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History of Egypt

The origins of ancient Egyptian civilization, which many regard as one of the fountainheads of Western culture, cannot be established with certainty. Archaeological evidence suggests that early dwellers in the Nile Valley were influenced by cultures of the Near East, but the degree of this influence is yet to be determined. Describing the development of Egyptian civilization, like attempts to identify its intellectual foundations, is largely a process of conjecture based on archaeological discoveries of enduring ruins, tombs, and monuments, many of which contain invaluable specimens of the ancient culture. Inscriptions in hieroglyphs, for instance, have provided priceless data.

The framework for the study of the Dynastic period of Egyptian history, between the 1st dynasty and the Ptolemaic period, relies on the Aegyptiaca of Manetho, a Ptolemaic priest of the 3rd century BC, who organized the country's rulers into 30 dynasties, roughly corresponding to families. General agreement exists on the division of Egyptian history, up to the conquest of Alexander the Great, into Old, Middle, and New kingdoms with intermediate periods, followed by the late and Ptolemaic periods, but chronology and genealogy are continually being refined in light of new evidence and by the use of increasingly sophisticated dating techniques.

Prehistory

Some 60,000 years ago the Nile River began its yearly inundation of the land along its banks, leaving behind rich alluvial soil. Areas close to the floodplain became attractive as a source of food and water. In time, climatic changes, including periods of aridity, further served to confine human habitation to the Nile Valley, although this was not always true. From the Chalcolithic period (the Copper age, beginning about 4000 BC) into the early part of the Old Kingdom, people apparently used an extended part of the land.

In the 7th millennium BC, Egypt was environmentally hospitable, and evidence of settlements from that time has been found in the low desert areas of southern, or Upper, Egypt; remains of similar occupation have been discovered at Nubian sites in modern Sudan. Enough pottery has been found in Upper Egyptian tombs from the 4th millennium BC (in the Predynastic period) to establish a relative dating sequence. The Predynastic period, which ends with the unification of Egypt under one king, is generally subdivided into three parts, each of which refers to the site at which its archaeological materials were found: Badarian, Amratian (Naqada I), and Gerzean (Naqada II and III). Northern sites (from about 5500 BC) have yielded datable archaeological material of apparent cultural continuity but no long-term sequences such as those found in the south.

Early Dynastic (or Archaic) Period

Archaeological sources indicate the emergence, by the late Gerzean period (about 3200 BC), of a dominant political force that was to become the consolidating element in the first united kingdom of ancient Egypt. The earliest known hieroglyphic writing dates from this period; soon the names of early rulers began to appear on monuments. This period began with a 0 Dynasty, which had as many as 13 rulers, ending with Narmer (about 3100 BC), followed by the 1st and 2nd dynasties (about 3100-2755 BC), with at least 17 kings. Some of the earliest massive mortuary structures (predecessors of the pyramids) were built at Abydos, and elsewhere during the 1st and 2nd dynasties.

The Old Kingdom

The Old Kingdom (about 2755-2255 BC) spanned five centuries of rule by the 3rd through the 6th dynasties. The capital was in the north, at Memphis, and the ruling monarchs held absolute power over a strongly unified government. Religion played an important role; in fact, the government had evolved into a theocracy, wherein the Pharaohs , as the rulers were called, were both absolute monarchs and, also gods on earth.

The 3rd Dynasty was the first of the Memphite houses, and its second ruler, Zoser, or Djoser, who reigned about 2737-2717 BC, emphasized national unity by balancing northern and southern motifs in his mortuary buildings at Sakkara . His architect, Imhotep, used stone blocks rather than traditional mud bricks in the complex there, thus creating the first monumental structure of stone; its central element, the Step Pyramid, was Zoser's tomb. In order to deal with affairs of state and to administer construction projects, the king began to develop an effective bureaucracy. In general, the 3rd Dynasty marked the beginning of a golden age of cultural freshness and vigor.

The 4th Dynasty began with King senfru , whose building projects included the first true pyramid at Dahshor (south of sakkara ). Snefru, the earliest warrior king for whom extensive documents remain, campaigned in Nubia and Libya and was active in the Sinai. Promoting commerce and mining, he brought prosperity to the kingdom. Snefru was succeeded by his son Khufu (or Cheops), who built the Great Pyramid at Giza. Although little else is known of his reign, that monument not only attests to his power but also indicates the administrative skills the bureaucracy had gained. Khufu's son Redjedef, who reigned about 2613-2603 BC, introduced the solar element (Ra, or Re) in the royal titular and the religion. Khafre (or Chephren), another son of Khufu, succeeded his brother to the throne and built his mortuary complex at Giza. The remaining rulers of the dynasty included Menkaure, or Mycerinus, who reigned about 2578-2553 BC; he is known primarily for the smallest of the three large pyramids at Giza.

Under the 4th Dynasty, Egyptian civilization reached a peak in its development, and this high level was generally maintained in the 5th and 6th dynasties. The splendour of the engineering feats of the pyramids was approximated in every other field of endeavour, including architecture, sculpture, painting, navigation, the industrial arts and sciences, and astronomy; Memphite astronomers first created a solar calendar based on a year of 365 days. Old Kingdom physicians also displayed a remarkable knowledge of physiology, surgery, the circulatory system of the body, and antiseptics. http://www.hamdey.php0h.com/

Is Sheet Music Necessary For Musicians? by Victor Epand

Sheet music is the written form of music that has all of its notations, chord changes, melodies and harmonies laid out for musicians to play from so that they may stay true to the composer's original vision. While it may be useful for new musicians and for those who play a good deal of classical pieces that require no amount of improvisation, sheet music is not a necessity to many who play other forms of music such as rock and roll or bluegrass since this can be easily learned.

Printed music, it seems, is much less important than it once was. Once, printed musical scores by composers were seen as works of art; praised for their aesthetic value as much as for the composition that was written upon them. Some members of the upper society would pay great sums for the final copies of theses scores willing to go to many great lengths to get them. Even today the originals can fetch an enormous sum if these antique scores come up for sale at an auction house.

Much of today's popular music is still published. It is, however, more for the benefit of the novice musicians and for the general public than it is for more seasoned artists. Many of today's big name artistes will memorize all of their own music. Having to perform in front of live audiences does not allow most of them to have their notes in front of them. The time that they spend in rehearsals, making albums, and by multiple performances allows them to get the songs all memorized with very little trouble.

There are many laypeople who can learn to play musical pieces just by listening to them. This is usually referred to as "playing by ear." This sort of learning is also practiced in many different cultures that place great stock in passing traditional songs and dances on to the next generation. Some examples of this sort of culture can be found all over the world. Many people can recall being small and hearing someone in their family sing a song to sooth them or someone close to them.

There have been many famous composers that have not been able to read a single piece of sheet music. They have, however, created some of the most beautiful and moving pieces in the world. Some examples of these great artistes of our modern times would include Sir Paul McCartney, Ray Charles, and Lionel Bart. Can you imagine where they would have been without the skill to create the wonderful songs that they are responsible for in their heads?

The world of music is not what it is because someone first wrote a few notes on a piece of papyrus or scratched them out on a piece of bark. It is however a much richer world in that we have the treasures that the great composers have left behind that have been able to give us an insight into the creative genius that they have exhibited when composing some of the greatest pieces of music in the history of man.

As to answer the question, "is sheet music necessary for the players?" the answer would be no. But it begs the question, "where would we be if not for the pieces of sheet music left behind by the greats?" It also makes one wonder where we would be culturally if we had no way for the non-talented to be able to learn the more complex pieces out there.

Website Security Tests Protect Against Application by Avi D Bartov

Small and medium-sized enterprises can protect websites against application vulnerabilities withsimple, easy-to-use, and affordable service.

Firewall, Intrusion prevention and Detection System (IDS/IPS) are not enough to protect your Website against today’s application vulnerabilities Introduction

More than four out of every five (85 percent) U.S. businesses have experienced a data breach,according to a recent study by Colchester, Conn.-based law firm Scott + Scott, putting millions of consumers' Social Security numbers and other sensitive information in the hands of criminals.Website owners are vulnerable to unwanted intrusions by malicious hackers and other harmful codes. If a website’s server and applications are not protected from security vulnerabilities, identities, credit card information, and billions of dollars are at risk.

Many companies rely on a firewall to protect their websites from security breaches.Unfortunately, firewalls do not provide enough protection.

Hackers are constantly looking for new ways to compromise systems through unguarded, and sometimes not so obvious, side doors. Firewalls, IDS, IPS Are Not Enough Attackers are well-aware of the valuable information accessible through Web applications, and their attempts to get at it are often unwittingly assisted by several important factors.

Conscientious organizations carefully protect their perimeters with intrusion detection systems and firewalls, but these firewalls must keep ports 80 and 443 (SSL) open to conduct online business. These ports represent open doors to attackers, who have figured out thousands of ways to penetrate Web applications.

The standard security measures for protecting network traffic, network firewalls and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), do not offer a solution to application level threats. Network firewalls are designed to secure the internal network perimeter, leaving organizations vulnerable to various application attacks.

Intrusion Prevention and Detection Systems (IDS/IPS) do not provide thorough analysis of packet contents. Applications without an added layer of protection increase the risk of harmful attacks and extreme vulnerabilities.

Extreme Vulnerabilities

Web Application Level Attacks is the Achilles heel. In the past, security breaches occurred at the network level of the corporate systems. Today, hackers are manipulating web applications inside the corporate firewall. This entry enables them to access sensitive corporate and customer data. An experienced hacker can break into most commercial websites with even the smallest hole in a company’s website application code. These sophisticated attacks have become increasingly threatening to organizations.

The standard security measures for protecting network traffic do not protect against web application level attacks.

OWASP’s Top 10 Web Application Security Vulnerabilities 2007

Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), an organization that focuses on improving the security of application software, has put together a list of the top 10 web application security vulnerabilities.

1. Cross Site Scripting (XSS) 2. Injection Flaws 3. Malicious File Execution 4. Insecure Direct Object Reference 5. Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) 6. Information Leakage and Improper Error Handling 7. Broken Authentication and Session Management 8. Insecure Cryptographic Storage 9. Insecure Communications 10. Failure to Restrict URL Access

Web Application Security Consortium Most Common Vulnerabilities Report The Web Application Security Consortium (WASC)â€"an international group of experts, industry practitioners, and organizational representatives who produce open source and widely agreed upon best practice security standards for the World Wide Webâ€"reported the top five web application vulnerabilities by testing 31,373 sites.

According to the Gartner Group, 97% of the over 300 web sites audited were found vulnerable to web application attack,” and “75% of the cyber attacks today are at the application level.”

Web application vulnerability assessment

From the information above it’s clear that most e-commerce websites are wide open to attack and easy victims when targeted. While the security posture of some industries is stronger than others, the difference is insignificant when it comes to actually preventing a website compromise because intruders need only to exploit a single vulnerability.

A web application scanner, which protects applications and servers from hackers, must provide an automated security service that searches for software vulnerabilities within web applications. A web application scanner should crawl the entire website, analyze in-depth each & every file,and display the entire website structure. The scanner has to perform an automatic audit for common security vulnerabilities while launching a series of simulated web attacks. Web Security Seal and free trial should be available.

Most systems are vulnerable to thousands of known risk factors. A web application vulnerability Assessment should execute continuous dynamic tests combined with simulation web-application attacks during the scanning process.The web application scanner must have the ability to validate security breaches and risks against a continually updated service database provides real-time vital business solutions. A website security test should identify the security vulnerabilities and recommend the optimally matched solution.

The fix or workaround solution should be identified and implemented when you need it - not after it's too late.

GamaSec Web Scanning Vulnerability Executive Report

Once the vulnerability scan is completed, the vulnerability check has to deliver an executive summary report to management and a detailed report to the technical teams. Both reports should list the vulnerabilities found along with the severity levels of each vulnerability.

The Article Marketing new trend of Online Marketing by Pooja Gupta

There are probably over a thousand ways to promote a website, but most of them are too expensive to be cost effective. Those looking to find success in the electronic commerce field absolutely must find ways to promote their websites. A lot of people have actually doubled their revenue just by successful promotion of their websites or the use of affiliate programs. Make sure you truly understand the concept of marketing if you want to generate a steadily-increasing flow of traffic to your website.

Typically, authors will squander their time by writing hundreds of articles, none of which attract the right amount of traffic. These articles are not necessarily inferior or badly written; it is simply that these authors do not comprehend the vital role of marketing in the field of writing. This particular article will shed light on the core rules of the "marketing of articles," which should help to make writers' articles more marketable.

The Internet has become one of the most visited places in the whole world. It has a enormous amount of information about almost anything and everything thank you can think of ! There are three different types of information that can be given over the internet, these there type are video, audio and text. Even tough many people do not read the whole text of all articles they do extract information that is relevant to their search. Be aware, of course, that web sites which have attracted a better "page-rank" on a search engine will be able to bring in a great deal more casual traffic. The importance of programs such as Search Engine Optimization cannot be understated. "SEO" programs are vital for providing efficient article marketing, so long as your article features the correct keywords.

Moreover, for an article to be popular, it must have a good title. You must never use 'search engine spam techniques'. The concept of article marketing is not that difficult to grasp if you are willing to put in some serious efforts.

