Tides are primarily caused by the moon's gravitational pull on Earth's oceans, which creates bulges of water on both the side closest to and farthest from the moon. The sun's gravity also contributes to tides, but to a lesser extent. The moon's gravity is the main driver of tides, especially when the moon and sun are aligned, resulting in higher tides during full and new moons.

Here's a more detailed explanation:

1. The Moon's Gravitational Influence:

The Moon's gravity exerts a differential force on Earth, pulling water towards it and creating a bulge on the side of Earth closest to the Moon.

Because of inertia, water also bulges out on the opposite side of Earth, away from the Moon.

These bulges are the high tides, and the areas between them are the low tides.

2. The Sun's Influence:

The Sun also has a gravitational effect on Earth's tides, but it's less powerful than the Moon's due to the Moon's closer proximity.

The Sun's gravitational pull contributes to higher tides during full and new moons, when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned.

3. Spring Tides:

When the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned (during full and new moons), their gravitational forces combine, leading to higher high tides and lower low tides, called spring tides.

Spring tides are typically 20% higher than normal and occur twice a month, coinciding with the full and new moons.

4. Neap Tides:

When the Sun, Earth, and Moon form a right angle (during the first and third quarter moons), their gravitational forces partially cancel each other out, resulting in lower high tides and higher low tides, called neap tides.

5. Other Factors:

The shape of the Earth's coastlines and the depth of the ocean also influence tide patterns.

Tidal friction between the Moon and Earth is also slowly slowing down Earth's rotation.

The Olmecs (/ˈɒlmɛks, ˈoʊl-/) or Olmec were an early known major Mesoamerican civilization, flourishing in the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco from roughly 1200 to 400 BCE during Mesoamerica's formative period. They were initially centered at the site of their development in San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, but moved to La Venta in the 10th century BCE following the decline of San Lorenzo. The Olmecs disappeared mysteriously in the 4th century BCE, leaving the region sparsely populated until the 19th century.

Among other "firsts", the Olmec appeared to practice ritual bloodletting and played the Mesoamerican ballgame, hallmarks of nearly all subsequent Mesoamerican societies. The aspect of the Olmecs most familiar now is their artwork, particularly the colossal heads. The Olmec civilization was first defined through artifacts which collectors purchased on the pre-Columbian art market in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Olmec artworks are considered among ancient America's most striking.

Origins:

Pre-Olmec cultures had flourished since about 2500 BCE, and it has been speculated that the Olmecs derived in part from the neighboring Mokaya or Mixe–Zoque cultures which developed during this time. The beginnings of Olmec civilization have traditionally been placed between 1400 BCE and 1200 BCE. Past finds of Olmec remains ritually deposited at the shrine El Manatí near the triple archaeological sites known collectively as San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán moved this back to at least 1600–1500 BCE.  It seems that the Olmec had their roots in early farming cultures of Tabasco, which began between 5100 BCE and 4600 BCE. These shared the same basic food crops and technologies of the later Olmec civilization.

What is today called Olmec first appeared fully within San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, where distinctive Olmec features occurred around 1400 BCE. The rise of civilization was assisted by the local ecology of well-watered alluvial soil, as well as by the transportation network provided by the Coatzacoalcos river basin. This environment may be compared to that of other ancient centers of civilization such as the Nile, Indus, Yellow River and Mesopotamia. This highly productive environment encouraged a densely concentrated population, which in turn triggered the rise of an elite class.

The elite class created the demand for the production of the symbolic and sophisticated luxury artifacts that define Olmec culture. Many of these luxury artifacts were made from materials such as jade, obsidian, and magnetite, which came from distant locations and suggest that early Olmec elites had access to an extensive trading network in Mesoamerica. The source of the most valued jade was the Motagua River valley in eastern Guatemala, and Olmec obsidian has been traced to sources in the Guatemala highlands, such as El Chayal and San Martín Jilotepeque, or in Puebla, distances ranging from 200 to 400 km (120–250 miles) away, respectively.

1530 BCE.

Mansa Musa (reigned c. 1312 – c. 1337) was the ninth Mansa of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign. Musa's reign is often regarded as the zenith of Mali's power and prestige, although he features less in Mandinka oral traditions than his predecessors.

