Herodotus was a Greek historian, and completed his work, The Histories, in 440 BCE. Who is the author of this document?
When was it written?
We know that Herodotus the events he wrote about, because he lived they occurred.

no every country is held to the same degree as others just some member countries such as the usa and germany are more economically sound so the need to show there support to all others  

`stare decisis is a legal doctrine that obligates courts to follow historical cases when making a ruling on a similar current or future case. stare decisis ensures that cases with identical facts be approached in the same way, unless overruled by the same court or a higher court such as the us supreme court. simply put, it binds courts to follow legal precedents set by previous decisions.

stare decisis is a latin term meaning "to stand by that which is decided".

what does your friend need with?

the iconic cartoon that you are talking about is probably a man standing on top of a country with his legs spread wide. 

this cartoon suggests that europeans are powerful enough to subdue an entire continent. this was a satirical image that was drawn during the time of the colonization of the british empire in africa.

this image was inspired by the plans of the british empire to create telegraph lines all over africa promoting the further spread of its colonies through faster communication. the picture depicts the colonial mentality of the british empire in general as well as the struggle of africans to claim their own land. hope this ! (: