Speech 3 Informative Speech: Fill & Download for Free

Background: My wife and I are Toronto and Richmond Hill residents soon it is close to 40 years, and in a few years it will be 50 years in Canada) we raised two boys born in Canada, raised and grown in Toronto.First Thank you Toronto and above all Canada: I know the question is on the dark side of Toronto, I cannot help but express my thanks to this city. Toronto provided us with jobs, education and beautiful lives, my family and I are indebted to this town forever. Also, it is a huge privilege for us, to be part of this great country, personally, I believe Canada is the best place on the earth. I and my young bride came to this country in the early 70 s, I only had eight dollars and I sincerely do not know but I guess she had 500 dollars(which her parents gave her). These were the eight dollars, which my mother pulled me aside at the New Delhi airport, start crying and sobbing, and gave me. She said: That is all I could arrange, through an acquaintance. I know it may not buy you even one meal there. I am not worried about you, you can take hardships but my Beti(my daughter)(in law) has not seen hardships. Please take care of her, and write me as soon as you can. Fastest letter on those days used to take ten days to India. This was start, as soon as the glass doors closed behind us at the Pearson International the race was on. No cell phone, google map, internet, and no long list of friends/relatives here. This was the story of almost everyone especially from India.Now before I start on this topic let me please define the following, these are my definitions:Senior Canadians(SC): They have been here for several generations more than at least four even ten generations, some are more or less the descent of original pioneers, they and their predecessors worked extremely hard to get here against all the odds and made this country gorgeous and world class. I take my hats off to the senior pioneers and their predecessors who converted this total hostile land to one of the very best countries in the World.Junior Canadians(JC): They are here for several generations mostly from European background other than British and French, who either with a name change(Smith being a very familiar name when they checked the phone book, found Smith very popular name, they joke they called themselves to be Smiths also) or they either merged through marriage alliances or name change but now they are more or less assimilated or at least they tried to assimilate with SC, the ultimate elite. JC and SC and had more in common, therefore their assimilation was normal and easier.Please refer to top 20 last names in Canada.Canada’s Top 20 Surnames DissectedAsian Immigrants (AM): Then there were immigrants from Asia mainly China/India who mostly came as laborers (AM). These people have several generations deep here, some of them made colossally, some are still looking for next big thing. It is known fact and history books tell us, it was very tough to life and the laws were designed to keep control of this migration. Please read the books about their hardships, struggles, without families, lonely lives and sometimes living in fear for survival. My sincere salute to these pioneers who made highways, railroads and worked in some of the worst conditions.There was hardly any migration from Asia, it started again in the early 70 S,these immigrants some are in their third generation. These people were mixed bag, semi skilled, unskilled, some with lot education and some with less.Miscellaneous Immigrants (MC) : There are significant Torontonians from the West Indies, South America, Middle East.However, Asians and people from visible minorities in the past tried to keep to themselves, reason they could not assimilate in the main stream due to obvious factors with the SC. But now we do see fair number of inter racial marriages.New Arrivals (NA): These are the people who came to this country in the last ten years or so,I must also qualify my statements:Dark side and Bright side of Toronto: The glass is half full or half empty.Dark/Bright side depends on who is seeing this picture, the same picture could be dark and bright at the same time. For example, Toronto could be dark, for a person, whose several generations worked extremely hard to get here. And now it is turning out to a mainly immigrant hub. This picture is dark to SC and JC, but bright to AM, and NA.Toronto could be brilliant, for a person, who has just landed from war-torn or seeking economic freedom/opportunities/and so on same Toronto could be dark to another person who is migrating from relatively better country and environment.Now the dark side of Toronto:Personal experiences:This city is the central city of immigrants: We came from India in the early 70 S after struggling to survive in small cities in Canada and going to university/college to get Canadian equivalents to improve our chances of job opportunities, we finally decided to call Toronto our permanent home. We felt extremely safe here and chose to start our lives among the people of more or less with our background.Since it is a heavily immigrant city, I fully understand and respect some native Canadians (This includes SC/JC/AM and First Nations who are here for several generations) do not like this town (based on the comments from our long and sincere Canadian friends SC , JC and AM who are Canadians for several generations). I believe their feelings and pain is very genuine, to see the significant change in the landscape of their beloved city.There are good things and some dark stuff, in reality, who is seeing this picture: The good things immigrants brought a lot of new things such as food, culture, ideas, business, and so on. And the dark thing is Canadian culture got diluted, and I fully understand some frustration in the city.I am very sorry to be blunt; they hate this town as much as they can. In the early 70s there used to lot more open racial slurs but with time they died. It is still there, but now it is all hidden, subtle and very sophisticated and bearable.Well, in my view these things are everywhere in every country and nothing you can do about it. All you could do the best to mind your own business, and do the best.For people who are here for several generations (SC/JC), they look for nicer things in life, such as night life, very sophisticated night