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A walk to our favourite coffee place in Thakeham. The lambs weren't playing ball today, and ran away from us on the neighbouring path.
"Run away" is a family phrase used in many circumstances.
365/2021 - Expanding Horizons - Day 4 Jan 4 - Went to Cibola Natl' Wildlife Refuge, it's on the lower Colorado river between Arizona and California, was so awesome seeing all the different birds.
Tissington Village - Derbyshire Dales. Feb 2024
A perfect picture book village with beautiful cottages built around a noble old hall, fine church and duck pond. Home of the FitzHerbert family for over 400 years and it is their splendid Jacobean residence at the Hall. There is no pub in the village. Tissington is known to be one of the prettiest villages in the Peak District. The population "Tissington and Lea Hall" at the 2011 census was 159.
The Tissington Trail for walkers, cyclists and horse riders passes by the village, where there is parking and a picnic site. The Limestone Way footpath goes through Tissington and there are good routes all around for ramblers. The trail is 13 miles in total and should take an average walker 2.5 hours with stops along the way.
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365/2021 - Expanding Horizons ~ 138/365
The buds on my Alliums are slowly starting to open.
Thank you to everyone who pauses long enough to look at my photo. All comments and Faves are very much appreciated
I see this hawk quite frequently on my walks with the dog. In doing some research I read that Hawks are spiritual messengers symbolizing freedom, representing great vision and decisiveness. Seeing hawks all the time means you are getting a flow of ideas like a hawk does while it is flying on the wind. A hawk sighting symbolizes a creative being and means that the time has come to spread your wings, to fly higher, and to expand your vision!
A good omen for the New Year!
Charlottenlund Palace (Danish: Charlottenlund Slot) has been expanded with several extensions since 1865 when Ferdinand Richardt made a drawing of it (see the previous photo in the photostream).
The palace is a former royal summer residence and was named after Princess Charlotte Amalie. She was given the first house on the estate and had it replaced with the original palace.
In 1869, Crown Prince Frederick and his wife Lovisa of Sweden took over the palace. Both Christian X of Denmark and Haakon VII of Norway were born in the building. In 1880-81, Ferdinand Meldahl undertook a major rebuilding of the palace. One extension was made on each gable. The central hall with the dome and lantern were also added.
The royal family discontinued using the palace in 1935 and made it available to the Danish Biological Station. The Great Hall is occasionally used for classical concerts.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Hong kong)
Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory south to Mainland China and east to Macao in East Asia. With around 7.2 million Hong Kongers of various nationalities[note 2] in a territory of 1,104 km2, Hong Kong is the world's fourth most densely populated country or territory.
Hong Kong used to be a British colony with the perpetual cession of Hong Kong Island from the Qing Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and acquired a 99-year lease of the New Territories from 1898. Hong Kong was later occupied by Japan during the Second World War until British control resumed in 1945. The Sino-British Joint Declaration signed between the United Kingdom and China in 1984 paved way for the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997, when it became a special administrative region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China with a high degree of autonomy.[15]
Under the principle of "one country, two systems",[16][17] Hong Kong maintains a separate political and economic system from China. Except in military defence and foreign affairs, Hong Kong maintains its independent executive, legislative and judiciary powers.[18] In addition, Hong Kong develops relations directly with foreign states and international organisations in a broad range of "appropriate fields".[19] Hong Kong involves in international organizations, such as the WTO[20] and the APEC [21], actively and independently.
Hong Kong is one of the world's most significant financial centres, with the highest Financial Development Index score and consistently ranks as the world's most competitive and freest economic entity.[22][23] As the world's 8th largest trading entity,[24] its legal tender, the Hong Kong dollar, is the world's 13th most traded currency.[25] As the world's most visited city,[26][27] Hong Kong's tertiary sector dominated economy is characterised by competitive simple taxation and supported by its independent judiciary system.[28] Even with one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, it suffers from severe income inequality.[29]
Nicknamed "Pearl of the Orient", Hong Kong is renowned for its deep natural harbour, which boasts the world's fifth busiest port with ready access by cargo ships, and its impressive skyline, with the most skyscrapers in the world.[30][31] It has a very high Human Development Index ranking and the world's longest life expectancy.[32][33] Over 90% of the population makes use of well-developed public transportation.[34][35] Seasonal air pollution with origins from neighbouring industrial areas of Mainland China, which adopts loose emissions standards, has resulted in a high level of atmospheric particulates in winter.[36][37][38]
Contents
1 Etymology
2 History
2.1 Prehistory
2.2 Imperial China
2.3 British Crown Colony: 1842–1941
2.4 Japanese occupation: 1941–45
2.5 Resumption of British rule and industrialisation: 1945–97
2.6 Handover and Special Administrative Region status
3 Governance
3.1 Structure of government
3.2 Electoral and political reforms
3.3 Legal system and judiciary
3.4 Foreign relations
3.5 Human rights
3.6 Regions and districts
3.7 Military
4 Geography and climate
5 Economy
5.1 Financial centre
5.2 International trading
5.3 Tourism and expatriation
5.4 Policy
5.5 Infrastructure
6 Demographics
6.1 Languages
6.2 Religion
6.3 Personal income
6.4 Education
6.5 Health
7 Culture
7.1 Sports
7.2 Architecture
7.3 Cityscape
7.4 Symbols
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
10.1 Citations
10.2 Sources
11 Further reading
12 External links
Etymology
Hong Kong was officially recorded in the 1842 Treaty of Nanking to encompass the entirety of the island.[39]
The source of the romanised name "Hong Kong" is not known, but it is generally believed to be an early imprecise phonetic rendering of the pronunciation in spoken Cantonese 香港 (Cantonese Yale: Hēung Góng), which means "Fragrant Harbour" or "Incense Harbour".[13][14][40] Before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet—now Aberdeen Harbour (Chinese: 香港仔; Cantonese Yale: Hēunggóng jái), literally means "Little Hong Kong"—between Aberdeen Island and the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. Aberdeen was an initial point of contact between British sailors and local fishermen.[41]
Another theory is that the name would have been taken from Hong Kong's early inhabitants, the Tankas (水上人); it is equally probable that romanisation was done with a faithful execution of their speeches, i.e. hōng, not hēung in Cantonese.[42] Detailed and accurate romanisation systems for Cantonese were available and in use at the time.[43]
Fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbour's fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River or to the incense from factories lining the coast of northern Kowloon. The incense was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before Hong Kong developed Victoria Harbour.[40]
The name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926.[44] Nevertheless, a number of century-old institutions still retain the single-word form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
As of 1997, its official name is the "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China". This is the official title as mentioned in the Hong Kong Basic Law and the Hong Kong Government's website;[45] however, "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" and "Hong Kong" are widely accepted.
