title: Kingsport, Tennessee

text: Douglass High School in Kingsport was one of the largest African American high schools in the region when it closed for desegregation in 1966. The school's former building on East Walnut Avenue (now East Sevier Avenue) was a historic Rosenwald School, built in 1929–30 with a combination of funds from the city, private citizens and the Rosenwald Fund. Although during the years of segregation the Douglass Tigers football team was not allowed to play white teams, the Tigers won a Tennessee state football championship a state basketball championship in 1946, and a state basketball championship in 1948. The present building, built in 1951 at 301 Louis Street, is now the V.O. Dobbins Sr. Complex, named for Douglass' former principal.


title: Kingsport, Tennessee

text: As of 2021, the KPD consisted of 120 sworn officer positions, plus about 40 full-time support staff, including records, jail, maintenance and dispatch.


title: Kingsport, Tennessee

text: KPD has numerous specialized divisions to address the needs of the city, including Criminal Investigations, VICE and Narcotics, Traffic, Search and Rescue, Bomb Squad, and SWAT.


title: Kingsport, Tennessee

text: Kingsport shares a television market with Johnson City and Bristol, VA. WCYB-TV (NBC; THE CW on DT2) in Bristol, WEMT-TV (FOX) in Greeneville, WETP-TV (PBS) in Sneedville and WJHL-TV (CBS; ABC on DT2 aka ABC Tri-Cities) in Johnson City.


title: Kingsport, Tennessee

text: The city is home to the Kingsport Axmen, a collegiate summer baseball team of the Appalachian League. The nickname is in reference to frontiersman Daniel Boone, who began the Wilderness Road in Kingsport. The Axmen play their home games at Hunter Wright Stadium, which is named after former mayor Hunter Wright.


title: Kingsport, Tennessee

text: Professional baseball was first played in Kingsport, by the Kingsport Indians in the Appalachian League from 1921 to 1925. The team went dormant for 12 years before it returned to the circuit as the Kingsport Cherokees from 1938 to 1955—with the exception of the 1942 season as the Kingsport Dodgers and as members of the Mountain States League in 1953 and 1954. The club was later known as the Kingsport Orioles (1957), Kingsport Pirates (1960–1963), Kingsport Royals (1969–1973), and Kingsport Braves (1974–1979). The Kingsport Mets were members of the Appy League from 1980 to 2020, except for the 1983 season when the New York Mets temporarily relocated the team to Sarasota, Florida, as the Gulf Coast League Mets, while their home ballpark was being renovated. In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball beginning with the 2021 season, the Appalachian League was reorganized as a collegiate summer baseball league, and the Mets were replaced by the Axmen, a new franchise in the revamped league designed for rising college freshman and sophomores.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: Cardiff Airport () is the only airport offering commercial passenger services in Wales. It has been under the ownership of the Welsh Government since March 2013, operating at an arm's length as a commercial business. Passenger numbers were 1.66 million in 2019 and were increasing year-on-year. Since 2020, like most other airports, Cardiff Airport has suffered a major downturn in passengers due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These however have failed to recover, and passenger numbers are now down to those experienced in the 1960s.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: In 2013, the Welsh Government purchased Cardiff International Airport Ltd (CIAL) from TBI Ltd as a going concern for £52million.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: The Welsh Government, on behalf of the Welsh Ministers, operates CIAL as an arms length public corporation, with distinct separation achieved through WGC Holdco Limited. WGC Holdco Limited was incorporated as a private company limited by shares on 21 March 2013. WGC Holdco Limited acquired CIAL on 27 March 2013.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: WGC Holdco Limited owns 100 per cent of the ordinary share capital. As such, whilst CIAL is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Welsh Government, it operates in an independent and commercial manner, makes investment decisions on a commercial basis, and is liable for its own actions and any issues arising from the running of its business.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: In June 2020, Wayne Harvey, the former Senior Managing Partner for Deloitte Wales, was appointed the Chairman of the airport. Harvey took over from the outgoing chair, Roger Lewis, who had served as chairman since November 2015.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: Since 2013, Cardiff Airport has undergone a huge transformation with improvements made to the terminal, surrounding infrastructure, customer service standards and also the introduction of new routes.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: In the early 1940s, the Air Ministry requisitioned land in the rural Vale of Glamorgan to set up a wartime satellite aerodrome and training base, named RAF Rhoose, for Royal Air Force (RAF) Spitfire pilots. Construction started in 1941, and the airfield officially began life on 7 April 1942 when it was taken over by No 53 Operational Training Unit. After World War II the airfield fell into disuse and was abandoned.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: The man who decided Rhoose could be the site of a new airport was Lord Ogmore (previously David Rees-Williams), a Bridgend-born solicitor who had served as a lieutenant-colonel in the Royal Artillery during the war and who was elected MP for Croydon South in 1945. In 1951, Ogmore was briefly Minister of Civil Aviation, and identified what he called a "great need for a commercial airport of international standards" in South Wales. He later told the House of Lords "a decision had to be taken whether to do nothing at all (which was the desire of some) or whether Pengam Moors, the existing airport for Cardiff, should be improved at a cost of some millions of pounds, involving the alteration of the course of the Rumney River or, thirdly, whether an entirely new airport should be constructed or acquired in the vicinity of the capital of Wales."


title: Cardiff Airport

text: Lord Ogmore thought diverting the river at Pengam would be a problem, and feared that the tall chimney stacks of the nearby East Moors Steelworks could pose a safety hazard to aircraft. The Welsh Civil Aviation Consultative Committee then proposed that he should look at the "abandoned Royal Air Force airfield at Rhoose" as a possible alternative. On inspecting it, Ogmore found it "in a poor condition, with a large number of bombs stacked on the runways, and buildings in an extreme state of dilapidation". However he considered Rhoose could be suitable for civil aviation "if the necessary money and time were spent upon it". The Government accepted his proposal, and the Ministry of Aviation promptly began converting the abandoned airfield into a civilian airport. In October 1952 the new Rhoose Airport was opened by Rees-Williams's successor as Minister of Aviation Alan Lennox-Boyd.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: In 1952 Aer Lingus started a service to Dublin. Civilian flights from the old Cardiff Municipal Airport at Pengam Moors were transferred to Rhoose on 1 April 1954. A new terminal building followed, along with flights to France, Belfast and Cork. An increase in holiday charter business resulted in passenger throughput exceeding 100,000 in 1962.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: On 1 April 1965 the Ministry of Aviation handed over the airport to Glamorgan County Council, and it was renamed Glamorgan (Rhoose) Airport. The council started a five-year plan to develop the airport, including a new control tower, terminal building and a runway extension.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: In the 1970s, the supersonic airliner Concorde made a few flights into the airport on special occasions. These were limited by the length of the runway, meaning it could only land lightly loaded, and only take off without passengers and with a minimal fuel load.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: In the 1980s, the airport's name was changed to "Cardiff-Wales Airport". 1986 saw a further extension of to the runway, costing in the region of £1 million, thus attracting new-generation jet aircraft to the airport. Transatlantic links were developed, with charter flights to Florida, in addition to the previously-established links with Canada. The runway extension, enabling the airport to handle 747 jumbo jets, was instrumental in attracting the British Airways maintenance facility to the airport. The maintenance hangar is one of the largest in the world at , providing heavy airframe and engineering maintenance for the British Airways fleet and third party carriers.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: In April 1995, as a result of planned local government reorganisation in Wales, the airport company was privatised; the shares were sold to property and development firm TBI plc, which has since been converted back to a private company called TBI Ltd (a subsidiary of Abertis and AENA International). TBI Ltd now controls Luton Airport, Stockholm Skavsta, Belfast International Airport, and SABSTA (which owns three Bolivian Airports) and is concessionary to Orlando Sanford International Airport.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: In December 1995, Heli-air Wales began training helicopter pilots from the airport's southside, and are widely accredited with pioneering helicopter training in Wales. Heli-air Wales moved operations to Swansea Airport in 1999, and are still operating there.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: The airport is not only the main maintenance base for British Airways but also home to a variety of aerospace-oriented firms and colleges, and therefore a major contributor to the economic development of the region.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: The airport was the main base for four local airlines: Cambrian Airways from 1935 to 1976, Airways International Cymru until the airline ceased operations in 1988, Inter European Airways until 1993 and Air Wales until the airline ceased scheduled operations in March 2006.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: In 1996, Cardiff was one of the first airports the Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair used for its "no frills" services using second-hand Boeing 737-200s on a short hop from Dublin.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: By 2006, Ryanair had withdrawn from the airport, ending five years of daily service on the Cardiff to Dublin route. The withdrawal was due to a very public falling out with the airport over charges. On 15 May 2014, it was announced that Ryanair would return to the airport after an absence of eight years.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: Following a survey conducted by the airport operator in 2008 as part of a campaign to attract additional business routes, popular destinations such as Aberdeen, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Brussels, and Scandinavian cities were identified as lacking a current link. The airport planned to hold up to 25 meetings with airlines during May and June 2008 to support the case for more routes.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: The airport was used by 2.1 million passengers in 2008, but this had fallen to around 1.3 million passengers by 2016, according to the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority, making it the 20th busiest airport in the UK in terms of passenger numbers.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: On 2 March 2009, the airport's management revealed a name change for the airport along with initial development plans to improve the image of the facility. Following a brand review involving consultation with a number of key stakeholders, the names "Cardiff Airport" and "Maes Awyr Caerdydd" replaced "Cardiff International Airport". Later, it emerged that the airport had applied for £5 million of payments from the Welsh Assembly Government to deal with unspecified development at the terminal. This attracted immediate public criticism and requests that the airport's owners, Abertis, match such an investment with a £6 million route development programme.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: It was announced on 13 April 2011 that Bmibaby were to close their base at the airport, along with their base at Manchester Airport, the following October in order to redeploy aircraft at their other bases, including the creation of a new operation at Belfast City Airport. The base closed on 30 October 2011, shortly before the airline soon ceased operations.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: It was announced on 28 October 2011 that Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling were to open a new route to Barcelona, commencing 27 March 2012 and operating the route thrice weekly. Just over a month later, it was announced that Monarch were to serve Orlando Sanford Airport, Florida for the following summer, commencing the service on 28 May 2012. The airline operated the route on behalf of its own holiday wing, Monarch Holidays, and its partner company Cosmos. This was the first time in four years that there was a direct charter connection between Cardiff and the United States.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: On 16 May 2012, it was announced that airport's managing director, Patrick Duffy, had left his position amid mounting pressure from the Welsh Government on the airport's owners Abertis to improve the state of the airport and improve the services it offers or else sell the facility to an investor in a proposed public-private partnership. Why Duffy left his position after four years remains unclear.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: On 18 December 2012, it was announced that the Welsh Government was interested in buying the airport from its current owners. In 2012, the Airport faced sustained criticism from the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones. On 28 February 2012, Jones announced to the Welsh Assembly: "We would like to see many routes emerging from Cardiff Airport, but the Airport must get its act together... Last week, I went to the Airport and the main entrance was shut. People could not go in through the main entrance; they had to go through the side entrance. It is important that the Airport puts itself in a position where it is attractive to new airlines, and, unfortunately, that is not the case at present." His criticism led to accusations that he was "talking down" Cardiff Airport whilst aviation industry professionals commented that he was unqualified to make such comments. However, Jones returned to this theme on 7 March 2012 saying, "With the condition of the Airport at the moment I would not want to bring people in through Cardiff Airport because of the impression it would give of Wales...I have to say the time has come now for the owners of the Airport to decide to run the Airport properly or sell it."


