Count Dracula

Count Dracula is the title character and the primary antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. He is described as an archetypal vampire and some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler. The character appears frequently in all manner of popular culture, from films to animated media to breakfast cereals.


Count Dracula (a first name is never given) is a centuries-old vampire, sorcerer, and Transylvanian nobleman, who claims to be a Székely descended from Attila the Hun. He inhabits a decaying castle in the Carpathian Mountains near the Borgo Pass. Unlike the vampires of Eastern European folklore, which are portrayed as repulsive, corpse-like creatures, Dracula exudes a veneer of aristocratic charm. In his conversations with Jonathan Harker, he reveals himself as deeply proud of his boyar heritage and nostalgic for the past times, which he admits have become only a memory of heroism, honor and valor in modern times.
Details of his early life are obscure, but it seems that Dracula studied the black arts at the academy of Scholomance in the Carpathian Mountains, overlooking the town of Sibiu (also known as Hermannstadt) and became proficient in alchemy and magic.Taking up arms, as befitting his rank and status as a Voivode, he led troops against the Turks across the Danube. According to Van Helsing: "He must indeed have been that Voivode Dracula who won his name against the Turk, over the great river on the very frontier of Turkey-land. If it be so, then was he no common man: for in that time, and for centuries after, he was spoken of as the cleverest and the most cunning, as well as the bravest of the sons of the land beyond the forest." Dead and buried in a great tomb in the chapel of his castle, Dracula returns from death as a vampire and lives for several centuries in his castle with three beautiful female vampires beside him.They seem to bear a possible family resemblance  though whether they be his lovers, sisters, daughters, or vampires made by him is not made clear in the narrative.


Max Schreck as Count Orlok, the first confirmed cinematic representation of Dracula.
As the novel begins in the late 19th century, Dracula acts on a long contemplated plan for world domination, and infiltrates London to begin his reign of terror. He summons Jonathan Harker, a newly-qualified English solicitor, to provide legal support for a real estate transaction overseen by Harker's employer. Dracula at first charms Harker with his cordiality and historical knowledge, and even rescues him from the clutches of the three female vampires in the castle. In truth, however, Dracula wishes to keep Harker alive long enough to complete the legal transaction and to learn as much as possible about England.
Dracula leaves his castle and boards a Russian ship, the Demeter, taking along with him boxes of Transylvanian soil, which he needs in order to regain his strength. During the voyage to Whitby, a coastal town in northern England, he sustains himself on the ship's crew members. Only one body is later found, that of the captain, who is found tied up to the ship's helm. The captain's log is recovered and tells of strange events that had taken place during the ship's journey. Dracula leaves the ship in the form of a dog.
Soon the Count is menacing Harker's fiancée, Wilhelmina "Mina" Murray, and her friend, Lucy Westenra. There is also a notable link between Dracula and Renfield, a patient in an insane asylum compelled to consume insects, spiders, birds, and other creatures—in ascending order of size—in order to absorb their "life force". Renfield acts as a kind of sensor, reacting to Dracula's proximity and supplying clues accordingly. Dracula begins to visit Lucy's bed chamber on a nightly basis, draining her of blood while simultaneously infecting her with the curse of vampirism. Not knowing the cause for Lucy's deterioration, her companions call upon the Dutch doctor Abraham Van Helsing, the former mentor of one of Lucy's suitors. Van Helsing soon deduces her condition's supernatural origins, but does not speak out. Despite an attempt at keeping the vampire at bay with garlic, Dracula entices Lucy out of her chamber late at night and transforms her into one of the undead.
Van Helsing, Harker, and Lucy's former suitors Arthur Holmwood and Quincey Morris enter her crypt and kill her. They later enter Dracula's residence at Carfax, destroying his boxes of earth, depriving the Count of his ability to rest. Dracula leaves England to return to his homeland, but not before biting Mina.
The final section of the novel details the heroes racing Dracula back to Transylvania, and in a climactic battle with Dracula's gypsy bodyguards, finally destroying him. Despite the popular image of Dracula having a stake driven through his heart, Mina's narrative describes his throat being sliced through by Jonathan Harker's kukri and his heart pierced by Morris' Bowie knife (Mina Harker's Journal, 6 November, Dracula Chapter 27). His body then turns into dust, but not before Mina Harker sees an expression of peace on Dracula's face.

