title: Antonio Canova

text: Karl Ludwig Fernow said of the statue that "every eye must rest with pleasure on the beautiful surface, even when the mind finds its hopes of high and pure enjoyment disappointed."


title: Antonio Canova

text: "Venus Victrix" ranks among the most famous of Canova's works. Originally, Canova wished the depictation to be of a robed Diana, but Pauline Borghese insisted to appear as a nude Venus. The work was not intended for public viewing.


title: Antonio Canova

text: John Russell, the 6th Duke of Bedford, commissioned a version of the now famous work. He had previously visited Canova in his studio in Rome in 1814 and had been immensely impressed by a carving of the Graces the sculptor had made for the Empress Josephine. When the Empress died in May of the same year he immediately offered to purchase the completed piece, but was unsuccessful as Josephine's son Eugène claimed it (his son Maximilian brought it to St. Petersburg, where it can now be found in the Hermitage Museum). Undeterred, the Duke commissioned another version for himself.


title: Antonio Canova

text: The sculpting process began in 1814 and was completed in 1817. Finally in 1819 it was installed at the Duke's residence in Woburn Abbey. Canova even made the trip over to England to supervise its installation, choosing for it to be displayed on a pedestal adapted from a marble plinth with a rotating top. This version is now owned jointly by the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Galleries of Scotland, and is alternately displayed at each.


title: Antonio Canova

text: Canova had a distinct, signature style in which he combined Greek and Roman art practices with early stirrings of romanticism to delve into a new path of Neoclassicism. Canova's sculptures fall into three categories: Heroic compositions, compositions of grace, and sepulchral monuments. In each of these, Canova's underlying artistic motivations were to challenge, if not compete, with classical statues.


title: Antonio Canova

text: Canova refused to take in pupils and students, but would hire workers to carve the initial figure from the marble. According to art historian Giuseppe Pavanello, "Canova's system of work concentrated on the initial idea, and on the final carving of the marble". He had an elaborate system of comparative pointing so that the workers were able to reproduce the plaster form in the selected block of marble. These workers would leave a thin veil over the entire statue so Canova's could focus on the surface of the statue.


title: Antonio Canova

text: During the last quarter of the eighteenth century, it became fashionable to view art galleries at night by torchlight. Canova was an artist that leapt on the fad and displayed his works of art in his studio by candlelight. As such, Canova would begin to finalize the statue with special tools by candlelight, to soften the transitions between the various parts of the nude. After a little recarving, he began to rub the statue down with pumice stone, sometimes for periods longer than weeks or months. If that was not enough, he would use tripoli (rottenstone) and lead.


title: Antonio Canova

text: He then applied a now unknown chemical-composition of patina onto the flesh of the figure to lighten the skin tone. Importantly, his friends also denied any usage of acids in his process.


title: Antonio Canova

text: Conversations revolving around the justification of art as superfluous usually invoked the name of Canova. Karl Ludwig Fernow believed that Canova was not Kantian enough in his aesthetic, because emphasis seemed to have been placed on agreeableness rather than Beauty. Canova was faulted for creating works that were artificial in complexity.


title: Antonio Canova

text: Although the Romantic period artists buried Canova's name soon after he died, he is slowly being rediscovered. Giuseppe Pavanello wrote in 1996 that "the importance and value of Canova's art is now recognized as holding in balance the last echo of the Ancients and the first symptom of the restless experimentation of the modern age".


title: Antonio Canova

text: Canova spent large parts of his fortune helping young students and sending patrons to struggling sculptors, including Sir Richard Westmacott and John Gibson.


title: Antonio Canova

text: A number of his works, sketches, and writings are collected in the "Sala Canoviana" of the Museo Civico of Bassano del Grappa. Other works, including plaster casts are the Museo Canoviano in Asolo.


title: Antonio Canova

text: Two of Canova's works appear as engravings in "Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book", 1834, with poetical illustrations by Letitia Elizabeth Landon. These are of "The Dancing Girl" and "Hebe".


title: Marlee Matlin filmography

text: The following is a list of the film and television appearances of American actress Marlee Matlin. Matlin, who had previously acted in stage productions, made her screen debut as the female lead in the 1986 film "Children of a Lesser God", for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, becoming the youngest Best Actress winner and the first deaf performer to have won an Academy Award. Matlin, who is deaf, generally plays deaf characters. However, in 1994 Matlin also played a hearing woman when she appeared in the title role of the television movie "Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story", based on the true story of Carrie Buck, who was not deaf. Matlin was nominated for a CableACE Award for her performance as Carrie Buck.


title: Marlee Matlin filmography

text: Although Matlin has continued to make occasional film appearances, most of her work has been in television. From 1991 to 1993, she starred in the police drama series "Reasonable Doubts" as Assistant District Attorney Tess Kaufman, receiving two Golden Globe nominations. She has had recurring roles as Mayor Laurie Bey in "Picket Fences" (for which she received an Emmy Award nomination), pollster Joey Lucas in "The West Wing" (appearing on all seven seasons of its run), attorney Ruby Whitlow in "My Name Is Earl", gay sculptor Jodi Lerner in "The L Word", and guidance counselor Melody Bledsoe in "Switched at Birth". Her numerous guest appearances have included "Seinfeld", "The Practice", and "", each of which brought her another Emmy nomination.


title: Marlee Matlin filmography

text: Matlin has also competed on the game shows "Dancing with the Stars" and "The Celebrity Apprentice". On the April 3, 2011 episode of "The Celebrity Apprentice", Matlin raised $986,000 for her charity, the Starkey Hearing Foundation, setting a record for the most funds raised for charity in a single event on any television show. The show's production company then donated an additional $14,000 to bring the contribution to one million dollars.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Port., Rio de Janeiro State Championship), was started in 1906 and is the annual football championship in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is under the authority of the FERJ or FFERJ (Football Federation of the State of Rio de Janeiro).


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: The first season of the "Campeonato Carioca" was played in 1906. It was predated by: the Campeonato Paulista of São Paulo and the Campeonato Baiano of Bahia.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: Rivalries amongst four of the most prestigious Brazilian teams (Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama) have marked the history of the competition.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: The oldest clubs from Rio de Janeiro (America, Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense, São Cristóvão, Vasco da Gama) had inspired the creation of many clubs from other states.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: Fluminense is the team considered the "champion of the century" with the highest number of titles of the 20th century at 28. Flamengo leads the new century with 11 titles, and an overall count with 37 titles.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: The 20th century saw in Rio de Janeiro and Niterói a significant popularity in football with the establishment of clubs such as Rio Cricket and Athletic Association in Niterói, Fluminense Football Club in 1902, and Bangu Atlético Club, América Football Club, and Botafogo Football Club in 1904 being founded. Organizing leagues for competition amongst clubs followed by Rio Cricket and Athletic Association, Fluminense Football Club, Football and Athletic Club, America Football Club, Bangu Atlético Club, Sport Club Petrópolis and Payssandu Cricket Club. On June 8, 1905, the Liga Metropolitana de Football (abbreviated "LMF", "Metropolitan Football League" in English) was founded. LMF's first president was Bangu's José Villas Boas, who was replaced by Francis Walter in December of the same year.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: In 1906, the first Campeonato Carioca was contested by six clubs: Fluminense, Botafogo, Bangu, Football and Athletic, Payssandu and Rio Cricket. America, despite being one of the league founders, did not contest the league's first edition. Fluminense became the first Rio de Janeiro state champion.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: In 1907, the championship ended with a tie between Botafogo and Fluminense. The league rules did not address ties. Botafogo claimed an extra-match advantage; Fluminense claimed that the league should adopt the goal-average criteria. It went unresolved until 1996 when both clubs were declared champions.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: On February 29, 1908, Fluminense, Botafogo, America, Paysandu, Rio Cricket, and Riachuelo founded "Liga Metropolitana de Sports Athleticos" ("LMSA", meaning "Metropolitan Athletic Sports League"), the organizer of the 1908 Campeonato Carioca. Fluminense won.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: The first league split was in 1911 when Botafogo left LMSA and founded "Associação de Football do Rio de Janeiro" (AFRJ - "Rio de Janeiro Football Association"). The league was nicknamed "Liga Barbante" ("String League"), because Botafogo was the only significant club to question the full realisation of the sport under LMSA. AFRJ was incorporated by LMSA in 1913.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: In 1917, several accusations of bribery caused LMSA to rebrand as "Liga Metropolitana de Desportos Terrestres" ("Terrestrial Sports Metropolitan League") (LMDT). Fluminense won the competition of that year.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: On March 1, 1924, a second league split occurred, and "Associação Metropolitana de Esportes Athleticos" ("Athletic Sports Metropolitan Association") was founded. AMEA, founded by the "aristocratic" clubs Flamengo, Fluminense, Botafogo and America, with restrictions on its blacks and lower class citizens to their members. The Confederação Brasileira de Desportos (CBD - "Brazilian Sports Confederation") remained with AMEA recognizing it as the official league of Rio de Janeiro from 1924 on, and disassociating with LMDT. AMEA's competition was won by Fluminense. LMDT's (The league was nicknamed Liga Barbante) (String League) competition was won by Vasco da Gama, the only significant club that remained on the old league. In 1925, AMEA rescinded its racial conditions and Vasco left LMDT, while LMDT continued with its minor clubs. Years later, the LMDT championship of 1924 was considered official - but not the following LMDT championships.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: On January 23, 1933, Bangu, Fluminense, Vasco and America founded the first professional league of Rio de Janeiro, "Liga Carioca de Futebol" (LCF) ("Carioca Football League"). The Confederação Brasileira de Desportos was an amateur-only league supported AMEA. For this reason, LCF was nicknamed "pirate league". In 1934 CBD finally accepted professionalism, but LCF and AMEA did not merge for political reasons. On December 11, 1934, Botafogo, Vasco, Bangu, São Cristóvão, Andaraí, Olaria, Carioca and Madureira founded the professional "Federação Metropolitana de Desportos" (FMD) ("Sports Metropolitan Federation"), replacing AMEA as the official Rio de Janeiro league affiliated to CBD.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: In 1937, the Brazilian football clubs were professionalized. On July 29, 1937, FMD and LCF merged, creating "Liga de Football do Rio de Janeiro" ("Rio de Janeiro Football League"), also called LFRJ. In 1941, LFRJ rebranded as Federação Metropolitana de Futebol (FMF) ("Metropolitan Football Federation"). The occasion was celebrated by a friendly match between Vasco da Gama and America that would come to be nicknamed "Clássico da Paz" ("Peace Derby") for any game played between the two teams.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: On April 21, 1960, the Brazilian capital city became Brasília, so, "Federação Metropolitana de Futebol" rebranded as "Federação Carioca de Futebol" (FCF) ("Carioca Football Federation"). América won the state championship of that year.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: On September 29, 1978, "Federação de Futebol do Estado do Rio de Janeiro" ("Rio de Janeiro State Football Federation") (FERJ), was founded, after Guanabara state's FCF and Rio de Janeiro state's FFD ("Federação Fluminense de Desportos", or "Fluminense Sports Federation") fused.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: In 1979, there was an extra Campeonato Carioca which also included the countryside state teams, which, until that year, contested the Campeonato Fluminense. This extra competition, known as Primeiro Campeonato Estadual de Profissionais ("First Professionals State Championship") was won by Flamengo, which was also the champion of the regular competition, but did not count in the overall titles.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: In 1996, Taça Cidade Maravilhosa was contested only by clubs from Rio de Janeiro city. This competition was contested by eight teams (America, Bangu, Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense, Madureira, Olaria and Vasco da Gama), which played against each other once. Botafogo was the champion, Flamengo being the runner up. In the same year, a state championship was played, won by Flamengo.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: The competition is usually divided in three stages: the traditional Taça Guanabara, Taça Rio and the Finals.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: Taça Guanabara is the first stage of the competition, with the teams divided into two groups. The traditional "big four", namely, Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama are seeded—two teams of the "big four" put into each group. It is possible other teams also be seeded in some ways, but the seeding criteria are not codified in the regulation and has never been publicly available. The teams play one match with each team in their group. The top team in each group plays the second team in the semi-finals; the winners qualify for the final match.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: Taça Rio is the second stage of the competition. Teams are divided into the two same groups of Taça Guanabara, but each team plays once against every team from the other group. The top team from each group compete in the semi-finals with the second team from the opposite group, and winners of the semi-finals compete for the Taça Rio.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: The winners of Taça Guanabara and Taça Rio compete in the two-legged finals of Campeonato Carioca, with the winner champion.


