1.
Los Angeles
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Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L. A. is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California. With a census-estimated 2015 population of 3,971,883, it is the second-most populous city in the United States, Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States. The citys inhabitants are referred to as Angelenos, historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was founded on September 4,1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence, in 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4,1850, the discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city. The completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, delivering water from Eastern California, nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, and sprawling metropolis. Los Angeles also has an economy in culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, education, medicine. A global city, it has been ranked 6th in the Global Cities Index, the city is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States. The Los Angeles combined statistical area has a gross metropolitan product of $831 billion, making it the third-largest in the world, after the Greater Tokyo and New York metropolitan areas. The city has hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984 and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics and thus become the second city after London to have hosted the Games three times. The Los Angeles area also hosted the 1994 FIFA mens World Cup final match as well as the 1999 FIFA womens World Cup final match, the mens event was watched on television by over 700 million people worldwide. The Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva, a Gabrielino settlement in the area was called iyáangẚ, meaning poison oak place. Gaspar de Portolà and Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2,1769, in 1771, Franciscan friar Junípero Serra directed the building of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the first mission in the area. The Queen of the Angels is an honorific of the Virgin Mary, two-thirds of the settlers were mestizo or mulatto with a mixture of African, indigenous and European ancestry. The settlement remained a small town for decades, but by 1820. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the district of Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza and Olvera Street. New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, during Mexican rule, Governor Pío Pico made Los Angeles Alta Californias regional capital
2.
Northeastern United States
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The Northeast is one of the four regions defined by the Census Bureau for the collection and analysis of statistics. The Census Bureau-defined region has an area of 181,324 sq mi with 162,257 square miles of that being land mass. Though lacking a unified identity, the Northeastern region is the nations most economically developed, densely populated. Of the nations four census regions, the Northeast is the second most urban, with 85 percent of its residing in urban areas. The region is subdivided into New England and the Mid-Atlantic States and this definition has been essentially unchanged since 1880 and is widely used as a standard for data tabulation. C. Similarly, the Geological Society of America defines the Northeast as these same states but with the addition of Maryland, the narrowest definitions include only the states of New England. Other more restrictive definitions include New England and New York as part of the Northeast United States, States beyond the Census Bureau definition that other entities include in the Northeast United States are, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington, D. C. Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D. C. and West Virginia Delaware, Maryland, Washington, most did not settle in North America until the 17th century. Among the many tribes that inhabited this area were those made up the Iroquois nations. In the United States of the 21st century,18 federally recognized tribes reside in the Northeast, the two cultural and geographic regions that form parts of the Northeastern region have distinct histories. The first Europeans to settle New England were Pilgrims from England, the Pilgrims arrived by the Mayflower ship and founded Plymouth Colony so they could practice religion freely. Ten years later, a group of Puritans settled north of Plymouth Colony in Boston to form Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1636, colonists established Connecticut Colony and Providence Plantations, Providence was founded by Roger Williams, who was banished by Massachusetts for his beliefs in freedom of religion, and it was the first colony to guarantee all citizens freedom of worship. Anne Hutchinson, who was banished by Massachusetts, formed the town of Portsmouth. Providence, Portsmouth, and two towns consolidated to form the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Although the first settlers of New England were motivated by religion, in recent history. In a 2009 Gallup survey, less than half of residents in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts reported religion as an important part of their daily life. In a 2010 Gallup survey, less than 30% of residents in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New England played a prominent role in early American education
3.
Northern Virginia
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With 2.8 million residents, it is the most populous region of Virginia and the Washington metropolitan area. Communities in the form the Virginia portion of the Washington metropolitan area. Notable features of the include the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency, and the many companies which serve them. The areas attractions include various monuments and Colonial and Civil War-era sites such as Mount Vernon and Arlington National Cemetery and it is the most affluent region in the nation. g. Eastern United States vs. western Massachusetts, the name Northern Virginia does not seem to have been used in the early history of the area. The Fairfax line, surveyed in 1746, ran from the first spring of the Potomac to the first spring of the Rappahannock, at the head of the Conway River. The Northern Neck was composed of 5,282,000 acres, at some point, these eastern counties came to be called separately simply the Northern Neck, and, for the remaining area west of them, the term was no longer used. One of the most prominent early mentions of Northern Virginia as a title was the naming of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War. The most common definition of Northern Virginia includes those counties and independent cities on the Virginia side of the Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia Combined Statistical Area. Most narrowly defined, Northern Virginia consists of the counties of Arlington and Fairfax, as well as the independent cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, businesses, governments and non-profit agencies may define the area considered Northern Virginia differently for various purposes. Eight of his supporters were named, among them Thomas Culpeper. On February 25,1673, a new charter was given to Thomas Lord Culpeper, Lord Culpeper was named the Royal Governor of Virginia from 1677–1683. Culpeper County was later named for him when it was formed in 1749, however, in 1682 rioting in the colony forced him to return, but by the time he arrived, the riots were already quelled. After apparently misappropriating £9,500 from the treasury of the colony, he returned to England, during this tumultuous time, Culpepers erratic behavior meant that he had to rely increasingly on his cousin and Virginia agent, Col. Nicholas Spencer. Spencer succeeded Culpeper as acting Governor upon Lord Culpepers departure from the colony, for many years, Lord Culpepers descendants allowed men in Virginia to manage the properties. The lands of Lord Fairfax were defined as that between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers, and were called the Northern Neck. In 1746 a back line was surveyed and established between the headwaters of the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers, defining the west end of the grants. According to documents held by the Handley Regional Library of the Winchester–Frederick County Historical Society, Lord Fairfax was a lifelong bachelor, and became one of the more well-known persons of the late colonial era
4.
Texas
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Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Other major cities include Austin, the second most populous state capital in the U. S. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the states struggle for independence from Mexico. The Lone Star can be found on the Texan state flag, the origin of Texass name is from the word Tejas, which means friends in the Caddo language. Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, although Texas is popularly associated with the U. S. southwestern deserts, less than 10 percent of Texas land area is desert. Most of the centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, the term six flags over Texas refers to several nations that have ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas, Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state, the states annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846. A slave state before the American Civil War, Texas declared its secession from the U. S. in early 1861, after the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. One Texan industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle, due to its long history as a center of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The states economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century, when oil discoveries initiated a boom in the state. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy, as of 2010 it shares the top of the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with California at 57. With a growing base of industry, the leads in many industries, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace. Texas has led the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product. The name Texas, based on the Caddo word tejas meaning friends or allies, was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves, during Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas, La Provincia de Texas. Texas is the second largest U. S. state, behind Alaska, though 10 percent larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan, it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size. If it were an independent country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile, Texas is in the south central part of the United States of America. Three of its borders are defined by rivers, the Rio Grande forms a natural border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south
5.
Western United States
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The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West, the Far West, or simply the West, traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because European settlement in the U. S. expanded westward after its founding, prior to about 1800, the crest of the Appalachian Mountains was seen as the western frontier. Since then, the frontier moved westward and eventually lands west of the Mississippi River came to be referred to as the West. The West contains several major biomes, the Western U. S. is the largest region of the country, covering more than half the land area of the United States. Given this expansive and diverse geography it is no wonder the region is difficult to specifically define, a majority of the historian respondents placed the eastern boundary of the West east of the Census definition out on the eastern edge of the Great Plains or on the Mississippi River. The survey respondents as a whole showed just how little agreement there was on the boundaries of the West, within a region as large and diverse as the Western United States, smaller areas with more closely shared demographics and geography have developed as subregions. Meanwhile, the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington can be considered part of the Northwest or Pacific Northwest, West Texas in the Chihuahuan Desert may be considered as part of the Western U. S. Fort Worth has long laid claim to be Where the West Begins, the West is still one of the most sparsely settled areas in the United States with 49.5 inhabitants per square mile. Only Texas with 78.0 inhabitants/sq mi, Washington with 86.0 inhabitants/sq mi. and California with 213.4 inhabitants/sq mi. exceed the national average of 77.98 inhabitants/sq mi. The entire Western region has also strongly influenced by European, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Native Americans. African and European Americans, however, continue to wield a stronger political influence because of the rates of citizenship and voting among Asians. The West also contains much of the Native American population in the U. S. particularly in the reservations in the Mountain. The Western United States has a sex ratio than any other region in the United States. Because the tide of development had not yet reached most of the West when conservation became an issue, agencies of the federal government own. National parks are reserved for activities such as fishing, camping, hiking, and boating, but other government lands also allow commercial activities like ranching, logging. The largest city in the region is Los Angeles, located on the West Coast, Other West Coast cities include San Diego, San Bernardino, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Bakersfield, Sacramento, Seattle, Tacoma, and Portland. Prominent cities in the Mountain States include Denver, Colorado Springs, Phoenix, Tucson, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Boise, El Paso, and Cheyenne. Along the Pacific Ocean coast lie the Coast Ranges, which and they collect a large part of the airborne moisture moving in from the ocean
6.
Isan language
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Isan is a group of Lao varieties spoken in the northern two-thirds of Isan in northeastern Thailand, as well as in adjacent portions of Northern and Eastern Thailand. It is the language of the Isan people, spoken by 20 million or so people in Thailand. The language remains the language in 88% of households in Isan. The Isan language has unofficial status in Thailand and can be differentiated as a whole from the Lao language of Laos by the use of Thai grammar, vocabulary. Code-switching is common, depending on the context or situation, adoption of Thai neologisms has also further differentiated Isan from standard Lao. The Tai languages originated in what is known as central and southern China in an area stretching from Yunnan to Guangdong as well as Hainan. Tai speakers arrived in South-East Asia around 1000 CE, displacing or absorbing earlier peoples and setting up mueang on the peripheries of the Indianised kingdoms of the Mon, the Tai kingdoms of the Mekong Valley became tributaries of the Lan Xang mandala from 1354-1707. Lan Xang split into the Kingdom of Vientiane, the Kingdom of Luang Phrabang and the Kingdom of Champasak and this weakened the Lao kingdoms as the population was shifted to the kingdoms in Isan and small pockets of western and north-central Thailand, under greater Thai control. In 1904, Sainyabuli and Champasak were ceded to France, leading to the current borders between Thailand and Laos today, a 25 km demilitarised zone west of the river banks allowed for easy crossing, and Isan remained largely neglected for sometime. Rebellions against Siamese and French incursions into the region included the Holy Mans Rebellion, the Lao people also joined in the rebellion, but was crushed by Thai troops in Isan. Heavy-handed nationalist policies were adopted in 1933 with the end of the monarchy in Thailand. Many were instituted during the premiership of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram, although Lao languages were banned from education in 1871, a new public education and new schools were built throughout Isan, and only Thai was to be used by government and media. References to Lao people were erased and propagation of Thai nationalism was instilled in the populace, the language was renamed Northeastern Thai. Although this blatant discrimination is rarer these days, most of these nationalistic Thaification policies remain in effect, during the course of World War II and afterwards, the Free Thai Movement bases in Isan made links with the Lao Issara movement. After the implementation of Thaification policies, many prominent Isan politicians were assassinated, the Communist Party of Thailand led insurrections during the 1960s and 1980s, supported by the communist Pathet Lao and some factions of the Isan populace. Integration continued, as highways and other infrastructure were built to link Isan with the rest of Thailand, due to population pressures and unreliable monsoons of the region, Isan people began migrating to Bangkok for employment. Isan speakers began to shift to the Thai language, and the language itself is absorbing larger amounts of Thai vocabulary, universities such as Mahasarakham and Khon Kaen are now offering classes on Isan language, culture, and literature. Attitudes towards regional cultures have relaxed and the continues to be spoken
7.
