title: Second Congo War

text: Kabila's forces launched an offensive in March 1997, and demanded that the Kinshasa government surrender. The rebels took Kasenga on 27 March. The government denied the rebels' success, starting a long pattern of false statements from the Defense Minister on the progress and conduct of the war. Negotiations were proposed in late March, and on 2 April a new Prime Minister of Zaire, Étienne Tshisekedi—a longtime rival of Mobutu—was installed. Kabila, by this point in control of roughly one-quarter of the country, dismissed this as irrelevant and warned Tshisekedi that he would have no part in a new government if he accepted the post.


title: Second Congo War

text: The ADFLC made consistent progress in its advance from the east throughout April 1997, and by May its troops had reached the outskirts of Kinshasa. Mobutu fled Kinshasa on 16 May, and the "libérateurs" (liberators) entered the capital without serious resistance. Mobutu fled the country and died in exile in Morocco four months later. Kabila proclaimed himself president on 17 May 1997; he immediately ordered a violent crackdown to restore order, and began an attempt at reorganisation of the nation.


title: Second Congo War

text: When Kabila gained control of the capital in May 1997, he faced substantial obstacles to governing the country, which he renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from Zaïre. Beyond political jostling among various groups to gain power and an enormous external debt, his foreign backers proved unwilling to leave when asked. The conspicuous Rwandan presence in the capital rankled many Congolese, who began to see Kabila as a pawn of foreign powers.


title: Second Congo War

text: Tensions reached new heights on 14 July 1998, when Kabila dismissed his Rwandan chief of staff James Kabarebe, and replaced him with a native Congolese, Célestin Kifwa. Although the move chilled what was already a troubled relationship with Rwanda, Kabila softened the blow by making Kabarebe the military adviser to his successor.


title: Second Congo War

text: Two weeks later, Kabila chose to abandon his previous decision. He thanked Rwanda for its help, and ordered all Rwandan and Ugandan military forces to leave the country. Within 24 hours, Rwandan military advisers living in Kinshasa were unceremoniously flown out. The people most alarmed by this order were the Banyamulenge Tutsi of eastern Congo. Their tensions with neighboring ethnic groups had been a contributing factor in the genesis of the First Congo War and they were also used by Rwanda to affect events across the border in the DRC.


title: Second Congo War

text: On 2 August 1998, the Banyamulenge in Goma erupted into rebellion. Rwanda offered them immediate assistance, and early in August a well-armed rebel group, the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD)—composed primarily of Banyamulenge and backed by Rwanda and Uganda—emerged. This group quickly came to dominate the resource-rich eastern provinces, and based its operations in Goma. The RCD quickly took control of the towns of Bukavu and Uvira in the Kivus. The Tutsi-led Rwandan government allied with Uganda, and Burundi also retaliated, occupying a portion of northeastern Congo. To help remove the occupying Rwandans, President Kabila enlisted the aid of refugee Hutus in eastern Congo and began to agitate public opinion against the Tutsis, resulting in several public lynchings in the streets of Kinshasa. On 12 August a loyalist army major broadcast a message urging resistance from a radio station in Bunia in eastern Congo: "People must bring a machete, a spear, an arrow, a hoe, spades, rakes, nails, truncheons, electric irons, barbed wire, stones, and the like, in order, dear listeners, to kill the Rwandan Tutsis."


title: Second Congo War

text: The Rwandan government also challenged current borders by claiming a substantial part of eastern Congo as "historically Rwandan". The Rwandans alleged that Kabila was organising a genocide against their Tutsi brethren in the Kivu region. The degree to which Rwandan intervention was motivated by a desire to protect the Banyamulenge, as opposed to using them as a smokescreen for its regional aspirations after ousting Mobutu, is still being debated.


title: Second Congo War

text: In a bold move, Rwandan soldiers under the command of James Kabarebe hijacked three planes and flew them to the government base of Kitona on the Atlantic coast. The planes landed in the middle of the Kitona base, but the motley collection of troops there (ex-FAZ, but also Angolan UNITA elements and former Pascal Lissouba militiamen from Brazzaville) were in poor condition and in no condition to fight unless given food and weapons. They were quickly won over to the Rwandan side. More towns in the east and around Kitona fell in rapid succession, as the combined RCD, Rwandan and rebel soldiers overwhelmed government forces amid a flurry of ineffectual diplomatic efforts by various African nations. By 13 August, less than two weeks after the revolt had begun, rebels held the Inga hydroelectric station that provided power to Kinshasa as well as the port of Matadi through which most of Kinshasa's food passed. The diamond center of Kisangani fell into rebel hands on 23 August and forces advancing from the east had begun to threaten Kinshasa by late August. Uganda, while retaining joint support of the RCD with Rwanda, also created a rebel group that it supported exclusively, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC).


title: Second Congo War

text: Despite the movement of the front lines, fighting continued throughout the country. Even as rebel forces advanced on Kinshasa, government forces continued to battle for control of towns in the east of the country. The Hutu militants with whom Kabila was co-operating were also a significant force in the east. Nevertheless, the fall of the capital and of Kabila, who had spent the previous weeks desperately seeking support from various African nations and Cuba, seemed increasingly certain.


title: Second Congo War

text: The rebel offensive was abruptly reversed as Kabila's diplomatic efforts bore fruit. The first African countries to respond to Kabila's request for help were fellow members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). While officially the SADC members are bound to a mutual defence treaty in the case of outside aggression, many member nations took a neutral stance to the conflict. However, the governments of Namibia, Zimbabwe and Angola supported the Kabila government after a meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe, on 19 August. Several more nations joined the conflict for Kabila in the following weeks: Chad, Libya and Sudan.


title: Second Congo War

text: A multisided war thus began. In September 1998, Zimbabwean forces flown into Kinshasa held off a rebel advance that reached the outskirts of the capital, while Angolan units attacked northward from its borders and eastward from the Angolan territory of Cabinda, against the besieging rebel forces. This intervention by various nations saved the Kabila government and pushed the rebel front lines away from the capital. However, it was unable to defeat the rebel forces, and the advance threatened to escalate into direct conflict with the national armies of Uganda and Rwanda. In November 1998 a new Ugandan-backed rebel group, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo, was reported in the north of the country. On 6 November Rwandan President Paul Kagame admitted for the first time that Rwandan forces were assisting the RCD rebels for security reasons, apparently after a request by Nelson Mandela to advance peace talks. On 18 January 1999, Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe agreed on a ceasefire at a summit at Windhoek, Namibia but the RCD was not invited. Fighting thus continued.


title: Second Congo War

text: Robert Mugabe's administration dispatched elements of the Zimbabwe National Army to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1998. Mugabe, perhaps the most ardent supporter of intervention on Kabila's behalf, was the only major player involved in the conflict able to marshal a reasonably modern and experienced air force. Zimbabwe's military was also regarded as being one of the more well-equipped and professional of the region;being the decisive factor in the outcome of the war and exhibiting outstanding tactical proficiency.


title: Second Congo War

text: Zimbabwean strategy revolved around defending the person of Laurent Kabila only with allied forces, as Congolese forces were thought to be unreliable, then retake important settlements, and expel the rebels from the Kinshasa region. Mugabe's initial buildup in Kinshasa consisted of special forces along with some paratroops, reportedly numbering between 600 and 1,000. By August 1998, two more battalions had been dispatched. They were accompanied by some Soviet-manufactured T-54/55 tanks, Crocodile armoured personnel carriers, and EE-9 Cascavel scout cars flown into the capital on Angolan Air Force planes. The contingent grew to 3,800 around November, and peaked at 12,000 in January 2001. The Zimbabweans began leaving in 2002 and had completely withdrawn by the end of the year. Prior to this deployment, Zimbabwe had built up an apparently potent brigade-sized, combined arms, reaction force with efficient air support and professional competence; however the prolonged operations in the Congo are said to have damaged its credibility.


title: Second Congo War

text: The Air Force of Zimbabwe made particularly effective use of its air power, hitting rebel and Rwandan offensives on Mbuji-Mayi with repeated strikes by BAE Hawks and Hawker Hunters. It also sustained heavy losses during the conflict, including three of its six Mil Mi-24 Hind helicopters, a transport aircraft, and an unidentified interceptor, probably a Chinese Chengdu J-7. Despite the effectiveness of its highly mobile, big-gunned Eland-90 and Cascavel armoured cars, Zimbabwean ground forces also lost a significant number, either captured or destroyed by the rebel coalition. As hardware losses multiplied, Western donors—including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank placed their aid programmes to Harare under review, denying Mugabe the foreign currency he needed to buy spare parts valued at $600,000,000 for fighting vehicles then employed in the Congo.


title: Second Congo War

text: Under the direction of President Sam Nujoma, Namibia became involved in the Congo on behalf of its commitment to the Southern African Development Community. Nujoma, a longtime ally of Kabila, claimed he could not refuse the requests for military assistance from Zimbabwe and Angola. Windhoek's ruling SWAPO party had interests in Kinshasa similar to those claimed by Mugabe, including lucrative fish exports and a valuable stake in the "Societé Minière de Bakwanga". In February 1999, Namibian Defence Force personnel in the Congo numbered barely 1,000: likely a single infantry battalion group with staff, artillery, logistics support and a flight of Allouette Helicopters and Y-12 transport aircraft from the Namibian Air Force. Between 2000 and 2001, this figure may have fluctuated between 1,600 and 2,000, though Namibian troops remained of little importance to the conflict. They were withdrawn by 2002, by which point 30 servicemen had been killed in action and the war effort was costing Namibia $150,000 a day.


title: Second Congo War

text: The Namibian intervention was greeted with intense criticism by opposition parties, as well as neighboring South Africa and several Western donors. The European Union expressed concern that Nujoma was misusing his country's development funds for the Congo expedition, and individual member states—including Finland—cut off financial aid. A furious diplomatic row also ensued with South African authorities after they suspended all outgoing military exports to the NDF.