clubs, entertainment and high-end eateries, high end live shows, beaches and much better life than what they already have. Sure it is getting dark for them, for us (AM/NA) relatively newer Canadians, economic freedom, beautiful apartment, excellent education for kids, good health care, even a clean water is a boon, Toronto is brilliant.Personally my family and I we are in total love with this city we do not see any dark thing except bright lights.Commutes are long: The way you look at it, on the one hand, there are a lot more job opportunities at the same time commutes are long. Now, my family and I put our nose to the grind and tried to make the best of the situation. I rather take a long commute than to starve.Cost of living is very high: As said earlier Toronto is the first stop for immigrants, jobs they get are low paying, added with long commutes and high rents, cost of living is high. But again good news, you have better chances to survive here than in any other small city.Competition is very tough: Most of the immigrant families are very competitive, in school, jobs, and survival. No question, immigrant kids are under extreme pressure here, to fit in and do well in schools. One sad story at the end of this article describes the pressure cooker environment on immigrant kids.Real Estate is touching the sky: Well, Toronto real estate was always very expensive, I still remember when we bought 50,000 dollar townhouse, my wife and I did not sleep all night. We thought, sure it would sink us, in those days this sum was extremely high. It was not a joke for the young couple with two kids to undertake this financial responsibility, but we cut down everything in life, to a bare minimum. We did two/three/ jobs; the hard work paid off eventually. It was never a walk in the park to establish and never will be. We decided to sacrifice present for the sake of future, nothing comes without sacrifices. At my time there was no turning back, my ticket was one way, and my father clearly told me , he borrowed this money for my ticket. He just whispered in my ear at the airport: Try to pay back as soon as I could, deep inside I knew it, it is his saving he is worried for his nest eggs.A tribute to the new arrivals from all over the World:Most of new immigrants especially from Asia are not afraid of “ dark side” or “storms” because they can light more candles in the dark and in fact most of them are storm in themselves. Some as soon as pass the glass doors from the Pearson International go up like rockets.The glass is half full or half empty:This situation could be dark for quitters, and it could be dazzling who did extremely well in school. Some Children of the penniless immigrants became big stars, and they have raised the bar very high.Personally, my family and I are beneficiaries, of this intense competition from the Asian community. Our boys grew up with Asian kids, in a whole cutthroat environment, where A+ in school was not good enough. The best was to skip a few school years, and our one kid just did that, graduating with BE at 20.Our one kid was three years ahead in school and ended up with B.E.(U of Mc Master) M.E. (U of Southern California), and MBA from the Harvard University. The other son ended up with B.E. and LLB. I did M.Sc., and my wife did R.N.Our community is vast and thriving. We believe we have a little India in Toronto, it is bright for us but could be dark for some. Same goes for other Asian communities, some did extremely well, and some still trying to find the place under the Sun.Food for one and poison for the other:But for older established people SC, these things (clean water/air, excellent health care, clean and nice places to live/ pure and high quality foods) are/were guaranteed. They do not see these as the bright side of Toronto. They are looking for much better things in life than the basic necessities.However Toronto like any other world class city has its fair share of problems, but for my family and I, Toronto the best place on the earth.Toronto dominates list of worst traffic jams across Canada | Toronto Star (Toronto dominates list of worst traffic jams across Canada | Toronto Star)Toronto dominates list of worst traffic jams across CanadaBottlenecks cost drivers 11.5 million hours and 22 million liters of fuel each year, new CAA study concludes.Toronto dominates list of worst traffic jams across Canada | Toronto Star)The following information is extracted from Diversity - Toronto Facts - Your City | City of Toronto (Diversity - Toronto Facts - Your City | City of Toronto)Total population, 2.70 million, heralded as one of the most multicultural cities in the World and is ranked as the safest large metropolitan is in North America.Half (52.4%) of Toronto’s population was born outside of Canada.47 % are a visible minority.12 % South Asians, 11.4 % Chinese, 12%, Black 8.4%, Filipino 4.1%, Latin American 2.6 percent.Over 140 languages and dialects are spoken here, 30 percent of Toronto residents speak a language other than English or French at home.Top five languages other than English and French.1. Chinese:2. Italian;3. Punjabi;4. Filipino;5. Portuguese.Ethnic Origin:European 28 percentBritish 19 percentSouth Asian 10 percentEast Asian 16 percentThe extremely dark side of Toronto:Murder in Toronto and the dark aspect of the Asian immigrant dream (A murder in Toronto and the dark side of the Asian immigrant dream)A Daughter’s Deadly Deceptionby Jeremy GrimaldiDundurnJennifer Pan picture: The Washington Post court exihibitIn 2010, a young Canadian woman named Jennifer Pan hired hitmen to fake a break-in at her family home and shot her parents.Her father, Huei Hann, saved himself by dragging his bleeding body onto the front lawn. Her mother, Bich Ha, died on the spot, but not before begging for her daughter to be spared. Little did she know that Jennifer was sitting upstairs, listening to the screams as the crime she had masterminded unfolded.Hann arrived in Canada aged 26 as a refugee and “boat person”, with little money and next to no English. He rose each day at 5 am and worked overtime in a factory to pay for his children’s education. He and his wife for years delayed a trip to Vietnam, waiting first for their children to graduate from university.We later see Hann in a courtroom as an aging widower recovering from a gunshot wound to the head, testifying through a translator against