1.
Spanish naming customs
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Spanish naming customs are historical traditions for naming children practised in Spain. According to these customs, a persons name consists of a name followed by two family names. The first surname is usually the fathers first surname, and the second the mothers first surname, in recent years, the order of the surnames can be reversed at birth if it is so decided by the parents. Currently in Spain, people bear a single or composite given name, a composite given name comprises two single names, for example Juan Pablo is considered not to be a first and a second forename, but a single composite forename. The two surnames refer to each of the parental families, traditionally, a persons first surname is the fathers first surname, and the second one is the mothers first surname. From 2013, if the parents of a child are unable to agree on order of surnames, the law also grants a person the option, upon reaching adulthood, of reversing the order of their surnames. Each surname can also be composite, the parts usually linked by the y or e. For example, a name might be Juan Pablo Fernández de Calderón García-Iglesias, consisting of a forename, a paternal surname. There are times when it is impossible, by inspection of a name, for example, the writer Sebastià Juan Arbó was alphabetised by the Library of Congress for many years under Arbó, assuming that Sebastiá and Juan were both given names. However, Juan was actually his first surname, to resolve questions like this, which typically involve very common names, one must consult the person involved, or legal documents. A man named José Antonio Gómez Iglesias would normally be addressed as either señor Gómez or señor Gómez Iglesias instead of señor Iglesias, because Gómez is his first surname. Furthermore, Mr. Gómez might be addressed as José Antonio, José, Pepe, Antonio, or Toño Jose, Joselito, Josito, Joselillo, Josico or Joselín, Antoñito, Tonín or Nono. Very formally, he could be addressed with an honorific as don José Antonio or don José, colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez is sometimes incorrectly referred to in English media as Mr. Márquez, when it should be Mr. García Márquez or, simply, Mr. García. It is not unusual, when the first surname is very common, for example, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is often called simply Zapatero, the name he inherited from his mothers family, since Rodríguez is a common surname and may be ambiguous. The same occurs with another former Spanish Socialist leader, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, with the poet and dramatist Federico García Lorca, as these peoples paternal names are very common, they are often called with their maternal names. It would nonetheless be a mistake to index José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero under Z as Zapatero, a practical option to spare an explanation is using a single surname composed of two separate words. Parents choose their childs name, which must be recorded in the Registro Civil to establish his or her legal identity. With few restrictions, parents can now choose any name, common sources of names are the parents taste, honouring a relative, the General Roman Calendar nomina, legislation in Spain under Franco legally limited cultural naming customs to only Christian and typical Spanish names
2.
Rafael Alburquerque
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Rafael Francisco Alburquerque de Castro is a Dominican politician who was Vice President of the Dominican Republic from August 2004 to August 2012, serving under President Leonel Fernández. Along with Fernández, he was re-elected in May 2008 for a four-year term, Alburquerque was born in Santo Domingo on 14 June 1940, the eldest son of Lic. He serves as Coordinator of the Social security System and the Social Cabinet of the Dominican government and he was chosen by the President Leonel Fernández Reyna as his ballot companion for his second consecutive presidential term, by the Dominican Liberation Party. Alburquerque served as Secretary of Labour and president of the Delegation of the Dominican State to the Conferences of the International Labour Organization from 1991 to 2000 and he was also President of the Commission of Technical Cooperation in the Conference of the ILO in 1999. Alburquerque is a lawyer with a PhD in Labour Law, gabinete de Coordinación de las Políticas Sociales de la República Dominicano
3.
Danilo Medina
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Danilo Medina Sánchez is a Dominican politician and President of the Dominican Republic, since 2012. Medina previously served as Dominican Secretary of State to the President from 1996 to 1999 and from 2004 to 2006 and he won the May 2012 Dominican presidential election, defeating Hipolito Mejía with 51% of the votes. Medina was born in Arroyo Cano, San Juan Province, in the southwest of the Dominican Republic and he is the oldest of eight brothers born of Juan Pablo Medina and Amelia Sánchez. Since he was 18 years old he was a student leader, when Professor Juan Bosch founded the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana in 1973, Medina joined him. He studied economics at Instituto Tecnológico Santo Domingo, and graduated cum laude in 1984. He has been a member of the Central Committee of the PLD since 1983, in 1986 election he was elected a deputy in Congress. In 1987, he married psychologist Cándida Montilla and has three daughters, Sibeli, Vanessa and Ana Paula, Danilo Medina Sánchez is the only Dominican President who descends from one of the Founding Fathers. He is the descendant of Francisco del Rosario Sánchez, founding father of the Dominican Republic, in 1990, Medina was elected member of the Political Committee of the Dominican Liberation Party together with Leonel Fernández and Juan Temístocles Montás. He was selected by his organization to be the President of the Chamber of Deputies in the Dominican Republic. He was President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic from 1994 to 1995 and subsequently served as Secretary of State of the Presidency from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2004 to 2006. As president of the Chamber of Deputies in the National Congress, in that year, a close finish between Joaquín Balaguer and José Francisco Peña Gómez brought about a major conflict, as one side accused the other of fraud. The agreement eventually worked in favor of the PLD, which won the presidential in the 1996 election, Medina is considered the PLDs leading political strategist and negotiator. As such, he was one of the leaders of the campaign of President Fernández. He was appointed Secretary of the Presidency in 1996 and was one of the Presidents closest aides, in 2000, with Fernández barred from reelection, Medina was the presidential candidate of the PLD. He finished a distant second behind opposition candidate Hipólito Mejía of the Dominican Revolutionary Party, Medina would have needed nearly all of Balaguers supporters in order to overcome his massive first-round deficit. Realizing that he would be lucky to get half of them in the runoff, in his concession speech, Medina said that a runoff would not be in the countrys best interest. As President Fernández acceded to a term in 2004, Medina was once again appointed Secretary of the Presidency. As a new election approached in 2008, Medina was considered the competition for President Fernández, as he was considered by some to have complete political control of the ruling party
4.
Santo Domingo
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Santo Domingo, officially Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic and the largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. In 2010, its population was counted as 965,040, the city is coterminous with the boundaries of the Distrito Nacional, itself bordered on three sides by Santo Domingo Province. Santo Domingo is the site of the first university, cathedral, castle, monastery, the citys Colonial Zone was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Santo Domingo was called Ciudad Trujillo, from 1936 to 1961, after the Dominican Republics dictator, Rafael Trujillo, following his assassination, the city resumed its original designation. Santo Domingo is the cultural, financial, political, commercial and industrial center of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo also serves as the chief seaport of the country. The citys harbor at the mouth of the Ozama River accommodates the largest vessels, temperatures are high year round, with a cool breeze around winter time. At the time, the territory consisted of five chiefdoms, Marién, Maguá, Maguana, Jaragua. These were ruled respectively by caciques Guacanagarix, Guarionex, Caonabo, Bohechío, dating from 1496, when the Spanish settled on the island, and officially from 5 August 1498, Santo Domingo became the oldest European city in the Americas. Bartholomew Columbus founded the settlement and named it La Nueva Isabela, in 1495 it was renamed Santo Domingo, in honor of Saint Dominic. Santo Domingo came to be known as the Gateway to the Caribbean, in June 1502, Santo Domingo was destroyed by a major hurricane, and the new Governor Nicolás de Ovando had it rebuilt on a different site on the other side of the Ozama River. The original layout of the city and a portion of its defensive wall can still be appreciated today throughout the Colonial Zone. Diego Colon arrived in 1509, assuming the powers of Viceroy, in 1512, Ferdinand established a Real Audiencia with Juan Ortiz de Matienzo, Marcelo de Villalobos, and Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon appointed as judges of appeal. In 1514, Pedro Ibanez de Ibarra arrived with the Laws of Burgos, rodrigo de Alburquerque was named repartidor de indios and soon named visitadores to enforce the laws. In 1586, Francis Drake captured the city and held it for ransom, an expedition sent by Oliver Cromwell in 1655 attacked the city of Santo Domingo, but was defeated. The English troops withdrew and took the less guarded colony of Jamaica, in 1697, the Treaty of Ryswick included the acknowledgement by Spain of Frances dominion over the Western third of the island, now Haiti. From 1795 to 1822 the city changed several times along with the colony it headed. The city was ceded to France in 1795 after years of struggles, it was captured by Haitian rebels in 1801, recovered by France in 1802. In 1821 Santo Domingo became the capital of an independent nation after the Criollo bourgeois within the country, led by José Núñez de Cáceres, the nation was unified with Haiti just two months later
5.