tips for travelling alone

Tips for Traveling Alone

Whether you're single or married to a homebody, being a solo traveler on a group trip—where coupledom is often the norm—can leave you feeling like a third, or thirteenth, wheel.  But that's changing as more travelers hit the road by themselves. In 2009, 22.2 million out of 170 million Americans traveling for leisure purposes traveled alone, according to the U.S. Travel Association. As a result, more travel companies are marketing to the solo crowd with offers on everything from dropping the dreaded “single supplement”—a surcharge on top of published double-occupancy rates—to matching single travelers up with like-minded companions.

Tauck World Discovery, for example, has more than 40 tours and cruise departures where the single surcharge is reduced. On top of saving anywhere from about 60 to 80 percent off the normal single supplement, the special pricing virtually guarantees that other solo travelers will be on those trips.Country Walkers offers private tours that can be made up of women only, many of whom are keen to avoid the meat-market mentality of some "singles-only" tours and cruises. Absolute Travel provides a service that pairs compatible clients who would prefer not to take a trip alone. Even adventure outfitters are gearing expeditions to solo travelers: kayak specialist H2Outfitters plans paddling excursions along the coastline of Montenegro for "like-minded singles."

While many singles-only departures aren't intended as matchmaking opportunities, some are. The important thing is to quiz the outfitter. Even for regular departures, a good company should be able provide you with a breakdown of the group by gender, age, singles, and couples. And if you decide to go it alone, ask the operator if it will match you with a roommate to avoid the single-supplement.

student activism

Student activism is work done by students to affect political, environmental, economic, or social change. It has often focused on making changes in schools, such as increasing student influence over curriculum or improving educational funding. In some settings, student groups have had a major role in broader political events



Japan


Japanese student movement began during the Taishō Democracy, and grew in activity after World War II. They were mostly carried out by activist students. One such event was the Anpo opposition movement, which occurred during 1960, and again in 1968 – 1970, in opposition to Anpo. During the second riots, leftist activists barricaded themselves in Universities, resulting in armed conflict with the Japanese police force. Activists organized in places known as "agitating points". Some wider causes were supported including opposition to the Vietnam War and apartheid, and for the acceptance of the hippie lifestyle.
[edit]Germany
See also: German student movement




Procession of students at Wartburg Festival


In 1815 in Jena (Germany) the "Urburschenschaft" was founded. That was a Studentenverbindung that was concentrated on national and democratic ideas. In 1817, inspired by liberal and patriotic ideas of a united Germany, student organisations gathered for the Wartburg festival at Wartburg Castle, at Eisenach in Thuringia, on the occasion of which reactionary books were burnt.
In 1819 the student Karl Ludwig Sand murdered the writer August von Kotzebue, who had scoffed at liberal student organisations.
In May 1832 the Hambacher Fest was celebrated at Hambach Castle near Neustadt an der Weinstraße with about 30 000 participants, amongst them many students. Together with the Frankfurter Wachensturm in 1833 planned to free students held in prison at Frankfurt and Georg Büchner's revolutionary pamphlet Der Hessische Landbote that were events that led to the revolutions in the German states in 1848.
In the 1960s, the worldwide upswing in student and youth radicalism manifested itself through the German student movement and organisations such as the German Socialist Student Union. The movement in Germany shared many concerns of similar groups elsewhere, such as the democratisation of society and opposing the Vietnam War, but also stressed more nationally specific issues such as coming to terms with the legacy of the Nazi regime and opposing the German Emergency Acts.




