title: Low church

text: Low churchmen wished to tolerate Puritan opinions within the Church of England, though they might not be in agreement with Puritan liturgical practices. The movement to bring Separatists, and in particular Presbyterians, back into the Church of England ended with the Act of Toleration 1689 for the most part. Though "Low church" continued to be used for those clergy holding a more liberal view of Dissenters, the term eventually fell into disuse.


title: Low church

text: Both terms were revived in the 19th century when the Tractarian movement brought the term "high churchman" into vogue. The terms were again used in a modified sense, now used to refer to those who exalted the idea of the Church as a catholic entity as the body of Christ, and the sacramental system as the divinely given means of grace. A low churchman now became the equivalent of an evangelical Anglican, the designation of the movement associated with the name of Charles Simeon, which held the necessity of personal conversion to be of primary importance.


title: Low church

text: At the same time, Latitudinarian changed to "broad church", or broad churchmen, designating those who most valued the ethical teachings of the Church and minimised the value of orthodoxy. The revival of pre-Reformation ritual by many of the high church clergy led to the designation "ritualist" being applied to them in a somewhat contemptuous sense. However, the terms high churchman and ritualist have often been wrongly treated as interchangeable. The high churchman of the Catholic type is further differentiated from the earlier use of what is sometimes described as the "high and dry type" of the period before the Oxford Movement.


title: Low church

text: In contemporary usage, "low churches" place more emphasis on the Protestant nature of Anglicanism than broad or high churches and are usually Evangelical in their belief and conservative (although not necessarily "traditional") in practice. They may tend to favour liturgy such as the "Common Worship" over "Book of Common Prayer", services of Morning and Evening Prayer over the Eucharist, and many use the minimum of formal liturgy permitted by church law. The Diocese of Sydney has largely abandoned the Prayer Book and uses free-form evangelical services.


title: Low church

text: More traditional low church Anglicans, under the influence of Calvinist or Reformed thought inherited from the Reformation era, reject the doctrine that the sacraments confer grace "ex opere operato" (e.g., baptismal regeneration) and lay stress on the Bible as the ultimate source of authority in matters of faith necessary for salvation. They are, in general, prepared to cooperate with other Protestants on nearly equal terms. Some low church Anglicans of the Reformed party consider themselves the only faithful adherents of historic Anglicanism and emphasise the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England as an official doctrinal statement of the Anglican tradition.


title: Low church

text: Several provinces of the Anglican Communion in Asia have merged with Protestant churches. The Church of South India arose out of a merger of the southern province of the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon (Anglican), the Methodist Church of South India and the South India United Church (a Congregationalist, Reformed and Presbyterian united church) in 1947. In the 1990s a small number of Baptist and Pentecostal churches joined also the union.


title: Low church

text: In 1970 the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon, the United Church of North India, the Baptist Churches of Northern India, the Church of the Brethren in India, the Methodist Church (British and Australia Conferences) and the Disciples of Christ denominations merged to form the Church of North India. Also in 1970 the Anglicans, Presbyterians (Church of Scotland), United Methodists and Lutherans of Churches in Pakistan merged into the Church of Pakistan. The Church of Bangladesh is the result of a merge of Anglican and Presbyterian churches.


title: Low church

text: In the 1960s the Methodist Church of Great Britain made ecumenical overtures to the Church of England, aimed at church unity. These formally failed when they were rejected by the Church of England's General Synod in 1972. In 1981, a covenant project was proposed between the Church of England, the Methodist Church in Great Britain, the United Reformed Church and the Moravian Church.


title: Low church

text: In 1982 the United Reformed Church voted in favour of the covenant, which would have meant remodelling its elders and moderators as bishops and incorporating its ministry into the apostolic succession. The Church of England rejected the covenant. Conversations and co-operation continued leading in 2003 to the signing of a covenant between the Church of England and the Methodist Church of Great Britain. From the 1970s onward, the Methodist Church was involved in several "Local Ecumenical Projects" (LEPs) with neighbouring denominations usually with the Church of England, the Baptists or with the United Reformed Church, which involved sharing churches, schools and in some cases ministers.


title: Low church

text: In the Church of England, Anglo-Catholics are often opposed to unity with Protestants, which can reduce hope of unity with the Roman Catholic Church. Accepting women Protestant ministers would also make unity with the See of Rome more difficult.


title: Low church

text: In the 1990s and early 2000s the Scottish Episcopal Church (Anglican), the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian), the Methodist Church of Great Britain and the United Reformed Church were all parts of the "Scottish Churches Initiative for Union" (SCIFU) for seeking greater unity. The attempt stalled following the withdrawal of the Church of Scotland in 2003.


title: Low church

text: In 2002 the Church of Ireland, which is generally on the low church end of the spectrum of world Anglicanism, signed a covenant for greater cooperation and potential ultimate unity with the Methodist Church in Ireland.


title: Censer

text: A censer, incense burner, perfume burner or pastille burner is a vessel made for burning incense or perfume in some solid form. They vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction, and have been in use since ancient times throughout the world. They may consist of simple earthenware bowls or fire pots to intricately carved silver or gold vessels, small table top objects a few centimetres tall to as many as several metres high. Many designs use openwork to allow a flow of air. In many cultures, burning incense has spiritual and religious connotations, and this influences the design and decoration of the censer.


title: Censer

text: Often, especially in Western contexts, "censer" is used for pieces made for religious use, especially those on chains that are swung through the air to spread the incense smoke widely, while "perfume burner" is used for objects made for secular use. The original meaning of pastille was a small compressed mixture of aromatic plant material and charcoal that was lit to release the odour, and pastille-burners were designed for this, for use in the home. Pastilles were made at home until their heyday in the early 19th century, and the burners are often made in pottery or porcelain.


title: Censer

text: Some types could also be used as pomanders, where the perfume diffuses slowly by evaporation rather than burning.


title: Censer

text: For direct-burning incense, pieces of the incense are burned by placing them directly on top of a heat source or on a hot metal plate in a censer or thurible.


title: Censer

text: Indirect-burning incense, also called "non-combustible incense", is a combination of aromatic ingredients that are not prepared in any particular way or encouraged into any particular form, leaving it mostly unsuitable for direct combustion. The use of this class of incense requires a separate heat source since it does not generally kindle a fire capable of burning itself and may not ignite at all under normal conditions. This incense can vary in the duration of its burning with the texture of the material. Finer ingredients tend to burn more rapidly, while coarsely ground or whole chunks may be consumed very gradually as they have less total surface area. The heat is traditionally provided by charcoal or glowing embers.


title: Censer

text: For home use of granulated incense, small, concave charcoal briquettes are sold. One lights the corner of the briquette on fire, then places it in the censer and extinguishes the flame. After the glowing sparks traverse the entire briquette, it is ready to have incense placed on it.


title: Censer

text: For direct-burning incense, the tip or end of the incense is ignited with a flame or other heat source until the incense begins to turn into ash at the burning end. Flames on the incense are then fanned or blown out, with the incense continuing to burn without a flame on its own.


title: Censer

text: Censers made for stick incense are also available; these are simply a long, thin plate of wood, metal, or ceramic, bent up and perforated at one end to hold the incense. They serve to catch the ash of the burning incense stick.


title: Censer

text: In Taoist and Buddhist temples, the inner spaces are scented with thick coiled incense, which are either hung from the ceiling or on special stands. Worshipers at the temples light and burn sticks of incense. Individual sticks of incense are then vertically placed into individual censers.


title: Censer

text: The earliest vessels identified as censers date to the mid-fifth to late fourth centuries BCE during the Warring States period. The modern Chinese term for "censer," "xianglu" (爐, "incense burner"), is a compound of "xiang" ("incense, aromatics") and "lu" (, "brazier; stove; furnace"). Another common term is "xunlu" (爐, "a brazier for fumigating and perfuming"). Early Chinese censer designs, often crafted as a round, single-footed stemmed basin, are believed to have derived from earlier ritual bronzes, such as the "dou" 豆 sacrificial chalice.


title: Censer

text: Among the most celebrated early incense burner designs is the hill censer ("boshanlu" 博山爐), a form that became popular during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BCE). Some scholars believe hill censers depict a sacred mountain, such as Mount Kunlun or Mount Penglai. These elaborate vessels were designed with apertures that made rising incense smoke appear like clouds or mist swirling around a mountain peak. The Han dynasty scholar Liu Xiang (77–6 BCE) composed an inscription describing a hill censer:


title: Censer

text: "I value this perfect utensil, lofty and steep as a mountain! Its top is like Hua Shan in yet its foot is a bronze plate. It contains rare perfumes, red flames and green smoke; densely ornamented are its sides, and its summit joins azure heaven. A myriad animals are depicted on it. Ah, from it sides I can see ever further than Li Lou" [who had legendary eyesight].


title: Censer

text: Another popular design was the small "scenting globe" ("xiangqiu" 香球), a device similar to a pomander, but used for burning incense. The famed inventor and craftsmen, Ding Huan (1st c. BCE), is believed to have made these with gimbal supports so the censer could easily be used to fumigate or scent garments. This is described by Edward H. Schafer:


title: Censer

text: "Censing baskets" were globes of hollow metal, pierced with intricate floral or animal designs; within the globe, an iron cup, suspended on gimbals, contained the burning incense. They were used to perfume garments and bedclothes, and even to kill insects.


title: Censer

text: Other Chinese censers are shaped like birds or animals, sometimes designed so that the incense smoke would issue from the mouth. During the medieval period when censers were more commonly used in Buddhist and Daoist rituals"," hand-held censers ("shoulu" 爐) fashioned with long handles were developed.


title: Censer

text: Archeologists have excavated several censers from Han era tombs that contained aromatics or ashen remains. Some of these aromatic plants have been identified as "maoxiang" (茅香 "Imperata cylindrica, thatch grass"), "gaoliangjiang" (高良薑 "Galangal"), "xinyi" (辛夷 "Magnolia liliiflora, Mulan magnolia), and "gaoben" (藁本"Ligusticum sinense, Chinese lovage"). Scholars speculate burning these grasses "may have facilitated communication with spirits" during funeral ceremonies.


title: Censer

text: According to the Sinologist and historian Joseph Needham, some early Daoists adapted censers for the religious and spiritual use of cannabis. The Daoist encyclopedia "Wushang Biyao" (無上秘要 "Supreme Secret Essentials", ca. 570 CE), recorded adding cannabis into ritual censers. The Shangqing School of Daoism provides a good example. The Shangqing scriptures were written by Yang Xi (330– c. 386 CE) during alleged visitations by Daoist "immortals", and Needham believed Yang was "aided almost certainly by cannabis". Tao Hongjing (456-536 CE), who edited the official Shangqing canon, also compiled the "Mingyi bielu" (名醫別錄 "Supplementary Records of Famous Physicians"). It noted that "mabo" (麻勃 "cannabis flowers"), "are very little used in medicine, but the magician-technicians (["shujia"] 術家) say that if one consumes them with ginseng it will give one preternatural knowledge of events in the future." Needham concluded,


title: Censer

text: Thus all in all there is much reason for thinking that the ancient Taoists experimented systematically with hallucinogenic smokes, using techniques which arose directly out of liturgical observance. … At all events the incense-burner remained the centre of changes and transformations associated with worship, sacrifice, ascending perfume of sweet savour, fire, combustion, disintegration, transformation, vision, communication with spiritual beings, and assurances of immortality. "Wai tan" and "nei tan" met around the incense-burner. Might one not indeed think of it as their point of origin?


title: Censer

text: These "Waidan" (外丹 "outer alchemy") and "neidan" (內丹 "inner alchemy") are the primary divisions of Chinese alchemy.


title: Censer

text: During the T’ang period, incense was used by upper-class people for personal hygiene, romantic rendezvous, and deodorizing the interior of edifices. These included places of worship, dwellings, and work-spaces. Dating back to the seventh century AD, the "kuanhuo"(changing of fire) ceremony took place, where people would cleanse their homes with incense. However, in some parts of East Asia, incense burners were used as a way to tell time


title: Censer

text: In the Far East, incense was used as a way to tell time because it was a simple mechanism and generally not a fire hazard. Time increments were marked off on each incense stick to show how much time had passed, then placed in a ritual tripod vessel known as a "ting". During imperial coronations, incense sticks would be used to tell how long the ceremony was. Other variations of incense is the spiral incense coil. The spiral incense coil was used to measure time for longer durations. One spiral equated to one night. This type of incense was mainly used by the five ‘night watches’ of the community. The length of their shifts and breaks were determined by the time increments marked off on the spirals.


title: Censer

text: Incense burners (miqtarah in Arabic) were used in both religious and secular contexts, but were more widely utilized in palaces and houses. The earliest known examples of dish-shaped incense burners with zoomorphic designs were excavated in Ghanza, while the earliest examples of zoomorphic incense burners are from 11th-century Tajikistan. It is most likely that this practice was inspired by Hellenistic style incense burners as well as the frankincense trade present in the Arabian peninsula since the 8th century BCE.


title: Censer

text: A wide variety of designs were used at different times and in different areas. Pottery and stone incense burners were the most common while those made of metals were reserved for the wealthy. Artisans created these incense burners with moulds or the lost-wax method. Openwork zoomorphic incense burners with lynx or lion designs were popular in the Islamic world; bronze or brass examples are found from the 11th century until the Mongol conquests of the 13th century. These were especially popular during the Seljuq period. The extensive use of lynx shape incense burners was due to the animals popularity as a hunting animal and as pet in Muslim courts. The complexity of the piece would also make it fit into a palatial setting. This style of incense burners could measure about 22 cm; others like an example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York measures 85 cm. The surface of the object would be decorated with bands of Arabic calligraphy which would imitate a tiraz. This bands of text could include the name of the artist and the patron as well as prayers and good wishes for the owner. To insert coals and incense the head would be removed; the openwork geometric design would then allow the scented smoke to escape. Depending on the size, the incense burner could be either carried on a tray or carried by using the tail as a handle.


title: Censer

text: In mosques, incense burners do not have a liturgical use or a specific design denoted for religious context. However, they are still an important part of rituals and weddings. Other religious groups in Middle East such as the Copts and Syriacs do have ceremonial uses for incense burners.


title: Censer

text: Koro (Japanese: 香炉, "kōro"), also a Chinese term, is a Japanese censer often used in Japanese tea ceremonies.


title: Censer

text: Examples are usually of globular form with three feet, made in pottery, Imari porcelain, Kutani ware, Kakiemon, Satsuma, enamel or bronze.


title: Censer

text: In Japan a similar censer called a is used by several Buddhist sects. The egōro is usually made of brass with a long handle and no chain. Instead of charcoal, makkō powder is poured into a depression made in a bed of ash. The makkō is lit and the incense mixture is burned on top. This method is known as Sonae-kō (Religious Burning).


title: Censer

text: Used domestically and ceremonially in Mesoamerica, particularly in the large Central-Mexican city of Teotihuacan (100–600 AD) and in the many kingdoms belonging to the Maya civilization, were ceramic incense burners. The most common materials for construction were Adobe, plumbate, and earthenware. These materials can be dried by the sun and were locally sourced, making them the perfect material for a Mayan craftsman. Censers vary in decoration. Some are painted using a fresco style technique or decorated with "adornos", or small ceramic ornaments. These decorations usually depicted shells, beads, butterflies, flowers, and other symbols with religious significance that could to increase rainfall, agricultural abundance, fertility, wealth, good fortune or ease the transition of souls into the underworld. To identify precious materials such as jadeite and quetzal feathers, important visual markers of status, artists used colorful paints.


title: Censer

text: Used to communicate with the gods, these censers functioned for acts of religious purification. Incense would be presented to the divine being. In fact, some people were appointed the position of fire priest. Fire priests dealt with most tasks related to incense burning. Some rituals involved a feast, which would be followed by the fire priest igniting a sacred brazier in the temples. It was given to the divine beings and deities as offerings on a daily basis. The practice would end at the sound of a trumpet made from a conch shell. Another function of incense was to heal the sick. Once recuperated, the diseased would present some incense to the appropriate gods to repay them for being cured. Made up of copal (tree resin), rubber, pine, herbs, myrrh, and chewing gum, the incense produced what was described as "the odor of the center of heaven."


title: Censer

text: The shape of incense burners in the Maya southern lowlands reflected religious and cultural changes over time. Some censers were used in funerals and funerary rituals, such as those depicting the Underworld Jaguar or the Night Sun God. When a king would die, ‘termination rituals’ were practiced. During these rituals, "incensarios" would be smashed and older temples were replaced with new ones. Mayan censers, which had a reservoir for incense on top of a vertical shaft were highly elaborate during the Classic period (600–900 AD), particularly in the kingdom of Palenque, and usually show the head of a Mayan deity. In Post-Classic Yucatán, particularly in the capital of the kingdom of Mayapan, censers were found in great numbers, often shaped as an aged priest or deity. Craftsmen produced Mayan censers in many sizes, some just a few inches in height, others, several feet tall.


title: Censer

text: In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Church, as well as the Eastern Catholic Churches, censers (Greek: "thymiateria") are similar in design to the Western thurible. This fourth chain passes through a hole the hasp and slides in order to easily raise the lid. There will often be 12 small bells attached to the chains, symbolising the preaching of the Twelve Apostles, where one of the bells has been silenced to symbolize the rebel Judas. In some traditions the censer with bells is normally used only by a bishop. Before a deacon begins a censing, he will take the censer to the priest (or the bishop, if he is present) for a blessing. The censers, charcoal and incense are kept in the diaconicon (sacristy) Entrance with the censer at Great Vespers.


title: Censer

text: The censer is used much more frequently in the Eastern churches: typically at every vespers, matins, and Divine Liturgy, as well as pannikhidas (memorial services), and other occasional offices. If a deacon is present, he typically does much of the "censing;" otherwise, the priest will perform the censing. Unordained servers or acolytes are permitted to prepare and carry the censer, but may not swing it during prayers. Liturgical "Censing" is the practice of swinging a censer suspended from chains towards something or someone, typically the Holy Eucharist, an icon or person, so that smoke from the burning incense travels in that direction. Burning incense represents the prayers of the church rising towards Heaven. One commonly sung psalm during the censing is "Let my prayer arise in Thy sight as incense, and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice." When a deacon or priest performs a full censing of the temple (church building), he will often say Psalm 51 quietly to himself.


title: Censer

text: In addition to the chain censer described above, a "hand censer" (Greek: Κατσί "katzi or katzion") is used on certain occasions. This device has no chains and consists of a bowl attached to a handle, often with bells attached. The lid is normally attached to the bowl with a hinge.


title: Censer

text: In Greek practice, particularly as observed on Mount Athos, during the portion of Vespers known as "Lord, I cry unto Thee" the ecclesiarch (sacristan) and his assistant will perform a full censing of the temple and people using hand censers.


title: Censer

text: Some churches have the practice of not using the chain censer during Holy Week, even by a priest or bishop, substituting for it the hand censer as a sign of humility, repentance and mourning over the Passion of Christ. They return to using the chain censer just before the Gospel reading at the Divine Liturgy on Great Saturday.


title: Censer

text: In the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church and some other groups, the censer is often called a "thurible", and used during important offices (benedictions, processions, and important Masses). A common design for a thurible is a metal container, about the size and shape of a coffee-pot, suspended on chains. The bowl contains hot coals, and the incense is placed on top of these. The thurible is then swung back and forth on its chains, spreading the fragrant smoke.


title: Censer

text: A famous thurible is the "Botafumeiro", in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Suspended from the ceiling of the cathedral, the swinging of this high, 55 kilogram silver vessel is an impressive sight.


title: Censer

text: One of the explanations for the great size of the Botafumeiro is that in the early days it was used to freshen the air in the cathedral after being visited by droves of travel-weary pilgrims. It was also once believed that the incense smoke guarded against contracting the many diseases that plagued the populace in past centuries.


title: Censer

text: Some thuribles were based on an architectural motif, for example the Gozbert Censer from the Cathedral of Trier inspired by the Temple of Solomon.


title: Censer

text: Hindus have traditionally used an earthen censer called a Dhunachi for burning incense with coal, though coconut husk is also used. The vessel has a flared shape with a curved handle and an open top. There are also brass and silver versions.


title: Luke Tittensor

text: Luke James Tittensor (born 3 November 1989) is an English actor best known for his role as Carl Gallagher in "Shameless" (a role he shared with his twin brother, Elliott Tittensor) and his role as Daz Eden in "Emmerdale".


title: Luke Tittensor

text: Tittensor and his twin brother, Elliott, appeared in the soap "Brookside". In the first season of Channel 4 series "Shameless", the Tittensor twins shared the role of Carl Gallagher. Elliott continued playing the role of Carl after Luke left the show.


title: Luke Tittensor

text: Tittensor took the role of Daz Eden in "Emmerdale", first appearing in 2003. He continued to act in "Emmerdale" until April 2009, when his contract was terminated due to a criminal conviction. In 2010, Tittensor played gay pupil Connor in "Waterloo Road". He appeared in an episode of "Casualty" in January 2011 and played the part of Nathan in episode one of the BBC drama series "The Body Farm" in September 2011.


title: Luke Tittensor

text: In 2012, Tittensor played the character of Liam in "Holby City". Tittensor appeared in "Our World War" as Paddy Kennedy in 2014. Also in 2014, he played Hippolyte in the film "Madame Bovary". Tittensor starred in an episode of "Moving On" in March 2014.


title: Luke Tittensor

text: Tittensor currently stars as Ser Arryk Cargyll in HBO's "House of the Dragon" alongside his twin brother who plays the role of Ser Erryk Cargyll.


title: Luke Tittensor

text: On 23 March 2009, Tittensor pleaded guilty to a charge of grievous bodily harm against an unnamed 16-year-old in Rochdale on 15 February 2008 that left the victim with a fractured jaw. His "Emmerdale" contract was terminated in April 2009 due to his conviction, with his last appearance in the show occurring the same month. On 29 April 2009, Tittensor received a nine-month suspended jail sentence for the assault. He was also ordered to complete 200 hours' unpaid work and pay £1,000 compensation to the victim.


title: United States Border Patrol interior checkpoints

text: The United States Border Patrol operates 71 traffic checkpoints, including 33 permanent traffic checkpoints, near the Mexico–United States border. The stated primary purpose of these inspection stations is to deter illegal immigration and smuggling activities. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, they took on the additional role of terrorism deterrence. These checkpoints are located between of the Mexico–United States border along major U.S. highways; near the southern border of the contiguous United States. Their situation at interior locations allow them to deter illegal activities that may have bypassed official border crossings along the frontier. The checkpoints are divided among nine Border Patrol sectors. There are a number of these checkpoints near the northern border of the contiguous U.S. as well (such as in the states of New York or Maine), within of the Canada–U.S. border.


text: The checkpoints are described as "the third layer in the Border Patrol's three-layer strategy", following "line watch" and "roving patrol" operations near the border. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office,


text: Border Patrol agents at checkpoints have legal authority that agents do not have when patrolling areas away from the border. The United States Supreme Court ruled that Border Patrol agents may stop a vehicle at fixed checkpoints for brief questioning of its occupants even if there is no reason to believe that the particular vehicle contains illegal people. The Court further held that Border Patrol agents "have wide discretion" to refer motorists selectively to a secondary inspection area for additional brief questioning. In contrast, the Supreme Court held that Border Patrol agents on roving patrol may stop a vehicle only if they have reasonable suspicion that the vehicle contains people who may be illegally in the United States—a higher threshold for stopping and questioning motorists than at checkpoints. The constitutional threshold for searching a vehicle is the same, however, and must be supported by either consent or probable cause, whether in the context of a roving patrol or a checkpoint search.


text: Under US law, people who enter the US without inspection (EWI) can be subjected to expedited removal if they are found within 100 miles of the border. This power has been subject to heavy criticism by the American Civil Liberties Union.


text: No documentation is required at a Border Patrol checkpoint for US citizens; however, lawful permanent residents (LPRs) are required to carry their registration cards (green cards) "at all times" according to federal law. People in a non-immigrant status should carry proper documentation. There has been heavy criticism of Border Patrol for arresting people in a non-immigrant status at checkpoints (especially in New York), even though the aliens are lawfully present.


text: An external (unofficial) Google Map of reported checkpoints can also be found here. This may list other checkpoints.


text: In fiscal year 2008 thirty-nine tactical checkpoints were in operation. Tactical checkpoints lack permanent buildings, and "support permanent checkpoints by monitoring and inspecting traffic on secondary roads that the Border Patrol determined are likely to be used by individuals in the country illegally or smugglers to evade apprehension at permanent checkpoints". A tactical checkpoint might consist of vehicles, traffic cones, signs, a portable water supply, a cage for canines (if deployed), and portable rest facilities.


text: Due to Congressional restrictions against the funding of permanent checkpoints in the Tucson sector, all of its checkpoints are tactical checkpoints. These were required to relocate every seven days, amended to every 14 days in 2005. Due to the need for road shoulder space and restrictions on placing checkpoints near curves, the number of sites is limited, and the relocation in practice means that checkpoints are periodically shut down. In 2005, the median tactical checkpoint nationally was active for 2 hours daily, as opposed to over 23 hours daily for permanent checkpoints; however the Tucson sector's checkpoint on Highway 19 was active 22 hours daily. A draft plan for the I-19 checkpoint in 2009 proposed to model it on the largest previous permanent checkpoint, the I-35 checkpoint north of Laredo, Texas, but would surpass it in size (18 acres) and inspection lanes (8 primary, 7 secondary). A number of community concerns were addressed, such as placement of canopies for dark sky restrictions for a local observatory, off-highway location, rumble strips, signage, and mitigation of traffic congestion. A community recommendation to "seek to mitigate noise" was to be "researched and considered".


text: The fairly comprehensive and aforementioned GAO report entitled BORDER PATROL assigns mixed success to border checkpoints. Positive results include the apprehension of nearly 17,000 people in the country illegally at interior checkpoints in 2008. The report further states that, "More than 705,000 total Border Patrol apprehensions [occurred] along the southwest border in fiscal year 2008." The Border Patrol also "encountered 530 aliens from special interest countries, which are countries the Department of State has determined to represent a potential terrorist threat to the United States." There were also over 3,500 drug seizures at all southwest border checkpoints combined in 2008.


text: Staffing levels were substantially increased in 2008. The Laredo sector, for instance, increased its number of agents from 1200 in 2007 to approximately 1636 in 2008. Upgraded infrastructure and technology increased deterrence and detection capability in the Laredo sector. Additions include cameras, license plate readers, and vehicle and cargo inspection systems (VACIS). Laredo also implemented a prosecution initiative in 2008. Named Operation Streamline, the goal was "to prosecute and remove all violators charged with illegal entry in target areas in the sector".


text: A shortcoming cited by the same GAO report were the inaccuracies represented by the report's title. The report states, "Our analysis showed that the actual checkpoint performance results were incorrectly reported for two of the three measures in fiscal year 2007 and for one measure in fiscal year 2008. As a result, the Border Patrol incorrectly reported that it met its checkpoint performance targets for these two measures."


text: An analysis of the aforementioned GAO report criticized Border Patrol for its ineffective non-border checkpoints vs. actual border crossings. It stated, "There were 704,000 interdictions at actual border crossings in 2008; however, there were only 17,000 interdictions at internal non-border checkpoints. This 17,000 figure represents 2.4% of interdictions, but it took 4% of agents to accomplish this goal." The analysis further states regarding the Tucson sector that, "Actual border interdictions numbered 320,000, but internal non-border checkpoint interdictions numbered 1,800. This means the number of interdictions per agent at the actual border was 116, but the number of interdictions per agent at internal non-border checkpoints was only 8." The analysis finally questions why the stated goal of DHS "is to detect and apprehend 30% of major illegal activity [at the border]." It asked why 70% of illegal activity is conceded at the actual border.


text: Some residents of Arivaca, Arizona, have stated they are regularly subjected to harassment, delays, searches, and racial profiling at the internal checkpoint near their community. They questioned the effectiveness of the checkpoint, and began monitoring it in 2014 to determine its effectiveness.


text: Internal checkpoints have also been criticized for violating the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution which prohibits "unreasonable searches and seizures", although "United States v. Martinez-Fuerte" has affirmed their constitutionality. The U.S. Border Patrol has stated: "Although motorists are not legally required to answer the questions 'Are you a U.S. citizen, and where are you headed?' they will not be allowed to proceed until the inspecting agent is satisfied that the occupants of vehicles traveling through the checkpoint are legally present in the U.S."


title: Scientific journal

text: In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research.


title: Scientific journal

text: Articles in scientific journals are mostly written by active scientists such as students, researchers, and professors instead of professional journalists. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past (see list of scientific journals). Most journals are highly specialized, although some of the oldest journals such as "Nature" publish articles and scientific papers across a wide range of scientific fields. Scientific journals contain articles that have been peer reviewed, in an attempt to ensure that articles meet the journal's standards of quality and scientific validity. Although scientific journals are superficially similar to professional magazines, they are actually quite different. Issues of a scientific journal are rarely read casually as one would read a magazine. The publication of the results of research is an essential part of the scientific method. If they are describing experiments or calculations, they must supply enough details that an independent researcher could repeat the experiment or calculation to verify the results. Each such journal article becomes part of the permanent scientific record.