Dominican Republic
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The Dominican Republic is a sovereign state occupying the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western one-third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, christopher Columbus landed on the Western part of Hispaniola, in what is now Haiti, on December 6,1492. The island became the first seat of the Spanish colonial rule in the New World, the Dominican people declared independence in November 1821 but were forcefully annexed by their more powerful neighbor Haiti in February 1822. After the 1844 victory in the Dominican War of Independence against Haitian rule the country again under Spanish colonial rule until the Dominican War of Restoration of 1865. The Dominican Republic experienced mostly internal strife until 1916, a civil war in 1965, the countrys last, was ended by another U. S. military occupation and was followed by the authoritarian rule of Joaquín Balaguer, 1966–1978. Since then, the Dominican Republic has moved toward representative democracy and has been led by Leonel Fernández for most of the time since 1996. Danilo Medina, the Dominican Republics current president, succeeded Fernandez in 2012, the Dominican Republic has the ninth-largest economy in Latin America and is the largest economy in the Caribbean and Central American region. Though long known for agriculture and mining, the economy is now dominated by services. Over the last two decades, the Dominican Republic have been standing out as one of the economies in the Americas – with an average real GDP growth rate of 5. 4% between 1992 and 2014. GDP growth in 2014 and 2015 reached 7.3 and 7. 0%, respectively, in the first half of 2016 the Dominican economy grew 7. 4% continuing its trend of rapid economic growth. Recent growth has been driven by construction, manufacturing and tourism, private consumption has been strong, as a result of low inflation, job creation, as well as high level of remittances. The Dominican Republic has a market, Bolsa de Valores de la Republica Dominicana. and advanced telecommunication system. Nevertheless, unemployment, government corruption, and inconsistent electric service remain major Dominican problems, the country also has marked income inequality. International migration affects the Dominican Republic greatly, as it receives, mass illegal Haitian immigration and the integration of Dominicans of Haitian descent are major issues. A large Dominican diaspora exists, mostly in the United States, contributes to development, the Dominican Republic is the most visited destination in the Caribbean. The year-round golf courses are major attractions, the island has an average temperature of 26 °C and great climatic and biological diversity. The country is also the site of the first cathedral, castle, monastery, and fortress built in all of the Americas, located in Santo Domingos Colonial Zone, a World Heritage Site. Music and sport are of importance in the Dominican culture, with Merengue and Bachata as the national dance and music
6.
Dominican Liberation Party
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The Dominican Liberation Party is the current governing political party in the Dominican Republic. Founded in 1973 by former president Juan Bosch, the party, the party has been elected into office four times now, with Danilo Medina as current President of the Dominican Republic, in the 1996,2004,2008 and 2012 elections, though losing in 2000. In May 2006 the party and its allies gained control of both houses of Congress. At the legislative elections,16 May 2002, the party won 29. 1% of the vote and 41 out of 150 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 2 out of 31 seats in the Senate. Its candidate at the election of 16 May 2004, Leonel Fernández. Founded by Juan Bosch in 1973, the PLD originally was considerably to the left of Boschs original party, today the party is seen gravitating towards a more centrist platform and embraces many neoliberal policies away from its post-communist and neomarxist past. Bosch ran for president as the party’s candidate several times, and he did not run for another term in 2000, but returned to the presidency in 2004. The partys logo is a yellow five-pointed star on a purple background, in the 16 May 2006 legislative elections, the party led the Progressive Bloc, that won 96 out of 178 deputies and 22 out of 32 senators. On May 16,2008, presidential elections were carried and PLD candidate Leonel Fernández won 54%, defeating 7 other presidential candidates. On May 16,2010, congressional and municipal elections held, Liberalism Contributions to liberal theory Liberalism worldwide List of liberal parties Liberal democracy Dominican Liberation Party official site
7.
Alma mater
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Alma mater is an allegorical Latin phrase for a university or college. In modern usage, it is a school or university which an individual has attended, the phrase is variously translated as nourishing mother, nursing mother, or fostering mother, suggesting that a school provides intellectual nourishment to its students. Before its modern usage, Alma mater was a title in Latin for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele. The source of its current use is the motto, Alma Mater Studiorum, of the oldest university in continuous operation in the Western world and it is related to the term alumnus, denoting a university graduate, which literally means a nursling or one who is nourished. The phrase can also denote a song or hymn associated with a school, although alma was a common epithet for Ceres, Cybele, Venus, and other mother goddesses, it was not frequently used in conjunction with mater in classical Latin. Alma Redemptoris Mater is a well-known 11th century antiphon devoted to Mary, the earliest documented English use of the term to refer to a university is in 1600, when University of Cambridge printer John Legate began using an emblem for the universitys press. In English etymological reference works, the first university-related usage is often cited in 1710, many historic European universities have adopted Alma Mater as part of the Latin translation of their official name. The University of Bologna Latin name, Alma Mater Studiorum, refers to its status as the oldest continuously operating university in the world. At least one, the Alma Mater Europaea in Salzburg, Austria, the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, has been called the Alma Mater of the Nation because of its ties to the founding of the United States. At Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, the ancient Roman world had many statues of the Alma Mater, some still extant. Modern sculptures are found in prominent locations on several American university campuses, outside the United States, there is an Alma Mater sculpture on the steps of the monumental entrance to the Universidad de La Habana, in Havana, Cuba. Media related to Alma mater at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of alma mater at Wiktionary Alma Mater Europaea website
8.
President of the Dominican Republic
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The President of the Dominican Republic is both the head of state and head of government of the Dominican Republic. The presidential system was established in 1844, following the proclamation of the republic during the Dominican War of Independence, the President of the Dominican Republic is styled His Excellency during his time in office. His official residence is the National Palace, the current President of the Dominican Republic is Danilo Medina of the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana, who took office on 16 August 2012. The Constitution of the Dominican Republic, which was most recently amended in 2015, establishes the requirements, rights, the office can be held for up to two consecutive four-year terms. Persons who have completed their presidencies cannot run for the presidency again, the change of command takes place every four years, on 16 August, which is the day of the Restoration of the Republic, a national holiday. Prior to 2015, the President was limited to one consecutive term, commanders 30 March 1903 –21 April 1903, Richard G. McConnell 8 February 1904 –11 February 1904, James M. Miller U. S. High Commissioner September 1922 –1924, Benjamin Sumner Welles Commander of U. S
9.
