TRAIN of

THOUGHTTRAIN of THOUGHT

A compilation of Wikipedia finds.

CONTENTSWorld War II.........................................60

The Holocaust........................................62

Jehovah’s Witnesses..............................64

God........................................................66

The Ice Age...........................................67I

slamic Calligraphy................................68

Medieval India.......................................70

Famine...................................................72

Climate Change......................................74

Minnesota Culture.................................76

WORLD WAR IIWorld War II, or the Second

World War (often abbreviated

as WWII or WW2), was a

global war that was underway

by 1939 and ended in 1945. It

involved a vast majority of the

world’s nations—including all

of the great powers—eventually

forming two opposing military

alliances: the Allies and the Axis.

It was the most widespread war

in history, with more than 100

million people serving in military

units. In a state of “total war”,

the major participants placed

their entire economic, industrial,

and scientific capabilities at the

service of the war effort, erasing

the distinction between civilian

and military resources. Marked

by significant events involving

the mass death of civilians,

including the Holocaust and the

only use of nuclear weapons in

warfare, it resulted in 50 million

to over 70 million fatalities.

These deaths make World War II

by far the deadliest conflict in all

of human history.[1]

1. Sommerville, Donald (2008). The Complete Illustrated History of World War Two: An Authoritative Account of the Deadliest Conflict in Human History with Analysis of Decisive Encounters and Landmark Engagements. Lorenz Books. p. 5. ISBN 0-7548-1898-5.

image:http://kasamaproject.org/category/history/world-war-ii/

http://collective-history.tumblr.com/post/32350012721/tbf-avengers-flying-in-formation-over-norfolk

The Empire of Japan aimed to

dominate East Asia and was

already at war with the Republic

of China in 1937,[2] but the

world war is generally said to

have begun on 1 September

1939 with the invasion of Poland

by Germany and subsequent

declarations of war on Germany

by France and Britain. From

late 1939 to early 1941, in a

series of campaigns and treaties,

Germany formed the Axis

alliance with Italy, conquering

or subduing much of continental

Europe. Following the Molotov–

Ribbentrop Pact, Germany and

the Soviet Union partitioned

and annexed territories between

themselves of their European

neighbors, including Poland. The

United Kingdom, with itsempire

and Commonwealth, remained

the only major Allied force

continuing the fight against the

Axis, with battles taking place in

North Africa as well as the long-

running Battle of the Atlantic. In

June 1941, the European Axis

launched an invasion of the

Soviet Union, giving a start to

the largest land theatre of war

in history, which tied down the

major part of the Axis’ military

forces for the rest of the war. In

December 1941, Japan joined

the Axis, attacked the United

States and European territories

in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly

conquered much of the West

Pacific.

The Axis advance was stopped

in 1942, after Japan lost a series

of naval battles and European

Axis troops were defeated in

North Africaand, decisively, at

Stalingrad. In 1943, with a series

of German defeats in Eastern

Europe, the Allied invasion of

Italy, and American victories

in the Pacific, the Axis lost

the initiative and undertook

strategic retreat on all fronts. In

1944, the Western Allies invaded

France, while the Soviet Union

regained all of its territorial

losses and invaded Germany

and its allies. The war in Europe

ended with the capture of Berlin

by Soviet and Polish troops

and the subsequent German

unconditional surrender on 8

May 1945. During 1944 and 1945

the United States defeated the

Japanese Navy and captured key

West Pacific islands, dropping

atomic bombs on the country

as the invasion of the Japanese

archipelago became imminent.

The Soviet Union then followed

through on negotiations by

declaring war on Japan and

invading Manchuria. The

Empire of Japan surrendered on

15 August 1945, ending the war

in Asia and cementing the total

victory of the Allies over the Axis.

2. Barrett, David P; Shyu, Lawrence N (2001). China in the anti-Japanese War, 1937–1945: politics, culture and society. Volume 1 of Studies in modern Chinese history. New York: Peter Lang. p. 6. ISBN 0-8204-4556-8.

image:http://familypedia.wikia.com/wiki/File:GermanTroopsInRussia1941.jpg

THE HOLOCAUSTThe Holocaust (from the Greek

λόκαυστος holókaustos: hólos,

“whole” and kaustós, “burnt”)

[2] also known as the Shoah,

HaShoah, “catastrophe”;

