hera s husband zeus was the father she banned leto from giving birth on terra firma or the mainland or any island at sea in her wanderings leto found the newly created floating island of delos which was neither mainland nor a real island and gave birth there the island was surrounded by swans afterwards zeus secured delos to the bottom of the ocean this island later became sacred to apollo alternatively hera kidnapped ilithyia the goddess of childbirth to prevent leto from going into labor the other gods tricked hera into letting her go by offering her a necklace nine yards long of amber either way artemis was born first and then assisted with the birth of apollo another version states that artemis was born one day before apollo on the island of ortygia and that she helped leto cross the sea to delos the next day to give birth to apollo apollo was born on the seven th day of the month thargelion according to delian tradition or of the month bysios according to delphian tradition the seven th and two zero th the days of the new and full moon were ever afterwards held sacred to him youth in his youth apollo killed the vicious dragon python which lived in delphi beside the castalian spring according to some because python had attempted to rape leto while she was pregnant with apollo and artemis this was the spring which emitted vapors that caused the oracle at delphi to give her prophesies apollo killed python but had to be punished for it since python was a child of gaia apollo and admetus when zeus struck down apollo s son asclepius with a lightning bolt for resurrecting the dead and thus stealing hades s subjects apollo in revenge killed the cyclops who had fashioned the bolt for zeus apollo would have been banished to tartarus forever but was instead sentenced to one year of hard labour as punishment thanks to the intercession of his mother leto during this time he served as shepherd for king admetus of pherae in thessaly admetus treated apollo well and in return the god conferred great benefits on admetus apollo helped admetus win alcestis the daughtor of king pelias and later convinced the fates to let admetus live past his time if another took his place but when it came time for admetus to die his elderly parents whom he had assumed would gladly die for him refused to cooperate instead alcestis took his place but heracles managed to persuade thanatos the god of death to return her to the world of the living apollo during the trojan war apollo shot arrows infected with the plague into the greek encampment during the trojan war in rage because the greeks had kidnapped chryseis the daughter of apollo s priest he demanded her return and the greeks eventually complied when diomedes injured aeneas during the trojan war apollo rescued him first aphrodite tried to rescue aeneas but diomedes injured her as well aeneas was then enveloped in a cloud by apollo who took him to pergamos a sacred spot in troy artemis healed aeneas there apollo had aided paris in the killing of achilles if paris did not accomplish the task himself niobe a queen of thebes and wife of amphion niobe boasted of her superiority to leto because she had fourteen children niobids seven male and seven female while leto had only two apollo killed her sons as they practiced athletics with the last begging for his life and artemis her daughters apollo and artemis used poisoned arrows to kill them though according to some versions of the myth a number of the niobids were spared chloris usually amphion at the sight of his dead sons either killed himself or was killed by apollo after swearing revenge a devastated niobe fled to mt siplyon in asia minor and turned into stone as she wept her tears formed the river achelous zeus had turned all the people of thebes to stone and so no one buried the niobids until the ninth day after their death when the gods themselves entombed them apollo s romantic life and children female lovers apollo chased the nymph daphne daughter of peneus who had scorned him his infatuation was caused by an arrow from eros who was jealous because apollo had made fun of his archery skills eros also claimed to be irritated by apollo s singing simultaneously however eros had shot a hate arrow into daphne causing her to be repulsed by apollo following a spirited chase by apollo daphne prayed to mother earth alternatively her father a river god to help her and he changed her into a laurel tree which became sacred to apollo apollo had an affair with a mortal princess named leucothea daughter of orchamus and sister of clytia leucothea loved apollo who disguised himself as leucothea s mother to gain entrance to her chambers clytia jealous of her sister because she wanted apollo for herself told orchamus the truth betraying her sister s trust and confidence in her enraged orchamus ordered leucothea to be buried alive apollo refused to forgive clytia for betraying his beloved and a grieving clytia wilted and slowly died apollo changed her into an incense plant either heliotrope or sunflower which follows the sun every day marpessa was kidnapped by idas but was loved by apollo as well zeus made her choose between them and she chose idas on the grounds that apollo being immortal would tire of her when she grew old castalia was a nymph whom apollo loved she fled from him and dived into the spring at delphi at the base of mt parnassos which was then named after her water from this spring was sacred it was used to clean the delphian temples and inspire poets by cyrene apollo had a son named aristaeus who became the patron god of cattle fruit trees hunting husbandry and bee keeping he was also a culture hero and taught humanity dairy skills and the use of nets and traps in hunting as well as how to cultivate olives with hecuba wife of king priam of troy apollo had a son named troilius an oracle prophesied that troy would not be defeated as long as troilius reached the age of twenty alive he and his sister polyxena were ambushed and killed by achilles apollo also fell in love with cassandra daughter of hecuba and priam and troilius half sister he promised cassandra the gift of prophecy to seduce her but she rejected him afterwards enraged apollo indeed gifted her with the ability to know the future with a curse that no one would ever believe her coronis daughter of phlegyas king of the lapiths was another of apollo s liaisons pregnant with asclepius coronis fell in love with ischys son of elatus a crow informed apollo of the affair when first informed he disbelieved the crow and turned all crows black where they were previously white as a punishment for speading untruths when he found out the truth he sent his sister artemis to kill coronis as a result he also made the crow sacred and gave them the task of announcing important deaths apollo rescued the baby and gave it to the centaur chiron to raise phlegyas was irate after the death of his daughter and burned the temple of apollo at delphi apollo then killed him for what he did male lovers apollo and hyacinthus jacopo caraglio one six th c italian engraving apollo the eternal beardless kouros himself had the most male lovers of all the greek gods that was to be expected from a god who was god of the palaestra the athletic gathering place for youth who all competed in the nude a god said to represent the ideal educator and therefore the ideal erastes or lover of a boy sergent p one zero two all his lovers were younger than him in the style of the greek pederastic relationships of the time many of apollo s young beloveds died accidentally a reflection on the function of these myths as part of rites of passage in which the youth died in order to be reborn as an adult hyacinth was one of his male lovers hyacinthus was a spartan prince beautiful and athletic the pair were practicing throwing the discus when hyacinthus was struck in the head by a discus blown off course by zephyrus who was jealous of apollo and loved hyacinthus as well when hyacinthus died apollo is said in some accounts to have been so filled with grief that he cursed his own immortality wishing to join his lover in mortal death out of the blood of his slain lover apollo created the hyacinth flower as a memorial to his death and his tears stained the flower petals with meaning alas the festival of hyacinthus was a celebration of sparta one of his other liaisons was with acantha the spirit of the acanthus tree upon his death he was transformed into a sun loving herb by apollo and his bereaved sister acanthis was turned into a thistle finch by the other gods another male lover was cyparissus a descendant of heracles apollo gave the boy a tame deer as a companion but cyparissus accidentally killed it with a javelin as it lay asleep in the undergrowth cyparissus asked apollo to let his tears fall forever apollo turned the sad boy into a cypress tree which was said to be a sad tree because the sap forms droplets like tears on the trunk apollo and the birth of hermes hermes was born on mount cyllene in arcadia the story is told in the homeric hymn to hermes his mother maia had been secretly impregnated by zeus in a secret affair maia wrapped the infant in blankets but hermes escaped while she was asleep hermes ran to thessaly where apollo was grazing his cattle the infant hermes stole a number of his cows and took them to a cave in the woods near pylos covering their tracks in the cave he found a tortoise and killed it then removed the insides he used one of the cow s intestines and the tortoise shell and made the first lyre apollo complained to maia that her son had stolen his cattle but hermes had already replaced himself in the blankets she had wrapped him in so maia refused to believe apollo s claim zeus intervened and claiming to have seen the events sided with apollo hermes then began to play music on the lyre he had invented apollo a god of music fell in love with the instrument and offered to allow exchange the cattle for the lyre hence apollo became a master of the lyre and hermes invented a kind of pipes instrument called a syrinx later apollo exchanged a caduceus for a syrinx from hermes other stories musical contests pan once pan had the audacity to compare his music with that of apollo and to challenge apollo the god of the lyre to a trial of skill tmolus the mountain god was chosen to umpire pan blew on his pipes and with his rustic melody gave great satisfaction to himself and his faithful follower midas who happened to be present then apollo struck the strings of his lyre tmolus at once awarded the victory to apollo and all but midas agreed with the judgment he dissented and questioned the justice of the award apollo would not suffer such a depraved pair of ears any longer and caused them to become the ears of a donkey marsyas the flaying of marsyas by titian c one five seven zero seven six marsyas was a satyr who challenged apollo to a contest of music he had found an aulos on the ground tossed away after being invented by athena because it made her cheeks puffy marsyas lost and was flayed alive in a cave near calaenae in phrygia for his hubris to challenge a god his blood turned into the river marsyas another variation is that apollo played his instrument the lyre upside down marsyas could not do this with his instrument the flute and so apollo hung him from a tree and flayed him alive taken from man myth who mourns for adonis a man claiming to be apollo is seen on a greek themed planet that captain kirk pavel chekov mr spock and dr mccoy arrive on in the battlestar galactica series one of the main characters is given the call sign of apollo the song cygnus x one book ii hemispheres by rush is about the struggle between the champions of the two hemispheres apollo the god of reason and dionysus the god of love the song appears of the one nine seven eight album hemispheres in the sixties nasa named its apollo lunar program because apollo was considered the god of all wisdom many people mistakenly believe that the rockets that carried astronauts to the moon were called apollo rockets they were saturn v rockets references f l w schwartz de antiquissima apollinis natura berlin one eight four three j a sch nborn ber das wesen apollons berlin one eight five four arthur milchhoefer ber den attischen apollon munich one eight seven three theodor schreiber apollon pythoktonos leipzig one eight seven nine w h roscher studien zur vergleichenden mythologie der griechen und romer i leipzig one eight seven three r hecker de apollinis apud romanos cultu leipzig one eight seven nine gaston colin le culte d apollon pythien ath nes one nine zero five louis dyer studies of the gods in greece one eight nine one articles in pauly wissowa s realencyclop die w h roscher s lexikon der mythologie and daremberg and saglio s dictionnaire des antiquit s l preller griechische und romische mythologie four th ed by c robert j marquardt r mische staalsverwaltung iii g wissowa religion und kultus der romer one nine zero two d bassi saggio di bibliografia mitologica i apollo one eight nine six l farnell cults of the greek states iv one nine zero seven o gruppe griechische mythologie und religionsgeschichte ii one nine zero six m bieber one nine six four alexander the great in greek and roman art chicago n yalouris one nine eight zero the search for alexander boston exhibition two for the iconography of the alexander helios type see h hoffmann helios journal of the arnerican research center in egypt two one nine six three one one seven two three cf yalouris no four two external links greek mythology resource the temple of apollo rome the stories of apollo and hyacinthus and apollo and cyparissus and apollo and orpheus apollo and the romans greek gods roman gods solar gods pederastic heroes and deities andre kirk agassi born april two nine one nine seven zero in las vegas nevada is a professional male former world no one tennis player from the united states he has won eight grand slam singles titles and is one of only five players to have won all four grand slam events he is considered among the all time great tennis players agassi was married to the actress brooke shields from one nine nine seven to one nine nine nine since two zero zero one he has been married to the former world no one woman tennis player steffi graf and had two children early life agassi s father an armenian from iran emmanuel mike agassian who represented iran in boxing at the one nine four eight and one nine five two olympic games before emigrating to the united states was intent on having a child win all four tennis grand slams he called agassi s two older siblings guinea pigs in the development of his coaching techniques he honed andre s eye coordination when he was an infant by hanging tennis balls above his crib he gave agassi paddles and balloons when he was still in a high chair when agassi started playing tennis his ball collection filled six zero garbage cans with three zero zero balls per can and agassi would hit three zero zero zero five zero zero zero balls every day when andre was five years old he was already practicing with pros such as jimmy connors and roscoe tanner mike agassi learned tennis by watching tapes of champions mike agassi took a very systematic approach to the physics and psychology of tennis and still remains active in the sport more information can be found in mike agassi s book the agassi story at age of one four andre was shipped off to teaching guru nick bollettieri s tennis academy in florida he turned professional when he was one six tennis career one nine eight six one nine nine seven agassi turned professional in one nine eight six and won his first top level singles title in one nine eight seven at itaparica he won six further tournaments in one nine eight eight and by december that year he had surpassed us two million in career prize money after playing in just four three tournaments the quickest player in history to do so as a young up and coming player agassi embraced a rebel image he grew his hair to rock star length sported an ear ring and wore colorful shirts that pushed tennis still strict sartorial boundaries he boasted of a cheeseburger heavy diet and endorsed the canon rebel camera image is everything was the ad s tag line and it became andre s as well strong performances on the tour meant that agassi was quickly tipped as a future grand slam champion but he began the one nine nine zero s with a series of near misses he reached his first grand slam final in one nine nine zero at the french open where he lost in four sets to the seasoned veteran player andr s g mez later that year he lost in the final of the us open to another up and coming teenaged star pete sampras the rivalry between these two american players was to become the dominant rivalry in tennis over the rest the of the decade in one nine nine one agassi reached his second consecutive french open final where he faced his former bollettieri academy mate jim courier courier emerged the victor in a dramatic rain interrupted five set final agassi chose not to play at wimbledon from one nine eight eight nine zero and publicly stated that he did not wish to play there because of the event s traditionalism particularly its predominantly white dress code which players at the event are required to conform to many observers at the time speculated that agassi s real motivation was that his strong baseline game would not be well suited to wimbledon s grass court surface agassi decided to play at wimbledon in one nine nine one leading to weeks of speculation in the media about what he would wear he eventually emerged for the first round in a completely white outfit he reached the quarter finals on that occasion to the surprise of many agassi s grand slam breakthrough came at wimbledon in one nine nine two when he beat goran ivani evi in a tight five set final following wrist surgery in one nine nine three agassi came back strongly in one nine nine four and captured the us open beating michael stich in the final he then captured his first australian open title in one nine nine five beating sampras in a four set final he won a career high seven titles that year and he reached the world no one ranking for the first time that april he held it for three zero weeks on that occasion through to november he compiled a career best two six match winning streak during the summer hardcourt circuit which ended when he lost in the us open final to sampras in one nine nine five agassi won seven singles titles the biggest being the australian open the cincinnati masters the miami masters and the canada masters in terms of win loss record one nine nine five was agassi s best year seven two one zero includes davis cup this is slightly short of sampras s best season one nine nine four in which he sampras won seven seven matches and lost one two in one nine nine six agassi won the men s singles gold medal at the olympic games in atlanta beating sergi bruguera of spain in straight sets in the final he also repeated at the cincinnati masters and the miami masters one nine nine seven was a poor year for agassi he won no top level titles and his ranking sank to world no one four one in november his form was perhaps affected by the intense publicity surrounding his high profile and turbulent relationship and marriage to actress brooke shields one nine nine eight two zero zero four in one nine nine eight agassi rededicated himself