Question: Who performed the whistling in the Muppet movie?

In the Muppet movie, the character Walter, who questions his identity as a man or a Muppet, performs a solo act of whistling during the telethon's finale. This whistling was actually performed by musician Andrew Bird. Throughout the film, Walter's journey leads him to the realization that he is indeed a Muppet, and he joins the group as their newest member, with whistling as his signature talent.

The character was received positively by most critics and fans, praising his storyline in The Muppets. Screen Rant's Ben Kendrick wrote, "Even Walter, despite being the new Muppet on the block, holds his own alongside his non-human friends, and will no doubt be a fan-favorite for years to come."[3] E! referred to the addition of Walter as "an inspired choice".[4] Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times said that Walter "is adorably insecure and a good addition to the house that Jim Henson built, which included so many iconic characters."[5]

Eddie Van Halen, lead guitarist of hard rock band Van Halen, was asked to add a guitar solo.[6][10] When initially contacted by Jones, Van Halen thought he was receiving a prank call.[11] Having established that the call was genuine, Van Halen borrowed an amplifier from guitarist Allan Holdsworth[12] and recorded his guitar solo free of any charge. "I did it as a favor", the musician later said. "I was a complete fool, according to the rest of the band, our manager and everyone else. I was not used. I knew what I was doing – I don't do something unless I want to do it."[13] Van Halen recorded his contribution following Jones and Jackson arriving at the guitarist's house with a "skeleton version" of the song. Fellow guitarist Steve Lukather recalled, "Initially, we rocked it out as Eddie had played a good solo—but Quincy thought it was too tough. So I had to reduce the distorted guitar sound and that is what was released."[13] The song was among the last four completed for Thriller; the others were "Human Nature", "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" and "The Lady in My Life".[13]

Both vocal versions feature the vocal performance of Waysted vocalist Fin Muir.

It was originally intended for the soundtrack of Grandview, U.S.A. and was meant to be about Jamie Lee Curtis' character in the film. However, the song was not used in that film. During production of Dirty Dancing in 1987, Swayze played the demo for producer Linda Gottlieb and director Emile Ardolino. They loved it and passed it on to Jimmy Ienner and Bob Feiden, the soundtrack's executive producers. It was recorded for the soundtrack in November 1986, with Michael Lloyd producing. The song, like the film in which it was featured, was a success, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on Adult Contemporary, and was a hit around the world. It is still in circulation on radio. The soundtrack album was number one for 19 weeks.[when?]

From 1945 to 1946 he performed with both the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and Al Dean's Circus. Some of Walshe's other performances include at the Court Square Theater, and the Cole Bros. Circus. In addition to the extensive circus and theater work, he did also make a few other film appearances throughout his career with minor roles in Pinky, Roseanna McCoy, and 1941, in addition to serving as a stunt double.[8] He also made played a featured role in Panic in the Streets, in one of his only on screen speaking roles. Walshe played a newspaper peddler, named Pat after himself. Through his long career in theater and his film appearances, Walshe rose to significance as both veteran of vaudeville and circus, famous for his monkey performances. In his old age Walshe ceased to perform due to the physical demands of his work, but was still well remembered for his appearance in the classic The Wizard of Oz.

He was the voice of the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland (1951), the narrator in The Little House (1952), Susie the Little Blue Coupe (1952), Lambert the Sheepish Lion (1952), Kaa the snake in The Jungle Book (1967), and Roquefort in The Aristocats (1970). He is perhaps best remembered as the voice of Winnie the Pooh in Disney's Winnie the Pooh featurettes through 1977. He was honored as a Disney Legend in 1991, the first person to receive the award in the Voice category. His final role was Hobe Carpenter, a friendly moonshiner who helps Harley Thomas (David Carradine) in Thunder and Lightning (1977).

Frank Oz provided Yoda's voice in each film and used his skills as a puppeteer in the original trilogy and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. For some walking scenes in Episodes V and I, dwarf actors Deep Roy and Warwick Davis appeared in costume as Yoda (though neither was credited). While Frank Oz served as the primary performer, he was assisted by a multitude of other puppeteers, including:[6] Kathryn Mullen (Ep. V), Wendy Froud (Ep. V), David Barclay (Ep. V-VI), Mike Quinn (Ep. VI), David Greenaway (Ep. I & VI), Don Austen (Ep. I), and Kathy Smee (Ep. I). For the radio dramatizations of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Yoda was voiced by John Lithgow, while Tom Kane voiced him in the Clone Wars animated series, several video games, and the series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. George Lucas had originally conceived of Yoda's full name as being "Minch Yoda" before shortening it.[7]

In addition to her extensive credits in television and theatre, Gilsig has appeared in film, beginning with a small role in the 1998 film The Horse Whisperer.[5] She then provided the speaking voice for Kayley in the animated film Quest for Camelot (1998), with Andrea Corr performing the character's songs.[5] In 2004 she appeared in Chicks with Sticks,[9] as well as See This Movie,[10] and in one of the lead roles in the 2007 movie, Flood.[11]

In 1978, Murphy joined the Blues Brothers. He appeared in the films The Blues Brothers (1980) and Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), playing the husband of Aretha Franklin. He performed with the Blues Brothers Band until the early 2000s.[2]

Lead vocals were performed jointly by all four members of the group, with a short solo led by Susanna Hoffs towards the end of the song. This was a rare occurrence in the Bangles songs, as they mostly had just one member singing lead on their songs. Due to pressure from their record label, the Bangles removed the verse from the original song that contained the line "drinking my vodka and lime". According to liner notes on the Soundtrack album, Steve Bartek from the band Oingo Boingo played acoustic guitar on the track.


Question: How many consecutive games have the UConn women's basketball team won?

The UConn Huskies women's basketball team holds the record for the two longest winning streaks in college basketball history, regardless of gender. The first streak, which was an impressive 111 consecutive wins, began with a victory over Creighton on November 23, 2014, and concluded on March 31, 2017, when the team suffered a loss to Mississippi State in the 2017 NCAA Final Four, due to a buzzer-beater at the end of overtime. The second winning streak was 90 games long, encompassing two undefeated seasons in 2008-09 and 2009-10. This streak was interrupted by two losses to Stanford, the first occurring on April 6, 2008, in the National Semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, and the second on December 19, 2010, three seasons later.

The Hoosier football program has the dubious distinction of having the most all-time losses (658 as of the end of the 2016 season) in the history of NCAA Division I (now FBS) football, in addition to the ninth worst all-time winning percentage (.419) out of 128 FBS schools. The football Hoosiers' all-time record ranks 15th in the history of the Big Ten Conference (with the inclusion in 2014 of Rutgers and Maryland, and former conference member University of Chicago). The Hoosiers have seen some recent success, however, making it to their first bowl game since 2007, the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, in 2015 and the Foster Farms Bowl in 2016.

On December 15, 2012, with a 111–85 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Clippers recorded their record ninth consecutive win, breaking their previous franchise record (in Los Angeles) of eight wins set in the 1991–92 season.[52] On December 21, 2012, with a 97–85 win over the Sacramento Kings, they notched their twelfth consecutive victory, breaking their previous 11-game streak as the Buffalo Braves in the 1974–75 season.[53] On December 30, 2012, the Clippers recorded their 17th straight win against the Utah Jazz, beating them 107–96. The win also made the Clippers the third team in NBA history to record an undefeated month ending the month of December 16–0. Their streak ended when they lost to the Denver Nuggets on January 2, 2013. They ended the streak with a franchise record of 17 wins.

An upset is a victory by an underdog team. In the context of NCAA Division I Women's Basketball, this generally constitutes an unranked team defeating a team currently ranked in the Top 25. This list will highlight those upsets of ranked teams by unranked teams as well as upsets of #1 teams. Rankings are from the AP poll.
Bold type indicates winning teams in "true road games"â€”i.e., those played on an opponent's home court (including secondary homes, such as Intrust Bank Arena for Wichita State).

On October 12, 2016, Grand Valley State University announced that it had overtaken the University of Michigan as the record holder for all-time college football winning percentage (for schools with over 500 games played, not taking division into consideration).[1] The winning percentage in the Division I Subdivisions for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football is (.712), not (.730) as noted in error on the most victories chart. As well, the order of the list is more accurate to reflect the actual victory, loss and tie counts 'as performed' on the field, eg: Michiga, Alabama 907, Ohio State 898, Notre Dame 893, etc...followed with the footnote to then reflect a penalty later discredited (#) victories.

Rivalries run deep in the Ivy League. For instance, Princeton and Penn are longstanding men's basketball rivals;[118] "Puck Frinceton" T-shirts are worn by Quaker fans at games.[119] In only 11 instances in the history of Ivy League basketball, and in only seven seasons since Yale's 1962 title, has neither Penn nor Princeton won at least a share of the Ivy League title in basketball,[120] with Princeton champion or co-champion 26 times and Penn 25 times. Penn has won 21 outright, Princeton 19 outright. Princeton has been a co-champion 7 times, sharing 4 of those titles with Penn (these 4 seasons represent the only times Penn has been co-champion). Harvard won its first title of either variety in 2011, losing a dramatic play-off game to Princeton for the NCAA tournament bid, then rebounded to win outright championships in 2012, 2013, and 2014. Harvard also won the 2013 Great Alaska Shootout, defeating TCU to become the only Ivy League school to win the now-defunct tournament.

The US went undefeated but appeared vulnerable at times in winning five exhibition games. They finished the tournament with a perfect 8â€“0 record, defeating opponents by an average of 32 points while trailing in the fourth quarter only once. The Americans often played with a small lineup that emphasized speed, quickness, and outside shooting. The team set an Olympic single-game record with 156 points scored against Nigeria in the preliminary round. In a rematch of the 2008 finals, Team USA again narrowly defeated Spain to capture the gold.

Teams based in San Juan have been notably successful in athletic competition. The Santurce Crabbers won the National Superior Basketball League championship in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003 during this period being recognized as a dynasty. The San Juan Senators and the Santurce Crabbers were the two major baseball teams in the city, winning the championship of the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League a total of seventeen times. The Santurce Crabbers are located third among teams with more championships in the Caribbean Series, winning championships in the 1951, 1953, 1955, 1993 and 2000 editions of the tournament. The city has also been the host of events within the sports community; some examples include:

During the fourth week of the season, Rodgers's streak of 157 consecutive pass attempts without an interception ended when he was intercepted by Derrick Brooks of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The streak was the third-longest in franchise history behind Bart Starr (294) and Brett Favre (163).[56] Rodgers suffered a severe shoulder sprain in the game but continued to start and played well in a win against the Seattle Seahawks two weeks later, which to many proved his toughness.[57][additional citation needed] Despite early successes, Rodgers had been unable to win a close game during the season despite seven opportunities to do so.[57][58]

UConn defeated Tennessee during the 1996–97 regular season; after a season-ending injury for Shea Ralph in the first round of the NCAA tournament, UConn reached the Regional Final where the two teams met again, with Tennessee prevailing and ending Connecticut's unbeaten season by winning 91–81.[19]

Texas A&M has won a total of 171 team conference and tournament championships. 96 titles were won during play in the Southwest Conference (93 men's/3 women's) while 58 were won in Big 12 Conference play (19 men's/39 women's). Texas A&M has won 17 titles in the Southeastern Conference (6 men's/11 women's) with the 2016 Baseball tournament title being the most recent.


Question: When was the last time Scotland qualified for the World Cup?

Under Craig Brown's management, Scotland last qualified for the FIFA World Cup in 1998, where they finished as the best runners-up in their group. Despite a spirited performance against Brazil, where they equalized through a John Collins penalty, they lost 2-1 due to a Tom Boyd own goal. A 1-1 draw with Norway followed, but a 3-0 loss to Morocco in their final match sealed their fate. Since then, Scotland has not participated in the World Cup.

Alistair Murdoch McCoist, MBE (/məˈkɔɪst/; 24 September 1962) is a former Scottish
footballer, who has since worked as a manager, pundit and actor.

Scots law, a hybrid system based on both common-law and civil-law principles, applies in Scotland. The chief courts are the Court of Session, for civil cases, and the High Court of Justiciary, for criminal cases. The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom serves as the highest court of appeal for civil cases under Scots law. Sheriff courts deal with most civil and criminal cases including conducting criminal trials with a jury, known that as Sheriff solemn Court, or with a Sheriff and no jury, known as (Sheriff summary Court). The Sheriff courts provide a local court service with 49 Sheriff courts organised across six Sheriffdoms.

The vast majority of Scottish pupils take Scottish Qualifications Certificate qualifications provided by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). Generally, most pupils take National 4/5s (previously Standard Grades, but some schools offered Intermediates instead) in S3-S4, and Highers in S5. For those who wish to remain at school for the final year (S6), more Highers and Advanced Highers (formerly CSYS) in S6 can be taken. Intermediate 1 and Intermediate 2 qualifications – were intended to be roughly equivalent to General and Credit Level Standard Grades respectively, but in practice (although may vary from subject to subject), Intermediate 1 was easier than General, and Intermediate 2 harder than Credit – can also be taken in lieu of any of the aforementioned qualifications.

Ghana was sufficiently highly ranked by FIFA to start their qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in the Second round. They won the group, and in the following round qualified for the 2014 World Cup finals in November 2013, beating Egypt  7–3 on aggregate in a two-legged play-off.[11][11] Ghana was drawn in Group G for the finals, where they faced Germany, Portugal, and the United States.[12] The World Cup finals ended up in disappointment as Ghana exited in the group stages with issues of poor planning and payment bonuses being blamed for the poor performance, although they did manage a 2–2 draw with Germany, who ended up winning the competition.

Christmas in Scotland was traditionally observed very quietly, because the Church of Scotland – a Presbyterian Church – for various reasons never placed much emphasis on the Christmas festival; although in Catholic areas people would attend Midnight Mass or early morning Mass before going to work.[137] This tradition derives from the Church of Scotland's origins including St Columba's monastic tradition, under which every day is God's day and there is none more special than another. (Thus Good Friday is not an official public holiday in Scotland.);[138][139] the Kirk and the state being closely linked in Scotland during the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. Christmas Day was commonly a normal working day in Scotland until the 1960s, and even into the 1970s in some areas.[140] The New Year's Eve festivity, Hogmanay, was by far the largest celebration in Scotland. The gift-giving, public holidays and feasting associated with mid-winter were traditionally held between December 11 and January 6. However, since the 1980s, the fading of the Church's influence and the increased influences from the rest of the UK and elsewhere, Christmas and its related festivities are now nearly on a par with Hogmanay and "Ne'erday". The capital city of Edinburgh now has a traditional German Christmas market from late November until Christmas Eve and on the first Sunday in Advent a nativity scene is blessed by the Cardinal Archbishop in the main square.[141] On Christmas Day, people sometimes make big bonfires and dance around them to the playing of bagpipes. Bannock cakes made of oatmeal are traditionally eaten at Christmas.[137]

The Scottish Government (Scottish Gaelic: Riaghaltas na h-Alba; Scots: Scots Govrenment) is the executive government of the Scottish Parliament.[2] The government was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive under the Scotland Act 1998, which created a devolved administration for Scotland in line with the result of the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution.[3] The government consists of cabinet secretaries, who attend cabinet meetings, and ministers, who do not. It is led by the first minister, who selects the cabinet secretaries and ministers with approval of parliament.[4][5]

The format of the competition has been modified many times over the years. The game was initially contested between the champions of the Football League and the Southern Football League from its inception until 1912, after which both professional and amateurs players participated.[8] Following a six-year suspension as a result of the First World War, the competition resumed in 1920 with a game between the champions of the Football League First and Second Divisions.[9] The following year saw the match arrangement changed again to become a match between the Football League champion and the winner of the FA Cup,[10] switching several more times between the amateur/professional and league champion/FA Cup winner matches during the 1920s. From 1930 onwards it settled to a standard fixture between the FA Cup winner and the Football League champion,[11] except on three occasions. In 1950, the England World Cup squad played the England team who toured Canada that summer,[12] while double-winning Tottenham Hotspur played an "F.A. Selected XI" in 1961 that was described by The Times as being an "England team masquerading".[13] A decade later in 1971, Arsenal won the double and opted against contesting the Shield in favour of playing in more profitable friendlies in Europe; Leicester City – the champions of the Second Division – took their place.[14]

The FIFA World Cup, sometimes called the Football World Cup or the Soccer World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II.

Despite India not reaching the same heights since their golden era, the team has seen a steady resurgence since the beginning of the twenty-first century. Besides the SAFF Championship triumphs, under the guidance of Bob Houghton, India won the restarted Nehru Cup in 2007 and 2009 while also managing to emerge victorious during the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup. The Challenge Cup victory allowed India to once again qualify for the Asian Cup for the first time in 27 years.

He quickly became part of the renowned reserve side known as the Quality Street Gang that also comprised the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Danny McGrain and David Hay.[9] In August 1968, Celtic Reserves needed to defeat Partick Thistle Reserves by at least seven goals to win their Reserve League Cup section over Rangers Reserves. Celtic won 12-0, with Macari scoring four goals.[9] Macari scored 91 goals in two seasons for the reserves and in occasional first team games,[9] having broken through into the Celtic first team in 1970.[7] In 1971, he replaced Willie Wallace in the starting line up for the replay of the 1971 Scottish Cup Final, and scored for Celtic in a 2â€“1 win over Rangers.[10]


Question: When was the Berlin Wall taken down?

The Berlin Wall, a symbol of the Cold War, stood from 1961 to 1989, dividing East and West Berlin. Built by East Germany to prevent emigration to the West, the Wall was officially opened on November 9, 1989, marking the beginning of its end. Demolition commenced on June 13, 1990, and was completed by 1992. The Wall, a concrete barrier with guard towers and a "death strip," was portrayed by the Eastern Bloc as a defense against fascist conspiracies, but in reality, it was a means to control the population and prevent defections.

â€” Margaret Thatcher commenting about the wall, West Berlin, 1982[99]

It soon became clear that no one among the East German authorities would take personal responsibility for issuing orders to use lethal force, so the vastly outnumbered soldiers had no way to hold back the huge crowd of East German citizens. Finally, at 10:45 p.m., Harald Jäger, the commander of the Bornholmer Straße border crossing yielded, allowing for the guards to open the checkpoints and allowing people through with little or no identity checking.[116] As the Ossis swarmed through, they were greeted by Wessis waiting with flowers and champagne amid wild rejoicing. Soon afterward, a crowd of West Berliners jumped on top of the Wall, and were soon joined by East German youngsters. They danced together to celebrate their new freedom.[117]

After the fall of Berlin Wall, there were initiatives that they want to preserve the death strip walkways and redevelop it into a hiking and cycling area, known as Berliner Mauerweg. It is part of the initiative by Berlin Senate since 2005.