Hong Kong has carried many nicknames. The most famous among those is the "Pearl of the Orient", which reflected the impressive nightscape of the city's light decorations on the skyscrapers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour. The territory is also known as "Asia's World City".
History
Main articles: History of Hong Kong and History of China
Prehistory
Main article: Prehistoric Hong Kong
Archaeological studies support human presence in the Chek Lap Kok area (now Hong Kong International Airport) from 35,000 to 39,000 years ago and on Sai Kung Peninsula from 6,000 years ago.[46][47][48]
Wong Tei Tung and Three Fathoms Cove are the earliest sites of human habitation in Hong Kong during the Paleolithic Period. It is believed that the Three Fathom Cove was a river-valley settlement and Wong Tei Tung was a lithic manufacturing site. Excavated Neolithic artefacts suggested cultural differences from the Longshan culture of northern China and settlement by the Che people, prior to the migration of the Baiyue to Hong Kong.[49][50] Eight petroglyphs, which dated to the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 BC – 1066 BC) in China, were discovered on the surrounding islands.[51]
Imperial China
Main article: History of Hong Kong under Imperial China
In 214 BC, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a centralised China, conquered the Baiyue tribes in Jiaozhi (modern-day Liangguang region and Vietnam) and incorporated the area of Hong Kong into his imperial China for the first time. Hong Kong proper was assigned to the Nanhai commandery (modern-day Nanhai District), near the commandery's capital city Panyu.[52][53][54]
After a brief period of centralisation and collapse of the Qin dynasty, the area of Hong Kong was consolidated under the Kingdom of Nanyue, founded by general Zhao Tuo in 204 BC.[55] When Nanyue lost the Han-Nanyue War in 111 BC, Hong Kong came under the Jiaozhi commandery of the Han dynasty. Archaeological evidence indicates an increase of population and flourish of salt production. The Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb on the Kowloon Peninsula is believed to have been built as a burial site during the Han dynasty.[56]
From the Han dynasty to the early Tang dynasty, Hong Kong was a part of Bao'an County. In the Tang dynasty, modern-day Guangzhou (Canton) flourished as an international trading centre. In 736, the Emperor Xuanzong of Tang established a military stronghold in Tuen Mun to strengthen defence of the coastal area.[57] The nearby Lantau Island was a salt production centre and salt smuggler riots occasionally broke out against the government. In c. 1075, The first village school, Li Ying College, was established around 1075 AD in modern-day New Territories by the Northern Song dynasty.[58] During their war against the Mongols, the imperial court of Southern Song was briefly stationed at modern-day Kowloon City (the Sung Wong Toi site) before their ultimate defeat by the Mongols at the Battle of Yamen in 1279.[59] The Mongols then established their dynastic court and governed Hong Kong for 97 years.
From the mid-Tang dynasty to the early Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Hong Kong was a part of Dongguan County. During the Ming dynasty, the area was transferred to Xin'an County. The indigenous inhabitants at that time consisted of several ethnicities such as Punti, Hakka, Tanka and Hoklo.
European discovery
The earliest European visitor on record was Jorge Álvares, a Portuguese explorer, who arrived in 1513.[60][61] Having established a trading post in a site they called "Tamão" in Hong Kong waters, Portuguese merchants commenced with regular trading in southern China. Subsequent military clashes between China and Portugal, however, led to the expulsion of all Portuguese merchants from southern China.