title: Campeonato Carioca

text: The 25 top score for team of the history of the Campeonato Carioca, all Brazilian, except the English Henry Welfare:


title: Womxn

text: The term womxn is an alternative spelling of the English word "woman". "Womxn" has been found in writing since the 1970s, along with the term womyn, to avoid perceived sexism in the standard spelling, which contains the word "man".


title: Womxn

text: The term "womxn" began gaining more attention and use in the 2010s as intersectional feminists promoted it as explicitly inclusive. It has been adopted by various organizations, including student university groups in the US and UK, who call it more inclusive of trans and nonbinary people than "women" and other alternative spellings. Conversely, it has been criticized for being unnecessary or confusing, conflicting with the uncommonness of "mxn" to describe men. The use of "womxn" as a gender-inclusive alternative to "woman" has also been criticized for having the transphobic implication that trans women are not "women" but are a separate category ("womxn").


title: Womxn

text: The word "woman" is derived from the Old English word ('woman-person'), which is formed from (the source of "wife"), then meaning 'woman', and (the source of "man"), then meaning 'person, human', originally without connotations of gender. "Man" took on its additional masculine meaning in the Late Middle English period, replacing the now-obsolete word . This has created the present situation with "man" bearing a dual meaning—either masculine or nonspecific.


title: Womxn

text: Second wave feminism developed several alternative political spellings of the word "woman", such as womyn. Keridwen Luis, a sociologist at Brandeis University, states that feminists have experimented for decades to devise a suitable alternative for the term identifying the female gender. Such terms have included "wimmin" (in the 1990s), based upon the original Old English term, and "womyn" (since at least 1975).


title: Womxn

text: Dictionary.com, which added "womxn" and 300 other words to its dictionary in 2019, defines "womxn" as "a woman (used, especially in intersectional feminism, as an alternative spelling to avoid the suggestion of sexism perceived in the sequences m-a-n and m-e-n, and to be inclusive of trans and nonbinary women)."


title: Womxn

text: In 2017 "The Boston Globe" called the term "a powerful, increasingly popular label, encompassing a broader range of gender identities than 'woman'—or even older feminist terms such as 'womyn'... a nontraditional spelling for people whose gender identity doesn’t fit in the traditional boxes". In 2018 Jennie Kermode, chair of Trans Media Watch, stated that the organization would not use the term, considering that "women" already includes trans women. In a 2019 Styles article published in "The New York Times", journalist Breena Kerr stated that while "womxn" was difficult to pronounce, it was "perhaps the most inclusive word yet", using a similar approach to the term "Latinx". Sociologist Nita Harker praised the term's ambiguity in pronunciation, saying that it forces users to "stop and think".


title: Womxn

text: In 2017, the Womxn's March on Seattle chose to use the term "womxn" to promote the march. Elizabeth Hunter-Keller, the event's communications chair, told "The New York Times" that they chose it based upon the recommendation of a core organizer, who was a nonbinary person, and to reflect the organizing group's diversity. Hunter-Keller reported that although there were some questions, most supporters encouraged the choice. In January 2018, Portland held the Indigenous Womxn’s March, dedicated to missing and murdered indigenous girls, women, and transgender people.


title: Womxn

text: In October 2019, the Wellcome Collection, a museum and library in London, made an announcement through Twitter using the term to demonstrate their goal of including diverse perspectives; after complaints from hundreds of followers, the museum later apologized and removed the term from its website. Labour Party politician Jess Phillips responded to the incident by saying, "I've never met a trans woman who was offended by the word woman being used, so I'm not sure why this keeps happening". Clara Bradbury-Rance of King's College London conjectured that the push-back was because the use of the term was seen as too simplistic and a "fix-all".


title: Womxn

text: On March 1, 2021, the streaming platform Twitch used the term "Womxn" to promote events celebrating Women's History Month. The event was announced through Twitter, which led to immediate backlash from various users who considered the term transphobic for implying that trans women are not "women" but a separate category ("womxn"). Twitch removed the tweet and apologised, stating that they wanted to use the word to acknowledge the shortcomings of gender-binary language and that they would use the term "women" moving forward.


title: PR interval

text: In electrocardiography, the PR interval is the period, measured in milliseconds, that extends from the beginning of the P wave (the onset of atrial depolarization) until the beginning of the QRS complex (the onset of ventricular depolarization); it is normally between 120 and 200 ms in duration.


title: Atkins (company)

text: Atkins is a British multinational engineering, design, planning, architectural design, project management and consulting services company. It is a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin and is headquartered in London.


title: Atkins (company)

text: The company was founded as WS Atkins & Partners by Sir William Atkins in 1938. It experienced rapid growth following the Second World War, performing specialist services in town planning, engineering sciences, architecture and project management. The firm was admitted to the London Stock Exchange in 1996, trading under the name WS Atkins plc for a time before rebranding as Atkins during 2002. While Atkins largely focused on the UK market during its formative years, it has grown into an international firm with a global presence, as well as expanded into a wide range of sectors, including aerospace and high speed railways.


title: Atkins (company)

text: By 2016, Atkins had become the UK's largest engineering consultancy, as well as the world's 11th largest global design firm. It employed approximately 18,000 staff based in 300 offices across 29 countries and had undertaken projects in over 150 countries. The firm's motto is "Plan, Design, Enable". During July 2017, Atkins was acquired by SNC-Lavalin in a £2.1 billion deal.


title: Atkins (company)

text: The original company, WS Atkins & Partners, was established by William Atkins in 1938. The venture was not Atkin's only business endeavour, having acquired London Ferro-Concrete from his prior employers; he continued to actively manage both firms up until 1950. In its formative years, the firm established its first offices in Westminster, London and specialised in civil and structural engineering design and consultancy work. Throughout the Second World War, the company developed a reputation for competently performing complex engineering works assigned to it despite the unavoidable wartime pressures and limitations that were imposed. Amongst other works, Akins developed a patented anti-aircraft turret during this period.


title: Atkins (company)

text: In the aftermath of the conflict, the firm expanded rapidly to support the postwar reconstruction effort, supplying specialist services in town planning, engineering sciences, architecture and project management. During 1945, Atkins was invited to consult on the planned expansion of the Port Talbot Steelworks and subsequently acted as the civil and structural design engineer for the project. In 1950, Atkins opted to discontinue contracting work to concentrate on design engineering and project management work. During the 1950s, the firm became involved in the engineering of the Berkeley Nuclear Power Station, which became the first exclusively civilian nuclear power station in the UK upon its completion; the company continued to be active in the nuclear sector both domestically and abroad. In the 1960s, Atkins provided tunneling designed for the fledgling Toronto subway network. During the 1970s, the company supported the construction of Drax Power Station, the largest power generation facility in the UK.


title: Atkins (company)

text: Up until 1982, the year in which he retired, William Akins served as the company's chairman. In 1996, WS Atkins was admitted to the London Stock Exchange and began trading as WS Atkins plc. That same year, it also acquired Faithful+Gould, a cost and project management consultancy firm. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Atkins played a key role in the engineering of the Channel Tunnel; completed in 1994, it possesses the longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world. During the late 1990s, WS Atkins performed work on the Burj al Arab hotel, which was completed in 1999.


title: Atkins (company)

text: In 2002, the company begun trading under the Atkins name. That same year, it also bought Hanscomb, construction consultants. During the early 2000s, the company experienced a period financial difficulties, resulting in the share price falling to 50p in 2002 and the company's Chief Executive, Robin Southwell, resigning along with Finance Director Ric Piper, who was also told his new job at Trinity Mirror was no longer open to him. Keith Clarke replaced him, joining from Skanska.


title: Atkins (company)

text: Atkins was one of the five shareholders in Metronet, the London Underground maintenance company that failed in 2007, after which Atkins was forced to write off its investment in the venture. During 2009, Atkins was selected as the official engineering design services provider for the 2012 Summer Olympics; the company provided building services design, civil engineering and structural engineering, acoustics, fire protection engineering, and accessibility services.


