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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=11392166

Panchakki, known as the water mill. This monument is located in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, displays the scientific thought process put in medieval Indian architecture. It was designed to generate energy via water brought down from a spring on a mountain. The building, attached to the dargah of Baba Shah Musafir a Sufi saint is located in a garden near the Mahmud Darvaza and consist of a mosque, a madrassa, a kacheri, a minister's house, a sarai and houses for zananas. History. Most of the buildings in the dargah complex (including Panchakki) were erected by Turktaz Khan, a noble on the staff of Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah in about 1695 A. D. The oblong reservoir in front of the mosque and fountains were added 20 years later by Jamil Beg Khan. Dating back to the 17th century, this ingenious water mill was designed to use the energy generated by flowing water from a nearby spring to turn the large grinding stones of the flour mill. Shah Mosafar died in Hijri 1110. This watermill was used to grind grain for the pilgrims and disciples of saints as well as for the troops of the garrison. Operating process. The water-mill is kept fed with sufficient water by an underground conduit, which commences from a well just above the junction of the Harsul river with a tributary stream eight kilometers away. After crossing the tributary stream near its confluence with Harsul, this water-pipe proceeds to the Panchakki reservoir. The arrangement is such that the water is made to fall into the Panchakki cistern from quite a height in order to generate the necessary power to drive the mill. The cistern lies in front of the mosque whose bottom forms the roof of a spacious hall. The cool chambers of the hall are used in summers by pilgrims, and is about 164' X 31' ornamented with fountains. The excess of water is let in the Kham river. A fine view of the Kham river can be had from the windows of this hall. There is also a cenotaph to the spiritual preceptor of Baba Musafir Shah and a tomb to his disciple Baba Shah Mahmood and a few other graves. A huge Banyan tree on the southern margin of the reservoir provides shade and adds beauty to the whole scene. In the North-West corner, adjacent to the cistern, is the water mill driven entirely by water power. It is said that in the olden days, grain could be ground without physical effort. The country here exhibits one of the most picturesque landscapes about Aurangabad. The Kaula Nala skirts the garden, and is first crossed by an old bridge with pointed arches and then by a second bridge which spans it lower down. The walls of Begampura are to the right and the city walls are to the left, while Shah Musafir's garden is between the latter and the river bank. The garden walls descend down to the bed of the Nala; and the dargah and the accompanying buildings, with the cisterns and the fountains that are interspersed, blend picturesquely with the garden vegetation. Recent. An 18th-century library, housing manuscripts and a number of precious books have been reopened after 70 years here (Aurangabad). The library treasured about 100,000 books and writing pieces until Indian independence (1947). However, it was closed down in the 1970s due to administrative reasons due to which many of the library books were shifted to Hyderabad. The library presently houses 2,500 books on various subjects related to history, law, medicine, Sufism, religion and philosophy in Arabic, penned by philosophers, saints and scholars in Urdu and Persian language. Panchakki also houses the headquarters of the Waqf board of Maharashtra.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=647757

The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles (1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019), four Olympic gold medals (1996, 2004, 2008, and 2012), and eight CONCACAF Gold Cups. It medaled in every World Cup and Olympic tournament in women's soccer from 1991 to 2015, before being knocked out in the quarterfinal of the 2016 Summer Olympics. The team is governed by United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central American, and Caribbean Association Football). After mostly being ranked No. 2 from 2003 to 2008 in the FIFA Women's World Rankings, the team was ranked No. 1 continuously from March 2008 to November 2014, the longest consecutive top ranking of any team. Since FIFA rankings were established in 2003, it has been ranked No. 1 for a total of 13 years; the only other team to be ranked No. 1, Germany, has been there for a total of 4½ years. The USWNT has never been ranked lower than second. The team was selected as the U.S. Olympic Committee's Team of the Year in 1997 and 1999, and "Sports Illustrated" chose the entire team as 1999 Sportswomen of the Year for its usual Sportsman of the Year honor. On April 5, 2017, U.S. Women's Soccer and U.S. Soccer reached a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement that would, among other things, lead to a pay increase. History. Origins in the 1980s. The passing of Title IX in 1972, which outlawed gender-based discrimination for federally-funded education programs, spurred the creation of college soccer teams across the United States at a time when women's soccer was rising in popularity internationally. The U.S. Soccer Federation tasked coach Mike Ryan to select a roster of college players to participate in the 1985 Mundialito tournament in Italy, its first foray into women's international soccer. The team played its first match on August 18, 1985, losing 1–0 to Italy, and finished the tournament in fourth place after failing to win its remaining matches against Denmark and England. Despite the tournament loss, the first match against Italy is where the United States’ famous “Oosa Oosa Oosa Ah!” chant was born. During the match, the style of play and athleticism of the United States ultimately won over the Italian fans. To the team's surprise, the Italians began cheering for the US, which they pronounced as “oosa.” Such surprising support from the Italians impressed the United States so much that the team decided to adopt the Italians' endearing mispronunciation as its new chant that it would use to conclude its pre-game huddles. From then on, the United States has concluded each pre-game huddle with the same chant, “Oosa Oosa Oosa Ah!” as a call back to where it all began in 1985 that honors the legacy of those who came before. University of North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance was hired as the team's first full-time manager in 1986 with the goal of fielding a competitive women's team at the next Mundialito and at future tournaments. In their first Mundialito under Dorrance, the United States defeated China, Brazil, and Japan before finishing as runners-up to Italy. Dorrance gave national team appearances to teenage players, including future stars Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, and Kristine Lilly, instead of the college players preferred by the federation. The United States played in the 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament in China, a FIFA-sanctioned competition to test the feasibility of a regular women's championship, and lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champions Norway. 1990s. Following the 1988 tournament, FIFA announced plans for a new women's tournament, named the 1st FIFA World Championship for Women's Football for the M&M's Cup until it was retroactively given the "World Cup" name. The United States qualified for the tournament by winning the inaugural CONCACAF Women's Championship, hosted by Haiti in April 1991, outscoring their opponents 49–0 for the sole CONCACAF berth in the tournament. The team played several exhibition matches abroad against European opponents to prepare for the world championship, while its players quit their regular jobs to train full-time with meager compensation. Dorrance utilized a 4–3–3 formation that was spearheaded by the "Triple-Edged Sword" of forward Michelle Akers-Stahl and wingers Carin Jennings and April Heinrichs. At the Women's World Cup, the United States won all three of its group stage matches and outscored its opponents 11–2. In the opening match against Sweden, the U.S. took a 3–0 lead early in the second half, but conceded two goals to end the match with a narrower 3–2 victory. The U.S. proceeded to win 5–0 in its second match against Brazil and 3–0 in its third match against Japan in the following days, clinching first place in the group and a quarterfinal berth. The United States proceeded with a 7–0 victory in the quarterfinals over Chinese Taipei, fueled by a five-goal performance by Akers-Stahl in the first fifty minutes of the match. In the semifinals against Germany, Carin Jennings scored a hat-trick in the first half as the team clinched a place in the final with a 5–2 victory. The team's lopsided victories in the earlier rounds had brought attention from American media outlets, but the final match was not televised live in the U.S. The United States won the inaugural Women's World Cup title by defeating Norway 2–1 in the final, played in front of 65,000 spectators at Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou, as Akers-Stahl scored twice to create and restore a lead for the Americans. Akers-Stahl finished as the top goalscorer at the tournament, with ten goals, and Carin Jennings was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. Despite their Women's World Cup victory, the U.S. team remained in relative obscurity and received a small welcome from several U.S. Soccer Federation officials upon arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. The team were given fewer resources and little attention from the federation as they focused on improving the men's national team in preparation for the 1994 men's World Cup that would be hosted in the United States. The women's team was placed on hiatus after the tournament, only playing twice in 1992, but returned the following year to play in several tournaments hosted in Cyprus, Canada, and the United States, including a second CONCACAF Championship title. The program was still supported better than those of the former Soviet Union, where football was considered a "men's game". The United States played in several friendly tournaments to prepare for the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup and its qualification campaign. The first was the inaugural staging of the Algarve Cup in Portugal, which saw the team win its two group stage matches but lose 1–0 to Norway in the final. It followed by a victory in the Chiquita Cup, an exhibition tournament hosted in August on the U.S. East Coast against Germany, China, and Norway. Dorrance resigned from his position as head coach in early August and was replaced by his assistant, Tony DiCicco, a former professional goalkeeper who played in the American Soccer League. DiCicco led the United States to a berth in the Women's World Cup by winning the 1994 CONCACAF Championship, where the team scored 36 goals and conceded only one. In February 1995, the U.S. women's program opened a permanent training and treatment facility in Sanford, Florida, and began a series of warm-up friendlies that were paid for by American company Nike. The team topped their group in the Women's World Cup, despite a 3–3 tie with China in the opening match and losing goalkeeper Brianna Scurry to a red card in their second match. The United States proceeded to beat Japan 4–0 in the quarterfinals, but lost 1–0 to eventual champions Norway in the semifinals. The team finished in third place, winning 2–0 in its consolation match against China. The team won the gold medal in the inaugural Olympic women's soccer tournament in the 1996 Summer Olympics, defeating China 2–1 in the final before a crowd of 76,481 fans. Julie Foudy, Kristine Lilly, and the rest of the 1999 team started a revolution towards women's team sports in America. An influential victory came in the 1999 World Cup, when they defeated China 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out following a 0–0 draw after extended time. With this win they emerged onto the world stage and brought significant media attention to women's soccer and athletics. On July 10, 1999, over 90,000 people (the largest ever for a women's sporting event and one of the largest attendances in the world for a tournament game final) filled the Rose Bowl to watch the United States play China in the Final. After a back and forth game, the score was tied 0–0 at full-time, and remained so after extra time, leading to a penalty kick shootout. With Briana Scurry's save of China's third kick, the score was 4–4 with only Brandi Chastain left to shoot. She scored and won the game for the United States. Chastain dropped to her knees and whipped off her shirt, celebrating in her sports bra, which later made the cover of "Sports Illustrated" and the front pages of newspapers around the country and world. This win influenced many girls to want to play on a soccer team. 2000s. In the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, the U.S. defeated Norway 1–0 in the quarterfinals but lost 0–3 to Germany in the semifinals. The team then defeated Canada 3–1 to claim third place. Abby Wambach was the team's top scorer with three goals, while Joy Fawcett and Shannon Boxx made the tournament's all-star team. In the 2004 Olympics, the last major international tournament for Hamm and Foudy, the U.S. earned the gold medal, winning 2–1 over Brazil in the final on an extra time goal by Wambach. At the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the U.S. defeated England 3–0 in the quarterfinals but then suffered its most lopsided loss in team history when it lost to Brazil 0–4 in the semifinals. The U.S. recovered to defeat Norway to take third place. Abby Wambach was the team's leading scorer with 6 goals, and Kristine Lilly was the only American named to the tournament's all-star team. The team won another gold medal in the 2008 Olympics, but interest in the Women's National Team had diminished since their performance in the 1999 World Cup. However, the second women's professional league was created in March 2009, Women's Professional Soccer. 2010s. In the quarterfinal of the 2011 Women's World Cup in Germany, the U.S. defeated Brazil 5–3 on penalty kicks. Abby Wambach's goal in the 122nd minute to tie the game 2–2 has been voted the greatest goal in U.S. soccer history and the greatest goal in Women's World Cup history. The U.S. then beat France 3–1 in the semifinal, but lost to Japan 3–1 on penalty kicks in the Final after drawing 1–1 in regulation and 2–2 in overtime. Hope Solo was named the tournament's best goalkeeper and Abby Wambach won the silver ball as the tournament's second-best player. In the 2012 Summer Olympics, the U.S. won the gold medal for the fourth time in five Olympics by defeating Japan 2–1 in front of 80,203 fans at Wembley Stadium, a record for a women's soccer game at the Olympics. The United States advanced to face Japan for the gold medal by winning the semifinal against Canada, a 4–3 victory at the end of extra time. The 2012 London Olympics marked the first time the USWNT won every game en route to the gold medal and set an Olympic women's team record of 16 goals scored. The National Women's Soccer League started in 2013, and provided competitive games as well as opportunities to players on the fringes of the squad. The U.S. had a 43-game unbeaten streak that spanned two yearsthe streak began with a 4–0 win over Sweden in the 2012 Algarve Cup, and came to an end after a 1–0 loss against Sweden in the 2014 Algarve Cup. The U.S. defeated Japan 5–2 in the final of the 2015 World Cup, becoming the first team in history to win three Women's World Cup titles. In the 16th minute, Carli Lloyd achieved the fastest hat-trick from kick-off in World Cup history, and Abby Wambach was greeted with a standing ovation for her last World Cup match. Following their 2015 World Cup win, the team was honored with a ticker tape parade in New York City, the first for a women's sports team, and honored by President Barack Obama at the White House. On December 16, 2015, however, a 0–1 loss to China in Wambach's last game meant the team's first home loss since 2004, ending their 104-game home unbeaten streak. In the 2016 Summer Olympics, the U.S. drew against Sweden in the quarterfinal; in the following penalty kick phase, Sweden won the game 4–3. The loss marked the first time that the USWNT did not advance to the gold medal game of the Olympics, and the first time that the USWNT failed to advance to the semifinal round of a major tournament. After the defeat in the 2016 Olympics, the USWNT underwent a year of experimentation which saw them losing three home games. If not for a comeback win against Brazil, the USWNT was on the brink of losing four home games in one year, a low never before seen by the USWNT. 2017 saw the USWNT play 12 games against teams ranked in the top-15 in the world. Throughout 2018, the U.S. would pick up two major tournament wins, winning both the SheBelieves Cup and the Tournament of Nations. The team would enter qualifying for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup on a 21-game unbeaten streak and dominated the competition, winning all five of its games and the tournament whilst qualifying for the World Cup as well as scoring 18 goals and conceding none. On November 8, 2018, the U.S. earned their 500th victory in team history after a 1–0 victory over Portugal. The start of 2019 saw the U.S. lose an away game to France, 3–1, marking the end of a 28-game unbeaten streak and their first loss since a 1–0 defeat to Australia in July 2017. The USWNT started off their 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup campaign with a 13–0 victory against Thailand, setting a new Women's World Cup goal record. Alex Morgan equaled Michelle Akers' record of scoring five goals in a single World Cup match, while four of her teammates scored their first World Cup goals in their debut at the tournament. The U.S. would win its next match against Chile 3–0 before concluding the group stage with a win of 2–0 over Sweden. The team emerged as the winners of Group F and would go on to face Spain in the Round of 16, whom they would defeat 2–1 thanks to a pair of Megan Rapinoe penalties. The team would achieve identical results in their next two games. With 2–1 victories over France and then England seeing them advance to a record third straight World Cup final, they played against the Netherlands for the title. They beat the Netherlands 2–0 in the final on July 7, 2019, becoming the first team in history to win four Women's World Cup titles. On July 30, 2019, Jill Ellis announced that she would step down as head coach following the conclusion of the team's post-World Cup victory tour on October 6, 2019. Vlatko Andonovski was hired as head coach of the USWNT in October 2019, replacing Ellis. 2020s. The USWNT began the new decade by winning both the 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying tournament (which qualified the team for the 2020 Summer Olympics) and the 2020 SheBelieves Cup titles. In early March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the USSF cancelled previously scheduled USWNT friendlies against Australia and Brazil. Later that same month, it was announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government that the 2020 Summer Olympics were to be postponed until July 2021. They later made a comeback on November 27, 2020, where they took on the Netherlands in a friendly match. Rose Lavelle and Kristie Mewis scored both goals in the match, winning the game 2–0. Team image. Media coverage. U.S. television coverage for the five Women's World Cups from 1995 to 2011 was provided by ESPN/ABC and Univision, while coverage rights for the three Women's World Cups from 2015 to 2023 were awarded to Fox Sports and Telemundo. In May 2014 a deal was signed to split TV coverage of other USWNT games between ESPN, Fox Sports, and Univision through the end of 2022. The USWNT games in the 2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship and the 2015 Algarve Cup were broadcast by Fox Sports. NBC will broadcast the Olympic tournament through 2032. The 1999 World Cup final set the original record for largest U.S. television audience for a women's soccer match, averaging 18 million viewers. It was the most viewed English-language U.S. broadcast of any soccer match until the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup final between the United States and Japan. The 2015 Women's World Cup Final between the United States and Japan was the most watched soccer match—men's or women's—in American broadcast history. It averaged 23 million viewers and higher ratings than the NBA finals and the Stanley Cup finals. The final was also the most watched US-Spanish language broadcast of a FIFA Women's World Cup match in history. Overall, there were over 750 million viewers for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, making it the most watched Women's World Cup in history. The FIFA Women's World Cup is now the second-most watched FIFA tournament, with only the men's FIFA World Cup attracting more viewership. In popular culture. A narrative nonfiction book covering the entire history of the team from 1985 to 2019 called "The National Team: The Inside Story of the Women Who Changed Soccer" was named one of "Vanity Fair"'s best books of 2019 and made NPR's 2019 year-end books list. A book about the team's 1999 Women's World Cup campaign, "Girls of Summer: The U.S. Women's Soccer Team and How It Changed the World" was released in 2001 and in 2020 Netflix announced a film based on the book. In 2005, HBO released a documentary called "". In 2013, a documentary about the 1999 World Cup-winning team called "The 99ers" was produced by former player Julie Foudy and ESPN Films. Attendance. The 1999 World Cup final, in which the United States defeated China, set a world attendance record for a women's sporting event of 90,185 in a sellout at the Rose Bowl in Southern California. The record for Olympic women's soccer attendance was set by the 2012 Olympic final between the USWNT and Japan, with 80,023 spectators at Wembley Stadium. Legal issues. Pay discrimination. In recent years, the players of the USWNT have waged an escalating legal fight with the United States Soccer Federation over gender discrimination. Central to their demands is equal pay. The players point to their lower paychecks as compared to the U.S. men's national team, despite their higher record of success in recent years. In April 2016, five players filed a wage-discrimination action against the U.S. Soccer Federation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The group consisted of Hope Solo, Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and Becky Sauerbrunn. One year later, in April 2017, it was announced that a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with U.S soccer had been made. The agreement stated that the players would have an increased base pay and improved match bonuses. These changes could increase their previous pay from $200,000 to $300,000. However, the CBA did not guarantee the U.S national women's team equal pay with the men's team. The CBA's five-year term through 2021 ensured that the next negotiation would not become an issue for the team in its upcoming competitions. On top of this CBA, U.S Soccer had agreed to pay the players for two years' worth of unequal per-diem payments. On March 8, 2019, all 28 members of the U.S. team filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, accused the Federation of "institutional gender discrimination". The lawsuit claims that the discrimination affects not only the amount the players are paid but also their playing, training, and travel conditions. In May 2020, several key parts of the case were dismissed, with federal judge R. Gary Klausner noting that the team had agreed to take higher base compensation and other benefits in their most recent CBA instead of the bonuses received by the men's national team. On March 8, 2021, the second anniversary of the team's pay discrimination lawsuit, Congresswomen Doris Matsui and Rosa DeLauro introduced the Give Our Athletes Level Salaries (GOALS) Act to ensure the U.S. women's national soccer team "are paid fair and equitable wages compared to the U.S. Men's team". The GOALS Act threatens to cut federal funding for the 2026 World Cup if the U.S. Soccer Federation does not comply. Artificial turf. Along with their lawsuit for pay-equity, the US Women’s Soccer players have fought FIFA on policies regarding artificial turf. This battle to eliminate the use of turf in major women’s games heightened around the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, hosted by Canada; during this tournament, the US Women played 8 of their 10 games on artificial turf. Prior to the 2015 World Cup, Abby Wambach headed a discrimination lawsuit with other global soccer stars including Marta of Brazil and Homare Sawa of Japan. Due to the tournament’s quick approach, the suit was dropped as players were denied an expedited hearing. Staff. Coaching staff Technical staff Players. Current squad. The following 23 players were named to the squad for the friendlies against on June 10, on June 13, and on June 16, 2021. "Caps and goals are current as of April 13, 2021, after match against ." Recent call-ups. The following players were also named to a squad in the last 12 months. Notes: Recent schedule and results. The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. Competitive record. All-time results. <onlyinclude> Major. The two highest-profile tournaments the U.S. team participates in are the quadrennial FIFA Women's World Cup and the quadrennial Olympic Games. World Cup. The team has participated in every World Cup through 2019 and won a medal in each. Olympic Games. The team has participated in every Olympic tournament through 2016 and reached the gold medal game in each until 2016, when they were eliminated in the quarterfinals on a penalty shootout loss to Sweden. Minor. CONCACAF Championship and Gold Cup. The U.S. team directly qualified for the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup as hosts of the event. Because of this, they did not participate in the 1998 CONCACAF Championship, which was the qualification tournament for the World Cup. Algarve Cup. The Algarve Cup is a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's soccer hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it has been one of the more prestigious women's soccer events other than the Women's World Cup and Olympic tournament, and it has been nicknamed the "Mini FIFA Women's World Cup." Since 2016, the SheBelieves Cup replaced it on the U.S. team's schedule. SheBelieves Cup. The SheBelieves Cup is a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's soccer hosted in the United States. Tournament of Nations. The Tournament of Nations was a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's soccer hosted in the United States in non-World Cup and non-Olympic years. Player records. . Active players are shown in Bold. The women's national team boasts the first six players in the history of the game to have earned 200 caps. These players have since been joined in the 200-cap club by several players from other national teams, as well as by five more Americans: Kate Markgraf, Abby Wambach, Heather O'Reilly, Carli Lloyd and Hope Solo. Kristine Lilly and Christie Rampone are the only players to earn more than 300 caps. In March 2004, Mia Hamm and Michelle Akers were the only two women and the only two Americans named to the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living soccer players chosen by Pelé as part of FIFA's centenary observances. The USWNT All-Time Best XI was chosen In December 2013 by the United States Soccer Federation: Source "Source" Source Sources Note: The goal record for most scored in a match by a member of the USWNT is five, which has been accomplished by the eight players above. Head coaches. "Sources"

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=32759913

Memories of Prague is a public artwork by American artist David Louis Rodgers, the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields (IMA), which is near downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. Description. This artwork is composed of two limestone elements, each being hand-carved by the artist. The upper element is a three-sided openwork triangular that sits on the second element, a cylindrical pedestal. The top form looks twisted as it loops over the open space like a handle. The bottom part of the “handle” which contacts the pedestal is flattened out into an oval. The artwork is carved out of a very porous and stratified Indiana limestone. The colors range from mute grays to browns. Historical information. In 1981 Rodgers was chosen to create "Memories of Prague" as a memorial to Louisa K. Valentine. Valentine was born in Prague but moved to escape the war in 1945. She met her husband, Joseph Valentine, while he was stationed overseas, and when the war was over they moved to the Indiana. Mrs. Valentine loved the Indianapolis Museum of art, volunteering regularly. In 1978 she died, and in her honor her family commissioned an artwork that was to be displayed in the IMA's collection. The specifications were for the artist to be a Hoosier, it was to be made from Indiana limestone, and the title must have to do with Prague. When Rodgers was selected to make the artwork, he was faculty member of the Interior Design Program at IU of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Penn. He communicated directly with Robert Yassin during the planning stages of the commission. In 1981 Rodgers was hoping to make a sundial, but the design had to be scrapped because the funds provided were not enough to cover the complexities involved in the construction of such an object. A few years later his dream of making a sundial became possible with a large commission by Crown Hill Cemetery as the Equatorial Sundial. For the Valentine commission, Rodgers ended up carving a Mobius strip-styled arch which recalled the arched doorways and bridges common in Prague. According to Rodgers, “the Valentine Memorial emerged as an expression of continuity and fulfillment as those of involved in it attempted to grasp the understanding that death completes life and that we as survivors retain within us something of the essence of the people with whom we spend our lives. The creation of a memorial provides the occasion for people to join together, if they choose to, to begin a search for an expression that will in the end be a celebration of many distilled remembrances, which are the essence of intimate contact.” Location history. The artwork has been on constant view at the top of the landing of the outdoor amphitheater since 1985. Acquisition. "Memories of Prague" was received at the IMA in May 1985. It was accessioned the same year, and in November the artwork was given a dedication ceremony, also in honor of Mrs. Valentine. Artist. Rodgers is an Indiana native who went to IU to become an astronomer. Partway through earning his degree, he switched to art (painting) and it wasn't until he was in graduate school that he set his mind on becoming a sculptor. In 1968 Rodgers earned his MFA, and he then moved to New Mexico to teach art. In 1971 he returned to Indiana, teaching stone-carving workshops including a class at Bedford-North Lawrence High School. Throughout his career, he designed, created, installed, and otherwise assisted in the making of site specific artworks. He has taught at many universities in the United States, and was faculty at Valdosta State University until 2008.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=8600732

Christopher Sacca (born May 12, 1975) is an American venture investor, company advisor, entrepreneur, and lawyer. He is the proprietor of Lowercase Capital, a venture capital fund in the United States that has invested in seed and early-stage technology companies such as Twitter, Uber, Instagram, Twilio, and Kickstarter, investments that resulted in his placement as No. 2 on "Forbes"' Midas List: Top Tech Investors for 2017. Prior to founding Lowercase Capital in 2010, Sacca held several positions at Google Inc., where he led the alternative access and wireless divisions and worked on mergers and acquisitions. Between 2015 and 2017, he appeared as a "Guest Shark" on ABC's "Shark Tank". In early 2017, Sacca announced that he was retiring from venture investing. Early life and education. Chris Sacca was born on May 12, 1975 and raised in Lockport, a suburb of Buffalo. His father was an attorney, while his mother was a professor at SUNY Buffalo State. Sacca is of Irish and Italian descent, with family originating from Calabria, Italy. Sacca's parents exposed him to a variety of interests, and he recalls being pulled out of school to attend science museums and book-readings. Sacca attended The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He spent semesters abroad at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador in Quito, Ecuador, University College Cork, in Cork, Ireland, and the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain. He graduated in 1997 "cum laude" with a B.S. in foreign service and was an Edmund Evans Memorial Scholar as well as a Weeks Family Foundation Scholar. He was a member of The Tax Lawyer law review and was honored as the school's Philip A. Ryan and Ralph J. Gilbert Memorial Scholar. He recalls that he managed to graduate without attending class, obtaining class notes by throwing an annual keg party where entry required classmates to dump their notes in a bin. He graduated from Georgetown University with a Juris Doctor "cum laude" in law and technology in 2000. Career. Stocks and Fenwick & West. Sacca used his student loans to start a company during law school, and when the venture proved unsuccessful he used the remaining funds to start trading on the stock market. By leveraging trades for significant amounts (discovering a flaw in the software of online trading brokers in 1998) he managed to turn $10–20 thousand into $12 million by 2000. Eventually, when the market crashed, Sacca found himself in debt with a four million dollar negative balance. He negotiated to have it reduced to $2.125 million and had repaid it by February 2005. In 2000 Sacca began his career as an associate at Fenwick & West in Silicon Valley where he handled venture capital, mergers, acquisitions, and licensing transactions for technology clients including Macromedia, VeriSign, and Kleiner Perkins. Laid off in September 2001, after approximately 13 months, he spent the next several months attending networking events and ‘surviving’ in Silicon Valley by drafting contracts and doing voice over work as a freelancer. Creating the consulting firm The Salinger Group for networking purposes, he landed at Speedera Networks in May 2002. At Speedera he served as general counsel and head of corporate development, helping fend off continual lawsuits from corporate rival Akamai. Google positions. In November 2003 Sacca was hired at Google as Corporate Counsel, where he reported to General Counsel David Drummond. As part of the legal and business development team, his first mandate was to find large amounts of data space, by negotiating and signing agreements around the world. Sacca served as Head of Special Initiatives at Google Inc. leading the alternative access and wireless divisions. Among his projects were the 700 MHz and TV white spaces spectrum initiatives, Google's data center in Oregon, and the free citywide WiFi network in Mountain View, California. Sacca also led many of Google's business development and mergers and acquisitions transactions and was on the founding team of the company's New Business Development organization. He was among the first Google employees given the Founders’ Award, the company's highest honor. Angel investments. While at Google, Sacca began investing in companies as an angel investor, investing his own money in startup companies or receiving equity in exchange for advising. He served as a professional advisor to companies for a variety of matters, including strategy, optimizing user experience, raising money, and selling a company. This included Auctomatic (sold to Live Current Media) and Omnisio (sold to Google/YouTube). His first angel investment was in Photobucket, which was then sold to News Corp in 2007. His second investment was in Twitter. Entrepreneur Evan Williams had started a microblogging service called Twttr in 2006, and asked Sacca if he wanted to invest. Sacca invested $25,000 and began using the service, registering in July 2006 as the 102nd user on the site. He related to "Forbes" that "I wasted months trying to get others to believe it could be a real business, not just a toy," before deciding "to just buy it all myself." Sacca took part in a $5 million financing round for Twitter in late 2007 and ultimately created four separate funds to surreptitiously buy as many Twitter shares as possible. Sacca left Google in December 2007 after he had fully vested and sought additional opportunities to work with early-stage companies. Sacca has stated that a turning point in his angel investing was in 2007, when he moved to the town of Truckee in the mountains close to Lake Tahoe. Entrepreneurs including Travis Kalanick and Sacca would spend hours discussing ideas at the residence, and Sacca eventually bought the house next door to host various visiting entrepreneurs. When money began to run low Sacca raised a new fund with investors such as Brad Feld, Marissa Mayer, Eric Schmidt, and JPMorgan Chase's Digital Growth Fund. Lowercase Capital. Sacca founded Lowercase Capital LLC in Truckee California, in 2010 when he closed his Lowercase Ventures Fund I, an $8.4 million seed fund, in 2010, with investments in Uber, Docker, Optimizely, StyleSeat, Instagram, and Twitter. Lowercase provides capital and advisory services to start-ups and late-stage companies in technology and media. Lowercase also has some non-tech-related companies in its portfolio, including Blue Bottle Coffee Company and a high-end restaurant in Truckee. Without the corporate backup funding available to many venture capitalists, Sacca became very involved in his portfolio companies on a personal level. He attended meetings at Twitter and Uber, and he negotiated the rights for Uber.com from Universal Music Group when the company changed its name from Uber Taxi. Although not on Twitter's payroll, he "served as a crucial adviser during its formative years and worked closely with its early employees." Through 2009 he invested in companies such as Kickstarter, Twilio and Lookout. Sacca opened a new $1 billion investment fund in the summer of 2010, and later that year the fund began to buy large blocks of shares from Twitter stockholders, deepening Sacca's position in the company. By February 2011 Sacca's funds had purchased about $400 million worth of Twitter shares, giving it "a stake of roughly 9 percent." When Twitter went public in late 2013, Sacca's affiliated funds owned almost 18% of the company, raising the value of Sacca's investment in the company to around $1 billion. Sacca brought in Matt Mazzeo to Lowercase Capital as a partner in 2013, with Mazzeo heading a new early-stage fund, Lowercase Stampede, out of Los Angeles. Mazzeo had worked at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), an entertainment and sports agency. Sacca had a 4% stake in Uber by March 2015, and Lowercase was "sitting on" investments in Stripe, Lookout and WordPress parent Automattic. "Forbes" estimated that Sacca was personally worth $1.2 billion. By that time the value of his first Twitter fund, Lowercase Industry, had reached 1,500% of its original value, and his Twitter deals overall had "returned $5 billion to investors." Also in 2015, "Forbes" said that Sacca had built "the best seed portfolio in history" with funds such as his Lowercase Ventures Fund I, which had investments in companies such as Twitter, Instagram, and Uber. "Fortune" had also labeled Lowercase as one of the most successful venture capital funds in history. "Shark Tank" and media. Sacca regularly speaks about venture capital and investing in media. He has been characterized as an expert by "Business Week", Fortune magazine, CNBC, the BBC, CNN, Fox and NPR. Also, Sacca's interview during the initial "Startup" podcast inspired the pilot episode of the ABC television version of "Start Up" starring Zach Braff with Sacca to play himself. He played himself in the "Overton Window" episode of Billions. He has also appeared on other television shows. In 2015 he first appeared as a "Guest Shark" in episode 4 of season 7 of the ABC reality television show "Shark Tank", which dramatizes seed-stage investment negotiations. Subsequently, appearing in three other season 7 episodes, Sacca invested in HatchBaby, Bee Free Honee, Rent Like a Champion, and Brightwheel. Sacca continued to appear as a guest shark in five episodes of season 8. Among others, he invested in a business that opens lemonade stands, and on February 17, 2017 in episode 168, Sacca along with guest Lori Greiner invested $600,000 for 5% of ToyMail, a plush toy which connects to a messaging app. Sacca has a role in the ABC sitcom Alex, Inc., where he plays himself and reenacts his interactions with Alex Blumberg. Lowercase Capital had an investment portfolio of around 80 startups and a variety of more mature companies by 2017, including Medium and Uber. Sacca was fully divested from Twitter by 2017. That April, Sacca announced that he was retiring from venture investing and along with it his role on "Shark Tank", saying he was "two years late" on his plan to retire at 40 years old. He said his firm would continue to support its portfolio companies, but would not take on any new investments or raise more money from investors. Recognition. Since 2011 he has been listed on "Forbes"' Midas List: Top Tech Investors, when he was the youngest of the 100 investors listed. In 2015, Sacca was featured on the cover of "Forbes" magazine listed as No. 3 on the Midas list. and in 2017, he was listed at No. 2. "BusinessWeek" named him one of the top 10 angel investors, and "Vanity Fair" has named Sacca to its "New Establishment" list. Sacca has a chapter giving advice in Tim Ferriss' book Tools of Titans. Personal life. Sacca's wife Crystal English Sacca is also a partner at Lowercase. She is a former advertising creative and has authored books such as "The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert: Take a Whiff of That" and "The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming a Whiskey Know-It-All: Know Your Booze Before you Choose." The couple live in Jackson, Wyoming and Big Sky, Montana, with their three children. He is known in business circles for his Western-style button-down shirts, which resulted in Sacca being named to "GQ's" "Worst Dressed List." According to "Forbes," he "bought his first [cowboy shirt], impulsively, at the Reno airport en route to a speech, and the reaction prompted him to buy out half the store on his return." At the University of Minnesota, Sacca delivered a 2011 commencement address that NPR ranked on its list of “Best Commencement Speeches, Ever." Active in sports such as surfing, kitesurfing, and skiing, Sacca completed an Ironman in 2008, and in 2009 rode his bicycle from Santa Barbara, California to Charleston, South Carolina over 40 days for charity. In 2017 the "New York Times" reported that a woman had accused Sacca of touching her face at a Las Vegas gathering in 2009 without consent, making her uncomfortable. Sacca denied the allegation, but did apologize for contributing to a business atmosphere that was "inhospitable" for women in technology and venture capital. Philanthropy. Sacca is involved with , a nonprofit seeking to bring clean drinking water to every person on the planet. He is also involved with The Tony Hawk Foundation. Sacca has served as an Associate Fellow of the Saïd Business School at Oxford University and as an MIT Enterprise Forum Global Trustee. He is also a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. In 2019, the Saccas each signed The Giving Pledge, which calls upon signatories to donate the majority of their net worth to philanthropic causes. Political involvement. Sacca worked for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign as a Telecommunications, Media, and Technology advisor and campaign surrogate, as well as a field office volunteer. Following Obama's victory, Sacca served as co-chair of finance for the Presidential Inaugural Committee. During Obama's successful 2012 reelection campaign, Sacca served as a member of the campaign's National Finance Committee member and as co-chair of the "Tech for Obama" group. During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Sacca was a vocal supporter of Democratic Nominee Hillary Clinton, appearing in various fundraisers around the country. He spoke against Trump, and in response to President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order banning travel from seven predominantly Muslim nations, Sacca donated $150,000 in matching donations to ACLU. Sacca donated to the Lincoln Project, a Republican-led super PAC opposing the re-election of Donald Trump and Republican Senators who supported him.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=11058555

A mobile emission reduction credit (MERC) is an emission reduction credit generated within the transportation sector. The term “mobile sources” refers to motor vehicles, engines, and equipment that move, or can be moved, from place to place. Mobile sources include vehicles that operate on roads and highways ("on-road" or "highway" vehicles), as well as nonroad vehicles, engines, and equipment. Examples of mobile sources are passenger cars, light trucks, large trucks, buses, motorcycles, earth-moving equipment, nonroad recreational vehicles (such as dirt bikes and snowmobiles), farm and construction equipment, cranes, lawn and garden power tools, marine engines, ships, railroad locomotives, and airplanes. In California, mobile sources account for about 60 percent of all ozone forming emissions and for over 90 percent of all carbon monoxide (CO) emissions from all sources. Background. Government agencies worldwide have struggled with finding new and innovative approaches to address the growing problem of air pollution and global warming. Experts in the field have recognized the importance of developing solutions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Most proposed strategies to mitigate global climate change focus on reducing the dominant source of GHG emissions to the atmosphere – combustion of fossil fuels, which releases carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide emissions represent about 84 percent of total U.S. GHG emissions. In the United States, most carbon dioxide (98 percent) is emitted as a result of the combustion of fossil fuels; consequently, carbon dioxide emissions and energy use are highly correlated. General emission reduction strategies. The two main approaches that have been developed to address this problem include a command-and-control regulatory system and Emissions credit trading. Three broad types of emissions credit trading programs have emerged: reduction credit, averaging, and cap-and-trade programs. In such programs, a central authority, such as an air pollution control district or a government agency, sets limits or "caps" on certain pollutants. Companies or fleets of vehicles that intend to exceed these limits may buy emission reduction credits (ERCs) from entities that are able to remain below the designated limits. This transfer is usually referred to as a trade. International approach to emission reduction credits. Emission trading is contemplated on an international level. The Kyoto Protocol is an agreement made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Kyoto Protocol binds ratifying nations to a similar system, with the UNFCCC setting caps for each nation, and utilizes a clean development mechanism (CDM) system. The primary reduction strategy under the Kyoto Protocol is a trading system that essentially makes carbon credits a commodity like oil or gas. United States approach to emission reduction credits. The United States (which did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol) has the most experience with domestic emissions trading markets. The Clean Air Act (1970) is a federal law that requires the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and enforce regulations to protect the general public from exposure to airborne contaminants that are known to be hazardous to human health. The Clean Air Act (1990) or Clean Air Act amendments of 1990 authorized the use of market-based approaches such as emission trading to assist states in attaining and maintaining air quality for all criteria pollutants. EPA's subsequent interpretive rulings expressly allow owners of new sources to obtain emission credits from other companies that operate facilities located in the same air quality control region. To implement an emissions offset program, many states have developed regulations allowing sources to register their emissions reduction credits as ERCs that can be sold to companies required to offset emissions from new or modified sources. Brokerage companies typically handle sales between companies having surplus ERCs and those wanting to acquire such credits. All commonly accepted ERCs in the United States must meet each of five criteria before they can be certified by the relevant regulatory authority as an ERC. Namely, the emission reduction must be "real", "permanent" over the period of credit generation, "quantifiable", "enforceable", and "surplus" to emission reductions that are already needed to comply with an existing requirement (local, state, or Federal) or air quality plan. These criteria are intended to ensure that the emission reduction is a permanent reduction from the emissions that would otherwise be allowed to offset the permanent increase in emissions from the new or expanding source. Steps to create a MERC. The steps involved to create a MERC are as follows: Monetization of a MERC. The process of converting the mobile emissions reduction into a tradable commodity consists of converting the reduction or a portion of the reduction of emissions into at least one tradable credit, and marketing and monetizing the credit. This is followed by receiving information to identify a customer account, assigning the mobile emissions reduction to the customer account, calculating a MERC from the mobile emissions reduction, and crediting the MERC to the customer account. What follows is the exchanging of the MERC in the customer account for monetary assets this includes the following steps: Target pollutants of mobile emission reduction credits. At present, the pollutant may be selected from a group consisting of nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxides (CO), carbon dioxides (CO2), hydrocarbons (HC), sulfur oxides (SOx), particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The emissions reduction technology may be selected from a group consisting of alternative fuels, vehicle repairs, vehicle replacements, vehicle retrofits and hybrid engines. The mobile source may be selected from a group consisting of passenger cars, light trucks, large trucks, buses, motorcycles, off-road recreational vehicles, farm equipment, construction equipment, lawn and garden equipment, marine engines, aircraft, locomotives and water vessels.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=23571626