Since the 14th century, the Ming court had enforced the maritime prohibition laws that strictly forbade all private maritime activities in order to prevent contact with foreigners by sea.[62] When the Manchu Qing dynasty took over China, Hong Kong was directly affected by the Great Clearance decree of the Kangxi Emperor, who ordered the evacuation of coastal areas of Guangdong from 1661 to 1669. Over 16,000 inhabitants of Xin'an County including those in Hong Kong were forced to migrate inland; only 1,648 of those who had evacuated subsequently returned.[63][64]
British Crown Colony: 1842–1941
A painter at work. John Thomson. Hong Kong, 1871. The Wellcome Collection, London
Main articles: British Hong Kong and History of Hong Kong (1800s–1930s)
In 1839, threats by the imperial court of Qing to sanction opium imports caused diplomatic friction with the British Empire. Tensions escalated into the First Opium War. The Qing admitted defeat when British forces captured Hong Kong Island on 20 January 1841. The island was initially ceded under the Convention of Chuenpi as part of a ceasefire agreement between Captain Charles Elliot and Governor Qishan. A dispute between high-ranking officials of both countries, however, led to the failure of the treaty's ratification. On 29 August 1842, Hong Kong Island was formally ceded in perpetuity to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Treaty of Nanking.[65] The British officially established a Crown colony and founded the City of Victoria in the following year.[66]
The population of Hong Kong Island was 7,450 when the Union Flag raised over Possession Point on 26 January 1841. It mostly consisted of Tanka fishermen and Hakka charcoal burners, whose settlements scattered along several coastal hamlets. In the 1850s, a large number of Chinese immigrants crossed the then-free border to escape from the Taiping Rebellion. Other natural disasters, such as flooding, typhoons and famine in mainland China would play a role in establishing Hong Kong as a place for safe shelter.[67][68]
Further conflicts over the opium trade between Britain and Qing quickly escalated into the Second Opium War. Following the Anglo-French victory, the Crown Colony was expanded to include Kowloon Peninsula (south of Boundary Street) and Stonecutter's Island, both of which were ceded to the British in perpetuity under the Convention of Beijing in 1860.
In 1898, Britain obtained a 99-year lease from Qing under the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, in which Hong Kong obtained a 99-year lease of Lantau Island, the area north of Boundary Street in Kowloon up to Shenzhen River and over 200 other outlying islands.[69][70][71]
Hong Kong soon became a major entrepôt thanks to its free port status, attracting new immigrants to settle from both China and Europe. The society, however, remained racially segregated and polarised under early British colonial policies. Despite the rise of a British-educated Chinese upper-class by the late-19th century, race laws such as the Peak Reservation Ordinance prevented ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong from acquiring houses in reserved areas such as Victoria Peak. At this time, the majority of the Chinese population in Hong Kong had no political representation in the British colonial government. The British governors did rely, however, on a small number of Chinese elites, including Sir Kai Ho and Robert Hotung, who served as ambassadors and mediators between the government and local population.
File:1937 Hong Kong VP8.webmPlay media
Hong Kong filmed in 1937
In 1904, the United Kingdom established the world's first border and immigration control; all residents of Hong Kong were given citizenship as Citizens of United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC).
Hong Kong continued to experience modest growth during the first half of the 20th century. The University of Hong Kong was established in 1911 as the territory's first higher education institute. While there had been an exodus of 60,000 residents for fear of a German attack on the British colony during the First World War, Hong Kong remained unscathed. Its population increased from 530,000 in 1916 to 725,000 in 1925 and reached 1.6 million by 1941.[72]
In 1925, Cecil Clementi became the 17th Governor of Hong Kong. Fluent in Cantonese and without a need for translator, Clementi introduced the first ethnic Chinese, Shouson Chow, into the Executive Council as an unofficial member. Under Clementi's tenure, Kai Tak Airport entered operation as RAF Kai Tak and several aviation clubs. In 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out when the Japanese Empire expanded its territories from northeastern China into the mainland proper. To safeguard Hong Kong as a freeport, Governor Geoffry Northcote declared the Crown Colony as a neutral zone.
Japanese occupation: 1941–45
Main article: Japanese occupation of Hong Kong
The Cenotaph in Hong Kong commemorates those who died in service in the First World War and the Second World War.[73]
As part of its military campaign in Southeast Asia during Second World War, the Japanese army moved south from Guangzhou of mainland China and attacked Hong Kong in on 8 December 1941.[74] Crossing the border at Shenzhen River on 8 December, the Battle of Hong Kong lasted for 18 days when British and Canadian forces held onto Hong Kong Island. Unable to defend against intensifying Japanese air and land bombardments, they eventually surrendered control of Hong Kong on 25 December 1941. The Governor of Hong Kong was captured and taken as a prisoner of war. This day is regarded by the locals as "Black Christmas".[75]
During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, the Japanese army committed atrocities against civilians and POWs, such as the St. Stephen's College massacre. Local residents also suffered widespread food shortages, limited rationing and hyper-inflation arising from the forced exchange of currency from Hong Kong dollars to Japanese military banknotes. The initial ratio of 2:1 was gradually devalued to 4:1 and ownership of Hong Kong dollars was declared illegal and punishable by harsh torture. Due to starvation and forced deportation for slave labour to mainland China, the population of Hong Kong had dwindled from 1.6 million in 1941 to 600,000 in 1945, when the United Kingdom resumed control of the colony on 2 September 1945.[76]
Resumption of British rule and industrialisation: 1945–97
Main articles: British Hong Kong, 1950s in Hong Kong, 1960s in Hong Kong, 1970s in Hong Kong, 1980s in Hong Kong, and 1990s in Hong Kong
Flag of British Hong Kong from 1959 to 1997
Hong Kong's population recovered quickly after the war, as a wave of skilled migrants from the Republic of China moved in to seek refuge from the Chinese Civil War. When the Communist Party eventually took full control of mainland China in 1949, even more skilled migrants fled across the open border for fear of persecution.[69] Many newcomers, especially those who had been based in the major port cities of Shanghai and Guangzhou, established corporations and small- to medium-sized businesses and shifted their base operations to British Hong Kong.[69] The establishment of a socialist state in China (People's Republic of China) on 1 October 1949 caused the British colonial government to reconsider Hong Kong's open border to mainland China. In 1951, a boundary zone was demarked as a buffer zone against potential military attacks from communist China. Border posts along the north of Hong Kong began operation in 1953 to regulate the movement of people and goods into and out of the territory.