title: Cardiff Airport

text: Byron Davies, Shadow Minister for Transport, said: "It is a bit rich for the First Minister to publicly attack and run down Cardiff Airport, when he has failed to seize opportunities, which would massively increase the range of routes available from Cardiff, introduce direct routes to North America, opening our economy to trade and business with one of the world's biggest economies". Liberal Democrats spokesperson, Eluned Parrott, said: "The First Minister needs to stop talking our capital city's Airport down and instead he should be doing all he can to encourage visitors to Cardiff Airport. His comments are hardly going to encourage tourism and business to Wales."


title: Cardiff Airport

text: The First Minister's criticism was roundly rejected by Alex Cruz, chief executive of Vueling – a Spanish airline which operates regular flights from Cardiff. Cruz said "We are more than satisfied with Cardiff Airport. We would not fly into an Airport that we did not feel was suitable for our customers." However, on 20 March 2012 Jones again criticised Cardiff Airport saying "business people" had complained to him "week after week, for many months about the Airport." He asserted he had put their points to the owners of the Airport but "they have been met with a shrug of the shoulders. That is just not good enough. I know of situations, and have seen them myself, where people have been locked in the baggage hall and where the front door was not open and people had to go in through a side door—I had to do that the last time I used the Airport."


title: Cardiff Airport

text: On 29 May 2012, it was announced that Jones would personally chair a "Task Force" on Cardiff Airport with the aim of "maximising its economic impact, commercially and for Wales". On 27 June 2012, the Task Force, comprising tourist chiefs, local government spokesmen and trade unionists, met for the first time. No airlines were invited to attend. A bid to obtain the full minutes of the meeting under the Freedom of Information Act was refused by the Information Commissioner.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: Figures from the UK Civil Aviation Authority showed that the number of passengers passing through Cardiff Airport fell to 1 Million in 2012. However, passenger numbers are increasing steadily and, as of 2017, show a recovery to pre-2010 levels.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: In March 2013, the Welsh Government began the process of acquiring Cardiff Airport from TBI/Abertis, who were considering divesting all of their airport assets following international criticism of their management of these resources. The deal to purchase the airfield for £52 million was officially announced on 27 March 2013.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: Cardiff Airport has had several problems with wild fly-grazing horses around the airfield and the Redwings Sanctuary in Norfolk were needed to assist in the rescue of 23 unclaimed horses that had been left on the site.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: In June 2015, a major deal was signed with Flybe for the opening of a two-aircraft base for their Embraer 195 jet aircraft, which saw the addition of 16 direct routes across the UK and Europe to destinations including Faro, Jersey, Dublin, Glasgow, Berlin, Venice, Munich, Verona, Rome, Edinburgh and Paris CDG. This deal also saw the end of Cityjet flights from the airport. The same year, Flybe announced that it would link Cardiff with London City Airport through a temporary route from 12 September 2016 until 21 October 2016 during the temporary closure of the Severn Tunnel. But due to the popularity of this service, Flybe decided that regular flights to London City Airport would continue. However, on 9 August 2017, Flybe announced that the service would be terminated, and the last flight was on 27 October 2017.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: In April 2017, Qatar Airways announced plans to launch a new service from Cardiff Airport, linking Wales and the West of England to Doha. It announced Cardiff Airport as the only new planned UK route in its network for 2018, although the resumption of Qatar Airways flights from the Middle East to London-Gatwick was also later confirmed.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: In 2018 the airport unveiled new ePassport gates in the terminal building to reduce queueing in immigration.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: On 4 April 2019, Flybe confirmed it would no longer have a permanent operational base at the airport from the end of the summer 2019 season; however due to Flybe entering administration on 5 March it ceased operations. This was a huge blow for the airport as Flybe was Cardiffs largest airline providing 27% of its annual passenger numbers in 2018 and meant a loss of its routes to Dublin, Edinburgh, Belfast, Paris, Jersey, Cork, Munich, Rome, Verona, Faro, Milan, Venice, seasonal winter services to Geneva and Chambery also Berlin and Düsseldorff which were ceased in January. Most of these routes were only served by Flybe.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: On 3 December 2020, Wizz Air UK announced its fourth UK base at Cardiff, basing one Airbus A321 aircraft and launching 9 routes (Alicante, Corfu, Faro, Heraklion, Lanzarote, Larnaca, Palma, Sharm El Sheikh and Tenerife), making Cardiff Airport the only Wizz Air and Wizz Air UK base without flights to Eastern Europe.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: On 29 March 2006, a £100 million development strategy was announced to extend the terminal and upgrade the main body of the building. It was anticipated that the investment would attract up to five million passengers by 2015 – an increase of 150% – according to the airport's published response to a UK Government White paper on the future of air transport throughout the United Kingdom.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: Costing around £3m, half funded by the Welsh Government, extensive refurbishment began with the redevelopment of the front of the Airport terminal and approach areas. The development works included an extension to the front of the terminal linking the arrivals and departures halls into one large common area, and providing new food and retail services. As part of the work, most of the first floor of the terminal became 'airside' as the security control point to access the departures lounge is relocated there, above the existing arrivals hall. The approach area in front of the terminal building was also redesigned and landscaped.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: In October 2017, works costing £4 million were announced to upgrade the terminal by expanding the departures area with increased seating and retail space and expand the executive lounge. Outside the terminal, a new meet and greet parking facility and car hire terminal would be built. Work started in October 2017.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: In March 2020, the airport asked for a further loan of £6.8m loan-on top of £21m it received last year.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: In March 2021 the airport received a support package totaling £85.2 million from the Welsh Government. Minister for the Economy Transport and North Wales, Ken Skates AM, undertook the package in the form of a £42.6 million grant and a £42.6 million debt write off in order to "ensure [the airport's] medium to long-term viability." The decision came at the same time the UK Government provided a £100 million facility for English airports and the Scottish Government provided a £17m fund for Scottish airports.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: Cardiff Airport is the only airport in Wales that offers international scheduled flights and is also served by scheduled, low-fare, business and charter carriers. It also supports corporate and general aviation.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: On 21 February 2007 the airport announced that it would host the first Public Service Obligation (PSO) service to be operated in Wales. This Welsh Government subsidised service was operated by Flybe using its franchise partner Eastern Airways with daily flights to the Isle of Anglesey.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: Most international destinations from Cardiff are to other countries in Europe, including the Netherlands, Greece, and Spain. Qatar Airways announced in April 2017 that it would begin service to Doha in May 2018, using the Boeing 787 aircraft. It became the first long-haul service from Cardiff for many years following the demise of Zoom Airlines, though the service has been suspended since the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of the ongoing travel restrictions worldwide and has yet to have a confirmed return date.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: The following airlines operate regular year-round and seasonal scheduled and charter flights to and from Cardiff:


title: Cardiff Airport

text: The airport was home for many years to a number of flying clubs and small general aviation operators. These included the "Cambrian" and "Pegasus Flying Clubs" and later (from the mid-1980s) the "Cardiff Wales Flying Club". In 2010, a new flying school was set up by the company Aeros. They (as of 2012) have a fleet including Cessna 152s and Piper Warriors; they are based in the White Building on the south side of the airfield. "Dragonfly Executive Air Charter" operate three Beechcraft King Air 200 series aircraft, based on the South side of the airfield.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: "Global Trek Aviation", a full service FBO, expanded into Cardiff Airport during 2019. This introduced additional services at the Airport for General Aviation, military and non-scheduled visitors.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: The nearest railway station is Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station on the Vale of Glamorgan Line. The station has an hourly Transport for Wales service to/from the east from Cardiff Central (originating from Merthyr Tydfil) and to/from Bridgend in the west.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: The railway station is from the terminal building, and the transfer is served by Rail Linc buses which operate to and from the railway station to the terminal building. Customers traveling to the station by rail can purchase through-tickets, which include the bus transfer to the terminal, by purchasing a ticket for "Cardiff Air Bus" on ticket machines, or using the National Rail code XCF. Tickets are cheaper with the bus transfer than merely to the standard "Rhoose Cardiff" station.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: From 1 August 2013, TrawsCymru has operated the "Cardiff Airport Express" () from Cardiff Airport to Cardiff city centre with railway connections. The T9 service with leather seats runs on a 20-minute schedule and offers customers free Wi-Fi. It also operates hourly throughout the night.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: Since the Covid Pandemic, the T9 has ceased to operate. Passengers landing can catch a 304 service to Cardiff via Barry, or Bridgend via Llantwit Major. Both services are operated by Adventure Travel


title: Cardiff Airport

text: from the M4 junction 33 (Cardiff West), the airport is reached via the A4232, exiting at Culverhouse Cross and following the A4050 to Barry and then the A4226 towards Llantwit Major. From the West, leave at junction 37 Pyle, to join the A48 past Cowbridge and South on the A4226. There is a direct unmarked route from M4 junction 34 (Miskin) following the lanes though Hensol and at Sycamore Cross (A48) continuing on the A4226 to the airport.