Thai language
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Thai, also known as Siamese or Central Thai, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people and the vast majority of Thai Chinese. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family, over half of the words in Thai are borrowed from Pali, Sanskrit and Old Khmer. It is a tonal and analytic language, Thai also has a complex orthography and relational markers. Spoken Thai is mutually intelligible with Laotian, Thai is the official language of Thailand, natively spoken by over 20 million people. Standard Thai is based on the register of the classes of Bangkok. In addition to Central Thai, Thailand is home to other related Tai languages, Isan, the language of the Isan region of Thailand, a collective term for the various Lao dialects spoken in Thailand that show some Siamese Thai influences, which is written with the Thai script. It is spoken by about 20 million people, Thais from both inside and outside the Isan region often simply call this variant Lao when speaking informally. Northern Thai, spoken by about 6 million in the independent kingdom of Lanna. Shares strong similarities with Lao to the point that in the past the Siamese Thais referred to it as Lao. Southern Thai, spoken by about 4.5 million Phu Thai, spoken by half a million around Nakhon Phanom Province. Phuan, spoken by 200,000 in central Thailand and Isan, Shan, spoken by about 100,000 in north-west Thailand along the border with the Shan States of Burma, and by 3.2 million in Burma. Lü, spoken by about 1,000,000 in northern Thailand, and 600,000 more in Sipsong Panna, Burma, nyaw language, spoken by 50,000 in Nakhon Phanom Province, Sakhon Nakhon Province, Udon Thani Province of Northeast Thailand. Song, spoken by about 30,000 in central and northern Thailand, Elegant or Formal Thai, official and written version, includes respectful terms of address, used in simplified form in newspapers. Rhetorical Thai, used for public speaking, religious Thai, used when discussing Buddhism or addressing monks. Royal Thai, influenced by Khmer, this is used when addressing members of the family or describing their activities. Most Thais can speak and understand all of these contexts, street and Elegant Thai are the basis of all conversations. Rhetorical, religious, and royal Thai are taught in schools as the national curriculum, many scholars believe that the Thai script is derived from the Khmer script, which is modeled after the Brahmic script from the Indic family. However, in appearance, Thai is closer to Thai Dam script, the language and its script are closely related to the Lao language and script
8.
Theravada Buddhism
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Theravāda is a branch of Buddhism that uses the Buddhas teaching preserved in the Pāli Canon as its doctrinal core. The Pali canon is the only complete Buddhist canon which survives in a classical Indic Language, Pali, another feature of Theravada is that it tends to be very conservative about matters of doctrine and monastic discipline. As a distinct sect, Theravada Buddhism developed in Sri Lanka, Theravada also includes a rich diversity of traditions and practices that have developed over its long history of interactions with varying cultures and religious communities. It is the dominant form of religion in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and is practiced by minority groups in Bangladesh, China, Nepal, and Vietnam. In addition, the diaspora of all of these groups as well as converts around the world practice Theravāda Buddhism, contemporary expressions include Buddhist modernism, the Vipassana movement and the Thai Forest Tradition. The name Theravāda comes from the ancestral Sthāvirīya, one of the early Buddhist schools, according to its own accounts, the Theravāda school is fundamentally derived from the Vibhajjavāda doctrine of analysis grouping, which was a division of the Sthāvirīya. Significantly, the Sthāviras in turn comprise three sub-nikāyas, the Jetavanīyas, the Abhayagirivāsins, and the Mahāvihāravāsins, according to Damien Keown, there is no historical evidence that the Theravāda school arose until around two centuries after the Great Schism which occurred at the Third Council. These teachings were known as the Vibhajjavada, emperor Ashoka is supposed to have assisted in purifying the sangha by expelling monks who failed to agree to the terms of Third Council. The elder monk Moggaliputta-Tissa was at the head of the Third council and compiled the Kathavatthu, later, the Vibhajjavādins in turn is said to have split into four groups, the Mahīśāsaka, Kāśyapīya, Dharmaguptaka, and the Tāmraparṇīya. The Theravāda is said to be descended from the Tāmraparṇīya sect, the most distinctive features of this phase and virtually the only contemporary historical material, are the numerous Brahmi inscriptions associated with these caves. They record gifts to the sangha, significantly by householders and chiefs rather than by kings, the Buddhist religion itself does not seem to have established undisputed authority until the reigns of Dutthagamani and Vattagamani. The first records of Buddha images come from the reign of king Vasabha, in the 7th century, the Chinese pilgrim monks Xuanzang and Yijing refer to the Buddhist schools in Sri Lanka as Shàngzuòbù, corresponding to the Sanskrit Sthavira nikāya and Pali Thera Nikāya. Yijing writes, In Sri Lanka the Sthavira school alone flourishes, the school has been using the name Theravāda for itself in a written form since at least the 4th century, about one thousand years after the Buddhas death, when the term appears in the Dīpavaṁsa. According to Buddhist scholar A. K. Warder, the Theravāda, spread rapidly south from Avanti into Maharashtra and Andhra and down to the Chola country, as well as Sri Lanka. According to Richard Gombrich this is the earliest record we have of Buddhist scriptures being committed to writing anywhere, the Theravada Pali texts which have survived are derived from the Mahavihara of Anuradhapura, the ancient Sri Lankan capital. Later developments included the formation and recording of the Theravada commentary literature, the Theravada tradition records that even during the early days of Mahinda, there was already a tradition of Indian commentaries on the scriptures. Of great importance to the tradition is the work of the great Theravada scholastic Buddhaghosa. Buddhaghosa wrote in Pali, and after him, most Sri Lankan Buddhist scholastics did as well and this allowed the Sri Lankan tradition to become more international through a lingua franca so as to converse with monks in India and later Southeast Asia
9.
Christian
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A Christian is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christian derives from the Koine Greek word Christós, a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term mashiach, while there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term Christian is also used as an adjective to describe anything associated with Christianity, or in a sense all that is noble, and good. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, by 2050, the Christian population is expected to exceed 3 billion. According to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey Christianity will remain the worlds largest religion in 2050, about half of all Christians worldwide are Catholic, while more than a third are Protestant. Orthodox communions comprise 12% of the worlds Christians, other Christian groups make up the remainder. Christians make up the majority of the population in 158 countries and territories,280 million Christian live as a minority. In the Greek Septuagint, christos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ, in other European languages, equivalent words to Christian are likewise derived from the Greek, such as Chrétien in French and Cristiano in Spanish. The second mention of the term follows in Acts 26,28, where Herod Agrippa II replied to Paul the Apostle, Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. The third and final New Testament reference to the term is in 1 Peter 4,16, which believers, Yet if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed. The city of Antioch, where someone gave them the name Christians, had a reputation for coming up with such nicknames, in the Annals he relates that by vulgar appellation commonly called Christians and identifies Christians as Neros scapegoats for the Great Fire of Rome. Another term for Christians which appears in the New Testament is Nazarenes which is used by the Jewish lawyer Tertullus in Acts 24, the Hebrew equivalent of Nazarenes, Notzrim, occurs in the Babylonian Talmud, and is still the modern Israeli Hebrew term for Christian. A wide range of beliefs and practices is found across the world among those who call themselves Christian, denominations and sects disagree on a common definition of Christianity. Most Baptists and fundamentalists, for example, would not acknowledge Mormonism or Christian Science as Christian, in fact, the nearly 77 percent of Americans who self-identify as Christian are a diverse pluribus of Christianities that are far from any collective unity. The identification of Jesus as the Messiah is not accepted by Judaism, the term for a Christian in Hebrew is נוּצְרי, a Talmudic term originally derived from the fact that Jesus came from the Galilean village of Nazareth, today in northern Israel. Adherents of Messianic Judaism are referred to in modern Hebrew as יְהוּדִים מָשִׁיחַיים, the term Nasara rose to prominence in July 2014, after the Fall of Mosul to the terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The nun or ن— the first letter of Nasara—was spray-painted on the property of Christians ejected from the city, where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi is used by Christians themselves for those with a religious faith in Jesus. In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim Western foreigners, another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is Ṣalībī from ṣalīb which refers to Crusaders and has negative connotations
10.
Thai people
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The Thai people or Thais, formerly known also as Siamese, are a nation and Tai ethnic group native to Southeast Asia, primarily Thailand. Majority of Thais are followers of Theravada Buddhism, Thai people usually includes central and southern Thai, northern Thai and Isan people. The term Thai people has a meaning and sometimes also refers to the population of Thailand in general. There have been many theories proposing the origin of the Tai peoples, especially the association of the Tai people with the Kingdom of Nanzhao that has been proved to be invalid. Linguistic studies suggested that the origin of the Tai people lies around the Chinese Province of Guangxi, the ancient Tai people should be the part of Chinese Nanyue, referred to by Han leaders as foreign servant, synecdoche for a vassal state. The Qin dynasty founded Guangdong in 214 BC, initiating the successive waves of Chinese migrations from the north for hundreds of years to come, with the political and cultural pressures from the north, some Tai peoples migrated south where they met the classical Indianized civilizations of Southeast Asia. According to linguistic and other evidence, the southwestward migration of Tai-speaking tribes from Guangxi took place sometime between the 8th-10th centuries. The Tais who came to the area of present-day Thailand were engulfed into the Theravada Buddhism of the Mon, therefore, the Thai culture is a mixture of Tai traditions with Indic, Mon, and Khmer influcences. Early Thai chiefdoms included the Sukhothai Kingdom and Suphan Buri Province, the Lavo Kingdom, which was the center of Khmer culture in Chao Phraya valley, was also the rallying point for the Thais. The Thai were called Siam by the Angkorians and they appeared on the bas relief at Angkor Wat as a part of the army of Lavo Kingdom, sometimes the Thai chiefdoms in the Chao Phraya valley were put under the Angkorian control under strong monarchs but they were mostly independent. A new city-state known as Ayutthaya, named after the Indian city of Ayodhya, was founded by Ramathibodi, inspired by the then Hindu-based Khmer Empire, the Ayutthayan empires continued conquests led to more Thai settlements as the Khmer empire weakened after their defeat at Angkor in 1431. During this period, the Ayutthayans developed a system as various vassal states paid homage to the Ayutthayans kings. Even as Thai power expanded at the expense of the Mon and Khmer, in his paper Jek pon Lao, Sujit Wongthet, who describes himself in the paper as a Chinese mixed with Lao, claims that the present-day Thai are really Chinese mixed with Lao. He insinuates that the Thai are no longer a well-defined race, the biggest and most influential group are Thais of Chinese origin. The Thai learned from European traders and diplomats, while maintaining an independent course, Thailand is also the only country in Southeast Asia that was not colonized by European powers in modern history. The concept of a Thai nation was not developed until the beginning 20th century under King Rama VI, before this era, Thai did not even have a word for nation. He also imposed the idea of Thai-ness on his subjects and strictly defined what was Thai and un-Thai, minorities were forced to assimilate and regional peculiarities of northern, northeastern and southern Thailand were repressed in favour of one homogenous Thai culture. As a result, many citizens of Thailand cannot differentiate between their nationality and ethnic origin and it is very easy for Jek เจ๊ก and Khaek แขก, after several generations in Thailand, to declare themselves chuea-chat Thai and to ignore or conveniently set aside the race of their forefathers
11.
Asian Americans
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Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The term refers to a group that includes diverse populations who have ancestral origins in East Asia, Southeast Asia, or South Asia. This includes people who indicate their race on the census as Asian or reported entries such as Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Other Asian. Asian Americans with no other ancestry comprise 4. 8% of the U. S. population, although migrants from Asia have been in parts of the contemporary United States since the 17th century, large-scale immigration did not begin until the mid-18th century. Nativist immigration laws during the 1880s-1920s excluded various Asian groups, eventually prohibiting almost all Asian immigration to the continental United States, after immigration laws were reformed during the 1940s-60s, abolishing national origins quotas, Asian immigration increased rapidly. Analyses of the 2010 census have shown that Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial or ethnic minority in the United States, starting in the first few years of the 2000 decade, Asian American earnings began exceeding all other racial groups for both men and women. For example, in 2008 Asian Americans had the highest median household income overall of any racial demographic, in 2012, Asian Americans had the highest educational attainment level and median household income of any racial demographic in the country. In 2015, Asian American men were the highest earning racial group as they earned 117% as much as white American men, once country of birth and other demographic factors are taken into account, Asian Americans are no more likely than non-Hispanic whites to live in poverty. As with other racial and ethnicity based terms, formal and common usage have changed markedly through the history of this term. Prior to the late 1960s, people of Asian ancestry were referred to as Oriental, Asiatic. Today, Asian American is the term for most formal purposes, such as government and academic research. The most commonly used definition of Asian American is the US Census Bureau definition, which all people with origins in the Far East, Southeast Asia. This is chiefly because the census definitions determine many government classifications, notably for equal opportunity programs, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, Asian person in the United States is sometimes thought of as a person of East Asian descent. In vernacular usage, Asian is often used to refer to those of East Asian descent or anyone else of Asian descent with epicanthic eyefolds. This differs from the U. S. Census definition and the Asian American Studies departments in many universities consider all those of East, before 1980, Census forms listed particular Asian ancestries as separate groups, along with white and black or negro. Asian Americans had also been classified as other, in 1977, the federal Office of Management and Budget issued a directive requiring government agencies to maintain statistics on racial groups, including on Asian or Pacific Islander. The 1980 census marked the first classification of Asians as a large group, by the 1990 census, Asian or Pacific Islander was included as an explicit category, although respondents had to select one particular ancestry as a subcategory. The 2000 census onwards separated the category into two separate ones, Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, the definition of Asian American has variations that derive from the use of the word American in different contexts
12.
