World Almanac

Facts about Barack Obama that you might want to know

He collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics

We have featured South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
Today we look at Canada and reveal 20 of the country’s most interesting facts.

1. At 9 984 670 sq km and comprised of 6 time zones, Canada is huge!
2. Canada is also home to the longest street in the world. Yonge Street in Ontario starts at Lake Ontario, and runs north through Ontario to the Minnesota border, a distance of almost 2000 kilometres.
3. While we’re talking ‘longest’, here’s another record: Canada has the world’s longest coastline at 202 080 km.
4. A bear cub named Winnipeg was exported from Canada to the London Zoo in 1915. A little boy named Christopher Robin Milne loved to visit Winnipeg (or Winnie for short) and his love for the bear cub inspired the stories written by his father, A.A. Milne, about Winnie-the-Pooh.
   

   It’s thanks to a little bear from Canada called Winnipeg that A.A. Milne invented Winnie-the-Pooh for his son Christopher.
5. The Canadian motto, A Mari Usque ad Mare, means “From sea to sea.”
6. Toronto’s Rogers Centre (formerly known as the SkyDome) is home to the largest Sony big screen in the world, measuring 10 m x 33.6 m.
7. The Blackberry Smartphone was developed in Ontario, at Research In Motion’s Waterloo offices.
8. The Big Nickel in Sudbury, Ontario is the world’s largest coin. It is a huge reproduction of a 1951 Canadian nickel and measures 9 meters in diameter.
9. Canada has twice been invaded by the USA, first in 1775 and then 1812.
10. Actor Leslie Nielsen is Canadian and his brother Erik was theDeputy Prime Minister of Canada for two years, from 1984 to 1986.
    
    
11. Canada holds the record for the most gold medals ever won at the Winter Olympics, since taking 14 Golds at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
12. Sandy Gardiner, a journalist with the Ottawa Journal in the 60’s coined the term ‘Beatlemania’ while he was writing a story about the Beatles.
13. Canada basically got its name by mistake. When Jaques Cartier, a French explorer, came to the new world, he met with local Natives who invited them to their ‘kanata’ (the word for ‘village’. The party mistakenly thought the name of the country was “Kanata” or Canada.
14. The Mounted Police were formed in 1873, with nine officers and in 1920 merged with the Dominion Police to become the famous Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which today has close to 30 000 members.
15. Canada is home to about 55 000 different species of insects.
16. Montreal is home to many beautiful churches and is often called The City of Saints or City of a hundred bell towers
17. Ontario is believed to be home to the world’s smallest jail, which measures only 24.3 sq metres.
18. The Hotel de Glace in Quebec is built every year using 400 tons of ice and 12 000 tons of snow. Every summer it melts away and every winter it is rebuilt.
    This ice hotel in Quebec is rebuilt every year to open for three months. It takes 50 workers a month and a half to construct.
19. Canada’s only desert in British Columbia is only 15 miles long and is the only desert in the world with a long boardwalk for visitors to walk on.
20. Famous Canadians include Pamela Anderson, Leonard Cohen, Avril Lavigne, Keanu Reeves and Jim Carrey.

 

 Nature of Angels

In Islam, it is believed that angels have been created out of light, before the creation of humans from clay/earth. They are naturally obedient creatures, worshipping Allah and carrying out His commands. Angels have no free choice, so it is simply not in their nature to disobey. The Quran says, "They do not disobey Allah's commands that they receive; they do precisely what they are commanded" (Quran 66:6). Angels are genderless and do not require sleep, food, or drink.

Role of Angels

In Arabic, angels are called mala'ika, which means "to assist and help." The Quran describes that angels have been created to worship Allah and carry out His commands: "Everything in the heavens and every creature on the earth prostrates to Allah, as do the angels. They are not puffed up with pride. They fear their Lord above them and do everything they are ordered to do" (Quran 16:49-50). Angels are involved in carrying out duties in both the unseen and physical worlds.

