title: Luta Livre

text: Luta Livre's founder is credited to be Euclydes "Tatu" Hatem, who was originally a catch wrestler. Euclydes Hatem went by the name of Tatu. He began teaching catch wrestling techniques to others in Rio de Janeiro in 1927 while experimenting with some of his own innovative techniques. Tatu brought on many challenges with the Brazilian jiu-jitsu and culminated with his victory over George Gracie in the Catch rules fight. The style emphasized fighting without a gi/uniform. He received popularity when he submitted George Gracie in 1940 and when one of his students, Euclides Pereira defeated Carlson Gracie in 1968. The system focused on ground fighting and submissions due to their importance in Vale Tudo matches. The ground fighting included the use of leg locks, which at the time was ignored by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For years, Luta Livre was extremely popular in Brazil, second only to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Some of the famous fighters that came out of Luta Livre included William Porfirio. In the 1970s Luta Livre was strongly influenced by father and son duo Fausto and Carlos Brunocilla. The Brunocilla were Tatu's pupils and were in turn responsible for graduating many Luta Livre Masters. Also around the 1970s, the art of Luta Livre was influenced by Roberto Leitão, a practitioner of judo and wrestling. Leitão also articulated the "Theory of Grappling", sometimes referred to as "Theory of Luta Livre". Roberto Leitão was a university professor of Engineering who had devoted many years to Wrestling and Judo.


title: Luta Livre

text: Luta Livre, in its early days, was largely considered to be an art "for poor kids who could not afford a gi." due to appearances since they didn't fight with a gi. Luta Livre and BJJ were considered to be enemies. When Euclides Perreria beat Carlson Gracie in 1968 , the rivalry was continued for a few more decades. It was actually very popular amongst kids from the favelas. Luta Livre focused on teaching the poor who were primarily of African descent. This was opposed to Brazilian jiu-jitsu which was thought to focus on teaching of the upper class, who were primarily light skinned. The battles between the two arts was essentially a class warfare. By the 1980s, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu had become very popular in Brazil and Luta Livre representatives wanted to help popularize their art by accepting challenges from Brazilian jiu-jitsu champions in Vale Tudo and Submission matches. Luta Livre continued on with many famous fights in and out of the ring. This included a fight with Rickson Gracie on the beaches of Brazil. This would hurt Luta Livre's reputation with Hugo Duarte losing to Rickson Gracie then getting knocked out by Tank Abbott at UFC 17 and Eugenio Tadeu losing to Wallid Ismael due to his inability to re-enter the ring in time. Tadeu did battle Royler Gracie to a draw in an indoor fight. Another fight between Renzo Gracie and Eugenio Tadeu kept the rivalry going. His battle with Renzo Gracie in 1997 ended in a No Contest due to fans rioting. In 1991 Desafio hosted a Jiu-Jitsu vs Luta Livre card that had three representatives of Brazilian jiu-jitsu up against three representatives of Luta Livre, with BJJ winning all three fights. One fighter Marco Ruas, who would later become a UFC champ, had a huge rivalry with Rickson Gracie. A fight though never occurred between the two fighters.


title: Luta Livre

text: While the feud between BJJ and Luta Livre was ongoing, BJJ started to gain the upper hand by spreading their art across Brazil and the rest of the world, something which Luta Livre wasn't doing due a lack of central leadership or interest in doing so. A branch of the Gracie family which established themselves in the United States did a Vale Tudo-style tournament in the form of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which saw the early events resulting in the victory of Jiu-Jitsu practitioners and raising the awareness of the art across the globe. While Luta Livre kept its popularity limited to Rio de Janeiro and Manaus areas. As many events similar to the UFC were created in Brazil, United States and Japan, Luta Livre practitioners responded by signing up for those Vale Tudo and MMA events nationally and abroad. Marco Ruas was one of the first, becoming the champion of UFC 7, however, he was billed representing "Ruas Vale Tudo", his own fighting style which Luta Livre only composed a part of. Other Luta Livre fighters followed suit, such as Hugo Duarte, Pedro Otávio, Johil de Oliveira and Eugenio Tadeu, and they found mixed result in competitions. However, the main blow was that, as the nascent sport professionalized, most of the earlier most prestigious MMA academies (Brazilian Top Team, Chute Boxe Academy, Nova União, among others) used Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as their submission grappling style. Many Luta Livre fighters left their original camps and went instead to the Jiu-Jitsu camps hoping for success in a fighting career. BJJ practitioners also stopped using the jiu-jitsu gi in MMA competitions (which later would be banned outright) and developed a style of BJJ without the gi, known as "No-Gi". Thus eliminating one of the main differentials between the two martial arts, and since many Luta Livre fighters were now practicing this new style, many of No-Gi's techniques and strategies were heavily influenced by Luta Livre.


title: Luta Livre

text: Currently, there has been a lot of work to preserve Luta Livre and work towards a resurgence of the style. In 2017 the "Confederação Brasileira de Luta Livre Esportiva" (Brazilian Confederation of Luta Livre Esportiva) was founded in order to better organize and promote the sport. While it has also carved itself a niche in Europe, especially in Germany, where Luta Livre schools are common. Luta Livra was introduced in that country by Daniel D'Dane.


title: Luta Livre

text: The Brazilian Luta Livre Federation created a curriculum, and grading system, similar to the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ranking system and the Brazilian Judo ranking system, in order to develop uniform minimum standards, and better rank its practitioners. A black belt might take up to ten years of practice. Although it's a no-gi grappling style, practitioners can wear their belts if they want.


title: Luta Livre

text: According to the Brazilian Luta Livre Federation, Rankings are divided into three categories: beginners, intermediate and advanced. Advanced students are allowed to be instructors


The International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe. The route primarily involves moving freight from India, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia via ship, rail and road. The objective of the corridor is to increase trade connectivity between major cities such as Mumbai, Moscow, Tehran, Baku, Bandar Abbas, Astrakhan, Bandar Anzali, etc. Dry runs of two routes were conducted in 2014, the first was Mumbai to Baku via Bandar Abbas and the second was Mumbai to Astrakhan via Bandar Abbas, Tehran and Bandar Anzali. The objective of the study was to identify and address key bottlenecks. The results showed transport costs were reduced by "$2,500 per 15 tons of cargo". Other routes under consideration include via Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.


title: International North–South Transport Corridor

text: This will also synchronize with the Ashgabat agreement, a Multimodal transport agreement signed by India (2018), Oman (2011), Iran (2011), Turkmenistan (2011), Uzbekistan, (2011) Kazakhstan (2015) "(figure in the bracket indicates the year of joining the agreement)", for creating an international transport and transit corridor facilitating transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. This route will be operationalised by mid-January 2018.


text: The primary objective of the NSTC project is to reduce costs in terms of time and money over the traditional route currently being used. Analysts predict by having improved transport connectivity between Russia, Central Asia, Iran and India their respective bilateral trade volumes will increase. A study conducted by the "'Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) www.fffai.org " found the route is, "30% cheaper and 40% shorter than the current traditional route". Analysts predict the corridor is likely to increase trade connectivity between major cities such as Mumbai, Moscow, Tehran, Baku, Bandar Abbas, Astrakhan, Bandar Anzali etc.


text: Russia, Iran and India signed the agreement for the NSTC project on 16 May 2002. All three countries are founding member states on the project. Other important member states include Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Belarus with other states having varying levels of involvement. Azerbaijan is heavily involved in the project currently building new train lines and roads to complete missing links in the NSTC. Turkmenistan currently is not a formal member but is likely to have a road connectivity to the corridor. Prime Minister Modi during a state visit to Turkmenistan formally invited it to become a member state on the project, "I also proposed that Turkmenistan becomes a member of the International North South Transport Corridor."


text: The NSTC route through Azerbaijan allows India–Iran–Azerbaijan–Russia–Kazakhstan transport connectivity. Iran started construction work to complete the missing link of the Qazvin-Rasht-Astara road and railway (205 km) including the Rasht-Astara section (164 km). It involves construction of 369 km of bridges and railway line to link the southern sections to the northern ones. Once completed, 22 new tunnels and 15 bridges will have been added to the route.


text: On January 7, 2017, it was announced that Rasht-Astara section of rail route was already completed in 2016, the remaining construction of Qazvin to Rasht rail rote is 90% complete and will be completed within 2017, construction on the remaining Rasht-Astara section of road would also start in 2017.


text: India and Iran have a long-standing agreement, signed in 2002, to develop Chabahar into full deep sea port. Bandar Abbas port handles 85% of Iran's seaborne trade and is highly congested. Whereas, Chabahar has high capacity with plans to expand it from its current capacity of 2.5 million to 12.5 million tons annually. Unlike Bandar Abbas, Chabahar has the ability to handle cargo ships bigger than 100,000 tons. Industry Analysts have highlighted there are long term plans to integrate Chabahar with the NSTC, "India is also eyeing trade with Europe via Chabahar port and the International North-South Transport Corridor".


text: The Kazakhstan–Turkmenistan–Iran railway link, completed and operationalized in 2014, also known as North–South Transnational Corridor, is a long railway line connecting Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan with Iran and the Persian Gulf. It links Uzen in Kazakhstan with Bereket - Etrek in Turkmenistan and ends at Gorgan in Iran's Golestan province. In Iran, the railway will be linked to national network making its way to the ports of the Persian Gulf.


