text: In 1980, the General Assembly got rid of this final distinction, making Arabic an official and working language of all its committees and subcommittees, as of 1 January 1982. At the same time, the GA requested the Security Council to include Arabic among its official and working languages, and the Economic and Social Council to include Arabic among its official languages, by 1 January 1983.


title: Official languages of the United Nations

text: As of 1983, the Security Council (like the General Assembly) recognized six official and working languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.


text: In the Economic and Social Council, as of 1992, there were six official languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) of which three were working languages (English, French, and Spanish). Later, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian were added as working languages in the Economic and Social Council.


text: In 2001, the United Nations drew criticism for relying too heavily on English, and not enough on the other five official languages and Spanish-speaking member nations formally brought this to the attention of the secretary-general. Additionally, there was a movement to consider adding official languages or creating a grouping of semi-official languages for languages with over 50 million speakers. This did not happen. Secretary General Kofi Annan responded to these criticisms that full parity of the six official languages was unachievable within current budgetary restraints, but he nevertheless attached great importance to improving the linguistic balance and worked to increase parity between the existing 6 official languages.


text: On 8 June 2007, resolutions concerning human resources management at the UN, the General Assembly had emphasized "the paramount importance of the equality of the six official languages of the United Nations" and requested that the secretary-general "ensure that vacancy announcements specified the need for either of the working languages of the Secretariat, unless the functions of the post required a specific working language".


text: In 2008 and 2009, resolutions of the General Assembly have urged the Secretariat to respect the parity of the six official languages, especially in the dissemination of public information.


text: The secretary-general's most recent report on multilingualism was issued on 4 October 2010. In response, on 19 July 2011, the General Assembly adopted Resolution No. A/RES/65/311 on multilingualism, calling on the secretary-general, once again, to ensure that all six official languages are given equally favourable working conditions and resources. The resolution noted with concern that the multilingual development of the UN website had improved at a much slower rate than expected. The drive to improve parity and focus on multilingualism continued throughout the 2010s and led to the United Nations news and media website (https://news.un.org/en/) to begin including translations of its content into Hindi, Portuguese, and Swahili in 2018.


text: In 2020, UN Portuguese Language Day was created in addition to the UN Language Day's associated with the six official languages.


text: In June 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on multilingualism that encouraged UN organizations to disseminate important communication and messages in official as well as non-official languages, similar to the semi-official policies proposed to Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon. These languages included Bengali, Hindi, Persian, Portuguese, Swahili, and Urdu and the GA recognizes the efforts of the UN to use non-official languages too.


text: In July 2022, UN Swahili Language Day was created. Portuguese and Swahili are the only non-official UN languages to have a UN Language Day.


text: As of June 2018, the media branch of the United Nations, UN News (https://news.un.org), includes website translations into Hindi, Portuguese, and Swahili in addition to the 6 official languages. Other UN documents and websites are also translated into Bengali (referred to as Bangla), French Creole, Indonesian / Malay, Turkish, and Urdu, but not on an official or consistent basis.


text: While there are no formal proposals before the General Assembly to add another official language, various individuals and states have informally raised the possibility of adding a new official language to accommodate more of the worlds population. It has been noted that the six official languages are mostly spoken in the Northern Hemisphere and therefore many of the proposed languages are spoken in the Southern Hemisphere. Most of the proposed languages are world languages and rank as Level 0 (International) on the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS) and tend to be lingua francas that are either supra-regional or supercentral according to the global language system theory.


text: Bengali is the fifth most spoken native language in the world, with over 300 million speakers, after Chinese, Spanish, English and Hindi. In April 2009, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina argued in front of the United Nations General Assembly that the Bengali language should be made one of the official languages of the UN. This was backed by a resolution adopted unanimously by the assembly of the Indian state of West Bengal in December.


text: Hindi is the fourth most spoken native language in the world, after Chinese, Spanish, and English. It is one of the official languages of India and Fiji (as Fiji Hindi) and its dialects are still being spoken by minorities in Nepal, Suriname and Mauritius (to a lesser extent). It is mutually intelligible to a high degree with Urdu which is official and spoken in Pakistan and together they are often considered the same language, referred to as Hindustani or Hindi-Urdu. Although very similar verbally, they do have different written scripts; Hindi is written in the Devanagari script and Urdu is written in the Nastaʿlīq script. Hindi has more than 550 million speakers in India alone, of whom 422 million are native, 98.2 million are second language speakers, and 31.2 million are third language speakers. Hindi is the lingua franca of the northern part of India, along with Pakistan (as Urdu), with its importance as a global language increasing day by day.


text: In 2007, it was reported that the government of India would "make immediate diplomatic moves to seek the status of an official language for Hindi at the United Nations". According to a 2009 press release from its Ministry of External Affairs, the Government of India has been "working actively" to have Hindi recognized as an official language of the UN. In 2015, Nepal's Vice President Parmananda Jha stated his firm support for the inclusion of Hindi as an official language of the UN.


text: Indonesian / Malay is an Austronesian macrolanguage spoken throughout Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. It is an official language in Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore where it is known as Standard Malay or Bahasa Melayu, and is the official language of Indonesia where it is referred to as Indonesian or Bahasa Indonesia. It is used widely throughout Southeast Asia as a lingua franca. Spoken by more than 290 million people, Indonesian is considered the 11th most commonly spoken language by Ethnologue, as of 2022. Indonesian and Malay is also prominent on the internet, with one estimate ranking it sixth by number of Internet users.


text: The Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud) has increasingly promoted Indonesian as an international language, with one targets aiming for official UN language status by 2045.


text: Portuguese is the sixth most spoken language in the world. Many Lusophones have advocated for greater recognition of their language, which is widely spoken across five continents: Portugal in Europe; Brazil (the largest lusophone nation) in South America; Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe in Africa; Timor-Leste and Macau in Asia. It is an official language in ten countries.


text: In 2008, the President of Portugal announced that the then eight leaders of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) had agreed to take the necessary steps to make Portuguese an official language. The media branch of the UN, UN News, already includes translations into Portuguese.


text: Swahili is a lingua franca throughout eastern Africa and is especially prevalent in the African Great Lakes region. Swahili, known as Kiswahili by its speakers, is an official language of Eacu, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is an official language of the African Union and is officially recognised as a "lingua franca" of the East African Community. It is one of the most commonly spoken languages in Africa, is a compulsory subject in all Kenyan schools and is increasingly being used in eastern Burundi.


text: With between 150 and 200 million speakers, the Swahili lexicon is similar to that of other eastern Bantu languages such as Comorian, which have differing levels of mutual intelligibility. Swahili is already used unofficially in many UN organizations as the UN has an office in Nairobi (the United Nations Office at Nairobi), in addition to other major UN global offices in New York City, Vienna, and Geneva). The media branch of the UN, UN News, already includes translations into Swahili.


text: In September 2011, during a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed a desire to see Turkish become an official UN language.


text: In a 1999 resolution, the General Assembly requested the secretary-general to "appoint a senior Secretariat official as coordinator of questions relating to multilingualism throughout the Secretariat".


text: Following Riesco's retirement, Miles Stoby of Guyana was appointed Coordinator for Multilingualism, effective 6 September 2001.


text: In 2003, Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Shashi Tharoor of India as coordinator for multilingualism. This responsibility was in addition to Tharoor's role as under-secretary-general for communications and public information, head of the Department of Public Information.


text: The current coordinator for multilingualism is Catherine Pollard of Guyana. She replaces Kiyo Akasaka of Japan, who was also under-secretary-general for communications and public information.


text: In 2010, the UN's Department of Public Information announced an initiative of six "language days" to be observed throughout the year, one for each official language, with the goal of celebrating linguistic diversity and learning about the importance of cross-cultural communication. In 2020 Portuguese Language Day was added and in 2022 Swahili Language Day was added. The days and their historical significance are:


text: UN independent agencies have their own sets of official languages that sometimes are different from that of the principal UN organs. For example, the General Conference of UNESCO has nine official languages including Hindi, Italian, and Portuguese. The Universal Postal Union has just one official language, French. IFAD has four official languages: Arabic, English, French, and Spanish.


text: The next largest international grouping after the UN is the Commonwealth of Nations which is exclusively English speaking, and the Organisation internationale de la francophonie which is exclusively French speaking (both organisations have 54 members). All other international bodies in commerce, transport and sport have tended to the adoption of one or a few languages as the means of communication. This is usually English and French (see: list of international organisations which have French as an official language). Regional groups have adopted what is common to other elements of their ethnic or religious background. Standard Arabic is usually adopted across Muslim nation groups. Most of non-Arab Africa is either Francophone or Anglophone because of their imperial past, but there is also a lusophone grouping of countries for the same reason.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: Croatia will become the 20th member of the eurozone from 1 January 2023. A fixed conversion rate has been set at 1 € = 7.53450 kn.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: Croatia's currency, the kuna, has used the euro (and prior to that one of the euro's major predecessors, the German mark or Deutsche Mark) as its main reference since its creation in 1994, and a long-held policy of the Croatian National Bank has been to keep the kuna's exchange rate with the euro within a relatively stable range.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: Croatia's EU membership obliged it to introduce the euro once it fulfilled the euro convergence criteria. Prior to Croatian entry to the EU on 1 July 2013, Boris Vujčić, governor of the Croatian National Bank, stated that he would like the kuna to be replaced by the euro as soon as possible after accession. This must be at least two years after Croatia joins the ERM II (in addition to it meeting other criteria). Croatia joined ERM II on 10 July 2020. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković stated in November 2020 that Croatia intended to adopt the euro on 1 January 2023 and the Croatian government adopted an action plan for euro adoption later in December 2020.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: Croatians already use the euro for most savings and many informal transactions. Real estate, motor vehicle and accommodation prices are mostly quoted in euros.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: In its first assessment under the convergence criteria in May 2014, the country satisfied the inflation and interest rate criteria, but did not satisfy the public finances, ERM membership, and legislation compatibility criteria. Subsequent convergence reports published in June 2016, May 2018, and June 2020 came to the same conclusions. The report published in June 2022 concluded Croatia fulfilled all the criteria for adopting the euro.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: Croatia's EU membership obliges it to join the eurozone once it fulfils the euro convergence criteria. Prior to Croatian entry to the EU on 1 July 2013, Boris Vujčić, governor of the Croatian National Bank, stated that he would like the kuna to be replaced by the euro as soon as possible after accession. This must be at least two years after Croatia joins the ERM II (in addition to it meeting other criteria).


