Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day, presently celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, has been an annual tradition in the United States since 1863. It did not become a federal holiday until 1941. Thanksgiving was historically a religious observation to give thanks to God, but is also celebrated as a secular holiday.[1]
The first Thanksgiving was celebrated to give thanks to God for helping the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony survive the brutal winter.[2] The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days providing enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 Indians.[3] The feast consisted of fowl, venison, fish, lobster, clams, berries, fruit, pumpkin, and squash. However, the traditional Thanksgiving menu often features turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie.

MyNiceSpace.com

Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama is a lineage of religious officials of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism. "Lama" is a general term referring to Tibetan Buddhist teachers. In religious terms, the Dalai Lama is believed by his devotees to be the rebirth of a long line of tulkus, who have chosen to be reborn in order to enlighten others. The Dalai Lama is often thought to be the director of the Gelug School, but this position belongs officially to the Ganden Tripa, which is a temporary position appointed by the Dalai Lama (who in practice exerts much influence).
Between the 17th century and 1959, the Dalai Lamas were the directors of the Tibetan Government, administering a large portion of the area from the capital Lhasa, although the extent of the lineage's political authority and directorship of territory has been contested. Since 1959, the Dalai Lama has been president of the Tibetan government-in-exile, or Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, pronounced /ˈnæsə/) is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The agency became operational on October 1, 1958.[3][4] NASA has led U.S. efforts for space exploration ever since, resulting in the Apollo missions to the Moon, the Skylab space station, and later the Space Shuttle. Currently NASA is supporting the International Space Station and developing new Ares I and V launch vehicles.
In addition to the space program, it is also responsible for long-term civilian and military aerospace research. NASA Science is focused on better understanding Earth itself through the Earth Observing System,[5] advancing heliophysics through the efforts of the Science Mission Directorate's Heliophysics Research Program,[6] exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with advanced robotic missions such as New Horizons,[7] and researching astrophysics topics, such as the Big Bang, through the Great Observatories and associated programs.[8] Since February 2006 NASA's self-described mission statement is to "pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research."[9]
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration shares data with various national and international organizations such as from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite.History




A video podcast on the Crab Nebula by NASA
[edit]Space race
Main article: Space Race
After the Soviet space program's launch of the world's first human-made satellite (Sputnik 1) on October 4, 1957, the attention of the United States turned toward its own fledgling space efforts. The U.S. Congress, alarmed by the perceived threat to U.S. security and technological leadership (known as the "Sputnik crisis"), urged immediate and swift action; President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his advisers counseled more deliberate measures. Several months of debate produced an agreement that a new federal agency was needed to conduct all non-military activity in space. The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was also created at this time.
[edit]NACA
Main article: National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics


Official seal for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
From late 1957 to early 1958, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) began studying what a new non-military space agency would entail, as well as what NACA's role might be, and assigned several committees to review the concept.[4] On January 12, 1958, NACA organized a "Special Committee on Space Technology", headed by Guyford Stever.[4] Stever's committee included consultation from the ABMA's large booster program, referred to as the "Working Group on Vehicular Program," headed by Wernher von Braun,[4] who became a naturalized citizen of the United States after World War II.
On January 14, 1652, NACA Director Hugh Dryden published "A National Research Program for Space Technology" stating:[10]
“ It is of great urgency and importance to our country both from consideration of our prestige as a nation as well as military necessity that this challenge [Sputnik] be met by an energetic program of research and development for the conquest of space... It is accordingly proposed that the scientific research be the responsibility of a national civilian agency... NACA is capable, by rapid extension and expansion of its effort, of providing leadership in space technology. ”
Launched at 10:48 pm EST on January 3, 1958, Explorer 1, officially Satellite 1958 Alpha, became the U.S.'s first artificial satellite of Earth.[11] On March 5, PSAC Chairman James Killian wrote a memorandum to President Eisenhower, entitled "Organization for Civil Space Programs", encouraging the creation of a civil space program based upon a "strengthened and redesignated" NACA which could expand its research program "with a minimum of delay."[10] In late March, a NACA report entitled "Suggestions for a Space Program" included recommendations for subsequently developing a hydrogen fluorine fueled rocket of 4,450,000 newtons (1,000,000 lbf) thrust designed with second and third stages.[4]
In April 1958, President Eisenhower delivered to the U.S. Congress a formal executive address favoring the notion of a national civilian space agency and submitted an Administrative bill to create a "National Aeronautical and Space Agency."[4] NACA's former role of research alone would change to include large-scale development, management, and operations.[4] The U.S. Congress passed the bill, somewhat reworded, as the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, on July 16.[4] Only two days later von Braun's Working Group submitted a preliminary report severely criticizing the duplication of efforts and lack of coordination among various organizations assigned to the United States' space programs.[4] Stever's Committee on Space Technology concurred with the criticisms of the von Braun Group (a final draft was published several months later, in October).[4]


President Kennedy, Vice President Johnson, and other government officials tour the newly opened Launch Operation Center in 1962.
[edit]NASA
On July 29, 1958, President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. When it began operations on October 1, 1958, NASA absorbed the 46-year-old NACA intact; its 8,000 employees, an annual budget of US$100 million, three major research laboratories (Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, and Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory) and two small test facilities.[12]
Elements of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, of which von Braun's team was a part, and the Naval Research Laboratory were incorporated into NASA. A significant contributor to NASA's entry into the Space Race with the Soviet Union was the technology from the German rocket program (led by von Braun) which in turn incorporated the technology of Robert Goddard's earlier works.[13] Earlier research efforts within the U.S. Air Force[12] and many of ARPA's early space programs were also transferred to NASA.[14] In December 1958, NASA gained control of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a contractor facility operated by the California Institute of Technology.[12]


May 5, 1961 launch of Redstone rocket and NASA's Mercury Freedom 7 with Alan Shepard on the United States' first manned sub-orbital spaceflight.
[edit]Project Mercury
Main article: Project Mercury
NASA's earliest programs involved research into human spaceflight and were conducted under the pressure of the competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union that existed during the Cold War. Project Mercury, initiated in 1958, started NASA down the path of human space exploration with missions designed to discover simply if man could survive in space. Representatives from the U.S. Army (M.L. Raines, LTC, USA), Navy (P.L. Havenstein, CDR, USN), and Air Force (K.G. Lindell, COL, USAF) were selected to provide assistance to NASA. Selections were facilitated through coordination with existing U.S. defense research, contracting, and military test pilot programs. On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan Shepard—one of the seven Project Mercury astronauts selected as pilot for this mission—became the first American in space when he piloted Freedom 7 on a 15-minute suborbital flight.[15] John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962 during the five and a quarter-hour flight of Friendship 7.[16]
[edit]Project Gemini
Main article: Project Gemini


Launch of Gemini 1
After the Mercury project, Project Gemini was launched to conduct experiments and work out issues relating to a moon mission. The first Gemini flight with astronauts on board, Gemini 3, was flown by Gus Grissom and John Young on March 23, 1965.[17] Nine other missions followed, showing that long-duration human space flight was possible, proving that rendezvous and docking with another vehicle in space was possible, and gathering medical data on the effects of weightlessness on human beings.[18][19] During this time NASA also began to explore the solar system with unmanned probes. As with the manned program, the Soviets had the first successes,[20] such as the first photographs of the lunar far side,[20] but NASA's Mariner 2 was the first space probe to visit another planet, Venus, in 1962.[21]


The Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle lifts off.
[edit]Apollo program
Main article: Apollo program
The Apollo program was designed to land humans on the Moon and to bring them safely back to Earth. Apollo 1 ended tragically when all the astronauts inside died due to fire in the command module during an experimental simulation. Because of this incident, there were a few unmanned tests before men boarded the spacecraft. Apollo 8 and Apollo 10 tested various components while orbiting the Moon, and returned photographs. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landed the first men on the moon, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Apollo 13 did not land on the Moon due to a malfunction, but did return photographs. The six missions that landed on the Moon returned a wealth of scientific data and almost 400 kilograms (880 lb) of lunar samples. Experiments included soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields, and solar wind experiments.[22]
[edit]Skylab
Main article: Skylab
Skylab was the first space station the United States launched into orbit.[23] The 100 short tons (91 t) station was in Earth orbit from 1973 to 1979, and was visited by crews three times, in 1973 and 1974.[23] It included a laboratory for studying the effects of microgravity, and a solar observatory.[23] A Space Shuttle was planned to dock with and elevate Skylab to a higher safe altitude, but Skylab reentered the atmosphere and was destroyed in 1979, before the first shuttle could be launched.[24] Skylab was abandoned after SL-4 in February 1974 and increased solar activity caused excessive drag which led to an early reentry. Skylab's reentry occurred at approximately 16:37 UTC July 11, 1979, landing over parts of Western Australia and the Indian Ocean, with some fragments being recovered.[25]
[edit]Apollo-Soyuz
Main article: Apollo-Soyuz Test Project


The National Air and Space Museum display of Apollo-Soyuz.
The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (or ASTP) was the first joint flight of the U.S. and Soviet space programs. The mission took place in July 1975. For the United States of America, it was the last Apollo flight, as well as the last manned space launch until the flight of the first Space Shuttle in April 1981.[26]


Space Shuttle Columbia, April 12, 1981
[edit]Shuttle era
See also: Space Shuttle, Hubble Space Telescope, and International Space Station


The NASA "worm" logo used from 1975 to 1992.
The Space Shuttle became the major focus of NASA in the late 1970s and the 1980s. Planned to be a frequently launchable and mostly reusable vehicle, four space shuttles were built by 1985. The first to launch, Columbia, did so on April 12, 1981.[27]
The shuttle was not all good news for NASA: flights were much more expensive than initially projected, and the public again lost interest as missions appeared to become mundane until the 1986 Challenger disaster again highlighted the risks of space flight. Work began on Space Station Freedom as a focus for the manned space program, but within NASA there was argument that these projects came at the expense of more inspiring unmanned missions such as the Voyager probes.[27]
Nonetheless, the shuttle launched milestone projects like the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The HST is a joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA),[28] and its success has paved the way for greater collaboration between the agencies. The HST was created with a relatively small budget of $2 billion[29] and has continued operation since 1990, delighting both scientists and the public. Some of its images, such as the groundbreaking Hubble Deep Field, have become famous.
In 1995 Russian-American interaction resumed with the Shuttle-Mir missions. Once more an American vehicle docked with a Russian craft, this time a full-fledged space station. This cooperation continues to today, with Russia and America the two biggest partners in the largest space station ever built: the International Space Station (ISS). The strength of their cooperation on this project was even more evident when NASA began relying on Russian launch vehicles to service the ISS during the two year grounding of the shuttle fleet following the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
The International Space Station (ISS) relies on the Shuttle fleet for all major construction shipments. The Shuttle fleet lost two spacecraft and fourteen astronauts in two disasters: Challenger in 1986, and Columbia in 2003.[30] While the 1986 loss was mitigated by building the Space Shuttle Endeavour from replacement parts, NASA has no plans to build another shuttle to replace the second loss, and instead will be transitioning to a new spacecraft called Orion.[30]
Other nations that have invested in the space station's construction, such as the members of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), have expressed concern over the completion of the ISS.[30][31] The schedule NASA planned does have flexibility in it, and Associate Administrator for Space Operations William H. Gerstenmaier explained that the shuttle had completed three missions within six months in 2007, showing that NASA can still meet the deadlines necessary for the critical flights remaining.[30][32][33]
During much of the 1990s, NASA was faced with shrinking annual budgets due to Congressional belt-tightening. In response, NASA's ninth administrator, Daniel Goldin, pioneered the "faster, better, cheaper" approach that enabled NASA to cut costs while still delivering a wide variety of aerospace programs (Discovery Program). That method was criticized and re-evaluated following the twin losses of Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander in 1999. Yet, NASA's shuttle program had made 120 successful launches as of September 2009.
This section requires expansion with:
Add other unmanned exploration projects. Explorer 1, Hubble Space Telescope, Voyager, and Mars probes are listed now..
[edit]NASA's future