RealNetworks, Inc. is a provider of artificial intelligence and computer vision based products. RealNetworks was a pioneer in Internet streaming media delivery software and services. They are based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The company also provides subscription-based online entertainment services and mobile entertainment and messaging services. History. RealNetworks (then known as Progressive Networks) was founded in 1994 by Rob Glaser, an ex-Microsoft executive, and a management team including Phil Barrett, Andy Sharpless, and Stephen Buerkle. The original goal of the company was to provide a distribution channel for politically progressive content. It evolved into a technology venture to leverage the Internet as an alternative distribution medium for audio broadcasts. Progressive Networks became RealNetworks in September 1997. RealNetworks were pioneers in the streaming media markets and broadcast one of the earlier audio events over the Internet, a baseball game between the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners on September 5, 1995. They announced streaming video technology in 1997. According to some accounts, by 2000 more than 85% of streaming content on the Internet was in the Real format. Despite this success, problems arose because Real's primary business model depended upon the sale of streaming media server software, and Microsoft and Apple were giving those products away. As servers from Microsoft and Apple became more capable, Real's server sales inevitably eroded. On January 20, 2000, RealNetworks, Inc. filed an injunction against Streambox, Inc. regarding the aforementioned company's product designed to convert Real Audio (.rm) formatted files to other formats. On December 4, 2001, the company was to launch the first coordinated effort to sell and deliver music from major record labels over the Internet, part of a broader initiative by the company to develop subscription Internet services aimed at Web users with fast Internet connections. In 2002, a strategic alliance was formed between RealNetworks and Sony Corporation to expand collaboration. In October 2005, Microsoft agreed to pay RealNetworks $460 million to settle an antitrust lawsuit. In August 2003, RealNetworks acquired Listen.com's Rhapsody music service, and renamed it "RealRhapsody". It offered streaming music downloads for a monthly fee. In January 2004, RealNetworks announced the RealPlayer Music Store, featuring digital rights management (DRM) restricted music in the AAC file format. After some initial tries to push their own DRM scheme (named "Helix DRM") onto all device manufacturers with the Creative Zen Xtra and the Sansa e200r as the only existing compliant devices, they sparked controversy by introducing a technology called Harmony that allowed their music to play on iPods as well as Microsoft Windows Media Audio DRM-equipped devices using a "wrapper" that would convert Helix DRM into the two other target DRM schemes. The domain "real.com" attracted at least 67 million visitors annually by 2008, according to a Compete.com study. On April 6, 2010, Rhapsody was spun off from RealNetworks. In July 2013, RealNetworks acquired Slingo for $15.6 million. The company introduced a mobile phone app called Listen in April 2014 that plays custom ringtones to those calling the user's phone. Headquarters. RealNetworks has its headquarters in Seattle, Washington in the Home Plate Center building in SoDo across from T-Mobile Park, sharing the building with King5 and Logic 20/20 Consulting. Products and services. SAFR. Launched by RealNetworks on July 17, 2018, SAFR – Secure Accurate Facial Recognition, is a machine learning facial recognition platform. The SAFR platform was updated in 2020 with COVID-19 response features, including the ability to detect whether a person is wearing a mask and identify people wearing masks with 98.85 percent accuracy. On April 27, 2021, SAFR received a grant from the US Air Force to develop its AI-powered analytics for rescue missions, perimeter protection and domestic search operations. Kontxt. In 2017, RealNetworks launched Kontxt, a product that offers management of text messaging in mobile networks. It identifies the content of the message and sorts it into categories to determine which ones are more important, and prioritize message delivery. In March 2021, RealNetworks unveiled KONTXT for Voice to identify and stop scam robocalls. RealTimes (formerly RealPlayer Cloud). RealNetworks on September 24, 2013 launched RealPlayer Cloud, a service that adds the ability to share videos recorded on smartphones and tablets. RealPlayer Cloud ties into the existing RealPlayer, however it also has a Web app and apps for Android, iOS and Roku. The service has 2GB of free cloud storage and more storage for a monthly fee. It was renamed to RealTimes on May 19, 2015, with a new focus on creating and sharing "Stories"—video collages of users' personal photos and videos, set to background music. GameHouse. RealNetworks entered the computer game market in October 2001 with RealArcade, a PC game distribution application that allows users to play casual video games for free for 60 minutes, then decide if they want to purchase it. Many of the games were developed by GameHouse, which RealNetworks acquired for $35.6 million in 2004. In 2010, RealNetworks re-branded its games division under the name Gamehouse. It began focusing on social games, such as Facebook applets, and in 2013 acquired casual casino games company, Slingo, for $15.6 million. RealDVD. On September 30, 2008, RealNetworks launched a new product called RealDVD. The software allows any user to save a copy of a DVD movie they own. The company was later found to have violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and RealNetworks' contract with the DVD Copy Control Association, as the software also allowed anyone to save a movie they do not legally own. (See "RealNetworks, Inc. v. DVD Copy Control Ass'n, Inc."). The product's distribution was barred by a court injunction. Real Alternative. Real Alternative is a discontinued software bundle that allows users to play RealMedia files without installing RealPlayer. The last version, 2.02, was released on February 19, 2010. It included Media Player Classic. Beginning in 2010, RealNetworks sued Hilbrand Edskes, a 26-year-old Dutch webmaster for having inserted hyperlinks to Real Alternative on his site www.codecpack.nl. RealNetworks alleges that Real Alternative is a reverse engineered package. In November 2011, RealNetworks' case against Edskes was dismissed and RealNetworks was ordered to pay him €48,000 in damages. Details of the case and judgement have been published. The case was reopened in 2013, when further proof showed that Edskes was after all involved in creating and uploading RealNetworks. Helix. Helix is a suite of streaming media software and services intended for digital TV set-top boxes, mobile devices, as well as QuickTime, Flash and other programs. It includes the Helix open-source code and the Helix Universal Server, which hosts, distributes and manages digital rights for multimedia content. Helix competes with the Windows Media 9 Series from Microsoft, but has a greater emphasis on open-source. Helix was announced in July 2002. Support for mobile devices was added in November 2005. It was discontinued in October 2014. Subscription services. In 2000, one of the initial products, the download manager RealDownload, was already used for pushing small software, such as games, to subscribers' computers. On top of the subscription for RealDownload and using its RealVideo streaming technology, a service called GoldPass, including unlimited access for video snippets from ABC and movie previews, was offered to registered users for a monthly $10 fee. More content was added through deals with CBS for the reality show "Big Brother" and NBA basketball.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=6319249

Health at Every Size (HAES) is an approach to public health that seeks to de-emphasise weight loss as a health goal, and reduce stigma towards people who are overweight or obese. Proponents argue that traditional interventions focused on weight loss, such as dieting, do not reliably produce positive health outcomes, and that health is a result of lifestyle behaviors that are independent of body weight. History. Health at Every Size first appeared in the 1960s, advocating that the changing culture toward aesthetics and beauty standards had negative health and psychological repercussions to fat people. They believed that because the slim and fit body type had become the acceptable standard of attractiveness, fat people were going to great pains to lose weight, and that this was not, in fact, always healthy for the individual. They contend that some people are naturally a larger body type, and that in some cases losing a large amount of weight could in fact be extremely unhealthy for some. On November 4, 1967, Lew Louderback wrote an article called "More People Should Be Fat!" that appeared in a major national magazine, "The Saturday Evening Post". In the opinion piece, Louderback argued that: Bill Fabrey, a young engineer at the time, read the article and contacted Louderback a few months later in 1968. Fabrey helped Louderback research his subsequent book, "Fat Power", and Louderback supported Fabrey in founding the National Association to Aid Fat Americans (NAAFA) in 1969, a nonprofit human rights organization. NAAFA would subsequently change its name by the mid-1980s to the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. In the early 1980s, four books collectively put forward ideas related to Health At Every Size. In "Diets Don't Work" (1982), Bob Schwartz encouraged "intuitive eating", as did Molly Groger in "Eating Awareness Training" (1986). Those authors believed this would result in weight loss as a side effect. William Bennett and Joel Gurin's "The Dieter's Dilemma" (1982), and Janet Polivy and C. Peter Herman's "Breaking The Diet Habit" (1983) argued that everybody has a natural weight and set-point, and that dieting for weight loss does not work. According to Lindo Bacon, in "Health at Every Size" (2008), the basic premise of HAES is that "well-being and healthy habits are more important than any number on the scale." Emily Nagoski, in her book "Come as You Are" (2015)"," promoted the idea of Health at Every Size for improving women's self-confidence and sexual well-being. Science. Proponents claim that evidence from certain scientific studies has provided some rationale for a shift in focus in health management from weight loss to a weight-neutral approach in individuals who have a high risk of type 2 diabetes and/or symptoms of cardiovascular disease, and that a weight-inclusive approach focusing on health biomarkers, instead of weight-normative approaches focusing on weight loss alone, provides greater health improvements. There is high evidence that being overweight is associated with increased all-causes mortality, and that weight loss can improve several obesity-related health problems. A report from the American College of Cardiology found that with a variety of diets, weight loss is maximal at six months, after which slow weight regain is observed. Comparative reviews of different diets have largely found little evidence to recommend one diet over another and point to significant challenges in maintaining weight losses over the long-term. Stephan Rössner, an obesity researcher, argues that efforts targeting weight loss may cause rapid swings in size that inflict worse physical and psychological damage than obesity itself. A 2007 review of existing research on dieting concluded that it "does not lead to sustained weight loss in the majority of individuals" and that because "the majority of individuals who engage in diets tend to regain most of their lost weight, no diet can be recommended without considering the potential harms of weight cycling", which it identified as an avenue for future research, along with the (more promising) potential of exercise as a means to treat obesity. Overview of obesity. Obesity has been correlated with a wide variety of health problems. These problems range from congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, type 2 diabetes, infertility, birth defects, stroke, dementia, cancer, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and erectile dysfunction. A BMI greater than 30 is associated with twice the average risk of congestive heart failure. Obesity is associated with cardiovascular diseases including angina and myocardial infarction. A 2002 report concluded that 21% of ischemic heart disease is due to obesity, while a 2008 European consensus puts the number at 35%. Obesity has been cited as a contributing factor to approximately 100,000–400,000 deaths in the United States per year (including increased morbidity in car accidents). There is no evidence to support the view that some obese people eat little yet gain weight due to a slow metabolism; on average, obese people have a greater energy expenditure than their healthy-weight counterparts due to the energy required to maintain an increased body mass. Criticism. Amanda Sainsbury-Salis, an Australian medical researcher, calls for a rethink of the HAES concept, arguing it is not possible to be and remain truly healthy at every size, and suggests that a HAES focus may encourage people to ignore increasing weight, which her research states is easiest to lose soon after gaining. She does, however, note that it is possible to have healthy behaviours that provide health benefits at a wide variety of body sizes. David L. Katz, a prominent public health professor at Yale, wrote an article in the Huffington Post entitled "Why I Can't Quite Be Okay With 'Okay at Any Size'". He does not explicitly name HAES as its topic, but discusses similar concepts. While he applauds the confrontation and combating of anti-obesity bias, his opinion is that a continued focus on being 'okay at any size' may normalize ill-health and prevent people from taking steps to reduce obesity. In May 2017, scientists at the European Congress on Obesity expressed scepticism about the possibility of being "fat but fit". A twenty-year observational study of 3.5 million participants showed that "fat but fit" people are still at higher risk of a number of diseases and adverse health effects than the general population. Using data from 527,662 working adults in Spain, a January 2021 study in the "European Journal of Preventive Cardiology" found that an active lifestyle cannot cancel the negative effects on cardiovascular health caused by obesity. Study author Alejandro Lucia stated:

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Swan Lake ( ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failure, it is now one of the most popular ballets of all time. The scenario, initially in two acts, was fashioned from Russian and German folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger (Václav Reisinger). The ballet was premiered by the Bolshoi Ballet on at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Although it is presented in many different versions, most ballet companies base their stagings both choreographically and musically on the 1895 revival of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, first staged for the Imperial Ballet on 15 January 1895, at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. For this revival, Tchaikovsky's score was revised by the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatre's chief conductor and composer Riccardo Drigo. History. Origins of the ballet. There is no evidence to prove who wrote the original libretto, or where the idea for the plot came from. Russian and German folk tales have been proposed as possible sources, including "The White Duck" and "The Stolen Veil" by Johann Karl August Musäus, but both those tales differ significantly from the ballet. One theory is that the original choreographer, Julius Reisinger, who was a Bohemian (and therefore likely to be familiar with "The Stolen Veil)", created the story. Another theory is that it was written by Vladimir Petrovich Begichev, director of the Moscow Imperial Theatres at the time, possibly with Vasily Geltser, danseur of the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre (a surviving copy of the libretto bears his name). Since the first published libretto does not correspond with Tchaikovsky's music in many places, one theory is that the first published version was written by a journalist after viewing initial rehearsals (new opera and ballet productions were always reported in the newspapers, along with their respective scenarios). Some contemporaries of Tchaikovsky recalled the composer taking great interest in the life story of Bavarian King Ludwig II, whose life had supposedly been marked by the sign of Swan and could have been the prototype of the dreamer Prince Siegfried. Begichev commissioned the score of "Swan Lake" from Tchaikovsky in May 1875 for 800 rubles. Tchaikovsky worked with only a basic outline from Julius Reisinger of the requirements for each dance. However, unlike the instructions for the scores of "The Sleeping Beauty" and "The Nutcracker", no written instruction is known to have survived. Tchaikovsky's influences. From around the time of the turn of the 19th century until the beginning of the 1890s, scores for ballets were almost always written by composers known as "specialists," who were highly skilled at scoring the light, decorative, melodious, and rhythmically clear music that was at that time in vogue for ballet. Tchaikovsky studied the music of "specialists" such as the Italian Cesare Pugni and the Austrian Ludwig Minkus, before setting to work on "Swan Lake". Tchaikovsky had a rather negative opinion of the "specialist" ballet music until he studied it in detail, being impressed by the nearly limitless variety of infectious melodies their scores contained. Tchaikovsky most admired the ballet music of such composers as Léo Delibes, Adolphe Adam, and later, Riccardo Drigo. He would later write to his protégé, the composer Sergei Taneyev, "I listened to the Delibes ballet "Sylvia" ... what charm, what elegance, what wealth of melody, rhythm, and harmony. I was ashamed, for if I had known of this music then, I would not have written "Swan Lake"." Tchaikovsky most admired Adam's 1844 score for "Giselle", which used the "Leitmotif" technique: associating certain themes with certain characters or moods, a technique he would use in "Swan Lake", and later, "The Sleeping Beauty". Tchaikovsky drew on previous compositions for his "Swan Lake" score. According to two of Tchaikovsky's relatives – his nephew Yuri Lvovich Davydov and his niece Anna Meck-Davydova – the composer had earlier created a little ballet called "The Lake of the Swans" at their home in 1871. This ballet included the famous "Leitmotif", the "Swan's Theme" or "Song of the Swans". He also made use of material from "The Voyevoda", an opera he had abandoned in 1868. The "Grand adage" (a.k.a. the "Love Duet") from the second scene of "Swan Lake" was fashioned from an aria from that opera, as was the "Valse des fiancées" from the third scene. Another number which included a theme from "The Voyevoda" was the "Entr'acte" of the fourth scene. By April 1876 the score was complete, and rehearsals began. Soon Reisinger began setting certain numbers aside that he dubbed "undanceable." Reisinger even began choreographing dances to other composers' music, but Tchaikovsky protested and his pieces were reinstated. Although the two artists were required to collaborate, each seemed to prefer working as independently of the other as possible. Composition process. Tchaikovsky's excitement with "Swan Lake" is evident from the speed with which he composed: commissioned in the spring of 1875, the piece was created within one year. His letters to Sergei Taneyev from August 1875 indicate, however, that it was not only his excitement that compelled him to create it so quickly but his wish to finish it as soon as possible, so as to allow him to start on an opera. Respectively, he created scores of the first three numbers of the ballet, then the orchestration in the fall and winter, and was still struggling with the instrumentation in the spring. By April 1876, the work was complete. Tchaikovsky's mention of a draft suggests the presence of some sort of abstract but no such draft has ever been seen. Tchaikovsky wrote various letters to friends expressing his longstanding desire to work with this type of music, and his excitement concerning his current stimulating, albeit laborious task. Performance history. Moscow première (world première) St. Petersburg première Other notable productions Original interpreters Original production of 1877. The première on Friday, 4 March 1877, was given as a benefit performance for the ballerina Pelageya Karpakova (also known as Polina Karpakova), who performed the role of Odette, with "première danseur" Victor Gillert as Prince Siegfried. Karpakova may also have danced the part Odile, although it is believed the ballet originally called for two different dancers. It is now common practice for the same ballerina to dance both Odette and Odile. The Russian ballerina Anna Sobeshchanskaya was originally cast as Odette, but was replaced when a governing official in Moscow complained about her, claiming she had accepted jewelry from him, only to then marry a fellow danseur and sell the pieces for cash. The première was not well received. Though there were a few critics who recognised the virtues of the score, most considered it to be far too complicated for ballet. It was labelled "too noisy, too 'Wagnerian' and too symphonic." The critics also thought Reisinger's choreography was "unimaginative and altogether unmemorable." The German origins of the story were "treated with suspicion while the tale itself was regarded as 'stupid' with unpronounceable surnames for its characters." Karpakova was a secondary soloist and "not particularly convincing." Yet the fact remains (and is too often omitted in accounts of this initial production) that this staging survived for six years with a total of 41 performances – many more than several other ballets from the repertoire of this theatre. Tchaikovsky pas de deux 1877. On 26 April 1877, Anna Sobeshchanskaya made her début as Odette/Odile in "Swan Lake", and from the start, she was completely dissatisfied with the ballet. Sobeshchanskaya asked Marius Petipa—"Premier Maître de Ballet" of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres—to choreograph a "pas de deux" to replace the "pas de six" in the third act (for a ballerina to request a supplemental "pas" or variation was standard practice in 19th-century ballet, and often these "custom-made" dances were the legal property of the ballerina they were composed for). Petipa created the "pas de deux" to music by Ludwig Minkus, ballet composer to the St Petersburg Imperial Theatres. The piece was a standard "pas de deux classique" consisting of a short "entrée", the "grand adage", a variation for each dancer individually, and a "coda". Tchaikovsky was angered by this change, stating that whether the ballet was good or bad, he alone should be held responsible for its music. He agreed to compose a new "pas de deux", but soon a problem arose: Sobeshchanskaya wanted to retain Petipa's choreography. Tchaikovsky agreed to compose a "pas de deux" that would match to such a degree, the ballerina would not even be required to rehearse. Sobeshchanskaya was so pleased with Tchaikovsky's new music, she requested he compose an additional variation, which he did. Until 1953 this "pas de deux" was thought to be lost, until a repétiteur score was accidentally found in the archives of the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre, among orchestral parts for Alexander Gorsky's revival of "Le Corsaire" (Gorsky had included the piece in his version of "Le Corsaire" staged in 1912). In 1960 George Balanchine choreographed a "pas de deux" to this music for Violette Verdy and Conrad Ludlow, performed at the City Center of Music and Drama in New York City as "Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux", as it is still known and performed today. Subsequent productions 1879–1894. Julius Reisinger's successor as balletmaster was Joseph Peter Hansen. Hansen made considerable efforts to salvage "Swan Lake" and on 13 January 1880 he presented a new production of the ballet for his own benefit performance. The part of Odette/Odile was danced by Evdokia Kalmykova, a student of the Moscow Imperial Ballet School, with Alfred Bekefi as Prince Siegfried. This production was better-received than the original, but by no means a great success. Hansen presented another version of "Swan Lake" on 28 October 1882, again with Kalmykova as Odette/Odile. For this production Hansen arranged a "Grand Pas" for the ballroom scene which he titled "La Cosmopolitana". This was taken from the European section of the "Grand Pas d'action" known as "The Allegory of the Continents" from Marius Petipa's 1875 ballet "The Bandits" to the music of Ludwig Minkus. Hansen's version of "Swan Lake" was given only four times, the final performance being on 2 January 1883, and soon the ballet was dropped from the repertory altogether. In all, "Swan Lake" was performed 41 times between its première and the final performance of 1883 – a rather lengthy run for a ballet that was so poorly received upon its première. Hansen became Balletmaster to the Alhambra Theatre in London and on 1 December 1884 he presented a one-act ballet titled "The Swans", which was inspired by the second scene of "Swan Lake". The music was composed by the Alhambra Theatre's "chef d'orchestre" Georges Jacoby. The second scene of "Swan Lake" was then presented on 21 February in Prague by the Ballet of the National Theatre in a version mounted by the Balletmaster August Berger. The ballet was given during two concerts which were conducted by Tchaikovsky. The composer noted in his diary that he experienced "a moment of absolute happiness" when the ballet was performed. Berger's production followed the 1877 libretto, though the names of Prince Siegfried and Benno were changed to Jaroslav and Zdeňek, with the rôle of Benno danced by a female dancer "en travestie". The rôle of Prince Siegfried was danced by Berger himself with the ballerina Giulietta Paltriniera-Bergrova as Odette. Berger's production was only given eight performances and was even planned for production at the Fantasia Garden in Moscow in 1893, but it never materialised. Petipa–Ivanov–Drigo revival of 1895. During the late 1880s and early 1890s, Petipa and Vsevolozhsky discussed with Tchaikovsky the possibility of reviving Swan Lake. However, Tchaikovsky died on 6 November 1893, just when plans to revive "Swan Lake" were beginning to come to fruition. It remains uncertain whether Tchaikovsky was prepared to revise the music for this revival. Whatever the case, as a result of Tchaikovsky's death, Drigo was forced to revise the score himself, after receiving approval from Tchaikovsky's younger brother, Modest. There are major differences between Drigo's and Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake score. Today, it is Riccardo Drigo's revision of Tchaikovsky's score, and not Tchaikovsky's original score of 1877, that most ballet companies use. In February 1894, two memorial concerts planned by Vsevolozhsky were given in honor of Tchaikovsky. The production included the second act of "Swan Lake", choreographed by Lev Ivanov, Second Balletmaster to the Imperial Ballet. Ivanov's choreography for the memorial concert was unanimously hailed as wonderful. The revival of "Swan Lake" was planned for Pierina Legnani's benefit performance in the 1894–1895 season. The death of Tsar Alexander III on 1 November 1894 and the ensuing period of official mourning brought all ballet performances and rehearsals to a close for some time, and as a result all efforts could be concentrated on the pre-production of the full revival of "Swan Lake". Ivanov and Petipa collaborated on the production, with Ivanov retaining his dances for the second act while choreographing the fourth, with Petipa staging the first and third acts. Modest Tchaikovsky was called upon to make changes to the ballet's libretto, including the character of Odette changing from a fairy swan-maiden into a cursed mortal woman, the ballet's villain changing from Odette's stepmother to the magician von Rothbart, and the ballet's finale: instead of the lovers simply drowning at the hand of Odette's stepmother as in the original 1877 scenario, Odette commits suicide by drowning herself, with Prince Siegfried choosing to die as well, rather than live without her, and soon the lovers' spirits are reunited in an "apotheosis". Aside from the revision of the libretto the ballet was changed from four acts to three—with act 2 becoming act 1, scene 2. All was ready by the beginning of 1895 and the ballet had its première on Friday, 27 January. Pierina Legnani danced Odette/Odile, with Pavel Gerdt as Prince Siegfried, Alexei Bulgakov as Rothbart, and Alexander Oblakov as Benno. Most of the reviews in the St. Petersburg newspapers were positive. Unlike the première of "The Sleeping Beauty", "Swan Lake" did not dominate the repertory of the Mariinsky Theatre in its first season. It was given only sixteen performances between the première and the 1895–1896 season, and was not performed at all in 1897. Even more surprising, the ballet was performed only four times in 1898 and 1899. The ballet belonged solely to Legnani until she left St. Petersburg for her native Italy in 1901. After her departure, the ballet was taken over by Mathilde Kschessinskaya, who was as much celebrated in the rôle as was her Italian predecessor. Later productions. Throughout the performance history of "Swan Lake", the 1895 edition has served as the version on which most stagings have been based. Nearly every balletmaster or choreographer who has re-staged Swan Lake has made modifications to the ballet's scenario, while still maintaining much of the traditional choreography for the dances, which is regarded as virtually sacrosanct. Likewise, over time the rôle of Siegfried has become more prominent, due largely to the evolution of ballet technique. In 1940, San Francisco Ballet became the first American company to stage a complete production of "Swan Lake". The enormously successful production starred Lew Christensen as Prince Siegfried, Jacqueline Martin as Odette, and Janet Reed as Odile. Willam Christensen based his choreography on the Petipa–Ivanov production, turning to San Francisco's large population of Russian émigrés, headed by Princess and Prince Vasili Alexandrovich of Russia, to help him ensure that the production succeeded in its goal of preserving Russian culture in San Francisco. Several notable productions have diverged from the original and its 1895 revival: Instrumentation. Swan Lake is scored for the typical late 19th-century large orchestra: Roles. Variations to characters. By 1895, Benno von Sommerstern had become just "Benno," and Odette "Queen of the Swans." Also Baron von Stein, his wife, and Freiherr von Schwarzfels and his wife were no longer identified on the program. The sovereign or ruling Princess is often rendered "Queen Mother." The character of Rothbart (sometimes spelled Rotbart) has been open to many interpretations. The reason for his curse upon Odette is unknown; several versions, including two feature films, have suggested reasons, but none is typically explained by the ballet. He is rarely portrayed in human form, except in act 3. He is usually shown as an owl-like creature. In most productions, the couple's sacrifice results in his destruction. However, there are versions in which he is triumphant. Yury Grigorovich's version, which has been danced for several decades by the Bolshoi Ballet, is noted for including both endings: Rothbart was defeated in the original 1969 version, in line with Soviet-era expectations of an upbeat conclusion, but in the 2001 revision, Rothbart plays a wicked game of fate with Siegfried, which he wins at the end, causing Siegfried to lose everything. In the second American Ballet Theatre production of "Swan Lake", he is portrayed by two dancers: a young, handsome one who lures Odette to her doom in the prologue, and a reptilian creature. In this version, the lovers' suicide inspires the rest of Rothbart's imprisoned swans to turn on him and overcome his spell. Odile, Rothbart's daughter usually wears jet black (though in the 1895 production, she did not), and appears only in act 3. In most modern productions, she is portrayed as Odette's exact double (though the resemblance is because of Rothbart's magic), and therefore Siegfried cannot be blamed for believing her to be Odette. There is a suggestion that in the original production, Odette and Odile were danced by two different ballerinas. This is also the case in some avant garde productions. Synopsis. "Swan Lake" is generally presented in either four acts, four scenes (primarily outside Russia and Eastern Europe) or three acts, four scenes (primarily in Russia and Eastern Europe). The biggest difference of productions all over the world is that the ending, originally tragic, is now sometimes altered to a happy ending. Prologue. Some productions include a prologue that shows how Odette first meets Rothbart, who turns Odette into a swan. Act 1. "A magnificent park before a palace" [Scène: Allegro giusto] Prince Siegfried is celebrating his birthday with his tutor, friends and peasants [Waltz]. The revelries are interrupted by Siegfried's mother, the Queen [Scène: Allegro moderato], who is concerned about her son's carefree lifestyle. She tells him that he must choose a bride at the royal ball the following evening (some productions include the presentation of some possible candidates). Siegfried is upset that he cannot marry for love. His friend Benno and the tutor try to lift his troubled mood. As evening falls ["Sujet"], Benno sees a flock of swans flying overhead and suggests they go on a hunt [Finale I]. Siegfried and his friends take their crossbows and set off in pursuit of the swans. Act 2. "A lakeside clearing in a forest by the ruins of a chapel. A moonlit night." Siegfried has become separated from his friends. He arrives at the lakeside clearing, just as a flock of swans land [Scène. Moderato]. He aims his crossbow [Scène. Allegro moderato], but freezes when one of them transforms into a beautiful maiden, Odette [Scène. Moderato]. At first, she is terrified of Siegfried. When he promises not to harm her, she explains that she and her companions are victims of a spell cast by the evil owl-like sorcerer Rothbart. By day they are turned into swans and only at night, by the side of the enchanted lake – created from the tears of Odette's mother – do they return to human form. The spell can only be broken if one who has never loved before swears to love Odette forever. Rothbart suddenly appears [Scène. Allegro vivo]. Siegfried threatens to kill him but Odette intercedes – if Rothbart dies before the spell is broken, it can never be undone. As Rothbart disappears, the swan maidens fill the clearing [Scène: Allegro, Moderato assai quasi andante]. Siegfried breaks his crossbow, and sets about winning Odette's trust as the two fall in love. But as dawn arrives, the evil spell draws Odette and her companions back to the lake and they are turned into swans again. Act 3. "An opulent hall in the palace" Guests arrive at the palace for a costume ball. Six princesses are presented to the prince [Entrance of the Guests and Waltz], as candidates for marriage. Rothbart arrives in disguise [Scène: Allegro, Allegro giusto] with his daughter, Odile, who is transformed to look like Odette. Though the princesses try to attract the prince with their dances [Pas de six], Siegfried has eyes only for Odile. [Scène: Allegro, Tempo di valse, Allegro vivo] Odette appears at the castle window and attempts to warn Siegfried, but he does not see her. He then proclaims to the court that he will marry Odile before Rothbart shows him a magical vision of Odette. Grief-stricken and realizing his mistake (he vowed only to love Odette), Siegfried hurries back to the lake. Act 4. "By the lakeside" Odette is distraught. The swan-maidens try to comfort her. Siegfried returns to the lake and makes a passionate apology. She forgives him, but his betrayal cannot be undone. Rather than remain a swan forever, Odette chooses to die. Siegfried chooses to die with her and they leap into the lake, where they will stay together forever. This breaks Rothbart's spell over the swan maidens, causing him to lose his power over them and he dies. In an apotheosis, the swan maidens, who transform to regular maidens, watch as Siegfried and Odette ascend into the Heavens together, forever united in love. 1877 libretto synopsis. Act 1: Prince Siegfried, his friends, and a group of peasants are celebrating the Prince's coming of age. Siegfried's mother arrives to inform him she wishes for him to marry soon so she may make sure he does not disgrace their family line by his marriage. She has organised a ball where Siegfried is to choose his bride from among the daughters of the nobility. After the celebration, Siegfried and his friend, Benno, spot a flock of flying swans and decide to hunt them. Act 2: Siegfried and Benno track the swans to a lake, but they vanish. A woman wearing a crown appears and meets the two men. She tells them her name is Odette and she was one of the swans they were hunting. She tells them her story: Odette's mother, a good fairy, had married a knight, but she died and the knight remarried. Odette's stepmother was a witch who wanted to kill her, but her grandfather saved her. Odette's grandfather had cried so much over the death of Odette's mother, he created the lake with his tears. Odette and her companions live in the lake with Odette's grandfather, and can transform themselves into swans whenever they wish. Odette's stepmother still wants to kill her and stalks her in the form of an owl, but Odette has a crown which protects her from harm. When Odette gets married, the witch will lose the power to harm her. Siegfried falls in love with Odette but Odette fears the witch will ruin their happiness. Act 3: Several young noblewomen dance at Siegfried's ball, but the Prince refuses to marry any of them. Baron von Rothbart and his daughter, Odile, arrive. Siegfried thinks Odile looks like Odette, but Benno doesn't agree. Siegfried dances with Odile as he grows more and more enamored with her, and eventually agrees to marry her. At that moment, Rothbart transforms into a demon, Odile laughs, and a white swan wearing a crown appears in the window. The Prince runs out of the castle. Act 4: In tears, Odette tells her friends Siegfried did not keep his vow of love. Seeing Siegfried is coming, Odette's friends leave and urge her to go with them, but Odette wants to see Siegfried one last time. A storm begins. Siegfried enters and begs Odette for forgiveness. Odette refuses and attempts to leave. Siegfried snatches the crown from her head and throws it in the lake, saying "Willing or unwilling, you will always remain with me!" The owl flies overhead, carrying away the crown. "What have you done? I am dying!" Odette says, and falls into Siegfried's arms. The lake rises from the storm and drowns Odette and Siegfried. The storm quiets, and a group of swans appears on the lake. Alternative endings. Many different endings exist, ranging from romantic to tragic. Structure. The score used in this résumé is Tchaikovsky's score as he originally composed it (including later additions of the original 1877 production). The score as listed here is different from the score as revised by Riccardo Drigo for the revival of Petipa and Ivanov that is still used to one extent or another by most ballet companies today. The titles for each number are taken from the original published score. Some of the numbers are titled simply as musical indications, those that are not are translated from their original French titles. Adaptations and references. Virtual world adaptations. In 2014 the Little Princess Ballet Academy (LPBA) performed the entire Swan Lake in "Second Life". The adaption follows the original, but some parts like the "pas de deux" were not possible to perform in "Second Life" and has been changed. All parts are played by individual avatars. Selected discography. Audio Video References. Source External links. Background Video recordings Scores

inaugural business from the States

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=6635035

A not-for-profit organisation, the European Language Resources Association ("ELRA") is established under the law of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Its seat is in Luxembourg and its headquarters in Paris (France). Activities. Since its founding in 1995, the European Language Resources Association has been a conduit for the distribution of speech, written, and terminology language resources (LRs) for human language technology (HLT), a key component of information society technologies (IST) In order to do so, a number of technical and logistic, commercial (prices, fees, royalties), legal (licensing, intellectual property rights, management), and information dissemination issues had to be addressed. ELRA broadening its objectives and responsibilities towards the HLT community over the years, and is now also involved in the production, or commissioning of the production, of language resources through a number of initiatives, and actively committed to the evaluation of language-engineering tools as well as to the identification of new resources. The set up of the identification number system ISLRN, endorsed by NLP12 in 2013, is the most recent initiative led by ELDA to enhance the identification of language resources and their citation in publications. Every other year, ELRA organizes a major conference, the International Language Resources and Evaluation Conference (LREC). Mission. The mission of the Association is to promote language resources and evaluation for the Human Language Technology sector in all their forms and their uses, in a European context. Consequently, the goals are: to coordinate and carry out identification, production, validation, distribution, standardisation of languages resources, as well as support for evaluation of systems, products, tools, etc. Information Dissemination is also part of ELRA's missions which is carried through both the organisation of the conference LREC and the Language Resources and Evaluation Journal edited by Springer. ELRA Board. Current members of the board of ELRA are: Antonio Zampolli Prize. The ELRA Board has created a prize to honour the memory of its first president, Professor , a pioneer and visionary scientist who was internationally recognized in the field of computational linguistics and Human Language Technologies (HLT). He also contributed much through the establishment of ELRA and the LREC conference. To reflect Antonio Zampolli’s specific interest in our field, the Prize is awarded to individuals whose work lies within the areas of Language Resources and Language Technology Evaluation with acknowledged contributions to their advancement. So far, the Antonio Zampolli Prize was awarded to: ELDA (Evaluations and Language Resources Distribution Agency). To handle every issues related to the association affairs, ELDA, Evaluations & Language resources Distribution Agency, was created, as ELRA operational body. ELDA is responsible for the development and the execution of ELRA’s strategies and plans, and handles issues related to the distribution of language resources.

big seminar

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=13018983

The Outer Pennine Ring is an English canal ring which crosses the Pennines between Manchester, Leeds and Castleford. Its route follows parts of eight canals, and includes the longest canal tunnel in England. The ring was completed in 2001, with the opening of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. Much of the route is shared with the North Pennine Ring, which crosses the Pennines by a different route on the southern leg. History. The concept of a canal ring was created in 1965, as part of a campaign by the Inland Waterways Association to prevent the complete closure of the Rochdale Canal. Initially the canal was described as part of the "Cheshire Canal Ring", which was soon shortened to the "Cheshire Ring". It described a series of interconnecting canals which could be navigated, usually in a week or two, without having to cover any section twice, and has subsequently been applied to several other such routes. The Outer Pennine Ring is a recent addition, as it was only with the restoration of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 2001 that the ring became a possibility. The term was coined by enthusiasts as an adjunct to the South Pennine Ring, devised as a marketing tool by British Waterways. Route. The Outer Pennine Ring covers eight canals. Working clockwise from Castlefield Junction in Manchester these are: Bridgewater Canal. Beginning at Castlefield Junction, the Bridgewater Canal heads south-east through the urban expanse of Manchester. There are no locks on this section of canal, although after Pomona Dock is reached, which leads to a lock through which access can be gained to the Manchester Ship Canal. After , the canal arrives at Waters Meeting, a junction where the main line turns to the left and the Stretford and Leigh Branch turns to the right. The ring continues along the branch for to arrive at Leigh, where there is an end-on junction with the Leeds and Liverpool Leigh Branch. On its way, the Barton Swing Aqueduct carries it across the Manchester Ship Canal. The structure was designed by Sir Edward Leader Williams in the 1890s, and allows a section of the canal, weighing 1450 tons, to move out of the way of ships using the ship canal. The Bridgewater Canal is owned by the Manchester Ship Canal, although boats with a British Waterways licence may use it for up to seven days without further payment. Leigh Branch. The Leigh Branch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal runs for , mostly through a landscape which has been severely affected by mining. For most of its length, the canal is on top of an embankment, which has been repeatedly built up with mining waste as the land on either side has been affected by subsidence. The region has been restored as parkland, and now offers a haven for wildlife. There was originally a lock at Plank Lane and another two at the Dover Lock Inn, but all three have been removed and replaced by the two Poolstock locks, situated just before the branch joins the main line at Wigan. At Wigan Junction, the main line to Liverpool turns to the left, while the ring turns to the right and follows the main line to Leeds. Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Almost immediately after the junction, 21 locks raise the level of the canal by . At the top of the flight is a T-junction. This section of canal was built by the Lancaster Canal, but was never connected to the northern section except by a tramway. The right hand branch is just a stub, and the ring turns to the left. The pound is level for , and the next locks start where the Lancaster Canal Walton Summit Branch turned to the north. The seven Johnson's Hill Locks raise the level of the canal by another . As the canal continues to the east, there is a mix of industrial development, green fields and wild moorlands. Above Blackburn, the route twists tortuously to negotiate a series of hills. On the outskirts of Burnley, the canal passes through the Gannow Tunnel, before turning to the north. At Barrowford, another flight of seven locks raise the canal by to the summit level. Barrowford Reservoir holds surplus water from the summit level. Soon, Foulridge Tunnel burrows through the hillside for . It was the scene of a famous incident in 1912 when a cow fell into the canal, and proceeded to swim through to Foulridge, where it was given alcohol to revive it. The summit is only level for , before the descent towards Leeds begins. Above Gargrave, the canal crosses the River Aire, and the canal follows the river valley all the way to Leeds. At Skipton, the canal is joined by the short Springs Branch or Thanet Canal, named after the Earl of Thanet who built it and who owned Skipton Castle, which overlooks it. The canal runs level for from Gargrave to Bingley, after which two staircases of locks, the Bingley Five Rise and the Bingley Three Rise lower the level by . Shortly afterwards, the canal crosses the Aire, and remains to its south for the rest of its route. Several more locks, grouped in twos and threes, with some single ones, continue to lower the level until Leeds is reached, where River Lock connects the canal to the River Aire and the Aire and Calder Navigation. Between Wigan junction and Leeds, the canal covers and there are 85 locks, 41 to the west of the summit and 44 to the east. Aire and Calder Navigation. The Aire and Calder Navigation is on a different scale to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, with locks , and because it is a river navigation, there is a flow and the locks are accompanied by weirs. It is still used by 600-tonne tankers and barges carrying sand, which create considerably more wash than a narrowboat, and in times of heavy rainfall, the navigation may be closed, with flood gates closed, until the volume of water drops to a safe level again. The locks are mechanically operated, but although there are lock-keepers, they tend to move from lock to lock to assist commercial boats, and those using the river for pleasure can operate the locks themselves. At Knostrop, the navigation enters its own channel, with the river to the north, and it remains separate for until the two rejoin at Lemonroyd. Much of the route is through a mining landscape, with spoil heaps and flooded pits. Near Lemonroyd, there was a disastrous failure of the river bank in 1988, which resulted in the river emptying into the St Aidens opencast colliery. A little further on, the Leeds arm arrives at Castleford Junction, with three other routes. Straight ahead leads to Castleford weir, and no boats should enter that section. To the left is a flood lock and the route to Goole. The ring turns to the right, along the Wakefield branch, which is effectively a canalisation of the River Calder. The distance from Leeds to Castleford is and there are six locks, although Knostrop Flood Lock normally has both sets of gates open. The first lock on the Calder section is at Woodnock, and an idea of the improvements made over the years can be obtained by comparing its size to that of the disused Fairies and Altofts locks, on a branch to the south. At Stanley Ferry, two aqueducts carry the navigation over the Calder, the newer one of which was opened in 1981 to prevent damage to the older one by large barges. After and four locks, the navigation arrives at Fall Ing Lock, the junction between the Aire and Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation. Calder and Hebble Navigation. The Calder and Hebble navigation is another river navigation, which saw commercial coal traffic until 1981, when deliveries to Thornhill Power Station by water ceased. The first three locks, up to Broad Cut Low Lock, were enlarged as a result on co-operation with the Aire and Calder Navigation, and are . Broad Cut Top Lock and those above it are still sized for Yorkshire Keels, and are only . It is possible to negotiate the locks is a narrowboat, but the boat has to fit across the lock diagonally to do so. The locks also require a handspike to open the paddles. Most of the navigation is in artificial cuts, with brief sections where it rejoins the river. At Dewsbury, the short Dewsbury Arm gives access to Saville Town Basin. Beyond the junction, the route is isolated from the town as it is in a deep cutting. At Battyeford, there is a large sewage treatment works, and the navigation turns to the left to pass under a railway bridge. This is followed by Cooper Bridge Lock and Cooper Bridge Flood Gates, after which is the junction with the Huddersfield Broad Canal. The route of the North Pennine Ring continues straight ahead along the Calder and Hebble; the Outer Pennine Ring makes a U-turn to the left to reach Huddersfield. The distance between Fall Ing lock and the junction is , and the section contains 12 locks, five flood locks and two sets of flood gates. Huddersfield Broad Canal. There are nine locks on the next relatively short section of just from the junction to Apsley Basin. The locks are again keel-sized, and the canal was completed in 1780. Apsley Basin developed once the Huddersfield Narrow Canal opened, as the narrow boats were too long to continue along the Broad Canal, and so goods had to be transhipped. A compromise was reached with the introduction of West Riding narrowboats, which were short enough to work through both systems. Near the basin is the oldest surviving warehouse in the country, dating from before 1778. Commercial traffic ceased in 1953, but the canal remained open, and has seen increased traffic since the re-opening of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. Huddersfield Narrow Canal. Construction of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal began in 1794, and parts of it were open by 1797, but it was not until 1811 that it was fully open, as a result of delays in building the longest canal tunnel in Britain at Standedge. Although only long, it includes 74 locks, 42 to the east of the tunnel and 32 to the west. The ascent from Huddersfield through Linthwaite and Slaithwaite to the tunnel mouth at Marsden is relentless, with over 5 locks per mile (3 locks per km). The route follows the Colne Valley, and is shadowed by a railway which runs just to the north of the canal. There is an interpretation centre near the tunnel mouth, and there are two unused single-track railway tunnels and a double-track railway tunnel as well as the canal tunnel. Passage through the tunnel has to be booked in advance, and is only available on certain days. The ends of the canal tunnel were adjusted with the construction of the railway tunnels, and it is currently long. The journey through it takes around three hours, and convoys of up to four boats can pass in each direction on days when the tunnel is operational. To the west of the tunnel, the canal follows the valley of the River Tame, and is again shadowed by the railway. To the south of Mossley is Scout Tunnel, just long, and a little further on, the canal is straddled by an electricity pylon. The section through Stalybridge was culverted in 1947, but now threads its way through busy streets. Just below the first lock, the canal passes through the Asda Tunnel, to arrive at Dukinfield Junction and the Portland Basin, where it joins the Peak Forest Canal and the Ashton Canal. The reopening of the canal in 2001 provided the final link in the Outer Pennine Ring. Ashton Canal. The Ashton Canal was opened shortly after 1792, and was unusual in the north-west, as it was built as a narrow canal, suitable for boats , whereas most of the neighbouring canals were suitable for wide-beam boats. It was effectively unnavigable by 1962, but re-opening was spearheaded by the Peak Forest Canal Society and the Inland Waterways Association, and with assistance from British Waterways and local councils, it re-opened in 1974. The canal is long, has 18 locks, and passes through a dense urban landscape. Between locks 10 and 11 is a short spur which was once the start of the Stockport Branch Canal, which ran on the level for to Stockport. At Ducie Street Junction, the canal joins the Rochdale Canal. Rochdale Canal. The final section of the Outer Pennine Ring follows the lower part of the Rochdale Canal. Although authorised in the same year as the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, it was completed in 1804, some 7 years earlier. The North Pennine Ring, which followed the Calder and Hebble Navigation above Cooper Bridge, continues along the main line of the Rochdale Canal above Ducie Street Junction and rejoins the Outer Pennine Ring at this point. Most of the canal was closed in 1952, but the final section remained open, to provide a link between the Bridgewater Canal and the Ashton Canal. There are nine locks on this stretch, which passes through urban Manchester, to arrive at Castlefield Junction on the Bridgewater Canal, completing the ring.

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12999-2

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Structural dampness is the presence of unwanted moisture in the structure of a building, either the result of intrusion from outside or condensation from within the structure. A high proportion of damp problems in buildings are caused by ambient climate dependent factors of condensation and rain penetration. Capillary penetration of fluid from the ground up through concrete or masonry is known as "rising damp" and is governed by the shape and porosity of the construction materials through which this evaporation limited capillary penetration takes place. Structural damp, regardless of the mechanisms through which it takes place, is exacerbated by higher levels of humidity. Symptoms. Dampness tends to cause secondary damage to a building. The unwanted moisture enables the growth of various fungi in wood, causing rot or mould health issues and may eventually lead to sick building syndrome. Plaster and paint deteriorate and wallpaper loosens. Stains, from the water, salts and from mould, mar surfaces. The highest airborne mould concentrations are found in buildings where significant mould infestation has occurred, usually as a result of severe water intrusion or flood damage. Moulds can grow on almost any surface and occur where there is a lot of moisture from structural problems such as leaky roofs or high humidity levels. Airborne mold concentrations have the potential to be inhaled and can have health effects. Externally, mortar may crumble and salt stains may appear on the walls. Steel and iron fasteners rust. It may also cause a poor indoor air quality and respiratory illness in occupants. In extreme cases, mortar or plaster may fall away from the affected wall. Health effects of structural damp. Health concerns around mould include infections, allergenic or immunological illness, and nonallergic illness. Asthma is also triggered by the sensitization of dust mites accruing humid, wet regions of a structure. Another health effect associated with structural dampness is the presence of bacteria in an indoor environment. Bacteria require water to grow and multiply and certain species can cause disease in humans, thus the intrusion of water into an indoor environment can place the health of occupants at risk from bacterial infections. Water removal and drying of wet building materials within 2 days will likely prevent mould and bacteria growth, therefore reducing occupants' vulnerability to disease. "A Visual Guide to Damp, Mold and Indoor Pollution" stated that: Statutory requirements (UK). Building Regulations. Section 5.2 of The Building Regulations 2010 Approved Document C, "Site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture" requires that buildings should be constructed to resist rising damp, penetrating damp, and condensation. Walls should: a) resist the passage of moisture from the ground to the inside of the building; and b) not be damaged by moisture from the ground and not carry moisture from the ground to any part which would be damaged by it, and, if the wall is an external wall: c) resist the penetration of precipitation to components of the structure that might be damaged by moisture; and d) resist the penetration of precipitation to the inside of the building; and e) be designed and constructed so that their structural and thermal performance is not adversely affected by interstitial condensation; and f) not promote surface condensation or mould growth, given reasonable occupancy conditions. Similar requirements are also made in reference to floors in Section 4 of the document. Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act. The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 requires private landlords in England and Wales to ensure that houses that they rent are "free from damp.," Identification. A wide range of instruments and techniques can be used to investigate the presence of moisture in building materials. When used correctly, they can provide a valuable aid to investigation. The competence and experience of the person undertaking the damp investigations is often of greater importance than the kit he or she carries. Experience and qualified surveyors are the difference between a correct and incorrect diagnosis of damp. For example, it is sometimes found that condensation is misdiagnosed as another form of dampness resulting in the wrong form of treatment being specified. Chartered building surveyors are usually experienced in identifying dampness issues, however, their reports often suggest that dampness problems are investigated by a specialist damp and timber surveyor with a CSRT qualification. An experienced surveyor would usually be able to pinpoint the cause of damp, for example a leaking gutter causing rainwater to cascade and saturate the external structural wall which in turn causes rainwater to ingress internally and adversely affect the internal building fabric. Prevention and treatment. Most forms of dampness can be prevented by thoughtful building design and careful construction. In the UK, well built modern houses include damp proofing in the form of a synthetic damp-proof course (DPC), about 15 cm above ground level, to act as a barrier through which water cannot pass. Slate or "engineering bricks" with a low porosity were often used for the first few courses above ground level, and these can help minimise the problem. There are many approaches to the treatment of dampness in existing buildings. Key to the selection of an appropriate treatment is a correct diagnosis of the types of dampness affecting a building. Details of possible treatments for specific types of dampness are covered in the sections below. The cause of the dampness must first be eliminated, by providing better drainage or fixing leaking pipes. Several methods of treating rising damp are possible, including the use of land-drains and the insertion of physical and chemical DPCs. Then, any affected plaster or mortar must be removed, and the wall treated, before replacing the plaster and repainting. Humidity. Humidity occurs in indoor environments due to building related causes. Porous walls, rising damp, and leaks in the building are determinants for structural dampness due to elevated humidity levels. The construction of the building can also lead to humidity and unwanted moisture in the indoor environment. Wet materials, such as lumber stored unprotected outdoors before construction, can lead to increased humidity indoors for up to the second year of occupancy in the building. Most commonly in residences, elevated relative humidity is produced by poor drainage systems. This leads to dampness in substructures such as crawlspaces and basements. The dampness results in vaporization where water vapor is transmitted into the building's interiors. Water vapor may enter the building through supply air ducts in building slabs and circulated by warm forced air. Water vapor can also enter a building through leaky return air ducts in homes with crawlspaces. Human occupancy adds a significant amount of humidity to the indoor environment. Personal activity as basic as breathing and perspiration add moisture to an indoor space. Cooking and showering raise humidity levels in the indoor environment, which directly affects the structural dampness of a home. Aspects of the home can also increase the humidity of a space. Items such as aquariums, indoor swimming pools, hot tubs, and even indoor plants add to the humidity of an indoor space. All of these attributes can increase the humidity of a home beyond its recommended thirty to fifty percent. Humidity levels in an indoor environment need to be accounted for based upon season and temperature. If humidity levels do not agree with the time of the year and the temperature during seasons, mold infestation and deterioration of the building will occur due to moisture. An acceptable humidity level in indoor spaces ranges from twenty to sixty per cent year round. However, levels less than twenty per cent in the winter and levels higher than sixty per cent in the summer are deemed unacceptable for indoor air quality. Structural dampness is likely to occur as well as an increase of health risks associated with moisture damage. Prevention and treatment. There are strategies to prevent water infiltration due to humidity into structures, as well as ways to treat human occupancy practices regarding humidity. Vapor retarders are materials that can be used to restrain uncontrolled airflow and water vapor into an indoor space. Vapor retarders are used to decrease the rate and amount of water vapor diffusion through ceilings, walls, and floors caused by humidity. It is made of thin, flexible materials and its coatings can be installed by trowels or brushes. Utilizing vapor retarders in a building prevents structural dampness from occurring or continuing if it already exists. A strategy for reducing humidity levels in an indoor environment is by altering occupant activity and indoor mechanics. Kitchens and bathrooms need to have their own vents. Additionally, washing machines need to be vented outdoors. Both of these are important in order to decrease indoor moisture due to humidity caused by the activities occurring in these indoor spaces. Moisture sources, such as hot tubs or indoor swimming pools, should be covered by airtight lids when not in use, thus humidity levels stay low in the indoor environment///-. Condensation. Condensation comes from water vapour within the building. Common sources may include cooking, bathing, dishwashers, etc. The moisture in the air condenses on cold surfaces, sometimes inside the walls called interstitial condensation. Buildings with poorly insulated walls are very prone to this problem. It often causes damage similar to damp in a building and often appears in similar places. This is because it occurs in the "dead air" pockets that accumulate in both horizontal and vertical corners (i.e. out of circulating air patterns). Moisture condenses on the interiors of buildings due to specific interactions between the roof and wall. Leaks most commonly occur on flat-roofed buildings. Certain building materials and mechanisms can be used to prevent condensation from occurring in these areas, therefore reducing structural dampness and potential mold infestation. In many cases, the insulation between the roof and wall is compressed, leading to a decrease in thermal resistance. Due to the lack of thermal resistance, condensation occurs, which leads to water damage in the indoor environment. In most cases where moisture is not addressed quickly enough, mold and mildew develop. Another issue is that wind washing up into the crevice where the roof and wall intersect reduces the efficiency of the insulation. This results in condensation and risk for mold growth. In the United Kingdom, condensation problems are particularly common between October and March – to the extent that this period is often referred to as the "condensation season." Identification of condensation. If it is suspected that the problem is condensation, then a room should be sealed off with a dehumidifier left running for the recommended time and then further instrument tests made. If the dampness has disappeared, then condensation is very likely the problem. Alternatively Humiditect cards or dataloggers (measuring air humidity, air temperature, and surface temperature) can be used as tools for diagnosing a condensation problem. Treatment. Typical remedies for condensation include increasing background heat and ventilation, improving the insulation of cold surfaces and reducing moisture generation (e.g. by avoiding the drying of clothes indoors). Rain penetration. Rain Penetration (also known as "penetrating damp"()) is a common form of dampness in buildings. It can occur through walls, roofs, or through openings (e.g. window reveals). Water will often penetrate the outer envelope of a building and appear inside. Common defects include: Walls. Rain penetration is most often associated with single-skin walls, but can also occur through cavity walls - e.g. by tracking across wall ties. Single-skin brick walls of standard thickness (9 inches) have been considered to provide inadequate resistance to rain penetration for many years, which is why cavity wall construction is now standard in the UK. The 1944 Housing Manual published by the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Health stated that:"The resistance to penetration of rain should not be less than that of 11-in. brick cavity wall, properly designed and constructed with attention to details at the heads and joints of openings. An unrendered 9-in. wall is regarded as substandard. "Whilst renders are often applied in an attempt to resist rain penetration, they must be maintained in good condition in order to fulfil this function. Even relatively small cracks in renders can allow rain penetration to pass into the underlying masonry. In his 1954 book, "The Restoration of Old Houses" Hugh Braun highlighted problems inherent in certain types of render that were widely used in the late eighteenth century and throughout the Victorian era: "By the end of the eighteenth century a number of patent water-repellent cements were appearing on the market, the most popular of which, roman cement, continued in universal use throughout the Victorian era; many old buildings were rendered with this substance. Its adhesion was poor and it will often be found that it has become separated from the walling over considerable areas and can be stripped away in large sheets." Exacerbators of Rain penetration. Where a wall suffers from one or more of the primary causes of rain penetration listed above, the problem can be made worse by one of the following exacerbators of rain penetration: Modifications to a building involving impermeable materials can also exacerbate the symptoms of rain penetration by trapping moisture. This can be a particular problem with regard to the installation of retrofit external wall insulation (EWI). Rising damp. Rising damp is the common term for the transport of water in the lower sections of walls and other ground-supported structures by capillary action in porous materials. Although rising damp of up to 5 metres in height has been observed the height of rise is typically much lower and is rarely above 1.5m. Rising damp has been a widely observed phenomenon for at least two hundred years. There is also strong evidence to suggest that it was a problem understood by the Romans and Ancient Greeks. In common with most other forms of dampness, rising damp is often misdiagnosed in buildings. Many misdiagnose a wall stain as rising damp instance due to misinterpreting the visual evidence of the wall and the readings of moisture meters. In simple terms rising damp occurs when ground water travels upwards through porous building materials such as brick, sandstone, or mortar, much in the same way that oil travels upwards through the wick of a lamp. The effect can easily be seen by simply placing a piece of porous brick, stone, or mortar in a shallow tray of water and observing how the water is absorbed into the porous material and is transported above the water line. Rising damp can be identified by a characteristic "tide mark" on the lower section of affected walls. This tide mark is caused by soluble salts (particularly nitrates and chlorides) contained in the groundwater. Due to the effects of evaporation these salts accumulate at the "peak" of the rising damp. Due to rising damp often being caused by moisture from wet ground, it is not common to find rising damp on floors above ground level. History. The issue of rising damp has been a concern since ancient times. The Roman Architect Vitruvius referred to the problem of dampness rising up walls and advised on how to construct buildings to avoid the problem. Rising damp is widely referred to in Victorian literature and the Public Health Act of 1875 introduced the requirement for a damp-proof course in walls to prevent rising damp. An entry in the "British Medical Journal" from 1872 describes the phenomenon of rising damp as follows: In July 1860 it was reported in "The Engineer" that The architect and social reformer, Thomas Worthington, described rising damp in his 1892 essay, "The Dwellings of the Poor: And Weekly Wage-Earners in and Around Towns": In his publication, "Helps to Health" (1885), the financier and philanthropist, Henry Burdett, explains the need for an effective damp-proof course in order to protect against rising damp: Henry Burdett was deeply concerned with the quality building in Victorian England, and he cautioned would-be house buyers to check houses for the presence of a damp-proof course and to ensure that it is of an effective type. As an example of poor workmanship leading to an ineffective damp proof course, Burdett cites the following example: Skepticism. Rising damp is a phenomenon that is fully predicted by the laws of physics, has been researched on a worldwide scale, and has been documented since Roman times. Nevertheless, a small number of people have expressed the view that rising damp is a myth and that it is, in fact, impossible for moisture to rise from the ground into the wall structure through pores in the masonry. A former chairman of the construction arm of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Stephen Boniface, has said that 'true rising damp' is a myth and chemically injected damp-proof courses (DPC) are 'a complete waste of money'. However he has recently clarified this statement on a comment post made on the Surveying Property website, Konrad Fisher's article "The Fraud of Rising Damp" points out that the historic city hall in Bamberg stands in the river Regnitz and its bridge remains dry without any chemical, mechanical or electronic damp-proof course. However, proponents of rising damp suggest that not all walls are capable of supporting rising damp, so merely observing that rising damp does not occur in a particular wall does not disprove its existence in other walls. In 1997 the housing disrepair team at Lewisham Council in south London were so convinced that rising damp was a myth that they offered a reward of £50 to anyone who could show them a genuine case of it. Manager Mike Parrett said "The point of the reward is to convince our tenants that rising damp is a myth." Lewisham has never found a genuine case of rising damp and has never paid out the £50 reward. Water intrusion into the indoor environment can be attributed from causes other than rising damp. Moisture penetration has been an ongoing problem for residences as evaporation occurs at the edge of the damp area, resulting in "tide marks" due to salt deposition. The "tide mark" is commonly distinguished as a feature of rising damp. However, even after the water intrusion has been treated, these salt accumulations still persist. This suggests that rising damp is not always the cause for the water penetration. The Building Research Establishment (BRE) in its review concludes that rising damp is a real problem. How rising damp occurs. According to Jurin's law the maximum height of rise is inversely proportional to the capillary radius. Taking a typical pore radius for building materials of 1 µm, Jurin's Law would give a maximum rise of about 15 m, however, due to the effects of evaporation, in practice the rise would be considerably lower. A physical model of rising damp was developed by Christopher Hall and William D Hoff in their paper "Rising damp: capillary rise dynamics in walls". The analysis is based on experimentally well established properties of porous building materials and the physics of evaporation from building surfaces. Hall and Hoff show that the model can be used to predict the height to which damp will rise in a wall. The height of rise depends on the wall thickness, the sorptivity of the wall structure and the rate of evaporation. Further work has confirmed experimentally the importance of mortar properties in determining the height to which damp will rise in walls. "BRE Digest" 245 lists several factors that can influence the height of the rise including rate of evaporation from the wall, pore sizes of the masonry, salt content of the materials and the soil, groundwater and degree of saturation, and use of heating within the property. The effect of seasonal variations in evaporation rate on the height of moisture rise have been comprehensively described. A review of data and publications commissioned by the Property Care Association and carried out by the University of Portsmouth concluded that "Rising damp is an age-old and ubiquitous problem." It also noted that "Records on observation and descriptions on this phenomenon date back to early times. It was identified as a public health issue in the second half of the 19th Century." The review looked at data and studies on rising damp from a number of countries including the United Kingdom, Portugal, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Greece, Australia, and Malaysia. Diagnosis of rising damp. The first step in assessing damp is to check for standing water. Removing water with good drainage will remove any form of dampness. Once done, and dampness remains, the next step is to look for the presence of a damp-proof course. If a damp-proof course is present, it is likely to be functioning, as the materials from which damp proof courses are manufactured tend to have a long lifespan. However, it should be acknowledged that there are cases where existing damp proof courses fail for one reason or another. One indicator that is often used to determine if the source of dampness is rising damp (rather than other forms of dampness) is to look for the presence of salts – in particular a tell tale "salt band" or "tide mark" at the peak of the damp's rise. This is not a reliable method as salts and dampness can enter the fabric of the wall in other ways – e.g. unwashed sea sand or gravel used in the construction of the wall. If there is no damp-proof course and rising damp is suspected (tide mark, moisture confined to lower section of wall etc. ...) then a number of diagnostic techniques can be used to determine the source of dampness. BRE Digest 245 states that the most satisfactory approach is to obtain samples of mortar in the affected wall using a drill and then analysing these samples to determine their moisture and salt content to assist in providing appropriate remedial building solutions. The fact that this technique is destructive to the wall finish often makes it unacceptable to homeowners. It is for this reason that electrical moisture meters are often used when surveying for rising damp. These instruments are unable to accurately measure the moisture content of masonry, as they were developed for use on timber, but the reading patterns that are achieved can provide useful indicators of the source of dampness. Rising damp treatment. In many cases, damp is caused by "bridging" of a damp-proof course that is otherwise working effectively. For example, a flower bed next to an affected wall might result in soil being piled up against the wall above the level of the DPC. In this example, moisture from the ground would be able to ingress through the wall from the soil. Such a damp problem could be rectified by simply lowering the flower bed to below DPC level. Where a rising damp problem is caused by a lack of a damp-proof course (common in buildings over approximately 100 years old) or by a failed damp-proof course (comparatively rare) there are a wide range of possible solutions available. These include: Replacement physical damp proof course. A physical damp proof course made from plastic can be installed into an existing building by cutting into short sections of the mortar course, and installing short sections of the damp proof course material. This method can provide an extremely effective barrier to rising damp, but is not widely used as it requires experienced contractors to carry out if structural movement is to be avoided and takes considerably longer to install than other types of rising damp treatment. The cost is also several times higher than for other types of rising damp treatment. Injection of a liquid or cream chemical damp proof course (DPC Injection). Injection of a liquid or cream into bricks or mortar is the most common method of treating rising damp. Adolf Wilhelm Keim describes the use of a hot bitumen remedial damp-proof course that is injected into holes drilled into a wall in his 1902 publication "The Prevention of Dampness in Buildings." Liquid-injection products were introduced in the 1950s and were typically installed using funnels (gravity feed method) or pressured injection pumps. The effectiveness of liquid injection damp proofing products is dependent on the type of formulation and the skill of the installer. In practice injection times tend to be lower than those required to provide a damp proof course of optimum effectiveness. A paper published in Building and Environment in 1990 made the following calculations about injection times: Damp-Proofing Creams. Since the early 2000s, damp-proofing creams have taken over from liquid products due to improved ease of application. As with liquid products these are based on silane/siloxane active ingredients which line the pores of the mortar to repel damp. The effectiveness of liquid and cream based rising damp treatments varies considerably between products due to variations in product formulations. Independent test certifications such as British Board of Agreement (BBA) certificates are available for some products, showing that they have met a minimum requirement for product performance - see #Damp_(structural)/Effectiveness_of_rising_damp_treatments As with liquid injection systems, cream based treatments rely on the competence of the installer for treatment to be successful. Injection holes need to be fully cleared of drill dust and debris before the cream is injected, and it is often difficult to know if each injection hole has been completely filled with cream. Furthermore, damp-proofing cream can sometimes drip out of the injection holes after treatment, reducing the effectiveness of the damp-proofing treatment. Damp-proofing rods. Damp-proofing rods use similar active ingredients to those found in liquid or cream-based rising damp treatments, but contained in a solid rod. They are generally considered to be easier to use than other types of rising damp treatment as the method of installation is simply to insert them into the correct sized holes drilled into a mortar bed. Damp-proofing rods are available with BBA approval. The rods are placed into holes drilled in the mortar course and the active ingredients diffuse along the mortar line before curing to form a damp-proof course. Damp-proofing rods are usually supplied in 180mm lengths suitable for inserting into a 9-inch thick wall. For treating half-brick thick (4.5 inch) walls, the rods are simply cut in half. A benefit of damp-proofing rods compared with damp-proofing creams and liquids is that it is possible to guarantee a consistent dose of active ingredient into each hole drilled in the mortar course – i.e. it is impossible to under-fill the holes. Porous tubes. Porous tubes are installed along a mortar course. In theory these encourage evaporation and reduce the rise of the damp. Independent test certification are available for this type of product and tests carried out by the Building Research Establishment suggest that they are effective at controlling rising damp. Land drainage. It has been suggested that improving drainage around walls affected by rising damp can help to reduce the height of rise by reducing the amount of water available to be absorbed into the capillaries of the wall. Typically a trench would be excavated around the affected wall into which a porous pipe would be laid. The trench would then be back-filled with a porous material such as a single-sized aggregate, forming a French drain. Such a system would obviously have the practical disadvantage of being suitable only for the treatment of outside walls and would be impractical where other buildings are close by or where a building has shallow footings. Although the theory of reducing rising damp by reducing the amount of moisture in the underlying ground would appear to be sound, there is little data to suggest that it is effective in practice. Indeed, G and I Massari stated in the ICCROM publication "Damp Buildings Old and New" that little effect was observed with "open trenching" and no effect was observed with "covered trenching." Electrical-osmotic systems. These attempt to control rising damp through the phenomenon of electro osmosis. Whilst there is evidence to suggest that these systems can be useful in moving salts in walls there is little in the way of independent data to demonstrate effectiveness in treating rising damp. The BRE publication "Understanding Dampness" makes the following observations about electro osmotic systems for the treatment of rising damp: Effectiveness of rising damp treatments. BRE Digest 245 suggests that with the exception of replacement physical DPCs, only methods of treatment with third party accreditation (e.g. British Board of Agrément Certificate) should be considered for the treatment of rising damp. It then goes on to state that the only method of currently satisfying this requirement is DPC injection (liquid or cream – although damp-proofing rods have subsequently been made available with BBA approval) and that "this is the only method which BRE considers suitable where insertion of a physical DPC is not possible." The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveryors (RICS) publication "Remedying Damp" is more cautious about reliance on third party accreditation, casting doubt upon the validity of the test methods employed, arguing that trials are usually conducted using "specially built masonry panels – which do not match up in many respects to walls found in real properties," and that "if a DPC were proved work in a specially built masonry panel, this would be the more significant result." The MOAT No 39 test employed by the British Board of Agrément (BBA) in the UK is dismissed as "quite a clever test idea but in the author's opinion not actually replicating a real wall." The author, Ralph Burkinshaw, has developed his own test method which he has published under the title, "The rising damp tests of Camberwell Pier: Potential height of moisture rise in brickwork and the effectiveness of a modern chemical injection cream damp coursing application." In April 2014 the British Board of Agrément confirmed that it would consult with manufacturers and holders of BBA certificates with a view to updating the MOAT No.39 test in light of the fact that it was not originally designed to test damp proofing creams and these have become the most popular type of rising damp treatment. This replaces a draft BBA guidance note that said Damp-proofing creams differ from fluid-based damp-proofing treatments in a number of ways: In his book, Dampness in Buildings, Alan Oliver refers to research carried out in Belgium regarding the effectiveness of different types of rising damp treatments: Replastering. Replastering will often be carried out as part of a rising damp treatment. Where plaster has become severely damaged by ground salts there is little argument about the need to replaster. However, there is considerable debate about: BS6576:2005 states that "the function of the new plaster is to prevent hygroscopic salts that might be present in the wall from migrating through to its surface, while still allowing the wall to dry." However, writing in the RICS publication "Remedying Damp", Ralph Burkinshaw claims that, "the plaster is really there for main reasons." He accepts the need for replastering when significant amounts of ground salts have built up in the existing plaster, but he then goes on to say that replastering is often carried out to make up for an unreliable chemical DPC. He also suggests that damp-proofers have an incentive to carry out more replastering than is strictly necessary as it allows them to finish the job without having to wait for walls to dry out, resulting in faster payment. Although the sand-cement renders typically installed as part of a rising damp treatment are very effective at holding back damp and ground salts, they have a number of disadvantages. These include an incompatibility with the soft bricks and mortars encountered in older buildings and a lack of insulation properties compared with more traditional plasters, resulting in an increased risk of condensation. Replastering is also one of the most expensive parts of a rising damp treatment. Porous renders to German WTA specification 2-2-91 can be used as an alternative to dense sand-cement renders. These have a minimum porosity of 40% of total volume. Salts crystallise in these pores rather than on the plaster surface, avoiding decorative spoiling. Such plasters offer a better solution than dense sand-cement renders when used on moderately salt-contaminated walls as their porous nature gives them insulation properties, resulting in a warmer surface temperature and making condensation problems less likely to occur. However, when used on heavily salt contaminated walls they may need to be replaced frequently as they lose effectiveness once all the pores have become filled with crystallised salt. The "Renovation Mortars" described in EN998-1:2003 are described as being designed for use on "moist masonry walls containing soluble salts." The performance requirements for these types of mortars are based on German WTA specification 2-2-91 but without the requirement for a minimum porosity of 40% of total volume. More recently, systems have become available that allow plasterboard or insulation board to be used to replaster walls affected by rising damp. After the existing plaster has been hacked off the wall, a salt and moisture retardant cream is applied to the wall. The plasterboard is then applied to the wall using a salt/moisture-proof adhesive. Such systems have the advantage that they can be decorated straight away, rather than having to wait several days or weeks (as would be the case with standard plasters). They also provide a warmer surface that is less prone to condensation than would be the case with a standard sand:cement render. Replastering may not be necessary where salt contamination is not severe. BS6576:2005 states that "Where the plaster appears to be in sound condition, the extent of plaster to be removed may be minimised by delaying any decision to replaster until the drying period is complete." Avoiding the need to replaster in this way can reduce disruption and mess and has the advantage of allowing the original lime or gypsum-based plaster to be maintained. However, the deficiencies of any remedial damp-proof course will be more apparent if the wall is not covered with a waterproof render. For this reason it is important to check the BBA certificate of the damp-proofing system to ensure that it is valid for use where replastering is not being carried out. Redecoration. It is best practice to delay replastering and redecoration for as long as possible following rising damp treatment, but this obviously creates inconvenience to the occupants of the affected building. BRE Digest 245 states that "While the wall should be allowed to dry for as long as possible, replastering can follow, providing porous decorations are selected. These are usually matt emulsions and water-based paints, both of which will allow the wall to breathe. Application of gloss and vinyl paints or wallpapers should be delayed for at least one year." Plasterboard-based replastering systems have the advantage that immediate redecoration is possible irrespective of which decorative finish is chosen. Due to the fact that rising damp often co-exists with other forms of dampness such as condensation, the use of a mould resistant emulsion paint is often recommended. In popular culture. In "The Sopranos" episode "Calling All Cars", Janice Soprano adopts the identity "Rising Damp" (along with the AOL username "Vlad666") to instant message Bobby Baccalieri's children, Little Bobby and Sophia, who are grieving for their newly departed mother, and to direct them to communicate further via Ouija board.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=43073289

McAleer Creek is an urban creek approximately six miles long, flowing from Lake Ballinger in southern Snohomish County to Lake Washington. It drains an approximately watershed. It is a salmon-bearing stream that also provides habitat to cutthroat trout, as well as watering a series of riparian areas, mostly in Lake Forest Park. McAleer Creek has the name of Hugh McAleer, a pioneer landowner. Course. McAleer Creek rises on the southeast side of Lake Ballinger and for its whole course runs generally southeast. It first flows through Nile Golf Course in Mountlake Terrace. It enters a culvert under Interstate 5 and emerges into the Lake Forest Park flood control system. It then flows through residential streets and a wooded ravine until it passes under Perkins Way, where it joins Whisper Creek as the latter flows southward. The stream emerges into the woods once again, following Perkins and later 180th Street Northeast, entering another culvert to flow under 178th Street Northeast. It opens once more as it flows into Blue Heron Park, then moving under Bothell Way into a series of weirs and fish ladders. The stream then empties into Lake Washington near the intersection of 168th Street Northeast and Shore Drive. Ecology. McAleer Creek supports the habitat of numerous locally important bird and fish species. Birds nesting in the stream's canyon include hawks, kingfishers, and herons, and fish it bears include salmon, trout, and bass. Many segments of the creek's route are shaded, benefiting the fish, but others are open to the sun and subject to overheating. One of McAleer Creek's greatest environmental challenges is erosion and the associated transportation of sediments. Besides the threat turbidity poses to fish, this issue has also caused serious property damage. The most notable incident was a landslide in 1981, when an eroded bluff collapsed into the stream, blocking it until it was cleared by volunteers. Between 1979 and 2004, however, the amount of total suspended solids in the water decreased. The stream has additional issues with low dissolved oxygen levels and high fecal coliform bacterial counts. In 2012, the Washington Department of Ecology cited McAleer Creek as violating its standards for these two water quality measures. The fecal bacteria count is usually elevated by septic system spills and pet waste.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4000575

Jill Krop is a Canadian journalist and broadcaster. Krop is News Director and Station Manager for Global BC, Global BC anchor and local radio personality. She was born in Edmonton, Alberta in 1963 and raised in British Columbia, where she studied journalism at The British Columbia Institute of Technology, and graduated with her BCIT Diploma of Technology in Broadcast Communications in 1986. She started her career at CKPG in Prince George, followed by a challenging year at CFRE in Regina. Next was the move east to Atlantic Satellite Network in Halifax where she worked for six years, hosting everything from major newscasts to becoming one of the original anchors of the popular "Breakfast Television". ASN awarded her a GOLD CANPRO* for her work. In 1995, she returned to her home in British Columbia where she joined British Columbia Television as a junior news anchor beginning with the Weekend Morning and Noon News. In September 2001, she took over the reins of "News Hour Final", weeknights on Global BC, from Ted Chernecki who returned to reporting. Occasionally, she sub hosts for "Global BC News Hour" and "Global National". Most recently, Jill Krop was the host of "Unfiltered" on BC1, and had quite regularly anchored the Early News following Deborra Hope's retirement. Besides television, Jill works in radio as a relief talk show host on CKNW AM-980. On April 10, 2015, Shaw Media announced that Jill Krop had been appointed News Director and Station Manager for Global BC, effective immediately. Her new role means she is leaving as host of the BC1 show, Unfiltered. Formal events. Jill Krop has donated her time over the years as master of ceremonies for various fundraising events. She has hosted such events for BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, Influential Women in Business Awards, Gold Georgie Award Winners 2003, 2005 BC Export Awards Gala, and most notably co-hosting both Variety Club Show of Hearts and The Children's Miracle Network Telethon, aired on Global BC. Acting career. Krop has played small roles in television and film, usually as a TV reporter or news anchor. (Late 1990s to current). Personal life. She was previous married to Nancy Regan's colleague Paul Mennier until 1994 that same year Liz Rigney replaced her for Atlantic Satellite Network's version of Breakfast Television following her divorce. Krop and her partner, Burnaby firefighter Dave Samson, had their first child, a son, on Tuesday April 22, 2008 announced the birth on various Global BC newscasts on Thursday, April 24, 2008.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=99529

Route 13 is a short state highway in the communities of Point Pleasant and Bay Head, New Jersey, both of which are in Ocean County. The route consists of the Lovelandtown Bridge, a vertical-lift bridge over the Point Pleasant Canal, and a part of Bridge Avenue, which is mostly maintained by the county as County Route 632 (CR 632). The route was unsigned until new mileposts were installed in 2017. Route 13 was designated in the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering as a re-designation of Route 13E from Hollywood Boulevard to Bay Avenue. The route was first assigned in 1938, when the state took over maintenance of the fifth segment of Ocean County Route 13 built in 1929, intending it to reach old Route 37 (now part of Route 35) in Bay Head from Beaver Dam Road, a distance of . The takeover did not reach that point, and the bridge and its approaches count for of the intended length. The original bridge collapsed in 1962, and a temporary structure was erected later that year. Planning for a permanent replacement bridge continued for several years until construction finally began in 1970. This structure opened in 1972, but closed immediately afterward due to a failure of the lift mechanism, which was fixed by the end of the year. In late 2004, the bridge and its approaches received a rehabilitation. Route description. Route 13 begins at an intersection where CR 632 meets Hollywood Boulevard in Point Pleasant. There, the state-maintenance begins. The route heads eastward along Bridge Avenue, passing to the south of local businesses and to the north of local residences. There, Route 13 begins a curve to the northeast onto the Lovelandtown Bridge approach, passing a marina before reaching the Point Pleasant Canal (part of the Intracoastal Waterway) and heading onto a lift bridge called the Lovelandtown Bridge. After crossing the canal, Route 13 parallels Elm Avenue for a short distance before turning away to the southeast. The route heads into downtown Bay Head, where it reaches an intersection with Bay Avenue, which is its eastern terminus. CR 632 continues eastward to Route 35. Route 13 is concurrent with CR 632 for its entire length. History. Designation. Originally, the Lovelandtown Bridge was constructed in 1929 to create a continuous route along Bridge Avenue. Route 13 originated as an alignment of Ocean County Route 13-E, a highway maintained by the county. In 1938, the state legislated a takeover of the fifth segment of the county route, a portion of highway from old Route 37 (now part of Route 35) at Bay Head to an intersection with Beaver Dam Road, including the Lovelandtown Bridge. The route was to be long, and the designation came into effect on July 2, 1938. However, the extension to Route 37 was never constructed. In the 1953 renumbering, the state dropped the suffix and renumbered the bridge and its approaches as Route 13. (Incidentally, the portion of Route 37 within Bay Head -- running from Point Pleasant to Seaside Heights -- was renumbered as Route 35 during the same highway renumbering.) Lovelandtown Bridge rebuild. Collapse and demands for new bridge (1962–1964). By 1960, the structural integrity of the Lovelandtown Bridge came into question. The New Jersey State Highway Department felt that the bridge was structurally safe and able to support up to 20 tons (18.14 tonnes). However, local officials felt the bridge was unsafe, especially for vehicles such as school buses. Additionally, the bridge, which was supported by wooden pilings, was starting to fail and erode. The expected failure occurred during the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 on March 5, when the storm and tides on the Intracostal Waterway wiped out a section of the bridge. A temporary structure to replace the bridge opened in May 1962. In the meantime, proposals were made for a permanent replacement structure. Early proposals noted the bridge would take about three months to rebuild. Point Pleasant Police Chief William Beecroft, who voiced concerns about the integrity of the bridge in 1960 and 1962, proposed a new tunnel across the Intracoastal Waterway to replace the Route 88 and Route 13 bridges. Beecroft speculated that the new tunnel would be cheaper to build in the long run and make things easier for emergency vehicles who would not have to deal with drawbridges. The State Highway Department considered a new tunnel for Route 13, but quickly discarded the idea by October due to excessive costs, though Beecroft would bring it up again as an option if there were a hearing. In November 1962, the State Highway Department made plans to build a new high fixed structure over the waterway. However, this plan was opposed by multiple agencies and individuals because of the fact that yachts would be unable to use the waterway with a fixed structure. One of these was Assemblyman William T. Hiering, a Republican from Ocean County who asked the United States Army Corps of Engineers to hold a public hearing on such a bridge; this hearing would occur on December 27. However, the State Highway Department also supported an option for a high drawbridge that would accommodate yacht users and only have to be opened once in a while. Such a plan would cost about $2 million. By February 1964, the State Highway Department switched its plan to a vertical lift bridge. This new bridge would be able to open to as high as in the air and allow room for yachts to go through. The delay in action by the Highway Department was being slammed by the borough of Point Pleasant by December 1964. Dr. Ronald V. Crescenzo, one of the members of the borough council wanted a bus ban over the replaced structure until a new one could be built. The borough also wanted to be absolved of any responsibility and liability in case of another structural failure. They did, however, support a new vertical lift bridge with the high lift that could raise to in the air. Added pressure (1965–1966). More complaints came from higher officials in September 1965, when a resident of Fair Lawn drove off the temporary Lovelandtown Bridge and died. The car crashed through the wooden railings of the bridge and landed in the canal below. The driver's death sparked the attention of State Senator Wayne Dumont and Point Pleasant Mayor Walter B. Brown; they deemed the bridge a traffic hazard and pressured Governor Richard J. Hughes to speed up construction. Dumont also claimed that the previous governor's administration provided money for the new bridge. However, the State Highway Department claimed that no money was ever allocated for such use. In December 1965, the borough of Point Pleasant noted that meetings between them, Ocean County and the State Highway Department would be conducted on December 9 or December 16, to discuss a new Lovelandtown Bridge. Chief Beecroft, who previously wanted a tunnel crossing, noted buses were taken off the temporary structure for safety. By December 3, Point Pleasant announced that the meeting would take place on December 16. In January 1966, the New Jersey State Conservation Department approved the plans of the State Highway Department for the construction of a new Lovelandtown Bridge. This new bridge would need a horizontal clearance and a vertical clearance of to help navigation through the canal. Bridge Avenue would be moved north for the new bridge, with the construction of a new alignment. This would help eliminate curves that were considered dangerous to the old bridge. However, the bridge was still subject to the approval of a United States Engineer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. These plans reached the United States Army Corps of Engineers in April 1966, when they announced openings for anyone who had opposition to the project. By the deadline of May 16, no objections were filed with the engineers on the new bridge. In July 1966, the state announced that they were ready to begin construction of a new Lovelandtown Bridge, but they would have to wait until the Army Corps of Engineers announced their full approval of the project. The state felt that a new bridge would not be finished until 1968, but would at least get approval within a span of four to six weeks. However, the bridge alignment changed in April to have an vertical clearance due to new regulations for future expansion of the canal. Design and funding problems (1967–1968). However, despite the four to six week timeline, the Army Corps of Engineers did not sign off on the new Lovelandtown Bridge until January 26, 1967. The new bridge would have a vertical clearance of when closed and when raised. The span would be wide for boats and barges to clear. The newly-renamed New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) said design, planning and construction would take about 18 months. Mayor Brown noted that he was happy and was willing to even bring his shovel. Survey work by the Army Corps of Engineers began in July 1967, for the design of the new bridge over the waterway. NJDOT also hired a New York firm to do the survey work. Less than a month later, the mechanisms to help open the Lovelandtown Bridge to marine traffic broke on August 16, resulting in a seven-hour closure of the bridge and several days of repairs. The Army Corps completed their survey work in the canal in November 1967. By December 1967, NJDOT moved test borings to the Bureau of Navigation offices to make plans for the new Lovelandtown Bridge ones. The offices would end up being relocated as part of the construction of the new bridge, due to be finished in 1971. The Board of Adjustment chair for the borough of Point Pleasant noted that they should pressure the state to move their schedule up in response to the collapse of the Silver Bridge in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. However, the state announced that they did move their timeline up and expected a replacement to be finished now in 1970, since design problems were avoided during that period. The state also noted that the new bridge would require the condemnation of as many as 20 houses. Drilling into the Point Pleasant Canal began on January 2, 1968, when NJDOT inserted borings for new bridge supports. However, by September 1968, Point Pleasant wanted to know why the $2 million set aside by the state for construction of the new bridge had been shifted to help facilitate the Aldene Plan in Union County. The new bridge, now costing $4 million (1968 USD), no longer was in the funding for the state. The borough demanded an answer from Governor Hughes, which did not come with answers. Hughes noted that if the state voters passed a new bond issue, the Lovelandtown Bridge would be a top priority. This was in direct conflict with a promise by the State Highway Department in 1966, that money for the new bridge would be non-reliant on a bond issue or other strings. The borough demanded the Commissioner David Goldberg meet with borough officials to get the missing answers. That meeting would be scheduled for October 8, 1968, at the offices for Goldberg in Trenton, with Mayor Brown heading out to discuss the problems. Brown noted to the press that he wanted $4 million of $114 million earmarked for new railcars as part of the Aldene Plan to be shifted to a new bridge. He also noted that multiple members of the State Legislature, including Senator Hiering, along with Benjamin Mabie and John Brown of the Assembly would introduce legislation to help get funding earmarked immediately for the bridge. Brown's attitude changed once the meeting with Goldberg ended, feeling that Goldberg had been unsympathetic to their concerns and problems with the change in funding. Brown told the "Asbury Park Evening Press" that Goldberg gave them a "snow job" and would still force them to rely on the November 5 bond issue of $640 million for transportation work. Mabie, Brown and Hiering noted that they would introduce their response bills once the Legislature reconvened after the election. Goldberg disagreed stating that even if the bond issue failed with the voters, he would have $40 million in funding and the odds of funding would be 5–1 for the project. Mabie, along with Chief Beecroft intended to vote against the bond issue on November 5. Brown, still concerned the bridge was going to fall into the canal again, was refuted by Goldberg who stated it is safe and would close it if he felt it was not. Funding and land acquisition (1968–1969). With the money for the Lovelandtown Bridge construction reliant on passing of the public bond issue, Senator Hiering showed his support for the new bond to help pay for transportation projects. Assemblyman Brown, though not public, opposed the new bond issue. He was concerned that Ocean County would be left out of most of its benefits, and he also felt there was voter discontent. Mabie, however, continued to show his support and optimism for the new bond issue, which passed on November 5, 1968, by 502,415 votes. NJDOT then promised a multitude of projects in Ocean County, including construction on Routes 37 and 72 and the Lovelandtown Bridge. In January 1969, the New Jersey State Legislature approved to spend $242 million of the new bond issue. $110 million would go to the construction of transportation projects immediately, including the Lovelandtown Bridge. In late January, the state started notifying property owners in the way of the new bridge and approach about the condemnation of their properties. Property owners noted they had 90 days to negotiate with the state about proper return values. The "Asbury Park Evening Press" noted that nine of the properties were on Partridge Run and the remaining 11 would be west of the canal. However, Goldberg announced to Ocean County officials that there would be more delays in all projects besides the widening of Route 37 through Toms River until 1970. Despite the report by Goldberg, Assemblyman Brown noted in March 1969 that NJDOT was about ready to announce the advertisement for bids on a new bridge. Brown noted that Goldberg was saying they were moving forward rapidly on the bridge. By April, tax assessors were working on estimating tax values for the properties to be acquired for the new Lovelandtown alignment. By August, the borough approved to sell land along Bridge Avenue for construction of the new bridge. In September 1969, the state noted that they would be ready to advertise and accept bids on the new project starting in late October 1969. NJDOT said they could have shovels in the ground during 1969 if all went well, including property acquisition. 15 houses would be demolished by the project, but only one had been acquired by September 18, 1969, the one at 1644 Elm Street, once owned by the Federal Housing Administration and would be sold at auction in Cherry Hill. They felt construction would be finished by mid-1971 after starting in December 1969. This did not go according to plan as NJDOT had to file a condemnation lawsuit against James Duff, a property owner along the west side of the canal that was in the way of the new bridge. The request was made to get a three-man panel to come to an agreement on what Duff would be paid for the property for the future western approach. Despite the lawsuit, the state did open advertising on bids in late October 1969. Despite the plan for bid announcements on November 26, within a week of the advertising, NJDOT was in court again, this time of a property on Central Avenue in Point Pleasant owned by William Hall. The borough of Point Pleasant was also named as a defendant as they claimed to have a lien on the property Hall owned. The borough of Bay Head noted that they would only lose one property for construction and that their municipality would not be disrupted during construction of the new bridge. However, the project would take over four parcels in total for the new bridge and approaches in Bay Head. Construction (1969–1972). On November 27, 1969, the state announced that they received the lowest bid of $3,344,933.85 (1969 USD) for construction of the new bridge from a joint venture of Mason–Connor, Incorporated of Pennsauken and Thomas Construction of Albany, New York. The new bridge would be long and wide, with new approaches. Bridge Avenue on both sides would be turned into dead ends while the new Bridge Avenue alignment would fork off of Hollywood Avenue in Point Pleasant and Bay Avenue in Bay Head. The two supporting piers of the bridge would be apart from each other. Other bids ranged from $3,386,522–$4,318,141. At that time, NJDOT noted it was studying the low bid and a deal could be made in two weeks. Point Pleasant announced in December 1969 that they would vacate parts of Central Avenue so construction could begin on the new Lovelandtown Bridge. New road would wipe out parts of Central Avenue due to the new alignment. Point Pleasant also asked in January 1970, that the state widen Bridge Avenue at the southern side instead of the northern side of the roadway so that a costly sewer relocation would not be required. On January 8, 1970, the state announced that they awarded the contract to Mason–Connor and Thompson Construction for the new bridge. The new bridge would have a deadline of December 15, 1971, to be finished, all to the delight of Beecroft, who began the push for the new bridge a decade prior. Residents of both communities visited a display to see the new renderings of the bridge on January 16 at the Point Pleasant Municipal Building. There it was announced that construction would begin on January 26, 1970. By January 29, demolition work begun on the old marine police headquarters as part of property clearing. However, due to the construction, the work was being done at the station in Monmouth Beach. Fearing lack of police patrol, an officer would be stationed on a boat near the old headquarters to help in the cause. They would end up moving to a new facility on Route 35 in April 1971. William Hall, who the state had sued earlier to acquire some of his property, noted in March 1970, that the contractors were burning fires at the Lovelandtown Bridge construction site and that the smoke from the fires was polluting the air and his property. Hall noted that the fires were being started by burning old rubber tires and the Point Pleasant Borough Attorney noted that it was a violation of code to do so. Beecroft stepped in and asked the contractor to stop, despite the fact that he saw no burning going on at the property and got assurances that it would stop. Along with the burning of tires, Beecroft also asked NJDOT in March 1970, to ask the contractor to stop routing their dump trucks over the Route 88 bridge in Point Pleasant. A police officer noted the bridge was being used by dump trucks for the contractor weighing as much as 40 tons. The weight would cause the draw leaves of the Route 88 bridge to shift as much as , a dangerous amount of jump for the structure. The main concern of the dirt-loaded dump trucks was more of the safety of schoolchildren crossing the bridge at the same time as the dump trucks. If the bridge opened like that and a child got stuck in the leaves, it would mean immediate amputation. The state asked the trucks to slow down on the bridge to reduce the jump in the bridge, but that was still not enough for Beecroft who was ready to make sure they were flagged down Route 35 to reach the bridge instead. However, by the next week, the bridge was still being used by the dump trucks and any thought of the reroute would require changes to the contract in terms of cost. By late May, the construction on the pilings for the new bridge piers had begun, with the steel bases constructed. However, work was slowed when the cases for the pilings began to have problems without specially-designed seals to keep them in place. The state and the contractor could not come to terms and instead, extra costs would be added anyway under "time and materials". The extra seals would add $50,000–$100,000 to the total cost of the project as contracted. The contractor was confident it would be finished near schedule, but no guarantee of on time. Construction did resume in mid-August. In November, there were complaints by Bay Head residents about the Bridge and Bay Avenue intersection being ripped up and left unpaved due to construction. While NJDOT said new curbs would be installed soon, no paving of the roads could start until the spring of 1971. They noted they would likely do it in April. By March 1971, the concrete piers for the new bridge were finished and the supports for the deck of the road spans were being installed. The contractor noted that the work was 50 percent complete at that point. Most importantly, the project was still slated to be complete by December 1971. By May, the state closed parts of Bridge Avenue in Point Pleasant to detour traffic off a two-block section. This was needed to help construct the new western approach to the Lovelandtown Bridge and was to remain in place through the end of construction. However, this detour led to complaints from Point Pleasant about the strain it put on Route 88 in pre-summer traffic. The borough demanded that NJDOT adjust things to help lighten the load. Construction of the first half of the elevator structure for the bridge began by June 1971, with one side finished by the end of the month. Preparations for the other side of the bridge structure were also taking place. The full structure was up by July 15, with construction of the road deck beginning with the bridge in the elevated position. In October, the borough of Point Pleasant asked for the work to be amended that sidewalks would be built on the new bridge. The new bridge was not designed to have one, just four lanes of traffic. However, the project was now due to be finished in February 1972. Opening and bridge failure (1972–1973). On January 20, 1972, NJDOT announced that the new bridge would open within two weeks (circa February 5) if everything stayed on schedule. However, just four days later, they announced a new delay to the Spring of 1972 due to an issue with the electronic controls for the new bridge. They also said the spokesman from four days prior was incorrect in his announcement about a February 1972 opening. In late March, NJDOT announced they would soon begin testing on the new elevated structure for barge movement. The main control panel had been set in, but some parts had yet to be delivered. Testing continued through April, and NJDOT expected the bridge to open later that month. On May 10, the state announced that the new bridge would open to traffic after a ceremony on May 23 at 11:00 am. Numerous dignitaries attended the ceremony, including Mayor Valenti of Point Pleasant and Assemblyman Franklin Berry Jr. (R-Ocean). The ceremony commemorated the 12 years of effort to help build a new bridge over the canal. At the same time, local officials used the ceremony to push help for Route 88, which also needed a new span. As part of the original contract with Mason–Connor and Thompson Construction, the old span would be demolished. However, in mid-June, the state announced the old bridge would be used by motorists once again. The new span needed its opening mechanisms adjusted, resulting in a several week closure of the new span. These adjustments were completed by the end of July. The bridge closed again on August 31, 1972, with the mechanisms requiring more adjustments; detours were conducted through the old bridge. By September 12, it was announced the new span would continue to be closed until the problem of why the bridges was not closing properly was figured out and fixed, resulting in at least another two weeks of delay. On October 16, 1972, it was announced that NJDOT engineers would have to submit plans by October 25 to fix the broken lift structure. By this point, there was no certain day on when the new bridge would reopen. Engineers announced on October 27 that the bridge was likely failing to close because of lack of weight on the structure. Their proposals were to add weight to the structure to help it close properly. They were not sure how long this project improvement would take, requiring continued use of the old bridge. These problems were finally corrected in December 1972, and the bridge finally reopened to traffic on December 14 at 3:00 pm. The old Lovelandtown bridge was swung open and process began on demolishing the old structure in January 1973. As demolition continued on the bridge, the United States Coast Guard put out buoys noting the locations of the old pilings for the bridge, located apart from each other just under the surface. The work continued into May on removing the piles from the site of the piers, which had been blasted apart in the demolition process. Modernization. The Lovelandtown Bridge and its approaches underwent a structural rehabilitation in October 2004. The lift mechanism was replaced to allow for quicker and more efficient raising and lowering of the bridge deck. The construction was completed by Carr & Duff Inc., which had received the project in June of that year. NJDOT and Governor James E. McGreevey forwarded $2.4 million (2005 USD) to the company for construction, which was completed by mid-2005. The project was part of the governor's "Fix-it First" initiative, which prioritized repairing existing roadway capacity throughout the state over building new capacity.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=159500