text: The project is estimated to cost $620m which is being jointly funded by the governments of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran.


text: The project also aims to create a multimodal transport system to provide seamless connectivity in the region for passenger travel as well. The North-South Transnational Corridor will run up to in Kazakhstan, in Turkmenistan and in Iran.


text: A section between Bereket and Uzen in Turkmenistan is being financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). A memorandum of understanding was signed between ADB and the Turkmenistan government in February 2010, for a $350m loan as a special fund for technical assistance. The project loan was for the installation of signalling and communication equipment on the ongoing railway line, procurement of equipment and maintenance facilities, consulting, and for the management and supervision of construction. The project also received a loan of $371.2m from the Islamic Development Bank in July 2010. In May 2013, a Bereket – Uzen section was completed.


text: In February 2014, long section between Bereket and Etrek was constructed. Currently, railway stations along the new railway are being constructed.


text: Bereket city ("Kazandjik") is strategically important railway crossroad of the Trans-Caspian Railway (Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and eastern Kazakhstan) and North-South Transnational Railway. The city has a large locomotive repair depot and a modern passenger and freight railway station.


text: Armenia–Iran Railway Concession, also called as Southern Armenia Railway or North-South Railway Corridor, as of April 2017, the project remains only on paper and has no financier as the economic feasibility is doubtful, though Armenia continues to try to find sponsors and private investors to make the project economically more viable.


text: On July 28, 2012, a concession agreement was awarded to Dubai-based Rasia FZE (a Rasia Group investment company) for the feasibility, design, financing, construction and operation of a new railway link between Armenia and Iran having an operating period of 30 years, with a right of extension for another 20 years. The Armenia-Iran railway is called the Southern Armenia Railway project, which forms the key missing link in the International North-South Transport Corridor between the Black Sea and the Persian Gulf. Prior to the feasibility study being completed, the Southern Armenia Railway was anticipated to be a 316 km railway linking Gavar, 50 km east of Yerevan near Lake Sevan, with the Iranian border near Meghri.


text: On 24 January 2013, during an announcement and press conference, the previously signed concession agreement was announced and a separate tripartite memorandum of understanding was signed in Yerevan by Rasia FZE, Russian Railways (RZD) subsidiary South Caucasus Railway, and the government of Armenia concerning technical cooperation, investment, and the future operation of the Southern Armenia Railway. Rasia FZE announced its appointment of China Communications Construction Company as the "lead member of the development consortium" for the project and the commencement of the feasibility study.


text: Following a meeting on 3 September 2013 with Serzh Sargsyan, the President of Armenia, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation stated that Russian Railways can invest about RUB 15 billion in the development of the Armenian Railway.


text: In mid-September 2013, Rasia FZE announced in a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan the achievement of a key milestone for the Southern Armenia Railway, including the release of a highly favorable feasibility study and the recommended railway design route from China Communications Construction Company. Having reached this key milestone, Rasia FZE moved to secure essential regional cooperation for the financing, construction and operation stages of the project. The feasibility study results indicated that the Southern Armenia Railway would cost approximately US $3.5 billion to construct, have a length of 305 kilometers from Gagarin to Agarak, and provide a base operating capacity of 25 million tons per annum. The railway will have 84 bridges spanning 19.6 kilometers and 60 tunnels of 102.3 kilometers, comprising 40% of the total project length.


text: As the key missing link in the International North–South Transport Corridor, the Southern Armenia Railway would create the shortest transportation route from the ports of the Black Sea to the ports of the Persian Gulf. The Southern Armenia Railway would establish a major commodities transit corridor between Europe and the Persian Gulf region, based on traffic volume forecasts of 18.3 million tons per annum. At completion of railway construction and commencement of operations, transport costs and times for the region are expected to improve substantially, fostering greater regional trade and economic growth with extraordinary direct benefits for the Armenian economy including an alleviation of the economic pressures caused by the blockade against Armenia by Turkey and Azerbaijan due to Armenia's and Azerbaijan's war over Karabakh.


text: In March 2013 Iran inaugurated the port of Astara located south-west of the Caspian Sea. The port has been integrated with the NSTC to improve its maritime connectivity across the Caspian Sea. Iran has invested 22 million dollars in the port and plan to increase investment by 10% to expand the port. The Current capacity is 600,000 tons but there is plans to increase this to 3 million tons. Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are the main producers of grains which will be exported to Africa through Iran Bandar Abbas port. The port will allow Russian goods to reach inland provinces of Iran faster and cheaper. Product from Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan can be sent to India through Iran's Bandar Abbas port which is the fastest way to reach India.


text: Iranrud (Iran's river) is a plan to build a canal from Caspian sea to Indian Ocean, with two routes, a river through Dasht-e Lut and another canal to Lake Urmia and after that to Persian Gulf. The idea of linking the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea by a canal was developed already in the late 19th century.


text: Dry runs of two routes were conducted in 2014, the first was Mumbai to Baku via Bandar Abbas and the second was Mumbai to Astrakhan via Bandar Abbas, Tehran and Bandar Anzali. The objective of the study was to identify and address key bottlenecks. The results showed transport costs were reduced by "$2,500 per 15 tons of cargo". Other routes under consideration include via Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.


text: A dry run of container movement via the green corridor was conducted during April 2017 to test and verify the smooth customs facilitation, connecting India with Russia and Europe via Iran.


text: On July 7th, 2022, Russian company RZD Logistics announced that it has successfully completed its first transport of goods to India via the INSTC. This statement was also confirmed by Iranian and Indian trade companies.


text: The positioning of the INSTC as an alternative to the conventional deep sea Suez Canal route is another significant benefit of this route, taking into account geostrategic and economic diplomacy for all the involved countries, particularly Iran and Russia, both of which are subject to U.S. sanctions, in addition to the fact that it is more cost-effective and saves a significant amount of travel time.


text: According to a survey by ‘Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations in India (FFFAI) found INSTC is “30 percent cheaper and 40 percent shorter than the traditional route via the Suez Canal.”


title: Tracey Needham

text: Tracey Renee Needham (born March 28, 1967) is an American actress who has acted primarily in television roles such as Paige Thatcher on "Life Goes On" (2nd-4th seasons; 1990–1993), Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Meg Austin on the first season of "JAG" (1995–1996), and as Inspector Candace DeLorenzo on "The Division" (2001-2003).


title: Tracey Needham

text: Needham was born on March 28, 1967, in Dallas, Texas, where her father was a homebuilder. She has three brothers.


title: Tracey Needham

text: In 1975, when Needham was 8 years old, her parents moved to Denver, Colorado, and her father's work dictated the family move back and forth between the two cities. She attended both Cherry Creek High School and Plano Senior High School, the latter where she graduated in 1985.


title: Tracey Needham

text: 1988, Needham went to Los Angeles to study acting and audition for roles. She made her TV acting debut on "Jake and the Fatman". After acting classes, she landed the role of Paige Thatcher, the big sister, on "Life Goes On", beginning in the series' second season.


title: Tracey Needham

text: While growing up, she was always jumping into football games, wanting to be treated equally by the males and not have boys take it easy on her. She re-called her past to play the strong feminine Meg Austin in the first season of "JAG". Needham portrayed a Navy judge advocate and a computer-weapons expert.


title: Tracey Needham

text: Needham married actor Tommy Hinkley in January 1995 and they have a daughter, Katie, born in 1999. Needham and Hinkley moved to Colorado to open a children's acting school.


title: John Noakes

text: John Noakes (born John Wallace Bottomley; 6 March 1934 – 28 May 2017) was an English television presenter and former actor. He co-presented the BBC children's magazine programme "Blue Peter" in the 1960s and 1970s and was the show's longest-serving presenter, with a tenure that lasted 12 years and six months.


title: John Noakes

text: Noakes was born John Bottomley, at the Royal Halifax Infirmary in Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire, to Sallie Hinchcliffe (née Hampson) and Arthur Wallace Bottomley. He was educated at Shelf Council School, in Shelf and then at Rishworth School, where he excelled in cross country running and gymnastics. His parents divorced when he was nine and he went to live with his grandmother.


title: John Noakes

text: At the age of 16, Noakes joined the Royal Air Force as a mechanic. The following year, his mother married Canadian big band trumpeter Alfred "Alfie" Noakes (1903–1982) and John took his surname. He subsequently worked for BOAC as an aircraft engine fitter.


title: John Noakes

text: When Noakes decided to become an actor, he took lessons at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, which he paid for by doing a cleaning job and working as a hotel liftboy. He made his stage debut as a dog and a clown in a summer show with Cyril Fletcher. In 1964, he appeared in one episode of the television military police drama series "Redcap".


title: John Noakes

text: After spending six months in the Broadway production of Arnold Wesker's "Chips with Everything", Noakes moved back to the UK to work in rep in Surrey where he met his wife-to-be, Vicky. Noakes recreated his role as Whitey Richardson in the 1963 BBC television adaptation of "Chips with Everything". He followed this with the role of Anselme Popinot in mini-series "The Rise and Fall of César Birotteau" on BBC2, a four-part dramatisation broadcast in June 1965. His last dramatic role on television before joining "Blue Peter" was in an episode of the crime series "Mogul", starring Barry Foster and Geoffrey Keen, broadcast on BBC1 in August 1965.


title: John Noakes

text: Noakes got the opportunity to join "Blue Peter" when producer Biddy Baxter needed a third presenter to join Christopher Trace and Valerie Singleton after the show went from a weekly to a twice-weekly format. Baxter spotted Noakes at the Phoenix Theatre in Leicester where he was playing Willie Mossop in the play "Hobson's Choice". Noakes joined "Blue Peter" as a presenter on 30 December 1965. Peter Purves replaced Trace in 1967, creating the 'Val, John and Pete' line-up which lasted until 1972. When Singleton began to diversify her television career, former Young Generation dancer Lesley Judd joined the team. At a time when most BBC presenters spoke with Received Pronunciation (RP), Noakes's Yorkshire accent was a novelty.


title: John Noakes

text: As a "Blue Peter" presenter, Noakes usually fulfilled the role of action man in the series. Highlights included changing the billboard name for the 1971 premier of "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" in London's Leicester Square, free-fall parachuting with the RAF's Flying Falcons display team and bobsleighing (his sled hit a hole in the ice and turned over, injuring him). After a free-fall with the RAF in 1973, Noakes held the record for a while for the longest free-fall parachute jump by a British civilian. His 1977 unassisted ascent of the high Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square in London has been voted the greatest moment in children's TV programming.


title: John Noakes

text: Alongside his "Blue Peter" work, Noakes also presented the BBC's Christmas edition of "Disney Time" with his "Blue Peter" colleagues on 27 December 1971. He returned to host the show solo at Easter 1979. In August 1972, he hosted four editions of BBC Radio 1's "Junior Choice". Overlapping with his period on "Blue Peter", Noakes and Shep made six series of "Go With Noakes" in which they travelled around Britain getting involved in diverse activities like motor racing, rowing, aerobatics and painting. In each series Noakes used a particular mode of transport to get about such as a yacht, on foot, narrow boat, or classic car. A total of 31 episodes of "Go With Noakes" were broadcast between 28 March 1976 and 21 December 1980.


title: John Noakes

text: In October 1998, Noakes joined Valerie Singleton and Peter Purves in a special programme that celebrated 40 years of "Blue Peter". In January 2000, he joined his co-presenters again for the disinterment of the time capsule that they had buried in 1971.


title: John Noakes

text: Noakes was encouraged to take special responsibility for one of the show's pets. His original dog was Patch, the son of Petra, the first "Blue Peter" dog. After Patch's sudden death in 1971 he was given another pet dog, a Border Collie puppy, named Shep by viewers. Noakes's attempts to control the excitable Shep led to his catchphrase "Get down, Shep!".


title: John Noakes

text: When Noakes left "Blue Peter", they offered to let him keep Shep, as the dog had lived with him since his TV debut. Despite Shep living with Noakes, the dog was always legally owned by the BBC and in rules that also applied to himself whilst under contract to the BBC, he could not use Shep for advertising or commercial purposes. Noakes was paid a stipend to cover all Shep's costs from the "Blue Peter" budget (as was Peter Purves for 'Petra' and later Simon Groom for 'Goldie') and as part of the agreement to keep Shep after leaving the show, Noakes agreed that the no-advertising condition should remain.


title: John Noakes

text: However, shortly after leaving the show, Noakes was furious to discover that what he called his "dog money" ceased to be paid by the Corporation and he confronted Biddy Baxter in a phone call. Baxter was adamant that since Shep had left "Blue Peter", the programme should no longer be responsible for any of Shep's costs, although she did sympathise with some of his argument and felt that the BBC should pay Noakes for Shep to appear in "Go With Noakes" or for 'personal appearances' the dog made. Regardless, she later wrote that Noakes was too angry to discuss the matter and the two rarely spoke again. Soon after this angry confrontation, Noakes relinquished Shep, who went to live with Edith Menzies. Noakes subsequently appeared in a series of television advertisements for Spillers "Choice Cuts" dog food, using a dog that was indistinguishable from Shep but named Skip.


title: John Noakes

text: After 12 years with "Blue Peter", Noakes left the programme on 26 June 1978. By this time, his working relationship with the show's producer, Biddy Baxter, was very difficult. The bitterness would last for decades; in a 1999 interview, he reportedly said she "was an awful woman, I don't want to talk about her".


title: John Noakes

text: Noakes refused to appear on a special edition of "Blue Peter" to celebrate its twentieth birthday in October 1978 because of his poor relationship with Baxter. Eventually he was persuaded to pre-film a message for the programme, otherwise Noakes would have been the only well-known presenter to not appear. The message was shot whilst Noakes was on location filming the "Go With Noakes" episode "Around The Cheshire Ring", which allowed the show to explain his absence in a positive manner for the viewers. Five years later he did not appear at all for the silver anniversary programme in 1983.


title: John Noakes

text: On reflection, Noakes said that he was disappointed with the persona he had created on "Blue Peter". Despite coming across as a natural presenter, he claimed his television personality was merely a role he played; one he once called "Idiot Noakes". He said of him: “Idiot Noakes has an extrovert personality, is light-hearted and jokey. A bit of a buffoon who would do anything for a laugh or a few pence.”


title: John Noakes

text: Noakes also complained about what he regarded as his low salary during his time on "Blue Peter", and how he had been uninsured for many of the stunts he had undertaken. Biddy Baxter, for her part, denied Noakes's claims there was a lack of insurance for his stunts.


title: John Noakes

text: In 1979, Noakes wrote a children's book, "The Flight of the Magic Clog", published by Lion with illustrations by Toni Goffe. In the book, Mr. Brooks takes John, Mickey the clever one, June the talkative one, Barbara the pretty one and Eric the clumsy one on an adventure against the international villain Baron Wilhelm Doppleganger and his secret arms factory, using a giant magic flying clog.


title: John Noakes

text: In 1982, Noakes and his wife made an unsuccessful attempt to sail around the world; they abandoned the attempt when their boat was damaged in a hurricane. In a second attempt in 1984, the couple stopped in Majorca, Spain, where they initially planned a three-day stop, but instead settled at Andratx and ran a boat rental business. In 1983 Noakes presented "The Dinosaur Trail", a seven-part documentary for Children's ITV.


title: John Noakes

text: Between 1986 and 1988, the BBC's programme "Fax!" answered questions posed by viewers. On 20 January 1987, the question "Whatever happened to John Noakes and Shep?" was posed. Noakes appeared on the show with his wife and revealed what he had been doing since retiring from television. During the course of the interview, Noakes tearfully revealed that Shep had died three days before.


title: John Noakes

text: In the 2000s, Noakes trained in the Michel Thomas method of language tuition, and then became a language tutor, specialising in Romance languages. In 1999, Noakes co-hosted an ITV series entitled "Mad About Pets" and in 2004, he took part in the Living TV reality TV show "I'm Famous and Frightened!". A year later, he appeared in the Channel 5 programme "Britain's Worst Celebrity Driver". On 14 June 2008, he appeared in a "Blue Peter"-themed edition of "The Weakest Link", being voted off second. On 7 September 2013, he appeared with Peter Purves in "Pointless Celebrities".


title: John Noakes

text: On 30 June 2015, Noakes was reported missing from his home in Andratx, Majorca: he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease some years before. He was found the same day, close to his home, having fallen into grass in a storm drain.


title: John Noakes

text: Noakes died on 28 May 2017 at the Son Espases Hospital in Palma. On 28 October 2017, half of his ashes were scattered from a firework rocket at the playing field of his former school Rishworth School. It was his wish that half his ashes were scattered at the school and the other half in Majorca.


"They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" is a 1966 novelty record written and performed by Jerry Samuels (billed as Napoleon XIV), and released on Warner Bros. Records. The song became an instant success in the United States, peaking at No. 3 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 popular music singles chart on August 13, No. 1 on the Cash Box Top 100 charts, No. 2 in Canada, and No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart.


title: They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!

text: The lyrics appear to describe a man's mental anguish after a break-up with a woman, and his descent into madness leading to his committal to a "funny farm" (slang for a mental hospital). It's finally revealed in the last line of the third verse that he's not being driven insane by the loss of a woman — but by a runaway dog: "They'll find you yet and when they do, they'll put you in the ASPCA, you mangy mutt". According to Samuels, he was concerned the record could be seen as making fun of the mentally ill, and intentionally added that line so "you realize that the person is talking about a dog having left him, not a human". Said Samuels, "I felt it would cause some people to say 'Well, it's alright.' And it did. It worked."


text: The song is driven by a snare drum, bass drum, tambourine and hand clap rhythm. The vocal is spoken rhythmically rather than sung melodically, while the vocal pitch rises and falls at key points to create an unusual glissando effect, augmented by the sound of wailing sirens.


text: According to Samuels, the vocal pitch shift was achieved by manipulating the recording speed of his vocal track, a multitrack variation on the technique used by Ross Bagdasarian in creating the original Chipmunks novelty songs. At the time the song was written, Samuels was working as a recording engineer at Associated Recording Studios in New York. Samuels used a Variable Frequency Oscillator to alter the 60 Hz frequency of the hysteresis motor of a multitrack tape recording machine. He first recorded the rhythm track, then overdubbed the vocal track while slowing the tape at the end of each chorus (and reciting the words in time with the slowing beat), so when it was played back at normal speed, the tempo would be steady but the pitch of his voice would rise.


