Jordan Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan ﺔﻛﻠﻣﻣﻟا درﻷا ﻧ ﯾ ﺔ ﺔﯾﻣﺷﺎﮭﻟا
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Singapore, July 2006
Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Country Profile: Singapore, July 2006 COUNTRY PROFILE: SINGAPORE July 2006 COUNTRY Formal Name: Republic of Singapore (English-language name). Also, in other official languages: Republik Singapura (Malay), Xinjiapo Gongheguo― 新加坡共和国 (Chinese), and Cingkappãr Kudiyarasu (Tamil) சி க யரச. Short Form: Singapore. Click to Enlarge Image Term for Citizen(s): Singaporean(s). Capital: Singapore. Major Cities: Singapore is a city-state. The city of Singapore is located on the south-central coast of the island of Singapore, but urbanization has taken over most of the territory of the island. Date of Independence: August 31, 1963, from Britain; August 9, 1965, from the Federation of Malaysia. National Public Holidays: New Year’s Day (January 1); Lunar New Year (movable date in January or February); Hari Raya Haji (Feast of the Sacrifice, movable date in February); Good Friday (movable date in March or April); Labour Day (May 1); Vesak Day (June 2); National Day or Independence Day (August 9); Deepavali (movable date in November); Hari Raya Puasa (end of Ramadan, movable date according to the Islamic lunar calendar); and Christmas (December 25). Flag: Two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; a vertical white crescent (closed portion toward the hoist side), partially enclosing five white-point stars arranged in a circle, positioned near the hoist side of the red band. The red band symbolizes universal brotherhood and the equality of men; the white band, purity and virtue. The crescent moon represents Click to Enlarge Image a young nation on the rise, while the five stars stand for the ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice, and equality. -
On the Present-Day Veneration of Sacred Trees in the Holy Land
ON THE PRESENT-DAY VENERATION OF SACRED TREES IN THE HOLY LAND Amots Dafni Abstract: This article surveys the current pervasiveness of the phenomenon of sacred trees in the Holy Land, with special reference to the official attitudes of local religious leaders and the attitudes of Muslims in comparison with the Druze as well as in monotheism vs. polytheism. Field data regarding the rea- sons for the sanctification of trees and the common beliefs and rituals related to them are described, comparing the form which the phenomenon takes among different ethnic groups. In addition, I discuss the temporal and spatial changes in the magnitude of tree worship in Northern Israel, its syncretic aspects, and its future. Key words: Holy land, sacred tree, tree veneration INTRODUCTION Trees have always been regarded as the first temples of the gods, and sacred groves as their first place of worship and both were held in utmost reverence in the past (Pliny 1945: 12.2.3; Quantz 1898: 471; Porteous 1928: 190). Thus, it is not surprising that individual as well as groups of sacred trees have been a characteristic of almost every culture and religion that has existed in places where trees can grow (Philpot 1897: 4; Quantz 1898: 467; Chandran & Hughes 1997: 414). It is not uncommon to find traces of tree worship in the Middle East, as well. However, as William Robertson-Smith (1889: 187) noted, “there is no reason to think that any of the great Semitic cults developed out of tree worship”. It has already been recognized that trees are not worshipped for them- selves but for what is revealed through them, for what they imply and signify (Eliade 1958: 268; Zahan 1979: 28), and, especially, for various powers attrib- uted to them (Millar et al. -
Living the Legacy of Slavery Between Discourse and Reality
Cahiers d’études africaines 179-180 | 2005 Esclavage moderne ou modernité de l’esclavage ? Living the Legacy of Slavery Between Discourse and Reality E. Ann McDougall Édition électronique URL : http://journals.openedition.org/etudesafricaines/15068 DOI : 10.4000/etudesafricaines.15068 ISSN : 1777-5353 Éditeur Éditions de l’EHESS Édition imprimée Date de publication : 19 décembre 2005 Pagination : 957-986 ISBN : 978-2-7132-2049-4 ISSN : 0008-0055 Référence électronique E. Ann McDougall, « Living the Legacy of Slavery », Cahiers d’études africaines [En ligne], 179-180 | 2005, mis en ligne le 01 janvier 2007, consulté le 16 juin 2020. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/ etudesafricaines/15068 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/etudesafricaines.15068 © Cahiers d’Études africaines Cet article est disponible en ligne à l’adresse : http://www.cairn.info/article.php?ID_REVUE=CEA&ID_NUMPUBLIE=CEA_179&ID_ARTICLE=CEA_179_0957 Living the Legacy of Slavery. Between Discourse and Reality par E. Ann MCDOUGALL | Editions de l’EHESS | Cahiers d’études africaines 2005/3-4 - 179 ISSN 0008-0055 | ISBN 2713220491 | pages 957 à 986 Pour citer cet article : — McDougall E., Living the Legacy of Slavery. Between Discourse and Reality, Cahiers d’études africaines 2005/3-4, 179, p. 957-986. Distribution électronique Cairn pour Editions de l’EHESS . © Editions de l’EHESS . Tous droits réservés pour tous pays. La reproduction ou représentation de cet article, notamment par photocopie, n'est autorisée que dans les limites des conditions générales d'utilisation du site ou, le cas échéant, des conditions générales de la licence souscrite par votre établissement. Toute autre reproduction ou représentation, en tout ou partie, sous quelque forme et de quelque manière que ce soit, est interdite sauf accord préalable et écrit de l'éditeur, en dehors des cas prévus par la législation en vigueur en France. -