title: Croatia and the euro

text: The Croatian National Bank had anticipated euro adoption within two or three years of EU entry. However, the EU's response to the financial crises in eurozone delayed Croatia's adoption of the euro. The country's own contracting economy also posed a challenge to its meeting of the convergence criteria. While keen on euro adoption, one month before Croatia's EU entry governor Vujčić stated "...we have no date (to join the single currency) in mind at the moment". The European Central Bank was expecting Croatia to be approved for ERM II membership in 2016 at the earliest, with euro adoption in 2019.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: In April 2015, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović stated in a Bloomberg interview that she was "confident that Croatia would introduce the euro by 2020", although the then-Prime Minister Zoran Milanović subsequently refused to commit to such timeline for the euro adoption


title: Croatia and the euro

text: In November 2017, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that Croatia is aiming to join ERM II by 2020 and to introduce the euro initially by 2025. Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, stated in June 2019 that "Croatia is ready to join the ERM-2".


title: Croatia and the euro

text: A letter of intent of joining the ERM II mechanism was sent on 5 July 2019 to the ECB, signed by Minister of Finance Zdravko Marić, and the governor of the Croatian National Bank Boris Vujčić. The letter marks the first formal step towards the adoption of the euro. Croatia committed to joining the Banking union of the European Union as part of its efforts to join ERM II. On 23 November 2019, European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said that Croatia could join ERM II in the second half of 2020.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: Croatia joined ERM II on 10 July 2020. The central rate of the kuna was set at 1 euro = 7.53450 kuna. The earliest date for euro adoption, which requires two years of ERM participation, is 10 July 2022.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: On 11 November 2020, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković stated that Croatia intended to adopt the euro on 1 January 2023.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: In June 2021, on the occasion of 30 years of independence, Prime Minister Plenković said the government's ambition is to join the eurozone on the target date. In September, speaking at the 11th meeting of the National Council for the Introduction of the Euro as Croatia's official currency, Plenković said Croatia had the full support of the European Commission and the European Central Bank to join the euro area. He restated his confidence Croatia would be ready to enter the euro area from the start of 2023. In September 2021, following the meeting of the Eurogroup in Slovenia, Croatia signed an official agreement (a Memorandum of Understanding) with the European Commission and eurozone member states on practical steps for the actual minting of Croatian euro coins. On 7 December, Croatia and the European Commission signed a Partnership Agreement for the organization of information and communication campaigns, concerning the changeover from the kuna to the euro in Croatia.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: On 10 December 2021, Finance Minister Marić announced that the bill on introducing the euro currency in Croatia was being drafted and could be outlined in mid-January, with its final adaption expected in April 2022. The formal announcement of accession to the euro area is expected in mid-2022. He further stated, "As of 1 January 2023, we will change over to the euro overnight and then have another two weeks for both currencies in circulation and citizens will be able to continue to pay in kuna but after that payments will be in euro. The dual prices will remain for at least one year".


title: Croatia and the euro

text: On 14 December 2021, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković stated that he expected to have a final decision from the EU, on Croatia's accession to the Schengen and euro areas, in 2022.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: In January 2022, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has announced that from 5 September, prices will be displayed in both kunas and euros in the country, and through the whole of 2023. In 2023, everyone will be able to exchange kunas for euros free of charge in banks, in the Croatian Post offices, and in financial services and payment systems branches.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: On 13 May 2022, the Croatian Parliament voted in favour of the proposal to introduce the euro as legal tender.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: In May 2022, the European Commission completed an assessment of Croatia's progress. The official decision for euro adoption is done by the EU's ECOFIN council and is expected to be as soon as July. Croatia joined ERM II on 10 July 2020, subsequently this decision must be at least two years after Croatia joined the ERM II.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: On 1 June 2022, the Commission assessed in its 2022 convergence report that Croatia fulfilled all the criteria for joining the euro area and proposed to the Council that Croatia adopt the euro on 1 January 2023.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: On 16 June 2022, the euro area member states recommended that Croatia become the 20th member. Paschal Donohoe, President of the Eurogroup said:


title: Croatia and the euro

text: On 24 June 2022, the European Council supported the Commission's proposal for Croatia to adopt the euro. "It endorses the Commission's proposal that Croatia adopt the euro on January 1, 2023 and invites the EU's ECOFIN council to adopt swiftly the relevant Commission proposals," the Council added.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: On 5 July 2022, the European Parliament approved Croatia's entry in eurozone with 539 votes in favour, 45 against and 48 abstentions. Parliament supported the report of Siegfried Mureșan that Croatia has fulfilled all the criteria for adopting euro on 1 January 2023.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: On 12 July 2022, the Council of EU adopted the final three legal acts that were required for Croatia to adopt the euro as legal tender. Croatia will become the 20th member of the eurozone from 1 January 2023. A fixed exchange rate has been set at €1 = 7.53450 kn.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: From 5 September 2022 until 31 December 2023 display of all prices in dual currency is mandatory to prevent unjustified price increases. The public can buy euro starter kits to familiarize themselves with the new currency since 1 December 2022. These coins are not to be used before 1 January 2023.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: Payments can be made in both currencies during the first two weeks of January 2023 (with change being given in euro) and after then only in euro. Kuna coins can be exchanged by the Croatian National Bank for three years following the changeover, while it will be possible to exchange kuna notes indefinitely.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: While the images of the reverse side of euro coins is common across coins issued by all countries, each country can chose identifying marks for euros it mints.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: On 21 July 2021, Plenković stated that national identifying marks on the Croatian euro coins would be the Croatian checkerboard, the map of Croatia, a marten, Nikola Tesla and the Glagolitic script.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: On 4 February 2022, the Government of Croatia presented the designs for the national side of the future Croatian euro coins, which were chosen in an open contest by the Council of the Croatian National Bank. For the €2 coin, a design with the geographical map of Croatia by designer Ivan Šivak was chosen. The edge inscription uses lyrics from Ivan Gundulić's 1628 pastoral play "Dubravka". For the €1 coin, a design with a marten ( in Croatian) standing on a branch, an animal after which the Croatian currency at the time was named, by designer Stjepan Pranjković was chosen. For the 10c, 20c and 50c coins, a design with Nikola Tesla, who was born in Smiljan (present-day Croatia, then-Austrian Empire), by designer Ivica Družak was chosen. Finally, for 1c, 2c and 5c coins, a design with ligature bound letters Ⱈ (H) and Ⱃ (R) in Glagolitic script by designer Maja Škripelj was chosen. Each author received 70,000 kn (approx. €9,300) for their chosen design.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: After suspicions arose online that the design of the €1 coin used an unlicensed image of a marten on a branch by the Scottish photographer Iain Leach, the designer of the €1 coin, Stjepan Pranjković withdrew his design on 7 February. On 8 February, the Croatian National Bank announced they will hold a new competition for the design of the Croatian €1 coin with a marten motif.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: On 4 May 2022, at the 15th session of the National Council for the Introduction of the Euro the new 1 euro (€1) coin design was presented to the public. The chosen design depicts a stylised marten on a chessboard background by artists Jagor Šunde, David Čemeljić and Fran Zekan. The new €1 design was approved by the Council of the EU on 20 April.


title: Croatia and the euro

text: The Croatian Ministry of Finance estimated the cost of the changeover from the kuna to the euro to be around 2 billion kuna. Government analysis indicates that most of the cost would be on the loss of the conversion business by the banking system, which is expected to lead to a rise in other banking fees. There is a possibility of a general price increase for consumers, with a simultaneous general currency conversion risk for most debtors.


title: Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass

text: Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass is the debut book by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. A poetry collection featuring over 30 original poems and photography, including "13 longer poems" and several short pieces, the collection is Del Rey's first published work and was released by Simon & Schuster on September 29, 2020.


title: Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass

text: In December 2019, Del Rey announced that she would be releasing a spoken word album to accompany the book, also featuring music by American producer Jack Antonoff, which was set to be released in January 2020. Following a delay due to personal problems, the album was set to be released in February through Interscope/Polydor. The cover artwork, a painting of an orange tree by artist Erika Lee Sears, was released in April 2020. The final release dates for the book were announced on July 9, 2020, with the album being released on July 28, 2020, and the hardcover book to follow on September 29, 2020. Half of the proceeds from the book will go to the Navajo Water Project.


title: Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass

text: Since her musical beginnings, Del Rey has expressed how she has been inspired by poetry, with Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg being instrumental to her songwriting. Del Rey has written several poems which she has used as spoken monologues in her music videos and short films, the most notable being the lengthier, melancholic pieces featured "Ride" (2012) and "Tropico" (2013), in the latter of which she also recited poems from Whitman's "Leaves of Grass".