title: Second Congo War

text: The Angolan government had fought against Mobutu Sésé Seko in the First Congo War because of his support for rebel UNITA in the Angolan Civil War. The Angolan government wanted to eliminate UNITA operations in southern Congo, which exchanged diamonds extracted from rebel-held Angola for foreign weapons. Angola had no confidence that a new president would be more effective than Kabila and feared that continued fighting would lead to a power vacuum that could only help UNITA. The intervention of the experienced Angolan forces was essential in deciding the outcome of both wars.


title: Second Congo War

text: Kabila had originally discounted the possibility of support from "Françafrique" (Francophone Africa) but after a summit meeting in Libreville, Gabon, on 24 September, Chad agreed to send 2,000 troops. France had encouraged Chad to join as a means of regaining influence in a region where the French had retreated after the 1994 genocide committed against Tutsi in Rwanda. Nevertheless, Chadian intervention resulted in a fiasco. Its forces were accused of serious human rights violations and looting, virtually from their arrival in the country. They withdrew very quickly under international and national pressure and opprobrium.


title: Second Congo War

text: Unconfirmed reports in September indicated that forces of the government of Sudan were fighting rebels in Orientale Province, close to the Sudanese and Ugandan borders. However, Sudan did not establish a significant military presence inside the DRC, though it continued to offer extensive support to three Ugandan rebel groups—the Lord's Resistance Army, the Uganda National Rescue Front II and the Allied Democratic Forces—in retaliation for Ugandan support for the Sudan People's Liberation Army.


title: Second Congo War

text: On 5 April 1999, tensions within the RCD about the dominance of the Banyamulenge reached a boiling point when RCD leader Ernest Wamba dia Wamba moved his base from Goma to Uganda-controlled Kisangani to head a breakaway faction known as RCD-Kisangani, which later became The Forces for Renewal. A further sign of a break occurred when President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Kabila signed a ceasefire accord on 18 April in Sirte, Libya, following the mediation of Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, but both the RCD and Rwanda refused to take part.


title: Second Congo War

text: On 16 May Wamba was ousted as head of the RCD in favour of a pro-Rwanda figure, Dr. Emile Ilunga. Seven days later the various factions of the RCD clashed over control of Kisangani. On 8 June rebel factions met to try to create a common front against Kabila. Despite these efforts, the creation by Uganda of the new province of Ituri sparked the ethnic clash of the Ituri conflict, sometimes referred to as a "war within a war".


title: Second Congo War

text: Nevertheless, diplomatic circumstances contributed to the first ceasefire of the war. In July 1999 the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement was signed by the six warring countries (Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Uganda) and, on 1 August, the MLC (the RCD refused to sign until 31 August). Under the terms of the agreement, forces from all sides, under a Joint Military Commission, would co-operate in tracking, disarming and documenting all armed groups in the Congo, especially those forces identified with the 1994 Rwandan genocide.


title: Second Congo War

text: Few provisions, however, were made to actually disarm the militias. The United Nations Security Council deployed about 90 liaison personnel in August 1999 to support the ceasefire. However, in the following months all sides accused the others of repeatedly breaking the cease-fire, and it became clear that small incidents could trigger attacks.


title: Second Congo War

text: Tensions between Uganda and Rwanda escalated as units of the Uganda People's Defense Force and the Rwandan Patriotic Army clashed in Kisangani on the morning of 7 August. Fighting broke out again between the two armies on the evening of 14 August; fighting occurred throughout much of Kisangani, including in the airport and on major roads. The conflict lasted until 17 August, when a ceasefire was called that day. Both sides used heavy weapons during these clashes. As reported by the International Crisis Group, the fighting was a result of differences over the objectives and strategies used during the war.


title: Second Congo War

text: In November government-controlled television in Kinshasa claimed that Kabila's army had been rebuilt and was now prepared to fulfil its "mission to liberate" the country. Rwandan-supported rebel forces launched a major offensive and approached Kinshasa but were eventually repelled.


title: Second Congo War

text: By 24 February 2000, the UN authorised a force of 5,537 troops, the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (known by the French acronym, MONUC), to monitor the cease-fire. However, fighting continued between rebels and government forces and between Rwandan and Ugandan forces. Numerous clashes and offensives occurred throughout the country, most notably heavy fighting between Uganda and Rwanda in Kisangani in May and June 2000.


title: Second Congo War

text: On 9 August 2000 a government offensive in Equateur Province along the Ubangi River was repulsed near Libenge by MLC forces. Military operations and diplomatic efforts made by the UN, African Union and Southern African Development Community failed to make any headway.


title: Second Congo War

text: On 16 January 2001, Laurent-Désiré Kabila was shot and killed at the presidential palace in Kinshasa. The government initially stated that Kabila was wounded but still alive when he was flown to Zimbabwe for intensive care. The circumstances of his assassination are unclear, and have been the subject of considerable rumours and disagreements. The consensus is that Kabila was shot by one of his bodyguards, the 18-year-old Rashidi Mizele, a "kadogo" (child soldier). Mizele had previously been misidentified as Rashidi Kasereka.


title: Second Congo War

text: Two days later the government announced on state television that the desperate attempt by Zimbabwean medical personnel to save Kabila had failed and that Kabila had died from his injuries. His remains were returned for a state funeral on 26 January 2001.


title: Second Congo War

text: Shortly after the assassination, the French newspaper "Le Monde" published an explosive story in which self-identified assassination plotters revealed documents and details of the plot to murder Kabila. The plotters were mainly "kadogos" who had been under Kabila's command since 1996, and were aggrieved over their poor treatment. The catalyst for the assassination appeared to be the execution of 47 "kadogos" accused of plotting against Kabila. The execution, witnessed by Kabila, took place the day before his assassination.


title: Second Congo War

text: While the role of the disgruntled "kadogos" is relatively well-established, there have been some attempts to argue that they were under the influence of external actors who sought to overthrow Kabila. Some Congolese officials attempted to implicate their principal enemies by alleging that the Rwandans masterminded the operation. Some observers have lent credibility to these allegations, including Al-Jazeera's documentary, "Murder in Kinshasa", which alleges that a Lebanese diamond dealer allegedly organised the logistics of the organisation. Others have speculated that the Angolans (due to Kabila's complicity in helping the Angolan rebel group UNITA channel funds through the DRC) or even the Americans were involved in the assassination. There is, as yet, no proof that Mizele or the "kadogos" were acting under orders from an external source.


title: Second Congo War

text: By unanimous vote of the Congolese parliament, his son, Joseph Kabila, was sworn in as president to replace him. That he won the election was largely due to Robert Mugabe's backing, and the fact that most parliamentarians had been handpicked by the elder Kabila. In February, the new president met Rwandan President Paul Kagame in the United States. Rwanda, Uganda, and the rebels agreed to a UN pullout plan. Uganda and Rwanda began pulling troops back from the front line.


title: Second Congo War

text: Joseph Kabila has been described as "a more adept political leader than his father". As Chris Talbot notes, an article in "The Washington Post" "favourably contrasted Joseph Kabila – Western-educated and English-speaking – with his father." The author of the "Washington Post" article writes that Joseph Kabila gave diplomats "hope that things have changed", in contrast to Laurent-Désiré Kabila, who "stood as the major impediment to a peaceful settlement of the war launched in August 1998 to unseat him." A peace accord Laurent signed in the summer of 1999, the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement, "remained unfulfilled largely because he kept staging new offensives while blocking deployment of U.N. peacekeepers in government-held territory." To compare, according to an analyst from the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit, "The only obstruction had been Kabila because the [Lusaka] accord called for the government's democratic transition and that was a threat to his power."


title: Second Congo War

text: In April 2001, a UN panel of experts investigated the illegal exploitation of diamonds, cobalt, coltan, gold and other lucrative resources in the Congo. The report accused Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe of systematically exploiting Congolese resources and recommended the Security Council impose sanctions.


title: Second Congo War

text: In 2002 Rwanda's situation in the war began to worsen. Many members of the RCD either gave up fighting or decided to join Kabila's government. Moreover, the Banyamulenge, the backbone of Rwanda's militia forces, became increasingly tired of control from Kigali and the unending conflict. A number of them mutinied, leading to violent clashes between them and Rwandan forces.


title: Second Congo War

text: At the same time, the western Congo was becoming increasingly secure under the younger Kabila. International aid was resumed as inflation was brought under control.


title: Second Congo War

text: In March, the RCD-Goma faction captured Moliro, a town located on the coast of Lake Tanganyika, from government forces. According to said faction, the town was shelled by government gunboats the following day in response. The capture was seen as a violation of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement.


title: Second Congo War

text: Under the leadership of South Africa, peace talks held in that country between April and December 2002 led to the signing of a "comprehensive peace agreement." The Sun City Agreement was formalised on 19 April 2002. It was a framework for providing the Congo with a unified, multiparty government and democratic elections. However, critics noted that there were no stipulations regarding the unification of the army, which weakened the effectiveness of the agreement. There were several reported breaches of the Sun City agreement, but it has seen a reduction in the fighting.


title: Second Congo War

text: On 30 July 2002, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a peace deal known as the Pretoria Accord after five days of talks in Pretoria, South Africa. The talks centered on two issues. One was the withdrawal of the estimated 20,000 Rwandan soldiers in the Congo. The other was the rounding up of the ex-Rwandan soldiers and the dismantling of the Hutu militia known as Interahamwe, which took part in Rwanda's 1994 genocide and continues to operate out of eastern Congo. Rwanda had previously refused to withdraw until the Hutu militias were dealt with.


title: Second Congo War

text: Signed on 6 September, the Luanda Agreement formalised peace between Congo and Uganda. The treaty aimed to get Uganda to withdraw its troops from Bunia and to improve the relationship between the two countries, but implementation proved troublesome. Eleven days later, the first Rwandan soldiers were withdrawn from the eastern DRC. On 5 October Rwanda announced the completion of its withdrawal; MONUC confirmed the departure of over 20,000 Rwandan soldiers.