title: Scientific journal

text: Articles in scientific journals can be used in research and higher education. Scientific articles allow researchers to keep up to date with the developments of their field and direct their own research. An essential part of a scientific article is citation of earlier work. The impact of articles and journals is often assessed by counting citations (citation impact). Some classes are partially devoted to the explication of classic articles, and seminar classes can consist of the presentation by each student of a classic or current paper. Schoolbooks and textbooks have been written usually only on established topics, while the latest research and more obscure topics are only accessible through scientific articles. In a scientific research group or academic department it is usual for the content of current scientific journals to be discussed in journal clubs. Public funding bodies often require the results to be published in scientific journals. Academic credentials for promotion into academic ranks are established in large part by the number and impact of scientific articles published. Many doctoral programs allow for thesis by publication, where the candidate is required to publish a certain number of scientific articles.


title: Scientific journal

text: Articles tend to be highly technical, representing the latest theoretical research and experimental results in the field of science covered by the journal. They are often incomprehensible to anyone except for researchers in the field and advanced students. In some subjects this is inevitable given the nature of the content. Usually, rigorous rules of scientific writing are enforced by the editors; however, these rules may vary from journal to journal, especially between journals from different publishers. Articles are usually either original articles reporting completely new results or reviews of current literature. There are also scientific publications that bridge the gap between articles and books by publishing thematic volumes of chapters from different authors. Many journals have a regional focus, specializing in publishing papers from a particular geographic region, like "African Invertebrates".


title: Scientific journal

text: The history of scientific journals dates from 1665, when the French "Journal des sçavans" and the English "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society" first began systematically publishing research results. Over a thousand, mostly ephemeral, were founded in the 18th century, and the number has increased rapidly after that.


title: Scientific journal

text: Prior to mid-20th century, peer review was not always necessary, but gradually it became essentially compulsory.


title: Scientific journal

text: The authors of scientific articles are active researchers instead of journalists; typically, a graduate student or a researcher writes a paper with a professor. As such, the authors are unpaid and receive no compensation from the journal. However, their funding bodies may require them to publish in scientific journals. The paper is submitted to the journal office, where the editor considers the paper for appropriateness, potential scientific impact and novelty. If the journal's editor considers the paper appropriate, the paper is submitted to scholarly peer review. Depending on the field, journal and paper, the paper is sent to 1–3 reviewers for evaluation before they can be granted permission to publish. Reviewers are expected to check the paper for soundness of its scientific argument, including whether the author(s) are sufficiently acquainted with recent relevant research that bears on their study, whether the data was collected or considered appropriately and reproducibly, and whether the data discussed supports the conclusion offered and the implications suggested. Novelty is also key: existing work must be appropriately considered and referenced, and new results improving on the state of the art presented. Reviewers are usually unpaid and not a part of the journal staff—instead, they should be "peers", i.e. researchers in the same field as the paper in question.


title: Scientific journal

text: The standards that a journal uses to determine publication can vary widely. Some journals, such as "Nature", "Science", "PNAS", and "Physical Review Letters", have a reputation of publishing articles that mark a fundamental breakthrough in their respective fields. In many fields, a formal or informal hierarchy of scientific journals exists; the most prestigious journal in a field tends to be the most selective in terms of the articles it will select for publication, and usually will also have the highest impact factor. In some countries, journal rankings can be utilized for funding decisions and even evaluation of individual researchers, although they are poorly suited for that purpose.


title: Scientific journal

text: For scientific journals, reproducibility and replicability of the scientific results are core concepts that allow other scientists to check and reproduce the results under the same conditions described in the paper or at least similar conditions and produce similar results with similar measurements of the same measurand or carried out under changed conditions of measurement.


title: Scientific journal

text: There are several types of journal article; the exact terminology and definitions vary by field and specific journal, but often include:


title: Scientific journal

text: The formats of journal articles vary, but many follow the general IMRAD scheme recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Such articles begin with an "abstract", which is a one-to-four-paragraph summary of the paper. The "introduction" describes the background for the research including a discussion of similar research. The "materials and methods" or "experimental" section provides specific details of how the research was conducted. The "results and discussion" section describes the outcome and implications of the research, and the "conclusion" section places the research in context and describes avenues for further exploration.


title: Scientific journal

text: In addition to the above, some scientific journals such as "Science" will include a news section where scientific developments (often involving political issues) are described. These articles are often written by science journalists and not by scientists. In addition, some journals will include an editorial section and a section for letters to the editor. While these are articles published within a journal, in general they are not regarded as scientific journal articles because they have not been peer-reviewed.


title: Scientific journal

text: Electronic publishing is a new area of information dissemination. One definition of electronic publishing is in the context of the scientific journal. It is the presentation of scholarly scientific results in only an electronic (non-paper) form. This is from its first write-up, or creation, to its publication or dissemination. The electronic scientific journal is specifically designed to be presented on the internet. It is defined as not being previously printed material adapted, or retooled, and then delivered electronically.


title: Scientific journal

text: Electronic publishing will likely continue to exist alongside paper publishing for the foreseeable future, since whilst output to a screen is important for browsing and searching, it is not well suited for extensive reading. Formats suitable both for reading on paper, and for manipulation by the reader's computer will need to be integrated. Many journals are electronically available in formats readable on screen via web browsers, as well as in portable document format PDF, suitable for printing and storing on a local desktop or laptop computer. New tools such as JATS and Utopia Documents provide a 'bridge' to the 'web-versions' in that they connect the content in PDF versions directly to the World Wide Web via hyperlinks that are created 'on-the-fly'. The PDF version of an article is usually seen as the version of record, but the matter is subject to some debate.


title: Scientific journal

text: Electronic counterparts of established print journals already promote and deliver rapid dissemination of peer-reviewed and edited, "published" articles. Other journals, whether spin-offs of established print journals, or created as electronic only, have come into existence promoting the rapid dissemination capability, and availability, on the Internet. In tandem with this is the speeding up of peer review, copyediting, page makeup, and other steps in the process to support rapid dissemination.


title: Scientific journal

text: Other improvements, benefits and unique values of electronically publishing the scientific journal are easy availability of supplementary materials (data, graphics and video), lower cost, and availability to more people, especially scientists from non-developed countries. Hence, research results from more developed nations are becoming more accessible to scientists from non-developed countries.


title: Scientific journal

text: Moreover, electronic publishing of scientific journals has been accomplished without compromising the standards of the refereed, peer review process.


title: Scientific journal

text: One form is the online equivalent of the conventional paper journal. By 2006, almost all scientific journals have, while retaining their peer-review process, established electronic versions; a number have moved entirely to electronic publication. In a similar manner, most academic libraries buy the electronic version and purchase a paper copy only for the most important or most-used titles.


title: Scientific journal

text: There is usually a delay of several months after an article is written before it is published in a journal, making paper journals not an ideal format for announcing the latest research. Many journals now publish the final papers in their electronic version as soon as they are ready, without waiting for the assembly of a complete issue, as is necessary with paper. In many fields in which even greater speed is wanted, such as physics, the role of the journal at disseminating the latest research has largely been replaced by preprint databases such as arXiv.org. Almost all such articles are eventually published in traditional journals, which still provide an important role in quality control, archiving papers, and establishing scientific credit.


title: Scientific journal

text: Many scientists and librarians have long protested the cost of journals, especially as they see these payments going to large for-profit publishing houses. To allow their researchers online access to journals, many universities purchase "site licenses", permitting access from anywhere in the university, and, with appropriate authorization, by university-affiliated users at home or elsewhere. These may be quite expensive, sometimes much more than the cost for a print subscription, although this may reflect the number of people who will be using the license—while a print subscription is the cost for one person to receive the journal; a site-license can allow thousands of people to gain access.


title: Scientific journal

text: Publications by scholarly societies, also known as not-for-profit-publishers, usually cost less than commercial publishers, but the prices of their scientific journals are still usually several thousand dollars a year. In general, this money is used to fund the activities of the scientific societies that run such journals, or is invested in providing further scholarly resources for scientists; thus, the money remains in and benefits the scientific sphere.


title: Scientific journal

text: Concerns about cost and open access have led to the creation of free-access journals such as the Public Library of Science (PLoS) family and partly open or reduced-cost journals such as the "Journal of High Energy Physics". However, professional editors still have to be paid, and PLoS still relies heavily on donations from foundations to cover the majority of its operating costs; smaller journals do not often have access to such resources.


title: Scientific journal

text: Based on statistical arguments, it has been shown that electronic publishing online, and to some extent open access, both provide wider dissemination and increase the average number of citations an article receives.


title: Scientific journal

text: Traditionally, the author of an article was required to transfer the copyright to the journal publisher. Publishers claimed this was necessary in order to protect authors' rights, and to coordinate permissions for reprints or other use. However, many authors, especially those active in the open access movement, found this unsatisfactory, and have used their influence to effect a gradual move towards a license to publish instead. Under such a system, the publisher has permission to edit, print, and distribute the article commercially, but the authors retain the other rights themselves.


title: Scientific journal

text: Even if they retain the copyright to an article, most journals allow certain rights to their authors. These rights usually include the ability to reuse parts of the paper in the author's future work, and allow the author to distribute a limited number of copies. In the print format, such copies are called reprints; in the electronic format, they are called postprints. Some publishers, for example the American Physical Society, also grant the author the right to post and update the article on the author's or employer's website and on free e-print servers, to grant permission to others to use or reuse figures, and even to reprint the article as long as no fee is charged. The rise of open access journals, in which the author retains the copyright but must pay a publication charge, such as the Public Library of Science family of journals, is another recent response to copyright concerns.


title: Italian wine

text: Italian wine is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the world's largest producer of wine, with an area of under vineyard cultivation, and contributing a 2013–2017 annual average of 48.3 million hl of wine. In 2018 Italy accounted for 19 per cent of global production, ahead of France (17 per cent) and Spain (15 per cent). Italian wine is both exported around the world and popular domestically among Italians, who consume an average of 42 litres per capita, ranking fifth in world wine consumption.