Left to Right: Saturn V, which last carried men to the Moon, the Space Shuttle, the planned Ares I, proposed Ares IV and planned Ares V launch vehicles.
It is the current space policy of the United States that NASA, "execute a sustained and affordable human and robotic program of space exploration and develop, acquire, and use civil space systems to advance fundamental scientific knowledge of our Earth system, solar system, and universe."[34] NASA's ongoing investigations include in-depth surveys of Mars and Saturn and studies of the Earth and the Sun. Other NASA spacecraft are presently en route to Mercury and Pluto. With missions to Jupiter in planning stages, NASA's itinerary covers over half the solar system.
An improved and larger planetary rover, Mars Science Laboratory, is under construction and slated to launch in 2011, after a slight delay caused by hardware challenges, which has bumped it back from the October 2009 scheduled launch.[35] The New Horizons mission to Pluto was launched in 2006 and will fly by Pluto in 2015. The probe received a gravity assist from Jupiter in February 2007, examining some of Jupiter's inner moons and testing on-board instruments during the fly-by. On the horizon of NASA's plans is the MAVEN spacecraft as part of the Mars Scout Program to study the atmosphere of Mars.[36]


Orion contractor selected August 31, 2006, at NASA Headquarters.
[edit]Vision for space exploration
Main article: Vision for Space Exploration
On January 14, 2004, ten days after the landing of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, US President George W. Bush announced a new plan for NASA's future, dubbed the Vision for Space Exploration.[37] According to this plan, mankind will return to the Moon by 2018, and set up outposts as a testbed and potential resource for future missions. The Space Shuttle will be retired in 2010 and Orion will replace it by 2015, capable of both docking with the International Space Station (ISS) and leaving the Earth's orbit. The future of the ISS is somewhat uncertain—construction will be completed, but beyond that is less clear. Although the plan initially met with skepticism from Congress, in late 2004 Congress agreed to provide start-up funds for the first year's worth of the new space vision.[38]
Hoping to spur innovation from the private sector, NASA established a series of Centennial Challenges, technology prizes for non-government teams, in 2004. The Challenges include tasks that will be useful for implementing the Vision for Space Exploration, such as building more efficient astronaut gloves.[39]
[edit]Mission statement


NASA's 50th Anniversary Logo.
From 2002, NASA’s mission statement, used in budget and planning documents, read: “To understand and protect our home planet; to explore the universe and search for life; to inspire the next generation of explorers ... as only NASA can.” In early February 2006, the statement was altered, with the phrase “to understand and protect our home planet” deleted.[40] Some outside observers believe the change was intended to preserve the civilian nature of the agency, while others suspected it was related to criticism of government policy on global warming by NASA scientists like James Hansen. NASA officials have denied any connection to the latter, pointing to new priorities for space exploration. NASA's motto is "For the benefit of all".[1]
The chair and ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs wrote NASA Administrator Griffin on July 31, 2006 expressing concerns about the change.[41] NASA also canceled or delayed a number of earth science missions in 2006.[42]
[edit]Moon base
On December 4, 2006, NASA announced it was planning to build a permanent moon base.[43] NASA Associate Administrator Scott Horowitz said the goal was to start building the moonbase by 2020, and by 2024, have a fully functional base that would allow for crew rotations and in-situ resource utilization. Additionally, NASA plans to collaborate and partner with other nations for this project.[44]
[edit]Human exploration of Mars
Main article: Review of United States Human Space Flight Plans Committee
On September 28, 2007 Michael D. Griffin, who was at the time Administrator of NASA, stated that NASA aims to put a man on Mars by 2037.[45]
Alan Stern, NASA's "hard-charging"[46] and "reform-minded"[47] Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, resigned on March 25, 2008,[48] effective April 11, 2008, after he allegedly ordered funding cuts to the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) and Mars Odyssey that were overturned by NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin. The cuts were intended to offset cost overruns for the Mars Science Laboratory. Stern has stated that he "did not quit over MER" and that he "wasn’t the person who tried to cut MER".[49] Stern, who served for nearly a year and has been credited with making "significant changes that have helped restore the importance of science in NASA’s mission",[50][51] says he left to avoid cutting healthy programs and basic research in favor of politically sensitive projects. Griffin favors cutting "less popular parts" of the budget, including basic research, and Stern's refusal to do so led to his resignation.[52]
[edit]Spaceflight missions



Buzz Aldrin
Main article: List of NASA missions
NASA has conducted many successful space missions and programs, including over 150 manned missions. Many of the notable manned missions were from the Apollo program, a sequence of missions to the Moon which included the achievement of the first man to walk on the Moon, during Apollo 11. The Space Shuttle program had setbacks with the loss of two of the Space Shuttles, Challenger and Columbia which resulted in the deaths of their entire crews. The Space Shuttles were able to dock with the space station Mir while it was operational, and are now able to dock with the International Space Station—a joint project of many space agencies. NASA's future plans for space exploration are with the Project Constellation, which plans to develop spacecraft and booster vehicles to replace the Space Shuttle and send astronauts to the Moon and possibly to Mars as well.[53]
There have been many unmanned NASA space missions as well, including at least one that visited each of the other seven planets in the Solar System, and four missions (Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, and Voyager 2) that have left the Solar System. There has been much recent success with the missions to Mars, including the Mars Exploration Rovers, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the Phoenix Mars Lander. NASA remains the only space agency to have launched space missions to the outer solar system beyond the asteroid belt.


Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
The Cassini probe, launched in 1997 and in orbit around Saturn since mid-2004, is investigating Saturn and its inner satellites.[54] With over twenty years in the making, Cassini-Huygens is an example of international cooperation between JPL-NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
Built entirely by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, NASA probes have been continually performing science at Mars since 1997, with at least two orbiters since 2001 and several Mars rovers. The orbiting Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will continue monitoring the geology and climate of the Red Planet, as well as searching for evidence of past or present water and life, as they have since 2001 and 2006, respectively. If the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft's nine-year lifetime is typical, these probes will continue to advance knowledge of Mars for years to come. The Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity have been traversing the surface of Mars at Gusev crater and Meridiani Planum since early 2004, and will continue to image and investigate those environments. They have both already operated over seventeen times longer than expected, and remain a promising part of NASA's future. Adding to this flotilla is the Phoenix Mars Lander, which executed a powered touchdown in the northern latitudes of Mars on May 25, 2008 after a ten-month journey of more than 420 million miles (676 million km).[55]
[edit]Leadership

Main article: List of NASA Administrators
The Administrator of NASA is the highest-ranking official of that organization and serves as the senior space science adviser to the President of the United States. On May 24, 2009, President Barack Obama announced the nomination of Charles Bolden as NASA Administrator, and Lori Garver as Deputy NASA Administrator.[56] Charles Frank Bolden, Jr., was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 15, 2009 as the twelfth administrator of NASA. Lori Beth Garver was confirmed as NASA's deputy administrator.[57]
[edit]Facilities

NASA headquarters, located in Washington, D.C., provides overall guidance and direction to the agency.[58] NASA's Shared Services center is located on the grounds of the John C. Stennis Space Center, near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.[59] Construction of the Shared Services facility began in August 2006 and it was completed in June 2008.[59] NASA even operated its own railroad at Kennedy Space Flight Center. Various field and research installations are listed below by application. Some facilities serve more than one application for historic or administrative reasons.
[edit]Research centers
Ames Research Center, Moffett Federal Airfield, Mountain View, California


The JPL complex in Pasadena, California
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York City
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, Cleveland, Ohio
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia
[edit]Test facilities
Ames Research Center, Moffett Federal Airfield, Mountain View, California
Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, Los Angeles County, California
Independent Verification and Validation Facility, Fairmont, West Virginia
John C. Stennis Space Center, near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia
[edit]Construction and launch facilities


Kennedy Space Center.
George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, Louisiana
Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Virginia
White Sands Test Facility, Las Cruces, New Mexico
[edit]Deep Space Network
Deep Space Network (DSN) stations
Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, Barstow, California
Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex, Madrid, Spain
[edit]Tourism and museum facilities
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Merritt Island, Florida
Space Center Houston, Houston, Texas
United States Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland


Florida, USA, taken from NASA Shuttle Mission STS-95 on October 31, 1998.
[edit]Awards and decorations

Main article: NASA awards and decorations
NASA presently bestows a number of medals and decorations to astronauts and other NASA personnel. Some awards are authorized for wear on active duty military uniforms. The highest award is the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, which has been awarded to 28 individuals (17 posthumously), and is said to recognize "any astronaut who in the performance of his duties has distinguished himself by exceptionally meritorious efforts and contributions to the welfare of the Nation and mankind."[60]
The second highest NASA award is the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, which may be presented to any member of the federal government, including both military astronauts and civilian employees. It is an annual award, given out at the National Aeronautics Space Foundation plant, located in Orlando, Florida.[60]
[edit]NASA Science