Angels Mentioned by Name

Several angels are mentioned by name in the Quran, with a description of their responsibilities:

• Jibreel (Gabriel) - in charge of communicating Allah's words to His prophets
• Israfeel (Raphael) - in charge of blowing the trumpet to mark the Day of Judgment
• Mikail (Michael) - in charge of rainfall and sustenance
• Munkar and Nakeer - after death, these angels will question souls in the grave about their faith and deeds
• Malak Am-Maut (Angel of Death) - in charge of taking possession of souls after death
• Malik - guardian of hell
• Ridwan - guardian of heaven

Other angels are mentioned, but not specifically by name. There are angels who carry Allah's throne, angels who act as guardians and protectors of believers, and angels who record a person's good and bad deeds, among other tasks.

Angels in Human Form

As unseen creatures made from light, angels have no specific bodily shape but can rather take on a variety of forms. The Quran does mention that angels have wings (Quran 35:1), but Muslims don't speculate on what exactly they look like. Muslims find it blasphemous, for example, to engage in making images of angels as cherubs sitting in clouds. It is believed that angels can take the form of human beings when required to communicate with the human world. For example, the Angel Jibreel appeared in human form to Mary the mother of Jesus, and to the Prophet Muhamaad when questioning him about his faith and message.

"Fallen" Angels?

In Islam, there is no concept of "fallen" angels, as it is in the nature of angels to be faithful servants of Allah. They have no free choice to disobey. Unseen beings who do have free choice, and who are often confused with "fallen" angels, are called jinn (demons). The most famous of the jinn is Iblis, who is also known as Shaytan (Satan). Muslims believe that Satan is a disobedient jinn, not a "fallen" angel.

(Source:http://islam.about.com/od/angels/a/Angels-In-Islam.htm)

The nature of G-d is one of the few areas of abstract Jewish belief where there are a number of clear-cut ideas about which there is little dispute or disagreement.

G-d Exists

The fact of G-d's existence is accepted almost without question. Proof is not needed, and is rarely offered. The Torah begins by stating "In the beginning, G-d created..." It does not tell who G-d is or how He was created.
In general, Judaism views the existence of G-d as a necessary prerequisite for the existence of the universe. The existence of the universe is sufficient proof of the existence of G-d.

G-d is One

One of the primary expressions of Jewish faith, recited twice daily in prayer, is the Shema, which begins "Hear, Israel: The L-rd is our G-d, The L-rd is one." This simple statement encompasses several different ideas:

1. There is only one G-d. No other being participated in the work of creation.
2. G-d is a unity. He is a single, whole, complete indivisible entity. He cannot be divided into parts or described by attributes. Any attempt to ascribe attributes to G-d is merely man's imperfect attempt to understand the infinite.
3. G-d is the only being to whom we should offer praise. The Shema can also be translated as "The L-rd is our G-d, The L-rd alone," meaning that no other is our G-d, and we should not pray to any other.

G-d is the Creator of Everything

Everything in the universe was created by G-d and only by G-d. Judaism completely rejects the dualistic notion that evil was created by Satan or some other deity. All comes from G-d. As Isaiah said , "I am the L-rd, and there is none else. I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil. I am the L-rd, that does all these things." (Is. 45:6-7).

G-d is Incorporeal

Although many places in scripture and Talmud speak of various parts of G-d's body (the Hand of G-d, G-d's wings, etc.) or speak of G-d in anthropomorphic terms (G-d walking in the garden of Eden, G-d laying tefillin, etc.), Judaism firmly maintains that G-d has no body. Any reference to G-d's body is simply a figure of speech, a means of making G-d's actions more comprehensible to beings living in a material world. Much of Rambam's Guide for the Perplexed is devoted to explaining each of these anthropomorphic references and proving that they should be understood figuratively.
We are forbidden to represent G-d in a physical form. That is considered idolatry. The sin of the Golden Calf incident was not that the people chose another deity, but that they tried to represent G-d in a physical form.