Americans
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Americans are citizens of the United States of America. The country is home to people of different national origins. As a result, Americans do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, although citizens make up the majority of Americans, non-citizen residents, dual citizens, and expatriates may also claim an American identity. See Names for United States citizens. S, virgin Islands and Northern Mariana Islands in the 20th century. It also includes influences of African-American culture, westward expansion integrated the Creoles and Cajuns of Louisiana and the Hispanos of the Southwest and brought close contact with the culture of Mexico. Large-scale immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from Southern and Eastern Europe introduced a variety of elements, immigration from Asia, Africa, and Latin America has also had impact. A cultural melting pot, or pluralistic salad bowl, describes the way in which generations of Americans have celebrated and exchanged distinctive cultural characteristics, in addition to the United States, Americans and people of American descent can be found internationally. As many as seven million Americans are estimated to be living abroad, the United States of America is a diverse country, racially, and ethnically. Some other race is also an option in the census and other surveys, people of European descent, or White Americans, constitute the majority of the 308 million people living in the United States, with 72. 4% of the population in the 2010 United States Census. They are considered people who trace their ancestry to the peoples of Europe, the Middle East. Of those reporting to be White American,7,487,133 reported to be Multiracial, with largest combination being white, additionally, there are 29,184,290 White Hispanics or Latinos. Non-Hispanic Whites are the majority in 46 states, there are four minority-majority states, California, Texas, New Mexico, and Hawaii. In addition, the District of Columbia has a non-white majority, the state with the highest percentage of non-Hispanic White Americans is Maine. The largest continental ancestral group of Americans are that of Europeans who have origins in any of the peoples of Europe. This includes people via African, North American, Caribbean, Central American or South American and Oceanian nations that have a large European diaspora, the Spanish were the first Europeans to establish a continuous presence in what is now the United States. Martín de Argüelles born 1566, San Agustín, La Florida, was the first person of European descent born in what is now the United States. Twenty-one years later, Virginia Dare born 1587 Roanoke Island in present-day North Carolina, was the first child born in the Thirteen Colonies to English parents. 8% of the total population, Hispanic or Latino Americans constitute the largest ethnic minority in the United States. They form the second largest group after non-Hispanic Whites in the United States, hispanic/Latino Americans are very racially diverse, and as a result form an ethnic category, rather than a race
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Thai Chinese
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Thai Chinese consist of people of full or partial Chinese ancestry – particularly Han Chinese. Thailand is home to the largest overseas Chinese community in the world with a population of nine million people. It is also the oldest, most prominent, and best integrated overseas Chinese community, slightly more than half of the ethnic Chinese population in Thailand trace their ancestry to eastern Guangdong Province. This is evidenced by the prevalence of the Minnan Chaozhou dialect among the Chinese in Thailand, a minority trace their ancestry to Hakka and Hainanese immigrants. The Thai Chinese have been deeply ingrained into all elements of Thai society over the past 200 years, the present Thai royal family, the Chakri Dynasty, was founded by King Rama I who himself was partly Chinese. His predecessor, King Taksin of the Thonburi Dynasty, was the son of a Chinese immigrant from Guangdong Province, many Thai Chinese have assimilated into Thai society and self-identify solely as Thai. Thailand has the largest overseas Chinese community in the world, fourteen percent of Thailands population is considered ethnic Chinese. Nonetheless, nearly all Thai Chinese self-identify as Thai, due to their close integration, Han Chinese traders, mostly from Fujian and Guangdong, began arriving in Ayutthaya by at least the 13th century. Ayutthaya was under almost constant Burmese threat from the 16th century onward, from 1766-1769, the Qianlong Emperor sent his armies four times to subdue the Burmese, but the Sino-Burmese Wars ended in complete failure, and Ayutthaya fell in the Burmese–Siamese War. However, the Chinese efforts did divert the attention of Burmas Siam army, General Taksin, himself the son of a Chinese immigrant, took advantage of this to organize his force and attack the Burmese invaders. When he became king, Taksin actively encouraged Chinese immigration and trade, settlers mainly from Chaozhou prefecture came to Siam in large numbers. Immigration continued over the years, and the Chinese population in Thailand jumped from 230,000 in 1825 to 792,000 by 1910. By 1932, approximately 12.2 percent of the population of Thailand was Chinese, however, the early Chinese immigration consisted almost entirely of men who married Thai women. The children of marriages were called Sino-Thai or luk-jin in Thai. These Chinese-Thai intermarriages declined in the early 20th century, when numbers of Chinese women also began immigrating to Thailand in the early 20th century. The corruption of the Qing Dynasty and the population increase in China, along with very high taxes. If successful, they sent money back to their families in China, many Chinese immigrants prospered under the tax farming system, whereby private individuals were sold the right to collect taxes at a price below the value of the tax revenues. In the late 19th century, when Thailand was struggling to defend its independence from the colonial powers, Thai nationalist attitudes at all levels were thus colored by anti-Chinese sentiment
14.
Chang and Eng Bunker
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Chang and Eng Bunker were Thai-American conjoined twin brothers whose condition and birthplace became the basis for the term Siamese twins. The Bunker brothers were born on May 11,1811, in the province of Samutsongkram, near Bangkok and their fisherman father was a Chinese Thai, while their mother, Nok, was half-Chinese and half-Malay. Because of their Chinese heritage, they were known locally as the Chinese Twins, the brothers were joined at the sternum by a small piece of cartilage, and though their livers were fused, they were independently complete. In 1829, Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant who lived in Bangkok, saw the twins swimming and he paid their parents to permit him to exhibit their sons as a curiosity on a world tour. When their contract with Hunter was over, Chang and Eng went into business for themselves, in 1839, while visiting Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the brothers were attracted to the area and purchased a 110-acre farm in nearby Traphill. Determined to live as normal a life they could, Chang and Eng settled on their small plantation, using their adopted name Bunker, they married local women on April 13,1843. Chang wed Adelaide Yates, while Eng married her sister, Sarah Anne, the twins also became naturalized American citizens. The couples shared a bed built for four in their Traphill home, Chang and Adelaide would become the parents of twelve children. However, Chichester disputes this number of children, stating Eng had 11, after a number of years, the sisters began to dislike each other and separate households were set up west of Mount Airy, North Carolina in the town of White Plains. The brothers would spend three days at each home. During the American Civil War, Changs son Christopher and Engs son Stephen both served in the Confederate army, the twins lost most of their money with the defeat of the Confederacy and became very bitter. They returned to public exhibitions, but this time they had little success, nevertheless, they maintained a high reputation for honesty and integrity, and they were highly respected by their neighbors. In 1870, Chang suffered a stroke and his health declined over the four years. Despite his brothers ailing condition, Eng remained in good health, shortly before his death, Chang was injured after falling from a carriage. He then developed a case of bronchitis. On January 17,1874, Chang died while the brothers were asleep, Eng awoke to find his brother dead and cried, Then I am going. A doctor was summoned to perform a separation, but he was too late. Eng died approximately three hours later, an autopsy revealed that Chang had died of a cerebral blood clot but Engs cause of death remains uncertain
15.
White Plains, North Carolina
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White Plains is a census-designated place in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,049 at the 2000 census, White Plains is located at 36°26′25″N 80°38′10″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has an area of 4.1 square miles. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,049 people,459 households, the population density was 257.4 people per square mile. There were 506 housing units at a density of 124.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 98. 28% White,0. 29% African American,0. 10% Native American,0. 29% Asian,0. 19% Pacific Islander,0. 57% from other races, and 0. 29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0. 95% of the population,27. 7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8. 9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the family size was 2.77. In the CDP, the population was out with 21. 2% under the age of 18,8. 4% from 18 to 24,28. 6% from 25 to 44,27. 4% from 45 to 64. The median age was 39 years, for every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.6 males, the median income for a household in the CDP was $34,079, and the median income for a family was $54,500. Males had an income of $30,852 versus $25,100 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $16,284, about 1. 9% of families and 7. 8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4. 2% of those under age 18 and 27. 7% of those age 65 or over. Eng and Chang Bunker, the original Siamese Twins, lived in White Plains and are buried there at White Plains Baptist Church cemetery
16.
North Carolina
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North Carolina is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west, Virginia to the north, North Carolina is the 28th most extensive and the 9th most populous of the U. S. states. The state is divided into 100 counties, the most populous municipality is Charlotte, which is the second largest banking center in the United States after New York City. The state has a range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to 6,684 feet at Mount Mitchell. The climate of the plains is strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the falls in the humid subtropical climate zone. More than 300 miles from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a highland climate. North Carolina is bordered by South Carolina on the south, Georgia on the southwest, Tennessee on the west, Virginia on the north, the United States Census Bureau places North Carolina in the South Atlantic division of the southern region. So many ships have been lost off Cape Hatteras that the area is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, the most famous of these is the Queen Annes Revenge, which went aground in Beaufort Inlet in 1718. The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, the Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the states most populous region, containing the six largest cities in the state by population. It consists of rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. The Piedmont ranges from about 300 feet in elevation in the east to about 1,500 feet in the west, the western section of the state is part of the Appalachian Mountain range. Among the subranges of the Appalachians located in the state are the Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, the Black Mountains are the highest in the eastern United States, and culminate in Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet, the highest point east of the Mississippi River. North Carolina has 17 major river basins, the five basins west of the Blue Ridge Mountains flow to the Gulf of Mexico, while the remainder flow to the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 17 basins,11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the states border – the Cape Fear, the Neuse, the White Oak, and the Tar-Pamlico basin. Elevation above sea level is most responsible for temperature change across the state, the climate is also influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream, especially in the coastal plain. These influences tend to cause warmer winter temperatures along the coast, the coastal plain averages around 1 inch of snow or ice annually, and in many years, there may be no snow or ice at all. North Carolina experiences severe weather in summer and winter, with summer bringing threat of hurricanes, tropical storms, heavy rain
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Missionary
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A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to proselytize and/or perform ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development. The word mission originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin missionem, meaning act of sending or mittere, meaning to send. The word was used in light of its usage, in the Latin translation of the Bible. The term is most commonly used for Christian missions, but can be used for any creed or ideology, a Christian missionary can be defined as one who is to witness across cultures. The Lausanne Congress of 1974, defined the term, related to Christian mission as, Missionaries can be found in many countries around the world. Jesus instructed the apostles to make disciples of all nations and this verse is referred to by Christian missionaries as the Great Commission and inspires missionary work. The New Testament-era missionary outreach of the Christian church from the time of St Paul expanded throughout the Roman Empire and beyond to Persia, in 596, Pope Gregory the Great sent the Gregorian Mission into England. In their turn, Christians from Ireland and from Britain became prominent in converting the inhabitants of central Europe, about the same time, missionaries such as Francis Xavier as well as other Jesuits, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Dominicans started moving into Asia and the Far East. The Portuguese sent missions into Africa and these are some of the most well-known missions in history. While some missions accompanied imperialism and oppression, others were relatively peaceful, contemporary Christian missionaries argue that working for justice forms a constitutive part of preaching the Gospel, and observe the principles of inculturation in their missionary work. Over time, the Vatican gradually established a church structure in the mission areas, often starting with special jurisdictions known as apostolic prefectures. The two 9th-century saints Cyril and Methodius had extensive success in central Europe. The Byzantines expanded their work in Ukraine after a mass baptism in Kiev in 988. The Serbian Orthodox Church had its origins in the conversion by Byzantine missionaries of the Serb tribes when they arrived in the Balkans in the 7th century, Orthodox missionaries also worked successfully among the Estonians from the 10th to the 12th centuries, founding the Estonian Orthodox Church. The Russian St. Nicholas of Japan took Eastern Orthodoxy to Japan in the 19th century, the Russian Orthodox Church also sent missionaries to Alaska beginning in the 18th century, including Saint Herman of Alaska, to minister to the Native Americans. Quaker publishers of truth visited Boston and other mid-17th century colonies, the Danish government began the first organized Protestant mission work through its College of Missions, established in 1714. This funded and directed Lutheran missionaries such as Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg in Tranquebar, India and he also got to know a slave from the Danish colony in the West Indies. Within thirty years, Moravian missionaries had become active on every continent, and they are famous for their selfless work, living as slaves among the slaves and together with the Native Americans, the Delaware and Cherokee Indian tribes
18.