title: Cardiff Airport

text: Road access to the airport by way of the A48 was the subject of a public inquiry in 2006 but this is now superseded by needs of the forthcoming Defence Training Academy at MoD St Athan, the bid for which included plans for a direct St Athan and airport link to the M4. With the growth in usage of the airport, traffic along the current access roads has become more acute leading the Welsh Assembly Government to commission a study on improving road access to the Airport. The consultants suggested three possible schemes:


title: Cardiff Airport

text: Airport management favoured the third option, claiming that it would have eased pressure on the A4232 and provide better access from South West Wales, the South Wales Valleys and Mid Wales, but in June 2009, the National Assembly announced that the plans for any new road would be dropped in favour of increased public transport frequency by rail and bus. The Institute of Welsh Affairs debated the future of the project in their 2017 article "A road to Cardiff Airport... or regeneration in Pontypridd?"


title: Cardiff Airport

text: In 2019 it was announced that the A48 link road was to go ahead, with the route announced to run from J34 of the M4 to the A48 south of Sycamore Cross through the west of Pendoylan. The proposal is also likely to include a new railway station and park and ride near Junction 34 on the South Wales Main Line near Hensol Castle. The plans will include an integrated bus service between the railway station, strategic employment sites, and Cardiff Airport.


title: Devasena

text: Devasena (, ) is a Hindu goddess of aspiration, and the consort of the war god Kartikeya (Murugan). She is also known as Devayanai, Deivanai, and Deivayanai in Tamil texts. Her name is also spelled as Teyvanai or Tevayanai ().


title: Devasena

text: Devasena is described as the daughter of the "Prajapati" Daksha in the "Mahabharata", while some Sanskrit scriptures consider her as the daughter of Indra, the king of the devas (gods), and his wife Shachi. In the Tamil iteration of the Skanda Purana, she is portrayed as the adopted daughter of Indra and a form of Amritavalli, who is the daughter of the god Vishnu. She is betrothed to Kartikeya by Indra, when he becomes the commander-in-chief of the devas. In Tamil accounts, Devasena is generally depicted as an antithesis of Valli, her sister-wife; together they complete the deity. Devasena is generally depicted with Murugan, and is often also accompanied by Valli.


title: Devasena

text: In Tamil Nadu, Devasena does not enjoy independent worship, but is venerated as Murugan's consort in most of his temples. She plays a greater role in the Tirupparankunram Murugan Temple, believed to be the site of her marriage. In East India, Devasena is worshipped in the form of Shashthi, where she is usually worshipped independently.


title: Devasena

text: The Sanskrit name of the goddess "Devasena" means "army of the gods" and thus, her husband is known as "Devasenapati" ("leader of Devasena"). The epithet "Devasenapati" is a pun, which also conveys his role as commander-in-chief of the devas.


title: Devasena

text: She is called "Deivanai" or "Deivayanai" (Tamil, literally meaning "celestial elephant"), as she was raised by Indra's divine elephant, Airavata.


title: Devasena

text: In North India, Kartikeya is generally considered as celibate and unmarried. Sanskrit scriptures generally regard only Devasena as the consort of Kartikeya, while in Tamil Nadu, he has two consorts, Devayanai (Devasena) and Valli. Devasena is described as a daughter of the king of the gods, Indra, and his wife Shachi or at least the adopted daughter of Indra.


title: Devasena

text: The third book of "Mahabharata" narrates the tale of the birth of Kartikeya, which mentions Devasena. Devasena and Daityasena (literally "army of demons") are the daughters of Prajapati Daksha. Once, while the sisters are enjoying leisure at the banks of Lake Manasa, the "asura" (demon) Keshi abducts them so that he could marry them. While Devasena refuses, Daityasena consents. Meanwhile, the gods are defeated in a battle by the demons. Indra, who is searching for an ideal "Devasenapati" (commander of the army of the gods), reaches the place where Devasena is held captive. On her request, Indra defeats the demon and rescues her. Devasena asks Indra to find her a husband ("pati") who can protect her and defeat the gods, the demons and the yakshas. Indra discusses the matter with the god Brahma and they agree that a son born of Agni would be suitable for being the "Devasenapati", the husband of Devasena and the commander-in-chief of the gods. Accordingly, Agni is forced to have a son, who becomes Kartikeya. After many exploits which prove his supremacy over the gods, Kartikeya is made the general of the army of the gods and is married to Devasena by Indra. At this point in the text, Agni is identified with Shiva, who is proclaimed as the father of Kartikeya. Ultimately, with the aid of Devasena and Kartikeya, the gods defeat the demons. In this narrative, Devasena is identified with many other goddesses like Shashthi, Shri-Lakshmi, Kuhu-Sinivali, and others.


title: Devasena

text: The Tamil manuscripts of the Sanskrit scripture "Skanda Purana" mentions Devasena and Valli as the incarnations of the daughters of Vishnu, Amritavalli and Sundaravalli, respectively. Thus, Murugan is regarded as the son-in-law of Vishnu, as their husband. An interpolation in the Tamil recensions of the scripture as well as the "Kanda Puranam" (the Tamil version of the Sanskrit "Skanda Purana") narrate the story of the marriage of the two maidens to Murugan. The two maidens are fated to be married to the god. The elder sister Devasena is born as Amritavalli. She follows the path of traditional Hindu rituals and practices to gain her husband. Appeased by her penance, Indra adopts her as his daughter, and marries her to Murugan in an arranged marriage, following custom, after the latter triumphs over the asuras. The couple is described as taking their abode in the hills of Thiruttani, where one of Murugan's chief temples, Thiruthani Murugan Temple, stands. Another version describes the couple as residing in Svarga, the abode of the gods. Meanwhile, Valli is born as Sundaravalli. She is adopted by a tribal chieftain, and grows up as a huntress. Murugan wins Valli's hand and takes her to Thiruttani. The god is worshipped at the Thiruthani temple, flanked by Devasena on his left and Valli on his right. In the end, the trio settles in the abode of the gods and lives in harmony thereafter. An alternate ending found in Sri Lankan lore describes Murugan as staying on in the forest with Valli after their wedding at Kataragama, where his temple stands. Devayanai tries in vain to compel the god to return to the abode of the gods, but finally joins Kartikeya and Valli to reside in Kataragama.


title: Devasena

text: Unlike the "Skanda Purana" which talks about harmony between Devasena and Valli, the "Paripatal" – part of Tamil Sangam literature – speaks about conflict, resulting in a battle between Devayanai's royal soldiers and Valli's hunter clan, which the latter win. Folk "ecal" (a folk poem, presented as a dialogue of two persons) tradition also talks about the mistrust and quarrel between the co-wives. In one version - where Devayanai is the elder sister of Valli, Valli tries to woo Murugan, before Devayanai's marriage. As per tradition, the elder sister has to be married off first. Infuriated, Devayanai curses Valli to be born in the forest in her next life, and the curse is then fulfilled when Valli is born as a huntress. In the "Jayantipura Mahatmya", the details of which correspond to most of those found in the "Skanda Purana" tale, Devasena and Valli are married to Kartikeya from primal times. However, in this version, the god condemns Valli to be born on earth as punishment for mocking her sister Devayanai. The "Thirumurugatrupadai" from Sangam literature describes Murugan being accompanied by his chaste wife Devayanai and honoured by a procession of devas and rishis (sages).


title: Devasena

text: According to the Mānava Purana, Brahma Savarni Manu's father, Upsaloka, is the son of Kartikeya and Devasena.


title: Devasena

text: Devayanai is generally depicted with her husband, particularly in an iconographic form called "Senapati". She sits on the left thigh of the six-headed and twelve-armed Kartikeya. One of his arms holds her waist. Numerous depictions of the two exist at Tirupparankunram, the location of their marriage. However, in many south-Indian representations, when Murugan is depicted only with one consort, Valli is favoured over Devasena. In most Tamil depictions, Murugan is depicted with both his consorts standing besides him; Devasena is on his left-hand side. Her complexion is yellow; she is often depicted adorned with a crown, earrings, necklaces and ornaments. She wears a traditional sari and has two arms. She holds a lotus in her left arm, while her right hand hangs down.


title: Devasena

text: The presence of the two consorts is said to denote the dual nature of Murugan, as the god of heaven and earth. Devasena, the celestial wife, is married in a traditional arranged marriage while the earthy Valli is won by Murugan, resulting in a love marriage. The consorts also represent a syncretism between the Shaiva and Vaishnava traditions, dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu, respectively. The son of Shiva, Kartikeya, becomes the son-in-law of Vishnu, due to the marriages. Both the consorts are identified with the soul ("Atman"), while their husband ("pati", leader) represents God. The marriage of Devasena conveys Vaishnava ideals, where the soul (Devasena) remains detached from God; she has her own relative autonomy and earns the love of the god by her own merit. In contrast, the Shaiva philosophy says that God is attached to the soul (Valli), and hence he woos her. The "Paripatal" contains a Tamil panegyric dedicated to Murugan. It praises him as the god who is allowed to have two wives, Devasena – the daughter of Indra and Valli, a hunter princess. Murugan is described to equally spend his time on earth and in heaven. This is also conveyed by his wives, Devasena is a daughter of the heavens, while Valli is an earthly maiden.


title: Devasena

text: Another interpretation regards the trio as the three eyes of Shiva. Valli and Devasena are representations of "kriya shakti" (the power of action) and "Iccha-shakti" (will-power) respectively; while their Kartikeya is the third eye, the symbol of the transcendental "jnana-shakti" (the power of knowledge). In Tamil literature, two kinds of love are mentioned: "karpu" ("chastity"), love bound in the traditional marriage, represented by Devasena and "kalavu", love before marriage, conveyed by Valli. Devasena represents "the conventional, control, ritualized approach to worship" God, while Valli is worship through "ecstasy and self-abandonment". Devasena is the epitome of chastity and purity. In trinity of "guna"s, she is the middle "guna" – rajas, symbolizing "rulership, fixity, and stability". Kartikeya is the most superior Sattva (pure), while Valli is the inferior tamas (dark). As per another interpretation, Devasena is an embodiment of how virtuous people should live considering her steadfast and uncompromising fight against evil.


title: Devasena

text: Tirupparankunram Murugan Temple in Tirupparankunram near Madurai is dedicated to Murugan and Devayanai. It is believed that she was married to the god at this location. A festival icon depicts the god seated close to his divine consort. The Latankovil temple at Yanaimalai is one of the earliest temples dedicated to the divine couple.


title: Devasena

text: Devasena and Valli, the consorts of Murugan, do not have independent temples dedicated to them. Their images are installed in shrines of Murugan, where they flank their consort on either side. They are worshipped with Murugan and receive offerings as part of his worship (see Puja (Hinduism)). A fast is observed on Tuesdays to placate the consort goddesses. Festival icons of Murugan used during temple festival processions generally depict him with his consorts.


title: Silver certificate (United States)

text: Silver certificates are a type of representative money issued between 1878 and 1964 in the United States as part of its circulation of paper currency. They were produced in response to silver agitation by citizens who were angered by the Fourth Coinage Act, which had effectively placed the United States on a gold standard. The certificates were initially redeemable for their face value of silver dollar coins and later (for one year – June 24, 1967 to June 24, 1968) in raw silver bullion. Since 1968 they have been redeemable only in Federal Reserve Notes and are thus obsolete, but still valid legal tender at their face value and thus are still an accepted form of currency.


title: Silver certificate (United States)

text: Large-size silver certificates (1878 to 1923) were issued initially in denominations from to (in 1878 and 1880) and in 1886 the , , and were authorized. In 1928, all United States bank notes were re-designed and the size reduced. The small-size silver certificate (1928–1964) was only regularly issued in denominations of , , and . The complete type set below is part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.


title: Silver certificate (United States)

text: The Coinage Act of 1873 intentionally omitted language authorizing the coinage of “standard” silver dollars and ended the bimetallic standard that had been created by Alexander Hamilton. While the Coinage Act of 1873 stopped production of silver dollars, it was the 1874 adoption of Section 3568 of the Revised Statutes that actually removed legal tender status from silver certificates in the payment of debts exceeding five dollars. By 1875 business interests invested in silver (e.g., Western banks, mining companies) wanted the bimetallic standard restored. People began to refer to the passage of the Act as the Crime of '73. Prompted by a sharp decline in the value of silver in 1876, Congressional representatives from Nevada and Colorado, states responsible for over 40% of the world's silver yield in the 1870s and 1880s, began lobbying for change. Further public agitation for silver use was driven by fear that there was not enough money in the community. Members of Congress claimed ignorance that the 1873 law would lead to the demonetization of silver, despite having had three years to review the bill prior to enacting it to law. Some blamed the passage of the Act on a number of external factors including a conspiracy involving foreign investors and government conspirators. In response, the Bland–Allison Act, as it came to be known, was passed by Congress (over a presidential veto) on February 28, 1878. It did not provide for the "free and unlimited coinage of silver" demanded by Western miners, but it did require the United States Treasury to purchase between  million and  million of silver bullion per month from mining companies in the West, to be minted into coins.


title: Silver certificate (United States)

text: The first silver certificates (Series 1878) were issued in denominations of through . Reception by financial institutions was cautious. While more convenient and less bulky than dollar coins, the silver certificate was not accepted for all transactions. The Bland–Allison Act established that they were “receivable for customs, taxes, and all public dues,” and could be included in bank reserves, but silver certificates were not explicitly considered legal tender for private interactions (i.e., between individuals). Congress used the National Banking Act of July 12, 1882 to clarify the legal tender status of silver certificates by clearly authorizing them to be included in the lawful reserves of national banks. A general appropriations act of August 4, 1886 authorized the issue of , , and silver certificates. The introduction of low-denomination currency (as denominations of U.S. Notes under were put on hold) greatly increased circulation. Over the 12-year lifespan of the Bland–Allison Act, the United States government would receive a seigniorage amounting to roughly  million (between and  million per year), while absorbing over 60% of U.S. silver production.


title: Silver certificate (United States)

text: Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVeagh (1909–13) appointed a committee to investigate possible advantages (e.g., reduced cost, increased production speed) to issuing smaller sized United States banknotes. Due in part to the outbreak of World War I and the end of his appointed term, any recommendations may have stalled. On August 20, 1925, Treasury Secretary Andrew W. Mellon appointed a similar committee and in May 1927 accepted their recommendations for the size reduction and redesign of U.S. banknotes. On July 10, 1929 the new small-size currency was issued.


title: Silver certificate (United States)

text: In keeping with the verbiage on large-size silver certificates, all the small-size Series 1928 certificates carried the obligation "This certifies that there has (or have) been deposited in the Treasury of the United States of America X silver dollar(s) payable to the bearer on demand" or "X dollars in silver coin payable to the bearer on demand". This required that the Treasury maintain stocks of silver dollars to back and redeem the silver certificates in circulation. Beginning with the Series 1934 silver certificates the wording was changed to "This certifies that there is on deposit in the Treasury of the United States of America X dollars in silver payable to the bearer on demand." This freed the Treasury from storing bags of silver dollars in its vaults, and allowed it to redeem silver certificates with bullion or silver granules, rather than silver dollars. Years after the government stopped the redemption of silver certificates for silver, large quantities of silver dollars intended specifically to satisfy the earlier obligation for redemption in silver dollars were found in Treasury vaults.


title: Silver certificate (United States)

text: As was usual with currency during this period, the year date on the bill did not reflect when it was printed, but rather a major design change. Under the Silver Purchase Act of 1934, the authority to issue silver certificates was given to the U.S. Secretary of Treasury. Additional changes, particularly when either of the two signatures was altered, led to a letter being added below the date. One notable exception was the Series 1935G silver certificate, which included notes both with and without the motto "In God We Trust" on the reverse. 1935 dated one dollar certificates lasted through the letter "H", after which new printing processes began the 1957 series. In some cases printing plates were used until they wore out, even though newer ones were also producing notes, so the sequencing of signatures may not always be chronological. Thus some of the 1935 dated one dollar certificates were issued as late as 1963.


title: Silver certificate (United States)

text: In response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Hawaii overprint note was ordered from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on June 8, 1942 (all were made-over 1934–1935 bills). Issued in denominations of , , , and , only the was a silver certificate, the others were Federal Reserve Notes. Stamped “HAWAII” (in small solid letters on the obverse and large letters on the reverse), with the Treasury seal and serial numbers in brown instead of the usual blue, these notes could be demonetized in the event of a Japanese invasion. Additional World War II emergency currency was issued in November 1942 for circulation in Europe and Northern Africa. Printed with a bright yellow seal, these notes ($1, , and ) could be demonetized should the United States lose its position in the European or North African campaigns.


title: Silver certificate (United States)

text: When a bill is damaged in printing it is normally replaced by another one (the star replaces a letter at the edge of the note). To keep the amounts issued consistent, these replacement banknotes are normally indicated by a star in the separately sequenced serial number. For silver certificates this asterisk appears at the beginning of the serial number.


title: Silver certificate (United States)

text: In the nearly three decades since passage of the Silver Purchase Act of 1934, the annual demand for silver bullion rose steadily from roughly 11 million ounces (1933) to 110 million ounces (1962). The Acts of 1939 and 1946 established floor prices for silver of 71 cents and 90.5 cents (respectively) per ounce. Predicated on an anticipated shortage of silver bullion, Public Law 88-36 (PL88-36) was enacted on June 4, 1963 which repealed the Silver Purchase Act of 1934, and the Acts of July 6, 1939 and July 31, 1946, while providing specific instruction regarding the disposition of silver held as reserves against issued certificates and the price at which silver may be sold. It also amended the Federal Reserve Act to authorize the issue of lower denomination notes (i.e., and ), allowing for the gradual retirement (or swapping out process) of silver certificates and releasing silver bullion from reserve. In repealing the earlier laws, PL88-36 also repealed the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to control the issue of silver certificates. By issuing Executive Order 11110, President John F. Kennedy was able to continue the Secretary's authority. While retaining their status as legal tender, the silver certificate had effectively been retired from use.


title: Silver certificate (United States)

text: In March 1964, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon halted redemption of silver certificates for silver dollar coins; during the following four years, silver certificates were redeemable in uncoined silver "granules". All redemption in silver ceased on June 24, 1968. While there are some exceptions (particularly for some of the very early issues as well as the experimental bills) the vast majority of small sized one dollar silver certificates, especially non-star or worn bills of the 1935 and 1957 series, are worth little or nothing above their face values. They can still occasionally be found in circulation.


title: Chernoff bound

text: In probability theory, the Chernoff bound gives exponentially decreasing bounds on tail distributions of sums of independent random variables. Despite being named after Herman Chernoff, the author of the paper it first appeared in, the result is due to Herman Rubin. It is a sharper bound than the known first- or second-moment-based tail bounds such as Markov's inequality or Chebyshev's inequality, which only yield power-law bounds on tail decay. However, the Chernoff bound requires that the variates be independent – a condition that neither Markov's inequality nor Chebyshev's inequality require, although Chebyshev's inequality does require the variates to be pairwise independent.


title: Chernoff bound

text: The generic Chernoff bound for a random variable is attained by applying Markov's inequality to . This gives a bound in terms of the moment-generating function of . For every formula_1:


title: Chernoff bound

text: The Chernoff bound sometimes refers to the above inequality, which was first applied by Sergei Bernstein to prove the related Bernstein inequalities. It is also used to prove Hoeffding's inequality, Bennett's inequality, and McDiarmid's inequality.


title: Chernoff bound

text: This inequality can be applied generally to various classes of distributions, including sub-gaussian distributions, sub-gamma distributions, and sums of independent random variables. Chernoff bounds commonly refer to the case where formula_5 is the sum of independent Bernoulli random variables.


title: Chernoff bound

text: When is the sum of independent random variables , the moment generating function of is the product of the individual moment generating functions, giving that


title: Chernoff bound

text: By performing the same analysis on the random variable , one can get the same bound in the other direction.


title: Chernoff bound

text: Specific Chernoff bounds are attained by calculating the moment-generating function formula_7 for specific instances of the random variables formula_8. The bounds in the following sections for Bernoulli random variables are derived by using that, for a Bernoulli random variable formula_8 with probability "p" of being equal to 1,


title: Chernoff bound

text: One can encounter many flavors of Chernoff bounds: the original "additive form" (which gives a bound on the absolute error) or the more practical "multiplicative form" (which bounds the error relative to the mean).


title: Chernoff bound

text: Multiplicative Chernoff bound. Suppose are independent random variables taking values in Let denote their sum and let denote the sum's expected value. Then for any ,


title: Chernoff bound

text: The above formula is often unwieldy in practice, so the following looser but more convenient bounds are often used, which follow from the inequality formula_13 from the list of logarithmic inequalities:


title: Chernoff bound

text: The following theorem is due to Wassily Hoeffding and hence is called the Chernoff–Hoeffding theorem.


title: Chernoff bound

text: A simpler bound follows by relaxing the theorem using , which follows from the convexity of and the fact that


title: Chernoff bound

text: Chernoff bounds may also be applied to general sums of independent, bounded random variables, regardless of their distribution; this is known as Hoeffding's inequality. The proof follows a similar approach to the other Chernoff bounds, but applying Hoeffding's lemma to bound the moment generating functions (see Hoeffding's inequality).


title: Chernoff bound

text: Chernoff bounds have very useful applications in set balancing and packet routing in sparse networks.


title: Chernoff bound

text: The set balancing problem arises while designing statistical experiments. Typically while designing a statistical experiment, given the features of each participant in the experiment, we need to know how to divide the participants into 2 disjoint groups such that each feature is roughly as balanced as possible between the two groups.


title: Chernoff bound

text: Chernoff bounds are also used to obtain tight bounds for permutation routing problems which reduce network congestion while routing packets in sparse networks.


title: Chernoff bound

text: Chernoff bounds are used in computational learning theory to prove that a learning algorithm is probably approximately correct, i.e. with high probability the algorithm has small error on a sufficiently large training data set.


title: Chernoff bound

text: Chernoff bounds can be effectively used to evaluate the "robustness level" of an application/algorithm by exploring its perturbation space with randomization.


title: Chernoff bound

text: The use of the Chernoff bound permits one to abandon the strong—and mostly unrealistic—small perturbation hypothesis (the perturbation magnitude is small). The robustness level can be, in turn, used either to validate or reject a specific algorithmic choice, a hardware implementation or the appropriateness of a solution whose structural parameters are affected by uncertainties.


title: Chernoff bound

text: A simple and common use of Chernoff bounds is for "boosting" of randomized algorithms. If one has an algorithm that outputs a guess that is the desired answer with probability "p" > 1/2, then one can get a higher success rate by running the algorithm formula_26 times and outputting a guess that is output by more than "n"/2 runs of the algorithm. (There cannot be more than one such guess by the pigeonhole principle.) Assuming that these algorithm runs are independent, the probability that more than "n"/2 of the guesses is correct is equal to the probability that the sum of independent Bernoulli random variables that are 1 with probability "p" is more than "n"/2. This can be shown to be at least formula_27 via the multiplicative Chernoff bound (Corollary 13.3 in Sinclair's class notes, ).:


title: Chernoff bound

text: Rudolf Ahlswede and Andreas Winter introduced a Chernoff bound for matrix-valued random variables. The following version of the inequality can be found in the work of Tropp.


title: Chernoff bound

text: Let us denote by formula_31 the operator norm of the matrix formula_32. If formula_33 holds almost surely for all formula_34, then for every


title: Chernoff bound

text: Notice that in order to conclude that the deviation from 0 is bounded by with high probability, we need to choose a number of samples formula_36 proportional to the logarithm of formula_37. In general, unfortunately, a dependence on formula_38 is inevitable: take for example a diagonal random sign matrix of dimension formula_39. The operator norm of the sum of "t" independent samples is precisely the maximum deviation among "d" independent random walks of length "t". In order to achieve a fixed bound on the maximum deviation with constant probability, it is easy to see that "t" should grow logarithmically with "d" in this scenario.


title: Chernoff bound

text: The following theorem can be obtained by assuming "M" has low rank, in order to avoid the dependency on the dimensions.


title: Chernoff bound

text: Let and "M" be a random symmetric real matrix with formula_40 and formula_41 almost surely. Assume that each element on the support of "M" has at most rank "r". Set


title: Chernoff bound

text: The following variant of Chernoff's bound can be used to bound the probability that a majority in a population will become a minority in a sample, or vice versa.


title: Chernoff bound

text: Suppose there is a general population "A" and a sub-population "B" ⊆ "A". Mark the relative size of the sub-population (|"B"|/|"A"|) by "r".


title: Chernoff bound

text: Suppose we pick an integer "k" and a random sample "S" ⊂ "A" of size "k". Mark the relative size of the sub-population in the sample (|"B"∩"S"|/|"S"|) by "r".


title: Chernoff bound

text: In particular, if "B" is a majority in "A" (i.e. "r" > 0.5) we can bound the probability that "B" will remain majority in "S"("r" > 0.5) by taking: "d" = 1 − 1/(2"r"):


title: Chernoff bound

text: This bound is of course not tight at all. For example, when "r" = 0.5 we get a trivial bound Prob > 0.


title: Chernoff bound

text: Following the conditions of the multiplicative Chernoff bound, let be independent Bernoulli random variables, whose sum is , each having probability "p" of being equal to 1. For a Bernoulli variable:


title: Chernoff bound

text: As , we see that , so our bound is satisfied on . Having solved for , we can plug back into the equations above to find that