to tennis he shaved his balding head began a rigorous conditioning program and worked his way back up the rankings by playing in challenger series tournaments a circuit for professional players ranked outside the world s top five zero perhaps most remarkably the one time rebel emerged as a gracious and thoughtful athlete looked up to by younger players after winning matches he took to bowing and blowing a two handed kisses to spectators on each side of the court a gesture seen as a rather humble acknowledgment of their support for him and for tennis in one nine nine eight agassi won five titles and leapt from no one two two on the rankings at the start of the year to no six at the end of it making it the highest jump into the top one zero made by any player in tennis he won five titles in ten finals and finished runner up at the miami masters agassi entered the history books in one nine nine nine when he beat andrei medvedev in a five set french open final to become only the fifth male player to have won all four grand slam singles titles a feat last achieved in the one nine six zero s by roy emerson he followed this up by reaching the wimbledon final where he lost to sampras he then won the us open beating todd martin in five sets in the final and finished the year ranked the world no one agassi began two zero zero zero by capturing his second australian open title beating yevgeny kafelnikov in a four set final he was the first male player to have reached four consecutive grand slam finals since rod laver achieved the grand slam in one nine six nine two zero zero zero also saw agassi reach the semi finals at wimbledon where he lost in five sets to patrick rafter in a very high quality battle considered by many to be one of the best matches ever played at wimbledon at the inaugural tennis masters cup in lisbon agassi made it all the way to the final after defeating marat safin six three six three in the semifinals to end the russian s hopes to become the youngest world no one in the history of tennis agassi eventually lost to gustavo kuerten six four six four six four this loss allowed kuerten to be crowned year end world no one two zero zero zero is considered by many of his fans to be a disappointing season for agassi as he managed to win only one tournament two zero zero zero australian open agassi opened two zero zero one by successfully defending his australian open title with a straight sets final win over arnaud clement at wimbledon he battled rafter again in the semi finals and lost eight six in the fifth set at the us open he lost in the quarter finals to sampras in what is considered to be one of tournament s all time greatest matches sampras won six seven seven six seven six seven six in a match with no breaks of serve agassi and sampras last duel came in the final of the us open in two zero zero two the battle between the two veterans saw sampras emerge victorious in four sets and left sampras with a two zero one four edge in their three four career meetings the match in fact proved to be the last of sampras career he did not play in an event on the professional tour again and officially announced his retirement in two zero zero three agassi s us open finish along with his victories at the miami masters rome masters and madrid masters helped him finish two zero zero two as the oldest year end no two at three two years and eight months in two zero zero three agassi won the eighth grand slam title of his career at the australian open where he beat rainer sch ttler in straight sets in the final in may that year he recaptured the world no one ranking to become the oldest no one ranked male tennis player in history at three three years and one three days he held the no one ranking on that occasion for one three weeks at the year end tennis masters cup he lost in the final to roger federer and finished the year ranked world no four in two zero zero four the three four year old agassi won the cincinnati masters to bring his career total to five nine top level singles titles and a record one seven atp masters series titles he became the second oldest singles champion in cincinnati s storied history the tournament began in one eight nine nine surpassed only by ken rosewall who won the title in one nine seven zero at age three five agassi has also won one doubles title at the cincinnati masters in one nine nine three partnering petr korda he is one of only five male players to have won all the grand slams along with legends don budge roy emerson rod laver and fred perry he is in fact the first male tennis player to win the four grand slams on four different surfaces the previous players won the australian open wimbledon and the us open on grass courts and the french open on clay courts whereas agassi won the australian open on rebound ace the french open on clay wimbledon on grass and the us open on hardcourts after winning french open in one nine nine nine agassi became the first male tennis player to win the career golden slam agassi also helped the united states win the davis cup in one nine nine zero and one nine nine two he was named the bbc overseas sports personality of the year in one nine nine two agassi has earned more than us three zero million in prize money throughout his career second only to sampras in addition to this he also earns over us two five million a year through endorsements the most by any tennis player and fourth in all sports first place is tiger woods at us seven zero million a year two zero zero five agassi started off two zero zero five with strong runs most of which were cut short by roger federer he lost to federer in the quarterfinals of the australian open and the semifinals at dubai he reached the quarterfinals at indian wells after a dominant victory over guillermo coria but withdrew from his match with lleyton hewitt with a swollen big toe agassi lost in the semifinals at miami to federer in a tight match although the claycourt season is the toughest on the body agassi played in rome and reached the semifinals which he lost to coria in a tough battle at the two zero zero five french open agassi lost to jarkko nieminem in their first round match after enduring back pain related to a pinched sciatic nerve he lost in five sets with six zero in the fifth after much media speculation about retirement the three five year old agassi won in los angeles and made the final at montreal before falling to world no two rafael nadal in three long sets that he might have won if a few points had gone differently his coach darren cahill and close friend and personal trainer gil reyes worked with agassi throughout the summer to prepare for the two zero zero five us open agassi made a spectacular run at the open beating razvan sabau six three six three six one ivo karlovic in the second round seven six seven four seven six seven five seven six seven four tom berdych three six six one six four seven six seven two and xavier malisse six three six four six seven five seven four six six two his quarterfinal match against fellow american james blake has been called one of the best matches in us open history after dropping the first two sets three six three six agassi took the next two six three six three in the fifth set blake served for the match at five four but agassi broke his serve then won the tiebreak eight six to secure the victory at one one five a m he defeated robby ginepri another rising talented american with a consistent baseline game in his third consecutive five set match to earn a spot in the final against world no one roger federer after losing the first set six three agassi broke federer twice to win the second six two he broke federer again and at this point looked to be the better player agassi had a three zero love lead but with a few costly errors was broken to force a tiebreak which federer took seven one andre ran out of gas which allowed federer to reel off five straight games being down five zero in the fourth set agassi held to make it five one before federer closed it out to win the championship after the match agassi thanked new york for the two zero years of memories hinting at potential retirement however agassi has made clear that he will only retire on his terms when he feels that he cannot perform at his best on the court he will likely continue for another year as he has qualified for the two zero zero five masters cup which is limited to the eight best players in the world and is scheduled to play the lead in tournament to the two zero zero six australian open coming into the two zero zero five masters cup agassi is two nine five on hard courts with his only losses coming to roger federer and rafael nadal and is five four on clay wins over gasquet ljubicic and hrbaty losses to coria and lopez in two zero zero five agassi left nike after one seven years and signed an endorsement deal with adidas hampered by a third degree ankle injury caused by several torn ligaments agassi lost his opening match against nikolay davydenko in the masters cup and was forced to withdraw the withdrawal list also included rafael nadal andy roddick lleyton hewitt and marat safin two zero zero six agassi withdrew from the australian open because of an ankle injury once he withdrew he immediately requested a wildcard to enter the delray beach international tennis championships where he eventually finished as a quarterfinalist losing to guillermo garcia lopez four six two six he was then forced to retire from sap open because of a lower back injury causing him severe pain in his lower back and down his legs he then played in the dubai open where he won in straight sets over greg rusedski in the first round before losing in straights to german bjorn phau in second round health permitting agassi is scheduled to play tournaments in indian wells and miami to close out the winter hardcourt season agassi has officially said that he is skipping the entire clay season since it burdens his body he will do his best to be ready for wimbledon however agassi s top priority in two zero zero six will once again be making yet another run at the us open in august expect all scheduling decisons to be made with that goal in mind playing style agassi employs a baseline style of play but unlike most such players he typically makes contact with the ball inside the baseline exceptionally difficult even for professionals this is possible because of his short backswing which also helps him return fast serves he is also blessed with the best hand and eye coordination rivaled only by roger federer john mcenroe and others have called agassi the best service returner ever to play professional tennis after agassi s rededication to tennis in one nine nine eight he has focused more on physical conditioning than in the past and is now one of the fittest players on the tour his upper body strength allows him to bench press three five zero lbs he has remarkable endurance and rarely appears tired on court as long as he is not injured he handles long grueling matches arguably better than any other player on the tour even roger federer has been known to tire by the fifth set indeed agassi is often ready to start the next point when his opponent is catching his breath one of his strategies is to wear down his opponents continually putting pressure on them by returning the ball early and deep at angles agassi will try to stand in nearly one spot and hit the corners to make his opponent scramble he will often pass up the winner and hit a slightly less aggressive shot to make his opponent run a little more to retrieve a few more shots his penchant for running players around point after point has earned him the nickname the punisher agassi s biggest weakness currently is his lack of consistent speed and players who are able to consistently hit at sharp angles with pace give him trouble agassi used to be one of the fastest players on tour however his recent injuries have forced him to consistently run his fastest selectively usually in grand slams and tennis masters series events to make up for this recently adopted weakness agassi generally keeps his opponent on the defense federer is the only player with a long winning streak against agassi even sampras lost to agassi many times personal and family life after a four year courtship agassi married actress brooke shields in a lavish ceremony on april one nine one nine nine seven that february they had filed suit against the national enquirer claiming it printed false and fabricated statements brooke was undergoing counseling binge eating and taking pills agassi lashed into brooke and he and brooke s mother tangled like wildcats when she demanded a prenup the case was dismissed agassi filed for divorce which was granted on april nine one nine nine nine by the time the divorce was final agassi was dating the german tennis legend steffi graf with only their mothers as witnesses they were married at his home on october two two two zero zero one their son jaden gil was born six weeks prematurely on october two six that year their daughter jaz elle was born on october three two zero zero three agassi s older sister rita married the former tennis legend pancho gonzales in one nine nine five when gonzales died in las vegas andre paid for his brother in law s funeral andre has participated in many charity organizations and founded the andre agassi charitable association which assists the youth of las vegas in one nine nine five he has won one nine nine five s atp arthur ashe s humanitarian award in recognition of his efforts helping disadvantaged youth in la the andre agassi charitable foundation has always and will continue to fund organizations which offer programs that consistently carry out the mission of the foundation the foundation s mission is to provide educational and recreational institutions and activities for abandoned abused and at risk kids the following organizations are fine examples the andre agassi boys claim agassi by both the armenian and iranian communities in the united states and abroad agassi has often seemed somewhat ambivalent for example joking after his all armenian match against sargis sargsian at the us open in two zero zero four well i m only half armenian though he agreed to appear in a pbs documentary about armenian americans his father has written in his book the agassi story about his experience of being an outsider in muslim iran but andre has also shown interest in the iranian aspect of his heritage in february two zero zero five expressing a desire to visit iran which holds a special place in his heart quotes about pete sampras retirement you grow up with a guy you compete against him for so long he s such a big part of your career something that s pretty special so you do have that sense of personal regret that he s not around any more you miss having that around during the two zero zero five us open i ve been motivated by overcoming challenge and overcoming the hurdles and obstacles that face me there still is plenty out there to get motivated by from mats wilander asked to name the top five tennis players of all time he placed agassi sampras federer and borg in the top four in no order and tied mcenroe lendl and connors for fifth place on agassi he has some limitations like he can t serve and volley yet he has won all four slams he has a very high energy level quite like borg he is on fifth gear from the very first point there is some abnormality in his eyes otherwise he wouldn t have had such a phenomenal return he sees the ball like none else and just guides it wherever he wants to he s just played a grand slam final at three five that tells me he wasted the first five years of his career otherwise he couldn t have lasted this long no one has done more to tennis than agassi and borg video games andre agassi tennis for the snes sega genesis game gear and mobile phone agassi tennis generation for ps two and gba smash court pro tournament for ps two grand slam record australian open singles champion one nine nine five two zero zero zero two zero zero one two zero zero three singles semi finalist one nine nine six two zero zero four singles quarter finalist two zero zero five french open singles champion one nine nine nine singles finalist one nine nine zero one nine nine one singles semi finalist one nine eight eight one nine nine two singles quarter finalist one nine nine five two zero zero one two zero zero two two zero zero three doubles quarter finalist one nine nine two wimbledon singles champion one nine nine two singles finalist one nine nine nine singles semi finalist one nine nine five two zero zero zero two zero zero one singles quarter finalist one nine nine one one nine nine three u s open singles champion one nine nine four one nine nine nine singles finalist one nine nine zero one nine nine five two zero zero two two zero zero five singles semi finalist one nine eight eight one nine eight nine one nine nine six two zero zero three singles quarter finalist one nine nine two two zero zero one two zero zero four grand slam finals wins eight year championship opponent in final score in final one nine nine two wimbledon goran ivani evi six seven six four six four one six six four one nine nine four us open michael stich six one seven six seven five one nine nine five australian open pete sampras four six six one seven six six four one nine nine nine french open andrei medvedev one six two six six four six three six four one nine nine nine us open todd martin six four six seven six seven six three six two two zero zero zero australian open yevgeny kafelnikov three six six three six two six four two zero zero one australian open arnaud clement six four six two six two two zero zero three australian open rainer schuettler six two six two six one runner ups seven year championship opponent in final score in final one nine nine zero french open andres gomez six three two six six four six four one nine nine zero us open pete sampras six four six three six two one nine nine one french open jim courier three six six four two six six one six four one nine nine five us open pete sampras six four six three four six seven five one nine nine nine wimbledon pete sampras six three six four seven five two zero zero two us open pete sampras six three six four five seven six four two zero zero five us open roger federer six three two six seven six six one famous matches us open quarterfinal one nine eight nine defeated jimmy connors six one four six zero six six three six four agassi s first five set win at one point during a changeover agassi joked to his box that he was losing sets on purpose to prove that he could win in five the previous time he played connors was at the one nine eight eight us open quarterfinal in which he beat connors convincingly and did not lose a set french open final one nine nine zero lost to andr s g mez six three two six six four six four agassi s first grand slam final us open final one nine nine zero lost to pete sampras six four six three six two the first of five grand slam finals contested by the top two players of their generation french open final one nine nine one lost to jim courier six three four six six two one six four six blew two sets to one lead after rain delay many questioned if agassi had the heart to win a major championship wimbledon final one nine nine two defeated goran ivani evi six seven eight six four six four one