He was exceptionally wealthy to an extent that he was described as being inconceivably rich by contemporaries; Time magazine reported: "There's really no way to put an accurate number on his wealth." It is known from local manuscripts and travellers' accounts that Mansa Musa's wealth came principally from the Mali Empire's control and taxing of the trade in salt from northern regions and especially from gold panned and mined in Bambuk and Bure to the south. Over a very long period Mali had amassed a large reserve of gold. Mali is also believed to have been involved in the trade in many goods such as ivory, slaves, spices, silks, and ceramics. However, presently little is known about the extent or mechanics of these trades. At the time of Musa's ascension to the throne, Mali consisted largely of the territory of the former Ghana Empire, which had become a vassal of Mali. The Mali Empire comprised land that is now part of Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, the Gambia, and the modern state of Mali.

Musa went on Hajj to Mecca in 1324, traveling with an enormous entourage and a vast supply of gold. En route he spent time in Cairo, where his lavish gift-giving is said to have noticeably affected the value of gold in Egypt and garnered the attention of the wider Muslim world. Musa expanded the borders of the Mali Empire, in particular incorporating the cities of Gao and Timbuktu into its territory. He sought closer ties with the rest of the Muslim world, particularly the Mamluk and Marinid Sultanates. He recruited scholars from the wider Muslim world to travel to Mali, such as the Andalusian poet Abu Ishaq al-Sahili, and helped establish Timbuktu as a center of Islamic learning. His reign is associated with numerous construction projects, including a portion of Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu.

Mansa Musa's personal name was Musa (Arabic: موسى, romanized: Mūsá), the name of Moses in Islam. Mansa, 'ruler' or 'king' in Mandé, was the title of the ruler of the Mali Empire.

In oral tradition and the Timbuktu Chronicles, Musa is further known as Kanku Musa. In Mandé tradition, it was common for one's name to be prefixed by his mother's name, so the name Kanku Musa means "Musa, son of Kanku", although it is unclear whether the genealogy implied is literal. Al-Yafii gave Musa's name as Musa ibn Abi Bakr ibn Abi al-Aswad (Arabic: موسى بن أبي بكر بن أبي الأسود, romanized: Mūsā ibn Abī Bakr ibn Abī al-Aswad), and ibn Hajar gave Musa's name as Musa ibn Abi Bakr Salim al-Takruri (Arabic: موسى بن أبي بكر سالم التكروري, romanized: Mūsā ibn Abī Bakr Salim al-Takruri).

Musa is often given the title Hajji in oral tradition because he made hajj. In the Songhai language, rulers of Mali such as Musa were known as the Mali-koi, koi being a title that conveyed authority over a region: in other words, the "ruler of Mali".

Pilgrimage to Mecca:

Musa was a Muslim, and his hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, made him well known across North Africa and the Middle East. To Musa, Islam was "an entry into the cultured world of the Eastern Mediterranean". He would have spent much time fostering the growth of the religion within his empire. When Musa departed Mali for the Hajj, he left his son Muhammad to rule in his absence.

Musa made his pilgrimage between 1324 and 1325, spanning 2700 miles. His procession reportedly included upwards of 12,000 slaves, all wearing brocade and Yemeni silk and each carrying 1.8 kg (4 lb) of gold bars, with heralds dressed in silks bearing gold staffs organizing horses and handling bags.[citation needed]

Musa provided all necessities for the procession, feeding the entire company of men and animals. Those animals included 80 camels, which each carried 23–136 kg (50–300 lb) of gold dust. Musa gave the gold to the poor he met along his route. Musa not only gave to the cities he passed on the way to Mecca, including Cairo and Medina, but also traded gold for souvenirs. It was reported that he built a mosque every Friday. Shihab al-Din al-'Umari, who visited Cairo shortly after Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca, noted that it was "a lavish display of power, wealth, and unprecedented by its size and pageantry".[51] Musa made a major point of showing off his nation's wealth.

Musa and his entourage arrived at the outskirts of Cairo in July 1324. They camped for three days by the Pyramids of Giza before crossing the Nile into Cairo on 19 July. While in Cairo, Musa met with the Mamluk sultan al-Nasir Muhammad, whose reign had already seen one mansa, Sakura, make the Hajj. Al-Nasir expected Musa to prostrate himself before him, which Musa initially refused to do. When Musa did finally bow he said he was doing so for God alone.