Freedom House
7/14/2020 Slovakia | Freedom House FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2020 Slovakia 88 FREE /100 Political Rights 36 /40 Civil Liberties 52 /60 LAST YEAR'S SCORE & STATUS 88 /100 Free Global freedom statuses are calculated on a weighted scale. See the methodology. TOP https://freedomhouse.org/country/slovakia/freedom-world/2020 1/15 7/14/2020 Slovakia | Freedom House Overview Slovakia’s parliamentary system features regular multiparty elections and peaceful transfers of power between rival parties. While civil liberties are generally protected, democratic institutions are hampered by political corruption, entrenched discrimination against Roma, and growing political hostility toward migrants and refugees. Key Developments in 2019 In March, controversial businessman Marian Kočner was charged with ordering the 2018 murder of investigative reporter Ján Kuciak and his fiancée. After phone records from Kočner’s cell phone were leaked by Slovak news outlet Aktuality.sk, an array of public officials, politicians, judges, and public prosecutors were implicated in corrupt dealings with Kočner. Also in March, environmental activist and lawyer Zuzana Čaputová of Progressive Slovakia, a newcomer to national politics, won the presidential election, defeating Smer–SD candidate Maroš Šefčovič. Čaputová is the first woman elected as president in the history of the country. Political Rights A. Electoral Process A1 0-4 pts Was the current head of government or other chief national authority elected through free and fair elections? 4 / 4 TOP Slovakia is a parliamentary republic whose prime minister leads the government. There is also a directly elected president with important but limited executive powers. In March 2018, an ultimatum from Direction–Social Democracy (Smer–SD), a https://freedomhouse.org/country/slovakia/freedom-world/2020 2/15 7/14/2020 Slovakia | Freedom House junior coalition partner, and center-right party Most-Híd, led to the resignation of former prime minister Robert Fico. -
Elections in the Western Balkans: Fragile Progress in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia
Elections in the Western Balkans: Fragile Progress in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia Graduate Policy Workshop January 2017 Authors Edward Atkinson, Nicholas Collins, Aparna Krishnamurthy, Mae Lindsey, Yanchuan Liu, David Logan, Ken Sofer, Aditya Sriraman, Francisco Varela Sandoval Advisor Jeff Fischer CONTENTS About the WWS Graduate Policy Workshop ........................................................................................iv Acknowledgements ..............................................................................................................................iv Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Albania ................................................................................................................................................... 2 Background and Context .................................................................................................................. 2 Description of Electoral and Political Processes and Institutions ................................................... 3 Electoral and Political Issues ............................................................................................................ 4 Electoral Process Vulnerabilities .......................................................................................................................... 4 Political Process Vulnerabilities ........................................................................................................................... -
Dave Meyer IES Abroad Rabat, Morocco Major: Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE)
Dave Meyer IES Abroad Rabat, Morocco Major: Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) Program: I participated in IES Abroad's program in Rabat, the capital city of Morocco. After a two week orientation in the city of Fez, we settled into Rabat for the remainder of the semester. I took courses in beginning Arabic, North African politics, Islam in Morocco, and gender in North Africa. All my classes were at the IES Center, which had several classrooms, wi-fi, and most importantly, air conditioning. The classes themselves were in English, but they were taught by English-speaking Moroccan professors. My program also arranged for us to go on several trips: a weekend in the Sahara desert, a weekend in the Middle Atlas mountains, and a trip to southern Spain to study Moorish culture. Typical Day: On a typical day, I would wake up around 7:15, get dressed, and head downstairs for breakfast prepared by most host mother, Batoul. Usually breakfast consisted of bread with butter, honey, and apricot jam and either coffee or Moroccan mint tea. After breakfast, I would start the 25 minute walk through the medina and city to class at the IES Center. Usually, the merchants in the medina were just setting up shop and traffic was busy as people arrived downtown for work. After Arabic class in the morning, I would head over to my favorite cafe, Cafe Al-Atlal, which was about two blocks from the center. There, I would enjoy an almond croissant and an espresso while reading for class, catching up on email, or just relaxing with my friends. -