text: He came up the idea for a song inspired by the rhythm of the old Scottish tune "The Campbells Are Coming". Some tracks were treated with intermittent tape-based echo effects created by an Echoplex. Samuels also layered in siren effects that gradually rose and fell with the pitch of his vocals.


text: Continuing the theme of insanity, the flip or B-side of the single was simply the A-side played in reverse, and given the title "!aaaH-aH ,yawA eM ekaT oT gnimoC er'yehT" (or "Ha-Haaa! Away, Me Take to Coming They're") and the performer billed as "XIV NAPOLEON". Most of the label affixed to the B-side was a mirror image of the front label (as opposed to simply being spelled backward), including the letters in the "WB" shield logo. Only the label name, disclaimer, and record and recording master numbers were kept frontward. The reverse version of the song is not included on the original Warner Bros. album, although the title is shown on the front cover, where the title is actually spelled backward.


text: In his "Book of Rock Lists", rock music critic Dave Marsh calls the B-side the "most obnoxious song ever to appear in a jukebox", saying the recording once "cleared out a diner of forty patrons in two minutes flat."


text: The song charted at No. 3 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 charts on August 13, No. 1 on the Cash Box Top 100 charts on July 30, No. 2 in Canada, and No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart.


text: Within weeks of its release, two New York radio stations, WABC and WMCA, stopped playing the song in response to complaints about its content from mental health professionals and organizations. The BBC also refused to play the song.


text: Warner Bros. Records reissued the original single (#7726) in 1973. It entered the "Billboard" Hot 100 at No. 87 but stalled at No. 101 at the Week Ahead charts which was an addition to the Cash Box Top 100 charts. The reissue featured the "Burbank/palm trees" label. As with the original release, the labels for the reissue's B-side also included mirror-imaged print except for the disclaimer, record catalog, and track master numbers. The "Burbank" motto at the top of the label was also kept frontward as well as the "WB" letters in the shield logo, which had been printed in reverse on the originals.


text: "I'm Happy They Took You Away, Ha-Haaa!" was recorded by CBS Radio Mystery Theater cast member Bryna Raeburn, credited as "Josephine XV", and was the closing track on Side Two of the 1966 Warner Bros. album. (Josephine was the name of the spouse of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.)


text: In 1966, "They Took You Away, I'm Glad, I'm Glad" appeared on These Are the Hits, You Silly Savages by Teddy & Darrel.


text: A variation of "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" was also done by Jerry Samuels, from that same album entitled "Where the Nuts hunt the Squirrels", where Samuels, towards the end of the track, repeats the line: "THEY'RE TRYING TO DRIVE ME SANE!!! HA HA," before the song's fade, in a fast-tracked higher voice.


text: In 1966, KRLA DJ "Emperor Bob" Hudson recorded a similarly styled song titled "I'm Normal", including the lines "They came and took my brother away/The men in white picked him up yesterday/But they'll never come take me away, 'cos I'm O.K./I'm normal." Another line in the song was: "I eat my peas with a tuning fork." The record was credited simply to "The Emperor".


text: In 1988, Samuels wrote and recorded "They're Coming To Get Me Again, Ha Haaa!", a sequel to the original record. It was included on a single two years later on the "Collectables" label. It never charted, and was combined with the original 1966 recording on side A. (Both sequels are included on Samuels' 1996 "Second Coming" album.) In the song, the singer has been released from the mental hospital, although he is not completely cured of his insanity, and grows paranoid that he will be re-institutionalized. Toward the end of the song, he relapses into the "funny farm" and "happy home"—until when reality sinks in, he cries out at a fast tracked double voice with the words: "OH NO!!!" before the beat ends with a door slam, indicating that he has been locked up in the insane asylum.


text: The recording appeared on disk releases by Dr. Demento in 1975 as part of "Dr. Demento's Delights", then in subsequent Dr. Demento LP records released in 1985, 1988 and 1991.


text: Many cover versions of the song were recorded following the song's release in 1966. Kim Fowley released a cover of the song as his second single, after "The Trip".


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: The Three Seas Initiative (3SI or TSI), known also as the Baltic, Adriatic, Black Sea (BABS) Initiative or simply as the Three Seas (Latin: Trimarium, Polish: "Trójmorze"), is a forum of twelve states, in the European Union, running along a north–south axis from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic and Black Seas in Central and Eastern Europe. The Initiative aims to create a regional dialogue on questions affecting the member states.


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: In 2016, representatives of those states (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia) met for their first summit in Dubrovnik, Croatia. At the seventh summit in Riga on June 20, 2022, Ukraine received the status of a partner-participant of the ITM, "de facto" becoming a participant in this initiative.


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: The twelve Three Seas countries cover 29 per cent of the European Union’s territory (1,210,000 km²), are home to 25 percent of the European Union's inhabitants (112 million), and produce 19 per cent of the EU's GDP (based on purchasing power parity).


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: The Three Seas Initiative, which was influenced by the Polish interwar Intermarium concept, was launched in 2015 by Polish President Andrzej Duda and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović.


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: The Initiative's first summit, held in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on 25–26 August 2016, ended with a declaration of economic cooperation in energy and in transport and communications infrastructures. Polish President Andrzej Duda called the initiative "a new concept to promote Europe's unity and cohesion... an idea of cooperation among 12 countries located between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas, the three seas of Central Europe."


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: Guests included Chinese Ministerial Assistant for Foreign Affairs Liu Haixing, who spoke about Three Seas Initiative interconnectedness with China's Belt and Road Initiative, and former US National Security Advisor General James L. Jones, who stressed the Three Seas Initiative's role in European development and security.


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: The Initiative's second summit was held 6–7 July 2017 in Warsaw, Poland. Guest attendees included US President Donald Trump. The participating countries unanimously agreed to set up a Three Seas Business Forum.


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: The Initiative's third summit took place 17–18 September 2018 in Bucharest, Romania. Participants approved interconnection projects in three key areas: transport, energy, and digital. Guest attendees included President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, and US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry. The first edition of the Business Forum was organised. A 3SI Network of Chambers of Commerce was created, and a letter of intent was signed concerning establishment of a Three Seas Investment Fund.


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: Other projects are the Baltic-Adriatic Corridor, Via Baltica road, Rail Baltica and Amber Rail Freight Corridor rail connections. Another project is Rail-2-Sea, which aims to connect the Baltic Sea port of Gdańsk (Poland) with the Black Sea port of Constanța (Romania) through a long railway line.


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: The initial two founding institutions from Poland and Romania have committed themselves to make payments totaling more than 500 million euros. The Fund is open to other Three Seas countries, which may join it after obtaining appropriate permits. The Supervisory Board of the Fund consists of representatives of development banks from Poland, Romania, Latvia, and the Czech Republic.


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: In 2019, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego and Export–Import Bank of Romania signed the founding act of the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund. The fund is to focus on projects creating transport, energy and digital infrastructure in the Three Seas region. Private investors from pension funds, private investment funds, and other entities will also be invited to the fund. The aim is to raise up to €3–5 billion.


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: The fund will engage, on a commercial basis, in infrastructure projects with a total value of up to €100 billion, while the needs of the Three Seas region have been estimated at over €570 billion.


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: Prior to the 2020 Tallinn Summit, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged up to a billion dollars in financing for the Investment Fund.


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: Social-democratic Croatian President Zoran Milanović stated that the initiative is harmful for Croatia.


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: The Three Seas Initiative was at the beginning perceived by local experts and diplomats in the Czech Republic rather negatively. It was seen as a Polish attempt to create its sphere of influence (similar to the historical perception of Intermarium). Further fears were related to a possibility of deepening the East-West division in the EU and exclusion of Germany. A long term Czech objection is that there should be no competing geopolitical project in the region that would weaken the EU. Some of those objections have been partially addressed lately also due to a good experience with cooperation on infrastructure projects in the Visegrad group.


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: In August 2019, during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Poland, he stated that Ukraine is interested in becoming an active participant in regional projects and initiatives in Poland, such as the Three Seas, which covers the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Seas. It was also noted that Ukraine is already cooperating in the construction of the trans-European Via Carpatia highway, and is discussing an ambitious E-40 waterway project for Ukraine."


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: In October 2019, Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Chaputowicz said that Ukraine could not now join the Three Seas Initiative, as it includes the countries of Central and Southern Europe, which are members of the European Union. The head of Polish diplomacy explained that the Three Seas Initiative should not be associated with geopolitics, as it is only an infrastructure project.


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: In November 2019, during the visit of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Estonia, he stated that Ukraine is interested in joining the ITM and intends to discuss this issue with Estonian partners.


