A floodplain or flood plain is an area of land adjacent to a stream or river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge. The soils consist of clays and sands deposited during floods. Floodplains are formed; when a river breaks its banks, it leaves behind layers of alluvium. These build up to create the floor of the plain. Floodplains contain unconsolidated sediments extending below the bed of the stream; these are accumulations of sand, loam, and/or clay, are important aquifers, the water drawn from them being pre-filtered compared to the water in the river. Geologically ancient floodplains are represented in the landscape by fluvial terraces; these are old floodplains that remain high above the present floodplain and indicate former courses of a stream. Sections of the Missouri River floodplain taken by the United States Geological Survey show a great variety of material of varying coarseness, the stream bed having been scoured at one place and filled at another by currents and floods of varying swiftness, so that sometimes the deposits are of coarse gravel, sometimes of fine sand or of fine silt.

It is probable that any section of such an alluvial plain would show deposits of a similar character. The floodplain during its formation is marked by meandering or anastomotic streams, oxbow lakes and bayous, marshes or stagnant pools, is completely covered with water; when the drainage system has ceased to act or is diverted for any reason, the floodplain may become a level area of great fertility, similar in appearance to the floor of an old lake. The floodplain differs, because it is not altogether flat, it has a gentle slope downstream, for a distance, from the side towards the center. The floodplain is the natural place for a river to dissipate its energy. Meanders form over the floodplain to slow down the flow of water and when the channel is at capacity the water spills over the floodplain where it is temporarily stored. In terms of flood management the upper part of the floodplain is crucial as this is where the flood water control starts. Artificial canalisation of the river here will have a major impact on wider flooding.

This is the basis of sustainable flood management. Floodplains can support rich ecosystems, both in quantity and diversity. Tugay forests form an ecosystem associated with floodplains in Central Asia, they are a category of riparian systems. A floodplain can contain 100 or 1,000 times as many species as a river. Wetting of the floodplain soil releases an immediate surge of nutrients: those left over from the last flood, those that result from the rapid decomposition of organic matter that has accumulated since then. Microscopic organisms thrive and larger species enter a rapid breeding cycle. Opportunistic feeders move in to take advantage; the production of nutrients falls away quickly. This makes floodplains valuable for agriculture. River flow rates are undergoing change following suit with climate change; this change is a threat to other floodplain forests. These forests have over time synced their seedling deposits after the spring peaks in flow to best take advantage of the nutrient rich soil generated by peak flow.

Many towns have been built on floodplains, where they are susceptible to flooding, for a number of reasons: access to fresh water. The worst of these, the worst natural disaster were the 1931 China floods, estimated to have killed millions; this had been preceded by the 1887 Yellow River flood, which killed around one million people, is the second-worst natural disaster in history. The extent of floodplain inundation depends in part on the flood magnitude, defined by the return period. In the United States the Federal Emergency Management Agency manages the National Flood Insurance Program; the NFIP offers insurance to properties located within a flood prone area, as defined by the Flood Insurance Rate Map, which depicts various flood risks for a community. The FIRM focuses on delineation of the 100-year flood inundation area known within the NFIP as the Special Flood Hazard Area. Where a detailed study of a waterway has been done, the 100-year floodplain will include the floodway, the critical portion of the floodplain which includes the stream channel and any adjacent areas that must be kept free of encroachments that might block flood flows or restrict storage of flood waters.

Another encountered term is the Special Flood Hazard Area, any area subject to inundation by the 100-year flood. A problem is that any alteration of the watershed upstream of the point in question can affect the ability of the watershed to handle water, thus affects the levels of the periodic floods. A large shopping center and parking lot, for example, may raise the levels of the 5-year, 100-year, other floods, but the maps are adjusted, are rendered obsolete by subsequent development. In order for flood-prone property to qualify for government-subsidized insurance, a loc

The post–September 11 anti-war movement is an anti-war social movement that emerged after the September 11 terrorist attacks in response to the War on Terrorism. On September 11, 2001 a series of coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States killed 3000 people; these attacks appear to have been carried out by a small group of individuals who formed part of the al-Qaida network: Islamists without formal backing from any state. Following them U. S. president George W. Bush declared a campaign with the stated aim of defeating terrorism which he called the "War on Terrorism". Although which of his programs constitute part of this "war" have has never been formally articulated, the term appears to embraces at least two major Bush administration initiatives: a set of changes to U. S. criminal law and immigration law and the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The term may embrace such related matters as the creation of a Department of Homeland Security. Many of those on the left and others who would come to oppose the War on Terrorism did not believe that it was a response to the terrorist attacks.

They point to the Project for the New American Century as proof that Bush was using the atrocities as an excuse to put the Imperialist plans of the neoconservatives into action. They point to what they perceive as the ineffectiveness of Bush's strategy for reducing terrorism and the lack of any link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida; the immediate, worldwide reaction to the attacks was described at the time as "shock". No national government claimed connection to the attacks. Indeed, the governments most associated with Islamism sought to distance themselves from the attacks. Wakeel Ahmed Mutawakel, the foreign minister of Afghanistan's then-ruling Taliban government, declared, "We denounce this terrorist attack, whoever is behind it." Mohammad Khatami, the Iranian president, said he felt "deep regret and sympathy with the victims." Shaykh Abdul Aziz al-Ashaikh, Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of the Senior Ulama, said, "Hijacking planes, terrorizing innocent people and shedding blood constitute a form of injustice that can not be tolerated by Islam, which views them as gross crimes and sinful acts."

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said, "We condemn this serious operation... We were shocked..." Many, considered those reactions as hypocrisy, since several Arab and Muslim states encourage anti-Americanism and many newspapers in the Arab world—for example the Islamist opposition press in Egypt—openly celebrated the September 11 attacks. Moreover, states like Iran and Syria were known for long-year funding of terrorist networks such as Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad. Al-Qaida training camps were operating undisturbed in Afghanistan and the organization held bank accounts in Saudi Arabia. On the left, condemnation of the attacks was general, although including condemnation of ostensibly related aspects of U. S. policies. Noam Chomsky's statement in the immediate wake of the attacks begins by condemning this "major atrocit" and "horrendous crime", but by contextualizing it in terms of the Clinton-era U. S. attack on the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory and prefiguring what would be a widespread concern for the left worldwide: "...the crime is a gift to the hard jingoist right, those who hope to use force to control their domains."

From Vijay Prashad, "The attacks must be condemned without reservation. But we must be certain to recognize that these are the work of frustrated and alienated human beings hemmed in by forces that are anonymous and that could only be embodied by these structures." Martin Woollacott, writing in The Guardian, called the attacks, "above all a stupendous crime", but wrote, "America's best defence against terrorism originating from abroad remains the existence of governments and societies more or less satisfied with American even-handedness on issues which are important to them. Plainly, this is furthest from the case in the Muslim world."Elected officials identified as being on the U. S. "left" joined in condemning the attacks, in this case universally without pointing out a context. For example, the day after the attack, Senator Edward Kennedy described the attack as "vicious and horrifying... acts of unspeakable cruelty... a massive tragedy for America", commended President Bush for "his strong statement... about finding and punishing the perpetrators of this atrocity."

Three days after the attacks, Congress passed a resolution authorizing President Bush to use force against "those responsible". The Senate voted the House 420-1, with only Barbara Lee dissenting. In a lengthy interview explaining her dissent, Lee pointed to her professional training as a social worker and remarked, "Right now, we're dealing with recovery, we're dealing with mourning, there's no way...... deal with decisions that could escalate violence and spiral out of control." Within days of the September 11 events, it was agreed that the attacks were carried out by al-Qaida. The dissenters from this view were and are Muslims. S. A small segment of the population calls this belief into question. A much larger segment of the left concurred with the clear majority of Muslims that a military attack on Afghanistan was not the correct answer

"Justice" is the third episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series IV and the twenty-first episode in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 28 February 1991. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, directed by Ed Bye, the episode features the crew's visit to a high-tech prison where Rimmer is charged with the death of the Red Dwarf crew. Red Dwarf picks up an escape pod from a prison ship, transporting dangerous criminals. Dave Lister, Arnold Rimmer and Cat learn that the ship suffered a revolt that destroyed it and only two people managed to escape – female prison guard Barbara Bellini, a psychotic mass-murdering simulant. Unsure as to which of the two is in the pod, the group are forced to transport it to the prison ship's assigned destination of Justice World – a prison complex that held trials for criminals, sentenced them for the crimes they committed and incarcerated them within, punishing them by making any crime they commit happen to themselves.