Juan Bosch
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Juan Emilio Bosch Gaviño was a politician, historian, short story writer, essayist, educator, and the first democratically elected president of the Dominican Republic for a brief time in 1963. Previously, he had been the leader of the Dominican opposition in exile to the regime of Rafael Trujillo for over 25 years. To this day he is remembered as an honest politician and regarded as one of the most prominent writers in Dominican literature and he founded both the Dominican Revolutionary Party in 1939 and the Dominican Liberation Party in 1973. He was born to a Catalan father and a Puerto Rican mother of Galician descent, in 1934, he married Isabel García and had two children with her, Leon and Carolina. During Trujillos dictatorship, Bosch was jailed for his political ideas, in 1938, Bosch managed to leave the country, settling in Puerto Rico. By 1939 Bosch had gone to Cuba, where he directed an edition of the works of Eugenio María de Hostos, something that defined his patriotic. In July, with other Dominican expatriates, he founded the Partido Revolucionario Dominicano, Bosch heavily sympathised with leftist ideas, but he always denied any communist affiliation. He collaborated with the Cuban Revolutionary Party and had an important role in the making of the Constitution that was promulgated in 1940, Bosch married for the second time, this time a Cuban lady, Carmen Quidiello, with whom he had two more children, Patricio and Barbara. At the same time, his career was ascending, gaining important acknowledgments like the Hernandez Catá Prize in Havana for short stories written by a Latin American author. Bosch fled to Venezuela after the failure, where he continued his anti-Trujillo campaign. When Fulgencio Batista led a coup detat against Prío Socarrás and took over the presidency in 1952, after being liberated, he left Cuba and headed to Costa Rica, where he dedicated his time to pedagogical tasks, and to his activities as leader of the PRD. In 1959 the Cuban Revolution took place, led by Fidel Castro, causing a political, economic. Bosch accurately perceived the process that had begun from those events and he told Trujillo that his political role, in historical terms, had concluded in the Dominican Republic. After 23 years in exile, Juan Bosch returned to his homeland months after Trujillo was assassinated on May 30,1961 and his presence in the national political life, as the Dominican Revolutionary Party presidential candidate, was a fresh change for the Dominicans. His manner of speaking, direct and simple, especially when addressing the lowest classes, immediately he was accused by the Church and by conservatives of being a communist. On February 27,1963, Bosch was sworn in as president in a ceremony that was attended by important democratic leaders and personalities, like Luis Muñoz, Bosch immediately launched a deep restructuring of the country. On April 29, he promulgated a new liberal constitution, the new document granted the people freedoms they had never known. He moved to break up latifundia, drawing the ire of landowners, the Church thought Bosch was trying to oversecularize the country
10.
Distrito Nacional
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The Distrito Nacional is a subdivision of the Dominican Republic enclosing the capital Santo Domingo. It is not in any of the provinces, but in practice, before October 16,2001, the Distrito Nacional was much larger, including what is now known as Santo Domingo Province. Published statistics and maps show the former, larger, Distrito Nacional. The Distrito Nacional has no rural or undeveloped areas, the Poligono Central is the central area of Santo Domingo. Upscale neighborhoods of Naco, Piantini, and Paraiso are located within this central poligon, Most of the financial activity in Santo Domingo is also located in the Poligono. The Distrito Nacional houses the central executive branch Presidential Office, the national congressional building. It also houses all the public offices main buildings, called Ministerios. For the main article, please select Ciudad Colonial, the Ciudad Colonial is the oldest continually occupied European settlement in the Western hemisphere, established by Bartholomew Columbus and the Spanish explorers in the New World. It has several landmarks and is declared as World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. There are various activities available inside the Distrito Nacional. Upscale nightclubs, casinos, hotels, restaurants with bars are widely available. Discothèque DJs and live performances both local sounds and dance music Most nightclubs alternate between the two main genres, some other clubs stick almost exclusively to either one. Several chain restaurants are available serving dinner up to midnight, Most restaurants within hotels dont close at all, and the majority of casinos serve complimentary snacks all night. Most restaurants are specialized on the cuisines, Local, Italian, French, Steakhouse, Mexican, Spanish, Seafood, Chinese. There are several cinemas that play movies in English and are on par with worldwide premiers. Jazz music outlets, live theater, live concerts and sports events are available throghtout the whole week, Distrito Nacional has several urban parks, the largest one, Parque Mirador Sur, overlooking the Caribbean Sea from a high cliff from the Avenida Mirador Sur. It has several miles of open road designed for picnic, jogging and cycling, roller skating and even Kendo are regularly practiced in areas of the park. Other places in the include, Plaza de la Cultura Juan Pablo Duarte - which houses several national museums and is host of the International Book Fair
11.
Sergeant major
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Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. In Commonwealth countries, the degrees of sergeant major are appointments held by warrant officers. In the United States, there are various grades of sergeant major. In 16th century Spain, the mayor was a general officer. He commanded an infantry, and ranked about third in the armys command structure. In the 17th century, sergeant majors appeared in individual regiments and these were field officers, third in command of their regiments, with a role similar to the older, army-level sergeant majors. The older position became known as sergeant major general to distinguish it, over time, the term sergeant was dropped from both titles, giving rise to the modern ranks of major and major general. It is about time that the U. S. and British histories of the title diverge. A sergeant major is an appointment, not a rank and it is normally held by the senior warrant officer of an army or marine unit. These appointments are made at several levels, for example, the warrant officer of a company, battery or squadron. The title normally consists of the title followed by sergeant major. A sergeant major of a regiment or battalion is known as a sergeant major. In the Australian Defence Force, in addition to CSMs and RSMs, Sergeant majors are normally addressed as sir or maam by subordinates, and by Mr or Ms by superiors, with the term RSM/CSM/etc reserved for the sergeant majors commanding officer. In the British Armed Forces, the plural is sergeant majors, the appointment of sergeant major is given to the senior non-commissioned member within sub-units, units and some formations of the Canadian Army. The regimental sergeant-major is the sergeant major in a battalion-sized unit, including infantry battalions and artillery, armoured, engineer. This appointment is held by a chief warrant officer. The same position can also be held by a warrant officer in anticipation of promotion. In artillery batteries, this appointment is known as battery sergeant-major, while in units with a cavalry heritage, company sergeant-majors and their equivalents are normally addressed as Sergeant-Major or by rank
12.
Washington Heights, Manhattan
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Washington Heights is a neighborhood in the northern portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan. In the 18th century, only the portion of the island was settled by Europeans. Among the many unspoiled tracts of land was the highest spot on the island, when the Revolutionary War came to New York, the British had the upper hand. General George Washington and troops from his Continental Army camped on the ground, calling it Fort Washington. The Continental Army retreated from its location after their defeat on November 16,1776, the British took the position and renamed it Fort Knyphausen in honor of Wilhelm von Knyphausen, the leader of the Hessians, who had taken a major part in the British victory. Their location was in the now called Bennett Park. Fort Washington had been established as a position to prevent British vessels from sailing north on the Hudson River. Fort Lee, across the river, was its twin, built to assist in the defense of the Hudson Valley, the progress of the battle is marked by a series of bronze plaques along Broadway. On July 9,1776, when New Yorks Provincial Congress assented to the Declaration of Independence, A rowdy crowd of soldiers, marched down Broadway to Bowling Green, where they toppled the statue of George III erected in 1770. The head was put on a spike at the Blue Bell Tavern, the tavern was later used by Washington and his staff when the British evacuated New York, standing in front of it as they watched the American troops march south to retake New York. By 1856 the first recorded home had been built on the site of Fort Washington, the Moorewood residence was there until the 1880s. The property was purchased by Richard Carman and sold to James Gordon Bennett Sr. for an estate in 1871. Bennetts descendants later gave the land to the city to build a park honoring the Revolutionary War encampment, Bennett Park is a portion of that land. Lucius Chittenden, a New Orleans merchant, built a home on land he bought in 1846 west of what is now Cabrini Boulevard and it was known as the Chittenden estate by 1864. Bucking named his home Pinehurst on land near the Hudson, a title that survives as Pinehurst Avenue, the series of ridges overlooking the Hudson were sites of villas in the 19th century, including the extensive property of John James Audubon. At the turn of the 20th century the woods started being chopped down to make way for homes, the cliffs that are now Fort Tryon Park held the mansion of Cornelius Kingsley Garrison Billings, a retired president of the Chicago Coke and Gas Company. He purchased 25 acres and constructed Tryon Hall, a Louis XIV-style home designed by Gus Lowell and it had a galleried entranceway from the Henry Hudson Parkway that was 50 feet high and made of Maine granite. In 1917, Billings sold the land to John D. Rockefeller Jr. for $35,000 per acre, Tryon Hall was destroyed by fire in 1925
13.
Organization of American States
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The Organization of American States, or the OAS or OEA, is a continental organization founded on 30 April 1948, for the purposes of regional solidarity and cooperation among its member states. Headquartered in Washington, United States, the OASs members are the 35 independent states of the Americas, as of 26 May 2015, the Secretary General of OAS is Luis Almagro. Bolívars dream of American unity was meant to unify Hispanic American nations against external powers, the pursuit of regional solidarity and cooperation again came to the forefront in 1889–1890, at the First International Conference of American States. These two bodies, in existence as of 14 April 1890, represent the point of inception to which the OAS and its General Secretariat trace their origins. At the Fourth International Conference of American States, the name of the organization was changed to the Union of American Republics, the Pan American Union Building was constructed in 1910, on Constitution Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D. C. In the mid-1930s, U. S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt organized a conference in Buenos Aires. One of the items at the conference was a League of Nations of the Americas, an idea proposed by Colombia, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic. At the subsequent Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of Peace,21 nations pledged to remain neutral in the event of a conflict between any two members. The experience of World War II convinced hemispheric governments that unilateral action could not ensure the integrity of the American nations in the event of external aggression. This was the event that saw the birth of the OAS as it stands today, the meeting also adopted the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, the worlds first general human rights instrument. The transition from the Pan American Union to OAS would have been if it had not been for the assassination of Colombian leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán. The Director General of the former, Alberto Lleras Camargo, became the Organizations first Secretary General, the current Secretary General is former Uruguayan minister of foreign affairs Luis Almagro. Significant milestones in the history of the OAS since the signing of the Charter have included the following,1959,1969, American Convention on Human Rights signed. 1970, OAS General Assembly established as the Organizations supreme decision-making body,1979, Inter-American Court of Human Rights created. 1991, Adoption of Resolution 1080, which requires the Secretary General to convene the Permanent Council within ten days of a coup détat in any member country,1994, First Summit of the Americas, which resolved to establish a Free Trade Area of the Americas by 2005. 2009, OAS revokes 1962 suspension of Cuba,2009, OAS suspends Honduras due to the coup which ousted president Manuel Zelaya. 2011, OAS lifts the suspension of Honduras with the return of Manuel Zelaya from exile, article 2 then defines eight essential purposes, To strengthen the peace and security of the continent. To promote and consolidate representative democracy, with due respect for the principle of nonintervention, to prevent possible causes of difficulties and to ensure the pacific settlement of disputes that may arise among the member states
14.
South Korea
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South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a sovereign state in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The earliest Korean pottery dates to 8000 BC, with three kingdoms flourishing in the 1st century BC and its rich and vibrant culture left 19 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity, the third largest in the world, along with 12 World Heritage Sites. Annexed into Imperial Japan in 1910, Korea was divided after its surrender in 1945, peace has since mostly continued with the two agreeing to work peacefully for reunification and the South solidifying peace as a regional power with the worlds 10th largest defence budget. South Koreas tiger economy soared at an average of 10% for over 30 years in a period of rapid transformation called the Miracle on the Han River. A long legacy of openness and focus on innovation made it successful, today, it is the worlds fifth largest exporter with the G20s largest budget surplus and highest credit rating of any country in East Asia. It has free trade agreements with 75% of the economy and is the only G20 nation trading freely with China, the US. Since 1988, its constitution guarantees a liberal democracy with high government transparency, high personal freedoms led to the rise of a globally influential pop culture such as K-pop and K-drama, a phenomenon called the Korean Wave, known for its distinctive fashionable and trendy style. Home of the UN Green Climate Fund and GGGI, South Korea is a leader in low carbon growth, committed to helping developing countries as a major DAC. It is the third least ignorant country in the Index of Ignorance, ranking eighth highest for peaceful tolerance. It is the worlds largest spender on R&D per GDP, leading the OECD in graduates in science, the name Korea derives from the name Goryeo. The name Goryeo itself was first used by the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo in the 5th century as a form of its name. The 10th-century kingdom of Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo, and thus inherited its name, the modern spelling of Korea first appeared in the late 17th century in the travel writings of the Dutch East India Companys Hendrick Hamel. After Goryeo was replaced by Joseon in 1392, Joseon became the name for the entire territory. The new official name has its origin in the ancient country of Gojoseon, in 1897, the Joseon dynasty changed the official name of the country from Joseon to Daehan Jeguk. The name Daehan, which means great Han literally, derives from Samhan, however, the name Joseon was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, though it was no longer the official name. Under Japanese rule, the two names Han and Joseon coexisted, there were several groups who fought for independence, the most notable being the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Following the surrender of Japan, in 1945, the Republic of Korea was adopted as the name for the new country. Since the government only controlled the part of the Korean Peninsula
15.
China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
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Inflation
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In economics, inflation is a sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time resulting in a loss of value of currency. When the price rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods. Consequently, inflation reflects a reduction in the power per unit of money – a loss of real value in the medium of exchange. A chief measure of inflation is the inflation rate, the annualized percentage change in a general price index, usually the consumer price index. The opposite of inflation is deflation, Inflation affects economies in various positive and negative ways. Economists generally believe that high rates of inflation and hyperinflation are caused by a growth of the money supply. However, money supply growth does not necessarily cause inflation, some economists maintain that under the conditions of a liquidity trap, large monetary injections are like pushing on a string. Views on which factors determine low to moderate rates of inflation are more varied, low or moderate inflation may be attributed to fluctuations in real demand for goods and services, or changes in available supplies such as during scarcities. However, the view is that a long sustained period of inflation is caused by money supply growing faster than the rate of economic growth. Today, most economists favor a low and steady rate of inflation, the task of keeping the rate of inflation low and stable is usually given to monetary authorities. Rapid increases in quantity of the money or in the money supply have occurred in many different societies throughout history. By diluting the gold with other metals, the government could issue more coins without also needing to increase the amount of used to make them. When the cost of each coin is lowered in this way and this practice would increase the money supply but at the same time the relative value of each coin would be lowered. As the relative value of the coins becomes lower, consumers would need to give more coins in exchange for the same goods and these goods and services would experience a price increase as the value of each coin is reduced. Song Dynasty China introduced the practice of printing paper money in order to create fiat currency, during the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, the government spent a great deal of money fighting costly wars, and reacted by printing more money, leading to inflation. Fearing the inflation that plagued the Yuan dynasty, the Ming Dynasty initially rejected the use of paper money, historically, large infusions of gold or silver into an economy also led to inflation. This was largely caused by the influx of gold and silver from the New World into Habsburg Spain. The silver spread throughout a previously cash-starved Europe and caused widespread inflation, demographic factors also contributed to upward pressure on prices, with European population growth after depopulation caused by the Black Death pandemic
17.