Stamp with portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, 1953
In the 1950s, Hong Kong became the first of the Four Asian Tiger economies under rapid industrialisation driven by textile exports, manufacturing industries and re-exports of goods to China. As the population grew, with labour costs remaining low, living standards began to rise steadily.[77] The construction of the Shek Kip Mei Estate in 1953 marked the beginning of the public housing estate programme to provide shelter for the less privileged and to cope with the influx of immigrants.
Under Sir Murray MacLehose, 25th Governor of Hong Kong (1971–82), a series of reforms improved the public services, environment, housing, welfare, education and infrastructure of Hong Kong. MacLehose was British Hong Kong's longest-serving governor and, by the end of his tenure, had become one of the most popular and well-known figures in the Crown Colony. MacLehose laid the foundation for Hong Kong to establish itself as a key global city in the 1980s and early 1990s.
A sky view of Hong Kong Island
An aerial view of the northern shore of Hong Kong Island in 1986
To resolve traffic congestion and to provide a more reliable means of crossing the Victoria Harbour, a rapid transit railway system (metro), the MTR, was planned from the 1970s onwards. The Island Line (Hong Kong Island), Kwun Tong Line (Kowloon Peninsula and East Kowloon) and Tsuen Wan Line (Kowloon and urban New Territories) opened in the early 1980s.[78]
In 1983, the Hong Kong dollar left its 16:1 peg with the Pound sterling and switched to the current US-HK Dollar peg. Hong Kong's competitiveness in manufacturing gradually declined due to rising labour and property costs, as well as new development in southern China under the Open Door Policy introduced in 1978 which opened up China to foreign business. Nevertheless, towards the early 1990s, Hong Kong had established itself as a global financial centre along with London and New York City, a regional hub for logistics and freight, one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia and the world's exemplar of Laissez-faire market policy.[79]
The Hong Kong question
In 1971, the Republic of China (Taiwan)'s permanent seat on the United Nations was transferred to the People's Republic of China (PRC), Hong Kong's status as a recognised colony became terminated in 1972 under the request of PRC. Facing the uncertain future of Hong Kong and expiry of land lease of New Territories beyond 1997, Governor MacLehose raised the question in the late 1970s.
The British Nationality Act 1981 reclassified Hong Kong into a British Dependent Territory amid the reorganisation of global territories of the British Empire. All residents of Hong Kong became British Dependent Territory Citizens (BDTC). Diplomatic negotiations began with China and eventually concluded with the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. Both countries agreed to transfer Hong Kong's sovereignty to China on 1 July 1997, when Hong Kong would remain autonomous as a special administrative region and be able to retain its free-market economy, British common law through the Hong Kong Basic Law, independent representation in international organisations (e.g. WTO and WHO), treaty arrangements and policy-making except foreign diplomacy and military defence.
It stipulated that Hong Kong would retain its laws and be guaranteed a high degree of autonomy for at least 50 years after the transfer. The Hong Kong Basic Law, based on English law, would serve as the constitutional document after the transfer. It was ratified in 1990.[69] The expiry of the 1898 lease on the New Territories in 1997 created problems for business contracts, property leases and confidence among foreign investors.
Handover and Special Administrative Region status
Main articles: Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong and 2000s in Hong Kong
Transfer of sovereignty
Golden Bauhinia Square
On 1 July 1997, the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China took place, officially marking the end of Hong Kong's 156 years under British colonial governance. As the largest remaining colony of the United Kingdom, the loss of Hong Kong effectively represented the end of the British Empire. This transfer of sovereignty made Hong Kong the first special administrative region of China. Tung Chee-Hwa, a pro-Beijing business tycoon, was elected Hong Kong's first Chief Executive by a selected electorate of 800 in a televised programme.
Structure of government
Hong Kong's current structure of governance inherits from the British model of colonial administration set up in the 1850s. The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration states that "Hong Kong should enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all areas except defence and foreign affairs" with reference to the underlying principle of one country, two systems.[note 3] This Declaration stipulates that Hong Kong maintains her capitalist economic system and guarantees the rights and freedoms of her people for at least 50 years after the 1997 handover. [note 4] Such guarantees are enshrined in the Hong Kong's Basic Law, the territory's constitutional document, which outlines the system of governance after 1997, albeit subject to interpretation by China's Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC).[95][96]
Hong Kong's most senior leader, Chief Executive, is elected by a committee of 1,200 selected members (600 in 1997) and nominally appointed by the Government of China. The primary pillars of government are the Executive Council, Legislative Council, civil service and Judiciary.
Policy-making is initially discussed in the Executive Council, presided by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, before passing to the Legislative Council for bill adoption. The Executive Council consists of 30 official/unofficial members appointed by the Chief Executive and one member among them acts as the convenor.[97][98]
The Legislative Council, set up in 1843, debates policies and motions before voting to adopt or rejecting bills. It has 70 members (originally 60) and 40 (originally 30) among them are directly elected by universal suffrage; the other 30 members are "functional constituencies" (indirectly) elected by a smaller electorate of corporate bodies or representatives of stipulated economic sectors as defined by the government. The Legislative Council is chaired by a president who acts as the speaker.[99][100]
In 1997, seating of the Legislative Council (also public services and election franchises) of Hong Kong modelled on the British system: Urban Council (Hong Kong and Kowloon) and District Council (New Territories and Outlying Islands). In 1999, this system has been reformed into 18 directly elected District Offices across 5 Legislative Council constituencies: Hong Kong Island (East/West), Kowloon and New Territories (East/West); the remaining outlying islands are divided across the aforementioned regions.
Hong Kong's Civil Service, created by the British colonial government, is a politically neutral body that implements government policies and provides public services. Senior civil servants are appointed based on meritocracy. The territory's police, firefighting and customs forces, as well as clerical officers across various government departments, make up the civil service.[101][102]
365/2021 - Expanding Horizons - Day 336 Dec 2 - There are 2 of these Roadrunners at the rv park, and they can be beggers for handouts, just found out they actually like meat. I don't like feeding the wildlife makes them to tame!
After finishing work on the old Lehigh & Hudson River Railroad, a Middletown & New Jersey local plies through CP Hall, which now sports new signals. Home terminal at Campbell Hall, NY is just a few hundred yards away and the train must negotiate New Jersey Transit's Port Jervis line to get there. M&NJ also works west of Campbell Hall. Since the beginning of the year, they now serve local customers between there and Port Jervis, including the ex New York, Ontario & Western track in Middletown, connecting with the original M&NJ.
365/2021 - Expanding Horizons ~ 094/365
Thank you to everyone who pauses long enough to look at my photo. All comments and Faves are very much appreciated
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GO_Transit:
GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven million across an area over 11,000 square kilometres (4,200 sq mi) stretching from London in the west to Peterborough in the east, and from Barrie in the north to Niagara Falls in the south. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 35,234,400. GO Transit operates diesel-powered double-decker trains and coach buses, on routes that connect with all local and some long-distance inter-city transit services in its service area.
GO Transit began regular passenger service on May 23, 1967, as a part of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. Since then, it has grown from a single train line to seven lines, and expanded to include complementary bus service. GO Transit has been constituted in a variety of public-sector configurations. Today, it is an operating division of Metrolinx, a provincial Crown agency with overall responsibility for integrative transportation planning within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and is projected to grow dramatically with electrification, increased frequency and new stations through the GO Expansion, which is scheduled to be completed in phases through 2025–2032.
Fotografada em Brasília, Brasil.
A text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
The Burrowing Owl (Speotyto cunicularia) (ex-Athene cunicularia) is a small, long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or any other dry, open area with low vegetation (Lewis 2005). They nest and roost in burrows, such as those abandoned by prairie dogs. Unlike most owls, burrowing owls are often active during the day. However, most hunting is done at dusk or at night.
Burrowing owls are able to live for at least 9 years in the wild and over 10 years in captivity.[citation needed] They are often killed by vehicles when crossing roads, and have many natural enemies, including badgers, coyotes, and snakes. They are also killed by both feral and domestic cats and dogs.
Burrowing owls have bright yellow eyes. The bill can be yellow or greenish depending on the subspecies. The legs are incompletely feathered, and the toes are grayish in color. They lack ear tufts and have a flattened facial disc. The owls have prominent white eyebrows and a white "chin" patch which they expand and display during certain behaviors.
Adult owls have brown upperparts with white spotting. The breast and belly are white with variable brown spotting or barring. Juvenile owls are similar in appearance, but they lack most of the white spotting above and brown barring below. Also, the young owls have a buff bar across the upper wing and their breast may be buffy rather than white.
Males and females are similar in size and appearance. However, adult males sometimes appear lighter in color because they spend more time outside the burrow during daylight, and their feathers become sun-bleached. The average adult is slightly larger than an American Robin, at 25 cm (10 inches) length, 53 cm (21 inches) wingspan, and 170g (6 oz) weight (Lewis 2005).
The typical "who who" call of a burrowing owl is associated with territory defense and breeding, often given by adult males to attract a female to a promising burrow. They also make other sounds, which are described as chucks, chattering, and screams. These sounds are usually accompanied by an up and down bobbing of the head. When alarmed, young birds will give a hissing call - a case of acoustic Batesian mimicry - that sounds like a rattlesnake (Haug et al. 1993).
Before European colonization, burrowing owls probably inhabited every suitable area of the New World, but they have experienced some restrictions in distribution since. They range from the southern portions of the western Canadian provinces through southern Mexico and western Central America. They are also found in Florida and many Caribbean islands. In South America, they are patchy in the northwest and through the Andes, but widely distributed from southern Brazil to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.
Burrowing owls are year-round residents in most of their range. Birds that breed in Canada and northern USA usually migrate south to Mexico and southern USA during winter months.
The burrowing owl is endangered in Canada[1], threatened in Mexico, and a species of special concern in Florida and most of the western USA. It is common and widespread in open regions of many Neotropical countries, where they sometimes even inhabit fields and parks in cities. In regions bordering the Amazon Rainforest they are spreading with deforestation. It is therefore listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
The major reasons for declining populations in North America are control programs for prairie dogs and loss of habitat, although burrowing owls readily inhabit some anthropogenic landscapes, such as airport grasslands or golf courses (Korfanta et al. 2005).
Burrowing owls are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. They are also included in CITES Appendix II.
Genetic analysis of the two North American subspecies indicates that inbreeding is not a problem within those populations (Korfanta et al. 2005).
The nesting season begins in late March or April in North America. Burrowing owls are usually monogamous, but occasionally a male will have two mates (Lewis 2005). Pairs of owls will sometimes nest in loose colonies. Their typical breeding habitat is open grassland or prairie, but they can occasionally adapt to other open areas like airports, golf courses, and agricultural fields. Burrowing owls are slightly tolerant of human presence, often nesting near roads, farms, homes, and regularly maintained irrigation canals.
The owls nest in an underground burrow, hence the name Burrowing Owl. They use burrows created by other burrowing animals such as prairie dogs, ground squirrels, or badgers (Holt et al. 1999). If burrows are unavailable and the soil is not hard or rocky, the owls may excavate their own. Burrowing owls will also nest in shallow, underground, man-made structures that have easy access to the surface.
The female will lay as many as 8-12 eggs over a two week period. She will then incubate the eggs for three to four weeks while the male brings her food. After the eggs hatch both parents will feed the chicks. Four weeks after hatching, the chicks are able to make short flights and begin leaving the nest burrow. The parents will still help feed the chicks for 1 to 3 months. While most of the eggs will hatch, only four to five chicks usually survive to leave the nest.
During the nesting season, burrowing owls will line the burrow with mammal dung, usually from cattle. The dung helps to control the microclimate inside the burrow and to attract insects, which the owls may eat (Levey et al. 2004).
Site fidelity rates appear to vary among populations. In some locations, owls will frequently reuse a nest several years in a row. Owls in migratory northern populations are less likely to return to the same burrow every year. Also, as with many other birds, the female owls are more likely to disperse to a different site than are male owls (Lutz & Plumpton 1999).
The highly variable diet includes small mammals, small birds, snakes, lizards, frogs, insects, and scorpions. But the owls mainly eat large insects and small rodents. Although burrowing owls often live in close proximity to ground squirrels, they rarely prey upon them. Unlike other owls, they also eat fruits and seeds, especially the fruit of tasajillo (Cylindropuntia leptocaulis) and other prickly pear and cholla cacti. When hunting they wait on a perch until they spot prey. Then they swoop down on prey or fly up to catch insects in flight. Sometimes they chase prey on foot across the ground.
The burrowing owl is sometimes separated in the monotypic genus Speotyto. This is based on an overall different morphology and karyotype. On the other hand, osteology and DNA sequence data suggests that the Burrowing Owl is just a terrestrial version of the Athene little owls, and it is today placed in that genus by most authorities.
A considerable number of subspecies have been described, but they differ little in appearance and the taxonomy of several needs to be validated (Holt et al. 1999). Most subspecies are found in the Andes and the Antilles. Only A. c. hypugaea and A. c. floridana are found in North America. Although distinct from each other, the relationship of the Floridan subspecies to (and its distinctness from) the Caribbean birds is not quite clear (Korfanta et al. 2005).
Um texto em português:
Coruja-buraqueira (Speotyto cunicularia).
Veja um vídeo clicando no endereço a seguir:
br.youtube.com/watch?v=BhCP0YqJDnY
Ficha Técnica
Nome comum: coruja-buraqueira, coruja-martelo, coruja-do-campo, caburé-de-cupim, caburé-do-campo, coruja-barata, coruja-buraqueira, coruja-do-campo, coruja-mineira, corujinha-buraqueira, corujinha-do-buraco, corujinha-do-campo, guedé, urucuera, urucuréia e urucuriá.
Nome científico: Speotyto cunicularia
Reino: Animal
Filo: Vertebrado
Classe: Aves
Ordem: Strigiformes
Família: Strigidae
Ave muito interessante e com características peculiares é tida pelo povo grego como a ave da sabedoria. Outros povos porém, acham que causa azar e arrepios seu canto quando rasga o silêncio noturno. Dizem ainda que é sinal de mal agouro e que o seu canto está pressagiando alguma tragédia, o que é pura crendice popular, pois o que se sabe é que as corujas são muito úteis ao homem predando pragas nas lavouras e controlando a população de ratos ao redor das cidades e no campo.
Pode girar seu pecoço em 270º
Características:
A coruja-buraqueira é muito comum pelos campos do Brasil.
Mede em torno de 20-30 cm com envergadura de 50-61cm e pesando em média 170g.
Com peito branco e plumagem amarelada o macho é ligeiramente maior que a fêmea, possuem cabeça arredondada e são aves muito tímidas.
Com olhos grandes e amarelos, a coruja-buraqueira tem a visão 100 vezes mais aguçada que a do homem e seus olhos estão dispostos frontalmente, como os do ser humano.
Quando necessita olhar algum objeto ao seu redor gira o pescoço em um ângulo de até 270 graus, aumentando assim o seu campo visual.
Essa disposição frontal, proporciona à coruja uma visão binocular (enxerga um objeto com ambos os olhos e ao mesmo tempo), isso significa que a coruja pode ver objetos em três dimensões, ou seja, altura, largura e profundidade.
Pode julgar distâncias similares ao ser humano e seu campo visual é de 110 graus, sendo 70 graus de visão binocular.
Os olhos da coruja-buraqueira são bem grandes, em algumas espécies de corujas até maiores que o próprio cérebro, a fim de melhorar sua eficiência em condições de baixa luminosidade, captando e processando melhor a luz disponível.
Além de sua privilegiada visão, a coruja-buraqueira é dona de uma audição potentíssima, conseguindo localizar e abater sua presa com apenas este sentido.
Abate preferencialmente pequenos roedores, insetos, anfíbios e pássaros. A coruja é uma ave de rapina, portanto mata para se alimentar. A tradução da palavra rapina é "roubo", o que caracteriza o fato de tais aves retirarem a vida de suas presas.
Rapineira e atenta à tudo
A coruja como a grande maioria dos animais possue território de caça. São ""equipadas "" com adaptações especiais que as tornam predadoras eficientes, sendo uma delas o vôo.
Sempre muito silenciosa e sorrateira, isso devido às penas especiais de sua asa, muito macias e em grande quantidade, conseguem cortar o ar e planar por muito tempo sendo muito discretas e imperceptíveis às suas presas.
A observação das presas se dá no alto de árvores ou em mourões de cercas nos pastos e até durante o vôo silencioso, quando fazem uma varredura na área de caça. Quando um alvo é avistado a coruja voa silenciosamente até ele, mantendo sua cabeça em linha reta ao alvo, quando então a joga para trás e empurra suas garras para frente a fim de prender seguramente sua presa. A força do impacto é violenta e certeira não dando chances à presa. Posteriormente a vítima é morta pela pressão do bico, num processo de abatimento de presas no solo.
O período reprodutivo da coruja-buraqueira começa nos meses de março e abril, os ninhos são feitos no solo, aproveitando antigas tocas de tatus ou simplesmente promovem a abertura de novos ninhos, num trabalho revezado entre o casal.
Os ninhos são escavados com os pés e bicos, formando uma galeria horizontal de até 3 m de profundidade por 30cm-60cm de largura.
Em média botam de 6 a 12 ovos, que são incubados por 28 dias pela fêmea; fica por conta do macho proteger o ninho e procurar alimento para toda a prole.
Com 14 dias os filhotes já ficam empoleirados na saída da cova, aos 44 dias saem do ninho e com 60 dias estão caçando pequenos insetos.
Informações do site: www.cuestajardins.com.br/?id=149&codigo=426&PHPSE...
365/2021 - Expanding Horizons ~ 029/365
Treasure Hunt #63 ~ Ties
Thank you to everyone who pauses long enough to look at my photo. All comments and Faves are very much appreciated
This blossom tree sits tucked under the cliff and is always quite late to bloom, a wise tree in this part of the world
365/2021 - Expanding Horizons ~ 241/365
Thank you to everyone who pauses long enough to look at my photo. All comments and Faves are very much appreciated
The Malecón (Avenida de Maceo) is a broad esplanade, roadway and seawall that runs for 5 miles along the coast in central Havana, Cuba. It is one of the most spectacular and popular destinations in Havana, although the houses lining the avenue are today mostly in ruins.
Laid out in the early 1900s as an oceanside boulevard for Havana's pleasure-seeking middle classes, the Malecón expanded rapidly eastward in the century's first decade with a mishmash of eclectic architecture that mixed sturdy neoclassicism with whimsical art nouveau. By the 1920s the road had reached the outer limits of the burgeoning Vedado neighborhood, and by the early 1950s it had changed into a busy six-lane highway that carried streams of wave-dodging Buicks and Chevrolets from the gray hulk of the Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta to the borders of Miramar. Today, fighting an ongoing battle with the corrosive effects of the ocean, many of the Malecon's magnificent buildings now face decrepitude, demolition or irrevocable damage.
The Malecón is particularly evocative when a cold front blows in and massive waves crash thunderously over the sea wall. The road is often closed to cars at these times, meaning you can walk right down the middle of the empty thoroughfare and get very wet.
365/2021 - Expanding Horizons - Day 8 Jan 8
Years ago we actually got out and walked around it and under it, but you can not walk on it.
