text:
Register as a User. If already registered LOG IN. Help this community by editing pages or by UPLOADING PICTURES.
Zagreb • Split • Rijeka • Osijek • Zadar • Slavonski Brod • Pula • Sesvete • Karlovac • Varazdin • Kastela • Samobor • Sibenik • Sisak • Velika Gorica •
Location of Croatia within the continent of Europe
Map of Croatia
Flag Description of Croatia:The Croatia flag was officially adopted on December 22, 1991.
The red, white and blue are traditional Croatian colors. The centered coat of arms was first used during World War II. The shields are from the arms of five of Croatia's regions, including Croatia, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria and Slavonia (left to right). The red and white checks are Croatian symbols.
The Croats are believed to be a Slavic people who migrated from Ukraine and settled in present-day Croatia during the 6th century. After a period of self-rule, Croatians agreed to the Pacta Conventa in 1091, submitting themselves to Hungarian authority.
Official name Republika Hrvatska (Republic of Croatia)
Capital: Zagreb
Form of government multiparty republic with one legislative house (Croatian Parliament [151])
Head of state President: Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović
Head of government Prime Minister: Zoran Milanović
Official language Croatian
Official religion none1
Monetary unit kuna (kn; plural kune)
Population: 4,483,804 (July 2011 estimate)
Area: 21,851 square miles (56,594 sq km)
Coastline: 3,625 miles (5,835 km)
Border Countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro and Slovenia
Highest Point: Dinara at 6,007 feet (1,831 m)
Total area (sq mi) 21,851
Total area (sq km)v 56,594
Urban-rural population
- Urban: (2011) 57.8%
- Rural: (2011) 42.2%
Life expectancy at birth
- Male: (2011) 73.8 years
- Female: (2011) 79.9 years
Literacy: percentage of population age 15 and over literate
- Male: (2010) 99.5%
- Female: (2010) 98.2%
GNI per capita (U.S.$) (2013) 13,330
1The Roman Catholic Church receives state financial support through concordats with the Vatican.
About Croatia
Croatia, officially called the Republic of Croatia, is a country that is located in Europe along the Adriatic Sea and between the countries of Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (map). The capital and largest city in the country is Zagreb, but other large cities include Split, Rijeka and Osijek. Croatia has a population density of around 205 people per square mile (79 people per sq km) and the majority of these people are Croat in their ethnic make-up. Croatia has recently been in the news because Croatians voted to join the European Union on January 22, 2012.
- Croatia, country located in the northwestern part of the Balkan Peninsula. It is a small yet highly geographically diverse crescent-shaped country. Its capital is Zagreb, located in the north.
The present-day republic is composed of the historically Croatian regions of Croatia-Slavonia (located in the upper arm of the country), Istria (centred on the Istrian Peninsula on the northern Adriatic coast), and Dalmatia (corresponding to the coastal strip). Although these regions were ruled for centuries by various foreign powers, they remained firmly Western-oriented in culture, acquiring a legacy of Roman law, the Latin alphabet, and western European political and economic traditions and institutions. A part of Yugoslavia for much of the 20th century, Croatia suffered considerably from the disintegration of that federation in the early 1990s. The European trajectory of Croatia was finally realized in 2013 when it joined the European Union. As the Croatian Canadian scholar Tony Fabijančić writes, Croatia's tumultuous first years as an independent country also have obscured its centuries-long history:
Croatia (Hrvatska) is an ancient nation, yet a very young nation state. Once a formidable kingdom under Tomislav in the tenth century, a naval power in the sixteenth and seventeenth, and an awakening national entity in the nineteenth, it had to endure a thousand years of foreign meddling, subjugation, incursions, and outright wars before being recognized in 1992 as a distinct entity.
Geography of Croatia
Croatia can be classified as a Pannonian-Adriatic country due to its south-eastern European and Mediterranean position.
The surface area of Croatia totals 87,667 square kilometres, which is made up of 56,538 square kilometres of mainland (65%) and a coastline - both internal and territorial seas - of 31,139 square kilometres (35%).
The majority of Croatian mountains belong to the Dinaric Alps (which extend from the border of Slovenia to Montenegro). The Dinaric mountain range in Croatia is famous worldwide for being a classical example of deep karst. Although there are mountains in Croatia, it is the only country in the South-Eastern Europe without a peak above 2000 m.
The Croatian coast is located between the Dinaric Alps to the east and the Adriatic Sea to the west and has 1,100 miles (1,800 km) of coastline. One of the striking characteristics of the Croatian coast is that it has a total of 1,244 islands, islets, rocks and reefs. For an overview of some of the geographical features of the Adriatic Sea, The Adriatic Sea is a part of the Mediterranean Sea. It is positioned between the eastern coastline of Italy and the coastline of countries of the Balkan Peninsula (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania).
The Adriatic coastline is by far Croatia's most popular tourist region with around 11 million tourists each year. The coastline and the islands all make up a continuous Mediterranean tourist destination spanning from the smallest island village and hidden cove to a national park or urban coastal town. Crowned with 1,244 islands, islets, rocks and reefs, and characterised by cleanliness and clearness, the Croatian Adriatic can claim to be among the top sailing destinations in the world.
The chief ports of the Adriatic are Ancona, Bari, Brindisi and Venice in Italy and Dubrovnik, Rijeka and Split in Croatia and the sea is well served by regional ferries. The distance from Brindisi to Venice is 685 km (426 mi), while from Ancona to Split it is 228 km (142 mi). The sea is about 805 km (500 mi) in length, with an estimated area of 135,250 sq km (52,220 sq mi).
The Land
Croatia, country located in the northwestern part of the Balkan Peninsula. It is a small yet highly geographically diverse crescent-shaped country. Its capital is Zagreb, located in the north.
The present-day republic is composed of the historically Croatian regions of Croatia-Slavonia (located in the upper arm of the country), Istria (centred on the Istrian Peninsula on the northern Adriatic coast), and Dalmatia (corresponding to the coastal strip). Although these regions were ruled for centuries by various foreign powers, they remained firmly Western-oriented in culture, acquiring a legacy of Roman law, the Latin alphabet, and western European political and economic traditions and institutions. A part of Yugoslavia for much of the 20th century, Croatia suffered considerably from the disintegration of that federation in the early 1990s. The European trajectory of Croatia was finally realized in 2013 when it joined the European Union. As the Croatian Canadian scholar Tony Fabijančić writes, Croatia's tumultuous first years as an independent country also have obscured its centuries-long history: Croatia (Hrvatska) is an ancient nation, yet a very young nation state. Once a formidable kingdom under Tomislav in the tenth century, a naval power in the sixteenth and seventeenth, and an awakening national entity in the nineteenth, it had to endure a thousand years of foreign meddling, subjugation, incursions, and outright wars before being recognized in 1992 as a distinct entity.
The Adriatic Sea is a part of the Mediterranean Sea. It is positioned between the eastern coastline of Italy and the coastline of countries of the Balkan Peninsula (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania).
The Adriatic coastline is by far Croatia's most popular tourist region with around 11 million tourists each year. The coastline and the islands all make up a continuous Mediterranean tourist destination spanning from the smallest island village and hidden cove to a national park or urban coastal town. Crowned with 1,244 islands, islets, rocks and reefs, and characterised by cleanliness and clearness, the Croatian Adriatic can claim to be among the top sailing destinations in the world.
The chief ports of the Adriatic are Ancona, Bari, Brindisi and Venice in Italy and Dubrovnik, Rijeka and Split in Croatia and the sea is well served by regional ferries. The distance from Brindisi to Venice is 685 km (426 mi), while from Ancona to Split it is 228 km (142 mi). The sea is about 805 km (500 mi) in length, with an estimated area of 135,250 sq km (52,220 sq mi).
Croatia is divided into two predominant climate regions - Continental and Mediterranean although there are some variations within those climate zones. As everywhere, Croatia's climate is determined by its geography, which is characterised by a mixture of mountains, plains, forests and a long littoral belt.
Mediterranean climate region
Croatia's coast and islands, from Istria and Kvarner in the north through to Dalmatia in the south are governed by a Mediterranean climate, although it is usually several degrees cooler in the northern Adriatic than in the south. In the summer, the mean temperature is between 24°C and 26°C along the coast. Yet the Istrian interior is somewhat cooler at 22°C. In winter, the coast has a mean temperature of 2°C in the north and 9°C in the south.
As a rule, summer is the driest season along the coast and winter is the rainiest season, with twice the amount of precipitation as the summer. Croatia's islands can be very dry (especially the islands furthest from the mainland) which sometimes leads to devastating fires. For example, the island of Vis averages only 557 mm of rainfall per year while the island of Brač averages 952 mm. Dubrovnik is one of the rainiest parts of the coast from October to December. Snow is a rare occurrence anywhere along the coast.
The sunniest island in Croatia is Hvar, with over 2,700 hours of sun per year. Split, Vela Luka (on the island of Korčula) and Dubrovnik are the next sunniest spots in Dalmatia.
