Skip to main content

Category: language

What is March for Life?

What is Leave a comment

The March for Life is an annual rally protesting against abortion

The March for Life organisation is against abortion and feels that every child deserves to be born and to have a voice.

The March for Life is held in different locations in the USA, on or around the anniversary of the United States Supreme Courts decision legalizing abortion in the case Roe v. Wade. The march is organized by the March for Life Education and Defense Fund. The overall goal of the march is to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision and reduce access to the procedure.

Between 2003 and 2009, the march had an attendance of around 250,000. The 2011 and 2012 marches drew an estimated 400,000 each, whereas the 2013 march drew an estimated 650,000. The generated number of attendees reported by organizers conflicts significantly, with some sources indicating this is a small event in the thousands.

The 2017 march is held on January 27th, 2017.

Source: Wikipedia

Read More

What is Doomsdayclock?

What is Leave a comment

The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic clock face that represents a countdown to possible global catastrophe

It has been maintained since 1947 by the members of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Science and Security Board, who are in turn advised by the Governing Board and the Board of Sponsors, including 18 Nobel Laureates. The closer they set the Clock to midnight, the more vulnerable the scientists believe the world is to global disaster.

Originally, the Clock, which hangs on a wall in The Bulletins office in the University of Chicago, represented an analogy for the threat of global nuclear war; however, since 2007 it has also reflected climate change, and new developments in the life sciences and technology that could inflict irrevocable harm to humanity.

The most recent officially announced setting—two and a half minutes to midnight—was made in January 2017 due to The rise of strident nationalism worldwide, United States President Donald Trumps comments over nuclear weapons, and the disbelief in the scientific consensus over Climate Change by the Trump Administration. The future is looking bleak at the moment.

Source: Wikipedia

Read More

What is Indiegogo?

What is Leave a comment

Indiegogo is an international crowdfunding website

Indiegogo was founded in 2008 by Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin, and Eric SchellIts. The site is one of the first sites to offer crowdfunding. Indiegogo allows people to raise funds for an idea, charity, or start-up business. Indiegogo charges a 5% fee on contributions. This charge is in addition to credit card and PayPal charges that range from 3.5% to 9%. Fifteen million people visit the site each month.

The site runs on a rewards-based system, meaning donors, investors, or customers who are willing help to fund a project or product can donate and receive a gift, rather than an equity stake in the company.

In 2014, Indiegogo launched Indiegogo Life, a service that people can use to raise money for emergencies, medical expenses, celebrations, or other life events. Indiegogo Life does not charge a platform fee, so fundraisers keep more of the money they raise. In 2015 Indiegogo Life was renamed to Generosity.com.

Source: Wikipedia

Read More

What is the meaning of MAGA?

What is the meaning of Leave a comment

MAGA means Make America Great Again

Donald Trump used the phrase ‘Make America great again’ very much during his campaign periode for the presidency of the United States. Every now and then this hashtag is also mentioned on the @potus twitter account.


What does IRS mean?

What is the meaning of Leave a comment

IRS means Internal Revenue Service

The IRS is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The government agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The IRS is responsible for collecting taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the federal statutory tax law of the U.S. Its duty to maximize tax revenue entails providing tax assistance to taxpayers, as well as pursuing and resolving instances of erroneous or fraudulent tax filings. The IRS has also overseen various benefits programs, and enforces portions of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

In the 2015 fiscal year, the IRS processed almost 240 million returns and collected approximately $3.3 trillion in revenue, spending 35¢ for every $100 it collected.

Source: Wikipedia

Read More

What is TPP?

What is Leave a comment

TPP means Trans-Pacific Partnership

TPP, or the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), was a trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States of America and Vietnam

The finalized proposal was signed on 4 February 2016 in Auckland, New Zealand, concluding seven years of negotiations. It currently cannot be ratified due to U.S. withdrawal from the agreement on 23 January 2017. The former Obama administration claimed that the agreement aimed to promote economic growth; support the creation and retention of jobs; enhance innovation, productivity and competitiveness; raise living standards; reduce poverty in the signatories countries; and promote transparency, good governance, and enhanced labor and environmental protections. The TPP contains measures to lower both non-tariff and tariff barriers to trade, and establish an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism.

The TPP began as an expansion of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPSEP or P4) signed by Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, and Singapore in 2005. Beginning in 2008, additional countries joined the discussion for a broader agreement: Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, United States, and Vietnam, bringing the total number of countries participating in the negotiations to twelve. Current trade agreements between participating countries, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, will be reduced to those provisions that do not conflict with the TPP or provide greater trade liberalization than the TPP. The Obama administration considered the TPP a companion agreement to the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a broadly similar agreement between the U.S. and the European Union.

Source: Wikipedia

Read More

BBC

What is BBC?

What is the meaning of Leave a comment

BBC is the British Broadcasting Corporation

The BBC is a British public service broadcaster. It is headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, and is the worlds oldest national broadcasting organisation. The BBC is also the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees, with over 20,950 staff in total.

The BBC is established under a Royal Charter and operates under its Agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Its work is funded principally by an annual television licence fee which is charged to all British households, companies, and organisations using any type of equipment to receive or record live television broadcasts. The fee is set by the British Government, agreed by Parliament, and used to fund the BBCs extensive radio, TV, and online services covering the nations and regions of the UK. Since 1 April 2014, it has also funded the BBC World Service (launched in 1932 as the BBC Empire Service), which broadcasts in 28 languages and provides comprehensive TV, radio, and online services in Arabic, and Persian.

Around a quarter of BBC revenues come from its commercial arm BBC Worldwide Ltd, which sells BBC programmes and services internationally and also distributes the BBCs international 24-hour English-language news services BBC World News, and from BBC.com, provided by BBC Global News Ltd.

Source: Wikipedia

Read More

BT British Telecom

What does BT mean?

What is the meaning of Leave a comment

BT means British Telecommunications

BT is a holding company which owns British Telecommunications plc, a British multinational telecommunications services company with head offices in London, United KingdomIt has operations in around 180 countries.

BTs origins date back to the founding of the Electric Telegraph Company in 1846 which developed a nationwide communications network. In 1912, the General Post Office, a government department, became the monopoly telecoms supplier in the United Kingdom. The Post Office Act of 1969 led to the GPO becoming a public corporation. British Telecommunications, trading as British Telecom, was formed in 1980, and became independent of the Post Office in 1981. British Telecommunications was privatised in 1984, becoming British Telecommunications plc, with some 50 percent of its shares sold to investors. The Government sold its remaining stake in further share sales in 1991 and 1993. BT has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange, a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Source: Wikipedia

Read More

What is Towel Day?

What is Leave a comment

Towel Day is celebrated every year on 25 May as a tribute to author Douglas Adams

On this day, fans openly carry a towel with them, as described in Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, to demonstrate their appreciation for the books and the author. The commemoration was first held 25 May 2001, two weeks after Adams death on 11 May. Since then it has become a yearly celebration.

On Towel Day 2015, astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti sent a “Towel Day greeting” and read aloud a sample from The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy from the International Space Station. In 2016 Briton Tim Peake celebrated Towel Day in space.

Source: Wikipedia

Read More