Beetle

Beetles are a group of insects that form the order Coleoptera /koʊliːˈɒptərə/. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek κολεός, koleos, meaning "sheath"; and πτερόν, pteron, meaning "wing", thus "sheathed wing", because most beetles have two pairs of wings, the front pair, the "elytra", being hardened and thickened into a shell-like protection for the rear pair and the beetle's abdomen.

Taxonomy and evolution

The Coleopterans include more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known types of animal life forms. About 450,000 species of beetles occur – representing about 40% of all known insects. Some estimates put the total number of species, described and undescribed, at as high as 100 million, but a figure of one million is more widely accepted. Such a large number of species poses special problems for classification, with some families consisting of thousands of species and needing further division into subfamilies and tribes. This immense number of species allegedly led evolutionary biologist J. B. S. Haldane to quip, when some theologians asked him what could be inferred about the mind of the Creator from the works of His Creation, that God displayed "an inordinate fondness for beetles".

Beetle (JR Kyushu)

Beetle (ビートル, Bītoru) is a hydrofoil ferry service that travels between Fukuoka, Japan and Busan, South Korea. It is operated by JR Kyushu Jet Ferry, a division of Kyushu Railway Company.

Although journey times are longer, ferry travel is generally much cheaper than flying, with direct connections available between several major Japanese port cities and China, Korea and Russia.

Ferry schedules are subject to seasonal changes and may vary according to the weather.

Amenities

Beetle Ferries provide two seating areas and a duty-free shop.

Travel Information

Checking in

Departure processing starts 2.5 hours before departure and ends 1 hour before departure. Passengers must fill out a boarding pass before travelling.

Arrival/Departure Cards

Arrival cards are required to enter Japan are available on the ferry. They can be filled out at the time as the Korean departure card.

The departure card (from Korea) must be filled out in Korean, while the arrival card for entry into Japan must be written either in Chinese characters or English.

Goliath tracked mine

The Goliath tracked mine - complete German name: Leichter Ladungsträger Goliath (Sd.Kfz. 302/303a/303b) - was a remote controlled German-engineered demolition vehicle, also known as the beetle tank to the Allies.

Employed by the Wehrmacht during World War II. It carried 60 or 100 kilograms (130 or 220 lb) of high explosives, depending on the model, and was intended to be used for multiple purposes, such as destroying tanks, disrupting dense infantry formations, and demolition of buildings and bridges.

Development and use

In late 1940, after recovering the prototype of a miniature tracked vehicle developed by the French vehicle designer Adolphe Kégresse near the Seine, the Wehrmacht's ordnance office directed the Carl F.W. Borgward automotive company of Bremen, Germany to develop a similar vehicle for the purpose of carrying a minimum of 50 kg of explosives. The result was the SdKfz. 302 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug, ‘special-purpose vehicle’), called the Leichter Ladungsträger (‘light charge carrier’), or Goliath, which carried 60 kilograms (130 lb) of explosives. The vehicle was steered remotely via a joystick control box. The control box was attached to the Goliath by a triple-strand cable connected to the rear of the vehicle, for transmitting power to the electric driven version. Two of the strands were used to move and steer the Goliath, while the third was used for detonation. The Goliath had 650 metres (2,130 ft) of cable. Each Goliath was disposable, being intended to be blown up with its target. Early model Goliaths used an electric motor but, as these were costly to make (3000 Reichsmarks) and difficult to repair in a combat environment, later models (known as the SdKfz. 303) used a simpler, more reliable gasoline engine.

Lanka

Lanka /ˈlæŋkə/ (Sanskrit lankā "island") is the name given in Hindu mythology to the island fortress capital of the legendary demon king Ravana in the epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks known as the Trikuta Mountains. The ancient city of Lankapura is thought to have been burnt down by Hanuman. After its king, Ravana, was killed by Rama with the help of his brother Vibhishana, the latter was crowned king of Lankapura. The mythological site of Lankā is identified with Sri Lanka. His descendants were said to still rule the kingdom during the period of the Pandavas. According to the Mahabharata, the Pandava Sahadeva visited this kingdom during his southern military campaign for the rajasuya of Yudhishthira.

People referenced in Sri Lanka

Lanka (2006 film)

Lanka is a Malayalam film directed by A. K. Sajan released in the year 2006. The film stars Suresh Gopi and Mamta Mohandas.

Plot

Sravan (Suresh Gopi) is a captain in Indian Navy fighting in Sri Lanka against the Tamil guerillas. He manages to kill hundreds of guerillas in the operations launched by the Indian Peace-Keeping Force (IPKF).

Post-operations, he decides to live in Lanka. Now he is a womaniser who goes about his task with gusto. He is stinkingly rich who owns a number of palatial bungalows. Sravan has a psychic problem too. He had been abandoned by his actress mother. Then came another blow when his wife ran away with her lover.

Sravan's daring operations against the Tamil guerillas incur the wrath of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE). They are out to bump him off.

Into his life enters Lanka (Mamta Mohandas) who is a gypsy girl. Sravan rapes her but ends up marrying her unaware of the fact that she is from the LTTE stronghold out to seek revenge on behalf of the Tamils.

Lanka (2011 film)

Lanka is a 2011 Indian drama-thriller film directed by Maqbool Khan, and produced by Vikram Bhatt under BVG Films associating ASA Production and Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. The film stars Manoj Bajpai, Tia Bajpai and Arjan Bajwa in lead roles. It released on 9 December 2011, and received mixed reviews upon release, however was a commercial failure.

Plot

Lanka is a modern take on the Ramayana with Sita's life being saved by Vibhishan (Raavan's brother) from Raavan.

"Lanka" begins in current day Mumbai with Anju (Tia Bajpai) telling about her past. Jaswant Sisodia (Manoj Bajpayee) is the don of a small town in UP, India called Bijnor. He rules the place and the police and politicians support him. He is in love with Anju, a doctor. Her father is the Chief Medical Officer of Bijnor. Anju is actually sexually exploited by Sisodia. He every night after taking drinks comes to her house and sleeps with her. She tries to commit suicide but her father stops her. She tries to run away but the house is guarded by Sisodia's men. Her father tries to meet the cops but they don't want to entertain him. Also, we never know how Anju became Sisodia's mistress.