The coastal climate is also characterised by its winds. The most frequent wind in Dalmatia is the south-easterly "Yugo", which blows toward the mainland in autumn and winter bringing warmer and moister air with it. The "Bura" however, is a cold, dry wind which blows from the mainland in sudden and powerful gusts bringing dry air and cooler temperatures. The westerly "Maestral" is a pleasant summer wind that blows in from the sea (reaching its peak force in early afternoon) and that refreshes the air.
Continental climate region
The Croatian interior, which includes Zagreb and Slavonia, is separated from the coast by the Dinaric Mountains and has a completely different climate. Winters get cold, with the mean temperature in January ranging from 0°C to -2°C. In July, the mean is approximately 22°C although strong heat waves have become more frequent.
The mountains of Croatia such as the Velebit range and Medvednica (near Zagreb) are cooler and get more precipitation. In winter the mean temperature ranges from -2°C to -4°C and above 1,500 m it is a few degrees colder. Snow is common in the higher elevations, providing Croatia with a ski season. In summer the mountains are a temperate 10°C to 18°C, which makes them a pleasant escape from the coastal heat.
The upper arm of the Croatian crescent is bordered on the east by the Vojvodina region of Serbia and on the north by Hungary and Slovenia. The body of the crescent forms a long coastal strip along the Adriatic Sea, and the southern tip touches on Montenegro. Within the hollow of the crescent, Croatia shares a long border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, which actually severs a part of southern Croatia from the rest of the country by penetrating to the Adriatic in a narrow corridor.
Croatia is composed of three major geographic regions. In the north and northeast, running the full length of the upper arm of the Croatian crescent, are the Pannonian and para-Pannonian plains. To the north of Zagreb, the Zagorje Hills, fragments of the Julian Alps now covered with vines and orchards, separate the Sava and Drava river valleys.
To the west and south of the Pannonian region, linking it with the Adriatic coast, is the central mountain belt, itself part of the Dinaric Alps. The karst plateaus of this region, consisting mostly of limestone, are barren at the highest elevations; lower down, they are heavily forested. The highest mountain in Croatia, Dinara (6,007 feet [1,831 metres]), is located in the central mountain belt.
The third geographic region, the Croatian littoral, is composed of the Istrian Peninsula in the north and the Dalmatian coast extending south to the Gulf of Kotor. Wedged between the Dinaric Alps to the east and the Adriatic Sea to the west, its 1,100 miles (1,800 km) of coastline are fringed by more than 1,100 islands and islets.
Of the 26 rivers that flow for more than 30 miles (50 km) in Croatia, the Sava and the Drava, coursing through the Pannonian and para-Pannonian plains, are of particular importance—both because of their length and because, along with the Kupa River, they are in large part navigable. The Sava originates in Slovenia, passes Croatia's capital city of Zagreb, and then forms most of the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina along the inside of the Croatian crescent. The Drava enters Croatia from Slovenia and forms all but a small section of the border with Hungary before joining the Danube, which in turn forms most of the border between Croatia and the Vojvodina province of Serbia. The Kupa, which forms part of the frontier between Slovenia and Croatia, and the Una River, which meanders along part of the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, both flow into the Sava. In Dalmatia the Krka and Cetina rivers are of particular importance because of their hydroelectric potential and because they flow into the Adriatic Sea.
In addition, a great deal of water circulates in underground rivers and pools in the karstic regions of the central mountain belt and the littoral. These waters account for many of the unique geologic formations and the picturesque landscape of central and western Croatia.
The Pannonian and para-Pannonian plains are enriched with alluvial soil deposited by the Sava and Drava rivers. These plains are the most fertile agricultural regions of Croatia and form the country's breadbasket. The soil of the central mountainous belt is rather poor but offers some cultivable land in the fields and meadows and some grazing land in the plateaus. The Croatian littoral is mostly mountainous and barren, with rocky soil and poor agricultural land.
Two main climatic zones dominate Croatia. The Pannonian and para-Pannonian plains and the mountain regions are characterized by a continental climate of warm summers and cold winters. In the plains, temperatures average in the low 70s F (low 20s C) in June and in the low 30s F (around 0 °C) in January—although they can range from a low of −5 °F (−20 °C) in the winter to a high of 105 °F (40 °C) in the summer. The central mountain regions of Lika and Krbava have slightly cooler summers and cold winters, with a milder climate in the valleys. The average temperature range is between about 65 °F (about 18 °C) in June and the upper 20s F (about −2 °C) in January. Considerable rainfall, turning to snow in winter, is characteristic of the region.
The Dalmatian coast, Istria, and the islands have a mild Mediterranean climate. In southern Dalmatia, where the sirocco winds (known there as the jugo) bring a moderating influence from Africa, summers are sunny, warm, and dry, and winters are rainy. In the north the winters are drier and colder as a result of the cold northeast wind known as the bora (bura). In the summer the mistral wind has a cooling effect on the coast and the islands. The average temperature ranges from the low 40s F (about 5 °C) in January to the low 70s F (low 20s C) in June. Rainfall is moderate and occurs mainly in the winter.
Plant and animal life
Reflecting the country's diverse geography, the flora and fauna of Croatia are highly varied. On the Dalmatian coast, grapes and olives are grown to produce wine and oil, while Istria is dominated by firs, and Slavonia has many oak forests. In terms of animal life, lizards are found on the coast, while wolves and even bears can be found in the inland forests. Hares, foxes, boars, wildcats, and mouflons (wild sheep) also inhabit Croatia. Sea life in the Adriatic is rich as well, with many coral reefs and underwater caves serving as habitats.
Demography of Croatia
- Ethnic groups and religions
A variety of ethnic groups coexist within the republic. Croats constitute about nine-tenths of the population. Serbs make up the largest minority group; however, their proportion fell dramatically as a result of the 1990s war of independence—from more than one-tenth of the population before the war to less than half that figure in 2001. In addition to the Croats and the Serbs, there are small groups of Bosnian Muslims (Bosniacs), Hungarians, Italians, and Slovenes, as well as a few thousand Albanians, Austrians, Bulgarians, Czechs, Germans, and other nationalities.
It has been estimated that the number of Croats living outside the borders of Croatia is comparable to the number living inside the country. Many ethnic Croats reside in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Croats have lived since the Slavs first migrated to the western Balkan Peninsula in the 6th and 7th centuries ce. Although there has traditionally been a yearning for unification with Croatia among the Croats of Herzegovina (a region contiguous to Dalmatia), this sentiment has not generally been shared by Croats within Croatia or even by Croats in Bosnia. Many of the Serbs in Croatia are descendants of people who migrated to the border areas of the Holy Roman Empire between the 16th and 18th centuries, following the Ottoman conquest of Serbia and Bosnia.
There is traditionally a close correlation between ethnic identity and religious affiliation. The Croats are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic and more Western-influenced than the Serbs, who are overwhelmingly Eastern Orthodox. A small minority of people are nonreligious or atheist. Bosniacs constitute most of the Muslim population.
- Languages
Croats speak Croatian, a South Slavic language of the Indo-European family. Croatian is quite similar to Serbian and Bosnian, but political developments since the collapse of Yugoslavia have encouraged the three ethnic groups to emphasize the differences between their languages. The clearest distinction between the Croatian and Serbian variants of what was previously called the Serbo-Croatian language is the script, with Croatian written in the Latin alphabet and Serbian in the Cyrillic. Distinctions of grammar and pronunciation also occur, as do more striking differences in vocabulary, which result partly from differential historical patterns of foreign domination. For Croats, this has resulted in a sprinkling of German, Hungarian, and (in Dalmatia and Istria) Italian vocabulary, while the Serbs' speech shows Turkish and Russian influences. In addition, there have been various movements to "purify" the Croatian language, which have led to further differences.
Another linguistic distinction, reflecting the legacies of history as well as the effects of geography, can be heard in the colourful medley of regional dialects and subdialects that survive to this day. The standard Croatian literary language, based on the Shtokavian dialect, emerged in the second half of the 19th century as a result of an effort to unite all South Slavs. Although all three major branches of Serbo-Croatian (Shtokavian, Chakavian, and Kajkavian) were spoken by Croats (as they still are today), the Shtokavian dialect was the most widely heard in Croatian regions of eastern Slavonia, the Adriatic littoral from Makarska to Dubrovnik, and Herzegovina, as well as Montenegro and Serbia. It was therefore adopted by leading Croatian national intellectuals of the 19th century.
- Settlement patterns
More than half of the population resides in urban areas, particularly in the upper arm of the country and along the Adriatic coast. Settlement is relatively sparse in the central mountainous area. While most of Croatia's Serbs live in urban centres, a significant number are scattered in villages and towns, mostly in lightly populated parts of the central mountain belt, in the regions of Lika and Banija, and in northern Dalmatia. There is also a smaller concentration of Serbs in Slavonia, although this area was particularly hard-hit by anti-Serb ethnic cleansing during the 1991–95 war.