Churben or Hurban, from the

Hebrew for “destruction”), was

the mass murder or genocide

of approximately six million

European Jews during World

War II, a programme of

systematic state-sponsored

murder by Nazi Germany, led

by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi

Party, throughout German-

occupied territory.[3][4] Of

the nine million Jews who

had resided in Europe before

the Holocaust, approximately

two-thirds were killed.[5] Over

one million Jewish children

were killed in the Holocaust, as

were approximately two million

Jewish women and three million

Jewish men.[6][7]

The term holocaust comes from

the Greek word holókauston, an

animal sacrifice offered to a god

in which the whole (olos) animal

is completely burnt (kaustos).[8]

For hundreds of years, the word

“holocaust” was used in English

to denote great massacres, but

since the 1960s, the term has

come to be used by scholars

and popular writers to refer

to the genocide of Jews. The

mini-series Holocaust is credited

with introducing the term into

common parlance after 1978.

2.Dawidowicz 1975, p. xxxvii.

3.Snyder 2010, pp. 412.

4.Niewyk & Nicosia 2000, p. 45 “The Holocaust is commonly defined as the murder of more than 5,000,000 Jews by the Germans in World War II”.

5.Further examples of this usage can be found in: Bauer 2002, Cesarani 2004, Dawidowicz 1981, Evans 2002, Gilbert 1986, Hilberg 1996, Longerich 2012, Phayer 2000, Zuccotti 1999.

6.Dawidowicz 1975, p. 403

7.Hedgepeth & Saidel 2010, p. 16. “If two million Jewish women were murdered during the Holocaust, sexual molestation was the lot of a few but violence was the lot of the many”.

8. Fitzgerald 2011, p. 4. “More than a million Jewish children were killed”.

image:http://inkandvoice.com/2012/03/joseph-kony-genocide/

The biblical word Shoah (also

spelled Sho’ah and Shoa),

meaning “calamity”, became the

standard Hebrew term for the

Holocaust as early as the 1940s,

especially in Europe and Israel.

[18] Shoah is preferred by many

Jews for a number of reasons,

including the theologically

offensive nature of the word

“holocaust”, which they take to

refer to the Greek pagan custom.

[19]

The Nazis used a euphemistic

phrase, the “Final Solution to

the Jewish Question” (German:

Endlösung der Judenfrage), and

the phrase “Final Solution” has

been widely used as a term for

the genocide of the Jews. Nazis

used the phrase “lebensunwertes

Leben” (Life unworthy of life) in

an attempt to justify the killings.

Some scholars argue that the

mass murder of the Romani and

people with disabilities should

be included in the definition,[8]

[9]and some use the common

noun “holocaust” to describe

other Nazi mass murders, for

example Soviet prisoners of

war, Polish and Soviet civilians,

and homosexuals.[10][11]

Recent estimates based on

figures obtained since the fall

of the Soviet Union indicates

some ten to 11 million civilians

and prisoners of war were

intentionally murdered by the

Nazi regime.[12][13]

The persecution and genocide

were carried out in stages.

Various laws to remove the

Jews from civil society, most

prominently the Nuremberg

Laws, were enacted in Germany

years before the outbreak of

World War II. Concentration

camps were established in

which inmates were subjected

to slave labor until they died of

exhaustion or disease. Where

Germany conquered new

territory in eastern Europe,

specialized units called

Einsatzgruppen murdered

Jews and political opponents in

mass shootings. The occupiers

required Jews and Romani to

be confined in overcrowded

ghettos before being

transported by freight train to

extermination camps where, if

they survived the journey, most

were systematically killed in

gas chambers. Every arm of

Germany’s bureaucracy was

involved in the logistics that

led to the genocides, turning

the Third Reich into what one

Holocaust scholar has called “a

genocidal state”.[14]

18. “The Holocaust: Definition and Preliminary Discussion”. Yad Vashem. Retrieved 24 September 2012.

19. For an opposing view on the allegedly offensive nature of the meaning of the word holocaust, see Peterie 2000.

image:http://mundabor.wordpress.com/2012/11/04/the-personally-opposed-and-the-holocaust/

Jehovah’s Witnesses is a

millenialist restorationist

Christian denomination with

non-trinitarian beliefs distinct

from mainstream Christianity.