the daughter who betrayed him.Conclusions:Toronto is one the best places in the World, especially for new immigrants, it is a food Mecca of the world, the tremendous amount of educational opportunities. Most likely you are among your thriving community where you are safe. In the beginning years it was very vital for us to live in the most safe area of loving care of our elderly ladies for our kids. Our kids survived and thrived among other ethnic groups, where they had no fear for being bullied and called racial slurs. For willing and hard working individuals a place to survive and thrive in my view Toronto is the place.It is no secret, and it is norm in every country, the real power stays with the elite one way or the other. For example you may pass any bill in the parliaments, change the regimes, bring revolutions, the real power brokers more or less stay the same.I personally do not have any qualm with them, they and their forefathers worked extremely hard to reach where they have reached. Let us learn from them, money management, investments, every beautiful thing they can teach us. I had some of the most wonderful bosses from the English/French and Italian origins. They treated me more like a brother than an employee.The most amazing thing I have observed during the last more than four decades, new immigrants come here, and some complain non stop. I believe they quickly forget the conditions of their back home.Bottom line: I have observed the people who did not complain and concentrated on nothing but positives of this great country, some of them are billionaires now.As Honorable Mr. Bill Gates said:“ Life is not fair. Get used to it”.Bill Gates High School SpeechAlso browse through the following when you see and feel life is not fair to calm you down.9 Reasons Why Life Isn't FairThank you, Canada and special thanks to Toronto:My family and I do see any dark side in Toronto, we only arranged for additional candles for darkness as follows:For Long drive: leave home early.For cost of living high: get another part job and adjust your expenses.For privileged class: work much harder than anyone else.For competition is tough : work harder, even to melt steel.For still you do not like: Find better place than Canada/TorontoRobert H. Schuller QuotesWe all members of the family went to the Canadian Universities, except one went to college for education and Toronto was great place to fulfill that dream.Toronto the real multicultural city, total freedom of your faith, preservation of culture, our kids who are Canadian born, totally Toronto raised but keeping our traditions and culture alive at least for the next generation.Our Son’s wedding:Our son Canadian born and brought up in Toronto, Indian Punjabi, at heart, accomplished dhol player.With our grandsons, center of our universe, these monkeys are our everything total sum total of life.life is tough ... but so am I [at least I keep telling myself so]

This is a super long answer that will take you on a photo tour of history.1.Charming Einstein. CNN article, Einstein and sandals.2.In 1974, a child who first heard a sound with a hearing aid.3.In 1920, U.S. border inspectors stopped refugees from fleeing to Mexico.4.On Sweden's first day of changing traffic rules to right in 1967, all drivers were at a loss what to drive.5.In 1920, a tramp asked King George V of England for money.6.Slimming machines in the 1930s in the United States.7.In 1956, 3.75MB hard disk was removed from Pan Am aircraft.8.In 1955, a father prepared a surprise for the child.9.Austrian children receiving new shoes during World War II.10.One of the earliest photos of the Sphinx in Egypt, taken in 1880.11.In 1944, 18-year-old Norma Jane Mortensen worked in a California factory. Later, she changed her name to "Marilyn Monroe".12.In 1979, Obama took photos with other basketball team members at his alma mater.13.In 1969, Hillary Rodham, who had just graduated from college, changed her name to Hillary Clinton after she got married.14.1958: Elvis Presley in the army.15.In 1944, British distilleries used fighter planes to transport barreled beer to officers and soldiers on the front line.16.In 1975, Vietnam War Orphans were shipped to Los Angeles.17.In 1998, Sudan's civil war killed at least 100 people a day. In MSF's camp, the scrawny boy lines up to get his food, but at this moment is snatched by another man, then strides away…18.In 1932, construction workers rested on steel beams during construction of RCA buildings in New York City.At that time, in the era of the great depression, the unemployment rate was very high, many college students became construction workers, and even six Harvard graduates interviewed for an elevator operator position.19.Hitchcock served tea for the MGM lion. Yes, the one who often appeared at the beginning of a movie.20.On June 17, 1991, a small truck fled from the foot of the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines. This is the second largest eruption in the 20th century.21.Soldiers share bananas with lambs during the war, 194422.Tomb of women and husbands of different religions, 1888.23.French little girl kisses American soldiers on Valentine's day, 1945.24.In 1992, Michael vs. Michael. Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson.25.In 1990, Michael Jackson was invited to attend an opening ceremony. The owner who invited him became president of the United States 26 years later. His name is Donald Trump.26.In 1955, customers at the London record store auditioned for records in a soundproof room.27.In 1911, the diving suit developed weighed 250 kg, which was the ancestor of diving suit later.28.In 1994, Bill Gates sat on 330000 pieces of paper with a CD in his hand and told the world:The CD can record more than 330000 pieces of paper.29.Little girl with penguin in zoo, 1937.30.Blind women swimming with guide dogs, 196631.Black kitten waiting for milk, 195432.In 1964, a hotel owner poured sulfuric acid into a swimming pool because he could not tolerate black people swimming in a "clean" pool.33.The last kiss of World War II soldiers before going to sea.34.In 1956, Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn were backstage at the Oscars.35.In September 1960, Chiang Kai Shek, who had always been serious in front of the media, put out his tongue to make a face.36.Courts of the Qing Dynasty in China.37.In 1923, the British tested the new bulletproof vest.38.In 1958, elephants were surfing.39.Nuns and children dancing.40.On May 29, 1974, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai finally shook hands and said goodbye, and Zhou was admitted to the hospital that night.41.A group photo of Mei Lanfang, a master of art in the East, and Chaplin, a master of art in the West.42.In the winter of the late Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi enjoyed the snow.43.Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, was being renovated at the Fushun war criminals Management Institute and was sewing his own clothes.44.Girls on the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1970s45.During the cold war, a West Berlin man kicked the East Berlin police46.The statue of liberty in 1970s47.Former US President Ford, playing traditional games with Japanese Geisha in Tokyo.48.A soldiers of the Royal Guard fainted during a review by Queen Elizabeth II.49.Princess Elizabeth, who served in the army in World War II, later the queen of England.50.The imperial garden of the Qing Dynasty in the 19th century -- Yuanmingyuan.It will soon be destroyed by the British and French invaders.51.In 1944, in order to prevent Hitler from running away in disguise, the Allied forces released this set of pictures of "Hitler's possible disguise".52.Iran, 1960, women in fashion. It's very different from today.53.In 1960, ruby bridges was the first African American to enter a white primary school in the south of the United States.54.In 1947, the 23-year-old woman jumped from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building and smashed into the roof of a car on the street. Strangely, she didn't suffer too much shock. Her death was quiet and elegant, just like sleeping.55.In 1952, the paramount theater in Hollywood, the first color 3D film in history, Bwana devil.56.It was on April 18, 1955, when Einstein left the office with the table set, he died that night.57.In the early 1990s, when AIDS was spreading, a father was comforting his dying son in his hospital bed. The photo, published in the November issue of life in 1990, is widely believed to have changed public awareness of AIDS.58.In Arlington, Texas, in 1991, then President H.W. Bush kicked off for major league baseball.59.In 1963, Arnold Schwarzenegger was in his first bodybuilding competition when he was just 16 years old.60.In 1945, after the capture of Berlin, a Soviet soldier held a statue of Hitler.61.During the first World War, a British photographer shot a trench battle. What was on the night sky was not fireworks, but the light track formed by the mutual firing of mortars.62.Anthony Biddle, a famous Colonel, is a master of unarmed combat. In this picture, he ordered his trainees to stab him with bayonets, but they never did, because he was able to disarm them by himself.63.Many people forget the impact of war on nature and human beings. In this photo, a Russian Reindeer is watching as Hurricane fighters bombard a hillside in Murmansk.64.A group photo of the legendary fighter Ali and the Beatles.65.This photo was taken by Fortune magazine in 1981 and is being discussed by two technology leaders. What are they talking about? Maybe it's the future of technology.66.Titanic before sinking, 705th survivor photographed by RMS Carpathia photographer on board.67.Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook in his dorm when he was a sophomore at Harvard. He looks like he's drunk, and no one knows that the social software will bring him tens of billions of dollars.68.The picture of 1862 shows for the first time the actual operation of the metro train at edgewell Road Station in London. It is only composed of wooden train carriages.69.Stalin made funny moves between the documentary.70.American astronaut Buzz Aldrin may not be the first man to land on the moon, but he is the best self portrait ever taken. Completed the selfie at the Gemini space ship in 1966.Although the length of this answer will be too long, I will continue to add some historical photos, you can choose to continue reading~71.Dubai 22 years transformation.72.1912, test football helmets.73.In 1940, after the London air raid, a young man read in the ruins, the title of the book is "the history of London". Churchill and Rufus were in chatterwell in 1950.74.On August 23, 1989, two million Lithuanians,Latvians and Estonians joined hands to form an adult wall to protest peacefully against Soviet rule.75.1981 LEGO ad.76.In 1965, Hawking married Jane Wilde.76.In 1885, the statue of Liberty was completed in Paris.77.In 1961, Fritz, a TV star bulldog.78.On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. made a speech on "I have a dream". it looked at the Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial.79.The B-29 bomber flew over Mount Fuji.80.The 14-year-old signed for Manchester United.81.In the 1960s, London, the classic red double decker bus, the little boy crossing the street and his "mini double decker bus".82.In November 1963, de Gaulle attended Kennedy's funeral.83.In 1966, George Lincoln Rockwell, the leader of the US Nazi party, gave a speech in Lafite square near the White House to support the US Army in Vietnam.84.In 1946, the cemetery of Henry chapel in Belgium, where 7992 American soldiers died in World War II were buried.85.In 1968, IGBO soldiers in Nigeria's civil war.86.On May 1, 1919, Lenin gave a speech on International Labor Day in red square.87.In 1918, in front of Grand Central Station in New York, a pyramid was made of helmets of German soldiers.88.In 1965, the man skated in New York Central Park.89.In 1948, the redecorated White House.90.In 1942, the Ukrainian city of Kerch was slaughtered by the Nazis.91.In 1972, Americans were in Vietnam.92.On April 29, 1945, American soldiers found a boxcar full of corpses in DAHAO concentration camp.93.In 1970, old Truman was in his hometown,independence city.94.When Nixon visited China in 1972, he was thinking about how to use chopsticks.95.On September 12, 1953, the Kennedy couple married.96.In 1957, in Berkshire, Elizabeth II drove by herself, carrying Prince Charles and Princess Anne on the road.97.In 1960, the Sydney Opera House was under construction.98.In 1965, the pageos balloon satellite was tested in a airship hangar in North Carolina. It looks like an alien spaceship or a product of the future, with a strong sense of technology.99.In 1971, the men of the Corleone family.The welcome of this answer surprised me!At the same time, a photo causes controversy, and I will replace it.The choice of these photos is random. You can see that they can be "big" or "small". You may find that a picture of a person who influences the world is a life scene. This is what I think of as history - these people, regardless of their influence, are part of history. They will all live in the memory of some people.I am willing to share those most precious memories, and I choose to continue this answer and finally complete it.100.The little actors in the movie Harry Potter, Emma and Rupert.101.The Empire State Building after it was hit by B-25 on July 28, 1945.102.Theodore Roosevelt, the US president who took part in boxing at Harvard.103.In 1956, the Hungarian Revolution.104.In 1992, when the "Rodney king" uprising in Losangeles, South Koreans were defending their homes.105.In 1944, the Royal Albert Hall in London, "a salute to the Red Army".106.Goering in the Nuremberg trial.107.Halloween, 1925.108.In September 1997, outside Kensington Palace, people gave flowers to Princess Diana.109.John browning and his m1917 water-cooled machine gun.110.Kennedy and Johnson were at Cape Canaveral Air Base during the Cuban missile crisis.111.In the spring of Prague in 1968, Soviet tanks entered Czechoslovakia.112.Fidel Castro and the world's first astronaut Yuri Gagarin warmly embraced.113.Castro laid a wreath for Lincoln in Washington.114.In 1980, Spielberg examined the model at the scene of the shooting of "the Raider.".115.Star Wars, Millennium Falcon cockpit.116.Hitler examined the 800mm Gustav super heavy rail gun.117.On the wedding day of Joseph Goebbels, Hitler was his best man. Hitler walked behind the bride and groom in his coat and hat.118.The first picture in space, 1946 after World War II, was taken by some soldiers and scientists with a German V2 rocket equipped with a camera.119.Henry Ford.(Ford founder), Edison(phonograph, camera, light bulb inventor), Warren Harding(29th president of the United States) and Harvey Firestone (founder of Firestone)chat together.120.During World War II, the B-29 super fortress bomber, the "little boy", was hurled over Hiroshima.121.The quagga, a subspecies of the common zebra, died out in the late 19th century. It is the only live burro photographed, London Zoo, 1870.122.This is the cover photo of the Beatles' famous album Abbey Road, right? No, this is a picture of them coming back to the opposite side of the street in the opposite direction.123.In 1962, F1 pilots launched at ultra-low altitude. The pilots survived but suffered multiple fractures.124.Manhattan, 1908.125.On April 12, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Birmingham for an unauthorized demonstration.126.Before NASA had PowerPoint.127.Fallen man, World Trade Center, 9.11, 2001.128.In 1945, Mona Lisa returned to the Louvre after World War II.129.Memphis, Tennessee, the first Piggly wiggly, opened in 1916, which is the first truly self selected supermarket.130.Around 1930, Mussolini and the Italian Fascist Party headquarters.131.At the end of World War II, the Soviet sniper Lyudmila pavrichenko, who had killed 309 enemies, was the most capable female sniper in history.132.In 1963, John Lennon was at Abbey Road studio.133.In 1943, German soldiers took a break and played with a kitten.134.Staff canteen of Disneyland in 1961.135.The first McDonald's uncle, Willard Scott.136.A steamboat on the Mississippi River in 1907.137.On September 11, 2001, there was no airliner over the United States. They landed at the airport nearby. Many small airports have a lot of large wide bodied airliners parked, and they are waiting for instructions to resume.138.A Japanese plane that was killed in the battle of Saipan in 1944.139.In 1909, Tolstoy told his granddaughter a story.140.California loggers cut redwoods.141.Japanese samurai probably photographed between 1860 and 1880.142.Osama bin Laden, 14, second from the right.143.In 1999, Google employees.144.Churchill went swimming.144.In 1868, a Native American looked down on the newly built first transcontinental railway. Build the statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro.145.1911 Times Square, New York.146.Che Guevara.147.1944, London, Ronald Dahl and Hemingway.148.1870s, Fiji mountain warrior.149.In 1942, Erwin Rommel, known as "Fox of the desert", was in the western desert of the North African battlefield.150.On April 22, 1970, the first World Earth Day, more than 7000 people gathered in Philadelphia's Independence Square.continue151.In 1947, when the prisoners of war returned to Vienna, a mother was asking for information about her son.152.A worker lies on the arm of a mercury statue at Grand Central Station in New York.153.In 1891, the old Bismarck and his two dogs.154.1940 anti war protesters in Washington, D.C.155.In 1974, a Chinese martial arts delegation visited the United States. Kissinger shook hands with a young man. He later became a Chinese martial arts superstar, Jet Li.156.The crew of the Soviet cruiser "red Caucasus" and its pet bear.157.On May 3, 1963, in Birmingham, the United States, these children were arrested for violating the apartheid law.158.On November 1, 1952, the first nuclear fusion weapon, "Ivy Mack".159.March may 1871, roadblocks in the Paris Commune Movement.160.On July 21, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, Marina ginesta, a 17-year-old girl who is a member of the Youth Federation of the Communist Party of Spain, overlooks the chaotic Barcelona.161.On New Year's Eve in 1977, Shah of Iran and Jimmy Carter met. Shortly afterwards, a revolution broke out in Iran.162.In 1911, East London police disguised themselves as dockmen in an investigation into drug smuggling.163.Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Federation of fascists, East London, October 4, 1936.164.In 1925, stuntmen Gladys Roy and Ivan Unger played tennis on a flying plane.165.In 1963, Shi Guangde burned himself in South Vietnam to protest against the religious oppression of the South Vietnamese government and the United States.166.In 1914, Brooklyn bridge builders.167.In April 1954, the West Germans released balloons full of propaganda materials to the East.168.In 1935, “big” cats and “small” cat at the zoo in Tacoma, Washington.169.In October 1927, the fifth Solvay conference was held in Brussels, Belgium. This is the most complete photo of the world's heavyweight scientists.the photo includ:The Nobel Prize winners in physics are Lorentz 1902, Curie 1903, Bragg 1915, Planck 1918, Einstein 1921, Bohr 1922, Compton 1927, Heisenberg 1932, Schrodinger 1933, Dirac 1933, Pauli 1945, born 1954. The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to Madame Curie in 1911 and Debye in 1936.170.The three giants of Yalta: Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin.171.Life magazine published on December 2, 1957 has a humorous animal column. At that time, the picture title was "high-income Alpaca in big cities". The note is "Alpaca Linda is driving home on Broadway. She just finished filming a TV show on ABC New York, and now she can relax and stretch her neck to enjoy the lights on the most famous street in the world. "172.It's hard to imagine Soviet soldiers and American soldiers doing so well. After the anti fascist victory in 1945, the Soviet Union and the US army got together.173.In 1985, the guerrillas attacked the Ministry of justice of Bogot á, and even the tanks entered!174.Moscow, 1977. The lights on the tall building make up the "CCCP", which is very spectacular.175.Soviet fashion women in the 1970s.176.In 1961, ham, the first chimpanzee in space, returned to earth.177.Kennedy played "Princess and Prince" with his daughter.178.Around 1935, Ferdinand Porsche showed Hitler the Volkswagen Beetle.179.During the London bombing, St Paul's Cathedral remained intact after an air raid.180.During the 1973 oil crisis, people had a picnic on the highway.181.In 1939, people entered the temporary air raid shelter in Chongqing.182.In 1958, a car theater in the United States broadcast "Ten Commandments".183.In 1943, native people in the Pacific Ocean appreciated the F4U pirate fighter.184.1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall.185.In 1963, American pilots watched a napalm bomb attack from the cockpit in Vietnam.186.In 1990, when Eastern Europe was in chaos, a 106 year old Armenian man defended her house with a gun.187.Windows 95 is available.188."The Last Jew of Vinica," Ukraine, 1942.189.One of the best representatives of the great depression was "wandering mother" in Oklahoma in 1936. Florence Owen Thompson, 32, has seven children.190.In 1945, two Soviet soldiers held up the Soviet flag on the roof of the German parliament building in Berlin.191.In the Nanjing Massacre, which began in 1937, Japanese soldiers killed 300000 people by cruel means.192.In the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Chinese soldiers rescued a child from the ruins. This famous picture is called "unite as one, hold up life".193.The opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is known as the grandest opening ceremony in history.194.In 1956, an apartheid ice cream shop in Alabama.195.On July 16, 1969, the rocket carrying Apollo 11 broke through the sound barrier.196.In 1945, allied soldiers jeered at Hitler's Nazi gestures on the balcony of the German Chancellor's office.197.In the 1950s, Soviet soldiers fed polar bears in armored vehicles.198.1970s, Los Angeles, the bus to the beach.199.In 1938, Tibetan noble soldiers drinking tea in Suozi armour.200.In 1950, a steam engine passed the Detroit highway.This picture gives us the illusion that two times are combined.201.At the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, the Hindenburg airship flew over the main venue.202.In 1916, Diana Manas, 24, was called "the beauty of the century".203.In 1924, Lenin and Stalin.204.The cover of Time, May 19, 1980.205.On August 1, 1971, Apollo 15 members placed an aluminum sculpture "fallen astronauts" on the moon in memory of 14 American and Soviet astronauts who died in space flight or training.206.In 1944, the Soviet Union took action in baghlakion.207.On December 7, 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, New York citizens snapped up newspapers.208.In 1957, the first computer of Norwich City government was transported to the office of the financial department.209.In 1972, IRA fighters opened fire on British troops in Northern Ireland.210.In 1965, a civil rights activist was arrested during a protest in front of the Los Angeles government building.211.In the 1950s and 1960s, American real estate companies began to advertise nuclear bomb hole.212.The Kalinan diamond (star of Africa), discovered in South Africa on January 26, 1905, is the largest natural diamond raw stone to date.Top: raw stone;middle: 9 diamonds after cutting;bottom: glass imitation.213.On December 15, 1941, a week after the Pearl Harbor incident, Ruth Lee, a waitress in a Chinese restaurant, planted the flag of the Republic of China on the beach in Miami to avoid being recognized as a Japanese.214.In 1994, in Rwanda, more than 1.5 million people died in the Holocaust in three months.215.Khmer Rouge, an organized "self extinction".216.Chernobyl in 1981, the most serious nuclear accident in history. Soviet helicopters are throwing sand to bury radioactive dust.217.Tagore, an Indian poet, was the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize for literature.218.Nehru and Gandhi.219.In 1994, friends began broadcasting.220.In January 2007, the first generation of iPhone was released, which opened the "Apple mobile era".221.On July 8, 2011, during the sts-135 mission, the space shuttle Atlantis lifted off, marking the end of the space shuttle era, which lasted for 31 years.222.It's the first picture ever taken in France in 1825. It took eight hours to exposure.end

