ice berg.

colloseo

The Colosseum's original Latin name was Amphitheatrum Flavium, often anglicized as Flavian Amphitheater. The building was constructed by emperors of the Flavian dynasty, hence its original name. This name is still used frequently in modern English, but it is generally unknown. In antiquity, Romans may have referred to the Colosseum by the unofficial name Amphitheatrum Caesareum; this name could have been strictly poetic. This name was not exclusive to the Colosseum; Vespasian and Titus, builders of the Colosseum, also constructed an amphitheater of the same name in Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli).

The name Colosseum has long been believed to be derived from a colossal statue of Nero nearby. This statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors into the likeness of Helios (Sol) or Apollo, the sun god, by adding the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was also replaced several times and substituted with the heads of succeeding emperors. Despite its pagan links, the statue remained standing well into the medieval era and was credited with magical powers. It came to be seen as an iconic symbol of the permanence of Rome.

In the 8th century, the Venerable Bede (c. 672–735) wrote a famous epigram celebrating the symbolic significance of the statue: Quandiu stabit coliseus, stabit et Roma; quando cadit coliseus, cadet et Roma; quando cadet Roma, cadet et mundus ("as long as the Colossus stands, so shall Rome; when the Colossus falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, so falls the world"). This is often mistranslated to refer to the Colosseum rather than the Colossus (as in, for instance, Byron's poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage). However, at the time that Bede wrote, the masculine noun coliseus was applied to the statue rather than to what was still known as the Flavian amphitheatre.

The Colossus did eventually fall, probably being pulled down to reuse its bronze. By the year 1000 the name "Colosseum" (a neuter noun) had been coined to refer to the amphitheatre. The statue itself was largely forgotten and only its base survives, situated between the Colosseum and the nearby Temple of Venus and Roma.

The name was further corrupted to Coliseum during the Middle Ages. In Italy, the amphitheatre is still known as il Colosseo, and other Romance languages have come to use similar forms such as le Colisée (French), el Coliseo (Spanish) and o Coliseu (Portuguese).

Norwegian parliament

The Storting (Stortinget, literally "The Great Thing/Assembly") is the Norwegian Parliament, and is located in the capital city Oslo. It sits in the Storting building which was completed in 1866 and was designed by the Swedish architect Emil Victor Langlet.

History

The Storting in its present form was first constituted at Eidsvoll in 1814, although its origins can be traced back to the allting or common assemblies as early as the 9th century. The alltings were localised assemblies charged with discussing legal and political matters. These gradually were formalised so that the tings, or assemblies, grew into regionalised meetings and acquired backing and authority from the crown, even to the extent that on occasions they were instrumental in effecting change in the monarchy itself.

As Norway became unified as a geopolitical entity in the 10th century the lagtings were established as superior regional assemblies. The archaic regional assemblies, the Frostating, the Gulating, the Eidsivating and the Borgating were amalgamated and the corpus of law was setdown under the command of King Magnus Lagabøte during the mid 13th century. This jurisdiction remained significant until King Frederick III of Denmark and Norway proclaimed absolute monarchy in 1660; this was ratified by the passage of the King Act of 1665, and this became the constitution of the Union of Denmark and Norway and remained so until 1814 and the foundation of the Storting.

The number of seats in the Storting has varied: from 1882 there were 114 seats, from 1903 117, from 1906 123, from 1918 126, from 1921 150, from 1973 155, from 1985 157, from 1989 165 and from 2005 169 seats.

Qualified unicameralism

One of the lions outside Stortinget

The Storting is unicameral, but is divided into two departments in legislative matters. After elections the Storting elects a quarter of its membership to form the Lagting a sort of "upper house", with the remaining three quarters forming the Odelsting or "lower house". The division is also used on very rare occasions in cases of impeachment. The original idea in 1814 was probably to have the Lagting act as an actual upper house, and the senior and more experienced members of the Storting were placed here. Today, however, the composition of the Lagting closely follows that of the Odelsting so that there is very little that differentiates them, and the passage of a bill in the Lagting is mostly a formality.

