Monthly Archives: July 2013

Claude Monet (1840-1926) One of the founders of French impressionist painting, expressing one’s perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plain-air landscape painting. Monet also undertook his first drawing lessons from Jacques-François Ochard, a former student of Jacques-Louis David. Monet … Continue reading →

Republic of Benin It is bordered by Togo to the West, by Nigeria to the East and by Burkina Faso and Niger to the North. Population of 9.05 million One of the most widely held misconceptions outside of Africa is … Continue reading →

The Toilet. I am going to telephone Hitler (Je vais téléphoner a Hitler).A euphemism members of the French Resistance used during World War II when they excused themselves to go to the toilet. The word toilet itself may be considered … Continue reading →

3 Billion Years of Evolution. In Plant and Animal Diversity The future of every human activity that utilizes biological resources depends on our stewardship of biodiversity. For this reason, the disquieting trends now evident in Earth’s natural systems should give … Continue reading →

A world of Secrets Walter Laqueur an American historian and political commentator “The uses and limits of intelligence, Excerpts” Born 26 May 1921) is Breslau, Lower Silesia, Prussia (modern Wrocław, Poland), to a Jewish family His parents, who were unable … Continue reading →

VIETNAM A country located in Southeast Asia in Eastern Indochina on the South China Sea. Modern Vietnam is made up of the historical regions of Tunkin, Annam, and Cochin China, much of which was under Chinese control from the 3rd … Continue reading →

The Mystery of Syphilis One of the most controversial problems in medical history is the question of how and why syphilis suddenly emerged in Europe at the end of the fifteenth century. Syphilis is now primarily a venereal disease, spreading … Continue reading →

Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon 1635-1719 A plaque suggests her birthplace was at the Hotel du Chaumont in Niort, in western France Her enemies and critics claim she was born in a prison at Niort because her father, the Huguenot … Continue reading →

ISRAEL A Historical background The Jews (Hebrew: Yehudim, also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious (or ethno-religious group ,) originating from the Israelites (Hebrews) of the Ancient Near East. In Jewish tradition, Jewish ancestry is traced to the … Continue reading →