Below is a mix of cultural, technological, and grammatical differences among other things. I’ll add more as I think of them.General:If you like swimming, Queensland is a great place to live. Lots of tropical islands to explore, rainforest, and great weather.Mosquitos are quite ferocious at dusk in Queensland, so if you are the type to get bitten easily, be prepared.Size:Australia as a country is much bigger than it is depicted on American maps.Sometimes tourists come to Sydney and plan to drive to Uluru (Ayers Rock) for the day, without realising the distance they have to cover making this impossible.For a comparison:The majority of the population lives on the coast, or within the coastal regions.BeerAustralian Beers are stronger than American, in terms of percentage of alcohol.If you are driving here, the blood alcohol limit is 0.05%, which works out to be2 drinks in the first hour, then one each hour after that for a typical male.For a typical woman it is one drink per hour.There are heavy fines and penalties if you drink and drive here, and speed cameras are everywhere, so a GPS is a good idea. You also will be heavily fined if you hold or talk on a mobile phone while driving, so a bluetooth headset is a good option or a hands free.Wildlife:Kangaroos and wallabies are out and about around dusk and dawn. You won’t see them if you are driving on major roads, but if you are driving on country roads just be careful, as they weigh up to 100kg (190lb), and can write off your car if you hit them.They are known for hopping alongside your car, then without warning jumping in front and being hit.Despite all the nonsense memes on the internet, you won’t get attacked by spiders, snakes and crocodiles if you use a bit of common sense. Sure they live here, but they don’t all live all over Australia.Crocodiles - not found in BrisbaneThis is a picture showing crocodile distribution in Australia:Crocodiles come in two varieties in Australia, saltwater and freshwater.Freshwater crocodiles are dangerous if cornered or threatened, but will rarely attack. They can be up to 2–3 metres long. They are smaller than saltwater crocs, and have a thinner snout. They look like this:Saltwater crocodiles grow much bigger, are dangerous, and should not be provoked. They can grow up to 6 or 7 metres long, although typical size is 4–5 metres.Both species can live in either fresh or saltwater, and are found in rivers, estuaries, swamps, and even in the sea in far north Australia. They live both far inland and on the coast.There will be large yellow & black warning signs if they are in the area.Crocodiles are farmed and exported, and taste a bit like a cross between fish and chicken. They are available for purchase in some supermarkets, and specialty butchers often sell them too (along with emu, camel, goat and rabbit.)Logan (South of Brisbane) has one sighting on the crocodile map above, but there is a interesting read about that to be found here.This was an escaped pet, so it doesn’t really count, but it lived in the river for many years and grew to 3.8m in length, before being shot and later found dead after dying from its injuries.These men are posing beside the already dead crocodile…There are some reports of crocodile sightings in the Gold Coast canal, but confirmed sightings are rare and may be false.Very large lizards are found in some parts of northern Australia.Goannas are quite big, can swim, and are found in Northern NSW and further north, so could be mistaken for a small crocodile.They grow up to 2 metres and look like this:Saltwater crocodiles don’t live in Brisbane, (thankfully) and look like this:If you see a big warning sign like this, don’t swim there, and avoid going near the water’s edge. Crocodiles are stealth hunters, and can sneak up on you quietly.If camping, it is recommended to camp more than 50m from the water’s edge.If you need to go to the water’s edge, don’t stay there long, and do not clean fish or guts near the water’s edge.It is often recommended when leaving the shore, to step backwards several metres away from the water’s edge, before turning your back to walk away as you normally would, as crocodiles can leap out of the water suddenly.A man was snatched from a boat by a crocodile when fishing,however this was not in Brisbane.Jelly FishJellyfish are spotted up and down the Australian coast, from time to time, but are usually the clear “non-stinging” variety.Sometimes after storms, large blue jelly blubber wash up on the shore or float into coastal rivers, that are about the size of a small basket ball. They sting but are not particularly dangerous. They tend to be harder, more like a gel than a jelly, and look like this:Bluebottles are found up and down the Australian coast, but they are easier to avoid given their size, and are painful but not lethal.Bluebottles look like this:They are usually quite small, the gas filled bit is like 2–5cm long, sometimes bigger.If you see one in the water, don’t go near it. Try to push or splash the water away to move it away from you.They are passive, and have a long blue thread that stings if it touches you.The thread dangles in the water and can be hard to see, despite being bright blue.If you see one on the beach, or half dried, don’t touch it, as they can still sting you when it’s out of the water. People sometimes accidentally step on them when walking on the beach.If they are spotted in the water, you will see a sign like this on the shore:If you are stung by a Bluebottle, don’t apply vinegar.Hot water is considered a better treatment based on recent studies :Stingers - not found in Brisbane, but in Northern QueenslandStingers are the more harmful variety of jellyfish, and to prevent harm there are stinger nets in affected areas. Even tiny stingers can be lethal.Watch out for warning signs, if you travel to coastal or island areas inNorth Queensland.If you see a sign that looks like this, ask a local if it’s safe before going for a swim:There is stinger season, which will be well marked if you travel to places that are affected.Deadly stingers include box jellyfish, Irukandji and other varieties found further out to sea.Stinger nets are designed to keep out Box Jellyfish, which have extremely painful stings, and can kill an adult in 2–5 minutes in extreme cases, yet the intensity of their sting varies, and leaves ugly scarring if you live.Vinegar can be used as temporary treatment until an anti-venom is administered.Their size varies, but the box part of their body can be up to 14cm diameter.They have tentacles up to 2m, are clear, and are hard to spot in the water.According to wikipedia, they have eyes and can detect colour, avoiding black andred in particular.Box jellyfish come in many varieties, can look very similar to each other but are different, and while still potentially lethal, other varieties allow for longer time to get treatment if stung (~40minutes).The type on the left below is most dangerous (2–5 minutes to get treatment):Brisbane is by a river, not by the sea, and South of the region where stingers are a problem, so you don’t have to worry about stingers there, but if you go traveling to areas further North in Queensland then you will see warning