title: Spherical trigonometry

text: The derivation of the cosine rule presented above has the merits of simplicity and directness and the derivation of the sine rule emphasises the fact that no separate proof is required other than the cosine rule. However, the above geometry may be used to give an independent proof of the sine rule. The scalar triple product, OA·(OB × OC) evaluates to formula_19 in the basis shown. Similarly, in a basis oriented with the "z"-axis along OB, the triple product OB·(OC × OA) evaluates to formula_20. Therefore, the invariance of the triple product under cyclic permutations gives formula_21 which is the first of the sine rules. See curved variations of the law of sines to see details of this derivation.


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: Applying the cosine rules to the polar triangle gives (Todhunter, Art.47), "i.e." replacing "A" by  – "a",  "a" by  – "A" etc.,


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: The six parts of a triangle may be written in cyclic order as ("aCbAcB"). The cotangent, or four-part, formulae relate two sides and two angles forming four "consecutive" parts around the triangle, for example ("aCbA") or ("BaCb"). In such a set there are inner and outer parts: for example in the set ("BaCb") the inner angle is "C", the inner side is "a", the outer angle is "B", the outer side is "b". The cotangent rule may be written as (Todhunter, Art.44)


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: To prove the first formula start from the first cosine rule and on the right-hand side substitute for formula_25 from the third cosine rule:


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: with the other two cosine rules give CT3 and CT5. The other three equations follow by applying rules 1, 3 and 5 to the polar triangle.


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: The proof (Todhunter, Art.49) of the first formula starts from the identity 2sin("A"/2) = 1 – cos"A", using the cosine rule to express "A" in terms of the sides and replacing the sum of two cosines by a product. (See sum-to-product identities.) The second formula starts from the identity 2cos("A"/2) = 1 + cos"A", the third is a quotient and the remainder follow by applying the results to the polar triangle.


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: The Delambre analogies (also called Gauss analogies) were published independently by Delambre, Gauss, and Mollweide in 1807–1809.


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: Proved by expanding the numerators and using the half angle formulae. (Todhunter, Art.54 and Delambre)


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: Taking quotients of these yields the law of tangents, first stated by Persian mathematician Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201–1274),


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: When one of the angles, say "C", of a spherical triangle is equal to /2 the various identities given above are considerably simplified. There are ten identities relating three elements chosen from the set "a", "b", "c", "A", "B".


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: Napier provided an elegant mnemonic aid for the ten independent equations: the mnemonic is called Napier's circle or Napier's pentagon (when the circle in the above figure, right, is replaced by a pentagon).


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: First, write the six parts of the triangle (three vertex angles, three arc angles for the sides) in the order they occur around any circuit of the triangle: for the triangle shown above left, going clockwise starting with a gives "aCbAcB". Next replace the parts that are not adjacent to C (that is "A, c, B") by their complements and then delete the angle C from the list. The remaining parts can then be drawn as five ordered, equal slices of a pentagram, or circle, as shown in the above figure (right). For any choice of three contiguous parts, one (the "middle" part) will be adjacent to two parts and opposite the other two parts. The ten Napier's Rules are given by


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: A quadrantal spherical triangle is defined to be a spherical triangle in which one of the sides subtends an angle of /2 radians at the centre of the sphere: on the unit sphere the side has length /2. In the case that the side "c" has length /2 on the unit sphere the equations governing the remaining sides and angles may be obtained by applying the rules for the right spherical triangle of the previous section to the polar triangle "A'B'C' " with sides "a',b',c' " such that "A' "=  − "a",  "a' " =  − "A" etc. The results are:


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: Similar substitutions in the other cosine and supplementary cosine formulae give a large variety of 5-part rules. They are rarely used.


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: Subtracting the two and noting that it follows from the sine rules that formula_46 produces Cagnoli's equation


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: The solution of triangles is the principal purpose of spherical trigonometry: given three, four or five elements of the triangle, determine the others. The case of five given elements is trivial, requiring only a single application of the sine rule. For four given elements there is one non-trivial case, which is discussed below. For three given elements there are six cases: three sides, two sides and an included or opposite angle, two angles and an included or opposite side, or three angles. (The last case has no analogue in planar trigonometry.) No single method solves all cases. The figure below shows the seven non-trivial cases: in each case the given sides are marked with a cross-bar and the given angles with an arc. (The given elements are also listed below the triangle). In the summary notation here such as ASA, A refers to a given angle and S refers to a given side, and the sequence of A's and S's in the notation refers to the corresponding sequence in the triangle.


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: The solution methods listed here are not the only possible choices: many others are possible. In general it is better to choose methods that avoid taking an inverse sine because of the possible ambiguity between an angle and its supplement. The use of half-angle formulae is often advisable because half-angles will be less than /2 and therefore free from ambiguity. There is a full discussion in Todhunter. The article Solution of triangles#Solving spherical triangles presents variants on these methods with a slightly different notation.


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: There is a full discussion of the solution of oblique triangles in Todhunter. See also the discussion in Ross.


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: Another approach is to split the triangle into two right-angled triangles. For example, take the Case 3 example where "b, c, B" are given. Construct the great circle from "A" that is normal to the side "BC" at the point "D". Use Napier's rules to solve the triangle "ABD": use "c" and "B" to find the sides "AD", "BD" and the angle "BAD". Then use Napier's rules to solve the triangle "ACD": that is use "AD" and "b" to find the side "DC" and the angles "C" and "DAC". The angle "A" and side "a" follow by addition.


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: Not all of the rules obtained are numerically robust in extreme examples, for example when an angle approaches zero or . Problems and solutions may have to be examined carefully, particularly when writing code to solve an arbitrary triangle.


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: Consider an "N"-sided spherical polygon and let A denote the "n"-th interior angle. The area of such a polygon is given by (Todhunter, Art.99)


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: where "E" is the amount by which the sum of the angles exceeds radians. The quantity "E" is called the spherical excess of the triangle. This theorem is named after its author, Albert Girard. An earlier proof was derived, but not published, by the English mathematician Thomas Harriot. On a sphere of radius "R" both of the above area expressions are multiplied by "R". The definition of the excess is independent of the radius of the sphere.


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: Since the area of a triangle cannot be negative the spherical excess is always positive. It is not necessarily small, because the sum of the angles may attain 5 (3 for "proper" angles). For example,


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: an octant of a sphere is a spherical triangle with three right angles, so that the excess is /2. In practical applications it "is" often small: for example the triangles of geodetic survey typically have a spherical excess much less than 1' of arc. (Rapp


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: On the Earth the excess of an equilateral triangle with sides 21.3 km (and area 393 km) is approximately 1 arc second.


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: There are many formulae for the excess. For example, Todhunter, (Art.101—103) gives ten examples including that of L'Huilier:


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: The spherical excess of a spherical quadrangle bounded by the equator, the two meridians of longitudes formula_55 and formula_56 and the great-circle arc between two points with longitude and latitude formula_57 and formula_58 is


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: This result is obtained from one of Napier's analogies. In the limit where formula_60 are all small, this reduces to the familiar trapezoidal area, formula_61.


title: Spherical trigonometry

text: The area of a polygon can be calculated from individual quadrangles of the above type, from (analogously) individual triangle bounded by a segment of the polygon and two meridians, by a line integral with Green's theorem, or via an equal-area projection as commonly done in GIS. The other algorithms can still be used with the side lengths calculated using a great-circle distance formula.


title: Yokohama FC

text: Since gaining J.League membership in 2001, Yokohama FC long lasted at the second tier of the Japanese football league system. The club gained promotion to J.League Division 1 for the 2007 season, promoted after winning the Division 2 title. However, YFC were immediately relegated in the following season. After twelve years in the J2 League, they returned to Japan's top tier, now called J1 League, for the 2020 season. And as history repeated itself, the club got relegated back to J2 for another time, after finishing the season as J1's last-placed team. The club was promoted again to J1 in 2022, set to play then, their third stint at the first division.


title: Yokohama FC

text: Yokohama FC's crest features a phoenix, symbolizing the rise of Yokohama FC from the ashes of the Yokohama Flugels. The blue ribbon on the top represents the Blue Ribbon Movement, a movement that began at the end of the 1998 J.League season to keep the Flugels alive.


title: Yokohama FC

text: Yokohama FC was formed in 1999 following the merger of Yokohama's two J.League clubs, the Flügels and the Marinos. Flügels supporters felt that their club had essentially been dissolved rather than merged with, so rejected the suggestion that they should start supporting Marinos – who had been their crosstown rivals. Instead, with money raised through donations from the general public and an affiliation with talent management company IMG, the former Flügels supporters founded the Yokohama Fulie Sports Club. Following the "socio" model used by FC Barcelona, the Fulie Sports Club created Yokohama FC, the first professional sports team in Japan owned and operated by its supporters.


title: Yokohama FC

text: For its first season in 1999, Yokohama FC hired former German national team and World Cup star Pierre Littbarski to be the manager and Yasuhiko Okudera, the first Japanese footballer to play professionally in Europe, to be the chairman. The club attempted to gain entry directly into the professional J.League, but the Japan Football Association only permitted entry to the amateur Japan Football League (JFL), at the time the third level of the Japanese football league system, and ruled that the club would not be eligible for promotion into J.League Division 2 at the end of its first season. So, despite finishing as JFL champion in 1999, Yokohama FC finished as JFL champion again in 2000 before being promoted to J.League Division 2.


title: Yokohama FC

text: The club spent the next 6 seasons in J.League Division 2 before finishing as champions in 2006 and gaining promotion to J.League Division 1. In 2007, just the ninth year of its existence, Yokohama FC played its first season in the top flight of Japanese football. After a poor season, the team were consigned to relegation with five games of the season still remaining. Despite their early relegation, Yokohama FC nevertheless decided the final outcome at the opposite end of the table; by defeating title contenders Urawa Red Diamonds on the last day of the season, Kashima Antlers secured the J.League Division 1 title.