New York (state)
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New York is a state in the northeastern United States, and is the 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated U. S. state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. With an estimated population of 8.55 million in 2015, New York City is the most populous city in the United States, the New York Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. New York City makes up over 40% of the population of New York State, two-thirds of the states population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% lives on Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th-century Duke of York, the next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany. New York has a diverse geography and these more mountainous regions are bisected by two major river valleys—the north-south Hudson River Valley and the east-west Mohawk River Valley, which forms the core of the Erie Canal. Western New York is considered part of the Great Lakes Region and straddles Lake Ontario, between the two lakes lies Niagara Falls. The central part of the state is dominated by the Finger Lakes, New York had been inhabited by tribes of Algonquian and Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans for several hundred years by the time the earliest Europeans came to New York. The first Europeans to arrive were French colonists and Jesuit missionaries who arrived southward from settlements at Montreal for trade, the British annexed the colony from the Dutch in 1664. The borders of the British colony, the Province of New York, were similar to those of the present-day state, New York is home to the Statue of Liberty, a symbol of the United States and its ideals of freedom, democracy, and opportunity. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. On April 17,1524 Verrazanno entered New York Bay, by way of the now called the Narrows into the northern bay which he named Santa Margherita. Verrazzano described it as a vast coastline with a delta in which every kind of ship could pass and he adds. This vast sheet of water swarmed with native boats and he landed on the tip of Manhattan and possibly on the furthest point of Long Island. Verrazannos stay was interrupted by a storm which pushed him north towards Marthas Vineyard, in 1540 French traders from New France built a chateau on Castle Island, within present-day Albany, due to flooding, it was abandoned the next year. In 1614, the Dutch under the command of Hendrick Corstiaensen, rebuilt the French chateau, Fort Nassau was the first Dutch settlement in North America, and was located along the Hudson River, also within present-day Albany. The small fort served as a trading post and warehouse, located on the Hudson River flood plain, the rudimentary fort was washed away by flooding in 1617, and abandoned for good after Fort Orange was built nearby in 1623. Henry Hudsons 1609 voyage marked the beginning of European involvement with the area, sailing for the Dutch East India Company and looking for a passage to Asia, he entered the Upper New York Bay on September 11 of that year
19.
Siam
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Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total area of approximately 513,000 km2, Thailand is the worlds 51st-largest country and it is the 20th-most-populous country in the world, with around 66 million people. The capital and largest city is Bangkok, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and has switched between parliamentary democracy and military junta for decades, the latest coup being in May 2014 by the National Council for Peace and Order. Its capital and most populous city is Bangkok and its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest. The Thai economy is the worlds 20th largest by GDP at PPP and it became a newly industrialised country and a major exporter in the 1990s. Manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy and it is considered a middle power in the region and around the world. The country has always been called Mueang Thai by its citizens, by outsiders prior to 1949, it was usually known by the exonym Siam. The word Siam has been identified with the Sanskrit Śyāma, the names Shan and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word. The word Śyâma is possibly not its origin, but a learned, another theory is the name derives from Chinese, Ayutthaya emerged as a dominant centre in the late fourteenth century. The Chinese called this region Xian, which the Portuguese converted into Siam, the signature of King Mongkut reads SPPM Mongkut King of the Siamese, giving the name Siam official status until 24 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand. Thailand was renamed Siam from 1945 to 11 May 1949, after which it reverted to Thailand. According to George Cœdès, the word Thai means free man in the Thai language, ratcha Anachak Thai means kingdom of Thailand or kingdom of Thai. Etymologically, its components are, ratcha, -ana- -chak, the Thai National Anthem, written by Luang Saranupraphan during the extremely patriotic 1930s, refers to the Thai nation as, prathet Thai. The first line of the anthem is, prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai, Thailand is the unity of Thai flesh. There is evidence of habitation in Thailand that has been dated at 40,000 years before the present. Similar to other regions in Southeast Asia, Thailand was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India, Thailand in its earliest days was under the rule of the Khmer Empire, which had strong Hindu roots, and the influence among Thais remains even today. Voretzsch believes that Buddhism must have been flowing into Siam from India in the time of the Indian Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire, later Thailand was influenced by the south Indian Pallava dynasty and north Indian Gupta Empire. The Menam Basin was originally populated by the Mons, and the location of Dvaravati in the 7th century, the History of the Yuan mentions an embassy from the kingdom of Sukhothai in 1282
20.
Pote Sarasin
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Pote Sarasin was a Thai diplomat and politician from the influential Sarasin family. He served as minister from 1949 to 1951 and then served as ambassador to the United States. In September 1957 when Sarit Thanarat seized power in a military coup, Pote also served as the first Secretary General of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization from September 1957 until 1964. Pote Sarasin came from an old family of merchants and landowners and his father was a doctor and rice dealer. Pote studied law at Wilbraham Academy in Wilbraham, Massachusetts and Middle Temple in London and was admitted to the English Bar, from 1933 to 1945, he practised as an attorney in Bangkok. A close friend of the temporarily disempowered prime minister Phibunsongkhram, Pote provided financial aid to the field marshal after his release from prison in 1946, in return Phibun had Pote appointed deputy minister of foreign affairs in 1948. In the end Phibun discarded months of Foreign Ministry recommendations and on 28 February issued formal recognition of the governments of Laos, Cambodia. It was the time a Thai foreign minister resigned on a matter of principle. Shortly afterward, he became ambassador to Washington once again, on 21 September 1957, Sarit chose Pote to head the coup-installed government, mainly because the American-educated diplomat had good relations with the Americans. Under him largely free and fair elections were held in December and he resigned from the premiership that same month to resume his post as Secretary General of SEATO. Pote was a scion of the Sarasin family, one of Bangkoks oldest and wealthiest assimilated Chinese families, the Sarasins had always cultivated good relations with the bureaucratic elite of the 19th century, and by the early 1950s held substantial interests in real estate and rice trading. His father, Thian Hee, was the son of a traditional Chinese doctor, all three sons–Pong, Arsa and Pao Sarasin had all served as the Deputy Prime Ministers of Thailand
21.
Prime minister of Thailand
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The Prime Minister of Thailand is the head of government of Thailand. The prime minister is also the chair of the Cabinet of Thailand, the post has existed since the Revolution of 1932, when the country became a constitutional monarchy. The prime minister is appointed by a vote in the Thai House of Representatives by a simple majority, and is then sworn-in by the King of Thailand. The houses selection is based on the fact that either the prime minister is the leader of the largest political party in the lower house or the leader of the largest coalition of parties. In accordance with the constitution, the prime minister can only be appointed twice and is limited to a maximum of two consecutive terms. The post of Prime Minister is currently held by Retired General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the office of the President of the Peoples Committee, later changed to Prime Minister of Siam, was first created in the Temporary Constitution of 1932. The office was modeled after the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, however the idea of a separate head of government in Thailand is not new. Prior to 1932 Thailand was ruled by monarchs, who acted as both the head of state and the government. However, during the middle and latter reigns of the Chakri Dynasty, during the reign of King Mongkut, Somdet Chao Phraya Si Suriyawongse had a very significant role in an otherwise absolutist system. During the reign of King Chulalongkorn, Prince Damrong Rajanubhab took over this role, the first Prime Minister of Siam was Phraya Manopakorn Nititada, a judge. The title of the office was changed from Prime Minister of Siam to Prime Minister of Thailand in 1945, for most of its existence the office has been occupied by Army leaders, sixteen out of twenty-nine, including the incumbent General Prayut Chan-o-cha. Military dominance began with the countrys second Prime Minister, Phot Phahonyothin, the longest serving Prime Minister was Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram at 14 years,11 months and 18 days. The shortest was Tawee Boonyaket at just 18 days, nine were removed by coups détat, three were disqualified by court order, and eleven resigned from office. The youngest ever to occupy office was M. R. Seni Pramoj at 40 years old, Thailand received its first female prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, in 2011. Every prime minister since Manopakorn Nititada has been Buddhist, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand must be a member of the House of Representatives. Therefore, the qualifications for the office of minister are the same as the qualifications for membership in the house. To be appointed, the nominee for the office must have the support of one-fifth of the members of the House of Representatives. Then after a simple-majority vote in the house, a resolution will be passed and submitted to the king and this must take place within thirty days after the beginning of the first session of the House of Representatives after an election
22.
Vietnam War
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It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The war is considered a Cold War-era proxy war. As the war continued, the actions of the Viet Cong decreased as the role. U. S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, in the course of the war, the U. S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong were fighting to reunify Vietnam and they viewed the conflict as a colonial war and a continuation of the First Indochina War against forces from France and later on the United States. The U. S. government viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and this was part the domino theory of a wider containment policy, with the stated aim of stopping the spread of communism. Beginning in 1950, American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina, U. S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with troop levels tripling in 1961 and again in 1962. Regular U. S. combat units were deployed beginning in 1965, despite the Paris Peace Accord, which was signed by all parties in January 1973, the fighting continued. In the U. S. and the Western world, a large anti-Vietnam War movement developed as part of a larger counterculture, the war changed the dynamics between the Eastern and Western Blocs, and altered North–South relations. Direct U. S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973, the capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese Army in April 1975 marked the end of the war, and North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year. The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities, estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from 966,000 to 3.8 million. Some 240, 000–300,000 Cambodians,20, 000–62,000 Laotians, and 58,220 U. S. service members died in the conflict. Various names have applied to the conflict. Vietnam War is the most commonly used name in English and it has also been called the Second Indochina War and the Vietnam Conflict. As there have been several conflicts in Indochina, this conflict is known by the names of its primary protagonists to distinguish it from others. In Vietnamese, the war is known as Kháng chiến chống Mỹ. It is also called Chiến tranh Việt Nam, France began its conquest of Indochina in the late 1850s, and completed pacification by 1893. The 1884 Treaty of Huế formed the basis for French colonial rule in Vietnam for the seven decades
23.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
24.
Thai Town, Los Angeles, California
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Thai Town is a six-block area in the East Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, it is the only designated Thai Town in the United States. The district has been the home to immigrant groups, including Armenians and Latinos, for a long time, earlier, in 2000, it was described as a rundown six-block stretch of Hollywood Boulevard crammed with Thai sweet shops, bookstores, restaurants, markets and newspaper offices. In 2000 a Los Angeles Times writer said Thai Town was a place where gourmands can stock up on bitter melon, a Thai dessert shop offers preserved jackfruit, Pandan cookies and Kring Krang, crisply sweetened rice. One result of the influx of Thai people into East Hollywood was that the neighborhood became a point of entry for other Thais, armenian immigrants own much of the property and live in the surrounding apartment buildings. One newspaper writer commented in 2000 that the neighborhoods ethnic politics are complex, data for the area show that 27% of households live below the poverty line—a rate 12 percentage points higher than the county average. The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously on October 27,1999, to designate the area as Thai Town, the designation was proposed by Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg, who said the move would bring neighborhood pride, economic development and promotion of tourism to the area. It was significant to Goldberg that the staff of the Thai Community Development Center includes other Asians, Latinos and whites, theyre already calling Thai Town the 77th province, said Thai Chamber of Commerce President Niphun Rojanasopondist, referring to the 76 provinces that make up Thailand. The action followed a campaign by the Development Center. The center won a $15,000 Department of Public Works matching grant to create a garden, the other communities are Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Historic Filipinotown and Koreatown. They formed the API Preserve America Neighborhood Coalition, first Lady Laura Bush presented the Preserve America designation, signifying value as a cultural and historic asset. The designation made Thai Town eligible for up to $250,000 in Preserve America grants, along with $250,000 in other public and private matching funds. The area is served by the Metro Red Line subway at the Hollywood/Western station in addition to Metro Rapid bus lines 757 &780 and Metro Local bus lines 180,181,206,207, &217. List of Thai restaurants Google maps link Colin Marshall, A Los Angeles Primer, Thai Town, KCET50, July 16,2013
25.