title: Atkins (company)

text: As a consequence of the general economic downturn experienced during the Great Recession, Atkins reduced its headcount as a cost-saving measure; approximately 3000 staff left the business between April 2009 and February 2011, although the overall headcount remained relatively stable following the acquisition of the American company PBS&J during August 2010. The purchase of PBS&J, a Florida-based provider of engineering, planning, architecture, construction, environmental, and program management services, was viewed as a major buy into the North American market for Atkins.


title: Atkins (company)

text: Although Atkins had not traditionally involved itself in the aerospace sector, the firm decided to build up its presence in the market, quickly forming links with British aero engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce Holdings and the multinational aerospace firm Airbus. Its first major aerospace project was to perform a stress-check analysis of the wing proposed for the Airbus A380 airliner, later expanding to perform work on the wings of the Airbus A320 and Airbus A350 XWB airliners as well as the Airbus A400M Atlas military airlifter. Atkins was reportedly keen to expand within the North American region, particularly with Boeing and its supply chain. By 2011, roughly 500 staff around the globe were working in the aerospace sector; Atkins divisional managing director Neil Kirk noted the firm's plans to expand and double turnover from this sector over the following three to four years.


title: Atkins (company)

text: Atkins has also been highly active in the engineering of high speed railways. The company's own analysis noted that Europe's high speed rail network was expected to expand three-fold between 2008 and 2020, while passenger rail travel in the UK was growing far faster than official forecasts had predicted. In 2001, the UK's Strategic Rail Authority commissioned Atkins to produce a feasibility study into the business case for, and the transportation impact of, high-speed railways. During January 2011, an Atkins-led consortium was selected to engineer a 180 km high speed line between the Danish capital of Copenhagen and the German border. In April 2019, the company was appointed to plan Sweden's first high speed main line.


title: Atkins (company)

text: In June 2011, Atkins announced it was buying the oil and gas business of Finnish global consulting firm Pöyry for €17.25 million; as a result of this acquisition, around 130 staff from Pöyry's Perth, Stavanger and Aberdeen offices integrated into Atkins' Energy business unit. During October 2014, Houston-based oil and gas offshore engineering business "Houston Offshore Engineering" was acquired for £45 million, added another 150 people to the business and increased the headcount of oil and gas specialists to over 1,000 within its operations worldwide. That same year, Atkins had made a bid to purchase Parsons Brinckerhoff from Balfour Beatty, but were outbid by WSP Global. In April 2016, the company announced the acquisition of the Projects, Products and Technology (PP&T) segment of EnergySolutions for £206 million, strengthening Atkins' nuclear multidisciplinary capability to a 2,000-strong global team.


title: Atkins (company)

text: During April 2017, Atkins received a £2.1bn bid from Canadian company SNC-Lavalin. On 21 April, it was announced that the takeover deal had been agreed; the move was approved by shareholders in June 2017. This step coincided with news of 92 redundancies in the company's infrastructure division. The deal was completed on 3 July 2017, with Atkins becoming SNC-Lavalin's fifth business sector. Atkins was delisted from the London Stock Exchange with effect from 4 July 2017.


title: Atkins (company)

text: During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Atkins announced it was cutting around 280 jobs from its UK infrastructure division, blaming "unprecedented uncertainty" in the sector from which it did not expect to see a bounce back "in the short to medium term."


title: Glass Onion

text: "Glass Onion" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album "The Beatles" (also known as the "White Album"). The song was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney.


title: Glass Onion

text: Lennon wrote the song to confuse people who read too much into the lyrical meanings of Beatles songs, which annoyed him. With this in mind, the lyrics are intended to confuse the listener. Many lines refer to earlier Beatles songs, including "Strawberry Fields Forever", "I Am the Walrus", "Lady Madonna", "The Fool on the Hill", and "Fixing a Hole". The song also refers to the "Cast Iron Shore", a coastal area of south Liverpool known to local people as "The Cazzy". Lennon dismissed any deep meaning to the mysterious lyrics:


title: Glass Onion

text: "Glass Onion" was a name suggested by Lennon for the Iveys, a group who signed to Apple in 1968 and later became Badfinger.


title: Glass Onion

text: The song was one of several recorded as a demo at George Harrison's Esher home in 1968 before the recording sessions for the "White Album". The Esher demo was first released on "Anthology 3" (1996) and the 2018 deluxe edition of the "White Album". "Anthology 3" also included an alternate version which contained various sound effects rather than the string arrangement.


title: Glass Onion

text: This is the first track on the album to feature Ringo Starr on drums. Starr briefly left the group during recording sessions for the album, and drums on both "Back in the U.S.S.R." and "Dear Prudence" were played by Brent Peterson .


title: Glass Onion

text: Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of its release, Jacob Stolworthy of "The Independent" listed "Glass Onion" at number 10 in his ranking of the White Album's 30 tracks. He wrote of the song: "Lennon embraced his cheeky side with 'Glass Onion', a self-referential track which parades as symbolic. Instead, it was designed to trick fans into thinking their songs meant more than they actually do." For the 50th-anniversary editions of the White Album, a music video for the song, created by Alasdair Brotherston and Jock Mooney, was released.


title: Stoneware

text: Stoneware is a rather broad term for pottery or other ceramics fired at a relatively high temperature. A modern technical definition is a vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire clay. Whether vitrified or not, it is nonporous (does not soak up liquids); it may or may not be glazed. Historically, around the world, it has been developed after earthenware and before porcelain, and has often been used for high-quality as well as utilitarian wares.


title: Stoneware

text: As a rough guide, modern earthenwares are normally fired in a kiln at temperatures in the range of about 1,000 °C (1,830 °F) to ; stonewares at between about to ; and porcelains at between about to . Historically, reaching high temperatures was a long-lasting challenge, and temperatures somewhat below these were used for a long time. Earthenware can be fired effectively as low as 600 °C, achievable in primitive pit firing, but to was more typical. Stoneware also needs certain types of clays, more specific than those able to make earthenware, but can be made from a much wider range than porcelain.


title: Stoneware

text: Stoneware is not recognised as a category in traditional East Asian terminology, and much Asian stoneware, such as Chinese Ding ware for example, is counted as porcelain by local definitions. Terms such as "porcellaneous" or "near-porcelain" may be used in such cases. One definition of stoneware is from the Combined Nomenclature of the European Communities, a European industry standard. It states:


title: Stoneware

text: Stoneware, which, though dense, impermeable and hard enough to resist scratching by a steel point, differs from porcelain because it is more opaque, and normally only partially vitrified. It may be vitreous or semi-vitreous. It is usually coloured grey or brownish because of impurities in the clay used for its manufacture, and is normally glazed.


title: Stoneware

text: The key raw material in stoneware is either naturally occurring stoneware clay or non-refractory fire clay. The mineral kaolinite is present but disordered, and although mica and quartz are present their particle size is very small. Stoneware clay is often accompanied by impurities such as iron or carbon, giving it a "dirty" look, and its plasticity can vary widely. Non-refractory fire clay may be another key raw material. Fire clays are generally considered refractory, because they withstand very high temperatures before melting or crumbling. Refractory fire clays have a high concentration of kaolinite, with lesser amounts of mica and quartz. Non-refractory fire clays, however, have larger amounts of mica and feldspar.


title: Stoneware

text: Formulations for stoneware vary considerably, although the vast majority will conform to: plastic fire clays, 0 to 100 percent; ball clays, 0 to 15 percent; quartz, 0 to 30 percent; feldspar and chamotte, 0 to 15 percent.


title: Stoneware

text: Stoneware can be once-fired or twice-fired. Maximum firing temperatures can vary significantly, from 1100 °C to 1300 °C depending on the flux content. Typically, temperatures will be between 1180 °C and 1280 °C, the higher end of which equate to Bullers Rings 38 to 40 or Seger cones 4 to 8. To produce a better quality fired glaze finish, twice-firing can be used. This can be especially important for formulations composed of highly carbonaceous clays. For these, biscuit firing is around 900 °C, and glost firing (the firing used to form the glaze over the ware) 1180–1280 °C. Water absorption of stoneware products is less than 1 percent.


title: Stoneware

text: Another type, Flintless Stoneware, has also been identified. It is defined in the UK Pottery (Health and Welfare) Special Regulations of 1950 as: "Stoneware, the body of which consists of natural clay to which no flint or quartz or other form of free silica has been added."


title: Stoneware

text: Traditional East Asian thinking classifies pottery only into "low-fired" and "high-fired" wares, equating to earthenware and porcelain, without the intermediate European class of stoneware, and the many local types of stoneware were mostly classed as porcelain, though often not white and translucent.


title: Stoneware

text: Methods of forming stoneware bodies include moulding, slipcasting and wheel throwing. Underglaze and overglaze decoration of many types can be used. Much tableware in stoneware is white-glazed and decorated, and it is then visually highly similar to porcelain or faience earthenware.


title: Stoneware

text: The Indus Valley civilization produced stoneware, with an industry of a nearly industrial-scale mass-production of stoneware bangles throughout the civilization's Mature Period (2600–1900 BC). Early examples of stoneware have been found in China, naturally as an extension of higher temperatures achieved from early development of reduction firing, with large quantities produced from the Han dynasty onwards.


title: Stoneware

text: In both medieval China and Japan, stoneware was very common, and several types became admired for their simple forms and subtle glaze effects. Japan did not make porcelain until about 1600, and north China (in contrast to the south) lacks the appropriate kaolin-rich clays for porcelain on a strict Western definition. Jian ware in the Song dynasty was mostly used for tea wares, and appealed to Buddhist monks. Most Longquan celadon, a very important ware in medieval China, was stoneware. Ding ware comes very close to porcelain, and even modern Western sources are notably divided as to how to describe it, although it is not translucent and the body often grey rather than white.


title: Stoneware

text: In China, fine pottery was very largely porcelain by the Ming dynasty, and stoneware mostly restricted to utilitarian wares, and those for the poor. Exceptions to this include the unglazed Yixing clay teapot, made from a clay believed to suit tea especially well, and Shiwan ware, used for popular figures and architectural sculpture.


