Bringing new cases, the age will share the truth & knowledge. Depicting the endless corruption, debt, hate, control and battle that is conditioned into our everyday lives. It will exist for the years 2010 to 2020 (The information age). It will be as even sided & independent as possible as we go through the greatest transition age of power & energy the human race has ever experienced
"The world, nor the universe is a small place, its 1 natural consciousness aware of itself"
Please take a look at this webpage, it has every genre of music ever created from start to finish
http://everynoise.com/engenremap.html
!900's to 1950
1880s-1890s phonograph (thank you, Edison!) starts growing in popularity; Louis Glass installs the first coin-operated one; predecessor to jukebox
sheet music becoming less expensive; booming sales of Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag"; ragtime flourishes in Storyville, LA (written in 2/4 + trio section; not improvised like jazz) 1900-1910s 1900: "His Master's Voice" est. by E.R. Johnson; cylinder phonograph co. // beginnings of vaudeville musical theatre // Symphony Hall built in Boston, MA
1902: Ferdinand Joseph "Jelly Roll" Norton (17) started playing in New Orleans; "father of the jazz piano" // Claude Debussy introduces impressionism to music through his opera, "Pelléas and Mélisande" in Paris // pianola released by the Aeolian Co.
1903: "Walker and Williams in Dahomey" becomes first African-American Broadway production // Wilbur Sweatman records "Maple Leaf Rag"
1905: Harvard U grants first PhD in Music
1906: victrola gramophone introduced by Victor Talking Machine Co.; wildly popular 'til 1920s The Roaring Twenties aftermath of WWI; rising popularity in musical culture/Broadway // increased fascination with notion of modernity & breaking from "old" traditions // Chicago becomes jazz capital
Golden Age of radio; mass broadcasting; record companies in decline
Harlem Renaissance + the age of jazz: Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, King Oliver 1900-1910s 1907: Florenz Ziegfield launches "Ziegfield Follies," setting standard for Broadway shows ("current topics, comic routines...the ever-present gorgeous girls")
1909: gvt. passes Copyright Act, "to secure royalties for composers on the sale of recordings and public performances" // first usage of "jazz" in newspaper
1911: creation of the "barbershop quartet"
1913: Apollo Theatre opens in NY
1915: Jelly Roll Morton creates "Jelly Roll Blues," becomes known as the first jazz composer
1916: "When the Saints Go Marching In" published in a Baptist hymnal
1919: Prohibition takes a stand; may have helped further the development/refinement of jazz music 1930s-1940s Swing/Crooner era: Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman
jazz still in full "swing," notable female artists: Ella Fitzgerald + Billie Holiday
rise of country/"hillbilly" music: Roy Rogers; became integrated into films // honky-tonk: fused Western swing + blues; melancholy themes 1950s classic pop: Patti Page ("Tennessee Waltz," "[How Much Is That] Doggie in the Window?")
1950: Little Richard dominated music scene with introduction of R&B ("Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally"
latter 1950s: Rock'n'Roll; namely, Elvis Presley, Pat Boone (first teen idol) Bibliography
"Jazz Culture: The 1920s." American Jazz Culture in the 1920s. University of Minnesota Duluth , n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.
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"Musical Trends of the 1930s and 1940s."Music in 1930s and 1940s America. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. .
"The History of Recorded Music." Music CD Industry. IFPI, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. .
Estrella, Espie. "Music of the 20th Century - 1900 to 1960." Music Education. About.com, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. .
Scaruffi, Piero . " A History of the Musical." History of Popular Music. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. .
""Jelly Roll" Morton." Southern Music Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. .