The organization reports

worldwide membership of over

7.65 million adherents involved

in evangelism,[3] convention

attendance of over 12 million,

and annual Memorial attendance

of over 19.3 million.[4]. They are

directed by the Governing Body

of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a group

of elders in Brooklyn, New York,

that establishes all doctrines.[5]

Jehovah’s Witnesses’ beliefs are

based on their interpretations

of the Bible and they prefer

to use their own translation,

the New World Translation

of the Holy Scriptures. They

believe that the destruction of

the present world system at

Armageddon is imminent, and

that the establishment of God’s

kingdom on earth is the only

solution for all problems faced

by humankind.

JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES3. “Jehovah’s Witnesses Official Media Web Site: Our History and Organization: Membership”. Office of Public Information of Jehovah’s Witnesses. “While other religious groups count their membership by occasional or annual attendance, this figure reflects only those who are actively involved in the public Bible educational work [of Jehovah’s Witnesses].”

4.“Guided by God’s Spirit”. Awake!: 32. June 2008. Retrieved 2012-06-16.

5.“Focus on the Goodness of Jehovah’s Organization”. The Watchtower: 20. July 15, 2006. Retrieved 2012-06-16.

images:http://www.bible-study-lessons.com/Jehovahs-Witness.htmlhttp://heritagedoyle.zenfolio.com/p152696542/

The group emerged from the

Bible Student movement—

founded in the late 1870s by

Charles Taze Russell with the

formation of Zion’s Watch Tower

Tract Society—with significant

organizational and doctrinal

changes under the leadership of

Joseph Franklin Rutherford. The

name Jehovah’s witnesses, based

on Isaiah 43:10–12,[18] was

adopted in 1931 to distinguish

themselves from other Bible

Student groups and symbolize a

break with the legacy of Russell’s

traditions.

In 1870, Charles Taze

Russell and others formed

an independent group in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to

study the Bible.[22] During

the course of his ministry

Russell disputed many beliefs

of mainstream Christianity

including immortality of the

soul, hellfire, predestination, the

fleshly return of Jesus Christ,

the Trinity, and the burning up

of the world. In 1876 Russell

met Nelson H. Barbour; later

that year they jointly produced

the book Three Worlds, which

combined restitutionist views

with end time prophecy. The

book taught that God’s dealings

with mankind were divided

dispensationally, each ending

with a “harvest”, that Christ had

returned as an invisible spirit

being in 1874 inaugurating the

“harvest of the Gospel age”, and

that 1914 would mark the end

of a 2520th period called “the

Gentile Times”, at which time

world society would be replaced

by the full establishment of

God’s kingdom on earth.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are best

known for their door-to-door

preaching, distributing literature

such as The Watchtower and

Awake!, and refusing military

service and blood transfusions.

They consider use of the name

Jehovah vital for proper worship.

They reject Trinitarianism,

inherent immortality of the

soul, and hellfire, which they

consider to be unscriptural

doctrines. They do not observe

Christmas, Easter, birthdays, or

other holidays and customs they

consider to have pagan origins

incompatible with Christianity.

Adherents commonly refer to

their body of beliefs as “the

truth” and consider themselves

to be “in the truth”. Jehovah’s

Witnesses consider secular

society to be morally corrupt and

under the influence of Satan, and

limit their social interaction with

non-Witnesses.

Congregational

disciplinary actions include

disfellowshipping, their term for

formal expulsion and shunning.

[21] Baptized individuals who

formally leave are considered

disassociated and are also

shunned. Disfellowshipped

and disassociated individuals

may eventually be reinstated if

deemed repentant.

The religion’s position regarding

conscientious objection to

military service and refusal to

salute national flags has brought

it into conflict with some

governments. Consequently,

Jehovah’s Witnesses have been

persecuted and their activities

are banned or restricted in

some countries. Persistent

legal challenges by Jehovah’s

Witnesses have influenced

legislation related to civil rights

in several countries.

18.Isaiah 43:10–12

22. Rogerson, Alan (1969). Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Constable & Co, London. pp. 6. ISBN 094559406.

image:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Watchtower_Bible_%26_Tract_Society_%28world_headquarters%29.jpg

GODGod usually refers to the single

deity in monotheism or the

monist deity in pantheism.

[1] God is often conceived of

as the supernatural creator

and overseer of humans and

the universe. Theologians

have ascribed a variety of

attributes to the many different

conceptions of God. The most

common among these include

omniscience (infinite knowledge),

omnipotence (unlimited

power), omnipresence (present

everywhere), omnibenevolence

(perfect goodness), divine

simplicity, and eternal and

necessary existence.