Canada


In Canada, several New Left student organizations emerged in the late 1950s and 1960s. There were several dominant New Left groups in Canada, the two main political organizations being the Student Union for Peace Action (SUPA) and the Company of Young Canadians (CYC). SUPA grew out of the pacifistic and moralistic Combined Universities Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CUCND) in December, 1965, at a conference at the University of Saskatchewan, and expanded its scope of affairs to include grass-roots politics in disadvantaged communities and ‘consciousness raising’ to radicalize and raise awareness of the ‘generation gap’ experienced by Canadian youth. SUPA was a decentralized organization, rooted in local university campuses, and thus inherited the distinctly middle-class orientation of Canadian students. After SUPA disintegrated in late 1967, its members either moved to the CYC or became active leaders in the Canadian Union of Students (CUS), leading the CUS to assume the mantle of New Left student agitation. The organizations were marked by widespread intellectual debates. For example, with respect to the working class, the idea that the traditional ‘working class’ had been bought off and integrated into the system was widespread in these discussions, leaving the question of who now represented the most important actor in the struggle for a new and better socialist society. Indeed, SUPA fell apart over these debates over the role of the working class and the 'Old Left'. In 1968 Students for a Democratic University (SDU) was formed in McGill and Simon Fraser University. The SFU SDU was originally composed of former SUPA members and New Democratic Youth but also absorbed members from the campus Liberal Club and Young Socialists. SDU was prominent in the Administration Occupation of that year and the student strike in 1969. After the failure of the student strike SDU broke up. Some members joined the IWW and the Youth International Party. (Yippies) Other members helped form the Vancouver Liberation Front in 1970.
Since the 1970s Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG's) have been created as a result of Student's Union referendums across Canada e.g. Ontario Public Interest Research Group, the Alberta Public Interest Research Group (APIRG) and the Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group. For a more complete list of PIRGs in Canada see pirg.ca .
Canadian PIRG's are unique from their American counterparts in that, in principle, the projects are student directed and run. Most, if not all, Canadian PIRG's operate on a consensus decision making model. Canadian PIRGs are student run and the majority of their funding comes directly from students. Although some efforts have been made towards collaboration Canadian PIRGs are independent of each other.
The Student Coalition Against War was formed to focus on public education, non-violent activism, organizing, advocacy and above all, reform.




Eastern Europe and the post-Soviet Union states


During communist rule, students in Eastern Europe were the force behind several of the best-known instances of protest. The chain of events leading to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution was started by peaceful student demonstrations in the streets of Budapest, later attracting workers and other Hungarians. In Czechoslovakia, one of the most known faces of the protests following the Soviet-led invasion that ended the Prague Spring was Jan Palach, a student who committed suicide by setting fire to himself on January 16, 1969. The act triggered a major protest against the occupation.
Student-dominated youth movements have also played a central role in the "color revolutions" seen in post-communist societies in recent years. The first example of this was the Serbian Otpor ("Resistance" in Serbian), formed in October 1998 as a response to repressive university and media laws that were introduced that year. In the presidential campaign in September 2000, the organisation engineered the "Gotov je" ("He's finished") campaign that galvanized Serbian discontent with Slobodan Milošević, ultimately resulting in his defeat.
Otpor has inspired other youth movements in Eastern Europe, such as Kmara in Georgia, that played an important role in the Rose Revolution, and Pora in Ukraine, the most important movement organising the demonstrations that led to the Orange Revolution. Like Otpor, these organisations have consequently practiced non-violent resistance and used ridiculing humor in opposing authoritarian leaders. Similar movements include KelKel in Kyrgyzstan, Zubr in Belarus and MJAFT! in Albania.
Opponents of the "color revolutions" have accused the Soros Foundations and/or the United States government of supporting and even planning the revolutions in order to serve western interests. Supporters of the revolutions have argued that these allegations are greatly exaggerated, and that the revolutions were positive events, morally justified, whether or not Western support had an influence on the events.




Australia


Australian Students have a long history of being active in political debates. This is particularly true in the newer universities that have been established in suburban areas. The National Union of Students has sometimes been at the forefront of campus activism in Australia.[citation needed] As in other Western nations, students across Australia also protested the domination of state-run education on the back of some very strong protests and even violent clashes with police and other educational and state-represented authorities - such clashes probably peaking by the year, 1967. As in other nations, left-wing students, in particular, demanded significant changes in educational perspective that reflected the down-trodden state of the working classes. This perspective was a virtual about-face on the more traditional functionalist view that had previously prevailed in state education. These clashes and the immensity of opposition of students to traditional state-perceived functional views of society paved the way for a 'consciousness' of minority groups within society which has changed the Australian persona on the view of functional society ever since. The newer theory had graduated by the 1980s into what was perceived as a more 'critical view' of society.