title: Yokohama FC

text: In 2018, Yokohama FC narrowly missed out on automatic promotion by goal difference. The team made it to the J2 promotion final, losing to Tokyo Verdy on an stoppage time winner. In 2019, Yokohama finished second in J2 and gained automatic promotion to J1.


title: Yokohama FC

text: After finishing in last place in 2021, Yokohama FC would be relegated back to J2 for the 2022 season.


title: Yokohama FC

text: Although they had a dire season in 2005, ending 11th out of 12, they were in the top half of table throughout the 2006 season. On 26 November they finished in the top spot of the J2 League, and hence were finally promoted to the J. League 1.


title: Yokohama FC

text: This success story was so dramatic as to make people somewhat excited in Japan. Yokohama FC's financial situation was so poor that they didn't even own their own football ground or a club house. Players did everything themselves including carrying the goal posts and washing the jerseys.


title: Yokohama FC

text: One of their players, Kazuyoshi Miura, is 54 and a former player, Atsuhiro Miura (one of their main players before his 2010 retirement) was 36 when he last played for the club. These players once played for the Japan national team.


title: Yokohama FC

text: They lost all pre-season matches, even against college students, then also the first official match of the year. After this, they suddenly changed the player-manager to a freshman with little experience named Takuya Takagi, who was 38. At the beginning of the season few expected them to become champions.


title: Yokohama FC

text: As they could not adopt directly Flügels' white and blue strip given its similarity to that of Marinos, Yokohama FC decided to adopt an all-cyan kit, after NKK SC, a former company club which had closed in 1994. NKK SC was based in Kawasaki and played most matches at Todoroki Athletics Stadium, but used Mitsuzawa Stadium on days when the other Kawasaki clubs at the time (Verdy Kawasaki, Toshiba and Fujitsu) used it.


title: Yokohama FC

text: The Yokohama FC's mascot is named Fulie-maru, an alien-bird like figure. He is, supposedly, a tribute to Yokohama Flugels' mascot, Tobimaru, a flying squirrel.


title: Riyadh Metro

text: The Riyadh Metro ( "", ) is a rapid transit system under construction in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. It is part of the King Abdulaziz Project for Riyadh Public Transport and will consist of six metro lines spanning a total length of 176 kilometers, with 85 stations. The project will cost $22.5 billion to build. It is expected to open to passengers in 2023.


title: Riyadh Metro

text: This will be the second metro system in Saudi Arabia, after the Mecca Metro, which opened in November 2010, fourth on the Arabian Peninsula, sixth in the Arab World, and fifteenth in the Middle East. Cars are scheduled to be gender-segregated.


title: Riyadh Metro

text: Estimates suggest that Riyadh's population will grow from about 6 million to more than 8.5 million over the next 10 years. In June 2013, a shortlist of three major global consortia was chosen to build the metro. Contracts were awarded in July 2013, with construction planned to start in 2014 and take 4 years. The groundbreaking ceremony was celebrated on April 4, 2014. It is currently being built by construction companies including Bechtel, Almabani General Contractors, Consolidated Contractors Company, Strukton, Webuild, Larsen & Toubro, Samsung and Nesma.


title: Riyadh Metro

text: ANM: (Arriyadh New Mobility): Webuild (at the time of signature, Impregilo, then Salini-Impregilo) / Bombardier / Ansaldo / Larsen & Toubro / WorleyParsons


title: Riyadh Metro

text: The new project is expected to be the centerpiece of the city's public transport system, integrated with an three-line bus rapid transit (BRT) network. The project will contribute to reducing the number of car trips by nearly 250 thousand trips a day, equivalent to 400 thousand liters of fuel per day, thus reducing the air pollutant emissions in the city. It is expected that the capacity of the project will reach 3.6 million passengers a day.


title: Riyadh Metro

text: In February 2018, Riyadh governor, Prince Faisal bin Bandar, stated that 68% of the project has been finished and that the metro will go Demo Run in late September 2018. In March 2018, the Saudi economy minister Mohammad Al Tuwaijri commented at the Saudi-UK CIO Forum in London that a soft opening is planned for 2019 (June–August) and the full availability of the system is expected in 2021. In December 2021, it was announced that more than 90% of the project had been completed, with testing well underway. In 2022, Riyadh Metro was delayed to 2023 for unknown reasons.


title: Riyadh Metro

text: The transit system is planned to have 85 train stations, including a number of interchange stations. Naming rights for 15 out of the 85 stations are planned to be awarded by the Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA). These rights include space for shops and advertising within the stations.


title: Riyadh Metro

text: The vehicles and stations are monitored by cameras, early warning systems, and communication systems that are directly connected to the main control centre. The main stations are characterized by monorail sites designed in several levels. These sites will be air-conditioned taking into account the comfort and safety of passengers. The stations will also use solar cells technology to save about 20% of the power required for air-conditioning and lightning.


title: Riyadh Metro

text: Olaya metro station is one of the three main transportation stations in the Riyadh Metro. Gerber Architekten won the competition for the metro station in 2012. Construction started in 2014 and planned to be completed in 2019. This station will allow access for Line 1 and Line 2 trains. The gross floor area (GFA) is about 97,000 m. It is located on the intersection of King Abdullah Road with King Fahad Road and Olaya Street. Its design proposes the idea of Public gardens that extend over the entire area of the station. Metro customers are invited to use the public gardens. The gardens are characterized by palm trees erected on top of the station, designated picnic areas, and WiFi coverage. Stairs, lifts, and escalators connect all the levels allowing access to everyone including people with special needs. There is also a public parking located underneath the plaza. Recently the initial plan has been changed and no longer features gardens of the roof and is now rectangular in shape though it still has all the other features. In 2018 the station was named STC station.


title: Riyadh Metro

text: The station covers an area of 12,500 m. The station is located on the land currently used for the Central Vegetable Market of Al-Suwaidi Al-Gharbi. The station will be composed of a bus route and a link to Line 3. Omrania & Associates has won the competition to design the western metro station.


title: Riyadh Metro

text: The station covers an area of 8.150 m. The station is located at the east of the Northern Ring Road. It connects metro lines 1, 4, 6, and the KAFD's monorail. The station is designed by Zaha Hadid Architects from the UK.


title: Riyadh Metro

text: This station covers an area of 19,600 m and will connect Line 1 and Line 3 trains. Snøhetta from Norway had won the competition to design the Qasr Al-Hukm Metro Station.


title: Riyadh Metro

text: The project was originally led by the late Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, former governor of Riyadh and chairman of the Arriyadh Development Authority, and is now led by Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud, the current governor of Riyadh.


title: Riyadh Metro

text: The project includes the construction of an advanced center for the control and operation of the train traffic management to monitor all elements of the system including stations, tracks, facilities, and systems.


title: Riyadh Metro

text: The Monorail project will notably use the technology of an automated rail system (without driver). It will also allow the separation of the vehicles from the inside, and the allocation of special cars for families, in addition to providing them with communication services and the exchange of information for passengers.


title: Riyadh Metro

text: In 2017, prince Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud was arrested as part of the 2017 Saudi Arabian purge. Part of the allegations against him, was that he, as Riyadh Governor, had awarded contracts for the Riyadh Metro to his own companies.


title: Keith Van Horn

text: Keith Adam Van Horn (born October 23, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Van Horn played for the New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).


title: Keith Van Horn

text: A forward, Van Horn finished his college basketball career with the Utah Utes as the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). He was a consensus first-team All-American in 1997. Van Horn was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the second pick in the 1997 NBA draft and was traded to the New Jersey Nets on draft night. In his first NBA season, he was named to the 1998 NBA All-Rookie Team. Van Horn played for the Nets from 1997 to 2002, leading the team in scoring in the 1997–98 and 1998–99 seasons, finishing fifth in the NBA in scoring in the 1998–99 season, and was a key member of the 2001–02 Nets' team that made the NBA Finals. He would also go on to play for the 76ers, the New York Knicks, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Dallas Mavericks. Van Horn averaged 16 points and nearly seven rebounds per game during his NBA career.


title: Keith Van Horn

text: Van Horn graduated from Diamond Bar High School in Diamond Bar, California and attended the University of Utah. Rick Majerus recruited him to replace departing star Josh Grant. He played for Utah from 1993 to 1997 and received numerous All American awards during his career at Utah. In Van Horn's first season, he averaged a Utah-freshman record 18.3 points on 51 percent shooting and 8.3 rebounds per game even though his father died during the freshman year. As a sophomore, Van Horn led his team to the NCAA Tournament.


title: Keith Van Horn

text: He is well known for his last second heroics, making back to back game winning shots against SMU and New Mexico in the 1997 WAC Conference Tournament. In 1997, he shot 90.4 percent from the free throw line and averaged 22.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game to lead the Utes to a 29–4 finish and #2 national ranking, the highest in school history. This led to advancing to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight. As a senior in 1997, he was a consensus first team All American selection and was named ESPN Men's College Player of the Year.


title: Keith Van Horn

text: Among his collegiate accomplishments is being the first player in WAC history to be named Player of the Year three times (1995,1996,1997), being the second player in WAC history to make first team all-WAC four years in a row and being the all-time leading scorer in University of Utah and WAC history with 2,542 points. Van Horn is the University of Utah career leader in points, defensive rebounds, three-point field goals made, free throw percentage and is second in total rebounds. He averaged 20.8 points and 8.8 rebounds in his collegiate career. His #44 basketball jersey was retired by the University of Utah in 1998. In February 2008, he was among 16 players named to the University of Utah's "All-Century" basketball team. Van Horn was inducted to Utah's Crimson Club Hall of Fame in 2012.