- Demographic trends
The major demographic trend of the post-World War II period was rapid urbanization and a consequent migration from rural areas—especially from the less-prosperous karstic regions of Lika and Gorski Kotar in the central mountain belt, from Dalmatia, and from islands in the Adriatic but also from the Pannonian regions of Banija and Baranja. As a result, in the second half of the 20th century, the portion of the population employed in agriculture dropped from about two-thirds to less than one-fifth, and larger cities grew significantly; Zagreb, for example, more than doubled its metropolitan population. Parallel to this rapid urbanization was a sharp decrease in the birth rate. A much larger drop in infant mortality meant that Croatia's population continued to increase—although at a very low rate—until the 1990s, when wartime displacement, emigration, and deaths caused the population to plummet by several hundred thousand. After hitting a plateau in the second half of the '90s, the population remained at roughly the same level into the 21st century. The many emigrants who left Croatia during the 20th century have created significant diasporas in Canada, the United States, Australia, and other countries. Croatian expatriates have sometimes played an important role in political developments in their homeland.
Economy of Croatia
Following the demise of communism in Croatia in 1990, the Croatian government began a course of restructuring the economy from the Yugoslav system of socialist self-management to market-oriented capitalism. This required such measures as the sale of state-owned enterprises to private owners, the establishment of functioning markets, and the creation of stable prices, interest rates, and currency. The accomplishment of these tasks proved difficult, largely because of the destabilizing effects of war. The war not only deterred foreign investment, which was a crucial motor of economic growth and structural change in other central and eastern European countries, but also damaged infrastructure and production facilities. By the late 1990s nearly one in five members of the working-age population were jobless, with young people particularly affected; high unemployment remained a problem into the 21st century. The war also helped to foster an informal economy and a black market.
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
Agriculture (grazing and tilling) occupies less than one-fourth of Croatia's land and contributes less than one-tenth of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Most agricultural land is privately held, but many landholdings are too small for profitable production. Croatian agricultural produce is exported mainly to nearby countries, particularly Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Slovenia, and Serbia.
Slavonia, the granary of Croatia, is the most fertile agricultural region. Farming there is characterized by capital-intensive, market-oriented production and larger landholdings. Most of the land previously under social ownership has been nationalized by the Croatian government and is leased to farmers. Major crops of the region are sugar beets, corn (maize), wheat, potatoes, barley, soybeans, sunflowers, and tobacco. Oats, rye, millet, rice, beans, peas, and chicory are also grown. Pigs, cattle, and poultry are important to the economy of the region, while there is also some beekeeping and silkworm cultivation.
The hills of the western part of the para-Pannonian region are characterized by smallholdings, mixed farming, and generally low yields. Fruit growing, viticulture, and cattle and pig breeding are typical agricultural occupations.
The central mountain belt contains some of the poorest land and climate for agriculture. The large areas of meadow and pasture, however, are suitable for raising sheep and cattle, and there is also some cultivation of barley, oats, rye, and potatoes. Fruits grown include plums, apples, pears, sour cherries, sweet cherries, peaches, and apricots.
The Adriatic littoral of Istria and Dalmatia is characterized by rocky soil and long periods of drought, with small parcels of arable land and poor pasture. Sheep and goats are raised, while grapes, olives, almonds, figs, tangerines, and other Mediterranean fruits and vegetables round out the agriculture of this region. Beekeeping is also of some commercial importance, especially on the islands.
Croatia's large forests, covering about two-fifths of the country's area, form the basis of a wood and pulp industry. Fish and shellfish are harvested commercially in the waters off the Adriatic coast, although fish stocks in the sea declined in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Around nine-tenths of the fish catch comprises small oily fish (e.g., anchovies and pilchards), much of which is consumed locally, but there is also an increasing demand for nonoily fish, or whitefish (e.g., sea bass). Aquaculture, or fish farming, is of growing importance, with sea bass, tuna, and mussels all popular. Almost all commercially sold freshwater fish is raised in ponds as well, though freshwater fishing has some significance for tourism. Farmed fish are exported to countries such as Spain and Japan, while canned fish is sold mainly to surrounding countries.
- Resources and power
Deposits of oil and natural gas are found in the Pannonian valleys of eastern Slavonia, but Croatia consumes more oil and gas than it produces and thus is dependent on imports. Bauxite and coal mining had ceased by the early 21st century. Clay, stone, and gravel are still quarried, however, and gypsum and quartz are mined. There are small deposits of other minerals, including salt, throughout the country. Although Croatia's numerous rivers offer hydroelectric potential, the country imports a significant portion of its electricity.
- Manufacturing
Already more industrialized than most of its neighbours when the communists assumed power over Yugoslavia in 1945, Croatia continued its rapid industrialization under socialist policies of economic and social development. One unfortunate result was the squandering of a great deal of money through inefficiency and the misallocation of resources through the building of so-called political factories, which served more to enhance the prestige of politicians than to use most rationally the endowments of a specific region. Nevertheless, large investments in industry (as well as transportation and education) ensured the continued growth of that sector and allowed the absorption into an industrial workforce of Croatia's rapidly urbanizing population. On the eve of Yugoslavia's disintegration into war in 1991, industry and mining accounted for more than one-third of Croatia's GDP.
Today manufacturing and other secondary industries account for a smaller but still important portion of GDP. Significant industries include food processing and wine making, as well as the production and refining of petroleum. Also important are chemical products, building materials, metallurgy (particularly aluminum and iron and steel), the wood and paper industries, machine engineering, electronics, textiles, and shipbuilding. The future of shipbuilding is in question, however, since it is heavily dependent on state subsidies. Most enterprises are concentrated around such urban centres as Zagreb, Rijeka, Split, Osijek, Karlovac, Zadar, Slavonski Brod, Sisak, and Varaždin.
- Finance, trade, and services
The banking sector has consolidated considerably since the late 1990s, through mergers, takeovers, and bankruptcies. The sector is also now overwhelmingly privately and foreign-owned, with Italian, Austrian, and German banks dominating. Banks in Croatia have invested heavily in technology; hence, Internet, telephone, and drive-in banking are widely offered. Card transactions are the norm in cities. There has been a major expansion in credit since the late 1990s, with consumers eager to borrow money in order to satisfy pent-up demand. The sector is overseen by the Croatian National Bank, the country's central bank, which earned a good record of achieving price stability in the period after the independence war.
The Croatian economy is very open to international trade. Nearly two-thirds of trade is conducted with European Union (EU) countries, while trade with Croatia's neighbours in southeastern Europe is also significant. Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Slovenia, and Austria are top buyers of Croatian exports, while Croatia imports primarily from Italy, Germany, Russia, China, and Slovenia. Important exports include fuels, ships, chemical products, food, machinery, and textiles. Fuels, chemical products, and transport equipment are also among the main imports.
The service sector employs well over half the workforce and accounts for the majority of GDP. A substantial portion of service workers are employed in retailing. Although the retail market has long been dominated by small shops, newly constructed shopping malls have proliferated since 2000. Croatia's beautiful coastline and numerous islands form the basis of another major component of the service sector—tourism. A historically important source of revenue, tourism was negatively affected by the war in the 1990s. The conflict deterred potential tourists from traveling to the country, and many empty hotels were used to house refugees and displaced persons. Significant investment has been necessary to revive the tourist industry.
- Labour and taxation
The service and manufacturing sectors employ the bulk of the workforce, which, in general, is well educated and has excellent foreign-language skills, reflecting and facilitating the tourist trade. However, employing people in Croatia is expensive, owing to a combination of relatively high wages, burdensome social security contributions, and the high cost of dismissing workers. The Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia, founded in 1990, affiliates a number of unions in the country.
