The French Flag

The flag of France, most recently adopted on 4 October 1958,

features three vertical stripesblue, white, and redthe colors of
the French Revolution. Red and blue symbolize Paris, where the
main revolution was fought, and white is the color of royalty.

The American Flag

The flag of the United States of America, most recently adopted
on 4 July 1960, is red and white striped with a panel of blue in the
upper left-hand corner. The panel of blue features 50 white stars,
each representing a different state. Each of the 13 stripes
represents one of the original 13 colonies.
Why Did the Roman Empire Fall Apart?
There is no one single
reason, but a series of
problems that grew too
large to solve. The
empire grew too large to
govern. The Romans
tried to solve this by
dividing the empire. The
Romans no longer wanted to serve in the army. The
Romans tried to solve this by hiring barbarians to fight for
them. Civil wars broke out in Rome between different
factions. The rich grew disinterested in helping Rome and
only wanted more for themselves and their families. The
population of Rome shrank. Trade decreased while taxes
and prices increased. The poor were overtaxed. The use of
slaves put people out of work.
The Romans were aware of these problems and sometimes,
under a good emperor, they would work on them for a
while. In time, the good emperor would be gone and a bad
one would take his place. Soon the problems in the
Western Roman Empire grew so great that the Western
(European) Roman empire fell to barbarian tribes in
Europe.
 The Life of George Washington
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in
Westmoreland County, Virginia, although he grew up near
Fredericksburg. In his childhood and adolescence, he studied math
and surveying. When he was 16, he went to live with his brother
Lawrence in Mount Vernon.
George was scarred with Smallpox before the age of 20, but
inherited his brothers land (including Mt. Vernon) when he died
in 1752.
Washingtons military
career began in 1753, when he
was sent into Ohio country
during the French and Indian
War to protect British interests
in the area. In 1754, he battled
the French and was forced to
surrender Fort Necessity (near
present-day Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania). He continued as
an officer in Ohio country, and
served under the British
general Edward Braddock when their army was ambushed by the
French in 1755. Once again, Washington tasted defeat after their
surrender of Fort Duquesne to French forces. Luckily for the future
United States, the French agreed to release him rather than keep
him as a prisoner. He helped take Fort Duquesne back in 1758.
80 Percent of Schools
Lack Sufficient
Internet
ARLINGTON, VA. Needed to keep a school
building running these days: Water,
electricity and broadband.

Interactive digital learning on laptops and

tablets is replacing traditional textbooks
in many cases. Students are taking
computer-based tests instead of fill-in-the
bubble exams. Teachers are accessing far-
off resources for lessons.

Technology is changing the way students are

taught and tested. But there's a catch: Most of it is occurring in schools that have
rich connectivity to the Internet.

Although nearly every school has Internet access, classrooms frequently are not
connected or the connections are super slow.

The hurdle is limited capacity inside schools to transmit data, or bandwidth.

"It's the backbone. We have to actually think not just about the sustainability of the
current traffic, we're talking about exploding traffic," said Raj Adusumilli, assistant
superintendent for information services in the Arlington Public Schools in northern
Virginia.

The effort to get high-speed Internet access in every school got a boost Wednesday from
the philanthropy of two technology gurus Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg and
Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates. Zuckerberg's Startup: Education and Gates'
foundation have contributed a combined $9 million to the nonprofit
EducationSuperHighway, a San Francisco-based nonprofit working to improve connectivity
in schools.

"When schools and teachers have access to reliable Internet connections, students can
discover new skills and ideas beyond the classroom," Mr. Zuckerberg said in a
statement.

The funds are expected to be used to provide technical expertise to schools and use
competition to help drive costs down.

It likely would cost billions to get high-speed Internet access to every school in
America.