In an interview with Reagan himself, he recalls the East German police not allowing people to get near the wall, which prevented the citizens from experiencing the speech at all.[12] The fact that West German police acted in a similar way has, however seldom, been noted in accounts such as these.[4]

Europe's largest economy, Germany, struggled upon unification in 1991 with former communist German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, influenced by the Soviet Union. GDR, had much of its industrial infrastructure removed during the Cold War, and for many years unified Germany struggled to build infrastructure in the former East Germany up to the level of former West Germany.

The top of the wall was lined with a smooth pipe, intended to make it more difficult to scale. The Wall was reinforced by mesh fencing, signal fencing, anti-vehicle trenches, barbed wire, dogs on long lines, "beds of nails" (also known as "Stalin's Carpet") under balconies hanging over the "death strip", over 116 watchtowers,[76] and 20 bunkers with hundreds of guards. This version of the Wall is the one most commonly seen in photographs, and surviving fragments of the Wall in Berlin and elsewhere around the world are generally pieces of the fourth-generation Wall. The layout came to resemble the inner German border in most technical aspects, except that the Berlin Wall had no landmines nor spring-guns.[70] Maintenance was performed on the outside of the wall by personnel who accessed the area outside it either via ladders or via hidden doors within the wall.[77] These doors could not be opened by a single person, needing two separate keys in two separate keyholes to unlock.[78]

West Berliners initially could not visit East Berlin or East Germany at all â€“ all crossing points were closed to them between 26 August 1961 and 17 December 1963. In 1963, negotiations between East and West resulted in a limited possibility for visits during the Christmas season that year (Passierscheinregelung). Similar, very limited arrangements were made in 1964, 1965 and 1966.[87]

Germans stand on top of the Wall in the days before it was torn down

Since 1987, May Day has also become known for riots in some districts of Berlin. After police actions against radical leftists in that year's annual demonstrations, the Autonome scattered and sought cover at the ongoing annual street fair in Kreuzberg. Three years prior to the reunification of Germany, violent protests would only take place in the former West Berlin. The protesters began tipping over police cars, violently resisting arrest, and began building barricades after the police withdrew due to the unforeseen resistance. Cars were set on fire, shops plundered and burned to the ground. The police eventually ended the riots the following night. These violent forms of protests by the radical left, later increasingly involved participants without political motivation. (Read more: May Day in Kreuzberg)

East Berliners and East Germans could not, at first, travel to West Berlin or West Germany at all. This regulation remained in force essentially until the fall of the Wall, but over the years several exceptions to these rules were introduced, the most significant being:


Question: When did the Berlin Wall come down?

The Berlin Wall's demolition didn't officially start until the summer of 1990, a process that lasted until 1992, contrary to common misconceptions. The event symbolized the path to German reunification, which was officially realized on October 3, 1990.

An international project called Mauerreise (Journey of the Wall) took place in various countries. Twenty symbolic Wall bricks were sent from Berlin starting in May 2009, with the destinations being Korea, Cyprus, Yemen, and other places where everyday life is characterised by division and border experience. In these places, the bricks will become a blank canvas for artists, intellectuals and young people to tackle the "wall" phenomenon.[136]

The wave of refugees leaving East Germany for the West kept increasing. By early November refugees were finding their way to Hungary via Czechoslovakia, or via the West German Embassy in Prague. This was tolerated by the new Krenz government, because of long-standing agreements with the communist Czechoslovak government, allowing free travel across their common border. However this movement of people grew so large it caused difficulties for both countries. To ease the difficulties, the politburo led by Krenz decided on 9 November to allow refugees to exit directly through crossing points between East Germany and West Germany, including between East and West Berlin. Later the same day, the ministerial administration modified the proposal to include private, round-trip, travel. The new regulations were to take effect the next day.[112]

In June 1989 the Hungarian government began dismantling the electrified fence along its border with Austria (with Western TV crews present), and then, in September, more than 13,000 East German tourists escaped through Hungary to Austria.[108] This set up a chain of events. The Hungarians prevented many more East Germans from crossing the border and returned them to Budapest. These East Germans flooded the West German embassy and refused to return to East Germany.[109]

On 21 November 1989, Crosby, Stills & Nash performed the song "Chippin' Away" from Graham Nash's 1986 solo album Innocent Eyes in front of the Brandenburg Gate.[125]

The West, including the U.S., was accused of failing to respond forcefully to the erection of the Wall. Officially, Berlin was under joint occupation by the four allied powers, each with primary responsibility for a certain zone. Kennedy's speech marked the first instance where the U.S. acknowledged that East Berlin was part of the Soviet bloc along with the rest of East Germany. On July 25, 1961, Kennedy insisted in a presidential address that the U.S. would defend West Berlin, asserting its Four-Power rights, while making it clear that challenging the Soviet presence in Germany was not possible.

With the dissolution of the German Confederation in 1866 and the founding of the German Empire (Deutsches Reich) in 1871, the Reichstag was established as the German parliament in Berlin, which was the capital of the then Kingdom of Prussia (the largest and most influential state in both the Confederation and the empire). Two decades later, the current parliament building was erected. The Reichstag delegates were elected by direct and equal male suffrage (and not the three-class electoral system prevailing in Prussia until 1918). The Reichstag did not participate in the appointment of the Chancellor until the parliamentary reforms of October 1918. After the Revolution of November 1918 and the establishment of the Weimar Constitution, women were given the right to vote for (and serve in) the Reichstag, and the parliament could use the no-confidence vote to force the chancellor or any cabinet member to resign. In March 1933, one month after the Reichstag fire, the then President of the German Reich, Paul von Hindenburg, a retired war hero, gave Adolf Hitler ultimate power through the Decree for the Protection of People and State and the Enabling Act of 1933, although Hitler remained at the post of Federal Government Chancellor (though he called himself the Führer). After this the Reichstag met only rarely, usually at the Krolloper (Kroll Opera House) following the Reichstag fire starting in 1933 to unanimously rubber-stamp the decisions of the government. It last convened on 26 April 1942.

During the Cold War, the Bering Strait marked the border between the Soviet Union and the United States. The Diomede Islands—Big Diomede (Russia) and Little Diomede (US)—are only 3.8 km (2.4 mi) apart. Traditionally, the indigenous peoples in the area had frequently crossed the border back and forth for "routine visits, seasonal festivals and subsistence trade", but were prevented from doing so during the Cold War.[28] The border became known as the "Ice Curtain".[29] It was completely closed, and there was no regular passenger air or boat traffic. In 1987, American swimmer Lynne Cox symbolically helped ease tensions between the two countries by swimming across the border[30] and was congratulated jointly by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. Since 1990, tourist air and boat traffic has resumed, but is hampered by the need for visas and special military visit permits asked by US authorities and also by their Russian counterparts.[citation needed]

During the 29th Berlin International Film Festival in 1979, the Soviet delegation expressed its indignation with the film which, in their opinion, insulted the Vietnamese people in numerous scenes. Other socialist states also voiced their solidarity with the "heroic people of Vietnam". They protested against the screening of the film and insisted that it violated the statutes of the festival, since it in no way contributed to the "improvement of mutual understanding between the peoples of the world". The ensuing domino effect led to the walk-outs of the Cubans, East Germans, Bulgarians, Poles and Czechoslovakians, and two members of the jury resigned in sympathy.[63]

Central Europe (Berlin, Saxony, the Czech Republic and Little Poland) was largely industrialised by 1850 [16] but Eastern Europe (European Russia) begun industrialisation between 1890â€“1900 and intensified it during the communist regime (as USSR) but it suffered from contraction in the 1990s when the inefficient heavy industry based manufacturing sector crippled after the collapse of communism and the introduction of the market economy.

Not all segments of the Wall were ground up as the Wall was being torn down. Many segments have been given to various institutions in the world. They can be found, for instance, in presidential and historical museums, lobbies of hotels and corporations, at universities and government buildings, and in public spaces in different countries of the world.[146]


Question: Who portrays the lead character in the film Hacksaw Ridge?

In the 2016 biographical war drama Hacksaw Ridge, directed by Mel Gibson, Andrew Garfield portrays the main character, Desmond Doss. The film, based on the 2004 documentary The Conscientious Objector, tells the story of Doss, an American pacifist combat medic and Seventh-day Adventist Christian, who refused to carry or use weapons during World War II. Despite his pacifism, Doss was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary bravery during the Battle of Okinawa. Supporting roles in the film are played by Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffiths, and Vince Vaughn.

In March 2009, Benicio del Toro and Hank Azaria were in consideration to play the lead role of Moe Howard.[12] The role of Moe went to Chris Diamantopoulos.[11][13] Sean Penn was already set to play Larry Fine but dropped out to concentrate on his charitable efforts in Haiti.[13] Sean Hayes was chosen to play Larry. Jim Carrey was set to play Curly Howard and gained 40 pounds for the role but ultimately dropped out because of not wanting to endanger his health gaining 60 to 70 pounds.[13][14] The role went to Will Sasso.[15] Johnny Knoxville, Andy Samberg and Shane Jacobson were all on the short list to play Moe, Larry and Curly, respectively.[16] As the Farrellys note in the DVD/Blu-ray featurette on casting the picture, Sasso was cast as Curly despite being considerably taller than the other Stooges (the original Curly was roughly the same height as Moe and Larry).

Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan (/ˈdɒmɪnɪk ˈmɒnəhæn/; born 8 December 1976) is a German-born English actor. Monaghan first gained fame for being Hetty Wainthropp's sidekick Geoffrey in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1996 -98). He then played Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck in Peter Jackson's epic film trilogy The Lord of the Rings (2001–03) based on the novel of the same name by J.R.R Tolkien, Charlie Pace on the television show Lost (2004–2010), and Chris Bradley in superhero film X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). He currently hosts the nature program Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan (2012–present).