The tax burden on businesses in Croatia is moderate. Under a number of incentive programs, a business may reduce the tax on its profits. Profit tax is reduced, for example, on investments in areas with significant war damage or high unemployment. Income tax is levied on individuals at varying rates. A large part of revenue is raised through a value-added tax, although this tax is reduced for many tourist services and is eliminated for some products, such as books, basic foodstuffs, and certain medical goods.
- Transportation and telecommunications
Croatia has excellent access to shipping routes because of its long coastline on the Adriatic. The major seaports of Rijeka, Zadar, Šibenik, Split, Ploče, and Dubrovnik link Europe, via the Suez Canal, with Asia and Australia. There are also several international airports in Croatia, with a number of them used largely for tourism.
There has been significant investment in highways and railways within the country since the 1990s war. Highways run between Zagreb and Split—a route also well served by rail connections—and between Zagreb and the Serbian border. In addition to the direct eastward routes to Serbia and Romania, road access to central Europe is good. However, connections to the south, to Albania and Greece, are cumbersome.
Croatia possesses a good telecommunications infrastructure. About half the population regularly uses the Internet. Mobile phone usage has outpaced that of landlines; there is more than one cellular subscription for every member of the population. The telecommunications market is fully liberalized, with numerous landline, cellular, and Internet service providers in operation.
Government and Society of Croatia
Constitutional framework
On Dec. 22, 1990, the constitution of the Republic of Croatia was promulgated. In addition to such classic civil rights as freedom of speech, religion, information, and association, the equality of nationalities is guaranteed in a number of constitutional articles. Cultural autonomy, along with the right to use one's own language and script (the latter specifically intended for the Serb minority), is also guaranteed.
The 1990 constitution changed the structure of the Sabor (parliament) from a tricameral body under the Yugoslav system to a bicameral body consisting of the House of Representatives (lower house) and the House of Districts (upper house). Constitutional amendments in 2001 abolished the upper house, thereby rendering the Sabor a unicameral body. Members are elected from party lists every four years. In addition, a small percentage of seats are reserved for national minorities and for representatives of Croats living outside the country.
The president of the republic is elected directly by popular vote for a period of five years and is limited to two terms. The 1990 constitution originally granted the president very broad powers; this "superpresident" appointed and could dismiss the prime minister, who was nominally responsible to both the parliament and the president but was actually directly dependent on the president. Constitutional amendments in 2000 reduced the importance of the president, who thenceforth served solely as head of state, and increased the power of the parliament and of the prime minister, who assumed the role of head of government. The president continues to nominate the prime minister, but the Sabor must confirm the appointment. In addition, the prime minister is typically the head of the leading party in the Sabor.
Local government
Below the national level, Croatia is divided into 20 administrative districts called županije (counties). One city, Zagreb, has an administrative status equivalent to that of the counties. Within the županije are hundreds of općine (municipalities).
The Supreme Court, county courts, and municipal courts constitute the three-tiered judicial system. The Supreme Court is the highest legal authority in all matters but constitutional questions, which are decided by the Constitutional Court. Justices on the Supreme Court are appointed by a judicial council, which is elected by the Sabor. The independence of the judiciary has been questioned, largely because many of the judges who were politically appointed in the 1990s remained in office well into the 21st century. However, there have been significant reforms to the judiciary, largely under EU pressure.
Political process
Suffrage is universal from age 18, although employed individuals may vote beginning at age 16. Multiparty elections have been held in Croatia since independence. The Croatian Democratic Union (Hrvatska Demokratska Zajednica; HDZ) and the Social Democratic Party (Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske; SDP) are the predominant political parties. The HDZ dominated politics in the first years of the post-Yugoslav era, having come to power in the parliamentary elections of 1990. The party leader, Franjo Tudjman, served as the first president of independent Croatia. The HDZ initially based its ideology on Croatian nationalism and the struggle for independence, but it began to lose favour after the war ended in 1995 and the population felt the pain of economic collapse. In 2000, the year after Tudjman died, the HDZ was resoundingly defeated in parliamentary and presidential elections. A multiparty centre-left coalition, led by the SDP, then governed until 2003, when the HDZ, having repositioned itself as a typical centre-right party, returned to power. The HDZ and the SDP continued to be the main contenders in subsequent elections. Both parties favoured Croatian accession to the EU.
Croatia's armed forces—comprising an army, a navy, and an air force—were created in the early 1990s with significant support from the international community, particularly the United States. Although Croatia had no army to speak of when it declared independence in 1991, within a few years an army had been trained and equipped sufficiently to be able to conduct two major operations to reclaim territory from Serb paramilitaries in 1995. However, Croatia is not a militaristic country, and it relies on the security of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which it joined in 2009.
The Croatian police force, under the authority of the central government, has been reformed since independence. Reform efforts have focused on improving service and stamping out corruption.
Health, welfare, and housing
The health of Croatians is good compared with that of the populations of neighbouring countries. Life expectancy at birth is higher than the eastern European average, and the infant mortality rate is significantly lower. The rate of HIV infection is low, reflecting competent prevention efforts. However, the health care system is in need of investment and far-reaching reform because, being almost entirely state-provided, it imposes a substantial burden on the budget. The social welfare system is also burdensome, partly because Croatia has a large number of retirees and unemployed individuals. In urban areas, large portions of the population live in concrete tower blocks built during the Yugoslav era, which are in dire need of investment.
During its 45 years in power, the communist Yugoslav regime reduced illiteracy in Croatia from 16 percent of the population over 10 years of age to less than 4 percent. By the early 21st century, the literacy rate for Croatians over age 14 was nearly 99 percent. In addition to thousands of elementary schools, secondary schools, commercial and technical institutions, and vocational schools, the Yugoslav emphasis on education led to the founding of universities in Rijeka in 1973, in Split in 1974, and in Osijek in 1975. The oldest university in Croatia is the University of Zagreb (1669), which traces its beginnings to a Jesuit school of moral theology founded in 1632.
Life Culture of Croatia
History of Croatia
Croatia, at one time the Roman province of Pannonia, was settled in the 7th century by the Croats. They converted to Christianity between the 7th and 9th centuries and adopted the Roman alphabet under the suzerainty of Charlemagne. In 925, the Croats defeated Byzantine and Frankish invaders and established their own independent kingdom, which reached its peak during the 11th century. A civil war ensued in 1089, which later led to the country being conquered by the Hungarians in 1091. The signing of the Pacta Conventa by Croatian tribal chiefs and the Hungarian king in 1102 united the two nations politically under the Hungarian monarch, but Croatia retained its autonomy.
Following the defeat of the Hungarians by the Turks at the battle of Mohács in 1526, Croatia (along with Hungary) elected Austrian archduke Ferdinand of Hapsburg as their king. After the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian kingdom in 1867, Croatia became part of Hungary until the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918 following its defeat in World War I. On Oct. 29, 1918, Croatia proclaimed its independence and joined in union with Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. The name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929.
When Germany invaded Yugoslavia in 1941, Croatia became a Nazi puppet state. Croatian Fascists, the Ustachi, slaughtered countless Serbs and Jews during the war. After Germany was defeated in 1945, Croatia was made into a republic of the newly reconstituted Communist nation of Yugoslavia; however, Croatian nationalism persisted. After Yugoslavian leader Josip Broz Tito's death in 1980, Croatia's demands for independence increased in intensity.
In 1990, free elections were held, and the Communists were defeated by a nationalist party led by Franjo Tudjman. In June 1991, the Croatian parliament passed a declaration of independence from Yugoslavia. Six months of intensive fighting with the Serbian-dominated Yugoslavian army followed, claiming thousands of lives and wreaking mass destruction.
Croatia Photo Gallery
- Do this so your photo upload will be properly categorized for Croatia.
- Copy and paste the code below in "GREEN" to the body or "Summary" of the image file that you are uploading.
{{zadheader pictures}}
[[Category:Croatia Photo Gallery]]
This is not the official site of this country. Most of the information in this site were taken from the U.S. Department of State, The Central Intelligence Agency, The United Nations, [1],[2], [3], [4], [5],[6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14],[15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24],[25], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30],[31], [32], [33], [34], and the [35].
Other sources of information will be mentioned as they are posted.


