Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Sonnet Ireland
Head of Federal Documents and Microforms
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Liaison Librarian:
Marketing; Planning and Urban Studies; Political Science
A blog designed to help you keep up with pressing issues. It also serves to bring to light federal documents that might otherwise be overlooked.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Watch Obama's New Term, Women in Combat, GOP Recovery and Benghazi on PBS. See more from Washington Week.
This isolated island was named for John CLIPPERTON, a pirate who made it his hideout early in the 18th century. Annexed by France in 1855, it was seized by Mexico in 1897. Arbitration eventually awarded the island to France, which took possession in 1935With an area of 6 sq km, it is about 12 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC.
CIA World Factbook
Although 115 species of fish have been identified in the territorial waters of Clipperton Island, the only economic activity is tuna fishing.
CIA World Factbook
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Watch Obama's Gun Violence Policies and Second-Term Priorities on PBS. See more from Washington Week.
Watch Obama's Gun Violence Policies and Second-Term Priorities on PBS. See more from Washington Week.
Named in 1643 for the day of its discovery, the island was annexed and settlement began by the UK in 1888. Phosphate mining began in the 1890s. The UK transferred sovereignty to Australia in 1958. Almost two-thirds of the island has been declared a national park.With an area of 135 sq km, it is three quarters the size of Washington, DC.
Cia World Factbook
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, MAO's successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight. China since the early 1990s has increased its global outreach and participation in international organizations.With an area of 9,596,961 sq km, it is slightly smaller than the United States.
CIA World Factbook
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Watch Fiscal cliff fallout and the 113th Congress on PBS. See more from Washington Week.
Prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, the Inca ruled northern Chile while the indigenous Mapuche inhabited central and southern Chile. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-83), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern regions. It was not until the 1880s that the Mapuche Indians were completely subjugated. After a series of elected governments, the three-year-old Marxist government of Salvador ALLENDE was overthrown in 1973 by a military coup led by Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a freely elected president was installed in 1990. Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, have contributed to steady growth, reduced poverty rates by over half, and have helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government. Chile has increasingly assumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its status as a stable, democratic nation.With an area of 756,102 sq km, it is slightly smaller than twice the size of the U.S. state of Montana.
CIA World Factbook