WORLD CLIMATES

CONGRATULATIONS !!!

EUROPEAN ELECTIONS 2014

The 2014 European elections: this time it's different

The European elections of 22-25 May 2014 give voters the chance to influence the future political course of the European Union when they elect the 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to represent their interests for the next five years.

When is election day?

Each member state has its own electoral laws and each one decides on what day its citizens will go to the polls during the four-day election period from 22 to 25 May 2014. British voters will turn out on 22 May to elect their 73 MEPs. Irish voters will choose their 11 MEPs between 22 and 25 May (exact date to be decided by Irish Government). The results from all 28 states will be announced on the evening of Sunday 25 May.

How many MEPs will be elected?

There have been 766 Members of the European Parliament since Croatia joined the EU in July 2013 but this number is being scaled down at the 2014 elections to 751 and will stay at that level in future. These MEPs will represent over 500 million citizens in 28 member states. The seats are allocated among the various states, by the EU treaties, on the basis of 'degressive proportionality', meaning countries with larger populations have more seats than smaller ones but the latter have more seats than strict proportionality would imply.

Why are these elections different?

As the European Union seeks to pull through the economic crisis and EU leaders reflect on what direction to take in future, these are the most important European elections to date.

They not only allow voters to pass judgment on EU leaders' efforts to tackle the eurozone crisis and to express their views on plans for closer economic and political integration; they are also the first elections since the Lisbon Treaty of 2009 gave the European Parliament a number of important new powers.

One major new development introduced by the Treaty is that, when the EU member states nominate the next president of the European Commission to succeed José Manuel Barroso in autumn 2014, they will - for the first time - have to take account of the European election results. The new Parliament must endorse this candidate: it 'elects' the Commission president, in the words of the Treaty. This means voters now have a clear say in who takes over at the helm of EU government.

Of the 13 European political parties, five have nominated a candidate to succeed the current Commission President. The EPP has nominated Jean-Claude Juncker, former Luxembourg prime minister and former Eurogroup president, the PES candidate is Martin Schulz, current president of the European Parliament, the Liberals and Democrats have opted for Guy Verhofstadt, former Belgian prime minister and current Liberal group leader in the EP, the Greens have nominated a duo of current MEPs, French José Bové and German Ska Keller, while the European Left have put forward Alexis Tsipras, leader of the Greek SYRIZA party.

The new political majority that emerges from the elections will also shape European legislation over the next five years in areas from the single market to civil liberties. The Parliament - the only directly elected EU institution - is now a linchpin of the European decision-making system and has an equal say with national governments on nearly all EU laws.

INTERESTING WEB : REAL TIME IN CURRENT WORLD POPULATION

World population 

SPRING

 

Spring is one of the four conventional temperate seasons, following winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of the term varies according to local climate, cultures and customs. 

When it is spring in the Northern Hemisphere, it will be autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. At the spring equinox, days are close to 12 hours long with day length increasing as the season progresses. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and also to ideas of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection and regrowth.  

Subtropical and tropical areas have climates better described in terms of other seasons, e.g. dry or wet, monsoonal or cyclonic. Often the cultures have locally defined names for seasons which have little equivalence to the terms originating in Europe.

THE DAY OF ANDALUCIA

The Day of Andalucía (Día de Andalucía), also known as Andalucía Day, marks the anniversary of a referendum held on February 28, 1980. A large majority of voters supported this referendum for Andalucía to become an autonomous community in Spain.

What do people do?

Many people spend the day quietly with family or close friends. However, some people organize or attend private parties with traditional music, dancing, food and drink. Some municipalities hold communal meals with traditional foods, drinks and entertainment. Local politicians may present people with certificates or medals for service to the community.

Public life

The Day of Andalucía is a public holiday in the autonomous community of Andalucía on February 28. Public life is generally quiet and many businesses and other organizations are closed. Many stores are closed but some bakers and food stores may be open. Public transport services generally run to a reduced schedule but there may be no services in rural areas.
If February 28 falls on a Sunday, regional or local authorities may move the public holiday to a different date. If February 28 falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, many businesses and organizations are also closed on Monday, February 27, or Friday, February 29 or March 1. The Day of Andalucía is not a public holiday in the rest of Spain on February 28.

Background

The autonomous community of Andalucía shares international land borders with Portugal and Gibraltar. Within Spain, it borders the autonomous communities of Castile-La Mancha, Extremadura and Murcia. People in Andalucia voted for the region to become an autonomous community of Spain on February 28, 1980. However, the Spanish Parliament only accepted Andalucia as an historic nationality in 2006.

Symbols

Andalucía's flag is widely displayed on the Day of Andalucía. It consists of three equal horizontal bars. The top and lower bars are dark green and the middle bar is white. Andalucía's coat of arms is at the center of the flag. Andalucía's coat of arms consists of an image of the mythical Greek hero Heracles between two columns. The columns represent the Pillars of Heracles. These are the rocks on either side of the Straits of Gibraltar.

Buceando por la red encuentras joyas como esta página sobre Historia del Arte de un Instituto de Secundaria. ¡¡Enhorabuena por tan magnífico trabajo!!

http://iesjorgejuan.es/node/35

WINTER

December Solstice Traditions and Customs

 

 

 

What happens at the solstice?

The North Pole is tilted furthest away from the sun at the solstice. (Illustration not to scale)

The December solstice occurs when the sun reaches its most southerly declination of -23.5 degrees. In other words, it is when the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun. Depending on the Gregorian calendar, the December solstice occurs annually on a day between December 20 and December 23. On this date, all places above a latitude of 66.5 degrees north (Arctic Polar Circle) are now in darkness, while locations below a latitude of 66.5 degrees south (Antarctic Polar Circle) receive 24 hours of daylight.
Use the Sunrise and Sunset calculator to find the number of daylight hours during the December solstice in cities worldwide.
The sun is directly overhead on the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere during the December solstice. It also marks the longest day of the year in terms of daylight hours for those living south of the equator. Those living or travelling south from the Antarctic Circle towards the South Pole will see the midnight sun during this time of the year.
On the contrary, for an observer in the northern hemisphere, the December solstice marks the day of the year with the least hours of daylight. Those living or traveling north of the Arctic Circle towards the North Pole will not be able to see the sun during this time of the year.

Solstice’s influence on Christmas

 Yule is also known as Alban Arthan and was one of the “Lesser Sabbats” of the Wiccan year.

In modern times Christians all over the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas, which falls on December 25. However, it is believed that this date was chosen to offset pagan celebrations of Saturnalia and Natalis Invicti. Some believe that celebrating the birth of the “true light of the world” was set in synchronization with the December solstice because from that point onwards, the days began to have more daylight in the northern hemisphere.

Christmas is also referred to as Yule, which may have derived from the Norse word jól, referring to the pre-Christian winter solstice festival. Yule is also known as Alban Arthan and was one of the “Lesser Sabbats” of the Wiccan year in a time when ancient believers celebrated the rebirth of the Sun God and days with more light. This took place annually around the time of the December solstice and lasted for 12 days. The Lesser Sabbats fall on the solstices and equinoxes.
The Feast of Juul was a pre-Christian festival observed in Scandinavia at the time of the December solstice. Fires were lit to symbolize the heat, light and life-giving properties of the returning sun. A Yule or Juul log was brought in and burned on the hearth in honor of the Scandinavian god Thor.
A piece of the log was kept as both a token of good luck and as kindling for the following year’s log. In England, Germany, France and other European countries, the Yule log was burned until nothing but ash remained. The ashes were then collected and either strewn on the fields as fertilizer every night until Twelfth Night or kept as a charm and or as medicine.
French peasants believed that if the ashes were kept under the bed, they would protect the house against thunder and lightning. The present-day custom of lighting a Yule log at Christmas is believed to have originated in the bonfires associated with the feast of Juul.

¿Qué tiene la Constitución de 1978 que no tuvieron las que la precedieron en la historia política española?

La Constitución de 1978 ha sido la primera en nuestra historia que una parte del país no impuso a la otra parte. Esa –la de la imposición del ganador– había sido nuestra triste historia colectiva hasta que la Constitución ahora en vigor rompió con el pasado. Un pasado –no debéis olvidarlo si queréis valorar justamente las virtudes y defectos del texto constitucional que hoy rige nuestra vida colectiva– que era, por utilizar una expresión propia de la época, el del trágala: los que se alzaban con el poder (fuera por medios legales: las elecciones; o por medios ilegales: los golpes de Estado, los pronunciamientos o las revoluciones) imponían a los perdedores sus reglas de juego, sus principios y valores –es decir, su Constitución–, que los perdedores debían tragarse (de ahí el trágala ) como quien se ve obligado a comerse a la fuerza un plato que le resulta más o menos repulsivo. Esa práctica de la imposición del ganador acabó convirtiéndose con el tiempo en una práctica política que, a fuerza de ser habitual, acabó pareciendo a todos, completamente natural: el ganador imponía su Constitución a los demás, que esperaban desde entonces su ocasión para imponer la suya por su cuenta, en cuanto cambiasen las tornas y alcanzasen el poder. La imagen que muchas veces hemos utilizado para explicar tal situación es la del péndulo de un reloj. Nuestra historia política y constitucional sería así una historia pendular, en la que el país habría venido oscilando de derecha a izquierda, y de izquierda a derecha, entre conservadurismo y progresismo, entre avance y retroceso, entre reacción y revolución. Lo cierto es, sin embargo, que en cuanto uno se acerca a esa realidad de nuestra historia con algo más de calma, resulta posible llegar a una conclusión que matiza un poco esa visión pendular de la evolución del constitucionalismo español. Y es que –fijaos– por debajo de esa historia marcada por los gritos opuestos de ¡Viva la Constitución! y ¡Muera la Constitución!, es decir, por debajo de esa sucesión constante de Constituciones y de períodos constituyentes de diferente signo político, de oscilaciones del péndulo de derecha a izquierda y viceversa, la verdad es que a lo largo de nuestra historia colectiva se fueron configurando todo un amplio conjunto de instituciones de poder, y de culturas y prácticas políticas, muy impermeables a las reformas democráticas que, con el tiempo, terminarán haciendo muy difícil la consolidación, a lo largo del siglo XIX, de un Estado constitucional digno de tal nombre; y, ya en el siglo XX, de un Estado democrático. Basta para comprobar hasta que punto las cosas sucedieron de ese modo con realizar una sencilla operación: sí, basta con hacer cuentas del tiempo en que, por seguir con esa imagen de la España pendular, el péndulo permaneció de un lado y no del otro. De los ciento sesenta y seis años transcurridos entre 1812 (cuando se aprobó nuestra primera Constitución: la de Cádiz) y 1978 (cuando se aprobó la que actualmente rige nuestra vida colectiva) España sufrió sesenta y dos años de negación radical del constitucionalismo (los del sexenio absolutista, la década ominosa, y las dictaduras de Miguel Primo de Rivera y Francisco Franco); y sobrevivió otros sesenta y ocho años de constitucionalismo cerrado y ficticio: los transcurridos mientras estuvieron vigentes el texto constitucional de los moderados (el de 1845) y el de los conservadores (el de 1876). En contraste contundente con esos largos ciento treinta años, bien poco significarán los algo más de treinta en los que, a trancas y barrancas, la vida política española estuvo marcada por Constituciones que, verdaderamente, podían recibir tal nombre: las de 1812, 1837 y 1869, durante el siglo XIX; y la de la II República española, aprobada esta última, en medio de una esperanza y una ilusión popular desconocidas hasta entonces, en 1931. Pero esa incapacidad a la que me vengo refiriendo no lo fue sólo para construir un régimen político plenamente democrático, capaz de reconocer la creciente pluralidad política, social, territorial, religiosa y cultural existente en España, sino también para imponer unas reglas de juego aceptadas por la inmensa mayoría de los españoles con la finalidad de dar una salida civil, y por tanto, civilizada, a la lucha de partidos a través de la cual se manifestaba (y, en ocasiones, se azuzaba) el enfrentamiento entre españoles. Esa doble incapacidad acabaría conduciendo finalmente al más terrible drama de nuestra historia común: a una guerra civil devastadora (la de 1936 a 1939), consecuencia directa de un levantamiento militar contra la II República española, guerra que iba a desembocar en una larga y terrible dictadura. Por eso cuando tras la muerte del dictador Francisco Franco España va recuperando poco a poco su libertad, todos los grandes problemas de nuestra experiencia colectiva estaban allí, como congelados, esperándonos, lo que nos obligó a afrontarlos de nuevo para tratar, ahora sí, de darles una solución definitiva. Ese intento es el que explica el sentido de nuestra actual Constitución, un texto de amplio consenso, es decir, de gran acuerdo entre todos los que participaron en su elaboración, con la que se trató de lograr un auténtico pacto nacional para la convivencia en paz y en libertad, mediante un método sencillo, pero no por ello menos meritorio: el consistente en no introducir en la Constitución ninguna norma, regla o principio que resultase absolutamente inaceptable para alguna de las fuerzas políticas que, en representación del pueblo español, redactaron su articulado. El consenso frente al trágala : ese fue el cambio que introdujo en la historia política española la Constitución de 1978, aprobada, primero, por la inmensa mayoría de los diputados y senadores que participaron en las Cortes Constituyentes; y, después, por la inmensa mayoría de los ciudadanos cuando, tras la aprobación por las Cortes Generales (que forman el Congreso de los Diputados y el Senado) fue sometida a referéndum nacional del pueblo español.
Zona joven del Congreso sobre la Constitución