Despite this initial awkwardness, the two rulers got along well and exchanged gifts. Musa and his entourage gave and spent freely while in Cairo. Musa stayed in the Qarafa district of Cairo and befriended its governor, ibn Amir Hajib, who learned much about Mali from him. Musa stayed in Cairo for three months, departing on 18 October with the official caravan to Mecca.

Musa's generosity continued as he traveled onward to Mecca, and he gave gifts to fellow pilgrims and the people of Medina and Mecca. While in Mecca, conflict broke out between a group of Malian pilgrims and a group of Turkic pilgrims in the Masjid al-Haram. Swords were drawn, but before the situation escalated further, Musa persuaded his men to back down.

Musa and his entourage lingered in Mecca after the last day of the Hajj. Traveling separately from the main caravan, their return journey to Cairo was struck by catastrophe. By the time they reached Suez, many of the Malian pilgrims had died of cold, starvation, or bandit raids, and they had lost much of their supplies.

 Having run out of money, Musa and his entourage were forced to borrow money and resell much of what they had purchased while in Cairo before the Hajj, and Musa went into debt to several merchants such as Siraj al-Din. However, Al-Nasir Muhammad returned Musa's earlier show of generosity with gifts of his own.

On his return journey, Musa met the Andalusi poet Abu Ishaq al-Sahili, whose eloquence and knowledge of jurisprudence impressed him, and whom he convinced to travel with him to Mali. Other scholars Musa brought to Mali included Maliki jurists.

According to the Tarikh al-Sudan, the cities of Gao and Timbuktu submitted to Musa's rule as he traveled through on his return to Mali. It is unlikely, however, that a group of pilgrims, even if armed, would have been able to conquer a wealthy and powerful city. According to one account given by ibn Khaldun, Musa's general Saghmanja conquered Gao. The other account claims that Gao had been conquered during the reign of Mansa Sakura. Mali's control of Gao may have been weak, requiring powerful mansas to reassert their authority periodically, or it might simply be an error on the part of al-Sadi, author of the Tarikh.

Trey Knowles’ “I Face Death Every Day” is a powerful reflection on the dangers and delusions of modern life. It challenges us to examine what we consume—both mentally and physically—what we pursue, and why we willingly risk our well-being. Living under the spell of a corrupt system, the song questions whether this path aligns with any divine purpose.

 An intergalactic war refers to a hypothetical conflict between civilizations from different galaxies, a concept commonly explored in science fiction. It's distinct from interstellar war, which involves conflicts between systems within the same galaxy, and interplanetary war, which occurs between planets within the same planetary system.

Key aspects of intergalactic war in a sci-fi context:

Space Opera Genre:

The concept of intergalactic war is a popular plot device in the space opera subgenre of science fiction, often featuring large-scale space battles and exploration of different alien cultures.

Inter-galaxy Conflict:

Intergalactic war, in a sci-fi context, implies a conflict between civilizations that inhabit different galaxies, potentially involving vast distances, complex political landscapes, and diverse technological capabilities.

Trey Knowles’ song “Self-Control” reflects on the transformative experience of being born again and made new in Christ. It emphasizes the power of praising and thanking God for the gift of self-control, which empowers believers to reject ungodliness and live a renewed life through Christ.

Trey Knowles’ “Behavior of Matter” is a wild allegory comedy in which celestial AI invaders adopt human mannerisms and arm the Slavs with deadly know‑how to assert their dominance. In branding one‑third of Earth’s population “inferior,” these so‑called “master race” experiments implode, unleashing a riotous Slavonic Apocalypse. Brimming with sharp wit and imaginative twists, this satire will keep your mind--and your funny bone--on its toes.

 The Rise and Fall of the Moors: The World's First Black European Royals

Trey Knowles’ “Tenoch, Give Them Fruit.” The most feared Indigenous Aztec warrior returns from the Aztec pyramids to encourage people to stand against their oppressors.    

Tenoch's experience brings hope, your ancestors died the same way the enemy came and stole, killed, and oppressed the people of America. But you have the power. This song is in Spanish and English.   

“Tenoch Dales Fruto” de Trey Knowles. El guerrero indígena azteca más temido regresa de las pirámides aztecas para animar a la gente a plantar cara a su opresor. 

La experiencia de Tenoch trae esperanza: tus antepasados murieron de la misma manera que el enemigo llegó y robó, mató y oprimió al pueblo de América. Pero tú tienes el poder. Esta canción está en español e inglés.