title: Keith Van Horn

text: Van Horn was drafted as the second overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers; however, his rights were immediately traded to the New Jersey Nets along with Michael Cage, Lucious Harris and Don MacLean in exchange for the draft rights to Tim Thomas and Anthony Parker and player contracts of Jim Jackson and Eric Montross.


title: Keith Van Horn

text: Van Horn played for the Nets from 1997 to 2002. He was named to NBA All-Rookie First Team in his first season, averaging a team leading 19.7 points and 6.5 rebounds and leading the Nets to the 1998 NBA Playoffs, where they were swept in three games by the Chicago Bulls. His best season as came in 1999, where he averaged a team-leading 21.8 points per game (fifth in the NBA) as well as 8.5 rebounds per game. That season, on March 26, Van Horn blocked a career-high 6 shots, along with scoring 22 points, during a 100-91 loss to the Indiana Pacers. He was an important part of the 2001–02 Nets team that won the Eastern Conference Finals, leading the team in rebounding and placing second in scoring. In the deciding Game 5 of their first round matchup with the Pacers, Van Horn scored a postseason career-high 27 points during a 120-109 victory. He later hit the game-winning three-point shot against the Boston Celtics in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals to send the Nets to the 2002 NBA Finals, before they were eventually swept by the Los Angeles Lakers. He ranks in the Nets' top ten in several statistical categories including points, field goals made, three-point field goals made and attempted, and offensive and defensive rebounds.


title: Keith Van Horn

text: On August 6, 2002, Van Horn was traded to his original team, the Philadelphia 76ers, along with Todd MacCulloch for center Dikembe Mutombo. He spent one year with the 76ers placing second on the team in scoring (15.9 per game) and rebounding (7.1 per game), while in the postseason the 76ers advanced past the New Orleans Hornets in the first round, before being eliminated by the finals-bound Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.


title: Keith Van Horn

text: After spending a year with the 76ers he was traded to the New York Knicks for Latrell Sprewell in a four team deal that also included the Atlanta Hawks and Minnesota Timberwolves. His stint with the Knicks, although productive, was short; on February 16, 2004, he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three team trade for Tim Thomas. On March 21, 2004, Van Horn scored his highest single game total in Milwaukee, 32 points during a 104-103 loss to the Lakers. In the playoffs, however, Van Horn and the Bucks would be eliminated in the first round by the eventual-champion Pistons.


title: Keith Van Horn

text: In order to make salary cap room for the signing of free-agent-to-be Michael Redd in the coming off-season, on February 24, 2005, the Bucks traded Van Horn to the Dallas Mavericks for the expiring contracts of Alan Henderson, Calvin Booth and cash. He spent nearly two seasons with the Mavericks playing a key sixth man role and helping the Mavericks win the before losing in the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat.


title: Keith Van Horn

text: Following the 2005–06 season, he took a year off in order to spend time with his family. On February 19, 2008, Van Horn signed a three-year deal (only the first year guaranteed) with the Mavericks in order to help complete a blockbuster trade that sent Jason Kidd from the Nets to the Mavericks and Devin Harris to the Nets. As expected, Van Horn did not play at all for the Nets and was waived on October 23, 2008, and earned $4.3 million without playing.


title: Keith Van Horn

text: Van Horn finished his NBA career with averages of 16.0 points per game and nearly seven rebounds per game.


title: Keith Van Horn

text: Van Horn's and the Nets' success in his rookie year led him to be the first white player on the cover of SLAM Magazine. He was also on the cover of "NBA Jam 99" for the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color.


title: Keith Van Horn

text: Van Horn lived in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey during his time with the New Jersey Nets. Keith Van Horn lives in Bow Mar, Colorado, with his wife, Amy, and four children. Van Horn's eldest daughter Sabrina was born near the end of his sophomore year at Utah, followed by his son Nick and two other daughters Noelle and Haley. Sabrina played soccer for Mullen High School in Denver. Van Horn helped coach the basketball teams of his two other daughters. Having counseled Van Horn through the death of his father during his freshman season, Rick Majerus became close to Van Horn and was the godfather of Noelle.


title: Keith Van Horn

text: He purchased some on-the-river Colorado land and co-founded the Lincoln Hills Fly Fishing Club but later sold his majority interest in the club. Van Horn has a real estate investment firm; a school for kids with special needs; a mobile software company called Accuworks that created another mobile software company called Branded Business Apps.


title: Keith Van Horn

text: Van Horn runs the Colorado Premier Basketball Club, a non-profit youth basketball program involving around 1,000 kids from the Denver area. The club, claimed to be Colorado's largest basketball club, provides leagues, coaching, camps and tournaments for around 1,000 kids from the Denver area.


title: Metasequoia

text: Metasequoia, or dawn redwoods, is a genus of fast-growing deciduous trees, one of three species of conifers known as redwoods. The living species "Metasequoia glyptostroboides" is native to Lichuan county in Hubei province, China. Although the shortest of the redwoods, it grows to at least in height. Local villagers refer to the original tree from which most others derive as "Shuǐshān" (水杉）, or "water fir", which is part of a local shrine. Since its rediscovery in 1944, the dawn redwood has become a popular ornamental, with examples found in various parks in a variety of countries.


title: Metasequoia

text: Together with "Sequoia sempervirens" (coast redwood) and "Sequoiadendron giganteum" (giant sequoia) of California, "Metasequoia" is classified in the Cupressaceae subfamily Sequoioideae. "M. glyptostroboides" is the only living species in its genus, but three fossil species are known. Sequoioideae and several other genera have been transferred from the former family Taxodiaceae to Cupressaceae based on DNA analysis.


title: Metasequoia

text: "Metasequoia" redwood fossils are known from many areas in the Northern Hemisphere; more than 20 fossil species have been named (some were even identified as the genus "Sequoia"), but are considered as just three species, "M. foxii", "M. milleri", and "M. occidentalis". Fossils are known from the Cenomanian onwards. During the Paleocene and Eocene, extensive forests of "Metasequoia" occurred as far north as Strathcona Fiord on Ellesmere Island and sites on Axel Heiberg Island (northern Canada) at around 80° N latitude. "Metasequoia" was likely deciduous by this time. Given that the high latitudes in this period were warm and tropical, it is hypothesized that the deciduous trait evolved in response to the unusual light availability patterns, not to major seasonal variations in temperature. During three months in the summer, the sun would shine continuously, while three months of the winter would be complete darkness. It is also hypothesized that the change from evergreen to deciduous trait occurred before colonizing the high latitudes and was the reason "Metasequoia" was dominant in the north.


title: Metasequoia

text: Large petrified trunks and stumps of the extinct "Metasequoia occidentalis" (sometimes identified as "Sequoia occidentalis") also make up the major portion of Tertiary fossil plant material in the badlands of western North Dakota.


title: Metasequoia

text: The trees are well known from late Cretaceous to Miocene strata, but no fossils are known after that. Before its discovery, the taxon was believed to have become extinct during the Miocene; when it was discovered extant, it was heralded as a "living fossil".


title: Metasequoia

text: The bark and foliage are similar to "Sequoia", but "Metasequoia" is deciduous like "Taxodium distichum" (bald cypress), and, similarly, older specimens form wide buttresses on the lower trunk. It is a fast-growing tree to 130–150 feet (40–45 m) tall and 6 feet (2 m) in trunk diameter in cultivation so far (with the potential to grow even higher).


title: Metasequoia

text: The leaves are opposite, 0.4-1.25 inches (1–3 cm) long, and bright fresh green, turning foxy red-brown in fall. The pollen cones are 0.25 inch (6 mm) long, produced on long spikes in early spring; they are only produced on trees growing in regions with hot summers. The cones are globose to ovoid, 0.6-1.0 inches (1.5-2.5 cm) in diameter with 16–28 scales, arranged in opposite pairs in four rows, each pair at right angles to the adjacent pair; they mature in about 8–9 months after pollination.


title: Metasequoia

text: "Metasequoia" has experienced morphological stasis for the past 65 million years: the modern "Metasequoia glyptostroboides" appears identical to its late Cretaceous ancestors.


title: Metasequoia

text: The fossil of this genus was discovered by Shigeru Miki in 1939. In 1941, Miki published the description of the fossil plant which he gave the name "Metasequoia". In the winter of the same year, a Chinese botanist Toh Gan (干铎）discovered an unusual big tree in Modaoxi (磨刀溪; presently, Moudao (谋道), in Lichuan County, Hubei). The locals called this tree shui-sha (水桫). Because it was winter, the tree already lost all its leaves, so no specimens were collected by Mr. Gan. In 1942, another botanist, Mr. Zhan Wang (王战) visited Modaoxi and collected living specimens. Mr. Wang believed this tree belonged to a known species "Glyptostrobus pensilis" (水松） and filed the specimens away. In 1945, Mr. Wang showed the specimens to botanist Wan-Chun Cheng (郑万钧). Mr. Cheng determined that the tree did not belong to "Glyptostrobus pensilis", but was a new species. Mr. Cheng then sent a specimen to prominent botanist H.H.Hu, the director of Fan Memorial Institute of Biology. Hu, despite the chaos of war between China and Japan, was still keeping track of international botanic literature. Hu recognized the living specimen was of the same genus of Miki's fossil genus <nowiki>"</nowiki>"Metasequoia"<nowiki>"</nowiki>. After more study, Hu and Cheng published the new species "Metasequoia glyptostroboides" (Hu et Cheng) in May 1948 in the Bulletin of Fan Memorial Institute of Biology. The discovery of a "living fossil" instantly attracted attention from botanists around the world. It was widely regarded as "the greatest discovery of botany in 20th century". In 1948, the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, through the help of Hu and Cheng, funded an expedition by Chinese collectors to collect seeds. Soon after, seeds were distributed to various universities and arboreta worldwide for growth trials.