Clark County, Nevada
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Clark County is a county located in the U. S. state of Nevada. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,951,269 and it is by far the most populous county in Nevada, accounting more than two-thirds of its residents. Las Vegas, Nevadas most populous city, has been the county seat since the county was established, the county was formed by the Nevada Legislature by splitting off a portion of Lincoln County on February 5,1909, and came into existence on July 1,1909. The Las Vegas Valley, a 600 sq mi basin, includes Las Vegas as well as the primary population center. Much of the county was part of Pah-Ute County, Arizona Territory before Nevada became a state. The county was named for William Andrews Clark, a Montana copper magnate, Clark was largely responsible for the construction of the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad through the area, a factor heavily contributing to the regions early development. Clark County is today known as a major tourist destination, with 150,000 hotel rooms. The Las Vegas Strip, home to most of the known to many around the world, is located not within the City of Las Vegas city limits. It is, however, located in the Las Vegas Valley, according to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 8,061 square miles, of which 7,891 square miles is land and 169 square miles is water. The Colorado River forms the southeastern boundary, with Hoover Dam forming Lake Mead along much of its length. The lowest point in the state of Nevada is located on the Colorado River just south of Laughlin in Clark County, where it flows out of Nevada into California and Arizona. By definition, Greater Las Vegas is a valley, surrounded by four mountain ranges, with nearby Mount Charleston being the highest elevation at 11,918 ft. Other than the forests on Mount Charleston, the geography in Clark County is a desert, creosote bushes are the main native vegetation, and the mountains are mostly rocky with little vegetation. Many of these are located in, or partially located in,24. 50% of all households were made up of individuals and 6. 70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the family size was 3.17. In the county, the population was out with 25. 60% under the age of 18,9. 20% from 18 to 24,32. 20% from 25 to 44,22. 30% from 45 to 64. The median age was 34 years, for every 100 females there were 103.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.80 males, the median income for a household in the county was $53,536, and the median income for a family was $59,485
26.
Nevada
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Nevada is a state in the Western, Mountain West, and Southwestern regions of the United States of America. Nevada is the 7th most extensive, the 34th most populous, nearly three-quarters of Nevadas people live in Clark County, which contains the Las Vegas–Paradise metropolitan area where three of the states four largest incorporated cities are located. Nevada is officially known as the Silver State because of the importance of silver to its history and economy. It is also known as the Battle Born State, because it achieved statehood during the Civil War, as the Sage-brush State, for the plant of the same name. Nevada borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, Nevada is largely desert and semi-arid, much of it located within the Great Basin. Areas south of the Great Basin are located within the Mojave Desert, while Lake Tahoe, about 86% of the states land is managed by various jurisdictions of the U. S. federal government, both civilian and military. Before European contact, Native Americans of the Paiute, Shoshone, the first Europeans to explore the region were Spanish. They called the region Nevada because of the snow covered the mountains in winter. The area formed part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the United States annexed the area in 1848 after its victory in the Mexican–American War, and it was incorporated as part of Utah Territory in 1850. The discovery of silver at the Comstock Lode in 1859 led to a boom that became an impetus to the creation of Nevada Territory out of western Utah Territory in 1861. Nevada became the 36th state on October 31,1864, as the second of two added to the Union during the Civil War. Nevada has a reputation for its libertarian laws, in 1940, with a population of just over 110,000 people, Nevada was by far the least-populated state, with less than half the population of the next least-populated state. However, legalized gambling and lenient marriage and divorce laws transformed Nevada into a major tourist destination in the 20th century, Nevada is the only U. S. state where prostitution is legal, though it is illegal in Clark County, Washoe County and Carson City. The tourism industry remains Nevadas largest employer, with mining continuing as a sector of the economy. The name Nevada comes from the Spanish nevada, meaning snow-covered, most Nevadans pronounce the second syllable of their state name using the vowel of trap. Many from outside the Western United States pronounce it with the vowel of father, although the latter pronunciation is closer to the Spanish pronunciation, it is not the pronunciation preferred by most Nevadans. State Assemblyman Harry Mortenson proposed a bill to recognize the alternate pronunciation of Nevada, though the bill was not supported by most legislators, the Nevadan pronunciation is the de facto official one, since it is the one used by the state legislature. Nevada is almost entirely within the Basin and Range Province, and is broken up by many mountain ranges
27.
Cook County, Illinois
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Cook County is a county in the U. S. state of Illinois. It is the second-most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County, as of 2015, the population was 5,238,216. Its county seat is Chicago, the largest city in Illinois, more than 40% of all residents of Illinois live in Cook County. Cook Countys population is larger than that of 29 individual U. S. states, there are 135 incorporated municipalities partially or wholly within Cook County, the largest of which is Chicago, which is home to approximately 54% of the population of the county. That part of the county which lies outside of the Chicago city limits is divided into 29 townships, geographically, the county is the sixth-largest in Illinois by land area. It shares the states Lake Michigan shoreline with Lake County, including its lake area, the county has a total area of 1,635 square miles, the largest county in Illinois, of which 945 square miles is land and 690 square miles is water. Land-use in Cook County is mainly urban and densely populated, Cook County is included in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is surrounded by what are known as the five collar counties, Cook County was created on January 15,1831, out of Putnam County by an act of the Illinois General Assembly. It was the 54th county established in Illinois and was named after Daniel Cook and he served as the second U. S. Representative from Illinois and the states first Attorney General, in 1839, DuPage County was carved out of Cook County. Cook County is the home rule county in Illinois. The Cook County Code is the codification of Cook Countys local ordinances, Cook Countys current County Board president is Toni Preckwinkle. The Circuit Court of Cook County, which is a State agency funded, in part, by Cook County, the Cook County Department of Corrections, also known as the Cook County Jail, is the largest single-site jail in the nation. The Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, under the authority of the Chief Judge of the State court, is the first juvenile center in the nation, the Cook County Law Library is the second-largest county law library in the nation. In the 1980s, Cook County was ground zero to an extensive FBI investigation called Operation Greylord, ninety-two officials were indicted, including 17 judges,48 lawyers,8 policemen,10 deputy sheriffs,8 court officials, and a state legislator. The Bureau of Health Services administers the public health services and is the third-largest public health system in the nation. Three hospitals are part of system, John H. Stroger. Hospital of Cook County, Provident Hospital, and Oak Forest Hospital of Cook County, the Cook County Department of Transportation is responsible for the design and maintenance of roadways in the county
28.
Illinois
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Illinois is a state in the midwestern region of the United States, achieving statehood in 1818. It is the 6th most populous state and 25th largest state in terms of land area, the word Illinois comes from a French rendering of a native Algonquin word. For decades, OHare International Airport has been ranked as one of the worlds busiest airports, Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics. With the War of 1812 Illinois growth slowed as both Native Americans and Canadian forces often raided the American Frontier, mineral finds and timber stands also had spurred immigration—by the 1810s, the Eastern U. S. Railroads arose and matured in the 1840s, and soon carried immigrants to new homes in Illinois, as well as being a resource to ship their commodity crops out to markets. Railroads freed most of the land of Illinois and other states from the tyranny of water transport. By 1900, the growth of jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted a new group of immigrants. Illinois was an important manufacturing center during both world wars, the Great Migration from the South established a large community of African Americans in Chicago, who created the citys famous jazz and blues cultures. Three U. S. presidents have been elected while living in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, additionally, Ronald Reagan, whose political career was based in California, was the only U. S. president born and raised in Illinois. Today, Illinois honors Lincoln with its official slogan, Land of Lincoln. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located in the capital of Springfield. Illinois is the spelling for the early French Catholic missionaries and explorers name for the Illinois Native Americans. American scholars previously thought the name Illinois meant man or men in the Miami-Illinois language and this etymology is not supported by the Illinois language, as the word for man is ireniwa and plural men is ireniwaki. The name Illiniwek has also said to mean tribe of superior men. The name Illinois derives from the Miami-Illinois verb irenwe·wa he speaks the regular way and this was taken into the Ojibwe language, perhaps in the Ottawa dialect, and modified into ilinwe·. The French borrowed these forms, changing the ending to spell it as -ois. The current spelling form, Illinois, began to appear in the early 1670s, the Illinois name for themselves, as attested in all three of the French missionary-period dictionaries of Illinois, was Inoka, of unknown meaning and unrelated to the other terms. American Indians of successive cultures lived along the waterways of the Illinois area for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans, the Koster Site has been excavated and demonstrates 7,000 years of continuous habitation
29.
Tarrant County, Texas
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Tarrant County is a county in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,809,034 and it is Texas third-most populous county and the sixteenth-most populous in the United States. Its county seat is Fort Worth, Tarrant County, one of 26 counties created out of the Peters Colony, was established in 1849 and organized the next year. The county was named in honor of General Edward H. Tarrant of the Republic of Texas militia, Tarrant County is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 902 square miles, the population density was 1,675 people per square mile. There were 565,830 housing units at a density of 655 per square mile. 19. 73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,24. 90% of all households were made up of individuals and 5. 90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the family size was 3.22. As of the 2010 census, there were about 5.2 same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the county. In the county, the population was out with 28. 10% under the age of 18,10. 00% from 18 to 24,33. 50% from 25 to 44,20. 10% from 45 to 64. The median age was 32 years, for every 100 females there were 98.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.60 males, the median income for a household in the county was $46,179, and the median income for a family was $54,068. Males had an income of $38,486 versus $28,672 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,548, about 8. 00% of families and 10. 60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13. 80% of those under age 18 and 8. 70% of those age 65 or over. The JPS Health Network operates the John Peter Smith Hospital and health centers, countywide law enforcement is provided by the Tarrant County Sheriffs Office and Tarrant County Constables Office. DFW Airport, the Tarrant County Hospital District, and the Tarrant Regional Water District also provide their own police forces, since the disbandment of the North Tarrant County Fire Department, no countywide firefighting services exist, all municipalities provide their own fire departments. Most cities also operate their own ambulances, with Fort Worth being a notable exception - the city contracts paramedic apparatus from private entity Medstar, careFlite air ambulance services operate from Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth. Eleven civil courts serve Tarrant County, the 17th, 48th, 67th, 96th, 141st, 153rd, 236th, 342nd, 348th, seven family courts also serve the county, the 231st, 233rd, 322nd, 323rd, 324th, 325th, and 360th District Courts
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Orange County, California
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Orange County is a county in the U. S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 3,010,232 making it the third-most populous county in California, the sixth-most populous in the United States and its county seat is Santa Ana. It is the second most densely populated county in the state, the countys four largest cities, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, and Huntington Beach each have populations exceeding 200,000. Several of Orange Countys cities are on the Pacific coast, including Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Orange County is included in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Thirty-four incorporated cities are located in the county, the newest is Aliso Viejo, Anaheim was the first city, incorporated in 1870, when the region was still part of neighboring Los Angeles County. Whereas most population centers in the United States tend to be identified by a major city and it is mostly suburban except for some traditionally urban areas at the centers of the older cities of Anaheim, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Orange, and Santa Ana. There are several edge city-style developments such as Irvine Business Center, Newport Center, the county is famous for its tourism as the home of attractions like Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, and several beaches along its more than 40 miles of coastline. It is part of the Tech Coast, members of the Tongva, Juaneño, and Luiseño Native American groups long inhabited the area. After the 1769 expedition of Gaspar de Portolà, a Spanish expedition led by Junipero Serra named the area Valle de Santa Ana, on November 1,1776, Mission San Juan Capistrano became the areas first permanent European settlement. Among those who came with Portolá were José Manuel Nieto and José Antonio Yorba, both these men were given land grants—Rancho Los Nietos and Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, respectively. The Nieto heirs were granted land in 1834, the Nieto ranches were known as Rancho Los Alamitos, Rancho Las Bolsas, and Rancho Los Coyotes. Yorba heirs Bernardo Yorba and Teodosio Yorba were also granted Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana and Rancho Lomas de Santiago, other ranchos in Orange County were granted by the Mexican government during the Mexican period in Alta California. A severe drought in the 1860s devastated the industry, cattle ranching. In 1887, silver was discovered in the Santa Ana Mountains, attracting settlers via the Santa Fe and this growth led the California legislature to divide Los Angeles County and create Orange County as a separate political entity on March 11,1889. The county is said to have named for the citrus fruit in an attempt to promote immigration by suggesting a semi-tropical paradise–a place where anything could grow. Other citrus crops, avocados, and oil extraction were important to the early economy. Orange County benefited from the July 4,1904 completion of the Pacific Electric Railway, the link made Orange County an accessible weekend retreat for celebrities of early Hollywood. It was deemed so significant that Pacific City changed its name to Huntington Beach in honor of Henry E. Huntington, president of the Pacific Electric, Transportation further improved with the completion of the State Route and U. S. Route 101 in the 1920s
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San Bernardino County, California
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San Bernardino County, officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U. S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, making it the fifth-most populous county in California, the county seat is San Bernardino. With an area of 20,105 square miles, San Bernardino County is the largest county in the United States by area, although some of Alaskas boroughs and census areas are larger. It is larger than each of the nine smallest states, larger than the four smallest states combined, Spanish Missionaries from Mission San Gabriel Arcángel established a church at the village of Politania in 1810. Father Francisco Dumetz named the church San Bernardino on May 20,1810, the Franciscans also gave the name San Bernardino to the snowcapped peak in Southern California, in honor of the saint and it is from him that the county derives its name. In 1819, they established the San Bernardino de Sena Estancia, following Mexican independence from Spain in 1821, Mexican citizens were granted land grants to establish ranchos in the area of the county. Rancho Jurupa in 1838, Rancho Cucamonga and El Rincon in 1839, Rancho Santa Ana del Chino in 1841, Rancho San Bernardino in 1842 and Rancho Muscupiabe in 1844. Agua Mansa was the first town in what became San Bernardino County, some of the southern parts of the countys territory were given to Riverside County in 1893. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 20,105 square miles. It is the largest county by area in California and the largest in the United States and it is slightly larger than the states of New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island combined. It borders both Nevada and Arizona, the bulk of the population, roughly two million, live in the roughly 480 square miles south of the San Bernardino Mountains adjacent to Riverside and in the San Bernardino Valley. Over 300,000 others live just north of the San Bernardino Mountains, agglomerating around Victorville covering roughly 280 square miles in Victor Valley, roughly another 100,000 people live scattered across the rest of the sprawling county. The Mojave National Preserve covers some of the desert, especially between Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. The desert portion also includes the cities of Needles next to the Colorado River and Barstow at the junction in Interstate 15, trona is at the northwestern part of the county west of Death Valley. This national park, mostly within Inyo County, also has a portion of land within the San Bernardino County. The largest metropolitan area in the Mojave Desert part of the county is Victor Valley, with the localities of Adelanto, Apple Valley, Hesperia. Further south, a portion of Joshua Tree National Park overlaps the county near Twentynine Palms, additional places near and west of Twentynine palms include Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, and Morongo Valley. The mountains are home to the San Bernardino National Forest, and include the communities of Crestline, Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs, Big Bear City, Forest Falls, the San Bernardino Valley is at the eastern end of the San Gabriel Valley
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San Diego County, California
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San Diego County is a county in the southwestern corner of the state of California, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 3,095,313, making it Californias second-most populous county and the fifth-most populous in the United States. Its county seat is San Diego, the eighth-most populous city in the United States and it is the south-westernmost county in the 48 contiguous United States. San Diego County comprises the San Diego-Carlsbad Metropolitan Statistical Area, San Diego is also part of the San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area shared between the United States and Mexico. Greater San Diego ranks as the 38th largest metropolitan area in the Americas, San Diego County has 70 miles of coastline. Most of the county has a mild Mediterranean climate to climate, though there are mountains that receive frost. There are also 16 naval and military installations of the U. S. Navy, U. S. Marine Corps, and these include the Naval Base San Diego, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and Naval Air Station North Island. From north to south, San Diego County extends from the borders of Orange County and Riverside County to the Mexico–United States border. From west to east, San Diego County stretches from the Pacific Ocean to its boundary with Imperial County, the area which is now San Diego County has been inhabited for more than 10,000 years by Kumeyaay, Luiseño, Cupeño and Cahuilla Indians. In 1542, the Portuguese-born explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, sailing for Spain, claimed San Diego Bay for the Spanish Empire, and he named the site San Miguel. In November 1602, Sebastián Vizcaíno surveyed the harbor and what are now Mission Bay and Point Loma and named the area for Saint Didacus, a Spaniard more commonly known as San Diego. European settlement in what is now San Diego County began with the founding of the San Diego Presidio and Mission San Diego de Alcalá by Spanish soldiers and this county was part of Alta California under the Viceroyalty of New Spain until the Mexican declaration of independence. From 1821 through 1848 this area was part of Mexico, San Diego County became part of the United States as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, ending the U. S. -Mexican War. San Diego County was one of the counties of California. At the time of its establishment in 1850, San Diego County was relatively large, as such it included areas of what are now Inyo County and San Bernardino County, as well as all of what is now Riverside County and Imperial County. During the later part of the 19th century, there were changes in the boundaries of San Diego County. The most recent changes were the establishments of Riverside County in 1893, according to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 4,526 square miles, of which 4,207 square miles is land and 319 square miles is water. The county is larger in area than the states of Rhode Island
33.
San Francisco, California
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San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Northern California. It is the birthplace of the United Nations, the California Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, making it the largest city on the West Coast at the time. San Francisco became a consolidated city-county in 1856, after three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. In World War II, San Francisco was a port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater. Politically, the city votes strongly along liberal Democratic Party lines, San Francisco is also the headquarters of five major banking institutions and various other companies such as Levi Strauss & Co. Dolby, Airbnb, Weebly, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Yelp, Pinterest, Twitter, Uber, Lyft, Mozilla, Wikimedia Foundation, as of 2016, San Francisco is ranked high on world liveability rankings. The earliest archaeological evidence of habitation of the territory of the city of San Francisco dates to 3000 BC. Upon independence from Spain in 1821, the became part of Mexico. Under Mexican rule, the system gradually ended, and its lands became privatized. In 1835, Englishman William Richardson erected the first independent homestead, together with Alcalde Francisco de Haro, he laid out a street plan for the expanded settlement, and the town, named Yerba Buena, began to attract American settlers. Commodore John D. Sloat claimed California for the United States on July 7,1846, during the Mexican–American War, montgomery arrived to claim Yerba Buena two days later. Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco on January 30 of the next year, despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography. The California Gold Rush brought a flood of treasure seekers, with their sourdough bread in tow, prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia, raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849. The promise of fabulous riches was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbor. Some of these approximately 500 abandoned ships were used at times as storeships, saloons and hotels, many were left to rot, by 1851 the harbor was extended out into the bay by wharves while buildings were erected on piles among the ships. By 1870 Yerba Buena Cove had been filled to create new land, buried ships are occasionally exposed when foundations are dug for new buildings. California was quickly granted statehood in 1850 and the U. S. military built Fort Point at the Golden Gate, silver discoveries, including the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1859, further drove rapid population growth. With hordes of fortune seekers streaming through the city, lawlessness was common, and the Barbary Coast section of town gained notoriety as a haven for criminals, prostitution, entrepreneurs sought to capitalize on the wealth generated by the Gold Rush
34.
Fresno, California
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Fresno (/ˈfrɛznoʊ/ FREZ-no is a city in California, United States, and the county seat of Fresno County. It covers about 112 square miles in the center of the San Joaquin Valley, named for the abundant ash trees lining the San Joaquin River, Fresno was founded in 1872 as a railway station of the Central Pacific Railroad before it was incorporated in 1885. The population of Fresno proper soared in the half of the 20th century. It was here in Fresno in 1958 that Bank of America first launched the BankAmericard credit card, Fresno is near the geographical center of California. It lies approximately 220 miles northeast of Los Angeles,170 miles south of the capital, Sacramento. Yosemite National Park is about 60 miles to the north, Kings Canyon National Park is 60 miles to the east, the county of Fresno was formed in 1856 after the California Gold Rush. It was named for the abundant ash trees lining the San Joaquin River, Millerton, then on the banks of the free-flowing San Joaquin River and close to Fort Miller, became the county seat after becoming a focal point for settlers. Other early county settlements included Firebaughs Ferry, Scottsburg and Elkhorn Springs, the San Joaquin River flooded on December 24,1867, inundating Millerton. Flooding also destroyed the town of Scottsburg on the nearby Kings River that winter, rebuilt on higher ground, Scottsburg was renamed Centerville. In 1867, Anthony McQeen Easterby purchased land bounded by the present Chestnut, Belmont, Clovis and California avenues, unable to grow wheat for lack of water, he hired sheep man Moses J. Church in 1871 to create an irrigation system. Building new canals and purchasing existing ditches, Church then formed the Fresno Canal and Irrigation Company, in 1872, the Central Pacific Railroad established a station near Easterbys—by now a hugely productive wheat farm—for its new Southern Pacific line. Soon there was a store around the station and the store grew the town of Fresno Station, many Millerton residents, drawn by the convenience of the railroad and worried about flooding, moved to the new community. Fresno became a city in 1885. By 1931 the Fresno Traction Company operated 47 streetcars over 49 miles of track, in 1877, William Helm made Fresno his home with a five-acre tract of land at the corner of Fresno and R streets. Helm was the largest individual sheep grower in Fresno County, in carrying his wool to market at Stockton, he used three wagons, each drawn by ten mules, and spent twelve days in making the round trip. Two years after the station was established, county residents voted to move the county seat from Millerton to Fresno, when the Friant Dam was completed in 1944, the site of Millerton became inundated by the waters of Millerton Lake. In extreme droughts, when the reservoir shrinks, ruins of the county seat can still be observed. In the nineteenth century, with so much wooden construction and in the absence of sophisticated firefighting resources, fires often ravaged American frontier towns, the greatest of Fresnos early-day fires, in 1882, destroyed an entire block of the city
35.
Sacramento, California
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Sacramento is the capital city of the U. S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. It is at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the portion of Californias expansive Central Valley. Its estimated 2014 population of 485,199 made it the sixth-largest city in California, Sacramento is the cultural and economic core of the Sacramento metropolitan area, which includes seven counties with a 2010 population of 2,414,783. In 2002, the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University conducted for Time magazine named Sacramento Americas Most Diverse City, Sacramento became a city through the efforts of the Swiss immigrant John Sutter, Sr. his son John Augustus Sutter, Jr. and James W. Marshall. Sacramento grew quickly thanks to the protection of Sutters Fort, which was established by Sutter in 1839, the city was named after the Sacramento River, which forms its western border. The river was named by Spanish cavalry officer Gabriel Moraga for the Santísimo Sacramento, California State University, Sacramento, is the largest university in the city and one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. University of the Pacific is a university with one of its three campuses in Sacramento. In addition, the University of California, Davis, located in nearby Davis, operates its UC Davis Medical Center, nisenan and Plains Miwok Native Americans had lived in the area for perhaps thousands of years. Unlike the settlers who would eventually make Sacramento their home, these Native Americans left little evidence of their existence. Traditionally, their diet was dominated by acorns taken from the oak trees in the region, and by fruits, bulbs, seeds. In 1808, the Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga discovered and named the Sacramento Valley, a Spanish writer with the Moraga expedition wrote, Canopies of oaks and cottonwoods, many festooned with grapevines, overhung both sides of the blue current. Birds chattered in the trees and big fish darted through the pellucid depths, the air was like champagne, and drank deep of it, drank in the beauty around them. The valley and the river were then christened after the Most Holy Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, John Sutter first arrived on August 13,1839 at the divergence of the American and Sacramento Rivers with a Mexican land grant of 50,000 acres. The next year, he and his party established Sutters Fort, representing Mexico, Sutter called his colony New Helvetia, a Swiss inspired name, and was the political authority and dispenser of justice in the new settlement. Soon, the colony began to grow as more and more pioneers headed west, within just a few short years, John Sutter had become a grand success, owning a ten-acre orchard and a herd of thirteen thousand cattle. Fort Sutter became a stop for the increasing number of immigrants coming through the valley. In 1847, Sutter hired James Marshall to build a sawmill so that he could continue to expand his empire, Sutter received 2,000 fruit trees in 1847, which started the agriculture industry in the Sacramento Valley. In 1848, when gold was discovered by James W. Marshall at Sutters Mill in Coloma and he hired topographical engineer William H
36.