Trey Knowles’ “Islam Get the Sword” Let us submit to God, let us pierce our hearts, and let our struggles be broken for the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart in which we live.

In his comedy "Leo," Trey Knowles humorously reminds people of Jesus' teaching not to call any man on Earth "father," as there is only one Father in heaven. With a playful tone, he suggests that this principle calls into question the authority of figures like the Pope, encouraging trust in spiritual truth rather than in earthly titles.

Trey Knowles' “We Are Soldiers” is a powerful message of perseverance to never give up and always fight and stand in righteousness by never letting your light burn out.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are unable to effectively monitor more than 600,000 children who illegally crossed the southern border unaccompanied by a guardian since 2019, according to a new report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.

The report said that hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children entered the country and were transferred from ICE to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement. Of those children, however, 233,000 have not yet been served notices to appear in immigration court by ICE as of this week, the report said.

As of last October, more than 43,000 unaccompanied children who were served with court orders did not show up for scheduled court dates. In addition, 31,000 of those who were released to sponsors had release forms that did not include addresses, had missing apartment numbers or were undeliverable, the inspector general’s office said in its report.

Officials also indicated ICE was not always aware of the location of unaccompanied children who ran away from sponsors they were assigned.

Reuters, citing an internal memo, reported this week that ICE has responded with a four-phase implementation plan to track down the missing migrant children and deport them as part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan. The agency did not immediately respond to an email from NewsNation seeking comment about the agency’s plan.

In response to the report, however, the Trump administration overhauled a provision that was included in the Federal Register that prevented the HHS ORR division from sharing information about unaccompanied migrant children with other law enforcement or immigration enforcement agency. The amendment went into effect immediately after the order to remove the previous restriction on information sharing.

Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari determined that ICE was ineffective in overseeing those migrant children who were designated to be deported by not issuing court orders to appear that would have added court dates for the 233,000 unaccompanied children who were never given court dates.

However, the report said part of the agency’s shortcomings in monitoring these migrant children were due to staffing shortages and because it did not have policies in place to ensure that all officers monitor the cases.

Officials also noted ICE does not have an automated process for sharing information internally with several departments and agencies and has not developed a policy for unaccompanied migrant children who do not show up for scheduled court dates.

“Without an ability to monitor the location and status of UACs, ICE is unable to facilitate court appearances and has no assurances (migrant children) are safe from trafficking, exploitation, forced labor or involvement in criminal activities that may pose a risk to local communities,” Cuffari wrote in the report.

Totalitarianism is a political system where the state wields absolute control over all aspects of public and private life, aiming for complete societal transformation according to a specific ideology.

Here's a breakdown of its key features:

1. Total Control by the State:

The government regulates and dictates virtually every facet of society, from the economy and education to culture, religion, and even personal relationships.

Individual liberties and freedoms are suppressed, with the state prioritizing its own goals and objectives above all else.

2. Single-Party Rule & Charismatic Leader:

Power is typically concentrated in the hands of a single political party and a powerful leader (often a dictator) who embodies the state's ideology.

Opposition parties and dissent are not tolerated, and the leader's authority is absolute and unquestioned.

3. Ideology & Propaganda:

Totalitarian regimes promote a specific ideology that dictates all aspects of life and justifies the state's control.

Propaganda is extensively used to indoctrinate citizens, shape public opinion, and maintain the regime's power.

4. Suppression of Dissent & Use of Terror:

Dissenting voices and any form of opposition are brutally suppressed through censorship, surveillance, and the use of secret police or military force.

A climate of fear and intimidation is often cultivated to deter any challenges to the regime's authority.

5. Examples:

Historically, notable examples of totalitarian regimes include Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler, the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, and North Korea under the Kim dynasty.

In essence, totalitarianism represents an extreme form of government where the state seeks to dominate and control every aspect of its citizens' lives, leaving little room for individual freedom or autonomy.

Trey Knowles' "Me Versus Tenant". The track presents a dramatic allegory where the servant Noble Drew Ali and Trey Knowles take the Tenant to court for mistreating the vineyard. The Tenant, unwilling to relinquish control, reacts with hostility, leading to a deeper conflict. The story unfolds with themes of sovereignty, justice, and ultimate reckoning. The Tenant in this song represents the Jewish religious leaders, the chief priests, and the Pharisees. The vineyard represents God's people, the Israelites. The servants represent those who were sent to warn and guide God's people about the Tenants.