title: Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass

text: In 2018, Del Rey announced her intention to release a book of poetry. She explained how, following some writer's block while beginning work on "Norman Fucking Rockwell!" (2019) in 2017, she had begun writing poetry. Shortly afterwards, Del Rey revealed she would be binding the book herself and be selling copies for as little as a dollar. When asked why the book would be so inexpensive, Del Rey replied "because my thoughts are priceless." However, Lana's original plans changed when Simon & Schuster acquired the rights and published the book regularly and at a standard price.


title: Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass

text: During her promotional cycle of "Norman Fucking Rockwell!", Del Rey described the book as consisting of "thirteen long poems", though she has teased shorter pieces on social media since, including "Never to Heaven", "Happy", and "Quiet Waiter-Blue Forever," among other pieces.


title: Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass

text: "Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass" was released on September 29, 2020, as a 128 page hardcover book. On October 3, 2020, Del Rey hosted a surprise reading and signing of the book at a Barnes & Nobles store in Los Angeles. The event was met with controversy due to Del Rey's decision to wear a mesh mask and take pictures in close proximity to her fans during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The event got eventually shut down for not following health regulations. Del Rey responded to the criticism, saying that the mask had a plastic layer sewn into it.


title: Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass

text: "Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass" was also released as Del Rey's first spoken word album. It was released through Interscope and Polydor on July 28, 2020, two months before the release of the book. Del Rey selected 14 of the 30 poems that appear in the book to record. In an Instagram livestream Del Rey originally announced the album's release date as January 4, 2020 She expressed her desire to have 50 percent of the profits benefit charities supporting Native American land constancy and protecting indigenous rights in the United States. She added that the album would cost "about a dollar" and that the charities would rotate every couple of years. However the album has never been sold for $1.


title: Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass

text: "Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass" was released exclusively in physical formats, CD and vinyl record. The album's only single, "LA Who Am I to Love You", was released on the same day as the album and was made available on all platforms, including a limited time streaming release.


title: Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass

text: Aside from Del Rey's own voice, the album features instrumental production from frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff, with whom Del Rey first worked on "Norman Fucking Rockwell!" (2019), and later on "Chemtrails over the Country Club" (2021)


title: Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass

text: The album peaked at number 19 on "Billboard"'s US Top Album Sales chart and number 3 on the US Vinyl Albums chart.


title: Stephen J. Townsend

text: Stephen J. Townsend (born 1959) is a United States Army four-star general who served as Commander, United States Africa Command from 26 July 2019 to 8 August 2022. He previously commanded the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command from March 2018 until June 2019 and XVIII Airborne Corps from May 2015 until January 2018.


title: Stephen J. Townsend

text: Townsend has served with the 82nd Airborne Division, the 7th Infantry Division, the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 78th Division (Training Support), and the 10th Mountain Division. He fought in Operation Urgent Fury, Operation Just Cause, and Operation Uphold Democracy. With the 10th Mountain Division, he served in the War in Afghanistan, leading a task force in Operation Anaconda. Townsend commanded the 3d Brigade Combat Team, 2d Infantry Division leading it in the Battle of Baqubah in the Iraq War, and later served in command of the 10th Mountain Division in the War in Afghanistan. He became commander of XVIII Airborne Corps in May 2015 and, in late August 2016, took command of the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, until III Corps commander Lieutenant General Paul E. Funk II took over command of the operation in 2017.


title: Stephen J. Townsend

text: Townsend was born in Scheinfeld, Bavaria, West Germany, in 1959 to a German art student mother and an Afghan medical student father, the result of a love affair. He was adopted soon after birth by an American military family in Germany. His adoptive father, James Townsend, was a staff sergeant in an armored unit. Townsend grew up in Griffin, Georgia, graduating from Griffin High School in 1978. Townsend graduated from North Georgia College in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in psychology. He was commissioned into the Infantry from the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps thereafter. Later in life, Townsend also earned a Master of Military Arts and Sciences (MMAS) degree at the United States Army Command and General Staff College, and a Master of Strategic Studies (MSS) degree at the Army War College.


title: Stephen J. Townsend

text: After earning his commission as a second lieutenant from North Georgia College in 1982, Townsend became a platoon leader, executive officer and assistant S3 in the 2d Battalion (Airborne), 505th Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division. He participated in Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada. He was transferred to the 7th Infantry Division (Light) at Fort Ord as the 4th Battalion, 21st Infantry S3. He became commander of the battalion's Company A. After being transferred to Fort Benning, Townsend became S3 (Air) and assistant S3 at 75th Ranger Regiment headquarters. He participated in Operation Just Cause in Panama and later became commander of Company C, 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.


title: Stephen J. Townsend

text: Townsend graduated from the Command and General Staff College and returned to Fort Benning, where he was Senior Liaison Office for the 75th Ranger Regiment headquarters and the S3 of the 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He participated in Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti. Townsend was transferred to United States Pacific Command in Hawaii as J-5 Action Officer. He later became Special Assistant to the Combatant Commander. Townsend was sent to Fort Drum in New York, becoming S3 of the 2d Brigade, 78th Division (Training Support) in 1999. In 2000, he became commander of the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry in the 10th Mountain Division (Light). Townsend became commander of Task Force Polar Bear, deployed to Afghanistan during Operation Anaconda in 2002. Townsend graduated from the United States Army War College and became Division G3 of the 10th Mountain Division (Light) in 2003. From 2004, he was Director of Operations, C/J3 for Combined Joint Task Force 180 during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.


title: Stephen J. Townsend

text: Townsend was appointed commander of the 3d Brigade Combat Team, 2d Infantry Division at Fort Lewis. He led Task Force Arrowhead during the Iraq War. Townsend led the brigade in the Battle of Baqubah in June 2007. Townsend became executive officer for the United States Central Command commander at Tampa, Florida. He then became senior commander at Fort Campbell and then was Deputy Commanding General (Operations) for the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) from 2009. Townsend served in the same position for Combined Joint Task Force 101 during Operation Enduring Freedom. He became Director of the Pakistan/Afghanistan Coordination Cell at the Joint Chiefs of Staff. On 4 December 2012, Townsend became commander of the 10th Mountain Division. He also led Combined Joint Task Force 10 and Regional Command East at Bagram.


title: Stephen J. Townsend

text: On 4 May 2015, Townsend became commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps. He was promoted to lieutenant general shortly before. Townsend became commander of Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) – Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) on 21 August 2016, replacing Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland. In this capacity he commanded US forces as they engaged in an air war (supported by special forces and limited Marine deployments plus material and intelligence support to bolster allied ground forces) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). U.S. airstrikes killed tens of thousands of ISIL fighters and catalyzed enormous losses in territory for them.


title: Stephen J. Townsend

text: Under Townsend, the CJTF-OIR coalition together with allies from the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Iraqi Security Forces, and the Libyan Government of National Accord launched simultaneous successful offensives against ISIL's capitals in Syria, Iraq, and Libya respectively: the Raqqa campaign (2016–2017), the Battle of Mosul (2016–2017), and the Battle of Sirte (2016). By the end of 2017 ISIL no longer held any territory in Iraq or Libya, held very little territory in Syria, and was down to under ten thousand fighters in total. The Iraqi Parliament declared in December 2017 that ISIL had effectively been eradicated from Iraq, though ISIL insurgent activity continued regularly.


title: Stephen J. Townsend

text: On 26 March 2017, United States forces allegedly bombed the Tabqa Dam in Syria using bombs including at least one BLU-109 bunker-buster bomb with a 2,000 lb warhead. This attack was under a "no-strike" list due to the hundreds of thousands people that lived downstream of the dam, roughly 10,000 of which were estimated to have died if the dam failed. Townsend, then in command of the Combined Joint Task Force, called claims that the US had struck the dam "crazy reporting" and "the coalition has taken every precaution to ensure the integrity of Tabqa Dam".


title: Stephen J. Townsend

text: On 27 November 2017, Townsend was nominated for appointment as the next commanding general of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and promotion to general. The nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on 20 December. Townsend took command of TRADOC on 2 March 2018.


title: Stephen J. Townsend

text: Townsend became the fifth commander of the United States Africa Command on 26 July 2019. He leads a command responsible for building defense capabilities, responding to crises, deterring and defeating transnational threats in order to advance United States national interests and promote regional security, stability, and prosperity, all in concert with interagency and international partners. Africa Command is one of seven United States Department of Defense geographic combatant commands. In August 2022 he was succeeded at AFRICOM by General Michael Langley of the United States Marine Corps.


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: Kinesthetic learning (American English), kinaesthetic learning (British English), or tactile learning is learning that involves physical activity. As cited by Favre (2009), Dunn and Dunn define kinesthetic learners as students who prefer whole-body movement to process new and difficult information. However, scientific studies do not support the claim that using kinesthetic modality improves learning in students identified as kinesthetic learning as their preferred learning style.


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: Kinesthetic intelligence, which was originally coupled with tactile abilities, was defined and discussed in Howard Gardner's "" in 1983. In this book, Gardner describes activities such as dancing and performing surgeries as requiring great kinesthetic intelligence: using the body to create (or do) something.


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: Margaret H'Doubler wrote and spoke about kinesthetic learning during the 1940s, defining kinesthetic learning as the human body's ability to express itself through movement and dance.


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: Neil Fleming, a New Zealand teacher and educational theorist, designed the VARK model (visual, aural or auditory, read/write and kinesthetic). According to Fleming's model, kinesthetic learners are similar to tactile learners in that they like hands-on experiential learning. They excel in concrete learning such as on-the-job training, work experience, internships, simulations and so forth (Kte'pi, 2016).