Recounts of Watanabe's abusive behavior are told in Laura Hillenbrand's book about Zamperini titled Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (2010).[2] Watanabe also appears in Dr. Alfred A. Weinstein's memoir, Barbed Wire Surgeon, published in 1948. In 2014, Japanese musician Miyavi played Watanabe in Angelina Jolie's Unbroken, the film adaptation of Hillenbrand's book.[3]

Rinko Kikuchi (菊地 凛子, Kikuchi Rinko) (born Yuriko Kikuchi (菊地 百合子, Kikuchi Yuriko); January 6, 1981) is a Japanese film actress. She was the first Japanese actress to be nominated for an Academy Award in 50 years, for her work in Babel (2006). Kikuchi's other notable films include Norwegian Wood (2010), which screened in competition at the 67th Venice Film Festival and Guillermo del Toro's science fiction action film Pacific Rim (2013). For her role in the drama film Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014), Kikuchi received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead.

White Boy Rick is a 2018 American biographical crime drama film directed by Yann Demange and written by Andy Weiss, and Logan and Noah Miller. Based on a true story, the film stars Richie Merritt as Richard Wershe Jr., who in the 1980s became the youngest FBI informant ever at the age of 14. Matthew McConaughey, Bel Powley, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brian Tyree Henry, Rory Cochrane, RJ Cyler, Jonathan Majors, Eddie Marsan, Bruce Dern, and Piper Laurie also star.

In October 2015, Astin played Hank Erwin in Woodlawn, a story about how a high school football team overcame its problems through following Jesus.[24]

The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic horror television series developed by Frank Darabont for AMC that is based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. Andrew Lincoln plays the show's lead character, sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes,[3] who awakens from a coma discovering a world overrun by zombies, commonly referred to as "walkers".[4] Grimes reunites with his family and becomes the leader of a group he forms with other survivors. Together they struggle to survive and adapt in a post-apocalyptic world filled with walkers and opposing groups of survivors, who are often more dangerous than the walkers themselves.[5] Much of the series takes place in and around Atlanta, Georgia, and later Alexandria, Virginia.[4][6]

In 2010, Kikuchi was cast as Naoko in Tran Anh Hung's adaptation of Haruki Murakami's novel Norwegian Wood. In March 2011, she was added to the cast of 47 Ronin, the first English-language adaptation of the Chushingura legend, Japan's most famous tale of samurai loyalty and revenge.[5] Kikuchi described her villain character to the American version of Glamour as "a real bitch."[1] In 2013, she starred in the Guillermo del Toro film Pacific Rim, having improved her English by watching the American television series The Voice.[1] In 2014, Kikuchi starred in Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, directed by David Zellner. In 2018, Kikuchi joined the cast of the second season of HBO series Westworld.

In 2009, Mara filmed the independent comedy Peep World, starring Michael C. Hall, Sarah Silverman and Rainn Wilson,[40] and joined the cast of Marvel's Iron Man 2, making a cameo appearance as a U.S. Marshal who serves Tony Stark a subpoena.[41] Mara shot the ensemble romantic comedy happythankyoumoreplease in New York City in July 2009. She plays a waitress and aspiring singer named Mississippi, in a story about six single New Yorkers in their 20s. The film was written and directed by actor Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother).[17] The film won the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.[42] In 2010, Mara played hiker Kristi Moore in the survival drama 127 Hours, a true story directed by Danny Boyle about Aron Ralston, a climber trapped while mountaineering in Utah.[42]

The series features several actors whom Walking Dead developer Frank Darabont has worked with previously, including Laurie Holden (Andrea), Jeffrey DeMunn (Dale Horvath), Melissa McBride (Carol Peletier), Sam Witwer (the dead soldier in the tank where Rick hides in "Days Gone Bye"), and Juan Gabriel Pareja (Morales). All five appeared in his 2007 film The Mist, along with Thomas Jane, who originally was set to star in the series when it was pitched to HBO. Jane was later in talks with Darabont to possibly guest star on the series as of fall 2010,[31] but with Darabont's departure,[32] it is unknown whether the guest spot will happen or not. Laurie Holden also appeared in the 2001 film The Majestic (as Adele Stanton, Jim Carrey's character's love interest), which Darabont directed. DeMunn has also appeared in several of Darabont's films; in addition to The Mist and The Majestic, he appeared in The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and The Green Mile (1999). It was planned that Witwer (Private Jessup in Darabont's The Mist) would reprise his "Days Gone Bye" role in the original conception of The Walking Dead's season two premiere[33] and in a webisode,[34] but both plans were discarded.[35]


Question: Who is responsible for opening the Church of the Holy Sepulchre?

The Nusaybah clan, tracing their lineage to Nusaybah bint Ka'ab, a female companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, has been entrusted with the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre since the seventh century. This tradition began under the rule of the second Sunni caliph, Umar Ibn al-Khattab, as a measure to prevent disputes among various Christian sects vying for control over the church. The Joudeh Al-Goudia family later joined the Nusaybahs in this duty during the reign of Saladin in the twelfth century. This unique arrangement has served as a symbol of religious tolerance and interfaith harmony, solidifying the Nusaybah family's prominent role in facilitating Christian activities, including pilgrimages and visits from Western Christians, in Jerusalem.

The Shrine of the Báb is a structure where the remains of the Báb, the founder of Bábism and forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh in the Bahá'í Faith, have been laid to rest. The shrine's precise location on Mount Carmel was designated by Bahá'u'lláh himself and the Báb's remains were laid to rest on March 21, 1909 in a six-room mausoleum made of local stone. The construction of the shrine with a golden dome was completed over the mausoleum in 1953,[23] and a series of decorative terraces around the shrine were completed in 2001. The white marbles used were from the same ancient source that most Athenian masterpieces were using, the Penteliko Mountain.

Following the September 11 attacks, the statue and Liberty Island were immediately closed to the public. The island reopened at the end of 2001, while the pedestal and statue remained off-limits. The pedestal reopened in August 2004,[147] but the National Park Service announced that visitors could not safely be given access to the statue due to the difficulty of evacuation in an emergency. The Park Service adhered to that position through the remainder of the Bush administration.[148] New York Congressman Anthony Weiner made the statue's reopening a personal crusade.[149] On May 17, 2009, President Barack Obama's Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, announced that as a "special gift" to America, the statue would be reopened to the public as of July 4, but that only a limited number of people would be permitted to ascend to the crown each day.[148]

This chapter shows Rosie the Nosy Neighbor's house where Rosie is seen in her chair reading the Bible when her husband Randolph comes in shouting, "he's got the package!" to Rosie. Unwilling to listen to reason, when Randolph tells her he has news on the pastor (Rufus), she demands to know what was going on with him. After some bickering, Randolph tells Rosie the story: while working as a janitor for the church, Randolph hears Rufus coming into the office. Randolph hid in the closet and unintentionally overheard the conversation seen in chapter eighteen among Chuck, Rufus and Cathy. After relaying the story, Rosie asks Randolph why he had said the pastor had "the package", Randolph says that Chuck told him he was at the hospital. Rosie immediately decides to inform the masses, despite Randolph's protests. The chapter ends with Randolph sitting on the couch, falling asleep.

During Holy week in Jerusalem, vigils at times stop at a location traditionally considered the location for the Repentance of Peter, not far from the house of the high priest Caiaphas, involved in the Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus.[21]

The silver-gilt object originally identified as an early Christian chalice is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It was apparently made at Antioch in the early 6th century and is of double-cup construction, with an outer shell of cast-metal open work enclosing a plain silver inner cup. When it was first recovered in Antioch in 1910, it was touted as the Holy Chalice, an identification the Metropolitan Museum characterizes as "ambitious". It is no longer identified as a chalice, having been identified by experts at Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, believed to be a standing lamp, of a style of the 6th century.[12]

Since the early 1990s, the Serbian Orthodox Church has, together with local communities, organized public celebrations on Christmas Eve. The course of these celebrations can be typically divided into three parts: the preparation, the ritual, and the festivity. The preparation consists of going and cutting down the tree to be used as the badnjak, taking it to the church yard, and preparing drink and food for the assembled parishioners. The ritual includes Vespers, placing the badnjak on the open fire built in the church yard, blessing or consecrating the badnjak, and an appropriate program with songs and recitals. In some parishes they build the fire on which to burn the badnjak not in the church yard but at some other suitable location in their town or village. The festivity consists of getting together around the fire and socializing. Each particular celebration, however, has its own specificities which reflect traditions of the local community, and other local factors.

The Anglican ritual, used in Papua New Guinea states that, after the blessing of the ashes, "the priest marks his own forehead and then the foreheads of the servers and congregation who come and kneel, or stand, where they normally receive the Blessed Sacrament."[31] The corresponding Catholic ritual in the Roman Missal for celebration within Mass merely states: "Then the Priest places ashes on the head of those present who come to him, and says to each one ..."[34] Pre-1970 editions had much more elaborate instructions about the order in which the participants were to receive the ashes, but again without any indication of the form of placing the ashes on the head.[35] The 1969 revision of the Roman Rite inserted into the Mass the solemn ceremony of blessing ashes and placing them on heads, but also explicitly envisaged a similar solemn ceremony outside of Mass.[34] The Book of Blessings contains a simple rite.[25] While the solemn rite would normally be carried out within a church building, the simple rite could appropriately be used almost anywhere. While only a priest or deacon may bless the ashes, laypeople may do the placing of the ashes on a person's head. Even in the solemn rite, lay men or women may assist the priest in distributing the ashes. In addition, laypeople take blessed ashes left over after the collective ceremony and place them on the head of the sick or of others who are unable to attend the blessing.[25][36] (In 2014, Anglican Liverpool Cathedral likewise offered to impose ashes within the church without a solemn ceremony.)[37]

In January 1305, friars from the nearby Church of the Eremitani filed a complaint to the bishop, protesting that Scrovegni had not respected the original agreement. Scrovegni was transforming his private oratory into a church with a bell tower, thus producing unfair competition with the Eremitani's activities. We do not know what happened next, but it is likely that, as a consequence of this complaint, the monumental apse and the wide transept were demolished. Both are visible on a model of the church painted by Giotto on the counter-facade (the Last Judgement). The apse was the section where Enrico Scrovegni had meant to have his tomb. The presence of frescoes dating to after 1320 supports the demolition hypothesis proposed by Giuliano Pisani. The apse, the most significant area in all churches, is where Enrico and his wife, Lacopina d'Este, were buried.

On the evening of February 4, Private William W. Grayson—a sentry of the 1st Nebraska Volunteer Infantry Regiment[57]—fired the first shots of the war at the corner of Sociego and Silencio Streets,[58] in Santa Mesa. Upon opening fire, Grayson killed a Filipino lieutenant and another Filipino soldier;[57] Filipino historians maintain that the slain soldiers were unarmed.[59] This action triggered the 1899 Battle of Manila. The following day, Filipino General Isidoro Torres came through the lines under a flag of truce to deliver a message from Aguinaldo to General Otis that the fighting had begun accidentally, and that Aguinaldo wished for the hostilities to cease immediately and for the establishment of a neutral zone between the two opposing forces. Otis dismissed these overtures, and replied that the "fighting, having begun, must go on to the grim end".[60] On February 5, General Arthur MacArthur ordered his troops to advance against Filipino troops, beginning a full-scale armed clash.[61] The first Filipino fatality of the war was Corporal Anastacio Felix of the 4th Company, Morong Battalion under Captain Serapio Narváez. The battalion commander was Colonel Luciano San Miguel.[citation needed]

It is no exaggeration to say that on Sundays in Washington during the administrations of Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) and of James Madison (1809-1817) the state became the church. Within a year of his inauguration, Jefferson began attending church services in the chamber of the House of Representatives. Madison followed Jefferson's example, although unlike Jefferson, who rode on horseback to church in the Capitol, Madison came in a coach and four. Worship services in the House—a practice that continued until after the Civil War—were acceptable to Jefferson because they were nondiscriminatory and voluntary. Preachers of every Protestant denomination appeared. (Catholic priests began officiating in 1826.) As early as January 1806 a female evangelist, Dorothy Ripley, delivered a camp meeting-style exhortation in the House to Jefferson, Vice President Aaron Burr, and a "crowded audience."[32]


Question: Who is responsible for opening the Church of the Holy Sepulchre?

The Nusaybah clan, originating from the Bani Ghanim al-Khazraj, has a long-standing relationship with the Holy Sepulchre, dating back to the time of Saladin, over 800 years ago. In 1192, following the agreement between Sultan Saladin and King Richard the Lionheart, the Nusaybah family was entrusted with the custody of the Holy Sepulchre's doors, ensuring access for western Christian pilgrims under specific conditions. This significant role was bestowed upon Sheikh Ghanim ben Ali ben Hussein al-Ansari al-Khazrajy, a respected Jerusalemite, who was responsible for all matters concerning the Holy Sepulchre. Born in AD 562 in Burin village near Nablus, Ghanim's family had sought refuge there after the crusader conquest of Jerusalem in 1087.

Upon completion (or after the completion of significant renovations), temples are open to the public for a period of time (an "open house"). During the open house, the church conducts tours of the temple with missionaries and members from the local area serving as tour guides, and all rooms of the temple are open to the public. The temple is then dedicated as a "House of the Lord," after which only members in good standing are permitted entrance. Thus, in the LDS Church, temples are not churches or meetinghouses but rather places of more consecrated worship.

Although Saint Gregory the Illuminator is credited as the "Apostle to the Armenians", when he baptized King Tiridates III of Armenia in 301, converting the Armenians, the Apostles Jude and Bartholomew are traditionally believed to have been the first to bring Christianity to Armenia, and are therefore venerated as the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Linked to this tradition is the Saint Thaddeus Monastery (now in northern Iran) and Saint Bartholomew Monastery (now in southeastern Turkey) which were both constructed in what was then Armenia.

December 16 is the first day of the Christmas Novena, a devotion consisting of prayer said on nine successive days, the last one held on Christmas Eve. The Novena is promoted by the Catholic Church as a staple of Christmas, and is very similar to the posadas celebrated in Mexico. It is a call for an understanding of the religious meaning of Christmas, and a way to counter the commercialism of the Christmas season. Individual traditions concerning the Novena may vary, but most families set up a "pesebre" (manger scene), sing religious Christmas carols called villancicos accompanied by tambourines, bells, and other simple percussion instruments, and read verses from the Bible as well as an interpretation which may change from year to year. Novenas serve as beautiful religious gatherings as well as learning environments for young children since kids have a central and active role in the celebration of the Novenas (they read prayers, sing, and play instruments guided by their family). From December 16 to 24, games called "aguinaldos"[66] are played after having made a "pinky promise" deciding the prize for the winner and the punishment for the loser. The games include "Hablar y no contestar" (Talk but don't answer), "DÃ© pero no reciben" (Give but don't receive), "Pajita en boca" (Straw in the mouth), "Tres pies" (Three feet), "Beso robado" (Stolen kisses), and "Si y al no" (Yes or no). Churches offer dawn and nightly masses during the nine days of the novena, culminating with the Misa de Gallo (Rooster's Mass) on Christmas Eve at midnight.

On the morning of July 26, 2013, the memorial was shut down after the statue's base and legs were splashed with green paint.[24] It reopened later that day.[25] A 58-year-old Chinese national, Jiamei Tian, was later found responsible for the vandalism. Following her arrest at the Washington National Cathedral, she was admitted to St. Elizabeths Hospital, a psychiatric facility, and was later found to be incompetent to stand trial; she has since been released from the hospital.[26]

Armenians usually celebrate Christmas on January 6. The reason for this unusual date emerges from ancient history. "In the fourth century Roman Catholic Church, officials established the date of Christmas as December 25th." [36] Before that time, Armenians celebrated Christmas (surb tsnunt, Սուրբ Ծնունդ, meaning "Holy Birth") on January 6[37] as a public holiday in Armenia. It also coincides with the Epiphany. The Armenians denied the new Roman mandate regarding Christmas, and continued to celebrate both the Nativity and Jesus’ baptism on January 6. When the Gregorian calendar was implemented in 1582, the Armenians rejected the reformed calendar and remained following the Julian Calendar. But today, only Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem still uses the Julian Calendar. Since the Julian calendar is thirteen days ahead of the Gregorian Calendar, when the Armenians of Jerusalem celebrate Christmas on January 6 according to the Julian calendar the Gregorian calendar counts the day as January 19.[36]

The feast of St Nicholas marks the beginning of Christmas in Austria. On Christmas Eve (December 24) the tree is lit for the first time and the whole family gathers to sing Christmas carols like "Silent Night, Holy Night".[71] Gifts that are placed under the tree are opened after dinner on Christmas Eve. Austrian Christmas tradition has it that it is the Christ Child himself who decorates the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve and brings the children their Christmas presents, and it is to him that their letters and wish lists are addressed in the weeks before Christmas. The Christmas Eve dinner is the main event of the night often served with fried carp. The famous sachertorte and different kinds of chocolates are served as dessert. The Austrians also have special crescent shaped cookies served during Christmas time.

In 2009, the government granted Gómez permission to dig. By the end of 2009 archaeologists of the INAH located the entrance to the tunnel that leads to galleries under the pyramid, where rests of rulers of the ancient city might have been deposited. In August 2010 Gómez Chávez, now director of Tlalocan Project: Underground Road, announced that INAH's investigation of the tunnel - closed nearly 1,800 years ago by Teotihuacan dwellers - will proceed. The INAH team, consisted of about 30 persons supported with national and international advisors at the highest scientific levels, intended to enter the tunnel in September–October 2010. This excavation, the deepest made at the Pre-Hispanic site, was part of the commemorations of the 100th anniversary of archaeological excavations at Teotihuacan and its opening to the public.[54][55]

The move is being championed by District of Columbia officials because of the positive economic impact it will have on historically depressed Anacostia. The move has been criticized by historic preservationists, who claim the revitalization plans will destroy dozens of historic buildings on the campus.[38] Community activists have criticized the plans because the facility will remain walled off and have little interaction with the surrounding area.[39] On January 8, 2009, the National Capital Planning Commission approved the Department of Homeland Security's plans to move into the campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital.[40] In February 2015 the General Services Administration said that the site would open in 2021.[41]

Meanwhile, Maxi has gathered a meeting of Catholic priests in Colorado to discuss the problem of child molestation. Maxi is appalled by such behavior and wants it to cease entirely, but to Maxi's horror, all of the other priests there have molested their altar. Maxi decides he has to go to the Vatican. Once there, he quickly finds the same: priests from all over the world (and from other worlds, specifically an alien race known as the Gelgameks) are molesting children and claim they need to continue the practice to receive gratification. They claim the "Holy Document of Vatican Law" does not prohibit the behavior, so Maxi wants to change the canon law to outlaw sodomy, as well as to allow sex with women. The Cardinal tells him that the Document cannot be changed as no one knows where it is. Maxi decides to try to find it.