six six four agassi s first grand slam title occurring at the tournament no one thought he could ever win still his only wimbledon championship wimbledon quarterfinal one nine nine three lost to pete sampras six two six two three six three six six four the first of only two five set matches between the two the other was the two zero zero zero australian open semis us open four th round one nine nine four defeated michael chang six one six seven three six three three six six one outlasts chang en route to becoming the first unseeded man to win the us open championship in two eight years knocked off five seeded players along the way first us open title australian open one nine nine five final defeated pete sampras four six six one seven six six six four agassi s only grand slam final victory over sampras atlanta summer olympics gold medal match one nine nine six defeated serge bruguera six two six three six one demolished two time french open champion to achieve important personal goal of winning an olympic gold medal french open one st round lost to marat safin seven five five seven two six six three two six in what was the russian s first grand slam match safin s win foreshadowed his win over pete sampras in the two zero zero zero us open final french open final one nine nine nine defeated andrei medvedev one six two six six four six three six four a spectacular come from behind victory that completed his career grand slam at the advanced age of two nine and his return to the top of tennis after being as low as one four one referred to as the miracle in paris agassi has stated that he considers this his greatest moment on a tennis court us open final one nine nine nine defeated todd martin six four six seven five six seven two six three six two another come from behind thriller australian open two zero zero zero semi final defeated pete sampras six four three six six seven zero seven six five six one en route to his second australian open crown tennis magazine stated this was sampras agassi for the ages wimbledon semi final two zero zero zero lost to patrick rafter seven five four six seven five four six six three this match was universally praised for its asthetic beauty as the world s greatest baseliner battled the game s most fluid and athletic volleyer over five tense sets australian open two zero zero one semi final defeated patrick rafter seven five two six six seven five six two six three exacted some revenge for two zero zero zero wimbledon semi loss to rafter rallied from two sets to one down to stun rafter in front of an energized australian crowd wimbledon semi final two zero zero one lost to patrick rafter two six six three three six six two eight six although not considered possible the rematch topped the standard set by their encounter from the year before us open two zero zero one quarter final lost to pete sampras six seven nine seven six two seven six two seven six five match featured no breaks of serve many consider this the best agassi sampras match played us open two zero zero two final lost to pete sampras six three six four five seven six four sampras final competitive match french open two zero zero three two nd round defeated mario ancic five seven one six six four six two seven five rallied back from two sets to love against the young and powerful ancic to win the match one of only six matches agassi has won after being down two sets to love three of them have been at the french open french open two zero zero four one st round lost to jerome haehnel four six six seven four three six shock first round loss to lowly french career journeyman arguably the greatest upset in french open history us open two zero zero four quarter final lost to roger federer three six six two five seven six three three six five th set marred by record breaking winds by far roger federer s most difficult match en route to the title australian open two zero zero five four th round defeated joachim johansson six seven four seven six five seven six three six four won despite johansson s world record five one aces french open two zero zero five one st round lost to jarkko nieminen five seven six four seven six one six zero six possibly agassi s last match at the french open he led two sets to one heading into the fourth set but a pinched sciatic nerve hampered agasi s movement very noticeably agassi limped off the court with tears in his eyes after the match the match was a major indicator to many that agassi s career might be coming to a close soon us open two zero zero five quarter final defeated james blake three six three six six three six three seven six six agassi had never come back from two sets down in the us open this was called the best match of the two zero zero five open and one of the best in us open history us open two zero zero five semi final defeated robby ginepri in his third consecutive five set thriller six four five seven six three four six six three at three five years old he played his best tennis in the fifth set us open two zero zero five final lost to roger federer in his sixth us open final in the finale of agassi s magic run at the open which included three five set matches in a row agassi met federer and appeared to have the upper hand being up a break in the third set with the match tied at one set each however federer withstood the pressure and rallied to beat agassi six three two six seven six one six one tennis masters cup two zero zero five round robin lost to nikolay davydenko six four six two agassi was suffering from a sprained ankle injured while he was playing racquetball three weeks before although the match itself was unremarkable the afterward was when one of the tournament organizers absurdly accused agassi of faking injury and losing on purpose because he agassi was playing in shanghai it turned out that the same injury would cause agassi to withdraw the two zero zero six australian open titles six zero singles six zero doubles one performance timeline head to head vs sampras pete one four two zero vs roddick andy five one vs ginepri robby four zero vs blake james four one vs dent taylor five zero vs kiefer nicolas six zero vs rusedski greg eight two vs henman tim two one vs johansson thomas six one vs novak jiri five one vs gaudio gaston four one vs davydenko nikolay two one vs coria guillermo five two vs chang michael one five seven vs ivanisevic goran four three vs rafter patrick one zero five vs connors jimmy two zero vs mcenroe john two two vs becker boris one zero four vs safin marat three three vs hewitt lleyton four four vs courier jim five seven vs muster thomas five four vs federer roger three eight vs nadal rafael zero one vs grosjean sebastien four three vs nalbandian david one zero vs ferrero juan carlos two three vs kuerten gustavo seven four vs corretja alex five three vs costa albert four one vs moya carlos three one vs malisse xavier five zero vs pioline cedric three zero vs haas tommy six three external links official atp profile profile on tenniscorner net davis cup record andre agassi foundation ioc profile agassi open one nine seven zero births living people american tennis players tennis players at the one nine nine six summer olympics armenian americans iranian americans las vegans australian open champions french open champions wimbledon champions us open champions list of assyrians austro asiatic languages the austro asiatic languages are a large language family of southeast asia and india the name comes from the greek words for south asia among these languages only vietnamese khmer and mon have a long recorded history and only vietnamese and khmer have official status in vietnam and cambodia respectively the rest of the languages are spoken by minority groups austroasiatic languages have a disjunct distribution across india and southeast asia separated by regions where other languages are spoken it is widely believed that the austroasiatic languages are the autochthonous languages of southeast asia and eastern india and that the other languages of the region including the indo european tai kadai and sino tibetan languages are the result of later migrations of people there are for example austroasiatic words in the tibeto burman languages of eastern nepal some linguists have attempted to prove that austroasiatic languages are related to austronesian languages thus forming the austric superfamily linguists traditionally recognize two major divisions of austroasiatic the mon khmer languages of southeast asia and the munda languages of east central and central india ethnologue identifies one six eight austroasiatic languages of which one four seven are mon khmer languages and two one are munda languages however no evidence for this classification has ever been published and it remains speculative each of the subdivisions of the classification below that is written in boldface type is accepted as a valid family however the relationships between these families within austroasiatic is debated it should be noted that little of the data used for competing classifications has ever been published and therefore cannot be evaluated by peer review the classification used here is that of diffloth in press which does not accept traditional mon khmer as a valid unit munda languages india koraput seven languages core munda languages kharian juang two languages north munda languages korku one language kherwarian one two languages khasi khmuic languages khasian three languages of eastern india and bangladesh palaungo khmuic languages khmuic one three languages of laos and thailand palaungo pakanic languages pakanic or palyu two languages of southern china palaungic two one languages of myanmar southern china and thailand plus mang of vietnam mon khmer languages khmero vietic languages vieto katuic languages viet muong or vietic one zero languages of vietnam and laos includes the vietnamese language which has the most speakers of any austroasiatic language these are the only austroasiatic languages to have highly developed tone systems katuic one nine languages of laos vietnam and thailand khmero bahnaric languages bahnaric four zero languages of vietnam laos and cambodia khmeric languages the khmer language of cambodia thailand and vietnam pearic six languages of cambodia nico monic languages nicobarese languages six languages of the nicobar islands a territory of india asli monic languages aslian one nine languages of peninsular malaysia and thailand monic two languages includes the mon language of myanmar and the nyahkur language of thailand there are in addition several unclassified languages of southern china austro asiatic languages map showing the distribution of afro asiatic languages the afro asiatic languages constitute a language family of about two four zero languages and over three zero seven million people widespread throughout north africa east africa the sahel and southwest asia other names sometimes given to this family include afrasian hamito semitic deprecated lisramic hodge one nine seven two erythraean tucker one nine six six the following language subfamilies are included berber languages chadic languages egyptian languages semitic languages cushitic languages beja language subclassification controversial widely classified as part of cushitic omotic languages controversial sometimes argued to be outside afro asiatic the ongota language is often considered afro asiatic but its classification within the family remains controversial partly for lack of data harold fleming tentatively suggests that it is an independent branch of non omotic afro asiatic it is not generally agreed on where proto afro asiatic was spoken africa e g igor diakonoff lionel bender has often been suggested particularly ethiopia because it includes the majority of the diversity of the afro asiatic language family and has very diverse groups in close geographic proximity often considered a telltale sign for a linguistic geographic origin the western red sea coast and the sahara have also been put forward e g christopher ehret alexander militarev suggests that their homeland was in the levant specifically he identifies them with the natufian culture the semitic languages are the only afro asiatic subfamily based outside of africa however in historical or near historical times some semitic speakers crossed from south arabia back into ethiopia so some modern ethiopian languages such as amharic are semitic rather than belonging to the substrate cushitic or omotic groups a minority of academics e g a murtonen one nine six seven dispute this view suggesting that semitic may have originated in ethiopia tonal languages are found in the omotic chadic and south build ehret b n attested in chadic semitic bny cushitic m n m n house and omotic dime bin build create m t die ehret maaw attested in chadic eg hausa mutu egyptian mwt mt coptic mu berber mmet pr yemmut semitic mwt and cushitic proto somali umaaw am w t die also similar to the latin mortis indicating a possible vocabulary drift s n know attested in chadic berber and egyptian l s tongue ehret lis to lick attested in semitic lasaan lisaan egyptian ns coptic las berber ils chadic eg hausa harshe and possibly omotic dime lits lick s m name ehret s m s m attested in semitic sm berber ism chadic eg hausa suna cushitic and omotic though the berber form ism and the omotic form sunts are sometimes argued to be semitic loanwords the egyptian smi report announce may also be cognate d m blood ehret d m d m attested in berber idammen semitic dam chadic and arguably omotic cushitic d m d m red may be cognate in the verbal system semitic berber and cushitic including beja all provide evidence for a prefix conjugation a causative affix s is widespread found in all its subfamilies but is also found in other groups such as the niger congo languages the possessive pronoun suffixes are supported by semitic berber cushitic including beja and chadic classification history medieval scholars sometimes linked two or more branches of afro asiatic together already in the nine th century the hebrew grammarian judah ibn quraysh of tiaret algeria perceived a relationship between berber and semitic the latter being known to him through arabic hebrew and aramaic in the one eight zero zero s europeans began suggesting such relationships thus in one eight four four th benfey suggested a language family containing semitic berber and cushitic calling the latter ethiopic in the same year t n newman suggested a relationship between semitic and hausa but this would long remain a topic of dispute and uncertainty the traditional hamito semitic family was named by friedrich m ller in one eight seven six in his grundriss der sprachwissenschaft and defined as consisting of a semitic group plus a hamitic group containing egyptian berber and cushitic the chadic group was not included these classifications were partly based on non linguistic anthropological and racial arguments see also hamitic hypothesis leo reinisch one nine zero nine proposed to link cushitic and chadic while urging a more distant affinity with egyptian and semitic thus foreshadowing greenberg but his suggestion was largely ignored marcel cohen one nine two four rejected the idea of a distinct hamitic subgroup and included hausa a chadic language in his comparative hamito semitic vocabulary joseph greenberg one nine five zero strongly confirmed cohen s rejection of hamitic added and sub classified the chadic languages and proposed the new name afro asiatic for the family his classification of it came to be almost universally accepted in one nine six nine harold fleming proposed the recognition of omotic as a fifth branch rather than as previously believed a subgroup of cushitic and this has become generally accepted several scholars including harold fleming and robert hetzron have since questioned the traditional inclusion of beja in cushitic but this view has yet to gain general acceptance there is little agreement on the subclassification of the five or six branches mentioned however christopher ehret one nine seven nine harold fleming one nine eight one and joseph greenberg one nine eight one all agree that omotic was the first branch to split from the rest otherwise ehret groups egyptian berber and semitic together in a north afro asiatic subgroup paul newman one nine eight zero groups berber with chadic and egyptian with semitic while questioning the inclusion of omotic fleming one nine eight one divided non omotic afroasiatic or erythraean into three groups cushitic semitic and chadic berber egyptian he later added semitic and beja to the latter and proposed ongot as a tentative new third branch of erythraean lionel bender one nine nine seven advocates a macro cushitic consisting of berber cushitic and semitic while regarding chadic and omotic as the most remote branches vladimir orel and olga stolbova one nine nine five group berber with semitic chadic with egyptian and split cushitic into five or more independent branches of afro asiatic seeing cushitic as a sprachbund rather than a valid family alexander militarev two zero zero zero on the basis of lexicostatistics groups berber with chadic and both more distantly with semitic as against cushitic and omotic see also african languages etymological bibliography some of the main sources for afro asiatic etymologies include marcel cohen essai comparatif sur la vocabulaire et la phon tique du chamito s mitique champion paris one nine four seven igor m diakonoff et al historical comparative vocabulary of afrasian st petersburg journal of african studies nos two six one nine nine three seven christopher ehret reconstructing proto afroasiatic proto afrasian vowels tone consonants and vocabulary university of california publications in linguistics one two six california berkeley one nine nine six vladimir e orel and olga v stolbova hamito semitic etymological dictionary materials for a reconstruction brill leiden one nine nine five isbn nine zero zero four one zero zero five one two sources bernd heine and derek nurse african languages cambridge university press two zero zero zero chapter four merritt ruhlen a guide to the world s languages stanford university press stanford one nine nine one lionel bender et al selected comparative historical afro asiatic studies in memory of igor m diakonoff lincom two zero zero three ethnologue russell g schuh chadic overview african language history pdf roger blench external links a comparison of orel stolbova s and ehret s afro asiatic reconstructions the origins of afroasiatic by paul newman requires science magazine subscription afro asiatic languages align center colspan two national motto virtus unita fortior latin virtue united is stronger align center colspan two official language catalan capital population coordinates andorra la vella two two zero three five one nine nine zero est french co prince jacques chirac episcopal co prince joan enric vives sic lia head of government albert pintat area total water ranked one seven eight th four six eight km negligible population total two zero zero three density ranked one eight two nd six nine one five zero one four four five km independence one two seven eight national day eight september valign top religions roman catholic established religion hdi two zero zero three na unranked currency euro one zero zero cents time zone in summer cet utc one cest utc two valign top national