title: Stoneware

text: But in Japan many traditional types of stoneware, for example Oribe ware and Shino ware, were preferred for chawan cups for the Japanese tea ceremony, and have been valued up to the present for this and other uses. From a combination of philosophical and nationalist reasons, the primitive or folk art aesthetic qualities of many Japanese village traditions, originally mostly made by farmers in slack periods in the agricultural calendar, have retained considerable prestige. Influential tea masters praised the rough, spontaneous, "wabi-sabi", appearance of Japanese rural wares, mostly stoneware, over the perfection of Chinese-inspired porcelain made by highly-skilled specialists.


title: Stoneware

text: Stoneware was also produced in Korean pottery, from at least the 5th century, and much of the finest Korean pottery might be so classified; as in China, the border with porcelain is rather fuzzy. Not only celadons but much underglaze blue and white pottery can be called stoneware. Thailand manufactured stoneware in two principal kiln centres, Si Satchanalai and Sukhothai. The firing technology used in Thailand seems to have come from China.


title: Stoneware

text: In contrast to Asia, stoneware could be produced in Europe only from the late Middle Ages, as European kilns were less efficient, and the right sorts of clay less common. Some ancient Roman pottery had approached being stoneware, but not as a consistent type of ware. Medieval stoneware remained a much-exported speciality of Germany, especially along the Rhine, until the Renaissance or later, typically used for large jugs, jars and beer-mugs. "Proto-stoneware", such as Pingsdorf ware, and then "near-stoneware" was developed there by 1250, and fully vitrified wares were being produced on a large scale by 1325. The salt-glazed style that became typical was not perfected until the late 15th century.


title: Stoneware

text: England was to become the most inventive and important European maker of fancy stoneware in the 18th and 19th centuries, but there is no clear evidence for native production before the mid-17th century. German imports were common from the early 16th century at least, and known as "Cologne ware" after the centre of shipping it, rather than making it. Some German potters were probably making it in London in the 1640s, and a father and son Wooltus (or Woolters) were doing so in Southampton in the 1660s.


title: Stoneware

text: In the second half of the 18th century Wedgwood developed a number of styles of stoneware, often left unglazed, of which Jasperware is the most famous; it is still made today. Other manufacturers produced their own types, including various ironstone china types, some in fact classified as earthenware.


title: Stoneware

text: Many modern commercial glazed tablewares and kitchenwares use stoneware rather than porcelain or bone china, and it is common in craft and studio pottery. The popular Japanese-inspired raku ware is normally stoneware.


title: Long March 5

text: Long March 5 (LM-5; ), or Changzheng 5 (CZ-5), and also by its nickname "Pang-Wu" (胖五, ""Fat-Five""), is a Chinese heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). It is the first Chinese launch vehicle designed to use exclusively non-hypergolic liquid propellants. It is the fifth iteration of the Long March rocket family.


title: Long March 5

text: There are currently two CZ-5 variants: CZ-5 and CZ-5B. The maximum payload capacities are approximately to low Earth orbit (for CZ-5B) and approximately to geostationary transfer orbit (for CZ-5). As of 2021, a 3-core human-rated variant, referred to as CZ-5G, designed for manned moon mission, is under development; this variant will be capable of launching a crewed spacecraft into lunar orbit.


title: Long March 5

text: The Long March 5 roughly matches the capabilities of American NSSL heavy-lift launch vehicles such as the Delta IV Heavy. It is currently the most powerful member of the Long March rocket family and the world's third most powerful orbital launch vehicle currently in operation, trailing the Falcon Heavy and Delta IV Heavy.


title: Long March 5

text: The first CZ-5 launched from Wenchang Space Launch Site on 3 November 2016 and placed its payload in a suboptimal but workable initial orbit. The second CZ-5 rocket, launched on 2 July 2017, failed due to an engine problem in the first stage.


title: Long March 5

text: After an interval of almost two and a half years, the Long March 5 vehicle's "return to flight" mission (third launch) successfully occurred on 27 December 2019 with the launch and placement of the experimental Shijian-20 communications satellite into geostationary transfer orbit, thereby opening the way for the successful launch of Tianwen 1 Mars mission, lunar Chang'e 5 sample-return mission, and the modular space station, which require the lifting capabilities of a heavy lift launch vehicle.


title: Long March 5

text: Since 2010, Long March launches (all versions) have made up 15–25% of the global launch totals. Growing domestic demand for launch services has also allowed China's state launch provider to maintain a healthy manifest. Additionally, China had been able to secure some international launch contracts by offering package deals that bundle launch vehicles with Chinese satellites, thereby circumventing the effects of U.S. embargo.


title: Long March 5

text: China's main objective for initiating the new CZ-5 program in 2007 was in anticipation of its future requirement for larger LEO and GTO payload capacities during the next 20–30 years period. Formal approval of the Long March 5 program occurred in 2007 following two decades of feasibility studies when funding was finally granted by the Chinese government. At the time, the new rocket was expected to be manufactured at a facility in Tianjin, a coastal city near Beijing, while launch was expected to occur at the new Wenchang Space Launch Site in the southernmost island province of Hainan.


title: Long March 5

text: In July 2012, a new thrust LOX/kerosene engine to be used on the Long March 5 boosters was test-fired by China.


title: Long March 5

text: The first production CZ-5 was shipped from the port of Tianjin in North China to Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island on 20 September 2015 for launch rehearsals.


title: Long March 5

text: The maiden flight of the CZ-5 was initially scheduled for 2014, but this subsequently slipped to 2016.


title: Long March 5

text: The final production and testing of the first CZ-5 rocket to be launched into orbit were completed at its Tianjin manufacturing facility on or about 16 August 2016 and the various segments of the rocket were shipped to the launch center on Hainan island shortly thereafter.


title: Long March 5

text: The chief designer of CZ-5 is Li Dong () of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). The CZ-5 family includes three primary modular core stages of 5.2-m diameter (maximum). The vehicle's total length is 60.5 meters and its weight at launch is 643 tons, with a thrust of 833.8 tons. Boosters of various capabilities and diameters ranging from 2.25 meters to 3.35 meters would be assembled from three modular core stages and strap-on stages. The first stage and boosters would have a choice of engines that use different liquid rocket propellants: 1200 kN thrust LOX / kerosene engines or 1550 kN thrust LOX / LH2. The upper stage would use improved versions of the YF-75 engine.


title: Long March 5

text: Engine development began in 2000–2001, with testing directed by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) commencing in 2005. Versions of both new engines, the YF-100 and the YF-77, had been successfully tested by mid-2007.


title: Long March 5

text: The CZ-5 series can deliver ~23 tonnes of payload to LEO or ~14 tonnes of payload to GTO (geosynchronous transfer orbit). It will replace the CZ-2, CZ-3, and CZ-4 series in service, as well as provide new capabilities not possessed by the previous Long March rocket family. The CZ-5 launch vehicle would consist of a 5.0-m diameter core stage and four 3.35-m diameter strap-on boosters, which would be able to send a ~22 tonne payload to low Earth orbit (LEO).


title: Long March 5

text: Six CZ-5 variants were originally planned, but the light variants were cancelled in favor of CZ-6 and CZ-7 family launch vehicles.


title: Long March 5

text: In 2021, it is revealed that a 3-core variant tentatively named CZ-5G is under development for potential crewed lunar missions. The vehicle will be equipped with 7 YF-100K/L LOX / kerosene engines at the core stage with two similar core stages acting as boosters, for a total of 21 YF-100 engines. The second stage will be equipped with 2 YF-100M LOX / kerosene engines and the third stage will be equipped with 3 YF-75E LOX / LH2 engines. All stages share the same diameter.


title: Long March 5

text: The first stage of the Long March 5B variant, which can reach orbital velocity and weighs 21.6 tonnes, currently lacks the capability for controlled atmospheric re-entry, meaning that debris could cause damage on the ground upon re-entry. Without modification, it is expected all LEO launches of the Long March 5B will result in uncontrolled re-entries.


title: Long March 5

text: The 5B is the specific variant in concern due to its unique LEO configuration. The core rocket stage (first stage) is launched directly into orbit, which also unusually serves as the upper stage to perform payload insertion. Typically, the rocket's first stage never reaches orbital velocity, while the smaller upper stage will usually burn up in the atmosphere during re-entry. However, Long March 5B's first and upper stage is combined into one, making the mitigation effort more difficult.


title: Long March 5

text: Potential solutions include restarting engines during re-entry to reduce speed and collision probability, as the case for Long March 2D. China has also developed grid fins on other Long March variants to steer stages during re-entry. However, Long March 5B has yet to demonstrate these capabilities. Although the probability of rocket debris hitting populated areas is mathematically minuscule, the scientistic fears the lax attitude of many countries could eventually result in casualties. The core stage of the Long March 5B-Y3 re-entered Earth's atmosphere on 30 July 2022, some debris may have survived re-entry and reached the ground.


title: Long March 5

text: Before the launch of 5B-Y4, Liu Bing, deputy director-designer of the Long March 5B, told journalists that "an elaborative evaluation" was performed on the 5B to enable safe re-entry, though no details regarding the improved re-entry procedure were revealed.


title: Long March 5

text: The launch was planned to take place at around 10:00 UTC on 3 November 2016, but several issues, involving an oxygen vent and chilling of the engines, were detected during the preparation, causing a delay of nearly three hours. The final countdown was interrupted three times due to problems with the flight control computer and the tracking software. The rocket finally launched at 12:43 UTC.


title: Long March 5

text: Its second launch on 2 July 2017 experienced an anomaly shortly after launch and was switched to an alternate, gentler trajectory. However, it was declared a failure 45 minutes into the flight. Investigations revealed the source of the second flight's failure to be located in one of the core stage's YF-77 engines (specifically, in the oxidizer's turbo-pump).


title: Long March 5

text: The Y3 mission of the Long March 5 program was launched on 27 December 2019, at about 12:45 UTC from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan, China. CASC declared the mission a success within an hour of launch, after the Shijian-20 communications satellite was placed in geostationary transfer orbit, thus marking the Long March 5 program's return to flight.