A large stone cross stands in the center of the campo santo (cemetery), first consecrated in 1778 and then again on January 29, 1939 by the Los Angeles Archbishop John Cantwell. It serves as the final resting place for some 6,000 "neophytes;" a small stone marker denotes the gravesite of José de Los Santos, the last American Indian to be buried on the grounds, at the age of 101 in February 1921. Also interred at the Mission are the bodies of numerous Franciscan priests who died during their time of service, as well as the remains of Reverend Raymond Catalan, C.M.F., who undertook the restoration of the Mission's gardens. Entombed at the foot of the altar are the remains of eight Franciscan priests (listed in order of interment): Miguel Sánchez, Antonio Cruzado, Francisco Dumetz, Roman Ulibarri, Joaquin P. Nuez, Gerónimo Boscana, José Bernardo Sánchez, and Blas Ordaz. Buried among the priests is centenarian Eulalia Perez de Guillén Mariné, the "keeper of the keys" under Spanish rule; her grave is marked by a bench dedicated in her memory.


Question: When did India first participate in Olympic hockey?

In 1928, India made its debut in Olympic hockey when the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), established in 1927, sent a team to the Summer Olympics. The IOA's role was to foster sports development in India, choose host cities for national games, and select teams for the Summer Olympics. At the 1928 national games, seven athletes were chosen to represent India, and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) also formed and dispatched a hockey team to the Olympics. This trend continued with teams and additional athletes being sent to the 1932 and 1936 Games, accompanied by officials led by team manager Sondhi.

Taiwan, Palestine, Hong Kong, and Macau participate in the Asian Games according to membership in OCA. Due to its continuing ambiguous political status, Taiwan participates in the Games under the flag of Chinese Taipei since 1990. Macau NOC is allowed to compete as one of the NOCs in Asian Games, despite not being recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for participation in the Olympic Games.

Popular modern sports in Indonesia played at the international level include football (soccer), badminton and basketball.[20] Badminton is one of Indonesia's most successful sports. Indonesian badminton athletes have played in Indonesia Open Badminton Championship, All England Open Badminton Championships, and many international events, including the Summer Olympics and won Olympic gold medals since badminton was made an Olympic sport in 1992. Rudy Hartono is a legendary Indonesian badminton player, who won All England titles seven times in a row (1968 through 1974). Indonesian teams have won the Thomas Cup (men's world team championship) thirteen of the twenty-two times that it has been contested since they entered the series in 1957.[21] In the internationally popular sport of football (soccer), Indonesian teams have been active in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The first outdoor game on record to feature an NHL team was attempted on February 2, 1954.[1] The Detroit Red Wings played an exhibition game on an outdoor ice surface, in 21 °F (−6 °C) degree weather, against the Marquette Pirates, an athletic club composed of inmates at Michigan's Marquette Branch Prison. The game, and the Pirates club, was allegedly organized as a way for Red Wings manager Jack Adams to make good with two convicted mafia members incarcerated at the prison. By the end of the first period alone, the Red Wings had amassed an 18–0 score against the prisoners; score keeping was abandoned after that point and the rest of the game effectively became an informal scrimmage.[2]

Argentina's polo team won their first Olympic gold medal in 1924 and the second gold medal in 1936. Adolfo Cambiaso, Gonzalo Pieres, his brother Facundo, the Novillo Astrada brothers, the Heguy's, and Tommy Iriarte are currently ranked amongst the best polo players in the world. The three most important polo tournaments in the world, the Argentine Open, the Hurlingham Open, and the Tortugas Open are held in Argentina. Historically, Argentina has always been a leading country in this international handicapped sport, and have been uninterrupted world champions since 1949, and Argentine players comprise most of the world's top ten players. Argentina has won four World Polo Championships

At the 2016 Summer Olympics, a record number of 118 athletes competed. Sakshi Malik became the first Indian woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal with her bronze medal finish in Women's freestyle 58 kg category. Shuttler P. V. Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win a silver medal in Olympics and also the youngest Indian Olympic medallist.

There are records throughout history of India's trade with foreign countries.
Even before independence, the Government of India maintained semi-autonomous diplomatic relations. It had colonies (such as the Aden Settlement), who sent and received full missions,[3] and was a founder member of both the League of Nations[4] and the United Nations.[5] After India gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, it soon joined the Commonwealth of Nations and strongly supported independence movements in other colonies, like the Indonesian National Revolution.[6] The partition and various territorial disputes, particularly that over Kashmir, would strain its relations with Pakistan for years to come. During the Cold War, India adopted a foreign policy of not aligning itself with any major power bloc. However, India developed close ties with the Soviet Union and received extensive military support from it.

Cricket has been played in Argentina since 1806, with the international side making its first appearance in 1868, against the Uruguay national team. The sport regained some popularity, due to the national team's participation at the World Cricket League, and the Argentina national women's cricket team at the Women's version of the ICC Americas Championship. Though cricket is a minor sport, Argentina is the strongest team in mainland South America, and are currently playing in division 1777 of the World Cricket League. There is a huge scope of development of the sport in this country, given that there are a large number of British descendants in Argentina. Argentina dominated the South American Cricket Championship.

South Africa had played their first Test in 1888–89, but initially they were very weak; up to 1898–99 they had played eight Tests against England and lost them all. They played Australia for the first time in 1902–03 and had the limited satisfaction of avoiding defeat in one of the three matches. However, in 1905–06, they won a series against England by four matches to one, thanks partly to the emergence of four googly bowlers: Reggie Schwarz, Bert Vogler, Aubrey Faulkner, and Gordon White.[5] Schwarz had learnt how to bowl the googly from its originator, Bernard Bosanquet, while in England and had passed on the secret to the others.[citation needed] On South Africa's next tour of England, in 1907, they narrowly lost the Test series one-nil with two matches drawn, but in 1909-10 won by three matches to two.[citation needed] After that, however, their results declined, although the 1910-11 series in Australia was competitive.[citation needed]

The British Indian passport was issued to the British subjects of British Indian Empire, British subjects from other parts of the British Empire, and the subjects of the British protected states in India (i. e. the British Protected Persons of the 'princely states').[8] The use of passports was introduced to British India after the First World War.[9] The Indian Passport Act of 1920 required the use of passports, established controls on the foreign travel of Indians, foreigners travelling to and within India.[10] The passport was based on the format agreed upon by 1920 League of Nations International Conference on Passports.[11] However, the British Indian passport had very limited usage, being valid for travel only within the British Empire, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, France, Spain, Norway, Sweden and Holland.[12]

India were drawn in Group B where they finished second behind South Africa. They managed wins in four of their six games, lost one against South Africa while their game against England was a high scoring tie.


Question: What is the meaning behind the song "Ticket to Ride"?

The song "Ticket to Ride" is about a girl leaving the narrator's life. The origin of the title is uncertain, with McCartney suggesting it was a reference to a train ticket to Ryde, Isle of Wight, while Lennon believed it referred to health cards carried by Hamburg prostitutes in the 1960s. The Beatles had performed in Hamburg in their early days, and "ride" was a British slang term for sexual intercourse. Gaby Whitehill and Andrew Trendall from Gigwise interpret the song as being about a woman leaving her partner to become a prostitute.

I get a lot of letters over the years asking what the title means and what the song's about; I never thought it would be in any way esoteric. I wanted to use theatrical imagery in the song, because she's an actress, but it's not supposed to be a circus [...] [I]t's a theater reference meaning "if the show isn't going well, let's send in the clowns"; in other words, "let's do the jokes." I always want to know, when I'm writing a song, what the end is going to be, so "Send in the Clowns" didn't settle in until I got the notion, "Don't bother, they're here", which means that "We are the fools."[2]

"Four Strong Winds" is a song written by Ian Tyson in the early 1960s and recorded by Canadian folk duo Ian and Sylvia. A significant part of the early 1960s folk revival,[1] the song is a melancholy reflection on a failing romantic relationship. The singer expresses a desire for a possible reunion in a new place in the future ("You could meet me if I sent you down the fare") but acknowledges the likelihood that the relationship is over ("But our good times are all gone/And I'm bound for moving on ...").

The track was written in memory of Greg Carroll, a Māori man the band first met in Auckland during the Unforgettable Fire Tour in 1984. He became very close friends with lead singer Bono and later served as a roadie for the group. Carroll was killed in July 1986 in a motorcycle accident in Dublin. Following the tangi funeral in New Zealand, Bono wrote the lyrics to "One Tree Hill" in Carroll's memory. The lyrics reflect Bono's thoughts at the tangi and during his first night in New Zealand when Carroll took him up Auckland's One Tree Hill. They also pay homage to Chilean singer-songwriter and activist Víctor Jara. Musically, the song was developed in a jam session with producer Brian Eno. The vocals were recorded in a single take, as Bono felt incapable of singing them a second time.

