Homeland defense is the protection of a territory, domestic population, critical infrastructure against external threats and aggression.. Not to be confused with Homeland security. Homeland security is a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks, reduce a nation's vulnerability to terrorism, minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur. "Homeland defense is the protection of a sovereignty, domestic population, critical defense infrastructure against external threats and aggression, or other threats as directed by the leader of that nation such as the President of the United States. The United States Department of Defense is responsible for the Homeland defense mission of the United States, therefore leads the HD response, with other departments and agencies in support of DOD efforts." HD strategic threat environment is based on the following conditions and profiles: Diminished protection afforded by geographic distances Traditional threats remain Greater risk of a weapon of mass destruction attack Increased potential for miscalculation and surprise Increased potential for terrorist attacks Increased challenges from weak and failing states and non-state actors Increasing diversity in sources and unpredictability of the locations of conflict Threats to US vital interests overseas Increasing transnational.

Responses to the changes in any of the above can affect US's international environment through the application of diplomatic, economic and informational means. Thus, a proactive and comprehensive approach to HD is required for US's response. National Strategy for Homeland Security Air Forces Northern National Security Emergency Preparedness Directorate Homelanddense.com Homeland Defense Solutions Pentagon Library: Homeland Defense

The Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006 provides Catalonia's basic institutional regulations under the Spanish Constitution of 1978. It defines the rights and obligations of the citizens of Catalonia, the political institutions of the Catalan community, their competences and relations with the rest of Spain, the financing of the Government of Catalonia; this Law was approved by referendum on 18 June 2006 and supplanted the first Statute of Sau, which dated from 1979. The approval was given by the 36% of Catalan people with the right to vote. Abstention in the referendum was high: more than 50%. On 28 June 2010, the Constitutional Court of Spain assessed the constitutionality of several articles of the Law, rewriting 14 of them and dictating the interpretation for 27 more; that led to a massive demonstration in Barcelona of more than a million people under the slogan in Catalan Som una nació. Nosaltres decidim. In 1919, a first project of Statute was started by the Commonwealth of Catalonia although it was rejected by Spanish Cortes Generales.

In 1928, a project of Constitution was written in Havana by exiled Catalan nationalists. Catalonia first obtained a Statute of Autonomy in 1932, during the Second Spanish Republic; this law was abolished by General Francisco Franco after the Spanish Civil War because Catalonia had been a region opposed to Franco's Nacionales forces. During periods of his rule, public usage of the Catalan language and culture, more Catalan self-government were harshly suppressed.. In 1979, during the Spanish transition to democracy, the second Statute was approved by referendum. On 18 June 2006, a referendum amending the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 1979 to further expand the authority of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Catalonia's government, was approved, became effective on 9 August 2006; this referendum was noted for its voter turnout being below 50%. It was noted for its uneasy coalition forging. Tensions within the coalition government which promoted the Statute led to an early regional election in 2006.

The "Draft of New Statute of Autonomy for Catalonia of 2005" was a reform proposal regarding Catalan self-government. On 30 September 2005, the Catalan Parliament approved a proposal for reform of the current Statute of Autonomy; the approved proposal was sent for review and discussion to the Cortes Generales on 2 November 2005. After receiving the proposal drafted by the Catalan regional parliament, on 2 November 2005 the Spanish Congress of Deputies approved the admission to formality of the Proposal for reform of the new Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia with the support of all the groups except the People's Party; the latter filed an objection of unconstitutionality before the Constitutional Court of Spain, which ruled unconstitutional 14 articles of the original text. Its constitutionality has been contested by some intellectuals and journalists related to liberal or conservative media such as the COPE and the Madrid-based newspapers El Mundo and La Razón. On 21 January 2006, Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Catalan Leader of the Opposition Artur Mas arrived at a pre-agreement about nation definition and financing in the current project of statute.

On 10 May 2006, the amended text passed through its final reading through both Houses of the Parliament, with the support of all parties except both the Spanish main opposition party, the conservative People's Party, the Catalan separatist party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya. The latter voted against the project in the Spanish Congress of Deputies but abstained in the Senate. ERC voted against it, despite its senior members having had a hand in drafting its content, as a result of the internal tensions within the party which this issue had brought to the surface. On both parties, for opposite reasons, supported a no vote in the referendum held afterwards regarding the passing of the new Statute; the president of Catalonia, Pasqual Maragall, decided that Sunday 18 June would be the date on which the text would be put to the Catalan people in the form of a referendum. The referendum approved the Statute, the "yes" side receiving 74% of votes cast; the voter turnout was 49.41% of the total electorate, an unprecedentedly low figure for this type of vote.

The new Statute has been in force since 9 August 2006. The 1931 referendum on the Statute of Autonomy registered a voter turnout of 75.13%, of which 99.49% voted favourably to its passing, according to the official results released. The 1979 referendum on the Statute of Autonomy registered a voter turnout of 59.7%, of which 88.1% voted favorably. The 2006 referendum on the current version of the Statute registered a voter turnout of 48.85%. Of the total votes, 73.24% were in favour of the new Statute, while 20.57% were against. Catalonia is an Autonomous Community within the Kingdom of Spain, with the status of historical region in the Spanish Constitution of 1978. In September 2005, the Parliament of Catalonia approved the definition of Catalonia as a'nation' in the preamble of the new Statute of Autonomy; the 120 delegates of all parties with the exception of the 15 delegates of the Partido Popular approved this definition. In the opinion of the Spanish Government this has a'declaratory' but not a'legal' value, since the Spanish Constitution recognises the indissoluble "unity of the Spanish Nation".