G-d is Neither Male nor Female

This follows directly from the fact that G-d has no physical form. As one rabbi explained it to me, G-d has no body, no genitalia, therefore the very idea that G-d is male or female is patently absurd. We refer to G-d using masculine terms simply for convenience's sake, because Hebrew has no neutral gender; G-d is no more male than a table is.
Although we usually speak of G-d in masculine terms, there are times when we refer to G-d using feminine terms. The Shechinah, the manifestation of G-d's presence that fills the universe, is conceived of in feminine terms, and the word Shechinah is a feminine word.

G-d is Omnipresent

G-d is in all places at all times. He fills the universe and exceeds its scope. He is always near for us to call upon in need, and He sees all that we do. Closely tied in with this idea is the fact that G-d is universal. He is not just the G-d of the Jews; He is the G-d of all nations.

G-d is Omnipotent

G-d can do anything. It is said that the only thing that is beyond His power is the fear of Him; that is, we have free will, and He cannot compel us to do His will. This belief in G-d's omnipotence has been sorely tested during the many persecutions of Jews, but we have always maintained that G-d has a reason for allowing these things, even if we in our limited perception and understanding cannot see the reason.

G-d is Omniscient

G-d knows all things, past, present and future. He knows our thoughts.

G-d is Eternal

G-d transcends time. He has no beginning and no end. He will always be there to fulfill his promises. When Moses asked for G-d's name, He replied, "Ehyeh asher ehyeh." That phrase is generally translated as, "I am that I am," but the word "ehyeh" can be present or future tense, meaning "I am what I will be" or "I will be what I will be." The ambiguity of the phrase is often interpreted as a reference to G-d's eternal nature.

G-d is Both Just and Merciful

I have often heard Christians speak of Judaism as the religion of the strict Law, which no human being is good enough to fulfill (hence the need for the sacrifice of Jesus). This is a gross mischaracterization of Jewish belief. Judaism has always maintained that G-d's justice is tempered by mercy, the two qualities perfectly balanced. Of the two Names of G-d most commonly used in scripture, one refers to his quality of justice and the other to his quality of mercy. The two names were used together in the story of Creation, showing that the world was created with both justice and mercy.

G-d is Holy and Perfect

One of the most common names applied to G-d in the post-Biblical period is "Ha-Kadosh, Barukh Hu," The Holy One, Blessed be He.

Avinu Malkeinu: G-d is our Father and our King

Judaism maintains that we are all G-d's children. A well-known piece of Jewish liturgy repeatedly describes G-d as "Avinu Malkeinu," our Father, our King. The Talmud teaches that there are three participants in the formation of every human being: the mother and father, who provide the physical form, and G-d, who provides the soul, the personality, and the intelligence. It is said that one of G-d's greatest gifts to humanity is the knowledge that we are His children and created in his image.

(Source:http://www.jewfaq.org/g-d.htm)

The Creation of the World

³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
⁶ And God said, “Let there be an expanse^[a] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷ And God made^[b] the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. ⁸ And God called the expanse Heaven.^[c] And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
⁹ And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry land Earth,^[d] and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
¹¹ And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants^[e] yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. ¹² The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons,^[f] and for days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. ¹⁷ And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
²⁰ And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds^[g] fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” ²¹ So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
²⁴ And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. ²⁵ And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man^[h] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

John Carpenter is a Guy who first earned status of being the winner of Who Wants to Be Millionaire. The way of this  guy winning is  so cool as for my opinion which is in the last question he only used his lifelines just to called his father and said" “I don't really need your help. I just wanted to let you know that I'm gonna win the million dollars.”
maybe some of people would state his as arrogant person but i think it's tolerable why? because although this guy is little bit arrogant from the way he state that statement but this guy can PROVED IT that he can be a winner so it's ok.

This is his video
 

America is well known for its liberty, freedom, and generosity to poorer nations. America is also known for its many victories. Some other things they are also known for is promoting world peace and helping nations, muscle cars, a melting pot of cultures, fair and wonderful governmental ideas, humorous and smiley people, open spaces, and baseball.

You might want to know details about American i suggest you to watch this video