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: The Fleming VAK/VARK model (one of the most common and widely used categorizations of the various types of learning styles) categorized learning styles as follows:


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: Skill memory also fits into the category of kinesthetic learning, as it is what happens when somebody is learning kinesthetically. Skill memories are difficult to convey except by direct demonstration, may be acquired without awareness, and require several repetitions.


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: Rita Dunn contends that kinesthetic and tactile learning are the same style. Galeet BenZion asserts that kinesthetic and tactile learning are separate learning styles, with different characteristics. She defined kinesthetic learning as the process that results in new knowledge (or understanding) with the involvement of the learner's body movement. This movement is performed to establish new knowledge or extend existing knowledge. Kinesthetic learning is at its best, BenZion found, when the learner uses language (their own words) in order to define, explain, resolve and sort out how their body's movement reflects the concept explored. One example is a student using movement to work out the sum of 1/2 plus 3/4 via movement, then explaining how their motions in space reflect the mathematical process leading to the correct answer.


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: In addition, Denig (2004) in his article 'Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles: Two Complementary Dimensions', presented Dunn and Dunn's Learning Styles Model, which addresses 21 elements that affect students' learning. These elements are broken down into five stimuli: environmental, emotional, sociological, physiological and psychological variables. Under this model, physiological stimuli consist of four elements, one of which is perceptual. Perceptual depicts the auditory, visual, tactual and kinesthetic styles whereby learners learn more effectively. This gives meaning to the concept that kinesthetic learners learn best through whole-body activities and experiences while tactual learners learn best through manipulation of items with their hands.


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: Depending upon memory systems the kinesthetic learners respond differently. The different kinds of learners mainly include whole body learners, hands-on learners, doodlers, students learning through emotional experiences. The learning and the memory is generally short term. To achieve a long-term memory different techniques can be used depending on the learning style. Mind mapping, story mapping, webbing, drawing can be used to enhance the learning of a doodler. For the hands-on learner, role play, clay, building and math manipulative can be used. The whole book body learner can learn better through role-playing, body mapping, puzzles and use of computer technology which allows for certain movement while learning. Students can be engaged in group activities and activities which involve bodily movement such as dance, drama, sports can be used to nurture their learning. The following strategies can be used to facilitate kinesthetic memory through procedural motor pathway such as:


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: The kinesthetic learners who have memories associated with emotions learning can be facilitated through dance, debate, drama, role-play, and charades. This kind of learning leads to a long-term memory since it is associated with emotions such as excitement, curiosity, anger, disappointment and success.


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: Perceptual-motor skills are skills learned by movement patterns guided by sensory inputs. There are closed skills and open skills. Closed skills are skills learned such as dance. A ballerina learns a specific set of moves and doesn't stray from the exact routine, which is why it is called a closed skill; there is one option. Open skills are skills that require more flexibility in learning such as team sports. A person learning how to play football learns multiple drills, strategies, and practices scrimmages in order to learn how to work in multiple types of environments. Because no football game is the same, and a person can't know going into a game the exact steps the other team is going to take, open skills are required to become successful. Cognitive skills also are a part of kinesthetic learning, perceptual learning, and skill memories. Some people learn better in an environment that is more hands-on, and this builds their cognitive skills as well. Cognitive skills are skills which require individuals to solve problems or apply strategies rather than to move their bodies based on what they perceive. Solving a puzzle would be an example of a cognitive skill.


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: Learners with kinesthetic preferences believe that they learn through active movements and experiences. Activities such as playing, puppetry, drama, acting and designing ensures involvement of the learners.


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: Some strategies that purportedly motivate students who prefer this learning involve unmotivated students during activities:


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: Subjects can be taught to cater for kinesthetic learners. Through a strength-based and learner-centered approach, educators should engage kinesthetic students in activities that require movements because they learn by doing. Activities could include role-plays, drama, dance, races and competitions, field trips and projects.


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: Favre (2009) stated that instructional strategies should include movement in a game-like format. Favre suggested designing kinesthetic games. For example, "game boards such as Tic-Tac-Toe affixed to the classroom floor and hopscotch template painted on the playground tarmac or sidewalks around the school" (p. 32). Favre also suggested that instructors can use "commercial games such as Twister, Jeopardy and Nerf basketball and create game cards that align with their lesson objectives" (pp. 32–33).


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: Reese & Dunn (2007) in their research of college freshmen learning styles provided recommended that "to ensure success for kinesthetic learners, classes should provide active experiences for planning or carrying out objectives, such as visits, project, role playing, simulations and floor or wall games" (p. 108).


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: Dena Lister highlights the improvements that were found in classroom performance of sixth-grade learning-support students. Lister writes, "The LSS students also produced significantly the first Learning-Style treatment, suggesting that this particular Learning-Style instructional approach, rather than Traditional teaching, was a more effective instructional strategy for these students."


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: AJ Richards points out it can be very helpful for physics instructors to develop and employ pedagogical techniques that help students to visualize and to reason productively about these concepts. A particularly effective strategy uses kinesthetic learning activities.


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: Skylar Anderson points out signs that may lead one to believing they are a kinesthetic learner. For example, in his work he states the following signs: your knee is bouncing constantly. You regularly kick a soccer ball, or toss a baseball, or spin a basketball on your finger while having a conversation. You crack your fingers while preparing for, or doing, an activity. You talk using your hands as a complement to your speech. You pace when you really need to cram information for a test. You mime things to boost your memory. You have gotten in trouble more than twice for tapping your pencil on your desk or clicking your pen in the same class period. You think best when you're exercising. You remember your notes best when you've written them down with your hand rather than typing them out. You touch everything you pass in a store without thinking about it.


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: There are three parts of the brain that are the most important to kinesthetic and skill learning. The basal ganglia, cerebral cortex, and the cerebellum all play equally important roles in the ability to learn new skills and master them.


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: The basal ganglia are a collection of ganglia (clusters of neurons) that lie at the base of the forebrain. The basal ganglia receive information from other parts of the brain such as the hippocampus and cortical areas that send messages about the outside world. Most of these messages are sensory, meaning what a person is physically feeling. The basal ganglia then interpret this information and sends it on a path to the thalamus and the brain stem which both play large factors in physical movement. Therefore, the basal ganglia are the beginning of the process for somebody who is learning-by-doing to respond viscerally to the stimuli around them. It is important once a skill is learned to practice it. This can change how basal ganglia circuits participate in the performance of that skill and that synaptic plasticity is a basic neural mechanism enabling such changes. The more a person practices, the more plasticity they develop.


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: The cerebral cortex is the brain tissue covering the top and sides of the brain in most vertebrates. It is involved in storing and processing of sensory inputs and motor outputs. In the human brain, the cerebral cortex is actually a sheet of neural tissue about 1/8th inch thick. The sheet is folded so that it can fit inside the skull. The neural circuits in this area of the brain expand with practice of an activity, just like the synaptic plasticity grows with practice. Clarification of some of the mechanisms of learning by neuroscience has been advanced, in part, by the advent of non-invasive imaging technologies, such as positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI). These technologies have allowed researchers to observe human learning processes directly. Through these types of technologies, we are now able to see and study what happens in the process of learning. In different tests performed the brain being imaged showed a greater blood flow and activation to that area of the brain being stimulated through different activities such as finger tapping in a specific sequence. It has been revealed that the process at the beginning of learning a new skill happens quickly, and later on slows down to almost a plateau. This process can also be referred to as The Law of Learning. The slower learning showed in the FMRI that in the cerebral cortex this was when the long term learning was occurring, suggesting that the structural changes in the cortex reflect the enhancement of skill memories during later stages of training. When a person studies a skill for a longer duration of time, but in a shorter amount of time they will learn quickly, but also only retain the information into their short-term memory. Just like studying for an exam; if a student tries to learn everything the night before, it will not stick in the long run. If a person studies a skill for a shorter duration of time, but more frequently and long-term, their brain will retain this information much longer as it is stored in the long-term memory. Functional and structural studies of the brain have revealed a vast interconnectivity between diverse regions of the cerebral cortex. For example, large numbers of axons interconnect the posterior sensory areas serving vision, audition, and touch with anterior motor regions. Constant communication between sensation and movement makes sense, because to execute smooth movement through the environment, movement must be continuously integrated with knowledge about one's surroundings obtained via sensory perception. The cerebral cortex plays a role in allowing humans to do this.