title: Italian wine

text: The origins of vine-growing and winemaking in Italy has been illuminated by recent research, stretching back even before the Phoenician, Etruscans and Greek settlers, who produced wine in Italy before the Romans planted their own vineyards. The Romans greatly increased Italy's viticultural area using efficient viticultural and winemaking methods.


title: Italian wine

text: Vines have been cultivated from the wild "Vitis vinifera" grape for millennia in Italy. It was previously believed that viticulture had been introduced into Sicily and southern Italy by the Mycenaeans, as winemaking traditions are known to have already been established in Italy by the time the Phoenician and Greek colonists arrived on Italy's shores around 1000–800 BC. However, archeological discoveries on Monte Kronio in 2017 revealed that viticulture in Sicily flourished at least as far back as 4000 BC — some 3,000 years earlier than previously thought. Also on the peninsula, traces of Bronze Age and even Neolithic grapevine management and small-scale winemaking might suggest earlier origins than previously thought.


title: Italian wine

text: Under Ancient Rome large-scale, slave-run plantations sprang up in many coastal areas of Italy and spread to such an extent that, in AD 92, emperor Domitian was forced to destroy a great number of vineyards in order to free up fertile land for food production.


title: Italian wine

text: During this time, viticulture outside of Italy was prohibited under Roman law. Exports to the provinces were reciprocated in exchange for more slaves, especially from Gaul. Trade was intense with Gaul, according to Pliny, because the inhabitants tended to drink Italian wine unmixed and without restraint. Although unpalatable to adults, it was customary, at the time, for young people to drink wine mixed with a good proportion of water.


title: Italian wine

text: As the laws on provincial viticulture were relaxed, vast vineyards began to flourish in the rest of Europe, especially Gaul (present-day France) and Hispania. This coincided with the cultivation of new vines, such as biturica, an ancestor of the Cabernets. These vineyards became so successful that Italy ultimately became an import centre for provincial wines.


title: Italian wine

text: Depending on the vintage, modern Italy is the world's largest or second-largest wine producer. In 2005, production was about 20% of the global total, second only to France, which produced 26%. In the same year, Italy's share in dollar value of table wine imports into the U.S. was 32%, Australia's was 24%, and France's was 20%. Along with Australia, Italy's market share has rapidly increased in recent years.


title: Italian wine

text: In 1963, the first official Italian system of classification of wines was launched. Since then, several modifications and additions to the legislation have been made, including a major modification in 1992. The last modification, which occurred in 2010, established four basic categories which are consistent with the latest European Union wine regulations (2008–09). The categories, from the bottom to the top level, are:


title: Italian wine

text: A number of sub-categories exist pertaining to the regulation of sparkling wine production (e.g. Vino Spumante, Vino Spumante di Qualità, Vino Spumante di Qualità di Tipo Aromatico, Vino Frizzante).


title: Italian wine

text: Within the DOP category, 'Classico' is a wine produced in the original historic centre of the protected territory. 'Superiore' is a wine with at least 0.5 more alc%/vol than its corresponding regular DOP wine and produced using a smaller allowed quantity of grapes per hectare, generally yielding a higher quality. 'Riserva' is a wine that has been aged for a minimum period of time. The length of time varies with (red, white, Traditional-method sparkling, Charmat-method sparkling). Sometimes, 'Classico' or 'Superiore' are themselves part of the name of the DOP (e.g. Chianti Classico DOCG or Soave Superiore DOCG).


title: Italian wine

text: The Italian Ministry of Agriculture (MIPAAF) regularly publishes updates to the official classification.


title: Italian wine

text: It is important to note that looser regulations do not necessarily correspond to lower quality. In fact, many IGP wines are actually high-quality wines. Talented winemakers sometimes wish to create wines using varietals or varietal percentages that do not match DOC or DOCG requirements. "Super Tuscans", for example, are generally high-quality wines that carry the IGP designation. There are several other IGP wines of superior quality, as well.


title: Italian wine

text: Unlike France, Italy has never had an official classification of its best 'crus'. Private initiatives like the Comitato Grandi Cru d'Italia (Committee of the Grand Crus of Italy) and the Instituto del Vino Italiano di Qualità—Grandi marchi (Institute of Quality Italian Wine—Great Brands) each gather a selection of renowned top Italian wine producers, in an attempt to unofficially represent the Italian wine excellence.


title: Italian wine

text: In 2007 the Barbaresco Consorzio was the first to introduce the "Menzioni Geografiche Aggiuntive" (additional geographic mentions) also known as "MEGA" or "subzones". Sixty-five subzone vineyard areas were identified in 2007 and one additional subzone was approved in 2010, bringing the final number to 66. The main goal was to put official boundaries to some of the most storied crus in order to protect them from unjustified expansion and exploitation.


title: Italian wine

text: The Barolo Consorzio followed suit in 2010 with 181 MEGA, of which 170 were vineyard areas and 11 were village designations. Following the introductions of MEGA for Barbaresco and Barolo the term Vigna (Italian for vineyard) can be used on labels after its respective MEGA and only if the vineyard is within one of the approved official geographic mentions.


title: Italian wine

text: The official introduction of subzones is strongly advocated by some for different denominations, but so far Barolo and Barbaresco are the only ones to have them.


title: Italian wine

text: Italy's twenty wine regions correspond to the twenty administrative regions of the country. Understanding the differences between these regions is very helpful in understanding the different types of Italian wine. Wine in Italy tends to reflect the local cuisine. Regional cuisine also influences wine.


title: Italian wine

text: The DOCG wines are located in 15 different regions but most of them are concentrated in Piedmont, Lombardia, Veneto and Tuscany. Among these are appellations appreciated and sought after by wine lovers around the world: Barolo, Barbaresco, and Brunello di Montalcino (colloquially known as the "Killer B's"). Other notable wines that have gained attention in recent years in the international markets and among specialists are: Amarone della Valpolicella, Prosecco di Conegliano- Valdobbiadene, Taurasi from Campania, Franciacorta sparkling wines from Lombardy; evergreen wines are Chianti and Soave, while new wines from the Centre and South of Italy are quickly gaining recognition: Verdicchio, Sagrantino, Primitivo, Nero D'Avola among others. The Friuli-Venezia Giulia is world-famous for the quality of her white wines, like Pinot Grigio. Special sweet wines like Passitos and Moscatos, made in different regions, are also famous since old time.


title: Italian wine

text: The main grape varieties for the production of Valpolicella (Amarone, Recioto, Ripasso and Classico) and Bardolino (Superiore and Classico) are the same: Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara.


title: Italian wine

text: Italy's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MIPAAF), has documented over 350 grapes and granted them "authorized" status. There are more than 500 other documented varieties in circulation as well. The following is a list of the most common and important of Italy's many grape varieties.


title: Italian wine

text: Other important whites include Carricante, Coda de Volpe, Cortese, Falanghina, Grechetto, Grillo, Inzolia, Picolit, Traminer, Verduzzo, and Vernaccia.


title: Italian wine

text: Non-native varieties include Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer (sometimes called "traminer aromatico"), Petite Arvine, Riesling, Sauvignon blanc, and others.


title: Italian wine

text: Other major red varieties are Cannonau, Ciliegiolo, Gaglioppo, Lagrein, Lambrusco, Monica, Nerello Mascalese, Pignolo, Refosco, Schiava, Schioppettino, Teroldego, and Uva di Troia.


title: Italian wine

text: "International" varieties such as Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah are also widely grown.


title: Italian wine

text: The term "Super Tuscan" (mostly used in the English-speaking world and less known in Italy) describes any wine (mostly red, but sometimes also white) produced in Tuscany that generally does not adhere to the traditional local DOC or DOCG regulations. As a result, Super Tuscans are usually "Toscana IGT" wines, while others are "Bolgheri DOC", a designation of origin rather open to international grape varieties. Traditional Tuscan DOC(G)s require that wines are made from native grapes and mostly Sangiovese. While sometimes Super Tuscans are actually produced by Sangiovese alone, they are also often obtained by (1) blending Sangiovese with international grapes (such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah) to produce red wines, (2) blending international grapes alone (especially classic Bordeaux grapes for reds; Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc for whites), or (3) using one single international variety. In a sense, red Super Tuscans anticipated the Meritage, a well-known category of international Bordeaux-style reds of US origin.


title: Italian wine

text: Although an extraordinary amount of wines claim to be “the first Super Tuscan,” most would agree that this credit belongs to Sassicaia, the brainchild of marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, who planted Cabernet Sauvignon at his Tenuta San Guido estate in Bolgheri back in 1944. It was for many years the marchese's personal wine, until, starting with the 1968 vintage, it was released commercially in 1971.


title: Italian wine

text: In 1968 Azienda Agricola San Felice produced a Super Tuscan called Vigorello, and in the 1970s Piero Antinori, whose family had been making wine for more than 600 years, also decided to make a richer wine by eliminating the white grapes from the Chianti blend, and instead, adding Bordeaux varietals (namely, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot). He was inspired by Sassicaia, of which he was given the sale agency by his uncle Mario Incisa della Rocchetta. The result was one of the first Super Tuscans, which he named Tignanello, after the vineyard where the grapes were grown. What was formerly Chianti Classico Riserva Vigneto Tignanello, was pulled from the DOC in 1971, first eliminating the white grapes (then compulsory in Chianti DOC) and gradually adding French varieties. By 1975, Tignanello was made with 85% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc, and it remains so today. Other winemakers started experimenting with Super Tuscan blends of their own shortly thereafter.


title: Italian wine

text: Because these wines did not conform to strict DOC(G) classifications, they were initially labelled as vino da tavola, meaning "table wine," an old official category ordinarily reserved for lower quality wines. The creation of the Indicazione Geografica Tipica category (technically indicating a level of quality between vino da tavola and DOC(G)) in 1992 and the DOC Bolgheri label in 1994 helped bring Super Tuscans "back into the fold" from a regulatory standpoint. Since the pioneering work of the Super Tuscans, there has been a rapid expansion in the production of high-quality wines throughout Italy that do not qualify for DOC or DOCG classification, as a result of the efforts of a new generation of Italian wine producers and, in some cases, flying winemakers.


title: Italian wine

text: Many international wine guides and wine publications rate the most popular Italian wines. Among the Italian publications, Gambero Rosso is probably the most influential. In particular, the wines that are annually given the highest rating of "three glasses" ("Tre Bicchieri") attract much attention. Recently, other guides, such as Slow Wine, published by Slow Food Italia, and Bibenda, compiled by the Fondazione Italiana Sommelier, have also gained attention both among professionals and amateurs. Slow Wine has the interesting feature of reporting on several wineries (small and medium) that genuinely represent the territory and on products that are especially interesting for their price/quality ratio (Vini Slow and Vini Quotidiani).


title: Italian wine

text: Vino cotto (literally "cooked wine") is a form of wine from the Marche and Abruzzo regions in Central Italy. It is typically made by individuals for their own use as it cannot legally be sold as wine. The must, from any of several local varieties of grapes, is heated in a copper vessel where it is reduced in volume by up to a third before fermenting in old wooden barrels. It can be aged for years, barrels being topped up with each harvest. It is a strong ruby-coloured wine, somewhat similar to Madeira, usually drunk with sweet puddings.


title: Italian wine

text: Vincotto, typically from Basilicata and Apulia, also starts as a cooked must but is not fermented, resulting in a sweet syrup suitable for the preparation of sweets and soft drinks. Once reduced and allowed to cool it is aged in storage for a few years.


title: Kennywood

text: Kennywood is an amusement park located in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, just southeast of Pittsburgh. The park opened on May 30, 1899, as a trolley park attraction at the end of the Mellon family's Monongahela Street Railway. It was purchased in 1906 by F. W. Henninger and Andrew McSwigan, both of whom later formed the family-owned Kennywood Entertainment Company. The company later sold Kennywood, along with four other parks, in 2007 to Parques Reunidos, an international entertainment operator based in Spain. The amusement park features various structures and rides dating back to the early 1900s. Along with Rye Playland Park, it is one of two amusement parks in the United States designated as a National Historic Landmark. Kennywood is also one of thirteen trolley parks in the United States that remain in operation.


title: Kennywood

text: Kennywood is approximately from Downtown Pittsburgh, in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. The park is along Pennsylvania Route 837 (Green Belt), known as Kennywood Boulevard as it passes through the borough. The closest Interstate connection is Exit 77 (Edgewood/Swissvale) on Interstate 376. The Mon–Fayette Expressway will eventually go past Kennywood, which will prompt an expansion of the park when it is built.


title: Kennywood

text: Historically, the park is on the location of the July 9, 1755 Battle of the Monongahela, where British general Edward Braddock was mortally wounded, ending his expedition to capture the French Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War. George Washington was a colonel to Braddock, and fought at the battle before they retreated. Later the land on the bluff above the Monongahela River was part of a farm owned by Anthony Kenny. Starting around the time of the American Civil War, the site was a popular picnic grove for locals, known as "Kenny's Grove".


title: Kennywood

text: A tree-filled portion of a farm owned by Anthony Kenny, known as "Kenny's Grove" overlooking the Monongahela River near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was a popular picnic spot for local residents since the American Civil War. In 1898, the Monongahela Street Railways Company, partially owned by prominent banker Andrew Mellon, seeking to increase fare profits on the weekends, leased the land from the Kenny family in order to create a trolley park at the end of their line. The company's chief engineer, George S. Davidson, designed the original layout of the park and served as its first manager. A carousel, casino hall, and dance pavilion were added in 1899. A bandstand was constructed in 1900, while the Old Mill was constructed in 1901, and the park's first roller coaster, the Figure Eight Toboggan, was added in 1902. After less than a decade, the trolley company no longer wanted to manage the park. The standing manager, Andrew S. McSwigan, along with partners Frederick W. Henninger and A. F. Meghan, leased and operated the park as Kennywood Park Limited beginning in 1906.


title: Kennywood

text: From its origin as a working-class picnic entertainment destination, the park grew in the first half of the twentieth century into a popular attraction that combined thrill rides with recreation venues such as swimming pools and dance halls.


title: Kennywood

text: Kennywood ceased to be served by streetcar when Mon Street Railways successor Pittsburgh Railways Company converted the route serving it, the lengthy #68 Duquesne-McKeesport line, to bus on September 15, 1958.


title: Kennywood

text: Today, the park features a nostalgic atmosphere and is supported by a loyal fan base. As of December 2007, Kennywood Entertainment also ran Sandcastle Waterpark , which opened in 1989; Idlewild Park near Ligonier; Story Land , a children's theme park in Glen, New Hampshire; and Lake Compounce , New England's family theme park in Bristol, Connecticut, which is the oldest continuously operating amusement park in North America.


title: Kennywood

text: On December 12, 2007, Kennywood Entertainment announced that it would be selling Kennywood Park, along with Sandcastle Waterpark and four other amusement parks in the Northeastern United States, to Parques Reunidos, a company based in Madrid, Spain.


title: Kennywood

text: Kennywood now uses the slogans “Welcome to the Family”, "America's Finest Traditional Amusement Park", and "Make a New Memory", although from the 1960s through the early 1990s the slogan was "The Roller Coaster Capital of the World" (a title which is now being used by Cedar Point). The property features three old wooden roller coasters still in working order, along with three newer steel coasters, the Phantom's Revenge (2001) and the Sky Rocket (2010), The Steel Curtain (2019), and one indoor coaster, the Exterminator (1999).


title: Kennywood

text: For the past several years, Kennywood has been rated the "Favorite 'Dark Attraction Park'" by the Darkride And Funhouse Enthusiasts, or DAFE.


title: Kennywood

text: It ranked second to Cedar Point in the category of "Favorite Park" in Theme Park Magazine's 2004 Reader's Choice Awards.


title: Kennywood

text: Kennywood has made use of the hilly Pittsburgh terrain to create coasters that wouldn't be feasible in some amusement parks. The Thunderbolt and the Jack Rabbit, both wooden coasters, place the lift chain in the middle of the ride, not at the beginning. In both cases, the car leaves the station and drops into a valley for its first hill. Phantom's Revenge uses the same valley as the Thunderbolt, where the Phantom's second drop passes through the supports of the Thunderbolt's first drop, making the second drop the longest and steepest drop in the ride.


title: Kennywood

text: Thomas Town opened in 2018 to complement Kiddieland and contains Cranky's Drop Tower, Harold's Helicopter, Firefighting Flynn, and Diesel Drivers. The Olde Kennywood Railroad has also become part of this area, re-themed as Journey With Thomas.


title: Kennywood

text: Originally called Phantom Fright Nights until 2021, Phantom Fall Fest is a Halloween event held at Kennywood on Friday nights and all day Saturdays and Sundays during the month of October. The park traditionally opened at seven in the evening and closes at one in the morning. In 2015 the hours were changed from six until midnight. Then in 2021 the hours were change to Fridays from six to eleven, Saturdays from noon to eleven, and Sundays from noon to ten. The event began in 2002, though the concept of theming an amusement park for Halloween is not new. "Phantom Fright Nights" received third place in the Golden Ticket Awards for best Halloween event in 2007.


title: Kennywood

text: Labor Day traditionally marked the end of the season and the park would shut down until the spring. In 2002, Kennywood decided to break the long-standing tradition and turn almost half of the park into a giant Halloween extravaganza. The park's initial trial of Phantom Fright Nights in 2002 consisted of four traditional haunted houses, with only a few rides and roller coasters in operation. Despite the relatively limited scope of the opening year, the experiment proved to be a success, and new areas of the park and rides are opened for the festivities every year. In 2004 Kennywood debuted Gory Park, a haunted zone in Lost Kennywood. The following year, 2005, the park managed to have 3/4 of the rides and attractions operable due to high demand and record-breaking crowds. The park has reported attendance greater for one Fright Night than they have on a good normal operating day.


title: Kennywood

text: In the spirit of Halloween season, the park itself is given a complete make-over, with costumed actors roaming the paths, spooky music filling the air by dark wave bands Midnight Syndicate and Nox Arcana, and fog blanketing the park and every light bulb in the park is changed to a different color—even the restroom windows are covered in colored films. The merry-go-round horse normally found in the fountain by the entrance is replaced by a giant Phantom-like figure with glowing red eyes hovering over bubbling red blood (dyed water). In some places, sheets are hung up and classic horror movies are played, such as the original "House on Haunted Hill". Several areas of the park, including Kiddieland and Lost Kennywood, are turned into open-air haunted attractions. Other buildings, such as the Penny Arcade and the Parkside Terrace Cafe, are converted into more traditional haunted houses. Some rides are given entirely new lighting and fog effects including strobes and blacklights, or in the Exterminator's case, an absolute absence of light. In the case of the Carousel and Musik Express, Halloween-themed music is all that is played. Even the entrance tunnel is affected; a great amount of fog is pumped into the passageway and chainsaw-wielding characters stalk unsuspecting guests as they enter. These ghouls are also found throughout the park when least expected. Starting in 2018 Kennywood added Happy Hauntings, a family friendly Halloween event during the daytime every Saturday and Sunday in October with Kiddieland, Thomas Town, and most of the rides opened along with kid friendly Halloween activities. In 2021, Happy Hauntings and Phantom Fright Nights merged into one event called Phantom Fall Fest.


title: Kennywood

text: Kennywood discourages children under the age of thirteen from attending the park during Phantom Fall Fest at night as the atmosphere may be too intense for some younger children, but letting children attend is solely at the discretion of parents or guardians. Many children go to Fright Nights anyway, even with the suggestion since Kennywood will admit attendees of any age.


title: Kennywood

text: On September 24, 2022, three people were injured during a shooting inside the park during Phantom Fall Fest.


title: Kennywood

text: Kennywood's world-renowned reputation and nationwide popularity has led to its mention and appearance in many forms of media, including TV shows, movies, books, records, and has even warranted a reason to film a documentary about the park's history.


title: Kennywood

text: Kennywood employs weapon-certified security officers that have the ability to make arrests that are supported by the district's local police force. A famous case resulting from a 1986 arrest of a park visitor for drug possession went all the way to the Pennsylvania Superior Court in 1988, which ruled in favor of the park's security force. The defendant had unsuccessfully attempted to have the evidence suppressed.


title: Moussa Marega

text: Moussa Marega (born 14 April 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a second striker for Saudi Professional League club Al Hilal. Born in France, he represents the Mali national team.


title: Moussa Marega

text: He began his career in France, playing no higher than the Championnat National. After one year with Espérance in Tunisia, he moved to Marítimo of the Primeira Liga in 2015. Shortly afterwards, he signed for Porto. After spending 2016–17 on loan at Vitória de Guimarães, he became a regular in the Porto side and won two league titles in four years. In 2021, he signed with Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal, where he won the AFC Champions League in his first year.


title: Moussa Marega

text: Marega made his international debut for Mali in 2015, and was part of their squad at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2017 and 2019.


title: Moussa Marega

text: Born in Les Ulis, Essonne, to Malian parents, Marega began his career at Évry FC, before moving to Vendée Poiré-sur-Vie Football of the Championnat National in 2012, and fellow league team Amiens a year later. He spent the second half of 2014 in ES Tunis, but could not make a single appearance due to bureaucratic problems.


title: Moussa Marega

text: He subsequently moved to Marítimo in Portugal's Primeira Liga in January 2015. In November 2015, he was sent off in a 1–0 loss at Amarante with two yellow cards and then gestured at the bench; he was suspended from training with the club as a result.


title: Moussa Marega

text: Both Marega and Marítimo goalkeeper José Sá were on the cusp of a move to Sporting CP in January 2016, but FC Porto signed the pair on contracts lasting to 2020; Marega's buyout clause was set at €40 million. He made 13 appearances in his first campaign at the "Estádio do Dragão" – mostly as a substitute – and scored once in a 2–0 home win over Gil Vicente in the Taça da Liga on 2 March. His early poor performances drew vocal criticism from some Porto fans, and he took training from a friend on how to become mentally resilient.


title: Moussa Marega

text: On 20 July 2016, Marega was loaned to Vitória de Guimarães for the upcoming season. He made his debut a month later in a 2–0 win against his former team, Marítimo, scoring the second goal, and on 30 October, he scored all three goals in a 3–0 win against Rio Ave to reach 10 goals from 8 games. On 4 November, he received a straight red card in the first half-hour of a 2–1 home win over Nacional for striking Nuno Sequeira, receiving a three-match ban.


title: Moussa Marega

text: On his return to Porto, Marega scored twice in the opening game of the 2017–18 season, a 4–0 home win over Estoril, as a first-half substitute for Tiquinho. He was part of a three-pronged attack made of African players, alongside the Cameroonian Vincent Aboubakar and the Algerian Yacine Brahimi.


title: Moussa Marega

text: He scored 14 league goals in 14 starts, and reportedly began to attract the interest of Premier League sides Manchester United and Chelsea in January 2018. Porto won the league for the first time in five years and Marega was their top scorer (third overall behind Jonas and Bas Dost) with 22 goals.


title: Moussa Marega

text: In November 2018, Marega was awarded the "Dragão de Ouro" (Golden Dragon) as Porto's best player of the calendar year. Having not previously scored in a European match, Marega scored a goal in six consecutive appearances in the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League, starting with a goal in 1–0 win over Galatasaray, and ending with one in a 3–1 win over Roma, that put Porto in the quarter-finals for the first time in four years.


title: Moussa Marega

text: On 16 February 2020, after scoring the winning goal on his return to Vitória, Marega gave the middle finger to the home fans who had been racially abusing him. The insults continued after this incident and in response, he walked out of the game, and was subsequently substituted. His reaction to the abuse was praised by the Portuguese press, with "A Bola" newspaper giving Marega a perfect 10 rating in its player ratings. He scored in a 2–0 home win over Sporting on 15 July that year, as his team won the title with two games left to play. On 17 February 2021, he scored a goal in a 2–1 win over Juventus in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League round of 16.


title: Moussa Marega

text: On 10 May 2021, Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal announced the signing of Marega on a three-year contract as a free transfer, with a salary of €5 million per year. He won the AFC Champions League in his first year, with a goal in the semi-final 2–1 win at compatriots Al Nassr, followed by one in the 2–0 final victory over South Korea's Pohang Steelers.


title: Moussa Marega

text: Marega made his debut for the Mali national team on 25 March 2015, in a friendly against Gabon in Beauvais, France; he started in the 4–3 defeat. On 4 September 2016, he scored his first international goal in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification game against Benin, helping towards a 5–2 win at the Stade du 26 Mars.


title: Moussa Marega

text: In January 2017, he was called up for Mali's squad at the final tournament in Gabon. In the Eagles' opening game against Egypt in Port-Gentil, he was named man of the match in a goalless draw. He also started the other two games of the group stage elimination.


title: Moussa Marega

text: Marega was also called up for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. He scored in their opening game, a 4–1 win over Mauritania, as they made the last 16. Having not played since the 2019 edition, Marega was not called up for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.


title: Moussa Marega

text: Marega is a practising Muslim and moved to Saudi Arabia for reasons of faith. He became father to a son in 2017.


title: Julie Cox

text: Julie Cox is an English actress. She played Princess Irulan in the Sci Fi Channel's 2000 miniseries "Frank Herbert's Dune" and its 2003 sequel, "Frank Herbert's Children of Dune". She also played The Childlike Empress in "The Neverending Story III".


title: Julie Cox

text: One of Cox's earliest roles was the Childlike Empress in the 1994 film "The NeverEnding Story III". She played Diana, Princess of Wales in "Princess in Love" by David Greene, a film released in 1996 based upon the publication by Anna Pasternak. Cox played the character Sophie Aronnax in a remake of "20,000 Leagues under the Sea" in 1997, and in 1999 she appeared as Giulietta in the film adaptation of "Alegría".


title: Julie Cox

text: Cox portrayed Princess Irulan in the 2000 Sci Fi Channel miniseries "Frank Herbert's Dune" and its 2003 sequel, "Frank Herbert's Children of Dune".


title: Julie Cox

text: Cox starred with Jean-Claude Van Damme in "Second in Command" (2006) and in 2007 was the female lead in "The Riddle" alongside Vinnie Jones, Derek Jacobi, and Vanessa Redgrave. She starred in "The Oxford Murders" with Elijah Wood and John Hurt in 2008.


title: Julie Cox

text: Cox portrayed a fictionalised Mary Shelley, a companion of the Eighth Doctor, in several Big Finish Productions "Doctor Who" audio dramas, including "The Company of Friends", "The Silver Turk", "The Witch from the Well" and "Army of Death".


title: Recovery position

text: In first aid, the recovery position (also called semi-prone) is one of a series of variations on a lateral recumbent or three-quarters prone position of the body, often used for unconscious but breathing casualties.


title: Recovery position

text: An unconscious person, a person who is assessed on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) at eight or below, in a supine position (on the back) may not be able to maintain an open airway as a conscious person would. This can lead to an obstruction of the airway, restricting the flow of air and preventing gaseous exchange, which then causes hypoxia, which is life-threatening. Thousands of fatalities occur every year in casualties where the cause of unconsciousness was not fatal, but where airway obstruction caused the patient to suffocate. This is especially true for unconscious pregnant women; once turned on to their left side, pressure is relieved on the inferior vena cava, and venous return is not restricted. The cause of unconsciousness can be any reason from trauma to intoxication from alcohol.


title: Recovery position

text: It is not necessarily used by health care professionals, as they may have access to more advanced airway management techniques, such as tracheal intubation.


title: Recovery position

text: The recovery position is designed to prevent suffocation through obstruction of the airway, which can occur in unconscious supine patients. The supine patient is at risk of airway obstruction from two routes:


title: Recovery position

text: Placing a patient in the recovery position gives gravity assistance to the clearance of physical obstruction of the airway by the tongue, and also gives a clear route by which fluid can drain from the airway.


title: Recovery position

text: The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) does not recommend one specific recovery position, but advises on six key principles to be followed:


title: Recovery position

text: The earliest recognition that placing unconscious patients on their side would prevent obstruction of the airway was by Robert Bowles, a doctor at the Victoria Hospital in Folkestone, England. In 1891 he presented a paper with the title "<nowiki>'</nowiki>On Stertor, Apoplexy, and the Management of the Apoplectic State<nowiki>'</nowiki>" in relation to stroke patients with noisy breathing from airway obstruction (also known as stertor).


title: Recovery position

text: This paper was taken up by anaesthetist Frederick Hewitt from the London Hospital who advised a sideways position for postoperative patients. This thinking was, however, not widely adopted, with surgical textbooks 50 years later still recommending leaving anaesthetised patients in a supine position.


title: Recovery position

text: First aid organisations were similarly slow in adopting the idea of the recovery position, with 1930s and 1940s first aid manuals from the British Red Cross and St John Ambulance both recommending lying a patient on their back. The 1938 British Red Cross First Aid Manual goes so far as to instruct "place the head in a such as position that the windpipe is kept straight, keeping the head up if the face is flushed, and in line with the body if it is pale". By contrast, the St. John manual advocated turning the head to the side, but it was not until the 1950 40th edition of the St. John Manual that it was added "if breathing is noisy (bubbling through secretions), turn the patient into the three-quarters prone position", which is very similar to a modern recovery position.


title: Recovery position

text: A large number of positions were experimented with, mostly in Europe, as the United States did not widely take up the recovery position until its adoption by the American Heart Association in 1992. Positions included the "Coma Position", "Rautek's Position" and the "HAINES (High Arm IN Endangered Spine) position".