Foreign direct investment
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A foreign direct investment is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. It is thus distinguished from foreign investment by a notion of direct control. Broadly, foreign direct investment includes mergers and acquisitions, building new facilities, reinvesting profits earned from overseas operations and intra company loans. In a narrow sense, foreign direct investment refers just to building new facility, FDI is the sum of equity capital, other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown the balance of payments. FDI usually involves participation in management, joint-venture, transfer of technology, stock of FDI is the net cumulative FDI for any given period. Direct investment excludes investment through purchase of shares, FDI is one example of international factor movements. A foreign direct investment is an ownership in a business enterprise in one country by an entity based in another country. Foreign direct investment is distinguished from foreign investment, a passive investment in the securities of another country such as public stocks and bonds. Moreover, control of technology, management, even crucial inputs can confer de facto control, for example, Joe S. Bain only explained the internationalization challenge through three main principles, absolute cost advantages, product differentiation advantages and economies of scale. Furthermore, the theories were created under the assumption of the existence of perfect competition. Facing the challenges of his predecessors, Hymer focused his theory on filling the gaps regarding international investment, the theory proposed by the author approaches international investment from a different and more firm-specific point of view. Furthermore, Hymer proceeds to criticize the neoclassical theories, stating that the theory of capital movements cannot explain international production. Moreover, he clarifies that FDI is not necessarily a movement of funds from a country to a host country. In contrast, if interest rates were the motive for international investment. Another observation made by Hymer went against what was maintained by the neoclassical theories, in fact, foreign direct investment can be financed through loans obtained in the host country, payments in exchange for equity, and other methods. Further studies attempted to explain how firms could monetize these advantages in the form of licenses, removal of conflicts, conflict arises if a firm is already operating in foreign market or looking to expand its operations within the same market. He proposes that the solution for this hurdle arose in the form of collusion, however, it must be taken into account that a reduction in conflict through acquisition of control of operations will increase the market imperfections. The extent to which a company can mitigate risk depends on how well a firm can formulate an internationalization strategy taking these levels of decision into account
18.
George W. Bush
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George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was also the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 and he is the eldest son of Barbara and George H. W. Bush. After graduating from Yale University in 1968 and Harvard Business School in 1975, Bush married Laura Welch in 1977 and ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives shortly thereafter. He later co-owned the Texas Rangers baseball team before defeating Ann Richards in the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election and he is the second president to assume the nations highest office after his father, following the lead of John Quincy Adams. He is also a brother of Jeb Bush, a former Governor of Florida who was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 presidential election, the September 11 terrorist attacks occurred eight months into Bushs first term as president. Bush responded with what became known as the Bush Doctrine, launching a War on Terror, a military campaign that included the war in Afghanistan in 2001. He also promoted policies on the economy, health care, education, Social Security reform and his tenure included national debates on immigration, Social Security, electronic surveillance, and torture. In the 2004 Presidential race, Bush defeated Democratic Senator John Kerry in another close election. After his re-election, Bush received increasingly heated criticism from across the spectrum for his handling of the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina. Amid this criticism, the Democratic Party regained control of Congress in the 2006 elections, Bush left office in 2009, returning to Texas where he purchased a home in Crawford. He wrote a memoir, Decision Points and his presidential library was opened in 2013. His presidency has been ranked among the worst in historians polls published in the late 2000s and 2010s. George Walker Bush was born on July 6,1946, at Grace-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, as the first child of George Herbert Walker Bush and his wife, the former Barbara Pierce. He was raised in Midland and Houston, Texas, with four siblings, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, another younger sister, Robin, died from leukemia at the age of three in 1953. His grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a U. S and his father, George H. W. Bush, was Ronald Reagans Vice President from 1981 to 1989 and the 41st U. S. President from 1989 to 1993. Bush has English and some German ancestry, along with more distant Dutch, Welsh, Irish, French, Bush attended public schools in Midland, Texas, until the family moved to Houston after he had completed seventh grade. He then spent two years at The Kinkaid School, a school in Houston. Bush attended high school at Phillips Academy, a school in Andover, Massachusetts
19.
Dominican Republic presidential election, 2004
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Presidential elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 16 May 2004. The result was a victory for former president Leonel Fernández, who defeated incumbent Hipólito Mejía, Hipólito Mejía, serving president, representing the Dominican Revolutionary Party seeking immediate re-election. Leonel Fernández, president from 1996-2000, representing the Dominican Liberation Party seeking a second term, eduardo Estrella of the Social Christian Reformist Party, a former senator and advisor to ex-president Joaquín Balaguer. Opinion polls in the run-up to election day showed Fernández leading with 54%, Mejía on 27%, fernándezs final result, in excess of 50%, meant that the second round was not necessary. The Dominican Republic introduced legislation in 1997 to enable Dominican citizens residing abroad to vote in presidential elections
20.
September 11 attacks
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The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11,2001. The attacks killed 2,996 people, injured over 6,000 others, two of the planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, were crashed into the North and South towers, respectively, of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia and it was the deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the history of the United States, with 343 and 72 killed respectively. Suspicion for the attack fell on al-Qaeda. The United States responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, many countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded the powers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to prevent terrorist attacks. Although al-Qaedas leader, Osama bin Laden, initially denied any involvement, al-Qaeda and bin Laden cited U. S. support of Israel, the presence of U. S. troops in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives. Having evaded capture for almost a decade, bin Laden was located and killed by SEAL Team Six of the U. S. Navy in May 2011. S. many closings, evacuations, and cancellations followed, out of respect or fear of further attacks. Cleanup of the World Trade Center site was completed in May 2002, on November 18,2006, construction of One World Trade Center began at the World Trade Center site. The building was opened on November 3,2014. The origins of al-Qaeda can be traced to 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden traveled to Afghanistan and helped organize Arab mujahideen to resist the Soviets. Under the guidance of Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden became more radical, in 1996, bin Laden issued his first fatwā, calling for American soldiers to leave Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden used Islamic texts to exhort Muslims to attack Americans until the stated grievances are reversed, Muslim legal scholars have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries, according to bin Laden. Bin Laden, who orchestrated the attacks, initially denied but later admitted involvement, in November 2001, U. S. forces recovered a videotape from a destroyed house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. In the video, bin Laden is seen talking to Khaled al-Harbi, on December 27,2001, a second bin Laden video was released. In the video, he said, It has become clear that the West in general and it is the hatred of crusaders. Terrorism against America deserves to be praised because it was a response to injustice, aimed at forcing America to stop its support for Israel, the transcript refers several times to the United States specifically targeting Muslims. He said that the attacks were carried out because, we are free, and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security we undermine yours, Bin Laden said he had personally directed his followers to attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
21.