title: Chernoff bound

text: To complete the proof for the symmetric case, we simply define the random variable , apply the same proof, and plug it into our bound.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: William Leonard Pickard (born October 21, 1945) is one of two people convicted in the largest lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) manufacturing case in history. In 2000, while moving their LSD laboratory across Kansas, Pickard and Clyde Apperson were pulled over while driving a Ryder rental truck and a follow car. The laboratory had been stored near a renovated Atlas-E missile silo near Wamego, Kansas. Gordon Todd Skinner, one of the men intimately involved in the case but not charged due to his cooperation, owned the property where the laboratory equipment was stored.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: On July 27, 2020, Pickard was granted compassionate release from federal prison 20 years into his sentence.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: Prior to his arrest, Pickard was deputy director of the Drug Policy Research Program at the University of California, Los Angeles. He came from a well-to-do family; his father was a lawyer and his stepmother was a fungal disease expert at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In high school, he was an honors student, played basketball, and was named "most intellectual". He earned a scholarship to Princeton University, but dropped out after one term, instead preferring to hang out at Greenwich Village jazz clubs. In 1971, he got a job as a research manager at the University of California, Berkeley, Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, a job he held until 1974. From then on, his academic resume begins a 20-year gap.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: It is reported by LSD historian Mark McCloud that Pickard worked with a group of LSD traffickers, known as the Clear Light System, in the 1960s. Pickard is said to have contributed to LSD chemist Nicholas Sand's legal fund following Sand's arrest in 1972. Pickard also reportedly had a background manufacturing the drug MDA.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: In December 1988, a neighbor reported a strange chemical odor coming from an architectural shop at a Mountain View, California, industrial park. Federal agents arrived to find 200,000 doses of LSD and Pickard inside. Pickard was charged with manufacturing LSD and served five years in prison.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: By 1994, Pickard had enrolled at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Here, he focused on drug abuse in the former Soviet Union, where he theorized that the booming black market and many unemployed chemists could lead to a flood of the drug market.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: It is not publicly known where Pickard initially produced LSD. His first arrest for manufacturing LSD came on December 28, 1988, in Mountain View, California. The laboratory was contained inside a trailer that had been moved into a warehouse. It contained state-of-the-art equipment, including a roto-evaporator, heating mantles and a pill press. He was producing kilogram quantities of LSD and putting them onto windowpane (gel), microdot (tablet), and blotter forms (blotter paper). He spent time in prison for this and became a Buddhist while inside.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: Pickard had laboratories in a number of different locations. Pickard never liked to stay at one location more than two years so as not to draw attention to himself. In early 1996, the lab was located in Oregon; it was subsequently moved to Aspen, Colorado, in late 1996. From September 1997 to September 1999, the laboratory was located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He liked the Santa Fe location for a number of reasons; his overhead costs were lower and the precursor source was closer. He also liked the fact that there was virtually no humidity, which can affect the production of LSD. All of the laboratories are alleged to have produced a kilogram of LSD approximately every five weeks. Gordon Todd Skinner became involved with Pickard and his partner Clyde Apperson in February 1998. It is rumored that Pickard and Skinner were introduced to each other in a somewhat formal gathering of various LSD dealers and chemists. The meeting is said to have taken place in the former home of Jerry and Carolyn Garcia (Mountain Girl), where Skinner was allegedly then living.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: One of his main customers was a man named "Petaluma Al" from Petaluma, California. Pickard would always arrange for the produced LSD to be transported to the Denver, Colorado, or Boulder, Colorado, area to be mailed or picked up so that Petaluma Al would never know where the laboratory was located. Most of Petaluma Al's customers were overseas in Europe, which meant that in addition to millions of dollars in United States currency, Pickard also handled millions in Dutch guilders and Canadian bank notes. He preferred to deal in ƒ1,000 notes or Canadian $1,000 notes (discontinued since 2000 in Canada) because it meant less bulk cash to have on hand. He required his distributors to convert all lower currencies into $50 or $100 notes at the least so as not to cause problems.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: Although Skinner and Pickard were arrested moving the laboratory from the Atlas-E silo location, they never actually produced LSD at this site. The laboratory had been moved there without Pickard's or Apperson's knowledge by the government's informant, Gordon Todd Skinner. When Pickard arrived back in town and learned that Skinner had moved the lab there, they immediately began preparations to move it. Unknown to them, Skinner had begun cooperating with the DEA and had already allowed them to go inside the property to look around. Based on what they saw during this visit, they applied for a search warrant, which was subsequently signed by a federal judge. Apperson drove the Ryder rental truck with the laboratory in it and Pickard followed in a Buick LeSabre; they had walkie-talkies to maintain communication. The DEA had a Kansas Highway Patrol car pull them over to not arouse suspicion; however, they immediately recognized something was wrong and Pickard, being a marathon runner, took off into the woods on foot and was not captured until the next day.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: Authorities found less than of ergotamine tartrate during the arrest. However, they claim they normally produced up to a kilogram of LSD every five weeks. This would produce approximately ten million 100-microgram doses. Although the DEA claims this would be worth $40 million on the street, Pickard did not sell anywhere near the "street" or retail level. Government informant Skinner testified that Petaluma Al and the largest wholesale customers of Pickard paid 29 cents per 100 µg dose, which would put the cost at around $2.97 million for a kilogram of LSD.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: Apperson was Pickard's partner and was reportedly a skilled chemist, but his role was mainly in the setup and take-down of the laboratory. He was allegedly paid $100,000 for assembling and $50,000 for packing away the lab. Apperson reportedly manufactured synthetic mescaline. When authorities searched his Sunnyvale, California, home, they found five drums of precursor chemicals needed to manufacture synthetic mescaline.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: Both Pickard and Apperson were eventually found guilty at trial of conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and dispense ten grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD); Pickard received two life sentences, while Apperson received 30 years' imprisonment.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: According to court testimony, Pickard's lab produced up to a kilogram of LSD approximately every five weeks for short periods. Despite criticism for their methodology, the DEA contends that there was a 99.5% drop in the availability of LSD in the US in the two years following the arrest. Pickard himself has long denied these claims. In his 2007 paper "International LSD Prevalence – Factors Affecting Proliferation and Control", Pickard suggests that since the 1960s, LSD production has always been de-centralized. As to a turn-of-the-century decline in availability due to his own arrest, Pickard highlights the fact that LSD availability had been on the decline since 1996, a fact which he correlates in part with the exponential growth of availability and demand for MDMA and other hallucinogenic drugs. The actual quantity of LSD seized by the DEA remains unclear, with figures ranging from 198.9 grams to 41.3 kilograms (410 million 100 µg hits of LSD).


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: The turn-of-the-century "acid drought" was likely due to a number of factors, perhaps including but not limited to the arrest of Pickard. According to "", additional factors included the 1996 arrest of longtime LSD chemist Nicholas Sand and the death of a man involved in the illicit sale of LSD precursor materials. Grateful Dead concerts provided a primary distribution network for LSD, and this network dissolved when the Grateful Dead stopped touring in 1995.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: While serving two life sentences at the U.S. Penitentiary at Tucson, Arizona, Pickard conducted research on civil liberties, justice and drug-related topics. He wrote of his concerns about the opioid epidemic in the United States, and responded to media and academic requests on the subject. The website "Free William Leonard Pickard" posted regular updates about his activities until September 2017. In 2015 he published a novel, "The Rose of Paracelsus".


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: Pickard discussed his imprisonment with the writer and former LSD seller Seth Ferranti in 2016: "While doing research in unstable regions abroad, amid the chaos, I found my way by noticing the instances of humanity. Captive populations are similar; courtesy and service to others is the only path. ... long-term prisoners, especially the nonviolent who may be captive for decades, somehow retain a certain dignity. In all these years, lost among the thousands, I have seen only one man cry." He described teaching a fellow inmate to read: "it was a privilege each morning to teach reading to an illiterate black man in his forties. We laughed sometimes, but always yearned for our families ... He hid Jack and Jill from his cellmate, so others would not ridicule him. I asked why he wanted to learn. He replied, 'So I can read bedtime stories to my children.' How very brave he was." In addition, Pickard also met and befriended Silk Road website founder Ross Ulbricht while in prison, and maintains contact with his family.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: On July 27, 2020, Pickard was released from prison on compassionate grounds with the court citing his advanced age and medical conditions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Apperson was also released.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: Pickard's 2008 paper "International LSD Prevalence – Factors Affecting Proliferation and Control" questions the validity of law enforcement reports about LSD manufacturing, and discusses the civil liberties threats posed by the DEA's NADDIS database system.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: In 2011 Pickard authored an overview of the NADDIS system entitled "DEA's NADDIS System: A Guide for Attorneys, the Courts, and Researchers".


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: In 2015 Pickard published "The Rose of Paracelsus: On Secrets & Sacraments", a 656-page autobiography that blends fiction and nonfiction. The book centers around six chemists in an international drug organization. One of the Six tells Pickard, the book's narrator, that the making of psychedelics is not just following a recipe or formula but requires "the requisite spirit ... the purest intent, a flawless diamond morality". He says it's the same spirit described in Thomas De Quincey and Jorge Luis Borges's short stories about Paracelsus, the 16th-century physician and alchemist of Basel who resurrected a rose from its ashes: "there could be no creation for lack of faith and the trust of gold".


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: Writing while incarcerated, Pickard wrote the entire book with pencil and paper. In an interview with Seth Ferranti, Pickard recounted: ""The Rose" was handwritten in two years, without notes and based on recollection, but seemed too trivial to honor the reader. I destroyed the work in minutes, then began again. It took another three years to compose, then a year to edit the 656 pages."


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: Readings of "The Rose of Paracelsus" were presented at the University of Greenwich in London in June 2017. Readers included British artist and Resonance FM radio host Simon Tyszko, SEED Restaurant founder Greg Sams and post-doctoral fellow in literature Nese Devenot. In November 2016, British actor Dudley Sutton did readings of "The Rose of Paracelsus" at Reading Gaol, in Oscar Wilde's former cell. "The Rose" also has been reviewed by author and Psychedelic Museum founder Julian Vayne.


title: William Leonard Pickard

text: In November 2017, readings from "The Rose" were presented at the Altered Conference Berlin, and in December 2017 "The Rose" was discussed on the major podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience" with Duncan Trussell.


title: The S.O.S. Band

text: The S.O.S. Band (sometimes written as S.O.S. Band; abbreviation for Sounds of Success) is an American R&B and electro-funk group who gained fame in the 1980s. They are best known for the songs "Take Your Time (Do It Right)", "Just Be Good to Me", and "The Finest".


title: The S.O.S. Band

text: The Atlanta, Georgia, band was started in 1977, when keyboardist / vocalist Jason Bryant, saxophonists Billy Ellis and Willie "Sonny" Killebrew, guitarist Bruno Speight, bassist John Alexander Simpson, drummer James Earl Jones III, and lead vocalist Mary Davis formed a group called Sounds of Santa Monica that played at Atlanta nightclub the Regal Room.


title: The S.O.S. Band

text: Their manager (Bunny Jackson-Ransom) sent a demo to Clarence Avant, head of Tabu Records. After signing the band to Tabu, Avant suggested that the band work with songwriter/producer Sigidi Abdullah. Abdullah was curious as to why an Atlanta-based band named itself Santa Monica. Keyboardist Jason Bryant replied that the band had an enjoyable concert in Santa Monica, California. Abdullah then came up with a new band name, The S.O.S. Band, with S.O.S. standing for "Sounds of Success".


title: The S.O.S. Band

text: Abdullah produced and co-wrote "Take Your Time (Do It Right)" – which went platinum – with Harold Clayton, the song parking at number one R&B for five weeks and peaking at number three pop on Billboard's charts in spring 1980. Their eponymous debut album, "S.O.S.", went gold, selling over 800,000 copies and holding the number two R&B spot for three weeks. While the band was on its world tour, trumpeter/vocalist/percussionist Abdul Ra'oof joined them. Their second album, "Too", went to number 30 R&B in the summer of 1981.


title: The S.O.S. Band

text: On the band's third album, "III", they worked with producer Leon Sylvers III and writers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Their breaking single, "High Hopes", hit number 25 R&B in the fall of 1982 while the album went to number 27 R&B in late 1982.


title: The S.O.S. Band

text: Jam and Lewis took over the production duties on their fourth album, "On the Rise", scoring with the number two hit "Just Be Good to Me" (A song that would later be featured in Grand Theft Auto IV's in-game radio, The Vibe 98.8) and the number five ballad "Tell Me If You Still Care". "On the Rise" became their second gold album, hitting number seven R&B in the summer of 1983.


title: The S.O.S. Band

text: The formula continued to work: "Just the Way You Like It" (including the number six R&B single "Just the Way You Like It") went to number six R&B in the fall of 1984 and "Sands of Time" (including the number two R&B hit "The Finest") went gold and hit number four R&B in the spring of 1986. Many of these releases, as well as the sound of early releases, helped to popularize the now-classic sound of the TR-808 Roland drum machine.


title: The S.O.S. Band

text: In late 1986, vocalist Mary Davis left the S.O.S. Band to pursue a solo career. In 1987, the band contributed a song called "It's Time to Move" to the "" soundtrack. The band released their seventh album in 1989. For "Diamonds in the Raw" the lead vocalists were Chandra Currelley and Fredi Grace, and three producers were used (Curtis Williams, Eban Kelly & Jimi Randolph, Jason Bryant, and Sigidi). Saxophonist Billy Ellis, also one of the founder members, died during the recording of "Diamonds in the Raw". The album reached number 43 on the R&B chart.


title: The S.O.S. Band

text: "One of Many Nights", with lead vocalist Chandra Currelley and produced by Curtis Williams, followed in 1991. It failed to chart.


title: Thirteenth floor

text: The thirteenth floor is a designation of a level of a multi-level building that is often omitted in countries where the number is considered unlucky. Omitting the 13th floor may take a variety of forms; the most common include denoting what would otherwise be considered the thirteenth floor as level 14, giving the thirteenth floor an alternate designation such as "12A" or "M" (the thirteenth letter of the Latin alphabet), or closing the 13th floor to public occupancy or access (e.g., by designating it as a mechanical floor).


title: Thirteenth floor

text: Reasons for omitting a thirteenth floor include triskaidekaphobia on the part of the building's owner or builder, or a desire by the building owner or landlord to prevent problems that may arise with superstitious tenants, occupants, or customers. In 2002, based on an internal review of records, Dilip Rangnekar of Otis Elevators estimated that 85% of the buildings with Otis brand elevators did not have a floor named the 13th floor. Early tall-building designers, fearing a fire on the 13th floor, or fearing tenants' superstitions about the rumor, decided to omit having a 13th floor listed on their elevator numbering. This practice became commonplace, and eventually found its way into American mainstream culture and building design.


title: Thirteenth floor

text: Vancouver city planners have banned the practice of skipping 4s and 13s, since it could lead to mistakes by first responders, for example going to the wrong floor.


title: Thirteenth floor

text: The origin of skipping the thirteenth floor when installing elevators is not known. However, during the advent of early skyscrapers, New York architectural critics warned developers not to exceed the height of the 13th floor. These critics insisted that buildings rising above the 13th floor () would lead to increased street congestion, ominous shadows and lower property values. Nevertheless, in a work published in 1939, sociologist Otto Neurath compared the use of money in an economy, which he saw as unnecessary, to the superstition of not installing the thirteenth floor: merely a social convention.


title: Thirteenth floor

text: Most commonly, 13 is skipped, as in: "12", "14", "15"... The floor labeled "14" on the elevator is the thirteenth floor and the number 13 is skipped on the elevator console.


title: Thirteenth floor

text: Sometimes to keep numbers consistent the 13th floor is simply renumbered as "12A" or "12B", as in: "12", "12A", "14".., or "12", "12B", "14"; this does not affect the numbers of the higher floors. Likewise, "14" could be used for the 13th floor and "14A" or "14B" could be used for the 14th floor.


title: Thirteenth floor

text: Other buildings will often use names for certain floors to avoid giving a floor on the building the number 13 designation. One such example is the Radisson Hotel in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where the 13th floor is called the "pool floor". Another example is the Sheraton on the Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario, where the 13th floor consists solely of a restaurant. A third example is the Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, where the 13th floor is the mezzanine floor.


title: Thirteenth floor

text: Sometimes, the floor is put to some other use, such as a mechanical floor. Such usage is sometimes the subject of conspiracy theories (see below).


title: Thirteenth floor

text: In Richmond, Virginia, the Monroe Park Towers has a 13th floor, but it is used for mechanical equipment and is only accessible from the freight elevator or the stairs. The M designation on the elevator buttons of the freight elevator can also be construed as meaning the "Mechanical level" in this particular building, or as a "Mezzanine level".


title: Thirteenth floor

text: Sometimes, a tenement block will contain split-level apartments where the units themselves contain internal staircases and the main elevators for the building therefore do not stop on every floor. One example is Princess Towers in Kingston, Ontario, which has stories excluding the roof-top. The elevators stop at B (basement), G (ground), 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15th floors only. In this case, the unmarked 11th and 13th floors are accessed within units on the marked 12th floor.


title: Thirteenth floor

text: In a 2007 Gallup poll, 13 percent of American adults reported that they would be bothered if given a hotel room on the thirteenth floor, while 9 percent indicated that they would be sufficiently bothered to request a room on a different floor. Research on thirteenth-floor effects on real estate values presents a mixed picture. Several prominent American real estate developers have claimed that they are unaware of any reduction in the value of thirteenth-floor offices or apartments. On the other hand, in a study conducted in Russia, Burakov found that thirteenth-floor apartments were less likely to sell than were apartments on twelfth or fourteenth floors. This effect, however, was eliminated if developers offered buyers a 10% or greater discount on the cost of thirteenth-floor apartments.


title: Thirteenth floor

text: Similarly, new buildings in some parts of China avoid the fourth, fourteenth, twenty-fourth, etc. floors, as the word "four" (Hanzi: 四) sounds like "death" (死 – pronounced "sì" and "sǐ", respectively) in Mandarin, the predominant language for the country, and most other varieties of Chinese. A small number of buildings also follow the American tradition of omitting the thirteenth floor, with the fifteenth floor immediately following the twelfth. Another variant found in Vietnam is naming floors 13 and 14 as floors "12A" and "12B" respectively.


title: Thirteenth floor

text: In South Korea, buildings tend to include the fourth floor in spite of similar pronunciation issues in the Korean language, though some newer buildings may substitute the letter F in the place of the number 4.


title: Thirteenth floor

text: In some buildings, 13 is also skipped as a room number. The 13-room (as of 1946) Boots Court Motel on U.S. Route 66 is one example; its rooms are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 14.


title: Thirteenth floor

text: Some conspiracy theorists have suggested that the thirteenth floor in government buildings is not really missing, but actually contains top-secret governmental departments, or more generally that it is proof of something sinister or clandestine going on. This implication is often carried over, implicitly or explicitly, into popular culture; for example in:


title: Maury Terry

text: He is known for writing the 1987 book "The Ultimate Evil", positing an alternative theory for the Son of Sam murders, that it was a satanic cult of serial killers rather than only David Berkowitz.


title: Maury Terry

text: He, his preserved archives, audio tapes, and his book were used as the basis for the Netflix documentary series "".


title: J. William Fulbright

text: James William Fulbright (April 9, 1905 – February 9, 1995) was an American politician, academic, and statesman who represented Arkansas in the United States Senate from 1945 until his resignation in 1974. , Fulbright is the longest serving chairman in the history of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He is best known for his strong multilateralist positions on international issues, opposition to American involvement in the Vietnam War, and the creation of the international fellowship program bearing his name, the Fulbright Program.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: Fulbright was an admirer of Woodrow Wilson and an avowed Anglophile. He was an early advocate for American entry into World War II and aid to Great Britain, first as a college professor and then as an elected member of the U.S. House of Representatives, where he authored the Fulbright Resolution expressing support for international peacekeeping initiatives and American entry into the United Nations.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: After joining the Senate, Fulbright expressed support for Europeanism and the formation of a federal European union. He envisioned the Cold War as a struggle between nations—the United States and imperialist Russia—rather than ideologies. He therefore dismissed Asia as a peripheral theater of the conflict, focusing on containment of Soviet expansion into Central and Eastern Europe. He also stressed the possibility of nuclear annihilation, preferring political solutions over military solutions to Soviet aggression. After the Cuban Missile Crisis, his position moderated further to one of détente.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: His political stances and powerful position as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee made him one of the most visible critics of American involvement in the Vietnam War. Although he was persuaded by President Lyndon Johnson to sponsor the Gulf of Tonkin resolution in 1964, his relationship with the President soured after the 1965 U.S. bombing of Pleiku and Fulbright’s opposition to the war in Vietnam took root. Beginning in 1966, he chaired high-profile hearings investigating the conduct and progress of the war, which may have influenced the eventual American withdrawal.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: On domestic issues, Fulbright was a Southern Democrat and signatory to the Southern Manifesto. Fulbright also opposed the anti-Communist crusades of Joseph McCarthy and the similar investigations by the House Un-American Activities Committee.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: Fulbright was born on April 9, 1905, in Sumner, Missouri, the son of Jay and Roberta ( Waugh) Fulbright. In 1906, the Fulbright family moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas. His mother was a businesswoman, who consolidated her husband's business enterprises and became an influential newspaper publisher, editor, and journalist.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: Fulbright's parents enrolled him in the University of Arkansas's College of Education's experimental grammar and secondary school.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: Fulbright earned a history degree from the University of Arkansas in 1925, where he became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He was elected president of the student body and a star four-year player for the Arkansas Razorbacks football team from 1921 to 1924.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: Fulbright later studied at Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar at Pembroke College and graduated in 1928. Fulbright's time at Oxford made him into a lifelong Anglophile, and he always had warm memories of Oxford.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: At Oxford, he played on the rugby and lacrosse teams, and every summer, Fulbright decamped for France ostensibly to improve his French but really just to enjoy life in France.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: Fulbright credited his time at Oxford with broadening his horizons. In particular, he credited his professor and friend R. B. McCallum's "one world" philosophy of the world as an interlinked entity, where developments in one part would always impact on the other parts. McCallum was a great admirer of Woodrow Wilson, a supporter of the League of Nations, and a believer that multinational organizations were the best way to ensure global peace. Fulbright remained close to McCallum for the rest of his life and regularly exchanged letters with his mentor until McCallum's death in 1973.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: Fulbright received his law degree from The George Washington University Law School in 1934, was admitted to the bar in Washington, DC, and became an attorney in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: Fulbright was a lecturer in law at the University of Arkansas from 1936 to 1939. He was appointed president of the school in 1939, making him the youngest university president in the country. He held that post until 1941. The School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas is named in his honor, and he was elected there into Phi Beta Kappa. He was a member of the Founding Council of the Rothermere American Institute, University of Oxford. In September 1939, Fulbright, as president of the University of Arkansas, issued a public declaration declaring his sympathy with the Allied cause and urged the United States to maintain a pro-Allied neutrality. In the summer of 1940, Fulbright went a step further and declared it was in America's "vital interest" to enter the war on the Allied side and warned that a victory by Nazi Germany would make the world a much darker place. The same year, Fulbright joined the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: In June 1941, Fulbright was suddenly fired from the University of Arkansas by the Governor, Homer Martin Adkins. He learned that the reason for his sacking was that Adkins had been offended that a Northwest Arkansas newspaper owned by his mother Roberta Fulbright had supported the governor's opponent in the 1940 Democratic primary, and that was the governor's revenge. Upset at the way that the governor's caprice had ended his academic career, Fulbright became interested in politics.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: Fulbright was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1942, where he served one term. During this period, he became a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. During World War II, there was much debate about the best way to win the peace after the Allies presumably won the war, with many urging the United States to reject isolationism. The House adopted the Fulbright Resolution, which supported international peacekeeping initiatives and encouraged the United States to participate in what became the United Nations in September 1943. That brought Fulbright to national attention.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: In 1943, a confidential analysis by Isaiah Berlin of the House and Senate foreign relations committees for the British Foreign Office identified Fulbright as "a distinguished new-comer to the House." It continued:


title: J. William Fulbright

text: Fulbright's career in the Senate was somewhat stunted, his tangible influence never matching his public luminescence. For all his seniority and powerful committee posts, he was not considered part of the Senate's inner circle of friends and power brokers. He seemed to prefer it that way: the man who Harry S. Truman had called an "overeducated SOB" was, in the words of Clayton Fritchey, "an individualist and a thinker," whose "intellectualism alone alienates him from the Club" of the Senate.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: He was elected to the Senate in 1944 and unseated incumbent Hattie Carraway, the first woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate. He served five six-year terms. In his first general election to the Senate, Fulbright defeated the Republican Victor Wade of Batesville by 85.1% to 14.9%.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: He promoted the passage of legislation establishing the Fulbright Program in 1946 of educational grants (Fulbright Fellowships and Fulbright Scholarships), sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State, governments in other countries, and the private sector. The program was established to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skills. It is considered one of the most prestigious award programs and operates in 155 countries.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: In November 1946, immediately following the midterm elections in which Democrats lost control of both houses of Congress amidst President Harry S. Truman's plummeting popularity in the polls, Fulbright suggested the President appoint Senator Arthur Vandenberg (R-MI) as his Secretary of State and resign, making Vandenberg president. Truman responded by saying he did not care what Senator "Halfbright" said.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: In 1947, Fulbright supported the Truman Doctrine and voted for American aid to Greece. Subsequently, he voted for the Marshall Plan and to join NATO. Fulbright was very supportive of the plans for a federation in Western Europe. Fulbright supported the 1950 plan written by Jean Monnet and presented by French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman for a European Coal and Steel Community, the earliest predecessor to the European Union.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: After China's entry into the Korean War in October 1950, Fulbright warned against American escalation. On January 18, 1951, he dismissed Korea as a peripheral interest not worth the risk of World War III and condemned plans to attack China as reckless and dangerous. In the same speech, he argued that the Soviet Union, not China, was the real enemy and that Korea was a distraction from Europe, which he considered to be far more important.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: When President Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur for insubordination in April 1951, Fulbright came to Truman's defense. When MacArthur appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the invitation of Republican senators, Fulbright embraced his role of Truman's defender. When MacArthur argued communism was an inherent mortal danger to the United States, Fulbright countered, "I had not myself thought of our enemy as being Communism; I thought of it as primarily being imperialist Russia."


title: J. William Fulbright

text: Fulbright was an early opponent of Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, an ardent albeit reckless anti-communist. Fulbright viewed McCarthy as an anti-intellectual, demagogue, and a major threat to American democracy and world peace. Fulbright was the only senator to vote against an appropriation for the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in 1954, which was chaired by McCarthy.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: After Republicans gained a Senate majority in the 1952 elections, McCarthy became chairman of the Senate Committee on Government Operations. Fulbright was initially resistant to calls, like that of his friend William Benton of Connecticut, to openly oppose McCarthy. Though sympathetic toward Benton, who was among those Senators defeated in 1952 by anti-communist sentiment, Fulbright followed Senate Minority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson's lead in refraining from criticism. Fulbright was alarmed by McCarthy's attack on the Voice of America (VOA) and the United States Information Agency, the latter agency then supervising educational exchange programs.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: Fulbright broke from Johnson's party line in summer 1953, following the State Department withdrawal of a fellowship for a student whose wife was suspected of communist affiliation and a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing which appeared to put the Fulbright Program at stake. In this hearing, McCarthy aggressively questioned Fulbright, whom he frequently referred to as "Senator Halfbright", over the composition of the board clearing students for funding and on a policy that bars communists and their sympathizers from receiving appointments as lecturers and professors. Fulbright stated that he had no such influence over the board. After McCarthy insisted to be authorized to release statements of some Fulbright Program students both praising the communist form of government and condemning American values, Fulbright countered that he was willing to submit thousands of names of students who had praised the US and its way of government in their statements. The encounter was the last time McCarthy made a public assault on the program. The leading historian and original Fulbright Program board member Walter Johnson credited Fulbright with preventing the program from being ended by McCarthyism.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: In 1956, Fulbright campaigned across the country for Adlai Stevenson II's presidential campaign and across Arkansas for his own re-election bid. Fulbright emphasized his opposition to civil rights and his support for segregation. He also noted his support for oil companies and consistent votes for more farm aid to poultry farmers, a key Arkansas constituency. He easily defeated his Republican challenger.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: Fulbright was John F. Kennedy's first choice for Secretary of State in 1961 and had the support of Vice President Lyndon Johnson, but opponents to the choice within Kennedy's circle, led by Harris Wofford, killed his chances. Dean Rusk was chosen instead.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: In April 1961, Fulbright advised Kennedy not to go forward with the planned Bay of Pigs invasion. He said, "The Castro regime is a thorn in the flesh. But it is not a dagger at the heart." In May 1961, Fulbright denounced the Kennedy administration's system of having diplomats rotate from one position to another as an "idiot policy."


title: J. William Fulbright

text: Fulbright provoked international controversy on July 30, 1961, two weeks before the erection of the Berlin Wall, when he said in a television interview, "I don't understand why the East Germans don't just close their border, because I think they have the right to close it." His statement received a three-column spread on the front page of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany newspaper "Neues Deutschland" and condemnation in West Germany. The U.S. embassy in Bonn reported that "rarely has a statement by a prominent American official aroused so much consternation, chagrin and anger." Chancellor Willy Brandt's Press Secretary Egon Bahr was quoted, "We privately called him Fulbricht." Historian William R. Smyser suggests that Fulbright's comment may have been made at President Kennedy's behest, as a signal to Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev that the wall would be an acceptable means of defusing the Berlin Crisis. Kennedy did not distance himself from Fulbright's comments, despite pressure.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: In August 1961, as the Kennedy administration held firm in its commitment to a five-year foreign aid program, Fulbright and Pennsylvania U.S. Representative Thomas E. Morgan accompanied Democratic congressional leadership to their weekly White House breakfast session with Kennedy. In delivering opening statements on August 4, Fulbright spoke of the program introducing a new concept of foreign aid in the event of its passage.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: After the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Fulbright modified his position on the Soviet Union from "containment" to détente. His position drew criticism from Senator Barry Goldwater, now the leader of anti-communists in the Senate. In response to Goldwater's call for a "total victory" over communism, Fulbright argued that even "total victory" would mean hundreds of millions of deaths and an impossible, prolonged occupation of a ravaged Soviet Union and China.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: Intensive chicken farming in the United States led to a 1961–64 "chicken war" with Europe. With inexpensive imported chicken available, chicken prices fell quickly and sharply across Europe, radically affecting European chicken consumption. U.S. chicken overtook nearly half of the imported European chicken market. Europe instituted tariffs on American chicken, to the detriment of Arkansan chicken farmers.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: Senator Fulbright interrupted a NATO debate on nuclear armament to protest the tariffs, going so far as to threaten cutting US troops in NATO. The U.S. subsequently enacted a 25% tariff on imported light trucks, known as the chicken tax, which remains in effect as of 2010.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: One of Fulbright's local staffers in Arkansas was James McDougal. While he worked for Fulbright, McDougal met the future Arkansas Governor and US President Bill Clinton and the two of them, along with their wives, began investing in various development properties, including the parcel of land along the White River in the Ozarks that would later be the subject of an independent counsel investigation during Clinton's first term in office.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: On March 25, 1964, Fulbright delivered an address calling on the U.S. to adapt itself to a world that was both changing and complex, the address being said by Fulbright to have been meant to explore self-evident truths in the national vocabulary of the U.S. regarding the Soviet Union, Cuba, China, Panama, and Latin America.


title: J. William Fulbright

text: In May 1964, Fulbright predicted that time would see a cessation in the misunderstanding within the relationship between France and the United States and that French President Charles de Gaulle was deeply admired for his achievements despite confusion that might arise in others from his rhetoric.