[edit]Ozone depletion
In the middle of the 20th century NASA augmented its mission of Earth’s observation and redirected it toward environmental quality. The result was the launch of Earth Observing System (EOS) in 1980s, which was able to monitor one of the global environmental problems—ozone depletion.[61] The first comprehensive worldwide measurements were obtained in 1978 with the Nimbus-7 satellite and NASA scientists at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies.[62]
[edit]Salt evaporation and energy management
In one of the nation's largest restoration projects NASA technology helps state and federal government reclaim 15,100 acres (61 km2) of salt evaporation ponds in South San Francisco Bay. Satellite sensors are used by scientists to study the effect of salt evaporation on local ecology.[63]
NASA has started Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation Program as an agency-wide program directed to prevent pollution and reduce energy and water utilization. It helps to ensure that NASA meets its federal stewardship responsibilities for the environment.[64]
[edit]Medicine in Space
A variety of large scale medical studies are being conducted in space via the National Space and Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI). Prominent among these is the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity Study in which Astronauts (including former ISS Commanders Leroy Chiao and Gennady Padalka) perform ultrasound scans under the guidance of remote experts to diagnose and potentially treat hundreds of medical conditions in space. Usually, there is no physician onboard the International Space Station and diagnosis of medical conditions is challenging. In addition, Astronauts are susceptible to a variety of health risks including decompression sickness, barotrauma, immunodeficiencies, loss of bone and muscle, orthostatic intolerance due to volume loss, sleep disturbances, and radiation injury. Ultrasound offers a unique opportunity to monitor these conditions in space. This study's techniques are now being applied to cover professional and Olympic sports injuries as well as ultrasound performed by non-expert operators in populations such as medical and high school students. It is anticipated that remote guided ultrasound will have application on Earth in emergency and rural care situations, where access to a trained physician is often rare.[65][66][67] For more information on the health hazards faced by astronauts, go to the article entitled Space medicine.
[edit]Earth Science Enterprise
Understanding of natural and human-induced changes on the global environment is the main objective of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise. For years it has been cooperating with major environment related agencies and creating united projects to achieve their goal. Past Enterprise’s programs include:[68]
Carbon sequestration assessment for Carbon Management (USDA, DOE)
Early warning systems for air and water quality for Homeland Security (OHS, NIMA, USGS)
Enhanced weather prediction for Energy Forecasting (DOE, United States Environmental Protection Agency‎ (EPA))
Environmental indicators for Coastal Management (NOAA)
Environmental indicators for Community Growth Management (EPA, USGS, NSGIC)
Environmental models for Biological Invasive Species (USGS, USDA)
Regional to national to international atmospheric measurements and predictions for Air Quality Management (United States Environmental Protection Agency‎, NOAA)
Water cycle science for Water Management and Conservation (EPA, USDA)
NASA is working in cooperation with National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The goal is to obtain~to produce worldwide solar resource maps with great local detail.[69] NASA was also one of the main participants in the evaluation innovative technologies for the clean up of the sources for dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs). On April 6, 1999, the agency signed The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) along with the United States Environmental Protection Agency‎, DOE, and USAF authorizing all the above organizations to conduct necessary tests at the John F. Kennedy Space center. The main purpose was to evaluate two innovative in-situ remediation technologies, thermal removal and oxidation destruction of DNAPLs.[70] National Space Agency made a partnership with Military Services and Defense Contract Management Agency named the “Joint Group on Pollution Prevention”. The group is working on reduction or elimination of hazardous materials or processes.[71]
On May 8, 2003, Environmental Protection Agency recognized NASA as the first federal agency to directly use landfill gas to produce energy at one of its facilities—the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.[72]

Intel Corporation

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC; SEHK: 4335) is the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue.[3] The company is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most personal computers. Intel was founded on July 18, 1968, as Integrated Electronics Corporation (though a common misconception is that "Intel" is from the word intelligence) and is based in Santa Clara, California, USA. Intel also makes motherboard chipsets, network cards and ICs, flash memory, graphic chips, embedded processors, and other devices related to communications and computing. Founded by semiconductor pioneers Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, and widely associated with the executive leadership and vision of Andrew Grove, Intel combines advanced chip design capability with a leading-edge manufacturing capability. Originally known primarily to engineers and technologists, Intel's successful "Intel Inside" advertising campaign of the 1990s made it and its Pentium processor household names.
Intel was an early developer of SRAM and DRAM memory chips, and this represented the majority of its business until the early 1980s. While Intel created the first commercial microprocessor chip in 1971, it was not until the success of the personal computer (PC) that this became their primary business. During the 1990s, Intel invested heavily in new microprocessor designs fostering the rapid growth of the PC industry. During this period Intel became the dominant supplier of microprocessors for PCs, and was known for aggressive and sometimes controversial tactics in defense of its market position, particularly against AMD, as well as a struggle with Microsoft for control over the direction of the PC industry.[4][5] The 2009 rankings of the world's 100 most powerful brands published by Millward Brown Optimor showed the company's brand value rising 4 places – from number 27 to number 23.[6]
In addition to its work in semiconductors, Intel has begun research in electrical transmission and generation.[7][8]Corporate history

[edit]Origins and early years


Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, CA, USA
Intel was founded in 1968 by Gordon E. Moore (of "Moore's Law" fame, a chemist and physicist) and Robert Noyce (a physicist and co-inventor of the integrated circuit) when they left Fairchild Semiconductor. A number of other Fairchild employees also went on to participate in other Silicon Valley companies. Intel's third employee was Andy Grove,[9] a chemical engineer, who ran the company through much of the 1980s and the high-growth 1990s. Grove is now remembered as the company's key business and strategic leader. By the end of the 1990s, Intel was one of the largest and most successful businesses in the world.[citation needed]
[edit]Origin of the name
At its founding, Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce wanted to name their new company Moore Noyce.[10] The name, however, sounded remarkably similar to more noise — an ill-suited name for an electronics company, since noise is typically associated with bad interference. They then used the name NM Electronics for almost a year, before deciding to call their company INTegrated ELectronics or Intel for short[11]. However, Intel was already trademarked by a hotel chain, so they had to buy the rights for that name at the beginning.[12]
[edit]Early history
Intel has grown through several distinct phases. At its founding, Intel was distinguished simply by its ability to make semiconductors, and its primary products were static random access memory (SRAM) chips. Intel's business grew during the 1970s as it expanded and improved its manufacturing processes and produced a wider range of products, still dominated by various memory devices.
While Intel created the first microprocessor (Intel 4004) in 1971 and one of the first microcomputers in 1972,[13][14] by the early 1980s its business was dominated by dynamic random access memory chips. However, increased competition from Japanese semiconductor manufacturers had, by 1983, dramatically reduced the profitability of this market, and the sudden success of the IBM personal computer convinced then-CEO Grove to shift the company's focus to microprocessors, and to change fundamental aspects of that business model.
By the end of the 1980s this decision had proven successful. Buoyed by its fortuitous position as microprocessor supplier to IBM and its competitors within the rapidly growing personal computer market, Intel embarked on a 10-year period of unprecedented growth as the primary (and most profitable) hardware supplier to the PC industry. By the end of the 1990s, its line of Pentium processors had become a household name.
[edit]Slowing demand and challenges to dominance
After 2000, growth in demand for high-end microprocessors slowed. Competitors, notably AMD (Intel's largest competitor in its primary x86 architecture market), garnered significant market share, initially in low-end and mid-range processors but ultimately across the product range, and Intel's dominant position in its core market was greatly reduced.[15] In the early 2000s then-CEO Craig Barrett attempted to diversify the company's business beyond semiconductors, but few of these activities were ultimately successful.
Intel had also for a number of years been embroiled in litigation. US law did not initially recognize intellectual property rights related to microprocessor topology (circuit layouts), until the Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1984, a law sought by Intel and the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).[16] During the late 1980s and 1990s (after this law was passed) Intel also sued companies that tried to develop competitor chips to the 80386 CPU.[17] The lawsuits were noted to significantly burden the competition with legal bills, even if Intel lost the suits.[17] Antitrust allegations that had been simmering since the early 1990s and already been the cause of one lawsuit against Intel in 1991, broke out again as AMD brought further claims against Intel related to unfair competition in 2004, and again in 2005.
In 2005, CEO Paul Otellini reorganized the company to refocus its core processor and chipset business on platforms (enterprise, digital home, digital health, and mobility) which led to the hiring of over 20,000 new employees. In September 2006 due to falling profits, the company announced a restructuring that resulted in layoffs of 10,500 employees or about 10 percent of its workforce by July 2006.
[edit]Regaining of momentum
Faced with the need to regain lost marketplace momentum,[18][19] Intel unveiled its new product development model to regain its prior technological lead. Known as its "tick-tock model", the program was based upon annual alternation of microarchitecture innovation and process innovation.
In 2006, Intel produced P6 and Netburst products with reduced die size (65nm). A year later it unveiled its Core microarchitecture to widespread critical acclaim;[20] the product range was perceived as an exceptional leap in processor performance that at a stroke regained much of its leadership of the field.[21][22] In line with the model, the following year saw the next "tick", a process improvement to shrink this range from 65 to 45 nm, and the year after saw the release of its positively reviewed successor processor, Nehalem.
Intel was not the first microprocessor corporation to do this. For example, around 1996 graphics chip designers nVidia had addressed its own business and marketplace difficulties by adopting a demanding 6-month internal product cycle whose products repeatedly outperformed market expectation.
[edit]Sale of XScale processor business
On June 27, 2006, the sale of Intel's XScale assets was announced. Intel agreed to sell the XScale processor business to Marvell Technology Group for an estimated $600 million in cash and the assumption of unspecified liabilities. The move was intended to permit Intel to focus its resources on its core x86 and server businesses, and the acquisition completed on November 9, 2006.[23]
[edit]Product and market history

[edit]SRAMS and the microprocessor
The company's first products were shift register memory and random-access memory integrated circuits, and Intel grew to be a leader in the fiercely competitive DRAM, SRAM, and ROM markets throughout the 1970s. Concurrently, Intel engineers Marcian Hoff, Federico Faggin, Stanley Mazor and Masatoshi Shima invented the first microprocessor. Originally developed for the Japanese company Busicom to replace a number of ASICs in a calculator already produced by Busicom, the Intel 4004 was introduced to the mass market on November 15, 1971, though the microprocessor did not become the core of Intel's business until the mid-1980s. (Note: Intel is usually given credit with Texas Instruments for the almost-simultaneous invention of the microprocessor.)
[edit]From DRAM to microprocessors
In 1983, at the dawn of the personal computer era, Intel's profits came under increased pressure from Japanese memory-chip manufacturers, and then-President Andy Grove drove the company into a focus on microprocessors. Grove described this transition in the book Only the Paranoid Survive. A key element of his plan was the notion, then considered radical, of becoming the single source for successors to the popular 8086 microprocessor.
Until then, manufacture of complex integrated circuits was not reliable enough for customers to depend on a single supplier, but Grove began producing processors in three geographically distinct factories, and ceased licensing the chip designs to competitors such as Zilog and AMD. When the PC industry boomed in the late 1980s and 1990s, Intel was one of the primary beneficiaries.
[edit]Intel, x86 processors, and the IBM PC


