Condor

Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere.

They are:

Taxonomy

Condors are part of the family Cathartidae, whereas the 15 species of Old World vultures are in the family Accipitridae, that also includes ospreys, hawks, and eagles. The New World and Old World vultures evolved from different ancestors. However, they both are carrion-eaters and have distinctive bare heads.

See Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy for an alternative classification.

Description

Both condors are very large broad-winged soaring birds, the Andean condor being 5 cm shorter (beak to tail) on average than the northern species, but larger in wingspan. California condors are the largest flying land birds in North America. The Andean condor is second only to the wandering albatross (up to 3.5 m) in terms of wingspan among all living flying birds.

Condor Flugdienst

Condor Flugdienst GmbH, usually shortened to Condor, is a German leisure airline based in Frankfurt. It operates scheduled flights to leisure destinations in the Mediterranean, Asia, Africa, North America, South America and the Caribbean. Its main base is at Frankfurt Airport from where most of its long-haul flights depart; secondary bases for Mediterranean flights are Munich Airport which also features long-haul flights, Hamburg Airport, Hannover Airport, Düsseldorf Airport, Stuttgart Airport and Berlin Schönefeld Airport.

Condor is Germany's third largest commercial airline based on fleet size and passengers flown. It is headquartered at Gateway Gardens near Frankfurt Airport with an important branch office at Berlin Schönefeld Airport. It is a subsidiary of the British Thomas Cook Group, but still partners with its former parent the German Lufthansa Group through the use of the Lufthansa Group's Miles & More program and its business lounges at Frankfurt Airport.

History

Par (score)

In golf, par is the pre-determined number of strokes that a scratch (or 0 handicap) golfer should require to complete a hole, a round (the sum of the pars of the played holes), or a tournament (the sum of the pars of each round). Pars are the central component of stroke play, the most common kind of play in professional golf tournaments. The term is also used in golf-like sports such as disc golf with the same meaning.

The length of each hole from the tee placement to the pin determines par values for each hole primarily but not exclusively. Almost invariably, holes are assigned par values between three and five strokes. For a casual player from the middle tees, a par-three hole will be 100–250 yards (90–230 m) from the tee to the pin. Par-four holes are 250–470 yards (230–430 m), although tournament players will often encounter par-four holes 500 yards (460 m) or more, as it is not uncommon for short par-five holes for normal play to be turned into par-four holes in championship play. Par-five holes are typically 470–600 yards (430–550 m), but in the modern game holes of over 600 yards are becoming more common in championship play. Other relevant factors in setting the par for the hole include the terrain and obstacles (such as trees, water hazards, hills, or buildings) that may require a golfer to take more (or fewer) shots. Some golf courses feature par-sixes and, very rarely, par-sevens, although the latter are not recognised by the United States Golf Association.

Global Positioning System

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based navigation system that provides location and time information in all weather conditions, anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites. The system provides critical capabilities to military, civil, and commercial users around the world. The United States government created the system, maintains it, and makes it freely accessible to anyone with a GPS receiver.

The US began the GPS project in 1973 to overcome the limitations of previous navigation systems, integrating ideas from several predecessors, including a number of classified engineering design studies from the 1960s. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) developed the system, which originally used 24 satellites. It became fully operational in 1995. Roger L. Easton, Ivan A. Getting and Bradford Parkinson are credited with inventing it.

Advances in technology and new demands on the existing system have now led to efforts to modernize the GPS and implement the next generation of GPS Block IIIA satellites and Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX). Announcements from Vice President Al Gore and the White House in 1998 initiated these changes. In 2000, the U.S. Congress authorized the modernization effort, GPS III.

Fareed Zakaria GPS

Fareed Zakaria GPS is a weekly public affairs show hosted by journalist and author Fareed Zakaria. As of November 2011, the show airs Sundays at 10am Eastern Time and 1pm Eastern Time on CNN. The show also airs Sundays at 1200 and 1900 GMT on CNN International. The "GPS" in the show's title stands for "Global Public Square," a reference to the show's focus on international issues and foreign affairs.

On August 10, 2012, CNN suspended the program pending their investigation of suspected plagiarism. One week later, the New York Times reported, "Time and CNN said they had completed their reviews, found no evidence of plagiarism and restored Mr. Zakaria to his demanding schedule."

Guests

Each installment features Zakaria leading a panel discussion and conducting an extended one-on-one interview.

Awards

Fareed Zakaria GPS: Interpretation and Commentary on Iran and The GPS Primetime Special: Restoring the American Dream - Fixing Education won a Peabody Award in 2011 "for covering global issues in a manner that shows their true importance for viewers throughout the world." Zakaria's interview with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was nominated for an Emmy for "Outstanding Interview".

GPS1

COP9 signalosome complex subunit 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the GPS1 gene.

This gene is known to suppress G-protein and mitogen-activated signal transduction in mammalian cells. The encoded protein shares significant similarity with Arabidopsis FUS6, which is a regulator of light-mediated signal transduction in plant cells. Two alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene.

References

Further reading