1. Explanation text about Religion
Ramadhan events
Islam's
holiest month Ramadhan, is observed
through many events. As Muslims must fast during the day during Ramadan, mosques will host iftar dinners after
sunset and the fourth required prayer of the day, maghrib. Food is provided,
at least in part, by members of the community, thereby creating nightly potluck
dinners. Because of the community contribution necessary to serve iftar
dinners, mosques with smaller congregations may not be able to host the iftar
dinners daily. Some mosques will also hold suhoor meals before dawn to
congregants attending the first required prayer of the day, fajr. As with iftar
dinners, congregants usually provide the food for suhoor, although able mosques
may provide food instead. Mosques will often invite poorer members of the
Muslim community to share in beginning and breaking the fasts, as providing
charity during Ramadan is regarded in Islam as especially honorable.
Following the
last obligatory daily prayer (isha) special, optional tarawih prayers are
offered in larger mosques. During each night of prayers, which can last for up
to two hours each night, usually one member of the community who has memorized
the entire Qur'an will recite a segment of the book. Sometimes, several such
people (not necessarily of the local community) take turns to do this. During
the last ten days of Ramadan, larger mosques will host all-night programs to
observe Laylat al-Qadr, the night Muslims believe that Muhammad first received
Qur'anic revelations. On that night, between sunset and sunrise, mosques employ
speakers to educate congregants in attendance about Islam. Mosques or the
community usually provide meals periodically throughout the night.
During the
last ten days of Ramadan, larger mosques within the Muslim community will host
i'tikaf, a
practice in which at least one Muslim man from the community must participate.
Muslims performing i'tikaf are required to stay within the mosque for ten
consecutive days, often in worship or learning about Islam. As a result, the
rest of the Muslim community is responsible for providing the participants with
food, drinks, and whatever else they need during their stay.
2. Explanation text about Social
Suicide
The National
Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness,
along with many other studies, reported that the majority of people who
completed suicide were either unemployed or had a long-term illness (Department
of Health, 1999). Compared with the general population, people who attempt
suicide belong more often to the social categories associated with social
destabilisation and poverty.
Gunnell et
al(1995) examined the relations between suicide, parasuicide and
socio-economic deprivation. A strong association was found between suicide and
parasuicide, with socio-economic deprivation accounting for much of this
relationship. Furthermore, homicide and suicide occur more frequently in highly
populated, deprived areas (Kennedy et al, 1999). This finding is also
supported by Crawford & Prince (1999), who noted increasing rates of
suicide in young unemployed men living in conditions of extreme social
deprivation. It is also true that the mortality rates of overdoses involving
cocaine and opiates are significantly associated with poverty status (Marzuk et
al, 1997).
3.
Explanation text about Economy
Monetary Policy
From the
moment the financial crisis took hold in 2008, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has
looked to lower the dollar’s value and cause asset prices to rise – especially
in real estate. But his pitch has been wildly off the mark.
Real estate
will be the last asset class to respond to the Fed’s dollar debasement
strategy. Now, the Feds can’t control the ‘exact’ rate of inflation, nor can it
direct where inflation will be distributed across the economy. In other words,
inflation is like throwing a paper airplane: once you let it loose, you’re
never really sure where it’s going to land. Rising prices is usually
caused by an increase in the money supply or more commonly known as government
money printing. And the recent increases in the prices of energy and other commodities
are currently putting upward pressure on “inflation”. Simply
put, Inflation is often defined, as “too much money chasing too few goods”.
As it right
now, we are seeing rising prices everywhere except where Bernanke really wants
them – real estate. Commercial and residential real estate is vacant. As housing
sales fall – so will big bank balance sheets. That means we could be facing
another credit collapse. Unless the Fed starts to create credit to buy houses
directly off the market, and remove mandates and regulations, it will be very
difficult to get real estate values to move higher.
Commercial
real estate properties are hemorrhaging and in order to short-circuit major
commercial defaults, what we might see is the government attempt to step-in
with another TARP-like funds or TARP-leftover funds.
- Housing is choked. Copper prices are in the toilet. Copper, is an indicator of new construction which means there is no new construction. Without an up tick in construction, the economy can’t really get much better
- If people were working again, they would be gobbling up housing foreclosures. Some are over 50% off their high. No one is touching them.
- Data released last week shows that the median price of existing homes declined 5.2% in February compared to the previous year. New home prices fared even worse; tumbling 9%!
- 11% of homes nationwide are being left vacant, causing nearly 25% of mortgage holders to be without any equity in the home.
- Bernanke and Obama have other problems, that is :
- Manufacturing reports are a mixed bag. Heavy equipment is doing well but they have over seas markets to rely on in a US downturn. 30% of every refined barrel of oil is used directly (as an ingredient) or indirectly (provides machinery energy) in the manufacturing of products, as the price of oil goes up, so does the cost of manufacturing.
