How would I compare Life of Pi to Ender's game?

Those are both two great books.  In order to compare the two, don't do a plot comparison.  That won't work well.  The best way to compare two seemingly very different books is to compare their characters and/or themes.  You could compare Ender to Pi.  Both are young.  Both are male.  Both boys are very much on their own and depending on their own skills.  I realize that Ender is surrounded by people, but he is emotionally separated from everybody, and he knows it.  

Thematically, both books are about struggling to survive in the face of insurmountable odds.  Both books highlight the internal conflicts raging within each boy.  Ender struggles to come to grips with the realization that he is being used to eradicate an entire species.  Pi struggles with the will to live day in and day out.  

When was Damascus founded?

The city of Damascus has a long history, which makes it difficult to identify a precise date for its establishment.  According to UNESCO's World Heritage List, Damascus was "founded in the 3rd millennium B.C." and it "is one of the oldest cities in the Middle East."  The area where the city of Damascus is located was a home to settlers "as early as 8,000 to 10,000 BC."  When the Aramaeans arrived and settled in the area, it is recorded that it became an important city. 

The original city area of Damascus has been inhabited by residents continually for thousands of years.  This makes it one of the world's oldest cities to be inhabited continually.  Much of the physical planning of the city was done by the Romans.  Later, Muslims settled in the city and built the Great Mosque.  It was the Umayyad caliphate that made the city into the capital it is now.

Why is low birth weight in the progeny of beetles not considered evolution?

Evolution can be defined simply as a change in gene (allele) frequency in a population.  Evolution can occur due to selection for or against certain traits due to how they interact with the environment (natural selection), due to random events like natural disasters or bottlenecks (drift), or gene flow between populations (migration).  

In order for evolution to occur, heritable variation for the trait being investigated must be present in a population.  In the situation that you have presented, some beetles have progeny of low birth weight while others may have progeny of average birth weight and still others may have progeny of high birth weight.  There is likely variation in birth weight of the progeny of these beetles.  However, in order for evolution of the trait to occur, the propensity to produce beetles of smaller size must be heritable--capable of being passed on (genetically) to offspring so that the trait can be transmitted from generation to generation.  In your case, you did not specify that the low birth weight was due to a genetic change.  More likely, the low birth weight was environmentally-induced.  If the low birth weight was due to lack of nutrition obtained by the mother prior to egg-laying, then the trait was environmental rather than genetically caused and, therefore, cannot be passed on to the next generation.

`int_(-pi/3)^(pi/3) x^4 sin(x) dx` Evaluate the definite integral.

You need to solve the definite integral, using fundamental theorem of calculus, such that:

`int_a^b f(x) dx = F(b) - F(a)`

First, you need to solve the indefinite integral `int x^4*sin x dx` , using parts, such that:

`int vdu = v*u - int udv`

If `v = x^4 and du = sin x` yields:

`dv = 4x^3 and u = -cos x`

`int x^4*sin x dx = -x^4*cos x + 4int x^3*cos x dx`

Using parts again for `int x^3*cos x dx` yields:

`v = x^3 and du = cosx=> dv = 3x^2 and u = sin x`

`int x^3*cos x dx = x^3*sin x - 3int x^2*sin x dx`

Using parts again for `int x^2*sin x dx` yields:

`v = x^2 and du = sin x=> dv = 2x and u = -cos x`

`int x^2*sin x dx = -x^2*cos x + 2int x*cos x dx`

Using parts for the last time for `int x*cos x dx` yields:

`v = x and du = cos x => dv = 1 and u = sin x`

`int x*cos x dx = x*sin x - int sin x dx`

`int x*cos x dx = x*sin x + cos x`

Take the result `x*sin x + cos x` and replace it for `int x*cos x dx` above:

`int x^2*sin x dx = -x^2*cos x + 2x*sin x + 2cos x`

Take the result `-x^2*cos x + 2x*sin x + 2cos x` and replace it for `int x^2*sin x dx` above:

`int x^3*cos x dx = x^3*sin x - 3(-x^2*cos x + 2x*sin x + 2cos x)`

`int x^3*cos x dx = x^3*sin x + 3x^2*cos x - 6x*sin x - 6cos x`

Take the result `x^3*sin x + 3x^2*cos x - 6x*sin x - 6cos x` and replace it for `int x^3*cos x dx` above:

`int x^4*sin x dx = -x^4*cos x + 4int x^3*cos x dx`

`int x^4*sin x dx = -x^4*cos x + 4(x^3*sin x + 3x^2*cos x - 6x*sin x - 6cos x)`

`int x^4*sin x dx = -x^4*cos x + 4x^3*sin x + 12x^2*cos x - 24x*sin x - 24cos x`

Calculating the integral yields:

`int_(-pi/3)^(pi/3) x^4*sin x dx = (-x^4*cos x + 4x^3*sin x + 12x^2*cos x - 24x*sin x - 24cos x)|_(-pi/3)^(pi/3)`

`int_(-pi/3)^(pi/3) x^4*sin x dx = (-(pi/3)^4*cos (pi/3) + 4(pi/3)^3*sin (pi/3) + 12(pi/3)^2*cos (pi/3) - 24(pi/3)*sin (pi/3) - 24cos (pi/3) +(pi/3)^4*cos (pi/3) - 4(pi/3)^3*sin (pi/3) - 12(pi/3)^2*cos (pi/3) + 24(pi/3)*sin (pi/3) + 24cos (pi/3))`

Reducing like terms yields:

`int_(-pi/3)^(pi/3) x^4*sin x dx = 0`

You also may solve the integral by noticing the the function `f(x) = x^4*sin x` is odd and you may use the propert` int_(-a)^a f(x) dx = 0` if f(x) is odd.