title: Second Congo War

text: On 21 October, the UN published its expert panel's report on the pillage of natural resources by armed groups. Both Rwanda and Uganda rejected accusations that senior political and military figures were involved in illicit trafficking of plundered resources. Zimbabwe Defense Minister Sydney Sekeramayi says the Zimbabwean military withdrew from the DRC in October 2002, but in June 2006 reporters said a 50-man force had stayed in the DRC to protect Kabila.


title: Second Congo War

text: On 17 December 2002, the Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue (the national government, the MLC, the RCD, the RCD-ML, the RCD-N, the domestic political opposition, representatives of civil society and the Mai Mai) signed the Global and All-Inclusive Agreement. The agreement described a plan for transitional governance that would have result in legislative and presidential election within two years of its signing and marked the formal end of the Second Congo War.


title: Second Congo War

text: At the end of 2002 through January 2003, around 60,000 Pygmy civilians and 10,000 combatants were killed in an extermination campaign known as "Effacer le tableau" by the Movement for the Liberation of Congo. Human rights activists have made demands for the massacre to be recognized as a genocide.


title: Second Congo War

text: On 18 July 2003, the Transitional Government came into being as specified in the Global and All-Inclusive Agreement out of the warring parties. The agreement obliges the parties to carry out a plan to reunify the country, disarm and integrate the warring parties and hold elections. There were numerous problems, resulting in continued instability in much of the country and a delay in the scheduled national elections from June 2005 to July 2006.


title: Second Congo War

text: The main cause for the continued weakness of the Transitional Government is the refusal by the former warring parties to give up power to a centralised and neutral national administration. Some belligerents maintained administrative and military command-and-control structures separate from that of the Transitional Government, but as the International Crisis Group has reported, these have gradually been reduced. A high level of official corruption siphoning money away from civil servants, soldiers and infrastructure projects causes further instability.


title: Second Congo War

text: On 30 July 2006 the first elections were held in the DRC after the populace approved a new constitution. A second round was held on 30 October.


title: Second Congo War

text: The fragility of the state has allowed continued violence and human rights abuses in the east. There are three significant centres of conflict:


title: Second Congo War

text: The ethnic violence between Hutu- and Tutsi-aligned forces has been a driving impetus for much of the conflict, with people on both sides fearing their annihilation. The Kinshasa- and Hutu-aligned forces enjoyed close relations as their interests in expelling the armies and proxy forces of Uganda and Rwanda dovetail.


title: Second Congo War

text: While the Uganda- and Rwanda-aligned forces worked closely together to gain territory at the expense of Kinshasa, competition over access to resources created a fissure in their relationship. There were reports that Uganda permitted Kinshasa to send arms to the Hutu FDLR via territory held by Uganda-backed rebels as Uganda, Kinshasa and the Hutus are all seeking, in varying degrees, to check the influence of Rwanda and its affiliates.


title: Second Congo War

text: Rwanda backed rebels due to fears of Hutu rebels on its border. The Kinshasa government was suspicious of Kigali's influence over the region, as Rwanda has occupied the area numerous times and some witnesses confirm that Rwanda has profited from the looting of Congolese minerals. Consequently, Rwanda allegedly supported the continuing rebellion of General Nkunda in Congo. Nkunda was, however, arrested by Rwandan police in 2009. The DRC sought assurance that Kigali aligned forces have no conflict-mineral or territorial interests in eastern Congo.


title: Second Congo War

text: On 19 December 2005 the United Nations International Court of Justice ruled that the DRC's sovereignty had been violated by Uganda, and that DRC had lost billions of dollars worth of resources. The DRC government has asked for $10 billion in compensation. Though the ICJ has taken many steps to ensure that war crimes and crimes against humanity will be prosecuted, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank rewarded both Uganda and Rwanda with debt relief packages for improving their economic health during a time when much of their increased revenue was partially a direct result of illegally importing conflicted minerals from the DRC. In this case, international institutions such as the IMF and WB are allegedly at odds with international laws and charters. Both the IMF and WB have been accused of helping to facilitate the conflict in the DRC by rewarding combatants.


title: Second Congo War

text: The war has caused substantial environmental damage. The forests of Congo are a major biodiversity hot spot, housing The Congo Basin which is widely known as the second greatest tropical rain forest in the world and the largest forest in Africa.


title: Second Congo War

text: On account of the war the Republic of Congo saw their elephant population half in size, their hippo population go from 22,000 to 900 and their great ape population decrease by 77%-93% between 1998 to 2015.


title: Second Congo War

text: With up to 3.4 million people being displaced in Congo as a result of the civil war, many moved into Congo’s forests, where they hunted bonobos, gorillas, elephants and more as bushmeat for survival and cleared forest land that were significant habitats for these many animals. Many of these individuals were either from the city where the hunting of certain animals was not a taboo or locals who had their tradition slowly broken down because of their need to survive. One such example had been the Bongando people in which a 2009 study by Kyoto University had observed a disintegration of their cultural interdiction of eating bonobos as influenced by the civil war. During the conflict many of the front lines were located within bonobos reserves, further contributing to the decline in their population.


title: Second Congo War

text: Government instability and the lack of government enforcement allowed new illegal militia mining camps to form which located themselves deep within Congo’s forest. There, bushmeat became the main source of food. On top of that, the mass number of people entering the forests in conjunction with the mines’ unsanitary conditions introduced an increased risk of disease for animals such as gorillas. The government instability and the dangers of war also ceased much of the conservation and protection efforts occurring in Congo at the time, enabling the numerous rampant rebel groups present in Congo to openly partake in poaching.


title: Second Congo War

text: Military assistance having been obstructed by surrounding African countries, Congo was pushed into entering numerous lumber leases with German, Chinese and Malaysian corporations to uphold their military activities. The roads emerging to support the new logging efforts opened nearby villages to receive easier means of transportation and access to deeper parts of Congo’s wildlife reserves. The result was a significant increase in bushmeat sales in villages near these logging sites.


title: Second Congo War

text: The potential threat of rebel forces during the war caused many military officers controlling urban trade to leave their post. This created an open access market in the bushmeat and pet trade that was then undertaken by exploitative lower ranked soldiers looking for profit. The result was an observed quintuple increase of protected animal sales in urban markets in north-eastern parts of Congo around Garamba National Park. Meanwhile, in other northern parts of Congo, researchers in other studies have found a 23% increase in protected animal sales with the overall pattern being a significant increase in protected animal sales.


title: Second Congo War

text: The millions of displaced individuals led to needed to large-scale logging and deforestation to create arable land. These activities had an outsized effect due to the edge effect as a result of the forest fragmentation.


title: Second Congo War

text: The Virunga National Park, Africa’s oldest national park, became the first endangered UN World Heritage Site. Its flora was cleared during both the first and second Congo war to make way for both the Rwandan and Congolese army.


title: Second Congo War

text: The Human Security Report Project (HSRP) of Simon Fraser University has challenged the toll of 5.4 million war-related deaths between 1998 and 2008. It states that of the IRC's five periodic estimates, two that cover a period from 1998 to 2001 are flawed, and the reported 2.6 million deaths therein should not be included in the total death toll. The other three periodic IRC estimates cover a period from May 2001 – April 2007, and in which 2.83 million of the total 5.4 million deaths were reported. The HSRP argued that the estimates were built on a general death rate that was far too low for Congo, and that most of those people would have most likely died anyway. Thus, the IRC figure should be revised to 860,000 total war-related excess deaths.


