Tag: Law

The First Person to Publish an Encyclopedia

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Naturalis Historia was the first compiled collection of writing, which during the modern day would be referred to as an “encyclopedia.” Written by Pliny the Elder in the 1st century A.D., Naturalis Historia was divided into 37 unique books and contained more than 20,000 individual facts. Naturalis Historia was comprised of a vast array of subjects including astronomy, geography, zoology, botany, medicine, and even artwork, making it one of the most ambitious attempts in history to catalog and consolidate the entirety of human knowledge. Unlike earlier publications which often focused upon a singular discipline (e.g. medicine but not science or law but not ethics etc.), Pliny the Elder’s Naturalis Historia compilation sought to collect and streamline the entirety of the natural world and the human understanding of it into a single reference point. Pliny the Elder’s encyclopedic vision influenced scholars for centuries after his death, and his work served as one of the main pillars of Medieval and Renaissance education in the centuries which followed. Shortly after completing this compendium in 77 A.D., Pliny the Elder died during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. at age 55 whilst attempting to rescue those who could not escape from the volcano’s clutch. Fortunately, the entirety of his Naturalis Historia work survived this natural disaster

The Ecologically Destructive Technique of Blast Fishing and Cyanide Fishing

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Blast fishing was introduced in Southeast Asia post World War II, by American soldiers who threw grenades into bodies of water to yield a large cache of fish, a technique which is used  during the modern day to produce fish as a food resource in local markets. Dynamite is often used but any explosive will perform the task effectively, even improvised devices which utilize an explosive chemical within a glass drinking bottle with an improvised wick lit by a cigarette. Cyanide fishing is an ecologically destructive method of catching fish in which a diver takes bottled cyanide and pumps it into reef areas where fish reside, stunning the fish and making them easier to catch, so that they can be extracted for the pet and live fish trades. These techniques result in coral reefs losing their color and ultimately dying, eliminating a major food source for marine life within the region. Both methods are extremely damaging to the ecosystem and left unchecked, can decimate entire ecosystems within a few short years. Portions of and entire coral reefs which have slowly built over thousands of years can be destroyed in a matter of seconds by using either of these harmful techniques. Fortunately, both methods of fishing are illegal in most of Southeast Asia

The Reason the Chinese Government Censored Footage of Soccer Games During the 2022 Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup

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During the 2022 Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup in Qatar, the Chinese government intercepted and censored all footage displayed in China in a concerted effort to prohibit Chinese citizens from observing World Cup fans from around the world enjoying and celebrating the games without masks as the Chinese government does not want the Chinese public to believe that doing so is a potential possibility

The Google Term Most Searched the Week After September 11, 2001

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Within the days following September 11, 2001, Google states that the keyword most heavily searched worldwide was “Nostradamus” in reference to French astrologer and mystic Michel de Nostredame, more commonly known by the name “Nostradamus”. de Nostredame is believed by some to have possessed supernatural abilities during his lifetime, specifically the ability to predict future calamitous events

The U.S.’ Attempt to Combat Fraudulent Currency in 2013

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The U.S. $100.00 note was updated in 2013 to employ better and more advanced security measures. The $100.00 bill released in 2013 was a marvel of engineering which included the portrait watermark from the 1996 rendition, as well as the security strip which glows under ultraviolet light. In addition to these security features, color shifting ink was employed upon the bell which appears in the bottom right hand corner next to the text which states “100”, microprinting was implemented on Benjamin Franklin’s jacket cuff to inscribe “The United States of America”, “USA100” around the blank space containing Franklin’s portrait, “ONEHUNDREDUSA” along the golden quill, small 100’s in the notes borders, and a three dimensional ribbon which causes the bill to change its bell icons into text which states “100” when tilting the bill either up or down while continuing to focus upon the blue ribbon shown

The Most Important Intervention to Avoid Suicide During a Mental Health Crisis

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In the U.S., most firearm related deaths are not homicides but rather suicides, and more people commit suicide by firearm then by all other methods combined. The timeframe of a suicidal crisis is typically 1 – 10 minutes in duration, and having a firearm at close reach increases the likelihood of a successful suicide attempt by 95%. If a firearm is not present during a moment of suicidal crisis, and another method is used to attempt suicide, this statistic plunges dramatically to become a 5% – 10% success rate. This is important as the means by which someone takes their life matters. Living in a firearm free home is a critically important aspect of suicide prevention for those who are at risk. It is recommended that during a crisis event, all firearms are unloaded and taken to a trusted friend, with all prescription, over the counter medications, and household poisons (eg. Draino etc.) locked away as well

