title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: "Great White North" (originally known as "Kanadian Korner") is a panel show that played upon Canadian stereotypes. Bob and Doug, two dim-witted beer-swilling brothers wearing heavy winter clothing and tuques, would comment on various elements of Canadian life and culture, frequently employing the interjection "Eh?" and derisively calling each other "hoser." Among the topics discussed were snow routes, the Canadian-built robot arm on the Space Shuttle, the inappropriateness of bedtime stories about dog fights, flat tires, and "why there aren't enough parking spaces at take-out donut shops."


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: The sketch was conceived when "SCTV" moved to the CBC television network. Due to the difference in the amount of time allocated for commercials, each episode to be broadcast on that network was two minutes longer than those syndicated to the United States. The CBC network heads asked the show's producers to add specifically identifiably Canadian content for those two minutes, in line with government broadcast regulations. Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas thought that this was a ridiculous request, given that the show had been taped in Canada, with a mostly Canadian cast and crew, for two years. The request inspired them to create a parody that would incorporate every aspect of the humorous stereotype of Canadians.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: The segments were videotaped at the end of a day's shooting, with just Thomas and Moranis and a single camera operator. The sketches were for the most part improvised on the set, after which they would select the best ones for use on the program.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: Moranis recalled, "We went on the stage with no preparation, and did 15 [sketches]. Two of them were lousy, in three we cracked up and fell apart... maybe six were keepers." Added Dave Thomas in a 2000 interview, "Rick and I used to sit in the studio, by ourselves – almost like happy hour – drink real beers, cook back bacon, literally make hot snack food for ourselves while we improvised and just talked. It was all very low key and stupid, and we thought, 'Well, they get what they deserve. This is their Canadian content. I hope they like it.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: To their shock, the comedians found that this filler material had become the most popular part of the show. Though initially intended for Canadian TV only, some of the two-minute "Great White North" segments would find their way into U.S. versions of the 30-minute shows due to a shortage of content that week. When NBC ordered the 90-minute shows for the 1981 season, they specifically cited good affiliate feedback on the "two dumb Canadian characters" and requested that the characters be included in every program.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: They rode the crest of a fad, peaking in 1982–83, that produced one comedy album, "The Great White North", and a movie, "Strange Brew". The album released by Anthem Records in Canada and Mercury Records in the US, went platinum in sales, won a Grammy nomination and broke the Top 10 on Billboard's Top LPs and Tapes list in March, 1982. It is noted for the song "Take Off" which featured fellow Canadian Geddy Lee of the rock group Rush chorusing between the McKenzies' banter. On this album, they also sing their own improvised version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas", which is frequently played on the radio around the holidays in both Canada and the United States. While hugely popular in the U.S., the album was also #1 in Canada for six weeks, suggesting that Canadians appreciated the duo as an affectionate self-parody.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: The "Strange Brew" movie was released by MGM in 1983. While receiving only minimal praise from critics, it performed fairly well at the box office — earning $8.5 million in the U.S. alone to cover its $4 million budget. After its theatrical release, "Strange Brew" remained a popular home-video title with a strong college cult following.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: A second album, a "soundtrack" to their movie "Strange Brew", was released in 1983. The album featured dialogue and music from the film, as well as new skits made specifically for the album that centered around the movie. The lead off track was appropriately entitled "This Isn't Our Second Album". The album sold poorly and was out-of-print soon after.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: The sketch's signature "Coo loo coo coo, coo coo coo coo" theme, according to Dave Thomas in an interview on "", is an exaggeration of the flute music used in 60-second Canadian television nature vignettes, such as "Hinterland Who's Who".


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: The duo had a total of 41 original segments on SCTV. Presumably filmed several at a time, most "Great White North" segments featured one two-minute sketch per SCTV episode. 25 segments were aired in the third season (1980–81).


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: Most of Season 4, Cycle 1 (1981) was made up of "Great White North" repeat segments. The only new appearances were in episodes 4/1-2 and 4/1-9, the final episode of the cycle. The final episode included a wraparound storyline which heavily featured the characters.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: Growing in popularity, the characters returned for nine new segments in the second cycle of season 4. Cycle 2 (1981–82) featured a new "Great White North" segment in each episode.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: Season 4, Cycle 3 (1982) was the last season to feature the characters. The first episode's plot revolves around the growing popularity of Bob and Doug, and they are given their own variety show on "SCTV", which turns into a catastrophe. The characters returned in the next episode for a new segment in their traditional studio set, but it had been cut to one minute (the episode's storyline owing the reduced air time to their disastrous variety show). The two are then featured in three more new segments, each back to two minutes long, before Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas left "SCTV" to film "Strange Brew".


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: The duo revived the act in two award-winning television commercials for Pizza Hut in 1984 and 1986 and a two-year campaign for the Molson Brewing Company in 1999 and 2000 consisting of more than a dozen television and radio commercials which aired nationally in the U.S. and also a series of commercials for Mr. Lube which aired in Canada in 2002. Featured as a sponsor of the "Two-Four Anniversary", a series of Red Cap Ale commercials featured the duo in 2007 along with collectible "stubbies" featuring the characters on the bottles.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: In the 2000 video game "", two characters appear in the Icy Peak level whose names are Bob and Doug. The level is a land of ice and snow, and there are references in certain areas of the level to ice skating and ice hockey, as well as a use of the phrase "Take off, hoser!" The characters the player interacts with in the level seem to speak with Canadian accents.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: In 2003, the fastest computer in Canada, which is used by the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto, was named after Bob and Doug. The $900,000 computer is being used to simulate supermassive black holes and collisions of galaxies. The machine, nicknamed McKenzie, has 268 gigabytes of memory and 40 terabytes of disk space, and consists of two master nodes (Bob and Doug), 256 compute nodes, and eight development nodes.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: They played a variant of the act for the Walt Disney Pictures animated feature film "Brother Bear" and its sequel, with their characters being the voices of a pair of goofy bull moose named Rutt and Tuke. They also recorded a commentary for the movie that is seen on the DVD.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: A new special, "Bob & Doug McKenzie's Two-Four Anniversary", aired on May 20, 2007, on CBC Television. It is a retrospective on the history of the characters and their popularity, featuring interviews with various celebrities, classic clips, and new material featuring the pair. It includes an introduction by former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and a cameo appearance by Rush lead singer Geddy Lee. On November 20, 2007, the special was released on DVD. The DVD, re-edited by Thomas himself, was twice as long as the broadcast and featured several classic McKenzie sketches from SCTV in their entirety, new footage filmed on the Great White North set and an hour's worth of bonus features. A Bob and Doug McKenzie bottle opener was included with every DVD.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: In 2007, on Rush's Snakes & Arrows Tour, a short film of Bob and Doug McKenzie was shown as an intro to the song "The Larger Bowl".


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: Animax Entertainment, whose interactive division is currently headed by Dave Thomas, began producing a new animated series for the Global Television Network based on the characters debuting on April 19, 2009, simply entitled "Bob & Doug". Thomas reprised the character of Doug in the new series. Moranis chose not to voice the character of Bob. The part was instead voiced by Dave Coulier. Moranis was, however, involved in the series as an executive producer. The show aired 15 episodes.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: They returned to the Great White North at a charity event held in Toronto in 2017 to help raise money for patients with spinal cord injuries. Jake Thomas, son of musician Ian Thomas and Dave's nephew had been in a snowmobile accident that paralyzed him from the waist down. Raising money for the family was reason enough to convince Moranis, known for keeping a low profile, to reprise his role as Bob for the first time in 10 years. With celebrity friends such as Dan Aykroyd, Martin Short, Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara performing skits, the gig was sold out. Over $325,000 was raised and will go towards the Jake Thomas's Road to Recovery GoFundMe campaign and the Spinal Cord Injury Ontario, in order to help others who have sustained spinal cord injuries.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: The SYFY network show "Z-Nation" Season 4, Episode 8 - 'Crisis of Faith', featured the main characters entering Canada, and running into RCMP officers, a Hockey team bearing the Canada logo and of course, zombies very reminiscent of Bob & Doug McKenzie. The cast members who confront the look-alikes used the GWN catch phrases "eh", and "hoser" among others.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: On March 24, 2020, a statue of Bob and Doug McKenzie was erected in Edmonton, Alberta, where the SCTV series was taped during most of the early 1980s. It depicts Bob and Doug enjoying a beer on a bench, and is located near the Rogers Place arena. The statue was the result of a collaboration between local sculptor Ritchie Velthuis, the non-profit SCTV Monument Committee, and Calgary's Bronzart Casting. Actors Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas provided input throughout the process.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: Astronauts Robert L. Behnken and Douglas Hurley are likened to the McKenzies because of their friendship when they participated in the first commercial astronaut launch on 30 May 2020, SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-2.


title: Bob and Doug McKenzie

text: In Dave Thomas's behind-the-scenes book on "SCTV", he reports that he and Moranis disliked the characters because they felt the network forced the characters on them and that they, as actors, were overly identified with the dimwitted, beer-drinking duo. However, in an interview accompanying the "Two-Four Anniversary" premiere, Thomas credited the McKenzie Brothers as a successful comedic creation of which he was quite proud.


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: The Sombrero Galaxy (also known as Messier Object 104, M104 or NGC 4594) is a peculiar galaxy of unclear classification in the constellation borders of Virgo and Corvus, being about from the Milky Way galaxy. It is a member of the Virgo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster. It has a diameter of approximately , three-tenths the size of the Milky Way.


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: It has a bright nucleus, an unusually large central bulge, and a prominent dust lane in its outer disk, which is viewed almost edge-on. The dark dust lane and the bulge give it the appearance of a sombrero hat (thus the name). Astronomers initially thought the halo was small and light, indicative of a spiral galaxy; but the Spitzer Space Telescope found that the dust ring was larger and more massive than previously thought, indicative of a giant elliptical galaxy.


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: The galaxy has an apparent magnitude of +8.0, making it easily visible with amateur telescopes, and is considered by some authors to be the galaxy with the highest absolute magnitude within a radius of 10 megaparsecs of the Milky Way. Its large bulge, central supermassive black hole, and dust lane all attract the attention of professional astronomers.


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: The Sombrero Galaxy was discovered on May 11, 1781 by Pierre Méchain, who described the object in a May 1783 letter to J. Bernoulli that was later published in the "Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch". Charles Messier made a hand-written note about this and five other objects (now collectively recognized as M104 – M109) to his personal list of objects now known as the Messier Catalogue, but it was not "officially" included until 1921. William Herschel independently discovered the object in 1784 and additionally noted the presence of a "dark stratum" in the galaxy's disc, what is now called a dust lane. Later astronomers were able to connect Méchain's and Herschel's observations.


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: In 1921, Camille Flammarion found Messier's personal list of the Messier objects including the hand-written notes about the Sombrero Galaxy. This was identified with object 4594 in the New General Catalogue, and Flammarion declared that it should be included in the Messier Catalogue. Since this time, the Sombrero Galaxy has been known as "M104".


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: As noted above, this galaxy's most striking feature is the dust lane that crosses in front of the bulge of the galaxy. This dust lane is actually a symmetrical ring that encloses the bulge of the galaxy. Most of the cold atomic hydrogen gas and the dust lie within this ring. The ring might also contain most of the Sombrero Galaxy's cold molecular gas, although this is an inference based on observations with low resolution and weak detections. Additional observations are needed to confirm that the Sombrero galaxy's molecular gas is constrained to the ring. Based on infrared spectroscopy, the dust ring is the primary site of star formation within this galaxy.


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: The nucleus of the Sombrero Galaxy is classified as a low-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER). These are nuclear regions where ionized gas is present, but the ions are only weakly ionized (i.e. the atoms are missing relatively few electrons). The source of energy for ionizing the gas in LINERs has been debated extensively. Some LINER nuclei may be powered by hot, young stars found in star formation regions, whereas other LINER nuclei may be powered by active galactic nuclei (highly energetic regions that contain supermassive black holes). Infrared spectroscopy observations have demonstrated that the nucleus of the Sombrero Galaxy is probably devoid of any significant star formation activity. However, a supermassive black hole has been identified in the nucleus (as discussed in the subsection below), so this active galactic nucleus is probably the energy source that weakly ionizes the gas in the Sombrero Galaxy.


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: In the 1990s, a research group led by John Kormendy demonstrated that a supermassive black hole is present within the Sombrero Galaxy. Using spectroscopy data from both the CFHT and the Hubble Space Telescope, the group showed that the speed of revolution of the stars within the center of the galaxy could not be maintained unless a mass 1 billion times that of the Sun, , is present in the center. This is among the most massive black holes measured in any nearby galaxy, and is the nearest billion-solar-mass black hole to Earth.


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: At radio and X-ray wavelengths, the nucleus is a strong source of synchrotron radiation. Synchrotron radiation is produced when high-velocity electrons oscillate as they pass through regions with strong magnetic fields. This emission is quite common for active galactic nuclei. Although radio synchrotron radiation may vary over time for some active galactic nuclei, the luminosity of the radio emission from the Sombrero Galaxy varies only 10–20%.


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: In 2006, two groups published measurements of the terahertz radiation from the nucleus of the Sombrero Galaxy at a wavelength of . This terahertz radiation was found not to originate from the thermal emission from dust (which is commonly seen at infrared and submillimeter wavelengths), synchrotron radiation (which is commonly seen at radio wavelengths), bremsstrahlung emission from hot gas (which is uncommonly seen at millimeter wavelengths), or molecular gas (which commonly produces submillimeter spectral lines). The source of the terahertz radiation remains unidentified.


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: The Sombrero Galaxy has a relatively large number of globular clusters, observational studies of which have produced population estimates in the range of 1,200 to 2,000. The ratio of globular clusters to the galaxy's total luminosity is high compared to the Milky Way and similar galaxies with small bulges, but comparable to other galaxies with large bulges. These results have often been used to demonstrate that the number of a galaxy's globular clusters is thought to be related to the size of its bulge. The surface density of the globular clusters generally follows the bulge's light profile, except near the galaxy's center.


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: The first method relies on comparing the measured fluxes from the galaxy's planetary nebulae to the known luminosity of planetary nebulae in the Milky Way. This method gave the distance to the Sombrero Galaxy as .


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: The second method is the surface brightness fluctuations method, which uses the grainy appearance of the galaxy's bulge to estimate the distance to it. Nearby galaxy bulges appear very grainy, while more distant bulges appear smooth. Early measurements using this technique gave distances of . Later, after some refinement of the technique, a distance of was measured. This was even further refined in 2003 to .


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: The galaxy's absolute magnitude (in the blue) is estimated as −21.9 at (−21.8 at the average distance of above)—which, as stated above, makes it the brightest galaxy in a radius of around the Milky Way.


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: A 2016 report used the Hubble Space Telescope to measure the distance to M104 based on the tip of the red-giant branch method, yielding 9.55 ± 0.13 ± 0.31 Mpc.


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: The Sombrero Galaxy lies within a complex, filament-like cloud of galaxies that extends to the south of the Virgo Cluster. However, it is unclear whether it is part of a formal galaxy group. Hierarchical methods for identifying groups, which determine group membership by considering whether individual galaxies belong to a larger aggregate of galaxies, typically produce results showing that the Sombrero Galaxy is part of a group that includes NGC 4487, NGC 4504, NGC 4802, UGCA 289, and possibly a few other galaxies. However, results that rely on the percolation method (i.e. the "friends-of-friends" method), which links individual galaxies together to determine group membership, indicate that either the Sombrero Galaxy is not in a group or that it may be only part of a galaxy pair with UGCA 287.


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: Besides that, M104 is also accompanied by an ultra-compact dwarf galaxy, discovered in 2009, with an absolute magnitude of −12.3, an effective radius of just , and a mass of 3.3×


title: Sombrero Galaxy

text: The Sombrero Galaxy is 11.5° west of Spica and 5.5° north-east of Eta Corvi. Although it is visible with 7×35 binoculars or a amateur telescope, an telescope is needed to distinguish the bulge from the disk, and a 10- or 12-inch (250 or 300 mm) telescope to see the dark dust lane.


title: DB Schenker

text: DB Schenker is a division of German rail operator Deutsche Bahn that focuses on logistics. The company was acquired by Deutsche Bahn as Schenker-Stinnes in 2002. It comprises divisions for air, land, sea freight, and Contract Logistics.


title: DB Schenker

text: In his biography, then CEO of Deutsche Bahn Hartmut Mehdorn justified the acquisition of international logistics companies with customer demand. In 2000, analysis had shown the 200 largest customers ship up to 60% of their freight abroad. Since the core operating territory had been Germany, customers were lost to competitors with a more compelling international offer. There was no time to grow organically in such markets. This analysis led to the acquisition of Stinnes AG and the associated brand name Schenker.


title: DB Schenker

text: Since December 2007 DB Schenker has been the freight logistics subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn. DB Schenker combines all transport and logistic activities of Deutsche Bahn (except rail cargo), employing over 72,000 staff spread across about 2,000 locations in about 140 countries. In 2021, DB Schenker cooperated with logistics startup Volocopter to introduce heavy-lift drones. The same year, the company launched Schenker Ventures, its own venture capital arm to invest in innovation in the logistics industry. Schenker Ventures announced its first investment in German logistics startup Warehousing1.


title: DB Schenker

text: Schenker AG and its many subsidiaries handle worldwide logistics operations including Land Transport, Air and Ocean Freight as well as Contract Logistics/SCM, and is part of the DB Schenker organization. Since 2016, rail freight business no longer operates under the brand "DB Schenker Rail." Instead, it operates as a standalone business unit under the brand name "DB Cargo" in Deutsche Bahn Group.


title: DB Schenker

text: DB Schenker serves many global and local firms across all industries. Notably, DB Schenker manages large and complex supply chains for multinationals such as Apple, Procter & Gamble, Dell, ASML, BMW and many more.


title: DB Schenker

text: In 2016, DB Schenker was convicted for consecutive cases of corruption in St Petersburg, Russia, bribing local customs officials from 2010 to mid-2012. At the time, DB Schenker involved a Russian agency for enabling the rapid flow of shipments to carmaker Ford's St Petersburg facility. DB Schenker had to pay a penalty of €2m.


title: DB Schenker

text: In September 2015, then and current CEO Jochen Thewes slapped and pushed a cab driver, who refused to pick up a drunken Thewes, in downtown Singapore. He also kicked the car and caused damage. Thewes was eventually sentenced to a fine of S$1000 and two weeks of jailtime in Singapore.


title: DB Schenker

text: In 2020, DB Schenker was accused of unfair price dumping during the COVID-19 pandemic and related market turbulences. Allegedly, it was using its status as a state-owned company (as subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn) to request prices from subcontractors below their production costs for some European land routes via the freight exchange Timocom. The company rejected the allegations, pointing out that it has no insights in pricing strategies and production costs of subcontractors. However, it announced it would temporarily refrain from using fixed prices for transports published via freight exchanges.


title: Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War

text: Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War began with a small commitment of 30 military advisors in 1962, and increased over the following decade to a peak of 7,672 Australian personnel following the Menzies Government's April 1965 decision to upgrade its military commitment to South Vietnam's security. By the time the last Australian personnel were withdrawn in 1972, the Vietnam War had become Australia's longest war, eventually being surpassed by Australia's long-term commitment to the War in Afghanistan. It remains Australia's largest force contribution to a foreign conflict since the Second World War, and was also the most controversial military action in Australia since the conscription controversy during World War I. Although initially enjoying broad support due to concerns about the spread of communism in Southeast Asia, an increasingly influential anti-war movement developed, particularly in response to the government's imposition of conscription.