King County, Washington
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King County is a county located in the U. S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census its population was 1,931,249, King is the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, which is the states largest city, King County is one of three Washington counties that are included in the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan statistical area. About two-thirds of King Countys population lives in the citys suburbs, as of 2011, King County was the 86th highest-income county in the United States. The county was named after William Rufus King who was Vice President when the Washington Territory was created in 1853. In 1986, a motion was introduced to change the namesake to Martin Luther King Jr, no public votes or hearings were taken on the change. On February 24,1986, the King County Council passed Council Motion 6461 five votes to four setting forth the basis for the renaming of King County in honor of Martin Luther King. Because only the state can charter counties, this change was not made official until April 19,2005, the County Council submitted a vote to the public on February 27,2006 to change the countys logo from a royal crown to an image of King. On March 12,2007, the new logo was unveiled, Martin Luther King Jr. visited King County for two days in November 1961. Seattle was made the county seat on January 11,1853, King County originally extended to the Olympic Peninsula. The stated reason for the change was the revelation that William Rufus DeVane King was a slaveowner and a gentle slave monger according to John Quincy Adams. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 2,307 square miles. King County has nearly twice the area of the state of Rhode Island. The highest point in the county is Mount Daniel at 2,426 meters above sea level, King County borders Snohomish County to the north, Kitsap County to the west, Kittitas County to the east, and Pierce County to the south. It also shares a border with Chelan County to the northeast. King County includes Vashon Island and Maury Island in Puget Sound, King Countys own center of population was located on Mercer Island. As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 1,931,249 people,789,232 households, the population density was 912.9 inhabitants per square mile. There were 851,261 housing units at a density of 402.4 per square mile
37.
Fairfax County, Virginia
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Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,081,726, in 2015, it was estimated at 1,142,234, making it the Commonwealths most populous jurisdiction, with 13. 6% of Virginias population. The county seat is the City of Fairfax, though because it is an independent city under Virginia law, the county is also home to seven Fortune 500 companies, including three with Falls Church addresses. At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants of what would become Fairfax County were an Algonquian-speaking sub-group called the Taux, also known as the Doeg or Dogue. Their villages, as recorded by Captain John Smith in 1608, included Namassingakent, virginian colonists from the Northern Neck region drove the Doeg out of this area and into Maryland by 1670. Fairfax County was formed in 1742 from the part of Prince William County. It was named for Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, the Fairfax family name is derived from the Old English phrase for blond hair – Faeger-feahs. The oldest settlements in Fairfax County were along the Potomac River, George Washington settled in Fairfax County and built his home, Mount Vernon, facing the river. Gunston Hall, the home of George Mason is nearby, modern Fort Belvoir is partly on the estate of Belvoir Manor, built along the Potomac by William Fairfax in 1741. Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, the member of the British nobility ever to reside in the colonies. The Belvoir mansion and several of its outbuildings were destroyed by fire immediately after the Revolutionary War in 1783, in 1757, the northwestern two-thirds of Fairfax County became Loudoun County. In 1789, part of Fairfax County was ceded to the government to form Alexandria County of the District of Columbia. Alexandria County was returned to Virginia in 1846, reduced in size by the secession of the independent city of Alexandria in 1870, the Fairfax County town of Falls Church became an independent city in 1948. The Fairfax County town of Fairfax became an independent city in 1961, Fairfax County was an important region in the Civil War. The Battle of Chantilly or Ox Hill, during the campaign as the second Battle of Bull Run, was fought within the county. Other areas of activity included Minors Hill, Munsons Hill, and Uptons Hill, on the eastern border, overlooking Washington. The federal governments growth during and after World War II spurred rapid growth in the county, other large businesses continued to settle in Fairfax County and the opening of Tysons Corner Center spurred the rise of Tysons Corner. The technology boom and a steady government-driven economy also created rapid growth, the economy has also made Fairfax County one of the nations wealthiest counties
38.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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In 1682, William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the city to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. Philadelphia was one of the capitals in the Revolutionary War. In the 19th century, Philadelphia became an industrial center. It became a destination for African-Americans in the Great Migration. The areas many universities and colleges make Philadelphia a top international study destination, as the city has evolved into an educational, with a gross domestic product of $388 billion, Philadelphia ranks ninth among world cities and fourth in the nation. Philadelphia is the center of activity in Pennsylvania and is home to seven Fortune 1000 companies. The Philadelphia skyline is growing, with a market of almost 81,900 commercial properties in 2016 including several prominent skyscrapers. The city is known for its arts, culture, and rich history, Philadelphia has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city. Fairmount Park, when combined with the adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the watershed, is one of the largest contiguous urban park areas in the United States. The 67 National Historic Landmarks in the city helped account for the $10 billion generated by tourism, Philadelphia is the only World Heritage City in the United States. Before Europeans arrived, the Philadelphia area was home to the Lenape Indians in the village of Shackamaxon, the Lenape are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government. They are also called Delaware Indians and their territory was along the Delaware River watershed, western Long Island. Most Lenape were pushed out of their Delaware homeland during the 18th century by expanding European colonies, Lenape communities were weakened by newly introduced diseases, mainly smallpox, and violent conflict with Europeans. Iroquois people occasionally fought the Lenape, surviving Lenape moved west into the upper Ohio River basin. The American Revolutionary War and United States independence pushed them further west, in the 1860s, the United States government sent most Lenape remaining in the eastern United States to the Indian Territory under the Indian removal policy. In the 21st century, most Lenape now reside in the US state of Oklahoma, with communities living also in Wisconsin, Ontario. The Dutch considered the entire Delaware River valley to be part of their New Netherland colony, in 1638, Swedish settlers led by renegade Dutch established the colony of New Sweden at Fort Christina and quickly spread out in the valley. In 1644, New Sweden supported the Susquehannocks in their defeat of the English colony of Maryland
39.
Seattle, Washington
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Seattle is a seaport city on the west coast of the United States and the seat of King County, Washington. With an estimated 684,451 residents as of 2015, Seattle is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. In July 2013, it was the major city in the United States. The city is situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about 100 miles south of the Canada–United States border, a major gateway for trade with Asia, Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North America in terms of container handling as of 2015. The Seattle area was inhabited by Native Americans for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent European settlers. Arthur A. Denny and his group of travelers, subsequently known as the Denny Party, arrived from Illinois via Portland, the settlement was moved to the eastern shore of Elliott Bay and named Seattle in 1852, after Chief Siahl of the local Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. Logging was Seattles first major industry, but by the late-19th century, growth after World War II was partially due to the local Boeing company, which established Seattle as a center for aircraft manufacturing. The Seattle area developed as a technology center beginning in the 1980s, in 1994, Internet retailer Amazon was founded in Seattle. The stream of new software, biotechnology, and Internet companies led to an economic revival, Seattle has a noteworthy musical history. From 1918 to 1951, nearly two dozen jazz nightclubs existed along Jackson Street, from the current Chinatown/International District, to the Central District, the jazz scene developed the early careers of Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Ernestine Anderson, and others. Seattle is also the birthplace of rock musician Jimi Hendrix and the alternative rock subgenre grunge, archaeological excavations suggest that Native Americans have inhabited the Seattle area for at least 4,000 years. By the time the first European settlers arrived, the people occupied at least seventeen villages in the areas around Elliott Bay, the first European to visit the Seattle area was George Vancouver, in May 1792 during his 1791–95 expedition to chart the Pacific Northwest. In 1851, a party led by Luther Collins made a location on land at the mouth of the Duwamish River. Thirteen days later, members of the Collins Party on the way to their claim passed three scouts of the Denny Party, members of the Denny Party claimed land on Alki Point on September 28,1851. The rest of the Denny Party set sail from Portland, Oregon, after a difficult winter, most of the Denny Party relocated across Elliott Bay and claimed land a second time at the site of present-day Pioneer Square, naming this new settlement Duwamps. For the next few years, New York Alki and Duwamps competed for dominance, david Swinson Doc Maynard, one of the founders of Duwamps, was the primary advocate to name the settlement after Chief Sealth of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. The name Seattle appears on official Washington Territory papers dated May 23,1853, in 1855, nominal land settlements were established. On January 14,1865, the Legislature of Territorial Washington incorporated the Town of Seattle with a board of managing the city
40.
Montgomery County, Maryland
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Montgomery County, officially the County of Montgomery, is a county in the U. S. state of Maryland. As of the 2010 census, the population was 971,777 and it is the most populous county in Maryland. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the place of Germantown is the most populous place. Montgomery County is included in the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, as one of the most affluent counties in the United States, it also has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate degrees. In 2011, it was ranked by Forbes as the 10th richest in the United States, the Maryland state legislature named Montgomery County after Richard Montgomery, the county was created from lands that had at one point or another been part of Frederick County. The name use of Montgomery and Washington County were seen as further defiance to Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War, the countys nickname of MoCo is derived from Montgomery County, after the pattern of SoHo, Manhattan. The countys motto, adopted in 1976, is Gardez Bien, the countys motto is also the motto of its namesakes family. Before European immigration, the now known as Montgomery County was covered in a vast swath of forest crossed by the creeks and small streams that feed the Potomac. A few small villages of the Piscataway, members of the Algonquian people, were scattered across the southern portions of the county. Captain John Smith of the English settlement at Jamestown was probably the first European to explore the area, during his travels along the Potomac River and throughout the Chesapeake region. These lands were claimed by Europeans for the first time when George Calvert and he and other early claimants had no intention of settling their families. They were little more than speculators, securing grants from the colonial leadership, thus, it was not until approximately 1715 that the first British settlers began building farms and plantations in the area. Most of these settlers were small farmers, growing wheat. Many of the farmers owned slaves and they transported the tobacco they grew to market through the Potomac River port of Georgetown. Sparsely settled, the farms and taverns were nonetheless of strategic importance as access to the interior. General Edward Braddocks army traveled through the county on the way to its disastrous defeat at Fort Duquesne during the French, like other regions of the American colonies, the region that is now Montgomery County saw protests against British taxation in the years before the American Revolution. In 1774, local residents met at Hungerfords Tavern and agreed to break off commerce with Great Britain, following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, representatives of the area helped to draft the new state constitution and began to build a Maryland free of proprietary control. The leaders of the new county chose as their county seat an area adjacent to Hungerfords Tavern near the center of the county, the newly formed Montgomery County supplied arms, food and forage for the Continental Army during the Revolution, in addition to soldiers
41.