Beyond just the loss of a musician's soul, music critic Nick DeRiso hears in the song a theme of loss of innocence, which would have been particularly meaningful to the 1960s generation as they moved into the 1970s.[3] He also hears the song reflecting the fate of most famous bands, who pay for their fame through the effects of bad choices, bad management decisions and other problems.[3] Band drummer and vocalist Levon Helm acknowledges that the theme of the song is "selling your soul for music."[7] According to author Neil Minturn, "Daniel and the Sacred Harp," earlier band songs "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" and another song from Stage Fright, "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show," all recount episodes of American history."[8]

"White Bird" was written in December 1967, in Seattle, Washington. Manager Matthew Katz had moved the band there to polish their act at a small Seattle ballroom before booking them into San Francisco nightclubs. Living in the attic of a Victorian house across the street from Volunteer Park, the band had inadequate food and no transportation during a dreary Seattle winter. The song evolved from the depression of the band's circumstances and yearning to be free.[2] The song's repeated chorus is, "White bird must fly or she will die."[3]

The video begins with a shot of a computer generated man with a guitar and sunglasses walking down a set of spiral stairs singing along with "It's Not the End of the World?'s" chorus. A baby is then shown playing with a toy tank before a man seen receiving his call up papers, having his head shaved by a barber then leaving on a steam train as people outside wave goodbye. The next shot features a battleshipâ€”the video then cuts to a small boy playing with a toy ship in the bath before joints of meat on hooks are seen moving from right to left through a tiled room spattered with blood. A shot of a military commander on horseback addressing his troops appears before the second chorus which again features a guitarist singing along as he walks down spiral stairs.

Charles Manson first heard the album not long after it was released. He had already claimed to find hidden meanings in songs from earlier Beatles albums,[216] but in The Beatles he interpreted prophetic significance in several of the songs, including "Blackbird", "Piggies" (particularly the line "what they need's a damn good whacking"), "Helter Skelter", "Revolution 1" and "Revolution 9",[217] and interpreted the lyrics as a sign of imminent violence or war.[201] He played the album repeatedly to his followers, the Manson family, and convinced them that it was an apocalyptic message predicting an uprising of oppressed races,[218] drawing parallels with chapter 9 of the Book of Revelation.[219]

Hynde has stated that "Middle of the Road" refers to Tao Te Ching, which she interprets as "the middle way."[3] According to Charles M. Young of Musician, the song is about "getting out there and mixing it up with the world."[4] The song lyrics include observations about the difference between wealth and poverty that singer-songwriter Chrissie Hynde had observed. The lyrics also refer to autobiographical details (i.e., the lyric “I got a kid, I'm thirty-three” although Hynde turned 32 shortly before the single was released). Hynde plays the harmonica solo near the end of the song.[5]

On 23 November 1965,[51] the Beatles filmed promotional clips for "Ticket to Ride" and four other songs, including both sides of their upcoming single at the time, "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out", at Twickenham Film Studios in south-west London.[52][53] The films were directed by Joe McGrath, who had worked on Help! as an assistant to Lester.[54] In the case of "Ticket to Ride", the clip was made for inclusion in Top of the Pops' round-up of the biggest hits of 1965.[55]

The song was written in 1984, inspired by a television documentary on Apartheid South Africa seen by Siffre in which white soldiers were filmed shooting at black civilians in the street.[2] He told the BBC's Soul Music programme in 2014 that the song was also influenced by his experience as a homosexual child, adolescent, and adult and his inner Chi.[3] Siffre originally intended to give the song to another artist to sing, but could find no one suitable and was convinced to release it himself.[2]


Question: When was the song "How Deep is Your Love" released?

"How Deep Is Your Love," a pop ballad written and recorded by the Bee Gees in 1977, was released as a single in September of that year. This song was included in the soundtrack for the film Saturday Night Fever. It peaked at number three in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the United States, it reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 on December 24, 1977, becoming the first of six consecutive US number-one hits for the group. It ended the 10-week reign of Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life" and stayed in the Top 10 for a then-record 17 weeks. The single spent six weeks at the top of the US adult contemporary chart. It is ranked number 22 on the 55th anniversary edition of Billboard's All Time Top 100. Alongside "Stayin' Alive" and "Night Fever," it is one of the group's three songs on the list. The song was covered by Take That for their 1996 Greatest Hits album, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks.

Released as the follow-up single to the group's first hit for Atlantic Records, "I'll Be Around," "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" would equal the success of its predecessor, peaking at number one on the R&B chart and number four on the Billboard Pop Singles chart[2] and selling over one million copies. The song also found success in the UK, peaking at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Put a Little Love in Your Heart" is a song originally performed in 1969 by Jackie DeShannon, who composed it with her brother, Randy Myers, and Jimmy Holiday. In the U.S., it was DeShannon's highest-charting hit, reaching number 4 on the Hot 100 in August 1969 and number 2 on the Adult Contemporary charts.[1] In late 1969, the song reached number one on South Africa's hit parade.

Because of Moroder's contract, the single was issued by MCA. The full-length 6:45 version appeared on the soundtrack album, and the 12" single, while a 4:08 edited version was made for the 7" release. The single reached No. 26 in the UK, No. 13 in Canada[1] and No. 67 in the US - Bowie's biggest hit there since "Golden Years". It peaked at No. 1 in New Zealand, remaining there for three weeks, as well as in Sweden for four weeks. It was also No. 1 in Norway for seven consecutive weeks, and then returned to the top for a further week.

"Odessa (City on the Black Sea)" is a song by the English rock band the Bee Gees, written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb in 1968 and released in early 1969. The song opened the album of the same name.[1] The song was recorded twice. The first version of the song (without the orchestra) was later to appear on Sketches for Odessa and has a duration to 6:40. The song starts on with a spoken voice. The song was a very long song about the survivor of a shipwreck, and was originally intended to form the basis of the whole album. Musically it was dominated by strings and acoustic guitar.[2] It was originally proposed to be the first single of the album.[3]

"I Want You Back" was released on October 7, 1969[5] and was the first Jackson 5 single to be released by Motown[6] and the first song written and produced by The Corporation, a team comprising Motown chief Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonso Mizell, and Deke Richards.[4] It also is the first of four Jackson 5 number-ones released in a row (the others being "ABC" – 1970, "The Love You Save" – 1970, and "I'll Be There" – 1970) and the first Jackson 5 song recorded in Los Angeles, California; the quintet had previously been recording Bobby Taylor-produced remakes of other artists' hits, including "Who's Lovin' You", the B-side to "I Want You Back", at Hitsville U.S.A. in Detroit, Michigan. The "I Want You Back" bassline is considered by many as the greatest of all time[by whom?] and thus has sparked many debates about who played the bass during the recording. Famously The Funk Brothers were Motown's backup musicians and after the company's relocation to Los Angeles band members changed.[7] Many tend to believe that it was James Jamerson who played the bass during recording but he was most active from 1962-1968. During the later years of his career Jamerson had grown unreliable due to substance abuse.[7] Most evidence suggest that a new member of the Funk Brothers, Wilton Felder, was the bassist.[8]

"Love in This Club" is a song by American R&B singer Usher. Featuring rapper Young Jeezy, it was released on February 22, 2008 as the lead single from Usher's fifth studio album, Here I Stand. The song was written by Usher, Polow da Don, Young Jeezy, Darnell Dalton, Ryon Lovett, Lamar Taylor and Keith Thomas, and produced by da Don with a Las Vegas-inspired synth-driven beat. Its lyrics refer to seducing someone in a nightclub. The song was originally leaked by da Don prior to its release.

The Miracles recorded the song first and included their version on their 1968 album, Special Occasion. The Marvin Gaye version was placed on his 1968 album In the Groove, where it gained the attention of radio disc jockeys, and Motown founder Berry Gordy finally agreed to its release as a single in October 1968, when it went to the top of the Billboard Pop Singles chart for seven weeks from December 1968 to January 1969 and became for a time the biggest hit single on the Motown label (Tamla).

The first single from the album, "Good Lovin' Gone Bad", was released in March 1975[1] and reached No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.[6] The album was released in April.[1] The album's final single "Feel like Makin' Love" was released in August[1] and reached No. 10 on the Hot 100.[6]

"Love Hurts" is a song written and composed by the American songwriter Boudleaux Bryant. First recorded by the Everly Brothers in July 1960, the song is also well known from a 1975 international hit version by the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth and in the UK by a top five hit in 1975 by the English singer Jim Capaldi.

With its Bach-derived instrumental melody, soulful vocals, and unusual lyrics – by the song's co-authors Gary Brooker, Keith Reid[6] and Matthew Fisher – "A Whiter Shade of Pale" reached No. 1 in several countries when released in 1967. In the years since, it has become an enduring classic. It was the most played song in the last 75 years in public places in the UK (as of 2009),[7] and the United Kingdom performing rights group Phonographic Performance Limited in 2004 recognised it as the most-played record by British broadcasting of the past 70 years.[8] Also in 2004, Rolling Stone placed "A Whiter Shade of Pale" 57th on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.


Question: When was the internet made available to the public?

The evolution of the Internet
The Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) was developed by Robert E. Kahn and Vint Cerf in the 1970s, becoming the standard for the ARPANET, which incorporated ideas from the French CYCLADES project under Louis Pouzin. In the early 1980s, the NSF supported the establishment of national supercomputing centers at various universities, providing connectivity in 1986 with the NSFNET project. This allowed network access to the supercomputer sites in the U.S. for research and education institutions. Commercial Internet service providers (ISPs) started to appear in the late 1980s. The ARPANET was phased out in 1990, and by late 1989 and 1990, limited private connections to the Internet were established in several American cities by commercial entities. The NSFNET was decommissioned in 1995, marking the end of restrictions on carrying commercial traffic over the Internet.

J. C. R. Licklider, Vice President at Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc., proposed a global network in his January 1960 paper Man-Computer Symbiosis:[8]

Due to its prominence and immediacy as an effective means of mass communication, the Internet has also become more politicized as it has grown. This has led in turn, to discourses and activities that would once have taken place in other ways, migrating to being mediated by internet.