Upon arriving, the complex's computer system scans the groups' minds, convicts Rimmer on 1,167 counts of second-degree murder – the total number that died on Red Dwarf from his faulty drive-plate repair – sentencing him to 10,000 years imprisonment within the complex. The group opt to prove that Rimmer was not responsible, to which Kryten defends him to the computer's Judge, claiming that Rimmer's immense guilt stems from his own inflated sense of importance, that he would never have been given the task in the first place if he was known to have been incompetent and insignificant. Despite being offended by Kryten's defence, Rimmer is found not guilty and allowed to go. Before the group can leave, they discover that the pod opened in their absence and that the psychopathic simulant had been within it, now coming to hunt them down. Lister opts to confront it, but struggles to hurt it until he recalls how Justice World works, thus taunting the simulant to attack him and be harmed in response to its "crimes" dying from its own attempt to strangle Lister.

Upon returning to Red Dwarf, Lister questions the futility of absolute justice, much to his friends dislike, only to fall down an open manhole when he isn't looking. Taking influence from their own Red Dwarf novels, writers Rob Grant and Doug Naylor altered some of the historic facts of the show; this was to improve the backstory and keep it in line with their vision of the story as seen in the novels. In "Justice" we discover one of these adjustments is that the ship crew complement before the accident was 1,169 instead of the 169 stated in previous series. "Justice" was to feature the Justice World as a planet, but due to time constraints and finance it was seen as a space station instead. The ending was changed at the last minute, after a scene earlier in the episode was cut where a giant bird dropping lands on Lister after he littered in the Justice Zone gardens. Lister's speech about man's sense of justice was subsequently added to the end; the writers' vision of the Justice Zone was with a background that appeared to disappear into infinity.

This was perceived as impossible to achieve with the budget available. A huge light was placed at the back of the set masking the background limitations and giving the illusion that there was nothing behind. For the futuristic Justice Zone set the crew used the nearby Sunbury Pumphouse, a disused water pumping plant near the Shepperton studios; the set would provide the corridor steps for the Justice Zone scenes. Guest performers included Nicholas Ball who played the simulant and James Smilie who voiced the Justice Computer. Florence Nightingale is referenced by Lister when he comments that Kryten has been "like Florence Nightingdroid" looking after him while he had space mumps. Lister thinks that he could disguise himself with a turban and say he's from India, whereas the Cat replies saying he could paint orange and black stripes on the side and tell her you play quarterback for the Bengals, he states that he looks more like the Taj Mahal and references The Elephant Man. In defending Rimmer's innocence Kryten references Long John Silver.

On the side of the simulant's gun is written'Make My Day' in reference to the famous line "Go ahead, make my day" from the film Sudden Impact. The simulant's overall appearance is reminiscent of the Borg from the Star Trek franchise, whilst his accent references the replicant Roy Batty in the film Blade Runner; the episode was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 28 February 1991 in the 9:00pm evening time slot, although it planned to be broadcast as the second episode - as seen in the repeat runs. It was moved in the schedule because the Gulf War hostilities meant that "Dimension Jump" and "Meltdown" were postponed; the episode had received a lukewarm reception from viewers, although it has been described as a "classic episode" by others. Howarth, Chris. Red Dwarf Programme Guide. Virgin Books. ISBN 0-86369-682-1. "Justice" at BBC Programmes "Justice" on IMDb "Justice" at TV.com Series IV episode guide at www.reddwarf.co.uk