text:
Tinnitus is the medical term for "hearing" noises in your ears when there is no outside source of the sounds.
The noises you hear can be soft or loud. They may sound like ringing, blowing, roaring, buzzing, hissing, humming, whistling, or sizzling. You may even think you are hearing air escaping, water running, the inside of a seashell, or musical notes.
Ringing in the ears; Noises or buzzing in the ears; Ear buzzing
Tinnitus is common. Almost everyone notices a mild form of tinnitus once in a while that only lasts a few minutes. However, constant or recurring tinnitus is stressful and make it harder to focus or sleep.
It is not known exactly what causes a person to "hear" sounds with no outside source of the noise. However, tinnitus can be a symptom of almost any ear problem, including:
Alcohol, caffeine, antibiotics, aspirin, or other drugs can also cause ear noises.
Tinnitus may occur with hearing loss. Sometimes, it is a sign of high blood pressure, an allergy, or anemia. Rarely, tinnitus is a sign of a serious problem like a tumor or aneurysm.
Tinnitus can be masked by competing sounds:
Learn ways to relax. Stress does not cause tinnitus, but feeling stressed or anxious can worsen it.
Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and smoking.
Get enough rest. Try sleeping with your head propped up in an elevated position. This lessens head congestion and noises may become less noticeable.
Protect your ears and hearing from further damage. Avoid loud places and sounds. Use earplugs if you need them.
Call your doctor or nurse if:
The following tests may be done:
If your doctor can determine the cause, fixing the problem (for example, removing ear wax) may make your symptoms go away.
Review all of your current medicines, including over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, and supplements with your health care provider. Do not stop taking any medications without first talking to your provider.
Many medicines have been used to relieve symptoms of tinnitus, but no drug works for everyone.
A tinnitus masker worn like a hearing aid helps some people. It delivers low-level sound directly into the ear to cover or disguise the ear noise that is bothering you.
A hearing aid may help reduce ear noise and make outside sounds louder.
Sometimes, counseling may help you learn to live with tinnitus. Your doctor may recommend biofeedback training to help with stress.
Some people have tried alternative therapies to treat tinnitus. However, such methods have not been proven. Talk to your doctor before trying any of these alternative therapies.
The American Tinnitus Association offers a good resource center and support group.
Wear ear protection in any situations where ear damage is possible (such as loud concerts or jackhammers). If you have hearing loss, avoid further damage to your hearing by avoiding excessive noise.
Heller AJ. Classification and epidemiology of tinnitus. Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 2003; 36(2): 239-248.
Sismanis A. Tinnitus. Advances in evaluation and management. Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 2003; 36(2): xi-xii.
Bauer CA. Tinnitus and hyperacusis. In: Cummings CW, Flint PW, Haughey BH, et al, eds. Otolaryngology: Head & Neck Surgery. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier;2010:chap 150.
This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM

subset: commoncrawl


text:
EFH 12 200w SSB/PEP 25w AM
Length 18′ 10″
The RadioWavz End Fed Half Wave (EFH) antenna product line was originally designed to provide channelized operations for Government operations that require single band (frequency) functionality. This is a great commercial product where individual frequency operations are desired. (Example: Oil Production , SCADA, NVIS, Utility hf communications,)
- Item #: EFH12
- Learn More


text:
What is Positive Psychology?
What is Positive Psychology?
I will be speaking at the Agri Careers Expo in the Main Hall, RDS Dublin on... READ MORE
What Are Kegels, and Why Should I Do Them? Unlike the biceps or quadriceps,... READ MORE
HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) So what is it? (HIIT) or interval... READ MORE
LIVE WITH VITALITY COURSE 2019 Kickstart 2019 by attending this 5... READ MORE
Sleep your way to better health. With the clocks gone back an hour, it's... READ MORE
Why not sign up to receive your free Good Health Times subscription?
Packed with wellbeing content directly from Dr. Mark and professionally designed, you'll receive 2 free copies a year direct to your inboxPrivacy Policy


text:
Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.
Postage and packaging
The seller hasn't specified a postage method to United States. Contact the seller- opens in a new window or tab and request post to your location.
Postage cost can't be calculated. Please enter a valid postcode.
Item location: Blackpool, United Kingdom
Postage to: United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Australia, Russian Federation, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, China, Norway, Switzerland
Excludes: Africa, Central America and Caribbean, Middle East, South East Asia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Italy, Malta, Spain, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan Republic, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Korea, South, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, Western Samoa, Bermuda, Greenland, Mexico, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, United States, PO Box
There are 387 items available. Please enter a number less than or equal to 387.
Select a valid country.
Please enter a valid postcode.
Please enter up to 7 characters for the postcode
This item doesn't post to United States
Domestic dispatch time
Will usually dispatch within 1 working day of receiving cleared payment - opens in a new window or tab.
VAT price: 20.0% (included in the listed price).
If you have questions about this VAT, please contact the seller. The actual VAT requirements and rates may vary depending on the final sale.
Payment details
|Payment method
PayPal preferred
Postal order/Banker's draft
Personal cheque
Credit card
Seller's payment instructions
If you require shipping to the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Scilly Isles, the Scottish Highlands or Northern Ireland; please go through the checkout process but wait for an invoice as depending on the weight of the item/s there may be an additional delivery charge to these locations.


text:
Elegant Season's Greeting Card
SUPPLIES: Cardstock: (Ripe Avocado) Papertrey Ink Patterned paper: (Very Merry Ornaments from Christmas Delight collection) Little Yellow Bicycle Clear stamp: (season's greetings from Big & Bold Holiday Wishes set) Papertrey Ink Watermark ink: Tsukineko Chalk ink: (Creamy Brown) Clearsnap Embossing powder: (gold) Stewart Superior Corp. Tool: (border punch) Fiskars Finished size: 4" x 6 1/2"
1 Make card from cardstock; punch right edge.
2 Cut patterned paper panel. Stamp season's greetings; emboss.
3 Adhere panel to card.
Designer Tip
The pretty, foil-accented patterned paper Betsy chose did the design work for her! All it needed was a cleverly placed sentiment.
Appeared in:
|To comment on this article you must be logged in. Not a member?