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: The cerebellum is critical to the ability for a human or animal to be able to regulate movement. This area of the brain wraps around the brain stem and is very densely packed with neurons and neural connections. This part of the brain is involved in timing as well as movement. It assists in predicting events, especially in the formation, execution, and timing of conditioned responses. The cerebellum plays a very important role in all forms of kinesthetic learning and motor function. For a ballerina, it is important to be able to control their movements and time it exactly right for their routine. For a football player it is important to be able to regulate movement when running throwing, and being able to have control over where the ball goes as well as the timing of it.


title: Kinesthetic learning

text: All three of these important systems in the brain function together as a team, one not being more important than the other. They work together to allow for responding to sensory events, timing, controlling physical actions, and more. However, it is important to remember that unless a person is actively practicing, these parts of the brain won't help them get to their full potential. Alterations in the brain that occur during learning seem to make the nerve cells more efficient or powerful. Studies have shown that animals raised in complex environments have a greater volume of capillaries per nerve cell—and therefore a greater supply of blood to the brain—than the caged animals, regardless of whether the caged animal lived alone or with companions. Overall, these studies depict an orchestrated pattern of increased capacity in the brain that depends on experience.


title: Liver failure

text: Liver failure is the inability of the liver to perform its normal synthetic and metabolic functions as part of normal physiology. Two forms are recognised, acute and chronic (cirrhosis). Recently, a third form of liver failure known as acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is increasingly being recognized.


title: Liver failure

text: Acute liver failure is defined as "the rapid development of hepatocellular dysfunction, specifically coagulopathy and mental status changes (encephalopathy) in a patient without known prior liver disease".


title: Liver failure

text: The disease process is associated with the development of a coagulopathy of liver aetiology, and clinically apparent altered level of consciousness due to hepatic encephalopathy. Several important measures are immediately necessary when the patient presents for medical attention. The diagnosis of acute liver failure is based on a physical exam, laboratory findings, patient history, and past medical history to establish mental status changes, coagulopathy, rapidity of onset, and absence of known prior liver disease respectively.


title: Liver failure

text: The exact definition of "rapid" is somewhat questionable, and different sub-divisions exist, which are based on the time from onset of first hepatic symptoms to onset of encephalopathy. One scheme defines "acute hepatic failure" as the development of encephalopathy within 26 weeks of the onset of any hepatic symptoms. This is sub-divided into "fulminant hepatic failure", which requires onset of encephalopathy within 8 weeks, and "subfulminant", which describes onset of encephalopathy after 8 weeks but before 26 weeks. Another scheme defines "hyperacute" as onset within 7 days, "acute" as onset between 7 and 28 days, and "subacute" as onset between 28 days and 24 weeks.


title: Liver failure

text: Chronic liver failure usually occurs in the context of cirrhosis, itself potentially the result of many possible causes, such as excessive alcohol intake, hepatitis B or C, autoimmune, hereditary and metabolic causes (such as iron or copper overload, steatohepatitis or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease).


title: Liver failure

text: "Acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF)" is said to exist when someone with chronic liver disease develops features of liver failure. A number of underlying causes may precipitate this, such as alcohol misuse or infection. People with ACLF can be critically ill and require intensive care treatment, and occasionally a liver transplant. Mortality with treatment is 50%.


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: Grizzly Bear is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002. For most of its tenure, the band has consisted of Edward Droste (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Daniel Rossen (vocals, guitar, banjo, keyboards), Chris Taylor (bass, backing vocals, woodwinds, production), and Christopher Bear (drums, percussion, backing vocals). The band employs both traditional and electronic instruments, and their sound has been categorized as psychedelic pop, folk rock, and experimental. The band is known for their use of vocal harmony, with all four members contributing vocals and lead vocals alternating between Rossen and Droste.


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: Initially a solo project for Droste, the first Grizzly Bear album, "Horn of Plenty" (2004), was a lo-fi studio project released on Kanine Records. The album featured drumming contributions from Bear, who would go on to join the project full-time in 2004, alongside Taylor and Rossen for live performances. Performing as a four-piece, the resulting chemistry turned Grizzly Bear into a band of equal collaborators, with Rossen becoming its co-lead vocalist and second principal songwriter, and Taylor adopting the role of producer and multi-instrumentalist. The band's second studio album, "Yellow House", was released to widespread critical acclaim in 2006 and was the first to feature the full Grizzly Bear band.


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: Preceded by the single "Two Weeks", the band's third studio album, "Veckatimest" (2009), increased their exposure significantly, reaching #8 on the "Billboard" 200 and selling over 220,000 copies. After extensive touring, the band reconvened for the more experimental and expansive album, "Shields", which was released to further acclaim in 2012. The band's fifth and most recent studio album, "Painted Ruins", was released in 2017. Following the album's accompanying tour, the band entered an extended hiatus, with Droste announcing that he had left the band in 2020.


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: Grizzly Bear began as a moniker for songwriter Ed Droste's music in the early 2000s. Regarding the band's origins as a solo project, Droste noted, "It was just like doing a little home project, and I thought "oh, this is fun, I'm just going to call this stuff Grizzly Bear. [...] Our name was actually just a nickname for an old boyfriend of mine."


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: In 2004, Droste released Grizzly Bear's debut album, "Horn of Plenty". Predominately a solo album, the album featured contributions from future drummer Christopher Bear. "Rolling Stone" magazine wrote of the first album, "the pure atmospheric power of the songs is more than enough to hypnotize."


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: Droste and Bear were subsequently joined by bass guitarist and producer Chris Taylor, and performed four shows together as a three-piece. Regarding these shows, Droste noted, "We've never played without the four of us, really. The first couple shows we did before we knew Dan [Rossen], we did with three of us and they kind of sucked. From the get-go, when we were trying to put together a live show, that's when we discovered our sound and that's why I think that was the beginning of the band."


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: Guitarist and vocalist Daniel Rossen, a friend of Bear's from jazz-camp, joined the band soon after. Rossen stated, "For a long time, I only played my songs to close friends; and it just happened that I lived with Chris Taylor during my second year of college, so he heard them. He was my entrance into Grizzly Bear. He joined the band first, then after a while he suggested I come in with these songs. [...] When I joined, I did about two rehearsals with them, worked out one of my songs to put into the set, then a week later we were out on the road for a two-month tour. It was a real trial-by-fire thing. I was close with Chris and Chris [Bear], but I didn’t know Ed [Droste] at all; it was weird getting to know a stranger by spending all day in the same car."


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: Regarding the decision to turn Grizzly Bear into a full band, Droste noted: "I was quite happy to relinquish the idea of being a solo artist. I hate the thought of being under a spotlight with my guitar, mumbling into a microphone. It's horribly scary to me."


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: In 2005, "The Remixes", a collection of remixed songs from "Horn of Plenty", was released by Kanine Records. Contributors include Simon Bookish, Final Fantasy, Soft Pink Truth, DNTEL, Efterklang, and Ariel Pink.


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: Their first record as a quartet and to feature material written by Rossen, "Yellow House", was released on Warp Records in September 2006. It was named for Droste's mother's house where it was recorded and ranked as one of the top albums of 2006 by "The New York Times" and Pitchfork. In 2007, Rossen recorded a cover of JoJo's single "Too Little Too Late" for Droste's twenty-ninth birthday. Also in 2007, the band released "Friend", an EP which features outtakes, alternate versions of songs, and covers of Grizzly Bear material done by Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS), Band of Horses, and Atlas Sound. In addition, members of the Dirty Projectors and Beirut collaborated with the band on "Alligator" and the EP's hidden track.


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: In summer of 2008, Grizzly Bear opened for Radiohead on the second leg of their North American tour. In Toronto, on their last date of the tour together, Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood spoke of his love for Grizzly Bear, on stage, calling them his favorite band. Of the experience, Taylor has commented: “It was shocking, and kind of unbelievable. It still is unbelievable. Opening for Radiohead was a huge honor for us, as a band and as individuals. We’ve all had long-term relationships with Radiohead’s music, so we didn’t want to take that opportunity for granted, and do anything less than the best we could." Christopher has also commented that it "was like a dream."


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: The group then convened at a house on Cape Cod to solidify their third full-length album, "Veckatimest", which released in May 2009 and was named "after a tiny, uninhabited island on Cape Cod that the band visited and was inspired by, particularly liking its Native American name." Upon release the album reached No. 8 on the US "Billboard" 200 chart, and met with widespread critical acclaim. Chris Bear has noted that compared to "Yellow House", the 2009 release "Veckatimest" is more of an accessible pop record. He said: "I think that it’s kinda clearer, clearer equals more accessible I feel like clearer equals more accessible in general as a rule." "Veckatimest" made many Top Album lists for 2009 (#1 "Wall Street Journal", No. 6 Pitchfork, No. 6 "New York Times", No. 8 "Time").


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: In 2009 Grizzly Bear played at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on February 28 with Owen Pallett, backed by an orchestra arranged by Nico Muhly and conducted by Michael Christie. They played new songs from "Veckatimest" as well as songs from "Yellow House". Ed Droste has stated that many songs (such as "Central and Remote", "Reprise" and "Campfire") will not be played again unless backed by an orchestra. In March 2009, they played two showcases at South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. In July 2009, they played at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, Illinois.


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: In 2009, Grizzly Bear collaborated with singer Victoria Legrand on the song "Slow Life" for "". The song is featured in the film as Bella sees an illusion of Edward underwater.


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: In March 2012, Daniel Rossen released a solo EP, "Silent Hour/Golden Mile", consisting of tracks he had written for the band's forthcoming album, but were not used.


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: On June 5, 2012, the song "Sleeping Ute" from their then-untitled upcoming studio album was posted on the band's website, along with the album's track listing. The band also announced tour dates in conjunction with the release of the song, which coincided with the release date of the album. On July 9, 2012, the band revealed the album's title to be "Shields".


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: On September 4, 2012, the album leaked on the internet. Then on September 10, the album was available for an early listen via the NPR website.


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: Grizzly Bear was scheduled to headline and curated ATP's I'll Be Your Mirror festival at Alexandra Palace in London, UK on May 5, 2013. However, after the event was initially postponed to November 2013, I'll Be Your Mirror was cancelled in August due to "problems with the venue and new date".


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: On September 17, 2013, the track "Will Calls (Marfa Demo)" was debuted, together with the announcement of two expanded "Shields" re-releases, followed by the song "Listen and Wait (Bonus Track)" on October 30. The re-releases, "Shields: Expanded" and "", were released on November 11, 2013 and include eight B-side remixes, five unreleased songs, and three remixes sold in two formats: a two-CD set and 12" vinyl.


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: In January 2014, Grizzly Bear closed out their international "Shields" tour with a sold-out performance at the Sydney Opera House. The performance was streamed live internationally on YouTube.