title: Long March 5

text: The fourth flight of the Long March 5 program also marked the debut of the CZ-5B variant. The CZ-5B variant is basically equivalent to the Long March 5 core stage with its four strapped-on liquid-fueled boosters; in place of the usual second stage of the base configuration, it is use to launch heavier low Earth orbit payloads, such as components of the Tiangong space station, would be carried by the 5B variant. The 5B variant may also be considered for launching constellation satellites in future with Yuanzheng upper stage.


title: Long March 5

text: The first flight of the 5B variant ("Y1 mission") carried an uncrewed prototype of China's future deep space crewed spacecraft, and, as a secondary payload, the "Flexible Inflatable Cargo Re-entry Vehicle". The Y1 mission was launched on 5 May 2020, at 10:00 UTC from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan Island. CASC declared the launch a success after the payloads were placed in low Earth orbit.


title: Long March 5

text: The flight's secondary payload, the experimental cargo return craft, malfunctioned during its return to Earth on 6 May 2020. Nevertheless, the return capsule of the prototype next-generation crewed spacecraft, the flight's primary payload, successfully landed in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 05:49 UTC, on 8 May 2020. The prototype spacecraft flew in orbit for two days and 19 hours and carried out a series of successful experiments and technological verifications. The Y1 mission's core stage may have been the most massive object to make an uncontrolled re-entry since the Soviet Union's Salyut 7 space station in 1991 and the United States' Skylab in 1979, excluding the failed controlled reentry of Space Shuttle "Columbia" over populated areas of the Continental United States in 2003.


title: Innocent (actor)

text: Innocent Vareed Thekkethala (born 28 February 1948) is an Indian actor and politician. He predominantly works in Malayalam cinema in addition to Hindi, English, Tamil, and Kannada films, mostly in comedic roles. He has acted in more than 750 films and is considered one of the best comedians in Malayalam cinema. He has also appeared in villainous roles, such as in "Mazhavilkavadi", "Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu" and "Ganamela". Innocent has won several awards, including three Kerala State Film Awards. He served as the Member of Parliament in the 16th Lok Sabha of India representing Chalakudy constituency.


title: Innocent (actor)

text: In 1979, he was elected as the municipal councilor of irinjalakkuda municipality. Innocent won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Chalakudy Lok Sabha constituency as an independent candidate supported by the Left Democratic Front (LDF). Innocent served as the president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), a guild of Malayalam artists from 2003 to 2018. He has written books based on his memories, and columns in magazines and newspapers.


title: Innocent (actor)

text: Innocent was born on 28 February 1948 to Vareed Thekkethala and Margaret in Irinjalakuda, Travancore-Cochin (present-day Kerala), India. He is the fifth child and third son of his parents, who had eight children. He had his primary education at Little Flower Convent Higher Secondary School, Irinjalakuda, Don Bosco Higher Secondary School, Irinjalakuda, and Sree Sangameswara NSS School, Irinjalakuda. He studied till eighth grade and discontinued his studies as he could not cope with studying. Innocent went to Madras (then) for his acting career and worked there as a production executive and during that time he acted in a minor role in the movie "Nellu", which was one of his earlier movies. He fell ill and came to Davangere in the 1970s for treatment for Typhoid, where his cousins George (studying medicine at JJM Medical College), Davis, and his brother Sunny were running the Shamannur Match factory, in Davangere. Later, he was an active partner in the working of the factory. As Innocent was keen on the performance activities, he seized the opportunity to participate in Davangere, Kerala Samajam drama, and received audience approval in entertainment events.


title: Innocent (actor)

text: He left Davangere in 1974, set up a leather business, then a cycle renting business to make a living. Growing up, he had a few conflicts with his father, Vareed, because his brothers continued to have an excellent education and became successful doctors, lawyers, and judges. After some time, he joined politics and became Municipal councilor of Irinjalakuda.


title: Innocent (actor)

text: Innocent's mannerisms and diction is unique in Malayalam cinema and he wildly caught the attention of the Malayalam audience. This made him almost a phenomenon in the Malayalam comedy scene, also making him a hot favorite for mimicry artistes. His popularity can be gauged from the fact that many frontline directors in Malayalam (like Priyadarshan, Satyan Anthikkad, Fazil and Kamal) rarely make films without Innocent. He has proven his acting skills in serious and character roles in several films. He has been the president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) for 12 years. He has held the post for the last four consecutive terms.


title: Innocent (actor)

text: Innocent entered the film industry in 1972 with the movie "Nrityashala". At first, he produced a few serious offbeat films, but he was not successful. In the long span of his career, Innocent has worked in more than 500 films in a variety of roles, mainly in Malayalam. He has also acted in a few Tamil and Hindi films.


title: Innocent (actor)

text: Innocent played key comedy roles in superhits like "Ramji Rao Speaking", "Mannar Mathai Speaking", "Kilukkam", "Godfather", "Vietnam Colony", "Nadodikattu" and "Devaasuram". Innocent has also excelled in character and villain roles such as "Keli", "Kathodu Kathoram".


title: Innocent (actor)

text: He proved his skills in other serious roles with a touch of laughter in films such as "Kabooliwaala", "Gajakesariyogam", "Mithunam", "Mazhavilkavadi", "Manassinakkare", "Thuruppugulan", "Rasathanthram", and "Mahasamudram". His effort, along with that of the superstars who starred in these films, played an important role in their success. His pairing with K. P. A. C. Lalitha was highly successful in movies such as "Ponn Muttayidunna Tharavu", "My Dear Muthachchan", "Godfather" and "Manichitrathazhu".


title: Innocent (actor)

text: Innocent is one of the most imitated actors in Malayalam cinema and mimicry artists have brought him closer to women and children among his fans. The best example of this can be seen in the widely popular Maveli (Mahabali) comedy cassettes which are brought out by various mimicry groups annually in association with the Onam festival of Kerala in the past few years. These cassettes satirise Mahabali, a benevolent King in Kerala's mythology, who is supposed to visit his subjects in Kerala every lunar year on the day of Onam. These cassettes tend to portray Maveli (Mahabali) as a comic King who gets into all sorts of troubles – the script makes use of many contemporary issues in Kerala – on his annual arrival in Kerala. Mimicry artists use Innocent's voice to represent Maveli and all his mannerisms and idiosyncrasies in speech are deftly mimicked to generate laughter in the audience.


title: Innocent (actor)

text: Innocent's participation in stage shows guarantees him a leading role as an anchor or performer. His Kathaprasangam (oratory combined with poetry) "Olayaal Menjoru" is one of the regulars in Gulf stage shows.


title: Innocent (actor)

text: Innocent has authored five books: "Njan Innocent", "Cancer Wardile Chiri", "Irinjalakudakku Chuttum" (memoirs), "Mazha Kannadi" (collection of short stories) and "Chirrikku Pinnil" (autobiography). "Cancer Wardile Chiri" (Laughter in the Cancer Ward) is an account of his experiences while undergoing treatment for throat cancer. "Irinjalakudakku Chuttum" won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Humour in 2020. Innocent also writes columns in magazines and newspapers.


title: Innocent (actor)

text: Innocent was the Thrissur District Secretary of the Revolutionary Socialist Party during the 1970s. He had contested in the Irinjalakkuda municipal council elections as Revolutionary Socialist Party-backed candidate in 1979 and had won that election. He was rumoured to be a Left Democratic Front (LDF)-supported independent candidate from the Irinjalakkuda assembly constituency in the 2006 Kerala Legislative Assembly elections but this did not happen. Innocent won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Chalakudy Lok Sabha constituency in Thrissur district as an independent candidate supported by the LDF.


title: Innocent (actor)

text: He married Alice on September 26, 1976, and have a son, Sonnet. Sonnet is married, with two children, Innocent Jr and Anna. Innocent Jr has acted in a documentary as Innocent in childhood. Both Innocent and his wife are cancer survivors.


title: National Congress of Brazil

text: The National Congress of Brazil () is the legislative body of Brazil's federal government. Unlike the state legislative assemblies and municipal chambers, the Congress is bicameral, composed of the Federal Senate (the upper house) and the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house). The Congress meets annually in Brasília from 2 February to 22 December, with a mid-term break taking place between 17 July and 1 August.


title: National Congress of Brazil

text: The Senate represents the 26 states and the Federal District. Each state and the Federal District has a representation of three senators, who are elected by popular ballot for a term of eight years. Every four years, renewal of either one third or two-thirds of the Senate (and of the delegations of the States and the Federal District) takes place. The Chamber of Deputies represents the people of each state, and its members are elected for a four-year term by a system of proportional representation. Seats are allotted proportionally according to each state's population, with each state eligible for a minimum of 8 seats (least populous) and a maximum of 70 seats (most populous). Unlike the Senate, the whole of the Chamber of Deputies is renewed every four years.


title: National Congress of Brazil

text: Until recently it was common for politicians to switch parties and the proportion of congressional seats held by each party would often change. However, a decision of the Supreme Federal Court has ruled that the seats belong to the parties and not to the politicians; one can only change parties and retain his seat in a very limited set of cases. Consequently, politicians who abandon the party for which they were elected now face the loss of their congressional seat. Each house of the Brazilian Congress elects its president and the other members of its directing board from among its members. The President of the Senate is "ex officio" the President of the National Congress, and in that capacity summons and presides over joint sessions, as well as over the joint services of both houses. The President of the Chamber is second in the presidential line of succession while the President of the Senate (and of Congress) is third.


title: National Congress of Brazil

text: The Federal Senate (Portuguese: Senado Federal) is the upper house of the National Congress. Created by the first Constitution of the Brazilian Empire in 1824, it was inspired in United Kingdom's House of Lords, but with the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889 it became closer to the United States Senate.


title: National Congress of Brazil

text: Currently, the Senate comprises 81 seats. Three senators from each of the 26 states and three senators from the Federal District are elected on a majority basis to serve eight-year terms. Elections are staggered so that two-thirds of the upper house is up for election at one time and the remaining one-third four years later. When one seat is up for election in each State, each voter casts one vote for the Senate; when two seats are up for election, each voter casts two votes, and the voter cannot give his two votes for the same candidate, but, in elections for the renewal of two-thirds of the Senate, each party can present two candidates for election. The candidate in each State and the Federal District (or the first two candidates, when two thirds of the seats are up for election) who achieve the greatest plurality of votes are elected.


title: National Congress of Brazil

text: The Chamber of Deputies (Câmara dos Deputados) is the lower house of the National Congress, it is composed of 513 federal deputies, who are elected by a proportional representation of votes to serve a four-year term. Seats are allotted proportionally according to each state's population, with each state eligible for a minimum of 8 seats (least populous) and a maximum of 70 seats (most populous).


title: National Congress of Brazil

text: In 2018, 24 out of the country's 33 political parties were able to elect at least one representative in the Chamber, while sixteen of them were able to elect at least one senator.


title: National Congress of Brazil

text: In early 1900s, the Brazilian National Congress happened to be in separate buildings in Rio de Janeiro which was then the national capital. The Senate was located near Railway Central Station, beside the Republica Square, at Moncorvo Filho Street, where there is today a Federal University of Rio de Janeiro students' center. The Federal Chamber of Deputies was located at Misericórdia Street, which would later be the location of the State of Rio de Janeiro's local Chamber of Deputies. From the 1930s to early 1960s, the Senate occupied the Monroe Palace, which was demolished in the 1970s to allow the construction of the subway Cinelândia Station. The Federal Chamber of Deputies moved to Brasília in the early 1960s as well but temporarily occupied a building near the Municipal Theater for a couple of years.


title: National Congress of Brazil

text: Since the 1960s, the National Congress has been located in Brasília. As with most of the city's government buildings, the National Congress building was designed by Oscar Niemeyer in the modern Brazilian style.


title: National Congress of Brazil

text: The semi-sphere on the left is the seat of the Senate, and the semi-sphere on the right is the seat of the Chamber of the Deputies. Between them are two vertical office towers. The Congress also occupies other surrounding office buildings, some of them interconnected by a tunnel.


title: National Congress of Brazil

text: The building is located in the middle of the Monumental Axis, the main street of Brasília. In front of it there is a large lawn where demonstrations take place. At the back of it, is the "Praça dos Três Poderes" (Three Powers Plaza), where lies the Palácio do Planalto and the Supreme Federal Court.


title: National Congress of Brazil

text: On December 6, 2007, the Institute of Historic and Artistic National Heritage () decided to declare the building of the National Congress a historical heritage of the Brazilian people. The building has also been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of Brasília's original urban buildings, since 1987.


title: National Congress of Brazil

text: The Legislatures are counted from the first meeting of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate, on 6 May 1826, in the imperial era (the Chamber of Deputies met for preparatory sessions from 29 April 1826 onwards to elect its officers and conduct other preliminary business, but the Legislature was formally opened on 6 May). The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate were created by Brazil's first Constitution, the Constitution of the Empire of Brazil, adopted in 1824. The previous Constituent and Legislative Assembly of the Empire of Brazil, a unicameral National Assembly, that was convened in 1823 and that was dissolved by Emperor Pedro I before adopting a Constitution is not counted among the Legislatures. Thus, the numbering includes only the bicameral Legislatures that existed from 1826 to the present day, and includes only Legislatures elected after the adoption of the first Brazilian Constitution.


title: National Congress of Brazil

text: In the imperial era, the national legislature was named "General Assembly". It was made up of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Senators were elected for life and the Senate was a permanent institution, whereas the Chamber of Deputies, unless dissolved earlier, was elected every four years. When Brazil became a Republic and a Federal State the model of a bicameral Legislature was retained at the Federal level, but the Parliament was renamed "National Congress". The National Congress is made up of the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate. Both Houses have fixed terms and cannot be dissolved earlier. Under Brazil's present Constitution, adopted in 1988, Senators are elected to eight-year terms, and Deputies are elected every four years.


title: National Congress of Brazil

text: The numbering of the Legislatures is continuous, including the Legislatures of the imperial General Assembly and of the republican National Congress. The inauguration of a new composition of Chamber of Deputies for a four-year term of office marks the start of a new Legislature.


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: Once Upon a Forest is a 1993 animated musical adventure film produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Based on the "Furlings" characters created by Rae Lambert, the film was directed by Charles Grosvenor and produced by David Kirschner, and stars the voices of Michael Crawford, Ellen Blain, Benji Gregory, Paige Gosney, Will Estes, Janet Waldo, Elisabeth Moss, and Ben Vereen.


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: The film is about three "Furlings" – the story's term for animal children – who go on an expedition to cure a friend that has been poisoned by chemical fumes. The film's environmental theme divided critics at the time of its release, along with the animation and story. The film grossed $6.6 million in the US against a budget of $13–16 million.


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: In the forest of Dapplewood, four "Furlings" – Abigail, a wood mouse; Edgar, a mole; Russell, a hedgehog, and Michelle, a badger – live alongside their teacher and Michelle's uncle, Cornelius. One day, the Furlings go on a trip through the forest with Cornelius, where they see a road for the first time. Russell is almost run over by a Range Rover and a man at the passenger’s seat carelessly throws away a glass bottle that shatters in the middle of the road. Afterward, they go back to the forest to find that it has been destroyed by poison gas from an overturned tanker truck that blew a tire from the broken glass bottle. Michelle panics and runs to her home to find her parents, breathing in the gas and becoming severely ill. Abigail risks her own life and saves a comatose Michelle, but can do nothing for Michelle's parents. The Furlings go to Cornelius' house nearby for shelter after they find their homes deserted, believing everyone else to have succumbed to the gas. Cornelius tells the Furlings of his past encounter with humans that claimed the lives of his parents, hence why he is fearful of all human beings. He says he needs two herbs to make a potion that will save Michelle's life: lungwort and eyebright. With limited time, the Furlings head off for their journey the next day.


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: After facing numerous dangers, such as escaping a hungry barn owl, aiding a flock of religious wrens led by preacher Phineas, and encountering intimidating construction vehicles that the wrens call "Yellow Dragons", the Furlings make it to the meadow, where the herbs they need are. There, they meet the bully squirrel Waggs, and Willy, a tough but sensible mouse who grows a liking for Abigail. After getting the eyebright, they discover that the lungwort is on a giant cliff making it inaccessible by foot. Russell suggests they use Cornelius' airship, the Flapper-Wing-a-Ma-Thing, to get to the lungwort.


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: The Furlings manage to get the lungwort after a dangerous flight up the cliff, then steer their airship back for Dapplewood. They crash-land back in the forest after a storm, and bring the herbs to Michelle and Cornelius. A group of humans appear and the animals, thinking the humans mean them harm, escape through the backdoor of Cornelius' house. Edgar gets separated from the group and gets caught in an old trap. When one of the workers finds him, the animals are surprised when he frees Edgar and destroys the trap, revealing that the men are cleaning up the gas. The group, especially Cornelius, realize that there are good humans in the world.


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: Michelle is given the herbs. The next day, she appears unresponsive, but a single tear from Cornelius awakens her from her coma. Cornelius sees the Flapper-Wing-a-Ma-Thing and becomes amazed by how the Furlings have grown up. The Furlings' families and many of the other inhabitants arrive as well, except for Michelle's parents; Cornelius promises to do his best on taking care of her. The Furlings happily reunite with their families, who are relieved to see that their children are alright. Michelle asks Cornelius if anything will ever be the same again. Cornelius looks at the dead trees in the forest and says to her that if everyone works as hard to save Dapplewood as the Furlings did to save Michelle, it will be.


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: "Once Upon a Forest" was conceived as early as 1989, when the head of graphic design at ITV Cymru Wales, Rae Lambert, devised an environmental tale entitled "A Furling's Story" as a pitch to the American cartoon studio Hanna-Barbera (owned by Turner Broadcasting since 1991), along with partner Mike Young. Thanks to screenwriters Mark Young and Kelly Ward, the project started as a made-for-TV movie with "The Endangered" as its new name.


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: At the suggestion of Liz Kirschner, the wife of the film's producer, "The Phantom of the Opera"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Broadway star Michael Crawford was chosen to play Cornelius. Members of South Central Los Angeles' First Baptist Church were chosen to voice the chorus accompanying the preacher bird Phineas (voiced by Ben Vereen). While filming the live-action references, the crew "was thrilled beyond [...] expectations [as the chorus] started flipping their arms and moving their tambourines", recalls Kirschner.


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: William Hanna, co-founder and chairman of Hanna-Barbera was in charge of the film's production as its executive producer. "[It is] the finest feature production [we have] ever done," he told "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution" in May 1993. "When I stood up and presented it to the studio, my eyes teared up. It is very, very heartwarming."


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: Kirscher spoke to "The Dallas Morning News" Philip Wuntch a month later on the diversity of the film's production services: "Disney has great animators, and the studio has them locked up for years and years. We got the best worldwide animators available from Sweden [actually Denmark], Asia, Argentina, Spain and England [actually Canada]." Work on the animation was in the hands of Wang Film Productions in Taiwan; Lapiz Azul Animation and Matias Marcos Animation of Spain; the Jaime Diaz Studio of Argentina; Denmark's A. Film; Phoenix Animation Studios in Toronto, Canada; and The Hollywood Cartoon Company. Mark Swanson Productions did computer animation for the "Yellow Dragons" and the Flapper-Wing-a-Ma-Thing.


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: Because of time constraints and budget limitations, over ten minutes were cut from the film before its release. One of the deleted scenes featured the voice of Glenn Close, whose character was removed entirely from the final storyline. At around the same time, the studio temporarily changed the working title of "The Endangered" to the less-ominous "Beyond the Yellow Dragons", for fear audiences would find the former title too sensitive for a children's film.


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: The film's advertising at the time promised a new masterpiece "from the creator of "An American Tail"". The creator in question was David Kirschner, who served as "Tail"s executive producer, and actually did create the characters and the story of the film. But "ReelViews" James Berardinelli and the "Times Union" of Albany found it misleading, hoping instead for the likes of Don Bluth or Steven Spielberg.


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: Hanna-Barbera's feature production unit created to produce this film and "" (1990), which also carried an environmental theme, was spun off into another unit under parent company Turner Entertainment, Turner Feature Animation, which produced "The Pagemaster" and "Cats Don't Dance". David Kirschner remained as head of the division. No further theatrical animated films were produced by Hanna-Barbera itself (it would license live-action film adaptations of "The Flintstones" and "Scooby-Doo" before being dissolved in 2001).


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: "The Miami Herald" took note of the film's potential competition with Universal Studios' already-established summer hit, "Jurassic Park": "[A] small but well-crafted animated feature like [this] seemingly doesn't stand a grasshopper's chance. And that's a shame, because this is a delightful family film." Ultimately, "Once Upon a Forest" did poorly in theaters: after opening with $2.2 million at 1,487 venues, it made $6.5 million at the North American box office, just over half its budget. The film holds rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews. The critical consensus reads: "Inert animation and generically chipper characters rob "Once Upon a Forest" of any personality despite its well-intentioned message and critter appeal for very young children."


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: Fox Video's original VHS and laserdisc issue of the film, released on September 21, 1993, proved successful on the home video market for several months. On October 28, 2002, it premiered on DVD, also available on VHS in the UK with the content presented in fullscreen and widescreen formats. The original trailer was included as the only extra on the Australian Region 4 version.


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: "Once Upon a Forest" was nominated for an Annie Award for Best Animated Feature in 1993. It won an MPSE Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing.


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: The score for "Once Upon a Forest" was one of several that composer James Horner wrote for animated films of the late '80s and early '90s. Three songs were written for it: "Please Wake Up", "He's Gone/He's Back", and the closing credits track, "Once Upon a Time with Me". The songs were performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, with contributions from Ben Vereen and Michael Crawford. The soundtrack, released by Fox Records, has been out of print since its publisher went out of business in the mid-1990s.


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: "Once Upon a Forest" was adapted into book form by Elizabeth Isele, with illustrations by Carol Holman Grosvenor, the film's production designer. The tie-in was issued by Turner Publishing and distributed by Andrews McMeel, a month prior to the film's release ().


title: Once Upon a Forest

text: The multimedia company Sanctuary Woods also released a MS-DOS point-and-click adventure game based on the film, on CD-ROM and floppy disk for IBM computers; Beth Agnew served as its adapter. Many elements of the game stayed faithful to the original source material. None of the original voice actors reprised their roles as the voice acting was recorded in Canada.


title: Manon Rhéaume

text: Manon Rhéaume (born February 24, 1972) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender. An Olympic silver medalist, she achieved a number of historic firsts during her career, including becoming the first woman to play in exhibition game in any of the major North American pro-sports leagues.


title: Manon Rhéaume

text: In 1992, Rhéaume signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL, appearing in preseason exhibition games in 1992 and 1993. She spent five years in professional minor leagues, playing for a total of seven teams and appearing in 24 games. She also played on the Canada women's national ice hockey team, winning gold medals at the IIHF Women's World Championship in 1992 and 1994, and the silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics.


title: Manon Rhéaume

text: Rhéaume, first woman NHL player, played for the Sherbrooke Jofa-Titan squad in the League Régionale du Hockey au Féminin in the province of Québec. She was the first female goaltender to play for a boys' team in the 1984 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. Rhéaume was signed to the Trois-Rivières Draveurs in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, one of Canada's top junior ice hockey leagues, for the 1991–92 season, becoming the first woman to play in a men's Major Junior hockey game.


title: Manon Rhéaume

text: In 1992, Rhéaume tried out for the Tampa Bay Lightning; this was the first time a woman tried out for an NHL team. She played one period in a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues, allowing two goals on nine shots, and played in another preseason game against the Boston Bruins in 1993.


title: Manon Rhéaume

text: Also in 1992, Rhéaume was selected for the Canada national women's ice hockey team. She won gold medals at the 1992 and 1994 IIHF Women's World Championships, and was named to the All-Star team both years. She won the silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.


title: Manon Rhéaume

text: In 1992, Rhéaume was signed by the Atlanta Knights of the International Hockey League (IHL). Her first appearance against the Salt Lake Golden Eagles marked the first time a woman appeared in a regular season professional game. She played for seven different teams between 1992 and 1997, including Atlanta, the Knoxville Cherokees, Nashville Knights, the Las Vegas Aces, the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks, Las Vegas Thunder, and the Reno Renegades, appearing in a total of 24 games. While in Atlanta, Rhéaume wrote her autobiography, "Manon: Alone in Front of the Net". She initially retired from professional hockey in 1997.


title: Manon Rhéaume

text: For the 1999–2000 season, Rhéaume was the goaltending coach of the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey program. She entered into the business world in 2000, serving as marketing director for Mission Hockey in Irvine, California, developing and promoting girls' hockey equipment for three years. She later worked in marketing at the Powerade Iceport in Milwaukee and with the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.


title: Manon Rhéaume

text: In October 2008, the IHL's Port Huron Icehawks announced plans to have Rhéaume take part in their training camp activities and play for at least one period of the team's exhibition season opener. On April 3, 2009, Rhéaume suited up for one game with the Flint Generals IHL team. She had been with the practice team since January, filling in for their regular goalie. Rhéaume is the third woman to play for the Generals.


title: Manon Rhéaume

text: She played for the Minnesota Whitecaps in 2009, and helped lead them to the Clarkson Cup finals. On March 19, the Whitecaps, with Rhéaume in net, beat the Montreal Stars in a playoff game by a score of 4–3 in overtime, with Kim St. Pierre in net for the Stars. During the 2008–09 WWHL season, Rhéaume's Whitecaps took two of three games from the Calgary Oval X-Treme. Those losses snapped a string that saw the X-Treme go two years without tasting defeat in the regular season.


title: Manon Rhéaume

text: In 2015, she dropped the puck in the ceremonial opening faceoff before the first National Women's Hockey League game. Rhéaume resides in Michigan and coaches Detroit Little Caesar's under-12 girls hockey team.


title: Manon Rhéaume

text: In October 2021, Rhéaume was hired by Bally Sports Detroit as an analyst and reporter for the Detroit Red Wings.


title: Manon Rhéaume

text: Rhéaume guest-starred as herself in the made-for-TV movie "A Beachcombers Christmas" with Tiger Williams and Jyrki Lumme. At the height of her popularity, she was approached to pose for "Playboy Magazine", which she refused.


title: Manon Rhéaume

text: In 2011, Rhéaume took part in the Quebec TV show "Le défi des champions" (Champions' Challenge), a show that trained eight Quebec athletes (such as Isabelle Charest, Bruny Surin, Marc Gagnon, Marie-Andrée Lessard, Étienne Boulay, Nathalie Lambert and Mathieu Dandenault) to the art of the circus.


title: Manon Rhéaume

text: In June 2016, Rhéaume was mentioned in an episode of the show "Bones", (season 11, episode 18), as the only woman to play in an NHL game.


title: Manon Rhéaume

text: Rhéaume was married to Gerry St. Cyr, a roller hockey player and minor league hockey player in June 1998, whom she later divorced. They have one son, Dylan. Dylan St. Cyr, like his mother, is currently a goaltender for the Michigan State Spartans and previously served as goaltender for Notre Dame and Quinnipiac University. After her divorce from Gerry St. Cyr, she married her second husband, with whom she had a second child, Dakoda. Dakoda was drafted in the 2022 OHL Priority selection by the Sarnia Sting 124th overall in the 7th round. In 1999, she was hired by Mission Hockey as head of global marketing for women's hockey. One of her projects was helping develop hockey skates for women. Rhéaume formed the Manon Rhéaume Foundation in 2008, which provides scholarships for young women.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: The Iraqi Republican Guard ( "Ḥaras al-ʿIrāq al-Jamhūrīy") was a branch of the Iraqi military from 1969 to 2003, which existed primarily during the presidency of Saddam Hussein. It later became known as the "Republican Guard Corps," and then the "Republican Guard Forces Command" ("RGFC") with its expansion into two corps. The Republican Guard was disbanded in 2003 after the invasion of Iraq by a U.S.-led international coalition.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: The Republican Guard were the elite troops of the Iraqi army directly reporting to Saddam Hussein, unlike the paramilitary force Fedayeen Saddam, and the ordinary Iraqi Army. They were better trained, disciplined, equipped, and paid more than ordinary Iraqi soldiers, receiving bonuses, new cars, and subsidized housing.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: Formed in 1969, it was originally created to be a presidential guard. Its primary objective was to maintain the stability of the regime and provide protection against internal and external enemies. During the Iran–Iraq War, it was expanded into a large military force. It was officially dissolved in 2003, as per CPA Order 2 in the wake of the invasion of Iraq by a U.S.-led international coalition.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: The force's last commander was Qusay Hussein, the younger son of Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein was so confident about the capability of the guard that he had said: "In history when they write about Napoleon's Guard, they will arrange them next to the Republican Guard of Iraq."


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: Because of their elite status Republican Guards received better equipment and uniforms than their regular Army counterparts, and could often be identified by distinctive markings or items of head dress. Members of the regular Republican Guards conventionally wore a scarlet-colored triangle insignia on both shoulders of their uniforms (sometimes backed with white material to form a white border around the edge of the triangle); they also wore black berets as did some Army personnel, but as a distinctive marking a scarlet ribbon was often sewn to the right of the National cap badge to distinguish bravery in combat and/or loyalty to the Hussein regime. The Special Republican Guards wore a maroon beret with the national eagle device, and a special variation of the triangle shoulder insignia in maroon with green Arabic lettering. The bright red qardoon (shoulder cord) distinguished Republican Guards as well. A similar cord with green and red bands was also worn by the Special Republican Guards.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: Initially, the Guard had limited capabilities; however, during the Iran–Iraq War, it was expanded to five brigades, which was initially being mostly used in counterattacks, notably in Operation Dawn 4. By 1986 the war had exhausted Iraq with both Iran and Iraq suffering heavy casualties. Iran had by then captured Al Faw Peninsula and generally pushed Iraqi forces beyond the pre-war border and captured territory inside Iraq, repulsing counterattacks by the Republican Guard. This, coupled with another defeat at the Battle of Mehran, caused the Iraqi Ba'ath Party to convene the Ba'ath Extraordinary Congress of July 1986. During this Congress the Ba'ath Party decided on a new strategy to overhaul the Iraqi military and utilize Iraq's manpower capability. The government closed all colleges and universities and began a mass mobilization program to force draft dodgers into the Iraqi Popular Army. This decision allowed for the drafting of thousands of university students, who were sent to military summer camps. In addition, the military began accepting volunteers from throughout Iraq.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: With this massive influx of manpower the Republican Guard expanded to over 25 brigades which were led by loyal officers drawn from the Iraqi military. This force then conducted the "Tawakalna ala Allah Operations" which, allowed for the eviction of the Iranians out of occupied Iraqi territory including the liberation of Al-Faw, as well as allowing for renewed major offensives into Iran.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: Between the invasion of Kuwait and the Persian Gulf War ("Operation Desert Storm"), the number of Republican Guard formations was expanded and the Guard was reorganized. The Republican Guard Forces Command was also created during this period. At the beginning of the Persian Gulf War, it consisted of the following units:


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: The Republican Guard also included two Corps Headquarters, the "Allah Akbar" Republican Guard Operations Command, and the "Fat'h al-Mubayyin" Republican Guard Operations Command, separate artillery detachments and numerous field support units.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: Between the invasion of Kuwait and the start of the war on 17 January 1991, four more RGFC internal security divisions had been formed which remained behind in Iraq. All of these units were motorised infantry. The names of only three of them were identified: the "Al-Abed", "Al-Mustafa" ('The Elect') and "Al-Nida" Divisions ('The Call'). They may have conducted operations against Kurdish forces in the north.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: By 1 August 1990, there were more than 100,000 Iraqi troops with up to 700 tanks on the Kuwaiti border.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: On 2 August 1990, the Republican Guard units commenced the invasion of Kuwait, which lasted two days. The Kuwait army strength was 16,000, so on paper Iraqi forces outnumbered the Kuwaitis 7 to 1. However, the actual ratio was far worse; the initial attack was so quick, and the Kuwaiti units so unprepared, that many of Kuwait's armed forces were on leave and unable to report in time.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: The attack was conducted by eight RGFC divisions (two armoured, two mechanized, three motorised infantry and one special forces). The main thrust was conducted from the north down the main Iraq-Kuwait road, later famous as the Highway of Death, by the 1st Hammurabi Armoured Division, with the "Nebuchadnezzar" Infantry division following; the "Tawakalna" Mechanised and "Al Faw" Infantry Divisions advanced on the flanks. The supporting attack from the west was led by the "Medina" Armoured Division, followed by the "Adnan" Infantry Division and the "Baghdad" Mechanised Division. Commandos deployed by helicopters joined the attack on Kuwait City.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: After the invasion, the Republican Guard was withdrawn and redeployed into strategic reserve positions in northern Kuwait and southern and central Iraq.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: During the Persian Gulf War, the U.S. VII Corps assembled in full strength and launched an armoured attack into Iraq early Sunday, 24 February, just to the west of Kuwait, taking Iraqi forces by surprise. Prior to the ground offensive, the Iraqi Republican Guard had been attacked relentlessly by US warplanes but managed to shoot down and damage a number of the attackers. On 15 February, the Iraqi Republican Guard shot down two A-10 Warthogs and damaged another, which alarmed USAF General Chuck Horner, who was forced to call off further A-10 attacks on these divisions. Simultaneously, the U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps launched a sweeping "left-hook" attack across the largely undefended desert of southern Iraq, led by the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized). Once the allies had penetrated deep into Iraqi territory, they turned eastward, launching a flank attack against the Republican Guard.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: Both sides exchanged fire, but the Republican guard divisions, worn down by weeks of aerial bombardment, proved unable to withstand the Allied advance. The Republican Guard participated in some of the largest tank battles in US history including the Battle of Medina Ridge, Battle of Norfolk, and the Battle of 73 Easting against the U.S. VII Corps. During the latter battle US veterans later reported coming under heavy small-arms fire with bullets bouncing off their vehicles, having been attacked by several dismounted detachments of the Tawakalna Division. Several rifle companies of the Tawakalna Division counterattacked under the cover of darkness, in an attempt to recover lost positions. The US won with minimal losses while inflicting heavy losses on the Iraqi Army, but elements of the Republican Guard divisions were able to withdraw back into Iraq, shooting down three US warplanes and a rescue helicopter in the process.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: In early April 1991, Colonel Montgomery Meigs, the commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Armoured Division, paid his respects to his former enemy's Medina Division reporting that, "These guys stayed and fought." The Medina Division shot down an A-10 Thunderbolt II in the fighting for Medina Ridge on 27 February 1991, and other Republican Guard units were responsible for the destruction of a US Marine Corps Harrier, a USAF F-16 and a US Army UH-60 Blackhawk that day.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: All the eight Republican Guard divisions involved in fighting during the Gulf War and the "Tawakalna" Division were disbanded due to losses. The remaining formations led the suppression of the 1991 uprisings in northern and southern Iraq - the Kurdish insurgency in the north and the Shi'ite uprising in the east. During these times, there were numerous accusations of the use of poison gas, rape and torture. The Hammurabi and Medina divisions surrounded Karbala with tanks and artillery and shelled the city for one week killing thousands and destroying entire neighborhoods.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: Though it was reduced to a strength of seven or eight divisions, the RGFC was reconstituted, taking equipment from Army heavy divisions. Journalist Sean Boyle wrote a number of articles for Jane's Intelligence Review, including on the Republican Guard, during the 1990s. In September 1997 he wrote that the Northern Corps had four divisions - Adnan Mechanised Division (Headquarters (HQ) Mosul) with the 11, 12, 21 Brigades; Baghdad Infantry Division (HQ Maqloob Maontin, Mosul Governate) 4, 5, 6 Brigades; Al Madina Al Munawara Armoured Division (Al Rashedia Camp/Al Taji Camp) 2, 10, 14, 17 Brigades; and the Al Abed Infantry Division (Khaled Camp, Kirkuk) with the 38, 39, and 40 Brigades. The Southern Corps had three divisions including the Hammurabi Division.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: The Republican Guard was subordinate to the "Special Security Apparatus of the State" and not to the Ministry of Defence as was the regular Iraqi Army. It was split into two Corps, one for the defense and control of northern Iraq, called "Allah Akbar Operations Command", composed of infantry and armoured units, and the "Fat'h al-Mubayyin Operations Command" composed primarily of mechanized units, which was located in the southern part of the country. In 2002, it was reported that the Republican Guard and the Fedayeen Saddam were both training in urban warfare and in guerrilla warfare.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: The Republican Guard then consisted of between 50,000 and 60,000 men (although some sources indicate up to 80,000), all volunteers, and some 750 Soviet T-72 and Asad Babil tanks and scores of T-55 and T-62 tanks, along with other mechanized vehicles. A further 90-100 T-72 tanks were operated by the Special Republican Guard. These forces were intentionally away from the capital to avert a possible rebellion against the regime. The members of this body of the army were better paid, equipped, armed and trained. They formed a special corps that were given the ability to buy houses and given other privileges to ensure loyalty to the regime.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: Nevertheless, the 2nd Al Medina Armored Division and 6th Nebuchadnezzer Mechanized Division tasked with defending the Karbala Gap fought well, 23 March 2003, disrupting a strong attack conducted by the 11th Aviation Group ("11th Attack Helicopter Regiment"), damaging thirty Apaches and shooting down one and capturing the crew, David Williams and Ronald Young, both chief warrant officers. It was an important Iraqi success for the Apache unit was taken out of the frontline for a month while undergoing repairs. At least 2 Apaches of the helicopter regiment were damaged beyond repair. On 2 April 2003, the Iraqi units positioned around Karbala shot down a U.S. Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter, killing seven soldiers and wounding four others. Iraqi forces also shot down an FA-18 Hornet near Karbala around 8.45 AM local time.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: On 7 April 2003, an Iraqi Special Republican Guard FROG-7 rocket or an Ababil-100 SSM missile exploded among the parked vehicles of the headquarters of 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, killing two soldiers (Private 1st Class Anthony Miller and Staff Sergeant Lincoln Hollinsaid) and two embedded journalists (Julio Parrado and Christian Liebig), wounding 15 others and destroying 17 military vehicles. On 8 April 2003, some 500 Iraqis (including Special Republican Guard) mounted a fierce counterattack across the Jumhuriya Bridge in Baghdad, forcing part of the U.S. forces on the western side of Baghdad to initially abandon their positions, but the Iraqis reportedly lost 50 killed in the fighting that included the use of A-10 Warthogs on the part of the US forces. An A-10 attack plane was shot down in combating the counterattack by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: On 2 April 2003, U.S. Army Brigadier General Vincent K. Brooks said that the Baghdad Division of the Iraqi Republican Guard had been "destroyed". Iraq information minister Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf responded that this was another U.S. "lie".


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: The Republican Guard was officially dissolved on 23 May 2003 per Order Number 2 of the Coalition Provisional Authority under Paul Bremer.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: In early 2004, British journalist Sean Langan confirmed that one of the local commanders of the guerrilla stronghold of Ramadi was a former Republican Guard officer.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: In late April 2004, a Pentagon report claimed that members of the Special Republican Guard had regrouped in the guerrilla stronghold of Fallujah.


title: Republican Guard (Iraq)

text: Many members of the Republican Guard joined several of the insurgent groups currently operating in Iraq such as the Return and ISIS.


title: Havildar

text: Havildar or havaldar (Hindustani: or , ) is a rank in the Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese armies, equivalent to sergeant. It is not used in cavalry units, where the equivalent is daffadar.


title: Havildar

text: "Havildar" is a Persian word in origin and means "person in charge", or more loosely "chief", from the Arabic ("charge", "responsibility") and the Persian (dâr, "holder"). Historically, a havildar was a senior commander, being in charge of a fort during the times of the Mughal Empire. It was used as the equivalent of a sergeant in the British Raj, which has led to its current usage.


title: Havildar

text: Havildars could be further appointed to positions of higher authority. The appointments of company quartermaster havildar and company havildar major existed in the British Indian Army. Historically, the two senior-most havildars of a company became the CQMH and the CHM. However, these were just appointments and the commanding officer could promote or demote any of these ranks at his discretion. These appointments still technically exist in the modern Indian Army. However, havildars are now promoted directly to junior commissioned officer rank, as the duties of these historical appointments are now carried out by JCOs.