- The American consumer, who makes up 70% of GDP, will be spending more and more disposable income they make on food and energy and necessities and less on luxury disposable income
- Auto numbers are being skewed. Dealer inventories are up from 30 to 90 days. The auto industry, especially GM, is pushing 0% financing. That is a sure sign that you are not moving units; especially with spring in the air.
- Economist uses bulk carload freight and transport indicators as one of the primary measures of economic activity. For the first eleven weeks of 2011, U.S. freight railroads originated an uptick of 5.3% from last year and trailers and containers were up 8.1% from the same point in 2010. That sounds like a nice gain — and it is — but to keep it in perspective, other than 2009 and 2010 it’s still the lowest March average since 1994. And, overall, intermodal traffic is the second slowest reading in over a year.
So, by any reasonable account, Bernanke has
failed. It is clear that by trying to channel his inflation into just one asset
class, real estate, Bernanke has placed the entire US economy in severe danger.
He now faces
a serious conundrum.
Does he raise
interest rates significantly to fight inflation at the cost of a second housing
market collapse, or does he sit idly by and watch the broader economy become
just as unaffordable? Neither choice is pleasant, but one thing’s for sure: if the bond
vigilantes start to raise interest rates for him, his paper airplane is headed
for a crash.
Let me place
this inflation discussion in more practical terms
Business operators believe that
future prices for many goods and services will be higher next month than they
are today. So, those companies and households with savings and capital that can
afford to do so will buy the supplies they’ll need in the future today. This buying
activity, which is driven by expectations of higher prices in the future,
results in a transfer of future economic activity into the present. While some
industries and companies enjoy pricing power, most do not. Those without
pricing power will see weaker profit margins as higher raw material prices flow
through the chain of production.
It’s the type of activity that
Keynesian central bankers like Ben Bernanke want to encourage. But the transfer
of future economic activity into the present hardly materializes and carries
with it the same problems we saw during the housing and credit bubbles: when
the “borrowed-against” future finally arrives, we see a collapse in demand for
the pre-bought items. Pushing consumers and businesses to “buy now” with the expectation
of higher prices in the future is hardly different from subsidizing the
reckless growth in debt.
All this has
lead to Bernanke’s quantitative easing experiments. Since last November,
Bernanke has expanded the monetary base by over $325 billion and he’s not
through. In all, it will be more than $600 Billion.
The result?
We’ll see sugar rushes in economic activity, followed by hangovers. When the
hangover sobriety settles in. The government prints more money. More sugar
high. His reckless monetary policy is driving down the dollar and driving
up commodity prices. Central banks and the Obama government remain blind to the
inflationary consequences of their policies. Based on his public comments,
Bernanke seems to view rising energy and food prices as a deflationary shock to
the US
economy – which would, in his mind, necessitate even more money printing.
He sees no
connection between the expansion of the Fed’s balance sheet and rising prices
for everyday necessities. And, some fear that interest rates are being kept too
low from the central bank.
The result
will be stagflation.
Stagflation, in simple terms, can
best be described as ‘elevated inflation and high unemployment’. Almost all the
growth we have seen to date is from government orders. I’ve always been dubious
of the inventory rebuild scenario. No one ever seems to have solid numbers on it which makes it
suspicious.
4.
Explanation text about Sains
Sprightly Explanation For UFO Sightings?
ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2009) — In legend,
sprites are trolls, elves and other spirits that dance high above our ozone
layer. But scientists at Tel Aviv University have discovered that some very
real "sprites" are zipping across the atmosphere as well, providing a
possible explanation for those other legendary denizens of the skies, UFOs.
Thunderstorms,
says Prof. Colin Price, head of the Geophysics and Planetary Sciences
Department at Tel
Aviv University,
are the catalyst for a newly discovered natural phenomenon he calls
"sprites." He and his colleagues are one of the leading teams in the
world studying the phenomenon, and Prof. Price leads the study of "winter
sprites" ― those that appear only in the northern hemisphere's winter
months.
"Sprites
appear above most thunderstorms," explains Prof. Price, "but we
didn't see them until recently. They are high in the sky and last for only a
fraction of a second." While there is much debate over the cause or
function of these mysterious flashes in the sky, they may, Prof. Price says,
explain some bizarre reports of UFO sightings.
5. Explanation text about Politic
Political Corruption
Political
corruption is the use of legislated powers by
government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power
for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general
police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal
acts by private persons or corporations not directly involved with the
government. An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption
only if the act is directly related to their official duties.
Forms of
corruption vary, but include bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage,
graft, and embezzlement. While corruption may facilitate criminal enterprise such
as drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking, it is not
restricted to these activities.
The
activities that constitute illegal corruption differ depending on the country
or jurisdiction. For instance, certain political funding practices that are
legal in one place may be illegal in another. In some cases, government
officials have broad or poorly defined powers, which make it difficult to
distinguish between legal and illegal actions. Worldwide, bribery alone is
estimated to involve over 1 trillion US dollars annually. A state of
unrestrained political corruption is known as a kleptocracy, literally meaning
"rule by thieves".
