A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, population imbalance, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Nearly every continent in the world has experienced a period of famine throughout history. Some countries, particularly in sub-Sahara Africa, continue to have extreme cases of famine.
The cyclical occurrence of famine has been a mainstay of societies engaged in subsistence agriculture since the dawn of agriculture itself. The frequency and intensity of famine has fluctuated throughout history, depending on changes in food demand, such as population growth, and supply-side shifts caused by changing climatic conditions. Famine was first eliminated in Holland and England during the 17th century, due to the commercialization of agriculture and the implementation of improved techniques to increase crop yields.
Famine is a 1981 horror novel written by Scottish writer Graham Masterton. The story is about a nationwide famine that sweeps America, rendering all sources of food contaminated in one way or another.
The plot revolves around Ed Hardesty, a wheat farmer who owns South Burlington Farm, Kingman County, Kansas and his attempt to find out the cause of the blight that has stricken his wheat crop, as well as every other crop in the United States. Though there are numerous other characters, Ed is indeed the protagonist and is the focal point for the book's progression.
Famine (also known as Stupid Teens Must Die!) is a 2011 horror film written and directed by Ryan Nicholson, and co-written by Jeff O'Brien.
At Sloppy Secondary High School, new teacher Ms. Vickers has put together a 24 Hour Famine (volunteers stay in the school gym and starve themselves for a day) for charity, the first famine held since an incident occurred during the last one five years prior. Ten students (Cathy, Sarah, Darren, Nick, Terry, Vanessa, Andrea, Katie, Jenny and Peterson) sign-up for the event, wanting the extra credit. Vickers asks Jenny what happened at the last famine, and is told that rumor has it the organizer, Philip Balszack, was accidentally disfigured by acid when he tried to have sex with Cathy in the chemistry lab. Balszack disappeared, and Cathy was supposedly briefly institutionalized.
Before the famine begins, Katie hides food in one of the gym washrooms, and while doing so is confronted by someone wearing the costume of the school mascot, a carpenter called The Nailer. The Nailer throws a knife into Katie's forehead, and hides her body. Hours later, with the famine in full swing, The Nailer picks off straggling students. Terry has his throat slit while sabotaging food in the cafeteria, Peterson is impaled through the head while having sex with a Swiss Roll, and Vanessa is thrown onto the spike protruding from Peterson's head.
A cabal is a group of people united in some close design together, usually to promote their private views or interests in a church, state, or other community, often by intrigue, usually unbeknownst to persons outside their group. Cabals are sometimes secret societies composed of a few designing persons, and at other times are manifestations of emergent behavior in society or governance on the part of a community of persons who have well established public affiliation or kinship. The term can also be used to refer to the designs of such persons or to the practical consequences of their emergent behavior, and also holds a general meaning of intrigue and conspiracy. The use of this term usually carries strong connotations of shadowy corners, back rooms and insidious influence. The term is frequently used in conspiracy theories; some Masonic conspiracy theories describe Freemasonry as an internationalist secret cabal.
The term cabal derives from Cabala (a word that has numerous spelling variations), the Jewish mystical interpretation of the Hebrew scripture. In Hebrew it means "reception" or "tradition", denoting the sod (secret) level of Jewish exegesis. In European culture (Christian Cabala, Hermetic Qabalah) it became associated with occult doctrine or a secret.
Cavall (Middle Welsh: cauall RBH & WBR; modernized: Cafall; pronunciation: /kaˈvaɬ/; Latin: Cabal, var. Caball (ms.K))) is the name of Arthur's dog, used in the hunt for the great boar, Twrch Trwyth (Latin: Troynt, Troit).
Cavall was Arthur's "favourite dog", and during a stag hunt, he was customarily the last dog to be let loose to chase after the game (Gereint Son of Erbin).
Legend in antiquity has it that Cabal left his permanent footprint in the rock while pursuing the boar Troynt. The lore is preserved in the Wonders of Britain (De Mirabilibus Britanniae or Mirabilia in shorthand) appended to Historia Brittonum (9th century). The wonderous nature of this cairn of stones was that even if someone removed that footprinted stone to another spot, it would be back at its original heap the next day.
The Latin account has the mark of age, since it refers to Arthur merely as warrior and not king. The full quote in translation is given in the Twrch Trwyth (or wikisource), but Lady Guest's notes might best be consulted, since it provides both the Latin text and translation, as well as commentary on the Carn Cavall as well (Schreiber 1849, pp. 358–360).
Cabal is a novel by Michael Dibdin, and the third entry in the Aurelio Zen series.
When, one dark night in November, Prince Ludovico Ruspanti fell a hundred and fifty feet to his death in the chapel at St. Peter's, Rome, there were a number of questions to be answered. The answer the Vatican housekeepers want is rubber-stamped suicide. Zen, whose bad luck it is to be on call that night, is keen to oblige and return to his girlfriend's bed. Unfortunately for him, things turn out to be not that simple and he finds that getting the real answers is by no means easy, as witness after witness is mysteriously silenced - by violent death. To crack the secret of the Vatican, Zen must penetrate the most secret place of all: the fabled Cabal. How much of a threat does it represent? How far could it reach? Does it even exist?
The novel was adapted for television by the BBC, starring Rufus Sewell in the title role. It was aired in January 2011.