Historically, IP was the connectionless datagram service in the original Transmission Control Program introduced by Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn in 1974; the other being the connection-oriented Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). The Internet protocol suite is therefore often referred to as TCP/IP.

Obama was particularly noted for his use of the Internet to rally supporters and make his policies known. He is the first US president to have effectively used the internet and social media for successful political outcomes. His successful presidential campaign raised the bar and are now presidential standards.

The process of change generally described as "Web 2.0" was itself greatly accelerated and transformed only a short time later by the increasing growth in mobile devices. This mobile revolution meant that computers in the form of smartphones became something many people used, took with them everywhere, communicated with, used for photographs and videos they instantly shared or to shop or seek information "on the move" â€“ and used socially, as opposed to items on a desk at home or just used for work.

As interest in networking grew and new applications for it were developed, the Internet's technologies spread throughout the rest of the world. The network-agnostic approach in TCP/IP meant that it was easy to use any existing network infrastructure, such as the IPSS X.25 network, to carry Internet traffic. In 1982, one year earlier than ARPANET, University College London replaced its transatlantic satellite links with TCP/IP over IPSS.[55][56]

In 1988, Daniel Karrenberg, from Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in Amsterdam, visited Ben Segal, CERN's TCP/IP Coordinator, looking for advice about the transition of the European side of the UUCP Usenet network (much of which ran over X.25 links) over to TCP/IP. In 1987, Ben Segal had met with Len Bosack from the then still small company Cisco about purchasing some TCP/IP routers for CERN, and was able to give Karrenberg advice and forward him on to Cisco for the appropriate hardware. This expanded the European portion of the Internet across the existing UUCP networks, and in 1989 CERN opened its first external TCP/IP connections.[59] This coincided with the creation of Réseaux IP Européens (RIPE), initially a group of IP network administrators who met regularly to carry out coordination work together. Later, in 1992, RIPE was formally registered as a cooperative in Amsterdam.

The Merit Network[36] was formed in 1966 as the Michigan Educational Research Information Triad to explore computer networking between three of Michigan's public universities as a means to help the state's educational and economic development.[37] With initial support from the State of Michigan and the National Science Foundation (NSF), the packet-switched network was first demonstrated in December 1971 when an interactive host to host connection was made between the IBM mainframe computer systems at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Wayne State University in Detroit.[38] In October 1972 connections to the CDC mainframe at Michigan State University in East Lansing completed the triad. Over the next several years in addition to host to host interactive connections the network was enhanced to support terminal to host connections, host to host batch connections (remote job submission, remote printing, batch file transfer), interactive file transfer, gateways to the Tymnet and Telenet public data networks, X.25 host attachments, gateways to X.25 data networks, Ethernet attached hosts, and eventually TCP/IP and additional public universities in Michigan join the network.[38][39] All of this set the stage for Merit's role in the NSFNET project starting in the mid-1980s.

Since its first public release in 1996, the Java platform had not been open source, although the Java source code portion of the Java runtime was included in Java Development Kits (JDKs), on a purportedly "confidential" basis, despite it being freely downloadable by the general public in most countries. Sun later expanded this "confidential" source code access to include the full source code of the Java Runtime Environment via a separate program which was open to members of the public, and later made the source of the Java compiler javac available also. Sun also made the JDK source code available confidentially to the Blackdown Java project, which was a collection of volunteers who ported early versions of the JDK to Linux, or improved on Sun's Linux ports of the JDK. However, none of this was open source, because modification and redistribution without Sun's permission were forbidden in all cases. Sun stated at the time that they were concerned about preventing forking of the Java platform.

After a six-month beta period, Google publicly launched the service in the US on November 16, 2011, as "Google Music" with its "These Go to Eleven" announcement event. The event introduced several features of the service, including a music store integrated into the then-named Android Market, music sharing via the Google+ social network, "Artist Hub" pages for musicians to self-publish music, and song purchasing reflected on T-Mobile phone bills.[26][27][28] At launch, Google had partnerships with three major labels - Universal Music Group, EMI, and Sony Music Entertainment - along with other, smaller labels, although no agreement had been reached with Warner Music Group; in total, 13 million tracks were covered by these deals, 8 million of which were available for purchase on launch date.[29] To promote the launch, several artists released free songs and exclusive albums through the store; The Rolling Stones debuted the live recording Brussels Affair (Live 1973), and Pearl Jam released a live concert recorded in Toronto as 9.11.2011 Toronto, Canada.[30]


Question: When was the internet made available to the general public?

The public's access to the internet was significantly expanded in September 1993 with the release of NCSA Mosaic, a user-friendly graphical web browser that was accessible on common office and home computers.[87] This browser was designed to cater to non-technical users, featuring both images and text on the same page, a significant advancement from earlier browser designs.[88] Marc Andreessen, the founder of Mosaic, later established a company that launched Netscape Navigator in 1994, leading to the early browser wars. In this competition for dominance, Netscape Navigator initially held a strong position but eventually lost ground to Microsoft Windows' Internet Explorer. The internet's transition to a commercial platform was solidified in 1995 when restrictions on commercial use were lifted. Online service provider America Online (AOL) facilitated its users' access to the internet through a proprietary internal browser.

Public computers are open for public uses, possibly as an Interactive kiosk. There are many places one can use them, such as cybercafes, schools and libraries.

Lands' End's catalog business expanded in the 1980s, riding a nationwide wave of mail-order success.[citation needed] The company expanded its computer systems and customer service operations. In 1986 it became a publicly traded company.[3] The 1990s saw continued growth, as the company began international expansion and became an early embracer of e-commerce, establishing a website and "live chat" customer service. In 1992 Lands' End was named among "The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America".[clarification needed][3][not in citation given]

In addition, UUCP allowed the publication of text files that could be read by many others. The News software developed by Steve Daniel and Tom Truscott in 1979 was used to distribute news and bulletin board-like messages. This quickly grew into discussion groups, known as newsgroups, on a wide range of topics. On ARPANET and NSFNET similar discussion groups would form via mailing lists, discussing both technical issues and more culturally focused topics (such as science fiction, discussed on the sflovers mailing list).

The advent of the Internet access has made the act of censorship more difficult, and there has been a relaxation of censorship in recognition of this. BBFC guidelines have been relaxed further to allow the limited distribution of hardcore pornography under an R18 certificate, partially because of this, and partially because of a recognition that public attitudes have changed. Further confirmation of this change in attitude was provided by the French film Baise-moi, which was given an 18 certificate despite showing scenes of unsimulated sexual activity.

A specialization process has also occurred, beginning with the rise of mass market special-interest magazines, moving into broadcast with the advent of cable television, and continuing into new media such as the Internet and satellite radio.[citation needed] An increasing number of media outlets are available to the public which exclusively focus on single topics such as current events, home improvement, history, movies, women and Christianity. Consumers have a broad choice whether they receive a general feed of the most "important" information of the day or a highly customized presentation of a single type of content. Highly customized content streams may not be considered newsworthy nor contain a neutral point of view. Some publications and channels have found a sizable audience in the "niche" of featuring hard news.[citation needed]

Resource or file sharing has been an important activity on computer networks from well before the Internet was established and was supported in a variety of ways including bulletin board systems (1978), Usenet (1980), Kermit (1981), and many others. The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) for use on the Internet was standardized in 1985 and is still in use today.[188] A variety of tools were developed to aid the use of FTP by helping users discover files they might want to transfer, including the Wide Area Information Server (WAIS) in 1991, Gopher in 1991, Archie in 1991, Veronica in 1992, Jughead in 1993, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) in 1988, and eventually the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1991 with Web directories and Web search engines.

Since its first public release in 1996, the Java platform had not been open source, although the Java source code portion of the Java runtime was included in Java Development Kits (JDKs), on a purportedly "confidential" basis, despite it being freely downloadable by the general public in most countries. Sun later expanded this "confidential" source code access to include the full source code of the Java Runtime Environment via a separate program which was open to members of the public, and later made the source of the Java compiler javac available also. Sun also made the JDK source code available confidentially to the Blackdown Java project, which was a collection of volunteers who ported early versions of the JDK to Linux, or improved on Sun's Linux ports of the JDK. However, none of this was open source, because modification and redistribution without Sun's permission were forbidden in all cases. Sun stated at the time that they were concerned about preventing forking of the Java platform.

This idea, at least as a goal to be sought, has re-emerged in the era of global communications.[288] Today, unprecedented opportunities exist for public analysis and discussion of world events.[289] According to one interpretation of the CNN effect, instantaneous global news coverage can rally public opinion as never before to motivate political action.[290] In 1989, local and global communications media enabled instant exposure to and discussion of the Chinese government's actions in Tiananmen Square. The news about Tiananmen Square traveled over fax machine, telephone, newspaper, radio, and television, and continued to travel even after the government imposed new restrictions on local telecommunications.[291]

The Internet began to penetrate Asia in the 1980s. In May 1982 South Korea became the second country to successfully set up TCP/IP IPv4 network.[60][61] Japan, which had built the UUCP-based network JUNET in 1984, connected to NSFNET in 1989. It hosted the annual meeting of the Internet Society, INET'92, in Kobe. Singapore developed TECHNET in 1990, and Thailand gained a global Internet connection between Chulalongkorn University and UUNET in 1992.[62]

By 1969 he had begun building the Mark I packet-switched network to meet the needs of the multidisciplinary laboratory and prove the technology under operational conditions.[24][25][26] In 1976, 12 computers and 75 terminal devices were attached,[27] and more were added until the network was replaced in 1986. NPL, followed by ARPANET, were the first two networks in the world to use packet switching,[28][29] and were interconnected in the early 1970s.