The earliest written form of the

Germanic word God (always,

in this usage, capitalized[7])

comes from the 6th century

Christian Codex Argenteus. The

English word itself is derived

from the Proto-Germanic *.

Most linguists[who?] agree that

the reconstructed Proto-Indo-

European form based on the root

*, which meant either “to call” or

“to invoke” The Germanic words

for God were originally neuter—

applying to both genders—but

during the process of the

Christianization of the Germanic

peoples from their indigenous

Germanic paganism, the word

became amasculine syntactic

form.

In the English language, the

capitalized form of God

continues to represent a

distinction between monotheistic

“God” and “gods” in polytheism

The English word “God” and its

counterparts in other languages

are normally used for any and

all conceptions and, in spite of

significant differences between

religions, the term remains an

English translation common

to all. The same holds for

Hebrew El, but in Judaism, God

is also given a proper name,

the tetragrammaton (written

YHWH), in origin the name of

an Edomite or Midianite deity,

Yahweh. In many translations of

the Bible, when the word “LORD”

is in all capitals, it signifies

that the word represents the

tetragrammaton. Allah is the

Arabic term with no plural

orgender used by Muslims and

Arabic speaking Christians and

Jews meaning “The God” (with a

capital G), while is the term used

for a deity or a god in general.

God may also be given a proper

name in monotheistic currents

of Hinduism which emphasize

the personal nature of God, with

early references to his name as

Krishna-Vasudeva in Bhagavata

or later Vishnu and Hari.

God has also been conceived as

being incorporeal (immaterial),

a personal being, the source of

all moral obligation, and the

“greatest conceivable existent”.

These attributes were supported

to varying degrees by the early

Jewish, Christian and Muslim

theologian philosophers. Many

notable medieval philosophers

and modern philosophers have

developed arguments for and

against the existence of God.

1. Swinburne, R.G. “God” in Honderich, Ted. (ed)The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, Oxford University Press, 1995.

7.“’God’ in Merriam-Webster (online)” . Merriam-Webster, Inc.. Retrieved 2012-07-19.

image: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/god-the-creator/images/11243529/title/god-adam-fanart

An ice age, or more precisely,

a glacial age, is a period of

long-term reduction in the

temperature of the Earth’s

surface and atmosphere,

resulting in the presence or

expansion of continental ice

sheets, polar ice sheets and

alpine glaciers. Within a long-

term ice age, individual pulses

of cold climate are termed

“glacial periods” (or alternatively

“glacials” or “glaciations” or

colloquially as “ice age”), and

intermittent warm periods

are called “interglacials”.

Glaciologically, ice age implies

the presence of extensive ice

sheets in the northern and

southern hemispheres.[1] By this

definition, we are still in the ice

age that began 2.6 million years

ago at the start of the Pleistocene

epoch, because the Greenland

and Antarctic ice sheets still

exist.[2]

There are three main types of

evidence for ice ages: geological,

chemical, and paleontological.

Geological evidence for ice

ages comes in various forms,

including rock scouring and

scratching, glacial moraines,

drumlins, valley cutting, and

the deposition of till or tillites

and glacial erratics. Successive

glaciations tend to distort and

erase the geological evidence,

making it difficult to interpret.

Furthermore, this evidence

was difficult to date exactly;

early theories assumed that the

glacials were short compared

to the long interglacials. The

advent of sediment and ice cores

revealed the true situation:

glacials are long, interglacials

short.

It took some time for the

current theory to be worked

out. The chemical evidence

mainly consists of variations

in the ratios of isotopes in

fossils present in sediments

and sedimentary rocks and

ocean sediment cores. For the

most recent glacial periods ice

cores provide climate proxies

from their ice, and atmospheric

samples from included

bubbles of air. Because water

containing heavier isotopes has

a higher heat of evaporation,

its proportion decreases with

colder conditions.[29] This

allows a temperature record to

be constructed. However, this

evidence can be confounded by

other factors recorded by isotope

ratios.

The paleontological evidence

consists of changes in the

geographical distribution of

fossils. During a glacial period

cold-adapted organisms spread

into lower latitudes, and

organisms that prefer warmer

conditions become extinct or are

squeezed into lower latitudes.

This evidence is also difficult to

interpret because it requires (1)

sequences of sediments covering

a long period of time, over a

wide range of latitudes and

which are easily correlated; (2)

ancient organisms which survive

for several million years without

change and whose temperature

preferences are easily diagnosed;

and (3) the finding of the

relevant fossils.

Despite the difficulties, analysis

of ice core and ocean sediment

cores[citation needed] has

shown periods of glacials and

interglacials over the past few

million years. These also confirm

the linkage between ice ages and

continental crust phenomena

such as glacial moraines,

drumlins, and glacial erratics.

Hence the continental crust

phenomena are accepted as good

evidence of earlier ice ages when

they are found in layers created

much earlier than the time range

for which ice cores and ocean

sediment cores are available.

1Imbrie, J.; Imbrie, K.P (1979). Ice ages: solving the mystery . Short Hills NJ: Enslow Publishers. ISBN 978-0-89490-015-0.

image:http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2009/11/ice-age-froze-europe-months

THE ICE AGE

ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHYIslamic calligraphy, also known

as Arabic calligraphy, is the

artistic practice handwriting, or

calligraphy, and by extension,

of bookmaking,[1] in the lands

sharing a common Islamic

cultural heritage. This art form

is based on the Arabic script,

which for a long time was

used by all Muslims in their

respective languages. They used

it to represent God because

they denied representing God

with images.[2] Calligraphy is

especially revered among Islamic

arts since it was the primary

means for the preservation

of the Qur’an. Suspicion of

figurative art as idolatrous led

to calligraphy and abstract

depictions becoming a major

form of artistic expression in

Islamic cultures, especially in

religious contexts.[3] The work

of calligraphers was collected

and appreciated.

Calligraphy has arguably

become the most venerated

form of Islamic art because the

Arabic script was the means of

transmission of the Qur’an. The

holy book of Islam, the Qur’an,

has played an important role in

the development and evolution

of the Arabic language, and by

extension, calligraphy in the

Arabic alphabet. Proverbs and

complete passages from the

Qur’an are still active sources for

Islamic calligraphy.

1.a b Bloom (1999), pg. 218[citation needed]

2. Bernard Lewis and Butnzie Ellis Churchill, Islam : the Religion and the People, ISBN 978-0-13-223085-8

3.Bloom (1999), pg. 222

images:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Learning_Arabic_calligraphy.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IlkhanidQuran.JPG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nastaliq-proportions.jpg

Geometric scripts (basically Kufic

styles) Kufic is a cleaner, more

geometric style, with a very visible

rhythm and a stress on horizontal

lines. Vowels are sometimes

noted as red dots; consonants are

distinguished with small dashes

to make the texts more readable.

A number of Qur’ans written in

this style have been found in the

Mosque at Kairouan, in Tunisia.

Kufic writing also appears on

ancient coins.

The Maghribi script and its

Andalusi variant are less rigid

versions of Kufic, with more

curves.

For writing of Qur’ans and other

documents, Kufic was eventually

replaced by the cursive scripts.

It remains in use for decorative

purposes:

- In “Flowering Kufi”, slender

geometric lettering is associated

with stylized vegetal elements.

- n “Geometric Kufi”, the letters

are arranged in complex, two-

dimensional geometric patterns,

for example filling a square. This

aims at decoration rather than

readability.

-Islamic Mosque calligraphy

is calligraphy that can be

found in and out of a mosque,

typically in combination with

Arabesque motifs. Arabesque

is a form of Islamic art known

for its repetitive geometric

forms creating beautiful

decorations. These geometric

shapes often include Arabic

calligraphy written on walls

and ceilings inside and outside

of mosques.

- The subject of these writings

can be derived from different

sources in Islam. It can be

derived from the written

words of the Qur’an or from

the oral traditions relating

to the words and deeds of

Islamic Prophet Muhammad.

MEDIEVAL INDIAThe Indian early medieval age,

600 CE to 1200 CE, is defined by

regional kingdoms and cultural

diversity.[47] When Harsha of

Kannauj, who ruled much of the

Indo-Gangetic Plain from 606

to 647 CE, attempted to expand

southwards, he was defeated by

the Chalukya ruler of the Deccan

When his successor attempted

to expand eastwards, he was

defeated by the Pala king of

Bengal. When the Chalukyas

attempted to expand southwards,

they were defeated by the

Pallavas from farther south, who

in turn were opposed by the

Pandyas and the Cholas from

still farther south.[48] No ruler

of this period was able to create

an empire and consistently

control lands much beyond his

core region. During this time,

pastoral peoples whose land had

been cleared to make way for the

growing agricultural economy

were accommodated within

caste society, as were new non-

traditional ruling classes. The

caste system consequently began

to show regional differences.[49]

47. b Stein 1998, p. 132.