text: The withdrawal of Australia's forces from South Vietnam began in November 1970, under the Gorton Government, when 8 RAR completed its tour of duty and was not replaced. A phased withdrawal followed and, by 11 January 1973, Australian involvement in hostilities in Vietnam had ceased. Nevertheless, Australian troops from the Australian Embassy Platoon remained deployed in the country until 1 July 1973, and Australian forces were deployed briefly in April 1975, during the fall of Saigon, to evacuate personnel from the Australian embassy. Approximately 60,000 Australians served in the war: 521 were killed and more than 3,000 were wounded.


text: Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War was driven largely by the rise of communism in Southeast Asia after World War II, and the fear of its spread, which developed in Australia during the 1950s and early 1960s. Following the end of the World War II, the French had tried to reassert control over French Indochina, which had been occupied by Japan. In 1950, the communist-backed Việt Minh, led by Ho Chi Minh, began to gain the ascendency in the First Indochina War. In 1954, after the defeat of the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the Geneva Accords of 1954 led to the splitting of the country geographically, along the 17th parallel north of latitude: the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) (recognised by the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China) ruling the north, and the State of Vietnam (SoV), an associated state in the French Union (recognised by the non-communist world) ruling the south.


text: The Geneva Accords imposed a deadline of July 1956 for the governments of the two Vietnams to hold elections, with a view to uniting the country under one government. In 1955, Ngô Đình Diệm, the prime minister of the State of Vietnam, deposed the head of state Bảo Đại in a fraudulent referendum and declared himself President of the newly proclaimed Republic of Vietnam. He then refused to take part in the elections, claiming that the communist north would engage in election fraud and that as a result they would win because they had more people. After the election deadline passed, the military commanders in the North began preparing an invasion of the South. Over the course of the late 1950s and early 1960s this invasion took root in a campaign of insurgency, subversion and sabotage in the South employing guerrilla warfare tactics. In September 1957, Diem visited Australia and was given strong support by both the ruling Liberal Party of Australia of Prime Minister Robert Menzies and the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP). Diem was particularly feted by the Catholic community, as he pursued policies that discriminated in favour of the Catholic minority in his country and gave special powers to the Catholic Church.


text: By 1962, the situation in South Vietnam had become so unstable that Diem submitted a request for assistance to the United States and its allies to counter the growing insurgency and the threat that it posed to South Vietnam's security. Following that, the US began to send advisors to provide tactical and logistical advice to the South Vietnamese. At the same time, the US sought to increase the legitimacy of the South Vietnamese government by instituting the Many Flags program, hoping to counter the communist propaganda that South Vietnam was merely a US puppet state, and to involve as many other nations as possible. Thus Australia, as an ally of the United States, with obligations under the ANZUS Pact, and in the hope of consolidating its alliance with the US, became involved in the Vietnam War. Between 1962 and 1972, Australia committed almost 60,000 personnel to Vietnam, including ground troops, naval forces and air assets, and contributed significant amounts of materiel to the war effort.


text: While assisting the British during the Malayan Emergency, Australian and New Zealand military forces had gained considerable experience in jungle warfare and counter-insurgency. According to historian Paul Ham, the US Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, "freely admitted to the ANZUS meeting in Canberra in May 1962, that the US armed forces knew little about jungle warfare". Given the experience that Australian forces had gained in Malaya, it was felt that Australia could contribute in Vietnam by providing advisors who were experts in the tactics of jungle warfare. The Australian government's initial response was to send 30 military advisers, dispatched as the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV), also known as "the Team". The Australian military assistance was to be in jungle warfare training, and the Team comprised highly qualified and experienced officers and NCOs, led by Colonel Ted Serong, many with previous experience from the Malayan Emergency. Their arrival in South Vietnam, during July and August 1962, was the beginning of Australia's involvement in the war in Vietnam.


text: Relationships between the AATTV and US advisors were generally very cordial, but there were sometimes significant differences of opinion on training and tactics. For example, when Serong expressed doubt about the value of the Strategic Hamlet Program at a US Counter Insurgency Group meeting in Washington on 23 May 1963, he drew a "violent challenge" from US Marine General Victor "Brute" Krulak. Captain Barry Petersen's work with raising an anti-communist Montagnard force in the Central Highlands between 1963 and 1965 highlighted another problem. South Vietnamese officials sometimes found sustained success by a foreigner difficult to accept. Warrant Officer Class Two Kevin Conway, of the AATTV, was killed on 6 July 1964, side by side with Master Sergeant Gabriel Alamo of the USSF, during a sustained Vietcong (VC) attack on Nam Dong Special Forces Camp, becoming Australia's first battle casualty.


text: In August 1964 the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) sent a flight of Caribou transports to the port town of Vũng Tàu. By the end of 1964, there were almost 200 Australian military personnel in the South Vietnam, including an engineer and surgical team as well as a larger AATTV team. To boost the size of the Army by providing a greater pool for infantrymen, the Australian Government had introduced conscription for compulsory military service for 20-year-olds, in November 1964, despite opposition from within the Army and many sections of the broader community. Thereafter, battalions serving with in South Vietnam all contained National Servicemen. With the war escalating the AATTV increased to approximately 100 men by December.


text: On 29 April 1965, Menzies announced that the government had received a request for further military assistance from South Vietnam. "We have decided...in close consultation with the Government of the United States—to provide an infantry battalion for service in Vietnam." He argued that a communist victory in South Vietnam would be a direct military threat to Australia. "It must be seen as part of a thrust by Communist China between the Indian and Pacific Oceans" he added.


text: The question of whether a formal request was made by the South Vietnamese government at that time has been disputed. Although the South Vietnamese Prime Minister, Trần Văn Hương, made a request in December 1964, Hương's replacement, Phan Huy Quát, had to be "coerced into accepting an Australian battalion", and stopped short of formally requesting the commitment in writing, simply sending an acceptance of the offer to Canberra, the day before Menzies announced it to the Australian parliament. In that regard, it has been argued that the decision was made by the Australian government, against advice of the Department of Defence, to coincide with the commitment of US combat troops earlier in the year, and that the decision would have been made regardless of the wishes of the South Vietnamese government.


text: As a result of the announcement, the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) was deployed. Advanced elements of the battalion departed Australia on 27 May 1965. Accompanied by a troop of armoured personnel carriers from the 4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse, as well as logistics personnel, they embarked upon and, following their arrival in Vietnam in June, they were attached to the US 173rd Airborne Brigade, along with a Royal New Zealand Army artillery battery. Throughout 1965, they undertook several operations in Biên Hòa Province and subsequently fought significant actions, including Gang Toi, Operation Crimp and Suoi Bong Trang. Meanwhile, 1 RAR's attachment to US forces had highlighted the differences between Australian and American operational methods, and Australian and US military leaders subsequently agreed that Australian combat forces should be deployed in a discrete province. That would allow the Australian Army to "fight their own tactical war", independently of the US.


text: In April 1966, 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) was established in Phước Tuy Province, based at Nui Dat. 1 ATF consisted of two (and, after 1967, three) infantry battalions, a troop, and later a squadron, of armoured personnel carriers from the 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron, and a detachment of the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR), as well as support services under the command of the 1st Australian Logistic Support Group (1 ALSG), based in Vũng Tàu. A squadron of Centurion tanks was added in December 1967. The New Zealand battery and a battery from the U.S 35th Field Artillery Regiment were integrated into the task force. New Zealand infantry units were deployed in 1967 and, after March 1968, were integrated into Australian battalions serving with 1 ATF. The combined infantry forces were thereafter designated "ANZAC Battalions". Special forces from the New Zealand Special Air Service were also attached to each Australian SASR squadron from late 1968. 1 ATF's responsibility was the security of Phước Tuy Province, excluding larger towns.


text: The RAAF contingent was also expanded, growing to include three squadrons — No. 35 Squadron, flying Caribous, No. 9 Squadron flying UH-1 Iroquois battlefield helicopters and No. 2 Squadron flying Canberra bombers. Based at Phan Rang Air Base in Ninh Thuận Province, the Canberras flew many bombing sorties, and two were lost, while the Caribou transport aircraft supported anti-communist ground forces, and the Iroquois helicopters were used in troop-lifts and medical evacuation and, from Vũng Tàu Air Base, as gunships in support of 1 ATF. At its peak it included over 750 personnel.


text: During the war, RAAF CAC-27 Sabre fighters from No. 79 Squadron were deployed to Ubon Air Base in Thailand as part of Australia's SEATO commitments. The Sabres took no part in direct hostilities against North Vietnam, and were withdrawn in 1968. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) also made a significant contribution, which involved the deployment of one destroyer, on six-month rotations, deployed on the gun-line in a shore bombardment role. The RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam and a RAN Clearance Diving Team were also deployed. The ageing aircraft carrier, HMAS "Sydney", after being converted to a troop-ship, was used to convey the bulk of Australian ground forces to South Vietnam. Female members of the Army and RAAF nursing services were present in Vietnam from the outset and, as the force grew, the medical capability was expanded by the establishment of the 1st Australian Field Hospital at Vũng Tàu on 1 April 1968.


text: From an Australian perspective, the most famous engagement in the war was the Battle of Long Tan, which took place on 18 and 19 August 1966. During the battle, a company from 6 RAR, despite being heavily outnumbered, fought off an assault by a force of regimental strength. 18 Australians were killed and 24 wounded, while at least 245 VC were killed. It was a decisive Australian victory and is often cited as an example of the importance of combining and coordinating infantry, artillery, armour and military aviation. The battle had considerable tactical implications as well, being significant in allowing the Australians to gain dominance over Phước Tuy Province and, although there were other large-scale encounters in later years, 1 ATF was not fundamentally challenged again. Regardless, during February 1967, 1 ATF sustained its heaviest casualties in the war to that point, losing 16 men killed and 55 wounded in a single week, the bulk of them during Operation Bribie. 1 ATF appeared to have lost the initiative and, for the first time in nine months of operations, the number of Australians killed in battle, or from friendly fire, mines or booby traps, had reversed the task force's kill ratio.


