This category is devoted to sites for and about the United States of America, a federal democratic republic in North America which declared independence from Britain July 4, 1776 and ratified its present Constitution September 20, 1787. Its capital city is Washington, in the District of Columbia (DC).

The US occupies 9,629,091 sq km in 50 states plus DC; its possessions include a variety of Pacific, Atlantic, and Caribbean islands. It is a preeminent nation-state in terms of economic power, diversity, and technology; population and land area; and military strength.

Date Added: Dec 5, 2007 Hits: 0 Rating: 0.00 Votes: 0

Date Added: Dec 5, 2007 Hits: 0 Rating: 0.00 Votes: 0

Sites pertaining to the Federal government, including the branches, laws, militaries, agencies, documents, employment.

Date Added: Dec 5, 2007 Hits: 0 Rating: 0.00 Votes: 0

Sites for and about the United States military, including those addressing the organization of the armed forces, active and retired personnel and their families, equipment, operations, related associations, and history as it pertains to the specific branches.

Date Added: Dec 5, 2007 Hits: 0 Rating: 0.00 Votes: 0

Publicly-accessible official and unofficial US Army sites. The goal for this area is to evolve into an accessibly useful interface for Netizens, not to maintain militarily correct organization.

This area will not be used to promote sites with limited military information or for financial gain, such as real estate agencies with general information about a particular geographic location.

Date Added: Dec 5, 2007 Hits: 0 Rating: 0.00 Votes: 0

Sites relating to US Army Training and Education.

Date Added: Dec 5, 2007 Hits: 0 Rating: 0.00 Votes: 0

This category is for listing sites that concern the make up of the local community: its people, its history, and resources and institutions that serve the people. Subjects include religion, clubs and lodges, reunions, women, men, seniors, kids, teens, activism, alternative sexuality, genealogy, and personal home pages.

Date Added: Dec 5, 2007 Hits: 0 Rating: 0.00 Votes: 0

Open Directory - Regional: North America: United States: Science and Environment

Date Added: Dec 5, 2007 Hits: 0 Rating: 0.00 Votes: 0

Cultural and historical reasons have led to a highly decentralized and diversified education system in the American Republic. There are no federal or national institutions save for the military academies, and within most states control of local school districts is devolved to a locally elected school board of non-professionals. Thus, the exact methods, curricula, standards, and practices in education vary from district to district and from state to state.

Elementary and secondary education is funded by state or local governments and free to the student; slightly more than 11% of the national student population is enrolled in private education, which range from independent boarding schools to parochial schools operated by Catholic dioceses and orders to schools operated by for-profit consortia. A growing number of students are also home-schooled by their families or private tutors.

In most states, education begins at age 5, when children are enrolled in kindergarten. Kindergarten is followed by first grade and then four or five more years of elementary school. After elementary education, students enroll in so-called middle school or junior high school, which encompasses grades 6-8, 7-8, or 7-9 depending on the local practice. High school, i.e. senior high school follows for grades 9-12 or 10-12 depending on the local practice. The high school years are also referred to as freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years.

Starting in 2002, students are required to take periodic standardized achievement tests to be used to rate their performance and that of their schools and districts. K-12 education reformers have succeeded in different areas at creating charter schools, which release a school from certain regulations under a contract to exceed performance; magnet schools, which draw students from a wide area to focus on a particular subject; and school choice programs, in which parents are permitted to select the school their child will attend.

During the eleventh or twelfth grades, students intending to pursue higher education apply to postsecondary institutions and take a battery of national examinations known by their initials, such as PSAT/NMSQT, SAT/SAT II, ACT, ASVAB, ELPT, AP, CLEP, and IB. For those who do not, education is typically compulsory between the ages of 6 or 7 and 16. Those without a high school diploma can complete a course known as the GED as adults, which is considered equivalent.

Most students continue to post-secondary education, generally referred to as college (i.e. the stage of education, regardless of whether the institution is named a "college," "university," or "institute"). All states sponsor subsidized universities or specialized college systems, and there exist a substantial number of private institutions. The federal government sponsors a number of financial aid programs for higher education in the form of loans, grants, work-study, community service grant, and military service grant programs.

In the case of a junior college or community college, the student enrolls in a two-year proram resulting in an associate's degree, usually resulting in certification in a career field. Larger colleges and universities grant bachelor's degrees (e.g. A.B., B.S.) after a 4-year program, although some specialized degrees (e.g. B.Arch, B.F.A.) are stipulated to be 5-year programs.

Post-graduate education for masters, doctorate, or professional degrees such as the M.D., J.D., or Ph.D. is supported by the university systems and in some cases by specialized institutions. Continuing education programs are sponsored by many institutions, and cooperative extension programs are required of "land grant" and "sea grant" universities which received land or funding from the federal government at their founding.

The U.S. claims a literacy rate exceeding 97%.

Date Added: Dec 5, 2007 Hits: 0 Rating: 0.00 Votes: 0

Afghanistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, covering an area of 647,500 sq.km. It is bounded to the west by Iran, to the south and the east by Pakistan, to the north by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and to the north east by the Peoples Republic of China.

The geography of Afghanistan is dominated by mountains. The Hindu Kush sweeps down from the north east through the central regions of the country and flattens out into the deserts of the southwest plateau. On either side of the mountains, to the north and to the east, the land is more fertile, and it is in these areas that most agricultural activity takes place.

Afghanistan is an Islamic country, with a majority of Sunni Muslims and a minority of Shia Muslims. The ethnic composition of the people is: Pashtu 38%, Tajik 25%, Hazara 19%, Uzbek 6% and various other ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch and others) making up the remaining 12%. The official languages of the country are Dari and Pashtu.

For detailed information on Afghanistan, see the country profile provided by the Afghanistan Information Management Service.

Date Added: Dec 6, 2007 Hits: 1 Rating: 0.00 Votes: 0