Entertainment is a leisure activity consisting of an event and an audience that views the event and participates. This participation can be subtle, as in Theatres: Film, Opera or stageshows, or Orchestral symphony concerts wherein the applause due the performance or performing artists would be bad manners. In contrast, the sports entertainment industry feeds off audience participation— who can imagine the strange event attending a pro-wrestling bout, basketball or baseball game without cheering or booing the participants would experentially being happy.

The industry that provides entertainment is called the entertainment industry, and one distinction between what is meant by the term is the voluntary participation of the party being entertained, which may be passive (Opera) or active (Frantic shoot-em-up computer games) and the whole gamut of industry supported diversions in between (Baseball, Concerts, Football, Books, Television, film , striptease, and events like Karaoke).

Recreation, play, reading, and art appreciation may in some instances be confused with entertainment, but the difference is elementary—entertainments take two or more— even if one of the participants is a programmer for the obsolescent Amiga computer system who now happens to be deceased. Without the 'performance' of the artist and the participation of the viewer the event would and could not occur.

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Christian Science Monitor | World

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NPR Topics: World

In Georgia, Cheney Blasts Russian Actions
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:44:00 -0400
Vice President Dick Cheney was in Georgia Thursday signaling Washington's support for the former Soviet republic. In a statement, he decried what he called Russia's "illegitimate" attempt to redraw Georgia's borders by force.
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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Libya comes after years of gradually easing sanctions on the country. She will be the first secretary of state to visit Libya since 1953, and experts tout the country's transformation as a foreign policy success story.

NYT > World

Cheney Backs NATO Membership for Georgia
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:54:55 -0000
Vice President Dick Cheney was in Georgia, where his words of support placed him on a direct collision course with Russia’s leaders.
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Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said he would hold a nationwide referendum to let the public decide how a paralyzing standoff should be resolved.
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World business news - CNNMoney.com

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FRONTLINE/World - Reports | PBS

China: Kung Fu English
Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:00:00 -0500
Xinjiang province in remote western China is best known for the Taklamakan desert and the struggle for autonomy among the region's Muslim Uighur people. It's also considered a provincial backwater looked down upon by the Western influenced provinces in the east. Xinjiang native Jake Yong set out to change that perception by teaching himself -- and others -- to speak English.
The Arrest of Radovan Karadzic
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:00:00 -0500
Hasan Nuhanovic lost his father and brother at Srebrenica. FRONTLINE/World spoke to him from Sarajevo about the capture this week of the man who ordered the massacre.
Burma: After the Storm
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:00:00 -0500
Capturing recent, dramatic footage inside Burma, our correspondent shares his video diary and talks about the mood among dissidents there.

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