title: Metasequoia

text: Presently, a number of natural "Metasequoia" populations exist in the hills and wetlands of Hubei's Lichuan County. Most of them are small, with fewer than 30 trees each; however, the largest of them, in Xiaohe Valley, is estimated to consist of around 5,400 trees. A few trees are also said to exist in neighboring Hunan Province.


title: Metasequoia

text: Dawn redwoods are fast-growing trees. They sometimes grow too large in smaller gardens under favorable conditions, but they can be a good choice for a wide range of larger gardens and parks. Although they live in wet sites in their native habitat they will also tolerate dry soils. Unlike most conifers, their deciduous habit means they do not cast too much shade in winter. They are grown as street trees in London and elsewhere.


title: Metasequoia

text: Strawberry Fields is a landscaped section in New York City's Central Park dedicated to Beatle John Lennon. At the northern end of the lawns are three dawn redwood trees. The trees drop their needles each fall and regrow them each spring, a symbol of eternal renewal. The trees are expected to reach a height of , making them visible from great distances.


title: Metasequoia

text: In New York City on East Houston Street at Liz Christy Community Garden, there is a very prominent dawn redwood tree. The tree is said to have been planted by Liz Christy herself in the 1970s.


title: European Communities

text: The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), and the European Economic Community (EEC); the last of which was renamed the "European Community" ("EC") in 1993 by the Maastricht Treaty establishing the European Union. The European Union was established at that time more as a concept rather than an entity, while the Communities remained the actual subjects of international law impersonating the rather abstract Union, becoming at the same time its first pillar. In the popular language, however, the singular "European Community" was sometimes inaccurately used interchangeably with the plural phrase, in the sense of referring to all three entities. The European Coal and Steel Community ceased to exist in 2002 when its founding treaty expired. The European Community was merged with the second and third EU pillars by the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, finally allowing the European Union to move beyond being only a concept and to assume the shape of a legally incorporated international organization with juridical personality, designated as the legal successor to the Community. However, the reformed EU has not become entirely unified, because Euratom, though governed with the EU by the common set of institutions, has been retained as an entity distinct from the EU, along with a number of other international entities, such as the European Investment Bank, the European University Institute, the European Stability Mechanism, and the Unified Patent Court.


title: European Communities

text: The ECSC was created first. Following its proposal in 1950 in the Schuman Declaration, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany came together to sign the Treaty of Paris in 1951 which established the Community. The success of this Community led to the desire to create more, but attempts at creating a European Defence Community and a European Political Community failed leading to a return to economic matters. In 1957, the EAEC and EEC were created by the Treaties of Rome. They were to share some of the institutions of the ECSC but have separate executive structures.


title: European Communities

text: The ECSC's aim was to combine the coal and steel industries of its members to create a single market in those resources. It was intended that this would increase prosperity and decrease the risk of these countries going to war through the process of European integration. The EAEC was working on nuclear energy co-operation between the members. The EEC was to create a customs union and general economic co-operation. It later led to the creation of a European single market.


title: European Communities

text: The EEC became the European Community pillar of the EU, with the ECSC and EAEC continuing in a similar subordinate position, existing separately in a legal sense but governed by the institutions of the EU as if they were its own. The ECSC's treaty had a 50-year limit and thus expired in 2002; all its activities are now absorbed into the European Community. The EAEC had no such limit and thus continues to exist. Due to nuclear power being a very sensitive issue for the European electorate, the Euratom Treaty has gone without amendment since its signing, and was not even to be changed with the European Constitution intended to repeal all other treaties (the Constitution's replacement, the Treaty of Lisbon, likewise makes no attempt at amendment).


title: European Communities

text: As the EAEC has a low profile, and the profile of the European Community is dwarfed by that of the EU, the term "European Communities" sees little usage. However, when the EU was established the institutions that dealt solely or mainly with the European Community (as opposed to all three pillars) retained their original names, for example the formal name of the European Court of Justice was the "Court of Justice of the European Communities" until 2009


title: European Communities

text: In 1967, the Merger Treaty combined these separate executives. The Commission and Council of the EEC were to take over the responsibilities of its counterparts in the other organisations. From then on they became known collectively as the "European Communities", for example the commission was known as the "Commission of the European Communities", although the communities themselves remained separate in legal terms.


title: European Communities

text: The Maastricht Treaty built upon the Single European Act and the Solemn Declaration on European Union in the creation of the European Union. The treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 and came into force on 1 November 1993. The emerging Union integrated the European Communities as its institutional core and one of its three pillars. The first Commission President following the creation of the EU was Jacques Delors, who briefly continued his previous EEC tenure before handing over to Jacques Santer in 1994.


title: European Communities

text: The first pillar was the only one established according to then-innovative principles of supranationalism. The pillar structure of the EU allowed the areas of European co-operation to be increased without leaders handing a large amount of power to supranational institutions. The pillar system segregated the EU. What were formerly the competencies of the EEC fell within the European Communities pillar. Justice and Home Affairs was introduced as a new pillar while European Political Cooperation became the second pillar (the Common Foreign and Security Policy).


title: European Communities

text: The Communities institutions became the institutions of the EU but the roles of the institutions between the pillars are different. The commission, Parliament and Court of Justice are largely cut out of activities in the second and third pillars, with the Council dominating proceedings. This is reflected in the names of the institutions, the council is formally the "Council of the "European Union"" while the commission is formally the "Commission of the "European Communities"". This allowed the new areas to be based on intergovernmentalism (unanimous agreement between governments) rather than majority voting and independent institutions according to supranational democracy.


title: European Communities

text: However, after the Treaty of Maastricht, Parliament gained a much bigger role. Maastricht brought in the codecision procedure, which gave it equal legislative power with the Council on Community matters. Hence, with the greater powers of the supranational institutions and the operation of Qualified Majority Voting in the council, the Communities pillar could be described as a far more federal method of decision making.


title: European Communities

text: The Amsterdam Treaty transferred rule making powers for border controls, immigration, asylum and cooperation in civil and commercial law from the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) pillar to the European Community (JHA was renamed Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters (PJCC) as a result). Both Amsterdam and the Treaty of Nice also extended codecision procedure to nearly all policy areas, giving Parliament equal power to the Council in the Community.


title: European Communities

text: In 2002, the Treaty of Paris which established the European Coal and Steel Community (one of the three communities which comprised the European Communities) expired, having reached its 50-year limit (as the first treaty, it was the only one with a limit). No attempt was made to renew its mandate; instead, the Treaty of Nice transferred certain of its elements to the Treaty of Rome and hence its work continued as part of the EC area of the Communities remit.


title: European Communities

text: The Treaty of Lisbon merged the three pillars and abolished the European Community; with the European Union becoming the Community's legal successor. Only one of the three European Communities still exists, thus making the designation of "European Communities" obsolete.


title: European Communities

text: The abolition of the pillar structure was proposed already under the European Constitution which ultimately failed to pass the ratification process.


title: European Communities

text: By virtue of the Merger Treaty, all three Communities were governed by the same institutional framework. Prior to 1967, the Common Assembly/European Parliamentary Assembly and the Court of Justice, established by the ECSC, were already shared with the EEC and EAEC, but they had different executives. The 1967 treaty gave the Council and Commission of the EEC responsibility over ECSC and EAEC affairs, abolishing the Councils of the ECSC and EAEC, the Commission of the EAEC and the High Authority of the ECSC. These governed the three Communities until the establishment of the European Union in 1993.


title: European Communities

text: The three Communities shared the same membership, the six states that signed the Treaty of Paris and subsequent treaties were known as the "Inner Six" (the "outer seven" were those countries who formed the European Free Trade Association). The six founding countries were France, West Germany, Italy and the three Benelux countries: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The first enlargement was in 1973, with the accession of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Greece, Spain and Portugal joined in the 1980s. Following the creation of the EU in November 1993, it has enlarged to include a further sixteen countries by July 2013.


title: European Communities

text: Member states are represented in some form in each institution. The Council is also composed of one national minister who represents their national government. Each state also has a right to one European Commissioner each, although in the European Commission they are not supposed to represent their national interest but that of the Community. Prior to 2004, the larger members (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) had two Commissioners. In the European Parliament, members are allocated a set number seats related to their population, however these (since 1979) have been directly elected and they sit according to political allegiance, not national origin. Most other institutions, including the European Court of Justice, have some form of national division of its members.


title: European Communities

text: The Protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European Communities grants the European Communities and their institutions certain privileges and immunities such as to allow them to perform their tasks. The International Organizations Immunities Act (22 USC § 288h) of the United States has also been extended to the European Communities.