Banco Intercontinental
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Banco Intercontinental was the second largest privately held commercial bank in the Dominican Republic before collapsing in 2003 in a spectacular fraud tied to political corruption. The resulting deficit of more than US$2.2 billion was equal to 12% to 15% of the Dominican national gross domestic product, Banco Intercontinental was created in 1986 by Ramón Báez Romano, a businessman and former Industry Minister. His oldest son, Ramón Báez Figueroa, took over the small bank, BANINTER grew quickly into a typical family-run conglomerate, buying up companies or controlling interests in firms that touched on nearly every aspect of Dominican life. In the process, Báez Figueroa amassed an empire of varied businesses, Báez Figueroa became a man of great influence and power. At his lavish wedding, former Presidents Joaquín Balaguer and Leonel Fernandez signed the document as witnesses. In late 2000, Báez even proposed an economic program. Risk, and Im talking about calculated risk, is proper of all business, whoever doesnt understand this cant triumph Báez said in a 2001 interview in a Dominican business magazine Mercado. Former president Mejía got a bulletproof Lexus sports utility vehicle, so did his successor, later on, Báez himself would denounce that he called a US $2.4 million credit-card fraud on the part of Colonel Pepe Goico. Although the credit card was issued in Goicos name, it was meant solely to finance presidential trips, instead, Báez charged, Goico and his cronies used the card for personal purchases, including planes and helicopters, luxury housing and jewelry. The Pepe-Gate may have been the spark, but a mountain of kindling had been piling up for years around BANINTER, bANINTERs octopus-like acquisitiveness raised some eyebrows, as did Báezs luxurious tastes. In 2002 he bought a US $14,600,000 yacht, moreover, Báez had personal expenses of more than US$1,000,000 monthly. Speculation about the source of Báezs fortune ran wild, but nobody considered the explanation being given nowadays by the Dominican authority, rumors that BANINTER mightve been in trouble began circulating during the fall of 2002, and depositors started to withdraw their savings. The Dominican Central Bank stepped in to support the bank by providing new lines of credit, anxious for a permanent solution, the government announced in early 2003 that Banco del Progreso, run by Pedro Castillo Lefeld, the brother of Mejías son-in-law, would acquire BANINTER. But Banco del Progreso abruptly withdrew from the deal, government officials and Castillo said that two-thirds of the money that customers had deposited in BANINTER was kept off its official books by a custom-designed software system. On April 7,2003, the government took control of BANINTER, Báez Figueroa was arrested on May 15,2003 along with BANINTER vice presidents Marcos Báez Cocco and Vivian Lubrano de Castillo, the secretary of the Board of Directors, Jesús M. This sum would be big anywhere, but it was overwhelming for the Dominican economy, the resulting central bank bailout spurred a 30% annual inflation and a large increase in poverty. The government was forced to devalue the peso, triggering the collapse of two banks, and prompting a US$600 million loan package from the International Monetary Fund. The subsequent fiscal shortfall resulted in inflation and the devaluation of the DOP by over 100%
22.
Congress of the Dominican Republic
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The Congress of the Dominican Republic is the bicameral legislature of the government of the Dominican Republic, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Both senators and deputies are chosen through direct election, there are no term limits for either chamber. As provided by the Dominican Constitution, each of the 178 members of the Chamber of Deputies represents a district, Chamber seats are apportioned among the states by population. The 32 Senators serve staggered four-year terms, each province has one senator, regardless of population. The Constitution vests all legislative power in the Congress, the Chamber and Senate are equal partners in the legislative process, however, the Constitution grants each chamber some unique powers. The Senate is empowered to approve treaties and presidential appointments, revenue-raising bills must originate in the Chamber of Deputies, which also has the sole power of impeachment, while the Senate has the sole power to try impeachment cases. The Congress meets in the Palace of Congress in Santo Domingo, the term Congress actually refers to a particular meeting of the national legislature, reckoned according to the terms of representatives. Congressional elections are held in even numbered years not divisible by four, suffrage is universal and compulsory for all Dominican citizens aged over 18 or under that age if married. The Congress of the Dominican Republic was founded after the drafting of the Constitution, on 6 November 1844, in the chapter 2 of this Constitution is mentioned how the Legislature would be divided into two legislative bodies called Tribunat and Conservative Council. Earlier, deputies and senators were elected by indirect and based on census vote, in 1854, the Constitution was amended to change the name of the Conservative Senate Council. The bicameral system was replaced in November 1865 after the Restoration of the Republic, separating the Congress in a House of Representatives. The Senate reappeared as house of Congress in the Constitution of 1908, during the first US intervention, Congress was dissolved not before elected president Francisco Henriquez y Carvajal. After the restoration of sovereignty, Congress was again restored. With the rise of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo to power, the Congress became a cover for his political ambitions. In 1935, Trujillo was appointed by the Congress president for life, instituted on January 11 of each year as the Day of the Benefactor, in 1941, Congress recognized the civil rights of women, allowing women to vote in the country. After Trujillos death, and after deposition of the government of Juan Bosch in 1963. However, President Urena had to resign two days later and applied for asylum, at this, the Congress appointed provisional president Francisco Alberto Caamaño Deñó, who took office on May 4 in front of a crowd at Independence Park. This Constitution was amended in 1994 to prohibit presidential re-election and separate congressional and presidential elections with 2 years apart, Congress passed a constitutional amendment in May 2002, to restore limited to 2 consecutive reelection
23.
Jarabacoa
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Jarabacoa is a town and the second largest municipality in La Vega Province, Dominican Republic. Although many historical details are unknown, it is very possible that the native people of the island inhabited the valley of Jarabacoa. It is assumed that the name was formed out of the words Jaraba and Coa. Some say that the Spanish conquistadors actually made it to Jarabacoa in their search for gold, but later abandoned the expedition. Some reasons include, resistance by the natives or as some say, because no large finds were ever made, Jarabacoa most likely belonged to the Chiefdom of Maguana making it part of the kingdom of Cibao. Necessary archaeological work has yet to place, but it can be assumed that the natives lived in the area long before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. In 1854, a military post was established and the town was formally founded, on September 27,1858 the town was incorporated as a municipality. Jarabacoa has a Tropical rainforest climate, due to its tropical location and high elevation, it has warm days and mild nights during most of the year, and temperate days and cool nights during a few winter months. Because of its mild temperatures, visitors have christened Jarabacoa as The City of Everlasting Spring, one of the main touristic attractions is the mountains and natural beauty of the area due to its location in the center of the Central Range. It is also one of the access to the Pico Duarte. Jarabacoa has three rivers, Baiguate, Jimenoa and the Yaque del Norte, the last two merge in the Confluencia, continuing on as the Yaque del Norte, the second largest river in the country. The coldest temperature recorded was 7.1 °C, on 24 February 2012. The local economy is based upon agriculture and it is known for its strawberries, coffee, pimento and ají pepper, the last two being grown in green houses. Jarabacoa it is known for its wide variety of flowers. Monasterio de Santa María del Evangelio, Cistercian Monastery, Jimenoa Waterfalls, Baiguate Waterfall, Constanza Valley, Ébano Verde Scientific Reserve. Wooden footbridge over the Jimenoa river, impressive rope and wood construction, crossing is recommended for those who enjoy extreme sports. Jamaca De Dios, restaurant and housing development, Jarabacoa Golf Club, 9-hole golf course. Escuela Caribe, The facility shown in Kidnapped for Christ, the local Carnival in February is one of the most famous in the country
24.