The integrated circuit from an Intel 8742, an 8-bit microcontroller that includes a CPU running at 12 MHz, 128 bytes of RAM, 2048 bytes of EPROM, and I/O in the same chip.
Despite the ultimate importance of the microprocessor, the 4004 and its successors the 8008 and the 8080 were never major revenue contributors at Intel. As the next processor, the 8086 (and its variant the 8088) was completed in 1978, Intel embarked on a major marketing and sales campaign for that chip nicknamed "Operation Crush", and intended to win as many customers for the processor as possible. One design win was the newly created IBM PC division, though the importance of this was not fully realized at the time.
IBM introduced its personal computer in 1981, and it was rapidly successful. In 1982, Intel created the 80286 microprocessor, which, two years later, was used in the IBM PC/AT. Compaq, the first IBM PC "clone" manufacturer, produced a desktop system based on the faster 80286 processor in 1985 and in 1986 quickly followed with the first 80386-based system, beating IBM and establishing a competitive market for PC-compatible systems and setting up Intel as a key component supplier.
In 1975 the company had started a project to develop a highly advanced 32-bit microprocessor, finally released in 1981 as the Intel iAPX 432. The project was too ambitious and the processor was never able to meet its performance objectives, and it failed in the marketplace. Intel extended the x86 architecture to 32 bits instead.[24][25]
[edit]386 microprocessor
During this period Andrew Grove dramatically redirected the company, closing much of its DRAM business and directing resources to the microprocessor business. Of perhaps greater importance was his decision to "single-source" the 386 microprocessor. Prior to this, microprocessor manufacturing was in its infancy, and manufacturing problems frequently reduced or stopped production, interrupting supplies to customers. To mitigate this risk, these customers typically insisted that multiple manufacturers produce chips they could use to ensure a consistent supply. The 8080 and 8086-series microprocessors were produced by several companies, notably Zilog and AMD. Grove made the decision not to license the 386 design to other manufacturers, instead producing it in three geographically distinct factories in Santa Clara, California; Hillsboro, Oregon; and the Phoenix, Arizona suburb of Chandler; and convincing customers that this would ensure consistent delivery. As the success of Compaq's Deskpro 386 established the 386 as the dominant CPU choice, Intel achieved a position of near-exclusive dominance as its supplier. Profits from this funded rapid development of both higher-performance chip designs and higher-performance manufacturing capabilities, propelling Intel to a position of unquestioned leadership by the early 1990s.
[edit]486, Pentium, and Itanium
Intel introduced the 486 microprocessor in 1989, and in 1990 formally established a second design team, designing the processors code-named "P5" and "P6" in parallel and committing to a major new processor every two years, versus the four or more years such designs had previously taken. The P5 was earlier known as "Operation Bicycle" referring to the cycles of the processor. The P5 was introduced in 1993 as the Intel Pentium, substituting a registered trademark name for the former part number (numbers, such as 486, are hard to register as a trademark). The P6 followed in 1995 as the Pentium Pro and improved into the Pentium II in 1997. New architectures were developed alternately in Santa Clara, California and Hillsboro, Oregon.
The Santa Clara design team embarked in 1993 on a successor to the x86 architecture, codenamed "P7". The first attempt was dropped a year later, but quickly revived in a cooperative program with Hewlett-Packard engineers, though Intel soon took over primary design responsibility. The resulting implementation of the IA-64 64-bit architecture was the Itanium, finally introduced in June 2001. The Itanium's performance running legacy x86 code did not achieve expectations, and it failed to compete effectively with 64-bit extensions to the original x86 architecture, introduced by AMD, named x86-64 (although Intel uses the name Intel 64, previously EM64T). As of 2009, Intel continues to develop and deploy the Itanium.
The Hillsboro team designed the Willamette processors (code-named P67 and P68) which were marketed as the Pentium 4.
[edit]Pentium flaw
Main article: Pentium FDIV bug
In June 1994, Intel engineers discovered a flaw in the floating-point math subsection of the Pentium microprocessor. Under certain data dependent conditions, low order bits of the result of floating-point division operations would be incorrect, an error that can quickly compound in floating-point operations to much larger errors in subsequent calculations. Intel corrected the error in a future chip revision, but nonetheless declined to disclose it.[citation needed]
In October 1994, Dr. Thomas Nicely, Professor of Mathematics at Lynchburg College independently discovered the bug, and upon receiving no response from his inquiry to Intel, on October 30 posted a message on the Internet.[26] Word of the bug spread quickly on the Internet and then to the industry press. Because the bug was easy to replicate by an average user (there was a sequence of numbers one could enter into the OS calculator to show the error), Intel's statements that it was minor and "not even an erratum" were not accepted by many computer users. During Thanksgiving 1994, The New York Times ran a piece by journalist John Markoff spotlighting the error. Intel changed its position and offered to replace every chip, quickly putting in place a large end-user support organization. This resulted in a $500 million charge against Intel's 1994 revenue.
Ironically, the "Pentium flaw" incident, Intel's response to it, and the surrounding media coverage propelled Intel from being a technology supplier generally unknown to most computer users to a household name. Dovetailing with an uptick in the "Intel Inside" campaign, the episode is considered by some[who?] to have been a positive event for Intel, changing some of its business practices to be more end-user focused and generating substantial public awareness, while avoiding (for most users) a lasting negative impression.[27]
[edit]Intel Inside, Intel Systems Division, and Intel Architecture Labs
During this period, Intel undertook two major supporting programs that helped guarantee their processor's success. The first is widely known: the 1990 "Intel Inside" marketing and branding campaign. The idea of ingredient branding was new at the time with only Nutrasweet and a few others making attempts at that.[28] This campaign established Intel, which had been a component supplier little-known outside the PC industry, as a household name. The second program is little-known: Intel's Systems Group began, in the early 1990s, manufacturing PC "motherboards", the main board component of a personal computer, and the one into which the processor (CPU) and memory (RAM) chips are plugged.[citation needed] Shortly after, Intel began manufacturing fully configured "white box" systems for the dozens of PC clone companies that rapidly sprang up.[citation needed] At its peak in the mid-1990s, Intel manufactured over 15% of all PCs, making it the third-largest supplier at the time.[citation needed]
During the 1990s, Intel's Architecture Lab (IAL) was responsible for many of the hardware innovations of the personal computer, including the PCI Bus, the PCI Express (PCIe) bus, the Universal Serial Bus (USB), Bluetooth wireless interconnect, and the now-dominant[citation needed] architecture for multiprocessor servers.[clarification needed] IAL's software efforts met with a more mixed fate; its video and graphics software was important in the development of software digital video, but later its efforts were largely overshadowed by competition from Microsoft. The competition between Intel and Microsoft was revealed in testimony by IAL Vice-President Steven McGeady at the Microsoft antitrust trial.
[edit]Competition, antitrust and espionage
See also: AMD v. Intel
Two factors combined to end this dominance: the slowing of PC demand growth beginning in 2000 and the rise of the low cost PC. By the end of the 1990s, microprocessor performance had outstripped software demand for that CPU power. Aside from high-end server systems and software, demand for which dropped with the end of the "dot-com bubble", consumer systems ran effectively on increasingly low-cost systems after 2000. Intel's strategy of producing ever-more-powerful processors and obsoleting their predecessors stumbled,[citation needed] leaving an opportunity for rapid gains by competitors, notably AMD. This in turn lowered the profitability[citation needed] of the processor line and ended an era of unprecedented dominance of the PC hardware by Intel.[citation needed]
Intel's dominance in the x86 microprocessor market led to numerous charges of antitrust violations over the years, including FTC investigations in both the late 1980s and in 1999, and civil actions such as the 1997 suit by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and a patent suit by Intergraph. Intel's market dominance (at one time[when?] it controlled over 85% of the market for 32-bit x86 microprocessors) combined with Intel's own hardball legal tactics (such as its infamous 338 patent suit versus PC manufacturers)[29] made it an attractive target for litigation, but few of the lawsuits ever amounted to anything.[clarification needed]
A case of industrial espionage arose in 1995 that involved both Intel and AMD. Guillermo Gaede, an Argentine formerly employed both at AMD and at Intel's Arizona plant, was arrested for attempting in 1993 to sell the i486 and Pentium designs to AMD and to certain foreign powers.[30] Gaede videotaped data from his computer screen at Intel and mailed it to AMD, which immediately alerted Intel and authorities, resulting in Gaede's arrest. Gaede was convicted and sentenced to 33 months in prison in June 1996.[31][32]
[edit]Partnership with Apple
For more details on this topic, see Apple Intel transition.
On June 6, 2005, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that Apple would be transitioning from its long favored PowerPC architecture to the Intel x86 architecture, because the future PowerPC road map was unable to satisfy Apple's needs. The first Macintosh computers containing Intel CPUs were announced on January 10, 2006, and Apple had its entire line of consumer Macs running on Intel processors by early August 2006. The Apple Xserve server was updated to Intel Xeon processors from November 2006, and is offered in a configuration similar to Apple's Mac Pro.[33]
[edit]Core 2 Duo advertisement controversy
In 2007, the company released a print advertisement for its Core 2 Duo processor featuring six African American runners appearing to bow down to a Caucasian male inside of an office setting (due to the posture taken by runners on starting blocks). According to Nancy Bhagat, Vice President of Intel Corporate Marketing, the general public found the ad to be "insensitive and insulting".[34] The campaign was quickly pulled and several Intel executives made public apologies on the corporate website.[35]
[edit]Classmate PC
Intel's Classmate PC is the company's first low-cost Netbook computer.
[edit]Corporate affairs

In September 2006, Intel had nearly 100,000 employees and 200 facilities world wide. Its 2005 revenues were $38.8 billion and its Fortune 500 ranking was 49th. Its stock symbol is INTC, listed on the NASDAQ. As of February 2009 the biggest customers of Intel are Hewlett-Packard and Dell.[36]
[edit]Leadership and corporate structure
Robert Noyce was Intel's CEO at its founding in 1968, followed by co-founder Gordon Moore in 1975. Andy Grove became the company's President in 1979 and added the CEO title in 1987 when Moore became Chairman. In 1998 Grove succeeded Moore as Chairman, and Craig Barrett, already company president, took over. On May 18, 2005, Barrett handed the reins of the company over to Paul Otellini, who previously was the company president and was responsible for Intel's design win in the original IBM PC. The board of directors elected Otellini CEO, and Barrett replaced Grove as Chairman of the Board. Grove stepped down as Chairman, but is retained as a special adviser. In May 2009, Barrett stepped down as chairman and Jane Shaw was elected as the new Chairman of the Board.
Current members of the board of directors of Intel are Craig Barrett, Charlene Barshefsky, Susan Decker, James Guzy, Reed Hundt, Paul Otellini, James Plummer, David Pottruck, Jane Shaw, John Thornton, and David Yoffie.[37]
[edit]Employment

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Intel microprocessor facility in Costa Rica was responsible in 2006 for 20% of Costa Rican exports and 4.9% of the country's GDP.[38]
The firm promotes very heavily from within, most notably in its executive suite. The company has resisted the trend toward outsider CEOs. Paul Otellini was a 30-year veteran of the company when he assumed the role of CEO. All of his top lieutenants have risen through the ranks after many years with the firm. In many cases, Intel's top executives have spent their entire working careers with Intel, a very rare occurrence in volatile Silicon Valley[citation needed].
Intel has a mandatory retirement policy for its CEOs when they reach age 65, Andy Grove retired at 62, while both Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore retired at 58. At 57, Otellini has a long career at the helm ahead of him, assuming he performs satisfactorily and does not retire before age 65. Grove retired as Chairman and as a member of the board of directors in 2005 at age 68.
No one has an office; everyone, even Otellini, sits in a cubicle. This is designed to promote egalitarianism among employees, but some new hires have difficulty adjusting to this change[citation needed]. Intel is not alone in this policy. Hewlett-Packard and NVIDIA have similar no-office policy.
The company is headquartered in California's Silicon Valley and has operations around the world. Outside of California, the company has facilities in Argentina (Córdoba and Buenos Aires), China, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Mexico, Israel, Ireland, India, Philippines, Poland, Russia, and Vietnam internationally. In the U.S. Intel employs significant numbers of people in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Washington, and Utah.[39] In Oregon, Intel is the state's largest private employer with over 16,000 employees, primarily in Hillsboro.[40] The company is the largest industrial employer in New Mexico while in Arizona the company has over 10,000 employees.
[edit]Diversity Initiative
Intel has a Diversity Initiative, including employee diversity groups as well as supplier diversity programs.[41] Like many companies with employee diversity groups, they include groups based on race and nationality as well as sexual identity and religion. In 1994, Intel sanctioned one of the earliest corporate Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender employee groups,[42] and supports a Muslim employees group,[43] a Jewish employees group,[44] and a Bible-based Christian group.[45][46]
Intel received a 100% rating on the first Corporate Equality Index released by the Human Rights Campaign in 2002. It has maintained this rating in 2003 and 2004. In addition, the company was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers in 2005 by Working Mother magazine.
[edit]Funding of a school
In Rio Rancho, New Mexico, Intel is the leading employer.[47] In 1997, a community partnership between Sandoval County and Intel Corporation funded and built Rio Rancho High School.[citation needed]
[edit]Finances