Case 453 - The evolution of human intelligence and consciousness
Human intelligence
The evolution of human intelligence is closely tied to the evolution of the human brain and to the origin of language. The timeline of human evolution spans approximately 7 million years from the separation of the Pan genus until the emergence of behavioral modernity by 50,000 years ago. The first 3 million years of this timeline concern Sahelanthropus, the following 2 million concern Australopithecus and the final 2 million span the history of actual human genus in the Paleolithic era. Many traits of human intelligence, such as empathy, theory of mind, mourning, ritual, and the use of symbols and tools, are apparent in great apes although in less sophisticated forms than found in humans, such as great ape language. A 2008 study argues that human cleverness is simply selected within the context of sexual selection as an honest signal of genetic resistance against parasites and pathogens. The number of people with severe cognitive impairment caused by childhood viral infections like meningitis, protists like Toxoplasma and Plasmodium, and animal parasites like intestinal worms and schistosomes is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions. Even more people live with moderate mental damages, such as inability to complete difficult tasks, that are not classified as ‘diseases’ by medical standards, may still be considered as inferior mates by potential sexual partners. Thus, widespread, virulent, and archaic infections are greatly involved in natural selection for cognitive abilities. People infected with parasites may have brain damage and obvious maladaptive behavior in addition to visible signs of disease. Smarter people can more skillfully learn to distinguish safe non-polluted water and food from unsafe kinds and learn to distinguish mosquito infested areas from safe areas. Smarter people can more skillfully find and develop safe food sources and living environments. Given this situation, preference for smarter child-bearing/rearing partners increases the chance that their descendants will inherit the best resistance alleles, not only for immune system resistance to disease, but also smarter brains for learning skills in avoiding disease and selecting nutritious food. When people search for mates based on their success, wealth, reputation, disease-free body appearance, or psychological traits such as benevolence or confidence; the effect is to select for superior intelligence that results in superior disease resistance.
Human evolution is the evolutionary process that led to the emergence of anatomically modern humans. The topic typically focuses on the evolutionary history of the primates—in particular the genus Homo, and the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species of the hominids (or great apes) rather than studying the earlier history that led to the primates. The study of human evolution involves many scientific disciplines, including physical anthropology, primatology, archaeology, paleontology, neurobiology, ethology, linguistics, evolutionary psychology, embryology and genetics. Genetic studies show that primates diverged from other mammals about 85 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous period, and the earliest fossils appear in the Paleocene, around 55 million years ago. Within the Hominoidea (apes) superfamily, the Hominidae family diverged from the Hylobatidae (gibbon) family some 15–20 million years ago; African great apes (subfamily Homininae) diverged from orangutans (Ponginae) about 14 million years ago; the Hominini tribe (humans, Australopithecines and other extinct biped genera, and chimpanzees) parted from the Gorillini tribe (gorillas) between 9 million years ago and 8 million years ago; and, in turn, the subtribes Hominina (humans and biped ancestors) and Panina (chimps) separated about 7.5 million years ago to 5.6 million years ago.
The basic adaptation of the hominin line is bipedalism. The earliest bipedal hominin is considered to be either Sahelanthropus or Orrorin; alternatively, either Sahelanthropus or Orrorin may instead be the last shared ancestor between chimps and humans. Ardipithecus, a full biped, arose somewhat later, and the early bipeds eventually evolved into the australopithecines, and later into the genus Homo.
The earliest documented representative of the genus Homo is Homo habilis, which evolved around 2.8 million years ago, and is arguably the earliest species for which there is positive evidence of the use of stone tools. The brains of these early hominins were about the same size as that of a chimpanzee, although it has been suggested that this was the time in which the human SRGAP2 gene doubled, producing a more rapid wiring of the frontal cortex. During the next million years a process of rapid encephalization occurred, and with the arrival of Homo erectus and Homo ergaster in the fossil record, cranial capacity had doubled to 850 cm3. (Such an increase in human brain size is equivalent to each generation having 125,000 more neurons than their parents.) It is believed that Homo erectus and Homo ergaster were the first to use fire and complex tools, and were the first of the hominin line to leave Africa, spreading throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe between 1.3 to 1.8 million years ago.
According to the recent African origin of modern humans theory, modern humans evolved in Africa possibly from Homo heidelbergensis, Homo rhodesiensis or Homo antecessor and migrated out of the continent some 50,000 to 100,000 years ago, gradually replacing local populations of Homo erectus, Denisova hominins, Homo floresiensis and Homo neanderthalensis. Archaic Homo sapiens, the forerunner of anatomically modern humans, evolved in the Middle Paleolithic between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago. Recent DNA evidence suggests that several haplotypes of Neanderthal origin are present among all non-African populations, and Neanderthals and other hominins, such as Denisovans, may have contributed up to 6% of their genome to present-day humans, suggestive of a limited inter-breeding between these species. The transition to behavioral modernity with the development of symbolic culture, language, and specialized lithic technology happened around 50,000 years ago according to some anthropologists although others point to evidence that suggests that a gradual change in behavior took place over a longer time span.