title: Recovery position

text: In 1992, the European Resuscitation Council adopted a new position where the arm nearest the floor was brought out in front of the patient, whereas it had previously been placed behind the patient. This change was made due to several reported cases of nerve and blood vessel damage in the arms of patients.


title: Recovery position

text: ILCOR made its recommendations on the basic principles for recovery positions in 1996, but does not prescribe a specific position, and consequently, there are several in use around the world.


title: For Whom the Bell Tolls (Metallica song)

text: "For Whom the Bell Tolls" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was first released on the group's second album, "Ride the Lightning" (1984). Elektra Records also released it as a promotional single, with both edited and full-length versions. The song is generally regarded as one of Metallica's most popular; by March 2018, it ranked number five on the band's live performance count. Several live albums and video albums include the song.


text: The song was inspired by Ernest Hemingway's 1940 novel of the same name about the process of death in modern warfare and the bloody Spanish Civil War. Specific allusions are made to the scene described in Chapter 27 of the book, in which five soldiers are obliterated during an airstrike after taking a defensive position on a hill.


text: Cliff Burton plays the bass guitar introduction with heavy distortion and a wah pedal. Burton wrote the intro long before joining Metallica and first played it during a 12-minute jam at a battle of the bands with his second band Agents of Misfortune in 1979.


text: The bell sound heard at the beginning of the track was actually produced by drummer Lars Ulrich striking an anvil with a metal hammer in combination with a bell from a sound effects reel.


text: "For Whom the Bell Tolls" was released as a promo single with two versions of the song. An edited version appears on the A-side, with the full-length album version on the B-side.


text: In 1999 and 2019, Metallica recorded "For Whom the Bell Tolls" with the San Francisco Symphony for the live albums "S&M" and "S&M2", respectively. Other live versions appear on "Cliff 'Em All" (VHS, 1987), "" (1993), "Cunning Stunts" (DVD, 1997), "Français Pour une Nuit" (DVD, 2009), "" (2009), "" (DVD, 2010), "Quebec Magnetic" (DVD, 2012), and "" (soundtrack, 2013).


title: De Tomaso P72

text: The De Tomaso P72 is an upcoming sports car manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer De Tomaso. Based on the underpinnings of the Apollo Intensa Emozione, the car is meant to be a homage to the De Tomaso P70 prototype racing car. De Tomaso has said that the car should be available by the end of 2022.


title: De Tomaso P72

text: The De Tomaso brand was acquired by Hong Kong–based IdealVentures in 2014, the same company who had acquired German automobile manufacturer Gumpert. Under the new management, work was started to revive the brand after a failed attempt in 2009. After an advertising campaign based on the company's history and some teaser videos of the new car in development under the code name "Project P", the company introduced the new sports car at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed. The new car, called the P72 uses a carbon fibre monocoque chassis constructed to LMP1 standards and is based on the Apollo Intensa Emozione. Unlike the Intensa Emozione, the car is meant to be a grand tourer.


title: De Tomaso P72

text: Designed by Jowyn Wong of Wyn Design, the exterior design is based on the P70 racing car and the LeMans race cars of the 1970s and combines modern elements with the classic shape. The exterior also features a top mounted exhaust system.


title: De Tomaso P72

text: The interior is upholstered in diamond stitched leather, and has opulent instrumentation featuring polished copper elements, along with an open linkage gearshift lever finished in copper of the manual transmission installed in the car. The interior also has circular analogue and digital instrumentation design to recall the car interiors of the 1960s and 1970s.


title: De Tomaso P72

text: In October 2019, De Tomaso revealed that the P72 will be powered by a 5.0 litre supercharged Ford Coyote V8 engine featuring a Roots-type supercharger manufactured by American tuning company Roush Performance. The engine is a result of a technical collaboration between both companies. The engine is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. Power output figures were not disclosed as the engine is still in development stage.


title: De Tomaso P72

text: 72 units of the P72 are planned to be produced. This move was made to ensure the exclusivity of the car. The car will go under homologation but De Tomaso have assured that the car will remain the same as the pre-production model shown at Goodwood.


title: Fifteenth Finance Commission

text: The FifteenthFinance Commission (XV-FC or 15-FC) is an Indian Finance Commission constituted in November 2017 and is to give recommendations for devolution of taxes and other fiscal matters for fivefiscal years, commencing 2020-04-01. The commission's chairman is Nand Kishore Singh, a senior member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since March 2014, with its full-timemembers being Ajay Narayan Jha, Ashok Lahiri and Anoop Singh. In addition, the commission also has a part-timemember in Ramesh Chand. Shaktikanta Das served as a member of the commission from November 2017 to December 2018.


title: Fifteenth Finance Commission

text: The FifteenthFinance Commission was constituted by the Government of India—after getting ceremonial approval from President of India—through a notification in "The Gazette of India" on 2017-11-27. Nand Kishore Singh was appointed as the commission's chairman, with its full-time members being Shaktikanta Das and Anoop Singh and its part-time members being Ramesh Chand and Ashok Lahiri.


title: Fifteenth Finance Commission

text: The commission held its first meeting on 2017-12-04. Lahiri was elevated to the status of a full-timemember in May 2018 and was accorded the status of a minister of state. Das resigned as member on 11 December 2018, to become the Governor of Reserve Bank of India.


title: Fifteenth Finance Commission

text: In July 2019, the commission's term was extended by a month to November 2019, and its terms of reference (ToR) were expanded by the Union Cabinet and asked it to consider whether "adequate, secure and non-lapsable" funds could be provided for funding defence and internal security, and how would a distinct system to fund defence and internal security be operationalised.


title: Fifteenth Finance Commission

text: The Commission was to submit its Report on the basis of its Terms of Reference (ToR) by 30 October 2019 covering a period of five years commencing from 1 April 2020.


title: Fifteenth Finance Commission

text: In July 2019, The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the extension of the term of Fifteenth Finance Commission up to 30 November 2019 to enable the Commission to examine various comparable estimates for financial projections in view of reforms and the new realities to finalise its recommendations for the period 2020-2025, after taking into consideration, its constitution in the backdrop of various major fiscal/budgetary reforms introduced by the Union Government in the past four years like closure of the Planning Commission and its replacement by NITl Aayog, removal of distinction between Non-Plan and Plan expenditure, advancing the budget calendar by one month and passing of the full budget before commencement of the new financial year i.e. on 1 February, introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 2017 and New FRBM architecture with debt and fiscal deficit path, and also the task of determining the expenditure and receipts of the Union and State governments based on which the Commission shall make its recommendations is time consuming, as checks for data consistency across time and data sets become challenging.


title: Fifteenth Finance Commission

text: In November 2019, the Cabinet approved the 15th Finance Commission to submit first report for the first fiscal year viz. 2020-21 and to extend the tenure of 15th Finance Commission to provide for the presentation of the final report covering FYs 2021-22 to 2025-26 by October 30, 2020. The statement by the government cited reasons such as, due to restrictions imposed by the model code of conduct, the commission completed its visit to states only recently, which had a bearing on the detailed assessments of states requirements, comprehensively examining their implications and aligning them to the requirements of the states and the central government will require additional time, and making a five-year coverage available for the commission beyond 1 April 2021, will help both state and central governments design schemes with medium- to long-term financial perspective and provide adequate time for mid-course evaluation and correction.


title: Fifteenth Finance Commission

text: The first report, consisting of recommendations for the financial year 2020-21, was tabled in Parliament in February 2020.


title: Fifteenth Finance Commission

text: On 9 November 2020, the Fifteenth Finance Commission (XVFC) led by Chairman Sh N K Singh, submitted its report for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 to the Hon’ble President of India.


title: Fifteenth Finance Commission

text: The final report with recommendations for the 2021-26 period was tabled in Parliament on February 1, 2021.


title: Fifteenth Finance Commission

text: The commission was set up to give recommendations for devolution of taxes and other fiscal matters for fivefiscal years, commencing 1April2020. The main tasks of the commission were to "strengthen cooperative federalism, improve the quality of public spending and help protect fiscal stability". Some newspapers like "The Hindu" and "The Economic Times" noted that commission's job was made harder because of the roll-out of goods and service tax (GST) regime in India, as, it had taken certain powers concerning taxation away from the union and the states, and, had given them to the newly formed GST Council. The peer-reviewed journal, "Economic and Political Weekly", further noted that even after the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003, some states still incur revenue deficits, so, the commission would have to either recommend the disbandment of revenue deficit grants, or, would have to recommend ways for further fiscal consolidation.


title: Fifteenth Finance Commission

text: The commission's chairman, N. K. Singh, said that the commission would need to define populism, as, the commission's terms of reference (ToR) had a provision for rewarding states which were successful in eliminating or reducing expenditure incurred on populist schemes. Singh added that the commission would need to reappraise the formula of devolution of revenue through the union's taxes, because of a provision in its ToR. Singh further said, in a lecture to Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad students, that one of the commission's challenges was to find a balance between equity and efficiency, adding that urban and rural local bodies—the constitutionally-mandated third-tier of government in India—needed to be further empowered to stimulate added economic growth.


title: Fifteenth Finance Commission

text: Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India, Arvind Subramanian, said that the commission may need to function like the first finance commission because of an increased decentralisation and change in India; further suggesting to divide the tax devolution system into fourpots"return", "redistribution", "risk sharing" and "reward", while also saying that tax devolution was no more a north–south issue. However, Subramanian's ideas were opposed by Pinaki Chakraborty, a professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, and a member of the FifteenthFinance Commission's advisory council, who said that having a division of tax devolution into fourpots would violate "the objective of offsetting revenue disabilities."


title: Fifteenth Finance Commission

text: The commission's chairperson, N. K. Singh, said in April 2019 that there should be mechanisms through which the Finance Commissions and the GST Council could coordinate to "ensure there are multiplier benefits of a higher growth trajectory".