Malaysia


Since the amendment of Section 15 of the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) in 1975, students were barred from being members of, and expressing support or opposition to, any political parties or "any organization, body or group of persons which the Minister, after consultation with the Board, has specified in writing to the Vice-Chancellor to be unsuitable to the interests and well-being of the students or the University." However, in October 2011, the Court of Appeal ruled that the relevant provision in Section 15 UUCA was unconstitutional due to Article 10 of the Federal Constitution pertaining to freedom of expression.


France


In France, student activists have been influential in shaping public debate. In May 1968 the University of Paris at Nanterre was closed due to problems between the students and the administration. In protest of the closure and the expulsion of Nanterre students, students of the Sorbonne in Paris began their own demonstration. The situation escalated into a nation-wide insurrection during which a variety of groups, including communists, anarchists, and right-wing libertarian activists, used the tension to advocate their own causes.
The events in Paris were followed by student protests throughout the world. The German student movement participated in major demonstrations against proposed emergency legislation. In many countries, the student protests caused authorities to respond with violence. In Spain, student demonstrations against Franco's dictatorship led to clashes with police. A student demonstration in Mexico City ended in a storm of bullets on the night of October 2, 1968, an event known as the Tlatelolco massacre. Even in Pakistan, students took to the streets to protest changes in education policy, and on November 7 a college student was shot dead as police opened fire on a demonstration.




China


Students on Tianasquare in 1919
Since the defeat of the Qing Dynasty during the First (1839–1842) and Second Opium Wars (1856–1860), student activism has played a significant role in the modern Chinese history.[5] Fueled mostly by Chinese nationalism, Chinese student activism strongly believes that young people are responsible for China's future. This strong nationalistic belief has been able to manifest in several forms such as democracy, Anti-Americanism and Communism.
One of the most important acts of student activism in Chinese history is the May Fourth Movement, which over 3000 students of Peking University and other schools gathered together in front of Tiananmen and held a demonstration. It is regarded as an essential step of the democratic revolution in China, and it had also give birth to Chinese Communism. Anti-Americanism movements led by the students during the Chinese Civil War were also instrumental in discrediting the KMT government and bring the Communist victory in China. In 1989, the democracy movement led by the students at the Tiananmen Square protests ended in a brutal government crackdown which would later be called a massacre.


Indonesia


In Indonesia, university student groups have repeatedly been the first groups to stage street demonstrations calling for governmental change at key points in the nation's history, and other organizations from across the political spectrum have sought to align themselves with student groups.
In 1928, the Youth Pledge (Sumpah Pemuda) helped to give voice to anti-colonial sentiments.
During the political turmoil of the 1960s, right-wing student groups staged demonstrations calling for then-President Sukarno to eliminate alleged Communists from his government, and later demanding that he resign. Sukarno did step down in 1967, and was replaced by Army general Suharto.
Student groups also played a key role in Suharto's 1998 fall by initiating large demonstrations that gave voice to widespread popular discontent with the president. High school and university students in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Medan, and elsewhere were some of the first groups willing to speak out publicly against the military government. Student groups were a key part of the political scene during this period. For example, upon taking office after Suharto stepped down, B. J. Habibie made numerous mostly unsuccessful overtures to placate the student groups that had brought down his predecessor, meeting with student leaders and the families of students killed by security forces during demonstrations.

Google joins Anti SOPA protest

Google Joins Anti-SOPA Protest by ‘Censoring’ Its Logo

Although it didn’t black out any of its sites entirely, Googlehas joined the anti-SOPA protest by putting up a censored version of its logo, visible only to users from the U.S.

Google’s David Drummond explained the company’s views on SOPA/PIPA in an official blog post.

