A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, participatory or Soviet-type forms of economic planning. The level of centralization or decentralization in decision-making and participation depends on the specific type of planning mechanism employed.Socialist states based on the Soviet model have used central planning, although a minority such as the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia have adopted...

The pomerium or pomoerium was a religious boundary around the city of Rome and cities controlled by Rome. In legal terms, Rome existed only within its pomerium; everything beyond it was simply territory (ager) belonging to Rome. == Name == The term pōmērium is a classical contraction of the Latin phrase post moerium, literally "behind/beyond the wall". The Roman historian Livy writes in his Ab Urbe Condita that, although the etymology implies a meaning referring to a single side of the wall, the pomerium was originally an area of ground on both sides of city walls. He states that it was an Etruscan...

"Darwin among the Machines" is an article published in The Press newspaper on 13 June 1863 in Christchurch, New Zealand, which references the work of Charles Darwin in the title. Written by Samuel Butler but signed Cellarius (q.v.), the article raised the possibility that machines were a kind of "mechanical life" undergoing constant evolution, and that eventually machines might supplant humans as the dominant species: We refer to the question: What sort of creature man’s next successor in the supremacy of the earth is likely to be. We have often heard this debated; but it appears to us that we...

Samuel Butler (4 December 1835 – 18 June 1902) was an English novelist and critic, best known for the satirical utopian novel Erewhon (1872) and the semi-autobiographical novel Ernest Pontifex or The Way of All Flesh, published posthumously in 1903 in an altered version titled The Way of All Flesh, and published in 1964 as he wrote it. Both novels have remained in print since their initial publication. In other studies he examined Christian orthodoxy, evolutionary thought, and Italian art, and made prose translations of the Iliad and Odyssey that are still consulted. == Early life == Butler was...

Savely Viktorovich Kramarov (Russian: Саве́лий Ви́кторович Кра́маров; 13 October 1934 – 6 June 1995) was a Soviet, Russian and American actor. He acted in at least 42 Soviet films, and later appeared in several more after his immigration to the United States. == Early life == Savely Kramarov was born 13 October 1934 to Jewish parents: father Viktor Savelyevich Kramarov (Виктор Савельевич Крамаров), a prominent Moscow attorney, and mother Benedikta Solomonovna "Basya" Kramarova (née Volchek) (Бенедиктa Соломоновнa "Бася" Крамарова (Волчек)). When young Savely was only three years old, the elder...

Karen Georgievich Shakhnazarov, PAR (Russian: Каре́н Гео́ргиевич Шахназа́ров; born 8 July 1952) is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. He became the Director General of Mosfilm studios in 1998. Shakhnazarov is the son of a Georgy Shakhnazarov, a politician of Armenian descent, and a Russian housewife, Anna Grigorievna Shakhnazarova.His 1987 film Courier was entered into the 15th Moscow International Film Festival, where it won a Special Prize. In 2002 he was a member of the jury at the 24th Moscow International Film Festival. Since 2005 he has been a member of the Public...

Courier (Russian: Курьер, romanized: Kuryer), also known as Messenger Boy is a 1986 Soviet comedy-drama film directed by Karen Shakhnazarov. It was entered into the 15th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Special Prize. == Plot == Ivan Miroshnikov, а 17-year-old high school graduate, fails to enter university and gets fixed up with a job as a courier (delivery person) in a small publishing company. At the same time his parents get divorced. His ironic and careless attitude to his new miserable job covers the deep confusion of his soul. By pure accident he meets a girl named Katya...

Winter Evening in Gagra (Russian: Зимний вечер в Гаграх, romanized: Zimniy vecher v Gagrakh) is a 1985 musical film directed by Karen Shakhnazarov. == Plot == Rapid rhythm and playful virtuoso improvisation - that's what tap dance is. The protagonist of the film who once was a famous tap dancer, an idol of the public, lives today modestly and discreetly. He is a dance tutor for pop groups where the other stars shine. And suddenly everything changes: the old artist suddenly remembers his youth. A somewhat strange encounter with a young man who comes with a broken leg affects him; the man asks to...

Zola Budd (also known as Zola Pieterse; born 26 May 1966) is a South African middle-distance and long-distance runner. She competed at the 1984 Olympic Games for Great Britain and the 1992 Olympic Games for South Africa, both times in the 3000 metres. In 1984 (unratified) and 1985, she broke the world record in the 5000 metres. She was also a two-time winner at the World Cross Country Championships (1985–1986). Budd mainly trained and raced barefoot. Her mile best of 4:17.57 in 1985, still stands as the British record. She returned to South Africa in 1989, and represented South Africa at the 1992...