French language
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French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
25.
Politics of the Dominican Republic
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Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the National Congress, the Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. With the proclamation of the first constitution in the Dominican Republic on 6 November 1844 in the city of San Cristobal, the Dominican Republic would remain for the most part republican and representative. The Congress of the Dominican Republic consists of the Chamber of Deputies, the President of the Republic was presented as an impartial public figure that would provide a source of unity to the Republic. The Executive is charged with the administration of the state, subject to the oversight of the judicial. The President functions as the head of state, the head of government, the Dominican Cabinet is responsible for assisting the president in his duty to govern the nation and the President appoints ministers as he sees appropriate. The President and Vice President are elected on the ticket by popular vote for a four-year term without immediate re-election. After at least one term, a person who has held the post of President before may run for this Office again. Elections are held in years divisible by four. The Dominican Constitution takes twenty-seven paragraphs to spell out the extensive powers. The president also has vast emergency powers to suspend basic rights in times of emergency, to defer the legislature, to declare a state of siege, the 1966 Constitution provides for ministers and subcabinet ministers to assist in public administration. These officials must be Dominican citizens, at least twenty-five years of age, with full civil, the powers of the ministers are determined by law. However, the president is responsible for the actions of his ministers. Ministers serve at the discretion, and function both as administrators of their ministries and as agents of presidential authority. The military consists of about 45,000 active duty personnel and its principal mission is to defend the nation, but it serves more as an internal security force. The Dominican Republics military is second in size to Cubas in the Caribbean, the armed forces participate fully in counter-narcotics efforts. They also are active in efforts to control contraband and illegal immigration from Haiti to the Dominican Republic and from the Dominican Republic to the United States, legislative power is exercised by a bicameral National Congress. The upper house is the Senate with 32 members, elected for a term in single-seat constituencies
26.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
27.
Barcelona Centre for International Affairs
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The centre defines itself as an organisation that is «an independent, non partisan centre that contributes to ongoing international debates from the perspective of a major Mediterranean metropolis». CIDOB is currently the oldest think-tank in Spain, and one of the most influential in its field, the centres original name was, from 1973 onwards, Centre dInformació i Documentació Internacionals a Barcelona, thus giving rise to the acronym CIDOB. These titles still appear in quotes and references from other media, since 2013 the official name, in all cases and without translations, uses the English form Barcelona Centre for International Affairs. All these names no longer correspond to the acronym, though it has always been used exclusively to refer to the organisation. This original CIDOB was known as CIDOB Tercer Mundo or CIDOB-TM, with this aim in mind, CIDOB has taken full advantage of Barcelonas prominence as a Euro-Mediterranean capital that also has special links with Latin America. Josep Ribera continued to head CIDOB until December 2008, when he chose to step down after 35 years at the helm. His successor as director was, by decision of the Foundations Board of Trustees, Jordi Vaquer i Fanés, an International Relations doctor and researcher at CIDOB to that moment. In December 2012 Jordi Vaquer, just appointed head of the new Open Society Initiative for Europe, stepped down as director, the Foundation is headed by its chairman, Carles A. Gasòliba. The centre itself consists of a management team made up of the director, Jordi Bacaria, a coordinator, Anna Estrada, a managing director. The working staff is made up of researchers and specific staff responsible for the sections of information & web services, publications, activities, press, as of June 2013,30 people work at CIDOB. Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Spanish Ministry of Defence Interuniversity Council of Catalonia, CIDOB’s offices are divided between two historic buildings – nearby but not adjoining – on calle Elisabets in Barcelonas Raval district, very close to La Rambla and Plaça de Catalunya. They are Casa de la Misericòrdia and Casa dels Infants Orfes, the Casa de la Misericòrdia has, since 1988, housed the centres main installations, including the official head office, the archives and library, as well as Sala Maragall, the hall used for events. Originally, the formed part of the School of St William of Aquitaine, founded by the Augustine Order in 1587. During the Napoleonic invasion it served as headquarters of the citizens movement against the French occupation. The Casa dels Infants Orfes also dates back to the 16th century and it was built as the head office of the institution founded by Guillem dez Pou in 1370 to provide a home for orphans in the Diocese of Barcelona. It has an adjacent chapel, commissioned by Claudi Cosal in 1680, among the building’s later uses, it was a school run by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul and a convent for the Carmelites of Charity. The chapel lost all its religious furnishings and fittings during the Spanish Civil War, over the past decade, CIDOB has systematised its areas of research, by maintaining its traditional subjects/regions of interest and adding other, more specific ones. Currently, CIDOB operates three major programmes, People and Frontiers, A more secure life, and Democratic Governance, under these generic premises, research works cover both thematic and geographical areas
28.
C-SPAN
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C-SPAN, an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a public service. C-SPAN televises many proceedings of the United States federal government, as well as public affairs programming. Its coverage of political and policy events is unedited, thereby providing viewers with unfiltered information about politics, non-political coverage includes historical programming, programs dedicated to non-fiction books, and interview programs with noteworthy individuals associated with public policy. The network operates independently, and neither the cable industry nor Congress has control of the content of its programming, Congress and other public affairs event and policy discussions. Lamb shared his idea with several executives, who helped him launch the network. Among them were Bob Rosencrans who provided $25,000 of initial funding in 1979 and John D. Evans who provided the wiring and access to the headend needed for the distribution of the C-SPAN signal. C-SPAN was launched on March 19,1979, in time for the first televised session made available by the House of Representatives, upon its debut, only 3.5 million homes were wired for C-SPAN, and the network had just three employees. The second C-SPAN channel, C-SPAN2, followed on June 2,1986 when the U. S. Senate permitted itself to be televised, C-SPAN Radio began operations on October 9,1997, covering similar events as the television networks and often simulcasting their programming. The station broadcasts on WCSP in Washington, D. C. is also available on XM Satellite Radio channel 120 and is streamed live at c-span. org and it was formerly available on Sirius Satellite Radio from 2002 to 2006. Lamb semi-retired in March 2012, coinciding with the channels 33rd anniversary, on January 12,2017, the online feed for C-SPAN1 was interrupted and replaced by a feed from the Russian television network RT for approximately 10 minutes. C-SPAN announced that they were troubleshooting the incident and were operating under the assumption that it was an internal routing issue, C-SPAN celebrated its 10th anniversary in 1989 with a three-hour retrospective, featuring Lamb recalling the development of the network. Five years later, the series American Presidents, Life Portraits, in 2004, C-SPAN celebrated its 25th anniversary, by which time the flagship network was viewed in 86 million homes, C-SPAN2 was in 70 million homes and C-SPAN3 was in eight million homes. Also included in the 25th anniversary was an essay contest for viewers to write in about how C-SPAN has influenced their life regarding community service. For example, one essay contest winner wrote about how C-SPANs non-fiction book programming serves as a resource in his mission to record non-fiction audio books for people who are blind. The network also had an essay contest, the winner of which was invited to host an hour of the broadcast from C-SPANs Capitol Hill studios. C-SPAN continues to expand its coverage of government proceedings, with a history of requests to government officials for greater access, in December 2009, Lamb wrote to leaders in the House and Senate, requesting that negotiations for health care reform be televised by C-SPAN. Committee meetings on health care were broadcast subsequently by C-SPAN and may be viewed on the C-SPAN website, in November 2010, Lamb wrote to incoming House Speaker John Boehner requesting changes to restrictions on cameras in the House. In particular, C-SPAN asked to add some of its own robotically operated cameras to the existing government-controlled cameras in the House chamber, in February 2011, Boehner denied the request
29.
