Monday, May 2, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Fastest Trains in the World
Fastest Trains in the World
Today is National Train Day and the 40th birthday of Amtrak (see how kids and music-lovers can celebrate). The US has a speedy train (which is the fastest?), but other nations boast lightning-fast locomotives. Check out which international trains fly like rockets on the railway.
Japan’s maglev train is one of a series of test models that have been in development since the 1970s. It has set world records — how fast can it go?
The maglev line in Shanghai was a trend-setter.How quickly can passengers zoom?
The TGV high-speed rail service takes passengers from France to neighboring countries. In 2007, a dashing demo train tore up the tracks. How fast did it go?
The Ministry of Railways in China oversees this swift fleet of passenger trains.In fact, the trains were deemed too fast, and China decided to make a change. Find out what happened.
Spain’s state-run AVE delivers high-speed travel across the nation. How fast does it go?
The KTX is the high-speed train that winds through South Korea.What’s the operating speed?
This high-speed train connects London with this French city and this Belgian destination. How fast does it travel?
One of Germany's monorail maglev trains — the TR-07 test model — made news in 1989. What speed did it reach?
The THSR shaves off time for commuters traversing the west coast of Taiwan. How fast can it travel?
Russia's high-speed railway runs between its two largest cities at a zippy clip. How fast can it go?
Beatification of John Paul II
Beatification of John Paul II
Today in Rome, John Paul II receives one of the highest honors in Catholicism — beatification.His successor, Pope Benedict XVI, will oversee proceedings that are expected to draw pilgrims from all over the world.See why it's unusual.
Find out more about the former pontiff and the deeds that helped him earn his reverent nickname.
Birth: John Paul II was born in 1920 in Central Europe.
School: He studied philosophy in college until 1939.
Priesthood: The future pontiff was ordained as a priest in 1946 and became the youngest bishop in his homeland.
Death: At the time of his death in 2005, he’d held the second longest papal reign in history
Many believe Pope John Paul II helped create Poland’s Solidarity Movement in 1980. That movement also sparked a landmark political change
Pope John Paul II made more official visits to foreign countries than any other pope.He notably visited both Muslim and Jewish places of worship.
In 1981, John Paul II survived an assassination attempt.Though he was critically wounded,he quickly forgave his shooter and later paid him a visit
In 1984, the Pope founded an event to bring Catholic youth from around the world to celebrate together.His mobilization of younger members of the faith earned him this nickname.
During his pontificate, John Paul II made a series of formal apologies for past acts of the Catholic Church. He asked the forgiveness of a wide range of groups, including Africans, Jews and women.
n 2000, John Paul II officially instituted The Feast of the Divine Mercy.The day acknowledges the Catholic devotion attributed to a famous nun he canonized
To be considered for beatification, one miracle must be attributed to an individual after death. John Paul II has been credited with the miraculous cure of a French nun who suffered from a degenerative disorder.Find out how she said she was healed.
Famous commencement speeches
Famous commencement speeches
The world of academia is abuzz over one university's decision to pay a big fee for a reality TV celebrity over a renowned author to headline their 2011 graduation. Celebrity commencement speeches have become commonplace. The fad can be traced to the infamous "sunscreen speech." Check out the most interesting commencements in academic history.
At a 2004 liberal arts graduation, the prolific writer said:
"You are your own stories and therefore free to imagine and experience what it means to be human without wealth. What it feels like to be human without domination over others, without reckless arrogance, without fear of others unlike you, without rotating, rehearsing and reinventing the hatreds you learned in the sandbox."
Apple chief Jobs offered no-nonsense advice to the 2005 Stanford grads. His health issues may have added weight to his speech.
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice."
Parton spoke to 2009 University of Tennessee grads about brains, dreams and breasts.
"I think people will remember us for who we were, not how many records we sell, or how much money we make. Because I have always said that I have always counted my blessings far more often than I've counted my money."
When the U2 front man spoke to 2004 University of Pennsylvania grads, he used humor to lead into a vital topic.
"Wishing for the end to AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa is like wishing that gravity didn't make things so damn heavy. We can wish it, but what the hell can we do about it? Well, more than we think. We can't fix every problem … but the ones we can, we must."
Ferrell delivered a hilarious speech at Harvard in 2003.
"One of the challenges you will be faced with is finding a job in our depressed economy. In fact, the chances of landing a decent job are about as good as finding weapons of mass destruction in the Iraqi desert. Slim and none. And Slim just left the building."
Baron Cohen, who graduated from a top university, produced hilarity and provoked security at Harvard as his Ali G persona.
"What did Lincoln give American, apart from the Town Car?"
The "Harry Potter" author spoke candidly and topically to Harvard grads in 2008.
"We do not need magic to change the world; we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: We have the power to imagine better."
President Obama took some heat for his view on a big issue prior to this 2009 Notre Dame speech.
"You are about to enter the next phase of your life at a time of great uncertainty. You will be called upon to help restore a free market that is also fair to all who are willing to work; to seek new sources of energy that can save our planet; to give future generations the same chance that you had to receive an extraordinary education."
President Kennedy got down to the basics during his rousing speech at American University in 1963.
"For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children's futures, and we are all mortal."
The multi-Emmy winner returned to her hometown to give the Class of 2009 some real-world advice.
"Life is like one big Mardi Gras, but instead of showing your boobs, show people your brain, and if they like what they see, you'll have more beads than you know what do with."
O'Brien reminisced at his alma mater in 2000 and gave grads a wake-up call.
"As you leave these gates and re-enter society, one thing is certain: Everyone out there is going to hate you."
The Tibetan spiritual leader comprised the importance of education with a compassionate worldview in his 1998 speech at Emory University.
"A good person means someone with a good heart, a sense of caring for the welfare of others, a sense of commitment, a sense of responsibility. Education and the warm heart, the compassion heart—if you combine these two, then your education and knowledge will be constructive. Then you are yourself on the way to becoming a happy person."
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