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: After the start of the 2022 Russian invasion during the Russian-Ukrainian War, President of Poland Andrzej Duda in his address to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on May 22, 2022 stated that Ukraine should join the Three Seas Initiative. Later, on June 7, 2022, the Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, at the opening of a two-day congress of local self-government in the Three Seas in Lublin, stated that the Three Seas Initiative is impossible without involving a free and sovereign Ukraine.


title: Three Seas Initiative

text: At the seventh summit in Riga on June 20, 2022, speaking on video, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine should become a member of the Three Seas Initiative. Zelenskyy suggested strengthening the interpretation of cooperation within the Three Seas, emphasizing the importance of logistics. Speaking about cooperation in the energy sector, Zelenskyy reminded that Ukraine has one of the largest gas storage facilities in the region. At this summit Ukraine received the status of a partner-participant of the ITM, "de facto" becoming a participant in this initiative.


title: Connective tissue disease

text: A connective tissue disease (collagenosis) is any disease that has the connective tissues of the body as a target of pathology. Connective tissue is any type of biological tissue with an extensive extracellular matrix that supports, binds together, and protects organs. These tissues form a framework, or matrix, for the body, and are composed of two major structural protein molecules: collagen and elastin. There are many different types of collagen protein in each of the body's tissues. Elastin has the capability of stretching and returning to its original length—like a spring or rubber band. Elastin is the major component of ligaments (tissues that attach bone to bone) and skin. In patients with connective tissue disease, it is common for collagen and elastin to become injured by inflammation (ICT). Many connective tissue diseases feature abnormal immune system activity with inflammation in tissues as a result of an immune system that is directed against one's own body tissues (autoimmunity).


title: Connective tissue disease

text: Diseases in which inflammation or weakness of collagen tends to occur are also referred to as collagen diseases. Collagen vascular diseases can be (but are not necessarily) associated with collagen and blood vessel abnormalities that are autoimmune in nature. See also vasculitis.


title: Connective tissue disease

text: Connective tissue diseases can have strong or weak inheritance risks, and can also be caused by environmental factors.


title: Connective tissue disease

text: These are also referred to as systemic autoimmune diseases. The autoimmune CTDs may have both genetic and environmental causes. Genetic factors may create a predisposition towards developing these autoimmune diseases. They are characterized as a group by the presence of spontaneous overactivity of the immune system that results in the production of extra antibodies into the circulation. The classic collagen vascular diseases have a "classic" presentation with typical findings that doctors can recognize during an examination. Each also has "classic" blood test abnormalities and abnormal antibody patterns. However, each of these diseases can evolve slowly or rapidly from very subtle abnormalities before demonstrating the classic features that help in the diagnosis. The classic collagen vascular diseases include:


title: Riley Cooper

text: Riley Cooper (born September 9, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver who played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Florida, where he was a member of two BCS National Championship teams. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft where he played his whole career.


title: Riley Cooper

text: Cooper was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the son of Larry and Monica Cooper. He grew up in Clearwater, Florida, where he attended Clearwater Central Catholic High School and played high school football and baseball for the Central Catholic Marauders. Cooper was a three-time all-county selection, received all-state honors as Looka wide receiver and free safety after his junior and senior seasons, and was his football team's captain as a senior. Rivals.com ranked him as the tenth-best athlete in the 2006 college football signing class. Cooper was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 15th round (457 overall pick) of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. He did not sign with the Phillies because he chose to attend the University of Florida to play football.


title: Riley Cooper

text: Cooper's younger sister, Lindsey, also attended the University of Florida, where she played for the Florida Gators women's soccer team. Lindsey is married to former University of Florida linebacker and current Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone.


title: Riley Cooper

text: Cooper accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Urban Meyer's Florida Gators football team from 2006 to 2009.


title: Riley Cooper

text: During his freshman season in 2006, Cooper served as the "gunner" on special teams and played in 13 of the 14 games for the Gators. He established a then-career-high with three receptions (all touchdowns) in the romp over Western Carolina. Cooper was nominated SEC Freshman of the Week following his performance. He was the first Gator freshman wide receiver to have three touchdown catches in a game since Jabar Gaffney accomplished the feat in 2000. Cooper saw action in Florida's triumphs over Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky, mostly on special teams. He made collegiate debut with one reception for 10 yards against Central Florida. Cooper gained 92 yards on four receptions, three of which went for touchdowns, on the season.


title: Riley Cooper

text: As a sophomore, Cooper appeared in 10 games during the year with two starts in home contests against Tennessee and Auburn. He missed games against Georgia and Vanderbilt as a result of a broken finger suffered in the first quarter at Kentucky. He dressed but did not compete in the Capital One Bowl against Michigan, which the Gators lost. Cooper hauled in a career-high and team-best four catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns, including a career-long 59-yard grab in his 2007 debut against Western Kentucky. Cooper caught eight passes, gaining 182 yards and scoring two total touchdowns in 2007.


title: Riley Cooper

text: Cooper appeared in fourteen games for the Gators in his junior season, starting all but two (against Hawaii and Florida State). He hauled in a key touchdown, along with a season-high 51-yard reception, that put Florida in scoring position during the SEC Championship Game against Alabama. He totaled 28 yards on two receptions in the BCS National Championship Game, including a crucial 17-yard catch from Tim Tebow on 3rd-and-12. Cooper amassed 261 total yards on 18 receptions, three of which were touchdowns.


title: Riley Cooper

text: In his senior season, Cooper totaled 961 yards on 51 receptions, with nine touchdowns and an average of 18.8 yards per catch.


title: Riley Cooper

text: Cooper was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies out of high school in the 15th round of the 2006 MLB Draft. Cooper passed on the contract and played college baseball for the Florida Gators baseball team as an outfielder. He signed a deal to play baseball for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball but decided to delay his MLB career and returned to play football for the Gators football team in 2009. He was scheduled to get a physical and receive half of his $250,000 signing bonus on January 17, but declined and told the Rangers that his focus was football, thus voiding his baseball contract.


title: Riley Cooper

text: Cooper was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round (159th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft. He was signed to a four-year contract on July 13, 2010.


title: Riley Cooper

text: He scored his second touchdown of his career against the New York Giants in week 10 of the 2011 NFL season on an 8-yard completion from Vince Young.


title: Riley Cooper

text: Cooper broke his collarbone on July 28, 2012, and missed time, but returned mid-season. He made a one-handed catch for a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys. He scored again in the second meeting of the season against the Cowboys, again on a one-handed catch.


title: Riley Cooper

text: Cooper had a breakout season during the last year of his rookie contract. He started the season used mostly for blocking, rather than for his receiving ability. In the first 5 weeks, he posted 8 catches for 93 yards and 1 touchdown with Michael Vick at quarterback.


title: Riley Cooper

text: Cooper had a career game in Week 9 against the Oakland Raiders, where he posted 5 receptions for 139 yards (27.8 avg) and 3 touchdowns.


title: Riley Cooper

text: After a slow start, Cooper put together a solid season with 47 receptions for 835 yards and 8 touchdowns, all career highs. He ended the season tied for third in the NFL with 17.8 yards per catch.


title: Riley Cooper

text: On February 27, Cooper signed an extension deal valued at $25 million over five years, with $8 million fully guaranteed.


title: Riley Cooper

text: Cooper continued to play with the Eagles during the 2015 season. In a game against the Dallas Cowboys on November 9, Cooper left the game with a foot injury. Cooper finished the season with 21 receptions off 41 targets for 327 yards and 2 touchdowns. Cooper didn't record a single reception in 7 of 16 games.


title: Riley Cooper

text: He was released by the Eagles on February 8, 2016. Cooper then spent the entire 2016 season out of football.