title: European Communities

text: The working conditions of staff are governed by the Communities' staff regulations and not directly by the labour laws of the countries of employment. Their salaries, wages and emoluments are subject to a tax for the benefit of the European Communities and are, in turn, exempt from national taxes.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: The Syrian occupation of Lebanon (, ) began in 1976, during the Lebanese Civil War, and ended on 30 April 2005 after the Cedar Revolution and several demonstrations in which most of the Lebanese people participated, and the withdrawal agreement was signed by President Bashar al-Assad and Saad Hariri, son of Rafic Hariri. All of these changes were a result from the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: In January 1976, a Syrian proposal to restore the limits to the Palestinian guerrilla presence in Lebanon, which had been in place prior to the outbreak of the civil war, was welcomed by Maronites, but rejected by the Palestinian guerrillas.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: In October 1976, at a meeting of the Arab League, Syria accepted a ceasefire. The League ministers decided to expand an existing small Arab peacekeeping force in Lebanon, but it grew to be a large Arab Deterrent Force consisting almost entirely of Syrian troops. The Syrian military intervention was thus legitimized and received subsidies from the Arab League for its activities.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: In 1989, at the final accords of the civil war, two rival administrations were formed in Lebanon: a military one under Michel Aoun in East Beirut and a civilian one under Selim el-Hoss based in West Beirut; the latter gained the support of the Syrians. Aoun opposed the Syrian presence in Lebanon, citing the 1982 UN Security Council Resolution 520. In the resulting "War of Liberation", which erupted in March 1989, Aoun's forces were defeated and he himself exiled from Lebanon. In 1991, a Treaty of "Brotherhood, Cooperation, and Coordination", signed between Lebanon and Syria, legitimized the Syrian military presence in Lebanon. It stipulated that Lebanon would not be made a threat to Syria's security and that Syria was responsible for protecting Lebanon from external threats. In September that same year, a Defense and Security Pact was enacted between the two countries.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: With the consequent adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 and following the assassination of the Lebanese ex-premier Rafic Hariri in 2005, and the alleged involvement of Syria in his death, a public uprising called the Cedar Revolution had swept the country. Syria completed its full withdrawal from Lebanon on 30 April 2005.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: The Lebanese Civil War that began on 13 April 1975, was the backdrop against which the Syrian military presence in Lebanon was established.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: The Middle East's geopolitical landscape was reshaped by the conflicts and wars of June 1967 and October 1973. Israel's resounding win in 1967, compounded by its annexation of the Sinai Peninsula, East Jerusalem and the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights, dealt a catastrophic blow to Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and the pan-Arabist ideology. The 1973 War was accompanied by superpower tensions and direct American involvement in the conflict resolution.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: Since the start of the conflict between the Arab states and the State of Israel, Lebanon found itself squeezed between Israel and Syria, Lebanon's combative larger neighbours. Lebanon itself is touched by the different confessional adherences and by regional and global politics.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: Lebanon entered a brutal and protracted civil war in 1975. Disputes erupted between mostly Christian Lebanese militias (known as the Lebanese Right) and Palestinian militias, as well as predominantly non-Christian Lebanese militias (commonly referred to as the Lebanese Left).


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: In January 1976, its proposal to restore the limits to the Palestinian guerrilla presence in Lebanon, that had been in place prior to the outbreak of the civil war, was welcomed by Maronites and conservative Muslims, but rejected by the Palestinian guerrillas and their Lebanese Druze-led and leftist allies. Syria's interventions came in response to appeals from Maronite leaders, who were under attack by leftists and Palestinians. In a 1976 diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks, a US diplomat stated "if I got nothing else from my meeting with Frangie, Chamoun and Gemayel, it is their clear, unequivocal and unmistakable belief that their principal hope for saving Christian necks is Syria. They sound like Assad is the latest incarnation of the Crusaders". However, after a confrontation with Lebanese Forces Leader, Bachir Gemayel, the relationship between the Syrian forces and the Maronite leaderships deteriorated. In 1977, tensions turned into hostility, and turned into an open all-out conflict between the two parties.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: Simultaneously, Syria was concerned about the weak military of Lebanon as it would be a danger for Syria in their fight with Israel. Recognizing that themself also were vulnerable to an attack, Syria moved from mediation to indirect intervention in supporting guerrilla groups to, finally, the deployment of Syrian troops in Lebanon.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: On 31 May 1976, the Syrian army began an invasion of Lebanon. Two thousand troops and 60 tanks marched in three columns during a three-pronged offensive. The first column marched south across Shuf towards Sidon, where it was halted by PLO forces. The second column moved west along the Beirut - Damascus axis, before being stopped at Beirut. Another column moved north through the Bekaa valley, before then going west towards Tripoli, where it was stopped by Christian forces. The offensive had been halted by 10 June. A second Syrian offensive in mid-October 1976 succeeded at capturing all of central Lebanon as well as some of the country's most important urban centres.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: The hostility between Syria and Israel made Lebanon the 'perfect' playground as it is strategically located as a buffer between the south of Israel and Eastern Syria. Given Syria's proximity and historical ties with Lebanon as part of what was known as "Greater Syria", Syria has always been interested in domestic Lebanese politics.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: Syrian involvement in the fighting between various Lebanese militias that erupted around the first of the year had previously been limited to tactical actions carried out by portions of the Palestine Liberation Army under Damascus' supervision. Around 4 April, these efforts were bolstered by a virtual blockade of Lebanon's ports by Syrian navy forces, ostensibly to prevent the fighting factions from receiving resupply of arms and ammunition. Syrian armed forces regular infantry and armored units arrived into Lebanese territory with force less than a week later.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: By October 1976, Syria had caused significant damage to the strength of the leftists and their Palestinian allies, but at a meeting of the Arab League, it was forced to accept a ceasefire. The League ministers decided to expand an existing small Arab peacekeeping force in Lebanon. It grew to be a large deterrent force consisting almost entirely of Syrian troops. The Syrian military intervention was thus legitimized and received subsidies from the Arab League for its activities.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: In the late 1980s, General Michel Aoun was appointed President of the Council of Ministers by President Amine Gemayel, a controversial move since Aoun was a Maronite Christian and the post was by unwritten convention reserved for a Sunni Muslim. Muslim ministers refused to serve in Aoun's government, which was not recognized by Syria. Two rival administrations were formed: a military one under Aoun in East Beirut and a civilian one under Selim el-Hoss based in West Beirut; the latter gained the support of the Syrians. Aoun opposed the Syrian presence in Lebanon, citing the 1982 UN Security Council Resolution 520.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: The Syrian military remained in Lebanon; after a successful campaign against the Lebanese Forces militia who had controlled Beirut port, Aoun, now with massive popular support in his East Beirut enclave, declared a "War of Liberation" against the Syrian forces.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: Attacking Lebanese Army that was led by Michel Aoun began on 14 March 1989. Casualties among civilians on both sides from indiscriminate artillery bombardments across the front line were numerous. Aoun initially received a greater degree of international support than el-Hoss, but this ended abruptly with the American build-up for war with Iraq over Kuwait. Aoun had received considerable support from the Iraqi government, anxious to weaken the rival Baathist government in Damascus; in October 1990 the Syrian forces attacked and occupied the Presidential Palace at Baabda.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: Aoun took refuge in the French embassy and was later exiled from Lebanon to France. Circumstances surrounding his exile are controversial; his apprehension and exile are variously attributed to Syrian forces, Israel Defense Forces, Shiite militias, and the Lebanese Forces militia of Samir Geagea.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: Since then, Syrian forces remained in Lebanon, exercising considerable influence. In 1991, a Treaty of "Brotherhood, Cooperation, and Coordination", signed between Lebanon and Syria, legitimized the Syrian military presence in Lebanon. It stipulated that Lebanon would not be made a threat to Syria's security and that Syria was responsible for protecting Lebanon from external threats. In September that same year a Defense and Security Pact was enacted between the two countries.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: After the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the death of Hafez al-Assad in 2000, the Syrian military presence faced criticism and resistance from the Lebanese population.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: With the consequent adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 and following the assassination of the Lebanese ex-premier Rafik Hariri and allegations of Syrian involvement in his death, a public uprising nicknamed the Cedar Revolution swept the country. On 5 March 2005, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad announced that Syrian forces would begin its withdrawal from Lebanon in his address to the Syrian parliament. Syria completed its full withdrawal from Lebanon on 30 April 2005.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: The Syrian occupation is a proxy war because of two reasons, the first one by reason of the number and purposes of the militias that participated. Major militias were organized along Maronite, Druze, Shi'a and Sunni identities. Militias were organized rather on political identities than confessional ones. This caused that the same confessional groups could battle each other. Amal and Hezbollah, even though both are Shi'a militias, fought brutal fights for control of the community.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: Second, in the conflict, diverse foreign powers were involved as well as the militias they backed. Just about every major militia in Lebanon established a proxy relationship with a foreign state. Both Lebanon's neighbours, Syria and Israel, were among the top donors and sponsored militias from the beginning to the end of the conflict. After a few years, following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and a change in the dynamics of the Iran-Iraq war, Iran became actively committed in the conflict. Libya, Iraq and to a lesser extent, the United States and the Soviet Union, supplied backing to various militias. In the first half of the Lebanese Civil War, the PLO, Palestine Liberation Organization, was both a proxy and a benefactor, which was unusual in proxy warfare history.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: Iran, starting from 1982, began influencing events in Lebanon. Iran, which experienced the Islamic Revolution in 1979, is linked with Syria, primarily due to mutual anti-Iraqi sentiment. Iran wants to build a presence in Lebanon, which would allow it to share a common border with Israel and land fertile ground for extreme Islamic doctrine. Moreover, Iran discovered a long-ignored Shiite community enraged by Lebanon's establishment and hostile to Israel. Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting a low-intensity guerrilla war since 1985.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: On 16 March 1977, Kamal Jumblatt was gunned down in his car near the village of Baakline in the Chouf mountains by unidentified gunmen. His bodyguard and driver also died in the attack.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: Prime suspects include the pro-Syrian faction of the Lebanese Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), in collaboration with the Ba'ath Party. In June 2005, former secretary general of the Lebanese Communist Party George Hawi claimed in an interview with Al Jazeera, that Rifaat al-Assad, brother of Hafez al Assad and uncle of Syria's current President Bashar al-Assad, had been behind the killing of Jumblatt.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: On 14 September 1982, the Lebanese president Bachir Gemayel was addressing a speech in Achrafieh, at 4:10 PM, a bomb was detonated at the headquarters, killing him and 26 other politicians.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: Habib Shartouni, a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, was later arrested for the assassination. He was imprisoned for 8 years, until Syrian troops took over Lebanon at the end of the war and freed him on 13 October 1990. Eventually, then-president Amine Gemayel, the brother of Bachir, did not condemn Shartouni because of immense Syrian pressure.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: Between 1976 and 2005, Syria had on average between 20,000 and 40,000 troops in Lebanon. The major formations deployed in Lebanon were the 47th Armoured Brigade, 62nd Armoured Brigade, most of the 10th Mechanized Division (2 armored brigades - the 76th and the 91st, 1 mechanized infantry brigade, 1 artillery brigade), plus 5 Special Forces regiments deployed in strategic and tactical locations, and at least 1 Air Defense Brigade. Before 1984, a brigade of the Defense Companies was also deployed in Beirut, Sidon and Tripoli to fight Sunni militias and train pro-Syrian militias. Officers of the Military Intelligence, General Security Directorate, and Air Force intelligence were tasked with Syria's administration in Lebanon. Ghazi Kanaan and Rustum Ghazaleh were the two intelligence officers who controlled Lebanon throughout this period.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: In October 2008, both Syria and Lebanon decided to have diplomatic relationships by establishing embassies for the first time in history since both countries gained their national independence during the 1940s. Two months later, the Syrian Embassy was opened in Beirut. In March 2009, Lebanon followed and opened its embassy in Damascus.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: The Special Tribunal for Lebanon was formed in the wake of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri on 14 February 2005. Following which the Syrian military presence ended on 26 April 2005 after the Cedar Revolution that took place as a reaction to the assassination.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: In 2010, as rumors abounded of an indictment to members of Hezbollah and rising tensions, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited Lebanon for the first time since the Hariri's assassination along with Saudi King Abdullah.