Intel stock price, Nov 1986 - Nov 2006
Intel's market capitalization is $85.67 billion (May 11, 2009). It publicly trades on NASDAQ with the symbol INTC. A widely held stock, the following indices include Intel shares: Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, NASDAQ-100, SOX (PHLX Semiconductor Sector), and GSTI Software Index.
On July 15, 2008, Intel announced that it had achieved the highest earnings in the history of the company during Q2 2008.[48]
[edit]Advertising and brand management

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Intel has become one of the world's most recognizable computer brands following its long-running Intel Inside campaign. The campaign, which started in 1991,[49] was created by Intel marketing manager Dennis Carter.[50] The five-note jingle was introduced the following year and by its tenth anniversary was being heard in 130 countries around the world. The initial branding agency for the 'Intel Inside' campaign was DahlinSmithWhite Advertising of Salt Lake City. The Intel swirl logo was the work of DahlinSmithWhite art director Steve Grigg under the direction of Intel president and CEO Andy Grove.
The Intel Inside advertising campaign sought public brand loyalty and awareness of Intel processors in consumer computers.[citation needed]Intel paid some of the advertiser's costs for an ad that used the Intel Inside logo and jingle.[citation needed]
[edit]Logos
Intel brand logo
Main Logo Date Subset logo Date Remarks
1968
2005 2003 - 2005 Still as Intel Inside logo, but changed to resemble the original Intel logo with lowering of the Intel "e" and changing the typeface.
1990 - 2003 The original "Intel Inside" logo, introduced in 1990.
2005
Present 2006
2009 Intel phased out the intel inside logo in favor of a new logo intel and the slogan, Leap ahead. The new logo is clearly inspired by the Intel Inside logo by splitting out the inside.
2009
Present The current intel logo with inside trademark.
In 2006, Intel expanded its promotion of open specification platforms beyond Centrino, to include the Viiv media centre PC and the business desktop Intel vPro.
In mid January 2006, Intel announced that they were dropping the long running Pentium name from their processors. The Pentium name was first used to refer to the P5 core Intel processors (Pent refers to the 5 in P5,) and was done to circumvent court rulings that prevent the trademarking of a string of numbers, so competitors could not just call their processor the same name, as had been done with the prior 386 and 486 processors. (Both of which had copies manufactured by both IBM and AMD). They phased out the Pentium names from mobile processors first, when the new Yonah chips, branded Core Solo and Core Duo, were released. The desktop processors changed when the Core 2 line of processors were released. In March 2007, the Intel logo was shown briefly in one of the scenes of the movie The Last Mimzy.
According to an Intel spokesman as of 2009 one may think in terms of good-better-best with Celeron being good, Pentium better, and the Intel Core family representing the best the company has to offer.[51]
In 2008, Intel planned to shift the emphasis of its Intel Inside campaign from traditional media such as television and print to newer media such as the Internet.[52] Intel required that a minimum of 35% of the money it provided to the companies in its co-op program be used for online marketing.[52]
Some artists have incorporated Intel brand culture into their works. For example, evil inside stickers,[53] and a tombstone with R.I.P Intel Inside[54]
[edit]Sonic logo
The famous D♭ D♭ G♭ D♭ A♭ jingle, sonic logo, tag, audio mnemonic (MP3 file of sonic logo) was produced by Musikvergnuegen and written by Walter Werzowa from the Austrian 1980s sampling band Edelweiss.[55] The Sonic logo was changed during the introduction of the Core brand.
[edit]Naming strategy
According to spokesman Bill Calder since 2009 Intel has maintained only the Celeron brand, the Atom brand for netbooks and the vPro lineup for businesses.[56] Upcoming processors will carry the Intel Core brand, but will be known as the Intel Core i9 or Core i3 depending on their segment of the market.[56] vPro products will carry the Intel Core i7 vPro processor or the Intel Core i5 vPro processor name.[56]
Beginning in 2010 "Centrino" will only be applied to Intel's WiMAX and Wi-Fi technologies, it won't be a PC brand anymore.[56] This will be an evolutionary process taking place over time, Intel acknowledges that multiple brands will be in the market including older ones throughout the transition.[56]
[edit]IT Manager 3: Unseen Forces
IT Manager III: Unseen Forces is a web-based IT simulation game from Intel. In it you manage a company's IT department. The goal is to apply technology and skill to enable the company to grow from a small business into a global enterprise.
[edit]Open source support

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Intel has a significant participation in the open source communities. For example, in 2006 Intel released MIT-licensed X.org drivers for their integrated graphic cards of the i965 family of chipsets. Intel released FreeBSD drivers for some networking cards,[57] available under a BSD-compatible license, which were also ported to OpenBSD. Intel ran the Moblin project until April 23, 2009, when they handed the project over to the Linux Foundation. Intel also runs the LessWatts.org campaigns.[58]
However, after the release of the wireless products called Intel Pro/Wireless 2100, 2200BG/2225BG/2915ABG and 3945ABG in 2005, Intel was criticized for not granting free redistribution rights for the firmwares that are necessary to be included in the operating systems for the wireless devices to operate.[59] As a result of this, Intel became a target of campaigns to allow free operating systems to include binary firmware on terms acceptable to the open source community. Linspire-Linux creator Michael Robertson outlined the difficult position that Intel was in releasing to open source, as Intel did not want to upset their large customer Microsoft.[60] Theo de Raadt of OpenBSD also claimed that Intel is being "an Open Source fraud" after an Intel employee presented a distorted view of the situation on an open-source conference.[61] In spite of the significant negative attention Intel received as a result of the wireless dealings, the binary firmware still has not gained a license compatible with free software principles.
[edit]Environmental record
In 2003, there were 1.4 tons of carbon tetrachloride measured from one of Intel's many acid scrubbers. However, Intel reported no release of carbon tetrachloride for all of 2003.[62] Intel's facility in Rio Rancho, New Mexico overlooks a nearby village, and the hilly contours of its location create a setting for chemical gases heavier than air to move along arroyos and irrigation ditches in that village. Release of chemicals in such an environment reportedly caused adverse effects in both animals and humans. Deceased dogs in the area were found to have high levels of toluene, hexane, ethylbenzene, and xylene isomers in lungs.[63] More than 1580 pounds of VOC were released in June and July 2006, the company stated.[64]
[edit]Religious controversy
Ultra-orthodox Jews have protested Intel operating in Israel on Saturday, the Sabbath. Intel was forced to ring its office in barbed wire from protection against possible violent religous extremists.[65]
[edit]Age discrimination
Intel has faced complaints of age discrimination in firing and layoffs. Intel was sued by nine former employees, over allegations that they were laid off because they were over the age of 40.[66]
A group called FACE Intel (Former and Current Employees of Intel) claims that Intel weeds out older employees. FACE Intel claims that more than 90 percent of people who have been terminated by Intel are over the age of 40. Upside magazine requested data from Intel breaking out its hiring and terminations by age, but the company declined to provide any.[67] Intel has denied that age plays any role in Intel's employment practices.[68] FACE Intel was founded by Ken Hamidi, who was terminated by Intel in 1995 at the age of 47.[67] Hamidi was blocked in a 1999 court decision from using Intel's email system to distribute criticism of the company to employees.[69]
[edit]Competition

Further information: Semiconductor sales leaders by year
In the 1980s, Intel was among the top ten sellers of semiconductors (10th in 1987) in the world. In 1991, Intel became the biggest chip maker by revenue and has held the position ever since. Other top semiconductor companies include AMD, Samsung, Texas Instruments, Toshiba and STMicroelectronics.
Competitors in PC chip sets include VIA Technologies, SiS, and Nvidia. Intel's competitors in networking include Freescale, Infineon, Broadcom, Marvell Technology Group and AMCC, and competitors in flash memory include Spansion, Samsung, Qimonda, Toshiba, STMicroelectronics, and Hynix.
The only major competitor in the x86 processor market is Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), with which Intel has had full cross-licensing agreements since 1976: each partner can use the other's patented technological innovations without charge after a certain time.[70] However, the cross-licensing agreement is canceled in the event of an AMD bankruptcy or takeover.[71] Some smaller competitors such as VIA and Transmeta produce low-power x86 processors for small factor computers and portable equipment.
[edit]Lawsuits
Intel has often been accused by competitors of using legal claims to thwart competition. Intel claims that it is defending its intellectual property. Intel has been plaintiff and defendant in numerous legal actions.
In September 2005, Intel filed a response to an AMD lawsuit,[72] disputing AMD's claims, and claiming that Intel's business practices are fair and lawful. In a rebuttal, Intel deconstructed AMD's offensive strategy and argued that AMD struggled largely as a result of its own bad business decisions, including underinvestment in essential manufacturing capacity and excessive reliance on contracting out chip foundries.[73] Legal analysts predict the lawsuit will most drag for a number of years, since Intel's response indicates that Intel is not likely to settle the dispute with AMD.[74][75] A court date has been granted in 2010.[76]
In October 2006, a Transmeta lawsuit was filed against Intel for patent infringement on computer architecture and power efficiency technologies.[77] The lawsuit was settled in October 2007, with Intel agreeing to pay USD 150 million initially and USD 20 million per year for the next five years. Both companies agreed to drop lawsuits against each other, while Intel was granted a perpetual non-exclusive license to use current and future patented Transmeta technologies in its chips for 10 years.[78]
On November 4, 2009, New York's attorney general filed an antitrust lawsuit against Intel Corp, claiming the company used "illegal threats and collusion" to dominate the market for computer microprocessors.
On 12th November, Intel and AMD announced a truce for 5 years by Intel paying AMD $1.25 Billion in exchange for it to drop the antitrust suit AMD brought against Intel five years ago[79]. In a joint statement, the two chip makers said this, "While the relationship between the two companies has been difficult in the past, this agreement ends the legal disputes and enables the companies to focus all of our efforts on product innovation and development." [80] [81]
[edit]Anti-competitive allegations by regulatory bodies
See also: AMD v. Intel
[edit]Japan
In 2005, the local Fair Trade Commission found that Intel violated the Japanese Antimonopoly Act. The commission ordered Intel to eliminate discounts that had discriminated against AMD. To avoid a trial, Intel agreed to comply with the order.[82][83][84][85]
[edit]European Union
In July 2007, the European Commission accused Intel of anti-competitive practices, mostly against AMD.[86] The allegations, going back to 2003, include giving preferential prices to computer makers buying most or all of their chips from Intel, paying computer makers to delay or cancel the launch of products using AMD chips, and providing chips at below standard cost to governments and educational institutions.[87] Intel responded that the allegations were unfounded and instead qualified its market behavior as consumer-friendly.[88] General counsel Bruce Sewell responded that the Commission had misunderstood some factual assumptions as to pricing and manufacturing costs.[89]
In February 2008, Intel stated that its office in Munich had been raided by European Union regulators. Intel reported that it was cooperating with investigators.[90] Intel faced a fine of up to 10% of its annual revenue, if found guilty of stifling competition.[88] AMD subsequently launched a website promoting these allegations.[91][92] In June 2008, the EU filed new charges against Intel.[93] In May 2009, the EU found that Intel had engaged in anti-competitive practices and subsequently fined Intel €1.06 billion ($1.44 billion), a record amount. Intel was found to have paid companies, including Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo and NEC,[94] to exclusively use Intel chips in their products, and therefore harmed other companies including AMD.[94][95][96] The European Commission said that Intel had deliberately acted to keep competitors out of the computer chip market and in doing so had made a "serious and sustained violation of the EU's antitrust rules".[94] In addition to the fine, Intel was ordered by the Commission to immediately cease all illegal practices.[94] Intel has stated that they will appeal against the Commission's verdict.[94]
[edit]South Korea
In September 2007, South Korean regulators accused Intel of breaking antitrust law. The investigation began in February 2006, when officials raided Intel's South Korean offices. The company risked a penalty of up to 3% of its annual sales, if found guilty.[97] In June 2008, the Fair Trade Commission ordered Intel to pay a fine of $25.5 million for taking advantage of its dominant position to offer incentives to major Korean PC manufacturers on the condition of not buying products from AMD.[98]
[edit]United States
New York started an investigation of Intel in January 2008 on whether the company violated antitrust laws in pricing and sales of its microprocessors.[99] In June 2008, the Federal Trade Commission also began an antitrust investigation of the case.[100]