title: Riley Cooper

text: In July 2013, a video surfaced of Cooper being denied backstage access at a Kenny Chesney concert in the previous month. The video showed Cooper yelling a racial epithet at the bouncers who denied him backstage. In the dispute with a black security guard at the concert, Cooper said, "I will jump that fence and fight every nigger here." In the aftermath, the Philadelphia Eagles fined Cooper an undisclosed amount, but still allowed him to resume activities with the team.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish communist politician. He was the "de facto" leader of post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948. Following the Polish October he became leader again from 1956 to 1970. Gomułka was initially very popular for his reforms; his seeking a "Polish way to socialism"; and giving rise to the period known as "Polish thaw". During the 1960s, however, he became more rigid and authoritarian—afraid of destabilizing the system, he was not inclined to introduce or permit changes. In the 1960s he supported the persecution of the Catholic Church, intellectuals and the anti-communist opposition.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: In 1967 to 1968, Gomułka allowed outbursts of anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic political campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to retain power by shifting the attention from the stagnating economy. Many of the remaining Polish Jews left the country. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomułka supported Poland's participation in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: In the treaty with West Germany, signed in December 1970 at the end of Gomułka's period in office, West Germany recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In the same month, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent bloody clashes with shipyard workers on the Baltic coast, in which several dozen workers were fatally shot. The tragic events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: Władysław Gomułka was born on 6 February 1905 in Białobrzegi Franciszkańskie village on the outskirts of Krosno, into a worker's family living in the Austrian Partition (the Galicia region). His parents had met and married in the United States, where each had immigrated to in search of work in the late 19th century, but returned to occupied Poland in the early 20th century because Władysław's father Jan was unable to find gainful employment in America. Jan Gomułka then worked as a laborer in the Subcarpathian oil industry. Władysław's older sister Józefa, born in the US, returned there upon turning eighteen to join her extended family, most of whom had emigrated, and to preserve her US citizenship. Władysław and his two other siblings experienced a childhood of the proverbial Galician poverty: they lived in a dilapidated hut and ate mostly potatoes. Władysław received only rudimentary education before being employed in the oil industry of the region.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: Gomułka attended schools in Krosno for six or seven years, until the age of thirteen when he had to start an apprenticeship in a metalworks shop. Throughout his life Gomułka was an avid reader and accomplished a great deal of self-education, but remained a subject of jokes because of his lack of formal education and demeanor. In 1922, Gomułka passed his apprenticeship exams and began working at a local refinery.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: The re-established Polish state of Gomułka's teen years was a scene of growing political polarization and radicalization. The young worker developed connections with the radical Left, joining the "Siła" (Power) youth organization in 1922 and the Independent Peasant Party in 1925. Gomułka was known for his activism in the metal workers and, from 1922, chemical industry unions. He was involved in union-organized strikes and in 1924, during a protest gathering in Krosno, participated in a polemical debate with Herman Lieberman. He published radical texts in leftist newspapers. In May 1926 the young Gomułka was for the first time arrested but soon released because of worker demands. The incident was the subject of a parliamentary intervention by the Peasant Party. In October 1926, Gomułka became a secretary of the managing council in the Chemical Industry Workers Union for the Drohobych District and remained involved with that communist-dominated union until 1930. He around this time learned on his own basic Ukrainian.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: In late 1926, while in Drohobych, Gomułka became a member of the illegal-but-functioning Communist Party of Poland ("Komunistyczna Partia Polski", KPP) and was arrested for political agitation. Technically, at this time he was a member of the Communist Party of Western Ukraine, which was an autonomous branch of the Communist Party of Poland. He was interested primarily in social issues, including the trade and labor movement, and concentrated on practical activities. In mid-1927, Gomułka was brought to Warsaw, where he remained active until drafted for military service at the end of the year. After several months, the military released him because of a health problem with his right leg. Gomułka returned to communist party work, organizing strike actions and speaking at gatherings of workers at all major industrial centers of Poland. During this period he was arrested several times and lived under police supervision.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: Gomułka was an activist in the leftist labor unions from 1926 and in the Central Trade Department of the KPP Central Committee from 1931. In the summer of 1930, Gomułka illegally embarked on his first foreign trip with the intention of participating in the Red International of Labor Unions Fifth Congress held in Moscow from 15 to 30 July. Traveling from Upper Silesia to Berlin, he had to wait there for the issuance of Soviet documents and arrived in Moscow too late to participate in the deliberations of the Congress. He stayed in Moscow for a couple of weeks and then went to Leningrad, from where he took a ship to Hamburg, stayed in Berlin again and through Silesia returned to Poland.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: In August 1932, he was arrested by the Sanation police while participating in a conference of textile worker delegates in Łódź. When he later tried to escape, Gomułka sustained a gunshot wound in the left thigh which ultimately left him with permanent walking impairment.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: Despite being sentenced to a four-year prison term on 1 June 1933, he was temporarily released for surgery on his injured leg in March 1934. Following his release, Gomułka requested that the KPP send him to the Soviet Union for medical treatment and further political training. He arrived in the Soviet Union in June and went to the Crimea for several weeks, where he underwent therapeutic baths. Gomułka then spent more than a year in Moscow, where he attended the Lenin School under the name Stefan Kowalski. The ideology-oriented classes were arranged separately for a small group of Polish students (one of them was Roman Romkowski (Natan Grünspan [Grinszpan]-Kikiel), who would later persecute Gomułka in Stalinist Poland) and included a military training course conducted by Karol Świerczewski. In a written opinion issued by the school Gomułka was characterized in highly positive terms, but his extended stay in the Soviet Union caused him to become disillusioned with the realities of Stalinist communism and highly critical of the agrarian collectivization practice. In November 1935 he illegally returned to Poland.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: Gomułka resumed his communist and labor conspiratorial activities and kept advancing within the KPP organization until, as the secretary of the Party's Silesian branch, he was arrested in Chorzów in April 1936. He was then tried by the District Court in Katowice and sentenced to seven years in prison where he remained jailed until the beginning of World War II. Ironically, this internment most likely saved Gomułka's life, because the majority of the KPP leadership would be murdered in the Soviet Union in the late 1930s, caught up in the Great Purge under Joseph Stalin's orders.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: Gomułka's experiences turned him into an extremely suspicious and distrustful person and contributed to his lifelong conviction that Sanation Poland was a fascist state, even if Polish prisons were the safest place for Polish Communists. He differentiated this belief from his positive feelings toward the country and its people, especially members of the working class.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: The outbreak of the war with Nazi Germany freed Gomułka from his prison confinement. On 7 September 1939, he arrived in Warsaw, where he stayed for a few weeks, working in the besieged capital on the construction of defensive fortifications. From there, like many other Polish communists, Gomułka fled to eastern Poland which was invaded by the Soviet Union on 17 September 1939. In Białystok he ran a home for former political prisoners arriving from other parts of Poland. To be reunited with his luckily found wife, at the end of 1939 Gomułka moved to Soviet-controlled Lviv.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: Like other members of the dissolved Communist Party of Poland, Gomułka sought a membership in the Soviet All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). The Soviet authorities allowed such membership transfers only from March 1941 and in April of that year Gomułka received his party card in Kiev.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: The circumstances of the Polish communists' lives changed dramatically after 1941 German attack on the Soviet positions in eastern Poland. Reduced to penury in now German-occupied Lviv, the Gomułkas managed to join Władysław's family in Krosno by the end of 1941. However, a momentous development soon took place in the sphere of communist political activity: in January 1942, Joseph Stalin reestablished in Warsaw a Polish communist party under the name of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR).