text:
Food & Drink
10 tours for every kind of drinker
By Shawn Donnelly, Special to CNN • Updated 1st February 2013
View Gallery
8 Pictures
Ah, fermentation. And distilling.
Where would the world be without them? Yes, the Irish might have taken over the world had God not invented whisky, but what about rum, gin, vodka, beer and wine?
We'll likely never know the answer to that question, but we can find out exactly how the drinks that rule the world are made. Whichever flavor you like to toss back, somewhere there's a booze tour with your name on it. From Belgium to Barbados, here are 10 of our favorites.
Bourbon: Woodford Reserve Distillery, Kentucky
Kentucky's oldest and smallest distillery,
Woodford Reserve
lovingly crafts its bourbon in small batches. Maybe that's why it's the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby.
At the distillery, also a National Historic Landmark, visitors take a guided tour that explains the history of bourbon, the bottling process and how Woodford Reserve does something special with all five sources of bourbon flavor.
Holly Firfer shows us how airports help passengers unwind through unique bars and lounges.
For example, they don't just use water, they use deep limestone well water. Big difference (as they'll explain). Best of all, guests get to linger with the award-winning craft bourbon.
On the Corn to Cork tour you can dive deeper into the bourbon-making process. Or you can just start serving up mint juleps.
Cost: $7.
Wine: Viña Errazuriz, Panquehue, Chile
Grape for grape, this family-owned estate 100 kilometers north of Santiago pumps out some of the best wine in South America. It helps that
Viña Errazuriz
has the perfect climate for it: cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers.
On the two-hour tour, visitors take to the underground cellars and walk the hillside vineyards, covering topics like viticulture, climate conditions and grape management.
Then it's on to sampling four of the estate's Max Reserva wines.
The Pinot Noir contains some amazingly smoky notes from oak aging.
Cost: U.S. $34.
Rum: Mount Gay Visitor Center, Brandons, Barbados
It's the classic rum stereotype -- turquoise waters, tropical island, white-sand beaches.
And for a reason. As the birthplace of rum, Barbados is home to the oldest rum in existence,
Mount Gay
. Launched in 1703, Mount Gay is a smooth, medium-bodied rum combining notes of ripe banana, almond, vanilla, coffee and chocolate. It gets those last two from an aging process that involves Kentucky oak barrels that previously contained bourbon.
At the Mount Gay visitor center in Brandons (near the capital, Bridgetown), travelers learn about these rum properties in the brand museum. Later, they snoop around a Barbadian rum shop and sample two of Mount Gay's finest rums in the official bar.
An optional lunch is served outdoors, with a Mount Gay punch, naturally.
Cost: U.S. $7-$50.
Lager: Stella Artois Brewery, Leuven, Belgium
In 1926, the
brewery in Leuven, Belgium (which has been in existence since 1366), produced a beer so bright it was given the name Stella, Latin for "star."
Which goes to show sometimes a company requires a few centuries to discover its true calling. Today, Stella Artois is sold in more than 80 countries.
The hourlong tour at the Stella Artois brewery divulges all the beer's secrets (so they say). Visitors sample a cool Stella in the cozy Den Thuis bar before being guided to the Stella Artois shop, where they can stock up on chalices. And maybe a bottle opener.
Cost: €8.50 (U.S. $11.30).
Stout: Guinness Storehouse, Dublin
is like a beer milkshake and the tour of the brand's headquarters is just as filling.
It starts in the atrium next to the world's largest pint glass, which rises up through the middle of the seven-story building.
As the thorough and at times interactive tour moves up each floor, visitors learn about the beer's state-of-the-art brewing process, its "cooperage" (barrel-making) and how it's transported to more than 150 countries.
Awaiting at the top is a pint of Guinness (certificate included) in the Gravity Bar, which affords visitors a 360-degree view of Dublin. There's a reason the Guinness Storehouse is the No. 1 attraction in Ireland.
Cost: €16.50 (U.S. $22).
Whisky: Glenfiddich Distillery, Dufftown, Scotland
is the world's most awarded single-malt Scotch whisky, having claimed more big-time international medals since 2000 than any other single-malt Scotch.
In the heart of the Scottish Highlands, its distillery is nearly as decorated. The free classic tour runs through 19th-century warehouses and mash rooms and includes three drams of Glenfiddich.
For a more in-depth look (and more chest-hair-producing whisky samples), visitors can opt for the explorers tour or even the pioneers tour, where they can taste a 30-year-old whisky and procure a rare, cask-strength bottle of Glenfiddich.
Cost: Free to £75 (U.S. $121).
Tequila: Casa Herradura, Amatitán, Mexico
If premium tequila is your drink, Guadalajara, Mexico, and a locomotive known as the Tequila Express is your trip. In this case, the Tequila Express is a literal train.
Thirty kilometers later, visitors arrive at
Casa Herradura
, home of the award-winning and picturesque Herradura Tequila distillery. Surrounded by mountains and agave fields, the tour takes in the original factory and a few 100% agave tequilas (silver, reposado, añejo).
Throw in a mariachi band and a little Mexican folk dancing and it could be a wedding night.
Cost: 100 pesos (U.S.$7.90) and up.
Vodka: 45th Parallel Distillery, Wisconsin
About 50 miles east of Minneapolis, Minnesota,
45th Parallel
is a small, family-owned distillery in New Richmond, Wisconsin.
While their resources may be modest, they produce one hell of a vodka, ultra-clean and as neutral as Switzerland. It costs a mere $5 to take the distillery tour. Visitors observe the patient fermentation of mash and slow, small-batch distilling processes.
Then comes a sample of their best stuff in the tasting room. These Midwesterners also churn out a pretty solid bourbon.
Cost: $5.
Cider: Healey's Cornish Cyder Farm, Penhallow, England
makes a number of ciders, most notably the Cornish Rattler, a cloudy cider with a hefty bite, hence the name and snake on the bottle.
Visitors can explore the distillery, bottling facility, underground cellars and museum and learn about the process of making award-winning cider.
Or, they can take a tractor ride through apple orchards in the valley below, have lunch and a slew of ciders in the restaurant, even pet the farm animals. It's all kid-friendly.
Cost: £7.00 (U.S. $11).
Gin: New York Distilling Company, New York City
OK, this isn't much of a distillery tour.
The New York Distilling Co
. is small; tours are informal and don't last long.
The hook here is the distillery, located in the hip, converted-warehouse-heavy neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, attached to a fully functioning bar called The Shanty.
In this laid-back, exposed-brick haunt, the distillery's hulking steel and copper still are seen through a large window.
Cocktails are available, made with the distillery's two gins, the citrus Dorothy Parker and the strong (57% ABV) Perry's Tot. A distillery-produced rye is on its way.
Cost: Free.
Where's the best drink you ever had? Near home or far across the sea? Please share in the comments below.
A year of the world's
Best Beaches
There's a perfect beach for every week of the year. Join us on a 12-month journey to see them all
Go to the best beaches
Food & Drink
Go to top of page
© 2019 Cable News Network.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
All Rights Reserved. CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
About us
Work for us
License Footage
CNN Newsource
CNN Coupons


text:
Main Content
Accounts Payable
Mission Statement
Accounts Payable is committed to disbursing all non-payroll payments in a timely and professional manner while adhering to University and State policy and procedures.
Welcome to the Southern Connecticut State University Accounts Payable Web site! The goal of our site is to provide you with the necessary information needed to assure accurate and prompt payments. Please visit our site often where you may find answers to many of your questions. In addition, our Accounts Payable professionals are here to assist you! We welcome your suggestions as we continue to update what we hope will become a resource for all of your A/P needs.
Travel Office
The Travel Office is part of Accounts Payable and is responsible for processing and auditing university travel expenses.


text:
Browse our new site for new and used Harley-Davidson® motorcycles, including the Harley® Sportster®, Street Glide™, Road King®, V-Rod® and many others. View our new Harley inventory online for all the newest models. As a full service Harley dealer we offer Harley® apparel, MotorClothes® merchandise, Harley® parts and service.
We are located in Columbus, OH with additional locations in Pataskala and Sunbury, conveniently located for our customers in New Albany, Powell, Westerville, Pickerington, Grove City, Upper Arlington and Galena, Ohio.


text:
This lesson is going to be on something very simple and used in almost everything we own. I will teach you "how to draw a gear step by step". Gears are chunks of metal that are used in mechanical machines both little and large. If you really want to break down on what a gear is I can do that as well. Now, a gear is a metal or steel component that sits with a bunch of other moving devices which than creates a torque that goes in a rotational direction. A gear is a perfect circular shaped object that has a series of teeth that are used to grip onto the slots of another gear or device. A perfect example on what a gear is used for is watches. If you was to take apart a pocket watch or a clock that would have big enough parts to see, you will open up world filled with gears, washers, screws, pulleys, springs, and so on and so forth. The gear that you will draw looks similar to the gear I drew for the "Gears of War" logo. I think you will find this lesson extremely easy to follow and replicate. Have fun with this lesson on "how to draw a gear step by step". I will be back later with two more lessons that I think you guys will enjoy. Peace out my fellow artists, and happy drawing!
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!


text:
Globetrotters' bus involved in weather-related accident with car in Mass.; no one injured
MARLBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) � Massachusetts State Police say a bus carrying the Harlem Globetrotters was involved in what appears to be a weather-related accident, but no one was hurt.
A department spokesman says the team's bus was involved in a collision with a car on Interstate 290 eastbound in Marlborough just before 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. Many areas of central Massachusetts got more than six inches of snow Tuesday.
The bus was delayed about 25 minutes before it left the area under its own power.
The car, driven by a 30-year-old woman, was towed from the scene.
No citations were issued.
The Globetrotters played a game in nearby Worcester on Sunday according to the team's website, and have a game scheduled for Bangor, Maine on Tuesday.