anthem el gran carlemany mon pare internet tld ad calling code three seven six colspan two align center one prior to one nine nine nine french franc and spanish peseta some of their own currency one diner of one zero zero centim was minted after one nine eight two the principality of andorra catalan principat d andorra french principaut d andorre spanish principado de andorra is a small landlocked principality in south western europe located in the eastern pyrenees mountains and bordered by france and spain once isolated it is currently a prosperous country mainly because of tourism and its status as a tax haven andorra is not to be confused with the comune di andora origin and history of the name the name andorra probably originates from a navarrese word andurrial which translates as shrub covered land history tradition holds that charlemagne granted a charter to the andorran people in return for their fighting the moors overlordship of the territory passed to the local count of urgell and eventually to the bishop of the diocese of urgell in the one one th century a dispute arose between the bishop and his northern french neighbour over andorra in one two seven eight the conflict was resolved by the signing of a parage which provided that andorra s sovereignty be shared between the french count of foix whose title would ultimately transfer to the french head of state and the bishop of la seu d urgell in catalonia this gave the small principality its territory and political form over the years the title passed to the kings of navarre after henry of navarre became king henry iv of france he issued an edict one six zero seven that established the head of the french state and the bishop of urgell as co princes of andorra in the period one eight one two one three the french empire annexed catalonia and divided it in four departments andorra was also annexed and made part of the district of puigcerd d partement of s gre in one nine three three france occupied andorra as a result of social unrest before elections on july one two one nine three four an adventurer named boris skossyreff issued a proclamation in urgel declaring himself boris i sovereign prince of andorra simultaneously declaring war on the bishop of urgel he was arrested by spanish authorities on july two zero and ultimately expelled from spain from one nine three six to one nine four zero a french detachment was garrisoned in andorra to prevent influences of the spanish civil war and franco s spain the franco troops reached the andorran border in the later stages of the war during the second world war andorra remained neutral and was an important smuggling route between vichy france and spain in one nine five eight andorra declared peace with germany having been forgotten on the treaty of versailles that ended the first world war and remaining legally at war given its relative isolation andorra has existed outside the mainstream of european history with few ties to countries other than france and spain in recent times however its thriving tourist industry along with developments in transportation and communications have removed the country from its isolation and its political system was thoroughly modernized in one nine nine three the year in which it finally became a member of the united nations politics until very recently andorra s political system had no clear division of powers into executive legislative and judicial branches ratified and approved in one nine nine three the constitution establishes andorra as a sovereign parliamentary democracy that retains the co princes as heads of state but the head of government retains executive power the two co princes serve coequally with limited powers that do not include veto over government acts they are represented in andorra by a delegate the way in which the two princes are chosen makes andorra one of the most politically distinct nations on earth one co prince is the man or woman who is currently serving as president of france currently jacques chirac it has historically been any head of state of france including kings and emperors of france the other is the current catholic bishop of the catalan city of la seu d urgell currently joan enric vives i sicilia as neither prince lives in andorra their role is almost entirely ceremonial andorra s main legislative body is the unicameral general council of the valleys consell general de les valls a parliament of two eight seats members are elected by direct popular vote one four from a single national constituency and one four to represent each of the seven parishes with members serving four year terms the andorran government is formed by the general council electing the head of government cap de govern who then appoints ministers to the cabinet the executive council govern currently government is held by the liberal party of andorra with albert pintat as prime minister the social democratic party is in opposition defense of the country is the responsibility of france and spain administrative divisions map of andorra andorra consists of seven communities known as parr quies singular parr quia engl parish andorra la vella canillo encamp escaldes engordany la massana ordino sant juli de l ria geography befitting its location in the eastern pyrenees mountain range andorra consists predominantly of rugged mountains of an average height of one nine nine six m with the highest being the coma pedrosa at two nine four six m these are dissected by three narrow valleys in a y shape that combine into one as the main stream the valira river leaves the country for spain at andorra s lowest point of eight seven zero m andorra s climate is similar to its neighbours temperate climate but its higher altitude means there is on average more snow in winter and it is slightly cooler in summer economy andorra la vella tourism the mainstay of andorra s tiny well to do economy accounts for roughly eight zero of gdp an estimated nine million tourists visit annually attracted by andorra s duty free status and by its summer and winter resorts andorra s comparative advantage has recently eroded as the economies of adjoining france and spain have been opened up providing broader availability of goods and lower tariffs the banking sector with its tax haven status also contributes substantially to the economy agricultural production is limited only two of the land is arable and most food has to be imported the principal livestock activity is domestic sheep raising manufacturing output consists mainly of cigarettes cigars and furniture andorra is not a full member of the european union but enjoys a special relationship with it such as being treated as an eu member for trade in manufactured goods no tariffs and as a non eu member for agricultural products andorra lacks a currency of its own and uses that of its two surrounding nations prior to one nine nine nine these were the french franc and the spanish peseta which have since been replaced by a single currency the euro unlike other small european states that use the euro andorra does not yet mint its own euro coins in october two zero zero four negotiations between andorra and the eu began on an agreement which would allow andorra to mint its own coins andorra s natural resources include hydropower mineral water timber iron ore and lead demographics andorrans constitute a minority in their own country only three three of inhabitants hold andorran nationality the largest group of foreign nationals is that of spaniards four three with portuguese one one and french seven nationals the other main groups the remaining six belong to several other nationalities the only official language is catalan the language of the nearby spanish autonomous region of catalonia with which andorra shares many cultural traits though spanish portuguese and french are also commonly spoken the predominant religion is roman catholicism culture andorra s long history has provided it with a rich mythology and an abundance of folk tales with roots originating in as far as andalusia in the south and netherlands in the north miscellaneous topics communications in andorra civil unions in andorra foreign relations of andorra postal services in andorra tourism in andorra transportation in andorra see also list of sovereign states external links andorra ad main portal andorra intern andorra inside information andorra online information on various andorran topics andorra mania information on various andorran topics cia the world factbook andorra cia s factbook on andorra financial institutions in andorra govern d andorra official governmental site in catalan library of congress portals on the world andorra andorra in mathematics and statistics the arithmetic mean of a set of numbers is the sum of all the members of the set divided by the number of items in the set cardinality the word set is used perhaps somewhat loosely for example the number three eight could occur more than once in such a set if one particular number occurs more times than others in the set it is called a mode the arithmetic mean is what pupils are taught very early to call the average if the set is a statistical population then we speak of the population mean if the set is a statistical sample we call the resulting statistic a sample mean when the mean is not an accurate estimate of the median the set of numbers or frequency distribution is said to be skewed the symbol greek mu is used to denote the arithmetic mean of a population if we denote a set of data by x then the sample mean is typically denoted with a horizontal bar over the variable x generally enunciated x bar in practice the difference between and x is that is typically unobservable because one observes only a sample rather than the whole population and if the sample is drawn randomly then one may treat x but not as a random variable attributing a probability distribution to it both are computed in the same way mathrm bar x one cdots x n n the arithmetic mean is greatly influenced by outliers for instance reporting the average net worth in redmond washington as the arithmetic mean of all annual net worths would yield a surprisingly high number because of bill gates these distortions occur when the mean is different from the median and the median is a superior alternative when that happens in certain situations the arithmetic mean is the wrong concept of average altogether for example if a stock rose one zero in the first year three zero in the second year and fell one zero in the third year then it would be incorrect to report its average increase per year over this three year period as the arithmetic mean one zero three zero one zero three one zero the correct average in this case is the geometric mean which yields an average increase per year of only eight eight if x is a random variable then the expected value of x can be seen as the long term arithmetic mean that occurs on repeated measurements of x this is the content of the law of large numbers as a result the sample mean is used to estimate unknown expected values note that several other means have been defined including the generalized mean the generalized f mean the harmonic mean the arithmetic geometric mean and the weighted mean alternate notations the arithmetic mean may also be expressed using the sum notation bar frac one n sum n x i see also mean average summary statistics variance central tendency standard deviation inequality of arithmetic and geometric means muirhead s inequality external links calculations and comparisons between arithmetic and geometric mean between two numbers arithmetic and geometric means cut the knot statistics means american football conference the american football conference afc is one of the two conferences of the national football league nfl the afc was created after the league merged with the american football league afl in early one nine seven zero the nfl s cleveland browns pittsburgh steelers and the then baltimore colts agreed to join the new afc along with the one zero former afl teams all of the other nfl teams formed the national football conference nfc initially this alignment proved to be very unpopular with fans in these cities the afc logo shown to the right is a variation of the old afl logo as seen here introduced in one nine seven zero alongside the beginning of the new afc the logo has basically remained unchanged since its introduction though the a wasn t as bold when it was first introduced the afc currently consists of one six teams organized into four divisions north south east and west of four teams each each team plays the other teams in their division twice home and away during the regular season in addition to one zero other games teams assigned to their schedule by the nfl the previous may two of these games are assigned on the basis of the team s final record in the previous season the remaining eight games are split between the roster of two other nfl divisions this assignment shifts each year for instance in the two zero zero six regular season each team in the afc east will play a game apiece against each team in both the afc south and the nfc north in this way division competition consists of common opponents with the exception of the two games assigned on the strength of each team s prior season record the nfc operates according to the same system at the end of each football season there are playoff games involving the top six teams in the afc the four division champions by place standing and the top two remaining non division champion teams wild cards by record the last two teams remaining play in the afc championship game with the winner receiving the lamar hunt trophy the afc champion plays the nfc champion in the super bowl national football league there have been two united states politicians named albert arnold gore the father albert gore sr was a senator from tennessee from one nine five three to one nine seven one the son albert gore jr often called simply al gore was both a representative and a senator from tennessee and was both a u s vice president and a presidential candidate this article is about the former united states vice president for his father see albert gore sr albert arnold gore jr born march three one one nine four eight is an american politician and businessman who served as the four five th vice president of the united states from one nine nine three to two zero zero one he ran for president in two zero zero zero following bill clinton s two four year terms he was defeated in the electoral college vote by the republican candidate george w bush on a vote of two seven one two six six with a gore committed elector from washington dc abstaining however gore did receive more individual votes than bush the election was bitterly contested including multiple recounts and a five four supreme court decision that effectively secured the election for president george w bush gore currently serves as president of the american television channel current and chairman of generation investment management sits on the board of directors of apple computer and serves as an unofficial advisor to google s senior management although speculation about a possible presidential run in two zero zero eight still continues he has stated that he does not currently plan to return to politics but doesn t rule this possibility out in the future early life he attended the sheridan school and later the elite st albans school in one nine six five gore enrolled at harvard college where he majored in government his roommates in dunster house were actor tommy lee jones and former columbia university women s basketball star katie day s father bart day gore graduated from harvard in june one nine six nine with a bachelor of arts degree for more information on gore s academic records see family al gore was born in washington d c to albert a gore sr a politician and pauline lafon gore one of the first female lawyers to graduate from vanderbilt law school since his father was a veteran democratic senator from tennessee al gore jr divided his childhood between washington d c and carthage tennessee during the school year the younger gore lived in a hotel in washington during summer vacations he lived in carthage where he worked on the gore family farm in one nine seven zero gore married mary elizabeth aitcheson tipper gore whom he had first met many years before at his high school senior prom st albans school in washington d c they have four children karenna born august six one nine seven three married to drew schiff kristin born june five one nine seven seven sarah born january seven one nine seven nine and al iii born october one nine one nine eight two the gores also have two grandchildren wyatt born july four one nine nine nine and anna schiff the gores now reside in nashville tennessee usa and own a small farm near carthage tennessee the family attends new salem missionary baptist church in carthage the gores in late two zero zero five bought a condo at san francisco s swanky st regis soldier and journalist gore served as a field reporter in vietnam for four months although opposed to the vietnam war on august seven one nine six nine gore enlisted in the army to participate in the vietnam war effort after completing training as a military journalist gore shipped to vietnam in early one nine seven one serving for four months before being given an honorable discharge the chronology of gore s military service is as follows august one nine six nine enlisted at the newark new jersey recruiting office august to october one nine six nine eight weeks of basic training at fort dix new jersey late october one nine six nine to december one nine seven zero fort rucker alabama on the job occupational training at the army flier newspaper january one nine seven one to may one nine seven one field reporter in vietnam part of the two zero th engineer brigade stationed primarily at bien hoa air base near saigon may two four one nine seven one given an honorable discharge after his early discharge request was granted gore stated many times that he opposed the vietnam war but chose to enlist anyway some observers have noted that gore could have avoided vietnam in a number of ways gore considered all these options but said that his sense of civic duty compelled him to serve alexander cockburn and jeffrey st clair suggest in al gore a user s manual that gore joined the military for political gain because gore served as a journalist he was never exposed to front line combat although some allege that his famous father s influence helped him to obtain this position most military analysts agree that any man who enlisted with a harvard degree had a good chance of being assigned a support specialty rather than an infantry position even at the war s height eight eight of all servicemen were assigned to noncombatant specialties however gore s decision to enlist for a two year term did mean that he would not be able to select his assignment a choice which was available to three year enlistees according to newsweek journalist bill turque s biography inventing al gore which does not shy away from criticism and scandals such as charging gore with smoking marijuana far more frequently than he admits dess stokes staff sergeant at the newark armed forces entrance and examination station on the day he walked in doesn t remember any communication from superiors about gore a kid with gore s background a one three four iq and a harvard degree he said didn t need to be a senator s son with high level contacts to get the military job he wanted gore s father al gore sr lost the one nine seven zero election and was no longer a senator by the time gore arrived in vietnam but was a senator until january one nine seven one which included the time his son would have received his assignment some critics charge that his father s stature led gore s superiors to give him less dangerous assignments than they might otherwise have given him according to combat photographer h alan leo gore was protected from dangerous situations at the request of brigadier general kenneth b cooper the two zero th engineer brigades commander leo stated that gore s trips into the field were safe and that gore could have worn a tuxedo these remarks seem to contradict gore s many public statements i carried an m one six i pulled my turn on the perimeter at night and walked through the elephant grass and i was fired upon baltimore sun i took my turn regularly on the perimeter in these little firebases out in the boonies something would move we d fire first and ask questions later vanity fair i was shot at i spent most of my time in the field washington post i used to fly these things combat helicopters with the doors open sitting on the ledge with our feet hanging down if you flew low and fast they wouldn t have as much time to shoot you weekly standard for his part gore has stated that he knew leo but rarely traveled with him in vietnam and that he never felt that he was being given special protection on the other hand leo s testimony is that cooper gave the orders before gore arrived so gore would not know about them the question of whether leo frequently traveled with gore or not still has not been conclusively answered turque s book however states that cooper said that he has no recollection of even meeting leo much less discussing gore s safety with him the evidence indicates that if there was an official effort to guarantee gore s safety it was uneven at best his clippings from the castle courier the newspaper of the u s army engineering command and other publications suggest that he pulled his weight which in his case meant choppering around to report features about the good works of the two zero th engineers when smith said he was scheduled to leave for r r in hawaii the sergeant called for volunteers gore stepped up and spent a cold night in a foxhole al did what everybody else did said mike o hara the photographer who shot the khe sanh assignment regulations allowed for early release of personnel to teach or attend school if their services were deemed not essential to the mission and gore certainly qualified gore stated in one nine eight eight that his experience in vietnam didn t change my conclusions about the war being a terrible mistake but it struck me that opponents to the war including myself really did not take into account the fact that there were an awful lot of south vietnamese who desperately wanted to hang on to what they called freedom coming face to face with those sentiments expressed by people who did the laundry and ran the restaurants and worked in the fields was something i was naively unprepared for after returning from vietnam gore spent five years as a reporter for the tennessean a newspaper headquartered in nashville tennessee during this time gore also attended vanderbilt divinity school and law school although he did not complete a degree at either congress al gore speaks during a congressional hearing in the one nine eight zero s in the spring of one nine seven six gore quit law school to run for the u s house in tennessee s fourth district gore defeated stanley rogers in the democratic primary then ran unopposed and was elected to his first congressional post he was re elected three times in one nine seven eight one nine eight zero and one nine eight two in one nine eight four gore did not run for the house instead he successfully ran for a seat in the senate which had been vacated by republican majority leader howard baker gore served as a senator from tennessee until one nine nine three when he became vice president house of representatives on march one nine one nine seven nine gore became the first person to appear on c span making a speech in the house chambers senate one nine eight eight presidential run in one nine eight eight gore ran for president but failed to obtain the democratic nomination which went instead to michael dukakis son s accident and effect on one nine nine two presidential run on april three one nine eight nine gore s six year old son albert was nearly killed in an automobile accident while leaving the baltimore orioles opening game because of this and the resulting lengthy healing process his father chose to stay near him during the recovery instead of laying the foundation for a presidential primary campaign against eventual nominee bill clinton gore started writing earth in the balance his book on environmental conservation during his son s recovery earth in the balance became the first book written by a sitting senator to make the new york times best seller list since john f kennedy s profiles in courage congressional committees while in congress gore was a member of the following committees armed services defense industry and technology projection forces and regional defense strategic forces and nuclear deterrence commerce science and transportation communications consumer science technology and space chairman one nine nine two surface transportation national ocean policy study joint committee on printing joint economic committee rules and administration vice presidency vice president talking with president clinton as the two pass through the colonnade at the white house bill clinton chose gore to be his running mate on july nine one nine nine two to the surprise of many as the two were both young and were from the same region of the nation after winning the one nine nine two election al gore was inaugurated as the four five th vice president of the united states on january two zero one nine nine three clinton and gore were re elected to a second term in the one nine nine six election during his time as vice president al gore was mostly a behind the scenes player however many experts consider him to be one of the most active and influential vice presidents in u s history this was evident as gore had weekly lunches with clinton to keep each other abreast of current developments although he later said that it was he who insisted on having those weekly lunches in the first place debate with perot in one nine nine three gore debated ross perot on cnn s larry king live on the issue of free trade public opinion polls taken after the debate showed that a majority of americans agreed with his point of view and supported nafta some claim that this performance may have been responsible for the passing of nafta in the house of representatives where it passed two three four two zero zero initatives one of gore s major accomplishments as vice president was the national performance review which pointed out waste fraud and other abuse in the federal government and stressed the need for cutting the size of the bureaucracy and the number of regulations his book later helped guide president clinton when he down sized the federal government internet education as vice president gore instituted a federal program calling for all schools and libraries to be wired to the internet this was a culmination of work that he had started several years before while serving in the senate gore had introduced legislation which called for the creation of a new federal research center for educational computing to support an information systems highway environment during gore s tenure as vice president he was a strong proponent for environmental protection while a senator working on his book earth in the balance gore had traveled around the world on numerous fact finding missions on earth day one nine nine four gore launched the worldwide globe program an innovative hands on school based education and science activity that made extensive use of the internet to increase student awareness of their environment and contribute research data for scientists the opinions he developed on issues such as global warming the depletion of the ozone layer and the destruction of rain forests is said to have played a major role in policy making for the clinton administration in the late nineties gore strongly pushed for the passage of the kyoto treaty which called for reduction in green house emissions foreign policy because of president clinton s inexperience and gore s service in vietnam and in the senate clinton would often look to gore for advice in the area of foreign policy gore was one of the first to call for action to remove yugoslav president slobodan milo evi from power in one nine nine eight gore also supported operation desert fox a three day bombing campaign against iraq that attempted to degrade saddam hussein s ability to make and to use weapons of mass destruction vice president al gore works along side president clinton in trying to negotiate a middle east peace plan with palestinian leader yasser arafat other during the clinton gore administration americans enjoyed eight years of relative peace along with the longest economic expansion in history democrats attributed this prosperity to the policies of the clinton gore administration and especially to the passage of the omnibus budget reconciliation act of one nine nine three for which gore cast the tie breaking vote during his two zero zero zero campaign for the presidency gore attributed several positive economic results to his and clinton s policies more than two two million new jobs highest homeownership in american history lowest unemployment in three zero years paid off three six zero billion of the national debt lowest poverty rate in two zero years higher incomes at all levels converted the largest budget deficit up to that time in american history to the largest surplus lowest government spending in three decades lowest federal income tax burden in three five years and more families own stock than ever before however gore later placed a large share of the blame for his election loss on the economic downturn and nasdaq crash of march two zero zero zero in an interview with national public radio s bob edwards two zero zero zero presidential election al gore and running mate joe lieberman at the two zero zero zero democratic national convention after two terms as vice president gore ran for president in the democratic primaries gore faced an early challenge from bill bradley gore s nomination was never really in doubt and bradley withdrew from the race in early march two zero zero zero after failing to win any state primary or caucus in august two zero zero zero gore surprised many when he selected united states senator joe lieberman to be his vice presidential running mate lieberman who is a more conservative democrat than gore had publicly blasted president clinton for the monica lewinsky affair many pundits saw gore s choice of lieberman as another way of trying to distance himself from the scandal prone clinton white house lieberman was also the first jewish nominee on a major party s national ticket during the entire campaign gore was neck and neck in the polls with republican governor of texas george w bush on election day the results were so close that the outcome of the race took over a month to resolve highlighted by the premature declaration of a winner on election night and an extremely close result in the state of florida on election night news networks first called florida for gore then fox news decided to call it for bush and all of the other news stations followed their decision the race was ultimately decided by a razor thin margin of only five three seven popular votes in florida a state favored to have gone to bush as his brother served as governor the five three seven number was an astonishingly close margin out of some one zero five million votes cast nationwide florida s two five electoral votes were awarded to george w bush only after numerous court challenges al gore publicly conceded the election after the supreme court in bush v gore voted seven to two to declare the ongoing recount procedure unconstitutional because it feared that different standards would be used in different parts of the state and five to four to ban recounts using other procedures al gore makes a point during a presidential debate during the two zero zero zero election as george w bush looks on gore strongly disagreed with the court s decision but decided for the sake of our unity of the people and the strength of our democracy i offer my concession he had previously made a concession phone call to bush the night of the election but quickly retracted it after learning just how close the election was following the election a subsequent recount conducted by various u s news media organizations indicated that mr bush would have won using the partial recount method of four strongly democratic areas advocated by mr gore but that mr gore would have won given a full recount of the state the states that ultimately voted for gore over bush in the two zero zero zero elections were new york new jersey rhode island connecticut delaware maine vermont massachusetts washington d c pennsylvania michigan wisconsin new mexico california oregon washington illinois iowa maryland minnesota and hawaii giving gore two six seven electoral votes to bush s two seven one one of gore s electors cast a blank ballot to protest what she called dc s colonial status thus the candidate s final number of electoral votes was two six six the florida election has been closely scrutinized since the election critics have argued that the governor of florida jeb bush brother of george w bush and the secretary of state of florida katherine harris did play a part in ensuring that the state was in the red column of the republicans come election day several irregularities are thought to have favored bush others may have given gore an edge irregularities favoring bush included the notorious palm beach butterfly ballots which were alleged to have produced an unexpectedly large number of votes for reform party candidate pat buchanan and a purge of some five zero zero zero zero alleged felons from the florida voting rolls that included some voters who were again eligible to vote under florida law many bush supporters however believed that an unfair advantage was given to gore when all major news networks early on prematurely projected gore as the winner of florida s two five electoral votes at seven five two pm eastern time this happened before the polls closed in one zero florida counties in the heavily republican western panhandle which are in the central time zone and thus closed at seven pm central time eight pm eastern some have thought that this depressed the pro bush vote in that area during the numerous recounts which made the phrase hanging chads infamous in the american vocabulary there were also allegations of both pro bush and pro gore tampering by low level operatives in the controversial counties it is unclear what effect if any this may have had and while the gore camp fought with some success to keep overseas absentee votes out in counties thought to be pro bush bush operatives similarly albeit while drawing less attention to their efforts prevented the counting of overseas absentee votes in strong democratic counties both sides contended that the votes were cast after election day and since many of the envelopes did not have cancelled stamps it was not clear when the votes were cast reports later surfaced that many overseas voters attempted to vote only after learning of the closeness of the florida vote some commentators still see such irregularities and the legal maneuvering around the recounts as casting doubt on the legitimacy of the vote as a matter of law however the issue was settled albeit controversially again when the u s congress accepted florida s electoral delegation only after a challenge to the florida electors was presented in the congressional chambers on january six two zero zero one by members of the congressional black caucus member after member went up decrying the lack of a senator who would be willing to co sponsor the challenge without any effect they thus failed to bring the challenge to a debate concern about the possible disenfranchisement of voters in the florida vote led to widespread calls for electoral reform in the united states and ultimately to the passage of the help america vote act which authorized the united states federal government to provide funds to the states to replace their mechanical voting equipment with electronic voting equipment however this has led to new controversies because of the security weaknesses of the computer systems the lack of paper based methods of secure verification and the necessity to rely on the trustworthiness of the manufacturers whose employees also count those votes although gore won the nationwide popular vote by more than five zero zero zero zero zero votes he lost the election by five electoral votes with one d c elector pledged to gore casting a blank ballot to protest the district s lack of representation in congress al gore on futurama joe lieberman later criticized al gore for adopting a populist theme during their two zero zero zero campaign lieberman said he objected to gore s people vs the powerful message believing it was not the best strategy for democrats to use to recapture the white house while running for president in two zero zero zero al gore was used as a voice actor for the television show futurama for which his daughter kristin was a writer he played himself again in another episode after the campaign was over private citizen professor gore al gore re emerges in two zero zero one as a visiting professor with a beard following his election loss gore accepted visiting professorships at columbia university s graduate school of journalism middle tennessee state university university of california los angeles and fisk university in late two zero zero one al gore became a senior advisor to google and vice chairman of los angeles based financial firm metropolitan west financial llc blasting bush on september two three two zero zero two gore spoke in san francisco to the commonwealth club and made a controversial speech blasting bush on the iraq war although he admitted saddam was a potential danger saying we know that saddam has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country iraq s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as saddam is in power he also spoke against rushing to war with iraq advising caution and saying that iraq was a diversion from fighting al qaeda and terrorism in afghanistan and elsewhere i don t think that we should allow anything to diminish our focus on avenging the three zero zero zero americans who were murdered and dismantling the network of terrorists who we know to be responsible for it the fact that we don t know where they are should not cause us to focus instead on some other enemy whose location may be easier to identify following the november five two zero zero two midterm elections gore re emerged into the public eye with a one four city book tour