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: In 1942, Gomułka participated in the reformation of a Polish communist party (the KPP was destroyed in Stalin's purges in the late 1930s) under the name Polish Workers' Party ("Polska Partia Robotnicza", PPR). Gomułka became involved in the creation of party structures in the Subcarpathian region and began using his wartime conspiratorial pseudonym "Wiesław". In July 1942, Paweł Finder brought Gomułka to occupied Warsaw. In August, the secretary of the PPR's regional Warsaw Committee was arrested by the Gestapo and "Wiesław" was entrusted with his job. In September Gomułka became a member of the PPR's Temporary Central Committee.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: In late 1942 and early 1943, the PPR experienced a severe crisis because of the murder of its first secretary Marceli Nowotko. Gomułka participated in the party investigation directed against another member of the leadership, Bolesław Mołojec, that resulted in Mołojec's execution. Together with Paweł Finder, who was made First Secretary of the party, and Franciszek Jóźwiak, Gomułka (under the pseudonym "Wiesław") was included in the Party's new inner leadership, established in January 1943. The Central Committee was enlarged in the following months to include Bolesław Bierut, among others.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: In February 1943, Gomułka led the communist side in a series of important meetings in Warsaw between the PPR and the Government Delegation of the London-based Polish government-in-exile and the Home Army. The talks produced no results because of the divergent interests of the parties involved and a mutual lack of confidence. The Delegation officially discontinued the negotiations on April 28, three days after the Soviet government broke diplomatic relations with the Polish government. He became the Party's main ideologist. He wrote the "What do we fight for?" ("O co walczymy?") publication dated 1 March 1943, and the much more comprehensive declaration that emerged under the same title in November. "Wiesław" supervised the Party's main editorial and publishing undertaking.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: Gomułka made efforts, largely unsuccessful, to secure for the PPR cooperation of other political forces in occupied Poland. Bierut, meanwhile, was indifferent to any such attempts and counted simply on compulsion provided by a future presence of the Red Army in Poland. The different strategies resulted in a sharp conflict between the two communist politicians.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: In the fall of 1943, the PPR leadership began discussing the creation of a Polish quasi-parliamentary, communist-led body, to be named the State National Council ("Krajowa Rada Narodowa", KRN). After the Battle of Kursk the expectation was of a Soviet victory and liberation of Poland and the PPR wanted to be ready to assume power. Gomułka came up with the idea of a national council and imposed his point of view on the rest of the leadership. The PPR intended to obtain consent from the Comintern leader and their Soviet contact Georgi Dimitrov. However, in November the Gestapo arrested Finder and Małgorzata Fornalska, who possessed the secret codes for communication with Moscow and the Soviet response remained unknown. In the absence of Finder, on 23 November Gomułka was elected general secretary (chief) of the PPR and Bierut joined the three-person inner leadership.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: The founding meeting of the State National Council took place in the late evening of 31 December 1943. The new body's chairman Bierut was becoming Gomułka's main rival. In mid-January 1944 Dimitrov was finally informed of the KRN's existence, which surprised both him and the Polish communist leaders in Moscow, increasingly led by Jakub Berman, who had other, competing ideas concerning the establishment of a Polish communist ruling party and government.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: Gomułka felt that the Polish communists in occupied Poland had a better understanding of Polish realities than their brethren in Moscow and that the State National Council should determine the shape of the future executive government of Poland. Nevertheless, to gain Soviet approval and to clear any misunderstandings a KRN delegation left Warsaw in mid-March heading for Moscow, where it arrived two months later. By that time Stalin concluded that the existence of the KRN was a positive development and the Poles arriving from Warsaw were received and greeted by him and other Soviet dignitaries. The Union of Polish Patriots and the Central Bureau of Polish Communists in Moscow were now under pressure to recognize the primacy of the PPR, the KRN and Władysław Gomułka, which they ultimately did only in mid-July.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: On 20 July, the Soviet forces under Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky forced their way across the Bug River and on that same day the combined meeting of Polish communists from the Moscow and Warsaw factions finalized the arrangements regarding the establishment (on 21 July) of the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN), a temporary government headed by Edward Osóbka-Morawski, a socialist allied with the communists. Gomułka and other PPR leaders left Warsaw and headed for the Soviet-controlled territory, arriving in Lublin on 1 August, the day the Warsaw Uprising erupted in the Polish capital.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: Gomułka was a deputy prime minister in the Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland ("Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej"), from January to June 1945, and in the Provisional Government of National Unity ("Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej"), from 1945 to 1947. As a minister of Recovered Territories (1945–48), he exerted great influence over the rebuilding, integration and economic progress of Poland within its new borders, by supervising the settlement, development and administration of the lands acquired from Germany. Using his position in the PPR and government, Gomułka led the leftist social transformations in Poland and participated in the crushing of the resistance to communist rule during the post-war years. He also helped the communists in winning the "Trzy razy tak" ("Three Times Yes") referendum of 1946. A year later, he played a key role in the 1947 parliamentary elections, which were fraudulently arranged to give the communists and their allies an overwhelming victory. After the elections, all remaining legal opposition in Poland was effectively destroyed, and Gomułka was now the most powerful man in Poland. In June 1948, because of the impending unification of the PPR and PPS, Gomułka delivered a talk on the subject of the history of the Polish worker movement.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: In a memo written to Stalin in 1948, Gomułka argued that "some of the Jewish comrades don't feel any link to the Polish nation or to the Polish working class … or they maintain a stance which might be described as ‘national nihilism’". As a result, he considered it "absolutely necessary not only to stop any further growth in the percentage of Jews in the state as well as the party apparatus, but also to slowly lower that percentage, especially at the highest levels of the apparatus". Nikita Khrushchev, who was intimately involved in Polish affairs in the 1940s, according to Khrushchev′s memoirs, believed that Gomułka had a valid point in opposing the personnel policies pursued by Roman Zambrowski, Jakub Berman, and Hilary Minc, all of them of Jewish descent and brought to Poland from the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, Khrushchev attributed Gomułka′s subsequent downfall to his rivals having succeeded in portraying Gomułka as being pro-Yugoslav; the charges were not made public but were brought to Stalin′s attention and became crucial in his decision-making on whose side he would support — in view of the Soviet–Yugoslavia rift that occurred in 1948.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: In the late 1940s, Poland's communist government was split by a rivalry between Gomułka and President Bolesław Bierut. Gomułka led a home national group while Bierut headed a group reared by Stalin in the Soviet Union. The struggle ultimately led to Gomułka's removal from power in 1948. While Bierut advocated a policy of complete subservience to Moscow, Gomułka wanted to adapt the Communist blueprint to Polish circumstances. Among other things, he opposed forced collectivization and was skeptical of the Cominform. The Bierut faction had Stalin's ear, and on Stalin's orders, Gomułka was sacked as party leader for "rightist-nationalist deviation," replaced by Bierut. In December, soon after the PPR and Polish Socialist Party merged to form Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) (which was essentially the PPR under a new name), Gomułka was dropped from the merged party's Politburo. He was stripped of his remaining government posts in January 1949 and expelled from the party altogether in November. For the next eight years, he performed no official functions and was subjected to persecution, including almost four years of imprisonment from 1951 to 1954.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: Bierut died in March 1956, during a period of de-Stalinization in Poland which gradually developed after Stalin's death. Edward Ochab became the new first secretary of the Party. Soon afterward, Gomułka was partially rehabilitated when Ochab conceded that Gomułka should not have been jailed, while reiterating the charges of "rightist-nationalist deviation" against him.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: In June 1956, violent worker protests broke out in Poznań. The worker riots were harshly suppressed and dozens of workers were killed. However, the Party leadership, which now included many reform-minded officials, recognized to some degree the validity of the protest participants' demands and took steps to placate the workers.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomułka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomułka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Anastas Mikoyan, Nikolai Bulganin, Vyacheslav Molotov, Lazar Kaganovich, Ivan Konev and others. Ochab and Gomułka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomułka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomułka as the first secretary of the Party. Gomułka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. Seeing that Gomułka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomułka was a leader that Moscow could live with.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: A major factor that influenced Gomułka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomułka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: During the events of the Prague Spring, Gomułka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign and purge of the army, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: In December 1970, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent protests. Gomułka along with his right-hand man Zenon Kliszko ordered the regular Army under General Bolesław Chocha, to shoot striking workers with automatic weapons in Gdańsk and Gdynia. Over 41 shipyard workers of the Baltic coast were killed in the ensuing police-state violence, while well over a thousand people were wounded. The events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: Gomułka's negative image in communist propaganda after his removal was gradually modified and some of his constructive contributions were recognized. He is seen as an honest and austere believer in the socialist system, who, unable to resolve Poland's formidable difficulties and satisfy mutually contradictory demands, grew more rigid and despotic later in his career. A heavy smoker, he died in 1982 at the age of 77 of lung cancer. Gomułka's memoirs were not published until 1994, long after his death, and five years after the collapse of the communist regime which he served and led.


title: Władysław Gomułka

text: The American journalist John Gunther described Gomułka in 1961 as being "professorial in manner, aloof, and angular, with a peculiar spry pepperiness".


title: Sho Kosugi

text: At the age of 19, Kosugi left Japan to study and reside in Los Angeles where he earned a bachelor's degree in Economics at CSULA. At the same time, he consistently improved his martial arts skills while learning a wide variety of styles, such as Chinese Xing Yi Quan, Korean taekwondo and Japanese Shitō-ryū and Shotokan-ryū karate.


title: Sho Kosugi

text: He is the father of Kane Kosugi and Shane Kosugi, who are both actors and martial artists, and Ayeesha Kosugi, a former senior member of the women's golf team at the University of Las Vegas. After taking a hiatus from film, he started a taiko group in California. In Japan, he also ran an internationally oriented group of martial arts acting schools known as the Sho Kosugi Institute. He currently resides in Los Angeles. Films in which Kosugi's sons perform alongside their father include "Revenge of the Ninja", "Pray for Death", "Black Eagle" and "Journey of Honor" (A.K.A. "Kabuto", "Shogun Mayeda" and "Shogun Warrior").


title: Sho Kosugi

text: In 2009, Sho made a comeback to films playing the lead villain of Ozunu in the action thriller "Ninja Assassin" opposite K-pop star and actor Rain.


title: Lebara

text: Lebara Group is a telecommunications company providing services using the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) business model in the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland and Australia. Lebara provides pay-as-you-go and contract based mobile SIM cards in these countries, and its brand is also used under license in four other countries.


title: Lebara

text: Lebara was founded in 2001 by UK-based Ratheesan Yoganathan, Rasiah Ranjith Leon and Baskaran Kandiah. The name Lebara was coined from the first two letters of each of the founders' names. At launch the company's initial product was international telephone calling cards, sold through independent mobile phone shops. In 2004, Lebara launched its first mobile virtual network, a low-cost international service in the Netherlands, selling SIM cards using mobile carrier Telfort, a subsidiary of KPN. After finding success it subsequently launched operations in other European countries including the UK (2007), France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany (2010) and Denmark.


title: Lebara

text: In September 2017, Lebara Group B.V. was sold to Switzerland-based Palmarium Advisors AG. The Spanish operation of Lebara (Lebara España SL) was sold to MASMOVIL Group in November 2018. In 2019 bondholders of Lebara (under holding company Vieo B.V.) took control of the company.


title: Lebara

text: The company currently operates in the UK, France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany - it has at least 3.5 million customers as of 2017. It has also entered into brand licence agreements for use of its trademarks in Australia, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and Spain.


title: Lebara

text: In 2017 Lebara launched its first postpaid monthly contract SIMs in the Netherlands, as part of a move to appeal to a wider customer base.


title: Lebara

text: Today Lebara focuses on traditional international calling market as well as offering SIM-only plans and post pay services. Lebara plans to offer 5G services as these become available.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: Enumclaw ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 12,543 at the 2020 census.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: The Enumclaw Plateau, on which the city resides, was formed by a volcanic mudflow (lahar) from Mount Rainier approximately 5,700 years ago.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: The name Enumclaw is derived from a Salish term that translates as "place of evil spirits", apparently referring to Enumclaw Mountain, located about to the north. The mountain's name was derived from an evil incident that occurred there or to the occasional powerful windstorms from the east that affect the region. Native American mythology tells the story of two brothers – Enumclaw and Kapoonis – who were turned into thunder and lightning, respectively, by their father. The City of Enumclaw says the name means "thundering noise".