title: Second Congo War

text: In response to the criticism from HSRP, one of the authors of the IRC report argued the following: Although there may have been small statistical discrepancies in the original study, the IRC report had been widely peer-reviewed and was judged to be an accurate estimate of the war-related excess deaths.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest airline in North America when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and the number of destinations served. Alaska, together with its regional partners Horizon Air and SkyWest Airlines, operates a large domestic route network, primarily focused on connecting from the Pacific Northwest, West Coast, and Alaska to over one hundred destinations in the contiguous United States, Hawaii, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, and Mexico.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: The airline operates out of five hubs, with its primary hub being at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. Alaska Airlines is a member of Oneworld, the third-largest airline alliance in the world. As of 2020, the airline employs over 16,000 people and has been ranked by J. D. Power and Associates as having the highest customer satisfaction of the traditional airlines for twelve consecutive years.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: McGee Airways, a precursor to Alaska Airlines, flew its first regular but unscheduled service between Anchorage and Bristol Bay. A flight took place when there were passengers or a load of cargo or mail.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: The airline struggled financially during the Great Depression. There were too many airlines in Anchorage at the time, and not enough demand to support them. The first of these mergers was in 1934, when McGee sold his namesake airline for US$50,000 to Star Air Service, an airline also located in Anchorage. This allowed McGee to enter the mining industry. With a fleet of fifteen aircraft, Star Air Service was a dominant airline in Alaska. But Star continued to struggle financially because of high maintenance costs for its wood and fabric planes.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In 1937, McGee came back to the airline and opened a liquor store, and the airline began flying liquor to remote Alaskan communities. That year, Star Air Service purchased Alaska Interior Airlines and was incorporated as Star Air Lines. Star was again sold later that year to a group of miners.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In 1938, federal regulation began when Congress created the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). The CAB awarded the airline most of the routes that it wanted in Alaska, but the coveted route between Seattle and Anchorage was awarded to Pan American Airways.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In 1941, Star Air Service was purchased by Raymond Marshall, a businessman from New York. In 1942, the airline purchased three other airlines in Alaska, Lavery Air Service, Mirow Air Service, and Pollack Flying Service as well as a hangar at the Anchorage airport. That year, the airline's name was changed to Alaska Star Airlines. The name Alaska Airlines was adopted on May 2, 1944, having narrowly beaten a competitor who was also applying for the name. In the 1940s Alaska's headquarters were in Anchorage.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, Alaska Airlines faced a shortage of pilots. During the war, the airline lacked funds and equipment, and pilots were often forced to buy fuel for their planes out of their own pockets. The company, which was frequently subjected to lawsuits, also went through many different presidents during this time. In 1943, Alaska Airlines purchased the Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar, its first multi-engine aircraft. That same year the company's stock was traded for the very first time on the American Stock Exchange.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In 1945, Alaska Airlines hired its first stewardesses. In 1947, jockey James Wooten became president of the airline and he began to expand the airline greatly. Under his leadership, the company purchased many surplus military aircraft from the government that were used during World War II. The airline purchased Douglas DC-3s, Douglas DC-4s and Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commandos. Alaska Airlines was the first carrier certified to operate DC-3s on skis.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska Airlines' large charter business made it profitable, and the airline moved its base of operations to Paine Field, an airport north of Seattle. It kept a branch office in Anchorage, however. Despite its success, Alaska Airlines' worldwide charter business was short-lived. In 1949, the CAB tightened its regulations and placed heavy fines on the airline and shut it down completely for safety violations. The airline was prohibited from operating worldwide charter flights, and president James Wooten left the company. Also in 1949, Alaska Air began operating five Bell 47B helicopters in order to support oil exploration on the North Slope thus becoming the first airline in Alaska to operate rotary-wing aircraft.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In 1949, the airline was a major participant in an effort by the newly established state of Israel to airlift Jews out of Yemen to Israel in what became known as Operation Magic Carpet. C-46 or DC-4 aircraft were used for the nearly 3,000-mile flight, made necessary to avoid overflying Arab nations. Planes flew from Eritrea to Aden, then along the Gulf of Aqaba to Tel Aviv. After unloading the refugees, crews then immediately continued to Cyprus, afraid to stay on the ground in Tel Aviv for fear of being bombed. Some 49,000 Yemenite Jews were airlifted by Alaska Airlines and other carriers without a single loss of life.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska Airlines started the 1950s without its worldwide charter business and operations restricted to the state of Alaska. In 1950, it purchased two smaller Alaskan airlines, Collins Air Service and Al Jones Airways.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Though the airline had grown much under the ownership of Raymond Marshall, the CAB forced him out in 1951 due to continuing financial troubles. Also, Marshall had owned Alaska Airlines with the intent of getting money for himself and he was not concerned about the long-term stability of the company. In 1951, the CAB awarded Alaska Airlines with a temporary certificate allowing them to operate on routes from the Alaskan cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks to Seattle and Portland in the contiguous United States; this award would become permanent in 1957.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In 1952, the CAB appointed Nelson David as president, and he began to improve the financial stability of the airline. By 1957, with the carrier in a better financial situation, David left and Charles Willis, Jr. became the company's new president and CEO. A pilot during World War II, Willis introduced several marketing gimmicks that set the airline apart from other ones of the day. Under his leadership, Alaska Airlines became the first to show inflight movies. The company began service with the Douglas DC-6, the airline's first pressurized plane, enabling flights above clouds and weather disturbances. On these DC-6s, the airline introduced "Golden Nugget" service, which included an on-board saloon and piano.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In 1961, competitors began introducing jets on routes Alaska Airlines flew. To counter this competition, Willis negotiated with aircraft manufacturer Convair to purchase a Convair 880 jetliner with no money down for use on routes between Alaska and the contiguous United States. The company introduced the new jet aircraft the same year. In 1966 the company received its first Boeing 727-100 jets and removed the Convair 880 from the fleet as a financing condition by Boeing concerning the purchase of the 727 jetliners. Several of Alaska's first 727s were series 100C models which could be operated either as all cargo freighters, in an all passenger configuration or as mixed passenger/freight combi aircraft. In the spring of 1967, greatly increased passenger loads required quick addition of fleet aircraft and Alaska purchased a Convair 990 jetliner formerly operated by Brazilian air carrier Varig as PP-VJE which then became Alaska Airlines N987AS. This aircraft remained in service along with an increased fleet of Boeing 727-100's which were then joined by stretched Boeing 727-200s which in turn became Alaska Airlines' signature aircraft for the next 25 years. It also became the first carrier to fly the Lockheed L-100 Hercules (L382 model), the civil version of the military C-130 cargo turboprop, which was used to transport oil drilling rigs to Alaska's North Slope and later to Ecuador. Alaska also owned Lockheed Constellation propliners including two Lockheed L-1649A Starliners from 1962 to 1968, and three L-1049's which were used for Military Air Transport Service operations. Smaller prop and turboprop aircraft were also operated, including the Convair 240, de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and Super Catalina amphibian aircraft as well as two versions of the Grumman Goose amphibian aircraft, one with piston engines and the other model being a conversion to turboprop engines which the airline called the "Turbo-Goose". The Catalina and Grumman amphibian seaplane aircraft joined the fleet when the airline acquired local southeast Alaska operator Alaska Coastal Airlines in 1968.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: During this time, Alaska Air faced some tough competition from other airlines such as Northwest Airlines, Pan Am, and Pacific Northern Airlines, an Alaska-based air carrier operating Boeing 720 jetliners that was subsequently acquired by and merged into Western Airlines in 1967. Northwest and Pan Am at different times operated Boeing 747 wide body jetliners on their services to Alaska with Northwest flying Seattle–Anchorage nonstop with the jumbo jet and Pan Am flying Seattle–Fairbanks nonstop with the 747. To set itself apart from the competition, Alaska Air turned to some cheap but imaginative gimmicks such as having safety instructions read as rhymes, staging fashion shows in the aisles and having bingo games on board while en route.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In December 1962 Air Guinée signed a contract with Alaska Airlines which saw the latter company providing management expertise, in addition to two Douglas DC-4s. The deal would have seen Alaska Airlines contracting with the airline over a seven-year period but the contract ended after only six months, leading to the United States Agency for International Development paying a US$700,000 debt owed by the Guinean airline to Alaska Airlines.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In 1965, Alaska Airlines turned over some routes between small Alaskan communities, as well as some smaller aircraft, to Wien Air Alaska. This allowed Alaska to focus on more heavily traveled routes and allowed them to sell off smaller aircraft.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Throughout the 1960s, Alaska Airlines worked to promote tourism to Alaska by offering charter flights to the continental United States. In an attempt to increase the state's appeal, Alaska Airlines conducted a promotional tour of Japan in 1963. In 1967, as the state of Alaska celebrated its centennial, Alaska Airlines introduced a promotional "Gay Nineties" theme with stewardesses dressed in Edwardian outfits. That year, Alaska Airlines expanded to southeast Alaska with the introduction of service to Sitka. This led to the purchase of two smaller airlines, Alaska Coastal Airlines and Cordova Airlines, in 1968.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In the beginning of the 1970s, Alaska Airlines began Boeing 707 charter flights to Siberia in the Soviet Union. This was the result of three years of secret negotiations between Alaska Airlines and Soviet authorities, in which the US Department of State reluctantly chose not to block the plan for fear of a potentially negative response from the Soviets. The airline gained permission to fly more than two dozen flights in 1970, 1971, and 1972. Alaska Airlines was also operating Boeing 707, Boeing 720, and Boeing 720B jetliners in scheduled passenger service between destinations in Alaska and Seattle during the early and mid-1970s.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: However, the airline was not in good financial shape at that time. Like much of the airline industry, Alaska Airlines was hit with rising fuel and operating costs and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Revenues were significantly reduced when work on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System was delayed. The airline's cargo aircraft had played a key role in building the pipeline but now sat idle. The airline took another blow on September 4, 1971, when a Boeing 727-100 jetliner crashed on landing in Juneau, killing 111 people and resulting in America's worst single-plane crash at the time. Because the airline was struggling financially, the airline's board ousted the president and CEO Charles Willis. Former board member Ronald Cosgrave succeeded him. The airline was million in debt when Cosgrave took over, so Cosgrave began to make major cuts. The airline's cargo business was dropped completely, as well as many flights and employees. Cosgrave also sought to improve the airline's tarnished image of "Elastic Airlines" (referring to its poor schedule keeping). The logo was changed to an image of a smiling Eskimo, which remains today. Although the exact identity of the Eskimo is unknown, some believe it to be the face of either Chester Seveck, a reindeer herder in Kotzebue, or Oliver Amouak, an Inupiat Eskimo. Both were Alaskan natives. As a result of these efforts, the airline made a profit in 1973 and continued to be profitable thereafter.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska Airlines was one of only three US carriers that supported the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act, knowing that it would reap significant growth and other benefits from deregulation. After deregulation, the company's real-estate division was spun off into its own company, with Cosgrave becoming its chairman. Leadership of the airline was passed to Bruce Kennedy, a close associate of Cosgrave. Cosgrave made an alliance with Alaska Airlines to purchase competitor Wien Air Alaska, but this ultimately failed and resulted in fines for Alaska Air and its leaders for improprieties during the attempted acquisition. Wien Air was liquidated in 1984, and never merged into Alaska Airlines.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: At the time of deregulation, Alaska Airlines served ten cities in Alaska and one in the contiguous US—the city of Seattle—and it had only ten planes in its fleet. Immediately after deregulation, the airline began to expand, adding the cities of Portland and San Francisco to its network. Soon later, the airline resumed services to the Alaskan cities Nome and Kotzebue, and it also introduced service to Palm Springs, California. Burbank and Ontario were added in 1981. In 1979, Alaska also studied the possibility of acquiring and merging with Hughes Air West, however, this never came to fruition. Other cities in the continental US that were added to the airline's route map by 1985 were Oakland and San Jose in California, Spokane in Washington, Boise in Idaho, and Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Deregulation also brought challenges to the airline, however. The airline was faced with increased competition and inflation that put tremendous pressure on costs, profits, and salaries. By 1979, competitors Northwest Airlines and Western Airlines were both flying wide-body McDonnell Douglas DC-10 jets on the core Anchorage–Seattle nonstop route with additional competition being provided by Wien Air Alaska which had begun flying nonstop jet service between Anchorage and Seattle. Northwest was operating nonstop DC-10 service on the Fairbanks–Seattle route at this time as well. There were also tensions with unions, particularly mechanics and flight attendants. In 1985, the company had a three-month-long strike with its machinists. By June the same year, it was able to end the strike by promising to reduce labor costs and maintain peace with unions. In November 1985, the airline introduced a daily air-freight service called "Gold Streak" with service to and from Alaska.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In the 1980s, Alaska Airlines began acquiring McDonnell Douglas MD-80s to replace its aging 727s. Alaska was the launch customer for the MD-83, taking delivery of its first MD-80s in 1985.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Also in 1985, the Alaska Air Group was formed as a holding company for Alaska Airlines. In 1986 Alaska Air Group acquired regional airline Horizon Air, which remained a separate brand from Alaska Airlines; since then, both airlines have been subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group. In 1987, Alaska Airlines purchased Jet America Airlines. Alaska initially operated Jet America as a separate airline, but this proved economically unviable and Jet America's operations were merged into Alaska's. Alaska also discontinued all flights to the Midwest and the East coast formerly operated by Jet America. Additional MD-80s entered the fleet via the acquisition of Jet America Airlines in 1987.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: There was also a big seasonal imbalance in travel to Alaska, which mainly took place in the summer. In an effort to compensate for this, the airline introduced service to Mexican resorts, where most travel takes place in the winter. In 1988, the airline began servicing the Mexican resort cities of Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta. By the end of the 1980s, 70 percent of Alaska Airlines' passengers flew south of Seattle and the airline served 30 cities in 6 states outside Alaska. The airline had successfully used the state of Alaska as a springboard to expand into larger, more profitable markets.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: The airline began the 1990s with plans to lease 24 Boeing 737-400s from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). The first aircraft was delivered in April 1992.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In 1991, Alaska Airlines added several routes. In the Russian Far East, it added the cities of Magadan and Khabarovsk, as well as service to Toronto, its first Canadian city and the first city east of the Rocky Mountains. However, Toronto was later dropped in 1992 and the Russian destinations in 1998.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: As the airline marked its 19th consecutive year of profits in a turbulent industry and racked up many awards for customer service, Bruce Kennedy retired in May 1991 and was succeeded by Raymond J. Vecci.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska Airlines also faced increased competition from low-cost carriers. One carrier that competed with Alaska was MarkAir. Since it began operating in 1984, competition had been reduced because it had worked out feeder agreements with Alaska Airlines. However, after Alaska Air declined to buy the airline in the fall of 1991, it intensified competition with Alaska. Mark Air offered low-cost service on the Anchorage-Seattle route and other routes in Alaska, where Alaska Airlines earned almost one-third of its revenues. This hurt Alaska Airlines; for the first time in 20 years, it posted a loss of million. To save money, the airline canceled two proposed maintenance facilities and deferred a large aircraft purchase worth billion. It was able to increase utilization on its existing planes, though. The airline also cut labor costs, but this ended up making relations with unions tense.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: The cost reductions produced quick results. In 1993, their losses decreased to million and they made a million profit the next year. Eight percent of these revenues were generated by record-setting cargo operations.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska had more competition in 1993 when low-cost airline Southwest Airlines entered the Pacific Northwest by purchasing Morris Air. Nevertheless, Alaska Airlines was able to keep its costs down, but it maintained its high level of customer service. The airline also promoted itself as "the last great airline" and with the motto "For the same price, you just get more", yet analysts felt that Alaska Air needed deeper cost cuts. At the same time, the company had many strikes by the flight attendants' union.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska continued to take delivery of new MD-83s during the 1990s, both to meet the demands of a growing route system, and to replace its aging and fuel inefficient 727 fleet. Their last 727 was retired in March 1994. The airline's MD-80 fleet peaked at 44 aircraft in 1996.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Vecci was dismissed in 1995 and replaced with John Kelly, the former Horizon Air CEO. The airline soon expanded West Coast routes to take advantage of an "open skies" agreement between the US and Canada.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska Airlines also pioneered some new technologies through the 1990s. It added a heads-up guidance system in 1989 to operate better in foggy conditions, becoming the first airline to use this technology. In 1995, the airline became the first U.S. airline to sell tickets on the Internet. By 2000, all the airline's planes carried automated external defibrillators, for use in in-flight emergencies. The airline also installed self-service kiosks called "Instant Travel Machines" that printed boarding passes, allowing customers to bypass the traditional ticket counter. An X-ray device, an addition to the unit allowing passengers to check their own baggage was being tested in 1999 at Anchorage. This concept, known as "Airport of the Future" by the airline, was first tested in Anchorage and was later brought to its Seattle hub, and it drew attention from other airlines as well. The airline would also become the first airline in the world to integrate GPS and Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) technology, adding a real-time, three-dimensional display of terrain. The system was operational in all the carrier's Boeing 737-400s by April 1999.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: The late 1990s also saw the carrier recording much profitability. The airline added new training and maintenance facilities. Also, the airline began buying new 737s, ordering three Boeing 737-700s and becoming the launch customer for the Boeing 737-900 when it placed an order for ten of the jets in November 1997.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: With the delivery of Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft starting in 1999, Alaska began launching more medium-haul flights. In 2000, Alaska started service between Anchorage and Chicago.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: On May 15, 2001, the airline took delivery of its first 737-900. In 2001, the airline was granted slot exemptions by the Department of Transportation to operate a nonstop flight from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to Seattle, but it was halted after only a week due to the September 11 attacks. The airline resumed service to Reagan Airport on December 4, 2001, to meet the demand.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In January 2002, William Ayer was named CEO of Alaska Airlines. Ayer had been serving as president under Kelly since 1997, having come to Alaska from Horizon two years earlier after spending 13 years with the smaller airline. Ayer took over as chairman and CEO of the Alaska in 2002 upon Kelly's retirement. He led the company through a transformation called "Alaska 2010" that was intended to insulate the airline from the traditional boom-bust cycle of the airline industry.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In 2002, flights to Newark, New Jersey, were launched and in 2003, services to Orlando began. In 2003, service to Boston began.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In 2003, Alaska Airlines won the Technology Leadership Award from the magazine "Air Transport World" for its pioneering of new technologies both in the airport and within the airplane itself.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In 2005, due to the greater efficiency of the Boeing 737 Next Generation and rising costs for maintenance, fuel, and crew training, Alaska Airlines decided to phase out its remaining 26 MD-80s and trained its pilots to fly the newer Boeing 737-800s that were being ordered to replace them. According to the airline, the MD-80 burned of fuel per hour, while the 737-800 burns just per hour. The last MD-80 flights flew on August 25, 2008, with one flight from San Jose to Seattle and another from Sacramento to Seattle. To mark its transition to an all-Boeing fleet, Alaska Airlines unveiled a 737-800 called "Spirit of Seattle" with Boeing's house colors painted on the fuselage and the airline's Eskimo logo painted on the tail fin.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Also in 2005, Alaska Airlines contracted out many of its jobs, including ground crew positions, to Menzies Aviation. In some cases, this resulted in an almost 40% decline in wages. This agreement was found to be a violation of union agreements in 2008 and the new ground crews caused enough damage to aircraft in the first year to make the savings negligible. In addition, Menzies contractors gained a reputation of stealing from checked bags after a few incidents in 2007.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Starting in June 2006, Alaska Airlines introduced new cargo aircraft to the fleet: five 737-400C combi aircraft and one 737-400F freighter. The aircraft were originally purchased by Alaska as passenger aircraft in 1992, and converted by Pemco Air Services. The 737-400C "combi" aircraft were uniquely suited for the needs of Alaska, carrying a combination of four cargo pallets and 72 passengers, allowing goods and people to be transported to remote towns. 737-400 based aircraft had 20% more passenger and cargo capacity than the aging Boeing 737-200 cargo aircraft they replaced.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: On September 9, 2007, Alaska Airlines introduced daily nonstop service between Portland, Oregon, to Boston. On October 12, 2007, the airline began service to Hawaii with a flight to Honolulu from Seattle. Seattle–Kauai service began on October 28, 2007, and Anchorage–Honolulu service began on December 6, 2007.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: On October 26, 2008, Alaska launched service from Seattle to Minneapolis-Saint Paul. On August 3, 2009, service from Seattle to Austin, Texas, began. Service from Seattle to Houston began on September 23, 2009 and from Seattle to Atlanta on October 23, 2009.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In March 2010, Alaska Airlines began service from San Jose, California, to Kahului and Kona, Hawaii, and also from Sacramento, California, to Kahului, Hawaii.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: On September 27, 2010, Alaska Airlines began service between Seattle and Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: 2011 brought a major change for the Alaska Air Group; starting at the beginning of the year, Horizon Air would no longer operate as a separate regional airline. Instead, it transitioned to a capacity purchase agreement (CPA) business model, which had by that time become the regional airline industry standard. Under the CPA, Horizon operates and maintains its aircraft, while Alaska Airlines is responsible for scheduling, marketing and pricing all flights. As part of the change to the new business model, the Horizon Air brand was retired and all Horizon planes were repainted with a co-branded "" livery.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska Airlines also entered into a similar capacity purchase agreement with the nation's largest regional airline, SkyWest Airlines. Starting in May 2011, SkyWest started operating several routes for Alaska under the brand "Alaska SkyWest".