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: Following the completion of the "Shields" tour, Daniel Rossen embarked upon a solo tour performing tracks from his debut EP, and his other band, Department of Eagles. During the tour, Rossen commented on the future of Grizzly Bear, stating: "We don't have a clear plan. We tend to like to let the records come together naturally. I think everyone wants a little bit of a break and everyone's scattered around the globe. I think towards the end of the year, if it feels natural, we'll start again." In a more recent interview with "Rolling Stone" magazine, singer Ed Droste explained that a new album was in the works. Unlike the recording process for "Shields", where Grizzly Bear ensconced themselves at studios in Marfa, Texas and Cape Cod, Massachusetts to construct a truly collaborative album, Droste says the creative process was "more fractured." While two members still live in New York, the other half, including Droste, have traded coasts and now reside in Los Angeles. As of June 2016, Droste had been working on the next album with the rest of Grizzly Bear.


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: On April 4, 2017, Grizzly Bear posted a short video clip to their website and Instagram account—presumably a demo or sample from their upcoming album. Later, they uploaded a number of clips (all brief and without lyrics) with increasing frequency. On May 5, 2017, the song "Three Rings" was released onto Vevo. Soon after, on May 17, 2017, a new single, "Mourning Sound" was released, and a new album was announced titled "Painted Ruins". As promotion, a third track "Four Cypresses" was released onto the band's Vevo on June 23, 2017. A fourth promotion single was released on July 21, 2017 titled "Neighbors".


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: On August 18, 2017 "Painted Ruins" was released to positive reviews. The album was followed by a music video for the track "Losing All Sense," released onto the band's Vevo on September 28, 2017, featuring actresses Busy Philipps and Freckle.


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: In 2020, Ed Droste confirmed that he had departed from the band and had enrolled in school to become a therapist. His departure was not announced publicly, but was confirmed during a podcast appearance in 2020.


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: Both Daniel Rossen and Chris Bear collaborated with Fleet Foxes on the track "Cradling Mother, Cradling Woman" from their 2020 album "Shore". The pair continued working together on Rossen's debut solo album, "You Belong There", which was released in April 2022.


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: In an interview promoting the album's release, Rossen noted that Grizzly Bear is currently on hiatus. "There's no official line here," Rossen said. "I still work closely with Chris Taylor, I still talk with Chris Bear fairly often — he lives in Spain now. Ed and I are still in contact, but he needs a little distance from us for personal reasons. He's pursuing a different career. We may do something again. When those ["Painted Ruins"] tours ended, I was about to have a child, Chris Taylor just had his son, Chris Bear has a family, he was pursuing other work. It made sense to have a break there to do other things. We've always taken time between records. I don't know what the future holds. I think for now it's safe to say we're inactive, but I'm very reluctant to make some grand statement like, 'We've broken up!' I don't trust that, especially because people come back together again. I think it's entirely possible that we could, I just don't know."


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: Rossen elaborated in a further interview: "I think where we are now is just a very natural — you know, Grizzly Bear, I joined that band at the end of 2004, so you consider how long that was. The stretch that we were active was like 14 years. And I think if anything it’s just like, people change, lives change. I really respect bands and artists that can keep it together forever, but I think we all just wanted to do some different things with our lives for a little bit. That doesn’t mean the band’s over. It’s not. There’s no official line on that. We’re not broken up or anything. It’s just, you know, Ed is pursuing a different career. He went back to school. He wanted to do that. He was having not the most productive time on the road. It was not great for him. It wasn’t really great for any of us by the end, honestly. It was just… we wanted to do something different."


title: Grizzly Bear (band)

text: In 2009, Grizzly Bear contributed "Service Bell" (with Feist) and "Deep Blue Sea" to the AIDS benefit album "Dark Was the Night" produced by the Red Hot Organization. That same year they also released a charity T-shirt via the Yellow Bird Project, to raise money for the Brighter Planet Foundation.


title: Surinamese people

text: Surinamese people are people who identify with the country of Suriname. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Surinamese, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being "Surinamese".


title: Surinamese people

text: Suriname is a multiethnic and multilingual society, home to people of various ethnic, racial, religious, and national origins, with the majority of the population made up of Old World immigrants and their descendants. As a result, the Surinamese do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizenship and allegiance to Suriname. Aside from the indigenous population, nearly all Surinamese or their ancestors arrived since the Age of Discovery and establishment of the colony of Surinam, primarily from Africa, Europe and Asia.


title: Surinamese people

text: Most of the inhabitants live in the north of the country, in the districts of Paramaribo, Wanica and Nickerie. The least populated county is Sipaliwini, which covers most of the nation's interior and is sparsely inhabited. More than half of the population lives in and around the capital.


title: Surinamese people

text: Migration to the Netherlands began during the colonial era. Initially this was mainly the colonial elite but expanded during the 1920s and 1930s to include other inhabitants looking for better education, employment, or other opportunities.


title: Surinamese people

text: Approximately 350,000 individuals of Surinamese descent now live in the Netherlands, with mass migration beginning in the years leading up to Suriname's independence in 1975, and continuing during military rule in the 1980s and for largely economic reasons extended throughout the 1990s. Other emigration destinations include French Guiana and the United States.


title: Surinamese people

text: In Suriname, there are no fewer than twenty languages spoken. Most Surinamese are multilingual. In terms of numbers of speakers are the main languages in Suriname, successively the Dutch language, Sranan Tongo (Surinamese Creole), English, Sarnami (Surinamese Hindustani), Javanese, and different Maroon languages (especially Saramaccan and Aukan). Since most Surinamese people are multilingual (for instance Dutch and Sranan Tongo), the society functions as a diglossia, where Dutch is the standardized and formal prestige register and Sranan Tongo generally the informal street vernacular. Dutch serves as the language of law, government, business, media and education.


title: Surinamese people

text: According to the results of the seventh general population and housing census, which was held in 2004, Dutch is the most spoken home language in the country, at around 60% of the population speaking it at home. A further 24% of the population speaks Dutch as a second language. Sranan Tongo, is spoken primarily as a second language in 46% of households, along with 22% Sarnami Hindustani and 11% Javanese.


title: Erechtheion

text: The Erechtheion (latinized as Erechtheum /ɪˈrɛkθiəm, ˌɛrɪkˈθiːəm/; Ancient Greek: Ἐρέχθειον, Greek: Ερέχθειο) or Temple of Athena Polias is an ancient Greek Ionic temple-telesterion on the north side of the Acropolis, Athens, which was primarily dedicated to the goddess Athena. The building, made to house the statue of Athena Polias, has in modern scholarship been called the Erechtheion (the sanctuary of Erechtheus or Poseidon) in the belief that Pausanias' description of the Erechtheion applies to this building. However, whether the Erechtheion referred to by Pausanias is indeed the Ionic temple or an entirely different building has become a point of contention in recent decades.


title: Erechtheion

text: In the official decrees the building is referred to as “... το͂ νεὸ το͂ ἐμ πόλει ἐν ο͂ι τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἄγαλμα” (the temple on the Acropolis within which is the ancient statue). In other instances it is referred to as the Temple of the Polias. The joint cult of Athena and Poseidon-Erechtheus appears to have been established on the Acropolis at a very early period, and they were even worshipped in the same temple as may, according to the traditional view, be inferred from two passages in Homer and also from later Greek texts. The extant building is the successor of several temples and buildings on the site. Its precise date of construction is unknown; it has traditionally been thought to have been built from circa 421–406 BC, but more recent scholarship favours a date in the 430s, when it could have been part of the programme of works instigated by Pericles.


title: Erechtheion

text: The Erechtheion is unique in the corpus of Greek temples in that its asymmetrical composition doesn’t conform to the canon of Greek classical architecture. This is attributed either to the irregularity of the site, or to the evolving and complex nature of the cults which the building housed, or it is conjectured to be the incomplete part of a larger symmetrical building. Additionally, its post-classical history of change of use, damage and spoliation has made it one of the more problematic sites in classical archaeology. The precise nature and location of the various religious and architectural elements within the building remain the subject of debate. The temple was nonetheless a seminal example of the classical Ionic style, and was highly influential on later Hellenistic, Roman and Greek Revival architecture.


title: Erechtheion

text: The classical Erechtheion is the last in a series of buildings approximately on the mid-north site of the Acropolis of Athens, the earliest of which dates back to the late Bronze Age Mycenaean period. L.B. Holland conjectured that the remains under the Erechtheion was the forecourt of a palace complex similar to that of Mycenae. The scant evidence of the period LHI includes potsherds and scraps of a wall under the foundations of the Ionic temple. From the remainder of the shaft-grave period, there is nothing from LHII-LH IIIA, only from LH IIIB is there evidence of habitation in the form of terracing, children’s graves and a limestone column base. Hurwitt, arguing by analogy with population centres elsewhere from the period, maintains that there may have been a cult centre on the acropolis to the armed goddess "a-ta-na-po-ti-ni-ja", which could represent the primitive origins of the Athenian cult. Additionally, the Mycenaean well and Cyclopean walls, which appears to have been in use between LH IIIB and LH IIIC, attests to attempts to fortify the hill-top as the "strong-build house of Erechtheus" recorded in the Homeric tradition. The well may be an indication of the location of the cult of Erechtheus.