You may prove that ` f(x) = x^4*sin x` is odd such that:

`f(-x) = (-x)^4*sin (-x) = x^4*(-sin x) = -x^4*sin x = -f(x)`

Hence, evaluating the definite integral, using either the fundamental theorem of calculus, or the property of odd functions `int_(-a)^a f(x) dx = 0` , yields `int_(-pi/3)^(pi/3) x^4*sin x dx = 0.`

Does courtship lie at the center of Pride and Prejudice or not?

Very good question.

Courtship, while important to the novel, is not really the novel's central concern. Pride and Prejudice is a novel of manners, meaning it is a story that focuses on the social roles of a group of characters, how their words and conversations help define those characters' social roles, and ultimately, how well each of the characters succeeds at fulfilling their social roles.

Some examples:

• For the Bennet sisters, the social expectation is, of course, that they will marry well--but then again, they have to. Their father, described as an "indolent" man, has not saved any money for their upkeep, and to make matters worse, his estate is entailed, meaning that if he himself has no sons, the estate will not be inherited by any of his daughters, but by the next available male heir. In this case, that heir turns out to be a somewhat distant cousin, the objectionable, foolish, and insipid Mr. Collins. In this way, Mr. Bennet may be said to be something of a failure at his role: he cannot provide for his daughters, and is too indolent and indifferent to try to mend matters. Meanwhile, his wife Mrs Bennet--ignorant, foolish, embarrassing, and high-strung though she may be--is nevertheless rather a success, at least socially: she has married well, is secure at least for the lifetime of her husband, and surely one or the other of her daughters will marry well enough to take care of her and the rest of the girls, should Mr. Bennet predecease her. As far as Mrs. Bennet's social expectations are concerned, therefore, she has fulfilled them.

• The kind and intelligent Charlotte Lucas, who eventually marries the awful Mr. Collins (after Lizzy turns him down), on the other hand, is a smashing success: she has succeeded in marrying a stable man and achieving an establishment and financial security of her own--no matter how annoying the man she had to marry to get that security may be.

• Lydia is an abject failure at her role. She elopes with Wickham and thus tarnishes permanently not only her own reputation, but the reputation of all her family.

• Caroline Bingley, lovely, cultured, and rich, is also catty and rude to the extent that the brilliant match she hoped for, Mr. Darcy, is disgusted by her.

Courtship and marriage is such a concern for the Bennet sisters in particular because they are in an awkward place socially. Being the daughters of a gentleman, however penniless he might be, they cannot exactly go get jobs to better their situation; that would be absolutely unheard of. Their best hope is to succeed in the role available to them: that is, to make a good marriage, and achieve permanence and stability that way.

So while the courtships and marriages of many of the female characters are important to the plot of the story, Pride and Prejudice is less a novel about courtship, and more a novel about success and failure in one's prescribed social role, and the various faces that success or failure may wear.

Why is Gonzalo's symbol a pepper in Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman?

Paul Fleischman's novel Seedfolks is a series of thirteen character vignettes that tell the background of each character and what they plant in the community garden that connects them. Kim, the first character to plant in the vacant lot in the Cleveland, Ohio, neighborhood where they live, is from Vietnam.

Gonzalo is the fourth character readers meet. He is from Guatemala, and he helps his Tio Juan when he plants in the garden. In this book, the seeds that Gonzalo and Tio Juan plant are never identified. Gonzalo explains,

"He showed me exactly how far apart the rows should be and how deep. He couldn't read the words on the seed packets, but he knew from the pictures what seeds were inside. He poured them into his hand and smiled. He seemed to recognize them, like old friends. Watching him carefully sprinkling them into troughs he'd made, I realized that I didn't know anything about growing food and that he knew everything."

Many of the characters specify what they are growing, because what they grow is significant in some way. Curtis plants tomatoes in an effort to show his ex-girlfriend Lateesha that he has changed. Virgil's father plants lettuce because he has heard that fancy restaurants will pay top dollar for fresh lettuce. Gonzalo's story is more about acclimating to a new culture. It was easy for him because he learned to speak English through watching TV. It was impossible for Tio Juan because he was old when they moved, and only knew an Indian language. The only person he is able to communicate with is Gonzalo's mother. Planting seeds in the garden is the first time Tio Juan can participate in something meaningful in his new country.

Judy Pederson provides illustrations in this novel, and she drew a packet of sweet peppers on page 17, where Gonzalo is introduced. There is no other textual evidence about what was planted by Gonzalo and Tio Juan, so readers must make an inference about why the sweet pepper packet was drawn by the illustrator. Since Tio Juan was a farmer in Guatemala, it is possible he chose seeds based on what he knew would grow best in that location. He did feel and even taste the soil prior to planting.

Can a President be sued in order to prevent him or her from executing the law as passed by Congress? I know that they can overrule a veto, but can...

One of the things that makes America great and/or terrible is that you can basically sue anyone for anything. If you can find a lawyer who will sign off on it, you can pretty much sue anyone at any time.

Republicans in Congress, led by John Boehner even did so a couple years ago. According to PolitiFact (which I highly recommend in general), this is the only time a sitting President has ever been sued by Congress.

Of course, suing someone and suing someone successfully are very different things. The lawsuit was immediately thrown out and nothing came of it. Many people mocked it as nothing more than a political stunt.

Still, there doesn't appear to be anything in the Constitution saying that Congress can't sue the President, or even potentially win and make him pay damages; it's just that this has only been tried once and didn't work.