Thai cuisine
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Thai cuisine is the national cuisine of Thailand. Balance, detail, and variety are of paramount significance to Thai chefs, Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components and a spicy edge. It is known for its complex interplay of at least three and up to four or five fundamental taste senses in each dish or the meal, sour, sweet, salty, bitter. Thai cuisine is one of the most popular cuisines in the world, in 2011, seven of Thailands popular dishes appeared on the list of the Worlds 50 Most Delicious Foods — a worldwide online poll of 35,000 people by CNN Travel. Thailand had more dishes on the list than any other country and they were, tom yam goong, pad Thai, som tam, massaman curry, green curry, Thai fried rice and moo nam tok. Northern Thai cuisine of the verdant valleys and cool, forested mountains of the Thai highlands, once ruled by the former Lanna Kingdom and home to the majority of the ethnic groups of Thailand. Southern Thai cuisine of the Kra Isthmus which is bordered on two sides by tropical seas, with its islands and including the ethnic Malay, former Sultanate of Pattani in the deep south. Thai cuisine and the traditions and cuisines of Thailands neighbors have mutually influenced one another over the course of many centuries. Regional variations tend to correlate to neighboring states as well as climate, southern Thailand, with many dishes that contain liberal amounts of coconut milk and fresh turmeric, has that in common with Indian, Malaysian, and Indonesian cuisine. In addition to four regional cuisines, there is also the Thai royal cuisine which can trace its history back to the cosmopolitan palace cuisine of the Ayutthaya kingdom. Its refinement, cooking techniques, presentation, and use of ingredients were of influence to the cuisine of the central Thai plains. Many dishes that are now popular in Thailand were originally Chinese dishes, such dishes include chok Thai, โจ๊ก, salapao, kuaitiao rat na and khao kha mu. The Chinese also introduced the use of a wok for cooking, the technique of deep-frying and stir frying dishes, several types of noodles, taochiao, soy sauces, and tofu. The most notable influence from the West must be the introduction of the pepper from the Americas in the 16th or 17th century. It, and rice, are now two of the most important ingredients in Thai cuisine. During the Columbian Exchange, Portuguese and Spanish ships brought new crops from the Americas including tomatoes, corn, papaya, pea eggplants, pineapple, pumpkins, culantro, cashews, and peanuts. Thai food was eaten with the right hand while seated on mats or carpets on the floor. Today, however, most Thais eat with a fork and spoon, tables and chairs were introduced as part of a broader Westernization drive during the reign of King Mongkut, Rama IV
42.
Thai culture
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Thailands culture incorporates a great deal of influence from India, China, Cambodia, and the rest of Southeast Asia. It is influenced primarily by animism, Indian culture and Buddhism, Thailand is nearly 94%-95% Theravada Buddhist, with minorities of Muslims, Christians, Mahayana Buddhists, and other religions. Thai Theravada Buddhism is supported and overseen by the government, with receiving a number of government benefits. Buddhism in Thailand is strongly influenced by traditional beliefs regarding ancestral and natural spirits, most Thai people install spirit houses, miniature wooden houses outside their dwellings, where they believe household spirits live. They present offerings of food and drink to these spirits to keep them happy, if these spirits arent happy, it is believed that they will inhabit the household and cause chaos. These spirit houses can be found in places and on the streets of Thailand. Prior to the rise of Theravada Buddhism, both Indian Brahmanic religion and Mahayana Buddhism were present in Thailand, influences from both these traditions can still be seen in present-day Thai folklore. One of the most distinctive Thai customs is the wai, used in greetings, leave-taking, or as an acknowledgement, it comes in many forms, reflecting the relative status of those involved. Generally the salutation involves a prayer-like gesture with the hands, derived from the Añjali Mudrā of the Indian subcontinent and this salutation is often accompanied by a serene smile symbolizing a welcoming disposition and a pleasant attitude. Thailand is often referred to as the land of smiles in tourist brochures, public displays of affection are not overly common in traditional Thai society, especially between lovers. It is becoming common, especially among the younger generation. A notable social norm holds that someone on the head may be considered rude. It is also considered rude to place ones feet at a level above someone elses head and this is because the Thai people consider the foot to be the dirtiest and lowliest part of the body, and the head the most respected and highest part of the body. This also influences how Thais sit when on the ground—their feet always pointing away from others, pointing at or touching something with the feet is also considered rude. Since a serene disposition is valued, conflict and sudden displays of anger are eschewed in Thai culture, for these reasons, visitors should take care not to create conflict or to display anger. Disagreements or disputes should be handled with a smile and no attempt should be made to assign blame to another, in everyday life in Thailand, there is a strong emphasis on the concept of sanuk, the idea that life should be fun. Because of this, Thais can be playful at work. Displaying positive emotions in social interactions is important in Thai culture
43.
Thaksin Shinawatra
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Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician. Between 2001 and 2006, he was the Prime Minister of Thailand and he joined politics in 1994, founded the Thai Rak Thai Party in 1998 and, after a landslide electoral victory, became prime minister in 2001. Thaksins government launched programs to poverty, expand infrastructure, promote small and medium-sized enterprises. Thaksin declared a war on drugs in which more than 2,500 people died and he was the first democratically elected prime minister of Thailand to serve a full term and was re-elected in 2005 by an overwhelming majority. After selling shares of his worth more than a billion dollars to foreign investors without paying taxes. A citizens movement against Thaksin, called Peoples Alliance for Democracy or yellow shirts, launched mass protests, accusing him of corruption, abuse of power, Thaksin called snap elections that were boycotted by the opposition and invalidated by the Constitutional Court. He was overthrown in a coup on 19 September 2006. His party was outlawed and he was barred from political activity, Thaksin has since lived in self-imposed exile except for a brief visit to Thailand in 2008. He was sentenced in absentia to two years in jail for abuse of power and his younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra was the prime minister of Thailand from 2011 to 2014. Thaksins great-grandfather, Seng Saekhu, was an immigrant from Meizhou, Guangdong, China and his eldest son, Chiang Saekhu, was born in Chanthaburi in 1890 and married a Thai woman named Saeng Samana. Chiangs eldest son, Sak, adopted the Thai surname Shinawatra in 1938 because of the countrys anti-Chinese movement, Seng Saekhu had made his fortune through tax farming. Chiang Saekhu/Shinawatra later founded Shinawatra Silks and then moved into finance, construction, Thaksins father, Loet, was born in Chiang Mai in 1919 and married Yindi Ramingwong. Yindis father, Charoen Ramingwong, was a Hakka immigrant who married Princess Chanthip na Chiangmai, in 1968, Loet Shinawatra entered politics and became an MP for Chiang Mai and deputy leader of the now-defunct Liberal Party. Loet Shinawatra quit politics in 1976 and he opened a coffee shop, grew oranges and flowers in Chiang Mais San Kamphaeng district, and opened two cinemas, a gas station, and a car and motorcycle dealership. By the time Thaksin was born, the Shinawatra family was one of the richest and most influential families in Chiang Mai, Thaksin was born in San Kamphaeng, Chiang Mai province. He lived in the village of San Kamphaeng until he was 15, at 16, he helped run one of his fathers cinemas. Thaksin married Potjaman Damapong in July 1976 and they have one son, Panthongtae and two daughters, Pintongtha and Peathongtarn. Thaksin Shinawatra was a member of the 10th class of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School, graduating in 1973, he joined the Royal Thai Police
44.
Anaheim, California
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Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a population of 336,265, making it the most populous city in Orange County, Anaheim remained largely a rural community until Disneyland opened in the city in 1955. This led to the construction of hotels and motels around the area. The city also developed into a center, producing electronics, aircraft parts. Anaheims city limits extend from Cypress in the west to the Riverside County line in the east and encompass a diverse collection of neighborhoods, Anaheim Hills is a master-planned community located in the citys eastern stretches that is home to many of the citys affluent. Downtown Anaheim has three historic districts, the largest of which is the Anaheim Colony. The Anaheim Resort, a district, includes Disneyland, Disney California Adventure. The Platinum Triangle, a redevelopment district surrounding Angel Stadium, is planned to be populated with mixed-use streets. Finally, Anaheim Canyon is a district north of California State Route 91. Anaheims name is a blend of Ana, after the nearby Santa Ana River, and heim, the city of Anaheim was founded in 1857 by 50 German-Americans who were residents of San Francisco and whose families had originated in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Franconia in Bavaria. For $750 a share, the formed the Anaheim Vineyard Company. Their new community was named Annaheim, meaning home by the Santa Anna River in German, the name later was altered to Anaheim. To the Spanish-speaking neighbors, the settlement was known as Campo Alemán, although grape and wine-making was their primary objective, the majority of the 50 settlers were mechanics, carpenters and craftsmen with no experience in wine-making. The community set aside 40 acres for a center and a school was the first building erected there. The first home was built in 1857, the Anaheim Gazette newspaper was established in 1870, for 25 years, the area was the largest wine producer in California. However, in 1884, a disease infected the grape vines, other crops – walnuts, lemons and oranges – soon filled the void. Fruits and vegetables had become viable cash crops when the Los Angeles – Orange County region was connected to the railroad network in 1887. The famous Polish actress Helena Modjeska settled in Anaheim with her husband and various friends, among them Henryk Sienkiewicz, Julian Sypniewski, while living in Anaheim, Helena Modjeska became good friends with Clementine Langenberger, the second wife of August Langenberger
45.
Houston, Texas
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Houston is the most populous city in the state of Texas and the fourth-most populous city in the United States. With a census-estimated 2014 population of 2.239 million within an area of 667 square miles, it also is the largest city in the southern United States and the seat of Harris County. Located in Southeast Texas near the Gulf of Mexico, it is the city of Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land. Houston was founded on August 28,1836, near the banks of Buffalo Bayou and incorporated as a city on June 5,1837. The city was named after former General Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas and had commanded, the burgeoning port and railroad industry, combined with oil discovery in 1901, has induced continual surges in the citys population. Houstons economy has an industrial base in energy, manufacturing, aeronautics. Leading in health care sectors and building equipment, Houston has more Fortune 500 headquarters within its city limits than any city except for New York City. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled, the city has a population from various ethnic and religious backgrounds and a large and growing international community. Houston is the most diverse city in Texas and has described as the most diverse in the United States. It is home to cultural institutions and exhibits, which attract more than 7 million visitors a year to the Museum District. Houston has a visual and performing arts scene in the Theater District. In August 1836, two real estate entrepreneurs from New York, Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen, purchased 6,642 acres of land along Buffalo Bayou with the intent of founding a city. The Allen brothers decided to name the city after Sam Houston, the general at the Battle of San Jacinto. The great majority of slaves in Texas came with their owners from the slave states. Sizable numbers, however, came through the slave trade. New Orleans was the center of trade in the Deep South. Thousands of enslaved African Americans lived near the city before the Civil War, many of them near the city worked on sugar and cotton plantations, while most of those in the city limits had domestic and artisan jobs. Houston was granted incorporation on June 5,1837, with James S. Holman becoming its first mayor, in the same year, Houston became the county seat of Harrisburg County and the temporary capital of the Republic of Texas
46.
La Palma, California
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La Palma is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The population was 15,568 at the 2010 Census, up from 15,408 at the 2000 census, in 2013, La Palma was ranked 31st in the Best places to live among small cities in the United States by CNNs Money magazine. In 2007, it was ranked 16th best place to live in the US, the rankings are based on the small-and-friendly neighborhood vibe, high-ranking schools, low crime-rate and the lowest police response time in Orange County. La Palma was incorporated on October 26,1955, La Palma is located at 33°50′58″N 118°2′38″W. It is bordered by Cerritos on the north and west, Cypress on the south and west, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.82 square miles. 1.8 square miles of it is land and 0.02 square miles of it is water and this makes it the smallest city in Orange County in terms of area. The 2010 US Census reported that La Palma had a population of 15,568, the population density was 8,499.1 people per square mile. The racial makeup of La Palma was 5,762 White,802 African American,56 Native American,7,483 Asian,41 Pacific Islander,760 from other races, Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2,487 persons. The Census reported that 15,548 people lived in households,14 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, there were 134 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 26 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 716 households were made up of individuals and 389 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 3.06. There were 4,212 families, the family size was 3.37. The median age was 41.2 years, for every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males. There were 5,224 housing units at a density of 2,852.0 per square mile, of which 3,648 were owner-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0. 3%, the vacancy rate was 6. 0%. 11,315 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 4,233 people lived in housing units. According to the 2010 United States Census, La Palma had a household income of $87,289. As of the census of 2000, there were 15,408 people,4,979 households, the population density was 8,499.3 inhabitants per square mile
Theravada Buddhism, Christian