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In January 2011, Alaska Airlines placed an order for thirteen 737-900ERs. The aircraft have been delivered between 2012 and 2014 Alaska also ordered two 737-800s as part of this order.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska Airlines continues pioneering new technologies today. In 2011 Alaska Airlines partnered with Boeing and Fujitsu to be the first to use a new technology called Component Management Optimization, which will streamline maintenance checks. It will do this by allowing mechanics to point a handheld device at little RFID tags attached to certain parts of the aircraft, which will display information about when parts were last replaced. This will allow mechanics to perform inspections quicker than conventional methods. The program is scheduled to launch in 2012. Also in mid-2011, the airline issued iPads to its pilots to replace 25 pounds of paper flight manuals that pilots are currently required to carry on flights (Electronic flight bag). Alaska Airlines is the first major airline to use iPads on flights; all pilots had iPads by the middle of June 2011. This was the first part of the airline's initiative to do away with the flight bag; the airline is also considering using iPads for displaying aeronautical charts.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In November 2011 Alaska Airlines flew 75 commercial passenger flights in the U.S. powered by biofuel using a 20 percent blend of sustainable biofuel made from used cooking oil that meets rigorous international safety and sustainability standards.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: On February 16, 2012, Alaska Airlines' CEO, Bill Ayer, retired. Ayer became the airline's CEO in 2002 and has been credited for reducing costs and keeping the airline profitable without going through bankruptcy. The airline's president Brad Tilden officially became the new CEO on May 15, 2012.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: On March 9, 2012, Alaska Airlines began service from Seattle to Kansas City and on June 11, 2012, began service to Philadelphia. Seattle-Tacoma-Miami International Airport flights ended on July 15, 2012, but service to nearby Fort Lauderdale began on July 16. New service to San Antonio began on September 17, 2012. Alaska Airlines also began service from San Diego to Orlando on October 11, 2012.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In , Alaska placed the largest order in its history when it ordered a total of 50 Boeing 737s in a deal worth billion at list prices. The order consists of 20 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, 17 Boeing 737 MAX 9s and 13 Boeing 737-900ERs.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska Airlines announced a plan in June 2013 to begin replacing Boeing 737s on flights between Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska, with Bombardier Q400s operated by Horizon Air and based out of Anchorage beginning in March 2014. The plan was intended to reduce operating expenses and eventually lower fares but was met with a great deal of skepticism by Fairbanks residents who expressed their frustration about the safety of the aircraft and outside boarding in the cold winter climate through social media. Alaska Airlines responded to the comments on Facebook attempting to reassure passengers of the safety of the Bombardier Q400s as well as promising to address the unusual aspects of flying in Alaska. The airline ended up modifying one of the jetways at Fairbanks International Airport so that passengers would not have to go outside to board. In November 2017, Alaska announced that it would revert to all jet service in the state of Alaska and that it would close its Horizon Airbase in Anchorage in March 2018.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: New nonstop service from Seattle to Salt Lake City began in 2013 and from Seattle to Albuquerque, Baltimore, Detroit, New Orleans, Tampa, and Cancun all began in 2014. Several other routes were later added from Salt Lake City in a competitive move against Delta Airlines when that carrier added many new routes from Seattle.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In 2015, Alaska Airlines announced 3 new nonstop destinations from Seattle, to Charleston, Nashville, and Raleigh-Durham. These, along with a flight between Los Angeles and Baltimore, began in late 2015 using their 737 aircraft.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: On January 25, 2016, for the first time in 25 years, Alaska Airlines unveiled a major update to its brand, which included a new logo and livery. In the new design, the Alaska wordmark was streamlined and the design of the Eskimo logo was simplified and the ruffs on the parka were made more colorful.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In 2017, Alaska Airlines expanded to Indianapolis, with non-stop service to Seattle in May and San Francisco in September. The San Francisco route was discontinued in September 2018.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: On April 4, 2016, Alaska Air Group announced it would acquire Virgin America, an airline based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. With Virgin America operating hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles, the merger greatly expanded the presence of Alaska Airlines in California and the West Coast.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: After the acquisition was announced, Richard Branson, the head of the Virgin Group and one of the founders of Virgin America, described himself as "sad" and disappointed. Despite the protest from its most high-profile shareholder, the majority of Virgin America's shareholders voted to approve the sale to Alaska Air Group.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska Air Group purchased Virgin America for $57 per share, a total valuation of $2.6 billion, with additional expenses bringing the cost to approximately $4 billion. The acquisition was completed on December 14, 2016.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: The DOT issued a single operating certificate for the combined airlines on January 11, 2018. The airlines merged into the same passenger service system on April 25, 2018, meaning that most of the customer-facing portions of the company (including flight numbers, website, mobile apps, and airport check-in kiosks) have a single brand: Alaska Airlines. Virgin America's final flight was on April 24, 2018. The last Virgin America aircraft was repainted on June 2, 2019.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: The acquisition created one issue for the enlarged Group: Alaska operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet of aircraft, but Virgin America operated an all-Airbus fleet. Even though the 737 and A320 family jets are designed to operate in the same segment – short-to-medium-range segment of up to 200 passengers – the two jets are very different in terms of operation, and anyone wishing to change from a 737 to an Airbus A320 family jet (or vice versa) needs to go through a lengthy training course, a costly process for the airline. The first Airbus leases expired in 2019, with more set to expire between 2021 and 2024. In April 2020, in response to route suspensions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, Alaska grounded 19 inherited Virgin America aircraft, with 12 permanently retired and the other 7 unlikely to return to service; the airline is using pandemic-related flight reductions as an opportunity to retrain many Airbus pilots to fly the Boeing 737 instead.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Due to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alaska Airlines announced that it will be reducing its number of employees by 30%. By the end of 2020, the firm is set to cut out around 7,000 job positions out of its 23,000 total.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In February 2020, Alaska Airlines announced its intention to join the Oneworld airline alliance. On March 31, 2021, Alaska Airlines officially joined the Oneworld alliance, adding seven new airline partners, including Iberia, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines, and SriLankan Airlines.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In November 2021, Alaska Airlines launched seasonal service to Belize, making it the fourth foreign country served by the airline.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In August 2022, Alaska Airlines was reported to be an investor in Twelve, a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) start up and chemical technology company based in Berkeley, California, that aims to make fuel out of carbon dioxide instead of things like organic vegetable oils, which would supposedly be cheaper than existing SAF production. Twelve’s E-Jet fuel would have 90% lower emissions than conventional fuel but not require changing existing aircraft. At proper scale, it would be cost competitive with existing fuel and be helpful in allowing Alaska Airlines to meet emissions goals.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In October 2022, Alaska Airlines announced an agreement with Boeing to purchase 52 additional Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, the airline's largest aircraft order thus far.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska's route system spans more than 115 destinations in the United States, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Some of the locations served in the carrier's namesake state include Anchorage, Adak, Barrow, Cordova, Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Kotzebue, King Salmon, Nome, Prudhoe Bay, and Sitka, several of which are inaccessible by road. The airline began scheduled operations to the Russian Far East in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union, but suspended the service in 1998 following the 1998 Russian financial crisis.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska has historically been one of the largest carriers on the West Coast of the United States, with strong presences in Anchorage, Seattle, Portland, and San Diego, and serving four airports in the Bay Area and four airports in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Some cities in Alaska's network with less traffic are served by regional airline partners under a capacity purchase agreement. Under that agreement, the regional airline is paid to operate and maintain aircraft used on flights that are scheduled and marketed by Alaska Airlines. Alaska's airline partners include wholly-owned regional subsidiary Horizon Air and carrier SkyWest Airlines.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska Airlines is a member of the Oneworld alliance and has codeshares or mileage partnerships with the following airlines:


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska Airlines operates a mainline fleet consisting primarily of Boeing 737 series aircraft, with some Airbus A320 family aircraft formerly operated by Virgin America. Regional flights are operated with Alaska branded Bombardier Q400 and Embraer E175 planes by the Alaska-owned regional airline Horizon Air and contractor SkyWest Airlines.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska Airlines operated with an all–Boeing 737 mainline fleet from August 25, 2008, until January 11, 2018, at which time Alaska officially took possession of Virgin America's fleet of Airbus aircraft. The airline's long-term strategy is to return to operating an all–Boeing 737 mainline fleet, but the transition will last several years as most of the Airbus A320 family aircraft are leased, with contracts set to expire between 2021 and 2024.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: First Class is available on all mainline aircraft and jet regional aircraft. First Class features priority boarding, and complimentary foods, alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages, and towel service. Seating is in a 2-2 configuration featuring recliner style seats.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Main Cabin is Alaska's economy class offering. Main Cabin passengers receive a complimentary non-alcoholic beverages. Foods and alcoholic beverages are available for purchase. On mainline aircraft, every seat in Main Cabin offers USB and power outlets. On turboprop regional aircraft, passengers in main cabin receive a complimentary glass of wine or beer.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Complimentary meals or light snacks are served to passengers in the first class cabin. In 2006 the airline launched its buy on board meal program, known as "Northern Bites", on most flights over 2 ½ hours, including all transcontinental flights. As part of the buy on board program, the airline offers various "Picnic Packs" for a charge in coach/economy class on all flights.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: On February 1, 2012, Alaska Airlines started serving coffee from fellow Seattle company Starbucks on all of its flights. Previously Starbucks coffee was only offered on Horizon Air flights. Horizon Air had offered Starbucks coffee since February 1, 1990, and was the first airline in the world to serve Starbucks coffee onboard its flights. Alaska also provides local offerings such as Beecher's Cheese, Tim's Cascade potato chips and Alaskan Amber beer.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In July 2018, Alaska Airlines updated much of the First Class menu inspired by the airlines' West Coast presence. New items served included Oregon's Salt and Straw Caramel Ribbon Ice Cream, brownies from Los Angeles-based Sweet Lady Jane, and pasta from Cucina Fresca, based in Seattle. New features included ordering food before flights to allow for meals ready upon seating.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska Airlines is recognized by the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) as having a "historic first" in Inflight entertainment by introducing in October 2003 the first portable, hard-drive based, audio-video-on-demand (AVOD) players that deliver a variety of film, TV and audio programs. The device, called the digEplayer was conceived and brought to market by an Alaska Airlines baggage handler named Bill Boyer Jr. digEplayers are available for rent on most long-haul flights for a fee, although they are complimentary to passengers seated in First Class.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska Airlines received the Airline IFE Service of the Year award at the March 2004 IPEC/LARA Inflight Online Awards Dinner based upon the implementation of the digEplayer, which was named IFE Product of the Year.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: In 2015 Alaska introduced Alaska Beyond with Inflight Entertainment Tablets to replace the digEplayers. It is available on all wi-fi enabled aircraft (most Boeing 737s and Embraer 175 jets) – Alaska Beyond allows flyers in First Class and Coach to also use the Gogo® Video Player on their own device in lieu of purchasing the Inflight Entertainment Tablet.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: All Alaska Airlines jets are equipped with an in-flight Wi-Fi and streaming entertainment system. It had been announced that soon internet access service will move to a flat $8 charge per flight, but that change is only applies to the satellite WiFi based aircraft. On the older systems internet service is still fee-based for all passengers, depending on the length of the flight. Streaming entertainment and electronic messaging services are free.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska launched trials of In-flight Wi-Fi Internet service in 2009. The airline tested both the Row44 satellite-based system, before picking the land-based Gogo Inflight Internet system on February 24, 2010. In October 2010, flights between Anchorage and Fairbanks became the first to receive in-flight internet service. In the following months, the system was expanded to cover all routes over the United States served by the airline with the exception of to and from Hawaii. Alaska Airlines began switching to a satellite-based system in the third quarter of 2019, which is available on all flights, including flights over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. As of February 2020, 126 of 241 aircraft have satellite WiFi installed.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: The frequent-flyer program of Alaska Airlines and subsidiary Horizon Air is called Mileage Plan. The program's airline partners include members of all three major airline alliances (Oneworld, SkyTeam, and Star Alliance), as well as several unaffiliated carriers. The Mileage Plan program has no membership fee and allows one-way redemption; accumulated miles expire after 2 years of inactivity. The Plan has elite tiers (MVP, MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K, and MVP Gold 100k) for frequent travelers, who are provided with increased travel benefits.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: On November 1, 2011, Alaska Airlines began a new program, called Club 49, exclusively for Mileage Plan members who are residents of Alaska. Benefits include free checked bags and email notifications about fare sales and discounts. The program has no joining fee and memberships are valid for a year after joining before they need to be renewed.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: The airline operates eight Alaska Lounges: Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, Alaska's largest hub, has three lounges, while Anchorage Airport, San Francisco International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, and Portland International Airport each have one. In addition, Oneworld lounges are now also available for Alaska passengers.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska Air Cargo has regional operations in parts of the United States and has the most extensive air cargo operations on the west coast of the U.S., larger than that of any other passenger airline. Alaska's cargo operations are focused primarily on the northwestern contiguous states and Alaska, between Anchorage and Seattle. South from Alaska, goods that are carried primarily include fresh Alaskan seafood, while products carried north from Seattle primarily include U.S. Postal Service mail; in addition, the airline also carries goods for remote Alaskan communities and personal packages.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: The Alaska Airlines Foundation, headquartered on the grounds of Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage, gives grants to 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations that are classified as charities in Alaska and Washington.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska's pilot group is represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, International and its flight attendants are represented by the Association of Flight Attendants.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Since , the airline's baggage-handling operations have been outsourced to Menzies Aviation. This was in response to the rejection of a contract between IAM (the union which represented the baggage handlers), and Alaska Airlines. It also allowed the airline to save an estimated $13 million a year. In late 2016, Alaska Airlines created a wholly owned subsidiary McGee Air Services which would compete with Menzies Aviation for ground handling contracts in select Alaska cities.