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: One of the first white settlers in south King County was Allen L. Porter. In 1853, he claimed a parcel on the White River, about three miles (5 km) west of the site of Enumclaw. He maintained a troubled relationship with the local Smalkamish tribe (some of the ancestors of the Muckleshoot tribe) for some time, and in 1855 his cabin was burned to the ground. Porter, who had been warned in advance by a friend in the tribe, hid in the woods until they had left. After warning the settlers at Fort Steilacoom, he left the area, moving to Roy. He would never return to Enumclaw.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: Enumclaw itself was homesteaded in 1879 by Frank and Mary Stevenson. In 1885, the Northern Pacific Railroad routed their transcontinental mainline through the site, accepting their offer of cleared, level land on which to build a siding. Confident that the area would grow, the Stevensons filed a plat with King County that same year. They built a hotel and gave away lots for a saloon and a general store.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: At first the people called the town 'Stevensonville' after the founders, who soon refused the honor. One resident suggested 'Enumclaw,' which was the name of the strange sawed-off promontory north of town. The name's uniqueness gained favor with the locals.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: On January 11, 1895, Mount Baldy, a small peak above the town, "erupted" with tremendous fire and smoke, although no losses or damage were reported, and the conflagration was minimized by residents. Throughout the 1880s and 1890s the area was farmed for hops. When the hops crop failed due to pests and economic downturn, the residents turned to dairy farming, which has been a mainstay ever since. The first census listing Enumclaw in 1900 put the population at 483 people.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: In the 1890s, the Northern Pacific Railroad rerouted their line through Palmer, a few miles to the east of town. In 1910, the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad routed a branch line through Enumclaw.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: The city was incorporated on January 27, 1913. In 1929, a much-anticipated route to Eastern Washington was opened across the Naches Pass Highway. In the 1950s Enumclaw Insurance Group greatly expanded its business and the home office became a major employer in the town. The company is an insurer doing business in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Utah.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: In 2005 the Enumclaw horse sex case occurred on a farm five miles (8 km) northwest of Enumclaw towards Auburn, in unincorporated King County. A Boeing aerospace engineer named Kenneth Pinyan from Gig Harbor died after receiving anal sex from a horse at the farm. The case and the surrounding media attention, led to Washington State banning bestiality.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: The city is located in the midst of flat, level farmlands and dairy farms in the east Puget Sound lowlands. The flat geography in the middle of mountainous territory is due to the ancient Osceola Mudflow from nearby Mount Rainier.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: The city is unique in the fact that it is landlocked by farm preservation on three sides and by protected forest lands to the east. The city is nestled against the Cascade foothills.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: While Enumclaw is entirely located in King County, the city owns some park property within the boundaries of Pierce County.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: This region experiences very warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F (22 C) . According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Enumclaw has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps. Enumclaw typically runs about 5 degrees warmer than Seattle in the summer and 5 degrees colder than Seattle in the winter. The city of Enumclaw is generally above the fog while the area to the West of the city can see dense fog due to the proximity to the Green and White River as well as Lake Tapps. Snow is moderate with a typical year seeing about 6" to 8" total.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: In contrast to other towns with big-box stores, Enumclaw has chosen a different path for its downtown that is filled with small local boutiques and non-chain restaurants and bistros. Several companies, including Helac, Nor-Pac Seating, Nether Industries, and Hill AeroSystems, maintain major offices in the city. The remoteness of Enumclaw has made the picturesque, quintessential place to work from home and enjoy a bit of county life with all the convivences With the median home valued at $753,000, Enumclaw has gained many professionals, firefighters, police officers, downhill ski lovers as well as people who enjoy quick hiking access to Mt. Rainier. Enumclaw has the most dairy farms in production (16 Grade "A") within the King and Pierce County region. Enumclaw has celebrated its close ties with its ag community and has many farm road stands as well as a Farmers Market that runs Spring through Fall. Many restaurants feature Farm to Fork food offerings.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: Enumclaw is the gateway to Mount Rainier National Park and the Crystal Mountain ski area. It is located along the Chinook Scenic Byway (SR 410), which provides seasonal access to the Yakima Valley and Eastern Washington. Enumclaw has four state parks in close proximity: Nolte, Flaming Geyser, Kanaskat Palmer, and Federation Forest. The Thunder Dome Car Museum chose Enumclaw as its location to build a major museum with vintage cars and paraphernalia. Enumclaw has become a basecamp for those wanting to ski at Crystal or hike Mt. Rainier during day and play at night. Enumclaw is well known for the King County Fair, Scottish Highland Games, AKC dog show (largest in the nation), Sundays on Cole festival every Sunday during the summer and the huge Sidewalk Street Fair the runs the third week in July. Enumclaw, in partnership with King County is just completing the last section of bike trail and a bridge that will connect Enumclaw to Puyallup with 23 miles of trail.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: According to the FBI's latest crime report (2017 data, issued in 2018), out of 281 cities in Washington State, Enumclaw is the 18th safest city for violent and property crimes. The Enumclaw City Council has continued to make policing a priority by increasing the departments budget, focusing on training and equipment.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: In the year 2000, the center of population of Washington State was located in an unincorporated part of King County, just northeast of town.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: As of the census of 2010, there were 10,669 people, 4,420 households, and 2,793 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,683 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.8% White, 0.5% African American, 1.0% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.9% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.6% of the population.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: There were 4,420 households, of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.8% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.00.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: The median age in the city was 38.9 years. 24.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.8% were from 25 to 44; 26.9% were from 45 to 64; and 14.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.8% male and 52.2% female.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: As of the census of 2000, there were 11,116 people, 4,317 households, and 2,840 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,842.8 people per square mile (1,097.7/km). There were 4,456 housing units at an average density of 1,139.6 per square mile (440.0/km). The racial makeup of the city was 94.25% White, 0.79% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.30% African American, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 1.15% from other races, and 2.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.42% of the population. 16.6% were of German, 11.3% Irish, 10.3% English, 9.0% American, 7.6% Norwegian, and 5.9% Italian ancestry.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: There were 4,317 households, out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.13.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.2% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: The median income for a household in the city was $58,019 in 2013. The average household income in the 98022 Enumclaw retail trade (draw) area was $89,481 in 2013. The per capita income for the city was $20,596. About 4.3% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over. Unemployment was at 4.30% in 2016 with 2313 blue collar workers and 4051 white collar workers.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: Enumclaw has a mayor–council government that is governed by a seven-member city council. The city councilmembers are elected at-large to four-year terms with no limits. The mayor is also elected to a four-year term with no limits. Former city couincilmember Jan Molinaro was elected mayor in 2017.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: City council meetings are held on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall. The agenda and Council packets are available online and at City Hall prior to the meeting.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: Enumclaw is one of just three cities in Washington with breed-specific legislation limiting pit bull dogs within the city limits. Enumclaw has also chosen to ban the production, distribution and sale of recreational marijuana.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: The City of Enumclaw operates its own solid waste utility (garbage), water, stormwater and sewer departments. The city is unique as it is just one of two cities in Washington State that owns its own natural gas utility.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: The United States Postal Service operates the Enumclaw Post Office and a regional distribution center. Enumclaw is also home to a detachment for the Washington State Patrol (WSP), the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Natural Resources and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: The town is home to the "Courier-Herald" newspaper. Enumclaw is also home to KGRG (1330 AM), a 500 watt AM college radio station licensed to the Green River Foundation and operated by Green River Community College in Auburn.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: Enumclaw's Virginia Mason St. Elizabeth Hospital, is part of the Catholic Health Initiatives (a seven-hospital organization based in Tacoma). The hospital was included on the 2011 list of the 25 "Most Wired" small and rural hospitals in the nation for its use of information technology to support quality patient care and achieve operational efficiencies. It replaced the former Enumclaw Community Hospital in 2011.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: The Enumclaw Expo Center annually hosts the King County Fair and the Pacific Northwest Scottish Highland Games, among a number of other exhibitions and festivals. The Olympic Kennel Club has the 5th largest dog show in the nation each year in August. The 72-acre (29 ha) facility has many areas that are available to rent for weddings, trade shows, conventions and other special events.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: The Enumclaw School District operates public schools for students living in the Enumclaw, and other areas.


title: Enumclaw, Washington

text: Elementary schools in Enumclaw and serving portions of Enumclaw include Black Diamond, Byron Kibler, Southwood, Sunrise, and Westwood. Some portions of Enumclaw are zoned to Enumclaw Middle School in Enumclaw, while some portions are zoned to Thunder Mountain Middle School in unincorporated King County. All residents of Enumclaw are zoned to Enumclaw High School. Green River Community College operates a campus in Enumclaw. Mike Nelson, former Superintendent of Enumclaw School District, won the 2018 State Superintendent of the Year Award.


title: M. Rajesh

text: M. Rajesh is an Indian film director and screenwriter, working primarily in the Tamil film industry. Known for making comedy films, he made his directorial debut with "Siva Manasula Sakthi" in 2009 and followed it up with "Boss Engira Bhaskaran" (2010) and "Oru Kal Oru Kannadi" (2012), all three of which emerged very successful at the box office. After this his subsequent films became box-office bombs, and he was described by "Sify" as having lost his "Midas touch".


title: M. Rajesh

text: M. Rajesh was born in Nagercoil. After studying engineering at National Engineering College in Kovilpatti, he worked as an information technology professional in Mumbai for six months before deciding to pursue a career in film.


title: M. Rajesh

text: Rajesh worked with the production unit "Cosmic Blues", and as an assistant on many short films and advertisement films for one-and-a-half years before shifting to Chennai. He began his feature film career as an assistant director under Ameer in "Mounam Pesiyadhe" (2002), and later assisted S. A. Chandrasekhar on a few films including "Sukran" (2005) and "Nenjirukkum Varai" (2006). After deciding to turn director, Rajesh opted against imitating Ameer or Chandrasekhar's directing styles, but wanted his own style that would appeal to youngsters, and wrote the script of "Siva Manasula Sakthi" (2009). The film became a commercial success, as did his next two directorial ventures, "Boss Engira Bhaskaran" (2010) and "Oru Kal Oru Kannadi" (2012). All three films were described by "Sify" as having reinvented "the trend of light-hearted comedy entertainers without big storylines".