If you want to learn about article marketing at no cost, there are lots of relevant websites available to you. The most important step in article marketing is composing copy that has truly unique content. Unique articles are ones not copied from other works online or offline. When writing them, avoid using terms which are hard to comprehend.

A lot of writers expend fruitless hours penning hundreds of worthless articles which don't generate the traffic they want. It's not a question of inferior writing ability, but rather that these writers don't comprehend the significance of marketing in their area. This article will discuss the basis of article marketing. If you follow our suggestions, you can surely produce copy that is more effective in boosting your sales. There are many web sites which teach you this concept for free. Writing unique articles is also a smart technique. Make sure that every article you write has unique content.

Book Marketing Campaign Tips for POD Published Authors by V. Michael Santoro

Developing an effective book marketing campaign can be a challenge for most POD published authors. Once their book is published they try to use tradition book marketing techniques, such as:

* Contacting bookstores and libraries to see if they will carry their book

* Calling newspaper reporters to try and obtain some PR

* Sending a review copy of their book to newspaper book review editors, or

* Trying to set up a book signing event at local bookstores

Unfortunately, this approach usually generates disappointing results.

A more effective book marketing campaign for a POD published author is to identify a niche market based upon their book's theme and then use the Internet to brand themselves as an expert within that niche market. Instead of trying to sell their books, authors need to provide top quality information to their niche audience while using their book as a credential. Having published a book and correctly posting valuable information is the fastest way to be viewed as an expert by people interested in the niche, as well as the media.

Book Marketing Campaign Blueprint
The following blueprint will help authors to use the Internet to brand themselves as an expert:

1. Determine which niche market is best associated with your book's theme. Ensure that it has people who are enthusiastic about the niche and willing to spend money on associated products and your book

2. Research actual long tail keyword phrases that people are using to find information within your niche. Use them in your book marketing material to achieve a "top ten" search engine position.

3. Write outstanding marketing material using this keyword research. It will help to brand you as an expert within your niche market.

4. Generate targeted traffic to your book's Website or blog by using free traditional and Web 2.0 Internet Marketing techniques.

5. Build a huge list of interested niche subscribers and keep in touch with them on a regular basis.


Using this book marketing campaign approach will help you to earn an income by recommending niche products to your loyal niche audience. Many will also purchase your book after they read your quality information and see your commitment to helping them.

Additionally, you can receive calls from the media who are using the Internet to research information for stories and shows. Why? Because they were able to find your book marketing niche material; visit your book's Website and realize that you are a published author and expert who can be used as a reliable source for them.

About the Author

V. Michael Santoro is a published author, Internet Marketer and creator of the Authorpreneur 2.0 Mentorship Program. This turnkey program is an easy-to-follow, step-by-step program about conducting an effective online book marketing campaign . For a free trial, go to http://www.proauthors.com

Anwar ke putrajaya

Jalan berliku tokoh PKR ke Putrajaya

Muda Mohd Noor | Aug 28, 08 6:27pm

Seperti yang diduga, Penasihat PKR, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim menang mudah dalam pilihanraya kecil Parlimen Permatang Pauh semalam. Ini ditambah pula dengan majoriti yang lebih besar daripada isterinya, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail. Ia membuktikan bahawa pengaruh Anwar sedikitpun tidak terjejas meskipun dilemparkan dengan pelbagai tuduhan. Tuduhan liwat, pengkhianat Melayu dan negara, rasuah gila kuasa yang dibuat oleh pemimpin Umno, ditolak mentah-mentah oleh pengundi Permatang Pauh. Anwar mendapat 31,195 undi, manakala calon BN, Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah meraih 15,524 undi. Manakala calon Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (Akim), Hanafi Hamat memperolehi 92 undi sahaja dan hilang wang pertaruhan. Ia sekaligus menunjukkan bahawa usaha BN, khususnya Umno, untuk menguburkan karier politik Anwar gagal. Sebaliknya, keputusan pilihanraya itu menunjukkan sokongan terhadap beliau tidak pernah luntur. Sewajarnya pemimpin Umno yang bermulut celupar, khususnya Naib Ketua Pemudanya, Khairy Jamaluddin, merasa malu kerana serangan-serangan peribadi ke atas mantan timbalan perdana menteri itu, sedikitpun tidak diterima pengundi. Sepanjang tempoh kempen selama 10 hari, pemimpin besar Umno, termasuk Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi hadir berkempen untuk calon BN. Pengundi atas pagar Timbalannya, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, selaku pengarah pilihanraya BN, saban malam berada di Permatang Pauh bersama pemimpin-pemimpin lain. Malangnya, pengundi Permatang Pauh langsung tidak mahu mendekati ceramah pemimpin Umno, menyebabkan ia lenggang kerana tiada sambutan. Serangan-serangan oleh bekas orang kuat, Anwar seperti Ezam Mohd Noor dan Datuk S Nalakarupan, juga bagaikan peluru kertas sahaja. Sebaliknya, ceramah Anwar dihadiri bukan sahaja oleh penyokongnya tetapi juga pengundi atas pagar dan kaum India serta Cina setiap malam. Namun, perlu diakui juga bahawa jentera kempen PKR dan Pakatan Rakyat sangat berkesan kerana mereka gigih bekerja tanpa mengira waktu. Petugas parti juga bergerak pantas setiap hari untuk membahagikan risalah untuk menjawab apa juga serangan Umno terhadap Anwar. Dalam pilihanraya kali ini, penekanan Anwar terhadap Malaysia baru, iaitu menghapuskan kemiskinan tanpa mengira kaum, lebih diterima oleh rakyat berbanding politik perpaduan oleh BN. Kemenangan besar Anwar itu memberikan peluang yang baik untuknya mengotakan janjinya untuk mengambilalih pemerintahan pada 16 September depan. Laluan ke Putrajaya Mungkin masih ramai berpandangan sinis tetapi jika diperhatikan kepada pengaruh Anwar yang tidak pernah surut, ia seharusnya menerbitkan rasa gerun kepada Umno itu sendiri. Rakyat Permatang Pauh telah membuktikan mereka tidak lagi percaya kepada Umno walapun para pemimpinnya mendendangkan bahawa parti keramat itu begitu berjasa kepada orang Melayu dan negara. Apa yang mereka perlukan ialah politik yang lebih adil, pemimpin yang berwibawa dan dipercayai yang boleh membawa negara dan rakyat yang lebih makmur dan dihormati dunia. Sepatutnya, janji-janji retorik tidak perlu lagi untuk sebuah negara seperti Malaysia, sebaliknya memperkasakan keazaman untuk membina Malaysia yang baru. Mulai hari ini, tiada lagi mana-mana pihak yang boleh memandang rendah kepada Anwar. Pagi ini, mantan timbalan perdana menteri telah telah mengangkat sumpah sebagai ahli Parlimen Permatang Pauh di Dewan Rakyat. Pagi ini juga, seperti yang telah dipersetujui oleh anggota Pakatan Rakyat sebelum ini, Anwar turut dilantik sebagai ketua pembangkang. Dan laluannya menuju Putrajaya, seperti yang dilaung-laungkan kepada penyokongnya, kini terbuka luas.

forex

Day trading is a fun way to ride the waves of the stock market, buying and selling securities in a single day which can create some amazing amounts of short term financial gains if you are successful. While day trading can be undoubtedly thrilling to partake, do take the effort to learn as much as you can before you decide to jump in. The more you develop the proficiency, you can expect your gains to be higher.

Day trading actually serves two important functions for the stock market they provide liquidity and keeps the market active. Day traders need up to date information to be able to make a good decision.

You can become a master by learning the art of day trading. Day trading can be rewarding or real disasters. One needs to have the right tools and knowledge to be successful in this undertaking.

Be realistic in your goals. Is Trading Right For You? They only risk capital and those are rather affordable to lose.

The rule to remember is, day traders normally hold on to a position for a few minutes. Develop your skills through training. Traders will let you know that two indispensable ingredients in this business are raw nerves and sheer cunningness. Day-trading rarely will give you the big trade you've been waiting for your whole life.

Follow the trends and never get emotional on any single transaction. The ultimate goal of a day trader is to produce profit in a single day. Risk management is very important for success.

It is important to understand the workings and mechanic of the Forex day trading before you do anything. It is a common sight to see day traders monitoring the stock market continuously throughout the day through computer screen top watch the rise and fall of the shares. One needs to have access to the right information at the right time to be able to make a successful decision.

You can be sure day traders would testify that it is a really exciting business. All successful day traders believe in their own indicator but nevertheless, they know that those are not foolproof. It is wrong to sell on bad days and even fatal to buy on a good one.

Day trading, as the name implies, is the sale and purchase of securities in a single day. You need to realize that this form of trading comes with a great risk. This is not something you want to get involved in without some careful thought.

Day trading involves a lot of risk. So is this a mere game of luck? It is normal for a trader to lose money out of every nine transactions and still make a killing by succeeding in the tenth transaction. It can be really fun once you get the hang of things, but it comes with a mighty risk.