title: Alaska Airlines

text: Alaska Airlines has had eleven major aviation accidents in its long history, nine of which resulted in deaths, with the other two resulting in the aircraft being written off but no deaths. A total of 226 passengers and crew along with two people on the ground have been killed.


title: Metatron

text: Metatron ( "Meṭāṭrōn", "Məṭaṭrōn", "Mēṭaṭrōn", "Mīṭaṭrōn", "Meṭaṭrōn", "Mīṭṭaṭrōn") or Mattatron ( "Maṭṭaṭrōn") is an angel in Judaism mentioned three times in the Talmud in a few brief passages in the Aggadah and in mystical Kabbalistic texts within Rabbinic literature. The figure forms one of the traces for the presence of dualist proclivities in the otherwise monotheistic visions of both the Tanakh and later Christian doctrine. The name Metatron is not mentioned in the Torah nor the Bible and how the name originated is a matter of debate. In Islamic tradition, he is also known as Mīṭaṭrūn (), the angel of the veil. In folkloristic tradition, he is the highest of the angels and serves as the celestial scribe or "recording angel".


title: Metatron

text: In Jewish apocrypha and early Kabbalah, "Metatron" is the name that Enoch received after his transformation into an angel.


title: Metatron

text: Numerous etymologies have been proposed to account for the name Metatron, but there is no consensus, and its precise origin is unknown. Some scholars, such as Philip Alexander, believe that if the name Metatron originated in Hekhalot-Merkabah texts (such as 3 Enoch), then it may have been a magic word like "Adiriron" and "Dapdapiron".


title: Metatron

text: Hugo Odeberg, Adolf Jellinek and Marcus Jastrow suggested the name may have originated from either Mattara () or the verb Memater () 'to guard' or 'to protect'. An early derivation of this can be seen in "Shimmusha Rabbah", where Enoch is clothed in light and is the guardian of the souls ascending to heaven. Odeberg also suggested that the name Metatron might have been adopted from the Old Persian name Mithra. Citing Wiesner, he drew up a number of parallels that appeared to link Mithra and Metatron based on their positions in heaven and duties.


title: Metatron

text: Another hypothesis would derive Metatron from a combination of two Greek words, meaning 'after' and 'throne', which, taken together, would suggest the idea of "one who serves behind the throne" or "one who occupies the throne next to the throne of glory". The primary arguments against this etymology are that Metatron's function as a servant of the celestial throne emerges only later in the traditions regarding him, and θρóνος itself is not attested as a word in Talmudic literature.


title: Metatron

text: A connection with the word () used as "co-occupant of the divine throne", has been advanced by some scholars; This, like the above etymology, is not found in any source materials. It is supported by Saul Lieberman and Peter Schäfer, who give further reasons why this might be a viable etymology. The Latin word ('messenger, guide, leader, measurer') had been suggested by Eleazar of Worms (c. 1165 – c. 1230), Nachmanides, and brought to light again by Hugo Odeberg. When transliterated into the Hebrew language, we get () or (). Gershom Scholem argues that there is no data to justify the conversion of to Metatron. Philip Alexander also suggests this as a possible origin of Metatron, stating that the word also occurs in Greek as –a word for an officer in the Roman army who acted as a forerunner. Using this etymology, Alexander suggests the name may have come about as a description of "the angel of the Lord who led the Israelites through the wilderness: acting like a Roman army metator guiding the Israelites on their way". Another possible interpretation is that of Enoch as a showing them "how they could escape from the wilderness of this world into the promised land of heaven". Because we see this as a word in Hebrew, Judeo-Aramaic, and Greek, Alexander believes this gives even more strength to this etymology.


title: Metatron

text: Other ideas include (, 'a measure'). Charles Mopsik believes that the name Metatron may be related to the sentence from Genesis 5:24 "Enoch walked with God, then he was no more, because God took him." The Greek version of the Hebrew word 'to take' is ('he was transferred'). () is a standard addition to (Metatron) and other angelic names in the Jewish faith. According to Mopsik, () is a transliteration from the Greek .


title: Metatron

text: In the entry entitled "Paradigmata" in his study, "'The Written' as the Vocation of Conceiving Jewishly", John W. McGinley gives an accounting of how this name functions in the Bavli's version of "four entered pardes". This account maintains that "Ishmael ben Elisha" is a rabbinically sanctioned cognomen for Elisha ben Abuyah (the "Akher" of the Bavli's account). This hypothesis explains why the generators of the "chambers" portion of the "Heikhalot" literature make "Ishmael ben Elisha" the major protagonist of their writings even though this Rabbi Ishmael was not directly mentioned in the Bavli's account (in the Gemara to tractate "Khaggigah") of "The Work of the Chariot".


title: Metatron

text: Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport in "Igrot Shi"r" suggests that Metatron is a combination of two Greek words which mean to "change" and "pass away" referring to "Chanoch" (Enoch) who "changed" into an angel and "passed away" from the world.


title: Metatron

text: From Hellenistic times, mention of a second divine figure, either beside YHWH or beneath him, occur in a number of Jewish texts, mostly apocryphal. These Jewish traditions implying a divine dualism were most frequently associated with Enoch. In the rabbinic period they centre on 'Metatron', often in the context of debates over the heretical doctrine of 'two powers in heaven' ("shtei rashuyot ba-shamayim"). Ultimately these ideas appear to go back to differing interpretations of the heavenly enthronement passages at Exodus 24:10f., Daniel 7:9f. and perhaps even Ezekiel 1:26f. These different interpretations later came to distinguish what was orthodox from what was heretical in Judaism.


title: Metatron

text: Among the pseudepigrapha 1 Enoch: Book of Parables presents two figures: the son of man and Enoch. At first, these two characters seem to be separate entities. Enoch views the son of man enthroned in Heaven. Later, however, they prove to be one and the same. Many scholars believe that the final chapters in the Book of Parables are a later addition. Others think they are not and that the son of man is Enoch's heavenly double similarly to the Prayer of Joseph where Jacob is depicted as an angel. The Book of Daniel displays two similar characters: the Ancient of Days and the one like a man. Parts of the text in Daniel are Aramaic and may have been changed in translation. The Septuagint reads that the son of man came as the Ancient of Days. All other translations say the son of man gained access to the Ancient of Days and was brought before that one.


title: Metatron

text: The identification of Metatron with the gnostic "3 Enoch", where the name first appears, is not explicitly made in the Talmud although it does refer to a Prince of the World who was young but now is old. However, some of the earliest kabbalists assumed the connection. There also seems to be two Metatrons, one spelled with six letters (מטטרון), and one spelled with seven (מיטטרון). The former may be the transformed Enoch, Prince of the Countenance within the divine palace; the latter, the Primordial Metatron, an emanation of the "Cause of Causes", specifically the tenth and last emanation, identified with the earthly Divine Presence. Furthermore, the Merkabah text Re' uyot Yehezkel identifies the Ancient of Days from the Book of Daniel as Metatron.


title: Metatron

text: Many scholars see a discontinuity between how Enoch is portrayed in the early Enoch literature and how Metatron is portrayed. Scholars commonly see the character of Metatron as being based on an amalgam of Jewish literature, in addition to Enoch, Michael, Melchizedek, and Yahoel among others are seen as influences.