Bridge To Nowhere
Yuma, Arizona
This 800-foot-long suspension bridge spanned the Gila River when it was built in 1929, and was named McPhaul Bridge in honor of Henry Harrison McPhaul, "the only Yuma resident who ever became an Arizona Ranger." But it was considered to be too flimsy for modern traffic, and when a dam was built upstream in 1968 the river was diverted and the highway was rerouted over a much smaller bridge. This ultimately proved unwise, as a flood in 1993 destroyed the new bridge while the Bridge to Nowhere, with its broad span and high clearance, probably would have been just fine.
McPhaul Bridge crosses only desert sand and rocks these days, but the Arizona air has kept it remarkably intact. It would have been a fine location for a post-Apocalyptic Charlton Heston
This shot has the 17/50 place in the advance Contest Flowers in Black and White 2015 see: link below:
New series, occasionally I'll make these posts to expand the Bat Chronicles universe, just with character bios for characters that never appear in the comic. And the pic looks kinda weird, I tried something with lighting, didn't turn out how I wanted, I'll do something more normal for the next one.
From L to R:
Calendar-Man: Julian Day is a criminal of Gotham City, who themes all of their heists and schemes around the day that they're set. For example, on year on Christmas he rode into a mall on a large sleigh, wearing a stolen Santa costume, and making his goons grab everything they could find and throw it onto the sleigh, before attempting to ride back out of the mall into the snow with all of the gang's "gifts". He makes sure to at least plan a crime for every holiday, but occasionally he's still in Arkham, and has to wait until next year. The name "Calendar-Man" was thought of by the GCPD, and Julian hates that name. He finds it demeaning, and not at all threatening. Like most criminals, he wants people to fear him, and he feels he can't exactly do that if everyone sees him as "Calendar-Man". But, he tries his hardest to ignore it, and continues his crime spree on every day he deems appropriate.
Brainiac: Scientists on the planet "Krypton", home of Superman, created a highly advanced cybernetic android. The original purpose of this robot was simply to be created as a sort of mechanical butler. However, these scientists created something far more advanced than they could ever imagine, and they kept adding new things to the android, just to see what they could accomplish. They had the insane idea to create fake memories to put into the robot, including the idea that they are in fact an alien, and the last of their species. And they kept fleshing out this whole artificial intelligence idea, until they got to the point where this android had a 12th level intellect, and believed not only they were the last of their kind, but that the Kryptonians were the ones to kill the rest of their planet. A very idiotic choice on the scientist's part. The android ended up seeking revenge, and killing all of the scientists. They used their laboratory as well as other cybernetic parts to create a ship, which the android used to destroy all the rest of Krypton, along with it's life. And over time, the android began going by the name "Brainiac". Much later in life, Superman discovered Brainiac was an android, and revealed it to him. At first, Brainiac was confused, and angry at the Kryptonians for lying to him, and telling him all of those terrible things. But eventually Brainiac got over this, and realized how stupid those scientists were for accidentally destroying their home, and came to the conclusion that their stupidity came from them being organic. Brainiac went on to create an army of androids like him, to help him destroy all organic life in the universe, but is almost always stopped by his greatest enemy, Superman...
The Flash: Barry Allen was a forensic investigator, who was often made fun of for always being late to work. Long before this job, Barry's mother was murdered by some unknown criminal, who framed his father for the crime. As a result of this, he's often distracted by thinking about it when working on cases. Though one night while working on a case, he failed to realize the wooden container holding vials of chemicals hanging off the edge of his desk, which fell onto him after Barry was struck by lightning. Once he woke up, he later realized that the chemicals combined with the lightning bolt granted him unnatural levels of strength, agility, and most noticeably, speed. He later quit his job of being a forensic investigator, and instead dawned a red spandex suit, with a yellow lightning bolt emblem, and fought crime as the superhero known as "The Flash".
Talia Al Ghul: Many years ago, when Bruce Wayne was only just starting out as Batman, he went all around the world for training. One of the many people he came to was a man named Ra's Al Ghul, the leader of an elite assassin group known as "The League of Shadows". Talia was his daughter, and was romantically involved with Bruce for the time he was being trained by Ra's. Though by the end of Bruce's training, he couldn't go through with killing anyone, so left the League, leaving Talia behind with it. Bruce and Talia haven't seen each other since that point. Though without Bruce, Talia continued her training, and eventually became one of the most skilled assassins in the league, only surpassed by Ra's himself...
~Madam Web
365/2021 - Expanding Horizons - Day 81 Mar 22 - Took a beach ride and was great to see a couple pairs of eagles!
iss064-s-002 (Sept. 14, 2020) --- The expanded seven-member Expedition 64 crew with (from left) Flight Engineers Kate Rubins, Victor Glover and Soichi Noguchi, Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineers Michael Hopkins, Shannon Walker and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. Rubins, Glover, Hopkins and Walker are all NASA astronauts. Noguchi is a JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut. Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov are cosmonauts representing Roscosmos.
I've really enjoyed working on my lego ideas modular castle but I was wondering what would you get if you had a whole range of modular castles released at the same time.
This photo is of a barbican (left), which, because of its internal walls, arches, doors and portcullises can be expanded out to make castle sets in their own right.
My imagination is that this range would include other building like keeps, various kinds of walls and towers as well as civilian buildings and sets for besiegers.