signs if they are present, such as this:Irukandji are very small, and look like this (those are matches on the right):Technology:From a technological perspective, you might get a few surprises if you enjoyNetflix, Amazon, Newegg, fast internet speeds at an affordable price, connected in a timely manner, cellphone coverage (we call them mobile phones here) andfree WiFi hotspots in cities.Netflix and Amazon in America are pretty much unrestricted, but in Australia there are all types of DRM and geoblocking to get around, and there are many books, products and tv shows that are not available here. I don’t use Netflix, but I read about people complaining about how there is so little content here versus the US.If you bring any DVDs or Blurays here they won’t work unless you get a region free player.If you are buying software, or computer hardware you will notice how we get shafted compared to the rest of the world, regardless of the exchange rate. ie it’s always expensive compared to the US.Our internet services are usually capped in terms of how much you can download. TPG is a decent internet company, for a decent price. Telstra is usually the most expensive option, followed by Optus, but they offer similar or worse service and deals.Telstra own most of the infrastructure, so if you need an internet connection, expect a wait time of 2–3 weeks before it is installed. If NBN or fibre is available in your area, go for that instead.Food:We have a wide variety of food here, due to a large mix of cultures, Brisbane is quite culturally diverse, Sydney and Melbourne more so. There isn’t as much Mexican food available here, but Thai and Indian are often very popular choices. Chinese food is a mix of “real” Chinese and “Western style” Chinese cuisine.American style coffee isn’t very popular here. The coffee we have here is considered vastly superior, if you like Italian style coffee. Starbucks was popular for a brief period when it first arrived, then were forced to shut down 60 stores because they weren’t that popular versus the type of coffee people prefer here. More info here.Weather:The Queensland (QLD) weather could be a shock, depending on where in the US you are from. In summer it can be very hot. The sun in Australia is much stronger than many expect, which is the reason so many tourists turn pink and burn.SPF 30+ sunscreen is the minimum used for protection, if you have fair skin, SPF 50+ or zinc sunscreen can be used instead. Zinc sunscreen is the white coloured stuff you see on this man’s face:It also comes in other bright colours, if you want to make a statement:Swimming shirts, or “rash vests” are increasingly popular to wear at the beach or for water sports, in addition to wearing sunscreen. They look like this picture below, and come in long sleeve varieties as well. They are made from a quick drying synthetic fabric, are very stretchy and quite comfortable.If you have fair skin, a swimming shirt will provide water proof, long term sun protection, and are much more reliable that using sunscreen, which often washes off, or is absorbed even if it says waterproof for 4 hours on the bottle.Sunscreen has an expiry date, and old sunscreen doesn’t always work as effectively.If you are outside for 10 minutes or longer, a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen is highly recommended. Winter doesn’t get very cold, you won’t ever have to worry about shoveling snow.Cars:The cars we drive are right-hand drive, and we drive on the left. If you’ve never been to Australia before, just be careful when you cross the road, as most tourists look left before crossing the road, when here you should look right.A lot of American cars are not available here, but you do see them from time to time. We have a lot of European and Asian car brands here.Our public health system is pretty decent, so if you have to go to hospital or sustain any injuries here, it is much cheaper than in the US system. Our system again is similar to Canada’s.Metric system:kilograms (kg) instead of lbcentimetres (cm) instead of incheskilometres (km) instead of mileslitres (L) instead of gallonsMore listed here.We use the metric system, so if you aren’t familiar with it, have a read first as you will see it used pretty much everywhere. We understand both systems, but the default is always metric. If you want a conversion, type it into Google and it will do the calculation for you.Fuel /Gas:When buying fuel, we call it fuel, petrol, LPG or diesel. If you say you’re going to the “gas station” here it’s called a “petrol station”. The term Gas is used to describe gas bottles such as propane (for BBQs) or LPG (for cars).School:Vacation = Holiday.School = up to the age of 18College/University = over 18Humour & grammar:Our humour is different. In Australia it is considered normal to make fun of each other, our leaders, and our country. Our humour is very similar to Canadian humour.We have lots of u’s that are not in American English, but if you leave them out, nobody cares. Australians read American English all the time, and are very forgiving of spelling and pronunciation.We might comment on your accent, but you will probably comment on ours being quite flat by comparison. There is a lot of slang used here that can be confusing at first, but they have books at the airport if you want to come prepared.Freedom of speech is a US thing, and while you can speak freely in Australia, there are restrictions, and due to our multi cultural mix, some topics that are ok to discuss in some cultures are highly offensive in others. You’ll get the idea after a week or two of the differences here.Political system:Our political system is quite different too. Many people I know ignore politicians completely, because 90% of what they say they will do, they do not once they are in power.The battle between either side is to stay in power, not to help the country or solve the people’s problems. There is a website that someone made listing all the promises that were made before the election, followed by how many had been addressed, and the vast majority were broken promises.Question time in Australian politics often feels like a heated teenage argument ina high school, and ranges from embarrassing to shameful when watched,versus what we see reported in footage of question time held in other countries.For more information about Australia, click below:Further reading…