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_corruption#cite_note-0
6. Explanation text about Environment
The Effect of Global Warming
At the beginning year of 2000, the
world got shock with the global warming issue. This issue, of course, makes
many people all over the world panic, because the research of the experts of
nature said that it was the beginning of apocalypse of the world. Their opinion is strengthened by
the melting of eternal ice in South and North Pole. If it continues in a
periods, it will make the level of sea volume increase. This condition is
proven by the lost of small Indonesian islands each year. Even the research
show that there are about 200 small Indonesian islands lost each year. We can
imagine what will happen if global warming can not be stopped. Gradually, the
sea water will dig many parts of earth. As a result, there is no living
anymore. Besides drowning many parts of lands, this case will also make the
temperature of sea water cool. This condition, according to the research, will
be the beginnings of ice era, the same case like in the past that make so many
creatures disappear, because of unfriendly nature, of course, people. The other
effect of global warming is the irregular changes of seasons. Actually, this
condition makes many people uncomfortable, the day can be so cool and so hot
that cause the illness, such as, cold, fever, asthma, and so on. This effect,
irregular changeover of seasons, also influences the agriculture activity, many
rice fields get dry because the period of dry season is become longer. So rice
cannot grow. In fact, rice is the main food of human being. However, in rainy
seasons there are too many rain fall, flood, landslides, are a few example of
the effect of too much rain fall. It also influences agriculture activity. Many
farmers can not plant their commodity well. Finally, the food stock decreased
and it is the classic problem that causes a hunger and it is possible to make
the world dangerous with the apparent of war. Among countries battle each other
to get their needs like in the past time. Can you imagine there is colonialism
again? It is too hard too explain just because of global warming. Global
warming is really dangerous, isn’t it?
However, there is still an
opportunity to save our earth from global warming effects. All people, I am
sure, can be the environmental emissary by plant trees, at least a tree for a
person. Why? Because global warming is the result of green house affect that is
produced by carbon dioxide emission gas. The function of tree, I mean, its leaves,
is to produce oxygen and absorb CO2. Be a good pedestrian is the other way to
reduce global warming effect or use public transportation. The last, of course,
it has to start today, at the moment.
How Nuclear Waste
Affects
People and
the Environment
Although the
benefits of nuclear power seem to make it the obvious choice for the power
source of the future, nuclear power can be danger for our environment. Our
environment does not have any protections features to protect it from the harmful
effects of nuclear waste.
Obviously,
nuclear waste consists of Uranium broken down during the fission process that
creates nuclear energy. During the fission process, anything has come in
contact with the energy created becomes radioactive.
Mostly,
nuclear waste it just dumped in low population areas all over the Earth with
the population growing as fast as it is. Nuclear waste begins to destroy the
environment we are trying so hard to protect.
Contaminated
soil and groundwater do not have to be a problem. Increasing the risk of
cancer, birds defects, and infertility are just a few of the harmful of nuclear
waste. The effects of nuclear waste on the population aren’t only physical,
they are mental.
If humans become exposed to nuclear waste, their cells may become damaged, and repair themselves incorrectly, resulting in biophysical damage that more often than not results in cancer. Different types of cancer than have resulted from radiation exposure from nuclear waste leukemia, breast, lung, liver and so on (Military Nuclear Mess).
If humans become exposed to nuclear waste, their cells may become damaged, and repair themselves incorrectly, resulting in biophysical damage that more often than not results in cancer. Different types of cancer than have resulted from radiation exposure from nuclear waste leukemia, breast, lung, liver and so on (Military Nuclear Mess).
Humans become
exposed to nuclear waste radiation when nuclear waste is disposed of
improperly. One example is when low-level waste that is not properly stored
seeps through its containment area and comes in contact with groundwater. The
same goes for the soil. In this manner however, plants become contaminated, and
in turn the organisms that feed on them, including humans
7. Explanation text about Culture
How Roman Roads were Built
The system of roads for mobility has
been begun early decades. It was started since the Roman Empire conquered the
world. The roads in Roman era were known as the best construction.
The Romans built roads are for the
purpose of mobility, especially for the army. Having the best road, the army could
march from one place to another. They built the roads as straight as possible,
so that the army could take the shortest route.
It is interesting to know how the
roads were built, which some of them are still in use today. First, the Romans
builders would clear the ground of rocks and trees. Then they dug a trench
where the road was to go and filled it with big stones. Next, they put in big
stones, pebbles, cement and sand which they packed down to make a firm base.
After that, they added another layer of cement mixed with broken tiles. On top
of that rough construction, then they put paving stones to make the flat
surface. These stones were cut so that they fitted together tightly. As the
finishing touch, kerb stones were put at each sides of the road to hold in the
paving stones. It was also used to make a channel for the water to run away.
Source
: www.teachingideas.co.uk