Bills are submitted by the Government to the Odelsting or by a member of the Odelsting (members of the Lagting may not propose legislation by themselves). A Standing Committee, with members from both the Odelsting and Lagting, then considers the bill,and in some cases hearings are held. If passed by the Odelsting, the bill is sent to the Lagting for review or revision. Most bills are passed unamended by the Lagting and are then sent directly to the King for assent. Today royal assent is also mostly a formality.

If the Lagting amends the Odelsting's decision, the bill is sent back to the Odelsting. If the Odelsting approves the Lagting's amendments, the bill is signed into law by the King. If it does not, then the bill returns to the Lagting. If the Lagting still proposes amendments, the bill is submitted a plenary session of the Storting. In order to be passed, the bill must then have the approval of a two-thirds majority of the plenary session. In all other cases a simple majority suffices.

Three days must pass between each time a department votes on a bill.

A proposal to amend the constitution and abolish the system of Odelsting and Lagting was introduced in 2004 and was passed by the Storting on February 20, 2007 (159–1 with nine absentees). It will take effect with the newly elected Storting in 2009.

In all other cases, such as taxes and appropriations, the Storting meets in plenary sessions.

dfds seaways

DFDS A/S, an abbreviation of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab (literally The United Steamship Company) is a Danish shipping company. DFDS was formed in 1866 as a merger of various minor shipping companies under the leadership of industrialist Carl Frederik Tietgen. After the takeover of Thingvalla Line in 1898, the Scandinavian America Line was established.

During its history, DFDS has absorbed several other ferry operators, including Tor Line (purchased 1981) and Prinz Ferries (also purchased 1981). From 1982 to 1983 DFDS' passenger operations were branded as DFDS Danish Seaways (Esbjerg — Harwich/Newcastle/Torshavn, Copenhagen — Oslo, Newcastle — Oslo), DFDS Tor Line (Gothenburg — Harwich/Newcastle/Amsterdam) and DFDS Prins Ferries (Harwich — Hamburg/Bremerhaven). DFDS also operated the Fred. Olsen Bergen Line routes Newcastle — Stavanger/Bergen and Stavanger — Amsterdam.

Although DFDS have generally concentrated on freight and passenger traffic on the North Sea (and to a lesser extent the Baltic Sea), they operated a ferry service in the Mediterranean between 1971 and 1981, as well as a ferry service from New York to Freeport as well as Miami - Freeport in the early 1980s under the name Scandinavian World Cruises (which later developed into SeaEscape). Between 1988 and 1999 the company's passenger services were marketed under the name Scandinavian Seaways.

Today, passenger activities are operated by DFDS Seaways, whereas freight activities are operated by DFDS Tor Line, DFDS Lys Line and DFDS LISCO.

DFDS Seaways is the passenger-carrying division of DFDS A/S. It operates five cruiseferries and one ro-pax ferry on routes connecting Denmark to Norway; and the United Kingdom to the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. The company has recently (2006) renewed their fleet, purchasing MS King of Scandinavia and MS Princess of Norway to replace the last ships dating from the 1970s still in service. The company has acquired a reputation as something of an expert in purchasing used ships, as the last time DFDS Seaways ordered a newbuilding was in 1978 (although they have since taken over build contracts and taken delivery of newbuilds originally ordered by other companies). In 2006 DFDS Seaways stopped serving Sweden when MS Princess of Scandinavia was taken off service and the Copenhagen - Oslo service ships stopped calling at Helsingborg.

boat

switzerland mountain alps

The Alps cover 61% of Switzerland's surface area (41,285 km²) thus making her the second most alpine country after Austria. Despite the fact that Switzerland covers only 13.2% of the Alps total area (190,600 km²), many four-thousanders (48 of 82) are located in the Swiss Alps. The glaciers in the Swiss Alps cover an area of 1230 km² (3% of the Swiss territory), this represent 44% of the total glaciated area in the Alps (2800 km²).

snow