title: Erechtheion

text: The archaeology under the Erechtheion is also poorly evidenced for the archaic and early classical periods. Despite this a number of proposals have been made for a structure on the site immediately before the Achaemenid destruction of Athens in 480 BC. Orlandos reconstructs an obliquely orientated hexastyle amphiprostyle temple, which would have contained the "trident marks" in its pronaos. Others restore a number of "temene" adjacent to the Temple of Athena Polias or a tetrastyle naiskos. To the south of the Erechtheion site would have been the Dörpfeld Foundations Temple, now thought to be the archaic Temple of Athena Polias, the foundations of which are visible on the acropolis today. Examination of the remains of the north edge of this temple by Korres might suggest the boundaries of the pre-Ionic Erechtheion site and therefore determine the shape of the classical "temenos". Korres argues that a columnar monument marking the kekropeion would have been approximately where the Porch of the Maidens is, and that there was a stoa for the Pandroseion adjacent.


title: Erechtheion

text: The building accounts for the classical Erechtheion from 409–404 BC have survived allowing an unusually secure dating of the construction of the temple. Nevertheless, the question remains when was the building project inaugurated? There is no primary evidence for when construction began which is conjectured to be either the 430s, or 421 during the Peace of Nikias. The latter is broadly the consensus view, the rationale being that this lull in the long Peloponnesian war would have been the most convenient time to begin a major construction project and that there was a likely hiatus in building during the Sicilian disaster of 413. Alternatively, dates as early as the mid-430s and as late as 412 have been put forward. Work seems to have ended in 406–405 and the last accounts were from 405–404 though some mouldings were never finished and some of the bosses of some stone blocks were not chiselled off.


title: Erechtheion

text: The names of the architect-overseers ("episkopos"), Philokles and Archilochos, have come down to us. They worked on the site after 409. But the identity of the architect ("architecton") is unknown. Several candidates have been suggested; namely, Mnesikles, Kallikrates and Iktinos.


title: Erechtheion

text: The subsequent history of the building has been one of damage, restoration and change of use, which complicates the task of reconstructing the original structure. The first recorded fire that the classical building suffered was perhaps 377–376, a second more severe fire took hold sometime in 1st century BC or earlier followed by a campaign of repair. The Erechtheion along with the Parthenon suffered a further major destruction at some point in the 3rd or 4th century AD, whether this was due to Herulian or Visigoth attack or a natural disaster is unclear. After which, Julian the Apostate undertook the reconstruction of the Parthenon as a pagan temple in circa AD 361 and 363, at which point the Parthenon was the only attested site of the cult of Athena on the Acropolis, implying that the Erechtheion had been abandoned.


title: Erechtheion

text: In the post-classical period, the Erechtheion was subject to a number of structural changes that must be assumed to be have been prompted by the building's adaptation to Christian worship. The first was its conversion to a pillared hall with a groin vaulted roof at some point in the 4th century. In the late 6th or 7th century, the Erechtheion was converted into a three-aisled basilica church with the West Corridor serving as the narthex. The central portion of the east foundations was removed to make room for a curved apse. In the 12th century, the basilica was renovated. The round apse was enlarged and was given straight sides on the exterior. The chancel screen was extended to the North and South Walls. During the Frankish occupation (1204–1458), the Erechteion was deconsecrated and changed to a Bishop’s residence, probably for the Catholic bishops of Athens who held mass in the Latin Cathedral of Church of Our Lady of Athens. With the advent of Ottoman control and the adaptation of the Acropolis plateau to a garrison, the Erechtheion took on its final incarnation as the Dizdar's harem. However, new research questions whether the building was actually in use as a harem, as this is not found in Turkish sources. This final period of the building's use also witnessed the beginning of traveller's accounts and architectural recording of the structure along with its despoilation by antique collectors. Perhaps the greatest damage to the edifice came with the siege of 1826–1827, when the Maiden porch and west facade were felled by cannon fire and the masonry joints were scavenged for lead. This ruined state is the condition of the site that prompted the first major anastylosis of the Erechtheion by Kyriakos Pittakis between 1837 and 1840.


title: Erechtheion

text: Externally, the temple is an Ionic hexastyle, prostyle pronaos which faces east. The building is in Pentelic marble with a blue Eleusinian limestone frieze. The temple’s walls were constructed in ashlar isodomic masonry. The east porch doesn’t exhibit any entasis, but the stylobate is curved. The naos is apparently divided in two, with the floor of the western part of the building three meters lower than the eastern section but with identical ceiling height. The western end of the naos has three entrances. On the north of the western naos, there is a great door and step leading to the lower Ionic prostyle, dipteral tetrastyle porch of six columns in total, with a distinctive double anta at the north-west corner. Next to this porch is an outside terrace and steps leading to the east porch. East of the north doorway is an underground opening that leads to a crypt under the north porch with a pit for snakes. On the west end of the north elevation of the western naos, a further door and step lead to a walled "temenos", the Sanctuary of Pandrosos, where the Pandroseion, tomb of Kekrops, altar of Zeus Herkeios and the sacred olive tree of Athena would have been.


title: Erechtheion

text: On the south wall of the western naos was an L- shaped staircase which leads to the higher Porch of the Maidens (or Caryatid Porch, or Korai Porch), a prostyle tetrastyle porch, or pteron, having six sculpted female figures as supports, all facing south and standing on a low wall. The only entrance to Porch of the Maidens was the stairway from the interior of the naos. The western end is a double-height space, and at the second-storey level, the outside west facing wall has an engaged base moulding with four engaged columns topped by Ionic capitals. The spaces between these columns were of open grillwork. From the outside, the western facade would have had the appearance of having a floor at the same level as the eastern naos. The coffered roof of the north porch is continued at the Porch of the Maidens.


title: Erechtheion

text: There is no wholly satisfactory account of the interior layout of the Erechtheion in antiquity since it has over time been entirely erased. The points of contention are whether and where there was an internal dividing wall, and whether the building had two storeys as suggested by Pausanias' description of it as a διπλοῦν... οἴκημα. The conventional view of the reconstruction of the interior of the Erechtheion naos is that it was divided in two in imitation of the opisthodomos of the archaic temple of Athena Polias and that the altar of Athena was in the west half of the chamber and the altars of Erechtheus, Poseidon and Boutes in the other. Alternatively, that the Erechtheion was a replacement for the east cella of the archaic Temple of Athena and would have had an east cross wall.


title: Erechtheion

text: There are two figural sculptural programmes on the Erechtheion; the frieze and the korai of the Maiden porch.


title: Erechtheion

text: The entablature of the naos and north porch has a frieze of blue Eleusinian limestone that was decorated with white Pentelic marble figures attached by means of iron dowels. This "cameo-like" effect of the contrasting stones was unique amongst Ionic temples and rare in any other applications. Of the sculpted elements, 112 fragments of the frieze have survived, perhaps 80% of the figures. Although attempts to match dowel hole to figure have not been successful, therefore the order of the figures and overall theme of frieze remains unclear. However, several attempts to identify individual scenes within the sequence of figures have been essayed. According to Pallat, the north porch had a chariot race with a quadriga on the west face and Athena catching the daughters of Kekrops opening the basket containing Erichthonios on the north and the birth of Ericthonios on the east.


title: Erechtheion

text: Other suggestions for aspects of the narrative of the frieze include the story of Ion, the sacrifice of Erectheus’ daughters to save Athens and the departure of Erechtheus for the battle with Eumolpos. Peter Schultz’s recent reinterpretation of the standing god and goddesses on the east porch of the Nike Athena temple as the birth of Athena invites comparison with the birth scene on the Parthenon pediment and has prompted the question of whether there is a tradition of birth scenes in Attic sculpture that was continued on the Erechtheion frieze. Typical of the Ionic style there is no pediment sculpture on the Erechtheion.


title: Erechtheion

text: There are several theories about the function and significance of the Maiden Porch. Kontoleon has argued that it served as a monopteral heroön to the tomb of Kekrops. Scholl has argued that the korai are mourners for Kekrops because of the association of caryatids with tombs. Shear disputes this is a tomb since it does not follow the pattern of other religious tokens, for Shear the architectural supports are derived from the bases of the columns of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus and is typical of the miniaturization of elements of the Ionic style when it was imported from Asia Minor to the Greek mainland. Nor was the use of korai as an architectural support element a novelty, used before in the Siphnian Treasury and perhaps the Kore of Lyons and therefore represent the classical expression of an established archaic tradition. Then there is the problem of the identity of the korai. In the building accounts they are referred to as korai or maidens. In 1952 the discovery of copies from Tivoli revealed that the korai carried phiale, the lower arms of all the caryatids have been lost, suggesting that they might be either the arrephoroi (as “bearers of unmentionable things”) or kanephoroi The six korai of the porch all exhibit subtle variations implying that they do not represent a repetition of a single person or deity but a group of individuals. Lesk argues that they may have been intended as a replacement for the (highly individuated) Acropolis korai that were destroyed by the Persians and in this capacity represent the servants of Athena who stood ready to make libation to the cult statue housed inside. Vickers suggests not only a later date for the construction of the Erechtheion but that the korai are actually Vitruvian caryatids and represent a memorial to Athens’s humiliation in the Peloponnesian War.


title: Erechtheion

text: The Erechtheion is a "remarkably luxurious" building in the detailing of its mouldings. Lotus-palmette chains (anthemion) decorate the column capitals and epicranitis of the temple. Additionally, egg-and-dart, egg and leaf, bead and reel, lesbian cyma, guilloches and rosettes are liberally placed around the entablature, door and window frames and the coffering of the ceilings. The capitals were gilded and the braidings at the column bases were studded with coloured glass.


title: Erechtheion

text: It seems that the Erechtheion served as a reliquary for an assortment of religious items rather than being dedicated to a single deity as was usually the case. However, if we are to try to discern an overall theme then it can be argued the Erechtheion is the expression of the autochthonic nature of Athenian identity. Its cults encompass the birth of Erichthonius from the soil of Attica, the tomb of Kekrops, mythical king and culture hero to the Athenians, and their relationship to the tutelary deities of the city. For many years, the accepted scholarly opinion has been that the Erechtheion fulfilled a triplicate purpose in its interior design: to “replace the Old Temple [of Athena], to house the old image, and to unite in an organized building several shrines and places of religious significance.”


title: Erechtheion

text: The notion that the autochthonic origins of Athenes were illustrated on the Erechtheion frieze was first proposed by Ludwig Pallet. Certainly the Erechtheion was built to house a diverse collection of religious objects; something of a "museum of curiosities" in that regard. So it is tempting, but problematic, to draw an overall theme for the religious purpose of the temple. The following, then, maybe the product of an attempted syncretism or merely a bricolage of relics accrued over time. Firstly, on the east porch, immediately before the temple door is an altar to Zeus Hypatos. Continuing inside in the eastern chamber of the naos would have been the altars to Poseidon and Erechtheus, Hephaistos and Boutes, and thrones of the temple priests. It is here that Athena's peplos might have been displayed. In the western section, there may have been the Tomb of Erechtheus, the xoanon of Athena Polias and perhaps immediately before that a table. Additionally, this room housed the Lamp of Kallimachos, a Hermes, the saltwater well and a collection of spoils from the Persian War. To the north of this chamber was the north porch whose coffered ceiling was pierced supposedly as the entry point of one of Poseidon's thunderbolts of which indentations below were thought to be the resulting trident marks. The altar of Thyechoos stood over the trident marks. Continuing outside was the sanctuary precinct, which may have contained the sacred olive tree, the snake pit, the Tomb of Kekrops and the Pandrosieon.


title: Erechtheion

text: Travellers' accounts of the Erechtheion are relatively scarce before the 18th century when relations between the Ottoman Empire and Europe began to improve and access to Greece opened up. Moreover, the building north of the Parthenon was not identified with Pausanias' description of the Temple of Athena Polias until Spon and Wheler's account of the topography of the acropolis published in 1682. Their use of ancient sources in the identification of ancient buildings rather than local folklore, as had been the case before, was innovative and presaged the beginning of scholarship with regard to the Erechtheion. In this same spirit came the work of Richard Pococke who published the first reconstruction of the temple in 1745, and who was the first to conjecture the existence of a larger, symmetrical building. Later, Stuart and Revett published the first accurate measured drawings of the Erechtheion in the second volume of their "Antiquities of Athens" in 1787. This book, perhaps more than any other, was influential in disseminating the Ionic style and the form of the Erechtheion amongst architects and an appreciative public in the 18th and 19th centuries. For a record of the temple's condition prior to its destruction during the Greek War of Independence, there are the detailed drawings of William Gell. Made in 1800–1801 Gell's period of study coincided with the activity of Lord Elgin, whose despoilation of the Maiden Porch was, at the time, more controversial than his removal of the Parthenon sculptures.


title: Erechtheion

text: In the post-revolutionary period, ambitious plans were drawn up to clear the Acropolis and build a royal palace for the newly installed Bavarian king. Although no such palace was built, the plateau was cleared of much of the post-classical accretions, which were thought to obscure the site, and left as a monument and archaeological site. For the Erechtheion this meant the remnants of the Frankish North Addition, the Venetian vault in the North Porch, the Ottoman masonry structure in the angle of the westward projection of the North Porch and the West Façade, and the Frankish and Ottoman alterations of the interior were removed. The first attempted reconstruction of the damaged building was Pittakis's in 1839–40. The second anastylosis was Nikolaos Balanos's in 1902–1909. Dissatisfaction with Balanos's haphazard placement of the ashlar blocks and his use of steel joints that caused additional damage led to the creation of the interdisciplinary Acropolis Restoration Service in 1975 whose conservation work is ongoing.


title: Raja Chaudhary

text: Raja Chaudhary is an Indian television actor, writer and producer. He was a contestant on "Bigg Boss 2.


title: Raja Chaudhary

text: Raja Chaudhary played a villain in the Bhojpuri film "Saiyyan Hamar Hindustani" opposite Shweta Tiwari. His claim to fame has been reality show "Bigg Boss 2" where he was a runner up. He then participated in another reality show "".


title: Raja Chaudhary

text: Raja has also acted in many television serials "Your Honour", "Daddy Samjha Karo", "Chandramukhi", "Aane Wala Pal", period Indian fantasy series "Kahani Chandrakanta Ki" and "Adaalat" . He was featured in a TV serial called "Black" (loosely based on Hollywood "Omen") on 9X Channel, directed by Sunil Agnihotri.


title: Raja Chaudhary

text: He married actress Shweta Tiwari in 1998 and they have a daughter named Palak Tiwari. The couple featured together in Season 2 of the reality dance show "Nach Baliye". The couple separated after Shweta filed for divorce in 2007 ending their 9 years in marriage.


The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) () was a socialist state that existed in Ethiopia and present day Eritrea from 1987 to 1991.


title: People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

text: The PDRE was established in February 1987 as a Marxist-Leninist one-party state upon the adoption of the 1987 Constitution, three weeks after approval in the national referendum. The Derg, the military junta that had ruled Ethiopia as a provisional government since 1974, planned for transition to civilian rule and proclaimed a socialist republic in 1984 after five years of preparation. The Workers' Party of Ethiopia (WPE) was founded that same year as a vanguard party led by Derg chairman Mengistu Haile Mariam. The Derg was dissolved with the proclamation of the PDRE, but continued to rule "de facto" until September when the new government took office, three months after the June general election. It was dominated by surviving Derg members, with Mengistu as both President of Ethiopia and General Secretary of the WPE.


text: The PDRE's government was highly centralized with a "de facto" power structure similar to other communist states. The legislature, the National Shengo, was nominally the highest organ of state power. A president served as head of state and head of government, with sweeping executive and legislative powers. The president served as chairman of the Council of State, which acted for the Shengo between sessions. In practice, the principles of democratic centralism meant that the Shengo did little more than rubber-stamp decisions already made by the WPE and its Politburo. As both president and party leader, Mengistu was a virtual dictator. He and the surviving members of the Derg dominated the WPE's Politburo. The constitution guaranteed all manner of personal freedoms, but the government paid almost no attention to them in practice.


text: The PDRE inherited issues that ravaged Ethiopia during the Derg era including the 1983–1985 famine, reliance on foreign aid, and the decline of the world communist movement. The Soviet Union ended support of the PDRE in 1990, and internal conflict brought on by the Ethiopian Civil War and Eritrean War of Independence saw the WPE's authority increasingly challenged by ethnic militias and anti-government groups. In May 1991, Mengistu fled into exile. The regime only lasted another week before the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front entered Addis Ababa, dissolving the PDRE and replacing it with the Transitional Government of Ethiopia.


text: Following the demise of imperial rule, the feudal socioeconomic structure was dismantled through a series of reforms which also affected educational development. By early 1975, the government had closed Haile Selassie I University and all senior secondary schools, then deployed the approximately 60,000 students and teachers to rural areas to promote the government's "Development Through Cooperation Campaign". The campaign's purposes were to promote land reform and improve agricultural production, health, and local administration and to teach peasants about the new political and social order.


text: Primary school enrollment increased from about 957,300 in 1974/75 to nearly 2,450,000 in 1985/86. There were still variations among regions in the number of students enrolled and a disparity in the enrollment of boys and girls. Nevertheless, while the enrollment of boys more than doubled, that of girls more than tripled. However, with most of the rebel controlled northern Ethiopia regions as well as parts of Somali and Oromo regions out of the government's control, most of its claims were not perceived to be comprehensive.


text: The number of senior secondary schools almost doubled as well, with fourfold increases in Arsi, Bale, Gojjam, Gondar, and Wollo. The pre-revolutionary distribution of schools had shown a concentration in the urban areas of a few administrative regions. In 1974/75 about 55 percent of senior secondary schools were in Eritrea and Shewa, including Addis Ababa. In 1985/86 the figure was down to 40 percent. Although there were significantly fewer girls enrolled at the secondary level, the proportion of females in the school system at all levels and in all regions increased from about 32 percent in 1974/75 to 39 percent in 1985/86.


text: Among the PDRE's successes was the national literacy campaign. The literacy rate, under 10 percent during the imperial regime, increased to about 63 percent by 1984. In 1990/91 an adult literacy rate of just over 60 percent was still being reported in government as well as in some international reports. As with the 1984 data, it several wise to exercise caution with regard to the latest figure. Officials originally conducted the literacy training in five languages: Amharic, Oromo, Tigrinya, Wolaytta, and Somali. The number of languages was later expanded to fifteen, which represented about 93 percent of the population.


text: A number of countries were generous in helping the PDRE meet its health care needs. Cuba, the Soviet Union, and a number of East European countries provided medical assistance. In early 1980, nearly 300 Cuban medical technicians, including more than 100 physicians, supported local efforts to resolve public health problems. Western aid for long-term development of Ethiopia's health sector was modest, averaging about US$10 million annually, the lowest per capita assistance in sub-Saharan Africa. The main Western donors included Italy and Sweden. The UN system led by UNDP and including such agencies as FAO, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNFPA and WHO, continued to extend assistance as they had to the Emperor's regime. In the early 1980s, at least one UNDP representative, a former minister in a Caribbean country, had the credibility to get access to Mengistu, and may have moderated his excesses in some instances. The World Bank also continued to provide assistance during his rule doubtless recognising the surprisingly conservative and prudent fiscal discipline the regime tried to follow.