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Nisan / The Levantine Review Volume 4 Number 2 (Winter 2015) Identity and Peoples in History Speculating on Ancient Mediterranean Mysteries Mordechai Nisan* We are familiar with a philo-Semitic disposition characterizing a number of communities, including Phoenicians/Lebanese, Kabyles/Berbers, and Ismailis/Druze, raising the question of a historical foundation binding them all together. The ethnic threads began in the Galilee and Mount Lebanon and later conceivably wound themselves back there in the persona of Al-Muwahiddun [Unitarian] Druze. While DNA testing is a fascinating methodology to verify the similarity or identity of a shared gene pool among ostensibly disparate peoples, we will primarily pursue our inquiry using conventional historical materials, without however—at the end—avoiding the clues offered by modern science. Our thesis seeks to substantiate an intuition, a reading of the contours of tales emanating from the eastern Mediterranean basin, the Levantine area, to Africa and Egypt, and returning to Israel and Lebanon. The story unfolds with ancient biblical tribes of Israel in the north of their country mixing with, or becoming Lebanese Phoenicians, travelling to North Africa—Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya in particular— assimilating among Kabyle Berbers, later fusing with Shi’a Ismailis in the Maghreb, who would then migrate to Egypt, and during the Fatimid period evolve as the Druze. The latter would later flee Egypt and return to Lebanon—the place where their (biological) ancestors had once dwelt. The original core group was composed of Hebrews/Jews, toward whom various communities evince affinity and identity today with the Jewish people and the state of Israel. -
Why Did Britain Become a Republic? > New Government
Civil War > Why did Britain become a republic? > New government Why did Britain become a republic? Case study 2: New government Even today many people are not aware that Britain was ever a republic. After Charles I was put to death in 1649, a monarch no longer led the country. Instead people dreamed up ideas and made plans for a different form of government. Find out more from these documents about what happened next. Report on the An account of the Poem on the arrest of setting up of the new situation in Levellers, 1649 Commonwealth England, 1649 Portrait & symbols of Cromwell at the The setting up of Cromwell & the Battle of the Instrument Commonwealth Worcester, 1651 of Government http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/ Page 1 Civil War > Why did Britain become a republic? > New government Case study 2: New government - Source 1 A report on the arrest of some Levellers, 29 March 1649 (Catalogue ref: SP 25/62, pp.134-5) What is this source? This is a report from a committee of MPs to Parliament. It explains their actions against the leaders of the Levellers. One of the men they arrested was John Lilburne, a key figure in the Leveller movement. What’s the background to this source? Before the war of the 1640s it was difficult and dangerous to come up with new ideas and try to publish them. However, during the Civil War censorship was not strongly enforced. Many political groups emerged with new ideas at this time. One of the most radical (extreme) groups was the Levellers. -
Greening the Agriculture System: Morocco's Political Failure In
Greening the Agriculture System: Morocco’s Political Failure in Building a Sustainable Model for Development By Jihane Benamar Mentored by Dr. Harry Verhoeven A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of Honors in International Politics, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Spring 2018. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 2 • THE MOROCCAN PUZZLE .................................................................................................... 5 • WHY IS AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IMPORTANT FOR MOROCCO? .............................. 7 • WHY THE PLAN MAROC VERT? .......................................................................................... 8 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................ 13 • A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR “DEVELOPMENT”....................................................... 14 • ROSTOW, STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMS (SAPS) & THE OLD DEVELOPMENT DISCOURSE ......................................................................................................................... 19 • THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN DEVELOPMENT .............................................................. 24 • SUSTAINABILITY AND THE DISCOURSE ON DEVELOPMENT & AGRICULTURE ................ -