The Imaginary Concept of Acquiring a “License to Kill”

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Everything performed during espionage is illegal as the act of espionage itself is by definition illegal which is why the imaginary concept of a “license to kill” is irrelevant and redundant as any execution performed during a spy operation is considered a legal act by the state of the officers nationality (e.g. the U.K., the U.S., France etc.), as these actions are always considered prudent and necessary of an officer in the field being that officers have extensive training for situations which they may encounter during a mission

The Rationale Behind the Iconic Mask of Anonymous

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In 2008, the Anonymous hacktivism group staged mass protests across multiple cities worldwide. Because participating members were in need of adopting a physical disguise as they would be shifting from the online world into the physical world, early members of Anonymous spent the proceeding 48 hours calling comic book retailers, costume retailers, toy retailers etc. looking for identical disguises which could be purchased en masse for a reasonable price point. As it turned out, each one of these retailers had overstock of Guy Fawkes masks, most of them sitting in external storage and heavily discounted as no one wanted them after the release of the V for Vendetta film released in 2006, a rare miscalculation by manufacturers and retailers. Strangely, the iconography of the Anonymous organization was birthed out of an accidental fluke of overstock

The Reason Financial Investment Platform Robinhood Halted the Ability to Trade GameStop Stock in 2021

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On January 28, 2021, soon after the opening bell, Robinhood and several other major trading platforms announced the suspension of the ability to purchase GameStop stock, delivering a devastating blow to the WallStreetBets subreddit community which had been helping to elevate the stocks price point by locking out new investors and causing the stock price to tumble dramatically. The rationale for this decision was that extreme volatility could create unforeseen economic problems in the future (e.g. unsustainable economic bubble etc.) but many retail investors viewed this outcome as professional investors leveraging their authority with the U.S. government and the financial industry to stop the public from continuing to financially annihilate large, established trading firms. In addition to the official reason provided, retail trading platforms are not designed to handle the torrent of transactions related to events like the ascendancy of GameStop which played a factor in why Robinhood and other platforms succame to the pressure to halt all future trading of GameStop stock. Robinhood claimed that the company did not have the liquidity on hand to cover the trades and gains being made. Unsurprisingly, the price of GameStop stock rapidly declined, devastating retail investors and highlighting the fact that the investment market is rigged toward the wealthy and powerful perhaps having a distinct advantage over their counterparts. Experts argue that this intervention unnaturally drove the price point of GameStop stock down, acting to reverse the effects of community based organization and investment. It was the clearing houses however that truly forced Robinhood and other trading platforms into capitulating. When a stock is purchased or sold, the transaction does not settle and finalize until 2 business days after the transaction time stamp, something which is unbeknownst to many investors. During this 2 business day period, due to regulation, brokerages and clearing firms are not permitted to use customer capital to fund the collateral use of those 2 business days, therefore being legally required to leverage the firms own capital. Robinhood argued that it did not possess the corporate capital required to facilitate the enormous volume of GameStop stock trades. It should be noted, Robinhood has repeatedly denied that it was under pressure from hedge fund executives, financial organizations, and the professional financial industry as a whole to stop the short squeeze occurring for those who chose to short sell GameStop stock

The Canadian Government Forcing the Relocation of First Nations Persons to Expand Canadian Territory

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During the 1950’s, the Canadian government sent a ship into Nunavik, Canada and forcibly confined 87 Inuit residents relocating these individuals much farther north into the territory of Resolute Bay, not for the benefit of the people affected as no one had ever lived this far north in Canada prior, with the sole objective being for the Canadian federal government to justify Canada’s sovereignty and territorial claim within the High Arctic. The Canadian government believed that if gravesites of Inuit persons were found in this region, it would formally and legally solidify the land as Canadian territory. Migration took 3 months by ship and when the Inuit arrived, they were provided no provisions, forcing them to setup tent shelters in the one of the most formidable and domineering landscapes of North America. The Canadian government fraudulently assured those affected that living conditions would be better with an abundance of animals to hunt and fish for despite few wild animals being present. This event was referred to as the High Arctic Relocation. The term for “Resolute Bay” within the In Inuktitut (pronounced “ee-nook-tee-tut”) language is “Qausuittuq” (pronounced “ko-so-ee-took”) which means “Place of Darkness” and/or “Place Where the Sun Does Not Rise”