48. a b c Stein 1998, pp. 119–120.

49. a b Stein 1998, pp. 121–122.

image:http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/deccan/hoysala/3746.htm

In the 6th and 7th centuries, the

first devotional hymns were

created in the Tamil language.

[50] They were imitated all

over India and led to both the

resurgence of Hinduism and

the development of all modern

languages of the subcontinent.

[50] Indian royalty, big and

small, and the temples they

patronized, drew citizens in great

numbers to the capital cities,

which became economic hubs as

well.[51]

Temple towns of various sizes

began to appear everywhere

as India underwent another

urbanization.[51] By the 8th and

9th centuries, the effects were

felt in South-East Asia, as South

Indian culture and political

systems were exported to lands

that became part of modern-

day Thailand, Laos, Cambodia,

Vietnam, Malaysia, and Java.

[52] Indian merchants, scholars,

and sometimes armies were

involved in this transmission;

South-East Asians took the

initiative as well, with many

sojourning in Indian seminaries

and translating Buddhist and

Hindu texts into their languages.

[52]

After the 10th century, Muslim

Central Asian nomadic clans,

using swift-horse cavalry and

raising vast armies united

by ethnicity and religion,

repeatedly overran South Asia’s

north-western plains, leading

eventually to the establishment

of the Islamic Delhi Sultanate

in 1206.[53] The sultanate was

to control much of North India,

and to make many forays into

South India. Although at first

disruptive for the Indian elites,

the sultanate largely left its vast

non-Muslim subject population

to its own laws and customs.

[54][55]

By repeatedly repulsing Mongol

raiders in the 13th century, the

sultanate saved India from the

devastation visited on West and

Central Asia, setting the scene

for centuries of migration of

fleeing soldiers, learned men,

mystics, traders, artists, and

artisans from that region into

the subcontinent, thereby

creating a syncretic Indo-Islamic

culture in the north.[56][57]

The sultanate’s raiding and

weakening of the regional

kingdoms of South India paved

the way for the indigenous

Vijayanagara Empire.[58]

Embracing a strong Shaivite

tradition and building upon

the military technology of the

sultanate, the empire came

to control much of peninsular

India,[59] and was to influence

South Indian society for long

afterwards.

51. a b Stein 1998, p. 123.

52. a b Stein 1998, p. 124

53. a b Stein 1998, pp. 127–128.

54. Ludden 2002, p. 68.

55. Asher & Talbot 2008, p. 47.

56. Metcalf & Metcalf 2006, p. 6.

57. Ludden 2002, p. 67.

58. Asher & Talbot 2008, pp. 50–51.

59. a b Asher & Talbot 2008, p. 53.

60. Metcalf & Metcalf 2006, p. 12.

image:http://qed.princeton.edu/index.php/User:Student/North-West_Regions_of_Medieval_India_-_Major_Routes_from_10th_to_15th_Century

A famine is a widespread

scarcity of food,[1] caused by

several factors including crop

failure, population unbalance,

or government policies. This

phenomenon is usually

accompanied or followed by

regional malnutrition, starvation,

epidemic, and increased

mortality. Nearly every continent

in the world has experienced

a period of famine throughout

history. Many countries continue

to have extreme cases of famine.

Definitions of famines are based

on three different categories –

these include food supply-based,

food consumption-based and

mortality-based definitions.

Some definitions of famines

are: Blix – Widespread food

shortage leading to significant

rise in regional death rates.[14]

Brown and Eckholm – Sudden,

sharp reduction in food supply

resulting in widespread hunger.

[15]

Scrimshaw – Sudden collapse

in level of food consumption of

large numbers of people.[16]

Ravallion – Unusually high

mortality with unusually severe

threat to food intake of some

segments of a population.[17]

Cuny – A set of conditions that

occurs when large numbers of

people in a region cannot obtain

sufficient food, resulting in

widespread, acute malnutrition.

Food shortages in a population

are caused either by a lack of

food or by difficulties in food

distribution; it may be worsened

by natural climate fluctuations

and by extreme political

conditions related to oppressive

government or warfare. One

of the proportionally largest

historical famines was the

Bengal Famine of 1770 in the

lower Gangetic plain of East

India Company ruled North

East India. It began in 1770 due

to severe extractive practices

of the East India Company. An

estimated ten million people

died in the famine, roughly one

in three people in the affected

area. The deaths were greatly

exacerbated by the fact that the

East India Company raised land

taxes by 10% at the height of the

famine, in April 1770.