title: Syrian occupation of Lebanon

text: Analyzing whether and when the Syrian presence was a military occupation under international law, Gerhard von Glahn writes that "The mandate of the Force was renewed several times before it officially expired on 27 July 1982, at the time of the Israeli siege of Beirut. The Lebanese government refused to request that the mandate be renewed by the Arab League. Instead, in September 1986, Lebanon requested an end to the Syrian presence in Lebanon. It would appear that lacking legal authority from both Lebanon and the Arab League, Syria's military forces had to be regarded henceforth as illegal occupants of Lebanon."


title: Wind chill

text: Wind chill or windchill (popularly wind chill factor) is the lowering of body temperature due to the passing-flow of lower-temperature air.


title: Wind chill

text: Wind chill numbers are always lower than the air temperature for values where the formula is valid. When the apparent temperature is higher than the air temperature, the heat index is used instead.


title: Wind chill

text: A surface loses heat through conduction, evaporation, convection, and radiation. The rate of convection depends on both the difference in temperature between the surface and the fluid surrounding it and the velocity of that fluid with respect to the surface. As convection from a warm surface heats the air around it, an insulating boundary layer of warm air forms against the surface. Moving air disrupts this boundary layer, or epiclimate, allowing for cooler air to replace the warm air against the surface. The faster the wind speed, the more readily the surface cools.


title: Wind chill

text: Many formulas exist for wind chill because, unlike temperature, wind chill has no universally agreed upon standard definition or measurement. All the formulas attempt to qualitatively predict the effect of wind on the temperature humans "perceive". Weather services in different countries use standards unique to their country or region; for example, the U.S. and Canadian weather services use a model accepted by the National Weather Service. That model has evolved over time.


title: Wind chill

text: The first wind chill formulas and tables were developed by Paul Allman Siple and Charles F. Passel working in the Antarctic before the Second World War, and were made available by the National Weather Service by the 1970s. They were based on the cooling rate of a small plastic bottle as its contents turned to ice while suspended in the wind on the expedition hut roof, at the same level as the anemometer. The so-called Windchill Index provided a pretty good indication of the severity of the weather.


title: Wind chill

text: In the 1960s, wind chill began to be reported as a wind chill equivalent temperature (WCET), which is theoretically less useful. The author of this change is unknown, but it was not Siple or Passel as is generally believed. At first, it was defined as the temperature at which the windchill index would be the same in the complete absence of wind. This led to equivalent temperatures that exaggerated the severity of the weather. Charles Eagan realized that people are rarely still and that even when it was calm, there was some air movement. He redefined the absence of wind to be an air speed of , which was about as low a wind speed as a cup anemometer could measure. This led to more realistic (warmer-sounding) values of equivalent temperature.


title: Wind chill

text: Equivalent temperature was not universally used in North America until the 21st century. Until the 1970s, the coldest parts of Canada reported the original Wind Chill Index, a three or four digit number with units of kilocalories/hour per square metre. Each individual calibrated the scale of numbers personally, through experience. The chart also provided general guidance to comfort and hazard through threshold values of the index, such as 1400, which was the threshold for frostbite.


title: Wind chill

text: In November 2001, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom implemented a new wind chill index developed by scientists and medical experts on the Joint Action Group for Temperature Indices (JAG/TI). It is determined by iterating a model of skin temperature under various wind speeds and temperatures using standard engineering correlations of wind speed and heat transfer rate. Heat transfer was calculated for a bare face in wind, facing the wind, while walking into it at . The model corrects the officially measured wind speed to the wind speed at face height, assuming the person is in an open field. The results of this model may be approximated, to within one degree, from the following formula:


title: Wind chill

text: When the temperature is and the wind speed is , the wind chill index is −24. If the temperature remains at −20 °C and the wind speed increases to , the wind chill index falls to −33.


title: Wind chill

text: As the air temperature falls, the chilling effect of any wind that is present increases. For example, a wind will lower the apparent temperature by a wider margin at an air temperature of , than a wind of the same speed would if the air temperature were .


title: Wind chill

text: The 2001 WCET is a steady state calculation (except for the time to frostbite estimates). There are significant time-dependent aspects to wind chill because cooling is most rapid at the start of any exposure, when the skin is still warm.


title: Wind chill

text: The apparent temperature (AT), invented in the late 1970s, was designed to measure thermal sensation in indoor conditions. It was extended in the early 1980s to include the effect of sun and wind. The AT index used here is based on a mathematical model of an adult, walking outdoors, in the shade (Steadman 1994). The AT is defined as; the temperature, at the reference humidity level, producing the same amount of discomfort as that experienced under the current ambient temperature and humidity.


title: Wind chill

text: The Australian formula includes the important factor of humidity and is somewhat more involved than the simpler North American model. The North American formula was designed to be applied at low temperatures (as low as ) when humidity levels are also low. The hot weather version of the AT (1984) is used by the National Weather Service in the United States. In the United States, this simple version of the AT is known as the heat index.


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest is a 2009 action game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by Electronic Arts. It is derived from "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy, and borrows many gameplay mechanics from Pandemic's "" games. The game allows the player to play as both the forces of good and evil, but unlike "", the latter option is based around Sauron stopping the One Ring from being destroyed and using it to regain his lost power.


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: Pandemic was aided by Weta Digital in developing the game. They provided many of their digital models, including the fell beasts. Pandemic also used elements that were cut from the films, and have taken inspiration from J. R. R. Tolkien's original fantasy series, such as a level based loosely around Balin's conquest of Moria, in which Gimli attempts to retake the dwarven city from the orcs. Some inspiration was less direct: the armies of Rohan and Gondor decide not to attack Minas Morgul in the novel, but a level in the game is based on what might possibly have happened if they had. The game uses Howard Shore's score to the films as its soundtrack. "The Lord of the Rings: Conquest" received mixed reviews, with criticism focusing on its combat, graphics, voice acting, balance issues, artificial intelligence, bugs, and multiplayer.


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: The player takes the role of a soldier of Rohan, Gondor, Rivendell, Harad, Mordor or Isengard, depending on the campaign or side the player chooses. The game is generally objective based, requiring the player to defeat a certain number of enemies, or hold a position until a timer runs out. If a soldier dies, the game continues from the point of death and the death has no impact on the storyline or flow of the game. However, players have a certain number of lives and must repeat the entire level if their lives run out.


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: In the War of the Ring campaign, containing eight levels, the player loosely follows the major battles of the films with some additions such as the Mines of Moria and Minas Morgul. In the Rise of Sauron campaign, the player controls the forces of Sauron in a reworking of the storyline set over seven levels of a film called The final war for Middle Earth. In this story, the Dark Lord reclaims the ring when Frodo Baggins was corrupted by and failed to destroy the One Ring. The hobbit is then killed by the Witchking of Angmar, leading to Sauron subsequently conquering Middle Earth. Both campaigns are narrated by Hugo Weaving, who played Elrond in Peter Jackson's film trilogy.


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: The game uses a class-based character system, similar to the system found in Pandemic's previous game "Star Wars: Battlefront". There are four playable classes. Warriors are a melee combat unit which focus on swordsmanship. Unlike the other classes, whose special attacks recharge over time, warriors can only gain energy by defeating enemies, which allows them to unleash more powerful attacks with a flaming sword, such as spinning to hit every adjacent enemy. They are the only class that can block or perform counterattacks with special moves. The warrior also has a throwing axe as a secondary, medium ranged weapon. Archers are better suited for long range combat and are equipped with a bow and arrow. Different types of arrows can be equipped: fire arrows, which can knock down enemies and deal explosive damage; poison arrows, which slow enemies down and do damage over time, and the ability to fire a volley of three normal arrows at multiple enemies at once. They also have a kick for use in close-quarters, which knocks back the enemy. They can also hit concealed Scouts with the multiple arrow skill. A headshot will allow the archer to kill most enemies in a single hit.