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Bethlehem

Bethlehem (Arabic: بَيْتِ لَحْمٍ‎, Bayt Laḥm (help·info), lit "House of Meat"; Greek: Βηθλεέμ Bethleém; Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם‎, Beit Lehem, lit "House of Bread") is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank, approximately 10 kilometers (6 mi) south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism.[4][5] Bethlehem is believed by most Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. The town is inhabited by one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, though the size of the community has shrunk in recent years due to emigration.

The city is the birthplace of David and the location where he was crowned as the king of Israel. The city was sacked by the Samaritans in 529 CE, during their revolt, but was rebuilt by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. Bethlehem was conquered by the Arab Caliphate of 'Umar ibn al-Khattāb in 637, who guaranteed safety for the city's religious shrines. In 1099, Crusaders captured and fortified Bethlehem and replaced its Greek Orthodox clergy with a Latin one. The Latin clergy were expelled after the city was captured by Saladin, the sultan of Egypt and Syria. With the coming of the Mamluks in 1250, the city's walls were demolished, and were subsequently rebuilt during the rule of the Ottoman Empire.[6]

The British wrested control of the city from the Ottomans during World War I and it was to be included in an international zone under the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine. Jordan annexed the city in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. Since 1995, Bethlehem has been governed by the Palestinian National Authority.[6]

Bethlehem has a Muslim majority, but is also home to one of the largest Palestinian Christian communities. The Bethlehem agglomeration includes the towns of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, as well as the refugee camps of 'Aida and Azza. Bethlehem's chief economic sector is tourism which peaks during the Christmas season when Christian pilgrims throng to the Church of the Nativity. Bethlehem has over thirty hotels and three hundred handicraft work shops.[7] Rachel's Tomb, an important Jewish holy site, is located at the entrance of Bethlehem.

[edit] History
The first historical reference to the town appears in the Amarna Letters (C. 1400 BC) when the King of Jerusalem appeals to his Lord, the King of Egypt, for help in retaking "Bit-Lahmi" in the wake of disturbances by the Apiru.[8] Since the Jews and Arabs had not yet arrived in the area it is thought that the similarity of this name to its modern forms inidicates that this was a settlement of Canaanites who shared a Semitic cultural and linguistic heritage with the later arrivals.[9]

[edit] Biblical era
Bethlehem, located in the "hill country" of Judah, may be the same as the Biblical Ephrath,[10] which means "fertile": There is a possible reference to it as Beth-Lehem Ephratah.[11] It is also known as Beth-Lehem Judah,[12] and "the city of David".[13] It is first mentioned in the Tanakh and the Bible as the place where the Abrahamic matriarch Rachel died and was buried "by the wayside" (Gen. 48:7). Rachel's Tomb, the traditional grave site, stands at the entrance to Bethlehem. According to the Book of Ruth, the valley to the east is where Ruth of Moab gleaned the fields and returned to town with Naomi. Bethlehem is the traditional birthplace of David, the second king of Israel, and the place where he was anointed king by Samuel.[14] It was from the well of Bethlehem that three of his warriors brought him water when he was hiding in the cave of Adullam.[15]

[edit] Roman and Byzantine periods

View of Church of the Nativity in 1833, painting by M.N.VorobievBetween 132-135 the city was occupied by the Romans after its capture during the Bar Kokhba Revolt. Its Jewish residents were expelled by the military orders of Hadrian.[16] While ruling Bethlehem, the Romans built a shrine to the mythical Greek cult figure Adonis on the site of the Nativity. A church was erected in 326, when Helena, the mother of the first Byzantine emperor Constantine, visited Bethlehem.[6]

During the Samaritan revolt of 529, Bethlehem was sacked and its walls and the Church of the Nativity destroyed, but they were soon rebuilt on the orders of the Emperor Justinian I. In 614, the Persian Sassanid Empire invaded Palestine and captured Bethlehem. A story recounted in later sources holds that they refrained from destroying the church on seeing the magi depicted in Persian clothing in a mosaic.[6]

[edit] Birthplace of Jesus
Further information: Church of the Nativity and Nativity of Jesus

Silver star marking the place where Jesus was born according to Christian traditionTwo accounts in the New Testament describe Jesus as born in Bethlehem. According to the Gospel of Luke,[13] Jesus' parents lived in Nazareth but traveled to Bethlehem for the census of CE 6, and Jesus was born there before the family returned to Nazareth.

The Gospel of Matthew account implies that the family already lived in Bethlehem when Jesus was born, and later moved to Nazareth.[17][18] Matthew reports that Herod the Great, told that a 'King of the Jews' has been born in Bethlehem, ordered the killing of all the children aged two and under in the town and surrounding areas. Jesus' earthly father Joseph is warned of this in a dream, and the family escapes this fate by fleeing to Egypt and returning only after Herod has died. But being warned in another dream not to return to Judea, Joseph withdraws the family to Galilee, and goes to live in Nazareth

Early Christians interpreted a verse in the Book of Micah[19] as a prophecy of the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem.[20] Many modern scholars question whether Jesus was really born in Bethlehem, and suggest that the different Gospel accounts were invented to present the birth of Jesus as fulfillment of prophecy and imply a connection to the lineage of King David.[21][22][23][24] The Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John do not include a nativity narrative or any hint that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and refer to him only as being from Nazareth.[25] In a 2005 article in Archaeology magazine, archaeologist Aviram Oshri pointed to the absence of evidence of settlement of the area at the time when Jesus was born,[26]

The antiquity of the tradition of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem is attested by the Christian apologist Justin Martyr, who stated in his Dialogue with Trypho (c. 155-161) that the Holy Family had taken refuge in a cave outside of the town.[27] Origen of Alexandria, writing around the year 247, referred to a cave in the town of Bethlehem which local people believed was the birthplace of Jesus.[28] This cave was possibly one which had previously been a site of the cult of Tammuz.[29]

[edit] Islamic rule and the Crusades

The Mosque of Omar (Umar) was built in 1860 to commemorate the Caliph Umar's visit to Bethlehem upon its capture by the Muslims. It is Bethlehem's only mosqueIn 637, shortly after Jerusalem was captured by the Muslim armies, 'Umar ibn al-Khattāb, the second Caliph visited Bethlehem and promised that the Church of the Nativity would be preserved for Christian use.[6] A mosque dedicated to Umar was built upon the place in the city where he prayed, next to the church.[30] Bethlehem then passed from the control of the Islamic caliphates of the Ummayads in the 8th century, then the Abbasids in the 9th century. Persian geographer recorded in the mid-9th century that a well preserved and much venerated church existed in the town. In 985, Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi visited Bethlehem, and referred to its church as the "Basilica of Constantine, the equal of which does not exist anywhere in the country-round."[31] In 1009, during the reign of the sixth Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the Church of the Nativity was ordered to be demolished, but was spared by local Muslims, because they had been permitted to worship in the structure's south transept.[32]

In 1099, Bethlehem was captured by the Crusaders, who fortified it and built a new monastery and cloister on the north side of the Church of the Nativity. The Greek Orthodox clergy were removed from their Sees and replaced with Latin clerics. Up until that point the official Christian presence in the region was Greek Orthodox. On Christmas Day 1100 Baldwin I, first king of the Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem, was crowned in Bethlehem, and that year a Latin episcopate was also established in the town.[6]


A painting of Bethlehem, 1882In 1187, Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt and Syria who led the Muslim Ayyubids, captured Bethlehem from the Crusaders. The Latin clerics were forced to leave, allowing the Greek Orthodox clergy to return. Saladin agreed to the return of two Latin priests and two deacons in 1192. However, Bethlehem suffered from the loss of the pilgrim trade, as there was a sharp decrease of European pilgrims.[6]

William IV, Count of Nevers had promised the Christian bishops of Bethlehem that if Bethlehem should fall under Muslim control, he would welcome them in the small town of Clamecy in present-day Burgundy, France. As such, The Bishop of Bethlehem duly took up residence in the hospital of Panthenor, Clamecy in 1223. Clamecy remained the continuous 'in partibus infidelium' seat of the Bishopric of Bethlehem for almost 600 years, until the French Revolution in 1789.[33]

Bethlehem — along with Jerusalem, Nazareth and Sidon — was briefly ceded to the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem by a treaty between Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and Ayyubid Sultan al-Kamil in 1229, in return for a ten-year truce between the Ayyubids and the Crusaders. The treaty expired in 1239 and Bethlehem was recaptured by the Muslims in 1244.[34]

In 1250, with the coming to power of the Mamluks under Rukn al-Din Baibars, tolerance of Christianity declined; the clergies left the city, and in 1263 the town walls were demolished. The Latin clergy returned to Bethlehem the following century, establishing themselves in the monastery adjoining the Basilica of the Nativity. The Greek Orthodox were given control of the basilica and shared control of the Milk Grotto with the Latins and the Armenians.[6]

[edit] Ottoman and Egyptian era

A crowded street in Bethlehem, 1880
View of Bethlehem, 1898From 1517, during the years of Ottoman control, custody of the Basilica was bitterly disputed between the Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches.[6] By the end of the 16th century, Bethelem had become one of the largest villages in the District of Jerusalem, and was subdivided into seven quarters.[35] The Basbus family served as the heads of Bethlehem among other leaders during this period.[36]