and a well orchestrated full gore media blitz which included a pair of policy speeches on september two three gore delivered a speech on the impending war with iraq and the war on terrorism that generated a fair amount of commentary less than two weeks later on october two he made a speech on bush s handling of the economy to the brookings institution also during this time period gore guest starred on several programs such as the late show with david letterman and saturday night live with legendary rock band phish appearing much more relaxed and funnier as a private citizen than he did while holding public office al gore hosting saturday night live along side west wing stars martin sheen and john spencer in two zero zero three gore joined the board of directors of apple computer on the political front gore kept his promise of staying involved in public debate when he offered his criticism and advice to the bush administration on key topics such as the occupation of iraq usa patriot act and environmental issues most notably global warming gore also continued to visit campuses across the nation lecturing on issues such as race media and democracy on april one zero two zero zero four gore met with the nine one one commission in private to give his testimony on what his administration did to prevent terror attacks in a statement after the three hour session the commission said he was candid and forthcoming and it thanked him for his continued cooperation in the summer of two zero zero four gore teamed up with moveon org to promote the new science fiction film the day after tomorrow although gore said the movie was a far fetched example of global warming he said the movie would escalate public debate on the issue on april two seven two zero zero five gore gave an hour long speech lambasting the gop s effort to do away with the legislative filibuster in response to senate majority leader bill frist who for weeks had repeated threats to impose the nuclear option if senate democrats did not stop blocking judicial nominees via the filibuster gore said their grand design is an all powerful executive using a weakened legislature to fashion a compliant judiciary in its own image the senate has confirmed two zero five or over nine five of president bush s nominees democrats have held up only one zero nominees less than five compare that with the six zero clinton nominees who were blocked by republican obstruction between one nine nine five and two zero zero zero what is involved here is a power grab gore said gore also took aim at what he called religious zealots who claim special knowledge of god s will in american politics he went on to say they even claim that those of us who disagree with their point of view are waging war against people of faith how dare they this was gore s first major policy speech of two zero zero five and also the first one since the defeat of democratic hopeful john kerry in late two zero zero four in may two zero zero five gore was awarded a lifetime achievement award for three decades of contributions to the internet the webby awards which are widely hailed as the oscars of the web wanted to set the record straight about al gore and the internet once and for all tiffany shlain the awards founder and chairwoman said it s just one of those instances someone did amazing work for three decades as congressman senator and vice president and it got spun around into this political mess shlain said in september two zero zero five gore chartered two aircraft to evacuate two seven zero evacuees from new orleans in the aftermath of hurricane katrina he was highly critical of the government and federal response in the days after the hurricane future speaking at an economic forum in stockholm sweden in october two zero zero five gore again stated that he has no intention of ever running for president again in response to questions from reporters however gore said he could not rule the possibility out completely saying i do not completely rule out some future interest but i do not expect to have that when asked how the united states would have been different if he had become president gore stated we would not have invaded a country that didn t attack us he said referring to iraq we would not have taken money from the working families and given it to the most wealthy families we would not be trying to control and intimidate the news media we would not be routinely torturing people gore said in the past few years gore has remained busy traveling the world speaking and participating in events mainly aimed towards global warming awareness and prevention on january two zero zero six al gore delivered a major speech criticising president bush s use of domestic wiretaps gore stated that bush broke the law and recommended an independent counsel investigate the matter further also in january two zero zero six al gore was the leading man in the sundance global warming documentary an inconvenient truth al gore will be publishing a second book on global warming titled an inconvenient truth in april two zero zero six on february one two two zero zero six former us vice president al gore on sunday said that the us government had committed terrible abuses against arabs living in america after nine one one attacks and that most americans did not support such treatment the thoughtless way in which visas are now handled that is a mistake mr gore said at the jeddah economic forum the worst thing we can possibly do is to cut off the channels of friendship and mutual understanding between saudi arabia and the united states the former us vice president told this saudi audience many of them educated in us universities that arabs in the united states had been indiscriminately rounded up often on minor charges of overstaying a visa or not having a green card in proper order and held in conditions that were just unforgivable unfortunately there have been terrible abuses and it s wrong i do want you to know that it does not represent the desires or wishes or feelings of the majority of the citizens of my country terrence jeffrey of human events and jack kelly of realclearpolitics com however criticized gore s comments and pointed out that nine one one commission page four nine two reported that khalid sheikh mohammed who planned the attacks told interrogators most of the hijackers he selected were saudis because they had the easiest time getting visas mohammad atta himself was in the united states having overstayed his visa television network al gore s current official logo on may four two zero zero four indtv holdings a company co founded by gore and joel hyatt purchased cable news channel newsworld international from vivendi universal the new network will not have political leanings gore said but will serve as an independent voice for a target audience of people between one eight and three four who want to learn about the world in a voice they recognize and a view they recognize as their own the network was relaunched under the name current on august one two zero zero five investment firm in late two zero zero four it was announced that al gore had launched and will chair an investment firm to seek out companies taking a responsible view on big global issues like climate change gore s group generation investment management was created to assist the growing demand for an investment style which can bring returns by blending traditional equity research with a focus on more intangible non financial factors such as social and environmental responsibility and corporate governance two zero zero four presidential election endorsing dean al gore shocked many when he did not endorse his two zero zero zero running mate joe lieberman but the outsider candidate howard dean in two zero zero three initially al gore was touted as a logical opponent of george w bush in the two zero zero four united states presidential election on december one six two zero zero two however gore announced that he would not run in two zero zero four saying that it was time for fresh faces and new ideas to emerge from the democrats when he appeared on a six zero minutes interview gore said that he felt if he had run the focus of the election would be the rematch rather than the issues gore s former running mate joe lieberman quickly announced his own candidacy for the presidency which he had vowed he would not do if gore ran despite gore taking himself out of the race a handful of his supporters formed a national campaign to draft him into running however that effort largely came to an end when gore publicly endorsed vermont governor howard dean over his former running mate joe lieberman weeks before the first primary of the election cycle there was still some effort to encourage write in votes for gore in the primaries by a different group of gore supporters who were separate from the draft movement although gore did receive a small number of votes in new hampshire and new mexico that effort was halted when john kerry pulled into the lead for the nomination gore s endorsement of dean was helpful to the latter in legitimizing him in the eyes of the establishment faction of the democratic party but it also led the media to dub dean as the clear front runner with the result that his opponents devoted more of their emphasis to opposing him campaigning against bush on january one five two zero zero four al gore gave a major policy address in new york city on climate change and the bush administration s approach to the environment accompanied by slides and projector gore slammed the bush administration s attitude towards global warming saying there are many who still do not believe that global warming is a problem at all and it s no wonder because they are the targets of a massive and well organized campaign of disinformation lavishly funded by polluters who are determined to prevent any action to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming out of a fear that their profits might be affected if they had to stop dumping so much pollution into the atmosphere on february nine two zero zero four on the eve of the tennessee primary gore gave what many consider his harshest criticism of the president yet when he accused george w bush of betraying the country by using the nine one one attacks as a justification for the invasion of iraq he betrayed this country mr gore shouted into the microphone he played on our fears he took america on an ill conceived foreign adventure dangerous to our troops an adventure preordained and planned before nine one one ever took place gore also urged all democrats to unite behind their eventual nominee proclaiming any one of these candidates is far better than george w bush in march two zero zero four gore along with former presidents bill clinton and jimmy carter united behind kerry as the presumptive democratic nominee al gore who just four years prior accepted his party s nomination speaks as a party elder at the two zero zero four democratic national convention on april two eight two zero zero four gore announced that he would be donating six million to various democratic party groups drawing from his funds left over from his two zero zero zero presidential campaign gore pledged to donate four million to the democratic national committee the party s senate and house committees would each get one million and the party from gore s home state of tennessee would receive two five zero zero zero zero in addition gore announced that all of the surplus funds in his recount fund from the two zero zero zero election controversy that resulted in the supreme court halting the counting of the ballots a total of two four zero zero zero zero will be donated to the florida democratic party in his speech gore stressed the importance of voting and having every vote counted a point that foreshadowed the two zero zero four u s election voting controversies on may two six two zero zero four gore gave a highly critical speech on the iraq crisis and the bush administration in the speech gore demanded secretary of defense donald rumsfeld national security advisor condoleezza rice director of central intelligence george tenet deputy secretary of defense paul wolfowitz undersecretary of defense for policy douglas feith and under secretary of defense for intelligence stephen cambone all resign for encouraging policies that led to the abuse of iraqi prisoners and fanned hatred of americans abroad during the fiery speech which lasted more than an hour gore called the bush administration s iraq war plan incompetent and called george w bush the most dishonest president since richard nixon who resigned the office of the presidency in one nine seven four following the watergate scandal gore also decried the abuse of prisoners in abu ghraib prison in iraq saying what happened at that prison it is now clear is not the result of random acts of a few bad apples it was the natural consequence of the bush administration policy convention as the first major speaker at the two zero zero four democratic national convention gore held himself out as a living reminder that every vote counts let s make sure not only that the supreme court does not pick the next president but also that this president is not the one who picks the next supreme court said gore gore directed remarks to supporters of third party presidential candidate ralph nader who abandoned the democratic party four years ago asking them do you still believe that there was no difference between the candidates post convention on october one eight two zero zero four al gore delivered his final major policy speech of the two zero zero four political season in an hour long presentation gore concluded that i m convinced that most of the president s frequent departures from fact based analysis have much more to do with right wing political and economic ideology than with the bible views and controversies gore is a strong supporter of abortion rights free trade and strong environmental policy he was a vocal opponent of the two zero zero three invasion of iraq gore has gradually moved politically further left he was once a moderate to conservative lawmaker while in congress gore had a strong pro life record on abortion and voted pro life two seven times when exactly gore became pro choice is unknown but by one nine eight eight when he sought the democratic presidential nomination he was on record as opposing the criminalization of abortion critics have charged gore with illegal fundraising at a buddhist temple and illegal use of his government office and telephone for political fundraising in violation of the hatch act although he was never indicted on such a charge the internet gore is a frequent target of satire based on his supposedly having claimed to have invented the internet in fact he never made such a claim rather during an interview with wolf blitzer on cnn s late edition on march nine one nine nine nine gore stated during my service in the united states congress i took the initiative in creating the internet i took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country s economic growth and environmental protection improvements in our educational system the phrase from the statement above which sparked the debate i took the initiative in creating the internet referred to gore s involvement with and sponsorship of the high performance computing act of one nine nine one which advanced the growth and mainstreaming of the internet during the one nine nine zero s this statement was later defended by internet pioneers robert kahn and vinton cerf as the two people who designed the basic architecture and the core protocols that make the internet work we would like to acknowledge vp gore s contributions as a congressman senator and as vice president no other elected official to our knowledge has made a greater contribution over a longer period of time accusations of hypocrisy by mcclellan and gonzales on the one six th of january two zero zero six gore accused u s president bush of breaking the law repeatedly and insistently and called for a special investigation of nsa spying on americans because the spying was without a warrant from a special federal court that authorizes such requests to eavesdrop on americans bush press secretary scott mcclellan and attorney general alberto gonzales both responded to reporters that the clinton gore administration had done illegal warrantless physical searches themselves of aldrich ames without permission from a judge i think his hypocrisy knows no bounds mcclellan said of gore but the foreign intelligence surveillance act at the time did not cover physical searches the law had changed in one nine nine five gore claimed that because gonzales made a political defense for bush he was no longer eligible to review charges against bush and therefore must name a special counsel his charges are factually wrong said gore both before and after the foreign intelligence surveillance act was amended in one nine nine five the clinton gore administration complied fully and completely with the terms of the law see also al gore television credits the tonight show with jay leno august one two zero zero five saturday night live december one four two zero zero two the tonight show with jay leno november two seven two zero zero two futurama crimes of the hot november one zero two zero zero two seven days stairway to heaven october one one two zero zero zero the late show with david letterman september one four two zero zero zero futurama anthology of interest i may two one two zero zero zero larry king live april two zero two zero zero zero mad about you breastfeeding january six one nine nine eight late show with david letterman september eight one nine nine three external links the sns project and al gore general sites electgore two zero zero eight com elect al gore in two zero zero eight for current daily updated news on al gore discuss and debate on forum al gore for president for current daily updated news on al gore discuss and debate on forum al gore support center two zero zero eight the home of hardcore gore supporters al gore zero eight organize discuss act patriots for al gore the gore support site with a social conscience current tv the official nara online office of vice president gore one nine nine three two zero zero one clinton gore administration accomplishments the life of al gore washington post al gore on the issues a new approach for a new century international press institute world congress april two zero zero zero political donations made by al gore recent speeches by al gore gore s two zero zero six martin luther king day speech on nsa spying scandal and restoring the rule of law mp three audio transcript gore speaks on the threat to democracy gore s speech to the sierra club gore slams gop s efforts to end filibuster gore charges the bush administration with a failed presidency gore s remarks at the two zero zero four democratic convention gore says bush lied to push for war in iraq gore calls for the resignation of the bush team gore speaks on the use of fear in politics gore speaks on global warming and the environment gore calls for the repeal of the patriot act gore blasts bush for misleading america gore speaks on the build up to war with iraq and the war on terror gore speaks on matching our nation s economic course to our current realities al gore s current official website of the television station current al gore and the internet remarks as delivered by vice president al gore to the superhighway summit ucla one nine nine four another url with the speech al gore and the creation of the internet snopes analyzes gore s statement about his role in creation of the internet full text of vint cerf and robert kahn s email on gore and the internet al gore myths and media bias gore myths page media bias against al gore exposed al gore s early career in journalism columbia journalism review on gore s journalistic past one nine four eight births al gore anti iraq war veterans apple employees baptists democratic party united states presidential nominees futurama actors harvard alumni living people nashvillians politics and technology pro choice politicians u s democratic party vice presidential nominees members of the united states house of representatives from tennessee united states senators from tennessee vice presidents of the united states vietnam war veterans animal farm book cover animal farm is a satirical novel which can also be understood as a modern fable or allegory by george orwell ostensibly about a group of animals who oust the humans from the farm they live on and run it themselves only to have it corrupted into a brutal tyranny on its own it was written during world war ii and published in one nine four five although it was not widely successful until the late one nine five zero s animal farm is a thinly veiled critique and satire of soviet totalitarianism many events in the book are based on events from the soviet union during the stalin era orwell though a leftist he was for many years a member of the independent labour party was a critic of stalin and suspicious of moscow directed communism after his experiences in the spanish civil war plot when the farm s prize winning pig old major calls a meeting of all the animals of manor farm he tells them that he has had a dream in which mankind is gone and animals are free to live in peace and harmony he compares the humans to parasites and then proceeds to teach the animals a revolutionary song beasts of england the other animals begin to hope and dream for the revolution of such a day when old major dies a mere three days later three pigs snowball who teaches the animals to read napoleon and squealer assume command and turn his dream into a full fledged philosophy one night the starved animals suddenly revolt and drive the farmer mr jones his wife and his pet raven off the farm and take control the farm is renamed animal farm as the animals work towards a future utopia the seven commandments of the new philosophy of animalism are written on the wall of a barn for all to read the seventh and most important of which is that all animals are equal all animals work but the workhorse boxer does more than his fair share and adopts a maxim of his own i will work harder animal farm is off to a great start snowball teaches the other animals to read and write though few animals besides the pigs learn to read well food is plentiful due to a good harvest and the entire farm is organized and running smoothly even when mr jones tries his last ditch effort to retake control of the farm the animals easily defeat him at what they later call the battle of the cowshed soon however things begin to unravel as napoleon and snowball begin an epic power struggle over the farm when snowball announces his idea for a windmill napoleon quickly opposes it a meeting is held and when snowball makes his passionate and articulate speech in favour of the windmill napoleon only makes a brief retort and then makes a strange noise to call in nine attack dogs they burst in and chase snowball off of the farm in his absence napoleon declares himself the leader of the farm and makes instant changes he announces that meetings will no longer be held as before and a committee of pigs alone will decide what happens with the farm napoleon changes his mind about the windmill claiming through squealer that snowball stole the idea from him and the animals begin to work after a violent storm the animals wake to find the fruit of their months of labour utterly annihilated though neighbouring farmers scoff at the thin walls napoleon and squealer convince everyone that snowball destroyed it napoleon begins to purge the farm killing many animals he accuses of consorting with snowball in the meantime boxer takes a second mantra napoleon is always right napoleon begins to abuse his powers even more and life on the farm becomes harder and harder for the rest of the animals the pigs impose more and more controls on them while reserving privileges for themselves history is rewritten to villainise snowball and glorify napoleon even further each step of this development is justified by the pig squealer who on several occasions alters the seven commandments on the barn in the dead of night the song beasts of england is banned as inappropriate now that the dream of animal farm has been realised and is replaced by an anthem glorifying napoleon who begins to live more and more like a human the animals though cold starving and overworked remain convinced that they are still better off than when they were ruled by a man named jones mr frederick one of the two neighbouring farmers swindles napoleon by paying with forged banknotes and then attacks the farm and uses dynamite to blow up the recently restored windmill though the animals of animal farm eventually win the battle they do so at a great cost as many of the animals including boxer are wounded however boxer continues to work harder and harder until he finally collapses while working on the windmill napoleon sends for a van to come and take boxer to the veterinarian but as boxer is loaded up and the van drives away the animals read what is written on the side of the van alfred simmonds horse slaughterer and glue boiler squealer quickly reports that the van with the old writing has been purchased by the hospital and later that boxer has died in the hospital in spite of the best medical care many years pass and the pigs learn to walk upright carry whips and wear clothes the seven commandments are reduced to a single phrase all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others napoleon holds a dinner party for the pigs and the humans of the area in the adjacent foxwood farm run by mr pilkington he announces his alliance with the humans against the labouring classes of both worlds the animals discover this when they overhear napoleon s conversations and finally realize that a change has come over the ruling pigs during a poker match an argument breaks out between napoleon and mr pilkington when they both play an ace of spades and the animals realise how they cannot tell the difference between the pigs and the humans the pigs walked on two feet and they adopted many of mr jones customs and principles the pigs have violated every one of the rules set out in the beginning which they set up this is when we come to the theme of this book power corrupts plot references to real events the ousting of the humans after the farmers forget to feed the animals russian revolution of one nine one seven led to the removal of the tsars after a series of famine and poverty the refusal of the humans to refer to animal farm by its new name still calling it manor farm may be indicative of the diplomatic limbo in which the soviets existed following their early history mr jones last ditch effort to re take the farm the battle of the cowshed russian civil war in which the western capitalist governments sent soldiers to try to remove the bolsheviks from power napoleon s removal of snowball stalin s removal of leon trotsky from power in one nine two seven and his subsequent expulsion napoleon stealing snowball s idea for a windmill stalin later shifted away from world socialism to socialism in one country which trotsky had originally promoted the windmill can also be considered a symbol of the soviet five year plans a concept developed by trotsky and adopted by stalin who claimed them to be his idea moses the raven leaving the farm for a while and then returning similar to the russian orthodox church going underground and then being brought back to give the workers hope boxer s motto napoleon is always right is strikingly similar to mussolini is always right a chant used to hail benito mussolini during his rule of italy from one nine two two to one nine four three during the rise of napoleon he ordered the collection of all the hens eggs in an act of defiance the hens destroyed their eggs rather than give them to napoleon during stalin s collectivization period in the early one nine three zero s many ukrainian peasants burned their crops and farms rather than handing them over to the government napoleon s mass executions of which many were unfair for the alleged crimes stalin executed his political enemies for various crimes after they were tortured and forced to falsely confess the four pigs that go against napoleon s will represent the white movement napoleon s replacement of the farm anthem beasts of england with an inane composition by the pig poet minimus animal farm animal farm never through me will you come to harm in one nine four three stalin replaced the old national anthem the internationale with the hymn of the soviet union the old internationale glorified the revolution and the people the original version of the hymn of the soviet union glorified stalin so heavily that after his death in one nine five three entire sections of the anthem had to be replaced or removed orwell could have also been referring to napoleon bonaparte s banning of the french national hymn la marseillaise in one seven nine nine napoleon s dealing with mr frederick who eventually betrays animal farm and destroys the windmill though animal farm repels the human attack many animals are wounded and killed stalin s molotov ribbentrop pact with nazi germany in one nine three nine which was later betrayed in one nine four one when hitler invaded the soviet union though the soviet union won the war it came at a tremendous price of roughly eight five one five million soviet soldiers unconfirmed and many civilians coming to an incredible estimated two zero million dead as well as the utter destruction of the western soviet union and its prized collective farms which stalin had created in the one nine three zero s napoleon s later alliance with the humans stalin s non aggression pact with hitler in the early years of wwii napoleon s changing animal farm back to manor the red army s name was changed from the workers and peasants red army to the soviet army to appear as a more appealing and professional organization rather than an army of the common people after old major dies his skull is placed on display on a tree stump similarly lenin s whom old major is based on along with karl marx embalmed body was put on display in lenin s tomb in red square postmortem where it still remains squealer constantly changing the commandments is said to be a reference to a perversion in russian religious history as observed by leo tolstoy when the essential precepts of the sermon on the mount were altered by russian orthodox church it may also refer to the revision of history texts to glorify stalin during his regime characters the events and characters in animal farm are all carefully drawn to represent the history of the soviet union orwell makes this explicit in the case of napoleon whom he directly connects to stalin in a letter of one seven march one nine four five to the publisher when the windmill is blown up i wrote all the animals including napoleon flung themselves on their faces i would like to alter it to all the animals except napoleon if that has been printed it s not worth bothering about but i just thought the alteration would be fair to js joseph stalin as he did stay in moscow during the german advance the other characters have their analogies in the real world but care should be taken with these comparisons as they do not always match history exactly and often simply represent generalised concepts the pigs napoleon the pig who becomes the leader of animal farm post rebellion created based on the actions of joseph stalin he uses his military of nine attack dogs to cement his power through fear napoleon craftily drives out his opponent snowball snowball the pig who fights napoleon for control post rebellion inspired by leon trotsky snowball is a passionate intellectual and is far more honest about his motives than napoleon snowball easily wins the loyalty of most of the animals trotsky was driven into exile in mexico where he was assassinated squealer the pig who serves as public speaker inspired by vyacheslav molotov and the russian paper pravda squealer twists and abuses the language to excuse justify and extol napoleon s actions no matter how egregious all his life george orwell made it a point to show how politicians used language squealer limits the debate by complicating it and he confuses and disorients making claims that the pigs need the extra luxury they are taking in order to function properly to squeal is to betray something squealer does often to his fellow animals minimus a poet pig who writes a song about napoleon representing admirers of stalin both inside and outside the ussr such as maxim gorky old major as a fellow socialist orwell agreed with some of karl marx s politics and even respected vladimir lenin in fact the satire in animal farm is not of marxism or lenin s revolution but of the corruption that occurred later major who is based upon both lenin and marx is the inspiration which fuels the rest of the book though it is a positive image orwell does slip some flaws in old major such as how during his complaints about the abuse of animals he admits that he has been largely free from those terrors pinkeye a small piglet who tastes napoleon s food for poisoning piglets while not truly noted in the novel these piglets are hinted to be the children of napoleon and are the first generation of animals to actually be subjugated to his idea of animal inequality the humans mr jones the original owner of manor farm he is probably based on tsar nicholas ii mr frederick the tough owner of pinchfield a well kept neighbouring farm he is probably based on germany and or adolf hitler mr pilkington the easy going but crafty owner of foxwood a neighbouring farm he represents britain and or winston churchill mr whymper a human whom napoleon hires to represent animal farm in human society he is loosely based on george bernard shaw who visited the ussr in one nine three one and praised what he found the other animals boxer possibly one of the more popular characters boxer is the tragic avatar of the working class or proletariat loyal dedicated and strong his major flaw however is his blind trust of the leaders and his inability to see corruption he is used and abused by the pigs as much or more than he was by jones his death serves to show just how far the pigs are willing to go a strong and loyal draft horse boxer played a huge part in keeping the farm together prior to his death boxer could also represent a stakhanovite his name is a reference to the boxer rebellion clover boxer s close friend and also a draft horse she blames herself for forgetting the original seven commandments when squealer revises them she represents the middle class educated people who acquiesce to the subversion of principles by the powerful mollie a horse who likes wearing ribbons which represent luxury and being pampered by humans she represents upper class people the bourgeoisie who fled from the u s s r after the russian revolution benjamin a donkey who is cynical about the revolution he is said to be inspired by orwell himself he represented the skeptical people in and out of russia who believed that communism would not help the people of russia moses a tame raven who spreads stories of sugarcandy mountain the animal heaven these beliefs are denounced by the pigs moses represents religion specifically the russian orthodox church which has always been in conflict with communism it is interesting to note that while moses initially leaves the farm after the rebellion he later returns and is supported by the pigs this represents the cynical use of religion by the state to anaesthetise the minds of the masses muriel a goat who reads the edited commandments she may represent intelligent labour jessie and bluebell two dogs who give birth in chapter iii their puppies are nurtured by napoleon to inspire fear without doubt representing the formation of the nkvd kgb the hens represent the kulaks landed peasants persecuted by stalin the dogs napoleon s secret police and bodyguards inspired by cheka nkvd ogpu mvd the sheep the sheep show the dumb animal following of the proletariats in the midst of the russian civil war four legs good two legs bad significance the book is an allegory about the events following the revolution in the soviet union and in particular the rise of stalinism and the betrayal of the revolution which basically replaced one dictatorship for another orwell wrote the book following his experiences during the spanish civil war which are described in another of his books homage to catalonia he intended it to be a strong condemnation of what he saw as the stalinist corruption of the original socialist ideals in which he believed and continued to believe after he saw a revolution betrayed as in spain for the preface of a ukrainian edition he prepared in one nine four seven orwell describes what gave him the idea of setting the book on a farm i saw a little boy perhaps ten years old driving a huge cart horse along a narrow path whipping it whenever it tried to turn it struck me that if only such animals became aware of their strength we should have no power over them and that men exploit animals in much the same way as the rich exploit the proletariat this ukrainian edition was an early propaganda use of the book it was printed to be distributed among the soviet citizens of ukraine who were just some of the many millions of displaced persons throughout europe at the end of the second world war the american occupation forces did not appreciate these illegal presses printing propaganda and confiscated one five zero zero copies of animal farm handing them to the soviet authorities the politics in the book also affected britain with orwell reporting that ernest bevin was terrified that it may cause embarrassment if published before the one nine four five general election in recent years the book has been used to compare new movements that overthrow heads of a corrupt and undemocratic government or organization only to become corrupt and oppressive themselves over time as they succumb to the trappings of power and begin using violent and dictatorial methods to keep it such analogies have been used for many former african colonies such as zimbabwe and democratic republic of congo whose succeeding african born rulers were thought to be as corrupt as the european colonists they supplanted in schools animal farm is used in the core knowledge curriculum core knowledge is based on the interaction of different subjects in schools the way animal farm comes into play is that if a student s geography or history class is learning about the former soviet union the english class will be reading animal farm post publication views of the book in the post war years it became apparent to orwell that anti russian literature was not something which most major publishing houses would touch including his regular publisher gollancz one publisher he sought to sell his book to rejected it on the grounds of government advice although it was later found that the civil servant who gave the order was a soviet spy orwell originally prepared a preface on freedom of the press for the book which noted the sinister fact about literary censorship in england is that it is largely voluntary things are kept right out of the british press not because the government intervened but because of a general tacit agreement that it wouldn t do to mention that particular fact somewhat ironically the preface itself was censored and is not published with most copies of the book film versions the book was the basis of an animated feature film in one nine five five britain s first full length animated movie directed by john halas and joy batchelor and quietly commissioned by the american cia which softened the theme of the story slightly by reducing the role of moses the character representing religion and adding an epilogue that occurs immediately after the novel s iconic concluding imagery is depicted where the other animals successfully revolt against the pigs there was also a one nine nine nine live action film directed by john stephenson with voices by kelsey grammer as snowball patrick stewart as napoleon and ian holm as squealer despite a few differences such as completely different songs and jesse being the first to question the pigs much of the plot is loyal to the book the film diverges from the book with an additional epilogue in which jesse and several animals escape and return years later to a post napoleon era animal farm cultural references pink floyd s one nine seven seven album animals was partially inspired by animal farm it categorises people as pigs dogs or sheep in an episode of johnny bravo aunt katie s farm johnny while dressed in a pig costume goes crazy and yells four legs good two legs bad over and over radical socialist rappers dead prez released a song called animal in man off their debut lp let s get free re telling the story a song off canadian band protest the hero s debut cd a calculated use of sound called red stars over the battle of the cowshed is presumably a reference to animal farm see also songs beasts of england comrade napoleon battles battle of the cowshed battle of the windmill characters old major napoleon snowball squealer frederick pilkington jones boxer the seven commandments seven commandments references external links animal farm cliffsnotes slashdoc animal farm analytical essays of the novel animal farm searchable indexed etext animal farm complete novel includes publication data and search feature excerpts from orwell s letters to his agent concerning animal farm george orwell web ring imdb animal farm one nine five four animated film imdb animal farm one nine nine nine tv film isbn numbers isbn nine nine six six four seven two four eight seven paperback one nine eight eight swahili translation isbn zero five eight two zero two one seven three one paper text one nine eight nine isbn zero one five one zero seven two five five eight hardcover one nine nine zero isbn zero five eight two zero six zero one zero nine paper text one nine nine one isbn zero six seven nine four two zero three nine eight hardcover one nine nine three isbn zero six zero six zero zero one zero two six prebound one nine nine six isbn zero one five one zero zero two one seven seven hardcover one nine nine six anniversary edition isbn zero four five two two seven seven five zero seven paperback one nine nine six anniversary edition isbn zero four five one five two six three four one mass market paperback one nine nine six anniversary edition isbn zero five eight two five three zero zero eight three one nine nine six isbn one five six zero zero zero five two zero three cloth text one nine nine eight large type edition isbn zero seven nine one zero four seven seven four one hardcover one nine nine nine isbn zero four five one five two five three six one paperback one nine nine nine isbn zero seven six four one zero eight one nine zero paperback one nine nine nine isbn zero eight two two zero seven zero zero nine x e book one nine nine nine isbn zero seven five eight seven seven eight four three zero hardcover two zero zero two isbn zero one five one zero one zero two six nine hardcover two zero zero three with nineteen eighty four isbn zero four five two two eight four two four four paperback two zero zero three centennial edition isbn zero eight four eight eight zero one two zero two hardcover one nine four five books animal farm dystopian novels english novels george orwell books modern library one zero zero best novels satirical books time magazine one zero zero best novels twentieth century british novels amphibians class amphibia are a taxon of animals that include all tetrapods four legged vertebrates that do not have amniotic eggs amphibians from greek both and life generally spend part of their time on land but they do not have the adaptations to an entirely terrestrial existence found in most other modern tetrapods amniotes there are about five nine five zero described living species of amphibians the study of amphibians and reptiles is known as herpetology history of amphibians fire salamander salamandra salamandra amphibians developed with the characteristics of pharyngeal slits gills a dorsal nerve cord a notochord and a post anal tail at different stages of their life they have persisted since the dawn of tetrapods three nine zero million years ago in the devonian period when they were the first four legged animals to develop lungs during the following carboniferous period they also developed the ability to walk on land to avoid aquatic competition and predation while allowing them to travel from water source to water source as a group they maintained the status of the dominant animal for nearly seven five million years throughout their history they have ranged in size from the three foot nine zero cm long devonian ichthyostega to the slightly larger five foot one five zero cm long permian eryops and down to the tiny brachycephalus didactylus brazilian gold frog and eleutherodactylus iberia from cuba with a total length of nine six nine eight millimeters zero four inches amphibians have mastered almost every climate on earth from the hottest deserts to the frozen arctic classification caecilian from the san antonio zoo traditionally the amphibians are taken to include all tetrapods that are not amniotes recent amphibians all belong to a single subgroup of these called the lissamphibia recently there has been a tendency to restrict the class amphibia to the lissamphibia i e to exclude tetrapods that are not more closely related to modern forms than they are to modern reptiles birds and mammals there are two ancient extinct subclasses subclass labyrinthodontia paraphyletic subclass lepospondyli of the remaining modern subclass lissamphibia there are three orders order anura frogs and toads in superorder salientia five two two eight species order caudata or urodela salamanders five five two species order gymnophiona or apoda caecilians one seven one species authorities disagree on whether salientia is a superorder that includes the order anura or whether anura is a sub order of the order salientia in effect salientia includes all the anura plus a single triassic proto frog species triadobatrachus massinoti practical considerations seem to favour using the former arrangement now reproduction for the purpose of reproduction most amphibians are bound to fresh water a few tolerate brackish water but there are no true sea water amphibians several hundred frog species in adaptive radiations e g eleutherodactylus the pacific platymantines the australo papuan microhylids and many other tropical frogs however do not need any water whatsoever they reproduce via direct development an ecological and evolutionary adaptation that has allowed them to be completely independent from free standing water almost all of these frogs live in wet tropical rainforests and their eggs hatch directly into miniature versions of the adult bypassing the tadpole stage entirely several species have also adapted to arid and semi arid environments but most of them still need water to lay their eggs symbiosis with single celled algae that lives in the jelly like layer of the eggs has evolved several times the larvae tadpoles or polliwogs breathe with exterior gills after hatching they start to transform gradually into the adult s appearance this process is called metamorphosis typically the animals then leave the water and become terrestrial adults but there are many interesting exceptions to this general way of reproduction the most obvious part of the amphibian metamorphosis is the formation of four legs in order to support the body on land but there are several other changes the gills are replaced by other respiratory organs i e lungs the skin changes and develops glands to avoid dehydration the eyes get eyelids and adapt to vision outside the water an eardrum is developed to lock the middle ear in frogs and toads the tail disappears amphibian conservation the golden toad of monteverde costa rica was among the first casualties of amphibian declines formerly abundant it was last seen in one nine eight nine dramatic declines in amphibian populations including population crashes and mass localized extinction have been noted in the past two decades from locations all over the world and amphibian declines are thus perceived as one of the most critical threats to global biodiversity a number of causes are believed to be involved including habitat destruction and modification over exploitation pollution introduced species climate change and disease however many of the causes of amphibian declines are still poorly understood and amphibian declines are currently a topic of much ongoing research see also frog zoology prehistoric amphibian tetrapod references duellman trueb biology of amphibians coauthors mart n r bustamante luis a coloma jamie a consuegra michael p l fogden pru n foster enrique la marca karen l masters andr s merino viteri robert puschendorf santiago r ron g arturo s nchez azofeifa christopher j still and bruce e young solomon berg martin biology external links american museum of natural history department of herpetology the global amphibian assessment amphibiaweb chordates amphibians alaska ipa is the four nine th state of the united states it was admitted on january three one nine five nine the population of the state is six two six nine three two as of two zero zero zero according to the two zero zero zero u s census alaska is most likely ranked the fourth smallest state population wise in the u s with wyoming vermont and by now north dakota smaller than alaska the name alaska is most likely derived from the aleut word alyeska meaning greater land as opposed to the aleut word aleutia meaning lesser land to the aleuts this distinction was a linguistic variation distinguishing the mainland from an island it is bordered by yukon territory and british columbia canada to the east the gulf of alaska and the pacific ocean to the south the bering sea bering strait and chukchi sea to the west and the beaufort sea and the arctic ocean to the north alaska is the largest state by area in the united states it is larger in area than all but one eight of the world s nations history alaska was first inhabited by humans who came across the bering land bridge eventually alaska became populated by the inupiaq inuit and yupik eskimos aleuts and a variety of american indian groups most if not all of the pre columbian population of the americas probably took this route and continued further south and east the first written accounts indicate that the first europeans to reach alaska came from russia vitus bering sailed east and saw mt st elias the russian american company hunted sea otters for their fur the colony was never very profitable because of the costs of transportation at the urging of u s secretary of state william seward the united states senate approved the purchase of alaska from russia for seven two zero zero zero zero zero approximately one three four zero zero zero zero zero zero in two zero zero five dollars adjusted for inflation on nine april one eight six seven and the united states flag was raised on one eight october of that same year now called alaska day coincident with the ownership change the de facto international date line was moved westward and alaska changed from the julian calendar to the gregorian calendar therefore for residents friday october six one eight six seven was followed by friday october one eight one eight six seven two fridays in a row because of the date line shift the first american administrator of alaska was polish immigrant w odzimierz krzy anowski the purchase was not popular in the contiguous united states where alaska became known as seward s folly or seward s icebox alaska celebrates the purchase each year on the last monday of march calling it seward s day after the purchase of alaska between one eight six seven and one eight eight four the name was changed to the department of alaska between one eight eight four and one nine one two it was called the district of alaska president dwight d eisenhower signed the alaska statehood act into united states law on seven july one nine five eight which paved the way for alaska s admission into the union on january three one nine five nine alaska suffered one of the worst earthquakes in recorded north american history on good friday one nine six four see good friday earthquake in one nine seven six the people of alaska amended the state s constitution establishing the alaska permanent fund the fund invests a portion of the state s mineral revenue including revenue from the trans alaskan pipeline system to benefit all generations of alaskans in march two zero zero five the fund s value was over three zero billion prior to one nine eight three the state lay across four different time zones pacific standard time utc eight hours in the southeast panhandle a small area of yukon standard time utc nine hours around yakutat alaska hawaii standard time utc one zero hours in the anchorage and fairbanks vicinity with the nome area and most of the aleutian islands observing bering standard time utc one one hours in one nine eight three the number of time zones was reduced to two with the entire mainland plus the inner aleutian islands going to utc nine hours and this zone then being renamed alaska standard time as the yukon territory had several years earlier circa one nine seven five adopted a single time zone identical to pacific standard time and the remaining aleutian islands were slotted into the utc one zero hours zone which was then renamed hawaii aleutian standard time over the years various vessels have been named uss alaska in honor of the state during world war ii three of the outer aleutian islands attu agattu and kiska were occupied by japanese troops it was the only territory within the current borders of the united states to have land occupied during the war politics alaska is often characterized as a republican leaning state with strong libertarian tendencies local political communities often work on issues related to land use development fishing tourism and individual rights as many residents are proud of their rough alaskan heritage alaska natives while organized in and around their communities are often active within the native corporations which have been given ownership over large tracts of land and thus need to deliberate resource conservation and development issues in presidential elections the state s electoral college votes have been most often won by a republican nominee only once has alaska supported a democratic nominee when it supported lyndon b johnson in the landslide year of one nine six four although the one nine six zero and one nine six eight elections were close no state has voted for a democratic presidential candidate fewer times president george w bush won the state s electoral votes in two zero zero four by a margin of two five percentage points with six one one of the vote juneau stands out as an area that supports democratic candidates when the united states congress in one nine five seven and one nine five eight debated the wisdom of admitting it as the four nine th state much of the political debate centered on whether alaska would become a democratic or republican leaning state conventional wisdom had it that with its rugged individualism penchant for new ideas and dependence on the federal government largess for basic needs it would become a democratic stronghold about which republicans and the then republican administration of dwight eisenhower had reservations given time those fears proved roundly unfounded after an early flirtatious period with liberal politics the political climate of alaska changed quickly once petroleum was discovered and the federal government came to be seen as meddling in local affairs still despite its libertarian leanings the state regularly takes in more federal money than it gives out a fact that can be attributed at least partially to its equal representation in the united states senate in recent years the alaska legislature is a two zero member senate serving four year terms and four zero member house serving two year terms it has been dominated by conservatives generally republicans likewise recent state governors have been mostly conservatives although not always elected under the official party banner republican wally hickel was elected to the office for a second term in one nine nine zero after jumping the republican ship and briefly joining the alaskan independence party ticket just long enough to be reelected he subsequently officially rejoined the republican fold in one nine nine four alaska s members of the u s congress are all republican u s senator ted stevens was appointed to the position following the death of u s senator bob bartlett in december of one nine six eight and has never lost a re election campaign since as the longest serving republican in the senate some political wits call him senator for life stevens has been a crucial force in gaining federal money for his state until his resignation from the u s senate to run for governor republican frank murkowski held the state s other senatorial position and as governor was allowed to appoint his daughter lisa murkowski as his successor she won a full six year term on her own in two zero zero four alaska s sole u s house representative don young won re election to his one seven th straight term also in two zero zero four his seniority in house ranks him as one of the most influential republican house members his position on the house transportation committee allowed him to parlay some four five zero million to two bridge projects in alaska named the bridges to nowhere for which he gained national notoriety following the devastation in the state of louisiana following hurricane katrina and his insistence that the money not be returned to aid in rebuilding the gulf coast geography near little port walter alaska is one of the two states that is not bordered by another us state hawaii being