Human consciousness
Humans are born with a rudimentary consciousness that matures with age. The baseline for what most humans consider consciousness includes the ability to think abstractly in words and form strong memories. Humans begin to think in words and abstract concepts around age 3, and are forming strong memories by that time. Somewhere between age 2 and 3 humans start using words to form logical connections, this is where the fundamentals of adult human consciousness begin.
All in the Mind
The key to this alternative view is the fact that all our experiences—all our perceptions, sensations, dreams, thoughts and feelings—are forms appearing in consciousness. It doesn't always seem that way. When I see a tree it seems as if I am seeing the tree directly. But science tells us something completely different is happening. Light entering the eye triggers chemical reactions in the retina, these produce electro-chemical impulses which travel along nerve fibers to the brain. The brain analyses the data it receives, and then creates its own picture of what is out there. I then have the experience of seeing a tree. But what I am actually experiencing is not the tree itself, only the image that appears in the mind. This is true of everything I experience. Everything we know, perceive, and imagine, every color, sound, sensation, every thought and every feeling, is a form appearing in the mind. It is all an in-forming of consciousness.
The idea that we never experience the physical world directly has intrigued many philosophers. Most notable was the eighteenth-century German philosopher Immanual Kant, who drew a clear distinction between the form appearing in the mind—what he called the phenomenon (a Greek word meaning "that which appears to be")—and the world that gives rise to this perception, which he called the noumenon (meaning “that which is apprehended"). All we know, Kant insisted, is the phenomenon. The noumenon, the “thing-in-itself,” remains forever beyond our knowing.
The leading flat-earther theory holds that Earth is a disc with the Arctic Circle in the center and Antarctica, a 150-foot-tall wall of ice, around the rim. NASA employees, they say guard this ice wall to prevent people from climbing over and falling off the disc which also is the only thing in the universe, Everything else revolves around the earth or was created as props and to keep the humans believing the round earth theory, gravity is a lie and doesnt exist. The belief that the Earth is flat has been described as the ultimate conspiracy theory and humans are not told, over 5 million scientists who understand how the universe works down to the smallest molecule must be either lying and keeping it from the rest of us or they have been brainwashed by the science community to believe the round earth theory like the rest of us. All of this came from the KGB's operation infection in the early 1990's via means of broadcasting shows, documentaries and information across Yugoslavia and the Soviet bloc states on late night shows, as well as publishing articles . According to the Flat Earth Society's leadership, its ranks have grown by 200 people (mostly Americans and Britons) per year since 2009. Judging by the exhaustive effort flat-earthers have invested in fleshing out the theory on their website, as well as the staunch defenses of their views they offer in media interviews and on Twitter, it would seem that these people genuinely believe the Earth is flat. Anyone who opposes their views and beliefs are deemed a troll, brainwashed by the illuminati or a "NASA agent" and usually deleted or banned from certain boards and web pages, you can't have a debate of any kind including a scientific debate, its very similar to the religious and atheist views that god does or doesn't exist, an endless battle but only difference is no one can really show proof either way of that debate. Whereas there is 100's if not 1000's of ways to prove the earth is a sphere and not flat. Its simply going to be a case of in 10 to 20 years or so when 'space tourism' and 'mineral mining' is a thing, people actually traveling from earth to the moon, mars and asteroids to mine certain minerals will the flat earth theory believers still be around or still refuse to. Ive watched, read and studied every aspect of the flat earth theory and its culture for 15 years, supposedly these people are "awake" and not sheep, but a lot of these people are taking false information, conspiracy psy-ops, sometimes satire as gospel truth, and I can grasp that the people at the top have taken wrong, unfinished theories such as the theory of relativity as a base, then portrayed their ideas, beliefs and theories around this without even understanding basic principles of science, which has created a spiral Chinese whispers effect and all sorts of outlandish, completely wrong and fake information is circulating through this culture like wildfire and I know now and in the future, this is always going to be used as a way to instantly divide a certain community or an opposition foundation or protest group.
The phenominom that is Gravity or gravitational electromagnetism
Gravity is an emergent entropic phenomenon connected to dark matter and dark energy in all the universe that arises from the entropy of the universe which is the properties of thermodynamics or the unusable part of the system, in other words gravity is a side effect or an illusion not the cause, in our case its not the result of the earths electromagnetic centre pulling us towards it. The quantum particles and their associated forces are emergent properties of the dimensional architecture of spacetime, and so is gravity while being neither particle nor a force and non existent in a levitating electromagnetic field such as ours. Both the Coriolis force and centrifugal force forces are proportional to the mass of the object but plays a huge part in certain aspec†s. The Coriolis force is proportional to the rotation rate and the centrifugal force is proportional to the square of the rotation rate. The Coriolis force acts in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis and to the velocity of the body in the rotating frame and is proportional to the object's speed in the rotating frame. The centrifugal force acts outwards in the radial direction and is proportional to the distance of the body from the axis of the rotating frame. They are correction factors that do not exist in a non-accelerating or inertial reference frame.
The video below is a fantastic breakdown of every part of the theory the flat earthers believe, by Armoured Skeptic, if your still not 100% sure check it out its very good.
You Don’t Weigh Less at the Horizon
While flat-earthers will contend that there is no such thing as gravity, this force unites the entire universe. It’s everything from what makes the numbers jump on a bathroom scale to the reason why planets and stars form. It uniformly pulls everyone on the surface of Earth toward our planet’s center of mass (roughly the exact center). That’s why you’ll weigh the same in Los Angeles as you will in Jakarta.
If the Earth was flat, gravity would no longer pull everyone the same way. If the flat Earth would be something like a disk, those at the edge of the disk would be pulled relatively sideways, while those at the center of the plate would be pulled straight down. The difference would change your weight enough to confuse a bathroom scale. Considering that humans have been to every landmass on Earth without celebrating sudden lightness, we can rule out a flat planet.
You Don’t Fall Off The Planet
Where is the edge of the world according to flat-earthers? The answer changes, but it usually involves some impenetrable barrier at said edge that prevents people from going past or falling off. Global conspiracies apparently prevent people from investigating these boundaries. The reason we dont fall of the bottom of the earth is because gravity is a result of earth, it doesn't work independent of the earth. Flat earthers understand that gravity works in one direction and that is down, but this is not true it works in the direction of the center of the earth depending on which part of the huge planet we are on.
Timezones Exist
To make the seasons work with a flat Earth, advocates claim that the Sun orbits in a circle above our disk, like a tetherball on an invisible string. But timezones exist. I have spoke to friends in New zealand, Australia and totally different time zones and its dark where they are (nighttime) and its bright sunshie (day) where I am
A flat Earth can’t account for how some parts of the planet are provably in darkness while other parts are bathed in light.
The Rest of the Solar System
Like how we’ve seen the Earth from many angles and found it round, we’ve sent cameras to the rest of the planets in our solar system and snapped photos of them from many angles too. They all appear to be spheres. That makes sense if gravity is the main force in the universe pulling cosmic gas and dust and rock together to form planets and the flat earth community has even stated that mars is round and other planets are observed as round, but why not the earth. The chances that the Earth is the only planet in the solar system that is non-spherical, yet subject to the same forces as other planets, are zero. It just wouldnt survive the framework of spacetime, volatility of space and hundreds of other factors, forces and conservation laws if the earth was flat.
Eclipses Show You Earth’s Shape
Have you ever seen a lunar eclipse? It’s when the Earth passes in between the Sun and our moon and casts a shadow over the lunar surface. If you look closely, you can pick out a slight curvature. Curvature is possible with a flat disk, but even flat-earthers admit that the Earth spins. If the Earth were flat, there would be some people that occasionally see a straight line projected on the moon (the edge of a disk). That hasn’t happened since humans looked up, so a sphere is the logical shape to assume.
A few things you can do at home or around the globe
Put water on a globe in your house and spin - (Curvature formula - Gravitational vectors)
Flat earthers will say, If earth was a globe why does the water not run off into space.?
On Earth, the emergant gravity vector is towards the center everywhere, whereas for a globe in your house the gravity vector is towards the floor of your house. Poor example
Put a drop of water on a penny - (Water retention - energy conservation)
Flat earthers will say If water always finds a level in a glass, pool or lake, how is earth curved and holding it all.?
Water naturally flows into what space it has that’s closest to that center of gravity, which means that the surface of the pool is going to be equidistant to that center. Wheres the huge bulge in the sea on a flat earth..?
Look up at the suns rays or look down a train line - (3 dimensional perspectives)
Flat earthers have shown many examples of clouds behind the sun on photos. how can there be clouds behind or the sun appear to converge just behind the clouds..?
The sun is 93 million miles away, all the rays are a parellel angle and appear to converge due to perspective effects
Look at the fish swimming in the sea - (Mass density and buoyancy)
flat earthers will say If gravity is pulling the water to the center of the earth, how do fish swim in it..?
Fish have a destiny identical to the surrounding water, same way our dense mass holds us to the earth
Look at the ships, bridges or structures or horizons around you
Many examples of either fake, pointless experiments like the bedford levels have been used, but since the p900 as 1 example of camera's and the technology available in the last 5 years has blown flat earthers off the globe
Below is a 'real' photo of Lake pontchartrain transmission lines, ive seen on flat earth websites deemed as photoshoped, fakes. So below that is 1 of the 100's of amateur videos
Hungarians were nomadic people and are believed to have moved to the Carpathian basin from the East, somewhere around the Ural Mountains. Under the leadership of Árpád, the Hungarians took over the land around 895.
In 1000, King Stephen I (St. Stephen) founded the state of Hungary, and accepted the Catholic religion as standard. Stephen was crowned with the Holy Crown of Hungary and blessed by the Pope. The crown is now displayed in the Parliament building.In 1241-1242 the invasion of the Mongols caused serious destruction in the country, and half of the population were killed or deported as slaves (1 million people). After the invasion King Béla ordered the construction of a system of strong stone castles to defend the country from further attacks. The second Mongolian strike was stopped at Pest by the royal army thanks to these castles.
After a Turkish conquering army defeated the Hungarian royal army at Mohács in 1526, the country split into three parts around 1541; the Hungarian Kingdom, the Habsburg dominion and the Turkish dominion. It took 150 years before the Hungarians could stand up to this situation, reunite and drive out the Turks. After the Turkish domination, the country became part of the Habsburg dominion, but under the leadership of Ferenc Rákóczi II. Hungarians partly took back their independence, and signed the treaty of peace at Szatmár in 1711.
In the 19th century very important reforms were made. Hungarian became the official language of the country, and the language was renewed and elected to a literary level.
In 1848 there were independence revolutions in Europe, as well as in Hungary. The Magyars tried to remove the boundaries of the Habsburg dominion. After the suppression of the revolution, the silent resistance made the nation stronger than ever before. In 1867, a Hungarian delegation, led by Ferenc Deák finally came to an agreement with the Habsburgs and so the dualistic system of the Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy was born and peace descended across the land.
In World War I Hungary was ally to Germany and Austria and had to send hundreds of thousands of troops to die for foreign interests. In 1918 the Monarchy broke up, the first government was established and the country became the Republic of Hungary. After losing the war, the allied Atlantic countries overran Hungary and in accordance with the Treaty of Trianon, split up the country. The Hungary of more than 20 million became a small country of less than 8 million. Hungary was now in the shape we know today. World War II brought more tribulations to the people of Hungary. Fighting alongside the Germans against the Soviets, the Hungarian government eventually tried to change sides to the allied Atlantic countries. Possibly fearing the sudden exposure from the vulnerable flank of the Hungarian plains - perfect tank country- the Germans then overran Hungary near the end of the war and deposed the government to their nationalist allies. Hundreds of thousands died during the war or were deported to German concentration camps. After the Germans were beaten by the Allies, Soviets took over the country, drove out the Germans, and stayed for 44 years. In 1956 the people tried to force the leadership to stop this domination, and dictatorship by the soviets, but the attempt was unsuccessful and was punished unmercifully. However it did have some effect on the government and some concessions were made. The soviet domination lasted until 1989, when Hungary finally became an independent democracy.
In 1999 Hungary joined NATO, and in 2004 became a member of the European Union.
Founded in 1694, the Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom. Sometimes known as the ‘Old Lady’ of Threadneedle Street, the Bank’s mission is to promote the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability.
What does the Bank of England do?
The Bank of England is the UK's central bank. We are owned by the Government but set monetary policy independently. Our mission is to deliver monetary and financial stability for the British people.
Main responsibilities are:
Issuing banknotes and managing the UK’s currency
Only the Bank of England can issue banknotes in England and Wales. Several banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland can also issue notes, and the Bank monitors this process.
Financial stability
The Bank of England also has responsibility for UK financial stability – in other words, making sure that the system runs smoothly and that people can trust financial institutions. The banks Financial Policy Committee (FPC) looks out for and works to remove or reduce risks and weaknesses in the UK financial system. The Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) regulates and supervises roughly 1,700 banks, building societies, credit unions, insurers and investment firms to ensure that they are run safely.
Strategic Plan
In March 2014, they launched a three-year Strategic Plan to transform the way we work. The plan established a renewed mission for the Bank: ‘promoting the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability’. At the heart of the Strategic Plan is a commitment to build One Bank, which recognises the importance of having responsibility for microprudential supervision, macroprudential policy and monetary policy within the same organisation. It means that the Bank is better placed to deliver key economic benefits: stable inflation, economic growth, and the continuous provision of financial services.
CASE 449 - British intelligence and secret services
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the British intelligence agency which supplies the British government with foreign intelligence. The SIS Chief is held accountable to the Foreign Secretary. SIS is bound by the Intelligence Services Act 1994. SIS is frequently referred to by the name MI6 (Military Intelligence, Section 6), a name used as a flag of convenience during the First World War when it was known by many names.[5] The existence of the SIS was not officially acknowledged until 1994. It forms a part of the UK's intelligence machinery alongside GCHQ, MI5 and Defence Intelligence.
In late 2010, the head of the SIS delivered what he said was the first public address by a serving chief of the agency in its then 101-year history. The remarks of Sir John Sawers primarily focused on the relationship between the need for secrecy and the goal of maintaining security within the UK. His remarks acknowledged the tensions caused by secrecy in an era of leaks and pressure for ever-greater disclosure.
Since 1995, the SIS headquarters have been at Vauxhall Cross on the South Bank of the River Thames.
The service derived from the Secret Service Bureau, which was founded in 1909. The Bureau was a joint initiative of the Admiralty and the War Office to control secret intelligence operations in the UK and overseas, particularly concentrating on the activities of the Imperial German government. The bureau was split into naval and army sections which, over time, specialised in foreign espionage and internal counter-espionage activities, respectively. This specialisation was because the Admiralty wanted to know the maritime strength of the Imperial German Navy. This specialisation was formalised before 1914. During the First World War in 1916, the two sections underwent administrative changes so that the foreign section became the Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 6 (MI6), the name by which it is frequently known in popular culture today.
Its first director was Captain Sir George Mansfield Smith-Cumming, who often dropped the Smith in routine communication. He typically signed correspondence with his initial C in green ink. This usage evolved as a code name, and has been adhered to by all subsequent directors of SIS when signing documents to retain anonymity
Malta, officially known as the Republic of Malta is a Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 80 km (50 mi) south of Italy, 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya. The country covers just over 316 km2 (122 sq mi), with a population of just under 450,000,[3] making it one of the world's smallest and most densely populated countries. The capital of Malta is Valletta, which at 0.8 km2, is the smallest national capital in the European Union. Malta has two official languages: Maltese and English. Malta's location has historically given it great strategic importance as a naval base, and a succession of powers, including the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Moors, Normans, Sicilians, Spanish, Knights of St. John, Knights of Malta, French and British, have ruled the islands.
King George VI of the United Kingdom awarded the George Cross to Malta in 1942 for the country's bravery in the Second World War. The George Cross continues to appear on Malta's national flag. Under the Malta Independence Act, passed by the British Parliament in 1964, Malta gained independence from the United Kingdom as an independent sovereign Commonwealth realm, officially known from 1964 to 1974 as the State of Malta, with Elizabeth II as its head of state. The country became a republic in 1974, and although no longer a Commonwealth realm, remains a current member state of the Commonwealth of Nations. Malta was admitted to the United Nations in 1964 and to the European Union in 2004; in 2008, it became part of the Eurozone.
Malta has a long Christian legacy and its Archdiocese of Malta is claimed to be an apostolic see because, according to tradition dating to around the 12th century, the Acts of the Apostles is interpreted by the faithful that St Paul was shipwrecked on Malta. Catholicism is the official religion in Malta.
The history of Malta is a long and colourful one dating back to the dawn of civilisation. The Maltese Islands went through a golden Neolithic period, the remains of which are the mysterious temples dedicated to the goddess of fertility. Later on, the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Romans and the Byzantines, all left their traces on the Islands. In 60 A.D. St. Paul was shipwrecked on the island while on his way to Rome and brought Christianity to Malta. The Arabs conquered the islands in 870 A.D. and left an important mark on the language of the Maltese. Until 1530 Malta was an extension of Sicily: The Normans, the Aragonese and other conquerors who ruled over Sicily also governed the Maltese Islands. It was Charles V who bequeathed Malta to the Sovereign Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem who ruled over Malta from 1530 to 1798. The Knights took Malta through a new golden age, making it a key player in the cultural scene of 17th and 18th century Europe. The artistic and cultural lives of the Maltese Islands were injected with the presence of artists such as Caravaggio, Mattia Preti and Favray who were commissioned by the Knights to embellish churches, palaces and auberges.
In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte took over Malta from the Knights on his way to Egypt. The French presence on the islands was short lived, as the English, who were requested by the Maltese to help them against the French, blockaded the islands in 1800.
British rule in Malta lasted until 1964 when Malta became independent. The Maltese adapted the British system of administration, education and legislation.
Modern Malta became a Republic in 1974 and joined the European Union in May 2004.
Not to be mistaken with the:
(CASE 106 - The Sovereign Military Order of Malta)
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an independent federal agency responsible for providing national security intelligence to the United states policymakers. The foreign intelligence the CIA gathers is used to provide tactical and strategic advantages so as to preempt threats and further U.S. national security objectives. The covert activities and the objective analyses that result are used to keep the nation safe.
The CIA works as an advisory agency on matters related to foreign intelligence, and it conducts missions and other covert activities under the direction of the President. The Director of the CIA, who is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, is responsible for managing the agency’s budget, operations, and personnel.
Although the CIA is operated as an independent federal agency, Congress and the executive branch oversee the activities and monitoring programs of the CIA.
The CIA works to:
Close intelligence gaps through enhanced foreign collection and analysis. Fulfill the global mission of providing national policymakers, including the President, with intelligence regarding issues that are most critical to the President and senior national security team members. Utilize technological advances as to ensure better performance in all mission areas, including collection, analysis, covert action, and counterintelligence.
The CIA has a way of very publicly blowing their cover—seeming to pop up wherever turmoil, strife, and political unrest materialize. Despite being almost synonymous with dirty tricks, the Agency has essentially been given free rein, permitted to use whatever tactics they see fit to deal with any (real or perceived) threat to American interests. If there’s one thing we know about absolute power, it’s that it corrupts absolutely; and if there’s one thing we know about the CIA, it’s that the astoundingly unethical, criminal projects and secret missions or involvements highlighted below are probably just the tip of the iceberg.
MK Ultra
MK Delta
Operation mongoose
Operation mockingbird
Operation paperclip
Muammar Al-Quaddafi
Operation Ajax
The JFK assasination
911
Isis, Al-qaeda and Osama Bin Laden