Bethlehem paid taxes on wheat, barley, and grapes. The Muslims and Christians were organized into separate communities, each having its own leader; five leaders represented the village in the mid-16th century, three of whom were Muslims. Ottoman tax records suggest that the Christian population was slightly more prosperous or grew more grain as opposed to grapes, the former being a more valuable commodity.[37]

From 1831 to 1841, Palestine was under the rule Muhammad Ali Dynasty of Egypt. During this period, the town suffered an earthquake as well as the destruction of the Muslim quarter in 1834 by Egyptian troops, apparently as a reprisal for the murder of a favored loyalist of Ibrahim Pasha.[38] In 1841, Bethlehem came under Ottoman rule once more and remained so until the end of the World War I. Under the Ottomans, Bethlehem's inhabitants faced unemployment, compulsory military service and heavy taxes, resulting in mass emigration particularly to South America.[6] An American missionary in the 1850s reports an population of under 4,000, 'nearly all of them belong to the Greek Church.' He also comments that 'there is a fatal lack of water' and hence it could never become a large town.[39]

[edit] Twentieth century
Bethlehem was administered by the British Mandate from 1920 until 1948.[40] In the United Nations General Assembly's 1947 resolution to partition Palestine, Bethlehem was included in the special international enclave of Jerusalem to be administered by the United Nations.[41]

Jordan annexed the city during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.[42] Many refugees from areas captured by Israeli forces in 1947-48 fled to the Bethlehem area, primarily settling in the what became the official refugee camps of 'Azza (Beit Jibrin) and 'Aida in the north and Dheisheh in the south.[43] The influx of refugees significantly transformed Bethlehem's Christian majority into a Muslim one.[44]


Israeli Soldiers in Bethlehem, 1978.Jordan retained control of the city until the Six-Day War in 1967, when Bethlehem was occupied by Israel, along with the rest of the West Bank. On December 21, 1995, Israeli troops withdrew from Bethlehem,[45] and three days later the city came under the complete administration and military control of the Palestinian National Authority in conformance with the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1995.[46]

[edit] Second Intifada

Marks of IDF bullets can be seen in the upper left corner where the siege took placeDuring the Second Palestinian Intifada, which began in 2000-01, Bethlehem's infrastructure and tourism industry were severely damaged.[47][48] In 2002, it was a primary combat zone in Operation Defensive Shield, a major military offensive by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).[49]

During the operation, the IDF besieged the Church of the Nativity, where about 200 Palestinians, including a group of militants, sought refuge amid IDF advancements into the city. The siege lasted for 39 days and nine militants and the church's bellringer were killed. It ended with an agreement to exile thirteen of the wanted militants to various European nations and Mauritania. Pope John Paul II condemned Israel's actions, describing them as reaching "unimaginable and intolerable" levels and the United Kingdom's foreign ministry stated they were "totally unacceptable".[49]

[edit] Geography

A map indicating Bethlehem's locationBethlehem is located at 31°43′0″N 35°12′0″E / 31.716667°N 35.2°E / 31.716667; 35.2 Bethlehem stands at an elevation of about 775 meters (2,543 ft) above sea level, 30 meters (98 ft) higher than nearby Jerusalem.[50] Bethlehem is situated on the southern portion in the Judean Mountains.

The city is located 73 kilometers (45 mi) northeast of Gaza and the Mediterranean Sea, 75 kilometers (47 mi) west of Amman, Jordan, 59 kilometers (37 mi) southeast of Tel Aviv, Israel and 10 kilometers (6 mi) south of Jerusalem.[51] Nearby cities and towns include Beit Safafa and Jerusalem to the north, Beit Jala to the northwest, Husan to the west, al-Khadr and Artas to the southwest, and Beit Sahour to the east. Beit Jala and the latter form an agglomeration with Bethlehem and the Aida and Azza refugee camps are located within the city limits.[52]

[edit] Old city
In the center of Bethlehem, is its old city. The old city consists of eight quarters, laid out in a mosaic style, forming the area around the Manger Square. The quarters include the Christian al-Najajreh, al-Farahiyeh, al-Anatreh, al-Tarajmeh, al-Qawawsa and Hreizat quarters and al-Fawaghreh — the only Muslim quarter.[53] Most of the Christian quarters are named after the Arab Ghassanid clans that settled there.[54] Al-Qawawsa Quarter was formed by Arab Christian emigrants from the nearby town of Tuqu' in the 18th century.[55] There is also a Syriac quarter outside of the old city,[53] whose inhabitants originate from Midyat in Turkey.[56] The total population of the old city is about 5,000.[53]

[edit] Climate
Bethlehem has a Mediterranean climate, with hot and dry summers and cold winters. Temperatures in the winter season, from mid-December to mid-March, could be cold and rainy. January is the coldest month, with temperatures ranging from 1 to 13 degree Celsius (33–55 °F). From May through September, the weather is warm and sunny. August is the hottest month, with a high of 27 degrees Celsius (81 °F). Bethlehem receives an average of 700 millimeters (27.6 in) of rainfall annually, 70% between November and January.[57]

Bethlehem's average annual relative humidity is 60% and reaches its highest rates between January and February. Humidity levels are at their lowest in May. Night dew may occur in up to 180 days per year. The city is influenced by the Mediterranean Sea breeze that occurs around mid-day. However, Bethlehem is affected also by annual waves of hot, dry, sandy and dust Khamaseen winds that originate from the Arabian Desert, during April, May and mid-June.[57]

[edit] Demographics
[edit] Population
Year Population
1867 3,000-4,000[58]
1945 8,820[59]
1961 22,450
1983 16,300[60]
1997 21,930[61]
2004 (Projected) 28,010[1]
2006 (Projected) 29,930[1]
2007 25,266[61]
In the PCBS's 1997 census, the city had a population of 21,670, including a total of 6,570 refugees, accounting for 30.3% of the city's population.[61][62] In 1997, the age distribution of Bethlehem's inhabitants was 27.4% under the age of 10, 20% from 10 to 19, 17.3% from 20-29, 17.7% from 30 to 44, 12.1% from 45-64 and 5.3% above the age of 65. There were 11,079 males and 10,594 females.[61]

According to a PCBS estimate, Bethlehem had a population of 29,930 in mid-year 2006.[1] The 2007 PCBS census, however, revealed a population of 25,266, of which 12,753 were males and 12,513 were females. There were 6,709 housing units, of which 5,211 were households. The average household consisted of 4.8 family members.[2]

According to Ottoman tax records, Christians made up roughly 60% of the population in the early 16th century, while the Christian and Muslim population became equal in the mid-16th century. There were no Muslim inhabitants by the end of the century, with a recorded population of 287 adult male tax-payers. Christians, like all non-Muslims throughout the Ottoman Empire, were required to pay the jizya tax.[35] In 1867 an American visitor describes the town as having a population of 3,000 to 4,000; of whom about 100 were Protestants, 300 were Muslims and "the remainder belonging to the Latin and Greek Churches with a few Armenians".[58]

In 1948, the religious makeup of the city was 85% Christian, mostly of the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic denominations,[63] and 13% Sunni Muslim. By 2005, the proportion of Christian residents had decreased dramatically, to about 20%.[64] The only mosque in the Old City is the Mosque of Omar, located in the Manger Square.[30]

[edit] Christian population
See also: Palestinian Christian

Four Bethlehem Christian women, 1911The majority of Bethlehem's Christian inhabitants claim ancestry from Arab Christian clans from the Arabian Peninsula, including the city's two largest: al-Farahiyya and an-Najajreh. The former claims to have descended from the Ghassanids who migrated from Yemen to the Wadi Musa area in present-day Jordan and an-Najajreh descend from the Arabs of Najran in the southern Hejaz. Another Bethlehem clan, al-Anantreh, also trace their ancestry to the Arabian Peninsula.[65]

The percentage of Christians in Bethlehem has been steadily falling, primarily due to continuous emigration. The lower birth rate among Christians as compared to Muslims also accounts for some of the decline. In 1947, Christians made up 75% of the population, but by 1998 this figure had declined to 23%.[63] The current mayor of Bethlehem, Victor Batarseh told the Voice of America that, "due to the stress, either physical or psychological, and the bad economic situation, many people are emigrating, either Christians or Muslims, but it is more apparent among Christians, because they already are a minority."[66]

Palestinian Authority rule following the Interim Agreements is officially committed to equality for Bethlehem area Christians, although there have been a few incidents of violence against them by the Preventive Security Service and militant factions.[67]

The outbreak of the Second Intifada and the resultant decrease in tourism has also affected the Christian minority, leaving many economically stricken as they are the owners of many Bethlehem hotels and services which cater to foreign tourists.[68] A statistical analysis of why Christians are leaving the area blamed the lack of economic and educational opportunities, especially due to the Christians' middle-class status and higher education.[69] Since the Second Intifada, 10% of the Christian population have left the city.[66]

A 2006 poll of Bethlehem's Christians conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Research and Cultural Dialogue, found that 90% reported having Muslim friends, 73.3% agreed that the Palestinian National Authority treats Christian heritage in the city with respect and 78% attributed the ongoing exodus of Christians from Bethlehem to the Israeli travel restrictions in the area.[70]

The Hamas government's official position has been to support the city's Christian population, though the party at times has been criticized by some anonymous residents for increasing the Islamic presence in the city by, for example, activating the call to prayer at a previously unused local mosque in a Christian neighborhood. According to the Jerusalem Post, under Hamas, the Christian population faces a lack of law and order which has left it susceptible to land theft by local mafia who take advantage of ineffective courts and the perception that the Christian population is less likely to stand up for itself.[71][72][73]

[edit] Economy

Central Bethlehem[edit] Shopping and industry
Shopping is a major sector in Bethlehem, especially during the Christmas season. The city's main streets and old markets are lined with shops selling handicrafts, Middle Eastern spices, jewelry and oriental sweets such as baklawa.[74]

The tradition of making handicrafts in the city dates back to its founding. Numerous shops in Bethlehem sell olive wood carvings — for which the city is renowned — made from the local olive groves.[75] The carvings are the main product purchased by tourists visiting Bethlehem.[76] Religious handicrafts are also a major industry in Bethlehem, and some products include ornaments handmade from mother-of-pearl, as well as olive wood statues, boxes, and crosses.[75] The art of creating mother-of-pearl handicrafts was introduced to Bethlehem by Franciscan friars from Damascus during the 14th century.[76] Stone and marble-cutting, textiles, furniture and furnishings are other prevalent industries. Bethlehem also produces paints, plastics, synthetic rubber, pharmaceuticals, construction materials and food products, mainly pasta and confectionery.[77]

Bethlehem has a wine-producing company, Cremisan Wine, founded in 1885, that currently exports wine to several countries. The wine is produced by monks in the Monastery of Cremisan, and the majority of the grapes are harvested from the al-Khader area. The monastery's wine production is around 700,000 liters per year.[78]

[edit] Tourism

The Church of the NativityTourism is Bethlehem's primary industry and unlike other Palestinian localities before 2000, the majority of the working residents did not work in Israel.[47] Over 25% of the working population was employed directly or indirectly in the industry.[77] Tourism accounts for approximately 65% of the city's economy and 11% of the Palestinian National Authority.[79]