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine Biomed Central
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine BioMed Central Research Open Access The supernatural characters and powers of sacred trees in the Holy Land Amots Dafni* Address: Institute of Evolution, the University of Haifa, Haifa 31905, Israel Email: Amots Dafni* - [email protected] * Corresponding author Published: 25 February 2007 Received: 29 November 2006 Accepted: 25 February 2007 Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2007, 3:10 doi:10.1186/1746-4269-3-10 This article is available from: http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/3/1/10 © 2007 Dafni; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract This article surveys the beliefs concerning the supernatural characteristics and powers of sacred trees in Israel; it is based on a field study as well as a survey of the literature and includes 118 interviews with Muslims and Druze. Both the Muslims and Druze in this study attribute supernatural dimensions to sacred trees which are directly related to ancient, deep-rooted pagan traditions. The Muslims attribute similar divine powers to sacred trees as they do to the graves of their saints; the graves and the trees are both considered to be the abode of the soul of a saint which is the source of their miraculous powers. Any violation of a sacred tree would be strictly punished while leaving the opportunity for atonement and forgiveness. The Druze, who believe in the transmigration of souls, have similar traditions concerning sacred trees but with a different religious background. -
The Concept of Mixed Government in Classical and Early Modern Republicanism
Ivan Matić Original Scientific Paper University of Belgrade UDK 321.728:321.01 141.7 THE CONCEPT OF MIXED GOVERNMENT IN CLASSICAL AND EARLY MODERN REPUBLICANISM Abstract: This paper will present an analysis of the concept of mixed government in political philosophy, accentuating its role as the central connecting thread both between theories within classical and early modern republicanism and of the two eras within the republican tradition. The first part of the paper will offer a definition of mixed government, contrasting it with separation of powers and explaining its potential significance in contemporary political though. The second part will offer a comprehensive, broad analysis of the concept, based on political theories of four thinkers of paramount influence: Aristotle, Cicero, Machiavelli and Guicciardini.1 In the final part, the theories and eras of republican tradition will be compared based on the previous analysis, establishing their essential similarities and differences. Key words: Mixed Government, Classical Republicanism, Florentine Realism, Early Modern Republicanism, Aristotle, Cicero, Machiavelli, Guicciardini. Introduction The roots of republican political thought can be traced to the antiquity and the theories of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers. As might be expected in the two and a half millennia that followed, our understanding of republicanism has been subject to frequent and, sometimes, substantial change. Yet, one defining element has always remained: the concept embedded in its very name, derived from the Latin phrase res publica (public good, or, more broadly, commonwealth), its implicit meaning being that the government of a state is meant to be accessible and accountable to all citizens, its goals being the goals not merely of certain classes and factions, but of society as a whole. -
Rabat and Salé – Bridging the Gap Nchimunya Hamukoma, Nicola Doyle and Archimedes Muzenda
FUTURE OF AFRICAN CITIES PROJECT DISCUSSION PAPER 13/2018 Rabat and Salé – Bridging the Gap Nchimunya Hamukoma, Nicola Doyle and Archimedes Muzenda Strengthening Africa’s economic performance Rabat and Salé – Bridging the Gap Contents Executive Summary .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3 Introduction .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 5 Setting the Scene .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 6 The Security Imperative .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 7 Governance .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 8 Economic Growth .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 9 Infrastructure .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 12 Service Delivery .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 16 Conclusion .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 18 Endnotes .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 20 About the Authors Nchimunya Hamukoma and Published in November 2018 by The Brenthurst Foundation Nicola Doyle are Researchers The Brenthurst Foundation at the Brenthurst Foundation. (Pty) Limited Archimedes Muzenda was the PO Box 61631, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa Machel-Mandela Fellow for Tel +27-(0)11 274-2096 2018. Fax +27-(0)11 274-2097 www.thebrenthurstfoundation.org