PIPA and SOPA will censor the web, stifle innovation and hurt web businesses, says Drummond, and it won’t even help the fight against piracy.

“These bills would grant new powers to law enforcement to filter the Internet and block access to tools to get around those filters (…) These bills would make it easier to sue law-abiding U.S. companies. Law-abiding payment processors and Internet advertising services can be subject to these private rights of action,” writes Drummond.

SEE ALSO: Why SOPA Is Dangerous

“These bills wouldn’t get rid of pirate sites. Pirate sites would just change their addresses in order to continue their criminal activities,” writes Drummond, calling everyone to sign the anti-SOPA petition and reach out to Congress in order to fight this proposed bill.

Nedroid

These sites have "blacked out" Wednesday, Jan. 18 in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). It makes it just a little bit easier to imagine what the web could look like if some of the measures from the proposed bill were to become law.

SOPA blackout

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what will happen if we dont recycle

Landfills

The landfills are filling up fast. Most of them are getting full and closing down. A third have closed since 1980. More than half the cities on the East Coast will run out of room in their landfills by 1990. In New York, 14 sites have closed in the past 10 years. All of Seattle's sites will soon be full. We're running out of space to put all the trash. Some of the hazardous waste in landfills gets into the groundwater and pollutes it. When common garbage is burned, it can release dangerous gases into the air. Each year Americans throw away 1.6 billion pens, 2 billion razors and blades and 220 million tires. They discard enough aluminum to rebuild the entire U.S. commercial airline fleet.

Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect keeps the earth warm when functioning normally. For the first time in history, human activities are altering the climate of our entire planet. In less than 2 centuries, humans have increased the total amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 25% from the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of forests. Almost 20 years after the clean air act passed, millions of Americans still breathe dirty air. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, over seventy six million people live in areas where the clean air standard is exceeded.

Ozone

Ozone, the primary component of smog, is a gas formed when nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons combine in sunlight. In the atmosphere, ozone occurs naturally as a thin layer that protects us from the sun's ultraviolet rays. But when it's formed at ground level, it's deadly. Lung damage from ozone polluted air is a risk faced by roughly 3 out of 5 Americans. Ozone smog is responsible for extensive damage to pines in California and in the Eastern United States. It's also to blame for crop losses in many agricultural states. As ozone diminishes in the upper atmosphere, the earth receives more ultraviolet radiation which depresses the human imune system. It will affect the well being of every person on the planet.

Hazardous Waste

In 1983, 266 million tons of hazardous waste were generated. Advanced nations manufacture some 70,000 different chemicals, most of which have not been thoroughly tested. Careless use and disposal of these substances contaminate our food, water, and air. We enjoy the convenience of such chemically derived products as plastics, detergents, and aerosals and yet we are often unaware of the hidden price tag associated with them. Eventually they find their way into water and/or the ground via landfills and drains.

Groundwater

Because we have not understood groundwater, and how vulnerable it is, we have been careless. Gasoline and other harmful liquids have been allowed to leak from underground storage tanks into the groundwater supply. Polluntants seep from poorly constructed landfills. Groundwater is polluted by runoff from fertilized fields and industrial areas. Homeowners contribute by dumping household chemicals down the drain or on the ground.

Plastic

No one really knows how much plastic is fouling the oceans, but a recent report estimated that up to 350 million pounds of packaging and fishing gear may be lost or dumped by fisherman and sailors each year. Millions of pounds more may come from individuals, private boats, and factories.

Pollutants

Sulfur and nitrogen oxide polluntants released by coal burning electric power plants or motor vehicles are spewed into the atmosphere. There they are changed chemically and they fall back to earth as acid rain or snow. This destroys plant and animal life in streams, damages forests, and even erodes buildings. In 1980 there were 4.4 billion people on earth. In 1990 there will be 5.2 billion. Every day some of these people move into places on the planet where only plants and animals used to live. Forests are cut down. Wetlands, oceans, ice caps, and prairies are invaded.

Recycling and Pollution

If we don't recycle the things that can be recycled, we'll run out of landfill space and the water and air pollution will increase.