text: Such losses underscored the need for a third battalion, and the requirement for tanks to support the infantry, a realisation which challenged the conventional wisdom of Australian counter-revolutionary warfare doctrine, which had previously allotted only a minor role to armour. Yet, it was nearly a year before more Australian forces finally arrived. To Brigadier Stuart Graham, the 1 ATF commander, Operation Bribie confirmed the need to establish a physical barrier, to deny the VC freedom of movement and thereby regain the initiative. The subsequent decision to establish an barrier minefield from Đất Đỏ to the coast increasingly came to dominate task force planning. Ultimately, that would prove both controversial and costly for the Australians. Despite initial success, the minefield became a source of munitions for the VC to use against 1 ATF and, in 1969, the decision was made to remove it.


text: As the war continued to escalate following further American troop increases, 1 ATF was heavily reinforced in late 1967. A third infantry battalion arrived in December 1967, and a squadron of Centurion tanks, and more Iroquois helicopters, were added in early 1968. In all, a further 1,200 men were deployed, taking the total Australian troop strength to over 8,000 men, its highest level during the war. This increase effectively doubled the combat power available to the task force commander.


text: Although primarily operating out of Phước Tuy, the 1 ATF was also available for deployment elsewhere in the III Corps Tactical Zone. As Phước Tuy progressively came under Australian control, 1968 saw the Australians spending a significant period of time conducting operations further afield. The communist Tet Offensive began on 30 January 1968 with the aim of inciting a general uprising, simultaneously engulfing population centres across South Vietnam. In response, 1 ATF was deployed along likely infiltration routes to defend the vital Biên Hòa–Long Binh complex northeast of Saigon, as part of Operation Coburg between January and March. Heavy fighting resulted in 17 Australians being killed and 61 wounded, while communist casualties included at least 145 killed, 110 wounded and 5 captured, with many more removed from the battlefield. Tet also affected Phước Tuy Province and, although stretched thin, the remaining Australian forces there successfully repelled an attack on Ba Ria, as well as spoiling a harassing attack on Long Dien. A sweep of Hỏa Lòng was conducted, killing 50 VC and wounding 25, for the loss of five Australians killed and 24 wounded. In late February, the communist offensive collapsed, suffering more than 45,000 killed, compared with allied losses of 6,000 men. Regardless, Tet proved to be a turning point in the war and, although it was a tactical disaster for the communists, it proved a strategic victory for them. Confidence in the American military and political leadership collapsed, as did public support for the war in the United States.


text: Tet had a similar effect on Australian public opinion, and caused growing uncertainty in the government about the determination of the United States to remain militarily involved in Southeast Asia. Amid the initial shock, Prime Minister John Gorton unexpectedly declared that Australia would not increase its military commitment in Vietnam. The war continued without respite and, between May and June 1968, 1 ATF was again deployed away from Phước Tuy in response to intelligence reports of another impending offensive. In May 1968, 1 RAR and 3 RAR, with armour and artillery, support fought off large-scale attacks during the Battle of Coral–Balmoral. 25 Australians were killed and nearly 100 wounded, while the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) lost in excess of 300 killed.


text: Later, from December 1968 to February 1969, two battalions from 1 ATF again deployed away from their base in Phước Tuy province, operating against suspected PAVN/VC bases in the Hat Dich area, in western Phước Tuy, south-eastern Biên Hòa, and south-western Long Khan provinces, during Operation Goodwood. The fighting lasted 78 days and was one of the longest out-of-province operations mounted by the Australians during the war.


text: From May 1969, the main effort of the task force refocussed on Phước Tuy Province. Later in June 1969, 5 RAR fought one of the last large-scale actions of the Australian involvement in the war, during the Battle of Binh Ba, north of Nui Dat in Phước Tuy Province. The battle differed from the unusual Australian experience, because it involved infantry and armour in close-quarter house-to-house fighting against a combined PAVN/VC force, through the village of Binh Ba. For the loss of one Australian killed, the PAVN/VC lost 107 killed, six wounded and eight captured, in a hard-fought but one-sided engagement.


text: Due to the losses suffered at Binh Ba, the PAVN was forced to move out of Phước Tuy into adjoining provinces and, although the Australians did encounter main force units in the years to come, the Battle of Binh Ba marked the end of such clashes. Yet, while the VC had largely been forced to withdraw to the borders of the province by 1968–69, control of Phước Tuy was challenged on several occasions in the following years, including during the 1968 Tet Offensive, as well as in mid-1969, following the incursion of the PAVN 33rd Regiment, and again in mid-1971, with further incursions by the 33rd Regiment and several VC main force units and, finally, during the Easter Offensive in 1972. Attacks on South Vietnamese Regional Force outposts, and incursions into the villages, had also continued.


text: Large-scale battles were not the norm in Phước Tuy Province. More typical was company-level patrolling and cordon and search operations, which were designed to put pressure on enemy units and disrupt their access to the local population. To the end of Australian operations in Phước Tuy, that remained the focus of Australian efforts, and that approach arguably achieved the restoration of South Vietnamese government control in the province. Australia's peak commitment at any one time was 7,672 combat troops and New Zealand's, 552, in 1969.


text: During that time, the AATTV had continued to operate in support of the South Vietnamese forces, with an area of operations stretching from the far south to the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) which formed the border between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. Members of the team were involved in many combat operations, often commanding formations of Vietnamese soldiers. Some advisors worked with regular Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) units and formations, while others worked with the Montagnard hill tribes, in conjunction with US Special Forces. A few were involved in the controversial Phoenix Program, run by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which was designed to target the VC infrastructure through infiltration, arrest and assassination. The AATTV became Australia's most decorated unit of the war, winning all four Victoria Crosses awarded during the conflict.


text: Historian Albert Palazzo comments that when the Australians entered the Vietnam War, it was with their own "well considered ...concept of war", and this was often contradictory or in conflict with US concepts. The 1 ATF light infantry tactics such as patrolling, searching villages without destroying them (with a view to eventually converting them), and ambush and counter ambush drew criticism from some US commanders. General William Westmoreland is reported to have complained to Major General Tim Vincent that 1 ATF was "not being aggressive enough". By comparison, US forces sought to flush out the enemy and achieve rapid and decisive victory through "brazen scrub bashing" and the use of "massive firepower." Australians acknowledged they had much to learn from the US forces about heliborne assault and joint armour and infantry assaults. Yet the US measure of success—the body count—was apparently held in contempt by many 1 ATF battalion commanders.


text: In 1966 journalist Gerald Stone described tactics then being used by Australian soldiers newly arrived in Vietnam:


text: Looking back on ten years of reporting the war in Vietnam and Cambodia, journalist Neil Davis said in 1983: "I was very proud of the Australian troops. They were very professional, very well trained and they fought the people they were sent to fight—the Viet Cong. They tried not to involve civilians and generally there were fewer casualties inflicted by the Australians." Another perspective on Australian operations was provided by David Hackworth: "The Aussies used squads to make contact... and brought in reinforcements to do the killing; they planned in the belief that a platoon on the battlefield could do anything."


text: For some VC leaders there was no doubt the Australian jungle warfare approach was effective. One former VC leader is quoted as saying: "worse than the Americans were the Australians. The Americans style was to hit us, then call for planes and artillery. Our response was to break contact and disappear if we could...The Australians were more patient than the Americans, better guerrilla fighters, better at ambushes. They liked to stay with us instead of calling in the planes. We were more afraid of their style." According to Albert Palazzo, as a junior partner, the Australians had little opportunity to influence US strategy in the war: "the American concept [of how the war should be fought] remained unchallenged and it prevailed almost by default."


text: Overall, the operational strategy used by the Australian Army in Vietnam was not successful. Palazzo believes that like the Americans, Australian strategy was focused on seeking to engage the PAVN/VC forces in battle and ultimately failed as the PAVN/VC were generally able to evade Australian forces when conditions were not favourable. Moreover, the Australians did not devote sufficient resources to disrupting the logistical infrastructure which supported the PAVN/VC forces in Phước Tuy Province and popular support for them remained strong. After 1 ATF was withdrawn in 1971 the insurgency in Phước Tuy rapidly expanded.


text: Historians Andrew Ross, Robert Hall, and Amy Griffin, on the other hand make the point that Australian forces more often than not defeated the PAVN/VC whenever they met them, nine times out of ten. When the Australians were able to set ambushes, or openly engage the enemy, they defeated them and killed or destroyed the units that opposed them.


text: Meanwhile, although the bulk of Australian military resources in Vietnam were devoted to operations against the PAVN/VC forces, a civic action program was also undertaken to assist the local population and government authorities in Phước Tuy. This included projects aimed at winning the support of the people and was seen as an essential element of Australian counter-revolutionary doctrine. Australian forces had first undertaken some civic action projects in 1965 while 1 RAR was operating in Biên Hòa, and similar work was started in Phước Tuy following the deployment of 1 ATF in 1966. In June 1967 the 40-man 1st Australian Civil Affairs Unit (1 ACAU) was established to undertake the program. By 1970 this unit had grown to 55 men, with detachments specialising in engineering, medical, education and agriculture.


text: During the first three years of the Australian presence civic action was mainly an adjunct to military operations, the unit taking part in the cordon and search of villages and resettlement programs, as well as occasionally in directly aiding and reconstructing villages that had been damaged in major actions. In the final years of the Australian presence it became more involved in assistance to villages and to the provincial administration. While 1 ACAU was the main agency involved in such tasks, at times other task force units were also involved in civic action programs. Activities included construction and public works, medical and dental treatment, education, agriculture development and youth and sports programs.


text: Although extensive, these programs were often undertaken without reference to the local population and it was not until 1969 that villagers were involved in determining what projects would be undertaken and in their construction. Equally, ongoing staff and material support was usually not provided, while maintenance and sustainment was the responsibility of the provincial government which often lacked the capacity or the will to provide it, limiting the benefit provided to the local population. The program continued until 1 ATF's withdrawal in 1971, and although it may have succeeded in generating goodwill towards Australian forces, it largely failed to increase support for the South Vietnamese government in the province. Equally, while the program made some useful contributions to the civil facilities and infrastructure in Phước Tuy which remained following the Australian departure, it had little impact on the course of the conflict.


text: The Australian withdrawal effectively commenced in November 1970. As a consequence of the overall US strategy of Vietnamization and with the Australian government keen to reduce its own commitment to the war, 8 RAR was not replaced at the end of its tour of duty. 1 ATF was again reduced to just two infantry battalions, albeit with significant armour, artillery and aviation support remaining. The Australian area of operations remained the same, the reduction in forces only adding further to the burden on the remaining battalions. Regardless, following a sustained effort by 1 ATF in Phước Tuy Province between September 1969 and April 1970, the bulk of PAVN/VC forces had become inactive and had left the province to recuperate. By 1971 the province had been largely cleared of local VC forces, who were now increasingly reliant on reinforcements from North Vietnam. As a measure of some success, Highway 15, the main route running through Phước Tuy between Saigon and Vũng Tàu, was open to unescorted traffic. Regardless, the VC maintained the ability to conduct local operations. Meanwhile, the AATTV had been further expanded, and a Jungle Warfare Training Centre was established in Phước Tuy Province first at Nui Dat then relocated to Van Kiep. In November 1970, the unit's strength peaked at 227 advisors.


text: Australian combat forces were further reduced during 1971. The Battle of Long Khánh on 6–7 June 1971 took place during one of the last major joint US-Australian operations, and resulted in three Australians killed and six wounded during heavy fighting in which an RAAF UH-1H Iroqouis was shot down. On 18 August 1971, Australia and New Zealand decided to withdraw their troops from Vietnam; the Australian prime minister, William McMahon, announced that 1 ATF would cease operations in October, commencing a phased withdrawal. The Battle of Nui Le on 21 September proved to be the last major battle fought by Australian forces in the war, and resulted in five Australians killed and 30 wounded. Finally, on 16 October Australian forces handed over control of the base at Nui Dat to South Vietnamese forces, while the main body from 4 RAR—the last Australian infantry battalion in South Vietnam—sailed for Australia on board HMAS "Sydney" on 9 December 1971. Meanwhile, D Company, 4 RAR with an assault pioneer and mortar section and a detachment of APCs remained in Vũng Tàu to protect the task force headquarters and 1 ALSG until the final withdrawal of stores and equipment could be completed, finally returning to Australia on 12 March 1972.


text: Australian advisors continued to train Vietnamese troops until the announcement by the newly elected Australian Labor government of Gough Whitlam that the remaining advisors would be withdrawn by 18 December 1972. It was only on 11 January 1973 that the Governor-General of Australia, Paul Hasluck, announced the cessation of combat operations. Whitlam recognised North Vietnam, which welcomed his electoral success. Australian troops remained in Saigon guarding the Australian embassy until 1 July 1973. The withdrawal from South Vietnam meant that 1973 was the first time since the beginning of World War II in 1939 that Australia's armed forces were not involved in a conflict somewhere in the world. In total approximately 60,000 Australians—ground troops, air-force and naval personnel—served in South Vietnam between 1962 and 1972. 521 died as a result of the war and over 3,000 were wounded. 15,381 conscripted national servicemen served from 1965 to 1972, sustaining 202 killed and 1,279 wounded. Six Australians were listed as missing in action, although these men are included in the list of Australians killed in action and the last of their remains were finally located and returned to Australia in 2009. Between 1962 and March 1972 the estimated cost of Australia's involvement in the war was $218.4 million.


text: In March 1975 the Australian Government dispatched RAAF transport aircraft to South Vietnam to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees fleeing the North Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh Campaign. The first Australian C-130 Hercules arrived at Tan Son Nhat Airport on 30 March and the force, which was designated 'Detachment S', reached a strength of eight Hercules by the second week of April. The aircraft of detachment S transported refugees from cities near the front line and evacuated Australians and several hundred Vietnamese orphans from Saigon to Malaysia. They also regularly flew supplies to a large refugee camp at An Thoi on the island of Phú Quốc. The deteriorating security situation forced the Australian aircraft to be withdrawn to Bangkok in mid-April, from where they flew into South Vietnam each day. The last three RAAF flights into Saigon took place on 25 April, when the Australian embassy was evacuated. While all Australians were evacuated, 130 South Vietnamese who had worked at the embassy and had been promised evacuation were left behind. Whitlam later refused to accept South Vietnamese refugees following the fall of Saigon in April 1975, including Australian embassy staff who were later sent to re-education camps by the communists. The Liberals—led by Malcolm Fraser—condemned Whitlam, and after defeating Labor in the 1975 federal election, allowed South Vietnamese refugees to settle in Australia in large numbers.


text: In Australia, resistance to the war was at first very limited. Initially public opinion was strongly in support of government policy in Vietnam and when the leader of the ALP (in opposition for most of the period), Arthur Calwell announced that the 1966 federal election would be fought specifically on the issue of Vietnam the party suffered its biggest political defeat in decades. Anti-war sentiment escalated rapidly from 1967, although it never gained support from the majority of the Australian community. The centre-left ALP became more sympathetic to the communists and Calwell stridently denounced South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ as a "fascist dictator" and a "butcher" ahead of his 1967 visit—at the time Ky was the chief of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force and headed a military junta. Despite the controversy leading up to the visit, Ky's trip was a success. He dealt with the media effectively, despite hostile sentiment from some sections of the press and public. After hostile questioning from "Tribune" journalist Harry Stein, Ky personally offered Stein space on his own flight to visit South Vietnam for himself.


text: The introduction of conscription by the Australian government in response to a worsening regional strategic outlook during the war was consistently opposed by the ALP and by many sections of society, and some groups resisted the call to military service by burning the letters notifying them of their conscription, which was punishable by a monetary fine, or incited young men to refrain from registering for the draft, which was punishable by imprisonment. Growing public uneasiness about the death toll was fuelled by a series of highly publicised arrests of conscientious objectors, and exacerbated by revelations of atrocities committed against Vietnamese civilians, leading to a rapid increase in domestic opposition to the war between 1967 and 1970. Following the 1969 federal election, which Labor lost again but with a much reduced margin, public debate about Vietnam was increasingly dominated by those opposed to government policy. On 8 May 1970, moratorium marches were held in major Australian cities to coincide with the marches in the US. The demonstration in Melbourne, led by future deputy prime minister Jim Cairns, was supported by an estimated 100,000 people. Across Australia, it was estimated that 200,000 people were involved.


text: Nevertheless, opinion polls taken at the time demonstrated that the moratorium failed to achieve its goals and had only a very limited impact upon public opinion, over half the respondents saying that they still supported national service and slightly less stating that they did not want Australia to pull out of the war. The numbers that resisted the draft remained low. Indeed, by 1970 it was estimated that 99.8 per cent of those issued with call up papers complied with them.


text: Further moratoria were undertaken on 18 September 1970 and again on 30 June 1971. Arguably, the peace movement had lost its original spirit, as the political debate degenerated, according to author Paul Ham, towards "menace and violence". Dominated by elements Ham describes as "left-wing extremists", the organisers of the events extended invitations to members of the North Vietnamese government to attend, although this was prevented by the Australian government's refusing to grant them visas. Attendance at the subsequent marches was lower than that of May 1970, and as a result of several factors including confusion over the rules regarding what the protesters were allowed to do, aggressive police tactics, and agitation from protesters, the second march became violent. In Sydney, 173 people were arrested, while in Melbourne the police attempted to control the crowd with a baton-charge.


text: Initially there was considerable support for Australia's involvement in Vietnam, and all Australian battalions returning from Vietnam participated in well attended welcome home parades through either Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane or Townsville, even during the early 1970s. Regardless, as opposition to the war increased service in Vietnam came to be seen by sections of the Australian community in less than sympathetic terms and opposition to it generated negative views of veterans in some quarters. In the years following the war, some Vietnam veterans experienced social exclusion and problems readjusting to society. Nevertheless, as the tour of duty of each soldier during the Vietnam War was limited to one year (although some soldiers chose to sign up for a second or even a third tour of duty), the number of soldiers suffering from combat stress was probably more limited than it might otherwise have been.


text: As well as the negative sentiments towards returned soldiers from some sections of the anti-war movement, some Second World War veterans also held negative views of the Vietnam War veterans. As a result, many Australian Vietnam veterans were excluded from joining the Returned Servicemen's League (RSL) during the 1960s and 1970s on the grounds that the Vietnam War veterans did not fight a "real war". The response of the RSL varied across the country, and while some rejected Vietnam veterans, other branches, particularly those in rural areas, were said to be very supportive. Many Vietnam veterans were excluded from marching in Anzac Day parades during the 1970s because some soldiers of earlier wars saw the Vietnam veterans as unworthy heirs to the ANZAC title and tradition, a view that hurt many Vietnam veterans and resulted in continued resentment towards the RSL. In 1972 the RSL decided that Vietnam veterans should lead the march, which attracted large crowds throughout the country.


text: Australian Vietnam veterans were honoured at a "Welcome Home" parade in Sydney on 3 October 1987, and it was then that a campaign for the construction of the Vietnam War Memorial began. This memorial, known as the Vietnam Forces National Memorial, was established on Anzac Parade in Canberra, and was dedicated on 3 October 1992.


text: In the aftermath of the Vietnam War the withdrawal of the US from South-East Asia forced Australia to adopt a more independent foreign policy, moving away from forward defence and reliance on powerful allies to a greater emphasis on the defence of continental Australia and military self-reliance, albeit in the context of a continued alliance with the United States. This later had important implications for the military's force structure in the 1980s and 1990s. The experience in Vietnam also caused an intolerance for casualties which resulted in successive Australian governments becoming more cautious towards the deployment of military forces overseas. Regardless, the "imperative to deploy forces overseas" remained a feature of Australian strategic behavior in the post-Vietnam era, while the US alliance has continued to be a fundamental aspect of its foreign policy into the early 21st century.


title: Tension headache

text: Tension headache, also known as stress headache, or tension-type headache (TTH), is the most common type of primary headache. The pain can radiate from the lower back of the head, the neck, eyes or other muscle groups in the body typically affecting both sides of the head. Tension-type headaches account for nearly 90% of all headaches.


title: Tension headache

text: Pain medications, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, are effective for the treatment of tension headache. Tricyclic antidepressants appear to be useful for prevention. Evidence is poor for SSRIs, propranolol and muscle relaxants.


title: Tension headache

text: As of 2016, tension headaches affect about 1.89 billion people and are more common in women than men (23% to 18% respectively).


title: Tension headache

text: According to the third edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders, the attacks must meet the following criteria:


title: Tension headache

text: Tension-type headaches may be accompanied by tenderness of the scalp on manual pressure during an attack.


title: Tension headache

text: Although the musculature of the head and neck and psychological factors such as stress may play a role in the overall pathophysiology of TTH, neither is currently believed to be the sole cause of the development of TTH. The pathologic basis of TTH is most likely derived from a combination of personal factors, environmental factors, and alteration of both peripheral and central pain pathways. Peripheral pain pathways receive pain signals from pericranial (around the head) myofascial tissue (protective tissue of muscles) and alteration of this pathway likely underlies episodic tension-type headache (ETTH). In addition to these myofascial tissue pain signals, pericranial muscle tenderness, inflammation, and muscle ischemia have been postulated in headache literature to be causal factors in the peripheral pathophysiology of TTH. However, multiple studies have failed to illustrate evidence for a pathologic role of either ischemia or inflammation within the muscles. Pericranial tenderness is also not likely a peripheral causal factor for TTH, but may instead act to trigger a chronic pain cycle in which the peripheral pain response is transformed over time into a centralized pain response. It is then these prolonged alterations in the peripheral pain pathways that lead to increased excitability of the central nervous system pain pathways, resulting in the transition of episodic tension-type headache into chronic tension-type headache (CTTH). Specifically, the hyperexcitability occurs in central nociceptive neurons (the trigeminal spinal nucleus, thalamus, and cerebral cortex) resulting in central sensitization, which manifests clinically as allodynia and hyperalgesia of CTTH. Additionally, CTTH patients exhibit decreased thermal and pain thresholds which further bolsters support for central sensitization occurring in CTTH.


title: Tension headache

text: The alterations in physiology that lead to overall process of central sensitization involve changes at the level of neural tracts, neurotransmitters and their receptors, the neural synapse, and the post-synaptic membrane. Evidence suggests dysfunction in supraspinal descending inhibitory pain pathways may contribute to the pathogenesis of central sensitization in CTTH.


title: Tension headache

text: Specific neuronal receptors and neurotransmitters thought to be most involved include NMDA and AMPA receptors, glutamate, serotonin (5-HT), β-endorphin, and nitric oxide (NO). Of the neurotransmitters, NO plays a major role in central pain pathways and likely contributes to the process of central sensitization. Briefly, the enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS) forms NO which ultimately results in vasodilatation and activation of central nervous system pain pathways. Serotonin may also be of significant importance and involved in malfunctioning pain filter located in the brain stem. The view is that the brain misinterprets information—for example from the temporal muscle or other muscles—and interprets this signal as pain. Evidence for this theory comes from the fact that chronic tension-type headaches may be successfully treated with certain antidepressants such as nortriptyline. However, the analgesic effect of nortriptyline, as well as amitriptyline in chronic tension-type headache, is not solely due to serotonin reuptake inhibition, and likely other mechanisms are involved.


title: Tension headache

text: Regarding synaptic level changes, homosynaptic facilitation and heterosynaptic facilitation are both likely to be involved in central sensitization. Homosynaptic facilitation occurs when synapses normally involved in pain pathways undergo changes involving receptors on the post-synaptic membrane as well as the molecular pathways activated upon synaptic transmission. Lower pain thresholds of CTTH result from this homosynaptic facilitation. In contrast, heterosynaptic facilitation occurs when synapses not normally involved in pain pathways become involved. Once this occurs innocuous signals are interpreted as painful signals. Allodynia and hyperalgesia of CTTH represent this heterosynaptic facilitation clinically.


title: Tension headache

text: In the literature, stress is mentioned as a factor and may be implicated via the adrenal axis. This ultimately results in downstream activation of NMDA receptor activation, NFκB activation, and upregulation of iNOS with subsequent production of NO leading to pain as described above.


title: Tension headache

text: With TTH, the physical exam is expected to be normal with perhaps the exception of either pericranial tenderness upon palpation of the cranial muscles, or presence of either photophobia or phonophobia.


title: Tension headache

text: The International Headache Society's most current classification system for headache disorders is the International Classification of Headache Disorders 3rd edition (ICHD-3) as of 2018. This classification system separates tension-type headache (TTH) into two main groups: episodic (ETTH) and chronic (CTTH). CTTH is defined as fifteen days or more per month with headache for greater than three months, or one-hundred eighty days or more, with headache per year. ETTH is less than fifteen days per month with headache or less than one-hundred eighty days with headache per year. However, ETTH is further sub-divided into frequent and infrequent TTH. Frequent TTH is defined as ten or more episodes of headache over the course of one to fourteen days per month for greater than three months, or at least twelve days per year, but less than one-hundred eighty days per year. Infrequent TTH is defined as ten or more episodes of headache for less than one day per month or less than twelve days per year. Furthermore, all sub-classes of TTH can be classified as having presence or absence of pericranial tenderness, which is tenderness of the muscles of the head. Probable TTH is utilized for patients with some characteristics, but not all characteristics of a given sub-type of TTH.


title: Tension headache

text: Extensive testing is not needed as TTH is diagnosed by history and physical. However, if symptoms indicative of a more serious diagnosis are present, a contrast enhanced MRI may be utilized. Furthermore, giant cell arteritis should be considered in those 50 years of age and beyond. Screening for giant cell arteritis involves the blood tests of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and c-reactive protein.


title: Tension headache

text: People who have jaw clenching might develop headaches, and getting treatment from a dentist might prevent those headaches.


title: Tension headache

text: People who have 15 or more headaches in a month may be treated with certain types of daily antidepressants which act to prevent continued tension headaches from occurring. In those who are predisposed to tension type headaches the first-line preventative treatment is amitriptyline, whereas mirtazapine and venlafaxine are second-line treatment options. Tricyclic antidepressants appear to be useful for prevention. Tricyclic antidepressants have been found to be more effective than SSRIs but have greater side effects. Evidence is poor for the use of SSRIs, propranolol, and muscle relaxants for prevention of tension headaches.


title: Tension headache

text: Treatment for a current tension headache is to drink water and confirm that there is no dehydration. If symptoms do not resolve within an hour for a person who has had water, then stress reduction might resolve the issue.


title: Tension headache

text: Evidence supports simple neck and shoulder exercises in managing ETTH and CTTH for headaches associated with neck pain. Exercises include stretching, strengthening and range of motion exercises. CTTH can also benefit from combined therapy from stress therapy, exercises and postural correction.


title: Tension headache

text: Over-the-counter drugs, like paracetamol, or NSAIDs (ibuprofen, aspirin, naproxen, ketoprofen), can be effective but tend to only be helpful as a treatment for a few times in a week at most. For those with gastrointestinal problems (ulcers and bleeding), acetaminophen is the better choice over aspirin, though both provide roughly equivalent pain relief. It is important to note that large daily doses of paracetamol should be avoided as it may cause liver damage especially in those that consume 3 or more drinks/day and those with pre-existing liver disease. Ibuprofen, one of the NSAIDs listed above, is a common choice for pain relief but may also lead to gastrointestinal discomfort.


title: Tension headache

text: Analgesic/caffeine combinations are popular such as the aspirin-caffeine combination or the aspirin, paracetamol and caffeine combinations. Frequent use (daily or skipping just one day in between use for 7–10 days) of any of the above analgesics may, however, lead to medication overuse headache.


title: Tension headache

text: Analgesic/sedative combinations are widely used (e.g., analgesic/antihistamine combinations, analgesic/barbiturate combinations such as Fiorinal).


title: Tension headache

text: Muscle relaxants are typically used for and are helpful with acute post-traumatic TTH rather than ETTH. Opioid medications are not utilized to treat ETTH. Botulinum toxin does not appear to be helpful.


title: Tension headache

text: Classes of medications involved in treatment of CTTH include tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), SSRIs, benzodiazepine (Clonazepam in small evening dose), and muscle relaxants. The most commonly utilized TCA is amitriptyline due to the postulated role in decreasing central sensitization and analgesic relief. Another popular TCA used is Doxepine. SSRIs may also be utilized for management of CTTH. For patients with concurrent muscle spasm and CTTH, the muscle relaxant Tizanidine can be a helpful option.


title: Tension headache

text: These medications however, are not effective if concurrent overuse of over the counter medications or other analgesics is occurring. Stopping overuse must occur prior to proceeding with other forms of treatment.


title: Tension headache

text: Current evidence for acupuncture is slight. A 2016 systematic review suggests better evidence among those with frequent tension headaches, but concludes that further trials comparing acupuncture with other treatment options are needed.


title: Tension headache

text: People with tension-type headache often use spinal manipulation, soft tissue therapy, and myofascial trigger point treatment. Studies of effectiveness are mixed. A 2006 systematic review found no rigorous evidence supporting manual therapies for tension headache. A 2005 structured review found only weak evidence for the effectiveness of chiropractic manipulation for tension headache, and that it was probably more effective for tension headache than for migraine. A 2004 Cochrane review found that spinal manipulation may be effective for migraine and tension headache, and that spinal manipulation and neck exercises may be effective for cervicogenic headache. Two other systematic reviews published between 2000 and May 2005 did not find conclusive evidence in favor of spinal manipulation. A 2012 systematic review of manual therapy found that hands-on work may reduce both the frequency and the intensity of chronic tension-type headaches. More current literature also appears to be mixed however, CTTH patients may benefit from massage and physiotherapy as suggested by a systemic review examining these modalities via RCTs specifically for this patient population Despite being helpful, the review also makes a point to note that there is no difference in effectiveness long term (6 months) between those CTTH patients utilizing TCAs and physiotherapy. Another systemic review comparing manual therapy to pharmacologic therapy also supports little long term difference in outcome regarding TTH frequency, duration, and intensity.


title: Tension headache

text: As of 2016 tension headaches affect about 1.89 billion people and are more common in women than men (23% to 18% respectively). Despite its benign character, tension-type headache, especially in its chronic form, can impart significant disability on patients as well as burden on society at large.


title: Drag Race España

text: Drag Race España (sometimes called Drag Race Spain) is a Spanish reality competition streaming television series, produced by Atresmedia Televisión in collaboration with Buendía Estudios and executive produced by World of Wonder. It is the Spanish adaptation of the "Drag Race" franchise. In a similar format to the American version, the show features a crop of Spanish drag queens as they compete for a grand prize of €30,000 and the title of "Spain's Next Drag Superstar". The series is airing on ATRESplayer Premium in Spain and on WOW Presents Plus elsewhere. The first season premiered on 30 May, and concluded on 25 July 2021.


title: Drag Race España

text: The winner of the first season of "Drag Race España" was Carmen Farala. The winner of the second season of "Drag Race España" was Sharonne.


title: Drag Race España

text: Later on, the series was renewed for a third season set to air in 2023, and an "All Stars" version was announced.


title: Drag Race España

text: The program is produced by World of Wonder and Atresmedia in collaboration with Buendía Estudios. It premiered in May 2021 through the Atresplayer Premium payment platform, while internationally it is broadcast via streaming on WOW Presents Plus. On December 30, 2020, the opening of the selection process for the participants was announced. The main judges: Ana Locking, Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo and the main presenter Supremme de Luxe were announced in March 2021, while the ten contestants were announced on April 26, 2021. Two days later, Michelle Visage made the official presentation of the contestants and announced that the program would premiere in May of that same year.


title: Drag Race España

text: Casting occurred in early 2021 with filming starting by early March 2021. In Spain, the show is carried by ATRESplayer Premium. In the United States, the United Kingdom, and other international territories, the series premiered on WOW Presents Plus, the streaming service of "RuPaul's Drag Race" production company World of Wonder, concurrently with its Spanish debut. It is the seventh international version of the Drag Race franchise, after "The Switch Drag Race", "Drag Race Thailand", "RuPaul's Drag Race UK", "Canada's Drag Race", "Drag Race Holland" and "RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under". On August 31, 2021, it was announced that Atresmedia renewed the series for a second season.


title: Drag Race España

text: On 15 February 2021, it was confirmed that the show would be hosted by Spanish drag queen Supremme de Luxe. On 1 March 2021, it was announced that the judges panel would include fashion designer Ana Locking, and film and television actors, directors and writers Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo.


title: Drag Race España

text: The first season of "Drag Race España" began airing on 30 May 2021 on ATRESplayer Premium in Spain and World of Wonder's streaming service WOW Presents Plus internationally. The season ran for 9 episodes and concluded on 25 July 2021. Carmen Farala, Killer Queen, and Sagittaria made the final, and Carmen Farala was the winner of the first season.


title: Drag Race España

text: On 31 August 2021, it was announced that Atresmedia renewed the series for a second season. A trailer for the second season was posted via social media on 13 January 2022. It premiered on 27 March 2022. The season ran for 11 episodes and concluded on 5 June 2022. Estrella Xtravaganza, Marina, Sharonne, and Venedita Von Däsh made the final, with Sharonne winning the title of Spain’s Next Drag Superstar.


title: Drag Race España

text: In September 2022, Atresmedia announced that Drag Race España: All Stars is in production. The series, which will be the first international version of the "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars" format, is scheduled to air following season 3.


title: Aaliyah discography

text: American singer Aaliyah released three studio albums, two compilation albums, and 26 singles. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At age 10, she appeared on "Star Search" and performed in concert alongside Gladys Knight. At age 12, Aaliyah was signed to Jive Records and Blackground Records by her uncle, Barry Hankerson. He introduced her to R. Kelly, who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album. "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number" sold three million copies in the United States and was certified double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). After facing allegations of an illegal marriage with Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed to Atlantic Records.


title: Aaliyah discography

text: Aaliyah worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album, "One in a Million", which sold three million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide. In 2000, Aaliyah appeared in her first major film, "Romeo Must Die". She also contributed to the film's soundtrack, where "Try Again" was released as a single. The song topped the "Billboard" Hot 100 solely on radio airplay, making Aaliyah the first artist in "Billboard" history to achieve this feat. "Try Again" earned Aaliyah a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist.


title: Aaliyah discography

text: After completing "Romeo Must Die", Aaliyah filmed her part in "Queen of the Damned". She released her third and final album, "Aaliyah", in July 2001. On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and eight others were killed in a plane crash in The Bahamas after filming the music video for the single "Rock the Boat". The pilot, Luis Morales III, was unlicensed at the time of the accident and had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system. Aaliyah's family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Blackhawk International Airways, which was settled out of court. Since then, Aaliyah has achieved commercial success with several posthumous releases. As of December 2008, she has sold 8.1 million albums in the United States and an estimated 24 to 32 million albums worldwide.


title: Anito

text: Anito, also spelled anitu, refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the indigenous Philippine folk religions from the precolonial age to the present, although the term itself may have other meanings and associations depending on the Filipino ethnic group. It can also refer to carved humanoid figures, the taotao, made of wood, stone, or ivory, that represent these spirits. "Anito" (a term predominantly used in Luzon) is also sometimes known as diwata in certain ethnic groups (especially among Visayans).


title: Anito

text: Pag-anito refers to a séance, often accompanied by other rituals or celebrations, in which a shaman (Visayan: "babaylan", Tagalog: "katalonan") acts as a medium to communicate directly with the spirits. When a nature spirit or deity is specifically involved, the ritual is called pagdiwata. The act of worship or a religious sacrifice to a spirit is also sometimes simply referred to as "anito".


title: Anito

text: The belief in "anito" are sometimes referred to as Anitism in scholarly literature (Spanish: "anitismo" or "anitería").


title: Anito

text: Pre-colonial Filipinos were animistic. They believed that everything has a spirit, from rocks and trees to animals and humans to natural phenomena. These spirits are collectively known as "anito", derived from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian "*qanitu" and Proto-Austronesian "*qaNiCu" ("spirit of the dead"). Cognates in other Austronesian cultures include the Micronesian "aniti", Malaysian and Indonesian "hantu" or "antu", Nage "nitu", and Polynesian "atua" and "aitu". As well as Tao "anito", Taivoan "alid", Seediq and Atayal "utux", Bunun "hanitu" or "hanidu", and Tsou "hicu" among Taiwanese aborigines. "Anito" can be divided into two main categories: the ancestor spirits ("ninunò"), and deities and nature spirits ("diwata").


title: Anito

text: The "ninunò" (lit. "ancestor") can be the spirits of actual ancestors, cultural heroes, or generalized guardian spirits of a family. Pre-colonial Filipinos believed that upon death, the "free" soul (Visayan: "kalag"; Tagalog: "kaluluwa") of a person travels to a spirit world, usually by voyaging across an ocean on a boat (a "bangka" or "baloto").


title: Anito

text: There can be multiple locations in the spirit world, varying in different ethnic groups. Which place souls end up in depends on how they died, the age at death, or the conduct of the person when they were alive. There was no concept of heaven or hell prior to the introduction of Christianity and Islam; rather, the spirit world is usually depicted as an otherworld that exists alongside the material world. Souls reunite with deceased relatives in the spirit world and lead normal lives in the spirit world as they did in the material world. In some cases, the souls of evil people undergo penance and cleansing before they are granted entrance into a particular spirit realm. Souls would eventually reincarnate after a period of time in the spirit world.


title: Anito

text: In some cultures (like among the Kalinga people), the acceptance of a soul by ancestors into a certain realm in the spirit world requires tattoos ("batok"), by which they can gauge the worthiness of a soul. In other cultures, tattoos illuminate and guide the spirits during the journey to the afterlife.


title: Anito

text: Souls in the spirit world still retain a degree of influence in the material world, and vice versa. "Pag-anito" may be used to invoke good ancestor spirits for protection, intercession ("kalara" or "kalda"), or advice. Ancestor spirits that become intercessors with deities are known as "pintakasi" or "pitulon". Vengeful spirits of the dead can manifest as apparitions or ghosts ("mantiw") and cause harm to living people. "Pag-anito" can be used to appease or banish them. Ancestor spirits also figured prominently during illness or death, as they were believed to be the ones who call the soul to the spirit world, guide the soul (a psychopomp), or meet the soul upon arrival.


title: Anito

text: Ancestor spirits are also known as "kalading" among the Igorot; "tonong" among the Maguindanao and Maranao; "umboh" among the Sama-Bajau; "nunò" or "umalagad" among Tagalogs and Visayans; "nonò" among Bicolanos; "umagad" or "umayad" among the Manobo; and "tiladmanin" among the Tagbanwa.


title: Anito

text: Spirits that have never been human are differentiated in some ethnic groups as "diwata". These spirits can range from simple spirits like the "diwata" of a particular inanimate object, plant, animal, or place, to deities who personify abstract concepts and natural phenomena, to deities who are part of an actual pantheon. They are also known as "dewatu", "divata", "duwata", "ruwata", "dewa", "dwata", "diya", etc., in various Philippine languages (including Tagalog "diwa", "spirit" or "essence"); from pre-colonial Philippines meaning "spiritual faery".