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: Scouts are masters in the art of moving unseen. The scout's primary weapons are two daggers, and he has the ability to become temporarily invisible and assassinate units instantly from behind with a sneak attack. As a secondary attack, he carries satchel bombs filled with blasting powder as a ranged attack. The scout can also block melee attacks. Finally, Mages serve as the magic class. A mage's primary attack is a bolt of lightning, which can be charged up for a more powerful attack that can also damage other enemies in close proximity to the target. He also wields a "firewall" attack, which creates an expanding circle of flames that will heavily damage if not kill enemies who are within the circle. For close range attacks, they have a shockwave attack, which knocks enemies back and allows the mage to finish them off with his staff. Mages can also heal allies. For defensive purposes, a mage can create a magical shield around himself to protect anyone inside from ranged attacks of any sort, provided the attacker is outside of the shield, which allows people to walk through. While the shield ability is active, the mage is unable to do anything else and is therefore highly vulnerable to melee attacks.


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: The player can occasionally gain the opportunity to play as a Troll or an Ent, which are also used by non-player characters and, while far stronger than any normal class, are vulnerable to instantaneous kills by Warriors and Scouts through the use of Quick Time Events. Any class can ride a mount: horses for the Men of the West and wargs and Oliphaunts for Sauron and Saruman's forces. Mounts are useful for quickly traversing large areas, but are highly vulnerable and a single hit against one will result in the player being knocked off (with the exception of the oliphaunt, which has an enormous amount of health). The player wields a sword when mounted, regardless of their class, and is only allowed to use basic attacks. Mounts also have the power to trample enemies when riding at top speed. Depending on the game's settings during multiplayer matches, or during certain periods of the campaign, players will have the opportunity to control heroes, many of whom include the heroes and villains of Lord of the Rings. The heroes are usually based on the four primary class archetypes, controlling very similarly to their standard non-hero counterparts, but are also far more powerful, though not invincible.


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: In the Nintendo DS version, gameplay features are greatly reduced. The Scout class is unavailable and mounts are non-existent. In addition, the playing perspective is isometric and six maps were shipped with the game. All classes start out relatively weak, but fallen enemies will drop orbs that allow the player to power-up their current character's attack power and speed, resetting after the player respawns. After a level is over, a post-game statistics screen will appear to show the player's performance and to award them in-game achievements for their accomplishments (not allowing allies to die, for instance).


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: "The Lord of the Rings: Conquest" was announced on May 8, 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. It was promoted at E3 2008 in Los Angeles, California, where press were able to play a build of the game. It also made an appearance at German Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany that same year. Pandemic Studios began by creating the iconic battlefields seen in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, then included additional locales. They cited the films as their primary source of inspiration, but noted that when necessary they took liberties to apply those stories to an action video game. Pandemic sought to create a "hyper real" experience according to Gewirtz. In an example he stated that rather than take Aragorn actor Viggo Mortensen's performance, the character in the game performs moves which Mortensen himself may not have been able to capture. The books were a secondary source of inspiration for locales and battles. In early hands-on demos to the press several features, such as animal mounts, were not yet available. During subsequent demonstrations the press noticed vast improvements, and eventually the inclusion of mounts.


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: Developers updated their engine to allow for 150 units to be on the battlefield at one time. The game is powered by an upgraded version of Pandemic Studios' Zero engine, and was developed by the same team that worked on the first two "" installments. "Conquest" director Eric Gewirtz said the team was "throwing around these ideas, and in perfect serendipity, happened to get access to the Lord of the Rings license, and that was just the center for us on making this game." Howard Shore's music, composed for the film trilogy, was used in the game. The film actors reprise their roles in cutscenes, which are archived footage from the film. In-game likenesses are based on their film counterparts. Hugo Weaving reprises his role as Elrond and serves as the game's narrator. All other cast members were replaced by voice doubles. Chris Edgerly voices Aragorn, Crispin Freeman voices Legolas, Martin Jarvis voices the white wizard Gandalf, and Yuri Lowenthal stands in for Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins.


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: The game was first released in Europe on January 9, 2009, with a North American release following ten days later on January 19, 2009. The first downloadable content (DLC) was released on January 29, 2009, for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It featured two maps for the game mode Hero Arena, which was not in the shipped game due to time constraints. This mode allows for arena-style battles with up to three friends. The maps themselves are merely broken down versions of levels in the campaigns, specifically sections of Osgiliath and Moria. A second pack of downloadable content was released February 26, 2009, on the same platforms which contained three new heroes, Boromir, Arwen and Gothmog, two new maps, Amon Hen and Last Alliance, and two new Hero Arenas, Minas Tirith and Weathertop. On March 16, 2010, just over a year after the game's release, the online multiplayer modes of "Conquest" were shut down by publisher Electronic Arts.


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: Reception for "The Lord of the Rings: Conquest" was mixed. "IGN" felt the game "offers much sound and fury but little substance [...] the single-player campaign is rudimentary and brief and the multiplayer modes are fairly few", although complimented the presentation as "[doing] a pretty good job of evoking the rich universe of Middle Earth". "Game Informer" called the game "a joyless trip through familiar territories, and sadly, nothing more than that". "GamesRadar+" panned the game as lacking even "one redeeming quality" and built on "foundations of poor mechanics, horrible presentation, dull combat, worthless maps, and total contempt for the mythology".


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: The game's combat was criticized by reviewers. "CVG" found battles to be repetitive and becoming mere "hack slash scuffles". "IGN" complained about the "poorly designed" combat as a whole, in that the player can "[slam] buttons and [see] no result". They further criticized it as redundant, stating that all four classes were essentially identical to play as, even between the two separate campaigns, and that heroes were merely "class characters on steroids". "GamesRadar+" lamented the "intangible and repetitive" combat and the "incompetent" combo system. "GameSpy" described it as "lacking [...] So many other games have executed third-person combat in more engaging ways that it's hard to settle for less." "Eurogamer" also mentioned the movement system as being unrealistic, highlighting that if the player falls from a high position they "won't so much as buckle at the knee".


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: Balance issues were also commented on. "IGN" found the mage class to be overpowered and "The A.V. Club" similarly felt that, due to the mage's ability to heal himself, the class was "the correct choice 90 percent of the time". The scout class was also labelled as "a griefer's dream" in multiplayer. Both "GameInformer" and "GameSpy" criticized that the player was often unable to defend themselves against an onslaught of enemies, with the latter writing "It's entirely too easy for you to be knocked helpless and killed in an instant, resulting in many moments where you've lost control of your character." "Official Xbox Magazine" lamented the objectives where the player must hold a position for a certain length of time while being besieged by enemies, a common problem being that, if the player is killed, by the time the player has respawned, the location has been overrun before they have a chance to fight back. Similarly, the lack of mid-level saves or a checkpoint system was also disliked by "IGN", forcing the player to restart a level if they fail an objective.


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: The game was criticized for its technical issues, in particular the AI. "IGN" listed glitches such as an enemy boss walking off a cliff and "saving us the bother of having to defeat him in combat". "Eurogamer" stated that the player's allies were "AI-impoverished", stepping into the player's line of fire "before sauntering off unscathed and oblivious", while "Game Informer" felt the AI appeared to be "tripping on acid as they stare blankly at walls and sunsets". "Game Informer" also cited other technical issues, such as the player character being "yanked off of a ledge by a mysterious force" and the game failing to register button-inputs.


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: The graphics and animations of the game were considered substandard. "GamesRadar+" chastised the game as presenting "a band of wooden-legged freaks who moonwalk like the Former King of Pop [...] the gimpiest horses since Two Worlds," and likened some of the creature character models to "claymation diarrhea." "IGN" stated that "friend and foe alike blend into one messy brown blur". "GameSpy" called the graphics "lackluster" and the environments "bland", feeling that the backgrounds were lacking in detail. Some reviewers also complained about the lack of enemies on screen, "CVG" saying that the "cardboard cut-outs in the background" were the most exciting part of a battle.


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: Reviewers cited poor characterization and plot, with "CVG" criticizing Wormtongue's participation in the battle of Isengard. "IGN" wrote that the narrative was "decently presented" and praised the game for its "easily recognizable" locations, but felt the plot for the Rise of Sauron campaign "could have been stronger". "Game Informer" believed that there was no story of any kind "outside of clips stolen from the motion picture". "IGN" commended the musical score and claimed that dedicated fans of online, class-based games and "The Lord of the Rings" would enjoy the game, a view not shared by "Official Xbox Magazine" who believed that fans of the books would be the most likely to hate it. The voice acting was panned by "IGN" as being "universally bad", with the exception of Hugo Weavings narration. Another common source of annoyance was the in-game announcer, who "bellow[s]" objectives and hints to the player incessantly "in one of the most insanely irritating voices in videogame history".