title: Metatron

text: Gershom Scholem argues Metatron's character was influenced by two streams of thought. One of which linked Metatron with Enoch, while the second was a fusing of different obscure entities and mythic motifs. Scholem argues that this second tradition was originally separate but later became fused with the Enoch tradition. He points to texts where this second Metatron is a primordial angel and referred to as Metatron Rabbah. Scholem theorizes that the two Hebrew spellings of Metatron's name are representative of these two separate traditions. In his view the second Metatron is linked to Yahoel. Scholem also links Yahoel with Michael. In the Apocalypse of Abraham Yahoel is assigned duties normally reserved for Michael. Yahoel's name is commonly seen as a substitute for the Ineffable Name.


title: Metatron

text: In "2 Enoch", Enoch is assigned titles commonly used by Metatron such as "the Youth, the Prince of the Presence and the Prince of the World." However we do not see Enoch referred to as the Lesser YHWH. In "3 Enoch", Metatron is called the Lesser YHWH. This raises a problem since the name Metatron does not seem to be directly related to the name of God YHWH. Scholem proposes that this is because the Lesser YHWH is a reference to Yahoel. In Maaseh Merkabah the text reasons that Metatron is called the Lesser YHWH because in Hebrew gematria Metatron is numerically equivalent to another name of God "Shaddai". Scholem does not find this convincing. Scholem points to the fact that both Yahoel and Metatron were known as the Lesser YHWH. In "3 Enoch" 48D1 Metatron is called both Yahoel Yah and Yahoel. In addition to being one of the seventy names of Metatron from "3 Enoch" 48D, Yahoel and Metatron are also linked in Aramaic incantation bowl inscriptions.


title: Metatron

text: The Babylonian Talmud mentions Metatron by name in three places: Hagigah 15a, Sanhedrin 38b and Avodah Zarah 3b.


title: Metatron

text: Hagigah 15a describes Elisha ben Abuyah in Paradise seeing Metatron sitting down (an action that is not done in the presence of God). Elishah ben Abuyah therefore looks to Metatron as a deity and says heretically: "Perhaps there are, God forbid, two powers in Heaven!" The rabbis explain that Metatron had permission to sit because of his function as the Heavenly Scribe, writing down the deeds of Israel. The Talmud states that it was proved to Elisha that Metatron could not be a second deity by the fact that Metatron received 60 "strokes with fiery rods" to demonstrate that Metatron was not a god, but an angel, and could be punished.


title: Metatron

text: In Sanhedrin 38b one of the minim tells Rabbi Idith that Metatron should be worshiped because he has a name like his master. Rabbi Idith uses the same passage Exodus 23:21 to show that Metatron was an angel and not a deity and thus should not be worshiped. Furthermore, as an angel, Metatron has no power to pardon transgressions nor was he to be received even as a messenger of forgiveness.


title: Metatron

text: In Avodah Zarah 3b, the Talmud hypothesizes as to how God spends His day. It is suggested that in the fourth quarter of the day God sits and instructs the school children, while in the preceding three quarters Metatron may take God's place or God may do this among other tasks.


title: Metatron

text: Yevamot 16b records an utterance, "I have been young; also I have been old" found in Psalm 37:25. The Talmud here attributes this utterance to the Chief Angel and Prince of the World, whom the rabbinic tradition identifies as Metatron.


title: Metatron

text: The tenth century Karaite scholar Jacob Qirqisani believed that rabbinic Judaism was the heresy of Jeroboam of the Kingdom of Israel. He quoted a version of Sanhedrin 38b, which he claimed contained a reference to the "lesser YHVH." Gershom Scholem suggests that the name was deliberately omitted from later copies of the Talmud. Extra-talmudic mystical texts such as Sefer Hekhalot do speak of a "lesser YHWH", apparently deriving the concept from Exodus 23:21, which mentions an angel of whom God says "my name [understood as YHVH, the usual divine Proper Name] is in him".


title: Metatron

text: Metatron also appears in the Pseudepigrapha including "Shi'ur Qomah", and most prominently in the Hebrew Merkabah Book of Enoch, also called 3 Enoch or Sefer Hekhalot (Book of [the Heavenly] Palaces). The book describes the link between Enoch, son of Jared (great grandfather of Noah) and his transformation into the angel Metatron. His grand title "the lesser YHVH" resurfaces here. The word "Metatron" is numerically equivalent to Shaddai (a name of God) in Hebrew gematria; therefore, he is said to have a "Name like his Master".


title: Metatron

text: Metatron says, "He [the Holy One]... called me, 'The lesser YHVH' in the presence of his whole household in the height, as it is written, 'my name is in him.'" (12:5, Alexander's translation.) The narrator of this book, supposedly Rabbi Ishmael, tells how Metatron guided him through Heaven and explained its wonders. 3 Enoch presents Metatron in two ways: as a primordial angel (9:2–13:2) and as the transformation of Enoch after he was assumed into Heaven.


title: Metatron

text: Metatron "the Youth", a title previously used in 3 Enoch, where it appears to mean "servant". It identifies him as the angel that led the people of Israel through the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt (again referring to Exodus 23:21, see above), and describes him as a heavenly priest.


title: Metatron

text: The Zohar describes Metatron as the "King of the angels." and associates the concept of Metatron with that of the divine name Shadday. Zohar commentaries such as the "Ohr Yakar" by Moses ben Jacob Cordovero explain the Zohar as meaning that Metatron as the head of Yetzira This corresponds closely with Maimonides' description of the Talmudic "Prince of the World", traditionally associated with Metatron, as the core "Active Intellect."


title: Metatron

text: The Zohar describes several biblical figures as metaphors for Metatron. Examples are Enoch, Joseph, Eliezer, Joshua, and others. The Zohar finds the word "youth" used to describe Joseph and Joshua a hint that the figures are a metaphor to Metatron, and also the concept of "servant" by Eliezer as a reference to Metatron. The Staff of Moses is also described by the Zohar as a reference to Metatron. The Zohar also states that the two tets in "totaphot" (the Biblical Hebrew term for the phylacteries) are a reference to Metatron. The Zohar draws distinction between Metatron and Michael. While Michael is described repeatedly in the Zohar as the figure represented by the High Priest, Metatron is represented by the structure of the tabernacle itself.


title: Metatron

text: In the Apocalypse of Zerubbabel Metatron is not identified as Enoch. Instead he is identified as the archangel Michael. The text also records that Metatron in gematria is the equivalent of Shadday. While he also appears in other apocalyptic writings he is most prominent in the Apocalypse of Zerubbabel. In these writings he plays the role of heavenly interlocutor delivering knowledge about the coming messianic age.


title: Metatron

text: The earliest account of Metatron within Islamic scriptures might derive directly from the Quran itself. Uzair, according to Surah 9:30-31 venerated as a "Son of God" by Jews, is another name for the prophet Ezra, who was also identified with Metatron in Merkabah Mysticism. Islamic heresiologists repeatedly accused Jews for venerating an angel as a "lesser god" (or an "Incarnation of God"), especially for celebrating Rosh Hashanah. The name itself is attested early in Islam by Al-Kindi and Al-Masudi. In a Druze text about cosmology, he is mentioned among the canonical Archangels in Islamic traditions. Al-Suyuti identifies him as the angel of the veil and only he knows about that which lies beyond. He is also frequently mentioned in the magical works by Ahmad al-Buni, who describes Metatron as wearing a crown and a lance, probably constituting the Staff of Moses. In other magical practises, he is invoked to ward off evil jinn, devils, sorcerers and other magical threats.


title: Metatron

text: Ibn Hazm mentions that Jews, although regarding Metatron as an angel, would celebrate Metatron as a lesser god 10 days each year, probably a reference to Rosh Hashanah in connection with Merkabah mysticism that Metatron took part on the creation of the world.


title: The Road (2009 film)

text: The Road is a 2009 American post-apocalyptic survival film directed by John Hillcoat and written by Joe Penhall, based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy. The film stars Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee as a father and his son in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.


title: The Road (2009 film)

text: The film received a limited release in North American cinemas from November 25, 2009, and was released in United Kingdom cinemas on January 4, 2010. It received generally positive reviews from critics; the performances of Mortensen and Smit-McPhee garnered praise. It also received numerous nominations, including a BAFTA nomination for Best Cinematography.


title: The Road (2009 film)

text: A man and his young son struggle to survive after an unspecified catastrophe results in an extinction event causing the death of all plant life and virtually all animal life. The man and boy travel on a road to the coast in hope that they can find safe haven, scavenging for supplies in their journey, and avoiding roaming cannibalistic rape gangs armed with guns and the world’s remaining automobiles.


title: The Road (2009 film)

text: Years earlier, the man's wife gives birth to their son shortly after the catastrophe and she gradually loses hope. When the man shoots an intruder using one of three bullets they have saved for their family as a last resort, she accuses him of wasting the bullet deliberately to prevent her suicide. Removing her coat and hat in the freezing cold, she walks into the woods, never to be seen again.


title: The Road (2009 film)

text: In the present, after shooting a member of a gang of cannibals who stumbles upon them, the man is left with only one bullet. Later, exploring a mansion, he and the boy discover people locked in the basement, imprisoned as food for their captors. When the armed cannibals return, the man and his son hide. With discovery imminent, the man prepares to shoot his son, but they flee when the cannibals are distracted by the escaping captives.


title: The Road (2009 film)

text: Further down the road, the man and boy discover an underground shelter full of canned food and supplies. They feast and bathe. When they hear noises above, including a dog, the man decides it is too dangerous to remain and they move on. Further along the road, the son persuades him to share food with a near-blind old man.


title: The Road (2009 film)

text: At the coast, the man leaves the boy to guard their possessions while he swims out to scavenge a beached ship. The boy falls asleep and their supplies are stolen. The man chases down the thief and takes everything from him, even his clothes. This distresses the boy so much the man turns back and leaves the clothes and a can of food for the thief.