title: Anito

text: However, what entities are considered "diwata" varies by ethnic group. In some ethnic groups like the B'laan, Cuyonon Visayans, and the Tagalog, "Diwata" refers to the Magical Spirits of the Elements of the Land, and the Nature Ancestor Guardian Spirits in the pre-colonial, nature-based animistic pantheon, in which case there are different terms for non-human spirits.


title: Anito

text: In traditional, pre-colonial, nature-based Philippines, many of the syncretic animist traditions pay respect to the ancestor spirits, who are believed to be elemental dwellers. The traditional pre-colonial belief of the Filipino people call magical spirit guardians, who protect and watch the children, the land, and the elementals (earth, wind, water, fire, and trees and all sunlight bearing plants, both daylight and nighttime) are guarded and protected by the elemental nature-based guardians, called "Diwata" (forest, and nature faeries). Tradition in pre-colonist animistic, nature-based belief systems in the island archipelago of the Philippines traditionally and originally refer to ancestor spirits of the land, sky and the sea, who protect and watch the land, elementals and the trees, rivers and all the spiritual dwellings of nature ("Diwata", "Nuno", "Nuno sa Puno" and "Nuno sa Punso", and many other ancestor's spirit guardians) are respectfully addressed in polite verbal invocation to be left at peace, never to be touched or disturbed in any way shape or form. It is believed that humans who are seeking something from the ancestor spirits and the nature guardians to pray and ask for blessings respectfully before any activity that will ignite their reactions ("po" after a protective invocation is said before any kind of interaction on the words and on the land). The ancestor spirits are traditionally believed to be appeased when the human is about to touch or step on the Anito's territory, and demands great respect when addressed in most nature-based systems when a human is traversing or stepping on any land that the Diwatas, Nuno, Nuno sa Puno (Ancestor Spirits) and Nuno sa Punso (Heart of Nature Guardians) reside in. A "Nuno sa Punso" "Nuno", ("land and elemental guardian" and "land ancestor") is believed to be left at peace and never to be disturbed in any circumstances in any dimensionality, else there will be some unfavorable consequences for the people who have disturbed the ancestors, and spirit guardians. Traditionally,most of the ancestor spirits, and guardians who keep the peace between the non-human world and the human world (Diwatas, Nuno, and Nuno sa Puno, Nuno sa Punso) are sent offerings of prayer in traditional pre-colonial animistic nature-based prayer circles, where offerings of fruit, gold, and precious metals, fermented coconut or coconut water, river water and tobacco are offered to appease the spirit dieties, so they can make Bathala (Traditional Pre-colonial Life Creator in the Philippines) is satisfied to maintain peace in the spiritual and human realms.


title: Anito

text: There are three general types of non-human spirits. The first are the environmental or nature spirits "bound" to a particular location or natural phenomenon (similar to genii loci). They "own" places and concepts like agricultural fields, forests, cliffs, seas, winds, lightning, or realms in the spirit world. Some were also "keepers" or totems of various animals and plants. They have inhuman and abstract qualities, reflecting their particular dominions. They do not normally appear in human form and are usually gender-less or androgynous. They rarely concern themselves with human affairs. Rituals involving these spirits are almost always conducted outdoors.


title: Anito

text: The second type of spirits are the "unbound" spirits which have independent existence. They appear in animal (usually as birds) or human-like forms, have gender differentiation, and have personal names. They are most similar to the fairies of European folklore. These are the most common types of spirits to become "abyan" (spirit guides of "babaylan"), as they are the most "sociable" and can take interest in human activities. These spirits are usually referred to as "engkanto" (from Spanish "encanto") in modern Filipino folklore. Unlike the "bound" spirits, these spirits can be invited into human households, and their rituals can take place both outdoors and indoors.


title: Anito

text: The last is a class of malevolent spirits or demons, as well as supernatural beings, generally collectively known as "aswang", "yawa", or "mangalos" (also "mangalok", "mangangalek", or "magalos") among Tagalogs and Visayans. There are numerous kinds of "aswang" with specific abilities, behavior, or appearance. Examples include "sigbin", "wakwak", "tiyanak", and "manananggal". The first two categories of "diwata" can also be malevolent, what sets the third category apart is that they can not be appealed to with offerings and they are utterly pitiless. Most practices associated with them is to ward them off, banish them, or destroy them. They are never addressed nor worshiped in religious rituals.


title: Anito

text: "Diwata" are rarely spoken about openly for fear of attracting their attention. Instead they are referred to with euphemisms like "those unlike us" (Visayan: "dili ingon nato") or various names, like "banwaanon" or "taga-banwa", that translate literally to "dweller of a place". Among Tagalogs, non-human nature spirits are also euphemistically referred to as "lamanglupa" ("[dwellers of] the bowels of the earth") or "lamangdagat" ("[dwellers of] the depths of the sea"), depending on their domain.


title: Anito

text: "Diwata" exist in both the material world and the spirit world. They can be formless or have a material body. They can also take over a body through spirit possession (Visayan: "hola", "hulak", "tagdug", or "saob"; Tagalog: "sanib"), an ability essential for the séances in "pag-anito". They are believed to be capable of shapeshifting ("baliw" or "baylo"), becoming invisible, or creating visions or illusions ("anino" or "landung", lit. "shadow"). Their powers, however, are limited to their particular domain. A "diwata" of a forest, for instance, has no dominion over the sea. Most are generally benevolent or capriciously neutral, although they can cause misfortunes and illnesses if angered, disrespected, or mistakenly encountered. Other common characteristics of "diwata" are that they are perceived as an invisible "cold" presence (in contrast to "warm" human spirits); that they leave no footprints (unlike human spirits); and that they sense the world and "eat" by means of smelling. "Diwata" who take human form are said to be pale-skinned and could be distinguished from humans by the absence of a philtrum on the upper lip.


title: Anito

text: "Diwata" are often depicted as appearing to unsuspecting people in human or animal form, sometimes causing unintentional harm. They can also deliberately play tricks on mortals, like seducing or abducting beautiful men and women into the spirit world. Certain places are believed to be owned by "diwata" or are borders to the spirit world. These are normally avoided or only entered with precautions, especially during twilight when "diwata" are believed to cross over from the spirit world into the material world. Harm or illness caused by "diwata" are known as "buyag" in Visayan and "usog" in Tagalog. People who were harmed by interactions with "diwata" are euphemistically described as having been "greeted" (Visayan: "gibati", Tagalog: "nabati") or "played with" (Visayan "gidulaan", Tagalog: "napaglaruan" or "nakatuwaan") by "diwata".


title: Anito

text: To avoid inadvertently angering a "diwata", Filipinos perform a customary "pasintabi sa nuno" ("respectfully apologizing or asking permission from ancestors for passing"). This is done by saying the phrases ""tao po"" ("a human [is passing], elder), ""tabi po"" or ""tabi apo"" ("by your permission, elder") when passing by a place believed to be inhabited by a "diwata".


title: Anito

text: "Diwata" are also believed to be able to mate with humans. People born with congenital disorders (like albinism or syndactyly) or display unusual beauty or behavior are commonly believed by local superstition to be the children of "diwata" who seduced (or sometimes raped) their mothers.


title: Anito

text: During the Spanish period, "diwata" were syncretized with elves and fairies in European mythology and folklore, and were given names like "duende" (goblin or dwarf), "encantador" or "encanto" ("spell [caster]"), "hechicero" ("sorcerer"), "sirena" ("mermaid"), or "maligno" ("evil [spirit]"). In Islamized ethnic groups of the Philippines, these nature spirits are usually called "jinn" or "saitan", due to the influence of Islamic mythology.


title: Anito

text: Ancestor spirits were usually represented by carved figures. These were known as "taotao" ("little human", also "taotaohan", "latawo", "tinatao", or "tatao"), "bata-bata" ("little child"), "ladaw" ("image" or "likeness"; also "laraw", "ladawang", "lagdong", or "larawan"), or "likha" ("creation"; also "likhak") in most of the Philippines. Other names include "bulul" (also "bulol" or "bul-ul") among the Ifugao; "tinagtaggu" (also "tinattaggu") among the Kankanaey and Tuwali Ifugao; "lablabbon" among the Itneg; "manaug" among the Lumad; and "tagno" among Bicolanos. Among Tagalogs, "taotao" were also sometimes referred to as "lambana" ("altar" or "sacred place"), after the location in which they are usually kept.


title: Anito

text: "Taotao" were usually austere roughly-carved figures made from wood, stone, or ivory. Some "taoatao" encountered by the Spanish were made from precious metals or ornamented with gold and jewelry, but these were very rare. "Taotao" were almost always depicted in the squatting position with the arms crossed over the knees, which is reminiscent of the fetal position, the everyday conversing posture, and the position bodies are arranged during death among Ancient Filipinos. Some figures, however, are depicted standing or doing everyday activities like dancing, pounding rice, or nursing infants.


title: Anito

text: Most "taotao" represent an actual deceased person, usually carved by the community upon their funeral. As such, there can be hundreds of "taotao" in a single village, some of them centuries old.


title: Anito

text: In very rare cases, "diwata" can be depicted as "taotao" in anthropomorphic form, as chimeras or legendary creatures, or as animals. These include a special class of figures called "hipag" among the Igorot which depict war deities, as well as "kinabigat" (carved houseposts) and "hogang" (carved tree fern posts used as boundary markers and as wards against harm). As a rule, however, "diwata" are not usually depicted as "taotao" or by any man-made representations.


title: Anito

text: "Taotao" were not intrinsically sacred. They were representations of the spirits, not the actual spirits themselves. They only became sacred during their use in a "pag-anito" ritual. Without the spirit they represent, they are treated as mundane carved pieces of wood or sculpted stone. The anonymous author of the 1572 "Relación de la conquista de la isla de Luzón" describes "pag-anito" rituals of the Tagalog people as such: