title: Misotheism

text: By the 1970s, Harlan Ellison even described dystheism as a bit of a science fiction cliché. Ellison himself has dealt with the theme in his "The Deathbird", the title story of "Deathbird Stories", a collection based on the theme of (for the most part) malevolent modern-day gods. Lester del Rey's "Evensong" (the first story in Harlan Ellison's much-acclaimed "Dangerous Visions" anthology), tells the story of a fugitive God hunted down across the universe by a vengeful humanity which seeks to "put him in his place". "Faith of Our Fathers" by Philip K. Dick, also from the same anthology, features a horrifying vision of a being, possibly God, who is all-devouring and amoral. Philip Pullman's previously mentioned trilogy, "His Dark Materials", presented the theme of a negligent or evil God to a wider audience, as depicted in the 2007 film "The Golden Compass" based on the first book of this trilogy.


title: Misotheism

text: The original series of featured episodes with dystheistic themes, amongst them "The Squire of Gothos", "Who Mourns for Adonais?", "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky", and "The Return of the Archons". In "Encounter at Farpoint", the pilot episode of "", Captain Jean-Luc Picard informs Q, a trickster with god-like powers similar to the antagonist in the aforementioned "Squire of Gothos" episode, that 24th-century humans no longer had any need to depend upon or worship god figures. This is an amplification of the tempered anti-theistic sentiment from "Who Mourns for Adonais?", in which Captain James T. Kirk tells Apollo that "Mankind has no need for gods, we find the one quite adequate." A later episode, "Who Watches the Watchers", depicts accidentally reviving theistic belief in a more primitive species as a negative thing which must be stopped. In "" it is revealed that the Klingon creation myth involves the first Klingons killing the gods that created them because, "They were more trouble than they were worth."


title: Misotheism

text: In the film "Pitch Black", anti-hero protagonist Richard B. Riddick stated his own belief, after an imam accuses him of atheism: "Think someone could spend half their life in a slam with a horse bit in their mouth and not believe? Think he could start out in some liquor store trash bin with an umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and not believe? Got it all wrong, holy man. I absolutely believe in God... and I absolutely hate the fucker."


title: Misotheism

text: Robert A. Heinlein's book "", which is mostly about religious institutions, ends with an appearance by Yahweh which is far from complimentary.


title: Misotheism

text: The Athar, a fictional organization from the D&D's Planescape Campaign Setting denies the divinity of the setting's deities. They do, however, tend to worship "The Great Unknown" in their place. In the "Pathfinder" universe, the nation of Rahadoum bans the worship of the setting's deities. They do not deny the deities' power or divinity, but instead believe that worshiping a deity is akin to enslaving ones' self and that mortals' problems are best solved without the interference of higher powers.


title: Misotheism

text: In the 2013 film "Prisoners", Holly Jones and her husband Isaac lost their faith in God after their son died of cancer. Since then, they have been kidnapping and murdering children in order to make other parents lose faith in God and turning them into revenge-driven hollow shells of their former selves, i.e. spreading their misotheism to other people. As Holly Jones states to Keller Dover near the end of the film: "Making children disappear is the war we wage with God. Makes people lose their faith, turns them into demons like you."


title: Misotheism

text: In the DC Extended Universe film "", Lex Luthor has a misotheistic view of God, believing that if God was omnipotent, then he logically could not be omnibenevolent and vice versa (the theological problem of evil), thereby solidifying his belief that power cannot be innocent. He has a penchant for constantly implementing allusions to major figures of both pagan and biblical theology, with him notably comparing himself to Prometheus, General Zod to Icarus, and Superman to Zeus, Horus, Apollo, Jehovah and Satan. He even compares himself to the biblical God in one way, claiming to hate "the sin, not the sinner", and plays God by creating the monster Doomsday.


title: Misotheism

text: In the season 1 of "Luke Cage", Willis Stryker's misotheism seemed to enforce his revenge mission against his half-brother Luke Cage, quoting several Bible verses that directly link to Lukes's supposed betrayal against Stryker. The Judas Bullet was designed to symbolize this act of treachery; stating "one Judas to another" before shooting Luke in the abdomen and vowing to repeat the same words that Cain said to his father after killing Abel when he finally did kill Cage.


title: Misotheism

text: Dystheistic sentiment has also made its way into popular music, evincing itself in controversial songs like "Dear God" by the band XTC (later covered by Sarah McLachlan) and "Blasphemous Rumours" by Depeche Mode, which tells the story of a teenage girl who attempted suicide, survived, and turned her life over to God, only to be hit by a car, wind up on life support, and eventually die. A good deal of Gary Numan's work, specifically the album "Exile", is laden with misotheistic themes.


title: Misotheism

text: The output of Oscar-winning songwriter/composer Randy Newman also includes several songs expressing dystheistic sentiment, including the ironic "He Gives Us All His Love" and the more overtly maltheistic "God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)", both from his acclaimed 1972 album "Sail Away". In the latter song, Newman bemoans the futility of dealing with God whose attitude towards humanity he sees as one of contempt and cruelty.


title: Misotheism

text: The song "God Made" by Andrew Jackson Jihad proposes dystheism and has an implied hatred for God. More specifically, their song "Be Afraid of Jesus" is about a vengeful Christ although this could be a critique of fundamentalist hate speech.


title: Misotheism

text: "God Am" by Alice in Chains from their self-titled album has many misotheistic themes about the perceived apathy of God towards the evil in this world.


title: Misotheism

text: "Godwhacker" by Steely Dan from their "Everything Must Go" album developed from a lyric frontman Donald Fagen wrote a few days after his mother died of Alzheimer's. "It's about an elite squad of assassins whose sole assignment is to find a way into heaven and take out God", he later explained. "If the Deity actually existed, what sane person wouldn't consider this to be justifiable homicide?"


title: Misotheism

text: In the song "Terrible Lie" by Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor expresses anger, confusion, and sadness towards God and the world he created.


title: Misotheism

text: "Judith" by A Perfect Circle is a satirical song that places blame on God for the illness of the lead singer's mother, Judith. Despite her deteriorating condition, Judith never questions why she has been placed in her predicament but instead continues to praise and worship God. Her son angrily mocks god and presents arguments as to why she shouldn't have to suffer.


title: Misotheism

text: American death metal bands Deicide and Morbid Angel base much of their lyrics around misotheism in name and in concept. Many bands in the black metal genre, such as Mayhem, Emperor, Gorgoroth and Darkthrone express extreme misotheism in their lyrics.


title: Misotheism

text: In 2006, Australian artist Archie Moore created a paper sculpture called "Maltheism", which was considered for a Telstra Art Award in 2006. The piece was intended as a representation of a church made from pages of the Book of Deuteronomy:


title: I Got 5 on It

text: "I Got 5 on It" is a Mobb Music single by the American rap duo Luniz. It was released in May 1995 as the lead single from their debut album, "Operation Stackola". It features R&B singer Michael Marshall. The track reached number 2 in Germany, number 3 in the United Kingdom and number 8 in the United States. The track is a drug anthem about the consumption of marijuana; its title and chorus refer to the practice of splitting the cost of a marijuana purchase and claiming five dollars' worth of it. The single was certified Platinum by the RIAA on October 31, 1995 and sold one million copies domestically.


title: I Got 5 on It

text: The track is performed by Yukmouth and Numskull, who duet about splitting the cost of a $10 bag of weed before going to a convenience store to buy Tanqueray Gin, Carlo Rossi wine, Arizona brand soft drinks, and a Swisher Sweets cigar to break down and convert into a blunt. The reprised version of the track suggests that the original 'five on it' came from a man who had prepaid Numskull for yet-undelivered cocaine.


title: I Got 5 on It

text: The track samples Club Nouveau's "Why You Treat Me So Bad" (1987), Kool and the Gang's "Jungle Boogie" (1973) and Audio Two's "Top Billin'" (1987).


title: I Got 5 on It

text: A remix was released that featured Dru Down, E-40, Richie Rich, Shock G, and Spice 1. Warren G makes a cameo in the remix's music video.


title: I Got 5 on It

text: Pan-European magazine "Music & Media" wrote, "Already a massive smash in the US, this slow rap jam, reminiscent of Warren G's Regulate, has all the potential to emulate that success elsewhere thanks to a sparse production and an irresistible hook." A reviewer from "Music Week" rated the song four out of five, describing it as "catchy US hip hop that makes use of the melody from Timex Social Club's mid-Eighties hit Thinkin' About Ya. Has all the prerequisites to sell well." James Hyman from the magazine's "RM" Dance Update commented, "Just like Jazzy Jeff's infectious 'Summertime', another Kool & The Gang-inspired laid-back 'n' lazy rap is getting heads nodding everywhere."


title: I Got 5 on It

text: "Pitchfork" said, "their lone hit, about going 50-50 on a dime bag, and on paper it’s a celebration of the rituals and etiquette of social smoking. But the musky, nocturnal beat, built from a corroded sample of R&B group Club Nouveau's late '80s hit "Why You Treat Me So Bad", turned the track into an exercise in paranoia.


title: I Got 5 on It

text: The original song and a suspenseful orchestrated remix version play a crucial role in Jordan Peele's 2019 horror film "Us". The track's main melody is used as a leitmotif during the film's climax. The remix is listed on the official soundtrack as the "Tethered Mix". It is also featured in the films "Havoc" and "The Last Black Man in San Francisco". New York Met David Wright had the song as his walk-up music for most of his career because he was number 5 for the team.


title: Cap

text: A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal settings, and are seen in sports and fashion. They are typically designed for warmth, and often incorporate a visor to block sunlight from the eyes. They come in many shapes, sizes, and are of different brands. Baseball caps are one of the most common types of cap.


title: Cap

text: Caps might have started off as a way to keep people shaded from the sun, but now they are much more than that. Caps have made a staple in the both the sports and fashion industries, one leading into the other.


title: Cap

text: Like previously stated caps are typically designed with a visor which makes it perfect for keeping a person cool from the heat and sheltering a person's eyes from the sun, so it was a matter of time before they made it to the sports industry. The first sport to adopt wearing caps was baseball, the hats was made out of straw and were worn on April 24, 1849, by the New York Knickerbockers. However, within a few years time the team began to wear a cap made of fine merino wool, that featured a crown and an attached visor. This design became the prototype for caps of that time and still the most popular in present day. It's also not the only design for baseball hats but other sports as well, such as cricket, golf and tennis.


title: Cap

text: Sportswear found its way to fashion in the nineteenth century and on the contrary to what many believe it began to actually cater to the wants and needs of women. Sports cap however made an impact on the fashion industry around the 1980s when the company New Era, who had been designing hats for sports teams, began designing and selling hats to the general public. Baseball caps, fitted caps, snapback caps and truckers hats would then be seen in music videos, films, runways and even on Princess Diana's head, which helped nurture her appearance as the "people's princess." Along with hats, sports jerseys also became available in the 1980s as well, and now licensed apparel is a multi-billion dollar industry.


title: ICE 3

text: ICE 3, or Intercity-Express 3, is a family of high-speed electric multiple unit trains operated by Deutsche Bahn. It includes classes 403, 406, 407 and 408, which are known as ICE 3, ICE 3M, New ICE 3 and ICE 3neo respectively. Three multisystem trains, known as ICE International, are owned by Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS, Dutch Railways). Based on the ICE 3M/F, Siemens developed its Siemens Velaro train family with versions used in Germany, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain, China, Russia and Turkey.


title: ICE 3

text: The design goal of the ICE 3 (Class 403) was to create a higher-powered, lighter train than its predecessors. This was achieved by distributing its 16 traction motors underneath the whole train. The train is licensed for and has reached on trial runs. On regular Intercity-Express services they run at up to , the maximum design speed of German high-speed lines.


title: ICE 3

text: Because the train does not have power cars, the whole length of the train is available for passenger seats, including the first car. The "lounge"-seats are located directly behind the driver, separated only by a glass wall.


title: ICE 3

text: The 50 sets were ordered in 1997 and specifically designed for the new high-speed line between Frankfurt and Cologne. They were built by a consortium led by Siemens and Adtranz (now Bombardier Transportation).


title: ICE 3

text: On 11 April 2017, Deutsche Bahn announced the modernisation programme called "ICE 3 Redesign" for its 66-unit ICE 3 fleet to be completed by the end of 2020. The renovation involves replacing the seats, tables, and floor coverings. The six-seat compartment rooms are eliminated from the second class section to increase the number of seats and add more luggage compartments. In addition, the number of disability seating has been increased to two; however, no integrated wheelchair lift has been installed, and no disability seating is offered in the first-class section. The seats in some Bordrestaurant have been converted to the red bench seating while Bordbistro receives the new stand tables. The cabin illumination is provided by LED lamps, providing more illumination, while the reading lamps are eliminated. The seat reservation panels are moved from the walls above the windows to the seat headrests per EU directive on accessibilities: the new panel has bigger and more visible white lettering and Braille. The yellow LCD information monitors in the antechambers are replaced with larger full-colour LED displays, showing the map, train number, speed, and other pertinent information. The new smaller displays are attached to the ceiling above the aisle throughout the cabins.


title: ICE 3

text: The ICE 3M (Class 406; M for "multisystem") was developed to operate international services under the four different railway electrification systems in use on Europe's main lines and with support for various train protection systems. The Deutsche Bahn (DB) ordered 13 of these units in 1994, the NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen) four, making sure that the demands of the Dutch rail network are taken care of. Though these trains carry NS logos, the DB and NS trains together form a pool and therefore, the NS trains may operate DB services as well. In 2007 the train was licensed for operation in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. Currently, those trains are used for cross-border runs between Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and France. On the French LGV Est, some trains reach a regular top speed of .


title: ICE 3

text: The 17 class 406 sets were built by the same consortium as the class 403. They were first introduced in November 2000 on services between Cologne and Amsterdam. Since December 2002, they have also been operating three journeys daily each way between Frankfurt and Brussels (increased to four per day since December 2010).


title: ICE 3

text: In Belgium, the train was licensed in 2002 to run on the classic 3 kV DC lines with speeds up to and, from December 2004, also on the new 25 kV AC high-speed lines, but initially limited to instead of . Problems with flying gravel and its frictionless linear eddy current brake came up during testing. In order to limit the creation of tornado-like vortices that pick up gravel and to limit damage from flying gravel to the train, spoilers have been added under the car joints, under the carbody next to the bogies and under the powered axles on the bogies.


title: ICE 3

text: The linear eddy current brake, which is required for higher speeds, cannot yet be used, because the magnetic field would rip off the magnetic covers of some trackside equipment; those covers will have to be replaced by non-magnetic ones according to the EU Technical Specifications for Interoperability for international rail traffic in Europe.


title: ICE 3

text: As in Belgium, licensing procedures for France took five years to be completed. Trial runs were completed in late 2005 and the same two problems were encountered as in Belgium: loose gravel damage and possible side-effects of the brakes. ICE 3Ms were allowed on the LGV Est and started service there on 20 June 2007, mixed with TGVs. Since December 2007, DB operates ICE 3M trains from Frankfurt central station to Paris Est, initially with five daily runs between both cities. The six trains for running into France (designated ICE-3 MF, indicating "multisystem France") were modified at Bombardier's Hennigsdorf plant and were extensively tested on Siemens' test site in Wegberg-Wildenrath before the modified trains re-entered commercial service.


title: ICE 3

text: Despite this, the "French" subset of six class 406 trains have suffered from reliability problems, so that some Paris–Frankfurt services are operated instead by French TGVs (currently TGV 2N2 'Euroduplex' as of 2015) under the "Alleo" joint venture between DB and SNCF.


title: ICE 3

text: Deutsche Bahn placed an order for fifteen trains valued €500 million in November 2008. On 18 April 2010, Deutsche Bahn presented the first Velaro D at Siemens' Krefeld plant. It is designed for operation at up to , is wider, quieter and more energy-saving, should be less susceptible to malfunctions than its predecessor, and incorporates additional crashworthiness and fire safety measures.


title: ICE 3

text: The new train was supposed to be used mainly for international services from Germany to France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The new type's safety measures are in line with the new specifications for operating passenger trains inside the Channel Tunnel, allowing the Class 407 to be used on the services that DB planned to operate from London to Amsterdam and Frankfurt in 2015. The planned service to London was never introduced.


title: ICE 3

text: The new train was designated Class 407 and was originally scheduled to enter service at the end of 2011. This date has since been postponed several times. In December 2013 the first four trains delivered to DB were licensed for domestic operation as multiple units and started with passenger traffic. Four more trains were expected for delivery in spring 2014, whereas the remainder of eight trains shall be used by Siemens for test runs in France and Belgium to gain type approval there.


title: ICE 3

text: In June 2011, Deutsche Bahn ordered one additional Velaro D set in order to replace an ICE3MF set damaged in an accident in August 2010.


title: ICE 3

text: In 2019 Deutsche Bahn needed more trains to run on national and international high-speed tracks. Siemens offered them an evolution of the Velaro D equipped with multi-system capability and hence labelled Velaro MS. In 2020 Deutsche Bahn ordered 30 trainsets for delivery starting in 2022. The trains are designed for operation at 320 km/h and will be deployed from the end of 2022 on routes that use the Cologne – Frankfurt high speed line which is designed for operation at 300 km/h. The first of the trains, called "ICE 3 neo" by Deutsche Bahn and classed as 408, was completed in late 2021 with test runs started immediately. In February of 2022, the order volume increased to 73 trains and the first train was shown to journalists. All 73 trains are supposed to be in service by early 2029.


title: ICE 3

text: For the EXPO 2000 in Hanover, Deutsche Bahn provided 120 additional train services. Some of these special services were operated by ICE trains and labelled "ExpoExpress" (EXE). These services also constituted the first widespread use of the then-new ICE 3 train sets, presenting them to the domestic and international general public.


title: Two-tone (music genre)

text: Two-tone or 2 tone is a genre of British popular music of the late 1970s and early 1980s that fused traditional Jamaican ska music with elements of punk rock and new wave music. Its name derives from 2 Tone Records, a record label founded in 1979 by Jerry Dammers of The Specials, and references a desire to transcend and defuse racial tensions in Thatcher-era Britain: many two-tone groups, such as The Specials, The Selecter, and The Beat, featured a mix of Black, white, and multiracial people.


title: Two-tone (music genre)

text: Originating in the Midlands city Coventry in England in the late 1970s, it was part of the second wave of ska music, following on from the first ska music that developed in Jamaica in the 1950s and 1960s, and infused with punk and new wave textures.


title: Two-tone (music genre)

text: Although two-tone's mainstream commercial appeal was largely limited to the UK, it influenced the ska punk movement that developed in the US in the late 1980s and 1990s.


title: Two-tone (music genre)

text: The two-tone sound originated among young musicians in Coventry in the West Midlands of England, who grew up listening to 1960s Jamaican music. They combined influences from ska, reggae and rocksteady with elements of punk rock and new wave. Bands considered part of the genre include The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, The Beat, Bad Manners, The Bodysnatchers and Akrylykz.


title: Two-tone (music genre)

text: The Specials' keyboard player Jerry Dammers coined the term "two-tone". Dammers, with the assistance of Horace Panter and graphic designer John "Teflon" Sims, developed the iconic "Walt Jabsco" logo (a man in a black suit, white shirt, black tie, pork pie hat, white socks and black loafers) to represent the two-tone genre. The logo, based on an early album-cover photo of Peter Tosh, included an added black-and-white check pattern.


title: Two-tone (music genre)

text: Most of the bands considered to be part of the two-tone genre were signed to 2 Tone Records (operative 1979–1985) at some point. Other record labels associated with the two-tone sound were Stiff Records and Go Feet Records. The music was especially popular among skinheads, rudies and mod revivalists.


title: Two-tone (music genre)

text: On 1 October 2010 the 2-Tone Central museum, cafe and venue opened in the Coventry University Students' Union building, and by August 2011 it had moved to the 2-Tone Village in Stoke, Coventry. It includes exhibition space and the Coventry Music Wall of Fame.