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: The game's multiplayer was regarded as a disappointment by "Eurogamer", finding that the game's servers were marred by connection problems and lag, even without the maximum numbers of players. They also cited a lack of bots as a weakness, the "wide, open levels [feeling] sparse and under-populated" without them. "The A.V. Club" slated online play as "glitchy", sometimes placing the player "in a one-on-one match of capture the flag". "IGN" found that the multiplayer to a lesser extent "is hit by many of the same pitfalls as the single-player, which is to say that it gets redundant a little too quickly." "GamesRadar" wrote that "There isn't an online gamer, "" player, "Dynasty Warriors" nerd, movie buff, or "Lord of the Rings" fanatic on Earth who could be satisfied with "Conquest"."


title: The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

text: The DS version of the game was also criticized for similar complaints. "IGN" marred the version as having AI problems, with the player's allies "[running] around like a Hobbit with its head cut off". The lack of checkpoints and sub-standard graphics were also raised, along with lag during multiplayer and combat being unsatisfying, not getting "a sense that you are clashing swords and armor with your opponents". "IGN" also pointed out that the game seems much as though "the license is really just skinned onto capture the flag".


title: Southern Airways Express

text: Southern Airways Express is a commuter airline operating across the United States with headquarters in Palm Beach, Florida. Southern Airways acts as a local service airline for dozens of cities across all U.S. time zones, Approximately a third of its routes are subsidized through the Essential Air Service program by the United States Department of Transportation.


title: Southern Airways Express

text: In its Gulf, New England, and Hawaiian Regions, Southern operates from executive terminals at primary airports, meaning that passengers are not required to check-in at the main passenger terminals, nor are they required to pass through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security screening. In Southern's mid-Atlantic, Rocky Mountain, and California footprints, passengers embark and disembark through the primary secured (TSA) terminals. In June 2018 Southern became an interline partner with American Airlines, allowing for single-ticketing and baggage transfers between Southern and American. Southern later added interline partnerships with Alaska Airlines and United Airlines.


title: Southern Airways Express

text: Southern Airways Express was founded in 2013 by Stan Little, a litigation attorney in Hernando, Mississippi. Little owned a Golden Eagle 421 which was never used by the airline, although his private pilot, Scott Honnoll, did transition to the airline and advanced to the role of assistant chief pilot before returning to general aviation in November 2015. Southern's initial funding was secured by a group of unknown investors, many of whom are believed to be connected to the University of Mississippi, the alma mater of Little and co-founder Keith Sisson.


title: Southern Airways Express

text: The airline launched operations in June 2013, with its first flight from Olive Branch Airport near Memphis, Tennessee to Destin Executive Airport. Early destinations included University-Oxford Airport, Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport, New Orleans Lakefront Airport, and Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. Due to the nature of the flights being public charters, the airline did not originally use TSA terminals. During the first year, the airline was run experimentally, operating different routes to test demand.


title: Southern Airways Express

text: In its first year, Southern operated as a DOT Part 380 scheduled charter provider, with the flights being operated by Executive Express Aviation of Sugar Grove, Ill. In March 2014 Southern made its first acquisition, acquiring Executive Express and its FAA charter certificate, retaining all of its employees in the process. (Executive Express Aviation was later sold to FLOAT Shuttle in 2019 for an undisclosed sum, when all Southern-operated flights were consolidated to its primary certificate.)


title: Southern Airways Express

text: In the fall of 2015, Southern Airways began operating its first Essential Air Service flights on behalf of SeaPort Airlines, but it discontinued that service when Seaport Airlines filed for bankruptcy in January 2016. A year later, Southern Airways was awarded Seaport's former routes to Arkansas' Boone County Airport, Hot Springs Memorial Field Airport, and South Arkansas Regional Airport, and enplanements have grown markedly at all three cities in the years since.


title: Southern Airways Express

text: On March 7, 2016, Southern announced its second acquisition, Fort Lauderdale-based Sun Air Express. Sun Air flew multiple EAS routes in the mid-Atlantic region, immediately strengthening Southern's presence in the federal program. The airline retired all of Sun Air's aging Piper aircraft in favor of the newer, turbine-powered Cessna Caravan, and it retired the Sun Air name from use in scheduled service. Following the acquisition of Sun, the operational headquarters of Southern Airways was relocated from Memphis to Pompano Beach, Florida.


title: Southern Airways Express

text: In February 2019, Southern Airways acquired Mokulele Airlines, its third airline acquisition in five years. The Hawaii-based commuter airline also flew the Cessna Caravan, making it a logical target for Southern. Since the acquisition, Southern has worked to retain and strengthen the Mokulele brand in the Hawaiian islands and now serves 10 airports in the state. It is the largest inter-island carrier by daily departures. Southern recently announced its intention to bring 30-seat aircraft to its Hawaiian footprint to add to its 14 Caravans operating in the state. In addition, Southern/Mokulele has partnered with California-based AmpAire to bring hybrid-electric aircraft to Hawaii. The initial test flights took place in December 2020.


title: Southern Airways Express

text: Also in 2019, Southern Airways launched operations in New England with initial service to Nantucket, MA, Boston/Norwood, MA and Providence, RI. On September 28, 2020, New Bedford, MA was announced as the fourth destination in the region, and Southern's second metro-Boston airport, Hanscom Field, was added in 2021. Southern also began weekly seasonal service from Lancaster, PA to Nantucket in 2021. On April 30, 2019, it was announced that SkyWest has a strategic minority investment in the company.


title: Southern Airways Express

text: Shortly after the Covid-pandemic caused a mandatory inter-island quarantine in Hawaii, Southern/Mokulele announced its fourth acquisition: Honolulu-based Makani Kai Air, a division of Schuman Aviation. CEO Richard Schuman joined Mokulele as its Executive Vice President for Hawaii, and the Makani Kai Aircraft began the transition to Mokulele livery. As of May 2021, Southern/Mokulele was operating 220 peak-day departures system-wide, with approximately 120 of those in Hawaii.


title: Southern Airways Express

text: In June 2021, Southern switched its east coast hub from Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport, where it offers the third-highest number of daily destinations behind United Airlines and Delta Air Lines.


title: Southern Airways Express

text: The Southern Airways Express Saab 340s started operating in Hawai'i in July 2022, with service linking Honolulu to Lana'i and Moloka'i. The planes will not take on the Mokulele brand, instead retaining the Southern Airways continental livery.


title: Southern Airways Express

text: On March 28, 2022 it was announced that Air Choice One was being acquired by Southern Airways Corporation (SAC), parent company of Southern Airways Express, but keeping both air operator's certificates separate.


title: Southern Airways Express

text: In early 2020, Southern Airways became the exclusive codeshare partner for Tailwind Air Service. Southern markets and sells the flights under its 9X code on both its reservation system and the Global Distribution Systems. Tailwind Air Service, a scheduled passenger and charter seaplane operator, is the operator of the flights.


title: Southern Airways Express

text: Southern Airways Express has interline agreements with Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and United Airlines which provides passengers through-ticketing and baggage transfers.


title: Southern Airways Express

text: Southern provides an extra discount at select colleges/universities that participate in the Campus Connection program for students, faculty, and parents.


title: Southern Airways Express

text: Southern has a subsidiary, Southern Private Jets, which provides on-demand charter services utilizing a single Cessna Citation II.


title: Lesley J. McNair

text: Lesley James McNair (May 25, 1883 – July 25, 1944) was a senior United States Army officer who served during World War I and World War II. He attained the rank of lieutenant general during his life; he was killed in action during World War II, and received a posthumous promotion to general.


title: Lesley J. McNair

text: A Minnesota native and 1904 graduate of the United States Military Academy, McNair was a Field Artillery officer with a background in the Ordnance Department. A veteran of the Veracruz occupation and Pancho Villa Expedition, during World War I he served as assistant chief of staff for training with the 1st Division, and then chief of artillery training on the staff at the American Expeditionary Forces headquarters. His outstanding performance resulted in his promotion to temporary brigadier general; at age 35, he was the Army's youngest general officer.


title: Lesley J. McNair

text: McNair's experience of more than 30 years with equipment and weapons design and testing, his administrative skills, and his success in the areas of military education and training led to his World War II assignment as commander of Army Ground Forces. In this position, McNair became the "unsung architect of the U.S. Army", and played a leading role in the organizational design, equipping, and training of Army units in the United States before they departed for overseas combat. While historians continue to debate some of McNair's decisions and actions, including the individual replacement system for killed and wounded soldiers, and a controversy over the use of tanks or tank destroyers as anti-tank weapons, his concentration on advanced officer education, innovative weapons systems, improved doctrine, realistic combat training, and development of combined arms tactics enabled the Army to modernize and perform successfully on the World War II battlefield, where the mobility of mechanized forces replaced the static defenses of World War I as the primary tactical consideration.


title: Lesley J. McNair

text: He was killed by friendly fire while in France to act as commander of the fictitious First United States Army Group, part of the Operation Quicksilver deception that masked the actual landing sites for the Invasion of Normandy. During Operation Cobra, an Eighth Air Force bomb landed in his foxhole near Saint-Lô when the Army attempted to use heavy bombers for close air support of infantry operations as part of the Battle of Normandy.


title: Lesley J. McNair

text: McNair was born in Verndale, Minnesota, on May 25, 1883, the son of James (1846–1932) and Clara (Manz) McNair (1853–1925). He was the second-born of their six children, and the first son. His siblings who lived to adulthood were: sister Nora (1881–1971), the wife of Harry Jessup; brother Murray Manz McNair (1888–1976); and sister Irene (1890–1979), the wife of Harry R. Naftalin.


title: Lesley J. McNair

text: McNair attended school in Verndale through the ninth grade, the highest available locally; his parents then relocated to Minneapolis so McNair and his siblings could complete high school. After graduating from South High School in 1897, he competed successfully for an appointment to the United States Naval Academy. While he was on the Naval Academy waiting list as an alternate, he began studies at the Minnesota School of Business in Minneapolis, where he concentrated primarily on mechanical engineering and statistics courses.


title: Lesley J. McNair

text: Frustrated with the wait to start at the Naval Academy, in 1900 McNair competed for appointment to the United States Military Academy and took an examination offered by U.S. Senators Cushman Kellogg Davis and Knute Nelson. Initially selected as an alternate in July 1900, he was quickly accepted as a member of the class that began that August. While at West Point, his fellow students nicknamed him "Whitey" for his ash blond hair; they continued to use it with him for the rest of his life. The description of McNair which accompanied the photo of him in West Point's yearbook for his senior year refers to him as "Pedestrian Whitey" and details an incident when he had to walk from Newburgh to West Point, a distance of , after having missed the last train while returning from visiting his fiancée in New York City; the yearbook also contains an anonymously authored poem, "'Whitey's' Record Walk", about the same incident.