The Church of the Nativity is one of Bethlehem's major tourist attractions and a magnet for Christian pilgrims. It stands in the center of the city — a part of the Manger Square — over a grotto or cave called the Holy Crypt, where Jesus was born. Nearby is the Milk Grotto where the Holy Family took refuge on their Flight to Egypt and next door is the cave where St. Jerome spent thirty years translating the Hebrew Scriptures into Latin.[6]

There are over thirty hotels in Bethlehem.[7] Jacir Palace, built in 1910 near the church, is one of Bethlehem's most successful hotels and its oldest. It was closed down in 2000 due to the violence of the Second Intifada, but reopened in 2005.[80]

[edit] Economic conference
Bethlehem hosted the largest ever economic conference in the Palestinian territories on May 21, 2008. It was initiated by Palestinian Prime Minister and former Finance Minister Salam Fayyad to convince over 1,000 businessmen, bankers and government officials from throughout the Middle East to invest in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, although Fayyad admitted the territories were "far from the perfect business environment", being directly linked with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Nonetheless, 1.4 billion US dollars was secured for business investments in the Palestinian territories.[81]

[edit] Culture
[edit] Embroidery
See also: Palestinian costumes

A woman in Bethlehem. Her headdress and short jacket are typical of the Bethlehem area.Before the establishment of Israel as a state, Bethlehem costumes and embroidery were popular in villages throughout the Judaean Hills and the coastal plain. The women embroiderers of Bethlehem and the neighboring villages of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour were known to be professional producers of wedding costumes.[82] Bethlehem was a center for embroidery producing a "strong overall effect of colors and metallic brilliance."[83]

Less formal dresses in Bethlehem were generally made of indigo fabric and a sleeveless coat (bisht), made from locally woven wool, was worn over top. Dresses for special occasions were made of striped silk with winged sleeves and the short taqsireh jacket, known throughout Palestinian as the Bethlehem jacket, was worn over it. The taqsireh was made of velvet or broadcloth, usually with heavy embroidery.[82]

Bethlehem work was unique in its use of couched gold or silver cord, or silk cord onto the silk, wool, felt or velvet used for the garment, to create stylized floral patterns with free or rounded lines. This technique was used for "royal" wedding dresses (thob malak), taqsirehs and the shatwehs worn by married women. It has been traced by some to Byzantium, and by others to the more formal costumes of the Ottoman Empire's elite. As Bethlehem was a Christian village, local women were also exposed to the detailing on church vestments with their heavy embroidery and silver brocade.[82]

[edit] Mother-of-Pearl carving

Craftsmen working with mother-of-pearl, early 20th centuryMain article: Mother-of-Pearl carving in Bethlehem
The art of mother-of-pearl carving has been a Bethlehem tradition since the 14th century when it was introduced to the city by Franciscan friars from Damascus.[84] Bethlehem's position as an important Christian city has for centuries attracted a constant stream of pilgrims. This generated much local work and income, also for women, including making mother-of-pearl souvenirs.[85] It was noted by Richard Pococke, who travelled there in 1727.[86]

Present day products include crosses, earrings, brooches,[84] maps of Palestine,[87] and picture frames.[88]

[edit] Cultural centers and museums

Catholic procession on Christmas Eve in Bethlehem, 2006Bethlehem is home to the Palestinian Heritage Center, established in 1991. The center aims to preserve and promote Palestinian embroidery, art and folklore.[89] The International Center of Bethlehem is another cultural center that concentrates primarily on the culture of Bethlehem. It provides language and guide training, woman's studies and arts and crafts displays, and training.[5]

A branch of the the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music is located in Bethlehem and has about 500 students. Its primary goals are to teach children music, train teachers for other schools, sponsor music research, and the study of Palestinian folklore music.[90]

Bethlehem has four museums located within its municipal borders. The Crib of the Nativity Theatre and Museum offers visitors 31 3D models depicting the significant stages of the life of Jesus. Its theater presents a 20-minute animated show. The Badd Giacaman Museum, located in the Old City of Bethlehem, dates back to the 18th century and is primarily dedicated to the history and process of olive oil production.[5]

Baituna al-Talhami Museum, established in 1972, contains displays of the culture of Bethlehem's inhabitants.[5] The International Museum of Nativity was designed by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the purpose of showing works of "high artistic quality in an evocative atmosphere".[5]

[edit] Festivals

Christmas pilgrims, 1890Christmas rites are held in Bethlehem on three different dates: December 25 is the traditional date by the Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations, but Greek, Coptic and Syrian Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 6 and Armenian Orthodox Christians on January 19. Most Christmas processions pass through Manger Square, the plaza outside the Basilica of the Nativity. Catholic services take place in St. Catherine's Church and Protestants often hold services at Shepherds' Fields.[91]

Bethlehem, like other Palestinian localities, participates in festivals related to saints and prophets that are attached to Palestinian folklore. One such festival is the annual Feast of Saint George (al-Khadr) on 5 May-6 May. During the celebrations, Greek Orthodox Christians from the city march in procession to the nearby town of al-Khader to baptize newborns in the waters around the Monastery of St. George and sacrifice a sheep in ritual.[92]

The Feast of St. Elijah (Mar Elias) is held in a similar way, except the procession is towards the Monastery of St. Elijah to the north of Bethlehem. The feast commemorates the miracles attributed to the saint, a popular figure in Palestine. Prior, to restrictions imposed on the residents by Israel, local Christians used to visit the monastery, bringing various gifts, such as bread, olive oil and candles. The candles would be lit and the oil would be placed in front of icons in the church, while the bread was handed to the monks.[93]

[edit] Government

A Hamas rally in BethlehemBethlehem is the muhfaza (seat) or district capital of the Bethlehem Governorate.

Bethlehem held its first municipal elections in 1876, after the mukhtars ("heads") of the quarters of Bethlehem's Old City (excluding the Syriac Quarter) made the decision to elect a local council of seven members to represent each clan in the town. A Basic Law was established so that if the victor for mayor was a Catholic, his deputy should be of the Greek Orthodox community.[94]

Throughout, Bethlehem's rule by the British and Jordan, the Syriac Quarter was allowed to participate in the election, as were the Ta'amrah Bedouins and Palestinian refugees, hence ratifying the amount of municipal members in the council to eleven. In 1976, an amendment was passed to allow women to vote and become council members and later the voting age was increased from 21 to 25.[94]

Today, the Bethlehem Municipal Council consists of fifteen elected members, including the mayor and deputy mayor. A special statute requires that the mayor and a majority of the municipal council be Christian, while the remainder are open seats, not restricted to any religion.[68]

There are several branches of political parties on the council, including Communist, Islamist, and secular. The leftist factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Palestinian People's Party (PPP) usually dominate the reserved seats. Hamas gained the majority of the open seats in the 2005 Palestinian municipal elections.[95]


A poster of candidates representing the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in BethlehemElected Candidates of the Bethlehem municipal elections of 2005

Rank List Candidate name Religion
1 Brotherhood & Development (PFLP) Victor Batarseh †
2 United Bethlehem (Fatah and PPP) Antun Salman †
3 Reform (Hamas) Hasan al-Masalma ☪
4 United Bethlehem (Fatah and PPP) Afram Asmari †
5 Wafaa (Palestinian Islamic Jihad) Isa Zawahara ☪
6 United Bethlehem (Fatah and PPP) Khalil Chawka ☪
7 Reform (Hamas) Khalid Jadu ☪
8 Hope & Labour (Fatah) Zughbi Zughbi †
9 Reform (Hamas) Nabil al-Hraymi ☪
10 Reform (Hamas) Salih Chawka ☪
11 Reform (Hamas) Yusuf al-Natsha ☪
12 Brotherhood & Development (PFLP) Nina 'Atwan †
13 Brotherhood & Development (PFLP) George Sa'ada †
14 Independent Nadir al-Saqa †
15 United Bethlehem (Fatah and PPP) Duha al-Bandak †

[edit] Mayors
The mayor and the deputy mayor of Bethlehem are required by municipal law to be Christian.[68]

Mikhail Abu Saadeh - 1876
Khalil Yaqub - 1880
Suleiman Jacir - 1884
Issa Abdullah Marcus - 1888
Yaqub Khalil Elias - 1892
Hanna Mansur - 1895-1915
Salim Issa al-Batarseh - 1916-17
Salah Giries Jaqaman - 1917-21
Musa Qattan - 1921-25
Hanna Ibrahim Miladah - 1926-28
Nicoloa Attalah Shain - 1929-33
Hanna Issa al-Qawwas - 1936-46
Issa Basil Bandak - 1946-51
Elias Bandak - 1951-53
Afif Salm Batarseh - 1952-53
Elias Bandak - 1953-57
Ayyub Musallam - 1958-62
Elias Bandak - 1963-72
Elias Freij - 1972-97
Hanna Nasser - 1997-2005
Victor Batarseh (current) - 2005-[96][97]


[edit] Education
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), in 1997, approximately 84% of Bethlehem's population over the age of 10 was literate. Of the city's population, 10,414 were enrolled in schools (4,015 in primary school, 3,578 in secondary and 2,821 in high school). About 14.1% of high school students received diplomas.[98] There were 135 schools in the Bethlehem Governorate in 2006; 100 run the Education Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority, seven by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and 28 were private.[99]

Bethlehem is home to Bethlehem University, a Catholic Christian co-educational institution of higher learning founded in 1973 in the Lasallian tradition, open to students of all faiths. Bethlehem University is the first university established in the West Bank, and can trace its roots to 1893 when the De La Salle Christian Brothers opened schools throughout Palestine and Egypt.[100]

[edit] Transportation

A street in Bethlehem lined with taxis[edit] Services
Bethlehem has three bus stations owned by private companies which offer service to Jerusalem, Beit Jala, Beit Sahour, Hebron, Nahalin, Battir, al-Khader, al-Ubeidiya and Beit Fajjar. There are two taxi stations that make trips to Beit Sahour, Beit Jala, Jerusalem, Tuqu' and Herodium. There are also two car rental departments: Murad and 'Orabi. Buses and taxis with West Bank licenses are not allowed to enter Israel, including Jerusalem, without a permit.[101]

[edit] Movement restrictions

Main entrance into Bethlehem from Jerusalem, 2005The Israeli construction of the West Bank barrier has had an impact on Bethlehem politically, socially, and economically. The barrier runs along the northern side of the town's built-up area, within meters of houses in 'Aida refugee camp on one side, and the Jerusalem municipality on the other.[47]

Most entrances and exits from the Bethlehem agglomeration to the rest of the West Bank are currently subject to Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks. The level of access varies based on Israeli security directives. Travel for Bethlehem's Palestinian residents from the West Bank into Israeli-annexed Jerusalem is regulated by a permit-system.[102] Acquiring such permits to enter, what in the past served in many ways as an urban anchor to Bethlehem, has become exceedingly rare since the onset of the violence surrounding the Second Intifada, though Israel has subsequently erected a terminal to ease transit between the two adjoining cities.[47][103]

Palestinians are not allowed to enter the Jewish holy site of Rachel's Tomb, which is on the outskirts of the city, without a permit. Since Bethlehem and the nearby biblical Solomon's Pools lie in Area A (territory under both PNA military and civil administration), Israeli citizens are barred without a permit from the Israeli military authorities.[47]