title: Plan Z

text: Plan Z was the name given to the planned re-equipment and expansion of the "Kriegsmarine" (German navy) ordered by Adolf Hitler in early 1939. The fleet was meant to challenge the naval power of the United Kingdom, and was to be completed by 1948. Development of the plan began in 1938, but it reflected the evolution of the strategic thinking of the "Oberkommando der Marine" (Naval High Command) over the two decades following World War I. The plan called for a fleet centered on ten battleships and four aircraft carriers which were intended to battle the Royal Navy. This force would be supplemented with numerous long-range cruisers that would attack British shipping. A relatively small force of U-boats was also stipulated.


title: Plan Z

text: When World War II broke out in September 1939, almost no work had been done on the new ships ordered under Plan Z. The need to shift manufacturing capacity to more pressing requirements forced the "Kriegsmarine" to abandon the construction program, and only a handful of major ships—all of which had been ordered before Plan Z—were completed during the war. Nevertheless, the plan still had a significant effect on the course of World War II, in that only a few dozen U-boats had been completed by the outbreak of war. Admiral Karl Dönitz's U-boat fleet did not reach the 300 U-boats he deemed necessary to win a commerce war against Britain until 1943, by which time his forces had been decisively defeated.


title: Plan Z

text: Following the end of World War I, the German armed forces became subject to the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles. For the new "Reichsmarine", this meant it was limited to six pre-dreadnought battleships, six old light cruisers, 12 destroyers and 12 torpedo boats. A further two pre-dreadnoughts, two cruisers, and four destroyers and torpedo boats apiece could be kept in reserve. The first major ship to be built after the war was the light cruiser in the early 1920s. This was followed by a further three light cruisers of the : , and , and a further two ships that were modified versions of the "Königsberg" class, and . At the same time, the Germans created a dummy corporation, NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw (IvS), in the Netherlands to secretly continue development of submarines. This was in violation of Article 191 of the Treaty of Versailles, which prohibited Germany from possessing or building submarines for any purpose. IvS built several submarines for foreign navies, including the Turkish , which was the basis for the Type I U-boat, and the Finnish , which was the prototype for the Type II U-boat.


title: Plan Z

text: The Treaty also stipulated that Germany could replace its pre-dreadnought battleships after they reached twenty years of age, but new vessels could displace no more than . In response to these limitations, the Germans attempted to build a powerful heavy cruiser—classified as a "panzerschiff" (armored ship)—that outclassed the new heavy cruisers built by Britain and France. While British and French heavy cruiser designs were bound by the Washington Naval Treaty (and subsequent London Naval Treaty) to a caliber of on a displacement of 10,000 tons, the Germans chose to arm with six guns. The Germans hoped that by building a ship significantly more powerful than the Allies had, they could force the Allies to admit Germany to the Washington treaty system in exchange for cancelling "Deutschland", thereby abrogating the naval limitations imposed by Versailles. The French vehemently opposed any concessions to Germany, and therefore, "Deutschland" and two further units— and —were built.


title: Plan Z

text: In 1932, the "Reichsmarine" secured the passage of the "Schiffbauersatzplan" ("Replacement ship construction program") through the "Reichstag". The program called for two separate production phases, the first from 1930 to 1936, and the second from 1936 to 1943. The latter phase was secretly intended to break the Versailles restrictions. The following year, Adolf Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany. He unilaterally withdrew from the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles and began the systematic re-building of the armed forces. The prestige brought by the "Panzerschiffe" led to two improved vessels, the D class, to be ordered. These ships were cancelled and reordered as the battleships and , which were ships armed with nine 28 cm guns and much greater armor protection than their predecessors. In 1935, Hitler signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, which permitted Germany to build up to 35 percent of the strength of the Royal Navy in all warship categories. The initial designs for two follow-on ships—the —initially called for a displacement of with guns, but to counter the two new, French s, the new ships were significantly enlarged, to a displacement of over and guns.


title: Plan Z

text: The postwar German navy was conflicted over what direction future construction should take. In September 1920, "Konteradmiral" (Rear Admiral) William Michaelis issued a memorandum laying out the goals of the new "Reichsmarine"; these goals emphasized coastal defense rather than significant expansion. The German Army viewed Poland as the primary future enemy, and the Navy assumed that in a conflict with Poland, France would support Poland. Thus, the French Navy would be the most likely opponent for the "Reichsmarine"; Britain was expected to remain neutral in such a conflict. The construction of warships through the mid-1930s was primarily directed against the perceived French threat. Any hypothetical U-boats would generally support the main fleet rather than embark on a commerce-raiding campaign, and any raiding would be done strictly according to cruiser rules. This view remained the established orthodoxy until the mid-1930s, when then-"Kapitän zur See" (Captain at Sea) Karl Dönitz came to command the U-boat arm. Dönitz advocated a return to unrestricted submarine warfare and the adoption of wolfpack tactics to overwhelm convoy defenses.


title: Plan Z

text: In the 1920s, the question arose over what to do with the cruisers that would presumably be abroad on training cruises when a war would break out. The high command decided that they should operate as independent commerce raiders. When "Vizeadmiral" (Vice Admiral) Erich Raeder became the head of the "Reichsmarine" in 1928, he fully endorsed the concept of long-range surface raiders. This was in large part due to his service in World War I as the chief of staff to "Vizeadmiral" Franz von Hipper, where he saw the fleet rendered impotent by the crushing British naval superiority. By the late 1930s, Hitler's aggressive foreign policy made conflict with Britain increasingly likely, particularly after the Munich crisis of September 1938. The path toward a major fleet expansion was paved shortly thereafter, on 14 October, when (Field Marshal) Hermann Göring announced a colossal armament program to dramatically increase the size and power of the German armed forces. The plan was to be completed by 1942, by which time Hitler planned to go to war against the Anglo-French alliance. He nevertheless assured Raeder that war would not come until 1948.


title: Plan Z

text: Hitler ordered that completion of and be expedited, along with six new H-class battleships yet to be laid down. These eight battleships would form the core of a new battle fleet capable of engaging the British Royal Navy. Raeder meanwhile believed that Britain could be more easily defeated through the surface raider strategy he favored. The initial version of his plan was based on the assumption that the fleet should be centered on "panzerschiffe", long-range cruisers, and U-boats to attack British commerce. These forces would tie down British naval power and allow a smaller number of battleships to operate in the North Sea. This first draft was called Plan X; a pared-down revision was renamed Plan Y, but Hitler rejected Raeder's proposed construction plan. This led to Plan Z, which featured the more balanced fleet centered on the battleships Hitler sought, which he approved on 27 January 1939. In addition to the six new battleships Hitler demanded, the plan called for eight new "panzerschiffe" of the "Deutschland" type and 249 U-boats, with construction spread over the following nine years. By 1948, the German fleet was to include a total of 797 ships; the cost of the program amounted to 33 billion reichsmarks spent over the span of nine years. Further revisions to the numbers of cruisers and other craft were approved on 1 March. Raeder nevertheless retained his operation philosophy of using the battleships and aircraft carriers in task forces to support the "panzerschiffe" and light cruisers attacking British merchant traffic, rather than directly attacking the Royal Navy in a pitched battle.


title: Plan Z

text: The plan, approved by Hitler on 27 January 1939, called for a surface fleet composed of the following vessels, which included all new ships built in the 1920s and 1930s:


title: Plan Z

text: These figures included the four "Scharnhorst"- and "Bismarck"-class battleships already built or building, the three "Deutschland"-class "panzerschiffe" and the six light cruisers already in service. To complete the core of the Plan Z fleet, six H-class battleships, three O-class battlecruisers, twelve P-class "panzerschiffe", and two s with two more of a new design, were to be built. The five ships of the fulfilled the mandate for heavy cruisers, while the M class of light cruisers would fulfill the requirement for light cruisers. The Spähkreuzer 1938 design would form the basis for the fleet scouts ordered in the program. The plan also called for extensive upgrades to Germany's naval infrastructure to accommodate the new fleet; larger dry docks were to be built at Wilhelmshaven and Hamburg, and much of the island of Rügen was to be removed to provide a large harbor in the Baltic. Plan Z was given the highest priority of all industrial projects. On 27 July 1939, Raeder revised the plan to cancel all twelve of the P-class "panzerschiffe".


title: Plan Z

text: In the short time from the introduction of Plan Z to the beginning of war with the United Kingdom on 3 September only two of the plan's large ships, a pair of H class battleships, were laid down; material for the other four ships had started to be assembled in preparation to begin construction but no work had been done. At the time components of the three battlecruisers were in production, but their keels had not yet been laid down. Two of the M-class cruisers had been laid down, but they were also cancelled in late September. Work on was cancelled definitively in 1943 when Hitler finally abandoned the surface fleet after the Battle of the Barents Sea debacle.


title: Plan Z

text: Since the plan was cancelled less than a year after it was approved, the positive effects on German naval construction were minimal. All of the ships authorized by the plan were cancelled after the outbreak of war, with only a few major surface vessels that predated the plan completed during the conflict. These included "Bismarck" and "Tirpitz", along with the heavy cruisers "Blücher" and "Prinz Eugen". Without the six H-class battleships or the four aircraft carriers, the "Kriegsmarine" was once again unable to meet the Royal Navy on equal terms.


title: Plan Z

text: Most of the heavy ships of the "Kriegsmarine" were used as commerce raiders in the early years of the war. Two of the "panzerschiffe", "Deutschland" and "Graf Spee", were already at sea at the outbreak of war; the former found little success and the latter was ultimately trapped and forced to scuttle after the Battle of the River Plate in December 1939. From October 1940 to March 1941, "Admiral Scheer" went on her own raiding operation and captured or sank seventeen ships, which made her the most successful of the German capital ship surface raiders in the entire war. "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" conducted Operation Berlin, a major sortie into the Atlantic in early 1941. "Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" went on the last Atlantic raiding mission, Operation Rheinübung, in May 1941. "Bismarck" sank the British battlecruiser but was herself sunk three days later. The loss of "Bismarck" led Hitler to prohibit further sorties into the Atlantic; the remaining capital ships were concentrated in Norway for use as a fleet in being and to threaten convoys to the Soviet Union on the Murmansk Run.


title: Plan Z

text: Despite the fact that Plan Z produced no new warships in time for World War II, the plan represented the strategic thinking of the "Oberkommando der Marine" (OKM—"Naval High Command") at the time. Most significantly, the OKM favored surface combatants over the U-boats Dönitz needed for his submarine campaign in the North Atlantic, which left him with only a handful of submarines at the start of war. The two "Scharnhorst"-class battleships cost close to 150 million "reichsmarks" apiece, and the two "Bismarck"-class ships cost nearly 250 million "reichsmarks" each; for this amount of money, the Germans could have built more than a hundred additional Type VII U-boats. The shift to the submarine war was not definitively made until 1943, by which time the campaign had already been lost.


title: Plan Z

text: The feasibility of the plan had never been considered by Raeder the planners; construction of the ships themselves was not a concern, assuming sufficient time had been available. But securing the fuel oil necessary to operate the fleet likely was an insurmountable problem. Fuel consumption would have more than quadrupled between 1936 and the completion of the program in 1948, from 1.4 million tons to approximately 6 million tons. And the navy would have to construct some 9.6 million tons worth of storage facilities for enough fuel reserves to allow for just a year of wartime operations; longer conflicts would of course necessitate an even larger stockpile. Compared to the combined fuel requirements of the , (Army), (Air Force), and the civilian economy, the projected domestic production by 1948 of less than 2 million tons of oil and 1.34 million tons of diesel fuel is absurdly low.


title: Kid Rock discography

text: American musician Kid Rock has released 12 studio albums, one compilation album, two extended plays and one live album. His debut album, "Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast", was released by Jive Records in 1990. Following its release, Kid Rock was dropped and shuffled between an independent artist and label-signed for most of the 1990s until he created his own Top Dog label and released his mainstream debut album, "Devil Without a Cause", on August 18, 1998, via Atlantic Records. The album was certified diamond by the RIAA and sold 11 million copies in the United States. From 1999 to 2000 he produced four major Billboard "Hot 100" hits: "Bawitdaba", "Cowboy", "Only God Knows Why", and "American Bad Ass".


title: Kid Rock discography

text: He crossed over to the country charts in 2003 with "Picture", a duet with Sheryl Crow. "Cocky" was released in 2001 as the follow up to "Devil Without a Cause" and sold 5 million copies, followed by 2003's "Kid Rock" and 2006's "Live Trucker". "Live Trucker" was Kid Rock's first live release, going Gold and selling over 600,000 copies. In 2007, Kid Rock made his comeback with "Rock n Roll Jesus", which was certified triple platinum. In 2008, Kid Rock had his biggest hit to date with "All Summer Long". It reached number 1 in eight countries and hit number 23 in the United States. "Born Free" was released in 2010 and went platinum.


title: Kid Rock discography

text: "Cucci Galore", "Happy New Year" and "Redneck Paradise" were also singles off 2012's "Rebel Soul"; however, none of them charted.


title: Kid Rock discography

text: UK promotional singles include "Somebody's Gotta Feel This", "Fist of Rage" and "Where U at Rock" from "Devil Without a Cause". "Lay It On Me", "Cocky", "I'm Wrong But You Ain't Right", "Midnight Train to Memphis" and "WCSR" from "Cocky" were released as promotional singles in Sweden. "Do It for You" from "Kid Rock" was released as a promotional single in the US and featured in a commercial that ran on CMT. "New Orleans" from "Rock n Roll Jesus" was also a US promotional single, as was "Johnny Cash" from "First Kiss", which also had a music video made for it.


title: Kid Rock discography

text: B-sides include "Pimp of the Nation", "Wax the Booty", "Balls in Your Mouth", "3 Sheets to the Wind", "In So Deep" (Echo Mix), "Wasting Time" (live), "Paid", "My Oedipus Complex", "I'm a Dog", "Guilty", "Rock n Roll Pain Train", "Son of Detroit" (live), "Bawitdaba" (live), "Jesus and Bochepus" and "Wasting Time" (Remix). "Jesus and Bochepus" charted at number 42 on Hot Rock Songs chart, Rock's only B-side to have charted.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale was fought intermittently between 14 August 1987 and 23 March 1988, south and east of the town of Cuito Cuanavale, Angola, by the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) and advisors and soldiers from Cuba, USSR, Vietnam, ANC and SWAPO against South Africa, and soldiers of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) during the Angolan Civil War and South African Border War. The battle was the largest engagement of the Angolan conflict and the biggest conventional battle on the African continent since World War II. UNITA and its South African allies defeated a major FAPLA offensive towards Mavinga, preserving the former's control of southern Angola. They proceeded to launch a bloody but inconclusive counteroffensive on FAPLA defensive positions around the Tumpo River east of Cuito Cuanavale.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: Following a number of failed attempts to take the settlements in 1986, eight FAPLA brigades mustered for a final offensive—"Operação Saludando Octubre"—in August 1987 with extensive auxiliary support from one of Angola's closest military allies, the Soviet Union. The FAPLA offensive took the form of a two-pronged, multi-divisional movement southwards towards Mavinga, a major UNITA stronghold and logistics centre. Once Mavinga was in its hands, FAPLA intended to expel the remaining insurgents from Moxico Province and pave the way for a final assault on the UNITA headquarters at Jamba. The Soviet Union supplied FAPLA with over a billion dollars' worth of new military hardware for the purpose of this offensive, and between 4 and 9 Soviet advisers were attached to each FAPLA unit on the brigade level.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: South Africa, which shared a common border with Angola through the contested territory of South West Africa (Namibia), was then determined to prevent FAPLA from gaining control of Mavinga and allowing insurgents of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) to operate in the region. "Saludando Octubre" prompted the South African Defence Force (SADF) to underpin the defence of Mavinga and launch "Operation Moduler" with the objective of stopping FAPLA's advance. After weeks of preliminary skirmishes, the two armies met at the Lomba River on 6 September. Throughout September and October, the SADF repulsed several FAPLA attempts to cross the Lomba and destroyed most of the latter's vital bridging equipment. Repeated counterattacks by the SADF's 61 Mechanised Battalion Group resulted in the annihilation of FAPLA's 47 Brigade and the loss of its remaining bridgeheads, sending the remainder of the FAPLA units reeling back towards Cuito Cuanavale.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: During the second phase of the campaign, the SADF and UNITA made several unsuccessful attempts to encircle and destroy the surviving FAPLA forces before they could establish new defensive positions east of Cuito Cuanavale, an initiative known as "Operation Hooper". However, FAPLA succeeded in concentrating its forces within a cramped perimeter between the Cuito, Tumpo, and Dala rivers known as the "Tumpo Triangle". Here they were protected by the terrain and by extensive minefields. They were also reinforced by a number of Cuban armoured and motorised units, who had become more directly committed to the fighting for the first time since the beginning of Cuba's military intervention in Angola in 1975. The SADF and UNITA launched six heavy assaults on the Tumpo Triangle under the auspices of "Operation Packer", inflicting serious casualties on FAPLA. Despite suffering significant losses, the defending FAPLA and Cuban troops held their lines in the Tumpo Triangle. The SADF and UNITA disengaged in March 1988, after laying a series of minefields southeast of Cuito Cuanavale to dissuade a renewed FAPLA offensive.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: Both sides claimed victory. The Cuban and FAPLA defenders had interpreted the SADF's Tumpo Triangle campaign as part of a larger effort to seize the town of Cuito Cuanavale itself and presented their stand there as a successful defensive action. The SADF maintained that it had achieved its basic objectives of halting the FAPLA offensive during the Lomba River campaign without needing to occupy Cuito Cuanavale, which would have entailed unacceptable losses to its expeditionary force.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: Today, the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale is credited by some with ushering in the first round of trilateral negotiations, mediated by the United States, which secured the withdrawal of Cuban and South African troops from Angola and Namibia by 1991.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The Angolan Civil War played out against the backdrop of the Cold War struggle between the Soviet Union and the United States. Both superpowers tried to influence the outcome of the civil war through proxies.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: For 13 years until 1974, three armed groups fought for Angola's independence from Portugal: the Soviet-backed Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) (with its armed wing FAPLA), led by Agostinho Neto; the conservative National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA), led by Holden Roberto and supported by Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaïre; and UNITA, led by Jonas Savimbi.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: After the Carnation Revolution of April 1974 in Portugal, the new revolutionary government of Portugal let go of Portugal's African overseas possessions, including Angola. The Treaty of Alvor comprised a series of agreements between the three rebel factions and Portugal that were to pave the way to independence. Under its terms, a transitional government was formed, elections were scheduled for the end of the year, and 11 November 1975 was slated as Angola's independence day. Fighting between the three rebel factions started soon after the transitional government took office on 31 January 1975, with each movement gaining control of their traditional areas of influence by mid-1975: the MPLA in the capital and central Angola, the FNLA in the north and UNITA in the south. The FNLA was defeated in the 1970s and the struggle for control continued between the Soviet-backed MPLA forces and the United States- and South African-backed UNITA movement. The MPLA government of Angola and SWAPO were supported by Cuba, the Soviet Union, and other communist states, while UNITA and FNLA were supported by capitalist states (albeit clandestinely), foremost among them the United States and South Africa.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: Between 1975 and 1976 Cuban and South African troops participated in the fighting on behalf of the MPLA and UNITA, respectively. According to Cuban leader Fidel Castro, the presence of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces in Angola was in accordance with an "internationalist mission" to combat colonialism and "defend [Angolan] independence". For its part, South Africa perceived Cuban and Soviet interference with the Angolan conflict as an example of regional communist expansionism.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: After the Cubans had helped the MPLA gain power in 1975 they considered it necessary to stay in the country until conditions stabilized. The Soviet Union and other Eastern bloc countries supplied FAPLA with armament, advisors, and specialized technical staff. UNITA managed, with South African and US support, to continue posing a military threat to the MPLA government. UNITA received backing from the US, most notably in the form of Stinger missiles that helped repel the air superiority of the FAPLA forces. South Africa also provided UNITA with arms and training.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: South Africa had governed South West Africa (Namibia) under an expired League of Nations mandate since annexing the territory from the German Empire during World War I. In 1966, the South West African Liberation Army (later known as the People's Liberation Army of Namibia) launched an armed struggle to free the territory from South African rule. Following the MPLA's ascension to power, SWAPO gained its support and began operating from sanctuaries inside Angola.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The South African government's strategic concern was thus to ensure continued UNITA control over regions bordering South West Africa, so as to prevent the SWAPO guerrillas from receiving Angolan support and gaining a springboard in southern Angola from which to launch attacks into South West Africa. Its security strategy was shaped by the doctrines of pre-emptive interventionism and counter-revolutionary warfare. Following the South African Operation Protea in August 1981, in which it temporarily occupied of Cunene province, UNITA took effective administrative control of most of Cunene in January 1982.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: Because of the UNITA insurgency, the central government never managed to gain control of the whole country; UNITA had control of much of southeastern Angola. Whenever it was threatened, South Africa intervened on its behalf. South Africa kept the whole southern border in Angola and at times up to 50,000 km (19,000 sq mi) of Cunene province occupied and conducted invasions and raids into the country.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: In 1987, as part of the Angolan government campaign against UNITA and for the control of south-eastern Angola, the Angolan army launched campaign "Operação Saludando Octubre" to drive UNITA forces from their stronghold cities of Mavinga (a former Portuguese military base) and Jamba in the southeast of the country, north of the Caprivi Strip. As in previous campaigns, planning and leadership was taken over by the Soviets and the higher ranks in the units were taken over by Soviet officers. Major-General Ryabchenko would command the Angolan forces in the battle. Soviet command did not include the Cuban forces in Angola and the Cubans initially did not engage in combat but took over support functions. FAPLA's equipment was upgraded, including 150 T-55 tanks and Mi-24 helicopters. The Soviets dismissed the advice of the Cubans, as in the campaigns before, who warned that the operation would create another opportunity for a South African intervention. It was decided to commence the attack from Cuito Cuanavale.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: Taking notice of the massive military build-up, South Africa warned UNITA. The Angolan campaign was initially successful and made considerable gains into southeastern Angola. The South African government became aware that UNITA would not be able to withstand the onslaught. On 15 June it decided to intervene and authorised covert support. On 4 August 1987 the SADF launched Operation Moduler which was to stop the Angolan advance on Mavinga to prevent a rout of UNITA. The SADF 61 Mechanized Battalion crossed into Angola from their base at the border town of Rundu.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale was part of the Angolan Civil War, itself a proxy war in the Cold War. The FAPLA strategic objective was to destroy UNITA, win the civil war and thus take sole control of the entire country. As part of that process FAPLA brigades advanced south-east from Cuito Cuanavale to attack UNITA at Mavinga.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The South African strategic objective was to prevent SWAPO from using southern Angola to launch attacks into South West Africa. To achieve this the SADF supported UNITA in southern Angola, and when FAPLA advanced from Cuito Cuanavale to attack UNITA at Mavinga, the SADF intervened to protect UNITA by stopping that advance.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The FAPLA attack was comprehensively smashed by the SADF intervention, with FAPLA and its Cuban allies suffering heavy casualties. The SADF objective was thus achieved, in that the FAPLA advance was halted outside Cuito Cuanavale, and was abandoned shortly thereafter.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The Cuban/Angolan objective was thereafter reduced to securing the town of Cuito Cuanavale on the west of the river from capture. The SADF had a political imperative to avoid casualties wherever possible. There was never an attempt made to capture the town of Cuito Cuanavale, and the SADF had orders to avoid the town unless it fell into their hands without a fight.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: Although the SADF achieved its objective of stopping the advance and protecting UNITA, FAPLA/Cuba also claimed victory in the battle. In a speech to the Cuban people delivered while visiting Cuba in 1991, Nelson Mandela repeatedly reiterated this view, and claimed that the battle of Cuito Cuanavale "marked an important step in the struggle to free the continent and our country of the scourge of apartheid." This perspective locates the outcome of the battle within the context of the withdrawal of the SADF from Angola and the independence of Angola.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The Battle opened the window of opportunity for a negotiated settlement in South Africa as well as the implementation of UN Resolution 435 that brought independence to Namibia. It was thus a strategic watershed event with regional and even global significance.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The UNITA strategic objective was to survive, and ultimately to rule the country. They succeeded in surviving, and they continue to contest elections, but have never won a parliamentary majority.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: Also known as the Battle of the Lomba River, this battle took place near the town of Cuito Cuanavale in southern Angola. To the South African Defence Force it took the form of four phases, which ran consecutively as a single overall battle. These were:


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: On 4 August 1987 the SADF launched Operation Moduler, which was to stop the Angolan advance on Mavinga to prevent a rout of UNITA. The SADF 61 Mechanized Battalion crossed into Angola from their base at the border town of Rundu.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: In August FAPLA's 16th, 21st (both light infantry), 47th (armoured) and 59th (mechanized) brigades, about 6,000 men and 80 tanks plus artillery and support vehicles, departed from Cuito Cuanavale to cross the Lomba River. They received air support from the airbase at Menongue, including MiG 23s deployed in ground attacks. Four more brigades were kept to defend Cuito Cuanavale and its approaches.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: Facing them were the UNITA forces composed of the 3rd Regular, 5th Regular, 13th Semi-Regular and 275th Special Forces Battalions, supported by about 1,000 SADF troops with armoured vehicles and artillery. On 28 August FAPLA reached the northern banks of the Lomba River en route to Mavinga, where they were engaged by the SADF.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: In a series of bitter fights between 9 September and 7 October, SADF and UNITA achieved their primary objective of preventing the FAPLA from crossing the river. The Soviets withdrew their advisors and left the FAPLA without senior leadership, and FAPLA forces crumbled and ran. FAPLA suffered heavy losses, with all four brigades losing about 60–70% of their strength. Throughout the battle, FAPLA had lost 1059 dead and 2118 wounded, along with 61 tanks, 83 armoured vehicles and 20 rocket launchers. The SADF lost 17 killed and 41 wounded, plus 5 armoured vehicles. The SADF also captured a highly sophisticated SA-8 anti-aircraft missile system – the first time the weapon had fallen into western hands. The Angolan army headed into a retreat over 190 km back to Cuito Cuanavale, which it desperately held on to.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: Chester Crocker, who was the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the Reagan Administration, said that: "In some of the bloodiest battles of the entire civil war, a combined force of some 8,000 UNITA fighters and 4,000 SADF troops not only destroyed one FAPLA brigade but badly damaged several others out of a total FAPLA force of some 18,000 engaged in the three-pronged offensive. Estimates of FAPLA losses ranged upward of 4,000 killed and wounded….Large quantities of Soviet equipment were destroyed or fell into UNITA and SADF hands when FAPLA broke into a disorganized retreat... The 1987 military campaign represented a stunning humiliation for the Soviet Union, its arms and its strategy. ... As of mid-November, the UNITA/SADF force had destroyed the Cuito Cuanavale airfield and pinned down thousands of FAPLA's best remaining units clinging onto the town's defensive perimeters."


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: On 29 September, South African and UNITA forces, having gained the upper hand, launched a counter-attack. The objective was to inflict a crushing blow to the FAPLA, so that they would not consider another offensive in the following year. The restrictions previously placed on the SADF by their political masters were lightened, and the SADF committed tanks for the first time. The 4th SA Infantry Battalion was added to the mix, bringing the SADF strength up to about 3,000 men – the biggest of the entire campaign.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: During this phase the SADF units were supported by heavy artillery and air strikes. The airstrip at Cuito Cuanavale was extensively bombarded, causing the Cubans to withdraw their aircraft to Menongue and to abandon the Cuanavale airstrip.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The SADF tactics were based closely on the tactics used by the German commander Erwin Rommel in World War 2, when he crushed the British at Gazala.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: On 9 November the SADF attacked the FAPLA 16th brigade. Air strikes and artillery were used, and tanks went into battle alongside the armoured vehicles. UNITA infantry also participated. The 16th brigade was mauled, and withdrew in disarray back across the river. The battle ended after half a day, when the SADF vehicles ran low on ammunition and broke off the attack. FAPLA had 10 tanks destroyed and 3 captured, various artillery pieces destroyed or captured, and 75 men killed. The SADF had 7 killed and 9 wounded, plus one armoured vehicle destroyed, one damaged and a tank damaged.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The second attack, on 11 November, again targeted the 16th brigade. Again 16th brigade escaped annihilation by crossing the river, but this time they lost 14 tanks and 394 men. The SADF had 5 men killed and 19 more wounded, with 2 armoured vehicles destroyed and one tank damaged. The recovery, under fire, of a crippled tank and the subsequent re-entry of a minefield where the tank was extracted from to rescue a wounded soldier, earned Captain Petrus van Zyl and Lieutenant De Villers Vosloo of 32 Battalion both Honoris Crux decorations.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The FAPLA 21st brigade withdrew rapidly across the river, and was pursued. On 17 November they were engaged again, and suffered 131 casualties, along with 9 tanks destroyed and about 300 other vehicles. The SADF suffered 6 casualties and 19 wounded, plus 4 armoured vehicles. A final attack on 25 November bogged down in heavy bush, and was eventually abandoned.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: Operation Moduler achieved the objective of halting the FAPLA advance against UNITA, and inflicted heavy losses on FAPLA.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: By November, the SADF had cornered the remnants of three FAPLA units on the east of the Cuito River, across from the town itself and was poised to destroy them. The quite demoralised 59th FAPLA motorised infantry brigade, 21st and 25th FAPLA light infantry brigades, in positions near Tumpo and east of the Cuito River, were effectively cut off due to SADF artillery control of both the bridge and airstrip and to UNITA guerrilla control of the road from Menongue, which they had mined and were prepared to ambush. With no functioning armour or artillery remaining, the FAPLA units faced annihilation.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: On 15 November, the Angolan government requested urgent military assistance from Cuba. In Fidel Castro's view, a South African victory would have meant not only the capture of Cuito and the destruction of the best Angolan military formations, but, quite probably, the end of Angola's existence as an independent country. Thus, Castro responded immediately by sending – in what was called ""Maniobra XXXI Aniversario de las FAR"" — materiel and 15,000 elite troops, retaking the initiative from the Soviets. The first Cuban reinforcements in Cuito arrived by helicopter on 5 December with about 160–200 technicians, advisers, officers, and special forces.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: General Arnaldo Ochoa, a veteran of the 1976 Angola campaign and of tank battles in Ethiopia, was made overall commander of the forces on the government side. Ochoa and Castro were to have serious disagreements in the conduct of the war in Angola. These tensions were to have repercussions both during the war where Castro's interference with defence plans may have cost the Cubans dozens of lives and in the aftermath of Angolan hostilities a year later when Ochoa was arrested, tried and executed by firing squad after being found guilty of treason. General Cintras Frias was made commander at Cuito Cuanavale. The Cuban's initial priority was securing Cuito Cuanavale, but while reinforcements were arriving at the besieged garrison they made preparations for a second front to the west of Cuito Cuanavale in Lubango where the SADF had been operating unhindered for 8 years.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: On 25 November the UN Security Council demanded the SADF's unconditional withdrawal from Angola by 10 December, yet, without threatening any sanctions.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The SADF units received fresh troops and equipment, but the units were reduced to about 2,000 men and 24 tanks for the rest of the operation. The new arrivals had to be acclimatised first. The SADF objective was defined as being to destroy the enemy east of the river or at least to drive them back across the river, inflicting maximum casualties but suffering minimum losses of their own. The river crossings were to be fortified and handed over to UNITA, and the SADF were to withdraw from Angola as soon as that was achieved. The order was that the town of Cuito Cuanavale would not be attacked unless it fell into SADF hands almost without a fight.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The bombardment started on 2 January 1988, with a mix of artillery and air strikes, and a UNITA infantry attack that failed. On 3 January the SADF destroyed the important bridge across the Cuito River using a Raptor glide bomb. The Cubans managed to construct a wooden footbridge in its place which they baptised "Patria o Muerte" (fatherland or death). They partly buried disabled tanks so that their turrets could be used as fixed artillery pieces.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: 32 Battalion and elements of other units harried the road convoys for weeks, destroying several hundred tanks and other vehicles, and inflicting an unknown number of casualties.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: On 13 January the SADF attacked the 21st brigade, starting with air strikes and artillery bombardments. Over two days the FAPLA unit was driven out of their positions, and lost 7 tanks with 5 more captured, various other vehicles destroyed and captured, and 150 men dead or captured. UNITA lost 4 dead and 18 wounded, and the SADF had one man wounded and one armoured vehicle damaged. However the SADF was again unable to exploit the momentum, due to a shortage of reserves and supplies. UNITA occupied the captured positions, and the SADF withdrew, but UNITA lost the positions later to a FAPLA counter-attack. A large Cuban and FAPLA column was on the way from Menongue for the relief of Cuito Cuanavale, but progress in the rainy season was slow due to the need to clear the UNITA minefields and guard against possible ambushes. They did not reach Cuito Cuanavale in time to take part in the first engagement.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The next attack was only on 14 February, against the positions of 21st brigade that UNITA had lost, and the neighbouring positions of the 59th brigade. They were counter-attacked by Cuban tanks. Both 21st brigade and 59th brigade were forced to withdraw. The FAPLA lost 500 men and a further 32 Cuban soldiers, along with 15 tanks and 11 armoured vehicles. The SADF had 4 killed and 11 wounded, plus some vehicles damaged. FAPLA withdrew to the Tumpo (river) triangle, a smaller area east of the river and across from Cuito Cuanavale. The terrain was ideally suited to defence, and they laid extensive minefields.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: In a skirmish on 19 February a FAPLA position was disrupted, and it resulted in the FAPLA 59th brigade being withdrawn across the river. However the SADF had two vehicles damaged in the minefield. In the following days the Cubans stepped up their air attacks against South African positions. On 25 February another assault on the bridgehead ran into a minefield, and bogged down. FAPLA lost 172 men, plus 10 Cubans, and 6 tanks. The SADF lost 4 killed and 10 wounded, plus several vehicles damaged. However the bridgehead survived, and the objective of driving the enemy across the river had still not been achieved.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: Fresh troops and equipment were brought in, designated 82 Mechanised brigade of the 7th South African Infantry Division, and yet another attempt was made on 23 March to drive the FAPLA back across the bridge. Once again it bogged down in minefields. Although the SADF suffered no losses, UNITA was taking heavy casualties, and the assault "was brought to a grinding and definite halt". Artillery fire was mounting and air attacks were intense, so to avoid casualties the attack was called off. Several damaged SADF tanks were abandoned in the minefield, and were subsequently captured by the Cubans. This provided a huge propaganda victory for Castro. The SADF equipment, men and supplies were exhausted, and the SADF command determined that destroying the small FAPLA force remaining on the eastern bank of the river was not worth further casualties. The objective of protecting UNITA was deemed to have been achieved, and Operation Packer ended.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: There was no actual battle at Cuito Cuanavale itself. The SADF never launched a major attack on the town, and the Cuban defenders never attempted to counter-attack and drive the SADF away from the town. The Cubans did however succeed in establishing air superiority over the area with their new Russian aircraft, and the defenders did manage to hold onto a bridgehead east of the town, with the aid of extensive minefields. After the comprehensive defeat of their attack on UNITA, and seven months of heavy losses, FAPLA and the Cubans claimed victory.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: A small SADF force continued to harry the FAPLA in the Tumpo region, to create the impression that the full force was still present, and to prevent the FAPLA from resuming their advance against UNITA. For months it continued to shell Cuito Cuanavale and the airstrip across the river using their long-range G-5 artillery from a distance of 30 to 40 km. This continued until the end of August, after which all SADF troops returned to South West Africa.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The Cuito airstrip was kept in repair, but since it was under constant observation by the SADF artillery and air force it could not be safely used by fixed wing aircraft.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The SADF used a mix of British, French, Israeli, captured Soviet and domestically developed weaponry. Their allies, UNITA used a mix of Soviet and South African-supplied weaponry. The United States covertly supplied UNITA guerillas with Stingers for anti-aircraft defence. The South Africans were hampered by United Nations Security Council Resolution 418, an international arms embargo that prevented them from acquiring material such as modern aircraft. The Cubans and FAPLA were armed with Soviet weaponry.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: Before and during the battle of Cuito Cuanavale, US-brokered peace negotiations were in progress to remove all foreign belligerents from Angola. This was linked to the attempt to secure independence for Namibia. After the battles all sides resumed negotiations.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: Eventually Cuban troop strength in Angola increased to about 55,000, with 40,000 deployed in the south. Due to the international arms embargo since 1977, South Africa's aging air force was outclassed by sophisticated Soviet-supplied air defence systems and air-strike capabilities fielded by the Cubans and Angolans and it was unable to uphold the air supremacy it had enjoyed for years; its loss in turn proved to be critical to the outcome of the battle on the ground.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: While negotiations continued, Cuban, FAPLA and SWAPO units under General Cintras Frías opened a second front to the west at Lubango with a force of 40,000 Cuban troops and 30,000 Angolan forces, and with support from MiG-23 fighter bombers. Various engagements took place over the next three months, starting near Calueque on 15 March 1988. This eventually gave rise to Operation Excite/Hilti and Operation Displace, in which skirmishes took place in Donguena, Xangongo, Techipa and other cities. The battles in the Southwest front ended on 27 June when Cuban MiG-23s bombed Calueque Dam, causing the last South African loss of life in the conflict when they killed 12 soldiers from 8 SAI. Just before the air attack over Calueque, a heavy combat happened in the area when 3 columns of the FAPLA/FAR forces advanced towards Calueque dam. SADF forces, composed of regulars, 32 Bn and SWATF troops, halted the Cuban offensive inflicting approximately 300 casualties among the enemy forces.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The Cubans claimed to have killed 20 SADF troops, but the clash discouraged the Cubans from undertaking further ground engagements. On 8 June 1988, the South African government issued call-ups to 140,000 men of the Citizen Force reserves, however when hostilities ceased the call-up was cancelled. Following the battles the South Africans recognised that further confrontation with the Cubans would unnecessarily escalate the conflict and with all risks considered then retired the combat groups still operating in Angola back to Namibia. On the other side, the Cubans were shocked at the heavy casualties suffered and placed their forces on maximum alert awaiting a revenge attack from the South Africans, which never came. With the withdrawal of the SADF into Namibia on 27 June (The SWATF, 701Bn, A-Coy, Platoons 1 and 2, who were dug in, in defensive positions on the hills North East of Calueque, finally withdrew over the small lower, Calueque bridge on 29 June, and at Ruacana the last elements, 32Bn and tanks, withdrew on 30 June) the hostilities ceased, and a formal peace treaty was signed at Ruacana on 22 August 1988. A peace accord, mediated by Chester Crocker, was finally signed on 22 December 1988 in New York, leading to the withdrawal of all foreign belligerents and to the independence of Namibia.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The battle was tactically inconclusive, but both sides declared victory. FAPLA and its Cuban allies declared victory because they were able to hold their defenses around Cuito Cuanavale. UNITA and its South African allies declared victory because the initial FAPLA offensive had been shattered and the participating enemy brigades had suffered immense losses which could not be easily replaced.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: Fidel Castro claimed that "the overwhelming victory at Cuito Cuanavale...put an end to outside military aggression against [Angola]," asserting that South Africa had suffered such a catastrophic setback as a result of the battle that it "had to swallow its usual arrogant bullying and sit down at the negotiating table". On a visit to Cuba, Nelson Mandela told the Cuban people that the FAPLA-Cuban "success" at Cuito Cuanavale was "a turning point for the liberation of our continent and my people" as well as the Angolan civil war and the struggle for Namibian independence.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: Soviet foreign policy expert Peter Vanneman stated that no decisive victory was won by either side. In his analysis of the campaign, Fen Osler Hampson, Director of Global Security Research at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, concurred with this perspective. Hampson asserted that "although there was no decisive battle at Cuito Cuanavale, Cuban president Fidel Castro successfully exploited the situation for propaganda purposes". Hampson criticised Cuban sources for painting the battle as a single decisive engagement, asserting instead that the battle was better described as a prolonged stalemate in which two modestly sized opposing forces kept each other in check for nine months.


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: A summary of the battle in "Krasnaya Zvezda", the official periodical of the Soviet Ministry of Defence, noted that the FAPLA-Cuban coalition had failed to "decisively defeat the enemy" and described the end result as "frankly speaking, an impasse".


title: Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

text: The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale is commemorated in several countries in southern Africa. The 20th anniversary in 2008 was especially celebrated in Namibia.


title: Superstition Mountains

text: The Superstition Mountains () is a range of mountains in Arizona located to the east of the Phoenix metropolitan area. They are anchored by Superstition Mountain, a large mountain that is a popular recreation destination for residents of the Phoenix, Arizona, area. They are roughly bounded by U.S. Route 60 on the south, Arizona State Route 88 on the northwest, and Arizona State Route 188 on the northeast.


title: Superstition Mountains

text: The range has a maximum elevation of and prominence of at Mound Mountain in the far eastern section of the range.


title: Superstition Mountains

text: The mountains are in the federally designated Superstition Wilderness Area, and include a variety of natural features in addition to its namesake mountain.


title: Superstition Mountains

text: Weavers Needle, a prominent landmark and rock climbing destination set behind and to the east of Superstition Mountain, is a tall eroded volcanic remnant that plays a significant role in the legend of the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine. Numerous hiking trails cross the mountains from multiple access points, including the Peralta Trailhead, the most popular. Peralta Canyon, on the northeast side of Superstition Mountain, contains a popular trail that leads up to Fremont Saddle, which provides a very picturesque view of Weavers Needle. Miner's Needle is another prominent formation in the wilderness and a popular hiking destination. Lost Dutchman State Park, located on the west side of Superstition Mountain, includes several short hiking and mountain bike trails.


title: Superstition Mountains

text: As with most of the terrain surrounding the Phoenix metropolitan area, the Superstition Mountains have a desert climate, with high summer temperatures and a handful of perennial sources of water. The elevation in the more remote, eastern portion of the wilderness is higher than the western portion, which lowers temperatures slightly.


title: Superstition Mountains

text: The legend of the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine centers around the Superstition Mountains. According to the legend, a German immigrant named Jacob Waltz discovered a mother lode of gold in the Superstition Wilderness and revealed its location on his deathbed in Phoenix in 1891 to Julia Thomas, a boarding-house owner who had taken care of him for many years. Several mines have been claimed to be the actual mine that Waltz discovered, but none of those claims have been verified. Waltz was a miner at Vulture Mine, where he likely stole the gold and came up with the secret mine to explain his theft. The legends and lore of the Superstition Mountains can be experienced at the Superstition Mountain Museum on the Apache Trail where artifacts of the Lost Dutchman are on display.


title: Superstition Mountains

text: Some Apaches believe that the hole leading down into the lower world, or hell, is located in the Superstition Mountains. Winds blowing from the hole are supposed to be the cause of severe dust storms in the metropolitan region.


title: Freejack

text: Freejack is a 1992 American science fiction cyberpunk action film directed by Geoff Murphy and starring Emilio Estevez, Mick Jagger, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins. The screenplay was written by Steven Pressfield, Ronald Shusett (who also produced), and Dan Gilroy and loosely adapted from the 1959 science fiction novel "Immortality, Inc." by Robert Sheckley.


title: Freejack

text: The film was produced by Morgan Creek and released by Warner Bros. in the United States on January 17, 1992. It received mostly negative reviews.


title: Freejack

text: In 2009, the super-wealthy achieve immortality by hiring "bonejackers", mercenaries equipped with time travel devices, to snatch people from the past, just prior to the moment of their deaths, for use as substitute bodies. Those who escape are known as "freejacks" and are considered less than human under the law. In this dystopian future, most people suffer from poor physical health as a result of rampant drug use and environmental pollution, making them unattractive as replacement bodies.


title: Freejack

text: Alex Furlong is a Formula One racer who is about to die in a spectacular 1991 crash when a time machine snatches him from the cockpit and into 21st century New York City, now a futuristic dystopia populated by scavengers and killers. When Furlong's captors are ambushed by a hit squad, Furlong escapes from Victor Vacendak, a hardened mercenary who has snatched him on behalf of the powerful McCandless Corporation. Alex's former fiancée Julie Redlund is now an executive at McCandless, handling high-stakes mineral negotiations with a rival Japanese firm.


title: Freejack

text: Alex spends much time escaping the clutches of Victor, a ruthless pursuer who nevertheless lives by a code of honor, and rekindling his relationship with Julie. Ian McCandless, Julie's boss, is revealed to have died and seeks to install his backed-up personality into Furlong's body. Besides evading Vacendak's army of mercenaries and McCandless police personnel, Alex and Julie also have to deal with fleeing from the private guards of McCandless's corporate X.O., Mark Michelette, who is gunning for McCandless's position. Alex finds he cannot trust his old friends from 1991, who are now eager to sell him out.


title: Freejack

text: After an encounter wherein Furlong spares Vacendak's life, Julie rescues Furlong in one of Vacendak's vehicles. Tired of running, Furlong pretends to take Julie hostage and negotiates with Michelette to arrange a meeting, counting on Michelette's not knowing about their past relationship; however, Michelette has seen the footage of Julie's grief after Alex's 1991 accident. After she slaps Michelette in return for his mockery, the couple flees. They are thwarted when they encounter a gunfight in the lobby between two factions, now in opposition: McCandless's security guards and Vacendak's mercenaries. Julie plans to leave the building through an "escape module" on the hundredth floor, but the elevator takes them automatically to the complex at the very top of the building known as the "Spiritual Switchboard" where McCandless's mind is in storage. In a virtual reality encounter with McCandless's essence, he explains his goal: to use Alex's body to satiate his love for Julie. Apologizing, he offers to die and let Alex run the company under the guise of being McCandless.


title: Freejack

text: As they consider the offer, Vacendak arrives, and McCandless reveals he was merely stalling for time. Alex fights the process as Michelette stumbles in, wounded from fighting Vacendak's soldiers. In the confusion, Julie grabs the gun of the soldier holding her and fires off a shot that disrupts the transfer process. The results are inconclusive as to whether or not it is McCandless or Furlong in Alex's body now. The scientists cannot determine the answer, but Vacendak can, as only Vacendak knows a secret code McCandless gave him.


title: Freejack

text: Alex reads the code, slowly, and Vacendak asks him to continue. Alex finishes the code quickly. Michelette tries to kill Alex but is gunned down by Vacendak's men. Alex remarks about how he feels in his "new" body, before telling Julie that she will be dressed more appropriately so that the two of them can take a drive. Hours later, after the coup is over, Julie and Alex get into one of McCandless's favorite vehicles; Alex tells the driver that he will do the driving today. Vacendak stops them as the car leaves the estate. It turns out that the transfer was not complete after all; Furlong got McCandless's secret number wrong, but Vacendak went along with it. He simply waited until Furlong made a mistake: McCandless did not know how to drive. Vacendak admonishes Julie that "you'll have to coach him better than that", then leaves while Furlong and Julie speed away.


title: Freejack

text: The role of Julie Redlund was originally going to be played by Linda Fiorentino, but due to scheduling conflicts she dropped out and Rene Russo signed on to replace her.


title: Freejack

text: According to reports at the time of the production and interviews with some members of the cast and crew, the original version of the movie had a disastrous test screening, so producer Ronald Shusett was brought in to re-shoot around 40% of the movie and add more character scenes and humor. Emilio Estevez also mentioned how director Geoff Murphy let them down by focusing too much on action in his original cut of the film. Geoff Murphy claims that there was interference from production company Morgan Creek and that he asked for his possessory credit to be removed.


title: Freejack

text: The film received negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 26% based on reviews from 19 critics, with an average rating of 4.2/10. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B−. Owen Gleiberman at Entertainment Weekly described it routine urban chase thriller with sci-fi gimmicks, and a "cheap mishmash of "Blade Runner", "RoboCop", and "Total Recall"."


title: Freejack

text: The film made a small profit as it grossed $17 million in the United States and Canada and $20 million internationally for a worldwide total of $37 million.


title: Freejack

text: "Freejack" was released on VHS and Laserdisc in 1992, a DVD release following in 2002, and a Blu-ray release in November 2018 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.


title: Freejack

text: In 1992, NOW Comics published a three part miniseries based on the movie. The adaptation was ghostwritten by Clint McElroy.


title: Ricardo Horta

text: Ricardo Jorge da Luz Horta (; born 15 September 1994) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Primeira Liga club Braga and the Portugal national team.


title: Ricardo Horta

text: He spent most of his career with Braga after coming through Benfica's youth academy, playing more than 300 games for the former and scoring a club record 100 goals while winning the 2020–21 Taça de Portugal and the 2019–20 Taça da Liga. In the Primeira Liga, he also represented Vitória de Setúbal, and spent two years with Málaga in La Liga.


title: Ricardo Horta

text: Horta finished second with Portugal at the 2015 European Under-21 Championship, also being an international at various youth levels. He made his debut with the full side in 2014, being selected for the 2022 World Cup.


title: Ricardo Horta

text: Born in Sobreda, Almada, Horta joined Vitória de Setúbal's youth ranks in 2011, signing from Benfica. On 7 April 2013, he made his first-team and Primeira Liga debut, coming on as a second-half substitute for Cristiano in a 2–1 away loss against Rio Ave. He finished the campaign with six games, all from the bench.


title: Ricardo Horta

text: On 9 December 2013, Horta scored his first professional goal, the game's only against Académica de Coimbra. He was a regular starter in his second season, playing 28 matches and scoring seven times.


title: Ricardo Horta

text: On 12 July 2014, Horta signed a five-year deal with La Liga side Málaga. He made his debut in the competition on 23 August, starting in a 1–0 home win over Athletic Bilbao.


title: Ricardo Horta

text: Horta scored his first goal for on 6 January 2015, in a 2–0 defeat of Levante in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey also at La Rosaleda Stadium. He finished his spell with 56 appearances in all competitions.


title: Ricardo Horta

text: On 5 July 2016, Horta was loaned to Braga for one year. Roughly one year later he joined the club permanently, with Juan Carlos moving in the opposite direction. He scored 11 and eight goals in his second and third seasons respectively, helping to consecutive fourth-place finishes.


title: Ricardo Horta

text: In September 2019, Horta added two more seasons to his contract to take him through to 2024, while increasing his buyout clause from €25 million to €30 million. The following 25 January, he scored the only goal in the last seconds of the final of the Taça da Liga against Porto. He set the club's record for goals in European competition on 10 December in a 2–0 home win over Zorya Luhansk in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League, surpassing Paulinho; both players had recently moved past Alan in that chart.


title: Ricardo Horta

text: Horta closed the 2–0 defeat of Benfica in the final of the Taça de Portugal on 23 May 2021, to claim the cup competition for the third time in club history. On 3 August, Braga announced the player had rejected the chance to join Major League Soccer side Atlanta United following a bid worth €15 million; his contract with the Minho Province team was extended to 2026 in October.


title: Ricardo Horta

text: In 2021–22, Horta became captain after Fransérgio's move to Bordeaux, and had his most prolific season with 19 goals, bettered in the division by only Darwin Núñez and Mehdi Taremi. On 25 April, he scored the only goal against Porto, preventing the visitors from taking the outright European record of 59 league games unbeaten. It was also the 100th of his professional career, and he took the Player of the Month and Forward of the Month award, with two teammates taking the equivalents for other positions as well as manager Carlos Carvalhal. On 15 May, he scored in the first minute of a 3–2 loss at neighbours Famalicão on the final day, thus moving ahead of 1940s player Mário Laranjo as Braga's top scorer with 93.


title: Ricardo Horta

text: In the summer of 2022, Horta was linked with a move back to Benfica. Málaga, while admitting they rejected a €3 million offer for their undisclosed share in the player's economic rights, spoke of legal action against Braga for not selling him. He scored his 100th goal for the latter on 10 November, opening an eventual 2–1 home win over Moreirense in the fourth round of the domestic cup.


title: Ricardo Horta

text: Horta was part of the Portugal under-20 team at the 2014 Toulon Tournament and the under-21 one at the 2015 and 2017 UEFA European Championship. He scored in his only appearance in the 2015 competition, in a final runner-up position in the Czech Republic.


title: Ricardo Horta

text: On 7 September 2014, Horta earned his first cap for the full side – one week before his 20th birthday – replacing William Carvalho early into the second half of a 0–1 home loss against Albania for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers.


title: Ricardo Horta

text: In May 2022, after almost eight years in the international wilderness, he was recalled by Fernando Santos for upcoming 2022–23 UEFA Nations League games, playing 20 minutes in the 1–1 draw with Spain in Seville on 2 June and scoring his team's goal. In November, he was named in the final squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. As the nation had already secured qualification from their group, he started in the last fixture, opening an eventual 2–1 loss to South Korea in Al Rayyan following a cross from Diogo Dalot.


title: Ricardo Horta

text: Horta's younger brother, André, is also a footballer. He was a teammate at Benfica, Vitória de Setúbal and Braga.


title: Danger Man

text: Danger Man (retitled Secret Agent in the United States for the revived series, and Destination Danger and John Drake in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the programme and wrote many of the scripts. "Danger Man" was financed by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment.


title: Danger Man

text: The idea for "Danger Man" originated with Ralph Smart an associate of Lew Grade, head of ITC Entertainment. Grade was looking for formats that could be exported.


title: Danger Man

text: Ian Fleming was brought in to collaborate on series development, but left before development was complete. Like James Bond, the main character is a globetrotting British spy (although one who works for NATO rather than MI6), who cleverly extricates himself from life-threatening situations and introduces himself as "Drake...John Drake."


title: Danger Man

text: Fleming was replaced by Ian Stuart Black, and a new format/character initially called "Lone Wolf" was developed. This evolved into "Danger Man".


title: Danger Man

text: After Patrick McGoohan was cast, he also affected character development. A key difference from Bond traces to the family-oriented star's preferences: no firearms (with a few rare exceptions, such as episode 26, "The Journey Ends Halfway") and no outright seduction of female co-stars (though Drake did engage in low-key romance in a few episodes).


title: Danger Man

text: The first series of 39 episodes ran to 24–25 minutes each and portrayed John Drake as working for a Washington, D.C.-based intelligence organization, apparently on behalf of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), whose assignments frequently took him to Africa, Latin America, and the Far East. They were filmed in black and white.


title: Danger Man

text: Drake is sometimes at odds with his superiors about the ethics of the missions. Many of Drake's cases involved aiding democracy in foreign countries, and he was also called upon to solve murders and crimes affecting the interests of either the U.S. or NATO or both.


title: Danger Man

text: For the second and third series which aired several years after the first, the episode's length was extended to 48–49 minutes and Drake underwent retconning. His nationality became British, and he was an agent working for a secret British government department, called M9 (analogous to Secret Intelligence Service), though his Mid-Atlantic English accent persists for the first few episodes in production. These were also filmed in black and white.


title: Danger Man

text: Other than the largely nominal change of employer and nationality, Drake's mandate remains the same: "to undertake missions involving national and global security". In keeping with the episodic format of such series in the 1960s, there are no ongoing story arcs and there is no reference made to Drake's NATO adventures in the later M9 episodes.


title: Danger Man

text: The pilot was written by Brian Clemens, who later co-created "The Avengers". In an interview Clemens said:


title: Danger Man

text: The pilot I wrote was called "View from the Villa" and it was set in Italy, but the production manager set the shoot on location in Portmeirion, which looked like Italy but which was much closer. And obviously the location stuck in Patrick McGoohan's mind, because that's where he shot his television series "The Prisoner" much later.


title: Danger Man

text: ... shot some location and background stuff and sent the dailies back to the editing room at Elstree. Ralph Smart looked at them, hated them, and called up the second unit director and said "Look, these are terrible, you'll never be a film director," and then he fired him. The name of the second unit director? John Schlesinger.


title: Danger Man

text: When American financing for a second series failed to materialise, the programme was cancelled. The first series had aired in America each Wednesday, 8:30 to 9:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time), on CBS from 5 April to 13 September 1961. It was used by the network as a late-spring replacement for "Wanted Dead or Alive", which had just wrapped its third and final series. (A five-disc box set DVD release of "Danger Man's" first series by A&E Home Video in 2000 erroneously states on its cover notes that these first 39 episodes were never broadcast in the US.)


title: Danger Man

text: After a two-year hiatus, two things had changed; "Danger Man" had subsequently been resold all around the world, whilst repeat showings had created a public clamour for new shows. Also by this time, James Bond had become popular, as had ABC's "The Avengers". "Danger Man"s creator, Ralph Smart, rethought the concept; the second series' (1964) episodes were 49 minutes long and had a new musical theme, Edwin Astley's "High Wire". Drake gained an English accent and did not clash with his bosses at first. The revived "Danger Man" was broadcast in the U.S. as "Secret Agent", first shown as a CBS summer-replacement program. It had a new U.S.-only theme song, "Secret Agent Man", sung by Johnny Rivers, which became a success in its own right. In other parts of the world, the show was titled "Destination Danger" or "John Drake".


title: Danger Man

text: The fourth series consists of only two episodes, "Koroshi" and "Shinda Shima", the only two episodes of "Danger Man" to be filmed in colour. These two separate but related episodes were recut together as a feature for cinemas in Europe and for American broadcast, as done with two-parters from other ITC series such as "The Baron" and "The Saint." Whilst "Koroshi" retains a strong plot-line and sharp characterizations, "Shinda Shima" drew heavily on contemporary Bond movies, principally "Dr. No". When the episodes were completed, McGoohan announced he was resigning from the series to create, produce, and star in a project titled "The Prisoner", with David Tomblin as co-producer and George Markstein as script editor. Markstein was then the "Danger Man" script consultant. A number of behind-the-scenes personnel on "Danger Man" were subsequently hired for "The Prisoner".


title: Danger Man

text: The two colour episodes aired (in black and white) in the UK in the time slot of "The Prisoner", which could not make its scheduled broadcast dates. The European cinema film feature version, "Koroshi", did not receive theatrical release in the US, but instead aired on network television as a TV movie in 1968.


title: Danger Man

text: Unlike the James Bond films, "Danger Man" strove for realism, dramatising credible Cold War tensions. In the second series, Drake is an undercover agent of the British external intelligence agency. As in the earlier series, Drake finds himself in danger with not always happy outcomes; sometimes duty forces him to decisions that lead to good people suffering unfair consequences. Drake doesn't always do what his superiors tell him.


title: Danger Man

text: Drake is rarely armed, though he engaged in fist fights, and the gadgets he uses are generally credible. In one episode ("To Our Best Friend"), Drake says, "I never carry a gun. They're noisy, and they hurt people. Besides, I manage very well without." Although the villains are often killed, Drake himself rarely does the killing. An examination of all episodes indicates that, in the entire series, he only shoots one person dead, in one of the last half-hour episodes from the 1960 season. While another shooting occurs in "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove", it is revealed to be a dream. Despite the lack of firearm violence, "The Encyclopedia of 20th-Century American Television" by Ron Lackmann notes "Danger Man" was one of the most violent series ever produced. Drake is almost never shown armed with a gun, and the episode "Time to Kill" centres on Drake's hesitancy and initial refusal to take an assassination mission (events transpire to prevent Drake from having to carry out the task). Drake's uses of non-firearm deadly force during the series number fewer than a dozen.


title: Danger Man

text: Agent Drake uses his intelligence, charm and quick thinking rather than force. He usually plays a role to infiltrate a situation, for example, to scout for a travel agency, naive soldier, embittered ex-convict, brainless playboy, imperious physician, opportunistic journalist, bumbling tourist, cold-blooded mercenary, bland diplomat, smarmy pop disc-jockey, precise clerk, compulsive gambler or impeccable butler.


title: Danger Man

text: Drake is often shown re-using gadgets from previous episodes. Among the more frequently seen are a small spy camera hidden in a cigarette lighter and activated by flicking the lighter, a miniature reel-to-reel tape recorder hidden inside the head of an electric shaver or a pack of cigarettes, and a microphone, which could be embedded in a wall near the target via a shotgun-like apparatus, that used soda siphon cartridges containing CO as the propellant, allowing Drake to eavesdrop on conversations from a safe distance.