1. Scarcity and Poor Relief in Eighteenth-Century Ireland: The Subsistence Crisis of 1782-4, http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/30008004?uid=3738032&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21100863504381, 20th June 2012

14. Blix & Svensk näringsforskning 1971.

15. Brown & Eckholm 1974.

image:snapjudge.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/india-60-nehru-indira-congress/cattle-skeletons-litter-vultures-picked-bones-famine-drought-mysore-banglaore-karnataka/

FAMINE

The conventional explanation

until 1981 for the cause

of famines was the Food

availability decline (FAD)

hypothesis. The assumption

was that the central cause of all

famines was a decline in food

availability.[21] However, FAD

could not explain why only a

certain section of the population

such as the agricultural laborer

was affected by famines while

others were insulated from

famines.[22]Based on the

studies of some recent famines,

the decisive role of FAD has

been questioned and it has

been suggested that the causal

mechanism for precipitating

starvation includes many

variables other than just decline

of food availability. According to

this view, famines are a result of

entitlements, the theory being

proposed is called the “failure

of exchange entitlements” or

FEE.[22] A person may own

various commodities that can be

exchanged in a market economy

for the other commodities he

or she needs. The exchange can

happen via trading or production

or through a combination of

the two. These entitlements

are called trade-based or

production-based entitlements.

Per this proposed view, famines

are precipitated due to a break

down in the ability of the person

to exchange his entitlements.

[22] An example of famines

due to FEE is the inability of an

agricultural laborer to exchange

his primary entitlement,

i.e., labor for rice when his

employment became erratic or

was completely eliminated.[22]

21. Encyclopaedia Britannica 2010.

22. a b c d Chaudhari 1984, p. 135.

23.Ravallion 1996, p. 1.

24. “The Great Leap Backward” . The New York Times. 1997-02-16. Retrieved 2011-10-22.

25. “Poor studies will always be with us” , The Telegraph

Climate change is a significant

and lasting change in the

statistical distribution of weather

patterns over periods ranging

from decades to millions of

years. It may be a change in

average weather conditions, or

in the distribution of weather

around the average conditions

(i.e., more or fewer extreme

weather events). Climate change

is caused by factors that include

oceanic processes (such as

oceanic circulation), variations

in solar radiation received

by Earth, plate tectonics and

volcanic eruptions, and human-

induced alterations of the

natural world; these latter effects

are currently causing global

warming, and “climate change”

is often used to describe human-

specific impacts.

CLIMATE CHANGE

The most general definition

of climate change is a change

in the statistical properties

of the climate system when

considered over long periods

of time, regardless of cause.

[1] Accordingly, fluctuations

over periods shorter than a few

decades, such as El Niño, do not

represent climate change.

The term sometimes is used

to refer specifically to climate

change caused by human activity,

as opposed to changes in climate

that may have resulted as part

of Earth’s natural processes.

[2] In this sense, especially in

the context of environmental

policy, the term climate change

has become synonymous with

anthropogenic global warming.

Within scientific journals, global

warming refers to surface

temperature increases while

climate change includes global

warming and everything else

that increasing greenhouse gas

levels will affect.[3]

On the broadest scale, the rate

at which energy is received from

the sun and the rate at which it

is lost to space determine the

equilibrium temperature and

climate of Earth. This energy

is distributed around the globe

by winds, ocean currents, and

other mechanisms to affect the

climates of different regions.

Factors that can shape climate

are called climate forcing or

“forcing mechanisms”. These

include processes such as

variations in solar radiation,

variations in the Earth’s

orbit, mountain-building and

continental drift and changes in

greenhouse gas concentrations.

There are a variety of climate

change feedbacks that can

either amplify or diminish the

initial forcing. Some parts of

the climate system, such as the

oceans and ice caps, respond

slowly in reaction to climate

forcings, while others respond

more quickly.

Forcing mechanisms can be

either “internal” or “external”.

Internal forcing mechanisms

are natural processes within

the climate system itself (e.g.,

the thermohaline circulation).

External forcing mechanisms

can be either natural (e.g.,

changes in solar output) or

anthropogenic (e.g., increased

emissions of greenhouse gases).

Whether the initial forcing

mechanism is internal or

external, the response of the

climate system might be fast (e.g.,

a sudden cooling due to airborne

volcanic ash reflecting sunlight),

slow (e.g. thermal expansion

of warming ocean water), or a

combination (e.g., sudden loss

of albedo in the arctic ocean as

sea ice melts, followed by more

gradual thermal expansion of the

water). Therefore, the climate

system can respond abruptly,

but the full response to forcing

mechanisms might not be fully

developed for centuries or even

longer.

Scientists actively work to

understand past and future

climate by using observations

and theoretical models. Borehole

temperature profiles, ice cores,

floral and faunal records, glacial

and periglacial processes, stable

isotope and other sediment

analyses, and sea level records

serve to provide a climate

record that spans the geologic

past. More recent data are

provided by the instrumental

record. Physically based general

circulation models are often

used in theoretical approaches

to match past climate data, make

future projections, and link

causes and effects in climate

change.

1. “Glossary – Climate Change”. Education Center – Arctic Climatology and Meteorology. NSIDC National Snow and Ice Data Center.; Glossary, in IPCC TAR WG1 2001.

2. “The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change”. 21 March 1994. “Climate change means a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.”

3.“What’s in a Name? Global Warming vs. Climate Change”. NASA. Retrieved 23 July 2011.

images:www.zastavki.com/pictures/1024x768/2010/Animals_Beasts_Polar_bear_on_ice_floe_024666_.jpg

alykhan.com/WAC2011/cc.html

MINNESOTACULTUREThe culture of Minnesota is

a subculture of the United

States with influences from

Scandinavian Americans, Irish

Americans, German Americans,

Native Americans, Polish

Americans and numerous

other immigrant groups.

American culture, in general, is

largely based on Western and

British culture. Stereotypical

Minnesotan traits include

manners known as “Minnesota

nice” with a strong sense of

“community” exclusive to those

with “shared beliefs”. Pot lucks,

usually with a variety of hot

dish casseroles, are popular at

community functions, especially

church activities. Movies such

as Fargo, Drop Dead Gorgeous,

the radio show A Prairie Home

Companion and the book How to

Talk Minnesotan lampoon (and

celebrate) Minnesotan culture,

speech and mannerisms.

The Minnesota State Fair,

advertised as The Great

Minnesota Get-Together, is an

icon of state culture. In a state

of 5.1 million people, there were

nearly 1.7 million visitors to the

fair in 2006.[1] The fair covers

the variety of life in Minnesota,

including fine art, science,

agriculture, food preparation,

4-H displays, music, the midway,

and corporate merchandising. It

is known for its displays of seed

art, butter sculptures of dairy

princesses, and the birthing

barn. On a smaller scale, these

attractions are also offered at the

state’s many county fairs.

Other large annual festivals

include the Saint Paul Winter

Carnival, the Minneapolis

Aquatennial, the Mill City Music

Festival, and Detroit Lakes’

10,000 Lakes Festival and WE

Fest, and Moon dance Jam &

Jammin’ Country, both held

every summer in Walker.

The people of Minnesota have

very stereotypical Scandinavian

accent. With an almost sarcastic

over-pronunciation of vowels,

and by dragging out the letter “r”

when at the end of a word. This

stereotype has been popular

in Hollywood movies. It is

easily noticed when outside the

boundaries of the state. The

only difference in language in

this state is the slight definition

of vowels. Overall most

Minnesotans speak similarly,

although those living in or

around the Twin Cities tend to

have less of an accent.

The Minnesota State Fair,

advertised as The Great

Minnesota Get-Together, is an

icon of state culture. In a state

of 5.3 million people, there were

almost 1.8 million visitors to

the fair in 2009, breaking the

previous record set in 2001. The

fair covers the variety of life

in Minnesota, including fine

art, science, agriculture, food

preparation, 4H displays, music,

the midway, and corporate

merchandising. It is known for

its displays of seed art, butter

sculptures of dairy princesses,

the birthing barn, and the

“fattest pig” competition. One can

also find dozens of varieties of

food on a stick, such as Pronto

Pups, cheese curds, and deep

fried candy bars. On a smaller

scale, many of these attractions

are offered at numerous county

fairs.

1. “Minnesota State Fair”. Minnesota State Fair. Retrieved 2006-11-22.

image:flickr.com/photos/dschwen/5488823250/

TRAIN of

THOUGHT

TRAIN of THOUGHT

A compilation of Wikipedia finds.