text:
It is currently Sun Dec 15, 2019 2:57 pm
The U.S. Department of Defense budget accounted in fiscal year 2010 for about 19% of the United States federal budgeted expenditures and 28% of estimated tax revenues. Including non-DOD expenditures, defense spending was approximately 25–29% of budgeted expenditures and 38–44% of estimated tax revenues. According to the Congressional Budget Office, defense spending grew 9% annually on average from fiscal year 2000–2009.
The 2009 U.S. military budget is almost as much as the rest of the world's defense spending combined and is over nine times larger than the military budget of China (compared at the nominal US dollar / Renminbi rate, not the PPP rate). The United States and its close allies are responsible for two-thirds to three-quarters of the world's military spending (of which, in turn, the U.S. is responsible for the majority).
Return to Offshore Accounts (inc Travel)
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests


text:
Bin the Wii, play with wee
Drunks can now piss away hours playing games while at the urinals after the gents at The Exhibit Bar in south London was kitted out with a hands-free gaming
cistern system.
Confident men can test out their skills on one of three games including the quiz game Clever Dick by adjusting their stream to the left or right section of the pan, while competitive players can post their story onto an online leader board or via Twitter.
"It's taken three years of research and development to get to this point," says Mark Melford, director at the games' creator, Captive Media. "The reaction to the units so far has been incredible – it's just so much fun."
Bar owners that kit out their bogs with the system can use the screens to promo special offers or events to "engage" with the full-bladdered for one minute or longer – depending on the choice of tipple.
In fact Captive Media suggests that "evidence" based on a four-month pilot at a watering hole in Cambridge as that the gaming experience "boosted footfall, created a local 'buzz' and had a significant impact on sales" of products marketed.
"It's a tough time for bars and pubs currently. This product offers customers something fun, and unlike anything they've seen before. Those are two good reasons to go out for a drink at a time when so many are opting to stay in," said the firm.
This may be true of the Brits, but the Japanese have got there already with a Sega system, and so far it has failed to single-handedly rescue the economy there. Fingers or something crossed for the prospects closer to home. ®
Sponsored: Beyond the Data Frontier


text:
Hello everyone,
I am a new Pocomail user, and have found the lack of MAPI compatability frustrating and dissappointing! So I set out to find an acceptable workaround for this issue....to use, until simple MAPI is added to Pocomail. I am loving all the great features of Pocomail, more everyday as I discover them. So,it was very important to me, to find a way to regain a feature that I use so much!
I have spent hours on Google, and have finally found two free little programs that serve as a workaround. One I have tried, and know that it works....but it only works with XP. It is very basic and simple....it simply switches your default email client, with one click!
You also have to have a MAPI email client installed, for this to work
for our purpose. (I still have Outlook Express installed).
The name of the first program (that I am using), is DefaultMail. It's home page is: windowsxp.mvp.org/defaultmail.htm. Or you can Google it, and find it on different sites.
Here is how I use it......after I downloaded and opened it, I pulled its shortcut icon down into the system tray. When I have a page, link or picture that I want to send, I simply click on DM's shortcut icon...and it pops up in a very small window, then I select Outlook Express(from a list) as the default.....then the normal file....send as....page...and OE's box opens up, and I send! Then, you can click back on DefaultMail's icon, and change the default back to Pocomail. It couldn't be simplier.....for a "workaround". When you install DefaultMail, it makes a list of all the email programs on your system, and you can pick from that list when it is opened. I have only been testing it for a couple of hours.....but so far so good! It does exactly what I have been looking for.
The other program I found (but haven't tried yet), is called Affixa. It is alot more complex, but I believe it can be used on most operating systems. It was designed to combine all of your email programs....including web mail....into one utility, to give you the ability to "mail-to" from any of them. It is much more feature packed
than Default mail, but it is also free. Well, there is a pay version as well.....but it is a very small cost. The free version would be enough
I'm sure. I emailed it's support/developer, with a lot of questions, to find out if it would be a good workaround for Pocomail users. He answered me back with "I think Affixa should do exactly what you are looking for". The only hesitation I have, is that Affixa has to be set as the default mail application.....then you configure your own email programs within it. That is because (I think), you can use web mail with it. Since I don't use web mail (and I use XP), the smaller program is working great for me. You will just need to take a look at both of them, to decide which one would work best for you.
The home page for Affixa is: affixa.com. You will probably want to Google it as well, to get more information.
Well, I guess that is all. I sure hope this information will help a lot of fellow Pocomail users......very frustrated users, (over this MAPI issue) I might add!!!! I was just about to give up, and put Pocomail on the shelf, until MAPI is added......but I am glad that I persevered and found these workarounds.
Let us keep prevailing on Pocomail's developers, to please add MAPI as fast as possible....at least make it an option, so we can have the choice of using it or not. One thing that I really appreciate about Pocomail, is the great support that is given!! My heartfelt thanks go out to Tomas, who has been such a help to me
in learning how to use Pocomail.
I do hope that one of these workarounds will help you.


text:
Today is the first day that people can buy the much-ballyhooed Apple iPhone. Its release has created the type of frenzy normally associated with electronic game gadgets and Star Wars films.
Among the people lining up at the local Apple store many hours in advance of the first sale was the husband of a friend of a friend who just happened to bring along two of his grandchildren. He was caught by a local television reporter for a report on last evening's news. The kids will long remember this, he said. This is the kind of thing that memories are made of.
He's right, of course. Stories of that long night waiting with Gramps will undoubtedly outlive the iPhone itself, which is likely to be viewed as a quaint relic by the time the kids reach grandpa's age. But are these the stories we really want to pass down?
I'm reminded of a similar story from my own family. For years one of our Christmas traditions was to gather with my mother's relatives at an aunt's farm on Christmas Eve. Besides a feast of aebleskiver, apple cake and egg salad on pumpernickel, there was a gift exchange for the youngsters.
One year our kids were left out of the exchange. Not wanting them to come away empty-handed, my wife and I decided to provide gifts for them. I don't recall the circumstances, but our kids had been more naughty than nice at the time so we bought each of them a mini-brick of fruitcake. I'm one of those rare souls who admits to liking fruitcake, but for the kids it was the equivalent of a lump of coal.
Some relatives thought I was being cruel; I thought I was building memories. They'll never forget this Christmas, I reasoned. I was right. They remember the night well and I think the story has been folded into more pleasant memories of the farm and the Christmas Eve activities there, which the kids usually found hokey and hopelessly outdated.
Still, I wonder if it was the right way to create memories. It probably was a bit on the cruel side, even though the incident played a bit part in an otherwise enjoyable Christmas season. That's something to think about whenever we craft events with memory-building as a desired consequence.
Larry Lehmer is a personal biographer who helps people preserve their family histories. To learn more, visit his web site or e-mail him.
Flickr photo courtesy of Zatoichi.


text:
Updated About encyclopedia.com content Print Article
Tungus (tŏŏnkŏŏz´), Siberian ethnic group, numbering perhaps 30,000. They are subdivided into the Evenki, who live in the area from the Yenisei and Ob river basins to the Pacific Ocean and from the Amur River to the Arctic Ocean, and the Lamut, who live on the coast of the Okhotsk Sea. The Tungus are closely related to the Manchus. Before they were brought under Soviet control, the Tungus practiced a shamanistic religion. The Tungus, or Tunguzic, languages are a division of the Altaic subfamily of the Ural-Altaic family of languages (see Uralic and Altaic languages) that includes the Manchu literary language; they may be related to the Mongolic and Turkic families.
See I. Lissner, Man, God, and Magic (tr. 1961).


text:
Zannel Open API MASTER RECORD
From their site: The Zannel Open API allows programmatic access to Zannel's platform. Developers can build applications, widgets, web and mobile apps that act on behalf of the user or interact with the Zannel platform in new and interesting ways. Zannel is a site to show your life as it happens. You can post text, picture, and video updates, share updates with friends, view updates on mobile or web, and embed updates on your blog, website, social network etc.