WorldCat
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WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories that participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc, the subscribing member libraries collectively maintain WorldCats database. OCLC was founded in 1967 under the leadership of Fred Kilgour and that same year, OCLC began to develop the union catalog technology that would later evolve into WorldCat, the first catalog records were added in 1971. It contains more than 330 million records, representing over 2 billion physical and digital assets in 485 languages and it is the worlds largest bibliographic database. OCLC makes WorldCat itself available free to libraries, but the catalog is the foundation for other subscribtion OCLC services, in 2006, it became possible to search WorldCat directly at its website. In 2007, WorldCat Identities began providing pages for 20 million identities, predominantly authors, WorldCat operates on a batch processing model rather than a real-time model. That is, WorldCat records are synchronized at intermittent intervals with the library catalogs instead of real-time or every day. Consequently, WorldCat shows that an item is owned by a particular library. WorldCat does not indicate whether or not an item is borrowed, lost, undergoing restoration or repair. Furthermore, WorldCat does not show whether or not a library owns multiple copies of a particular title, copac Faceted Application of Subject Terminology Library and Archives Canada Research Libraries UK Online Computer Library Center Grossman, Wendy M. Why you cant find a book in your search engine. Official website OCLC - Web scale discovery and delivery of library resources OCLC Bibliographic Formats and Standards WorldCat Identities
30.
The New York Times
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The New York Times is an American daily newspaper, founded and continuously published in New York City since September 18,1851, by The New York Times Company. The New York Times has won 119 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper, the papers print version in 2013 had the second-largest circulation, behind The Wall Street Journal, and the largest circulation among the metropolitan newspapers in the US. The New York Times is ranked 18th in the world by circulation, following industry trends, its weekday circulation had fallen in 2009 to fewer than one million. Nicknamed The Gray Lady, The New York Times has long been regarded within the industry as a newspaper of record. The New York Times international version, formerly the International Herald Tribune, is now called the New York Times International Edition, the papers motto, All the News Thats Fit to Print, appears in the upper left-hand corner of the front page. On Sunday, The New York Times is supplemented by the Sunday Review, The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Magazine and T, some other early investors of the company were Edwin B. Morgan and Edward B. We do not believe that everything in Society is either right or exactly wrong, —what is good we desire to preserve and improve, —what is evil, to exterminate. In 1852, the started a western division, The Times of California that arrived whenever a mail boat got to California. However, when local California newspapers came into prominence, the effort failed, the newspaper shortened its name to The New-York Times in 1857. It dropped the hyphen in the city name in the 1890s, One of the earliest public controversies it was involved with was the Mortara Affair, the subject of twenty editorials it published alone. At Newspaper Row, across from City Hall, Henry Raymond, owner and editor of The New York Times, averted the rioters with Gatling guns, in 1869, Raymond died, and George Jones took over as publisher. Tweed offered The New York Times five million dollars to not publish the story, in the 1880s, The New York Times transitioned gradually from editorially supporting Republican Party candidates to becoming more politically independent and analytical. In 1884, the paper supported Democrat Grover Cleveland in his first presidential campaign, while this move cost The New York Times readership among its more progressive and Republican readers, the paper eventually regained most of its lost ground within a few years. However, the newspaper was financially crippled by the Panic of 1893, the paper slowly acquired a reputation for even-handedness and accurate modern reporting, especially by the 1890s under the guidance of Ochs. Under Ochs guidance, continuing and expanding upon the Henry Raymond tradition, The New York Times achieved international scope, circulation, in 1910, the first air delivery of The New York Times to Philadelphia began. The New York Times first trans-Atlantic delivery by air to London occurred in 1919 by dirigible, airplane Edition was sent by plane to Chicago so it could be in the hands of Republican convention delegates by evening. In the 1940s, the extended its breadth and reach. The crossword began appearing regularly in 1942, and the section in 1946
31.
President of Dominican Republic
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The President of the Dominican Republic is both the head of state and head of government of the Dominican Republic. The presidential system was established in 1844, following the proclamation of the republic during the Dominican War of Independence, the President of the Dominican Republic is styled His Excellency during his time in office. His official residence is the National Palace, the current President of the Dominican Republic is Danilo Medina of the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana, who took office on 16 August 2012. The Constitution of the Dominican Republic, which was most recently amended in 2015, establishes the requirements, rights, the office can be held for up to two consecutive four-year terms. Persons who have completed their presidencies cannot run for the presidency again, the change of command takes place every four years, on 16 August, which is the day of the Restoration of the Republic, a national holiday. Prior to 2015, the President was limited to one consecutive term, commanders 30 March 1903 –21 April 1903, Richard G. McConnell 8 February 1904 –11 February 1904, James M. Miller U. S. High Commissioner September 1922 –1924, Benjamin Sumner Welles Commander of U. S
32.
Pedro Santana
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Don Pedro Santana y Familias, 1st Marquis of Las Carreras was a wealthy cattle rancher, soldier, politician and dictator of the Dominican Republic. He was born in the city of Hincha, which was part of the Colony of Santo Domingo and at the time, currently, Hinche is located in Haiti. He was the first constitutional President of the Dominican Republic, around 1805, Santana moved with his family to the Cibao valley, and later to El Seibo at the eastern part of the colony, where he eventually became a cattle rancher for two years. Santana was the Dominican Republics president during the years 1844–48, 1853–56, thereafter, Santana became Governor, with the rank of Captain General of the territory. He held those titles until 1862, Santana had great talent as a military leader, but was unable to leave his dictatorial personality on the battlefield. Though many historians criticise his rule as a disaster, Santana was meticulous in conducting public affairs. Santana also fought with distinction in the Revolution of July 7,1857, the Congress of the Dominican Republic awarded Santana the title of “Liberator of the Nation” on July 18,1849 for his victory in the Battle of Las Carreras. He is considered a brilliant military strategist, and was a key figure in the separation of the Dominican Republic from Haiti. But many historians think that some of his later actions barred him from becoming a national hero. After he drove the Haitian army out of the country in the Dominican War of Independence, Santana felt that the new nation could not survive without being annexed to Spain, which the Trinitarian Independentists did not accept. He relentlessly arrested or exiled members of La Trinitaria, the very first person that was forced out of the country was Juan Pablo Duarte, founding father of the new Dominican Republic. Santana attacked María Trinidad Sánchez, the first heroine of the Republic and she and Concepción Bona made the first national flag. Santana imprisoned her, tortured her, and sentenced her to death when she refused to name conspirators against him in the independent republic. Exactly one year after the proclamation of Independence María Trinidad Sánchez was executed by a firing squad and this made her the first female martyr of the republic. Dominican Republic Heads of State Pedro Santana Familias by Miosotis de Jesus
Pronunciation of "Leonel Fernández") (born December 26, 1953) is a Dominican lawyer, academic, and was President of the Dominican Republic from 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2012. Since January 2016, he is the President of the EU-LAC Foundation.[1]