The Generalitat de Catalunya is the institution in which the self-government of Catalonia is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat and the Executive Council or

The Walworth D. Porter Duplex Residence is located in Baraboo, Wisconsin, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. It was deemed significant "as an excellent intact example of a type of Queen Anne style duplex residence, associated with the middle class of its day, a type, is a rare part of Baraboo's architectural heritage; the building has all the typical features of a Queen Anne style house of its time such as an irregular plan, a mix of siding materials such as clapboard and decorative wood shingles, porches decorated with turned posts and other features. In addition, the duplex has a original and quite intact interior that adds to the overall significance of the building."

"Around the World" is the fourth single released by Ami Suzuki under the record label, Avex Trax. Unlike her previous three singles, "Around the World" is a special limited edition single that only had 10,000 copies available for sale and only came in the CD format, it was released on the same day as her first album under Avex and shared the same name. The single contained a special photobook; as this single wasn't released in CD+DVD format, the music of "Around the World" was only available in the album. The single includes a remixed version of song "Times", b-side included in "Negaigoto" single. Both tracks are dance tunes. All lyrics are written by Ami Suzuki. Ami Suzuki - vocals, backing vocals Producer - Max Matsuura 14 October 2005 — Music Fighter 17 October 2005 — Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ 22 October 2005 — CD:TV 28 October 2005 — Music Station 28 October 2005 — PopJam 29 October 2005 — Melodix 17 December 2005 — Japan Cable Awards 2005 31 December 2005 — 47th Japan Record Awards - "Eventful" and "Around the World" Oricon Sales Chart

Events from the year 1675 in England. Monarch – Charles II Parliament – Cavalier 4 March – John Flamsteed appointed as "astronomical observator", in effect, the first Astronomer Royal. 25 March – loss of HMY Mary off Anglesey. 13 April – Parliament refuses to vote funds for King Charles. 21 June – reconstruction of St Paul's Cathedral in London under Christopher Wren begins to replace that destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. 10 August – King Charles II places the foundation stone of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich in London. 20 September – the Great Fire of Northampton occurs in the county town. The Green Ribbon Club founded. King Charles issues a "Proclamation for the suppression of Coffee Houses" due to the political activity which occurred in the newly popular establishments. Bethlem Hospital, moves to new buildings in Moorfields, designed by Robert Hooke. Briggflatts Meeting House built near Sedbergh. William Wycherley's satirical play The Country Wife. 1 April – George Shelvocke, privateer 29 May – Humphry Ditton, mathematician 2 September – William Somervile, poet 11 October – Samuel Clarke, philosopher 24 October – Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham and politician Edmund Curll and publisher 28 July – Bulstrode Whitelocke, lawyer 28 November – Basil Feilding, 2nd Earl of Denbigh, English Civil War soldier 6 December – John Lightfoot and scholar Humphrey Henchman, Bishop of London

Marakei is a small atoll in the North Gilbert Islands. The central lagoon consists of numerous deep basins and surrounded by two large islands which are separated by two narrow channels; the atoll covers an area of 40 km². The total land area of Marakei is 14.13 square kilometers. A road circles the island and is 26 kilometers long while the length of the island from the airport and running through the lagoon to Teraereke at southern portion of the island is 9.93 kilometers. It widest width can be found in the village of Rawannawi and narrowest width at Temotu at the western side of the island. Marakei is one of only two islands in Kiribati; the Marakei lagoon is deep in some areas, but not tidal. Two narrow channels, which are not navigable at low tide, link the lagoon with the sea. Rawata Pass was the location of an obstruction in 1912 after inter-village conflict; the construction of causeways have resulted to significant reduction in the flushing of the lagoon that has resulted in low levels of oxygen in the lagoon, which has resulted in the water becoming stagnant so that fish no longer found in the lagoon.

The erosion and accretion that are occurring along the shoreline is identified as being linked to aggregate mining, land reclamation and the construction of causeways, thought to change the currents along the shoreline. The main village is Rawannawi, which at the time of the 2010 Census was home to just over a third of the island's 2,872 people. There are different stories told as to the creation of Marakei and the other islands in the Southern Gilberts. An important legend in the culture of Marakei is that spirits who lived in a tree in Samoa migrated northward carrying branches from the tree, Te Kaintikuaba, which translates as the tree of life, it was these spirits, together with Nareau the Wise. Marakei Post Office opened around 1912; the "katabwanin" is a tradition unique to Marakei. Offerings of tobacco, sweets or money at the shrines of Nei Reei, Nei Rotebenua, Nei Tangangau and Nei Nantekimam will secure a happy stay in Marakei. Marakei is served by Marakei Airport at the northern tip of the island.

Air Kiribati runs three flights each week to the international airport at Tarawa. The Council guesthouse on Marakei is situated right on the ocean, just outside the main village of Rawannawi. Like all Island Council guesthouses in Kiribati, facilities are basic and food is what is available locally, however its spectacular location and the Marakei tradition of hospitality mean that a stay in the Marakei guesthouse can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the well prepared traveler