In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a government to choose to either enact a law or hold a public vote in parliament in what is called indirect initiative, or under direct initiative, the proposition is immediately put to a plebiscite or referendum, in what is called a "Popular initiated Referendum" or citizen-initiated referendum. In an indirect initiative, a measure is first referred to the legislature, and then put to a popular vote only if not enacted by the legislature. If the initiative (citizen-proposed law) is rejected by the parliament, the government may be forced to see the proposition put to a referendum. The initiative may then take the form of a direct initiative or an indirect initiative. In a direct initiative, a measure is put directly to a referendum. The vote may be on a proposed federal level, statute, constitutional amendment, charter amendment or local ordinance, or to simply oblige the executive or legislature to consider the subject by submitting it to the order of the day. It is a form of direct democracy. By type. Direct initiative. A direct initiative is when an initiative measure that is placed directly on the ballot for voters to reject or pass. The measure is not first submitted to the legislature. Indirect initiative. An indirect initiative refers to a process where after sufficient signatures are collected, the measure is voted on by a parliament first. In most areas it is only if they choose to amend the proposal that it is submitted to a popular vote. Agenda Initiative. An agenda initiative (also known as an agenda setting initiative) is measure submitted by petition to a legislature for consideration. The legislature may choose to approve or reject the proposal without a public vote. This form or initiative is more common than a legally binding direct or indirect initiative. By country. Americas. Brazil. In Brazil, a popular law initiative requires two conditions be met before it is sent to the National Congress: signatures from at least 1% of national registered voters and at least 0.3% of the people allowed to vote from each of at least five of the 27 federal unities (the 26 states plus the federal district). If both conditions are met, Congress is obliged to discuss and vote on holding the initiative. Canada. The Canadian province of British Columbia has a citizen initiative law known as the Recall and Initiative Act. The original proposal was put to voters in a referendum held in October 1991 and was supported by over 83% of voters. It was subsequently put into force by the incoming NDP government. Since it came into force in 1995, 11 attempts have been made to force the government to either adopt a law or to hold a referendum on the question, but only one has succeeded. Only one secured the required signatures of 10% of registered voters in each riding throughout British Columbia. Due to this achievement the government held the first referendum under this legislation, in September 2011 on the subject of repealing the Harmonized Sales Tax. Details of its use in BC are available on the Elections BC website. United States. The United States has no initiative process at the national level, but the initiative is in use at the level of state government in 24 states and the District of Columbia, and is also in common use at the local government level. Article I, Section I of the United States Constitution vests "all legislative powers herein granted" to the Congress of the United States. Establishing a national initiative procedure would likely require an amendment to the Constitution, which would under Article V require two-thirds of both houses of Congress or the application of two-thirds of the state legislatures to propose, and three-fourths of all state legislatures (or conventions in three-fourths of the states) to ratify. The Constitution itself, pursuant to Article VII, was ratified by state conventions rather than by a referendum. Several proposals have been made to institute a national referendum. The Ludlow Amendment, introduced several times to the House of Representatives by Louis Ludlow of Indiana between 1935 and 1940, proposed an amendment to the Constitution that would require a national referendum to declare war except in the case of invasion or attack. The amendment came closest to overcoming a discharge petition on January 10, 1938, when it was defeated in the House by a vote of 209 to 188, short of the two-thirds vote required for its passage. Unsuccessful attempts to get initiatives have nevertheless occurred, but since the proposals were bills, not constitutional amendments, no initiative could probably have lawfully been voted on notwithstanding the bills' passage. The first attempt to get national ballot initiatives occurred in 1907 when House Joint Resolution 44 was introduced by Rep. Elmer Fulton of Oklahoma; the proposal was never put to a vote. In 1977, both the Abourezk-Hatfield National Voter Initiative and the Jagt Resolutions never got out of committee. [Senator Mike Gravel was part of that effort. The modern system of initiatives and referendums in the United States originated in the state of South Dakota, which adopted initiatives and referendums in 1898 by a popular vote of 23,816 to 16,483. Oregon was the second state to adopt and did so in 1902, when the Oregon Legislative Assembly adopted it by an overwhelming majority. The "Oregon System," as it was at first known, subsequently spread to many other states, and became one of the signature reforms of the Progressive Era (1890s-1920s). Almost every state currently in the union utilizes some sort of State Question or Initiative. A contemporary issue that is commonly decided through this method is the legalization of marijuana. Asia. Philippines. People's initiative to propose amendments to the constitution is enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution under Article XVII Section 2, which states: This provision is further protected by Republic Act 6735 or "The Initiative and Referendum Act." The law defines initiative as: The law also provides "indirect initiative" defining the exercise of people's initiative through a proposition sent to congress or local legislative body for action. Europe. European Union. The rejected Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE) included a limited indirect initiative right (Article I-46(4)). The proposal of introducing the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) was that 1,000,000 citizens, from minimal numbers of different member states, could invite the executive body of the European Union (EU), the European Commission, to consider any proposal "on matters where citizens consider that a legal act of the Union is required for the purpose of implementing the Constitution." The precise mechanism had not been agreed upon. Critics underlined the weakness of this right of initiative, which did not ultimately entail any vote or referendum. A similar scheme under the same name, European Citizens' Initiative (ECI), has been put forward in the now ratified European Lisbon Treaty (which entered into force on 1 December 2009), enabling a limited indirect initiative right. It follows very similar rules to the ones outlined in the European Constitution, requiring the signatures of 1,000 000 European Nationals. These citizens would thereby obtain the same right to request the Commission to submit a legislative proposal as the Council has had since the establishment of the European Communities in 1957. This, however, does require that the signatures come from a "significant number" of Member States. It is suggested that this significant number will need to be around a quarter of member states, with at least 1/500 of the citizens in those member states supporting the initiative. With the variety of languages within the European Union, this creates a significant hurdle for people to navigate. The treaty also makes it clear that right of initiative should not be confused with the right to petition, particularly since a petition is directed to Parliament while a citizens' initiative is directed to the Commission; whereas a petition is a method of remonstrance, usually focussing on perceived infringements of European Law, an initiative is a grassroots proposal for new legislation. In 2013 the subjects of ongoing open initiatives of the European Citizens' Initiative are e.g. about "water and sanitation as a human right" (against Water privatization), "30 km/h - making the streets liveable!" (Traffic calming in towns), "Unconditional Basic Income" (UBI - Exploring a pathway towards emancipatory welfare conditions), or to "End Ecocide in Europe" (to give the Earth Rights). It remains to be seen if the ECI evolves into a full initiative or remains in its present state of a "de facto" petition. Finland. Since 1 March 2012, groups of at least 50,000 Finnish citizens with suffrage have had the constitutional right to send a citizens' initiative (Finnish: "kansalaisaloite", Swedish: "medborgarinitiativ") to the Parliament of Finland. The Parliament is entitled to address and discuss each initiative and the possibilities of them becoming new laws. The first initiative to pass the 50,000 mark did so already a few months after the "kansalaisaloite" first became possible. The initiative demanded the ending of fur industry in Finland, but failed to pass in Parliament. The first initiative to be accepted by the Parliament was the citizens' initiative known in Finland as "Equal Marriages Law", which is also known by its campaign slogan, #Tahdon2013 (#IDo2013). This initiative was accepted by the Parliament during the 2011-2015 parliamentary session, though political debate, decision-making and drafting of the new law continued on to the next parliamentary session. The new law took effect on 1 March 2017. To date, a total of 24 citizens' initiatives have reached the 50,000 mark, with 20 of them having been either rejected or accepted in Parliament - so far, only two have been accepted: the aforementioned "Equal Marriages Law" and the "Motherhood Law" from 2015/16. France. A limited, indirect form of local initiative was added to the French Constitution (article 72-1, "référendum d'initiative locale") on 28 March 2003 as part of decentralization reforms. However, the only power these "local referendum initiatives" confer on citizens is the ability to add propositions to their local assembly's meeting agenda. The decision as to whether to submit citizen propositions to a popular vote (referendum) rests with the local assembly. A citizens' initiative referendum was proposed by the yellow vests movement. Citizens are able to submit a law project to the parliament through the "Référendum d'Initiative Partagée"; they can ask for a referendum if they meet the 185 deputies requirement and the signatures of at least 10% of the voting population. Germany. All German states have the right to initiative. However, there is no constitutional citizens' initiative in Germany at a federal level. Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland, since its 1937 enactment, has never made provision for initiatives. Since 2012, the Oireachtas (parliament) has a joint committee to which the public can submit petitions; the committee must formally consider them but need not accept them. In May–June 2013, when the Constitutional Convention considered Dáil electoral reform, members voted 83:16 in favour of allowing "citizens' initiatives" in general, 80:19 to allow them specifically for legislation, and 78:17 to allow them for constitutional amendments. In April 2015, the Fine Gael–Labour government rejected the recommendations on the basis that there is sufficient public involvement in legislation through the petitions committee and the pre-legislative scrutiny process. Article 48 of the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State gave a right of initiative: if more than 50,000 voters demanded a change in law, the Oireachtas had two years to enact it, failing which 75,000 voters could petition for a referendum. The only attempt to invoke this was organised in 1927 by Fianna Fáil, the largest opposition party, which sought to abolish the Oath of Allegiance. By May 1928 Fianna Fáil claimed 96,000 signatures and attempted to have the petition laid before the Dáil (lower house). The motion was deferred, ostensibly to allow the Dáil procedure committee to define the method of dealing with such petitions. Before the committee could meet, the Cumann na nGaedheal government rushed through an amendment deleting Article 48 of the Constitution. Poland. Citizens' legislative initiatives are a constitutional right in Poland, defined in Article 118, paragraph 2, of the . The paragraph gives legislative initiative to any group of at least 100,000 citizens with voting rights to the Sejm, the lower house of Polish parliament. The detailed procedure is defined in a law dated 24 June 1999. Under Article 5 of the 24 June 1999 law, citizens wishing to launch an initiative must create a committee of at least 15 members, which becomes a legal person. The committee must prepare the draft bill and collect at least 100,000 signatures (Article 2). Under Article 12 of the law, if there is "justified doubt regarding the authenticity of the required number of signatures of citizens, then within 14 days of the lodging of the list of signatures, the Marshal of the Sejm must request the National Electoral Commission to verify the signatures. The electoral commission has 21 days to carry out the verification. One of the best known citizens' initiatives in Poland is the pair of 2015/2016 anti-abortion and pro-abortion initiatives which were accompanied by the "Black Protest" marches coordinated by women's rights groups. Romania. According to Article 74 of the Romanian Constitution, groups of at least 100,000 Romanian Citizens with suffrage that reside in at least one quarter of all the counties and with a minimum 5,000 signatures per county have the right to send a Citizens' Initiative which must be considered by the legislative body (Initiatives that address fiscal or international matters are not covered by this right). If the initiative concerns changing the Constitution, Article 150 of the Constitution states that the group must include at least 500,000 Romanian Citizens with suffrage who reside in at least half of all the counties, with a minimum of 20,000 per county. Article 151 of the Constitution also states that any amendments brought to it, must be also approved by means of a National Referendum. Switzerland. The federal popular initiative was included in the Swiss Federal Constitution in 1891, permitting a certain number of citizens (currently 100,000 signatures within 18 months) to make a request to amend a constitutional article, or even to introduce a new article into the constitution. The right of initiative is also used at the cantonal and communal level in Switzerland (all cantons, all communes where the direct democratic citizens' participation originates); many cantons allow initiatives to enact regular non-constitutional law, but the federal system does not. If the necessary number of supporters is reached, the initiative will be put to a plebiscite about two or three years later; the delay helps prevent short-term political moods from getting into the constitution. The parliament and government will both issue their official opinions on whether they recommend voting for or against the proposed amendment, and these opinions will be published. The parliament may also pass an alternative amendment suggestion which will also be included on the ballot; in this case, the voters cast two votes, one for whether or not they want an amendment, and one for which one they want, the original one from the initiative or the one introduced in parliament, in case a majority decides for amending. A citizen-proposed change to the constitution in Switzerland at the national level needs to achieve both a majority of the national popular vote and a majority of the canton-wide vote to pass. The vast majority of national initiatives introduced since 1891, when the system started, have failed to receive voter support. But the initiatives have proven to be a useful tool to force the government to concentrate on subjects that will otherwise remain hidden from the politic, lowering the distance between the government and the citizens. United Kingdom. While there is no mandate for a referendum following directly from such an initiative, the UK government has a system whereby citizens can set up online petitions, which are considered by a committee. Any petition which reaches 10,000 signatures triggers a response from the government and those which reach 100,000 signatures will almost always require the government to consider holding a debate (with some exceptions, such as whether a similar issue has been debated recently, or a debate for that issue is scheduled) on the matter in the House of Commons. Only British Citizens or individuals resident in the UK are allowed to start a petition or be a signatory. Petitions can be initiated via a specialist website, which also contains guidance on when petitions will, and will not, be debated. On occasion, some petitions which are signed by fewer than 100,000 people are still debated. Examples of issues which have been debated in parliament via this system are various issues surrounding the UK withdrawal from the EU and a petition calling for United States President Donald Trump's state visit to UK to be cancelled. Oceania. New Zealand. In New Zealand a vote initiated by the public is called a citizen initiated referendum. These are non-binding referendums on any issue in which proponents have submitted a petition to Parliament signed by ten percent of all registered electors within 12 months.

modern topic

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=21218932

A joint account is a bank account that has been opened by two or more individuals or entities. Joint accounts are commonly opened by close relatives (such as by a married couple) or by business partners, but it can be used in other circumstances, such as by a club committee. Normally, any person can deposit funds into a joint account, but when opening an account the joint account holders may indicate to the financial institution whether a single account holder may make withdrawals or whether the consent of other account holders is required. A joint account is not the same as adding an authorized signatory or additional cardholder to an account, a person who is authorized by the account holder to effect transactions on the account, an arrangement under which the primary account holder remains fully and solely liable for all transactions on the account. Accounts by corporate entities are not, in themselves, joint accounts. In some jurisdictions there is a significant legal distinction between joint account holders being described as “and” rather than as “or”. If joint account holders are described with an “and”, a survivor may have difficulty accessing funds in the joint account on the death of one account holder. Opening an account. When opening a joint bank account, the account holders need to decide who and how the account is to be operated, and instruct the financial institution accordingly. They would decide the signatories on the account. For example, withdrawals may require any account holder to sign a withdrawal or all parties to sign the withdrawal or “any two account holders” to sign, or a particular account holder with any other account holder, or some other instructions. Many jurisdictions allow unincorporated businesses (such as partnerships) to open a joint bank account under its business name, as distinct from the account being described by the full or partial names of the joint account holders. Proof of registration of the business name may be required. Normally, a credit card account cannot be opened jointly, and the same normally applies to loyalty programs. In the case of joint loan accounts, the account holders are jointly and severally liability for the outstanding debit balance of the account. Operation of account. Normally, any person can deposit funds into a joint account, but withdrawals from the account must be effected in accordance with the instructions given when opening the account. The joint account holders may authorise particular named individual/s to operate on the account, and instruct the financial institution accordingly. These individuals must be natural persons, and cannot be described by title (such as “treasurer” or “director”) and any change of signatories must be promptly advised to the financial institution. Any joint account holder can normally instruct the financial institution to put a freeze on the account, though all account holders would normally be required to act jointly to unfreeze the account. Rights of survivorship. One of the main issues relating to joint accounts are rights of survivorship, that is, if one of the joint account holders dies, whether the surviving account holder/s are entitled to the balance of the account. Many husbands and wives open joint bank accounts as a cheap and easy way to avoid probate, and parent-child joint bank account holders may do the same. In some jurisdictions, passing funds in such situations may still be subject to gift duties and/or inheritance taxes. In the United States. In the United States, there are typically two types of joint accounts: survivorship accounts and convenience accounts. Any joint owner of the account may withdraw funds during the lifetime of both owners, and most states have statutes protecting the bank from claims brought by one joint owner against the bank if the other owner "wrongfully" withdraws funds from the joint account. The distinction between survivorship and convenience accounts matters at the death of one of the owners. If the joint account is a survivorship account, the ownership of the account goes to the surviving joint account holder. Joint survivorship accounts are often created in order to avoid probate. If two individuals open a joint account and one of them dies, the other person is entitled to the remaining balance and liable for the debt of that account. If the account is a convenience account, if the person who placed the funds originally in the account dies, the joint owner does not become the owner of the account. Instead, the account becomes a probate asset of the deceased person. If the joint holder dies, who was simply put on the account for "convenience" purposes, the original owner of the account continues to own the account, unaffected by the death of the convenience account holder. How to tell whether the account is a survivorship account or a convenience account will depend on the bank's account opening forms. The form will typically include a choice for designating the account as a joint account with right of survivorship ("JTWROS") or a joint account for convenience purposes. A special type of joint account with right of survivorship, called a tenancy by the entireties account, is used for survivorship accounts between spouses. This special type of tenancy by the entireties account will typically offer the account holders protection from creditors under applicable state law. Transaction accounts. Sometimes a temporary joint account is opened by two parties entering into a transaction where one party needs a security for the fulfillment of the transaction and the other party has to pay the sum (deposit), being the security for the other party. Any payment from the joint account, or return of the deposit from the joint account, will only be possible if both parties sign a joint written instruction to the bank. It is not possible that only one of the parties gives instruction for payments of the joint account. Some banks are not interested in opening temporary joint accounts, as they are normally used for one transaction only, there are specialised parties or companies open such accounts as trustees. A temporary joint account is normally closed after the transaction for which it was opened has been concluded. Temporary joint accounts may be used in transactions in which large sums of money are involved as an alternative to a letter of credit or escrow account.

dual ownership record

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=18446527

Beşiktaş Çarşı Grubu (referred to simply as Çarşı) is the best known supporter group of BJK (Beşiktaş Gymnastics Club, notably including the Beşiktaş football club). At their home ground in Vodafone Park, Çarşı locate themselves on the Kapalı ("Covered Stand") and are known for their social and political commentary, choreography, and genuine manner of chanting. There are many catch-phrases of the group, "Çarşı, her şeye karşı!” (English: ‘'Çarşı is against everything!”') being probably the most famous one. In May 2008, Çarşı disbanded itself unexpectedly. However, in the 2013 Turkish protests, Çarşı was a central mobilizing force for anti-Erdogan protests. Definition. In Turkey; Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray are accepted as the biggest three clubs (Trabzonspor is the fourth occasionally), as they are the most successful ones in Turkish football history, and have the highest number of supporters. There are also numerous supporter groups of many teams, i.e. ultrAslan for Galatasaray, Genç FB for Fenerbahçe, Group Yalı for Göztepe A.Ş. etc. The groups' names are related to a team's name or badge, the symbol of the city, or a specific place inside the city. The name 'Çarşı' is also an example for this situation. Çarşı literally means "Marketplace" in Turkish. In the 1980s, the young people of Beşiktaş district who were supporting Beşiktaş J.K. were usually spending their time around the bazaar, located in the center of the district. They were living, coming together and supporting the team together in that specific place. This lifestyle led them to found the group with the name of Çarşı in 1982. Although Çarşı is basically accepted as a fan group, Çarşı may be defined better as a common way of acting, including the shared beliefs of the fans; therefore Çarşı is a dignity, or a form of common soul among Beşiktaş fans. According to a well-known fan, Alp Batu Keçeci, Çarşı is described as an abstract notion rather than a basic and solid fan group. This definition collected positive reactions of the supporters and it was embraced over time. Many of the internet fan forums have given place for this article. Characteristics. Çarşı separates itself from the other fan groups by its members' attitude during the matches, and with their placards. The group was formed in 1981–82 season and their fame began to spread in the 1990s. Çarşı does not have a homogenous structure and it does not consist of a certain group of people with a specific identity. People from different social backgrounds, cultural environments, and ethnic origins are assembled at the group even though they support opposite ways of thinking in terms of politics or ideologies. An all-around antagonist image and attitude represent the basic characteristics of the group. The name of the group comes from the central market place of Beşiktaş district, which is located in downtown, near the Istanbul Bosphorus. "Beşiktaş Çarşı" contains many restaurants, bars, a big fish market, and also numerous cosmetics, clothing and technology shops. There the fans assemble and pass their time with various activities until the matches. It is possible to see the fans on match days, wearing black-and-white jerseys at the fish restaurants and bars. Also, the newly produced chants by Beşiktaş fans are usually sung and embraced for the first time in Beşiktaş Çarşı. After their meetings, fans generally walk to the home ground, İnönü Stadium passing Dolmabahçe Palace. They generally prefer to arrive there about 2 or 3 hours before the matches; however, majority of people do not get in the stadium instantly. They also like to hang around the stadium just before going in, for different reasons such as meeting their friends, to have some drinks or to chant right before the matches. In Istanbul, supporters live on both the European and Asian sides of the Bosphorus, and so do Çarşı members. The inhabitants of the Asian side travel to the stadium by both road and sea transportation, but sea transportation is used more frequently. The fans mainly get on the ferries from Kadıköy or Üsküdar districts, where they can arrive at Beşiktaş in approximately 20 minutes. There are both directly related members of group and just normal supporters who want to be a part of action; also it is likely to see many university students among the members. Therefore, the group stand out with its quip, witty and humorist aspect. Çarşı generally react the topics and incidents with an unexpected manner. Çarşı utilize some symbols to express their opinions. One of them is a derivative form of letter A, as it is used in the notion of anarchy. However, Çarşı states that they re-shaped the symbol with extending the low ends of the letter to show the difference. Hence, they use the letter as a symbol of rebellious soul (). This idea was the inspiration for the name of the TV documentary "Asi Ruh" dedicated to the group, which was begun in 2007 (the group's 25th anniversary) and which came out on DVD in 2008. The assortment of support is very wide; teenage and elderly fans alike consider themselves members and participate. The fans wear the official team products as well as the products based on Çarşı. Defunction and reactions. On 28 May 2008, Çarşı concluded its presence by a farewell letter written by Alen Markaryan, arguably the main cheerleader (). During the Press Gala of ‘'Asi Ruh'’ documentary, Markaryan declared that they decided to disband the group after discussions which questioned the group's position as coming before Beşiktaş J.K. itself for the supporters. According to the newspapers, some subsequent reactions came up even in the gala. Discussions not yet finished. In internet forums, some users cite that they are proponents of the decision, but are also showing the tendency to keep the group's ideology and legacy. On the other hand, there are also users who believe that Çarşı cannot be ended like a defunct organization, as its roots are deeper and more philosophical than those of a typical fan group. 2013 Turkey protests. Çarşı played a significant role in the 2013 protests in Turkey, resisting police attacks and even chasing a water cannon away with an excavator they acquired.

more advanced

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31816449

The badminton women's singles tournament at the 2012 Olympic Games in London took place from 28 July to 4 August at Wembley Arena. The draw was held on 23 July 2012. Forty-six players from 42 nations competed. In an all-Chinese final, Li Xuerui defeated reigning world number one Wang Yihan to win the gold medal. India's Saina Nehwal took bronze. Competition format. For the first time, the preliminary stage consisted of 16 groups of either two or three players. Each played every other member of the group with the top players advancing to the knock-out stage, ultimately leading to the winner. Seeds. A Total of 16 Players were given seeds.

all the other participants

2166-1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=20163244

The St. Francis Shangri-La Place, also known as The St. Francis Towers 1 & 2 are twin-tower residential condominium skyscrapers in Mandaluyong, Philippines. The towers are the 6th and 7th-tallest buildings in the country and Metro Manila as well, and are currently the second tallest twin towers in the Philippines surpassing Pacific Plaza Towers with a height of 212.88 metres from the ground to its architectural spire. It also has two of the most floors in the Philippines. The buildings have 60 floors above ground, including a podium which connects the two towers, and 5 basement levels for parking, and are considered as one of the most prestigious residential buildings in the Philippines. Construction. Groundbreaking for the towers were held on January 2005, months ahead of its official launching. Topping-off ceremonies was held on June 24, 2008, although only one tower is actually considered topped-off during that time. The towers were completed and opened in 2009 and taking over as the tallest twin-towers in The Philippines from Pacific Plaza Towers. Architecture and design. The St. Francis Shangri-La Place was masterplanned and designed by Wong Tung International Ltd., in cooperation with local architectural firm Recio + Casas Architects. Structural design for the building was provided by Arup, and reviewed by international engineering firm Magnusson Klemencic Associates. The buildings mechanical, electrical, and santiray engineering works was designed by WSP Hong Kong Ltd. Interior design was made by Brennan Beer Gorman Monk Architects (Interior Design). The construction team is composed of Jose Aliling & Associates (Project / Construction Management); Davis Langdon & Seah Philippines Inc. (Quantity Surveying); and EEI Corporation (General Contractor). Structural dampers. Due to the tower's location being close to an active fault in a highly seismic region and also subjected to typhoon winds, the St. Francis Shangri-La Place was the first building in the world to feature a revolutionary ‘damping’ system designed by international engineering company Ove Arup & Partners. The new system, which minimizes the standard wobble in high-rise buildings, employs the same technology used to strengthen the Millennium Bridge in London. This makes the St. Francis Shangri-La Place one of the safest buildings. The usual methods employed to strengthen buildings are to reinforce it with significant extra structure or to install tuned mass dampers. Both methods are not only expensive, but also make the building stiffer and heavier while consuming valuable space. The Arup solution works by inserting Viscous Dampers into the St. Francis Shangri-La Place to act as energy absorbers and damp out vibrations. Viscous dampers connect deep reinforced concrete outriggers from the central core of each building to the perimeter columns at one level. The added damping so derived, in excess of 6% of critical controls wind-induced motions, achieving occupant comfort objectives, and reduces the design wind overturning moment by a factor of 1.7. Not only is this a lower-cost solution, it is also more sustainable as it uses less material, and leaves more valuable space inside the building. Reductions in the quantities of concrete and reinforcing steel in the St Francis Towers structure due to the incorporation of the Arup damping system and performance based seismic design saved the building's developer in excess of $5 million in construction cost and more net floor space (through smaller columns and core walls, and no need for space for TMDs).

usable room

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=33265

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Although best known for his wartime leadership as Prime Minister, Churchill was also a Sandhurst-educated soldier, a Nobel Prize-winning writer and historian, a prolific painter, and one of the longest-serving politicians in British history. Apart from two years between 1922 and 1924, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1964 and represented a total of five constituencies. Ideologically an economic liberal and imperialist, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955, though he was also a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924. Of mixed English and American parentage, Churchill was born in Oxfordshire to a wealthy, aristocratic family. He joined the British Army in 1895 and saw action in British India, the Anglo-Sudan War, and the Second Boer War, gaining fame as a war correspondent and writing books about his campaigns. Elected a Conservative MP in 1900, he defected to the Liberals in 1904. In H. H. Asquith's Liberal government, Churchill served as President of the Board of Trade and Home Secretary, championing prison reform and workers' social security. As First Lord of the Admiralty during the First World War, he oversaw the Gallipoli Campaign but, after it proved a disaster, he was demoted to Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He resigned in November 1915 and joined the Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front for six months. In 1917, he returned to government under David Lloyd George and served successively as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War, Secretary of State for Air, and Secretary of State for the Colonies, overseeing the Anglo-Irish Treaty and British foreign policy in the Middle East. After two years out of Parliament, he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Stanley Baldwin's Conservative government, returning the pound sterling in 1925 to the gold standard at its pre-war parity, a move widely seen as creating deflationary pressure and depressing the UK economy. Out of government during his so-called "wilderness years" in the 1930s, Churchill took the lead in calling for British rearmament to counter the growing threat of militarism in Nazi Germany. At the outbreak of the Second World War he was re-appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. In May 1940, he became Prime Minister, replacing Neville Chamberlain. Churchill oversaw British involvement in the Allied war effort against the Axis powers, resulting in victory in 1945. After the Conservatives' defeat in the 1945 general election, he became Leader of the Opposition. Amid the developing Cold War with the Soviet Union, he publicly warned of an "iron curtain" of Soviet influence in Europe and promoted European unity. He lost the 1950 election, but was returned to office the following year in the 1951 election. His second term was preoccupied with foreign affairs, especially Anglo-American relations and the preservation of the British Empire. Domestically, his government emphasised house-building and developed a nuclear weapon. In declining health, Churchill resigned as Prime Minister in 1955, although he remained an MP until 1964. Upon his death in 1965, he received a state funeral. Widely considered one of the 20th century's most significant figures, Churchill remains popular in the UK and Western world, where he is seen as a victorious wartime leader who played an important role in defending Europe's liberal democracy against the spread of fascism. He is also praised as a social reformer. However, he has been criticised for some wartime events – notably the 1945 bombing of Dresden – and also for his imperialist views, including comments on race. Early life. Childhood and schooling: 1874–1895. Churchill was born on 30 November 1874 at his family's ancestral home, Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. On his father's side, he was a member of the British aristocracy as a direct descendant of the 1st Duke of Marlborough. His father, Lord Randolph Churchill, representing the Conservative Party, had been elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Woodstock in 1873. His mother, Jennie, was a daughter of Leonard Jerome, a wealthy American businessman. In 1876, Churchill's paternal grandfather, John Spencer-Churchill, was appointed Viceroy of Ireland, then part of the United Kingdom. Randolph became his private secretary and the family relocated to Dublin. Winston's brother, Jack, was born there in 1880. Throughout much of the 1880s, Randolph and Jennie were effectively estranged, and the brothers were mostly cared for by their nanny, Elizabeth Everest. Churchill later wrote that "she had been my dearest and most intimate friend during the whole of the twenty years I had lived". Churchill began boarding at St George's School in Ascot, Berkshire, at age seven but was not academic and his behaviour was poor. In 1884 he transferred to Brunswick School in Hove, where his academic performance improved. In April 1888, aged 13, he narrowly passed the entrance exam for Harrow School. His father wanted him to prepare for a military career and so his last three years at Harrow were in the army form. After two unsuccessful attempts to gain admittance to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, he succeeded on his third. He was accepted as a cadet in the cavalry, starting in September 1893. His father died in January 1895, soon after Churchill finished at Sandhurst. Cuba, India, and Sudan: 1895–1899. In February 1895, Churchill was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 4th Queen's Own Hussars regiment of the British Army, based at Aldershot. Eager to witness military action, he used his mother's influence to get himself posted to a war zone. In the autumn of 1895, he and his friend Reggie Barnes, then a subaltern, went to Cuba to observe the war of independence and became involved in skirmishes after joining Spanish troops attempting to suppress independence fighters. Churchill proceeded to New York City and, in admiration of the United States, wrote to his mother about "what an extraordinary people the Americans are!" With the Hussars, he went to Bombay in October 1896. Based in Bangalore, he was in India for 19 months, visiting Calcutta three times and joining expeditions to Hyderabad and the North West Frontier. In India, Churchill began a self-education project, reading a range of authors including Plato, Edward Gibbon, Charles Darwin and Thomas Babington Macaulay. The books were sent to him by his mother, with whom he shared frequent correspondence when abroad. In one 1898 letter to her, he referred to his religious beliefs, saying: "I do not accept the Christian or any other form of religious belief". Churchill had been christened in the Church of England but, as he related later, he underwent a virulently anti-Christian phase in his youth, and as an adult was an agnostic. In another letter to one of his cousins, he referred to religion as "a delicious narcotic" and expressed a preference for Protestantism over Roman Catholicism because he felt it "a step nearer Reason". Interested in British parliamentary affairs, he declared himself "a Liberal in all but name", adding that he could never endorse the Liberal Party's support for Irish home rule. Instead, he allied himself to the Tory democracy wing of the Conservative Party, and on a visit home, gave his first public speech for the party's Primrose League in Bath. Mixing reformist and conservative perspectives, he supported the promotion of secular, non-denominational education while opposing women's suffrage. Churchill volunteered to join Bindon Blood's Malakand Field Force in its campaign against Mohmand rebels in the Swat Valley of north-west India. Blood accepted him on condition that he was assigned as a journalist, the beginning of Churchill's writing career. He returned to Bangalore in October 1897 and there wrote his first book, "The Story of the Malakand Field Force", which received positive reviews. He also wrote his only work of fiction, "Savrola", a Ruritanian romance. To keep himself fully occupied, Churchill embraced writing as what Roy Jenkins calls his "whole habit", especially through his political career when he was out of office. It was his main safeguard against recurring depression, which he termed his "black dog". Using his contacts in London, Churchill got himself attached to General Kitchener's campaign in the Sudan as a 21st Lancers subaltern while, additionally, working as a journalist for "The Morning Post". After fighting in the Battle of Omdurman on 2 September 1898, the 21st Lancers were stood down. In October, Churchill returned to England and began writing "The River War", an account of the campaign which was published in November 1899; it was at this time that he decided to leave the army. He was critical of Kitchener's actions during the war, particularly the latter's unmerciful treatment of enemy wounded and his desecration of Muhammad Ahmad's tomb in Omdurman. On 2 December 1898, Churchill embarked for India to settle his military business and complete his resignation from the 4th Hussars. He spent a lot of his time there playing polo, the only ball sport in which he was ever interested. Having left the Hussars, he sailed from Bombay on 20 March 1899, determined to launch a career in politics. Politics and South Africa: 1899–1901. Seeking a parliamentary career, Churchill spoke at Conservative meetings and was selected as one of the party's two parliamentary candidates for the June 1899 by-election in Oldham, Lancashire. While campaigning in Oldham, Churchill referred to himself as "a Conservative and a Tory Democrat". Although the Oldham seats had previously been held by the Conservatives, the result was a narrow Liberal victory. Anticipating the outbreak of the Second Boer War between Britain and the Boer Republics, Churchill sailed to South Africa as a journalist for the "Morning Post" under the editorship of James Nicol Dunn. In October, he travelled to the conflict zone near Ladysmith, then besieged by Boer troops, before heading for Colenso. After his train was derailed by Boer artillery shelling, he was captured as a prisoner of war (POW) and interned in a Boer POW camp in Pretoria. In December, Churchill escaped from the prison and evaded his captors by stowing away aboard freight trains and hiding in a mine. He eventually made it to safety in Portuguese East Africa. His escape attracted much publicity. In January 1900, he briefly rejoined the army as a lieutenant in the South African Light Horse regiment, joining Redvers Buller's fight to relieve the Siege of Ladysmith and take Pretoria. He was among the first British troops into both places. He and his cousin, the 9th Duke of Marlborough, demanded and received the surrender of 52 Boer prison camp guards. Throughout the war, he had publicly chastised anti-Boer prejudices, calling for them to be treated with "generosity and tolerance", and after the war he urged the British to be magnanimous in victory. In July, having resigned his lieutenancy, he returned to Britain. His "Morning Post" despatches had been published as "London to Ladysmith via Pretoria" and had sold well. Churchill rented a flat in London's Mayfair, using it as his base for the next six years. He stood again as one of the Conservative candidates at Oldham in the October 1900 general election, securing a narrow victory to become a Member of Parliament at age 25. In the same month, he published "Ian Hamilton's March", a book about his South African experiences, which became the focus of a lecture tour in November through Britain, America and Canada. Members of Parliament were unpaid and the tour was a financial necessity. In America, Churchill met Mark Twain, President McKinley and Vice President Theodore Roosevelt; he did not get on well with Roosevelt. Later, in spring 1901, he gave more lectures in Paris, Madrid and Gibraltar. Conservative MP: 1901–1904. In February 1901, Churchill took his seat in the House of Commons, where his maiden speech gained widespread press coverage. He associated with a group of Conservatives known as the Hughligans, but he was critical of the Conservative government on various issues, especially increases in army funding. He believed that additional military expenditure should go to the navy. This upset the Conservative front bench but was supported by Liberals, with whom he increasingly socialised, particularly Liberal Imperialists like H. H. Asquith. In this context, Churchill later wrote that he "drifted steadily to the left" of parliamentary politics. He privately considered "the gradual creation by an evolutionary process of a Democratic or Progressive wing to the Conservative Party", or alternately a "Central Party" to unite the Conservatives and Liberals. By 1903, there was real division between Churchill and the Conservatives, largely because he opposed their promotion of economic protectionism, but also because he sensed that the animosity of many party members would prevent him from gaining a Cabinet position under a Conservative government. The Liberal Party was then attracting growing support, and so his defection in 1904 may have also have been influenced by personal ambition. He increasingly voted with the Liberals against the government. For example, he opposed an increase in military expenditure; he supported a Liberal bill to restore legal rights to trade unions. ; and he opposed the introduction of tariffs on goods imported into the British Empire, describing himself as a "sober admirer" of the principles of free trade. Balfour's government announced protectionist legislation in October 1903. Two months later, incensed by Churchill's criticism of the government, the Oldham Conservative Association informed him that it would not support his candidature at the next general election. In May 1904, Churchill opposed the government's proposed Aliens Bill, designed to curb Jewish migration into Britain. He stated that the bill would "appeal to insular prejudice against foreigners, to racial prejudice against Jews, and to labour prejudice against competition" and expressed himself in favour of "the old tolerant and generous practice of free entry and asylum to which this country has so long adhered and from which it has so greatly gained". On 31 May 1904, he crossed the floor, defecting from the Conservatives to sit as a member of the Liberal Party in the House of Commons. Liberal MP: 1904–1908. In December 1905, Balfour resigned as Prime Minister and King Edward VII invited the Liberal leader Henry Campbell-Bannerman to take his place. Hoping to secure a working majority in the House of Commons, Campbell-Bannerman called a general election in January 1906, which the Liberals won. Churchill won the Manchester North West seat. In the same month, his biography of his father was published; he received an advance payment of £8,000. It was generally well received. It was also at this time that the first biography of Churchill himself, written by the Liberal Alexander MacCallum Scott, was published. In the new government, Churchill became Under-Secretary of State for the Colonial Office, a junior ministerial position that he had requested. He worked beneath the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin, and took Edward Marsh as his secretary; Marsh remained Churchill's secretary for 25 years. Churchill's first task was helping to draft a constitution for the Transvaal; and he helped oversee the formation of a government in the Orange Free State. In dealing with southern Africa, he sought to ensure equality between the British and Boer. He also announced a gradual phasing out of the use of Chinese indentured labourers in South Africa; he and the government decided that a sudden ban would cause too much upset in the colony and might damage the economy. He expressed concerns about the relations between European settlers and the black African population; after the Zulu launched their Bambatha Rebellion in Natal, Churchill complained about the "disgusting butchery of the natives" by Europeans. Asquith government: 1908–1915. President of the Board of Trade: 1908–1910. Asquith succeeded Campbell-Bannerman on 8 April 1908 and, four days later, Churchill was appointed President of the Board of Trade. Aged 33, he was the youngest Cabinet member since 1866. Newly appointed Cabinet ministers were legally obliged to seek re-election at a by-election and on 24 April, Churchill lost the Manchester North West by-election to the Conservative candidate by 429 votes. On 9 May, the Liberals stood him in the safe seat of Dundee, where he won comfortably. In private life, Churchill proposed marriage to Clementine Hozier; they were married in September at St Margaret's, Westminster and honeymooned in Baveno, Venice, and Veverí Castle in Moravia. They lived at 33 Eccleston Square, London, and their first daughter, Diana, was born in July 1909. One of Churchill's first tasks as a minister was to arbitrate in an industrial dispute among ship-workers and employers on the River Tyne. He afterwards established a Standing Court of Arbitration to deal with future industrial disputes, establishing a reputation as a conciliator. In Cabinet, he worked with David Lloyd George to champion social reform. He promoted what he called a "network of State intervention and regulation" akin to that in Germany. Churchill introduced the Mines Eight Hours Bill, which legally prohibited miners from working more than an eight-hour day. He introduced the Trade Boards Bill, creating Trade Boards which could prosecute exploitative employers. Passing with a large majority, it established the principle of a minimum wage and the right of workers to have meal breaks. In May 1909, he proposed the Labour Exchanges Bill to establish over 200 Labour Exchanges through which the unemployed would be assisted in finding employment. He also promoted the idea of an unemployment insurance scheme, which would be part-funded by the state. To ensure funding for their reforms, Lloyd George and Churchill denounced Reginald McKenna's policy of naval expansion, refusing to believe that war with Germany was inevitable. As Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lloyd George presented his "People's Budget" on 29 April 1909, calling it a war budget to eliminate poverty. He proposed unprecedented taxes on the rich to fund the Liberal welfare programmes. The budget was vetoed by the Conservative peers who dominated the House of Lords. His social reforms under threat, Churchill warned that upper-class obstruction could anger working-class Britons and lead to class war. The government called the January 1910 general election, which resulted in a narrow Liberal victory; Churchill retained his seat at Dundee. After the election, he proposed the abolition of the House of Lords in a cabinet memorandum, suggesting that it be replaced either by a unicameral system or by a new, smaller second chamber that lacked an in-built advantage for the Conservatives. In April, the Lords relented and the People's Budget passed into law. Home Secretary: 1910–1911. In February 1910, Churchill was promoted to Home Secretary, giving him control over the police and prison services, and he implemented a prison reform programme. Measures included a distinction between criminal and political prisoners, with prison rules for the latter being relaxed. There were educational innovations like the establishment of libraries for prisoners, and a requirement for each prison to stage entertainments four times a year. The rules on solitary confinement were relaxed somewhat, and Churchill proposed the abolition of automatic imprisonment of those who failed to pay fines. Imprisonment of people aged between 16 and 21 was abolished except for the most serious offences. Churchill commuted 21 of the 43 capital sentences passed while he was Home Secretary. One of the major domestic issues in Britain was women's suffrage. Churchill supported giving women the vote, but he would only back a bill to that effect if it had majority support from the (male) electorate. His proposed solution was a referendum on the issue, but this found no favour with Asquith and women's suffrage remained unresolved until 1918. Many suffragettes believed that Churchill was a committed opponent of women's suffrage, and targeted his meetings for protest. In November 1910, the suffragist Hugh Franklin attacked Churchill with a whip; Franklin was arrested and imprisoned for six weeks. In the summer of 1910, Churchill had to deal with the Tonypandy Riot, in which coal miners in the Rhondda Valley violently protested against their working conditions. The Chief Constable of Glamorgan requested troops to help police quell the rioting. Churchill, learning that the troops were already travelling, allowed them to go as far as Swindon and Cardiff, but blocked their deployment; he was concerned that the use of troops could lead to bloodshed. Instead he sent 270 London police, who were not equipped with firearms, to assist their Welsh counterparts. As the riots continued, he offered the protesters an interview with the government's chief industrial arbitrator, which they accepted. Privately, Churchill regarded both the mine owners and striking miners as being "very unreasonable". "The Times" and other media outlets accused him of being too soft on the rioters; in contrast, many in the Labour Party, which was linked to the trade unions, regarded him as having been too heavy-handed. Asquith called a general election in December 1910 and the Liberals were re-elected with Churchill secure in Dundee. In January 1911, Churchill became involved in the Siege of Sidney Street; three Latvian burglars had killed several police officers and hidden in a house in London's East End, which was surrounded by police. Churchill stood with the police though he did not direct their operation. After the house caught fire, he told the fire brigade not to proceed into the house because of the threat posed by the armed men. Afterwards, two of the burglars were found dead. Although he faced criticism for his decision, he stated that he "thought it better to let the house burn down rather than spend good British lives in rescuing those ferocious rascals". In March 1911, Churchill introduced the second reading of the Coal Mines Bill in parliament. When implemented, it imposed stricter safety standards at coal mines. He also formulated the Shops Bill to improve the working conditions of shop workers; it faced opposition from shop owners and only passed into law in a much emasculated form. In April, Lloyd George introduced the first health and unemployment insurance legislation, the National Insurance Act 1911; Churchill had been instrumental in drafting it. In May, Clementine gave birth to their second child, Randolph, named after Churchill's father. In response to escalating civil strife in 1911, Churchill sent troops into Liverpool to quell protesting dockers and rallied against a national railway strike. During the Agadir Crisis of April 1911, when there was a threat of war between France and Germany, Churchill suggested an alliance with France and Russia to safeguard the independence of Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands to counter possible German expansionism. The Agadir Crisis had a profound effect on Churchill and he altered his views about the need for naval expansion. First Lord of the Admiralty. In October 1911, Asquith appointed Churchill First Lord of the Admiralty, and he took up official residence at Admiralty House. Over the next two and a half years he focused on naval preparation, visiting naval stations and dockyards, seeking to improve morale, and scrutinising German naval developments. After the German government passed its Navy Law to increase warship production, Churchill vowed that Britain would do the same and that for every new battleship built by the Germans, Britain would build two. He invited Germany to engage in a mutual de-escalation of naval building projects, but this was refused. Churchill pushed for higher pay and greater recreational facilities for naval staff, an increase in the building of submarines, and a renewed focus on the Royal Naval Air Service, encouraging them to experiment with how aircraft could be used for military purposes. He coined the term "seaplane" and ordered 100 to be constructed. Some Liberals objected to his levels of naval expenditure; in December 1913 he threatened to resign if his proposal for four new battleships in 1914–15 was rejected. In June 1914, he convinced the House of Commons to authorise the government purchase of a 51 percent share in the profits of oil produced by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, to secure continued oil access for the Royal Navy. The central issue in Britain at the time was Irish Home Rule and, in 1912, Asquith's government introduced the Home Rule Bill. Churchill supported it and urged Ulster Unionists to accept it as he opposed the partition of Ireland. Later, following a Cabinet decision, he boosted the naval presence in Ireland to deal with any Unionist uprising. Seeking a compromise, Churchill suggested that Ireland remain part of a federal United Kingdom but this angered Liberals and Irish nationalists. As First Lord, Churchill was tasked with overseeing Britain's naval effort when the First World War began in August 1914. In the same month, the navy transported 120,000 British troops to France and began a blockade of German North Sea ports. Churchill sent submarines to the Baltic Sea to assist the Russian Navy and he sent the Marine Brigade to Ostend, forcing a reallocation of German troops. In September, Churchill assumed full responsibility for Britain's aerial defence. On 7 October, Clementine gave birth to their third child, Sarah. In October, Churchill visited Antwerp to observe Belgian defences against the besieging Germans and promised British reinforcements for the city. Soon afterwards, however, Antwerp fell to the Germans and Churchill was criticised in the press. He maintained that his actions had prolonged resistance and enabled the Allies to secure Calais and Dunkirk. In November, Asquith called a War Council, consisting of himself, Lloyd George, Edward Grey, Kitchener, and Churchill. Churchill put forward some proposals including the development of the tank, and offered to finance its creation with Admiralty funds. Churchill was interested in the Middle Eastern theatre and wanted to relieve Turkish pressure on the Russians in the Caucasus by staging attacks against Turkey in the Dardanelles. He hoped that, if successful, the British could even seize Constantinople. Approval was given and, in March 1915, an Anglo-French task force attempted a naval bombardment of Turkish defences in the Dardanelles. In April, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, including the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), began its assault at Gallipoli. Both of these campaigns failed and Churchill was held by many MPs, particularly Conservatives, to be personally responsible. In May, Asquith agreed under parliamentary pressure to form an all-party coalition government, but the Conservatives' one condition of entry was that Churchill must be removed from the Admiralty. Churchill pleaded his case with both Asquith and Conservative leader Bonar Law, but had to accept demotion and became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Military service, 1915–1916. On 25 November 1915, Churchill resigned from the government, although he remained an MP. Asquith rejected his request to be appointed Governor-General of British East Africa. Churchill decided to join the Army and was attached to the 2nd Grenadier Guards, on the Western Front. In January 1916, he was temporarily promoted to lieutenant-colonel and given command of the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers. After a period of training, the battalion was moved to a sector of the Belgian Front near Ploegsteert. For over three months, they faced continual shelling although no German offensive. Churchill narrowly escaped death when, during a visit by his staff officer cousin the 9th Duke of Marlborough, a large piece of shrapnel fell between them. In May, the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers were merged into the 15th Division. Churchill did not request a new command, instead securing permission to leave active service. His temporary promotion ended on 16 May, when he returned to the rank of major. Back in the House of Commons, Churchill spoke out on war issues, calling for conscription to be extended to the Irish, greater recognition of soldiers' bravery, and for the introduction of steel helmets for troops. He was frustrated at being out of office as a backbencher but he was repeatedly blamed for Gallipoli, mainly by the pro-Conservative press. Churchill argued his case before the Dardanelles Commission, whose published report placed no blame on him personally for the campaign's failure. Lloyd George government: 1916–1922. Minister of Munitions: 1917–1919. In October 1916, Asquith resigned as Prime Minister and was succeeded by Lloyd George who, in May 1917, sent Churchill to inspect the French war effort. In July, Churchill was appointed Minister of Munitions. He quickly negotiated an end to a strike in munitions factories along the Clyde and increased munitions production. He ended a second strike, in June 1918, by threatening to conscript strikers into the army. In the House of Commons, Churchill voted in support of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which gave some British women the right to vote. In November 1918, four days after the Armistice, Churchill's fourth child, Marigold, was born. Secretary of State for War and Air: 1919–1921. With the war over, Lloyd George called a general election with voting on Saturday, 14 December 1918. During the election campaign, Churchill called for the nationalisation of the railways, a control on monopolies, tax reform, and the creation of a League of Nations to prevent future wars. He was returned as MP for Dundee and, although the Conservatives won a majority, Lloyd George was retained as Prime Minister. In January 1919, Lloyd George moved Churchill to the War Office as both Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State for Air. Churchill was responsible for demobilising the British Army, although he convinced Lloyd George to keep a million men conscripted for the British Army of the Rhine. Churchill was one of the few government figures who opposed harsh measures against the defeated Germany, and he cautioned against demobilising the German Army, warning that they may be needed as a bulwark against threats from the newly established Soviet Russia. He was an outspoken opponent of Vladimir Lenin's new Communist Party government in Russia. He initially supported the use of British troops to assist the anti-Communist White forces in the Russian Civil War, but soon recognised the desire of the British people to bring them home. After the Soviets won the civil war, Churchill proposed a "cordon sanitaire" around the country. In the Irish War of Independence, he supported the use of the para-military Black and Tans to combat Irish revolutionaries. After British troops in Iraq clashed with Kurdish rebels, Churchill authorised two squadrons to the area, proposing that they be equipped with mustard gas to be used to "inflict punishment upon recalcitrant natives without inflicting grave injury upon them". More broadly, he saw the occupation of Iraq as a drain on Britain and proposed, unsuccessfully, that the government should hand control of central and northern Iraq back to Turkey. Secretary of State for the Colonies: 1921–1922. Churchill became Secretary of State for the Colonies in February 1921. The following month, the first exhibit of his paintings was held; it took place in Paris, with Churchill exhibiting under a pseudonym. In May, his mother died, followed in August by his daughter Marigold. Churchill was involved in negotiations with Sinn Féin leaders and helped draft the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Elsewhere, he was responsible for reducing the cost of occupying the Middle East, and was involved in the installations of Faisal I of Iraq and his brother Abdullah I of Jordan. Churchill travelled to Mandatory Palestine where, as a supporter of Zionism, he refused an Arab Palestinian petition to prohibit Jewish migration to Palestine. He did allow some temporary restrictions following the 1921 Jaffa riots. In September 1922, Churchill's fifth and last child, Mary, was born, and in the same month he purchased Chartwell, in Kent, which became his family home for the rest of his lifetime. In October 1922, he underwent an operation for appendicitis. While he was in hospital, the Conservatives withdrew from Lloyd George's coalition government, precipitating the November 1922 general election, in which Churchill lost his Dundee seat. Later, Churchill wrote that he was "without an office, without a seat, without a party, and without an appendix". Still, he could be satisfied with his elevation as one of 50 Companions of Honour, as named in Lloyd George's 1922 Dissolution Honours list. Out of Parliament: 1922–1924. Churchill spent much of the next six months at the Villa Rêve d'Or near Cannes, where he devoted himself to painting and writing his memoirs. He wrote an autobiographical history of the war, "The World Crisis". The first volume was published in April 1923 and the rest over the next ten years. After the 1923 general election was called, seven Liberal associations asked Churchill to stand as their candidate, and he selected Leicester West, but he did not win the seat. A Labour government led by Ramsay MacDonald took power. Churchill had hoped they would be defeated by a Conservative-Liberal coalition. He strongly opposed the MacDonald government's decision to loan money to Soviet Russia and feared the signing of an Anglo-Soviet Treaty. On 19 March 1924, alienated by Liberal support for Labour, Churchill stood as an independent anti-socialist candidate in the Westminster Abbey by-election but was defeated. In May, he addressed a Conservative meeting in Liverpool and declared that there was no longer a place for the Liberal Party in British politics. He said that Liberals must back the Conservatives to stop Labour and ensure "the successful defeat of socialism". In July, he agreed with Conservative leader Stanley Baldwin that he would be selected as a Conservative candidate in the next general election, which was held on 29 October. Churchill stood at Epping, but he described himself as a "Constitutionalist". The Conservatives were victorious and Baldwin formed the new government. Although Churchill had no background in finance or economics, Baldwin appointed him as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Chancellor of the Exchequer: 1924–1929. Becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer on 6 November 1924, Churchill formally rejoined the Conservative Party. As Chancellor, he intended to pursue his free trade principles in the form of "laissez-faire" economics, as under the Liberal social reforms. In April 1925, he controversially albeit reluctantly restored the gold standard in his first budget at its 1914 parity against the advice of some leading economists including John Maynard Keynes. The return to gold is held to have caused deflation and resultant unemployment with a devastating impact on the coal industry. Churchill presented five budgets in all to April 1929. Among his measures were reduction of the state pension age from 70 to 65; immediate provision of widow's pensions; reduction of military expenditure; income tax reductions and imposition of taxes on luxury items. During the General Strike of 1926, Churchill edited the "British Gazette", the government's anti-strike propaganda newspaper. After the strike ended, he acted as an intermediary between striking miners and their employers. He later called for the introduction of a legally binding minimum wage. In early 1927, Churchill visited Rome where he met Mussolini, whom he praised for his stand against Leninism. The "Wilderness Years": 1929–1939. "Marlborough" and the India Question: 1929–1932. In the 1929 general election, Churchill retained his Epping seat but the Conservatives were defeated and MacDonald formed his second Labour government. Out of office, Churchill was prone to depression (his "black dog") as he sensed his political talents being wasted and time passing him by – in all such times, writing provided the antidote. He began work on "", a four-volume biography of his ancestor John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. It was by this time that he had developed a reputation for being a heavy drinker of alcoholic beverages, although Jenkins believes that was often exaggerated. Hoping that the Labour government could be ousted, he gained Baldwin's approval to work towards establishing a Conservative-Liberal coalition, although many Liberals were reluctant. In October 1930, after his return from a trip to North America, Churchill published his autobiography, "My Early Life", which sold well and was translated into multiple languages. In January 1931, Churchill resigned from the Conservative Shadow Cabinet because Baldwin supported the decision of the Labour government to grant Dominion status to India. Churchill believed that enhanced home rule status would hasten calls for full independence. He was particularly opposed to Mohandas Gandhi, whom he considered "a seditious Middle Temple lawyer, now posing as a fakir". His views enraged Labour and Liberal opinion although he was supported by many grassroot Conservatives. The October 1931 general election was a landslide victory for the Conservatives Churchill nearly doubled his majority in Epping, but he was not given a ministerial position. The Commons debated Dominion Status for India on 3 December and Churchill insisted on dividing the House, but this backfired as only 43 MPs supported him. He embarked on a lecture tour of North America, hoping to recoup financial losses sustained in the Wall Street Crash. On 13 December, he was crossing Fifth Avenue in New York City when he was knocked down by a car, suffering a head wound from which he developed neuritis. To further his convalescence, he and Clementine took ship to Nassau for three weeks but Churchill became depressed there about his financial and political losses. He returned to America in late January 1932 and completed most of his lectures before arriving home on 18 March. Having worked on "Marlborough" for much of 1932, Churchill in late August decided to visit his ancestor's battlefields. Staying at the Regina Hotel in Munich, he met Ernst Hanfstaengl, a friend of Hitler, who was then rising in prominence. Hanfstaengl tried to arrange a meeting between Churchill and Hitler, but Hitler was unenthusiastic, saying, "What on earth would I talk to him about?" After Churchill raised concerns about Hitler's anti-Semitism, Hitler did not come to the hotel that day or the next. Hitler allegedly told Hanfstaengl that Churchill was not in office and was of no consequence. Soon after visiting Blenheim, Churchill was afflicted with paratyphoid fever and spent two weeks at a sanatorium in Salzburg. He returned to Chartwell on 25 September, still working on "Marlborough". Two days later, he collapsed while walking in the grounds after a recurrence of paratyphoid which caused an ulcer to haemorrhage. He was taken to a London nursing home and remained there until late October. Warnings about Germany and the abdication crisis: 1933–1936. After Hitler came to power on 30 January 1933, Churchill was quick to recognise the menace of such a regime and expressed alarm that the British government had reduced air force spending and warned that Germany would soon overtake Britain in air force production. Armed with official data provided clandestinely by two senior civil servants, Desmond Morton and Ralph Wigram, Churchill was able to speak with authority about what was happening in Germany, especially the development of the Luftwaffe. He told the people of his concerns in a radio broadcast in November 1934, having earlier denounced the intolerance and militarism of Nazism in the House of Commons. While Churchill regarded Mussolini's regime as a bulwark against the perceived threat of communist revolution, he opposed the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, despite describing the country as a primitive, uncivilised nation. Writing about the Spanish Civil War, he referred to Franco's army as the "anti-red movement", but later became critical of Franco. Two of his nephews, Esmond and Giles Romilly, fought as volunteers in the International Brigades in defence of the legitimate Republican government. Between October 1933 and September 1938, the four volumes of "" were published and sold well. In December 1934, the India Bill entered Parliament and was passed in February 1935. Churchill and 83 other Conservative MPs voted against it. In June 1935, MacDonald resigned and was replaced as Prime Minister by Baldwin. Baldwin then led the Conservatives to victory in the 1935 general election; Churchill retained his seat with an increased majority but was again left out of the government. In January 1936, Edward VIII succeeded his father, George V, as monarch. His desire to marry an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson, caused the abdication crisis. Churchill supported Edward and clashed with Baldwin on the issue. Afterwards, although Churchill immediately pledged loyalty to George VI, he wrote that the abdication was "premature and probably quite unnecessary". Anti-appeasement: 1937–1939. In May 1937, Baldwin resigned and was succeeded as Prime Minister by Neville Chamberlain. At first, Churchill welcomed Chamberlain's appointment but, in February 1938, matters came to a head after Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden resigned over Chamberlain's appeasement of Mussolini, a policy which Chamberlain was extending towards Hitler. In 1938, Churchill warned the government against appeasement and called for collective action to deter German aggression. In March, the "Evening Standard" ceased publication of his fortnightly articles, but the "Daily Telegraph" published them instead. Following the German annexation of Austria, Churchill spoke in the House of Commons, declaring that "the gravity of the events[…] cannot be exaggerated". He began calling for a mutual defence pact among European states threatened by German expansionism, arguing that this was the only way to halt Hitler. This was to no avail as, in September, Germany mobilised to invade the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. Churchill visited Chamberlain at Downing Street and urged him to tell Germany that Britain would declare war if the Germans invaded Czechoslovak territory; Chamberlain was not willing to do this. On 30 September, Chamberlain signed up to the Munich Agreement, agreeing to allow German annexation of the Sudetenland. Speaking in the House of Commons on 5 October, Churchill called the agreement "a total and unmitigated defeat". First Lord of the Admiralty: September 1939 to May 1940. The Phoney War and the Norwegian Campaign. On 3 September 1939, the day Britain declared war on Germany, Chamberlain reappointed Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty and he joined Chamberlain's war cabinet. Churchill later claimed that the Board of the Admiralty sent a signal to the Fleet: "Winston is back". As First Lord, Churchill was one of the highest-profile ministers during the so-called "Phoney War", when the only significant action by British forces was at sea. Churchill was ebullient after the Battle of the River Plate on 13 December 1939 and afterwards welcomed home the crews, congratulating them on "a brilliant sea fight" and saying that their actions in a cold, dark winter had "warmed the cockles of the British heart". On 16 February 1940, Churchill personally ordered Captain Philip Vian of the destroyer to board the German supply ship in Norwegian waters and liberate some 300 British prisoners who had been captured by the . These actions, supplemented by his speeches, considerably enhanced Churchill's reputation. He was concerned about German naval activity in the Baltic Sea and initially wanted to send a naval force there but this was soon changed to a plan, codenamed "Operation Wilfred", to mine Norwegian waters and stop iron ore shipments from Narvik to Germany. There were disagreements about mining, both in the war cabinet and with the French government. As a result, "Wilfred" was delayed until 8 April 1940, the day before the German invasion of Norway was launched. The Norway Debate and Chamberlain's resignation. After the Allies failed to prevent the German occupation of Norway, the Commons held an open debate from 7 to 9 May on the government's conduct of the war. This has come to be known as the Norway Debate and is renowned as one of the most significant events in parliamentary history. On the second day (Wednesday, 8 May), the Labour opposition called for a division which was in effect a vote of no confidence in Chamberlain's government. There was considerable support for Churchill on both sides of the House but, as a member of the government, he was obliged to speak on its behalf. He was called upon to wind up the debate, which placed him in the difficult position of having to defend the government without damaging his own prestige. Although the government won the vote, its majority was drastically reduced amid calls for a national government to be formed. In the early hours of 10 May, German forces invaded Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands as a prelude to their assault on France. Since the division vote, Chamberlain had been trying to form a coalition but Labour declared on the Friday afternoon that they would not serve under his leadership, although they would accept another Conservative. The only two candidates were Churchill and Lord Halifax, the Foreign Secretary. The matter had already been discussed at a meeting on the 9th between Chamberlain, Halifax, Churchill, and David Margesson, the government Chief Whip. Halifax admitted that he could not govern effectively as a member of the House of Lords and so Chamberlain advised the King to send for Churchill, who became Prime Minister. Churchill later wrote of feeling a profound sense of relief in that he now had authority over the whole scene. He believed himself to be walking with destiny and that his life so far had been "a preparation for this hour and for this trial". Prime Minister: 1940–1945. Dunkirk to Pearl Harbor: May 1940 to December 1941. War ministry created. In May, Churchill was still generally unpopular with many Conservatives and probably most of the Labour Party. Chamberlain remained Conservative Party leader until October when ill health forced his resignation. By that time, Churchill had won the doubters over and his succession as party leader was a formality. He began his premiership by forming a five-man war cabinet which included Chamberlain as Lord President of the Council, Labour leader Clement Attlee as Lord Privy Seal (later as Deputy Prime Minister), Halifax as Foreign Secretary and Labour's Arthur Greenwood as a minister without portfolio. In practice, these five were augmented by the service chiefs and ministers who attended the majority of meetings. The cabinet changed in size and membership as the war progressed, one of the key appointments being the leading trades unionist Ernest Bevin as Minister of Labour and National Service. In response to previous criticisms that there had been no clear single minister in charge of the prosecution of the war, Churchill created and took the additional position of Minister of Defence, making him the most powerful wartime Prime Minister in British history. He drafted outside experts into government to fulfil vital functions, especially on the Home Front. These included personal friends like Lord Beaverbrook and Frederick Lindemann, who became the government's scientific advisor. Resolve to fight on. At the end of May, with the British Expeditionary Force in retreat to Dunkirk and the Fall of France seemingly imminent, Halifax proposed that the government should explore the possibility of a negotiated peace settlement using the still-neutral Mussolini as an intermediary. There were several high-level meetings from 26 to 28 May, including two with the French premier Paul Reynaud. Churchill's resolve was to fight on, even if France capitulated, but his position remained precarious until Chamberlain resolved to support him. Churchill had the full support of the two Labour members but knew he could not survive as Prime Minister if both Chamberlain and Halifax were against him. In the end, by gaining the support of his outer cabinet, Churchill outmanoeuvred Halifax and won Chamberlain over. Churchill believed that the only option was to fight on and his use of rhetoric hardened public opinion against a peaceful resolution and prepared the British people for a long war – Jenkins says Churchill's speeches were "an inspiration for the nation, and a catharsis for Churchill himself". Churchill succeeded as an orator despite being handicapped from childhood with a speech impediment. He had a lateral lisp and was unable to pronounce the letter "s", verbalising it with a slur. He worked hard on his pronunciation by repeating phrases designed to cure his problem with the sibilant "s". He was ultimately successful and was eventually able to say: "My impediment is no hindrance". In time, he turned the impediment into an asset and could use it to great effect, as when he called Hitler a "Nar-zee" (rhymes with "khazi"; emphasis on the "z"), rather than a Nazi ("ts"). His first speech as Prime Minister, delivered to the Commons on 13 May was the "blood, toil, tears and sweat" speech. It was little more than a short statement but, Jenkins says, "it included phrases which have reverberated down the decades". Churchill made it plain to the nation that a long, hard road lay ahead and that victory was the final goal: Operation Dynamo and the Battle of France. Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of 338,226 Allied servicemen from Dunkirk, ended on Tuesday, 4 June when the French rearguard surrendered. The total was far in excess of expectations and it gave rise to a popular view that Dunkirk had been a miracle, and even a victory. Churchill himself referred to "a miracle of deliverance" in his "we shall fight on the beaches" speech to the Commons that afternoon, though he shortly reminded everyone that: "We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations". The speech ended on a note of defiance coupled with a clear appeal to the United States: Germany initiated "Fall Rot" the following day and Italy entered the war on the 10th. The Wehrmacht occupied Paris on the 14th and completed their conquest of France on 25 June. It was now inevitable that Hitler would attack and probably try to invade Great Britain. Faced with this, Churchill addressed the Commons on 18 June and delivered one of his most famous speeches, ending with this peroration: Churchill was determined to fight back and ordered the commencement of the Western Desert campaign on 11 June, an immediate response to the Italian declaration of war. This went well at first while the Italian army was the sole opposition and Operation Compass was a noted success. In early 1941, however, Mussolini requested German support and Hitler sent the Afrika Korps to Tripoli under the command of "Generalleutnant" Erwin Rommel, who arrived not long after Churchill had halted "Compass" so that he could reassign forces to Greece where the Balkans campaign was entering a critical phase. In other initiatives through June and July 1940, Churchill ordered the formation of both the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the Commandos. The SOE was ordered to promote and execute subversive activity in Nazi-occupied Europe while the Commandos were charged with raids on specific military targets there. Hugh Dalton, the Minister of Economic Warfare, took political responsibility for the SOE and recorded in his diary that Churchill told him: "And now go and set Europe ablaze". The Battle of Britain and the Blitz. On 20 August 1940, at the height of the Battle of Britain, Churchill addressed the Commons to outline the war situation. In the middle of this speech, he made a statement that created a famous nickname for the RAF fighter pilots involved in the battle: The Luftwaffe altered its strategy from 7 September 1940 and began the Blitz, which was especially intensive through October and November. Churchill's morale during the Blitz was generally high and he told his private secretary John Colville in November that he thought the threat of invasion was past. He was confident that Great Britain could hold its own, given the increase in output, but was realistic about its chances of actually winning the war without American intervention. Lend-Lease. In September 1940, the British and American governments concluded the Destroyers for Bases Agreement, by which fifty American destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy in exchange for free US base rights in Bermuda, the Caribbean and Newfoundland. An added advantage for Britain was that its military assets in those bases could be redeployed elsewhere. Churchill's good relations with United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt helped secure vital food, oil and munitions via the North Atlantic shipping routes. It was for this reason that Churchill was relieved when Roosevelt was re-elected in 1940. Upon re-election, Roosevelt set about implementing a new method of providing necessities to Great Britain without the need for monetary payment. He persuaded Congress that repayment for this immensely costly service would take the form of defending the US. The policy was known as Lend-Lease and it was formally enacted on 11 March 1941. Operation Barbarossa. Hitler launched his invasion of the Soviet Union on Sunday, 22 June 1941. It was no surprise to Churchill, who had known since early April, from Enigma decrypts at Bletchley Park, that the attack was imminent. He had tried to warn General Secretary Joseph Stalin via the British ambassador to Moscow, Stafford Cripps, but to no avail as Stalin did not trust Churchill. The night before the attack, already intending an address to the nation, Churchill alluded to his hitherto anti-communist views by saying to Colville: "If Hitler invaded Hell, I would at least make a favourable reference to the Devil". Atlantic Charter. In August 1941, Churchill made his first transatlantic crossing of the war on board and met Roosevelt in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. On 14 August, they issued the joint statement that has become known as the Atlantic Charter. This outlined the goals of both countries for the future of the world and it is seen as the inspiration for the 1942 Declaration by United Nations, itself the basis of the United Nations which was founded in June 1945. Pearl Harbor to D-Day: December 1941 to June 1944. Pearl Harbor and United States entry into the war. On 7–8 December 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was followed by their invasion of Malaya and, on the 8th, Churchill declared war on Japan. Three days later came the joint declaration of war by Germany and Italy against the United States. Churchill went to Washington later in the month to meet Roosevelt for the first Washington Conference (codename "Arcadia"). This was important for "Europe First", the decision to prioritise victory in Europe over victory in the Pacific, taken by Roosevelt while Churchill was still in mid-Atlantic. The Americans agreed with Churchill that Hitler was the main enemy and that the defeat of Germany was key to Allied success. It was also agreed that the first joint Anglo-American strike would be Operation Torch, the invasion of French North Africa (i.e., Algeria and Morocco). Originally planned for the spring of 1942, it was finally launched in November 1942 when the crucial Second Battle of El Alamein was already underway. On 26 December, Churchill addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress but, that night, he suffered a mild heart attack which was diagnosed by his physician, Sir Charles Wilson (later Lord Moran), as a coronary deficiency needing several weeks' bed rest. Churchill insisted that he did not need bed rest and, two days later, journeyed on to Ottawa by train where he gave a speech to the Canadian Parliament that included the "some chicken, some neck" line in which he recalled French predictions in 1940 that "Britain alone would have her neck wrung like a chicken". He arrived home in mid-January, having flown from Bermuda to Plymouth in an American flying boat, to find that there was a crisis of confidence in both his coalition government and himself personally, and he decided to face a vote of confidence in the Commons, which he won easily. While he was away, the Eighth Army, having already relieved the Siege of Tobruk, had pursued Operation Crusader against Rommel's forces in Libya, successfully driving them back to a defensive position at El Agheila in Cyrenaica. On 21 January 1942, however, Rommel launched a surprise counter-attack which drove the Allies back to Gazala. Elsewhere, recent British success in the Battle of the Atlantic was compromised by the Kriegsmarine's introduction of its M4 4-rotor Enigma, whose signals could not be deciphered by Bletchley Park for nearly a year. In the Far East, the news was much worse with Japanese advances in all theatres, especially at sea and in Malaya. At a press conference in Washington, Churchill had to play down his increasing doubts about the security of Singapore. Fall of Singapore and loss of Burma. Churchill already had grave concerns about the fighting quality of British troops after the defeats in Norway, France, Greece and Crete. Following the fall of Singapore to the Japanese on 15 February 1942, he felt that his misgivings were confirmed and said: "(this is) the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British military history". More bad news had come on 11 February as the Kriegsmarine pulled off its audacious "Channel Dash", a massive blow to British naval prestige. The combined effect of these events was to sink Churchill's morale to its lowest point of the whole war. Meanwhile, the Japanese had occupied most of Burma by the end of April 1942. Counter-offensives were hampered by the monsoon season and by disordered conditions in Bengal and Bihar, as well as a severe cyclone which devastated the region in October 1942. A combination of factors, particularly the curtailment of essential rice imports from Burma by the Japanese, and a series of large-scale natural disasters such as flooding and crop disease led to the Bengal famine of 1943, in which approximately 3 million people died. Churchill's government had prioritised distribution of vital supplies to the military but, while British wartime policies may have contributed to and even exacerbated the famine, their relative impact on the death toll remains a matter of controversy. In September 1943, responding to the first reports of the famine, Churchill ordered the immediate transportation of over 130,000 tonnes of Iraqi and Australian grain to Bengal; this rose to 200,000 tonnes by the end of the year. In October, Churchill appointed Lord Wavell as Viceroy of India, charging him with the responsibility of ending the famine. Robust efforts were made to alleviate the famine although the British were seriously hampered by the Japanese military. In February 1944, despite the demands of Operation Overlord, Churchill cabled Wavell saying: "I will certainly help you all I can, but you must not ask the impossible". International conferences in 1942. On 20 May, the Soviet Foreign Affairs minister, Vyacheslav Molotov, arrived in London and stayed until the 28th before going on to Washington. The purpose of this visit was to sign a treaty of friendship but Molotov wanted it done on the basis of certain territorial concessions re Poland and the Baltic States. Churchill and Eden worked for a compromise and eventually a twenty-year treaty was formalised but with the question of frontiers placed on hold. Molotov was also seeking a Second Front in Europe but all Churchill could do was confirm that preparations were in progress and make no promises on a date. Churchill felt well pleased with these negotiations and said as much when he contacted Roosevelt on the 27th. The previous day, however, Rommel had launched his counter-offensive, "Operation Venice", to begin the Battle of Gazala. The Allies were ultimately driven out of Libya and suffered a major defeat in the loss of Tobruk on 21 June. Churchill was with Roosevelt when the news of Tobruk reached him. He was shocked by the surrender of 35,000 troops which was, apart from Singapore, "the heaviest blow" he received in the war. The Axis advance was eventually halted at the First Battle of El Alamein in July and the Battle of Alam el Halfa in early September. Both sides were exhausted and in urgent need of reinforcements and supplies. Churchill had returned to Washington on 17 June. He and Roosevelt agreed on the implementation of "Operation Torch" as the necessary precursor to an invasion of Europe. Roosevelt had appointed General Dwight D. Eisenhower as commanding officer of the European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA). Having received the news from North Africa, Churchill obtained shipment from America to the Eighth Army of 300 Sherman tanks and 100 howitzers. He returned to Britain on 25 June and had to face another motion of no confidence, this time in his central direction of the war, but again he won easily. In August, despite health concerns, Churchill visited the British forces in North Africa, raising morale in the process, en route to Moscow for his first meeting with Stalin. He was accompanied by Roosevelt's special envoy Averell Harriman. He was in Moscow 12–16 August and had four lengthy meetings with Stalin. Although they got along quite well together on a personal level, there was little chance of any real progress given the state of the war with the Germans still advancing in all theatres. Stalin was desperate for the Allies to open the Second Front in Europe, as Churchill had discussed with Molotov in May, and the answer was the same. Turn of the tide: El Alamein and Stalingrad. While he was in Cairo in early August, Churchill decided to replace Field Marshal Auchinleck with Field Marshal Alexander as Commander-in-Chief of the Middle East Theatre. Command of the Eighth Army was given to General William Gott but he was killed only three days later and General Montgomery replaced him. Churchill returned to Cairo from Moscow on 17 August and could see for himself that the Alexander/Montgomery combination was already having an effect. He returned to England on the 21st, nine days before Rommel launched his final offensive. As 1942 drew to a close, the tide of war began to turn with Allied victory in the key battles of El Alamein and Stalingrad. Until November, the Allies had always been on the defensive, but from November, the Germans were. Churchill ordered the church bells to be rung throughout Great Britain for the first time since early 1940. On 10 November, knowing that El Alamein was a victory, he delivered one of his most memorable war speeches to the Lord Mayor's Luncheon at the Mansion House in London, in response to the Allied victory at El Alamein: "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." International conferences in 1943. In January 1943, Churchill met Roosevelt at the Casablanca Conference (codename "Symbol"), which lasted ten days. It was also attended by General Charles de Gaulle on behalf of the Free French Forces. Stalin had hoped to attend but declined because of the situation at Stalingrad. Although Churchill expressed doubts on the matter, the so-called Casablanca Declaration committed the Allies to securing "unconditional surrender" by the Axis powers. From Morocco, Churchill went to Cairo, Adana, Cyprus, Cairo again and Algiers for various purposes. He arrived home on 7 February having been out for the country for nearly a month. He addressed the Commons on the 11th and then became seriously ill with pneumonia the following day, necessitating more than one month of rest, recuperation and convalescence – for the latter, he moved to Chequers. He returned to work in London on 15 March. Churchill made two transatlantic crossings during the year, meeting Roosevelt at both the third Washington Conference (codename "Trident") in May and the first Quebec Conference (codename "Quadrant") in August. In November, Churchill and Roosevelt met Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek at the Cairo Conference (codename "Sextant"). The most important conference of the year was soon afterwards (28 November to 1 December) at Tehran (codename "Eureka"), where Churchill and Roosevelt met Stalin in the first of the "Big Three" meetings, preceding those at Yalta and Potsdam in 1945. Roosevelt and Stalin co-operated in persuading Churchill to commit to the opening of a second front in western Europe and it was also agreed that Germany would be divided after the war, but no firm decisions were made about how. On their way back from Tehran, Churchill and Roosevelt held a second Cairo conference with Turkish president Ismet Inönü, but were unable to gain any commitment from Turkey to join the Allies. Churchill went from Cairo to Tunis, arriving on 10 December, initially as Eisenhower's guest (soon afterwards, Eisenhower took over as Supreme Allied Commander of the new SHAEF just being created in London). While Churchill was in Tunis, he became seriously ill with atrial fibrillation and was forced to remain until after Christmas while a succession of specialists were drafted in to ensure his recovery. Clementine and Colville arrived to keep him company; Colville had just returned to Downing Street after more than two years in the RAF. On 27 December, the party went on to Marrakesh for convalescence. Feeling much better, Churchill flew to Gibraltar on 14 January 1944 and sailed home on the . He was back in London on the morning of 18 January and surprised MPs by attending Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons that afternoon. Since 12 January 1943, when he set off for the Casablanca Conference, Churchill had been abroad or seriously ill for 203 of the 371 days. Invasions of Sicily and Italy. In the autumn of 1942, after Churchill's meeting with Stalin in Moscow, he was approached by Eisenhower, commanding North African Theater of Operations (NATOUSA), and his aides on the subject of where the Western Allies should launch their first strike in Europe. According to General Mark Clark, who later commanded the United States Fifth Army in the Italian campaign, the Americans openly admitted that a cross-Channel operation in the near future was "utterly impossible". As an alternative, Churchill recommended "slit(ting) the soft belly of the Mediterranean" and persuaded them to invade first Sicily and then Italy after they had defeated the Afrika Korps in North Africa. After the war, Clark still agreed that Churchill's analysis was correct but he added that, when the Allies landed at Salerno, they found that Italy was "a tough old gut". The invasion of Sicily began on 9 July and was successfully completed by 17 August. Churchill was then all for driving straight up the Italian mainland with Rome as the main target, but the Americans wanted to withdraw several divisions to England in the build-up of forces for Operation Overlord, now scheduled for the spring of 1944. Churchill was still not keen on "Overlord" as he feared that an Anglo-American army in France might not be a match for the fighting efficiency of the Wehrmacht. He preferred peripheral operations, including a plan called Operation Jupiter for an invasion of northern Norway. Events in Sicily had an unexpected impact in Italy. King Victor Emmanuel sacked Mussolini on 25 July and appointed Marshal Badoglio as Prime Minister. Badoglio opened negotiations with the Allies which resulted in the Armistice of Cassibile on 3 September. In response, the Germans activated Operation Achse and took control of most of Italy. Although he still preferred Italy to Normandy as the Allies' main route into the Third Reich, Churchill was deeply concerned about the strong German resistance at Salerno and, later, after the Allies successfully gained their bridgehead at Anzio but still failed to break the stalemate, he caustically said that instead of "hurling a wildcat onto the shore", the Allied force had become a "stranded whale". The big obstacle was Monte Cassino and it was not until mid-May 1944 when it was finally overcome, enabling the Allies to at last advance on Rome, which was taken on 4 June. Preparations for D-Day. The difficulties in Italy caused Churchill to have a change of heart and mind about Allied strategy to the extent that, when the Anzio stalemate developed soon after his return to England from North Africa, he threw himself into the planning of "Overlord" and set up an ongoing series of meetings with SHAEF and the British Chiefs of Staff over which he regularly presided. These were always attended by either Eisenhower or his chief of staff General Walter Bedell Smith. Churchill was especially taken by the Mulberry project but he was also keen to make the most of Allied air power which, by the beginning of 1944, had become overwhelming. Churchill never fully lost his apprehension about the invasion, however, and underwent great fluctuation of mood as D-Day approached. Jenkins says that he faced potential victory with much less buoyancy than when he defiantly faced the prospect of defeat four years earlier. Need for post-war reform. Churchill could not ignore the need for post-war reforms covering a broad sweep of areas such as agriculture, education, employment, health, housing and welfare. The Beveridge Report with its five "Giant Evils" was published in November 1942 and assumed great importance amid widespread popular acclaim. Even so, Churchill was not really interested because he was focused on winning the war and saw reform in terms of tidying up afterwards. His attitude was demonstrated in a Sunday evening radio broadcast on 26 March 1944. He was obliged to devote most of it to the subject of reform and showed a distinct lack of interest. In their respective diaries, Colville said Churchill had broadcast "indifferently" and Harold Nicolson said that, to many people, Churchill came across the air as "a worn and petulant old man". In the end, however, it was the population's demand for reform that decided the 1945 general election. Labour was perceived as the party that would deliver Beveridge. Arthur Greenwood had initiated its preceding social insurance and allied services inquiry in June 1941. Attlee, Bevin and Labour's other coalition ministers through the war were seen to be working towards reform and earned the trust of the electorate. Defeat of Germany: June 1944 to May 1945. D-Day: Allied invasion of Normandy. Churchill was determined to be actively involved in the Normandy invasion and hoped to cross the Channel on D-Day itself (6 June 1944) or at least on D-Day+1. His desire caused unnecessary consternation at SHAEF until he was effectively vetoed by the King who told Churchill that, as head of all three services, he (the King) ought to go too. Churchill expected an Allied death toll of 20,000 on D-Day but he was proven to be pessimistic because less than 8,000 died in the whole of June. He made his first visit to Normandy on 12 June to visit Montgomery, whose HQ was then about five miles inland. That evening, as he was returning to London, the first V-1 flying bombs were launched. In a longer visit to Normandy on 22–23 July, Churchill went to Cherbourg and Arromanches where he saw the Mulberry Harbour. Quebec Conference, September 1944. Churchill met Roosevelt at the Second Quebec Conference (codename "Octagon") from 12 to 16 September 1944. Between themselves, they reached agreement on the Morgenthau Plan for the Allied occupation of Germany after the war, the intention of which was not only to demilitarise but also de-industrialise Germany. Eden strongly opposed it and was later able to persuade Churchill to disown it. US Secretary of State Cordell Hull also opposed it and convinced Roosevelt that it was infeasible. Moscow Conference, October 1944. At the fourth Moscow conference (codename "Tolstoy") from 9 to 19 October 1944, Churchill and Eden met Stalin and Molotov. This conference has gained notoriety for the so-called "Percentages agreement" in which Churchill and Stalin effectively agreed the post-war fate of the Balkans. By that time, the Soviet armies were in Rumania and Bulgaria. Churchill suggested a scale of predominance throughout the whole region so as not to, as he put it, "get at cross-purposes in small ways". He wrote down some suggested percentages of influence per country and gave it to Stalin who ticked it. The agreement was that Russia would have 90% control of Romania and 75% control of Bulgaria. The UK and the USA would have 90% control of Greece. Hungary and Yugoslavia would be 50% each. In 1958, five years after the account of this meeting was published (in Churchill's "The Second World War"), Soviet authorities denied that Stalin had accepted such an "imperialist proposal". Yalta Conference, February 1945. From 30 January to 2 February 1945, Churchill and Roosevelt met for their Malta Conference ahead of the second "Big Three" event at Yalta from 4 to 11 February. Yalta had massive implications for the post-war world. There were two predominant issues: the question of setting up the United Nations Organisation after the war, on which much progress was made; and the more vexed question of Poland's post-war status, which Churchill saw as a test case for the future of Eastern Europe. Churchill faced some strong criticism for the Yalta agreement on Poland. For example, 27 Tory MPs voted against him when the matter was debated in the Commons at the end of the month. Jenkins, however, maintains that Churchill did as well as he could have done in very difficult circumstances, not least the fact that Roosevelt was seriously ill and could not provide Churchill with meaningful support. Another outcome of Yalta was the so-called Operation Keelhaul. The Western Allies agreed to the forcible repatriation of all Soviet citizens in the Allied zones, including prisoners of war, to the Soviet Union and the policy was later extended to all Eastern European refugees, many of whom were anti-Communist. Keelhaul was implemented between 14 August 1946 and 9 May 1947. Dresden bombings controversy. On the nights of 13–15 February 1945, some 1,200 British and US bombers attacked the German city of Dresden, which was crowded with wounded and refugees from the Eastern Front. The attacks were part of an area bombing campaign that was initiated by Churchill in January with the intention of shortening the war. Churchill came to regret the bombing because initial reports suggested an excessive number of civilian casualties close to the end of the war, though an independent commission in 2010 confirmed a death toll between 22,700 and 25,000. On 28 March, he decided to restrict area bombing and sent a memorandum to General Ismay for the Chiefs of Staff Committee: British historian Frederick Taylor has pointed out that the number of Soviet citizens who died from German bombing was roughly equivalent to the number of German citizens who died from Allied raids. Jenkins asks if Churchill was moved more by foreboding than by regret but admits it is easy to criticise with the hindsight of victory. He adds that the area bombing campaign was no more reprehensible than President Truman's use of the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki six months later. Andrew Marr, quoting Max Hastings, says that Churchill's memorandum was a "calculated political attempt... to distance himself... from the rising controversy surrounding the area offensive". VE Day. On 7 May 1945 at the SHAEF headquarters in Reims the Allies accepted Germany's surrender. The next day was Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) when Churchill broadcast to the nation that Germany had surrendered and that a final ceasefire on all fronts in Europe would come into effect at one minute past midnight that night (i.e., on the 9th). Afterwards, Churchill went to Buckingham Palace where he appeared on the balcony with the Royal Family before a huge crowd of celebrating citizens. He went from the palace to Whitehall where he addressed another large crowd: "God bless you all. This is your victory. In our long history, we have never seen a greater day than this. Everyone, man or woman, has done their best." At this point he asked Ernest Bevin to come forward and share the applause. Bevin said: "No, Winston, this is your day", and proceeded to conduct the people in the singing of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow". In the evening, Churchill made another broadcast to the nation asserting that the defeat of Japan would follow in the coming months (the Japanese surrendered on 15 August 1945). Caretaker government: May 1945 to July 1945. With a general election looming (there had been none for almost a decade), and with the Labour ministers refusing to continue the wartime coalition, Churchill resigned as Prime Minister on 23 May 1945. Later that day, he accepted the King's invitation to form a new government, known officially as the National Government, like the Conservative-dominated coalition of the 1930s, but sometimes called the caretaker ministry. It contained Conservatives, National Liberals and a few non-party figures such as Sir John Anderson and Lord Woolton, but not Labour or Archibald Sinclair's Official Liberals. Although Churchill continued to carry out the functions of Prime Minister, including exchanging messages with the US administration about the upcoming Potsdam Conference, he was not formally reappointed until 28 May. Potsdam Conference. Churchill was Great Britain's representative at the post-war Potsdam Conference when it opened on 17 July and was accompanied at its sessions not only by Eden as Foreign Secretary but also, pending the result of the July general election, by Attlee. They attended nine sessions in nine days before returning to England for their election counts. After the landslide Labour victory, Attlee returned with Bevin as the new Foreign Secretary and there were a further five days of discussion. Potsdam went badly for Churchill. Eden later described his performance as "appalling", saying that he was unprepared and verbose. Churchill upset the Chinese, exasperated the Americans and was easily led by Stalin, whom he was supposed to be resisting. General election, July 1945. Churchill mishandled the election campaign by resorting to party politics and trying to denigrate Labour. On 4 June, he committed a serious political gaffe by saying in a radio broadcast that a Labour government would require "some form of Gestapo" to enforce its agenda. It backfired badly and Attlee made political capital by saying in his reply broadcast next day: "The voice we heard last night was that of Mr Churchill, but the mind was that of Lord Beaverbrook". Jenkins says that this broadcast was "the making of Attlee". Although polling day was 5 July, the results of the election did not become known until 26 July, owing to the need to collect the votes of those serving overseas. Clementine and daughter Mary had been at the count in Woodford, Churchill's new constituency in Essex, and had returned to Downing Street to meet him for lunch. Churchill was unopposed by the major parties in Woodford, but his majority over a sole independent candidate was much less than expected. He now anticipated defeat by Labour and Mary later described the lunch as "an occasion of Stygian gloom". To Clementine's suggestion that election defeat might be "a blessing in disguise", Churchill retorted: "At the moment it seems very effectively disguised". That afternoon Churchill's doctor Lord Moran (so he later recorded in his book "The Struggle for Survival") commiserated with him on the "ingratitude" of the British public, to which Churchill replied: "I wouldn't call it that. They have had a very hard time". Having lost the election, despite enjoying much personal support amongst the British population, he resigned as Prime Minister that evening and was succeeded by Attlee who formed the first majority Labour government. Many reasons have been given for Churchill's defeat, key among them being that a desire for post-war reform was widespread amongst the population and that the man who had led Britain in war was not seen as the man to lead the nation in peace. Although the Conservative Party was unpopular, many electors appear to have wanted Churchill to continue as Prime Minister whatever the outcome, or to have wrongly believed that this would be possible. Leader of the Opposition: 1945–1951. "Iron Curtain" speech. Churchill continued to lead the Conservative Party and, for six years, served as Leader of the Opposition. In 1946, he was in America for nearly three months from early January to late March. It was on this trip that he gave his "Iron Curtain" speech about the USSR and its creation of the Eastern Bloc. Speaking on 5 March 1946 in the company of President Truman at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, Churchill declared: The essence of his view was that, though the Soviet Union did not want war with the western Allies, its entrenched position in Eastern Europe had made it impossible for the three great powers to provide the world with a "triangular leadership". Churchill's desire was much closer collaboration between Britain and America. Within the same speech, he called for "a special relationship between the British Commonwealth and Empire and the United States", but he emphasised the need for co-operation within the framework of the United Nations Charter. Politics. Churchill was an early proponent of pan-Europeanism, having called for a "United States of Europe" in a 1930 article. He supported the creations of the Council of Europe in 1949 and the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, but his support was always with the firm proviso that Britain must not actually join any federal grouping. Having lived in Ireland as a child, Churchill always opposed its partition. As a minister in 1913 and again in 1921, he suggested that Ulster should be part of a united Ireland, but with a degree of autonomy from an independent Irish government. He was always opposed on this by Ulster Unionists. While he was Leader of the Opposition, he told John W. Dulanty and Frederick Boland, successive Irish ambassadors to London, that he still hoped for reunification. Labour won the 1950 general election, but with a much-reduced majority. Churchill continued to serve as Leader of the Opposition. Prime Minister: 1951–1955. Election result and cabinet appointments. Despite losing the popular vote to Labour, the Conservatives won an overall majority of 17 seats in the October 1951 general election and Churchill again became Prime Minister, remaining in office until his resignation on 5 April 1955. Eden, his eventual successor, was restored to Foreign Affairs, the portfolio with which Churchill was preoccupied throughout his tenure. Future Prime Minister Harold Macmillan was appointed Minister of Housing and Local Government with a manifesto commitment to build 300,000 new houses per annum, Churchill's only real domestic concern. He achieved the target and, in October 1954, was promoted to Minister of Defence. Health issues to eventual resignation. Churchill was nearly 77 when he took office and was not in good health following several minor strokes. By December, George VI had become concerned about Churchill's decline and intended asking him to stand down in favour of Eden, but the King had his own serious health issues and died on 6 February without making the request. Churchill developed a close friendship with Elizabeth II. It was widely expected that he would retire after her Coronation in May 1953 but, after Eden became seriously ill, Churchill increased his own responsibilities by taking over at the Foreign Office. Eden was incapacitated until the end of the year and was never completely well again. On the evening of 23 June 1953, Churchill suffered a serious stroke and became partially paralysed down one side. Had Eden been well, Churchill's premiership would most likely have been over. The matter was kept secret and Churchill went home to Chartwell to recuperate. He had fully recovered by November. He retired as Prime Minister in April 1955 and was succeeded by Eden. Foreign affairs. Churchill feared a global conflagration and firmly believed that the only way to preserve peace and freedom was to build on a solid foundation of friendship and co-operation between Britain and America. He made four official transatlantic visits from January 1952 to July 1954. He enjoyed a good relationship with Truman but difficulties arose over the planned European Defence Community (EDC), by which Truman hoped to reduce America's military presence in West Germany; Churchill was sceptical about the EDC. Churchill wanted US military support of British interests in Egypt and the Middle East, but that was refused. While Truman expected British military involvement in Korea, he viewed any US commitment to the Middle East as maintaining British imperialism. The Americans recognised that the British Empire was in terminal decline and had welcomed the Attlee government's policy of decolonisation. Churchill, always the imperialist, believed that Britain's position as a world power depended on the empire's continued existence. Churchill had been obliged to recognise Colonel Nasser's revolutionary government of Egypt, which took power in 1952. Much to Churchill's private dismay, agreement was reached in October 1954 on the phased evacuation of British troops from their Suez base. In addition, Britain agreed to terminate its rule in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan by 1956, though this was in return for Nasser's abandonment of Egyptian claims over the region. Elsewhere, the Malayan Emergency, a guerrilla war fought by Communist fighters against Commonwealth forces, had begun in 1948 and continued past Malayan independence (1957) until 1960. Churchill's government maintained the military response to the crisis and adopted a similar strategy for the Mau Mau Uprising in British Kenya (1952–1960). Churchill was uneasy about the election of Eisenhower as Truman's successor. After Stalin died on 5 March 1953, Churchill sought a summit meeting with the Soviets but Eisenhower refused out of fear that the Soviets would use it for propaganda. By July of that year, Churchill was deeply regretting that the Democrats had not been returned. He told Colville that Eisenhower as president was "both weak and stupid". Churchill believed that Eisenhower did not fully comprehend the danger posed by the H-bomb and he greatly distrusted Eisenhower's Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles. Churchill met Eisenhower to no avail at the "Three-Powers" (French Prime Minister Joseph Laniel being the third participant) Bermuda Conference in December 1953 (with Churchill as the host, as the conference was on British territory) and in June/July 1954 at the White House. In the end, it was the Soviets who proposed a four-power summit, but it did not meet until 18 July 1955, three months after Churchill had retired. Later life: 1955–1965. Retirement: 1955–1964. Elizabeth II offered to create Churchill Duke of London, but this was declined as a result of the objections of his son Randolph, who would have inherited the title on his father's death. He did, however, accept the Order of the Garter to become Sir Winston. Although publicly supportive, Churchill was privately scathing about Eden's handling of the Suez Crisis and Clementine believed that many of his visits to the United States in the following years were attempts to help repair Anglo-American relations. After leaving the premiership, Churchill remained an MP until he stood down at the 1964 general election. Apart from 1922 to 1924, he had been an MP since October 1900 and had represented five constituencies. By the time of the 1959 general election, however, he seldom attended the House of Commons. Despite the Conservative landslide in 1959, his own majority in Woodford fell by more than a thousand. He spent most of his retirement at Chartwell or at his London home in Hyde Park Gate, and became a habitué of high society at La Pausa on the French Riviera. In June 1962, when he was 87, Churchill had a fall in Monte Carlo and broke his hip. He was flown home to a London hospital where he remained for three weeks. Jenkins says that Churchill was never the same after this accident and his last two years were something of a twilight period. In 1963, US President John F. Kennedy, acting under authorisation granted by an Act of Congress, proclaimed him an Honorary Citizen of the United States, but he was unable to attend the White House ceremony. There has been speculation that he became very depressed in his final years but this has been emphatically denied by his personal secretary Anthony Montague Browne, who was with him for his last ten years. Montague Browne wrote that he never heard Churchill refer to depression and certainly did not suffer from it. Death, funeral and memorials. Churchill suffered his final stroke on 12 January 1965. He died nearly two weeks later on the 24th, which was the seventieth anniversary of his father's death. He was given a state funeral six days later on 30 January, the first for a non-royal person since Lord Carson in 1935. Planning for Churchill's funeral had begun in 1953 under the code-name of "Operation Hope Not" and a detailed plan had been produced by 1958. His coffin lay in state at Westminster Hall for three days and the funeral ceremony was at St Paul's Cathedral. Afterwards, the coffin was taken by boat along the River Thames to Waterloo Station and from there by a special train to the family plot at St Martin's Church, Bladon, near his birthplace at Blenheim Palace. Worldwide, numerous memorials have been dedicated to Churchill. His statue in Parliament Square was unveiled by his widow Clementine in 1973 and is one of only twelve in the square, all of prominent political figures, including Churchill's friend Lloyd George and his India policy nemesis Gandhi. Elsewhere in London, the wartime Cabinet War Rooms have been renamed the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms. Churchill College, Cambridge, was established as a national memorial to Churchill. An indication of Churchill's high esteem in the UK is the result of the 2002 BBC poll, attracting 447,423 votes, in which he was voted the greatest Briton of all time, his nearest rival being Isambard Kingdom Brunel some 56,000 votes behind. He is one of only eight people to be granted honorary citizenship of the United States; others include Lafayette, Raoul Wallenberg and Mother Teresa. The United States Navy honoured him in 1999 by naming a new Arleigh Burke-class destroyer as the USS "Winston S. Churchill". Other memorials in North America include the National Churchill Museum in Fulton, Missouri, where he made the 1946 "Iron Curtain" speech; Churchill Square in central Edmonton, Alberta; and the Winston Churchill Range, a mountain range northwest of Lake Louise, also in Alberta, which was renamed after Churchill in 1956. Artist, historian, and writer. Churchill was a prolific writer. He used either "Winston S. Churchill" or "Winston Spencer Churchill" as his pen name to avoid confusion with the American novelist of the same name, with whom he struck up a friendly correspondence. His output included a novel, two biographies, three volumes of memoirs, several histories, and numerous press articles. Two of his most famous works, published after his first premiership brought his international fame to new heights, were his twelve-volume memoir, "The Second World War", and the four-volume "A History of the English-Speaking Peoples". For many years, he relied heavily upon his press articles to assuage his financial worries: in 1937, for example, he wrote 64 published articles and some of his contracts were quite lucrative. In recognition of his "mastery of historical and biographical description" and oratorial output, Churchill received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953. As well as writing, Churchill became an accomplished amateur artist after his resignation from the Admiralty in 1915. Using the pseudonym "Charles Morin", he continued this hobby throughout his life and completed hundreds of paintings, many of which are on show in the studio at Chartwell as well as in private collections. Churchill was an amateur bricklayer, constructing buildings and garden walls at Chartwell. To further this hobby, he joined the Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers but was expelled after he revived his membership of the Conservative Party. He also bred butterflies at Chartwell, keeping them in a converted summerhouse each year until the weather was right for their release. He was well known for his love of animals and always had several pets, mainly cats but also dogs, pigs, lambs, bantams, goats and fox cubs among others. Churchill has often been quoted as saying that "cats look down on us and dogs look up to us, but pigs treat us as equals", or words to that effect, but the International Churchill Society believe he has mostly been misquoted. Legacy. "A man of destiny". Roy Jenkins concludes his biography of Churchill by comparing him with W. E. Gladstone, whom Jenkins recognised as "undoubtedly" the greatest prime minister of the nineteenth century. When he began his biography, Jenkins regarded Gladstone as the greater man but changed his mind in the course of writing. He concluded his work by ranking Churchill: Churchill always self-confidently believed himself to be "a man of destiny". Because of this, he lacked restraint and could be reckless. His self-belief manifested itself in terms of his "affinity with war" of which, according to Sebastian Haffner, he exhibited "a profound and innate understanding". Churchill considered himself a military genius but that made him vulnerable to failure and Paul Addison says Gallipoli was "the greatest blow his self-image was ever to sustain". Jenkins points out, however, that although Churchill was excited and exhilarated by war, he was never indifferent to the suffering it causes. Political ideology. As a politician, Churchill was perceived by some observers to have been largely motivated by personal ambition rather than political principle. During his early parliamentary career, he was often deliberately provocative and argumentative to an unusual degree; and his barbed rhetorical style earned him many enemies in parliament. On the other hand, he was deemed to be an honest politician who displayed particular loyalty to his family and close friends. He was, according to Jenkins, "singularly lacking in inhibition or concealment". Robert Rhodes James said he "lacked any capacity for intrigue and was refreshingly innocent and straightforward". Until the outbreak of the Second World War, Churchill's approach to politics generated widespread "mistrust and dislike", largely on account of his two party defections. His biographers have variously categorised him, in terms of political ideology, as "fundamentally conservative", "(always) liberal in outlook", and "never circumscribed by party affiliation". Jenkins says that Churchill's self-belief was "far stronger than any class or tribal loyalty". Whether Churchill was a conservative or a liberal, he was nearly always opposed to socialism because of its propensity for state planning and his belief in free markets. The exception was during his wartime coalition when he was completely reliant upon the support of his Labour colleagues. Although the Labour leaders were willing to join his coalition, Churchill had long been regarded as an enemy of the working class. His response to the Rhonda Valley unrest and his anti-socialist rhetoric brought condemnation from socialists. They saw him as a reactionary who represented imperialism, militarism, and the interests of the upper classes in the class war. His role in opposing the General Strike earned the enmity of many strikers and most members of the Labour movement. Paradoxically, Churchill was supportive of trade unionism, which he saw as the "antithesis of socialism". On the other hand, his detractors did not take Churchill's domestic reforms into account, for he was in many respects a radical and a reformer, but always with the intention of preserving the existing social structure, never of challenging it. He could not empathise with the poor, so he sympathised with them instead, displaying what Addison calls the attitude of a "benevolent paternalist". Jenkins, himself a senior Labour minister, remarked that Churchill had "a substantial record as a social reformer" for his work in the early years of his ministerial career. Similarly, Rhodes James thought that, as a social reformer, Churchill's achievements were "considerable". This, said Rhodes James, had been achieved because Churchill as a minister had "three outstanding qualities. He worked hard; he put his proposals efficiently through the Cabinet and Parliament; he carried his Department with him. These ministerial merits are not as common as might be thought". Imperialism. Assessments of Churchill's legacy are largely based on his leadership of the British people in the Second World War. Even so, his personal views on empire and race continue to stir intense debate. Whatever his political or reformist attitude at any time, Churchill was always staunchly an imperialist and a monarchist. He consistently exhibited a "romanticised view" of both the British Empire and the reigning monarch, especially of Elizabeth II during his last term as premier. He has been described as a "liberal imperialist" who saw British imperialism as a form of altruism that benefited its subject peoples because "by conquering and dominating other peoples, the British were also elevating and protecting them". Martin Gilbert asserted that Churchill held a hierarchical perspective of race, seeing racial characteristics as signs of the maturity of a society. Churchill's views on race were driven by his imperialist mindset and outlook. He advocated against black or indigenous self-rule in Africa, Australia, the Caribbean, the Americas and India, believing that the British Empire promoted and maintained the welfare of those who lived in the colonies; he insisted that "our responsibility to the native races remains a real one". According to Addison, Churchill was opposed to immigration from the Commonwealth but, against that, Addison argues that it is misleading to describe Churchill as a racist in any modern context because the term as used now bears "many connotations which were alien to Churchill". Addison makes the point that Churchill opposed anti-Semitism (as in 1904, when he was fiercely critical of the proposed Aliens Bill) and argues that he would never have tried "to stoke up racial animosity against immigrants, or to persecute minorities". Cultural depictions. While the biographies by Addison, Gilbert, Jenkins and Rhodes James are among the most acclaimed works about Churchill, he has been the subject of numerous others. Writing in 2012–13 for the International Churchill Society, Professor David Freeman counted 62 in total, excluding non-English books, to the end of the 20th century. At a public ceremony in Westminster Hall on 30 November 1954, Churchill's 80th birthday, the joint Houses of Parliament presented him with a full-length portrait of himself painted by Graham Sutherland. Churchill and Clementine reportedly hated it and, later, she had it destroyed. Churchill has been widely depicted on stage and screen. Notable screen biopics include "Young Winston" (1972), directed by Richard Attenborough; "" (1981), starring Robert Hardy and with Martin Gilbert as co-writer; "The Gathering Storm" (2002), starring Albert Finney and Vanessa Redgrave; "Darkest Hour" (2017), starring Gary Oldman. John Lithgow played Churchill in "The Crown" (2016–2019). Finney, Oldman and Lithgow have all won major awards for their performances as Churchill. Family and ancestry. Marriage and children. Churchill married Clementine Hozier in September 1908. They remained married for 57 years. Churchill was aware of the strain that his political career placed on his marriage, and, according to Colville, he had a brief affair in the 1930s with Doris Castlerosse, although this is discounted by Andrew Roberts. The Churchills' first child, Diana, was born in July 1909; the second, Randolph, in May 1911. Their third, Sarah, was born in October 1914, and their fourth, Marigold, in November 1918. Marigold died in August 1921, from sepsis of the throat and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery. On 15 September 1922, the Churchills' last child, Mary, was born. Later that month, the Churchills bought Chartwell, which would be their home until Winston's death in 1965. According to Jenkins, Churchill was an "enthusiastic and loving father" but one who expected too much of his children.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1483910

Natural Light, sometimes Natty Light colloquially, is a reduced-calorie light lager brewed by Anheuser-Busch since its introduction on July 31, 1977. Its ingredients are listed as water, barley malt, cereal grains, yeast, and hops. One serving contains , 3.2 grams of carbohydrates, 0.7 grams of protein, and 4.2% alcohol by volume. History. Originally, the brand formulation had a lot of , to compete with Miller Lite's , and was called "Anheuser-Busch Natural Light". The brand was Anheuser-Busch's first widely distributed light beer, followed by Michelob Light and Bud Light, introduced in 1978 and 1981, respectively. (Bud Light's name was also shortened from its original "Budweiser Light.") Natural Light was originally priced at Budweiser levels, which has traditionally been considered part of the "premium"-priced segment. The name was later shortened to the current Natural Light, and was re-formulated to have similar taste but slightly fewer calories. Some television commercials for the brand featured comedian Norm Crosby; another comedian, Bill Saluga, was noted in some of these for his officious character of "Raymond J. Johnson Jr.;" whose tagline was essentially, "Ya doesn't have to call me Johnson." This he would follow with a succession of other names by which others could refer to him. It was Crosby, however, who most customarily mocked the brand's unwieldy name in the said commercials by urging people, "Just say Natural." Over the years, the brand was also re-priced downward, especially after Budweiser Light was introduced, eventually ending up at its current value pricing. It is commonly consumed by college students because of its low price. Natural Light Beer has also been referred to as "Natty Light" in some circles. It is also a common beer chosen for drinking games due to the inexpensive price of 30 pack cases. In 2018, Natural Light began selling special release 77 pack containers in College Park, Maryland. Reception. The magazine "Consumer Reports" in 2001 published a review of many beers in which Natural Light was ranked as the number two light beer and additionally characterized as one of the "best buys." Additionally, in 2008, Natural Light received a Bronze Medal in the World Beer Cup in the American Style Light-Lager category, and "The Wall Street Journal" lists it as the fifth largest selling beer in the U.S. In contrast, Natural Light currently maintains a combined aggregate score of 47 out of 100 (awful) on notable beer rating site BeerAdvocate.com, while being listed as the worst beer in the world by RateBeer.com.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=142668

Sir Matthew Hale (1 November 1609 – 25 December 1676) was an influential English barrister, judge and jurist most noted for his treatise "Historia Placitorum Coronæ", or "The History of the Pleas of the Crown". Born to a barrister and his wife, who had both died by the time he was 5, Hale was raised by his father's relative, a strict Puritan, and inherited his faith. In 1626 he matriculated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford (now Hertford College), intending to become a priest, but after a series of distractions was persuaded to become a barrister like his father thanks to an encounter with a Serjeant-at-Law in a dispute over his estate. On 8 November 1628 he joined Lincoln's Inn, where he was called to the Bar on 17 May 1636. As a barrister, Hale represented a variety of Royalist figures during the prelude and duration of the English Civil War, including Thomas Wentworth and William Laud; it has been hypothesised that Hale was to represent Charles I at his state trial, and conceived the defence Charles used. Despite the Royalist loss, Hale's reputation for integrity and his political neutrality saved him from any repercussions, and under the Commonwealth of England he was made Chairman of the Hale Commission, which investigated law reform. Following the Commission's dissolution, Oliver Cromwell made him a Justice of the Common Pleas. As a judge, Hale was noted for his resistance to bribery and his willingness to make politically unpopular decisions which upheld the law. He sat in Parliament, either in the Commons or the Upper House, in every Parliament from the First Protectorate Parliament to the Convention Parliament, and following the Declaration of Breda was the Member of Parliament who moved to consider Charles II's reinstatement as monarch, sparking the English Restoration. Under Charles, Hale was made first Chief Baron of the Exchequer and then Chief Justice of the King's Bench. In both positions, he was again noted for his integrity, although not as a particularly innovative judge. Following a bout of illness he retired on 20 February 1676, dying ten months later on 25 December 1676. Hale is almost universally appreciated as an excellent judge and jurist, with his central legacy coming through his written work, published after his death. His "Historia Placitorum Coronæ", dealing with capital offences against the Crown, is considered "of the highest authority", while his "Analysis of the Common Law" is noted as the first published history of English law and a strong influence on William Blackstone's "Commentaries on the Laws of England". Hale's jurisprudence struck a middle-ground between Edward Coke's "appeal to reason" and John Selden's "appeal to contract", while refuting elements of Thomas Hobbes's theory of natural law. His thoughts on marital rape, expressed in the "Historia", continued in English law until 1991, and he was cited in court as recently as 2009. Life. Early life and education. Hale was born on 1 November 1609 in West End House (now known as "The Grange" or "Alderley Grange") in Alderley, Gloucestershire to Robert Hale, a barrister of Lincoln's Inn, and Joanna Poyntz. His father gave up his practice as a barrister several years before Hale's birth "because he could not understand the reason of giving colour in pleadings". This refers to a process through which the defendant would refer a case over the validity of his title to land to a judge instead of a jury, through claiming a (false) allegation about this right. Such an allegation would be a question of law rather than a question of fact, and as such decided by the judge with no reference to the jurors. Although in common use, Robert Hale apparently saw this as deceptive and "contrary to the exactness of truth and justice which became a Christian; so that he withdrew himself from the inns of court to live on his estate in the country". John Hostettler, in his biography of Matthew Hale, points out that his father's concerns about giving colour in pleadings could not have been very strong "since he not only retired to his estate at Alderley where he managed to live on his wife's inherited income, but also directed in his will that Matthew should make a career in the law". Both of Hale's parents died before he was five; Joanna in 1612, and Robert in 1614. It was then revealed that Robert had been so generous in giving money to the poor that at his death his estate provided only £100 of income a year, of which £20 was to be paid to the local poor. Hale thus passed into the care of Anthony Kingscot, one of his father's relatives. A strong Puritan, Kingscot had Hale taught by a Mr. Stanton, the vicar of Wotton known as the "scandalous vicar" due to his extremist puritan views. On 20 October 1626, at the age of 16, Hale matriculated at the University of Oxford as a member of Magdalen Hall, with the goal of becoming a priest. Both Kingscot and Stanton had intended this to be his career, and his education had been conducted with that in mind. He was taught by Obadiah Sedgwick, another Puritan, and excelled in both his studies and fencing. Hale also regularly attended church, private prayer-meetings, and was described as "simple in his attire, and rather aesthetic". After a company of actors came to Oxford, Hale attended so many plays and other social activities that his studies began to suffer, and he began to turn away from Puritanism. In light of this, he abandoned his desire to become a priest and instead decided to become a soldier. His relatives were unable to persuade him to become a priest, or even a lawyer, with Hale describing lawyers as "a barbarous set of people unfit for anything but their own trade". His plans to become a soldier died after a legal battle concerning his estate, in which he consulted John Glanville. Glanville successfully persuaded Hale to become a lawyer, and, after leaving Oxford at the age of 20 before obtaining a degree, he joined Lincoln's Inn on 8 November 1628. Fearing that the theatre might dissuade him from his legal studies as it had at Oxford, he swore "never to see a stage-play again". At around this time he was drinking with a group of friends when one of them became so drunk he fainted; Hale prayed to God to forgive and save his friend, and forgive him for his previous excesses. His friend recovered, and Hale was restored to his Puritan faith, never drinking to someone's health again (not even drinking to the King) and going to church every Sunday for 36 years. He instead settled into his studies, working for up to 16 hours a day during his first two years at Lincoln's Inn before reducing it to eight hours due to health concerns. As well as reading the law reports and statutes, Hale also studied the Roman civil law and jurisprudence. Outside of the law, Hale studied anatomy, history, philosophy and mathematics. He refused to read the news or attend social events, and occupied himself entirely with his studies and visits to church. Civil War, Commonwealth and Protectorate. Barrister. On 17 May 1636, Hale was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn, and immediately became the pupil of William Noy. Hale and Noy became close friends, to the point where he was referred to as "the young Noy", and more crucially he also met and befriended John Selden, a "man of almost universal learning, whose theories were to dominate much of [Hale's] later thought". Selden persuaded him to continue with his studies outside the law, and much of Hale's written work is concerned with theology and science as well as legal theory. Hale gained a good legal practice, although he allowed his Christian faith to govern his work. He sought to help the court reach a just verdict, whatever his client's concerns, and normally returned half his fee or charged a standard fee of 10 shillings rather than allow costs to inflate. He refused to accept unjust cases, and always tried to be on the "right" side of any case; John Campbell wrote that "If he saw that a cause was unjust, he for a great while would not meddle further in it but to give his advice that it was so; if the parties after that would go on, they were to seek another counsellor, for he would assist none in acts of injustice". Despite this, he was wealthy enough to purchase land worth £4,200 in 1648. He was in great demand; law reporters began recording his cases and in 1641 he advised Thomas Wentworth, the first Earl of Strafford, over his attainder for high treason. Although unsuccessful, Hale was then called to represent William Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury, during his impeachment by the House of Lords in October 1644. Hale, along with John Herne, argued that none of Laud's alleged offences constituted treason, and that the Treason Act 1351 had abolished all common law treasons. John Wilde, arguing for the prosecution, admitted that none of Laud's actions amounted to treason, but argued that all of them together did. Herne, in his arguments written by Hale, retorted that "I crave your mercy, [Wilde]. I never understood before this time that two hundred couple of black rabbits would make a black horse!" The case against Laud began to fail, but Parliament issued an Act of Attainder which declared him guilty, and sentenced him to death. After the capture of Charles I, Hale was expected to defend him, and indeed offered to do so; the King refused to submit to the court, claiming he did not recognise its jurisdiction. Edward Foss writes, based on the statement of Charles Runnington, that it was Hale who actually provided the King with this defence, and that it was only because the defence prevented any counsel being called for the King that Hale did not appear in court. When it became clear that the King was losing the Civil War, and only Oxford held out, Hale decided to act as a commissioner to negotiate its surrender, fearing that the city might otherwise be destroyed. Thanks to his intercession, honourable terms were reached, and the libraries preserved. Despite practising in the politically charged environment of the English Civil War and primarily defending opponents of the resulting Commonwealth of England, Hale's reputation did not suffer. First, he largely kept out of the war, even ignoring news of its progress, and instead translating "The Life and Death of Pomponious Atticus" into English. Second, he was acknowledged as universally able and of high integrity during his cases, retorting to those who complained of his defence of the Royalists that he was "pleading in defence of the laws which they professed they would maintain and preserve; and that he was doing his duty to his client and was not to be daunted by such threatenings". Hale Commission. During the rule of both the Commonwealth and the Protectorate, there was considerable desire for law reform. Many judges and lawyers were corrupt, and the criminal law followed no real reason or philosophy. Any felony was punishable by death, proceedings were in a form of Norman French, and judges regularly imprisoned juries for reaching a verdict they disagreed with. Oliver Cromwell and the Rump Parliament aimed to establish a "new society", which included reforming the law. To that end, on 30 January 1652 Hale was appointed chairman of a commission to investigate law reform, which soon became known as the Hale Commission. The Commission's official remit was defined by the Commons; "taking into consideration what inconveniences there are in the law; and how the mischiefs which grow from delays, the chargeableness and irregularities in the proceedings in the law may be prevented, and the speediest way to reform the same, and to present their opinions to such committee as the Parliament shall appoint". The Commission consisted of eight lawyers and 13 laymen, which sat from 23 January approximately three times a week. The Commission recommended various changes, such as reducing the use of the death penalty, allowing defendants access to legal counsel, legal aid and the abolition of "peine forte et dure" as a torture mechanism. Dissolved on 23 July 1652 after producing 16 bills, none of the Commission's recommendations immediately made it into law, although two (to abolish fines for original writs and to develop procedures for civil marriages) were brought into force through statutes by the Barebone's Parliament. Almost all of the recommendations eventually became part of English law, with John Hostettler, in his biography of Hale, writing that if the measures had been put into law immediately, "we would have been honouring such pioneers for their farsightedness in enhancing our legal system and the concept of justice". Justice of the Common Pleas. Oliver Cromwell, noting Hale's abilities, asked him to become a Justice of the Common Pleas. Although Hale considered that taking this commission would make others think he supported the Commonwealth, he was persuaded to do so, replacing John Puleston. Only Serjeants-at-Law could become judges, and as such Hale was made a Serjeant on 25 January 1653. He was formally appointed a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, one of the three principal Westminster courts, on 31 January 1653, on the condition that he "would not be required to acknowledge the usurper's authority". He also refused to put people to death for offences against the government; he believed that because the government authorising him to do so was an illegal one, "putting men to death on that account was murder". William Blackstone later wrote that "if judgment of death be given by a judge not authorized by lawful commission, and execution is done accordingly, the judge is guilty of murder; and upon this argument Sir Matthew Hale himself, though he accepted the place of a judge of the Common Pleas under Cromwell's government, yet declined to sit on the crown side at the assizes, and try prisoners, having very strong objections to the legality of the usurper's commission". Hale also made decisions which negatively impacted on the Commonwealth, executing a soldier for murdering a civilian in 1655, and actively refusing to attend a court hearing outside term time. On another occasion, Cromwell personally selected a jury in a trial he was concerned with, something contrary to law; as a result, Hale dismissed the jury and refused to hear the case. On 15 May 1659, Hale chose to retire, and was replaced by John Archer. Member of Parliament. On 3 September 1654, the First Protectorate Parliament was called; of the 400 English members, only two were lawyers – Hooke, a Baron of the Exchequer, and Hale, who was elected Member of Parliament for his home county of Gloucestershire. Hale was an active MP, persuading the Commons to reject a motion to destroy the Tower of London's archives, and introducing several motions to preserve the authority of Parliament. The first was that the government should be "in a Parliament and a single person limited and restrained as the Parliament should think fit", and he later proposed that the English Council of State be subject to re-election every three years by the House of Commons, that the militia should be controlled by Parliament, and that supplies should only be granted to the army for limited periods. While these proposals got support, Cromwell refused to allow any MPs into the Commons until they signed an oath recognising his authority, which Hale refused to do. As such, none of them were passed. Dissatisfied with the First Protectorate Parliament, Cromwell dissolved it on 22 January 1655. A Second Protectorate Parliament was called on 17 September 1656, which wrote a constitution titled "Humble Petition and Advice" that called for the creation of an Upper House to perform the job of the former House of Lords. Cromwell accepted this constitution, and in December 1657 nominated the Upper House's members. Hale, as a judge, was called to it. This new House's extensive jurisdiction and authority was immediately questioned by the Commons, and Cromwell responded by dissolving the Parliament on 4 February 1658. On 3 September 1658, Oliver Cromwell died and was replaced by his son, Richard Cromwell. Richard Cromwell summoned a new Parliament on 27 January 1659, and Hale was returned as MP for Oxford University. Richard Cromwell was a weak leader, however, and ruled for only 8 months before resigning. On 16 March 1660 General Monck forced the Parliament to vote for its own dissolution and call new elections. At the same time, Charles II made the Declaration of Breda, and when the Convention Parliament met on 25 April 1660 (with Hale a member from Gloucestershire again) it immediately began negotiations with the King. Hale moved in the Commons that "a committee might be appointed to look into the overtures that had been made, and the concessions that had been offered, by [Charles I]" and "from thence to digest such propositions, as they should think fit to be sent over to [Charles II]" who was still in Breda. On 1 May Parliament restored the King, and Charles II landed in Dover three weeks later, prompting the English Restoration. English Restoration. Chief Baron and Chief Justice. Hale's first task in the new regime was as part of the Special Commission of 37 judges who tried the 29 regicides not included in the Declaration of Breda, between 9 and 19 October 1660. All were found guilty of treason, and 10 of them were hanged, drawn and quartered. Sitting as a judge in this trial led to some viewing Hale as hypocritical, with F.A. Inderwick later writing "I confess to a feeling of pain at finding [Hale] in October 1660, sitting as a judge at the Old Bailey, trying and condemning to death batches of the regicides, men under whose orders he had himself acted, who had been his colleagues in Parliament, with whom he had sat on committees to alter the law". Perhaps as reward for this, he became Chief Baron of the Exchequer on 7 November 1660, replacing Sir Orlando Bridgeman. Hale had no wish to receive the knighthood that accompanied this appointment and so tried to avoid being near the King; in response, the Lord Chancellor Lord Clarendon invited him to his house, where the King was present. Hale was knighted on the spot. There were many instances of parties to a case attempting to bribe Hale. When a Duke approached him before a case "to help the judge understand a case that was to come before him", Hale said that he would only hear about cases in court. In another case, he was sent venison by a party. After noticing the man's name and verifying that he had indeed sent Hale some venison, Hale refused to let the case proceed until he had paid the man for the food. When Sir John Croke, suspected in engaging in a conspiracy, sent him some sugar loaves to excuse his absence from a case, Hale remarked that "I cannot think that Sir John believes that the King's Justices come into the country to take bribes. Some other person, having a design to put a trick upon him, sent them in his name". Hale returned the loaves, and refused to continue until Croke appeared before him. Hale was noted during this period for giving latitude to those accused of religious impropriety, and through doing so "secured the confidence and affection of all classes of his countrymen". His knowledge of equity was considered as great as his knowledge of the law, and Lord Nottingham, considered the "father of equity", "worshipped Hale as a great master". On 2 September 1666, the Great Fire of London broke out. Over 100,000 people were made homeless, and by the time the fire ended over 13,000 houses and 400 streets had been destroyed. An Act of Parliament enacted on 8 February 1667 constituted a Court of Fire, tasked with dealing with property disputes over ownership, liability and the rebuilding of the city. Hale was tasked with sitting in this court, which met in Clifford's Inn, and heard 140 of the 374 cases the court dealt with during its first year in operation. On 18 May 1671, Hale was made Chief Justice of the King's Bench after the death of John Kelynge. Edward Turnour replaced him as Chief Baron of the Exchequer. Hale was not noted as a particularly innovative judge, but took pains to ensure that his decisions were easy to understand and informative. Roger North wrote that "I have known the Court of King's Bench sitting every day from eight to 12, and the Lord Chief Justice Hale's managing matters of law to all imaginable advantage to the students, and in that he took a pleasure or rather pride; he encouraged arguing when it was to the purpose, and used to debate with counsel, so that the court might have been taken for an academy of sciences as well as the seat of justice". He was noted for allowing counsel to fix any problems with pleadings, and for letting them correct him if he made an error in his summing up. He disliked eloquence, writing that "If the judge or jury has a right understanding it signifies nothing but a waste of time and loss of words, and if they are weak, and easily wrought upon, it is a more decent way of corrupting them by bribing their fancies and biassing their affections." As a judge, however, he was noted by Lord Nottingham as the greatest orator on the bench. Retirement and death. By 1675, Hale had begun to suffer from ill-health; his arms became swollen, and although a course of bloodletting relieved the pain temporarily, by the next February his legs were so stiff he could not walk. His initial attempts to resign as Chief Justice were declined by the King, but when Hale applied for a writ of ease the King reluctantly allowed him to retire on 20 February 1676, granting him a pension of £1,000 a year. He was replaced as Chief Justice by Richard Raynsford. After suffering for ten more months, Hale died on 25 December 1676 at his country home, The Lower House (now the site of the present day Alderley House). He was buried next to his first wife's tomb in the churchyard of St Kenelm's, the church which adjoined his home at Alderley, with a monument erected that reads: His estate was largely left for his widow, with his legal texts given to his grandson Gabriel if Gabriel chose to study the law, and his more valuable manuscripts and books given to Lincoln's Inn. The male line of his family died out in 1784 with the death of Matthew Hale, his great grandson; also a barrister. Personal life. In 1642 Hale married Anne Moore, the daughter of Sir Henry Moore, a Royalist soldier, and the granddaughter of Sir Francis Moore, a Serjeant-at-Law under James I. Moore and Hale had 10 children, but she was evidently a highly extravagant woman, with Hale warning his children that "an idle or expensive wife is most times an ill bargain, though she bring a great portion". Moore died in 1658, and in 1667 Hale married Anne Bishop, his housekeeper. Descriptions of Bishop differ; Roger North wrote that "[Hale] was unfortunate in his family; for he married his own servant made, and then, for an excuse, said there was no wisdom below the girdle". Richard Baxter, on the other hand, described Anne as "one of [Hale's] own judgment and temper, prudent and loving, and fit to please him; and that would not draw on him the trouble of much acquaintance and relations". Hale himself described her as a "most dutiful, faithful, and loving wife" who was appointed an executrix on his death. Legacy. Hale is universally considered an excellent judge and jurist, particularly due to his writings. Edward Foss wrote that he was an "eminent judge, whom all look up to as one of the brightest luminaries of the law, as well for the soundness of his learning as for the excellence of his life". Similarly, John Campbell in his "Lives of the Chief Justices of England", wrote that Hale was "one of the most pure, the most pious, the most independent, and the most learned" of judges. Henry Flanders, writing in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, describes Hale during his lifetime as "the most learned, the most able, the most honorable man to be found in the profession of the law". Hale's writings have been cited as recently as 1993, in the case of "R v Kingston", where the Court of Appeal relied on his statement that "drunkenness is not a defence" to uphold a conviction. William Holdsworth argues that it was his learning in Roman law and jurisprudence which allowed him to work so effectively; because he had seen other legal systems at work, he "could both criticise the defects of English law and state its rules in a more orderly form than they had ever been stated before". Hale's political neutrality and personal integrity has been attributed to his Puritanism, and his support of the common law; "Regimes come and go, the common law abides...For Hale...legal continuity was vital for civic identity". Much comparison has been made of Hale with Edward Coke. Campbell considered Hale to be the superior lawyer, because while he failed to engage in public life he treated law as a science, and maintained judicial independence and neutrality. Hostettler, while considering Hale a better lawyer than Coke and more influential, says that Coke was better overall. While Hale was in possession of judicial impartiality, and his written works are considered highly important, his lack of venture into public affairs limited his progressive influence. Coke's active intervention allowed him to "breath new life into medieval law and use it to oppose conciliar justice", encouraging judges to be more independent and "unfettered except by the common law whose supremacy it was their duty to uphold". J.H. Corbett, writing in the "Alberta Law Quarterly", notes that with Hale's popularity at the time (Parliamentary constituencies "fought over the privilege of returning him") he could have been just as successful as Coke if he had chosen to take an active role in public affairs. Writings. Hale's posthumous legacy is his written work. He wrote a variety of texts, treatises and manuscripts, the most major of which are "A History and Analysis of the Common Law of England", published in 1713, and the "Historia Placitorum Coronæ", or "The History of the Pleas of the Crown", published in 1736. The "Analysis" was based on lectures he gave to students, and was most likely not intended to be published; it is considered the first history of English law ever written. Divided into 13 chapters, the book dealt with the history of English law and some suggestions for reform. William Blackstone, when writing his "Commentaries on the Laws of England", noted in his preface that "of all the earlier schemes for digesting the Laws of England the most natural and scientific, as well as the most comprehensive, appeared to be that of Sir Matthew Hale in his posthumous Analysis of the Law". Hale proposed the creation of county courts, and also drew a strong distinction between written laws, such as statutes, and customary, unwritten laws. He also argued that the common law was subject to Parliament, far before the confirmation of Parliamentary supremacy, and that the law should protect the rights and civil liberties of the King's subjects. He also argued for the confirmation of trial by jury, which he described as "the best mode of trial in the world", while the 13th chapter divided the law into the laws of persons and of property, and dealt with the rights, wrongs and remedies recognised by the law at the time. William Holdsworth, himself considered one of the greatest common law historians, described it as "the ablest introductory sketch of a history of English law that appeared till the publication of Pollock and Maitland's volumes in 1895". The "Historia" is perhaps Hale's most famous work. Pleas of the Crown were capital offences committed "against the peace of our Lord the King, his Crown and dignity"; as such, the book dealt with capital crimes and the associated procedure. The 710-page work followed the pattern of Coke's "Institutes of the Lawes of England", but was far more methodical; James Fitzjames Stephen said that Hale's work "was not only of the highest authority but shows a depth of thought which puts it in quite a different category from Coke's "Institute"... [it] is far more of a treatise and far less of an index or mere work of practice". The book dealt with the criminal capacity of infants, insanity and idiocy, the defence of drunkenness, capital offences, treason, homicide and theft. In the 19th century, Andrew Amos wrote a critique of the "Historia" titled "Ruins of Time exemplified in Sir Matthew Hale's History of the Pleas of the Crown", which both criticised and praised Hale's work while directing the main criticism at the judges and lawyers who cited the "Historia" without considering that it was dated. Hale also reorganised the first of Coke's "Institutes", which dealt with Thomas de Littleton's "Treatise on Tenures"; Hale's edition was the most commonly used, and the first to extract Coke's broader philosophical points. His written works, however, were fragmentary, and did not individually lay out his jurisprudence. Harold J. Berman, writing in the Yale Law Journal, notes that it is only "possible by a study of the entire corpus of Hale's writings to reconstruct the coherent legal philosophy that underlies them". Hale's writings on witchcraft and marital rape were extremely influential. In 1662, he was involved in "one of the most notorious of the seventeenth century English witchcraft trials", where he sentenced two women (Amy Duny and Rose Callender) to death for witchcraft, sorcery and "unnatural love". The judgment of Hale in this case was extremely influential in future cases, and was used in the Salem witch trials to justify the forfeiture of the accused's lands. G. Geis, writing in the British Journal of Law and Society, ties Hale's opinions on witchcraft in with his writings on marital rape, which are found in the "Historia". Hale believed that a marriage was a contract, which merged the legal entities of husband and wife into one body. As such, "The husband cannot be guilty of a rape committed by himself upon his lawful wife, for by their mutual consent and contract the wife hath given up herself in this kind unto her husband, which she cannot retract". This exception to the law of rape existed in England and Wales until 1991, primarily due to his influence, until it was repealed by the House of Lords in "R v R". Although Hale wrote voluminously, he published little in his lifetime: his writings were discovered and published by others after his death. There are still dozens of volumes of his manuscripts that remain unpublished, including numerous theological treatises. The majority of these manuscripts are found in the Fairhurst Papers at Lambeth Palace Library. His largest work in manuscript, "De Deo" (ca. 1662–1667), consists of ten books filling five volumes and is estimated to contain nearly a million words. There are also three copies of a treatise on natural law at the British Library. A critical edition of this treatise on natural law has been published as "Of the Law of Nature" (2015), which contains chapters on law in general and the law of nature. In the same work, Hale criticizes the reduction of natural law to self-preservation as "the only Cardinall Law" (the view normally associated with Thomas Hobbes), cites John Selden's "De jure naturali et gentium juxta disciplinam Ebraeorum" repeatedly, and appears to share conceptual continuities with both Hugo Grotius's "De jure belli ac pacis" and Francisco Suárez's "Tractatus de legibus ac deo legislatore". Jurisprudence. During Hale's period as a barrister and judge, the general conclusion in England was that the repository of the law and conventional wisdom was not politics, as in Renaissance Europe, but the common law. This had been brought about thanks to Sir Edward Coke, who in his "Institutes" and practice as a judge advocated judge-made law. Coke asserted that judge-made law had the answer to any question asked of it, and as a result, "a learned judge... was the natural arbiter of politics". This principle was known as the "appeal to reason", with "reason" referring not to rationality but the method and logic used by judges in upholding and striking down laws. Coke's theory meant that certainty of the law and "intellectual beauty" was the way to see if a law was just and correct, and that the system of law could eventually become sophisticated enough to be predictable. John Selden held similar beliefs, in that he thought that the common law was the proper law of England. However, he argued that this did not necessarily create judicial discretion to play with it, and that proper did not necessarily equal perfect. The law was nothing more than a contract made by the English people; this is known as the "appeal to contract". Thomas Hobbes argued against Coke's theory. Along with Francis Bacon, he argued for natural law, created by the King's authority, not by any individual judge. Hobbes felt that there was no skill unique to lawyers, and that the law could be understood not through Coke's "reason" (the method used by lawyers) but through understanding the King's instructions. While the judges did make law, this was only valid because it was "tacitly confirmed (because not disapproved) by the [King]". Hale's legal theory was highly influenced by both Coke and Selden. He argued that the making of the law was a contract, but that it was subject to a test of "reasonable" character, something that only the judges could rule on. In this way, he sat in a middle ground between Selden and Coke. This was in conflict with the argument of Hobbes. In 1835, Hale's "Reflections on Hobbes' "Dialogue"" was discovered; Frederick Pollock posits that since Hobbes' "Dialogue" was first published in 1681, six years after Hale's death, Hale must have seen an early copy or draft. D.E.C. Yale, writing in the "Cambridge Law Journal", suggests that Chief Justice Vaughan had access to the "Dialogue", and may have passed a copy on to Hale before his death. In his "Reflections", Hale agreed with Coke that the judge's task was to bring the reason of the common law (the coherence of the legal system) in line with the reason of the law in question (to justify that law). He disagreed with Hobbes that a layman could understand the law, saying that "he that hath been educated in the study of the law hath a great advantage over those that have been otherwise exercised". The distinction between Coke and Hale is that Hale agreed with Selden that law was created through agreement, and disagreed that reason had an inherent binding power. Hale agreed with Hobbes that the interpretation of the law could not be left to individual reason, and that the law is not an exact science; the best that can be produced is a set of laws which give a reasonable outcome in the majority of cases. List of works. Hale's full works include: He also wrote the preface to "Rolle's Abridgment".

case law

10694-1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2267236

Mordechai Tzemach Eliyahu (, March 3, 1929 – June 7, 2010, on the Hebrew calendar: 21 Adar I, 5689 - 25 Siwan, 5770), was a prominent rabbi, posek, and spiritual leader. He served as the "Rishon LeZion" (Chief Rabbi of Israel) from 1983 to 1993. Early life. Mordechai Eliyahu was born in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem, the son of Iraqi Jewish Rabbi Salman Eliyahu, a Jerusalem Kabbalist, and his wife Mazal, who was a sister of Yehuda Tzadka. The surname was Hebraicised from Elias. He had an older brother, Naim Ben Eliyahu, a younger sister Rachel, and brother Shimon. Salman was a disciple of the Ben Ish Hai, who was Mazal's great-uncle. The family was poor, so Mordechai improvised ways in which to study, which he often did by candlelight. Salman died when Mordechai was eleven, but not before he instilled in his son a love of Torah and Kabbalah. In his youth, Eliyahu attended Porat Yosef Yeshiva, and had the opportunity to learn from many great teachers such as Ezra Attiya, Sadqa Hussein, and the Chazon Ish. He would later come into contact with Mordechai Sharabi, Yaakov Mutzafi, and Yitzhak Kaduri. Later in life, he would go on to cultivate a unique relationship with the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Activism. As a teenager, Eliyahu teamed up with Shabtai Yudelevitz to conduct Jewish outreach. In 1950–1951, Mordechai was among the leaders of Brit HaKanaim (Hebrew: בְּרִית הַקַנַאִים, lit. Covenant of the Zealots), a radical religious Jewish underground organization which operated against the widespread trend of secularization in the country. They torched cars of people who drove on Shabbat, and butcher shops where non-kosher meat was sold. They once plotted to toss a smoke bomb into the Knesset during a debate on drafting Orthodox women into the IDF. A member of the group was in the audience during the debate with the smoke bomb in his pocket, but lacked the opportunity to activate it. On May 14, 1951, the group's members were arrested by the Shabak. Mordechai was sentenced to ten months imprisonment for his part in the group's deeds. Later in his life, he stated that even though his opinions did not change, "The path that I chose in the past was mistaken." Career. Eliyahu received semicha from Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Nissim. The latter requested from him to arrange for the reinterment of the Hida from Livorno, Italy to Israel. On May 17, 1960, the Hida was laid to rest at Har HaMenuchot in Jerusalem. That year, he was appointed dayan in Beersheba, the youngest one in the country. He was often involved in adjudicating complicated family issues. Eliyahu was a favorite of the Baba Sali, who lived nearby in Netivot. One day, the latter insisted Eliyahu stop whatever he was doing and come visit him for a glass of arak. Not wishing to upset the holy man, Eliyahu accepted the invitation, only to find out later that a disgruntled ex-litigant had gone to the beth din seeking to do him harm. Four years later, Eliyahu was transferred to the Jerusalem regional beth din, and later was elected to the Supreme Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem, a position he would retain during his term as Chief Rabbi of Israel and afterwards. Chief Rabbinate. On March 18, 1983, Eliyahu was appointed "Rishon LeZion" (Chief Rabbi of Israel) at the Yochanan Ben Zakai Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. He served concurrently with Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Avraham Shapira until their terms expired in 1993. During Eliyahu's term as Chief Rabbi, one of his focuses was on attempting to reach out to secular Israeli Jews, giving them a better understanding of Jewish customs and their importance. He traveled extensively throughout Israel and the world, often together with Shapira, emphasizing the importance of Jewish education, Shabbat observance, family purity, fighting assimilation, and making aliyah. Eliyahu showed a willingness to go to secular environments in order to connect with other Jews, occasionally lecturing in secular moshavim and kibbutzim. Opinions. After stepping down from his official post, Eliyahu remained active, even ramping up his work for the Jewish community in Israel and the diaspora. Eliyahu worked for the preservation of the Iraqi Jewish rite and the opinions of the Ben Ish Hai, and opposed the attempts of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef to impose a uniform "Israeli Sephardi" rite based on the Shulchan Aruch and his own halachic opinions. He published a prayer book called "Qol Eliyahu", based on this stance. Eliyahu was one of the spiritual leaders of the Religious Zionist movement, and was an outspoken opponent of the Gaza Disengagement of 2005. He was considered somewhat controversial for his decades-long support of what some characterize as the radical right of the Religious Zionist movement. Eliyahu was a supporter of Rabbi Meir Kahane, and friendly with his family. He officiated at the marriage of Kahane's son, Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane, and delivered the eulogy at Meir Kahane's funeral. He was a long-time supporter of Jonathan Pollard, and became Pollard's spiritual mentor while the latter served in prison, having visited him there several times. During the Gaza disengagement, Eliyahu made statements interpreted as forbidding Orthodox Jews from participating in or facilitating the expulsion of the Jews from Gaza. Eliyahu later said he did not mean for soldiers to engage in "active refusal". In January 2005, Eliyahu stated that the 2004 tsunami was (pre-emptive) "divine punishment" for Asian governments supporting Israel's unilateral disengagement plan. In March 2006, three days before the 2006 Israeli legislative election, Eliyahu stated that it was forbidden to vote for any Israeli political party that had backed the disengagement, and stressed that anyone who voted for Kadima was "assisting sinners". Eliyahu stressed the importance of voting for a party committed to religious education and yeshivas, but urged against voting for those religious parties that had supported the disengagement, and called for members of the religious Shas party to repent for supporting the Oslo Accords. In May 2007, he wrote a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert which suggested "that there was absolutely no moral prohibition against the indiscriminate killing of civilians during a potential massive military offensive on Gaza aimed at stopping the rocket launchings". Shmuel Eliyahu explained that his father opposed a ground troop incursion into Gaza that would endanger IDF soldiers. Also in 2007, in a radio interview given to Haredi radio station "Kol Haemet" on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day, when asked what was the sin of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, he replied: "Those people were innocent, but Reform started in Germany. Those reformers of religion started in Germany, and because it is said that the wrath of God does not distinguish between the righteous and the evil ones - this was done." In 2008, at a service to remember the death of 8 Israeli students killed in the Mercaz HaRav massacre, he said: "Even when we seek revenge, it is important to make one thing clear – the life of one yeshiva boy is worth more than the lives of 1,000 Arabs. The Talmud states that if gentiles rob Israel of silver, they will pay it back in gold, and all that is taken will be paid back in folds, but in cases like these, there is nothing to pay back, since as I said – the life of one yeshiva boy is worth more than the lives of 1,000 Arabs". Personal life. At the age of 24, Eliyahu married Tzviya, the daughter of his rebbe Nissim David Azran, the founder and rosh yeshiva of Bet Shmuel Yeshiva in Nachlaot, Jerusalem. She bore him three sons; Shlomo, a lawyer; Shmuel Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of Safed; Yosef Eliyahu, dean of Darchei Hora'ah LeRabbanim; and Merav, a daughter. Death. Eliyahu suffered from a heart condition. On August 24, 2009, he collapsed in his home, and was rushed to the hospital while unconscious. He died on June 7, 2010, at Shaare Zedek Medical Center from complications related to his heart condition. He was 81 years old. An estimated 100,000 people attended his funeral in Jerusalem, which began at 10:00 PM on Monday, June 7, 2010. He was interred on Har HaMenuchot adjacent to the Hida. Legacy. Eliyahu founded the Heichal Yaakov Synagogue, named after Jacob Safra, and Darchei Hora'ah LeRabbanim yeshiva in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem, which is now headed by his son Yosef Eliyahu.

popular movement

14858-1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=76266

A software patent is a patent on a piece of software, such as a computer program, libraries, user interface, or algorithm. Background. A patent is a set of exclusionary rights granted by a state to a patent holder for a limited period of time, usually 20 years. These rights are granted to patent applicants in exchange for their disclosure of the inventions. Once a patent is granted in a given country, no person may make, use, sell or import/export the claimed invention in that country without the permission of the patent holder. Permission, where granted, is typically in the form of a license which conditions are set by the patent owner: it may be free or in return for a royalty payment or lump sum fee. Patents are territorial in nature. To obtain a patent, inventors must file patent applications in each and every country in which they want a patent. For example, separate applications must be filed in Japan, China, the United States and India if the applicant wishes to obtain patents in those countries. However, some regional offices exist, such as the European Patent Office (EPO), which act as supranational bodies with the power to grant patents which can then be brought into effect in the member states, and an international procedure also exists for filing a single international application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which can then give rise to patent protection in most countries. These different countries and regional offices have different standards for granting patents. This is particularly true of software or computer-implemented inventions, especially where the software is implementing a business method. Early example of a software patent. On 21 May 1962, a British patent application entitled "A Computer Arranged for the Automatic Solution of Linear Programming Problems" was filed. The invention was concerned with efficient memory management for the simplex algorithm, and could be implemented by purely software means. The patent was granted on August 17, 1966 and seems to be one of the first software patents. Jurisdictions. Most countries place some limits on the patenting of inventions involving software, but there is no one legal definition of a software patent. For example, U.S. patent law excludes "abstract ideas", and this has been used to refuse some patents involving software. In Europe, "computer programs as such" are excluded from patentability, thus European Patent Office policy is consequently that a program for a computer is not patentable if it does not have the potential to cause a "technical effect" which is by now understood as a material effect (a "transformation of nature"). Substantive law regarding the patentability of software and computer-implemented inventions, and case law interpreting the legal provisions, are different under different jurisdictions. Software patents under multilateral treaties: Software patents under national laws: Australia. In Australia, there is no particular exclusion for patents relating to software. The subject matter of an invention is patentable in Australia, if it is a "manner of manufacture" within the meaning of section 6 of the Statute of Monopolies. The High Court of Australia has refrained from ruling on the precise definition of manner of manufacture stating that any such attempt is bound to fail for the policy reason of encouraging national development in fields that may be unpredictable. In assessing whether an invention is a manner of manufacture, the High Court has relied on the inquiry of whether the subject of the claims defining the invention has as its end result an "artificially created state of affairs". In a decision of the Federal Court of Australia, on the patentability of an improved method of representing curved images in computer graphics displays, it was held that the application of selected mathematical methods to computers may involve steps which are foreign to the normal use of computers and hence amount to a manner of manufacture. In another unanimous decision by the Full Federal Court of Australia, an invention for methods of storing and retrieving Chinese characters to perform word processing was held to be an artificially created state of affairs and consequently within the concept of a manner of manufacture. Nevertheless, in a recent decision on the patentability of a computer implemented method of generating an index based on selection and weighing of data based on certain criterion, the Full Federal Court of Australia reaffirmed that mere methods, schemes and plans are not manners of manufacture. The Full Court went on to hold that the use of a computer to implement a scheme did not contribute to the invention or the artificial effect of the invention. The subject matter of the invention was held to be an abstract idea and not a manner of manufacture within the meaning of the term in the Patents Act. The same Full Federal Court in another decision regarding the patentability of an invention regarding a method and system for assessing an individual's competency in relation to certain criterion, reiterated that a business method or mere scheme were per se are not patentable. In principle, computer software is still a valid patentable subject matter in Australia. But, in circumstances where patents have been sought over software to merely implement abstract ideas or business methods, the courts and the Commissioner of Patents have resisted granting patent protection to such applications both as a matter of statutory interpretation and policy. Canada. In Canada, courts have held that the use of a computer alone neither lends, nor reduces patentability of an invention. However, it is the position of the Canadian Patent Office that where a computer is an "essential element" of a patent's claims, the claimed invention is generally patentable subject matter. China. In China, the starting time of software patent is relatively late. Before 2006, software patents were basically not granted, and software and hardware had to be combined when applying for a patent. With the development of network technology and software technology, China's patent examination system has been constantly updated. Recently, the design idea of the software itself has been allowed to apply for patent separately, instead of requiring to be combined with hardware. However, software patent writing requirements are relatively high. Software patents can be written as either a product or a method, depending on the standards of review. However, no matter what form it is written in, it is difficult to highlight the creativity of the scheme, which requires specific case analysis. Software that can be patented mainly includes (but is not limited to): (1) Industrial control software, such as controlling the movement of mechanical equipment; (2) Software to improve the internal performance of the computer, such as a software can improve the virtual memory of the computer; (3) External technical data processing software, such as digital camera image processing software. It is fair to say that a considerable proportion of software belongs to category (3). The patent protection measures can be seen in the patent law and the regulations on the protection of computer software. Europe. Within European Union member states, the EPO and other national patent offices have issued many patents for inventions involving software since the European Patent Convention (EPC) came into force in the late 1970s. excludes "programs for computers" from patentability (Art. 52(2)) to the extent that a patent application relates to a computer program "as such" (Art. 52(3)). This has been interpreted to mean that any invention that makes a non-obvious "technical contribution" or solves a "technical problem" in a non-obvious way is patentable even if that technical problem is solved by running a computer program.<ref name="t0469/03"></ref> Computer-implemented inventions that "only" solve a business problem using a computer, rather than a technical problem, are considered unpatentable as lacking an inventive step (see T 258/03). Nevertheless, the fact that an invention is useful in business does not mean it is not patentable if it also solves a technical problem. A summary of the developments concerning patentability of computer programs under the European Patent Convention is given in (see G 3/08) as a response of the Enlarged Board of Appeal to questions filed by the President of the European Patent Office according to Art. 112(1)b) EPC. Concerns have been raised that the new (2015) Unified Patent Court will be much more open to patents generally and software patents in particular. Germany. In April 2013, the German Parliament adopted a joint motion "against the growing trend of patent offices to grant patents on software programs". United Kingdom. United Kingdom patent law is interpreted to have the same effect as the European Patent Convention such that "programs for computers" are excluded from patentability to the extent that a patent application relates to a computer program "as such". Current case law in the UK states that an (alleged) invention will only be regarded as an invention if it provides a contribution that is not excluded and that is also technical. A computer program implementing a business process is therefore not an invention, but a computer program implementing an industrial process may well be. India. In India, a clause to include software patents was quashed by the Indian Parliament in April 2005. However, following publication of the new guidelines on the examination of computer-related inventions on 19 February 2016, the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade marks accepts applications for software patents, as long as the software is claimed in conjunction with a novel hardware. On 30 June 2017, revised guidelines on the examination of computer related inventions were published. This 2017 guidelines provides clarity on patentability of software invention in India, i.e., the claimed computer-related invention needs to be ascertained whether it is of a technical nature involving technical advancement as compared to the existing knowledge or having economic significance or both, and is not subject to exclusion under Section 3 of the Patents Act. In 2019, the Court observed, “In today’s digital world, when most inventions are based on computer programs, it would be retrograde to argue that all such inventions would not be patentable. Innovation in the field of artificial intelligence, blockchain technologies and other digital products would be based on computer programs, however the same would not become nonpatentable inventions – simply for that reason. It is rare to see a product which is not based on a computer program. Whether they are cars and other automobiles, microwave ovens, washing machines, refrigerators, they all have some sort of computer programs in-built in them. Thus, the effect that such programs produce including in digital and electronic products is crucial in determining the test of patentability.” Patent applications in these fields would have to be examined to see if they result in a “technical contribution”, it added. Further elaborating on the usage of the term ‘per se’ in Section 3(k), the Court said, “The words ‘per se’ were incorporated so as to ensure that genuine inventions which are developed, based on computer programs are not refused patents.”. Japan. Software-related inventions are patentable. To qualify as an invention, however, there must be "a creation of technical ideas utilizing a law of nature" although this requirement is typically met by "concretely realising the information processing performed by the software by using hardware resources". Software-related inventions may be considered obvious if they involve the application of an operation known in other fields, the addition of a commonly known means or replacement by equivalent, the implementation in software of functions which were previously performed by hardware, or the systematisation of known human transactions. In 1999, the allowance rate for business method patents at the Japan Patent Office (JPO) reached an all-time high of roughly 35 percent. Subsequently, the JPO experienced a surge in business method patent filings. This surge was met with a dramatic decrease in the average grant rate of business method patents during the following six years; it lingered around 8 percent between 2003 and 2006 (8 percent is extremely low in comparison to the average of 50 percent across all technical fields). Since 2006, the average grant rate for business method patents has risen to the current rate of roughly 25 percent. New Zealand. In New Zealand computer programs are to be excluded from patentability under a 2010 Patents Bill, but guidelines permitting embedded software are to be drafted once the bill has passed. From 2013 computer programs 'as such' are excluded from patentability. The as such wording rules out only those software based patents where novelty lies solely in the software. Similar to Europe. Philippines. In the Philippines, "schemes, rules and methods of performing mental acts, playing games or doing business, and programs for computers" are non-patentable inventions under Sec. 22.2 of Republic Act No. 8293, otherwise known as the "Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines". Russian Federation. In the Russian Federation according to article #1350 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation the following do not qualify as inventions: However, the article provides for that the patentability of these objects is excluded only in the case when the application for the grant of a patent for an invention concerns these objects "as such". South Africa. In South Africa, "a program for a computer" is excluded from recognition as an invention by section 25(2) of the Patents Act. However, this restriction applies "only to the extent to which a patent or an application for a patent relates to that thing as such" and should not prevent, for example, a product, process, or method which may be implemented on a computer from being an invention, provided that the requirements of novelty and inventiveness are met. South Korea. In South Korea, software is considered patentable and many patents directed towards "computer programs" have been issued. In 2006, Microsoft's sales of its "Office" suite were jeopardized due to a possible patent infringement. A ruling by the Supreme Court of Korea found that patents directed towards automatic language translation within software programs were valid and possibly violated by its software. Thailand. As like as 52(2) of the European Patent Convention (EPC), section 9 of the Thai Patent Act 1999 states that Thai patent law does not include software (or computer program) from patentability because the computer software is not considered as an “invention”, in which it is not the idea of the product itself. Hence, the software is considered as the manual or instruction that was controlled by users to perform the tasks. A software patents law in Thailand has been controversial debates among the economists and national developers’ overtime since there were two significant developments in the international patent law; (1) the European Union's attempt to harmonize national patent laws by the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and Council on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions, and (2) the US court decision to expand patent protection to business methods. The opinions are divided into two sides. Dr. Tangkitvanich, the IT specialist of Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), raised his concern that Thailand is not in a good stage for a software patent as there were several flaws in patent rights. For example, the business method prevention has high tendency to hinder the growth in innovations especially for the infant software companies. Moreover, the software patent may cause monopoly and innovation problems. “Monopoly will thwart innovations of new software products, particularly open-source software”, said by a group of Thai Economists. However, Dr. Hirapruk who is the Director of Software Park Thailand, on the other hand, provides his support on allowing the computer programs to be patentable: “Thailand had to provide a patent-right protection for computer software to ensure foreign high-tech investors that software producers' creativity would be secured from violations in Thailand”. As a result, Mr. Sribhibhadh, president of the Association of Thai Software Industry, emphasized that there will need to be a clear overview of the impact on the local industry if Thailand really had to fully implement the patent right protections. United States. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted patents that may be referred to as software patents since at least the early 1970s. In Gottschalk v. Benson (1972), the United States Supreme Court ruled that a patent for a process should not be allowed if it would "wholly pre-empt the mathematical formula and in practical effect would be a patent on the algorithm itself", adding that "it is said that the decision precludes a patent for any program servicing a computer. We do not so hold." In 1981, the Supreme Court stated that "a claim drawn to subject matter otherwise statutory does not become nonstatutory simply because it uses a mathematical formula, computer program, or digital computer" and a claim is patentable if it contains "a mathematical formula [and] implements or applies the formula in a structure or process which, when considered as a whole, is performing a function which the patent laws were designed to protect". Due to different treatment of federal patent rights in different parts of the country, in 1982 the U.S. Congress created a new court (the Federal Circuit) to hear patent cases. Following several landmark decisions by this court, by the early 1990s the patentability of software was well established, and in 1996 the USPTO issued Final Computer Related Examination Guidelines stating that "A "practical application" of a computer-related invention is statutory subject matter. This requirement can be discerned from the variously phrased prohibitions against the patenting of abstract ideas, laws of nature or natural phenomena" (emphasis added). The recent expansion of the Internet and e-commerce has led to many patents being applied for and being granted for business methods implemented in software and the question of whether business methods are statutory subject matter is a separate issue from the question of whether software is. Critics of the Federal Circuit believe that the non-obviousness standard is partly responsible for the large increase in patents for software and business methods. There have been several successful enforcement trials in the United States, some of which are listed in the list of software patents article. An issue with software patent intellectual property rights is typically revolved around deciding whether the company or inventor owns it. As a matter of law, in the United States, the employee generally owns the IP right unless the employee's inventing skills or task to create the invention is the main specific hiring reason or a specific clause in the employment agreement assigning invention rights. A work for hire created after 1978 has copyright protection for 120 years from its creation date or 90 years from its publication date whichever comes first. Patent protection for software lasts 20 years. Indonesia. In Indonesia, software cannot be protected by patents, until the implementation of the Law No. 13 Year 2016, Patent Law in Indonesia. To begin evaluation, it is necessary to distinguish whether or not the application is considered an invention. Under Law No. 14 Year 2001, Article 1 of Patent Law in Indonesia, application is considered as an invention if the activity is created to solve a particular conflict or problem in the technology sector. Furthermore, it can be executed in the medium of a new process or product or a developmental enhancement in a product or process. According to Law No. 14 Year 2001, Article 7 of Patent Law in Indonesia., an application can not be patented as an invention if the product or process contradicts or challenges the current regulations and rules, public order or ethics, and religious morality. In addition, if the application is treated as a method or theory in the scientific or mathematics, argued to be any type of living creatures, with the exception of micro-organisms, or is considered as an essential biological measure to produce plants or animals, the application is not a patentable invention. As software contains algorithms, it is deemed to be part of the field of mathematics; hence, software cannot be protected by patents in Indonesia. However, one way for the Indonesian Intellectual Property office to grant software patents in Indonesia is if the application has been patented in other nations, which have ratified the Patent Corporation Treaty (PCT). Therefore, in accordance to the regulations under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, a software will have a regional protection among the participating entities of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). An important update was enacted on 26 August 2016, the Law No. 13 Year 2016, Patent Law in Indonesia. This update is geared to encourage innovation and growth by augmenting the number of patents within the public and private sector in Indonesia. This update proposes an extension of protection for simple patent, which grants application for patents for new improvements or inventions to existing processes. Intangible inventions can also be patented; under the former law, simple patent is restricted for tangible inventions, which has a positive implication for software patents in Indonesia. Furthermore, these changes provide more protection to the pharmaceutical industry and encourage public access to medical knowledge. This can boost new software ideas and processes within the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector. This update provides a stronger protection of traditional knowledge. In addition, a significant update is the usability of electronic filling and electronic media. Under this new law, application can be made electronically. Purpose of patents. For the U.S., the purpose of patents is laid down in the constitutional clause that gives Congress the power to "promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;" (Article I, Section 8, Clause 8). For Europe, there is no similar definition. Commonly four patent justification theories are recognised, as laid down for instance by Machlup in 1958, which include justice to the inventor and benefit for society by rewarding inventors. Disclosure is required in return for the exclusive right, and disclosure may promote further development. However, the value of disclosure should not be overestimated: some inventions could not be kept secret otherwise, and patents also prohibit independent reinventions to be exploited. There is debate as to whether or not these aims are achieved with software patents. Proposals. In seeking to find a balance, different countries have different policies as to where the boundary between patentable and non-patentable software should lie. In Europe, a number of different proposals for setting a boundary line were put forward during the debate concerning the proposed Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions, none of which were found acceptable by the various parties to the debate. Two particular suggestions for a hurdle that software must pass to be patentable include: In the US, Ben Klemens, a Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution, proposed that patents should be granted only to inventions that include a physical component that is by itself nonobvious. This is based on Justice William Rehnquist's ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Diamond v. Diehr that stated that "... insignificant postsolution activity will not transform an unpatentable principle into a patentable process." By this rule, one would consider software loaded onto a stock PC to be an abstract algorithm with obvious postsolution activity, while a new circuit design implementing the logic would likely be a nonobvious physical device. Upholding an "insignificant postsolution activity" rule as per Justice Rehnquist's ruling would also eliminate most business method patents. Obviousness. A common objection to software patents is that they relate to trivial inventions. A patent on an invention that many people would easily develop independently of one another should not, it is argued, be granted since this impedes development. Different countries have different ways of dealing with the question of inventive step and non-obviousness in relation to software patents. Europe uses an 'Inventive step test'; see the Inventive step requirement in Europe and, for instance, T 258/03. Criticism. Compatibility. There are a number of high-profile examples where the patenting of a data exchange standards forced another programming group to introduce an alternative format. For instance, the Portable Network Graphics (PNG) format was largely introduced to avoid the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) patent problems, and Ogg Vorbis to avoid MP3. If it is discovered that these new suggested formats are themselves covered by existing patents, the final result may be a large number of incompatible formats. Creating such formats and supporting them costs money and creates inconvenience to users. Computer-implemented invention (CII). Under the European Patent Convention (EPC), and in particular its Article 52, "programs for computers" are not regarded as inventions for the purpose of granting European patents, but this exclusion from patentability only applies to the extent to which a European patent application or European patent relates to a computer program as such. As a result of this partial exclusion, and despite the fact that the EPO subjects patent applications in this field to a much stricter scrutiny when compared to their American counterpart, that does not mean that all inventions including some software are "de jure" not patentable. Overlap with copyright. Patent and copyright protection constitute two different means of legal protection which may cover the same subject matter, such as computer programs, since each of these two means of protection serves its own purpose. Software is protected as works of literature under the Berne Convention. This allows the creator to prevent another entity from copying the program and there is generally no need to register code in order for it to be copyrighted. Patents, on the other hand, give their owners the right to prevent others from using the technology defined by the patent claims, even if the technology was independently developed and there was no copying of a software or software code involved. In fact, one of the most recent EPO decisions clarifies the distinction, stating that software is patentable, because it is basically only a technical method executed on a computer, which is to be distinguished from the program itself for executing the method, the program being merely an expression of the method, and thus being copyrighted. Patents cover the underlying methodologies embodied in a given piece of software, or the function that the software is intended to serve, independent of the particular language or code that the software is written in. Copyright prevents the direct copying of some or all of a particular version of a given piece of software, but does not prevent other authors from writing their own embodiments of the underlying methodologies. Assuming a dataset meets certain criteria, copyright can also be used to prevent a given set of data from being copied while still allowing the author to keep the contents of said set of data a trade secret. Whether and how the numerus clausus principle shall apply to the legal hybrid software to provide a judicious balance between property rights of the title holders and freedom rights of computing professionals and society as a whole, is in dispute. Debate. There is a debate over the extent to which software patents should be granted, if at all. Important issues concerning software patents include: Open source software. There is strong dislike in the free software community towards software patents. Much of this has been caused by free software or open source projects terminating when the owners of patents covering aspects of a project demanded license fees that the project could not pay, or was not willing to pay, or offered licenses with terms that the project was unwilling to accept, or could not accept, because it conflicted with the free software license in use. Several patent holders have offered royalty-free patent licenses for a very small portion of their patent portfolios. Such actions have provoked only minor reaction from the free and open source software communities for reasons such as fear of the patent holder changing their mind or the license terms being so narrow as to have little use. Companies that have done this include Apple, IBM, Microsoft, Nokia, Novell, Red Hat, and Sun (now Oracle). In 2005 Sun Microsystems announced that they were making a portfolio of 1,600 patents available through a patent license called Common Development and Distribution License. In 2006, Microsoft's pledge not to sue Novell Linux customers, openSUSE contributors, and free/open source software developers over patents and the associated collaboration agreement with Novell was met with disdain from the Software Freedom Law Center while commentators from the Free Software Foundation stated that the agreement would not comply with GPLv3. Meanwhile, Microsoft has reached similar agreements with Dell and Samsung, due to alleged patent infringements of the Linux operating system. Microsoft has also derived revenue from Android by making such agreements-not-to-sue with Android vendors. Unisys case. In the late 1990s, Unisys claimed to have granted royalty free licenses to hundreds of not-for-profit organizations that used the patented LZW compression method and, by extension, the GIF image format. However, this did not include most software developers and Unisys were "barraged" by negative and "sometimes obscene" emails from software developers. Licensing. Patenting software is widespread in the US. As of 2015, approximately 500,000 patents had issued in the 23 classes of patents covering "computer implemented inventions" (see table). Many software companies cross license their patents to each other. These agreements allow each party to practice the other party's patented inventions without the threat of being sued for patent infringement. Microsoft, for example, has agreements with IBM, Sun (now Oracle), SAP, Hewlett-Packard, Siemens, Cisco, Autodesk, and recently Novell. Microsoft cross-licensed its patents with Sun, despite being direct competitors, and with Autodesk even though Autodesk has far fewer patents than Microsoft. The ability to negotiate cross licensing agreements is a major reason that many software companies, including those providing open source software, file patents. As of June 2006, for example, Red Hat had developed a portfolio of 10 issued US patents, 1 issued European patent, 163 pending US patent applications, and 33 pending international PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) patent applications. Red Hat uses this portfolio to cross license with proprietary software companies so that they can preserve their freedom to operate. Other patent holders are in the business of inventing new "computer implemented inventions" and then commercializing the inventions by licensing the patents to other companies that manufacture the inventions. Walker Digital, for example, has generated a large patent portfolio from its research efforts, including the basic patent on the Priceline.com reverse auction technology. US universities also fall into this class of patent owners. They collectively generate about $1.4 billion per year through licensing the inventions they develop to both established and start up companies in all fields of technology, including software. Still other patent holders focus on obtaining patents from original inventors and licensing them to companies that have introduced commercial products into the marketplace after the patents were filed. Some of these patent holders, such as Intellectual Ventures, are privately held companies financed by large corporations such as Apple, Microsoft, Intel, Google, etc. Others, such as Acacia Technologies, are publicly traded companies with institutional investors being the primary shareholders. The practice of acquiring patents merely to license them is controversial in the software industry. Companies that have this business model are pejoratively referred to as patent trolls. It is an integral part of the business model that patent licensing companies sue infringers that do not take a license. Furthermore, they may take advantage of the fact that many companies will pay a modest license fee (e.g. $100,000 to $1,000,000) for rights to a patent of questionable validity, rather than pay the high legal fees ($2,000,000 or more) to demonstrate in court that the patent is invalid.

both a result

4191-1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1664923

Membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN) is a slowly progressive disease of the kidney affecting mostly people between ages of 30 and 50 years, usually Caucasian. It is the second most common cause of nephrotic syndrome in adults, with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) recently becoming the most common. Signs and symptoms. Most people will present as nephrotic syndrome, with the triad of albuminuria, edema and low serum albumin (with or without kidney failure). High blood pressure and high cholesterol are often also present. Others may not have symptoms and may be picked up on screening, with urinalysis finding high amounts of protein loss in the urine. A definitive diagnosis of membranous nephropathy requires a kidney biopsy, though given the very high specificity of anti-PLA2R antibody positivity this can sometimes be avoided in patients with nephrotic syndrome and preserved kidney function Causes. Primary/idiopathic. 85% of MGN cases are classified as "primary membranous glomerulonephritis"—that is to say, the cause of the disease is idiopathic (of unknown origin or cause). This can also be referred to as "idiopathic membranous nephropathy". One study has identified antibodies to an M-type phospholipase A2 receptor in 70% (26 of 37) cases evaluated. Testing for these anti-PLA2R has revolutionised diagnosis and treatment of this disease in antibody positive patients, and tracking titre level over time allows you to predict risk of disease progression and chance of spontaneous remission In 2014, a second autoantigen was discovered, the thrombospondin type 1 domain-containing 7A (THSD7A) system that might account for an additional 5-10% of membranous nephropathy cases, and appears to be associated with malignancies. New studies are identifying novel auto-antigens responsible for causing a membranous nephropathy pattern of injury continue to be published, with antibodies against NELL-1 and EXT1/EXT2 in 2019, Semaphorin3B and Protocadherin 7 (PCDH7) in 2020, and serine protease HTRA1 in 2021. Secondary. The remainder is secondary due to: Pathogenesis. MGN is caused by immune complex formation in the glomerulus. The immune complexes are formed by binding of antibodies to antigens in the glomerular basement membrane. The antigens may be part of the basement membrane, or deposited from elsewhere by the systemic circulation. The immune complex serves as an activator that triggers a response from the C5b - C9 complements, which form a membrane attack complex (MAC) on the glomerular epithelial cells. This, in turn, stimulates release of proteases and oxidants by the mesangial and epithelial cells, damaging the capillary walls and causing them to become "leaky". In addition, the epithelial cells also seem to secrete an unknown mediator that reduces nephrin synthesis and distribution. Within membranous glomerulonephritis, especially in cases caused by viral hepatitis, serum C3 levels are low. Similar to other causes of nephrotic syndrome (e.g., focal segmental glomerulosclerosis or minimal change disease), membranous nephropathy is known to predispose affected individuals to develop blood clots such as pulmonary emboli. Membranous nephropathy in particular is known to increase this risk more than other causes of nephrotic syndrome though the reason for this is not yet clear. Morphology. The defining point of MGN is the presence of subepithelial immunoglobulin-containing deposits along the glomerular basement membrane (GBM). Although it usually affects the entire glomerulus, it can affect parts of the glomerulus in some cases. Treatment. Treatment of secondary membranous nephropathy is guided by the treatment of the original disease. For treatment of idiopathic membranous nephropathy, the treatment options include immunosuppressive drugs and non-specific anti-proteinuric measures such as ACE inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers. Given spontaneous remission is common, international guidelines recommend a period of watchful waiting before considering immunosuppressive treatment. Likelihood of achieving spontaneous remission is much higher if anti-proteinuric therapy with ace inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers is commenced. Recommended first line immunsosuppressive therapy often includes: cyclophosphamide alternating with a corticosteroid, also known as the Ponticelli regime. Immunosuppressive therapy options. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of membranous glomerulonephritis is deciding which people to treat with immunosuppressive therapy as opposed to simple "background" or anti-proteinuric therapies. A large part of this difficulty is due to a lack of ability to predict which people will progress to end-stage kidney disease, or kidney disease severe enough to require dialysis. Because the above medications carry risk, treatment should not be initiated without careful consideration as to risk/benefit profile. Of note, corticosteroids (typically Prednisone) alone are of little benefit. They should be combined with one of the other 5 medications, each of which, along with prednisone, has shown some benefit in slowing down progression of membranous nephropathy. It must be kept in mind, however, that each of the 5 medications also carry their own risks, on top of prednisone. The twin aims of treating membranous nephropathy are first to induce a remission of the nephrotic syndrome and second to prevent the development of end-stage kidney failure. A meta-analysis of four randomized controlled trials comparing treatments of membranous nephropathy showed that regimes comprising chlorambucil or cyclophosphamide, either alone or with steroids, were more effective than symptomatic treatment or treatment with steroids alone in inducing remission of the nephrotic syndrome. Prognosis. About a third of untreated patients have spontaneous remission, another third progress to require dialysis and the last third continue to have proteinuria, without progression of kidney failure. Terminology. The closely related terms membranous nephropathy (MN) and membranous glomerulopathy both refer to a similar constellation but without the assumption of inflammation. Membranous nephritis (in which inflammation is implied, but the glomerulus not explicitly mentioned) is less common, but the phrase is occasionally encountered. These conditions are usually considered together. By contrast, membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis has a similar name, but is considered a separate condition with a distinctly different causality. Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis involves the basement membrane and mesangium, while membranous glomerulonephritis involves the basement membrane but not the mesangium. (Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis has the alternate name "mesangiocapillary glomerulonephritis", to emphasize its mesangial character.)

determinative threshold

407-2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=44649153

Ludwig Heinrich Philipp Döderlein (3 March 1855, Bad Bergzabern – 23 April 1936, Munich) was a German zoologist. He specialized in echinoderms, particularly sea stars, sea urchins, and crinoids. He was one of the first European zoologists to have the opportunity to do research work in Japan from 1879 to 1881. Today, he is considered one of the most important pioneers of marine biological research in Japan. He was the director and curator of the Musée zoologique de la ville de Strasbourg from 1882 to 1919. He headed the Zoologische Staatssammlung München from 1923 to 1927 and was Professor of Zoology in the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Biography. Ludwig Döderlein was born in Bad Bergzabern, then Kingdom of Bavaria, on March 3, 1855. He went to school in Bayreuth from 1864 to 1873. From 1873 to 1875 he studied natural sciences in the University of Erlangen, where he also worked as an assistant to the Zoologist Emil Selenka in the summer of 1875. From 1875 to 1876 he took two semesters at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. After graduating, Döderlein moved to the University of Straßburg. There he completed his Doctorate of Philosophy in Mathematics and Natural Sciences on June 26, 1877. From 1876 to 1878 he worked for four semesters in the zoology department of the University of Straßburg as an assistant to the German zoologist and phycologist Eduard Oscar Schmidt. The prospects for an academic career were poor, so for a time, he worked as a schoolteacher in the Alsatian town of Mulhouse. There he met and befriended the Japanese student Kenji Oosawa (1852–1927), who was studying medicine and physiology at the University of Strasbourg. Oosawa arranged for Döderlein to be invited to Japan to work as a Professor of Natural History in the Faculty of Medicine of the newly established University of Tokyo. Döderlein accepted gratefully. Döderlein was one of the first European academics invited to Japan during the Meiji Restoration era, when Japan was undergoing rapid modernization after the end of the isolation period (Sakoku). He stayed from 1879 to 1881 as an "oyatoi gaikokujin" ("foreign employee") professor. During this time, he collected and preserved marine life extensively, particularly fish, sponges, crustaceans, crinoids, sea urchins, cnidarians, and bryozoans. In addition, he also occasionally collected specimens of amphibians (including a giant salamander), mammals, birds, and plants. At first, he obtained most of his specimens from the fish markets and gift shops of Tokyo and the island of Enoshima. Later, he himself fished for specimens directly from Sagami Bay. At the end of the two-year period, Döderlein returned to Europe. Despite the difficulties associated with it, he brought his extensive collection of more than 3,550 specimens of at least 372 species back with him. After his return, Döderlein became the director and curator of Musée zoologique de la ville de Strasbourg between 1882 and 1919. There he devoted much of his life cataloging its rich collection of marine fauna from the Far East. During his tenure, he hired specialists like Johannes Thiele, Franz Eilhard Schulze, and Arnold Edward Ortmann to study his Japanese collection. He also taught zoology at the University of Strasbourg during this period. At the turn of the century, he developed severe symptoms of tuberculosis. As a result, he was denied a promotion to Professor of Zoology because he could no longer teach effectively. From January to May 1901, in an effort to cure his ailment, he travelled to Biskra in Algeria where he spent most of his time studying the local fauna. After the end of the First World War in 1919, Alsace was ceded back to France by Germany under the Treaty of Versailles. Döderlein was removed from directorship of the Museum of Strasbourg and was deported back to Germany by the French government. His family were not allowed to take anything with them per the treaty, forcing him to leave all his private property as well as his Japanese zoological collection behind. To make matters worse, Germany (then under the Weimar Republic) was struggling from the post-war economic depression. He spent the rest of his life heading the Zoologische Staatssammlung München (Bavarian State Collection of Zoology) and teaching zoology in the University of Munich. He made numerous attempts to recover his Japanese collection but despite strong international support (including from the Smithsonian) he had little success. He also attempted to visit Strasbourg personally but was again thwarted by the growing hostility between Germany and France prior to the Second World War. He died in Munich on April 23, 1936 at the age of 81. Legacy. Döderlein is considered as one of the last "great naturalists". His published work were varied, including papers on evolution, tapirs, elephants, and even pterosaurs. Most of his work, however, was on marine biology, with a special interest in echinoderms. He was mostly forgotten during the mid-Twentieth century until the rediscovery of his extensive collections at the Musée zoologique de la ville de Strasbourg by the Japanese marine biologist Shunsuke Mawatari. From 1997 to 2005, a Japanese team documented his collections in Strasbourg and other museums in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, revealing the true extent of his work. He is now recognized as one of the pioneers of natural history research in Japan. He also started the long tradition of focused research on the ecologically rich Sagami Bay. His observations on its fauna is believed to have been the primary reason for the establishment of the Misaki Marine Biological Station in Sagami Bay in 1884 by the Japanese zoologist Kakichi Mitsukuri. Döderlein is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of Asian snake, "Calamaria doederleini" and in the fish genus "Doederleinia".

substantial assistance from all over the world

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=8895382

Fabio Grobart (born Abraham Grobart on August 20, 1905 - died 22 October 1994; also known as Antonio Blanco and Abraham Simjovitch) was a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary and politician who played an important role in the 1959 Cuban Revolution that overthrew Fulgencio Batista and led to Fidel Castro's rise to power. Biography. From Poland to Cuba. Grobart was born in Białystok, Poland. Apparently following orders of the Comintern, during the early 1920s he became a founding member of the Cuban Communist Party. After in 1922 entering the Young Communist League of Poland, and additional Communist activities he may have been sentenced to death and this may have obliged him to leave Poland to settle in Cuba. He played an important, though generally undocumented, role in guiding the political leadership of Cuba's 1959 Revolution along a socialist path. Fabio Grobart was one of the founders of the Communist Party in Cuba in 1925, "and for decades served as a party ideologue and the man who introduced Castro at party meetings" (Goering, 2001). Grobart was both a member of the Cuban Communist Party Central Committee and a member of Parliament. According to Boris Kozolchyk Grobart's blunders were at least partially responsible for the outlawing of the Cuban Communist Party in 1948, and resulted in his deportation. In the 1960s, he directed Cuba Socialista and was top planner guiding orthodox ideologogy. As he grew older, he was considered the Party's historian. He died in Cuba on 22 October 1994. Abraham was a major éminence grise of Cuban history and is most commonly known as Fabio Grobart, Fabio being a reference to the Roman Consul and guerrilla tactician Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus called "Cunctator (the delayer)", and thus to Fabian socialism. Controversies. Grobart's actual background is not clearly known and subject to controversy. For instance during the foiled so-called microfaction plot, in which the “old” communists allegedly tried to oust or at least control Castro, Grobart was necessarily involved. But this same source provides no mention of Grobart's actions for or against this very significant plot. Raffy (2004 pp. 383–385) is more specific specifying a somewhat earlier date; this author states that Anibal Escalante, the son of a senior Cuban independence fighter who fought under the command of Calixto Garcia, was blamed for the plot. Raffe credits Grobart with saving Castro. Escalante was exiled to Prague and the USSR ambassador Kondriatsev was sent home from Cuba. Apparently this effort to save Castro was supported by Castro's feared security chief “Barba Roja” Manuel Piñeiro . Those accused of being co-conspirators were imprisoned. Grobart and the Communist Party of Cuba. Fabio Grobart was long considered “… maybe the highest ranking representative of the Third International in Cuba in that moment”. However, Grobart's importance in founding the Cuban communist party was recognized by Fidel Castro, the Rand thinktank, and Jewish history experts such as Moisés Asís, who states “By 1925, there were 8,000 Jews in Cuba (some 2,700 sephardic, 5,200 ashkenazic, and 100 Americans). Four ashkenazic Jews were in the small group that founded the first Communist Party of Cuba in 1925: Grimberg, Vasserman, Simjovich a.k.a. Grobart, and Gurbich. They opposed the religious and community life of the other Jews.” It has been claimed that Grobart recruited Fidel Castro as an agent in 1948 Although the party Grobart helped found was not the first Cuban communist party, it is considered as such by the present Cuban government. The first well known Cuban communist was Pablo Lafargue, born in Santiago de Cuba in 1847. Lafargue went to Europe, became a disciple of Karl Marx, married one of Marx's daughters, became a very important member of the Socialist Internationals, and helped found the French Workers Party in 1882. Lafargue and his wife committed suicide. The original Cuban Communist Party seems to have arisen early in the 20th Century in the eastern town of Manzanillo. Family and personality. Fabio Grobart had a son (still living and not an only child) Fabio Grobart Sunshine born August 31, PhD in International Economics & MS Chemical Engineering. Fabio Grobart was ethnically “Jewish,” and may not have been a practicing Jew. He apparently never objected to the Cuban government's "attitude toward religion, Zionism and Israel… ". Official History. Official Cuban government histories state that Grobart left Poland after joining the Communist Youth League, and for this reason was condemned to death. His first job in Cuba was as a tailors’ assistant and rapidly became active in Cuban Unions. Directed to do so by the Cuban communist party he funded the corresponding communist youth league. Although it is public record that Gerard Machado often turned to the communist party for support, officially Grobart was arrested by Machado officials and did not return until this President, turned dictator, fell from power. Some time before 1943 Grobart resumed union activities during Fulgencio Batista’s first period of power. According to this official history, since his lungs were weak and his life was again threatened in the 1950s when he left for Eastern Europe to spend time between Budapest, Prague and Vienna. In 1952, under the name Albert Blanco he was co-delegate with Carlos Palacio a Spaniard for Latin America in the very leftist labor union World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). After 1959 Ernesto Che Guevara and Raúl Castro met “Alberto Blanco” in Prague and brought him back to Cuba. In 2005 Raúl Castro’s words led Cuban communist authorities in honors and praise to ”maestro” Grobart, giving his status as such as well as the official imprimatur of “marxist sainthood”. References. Hudson, Rex A. 1988 and José F. Sánchez 2005 (accessed 1-14-07) Castro's America Department. Coordinating Cuba's support for Marxist–Leninist violence in the Americas. La Nueva Cuba Octubre 30, 2005 “After taking control of the DGI, the KGB compelled Castro to replace its chief, Manuel Piñeiro, with José Méndez Cominches in 1969. (26) One theory posited that the Soviets had not forgiven Piñeiro, a Castro loyalist, for thwarting a KGB plot -in collusion with a pro-Soviet "microfaction" of the PCC/CC- to oust Castro in early 1968 and replace him with a party member more amenable to Moscow's orders. (27) Nevertheless, Castro kept Piñeiro in his other position as MININT vice minister, and also gave him supervisory control over the 400-member DL staff. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Organization of American States)1983 (accessed 1-14-06) The situation of human rights in Cuba seventh report OEA/Ser.L/V/II.61 Doc. 29 rev. 1 4 October 1983 “Since the defeat and imprisonment in 1968 of the so-called “microfaction” within the Cuban Communist Party, led by Anibal Escalante, there has been no effective opposition to political power in Cuba."

major conspiracy

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=33705042

In finance, a contingent claim is a derivative whose future payoff depends on the value of another “underlying” asset, or more generally, that is dependent on the realization of some uncertain future event. These are so named, since there is only a payoff under certain contingencies. Any derivative instrument that is not a contingent claim is called a forward commitment. The prototypical contingent claim is an option, the right to buy or sell the underlying asset at a specified exercise price by a certain expiration date; whereas (vanilla) swaps, forwards, and futures are forward commitments, since these grant no such optionality. Contingent claims are applied under financial economics in developing models and theory, and in corporate finance as a valuation framework. Financial economics. In financial economics contingent claim analysis is widely used as a framework both for developing pricing models, and for extending the theory. Thus, from its origins in option pricing and the valuation of corporate liabilities, it has become a major approach to intertemporal equilibrium under uncertainty. This framework is therefore “broader than ‘option pricing’ because it encompasses the full gamut of valuation approaches directed toward the pricing of contingent claims.” This would include "the full range of models designed to price government, corporate, and mortgage-backed securities... as well as options and futures on fixed income securities." The general approach here is to define risky outcomes relative to states of the world, and to then use claims to represent and value state outcomes. Thus given a definition of risky states, all financial instruments and arrangements can be represented as combinations of contingent claims on those states. See Arrow-Debreu security, Risk-neutral measure, Financial economics #State prices. Corporate finance. A recent development in corporate finance, is “the acceptance, at least in some cases, that the value of an asset may be greater than the present value of expected cash flows, if the cash flows are contingent on the occurrence or non-occurrence of an event”. This contingent claim valuation, uses option pricing models to measure the value of assets that share option-like characteristics. While these models were initially used to value traded options, there has been an attempt in recent years to extend the reach of these models into more traditional valuation. The fundamental premise here, is that “discounted cash flow models tend to understate the value of assets that provide payoffs that are contingent on the occurrence of an event." See Real options valuation generally, and #Applicability of standard techniques. (One major modification here is that these models often rely on a replicating portfolio as opposed to traditional risk neutral pricing.) Typical corporate finance "project" valuations would include patents, undeveloped natural resource reserves, and contingent value rights – all of these exhibiting optionality. See . Contingent claim valuation is also used here to value specific balance sheet assets and liabilities which similarly exhibit option like characteristics. Examples are employee stock options, warrants and other convertible securities, investments with embedded options such as callable bonds or contingent convertible bonds, and, funding dependent, structured finance investments and special purpose entities.

a principal adjustment

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=52648208

Self-supply of water and sanitation (also called household-led water supply or individual supply) refers to an approach of incremental improvements to water and sanitation services, which are mainly financed by the user. People around the world have been using this approach over centuries to incrementally upgrade their water and sanitation services. The approach does not refer to a specific technology or type of water source or sanitation service although it does have to be feasible to use and construct at a low cost and mostly using tools locally available. The approach is rather about an incremental improvement of these services. It is a market-based approach and commonly does not involve product subsidies. "Self-supply" is different from "supported self-supply." The first term refers to situations where people improving their water and sanitation services on their own. "Supported self-supply" refers to a deliberately guided process, usually by a government agency or a non-governmental organization. Many examples of self-supply taking off in a short time come from situations where government-led service provision broke down (e.g., in countries of the former Soviet Union). The approach can also be deliberately used by government agencies or external support agencies to complement other types of service provision, such as community-managed water supply. Self-supply is an important strategy - in combination with other approaches such as community-managed services - to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly for Goal number 6: "Ensure access to water and sanitation for all". The term is commonly used in the water sector in the development cooporation context, but less commonly in the sanitation sector. Certain approaches such as community-led total sanitation or container-based sanitation systems have many similar aspects to self-supply. Some organizations use other terms referring to approaches which are led by individual households. For example, the World Health Organization uses the term "individual supply". In the context of developed countries, a related concept is called living "off the grid". Definition. The short definition of self-supply is: "People improving water and sanitation services by themselves". The basic idea of self-supply is that people are providing water for themselves through their own means without direct government support. Humans have been improving their own access to water and sanitation without government aid for millennia. As an approach to improving access it is a user-centered approach that involves incrementally improving current service levels, most of the time mainly financed by the end users. Generally this means that the improvements to water supply and sanitation are achieved either through labor by the end-users or by the end-users paying a technician or a company to complete the work. The incentives and benefits for the end users to improve their own water and sanitation services privately may include: convenience, proximity to home, larger volume of water, faster services than municipal water systems, cheaper than municipal water systems, lack of municipal water systems, privacy, security, and reliability. There is no specific technology that is advocated with self-supply. Self-supply is rather an approach of how to improve access to water and sanitation services, commonly referred to as "moving up the water and sanitation ladders". At the bottom of the "water ladder" are unprotected sources of water. The users "climb the water ladder" by adding protection to their water source or additional technology for convenience. For example, a user with an unlined hand dug well with a rope and bucket as a lifting device would be at the bottom of the water ladder. A user with a lined hand dug well would be higher on the water ladder since the water source has a lower risk of contamination due to the lining. A user with a hand pump would have the benefit of being able to get a larger volume of water more quickly than with a bucket, and contamination of the source is reduced. Finally, a user with a motorized pump would have the convenience of not having to expend any manual energy on pumping water. Even sources on the lowest rungs of the ladder would provide service all day, every day, all year round. In applying self-supply in sanitation, one approach used is that of sanitation marketing. Modularization is a part of the sanitation marketing approach. The sanitation product to be marketed is designed so that upgrades can be made gradually over time, towards an improved sanitation facility, as budget allows. Background. In 2015, 663 million people worldwide lacked access to improved water sources and 158 million people used surface water as their main source of drinking water (i.e. an "unimproved" water source). 8 out of 10 people without improved drinking water sources live in rural areas. Likewise, 1 in 8 people worldwide practise open defecation (946 million people). These numbers show that there is a continued need to keep improving these services for millions of people. Self-supply is not formally part of the water strategy to increase access to improved water sources in most developing countries and is not commonly counted in inventories of access to improved water sources. This is partly related to the fact that self-supply does not refer to a specific technology or service level. However, even in countries where significant initiatives of self-supply have been observed, these usually are not taken into consideration in official numbers of service coverage. Ethiopia and Zimbabwe are exceptions to this rule. Costs. Studies in Zambia and Zimbabwe showed that by using a strategy combining community-managed water supply and self-supply, the life-cycle costs to the government would be 50% lower, compared to a strategy only using community-managed water supply. Approaches for water supply. Manually drilled wells. A wide range of manual well drilling technology exist in developing countries. Manually driven tube wells are ubiquitous on the coasts of Madagascar. EMAS in Bolivia uses a hybrid percussion-jetting-rotation manual drilling method for the installation of tube wells. Hand-auger drilling is common in Niger where it has been used for the past 30 years. The Manual Drilling Compendium gives a good overview of the status of these technologies worldwide. Private wells, tube wells, upgraded family wells. In the United States, 44 million people used self-supply and private water sources in 2010 and about 22% of the rural population uses private wells to access groundwater for their water supply. About 20-60% of the population in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union relies on self-supply for water. For example, 35% of the population in Ukraine, 57% in Moldova, 38% in Romania, and 22% in Albania rely on self-supply for a water source. Bangladesh is one of the cases where self-supply has reached mainstream, with millions of tubewells and hand pumps in use. The "Upgraded Family Well" program has been implemented by the government of Zimbabwe in rural areas to improve the quality of self-supply wells. Rope pumps and pitcher pumps. A rope pump for self-supply was developed and introduced in Nicaragua in 1990. Since then, thousands of rope pumps have been installed on family wells. For example, as of 2004, about 30,000 rope pumps were installed serving at least 25 percent of rural population. Pitcher pumps on driven wells are ubiquitous along the coasts of Madagascar. The sandy soils and shallow water tables make it a particularly appropriate technology to use for accessing water. Madagascar’s main port of Tamatave in particular is estimated to have at a minimum of 9,000 pitcher pump wells servicing 170,000 people, making it one of the largest example of an unsubsidized pump market in sub-Saharan Africa. Rainwater harvesting. Rainwater harvesting is one of the simplest and oldest methods of self-supply. This can be as simple as putting a bucket at the edge of a tin roof. It can also involve the construction of small reservoirs and gutters along the edge of a roof to collect a larger quantity of water. Rain water harvesting has been extensively promoted in Thailand and is an example of how self-supply initiatives can reach large scale (even though in a first phase, the initiative was more of a direct implementation by the Thai government), in this case several million rural households. Household water treatment. Household water treatment a means to improve quality of water before consumption. It can be implemented under a self-supply approach, but also under other approaches. The most ubiquitous method of household water treatment in the world is boiling. Other methods that have been advocated are point-of-use chlorination, SODIS, and various types of water filters. EMAS technologies in Bolivia. EMAS (Mobile Water & Sanitation School - Spanish acronym, Escuela Móvil de Agua y Saneamiento) has been promoting different technologies to improve water supply and sanitation in Bolivia since the 1980s. Technologies promoted by EMAS in Bolivia are hand-pumps for household water supply, rainwater harvesting, safe household water storage tanks made of ferrocement, pit latrines, and a hybrid percussion-jetting-rotation manual drilling method. In 2013 an independent assessment was conducted that examined all of the technologies promoted by EMAS in Bolivia. The study found that a majority of the households surveyed (53 of 86) purchased EMAS technology with no subsidies or loans. Also, a majority of the households surveyed had operational EMAS pumps (78 out of 79) with all of the pumps being installed 11 years or more previously (18 out of 79) still being operational Approaches for sanitation. In the field of sanitation, the term "self supply" is not commonly used. However, a similar concept is that of community-led total sanitation. This is a behavior change approach which results in people abandoning open defecation and typically building and using pit latrines instead. Another approach which could be used for self supply in sanitation is that of container-based sanitation even though the collection and treatment steps are usually carried out by an external service provider, not by the households themselves. Challenges. Health risks. Because of limited capacities of governments in many countries for private supplies to be regularly tested, often combined with unclear responsibilities for water quality of private supplies, the health risks of these supplies tend to be higher than of larger networks. As a consequence, households who provide their own water supply and sanitation might end up with polluted drinking water. One example is the problem with arsenic polluted groundwater in Bangladesh. Poverty. In contrary to a direct intervention approach, where either a government agency or a private actor (usually a non-profit organization) directly provides a defined target group with a specific service level, self-supply relies on establishing mechanisms to let people decide themselves on the level, the location and the timing of the service provided. This needs special attention to market development, to strengthening the capacities of the private sector (as a service provider) and government agencies (e.g., as quality monitoring agency). Thus, while not interacting directly with any households, self-supply does not imply that the poorest households and individuals are abandoned, but it optimizes the limited resources available at all levels. In cases where the government can not fulfil this role of a regulator and monitoring agencies, dynamic processes have led to overexploitation of groundwater resources (e.g., in the city of Lagos) and of increased public health problems due to the consumption of groundwater that is naturally contaminated with arsenic. However, there are also examples where self-supply contributed to better access to water and sanitation services even by the poorest. For example, Thailand, where millions of rural people upgraded their water service level by buying additional vessels for storing rainwater, is one of the countries with most equal rates of access to drinking water. Additionally, in many cases the owners of a private well or other water source are not the only people who benefit from it. Neighbors, who may be poorer than the owners, also benefit from the water source since frequently they are allowed to use it as well. Role of government. Advocating for self-supply improvements means supporting the target population in a different way than many WASH programs do. Instead of focusing on government providing specific services directly it implies strengthening capacities of the private sector and aims to improve their quality of service. Apart from capacity building, the role of government may also include quality assurance, monitoring, and regulation. Human right to water and sanitation. The criticism is based on the assumption that the Human Right to Water and Sanitation imply that the government directly has to deliver water and sanitation services to everyone. However, as the United Nation's Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation pointed out, the government can also opt for a strategy of strengthening capacities of the private sector under a supported self-supply approach, allowing its resources to be used efficiently and reaching people in sparsely populated rural areas. History. The term "self-supply" was coined by members of the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) during the RWSN Forum in Uganda in 2004. It subsequently became one of the key topics of this network, which continues to update information regarding self-supply under their thematic website. Around 2010 it became apparent that there is a need to distinguish between "self-supply" and "Accelerated self-supply", which often also is mentioned as "Supported self-supply". Whereas in many non-industrialized countries self-supply is a naturally occurring process largely without government supervision, there are also exceptions to this rule. For example, self-supply has been formally endorsed by the national government of Ethiopia as a service delivery model for water in rural areas. Furthermore, the experience of Thailand (see example on Rainwater Harvesting) shows how a country can start with a government-driven approach and substantial use of subsidies to a self-supply approach once the private sector is strong enough, and that the resources and emphasis of the government agencies then can shift to monitoring water quality.

continuous necessity

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=16084558

Women in South Korea have experienced significant improvements for social changes in recent years, compared to previous times, when Confucianism was deeply imbued in the culture. In today's society, the economy of South Korea has tremendously improved due to urbanisation, industrialisation, military authoritarianism, democratic reform, and social liberalisation since the late 1960s. Thus, gender roles and gender identities eventually have been modified as a result to changing modernity. More than half(in 2018 OECD economy survey, it was 56.1%. It is lower than OECD average.) of Korean women are employed and furthermore, more than 25% of married women are employed as full-time workers. In politics, although there are not as many female politicians as male politicians, the female politicians have recently begun to participate more actively than in the past. For instance, in the National Assembly, women occupy 20 of the 299 seats. In 2020 parliamentary election, women occupy 57 seats in the National Assembly. It is the largest number of seats ever. The status of women varies depending on their social class and financial independence. In metropolitan areas, women have more access to education, which means they are less confined to the home as housewives. Most of the employed women in urban areas work in tertiary industries such as the service sector. Therefore, as working-class women, they have more power in making decisions within their households and are more financially independent. On the other hand, in rural areas, most women work in a primary industry such as the agriculture sector. In fact, they do not have the variety of educational and employment opportunities. Following 2019 survey by Ministry of Agriculture, woman farmers accounted for more than 50% of all farmers. However, 81% responded woman farmer's status is lower than man farmer. The status of women has elevated to the point where it could be seen as equal to men's social standing in terms of education, health, and legal rights. However, there are still plenty of political and economical prejudices against women. Moreover, Korean women are still consistently facing gender stereotypes regarding rigid gender roles. These stereotypes include women staying at home as housewives, being subordinate to men, having less power and voice in political and economic participation and movements, and many more. Women in South Korea are not restricted to dressing in a certain way, they follow a Western style of dress. History. In traditional Korean society, women were taught to be subordinated without formal advanced education or little education. Their roles were limited to be confined to the home as housewives and good mothers. Their duties were to maintain harmony in the household by avoiding any unnecessary conflicts. In addition, a married couple was to live in her husband's household by taking care of her husband's whole family including parents-in-law. Women were expected to produce sons and they were blamed if children were girls due to a notion of preferring a son to a daughter. This ideology called 'Son Preference'("ko: 남아선호사상"). It called out sex selection and sex-selective abortion. Women did not have the voice nor participate in society as men did, instead, they were expected to support their husbands. The improvement of women status was first found during the late 19th century to the early 19th century. A large number of Western Christian missionaries came to South Korea in order to institute modern schools. Among these modern schools, some of them established the schools with a goal to educate women in different fields including literature, arts, religious work, and many more. In fact, before the teachings of Western Christian missionaries, most of the women did not have any access to education. As a result, women were able to participate in political movement because women who got the education also engaged in enlightening other women. During the era under the colonial administration of imperial Japan, Korea women (almost Up to 200,000) were sent to work as comfort women in Japan's military brothels. Until the end of World War II, Korea was under Japanese occupation. Women participated in the independence movement against the Japanese occupation during Japanese colony during 1910-1945, therefore, the role of women has shifted slightly by having education and participating in political movements. After becoming independent from Japan, the Republic of Korea was established as a liberal democracy. Women who pursued education, work, and public life could now achieve constitutional rights for equal opportunities. For example, several schools were founded for the education of women. Women educated from these schools began to engage in the arts, teaching, economic activities, and engaged other women in discussion of gender equality. The percentage of women has steadily increased in professional fields which has resulted in significant contributions to society, especially in terms of increasing GDP. As they took a larger role in economic activities, the educational level of women also increased, providing additional opportunities for professionalization. Today, Korean women receive high levels of education and actively participate in a wide variety of fields, including education, medicine, engineering, scholarship, the arts, law, literature, and sports. Women's participation in social and economic culture is expected to continue to grow and diversify after the election of South Korea's first female president, Park Geun-Hye. This is partially due to Park Geun-Hye's promise to promote a “women’s revolution” and provide support for childcare, increased opportunities for promotion, and salary equality. Furthermore, Park Geun-Hye also promised to make other advances for women, including: increase the representation of women, to facilitate women’s employment and provide support for female workers, to increase educational opportunities for women to be competitive in the labor market, to provide social welfare policies for women, to promote women’s involvement in various social activities. However, not all of these policies have manifested. Legal rights. The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) states that discrimination against women is about equality of rights and human dignity. The political and social principles of the state violate the principle of respect for sex and are equal to that of men. Pointing out that it is an obstacle to participation in the economic, cultural life of the country. For the sake of development and human welfare and peace, women are equal to men in all areas. It is necessary to participate as much as possible and achieve full equality between men and women. The traditional role of men as well as the role of women in society and home to be successful. Also, the issue of discrimination against women in society as a whole. In all fields, such as politics, economy, society, culture, etc., under the basic recognition that it is necessary to take responsibility for it. To ensure that all appropriate measures are taken by the Parties to eliminate discrimination against women. Nowadays, women in South Korea are guaranteed all the legal rights that men have. In 1948, women gained their legal rights to vote, drive, and own and inherit properties and assets. For instance, Korean females have access to all medical and healthcare services. All Korean citizens are guaranteed for national health insurance under the National Health Insurance Act. South Korea has worked on its way to implement gender equality by revising and changing any discriminative contents in its existing legislative laws since the 1980s. In fact, South Korea's constitution has achieved its goal of ensuring diverse gender equality legislation within a short period of time. Implementation of laws to prohibit gender inequalities and prejudice have increased the number of women in the workforce. Nevertheless, women's status in South Korea illustrates the fact that Korea still has a lot of room to be improved for gender equality. Therefore, the legislation and public rules have critical and significant roles to influence Korean cities to elevate the social structure substantially. South Korea outlawed marital rape in 2013. "The Framework Act on Women's Development," which was enacted in 1995 and has been used as a legal basis for Korean women's policy, was renamed "The Framework Act on Gender Equality." From the birth of the Framework Act on Gender Equality in May 2014 to the enforcement on July 1, 2015, the various discourse was produced to view the revision as a paradigm shift in Korean women's policy. However, the revision has shaken the understanding of terms such as “gender” and “women,” “gender equality” or “gender-sensitive perspectives,” and caused a gap between political and academic over terminology. In this situation, we must consider how Korean women's policies have so far understood gender and how policies have changed. In addition, research has been conducted to explore ways in which "The Framework Act on Gender Equality" can be changed for the better through the concept of intersectionality. In 2021, South Korea decided not to criminalize women's abortions. The decision was made to further consider women's options and autonomy in pregnancy and childbirth. By conducting surveys and in-depth interviews with Korean female welfare workers, investigators focused on examining gender awareness through various questions about gender perspectives and analyzing women's gender roles and gender identities in their families. According to the analysis, gender awareness was very weak in Korean women's welfare policy, but awareness of its importance and necessity was high. Women's welfare officials are often aware of women's gender roles as "dependents" and "caregivers," which results in a reflection in the policy's implementation process. Therefore, it seems that there will need to be a follow-up plan to improve adult awareness of those who can play an important role in the enforcement process. Education. As it was shown above, in traditional Korean society, females could not have access to formal education and the literacy rate was low. The transition came in the late 19th century to the early 20th century when the Western Christian missionaries came to South Korea by establishing modern schools for girls. In 1886, Methodist missionaries found a primary school. In 1945, this primary school gained its status as a university, which is now called Ewha Womans University. Ewha Womans University is still known as the most prestigious women's university in South Korea. There were numerous women's schools established respectively. In the 1890s, Chongsin Girls' School and Paehwa Girls' School were established in Seoul, which is the capital city of Korea. There were about ten women institutions of higher education such as junior colleges, colleges, and university by 1987 in South Korea. In fact, the women enrolment for higher education was at 28%. In 1987, there were about 262,500 female students in higher education. Although more females had access to higher education compared to the past, there were only 16% of university and college women teachers in 1987. The growing number of women receiving a college education has meant that their sex role differs from that of their mothers and grandmothers. Many college-educated women plan independent careers and challenge the right of parents to choose a marriage partner. The often fierce battles between university students and police during the late 1980s included female participants. A correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review quoted a male student leader as saying that "short girls make great demonstrators, as they're very tough and very hard to catch." Whether politically active South Korean university women will follow their Japanese counterparts, who demonstrated during the 1960s and 1970s, into a world of child-raising and placid consumerism remains to be seen. The number of employed married women, however, increased by approximately 12.6 percent annually in the years since 1977. In 1983 more women—51.8%—were employed in rural areas than in urban areas—37.9 percent. Most of the women working in rural areas were over the age of thirty, as young females (and males) tended to move to, and seek employment in, cities and industrial areas. Official South Korean statistics indicated that 43.6% of women were in the workforce by 1988. Prospects for lower-class women, however, were frequently grim. In some cases, they were obliged to become part of the "entertainment industry" in order to survive economically. According to one estimate, brothels, bars, massage parlors, discos, and what are known as "Taiwan style" barbershops (that is, those often employing a greater number of masseuses than barbers) employed as many as 1 million women, though not all were prostitutes. This underworld of abuse and exploitation had begun to be criticized and exposed by women's activists. In today's South Korean society, the Constitution ensures equal access to education for women and also eliminates any discrimination regarding receiving education based on gender. In 1970, the literacy rate was 87.6%. In addition, according to 2002 estimates, the literacy rate increased to 97.9%; 96.6% of females and 99.2% of males are literate. According to 2008 estimates, there is approximately a 99% enrolment rate for both elementary school and middle school. The enrolment rate for high school is at approximately 96.6%. This means that almost 99% of the current South Korean females have approach to primary and secondary education. Family life. During the Goryeo and early Joseon Dynasty, it was customary for married couples to live in the wife's parents' household. This arrangement suggests that the status of women was higher than it was during the later period of the Joseon Dynasty. Neo-Confucian orthodoxy dictated that the woman, separated from her parents, had a primary duty of providing a male heir for her husband's family. According to this custom, once married, a woman had to leave her parents' household and then become a part of her husband's household. The relationship between wife and husband was often, if not usually, distant, aptly described by the Korean proverb: "By day, like seeing a stranger; by night, like seeing a lover." Joseon Dynasty law prohibited widows from remarrying, though a similar prohibition was not extended to widowers. Further, the sons and grandsons of widows who defied the ban, like children of secondary wives, were not allowed to take the civil service examinations and become scholar-officials. Despite the rapid changes in society due to industrialization, it was not converted to a gender-equal family culture due to the influence of the traditional family norms. In particular, Familism, which has been emphasized through the industrialization process, has continued to be family-centered and patriarchal, emphasizing the safety of the entire family rather than the individual. This Familism consequently infringed on women's unique rights by defining women as secondary to their family composition. In South Korea's history, which has disparaged women's rights, gender inequality has been strengthened, reproduced through the family's life culture. For example, the traditional marriage and kinship system, which used women as objects of paternalism, has excluded women from ancestor worship, inheritance, and possession. However, the recent debate over the abolition of the in South Korea has emerged as an important social issue. So, women's attempts to respect their rights and choices as individuals are spreading beyond their families to social areas. These women's attempts are causing social conflicts such as gender and family. Modern patriarchy is no different from the deformed succession of pre-modern family ethics. Familism in South Korea is now at a crossroads that must be transformed into gender-equal and democratic family ethics. The duty of a woman to her husband, or rather to her husband's family, was absolute and unquestionable. In traditional society, only men could obtain a divorce. A husband could divorce his spouse if she were barren—barrenness being defined simply as the inability to bear sons. The incompatibility of a wife and her in-laws was another reason for divorce. In contemporary society, both men and women have the right to obtain a divorce. Social and economic discrimination, however, make the lot of divorced women more difficult. The husband may still demand custody of the children, although a revision of the Family Law in 1977 made it more difficult for him to coerce or to deceive his wife into agreeing to an unfair settlement. The rate of divorce in South Korea is increasing rapidly. In 1975 the number of divorces was 17,000. In the mid-1980s, the annual number of divorces was between 23,000 and 26,000, and in 1987 there were 45,000 divorces. The tradition of total female submission persisted in Korean villages until relatively recent times. One Korean scholar who came from the conservative Chungcheong region recalled that when a high school friend died of sickness during the 1940s, his young bride committed suicide. Her act was commemorated in her own and the surrounding communities as an outstanding example of devotion to duty. Traditionally, men and women were strictly segregated, both inside and outside the house. Yangban women spent most of their lives in seclusion in the women's chamber. It is said that the traditional pastime of nolttwigi, a game of jumping up and down on a seesaw-like contraption, originated among bored women who wanted to peek over the high walls of their family compounds to see what the outside world was like. Economic necessity gave women of the lower classes some freedom as they participated in farm work and sometimes earned supplemental income through making and selling things. As of February 2015, adultery is no longer illegal in South Korea. Professional life. According to "The Economist"s 2013 "Glass-ceiling index" of five indicators of friendliness towards working women, South Korea ranks the lowest of all OECD countries because of its lack of women in senior jobs. Historically, however, a small minority of women played an active role in society and even wielded political influence. These people included female shamans (mudang), who were called upon to cure illnesses, tell fortunes, or in other ways enlist the help of spirits in realizing the wishes of their clients. Despite its sponsorship of neo-Confucianism, the Choson Dynasty had an office of shamanism, and female shamans often were quite influential in the royal palace. The female physicians who treated female patients (because male physicians were forbidden to examine them) constituted another important group of women. Sometimes they acted as spies or policewomen because they could get into the female quarters of a house. Still another group of women were the kisaeng. Some kisaeng, or entertainers, were merely prostitutes; but others, were talented musicians, dancers, painters, and poets who interacted with their male patrons. The kisaeng tradition perpetuated one of the more dubious legacies of the Joseon past: an extreme double standard concerning the sexual behavior of married men and women that still persists. In the cities, however, many middle-class women have begun to break with these traditions. An interesting regional variation on traditional female roles continued in the late 1980s. In the coastal villages of Jeju Island, women divers swam in search of seaweed, oysters, and other marine products and were economically self-sufficient. Often they provided the main economic support for the family while the husband did subsidiary work — took care of the children and did household chores — in sharp contrast to the Confucian norm. The number of women divers was dwindling, however, and men were increasingly performing jobs in service industries. Ancestor worship was rarely practiced while female-centered shamanistic rites were widespread. The factories of South Korea employ hundreds of thousands of young women on shop floors and assembly lines making, among other things, textiles and clothes, shoes, and electronic components. South Korea's economic success was bought in large measure with the sweat of these generally overworked and poorly paid female laborers. In the offices of banks and other service enterprises, young women working as clerks and secretaries are indispensable. Unlike their sisters on Jeju Island, however, the majority of these women work only until marriage. There has been a tangible increase in the number of women joining the workforce. In 2014, the number of Korean women in the workforce was estimated to be 57%, whereas in 1995 the number 47.6%. The statistical increase in the number of employed women has not correlated with the equality of wage, as the gender wage gap reported in 2013 was 36.3%, the worst of all OECD nations present in the data. A study was conducted to justify the Work-Family Conflict scale (WFC) revised and developed by Ginamon and Rich for married working women in Korea. The work-family conflict measure considered both directions, "work to a family," and "family to a work," to better understand the various roles of women in the work-family domain. Through this test, a discriminatory feasibility test between work-family conflict and work-family fostering revealed a significant negative correlation. This result supported the validity of the WFC. Simultaneous inspection of WFC and workplace satisfaction confirmed validity, and as the work-family conflict grows, women's work satisfaction decreases. And it has created the prejudice that the workplace of female workers is where they stay "temporarily." Although increasing numbers of women work outside the home, the dominant conception, particularly for the college-educated middle class, is that the husband is the "outside person," the one whose employment provides the main source of economic support; the wife is the "inside person," whose chief responsibility is maintenance of the household. While it is viewed as a societal norm that women be able to contribute to the finance of the household, the majority of the onus is placed upon men, Women tend to leave the labor force when they get married. Many women manage the family finances, and a large number join "kye", informal private short-term credit associations that give them access to funds that might not be obtainable from a conventional bank. Probably the most important responsibility of married women is the management of their children's education. Women also claim much of the responsibilities of being a caretaker, as half of the women that voluntarily leave their mid-career or senior-level jobs do so due to family commitments College-educated women in Korea tend to invest more time and capital to raising their children than individuals without a degree. but due to the declining population in Korea There has been a conscious effort to address these issues by the South Korean government, as "the government gives loans or subsidies to businesses to build childcare facilities, and more than half of all businesses now provide these. It also pays subsidies to businesses that offer more than 30 days of childcare leave a year, allow women to work less than full time, and re-employ women returning from maternity leave." Despite these efforts, the number of women who regularly use these support systems composes a minority of the women who find themselves in this position. A major factor that influences these decisions is the declining birth rate in Korea, as Korea's birthrate of 1.19 per family put a greater emphasis upon the quality of education and care upon the one, or two children that the family will take care of. According to a comprehensive analysis of factors that can affect female workers' gender discrimination by dividing them into personal, family, relational, and environmental characteristics, "the perception of bosses and leaders" and "relationship with them" were important factors that determine women's perception of gender discrimination at work. Korea's gender system serves as the basis for the social rights of non-regular female workers in structural relationships with the labor market and welfare state. Women's irregular labor in Korea is the main form of "temporary" employment and is characterized by job insecurity, low wages, long-term labor, and exclusion from national welfare and corporate welfare. From a social perspective, all types of rights based on their status as workers, parents, spouses, and citizens are vulnerable: paid labor, unpaid labor, unpaid labor, and care rights. Until now, it has been interpreted that female non-regular workers are treated worse than male non-regular workers due to the influence of the gender system, which defines women as care-giver and secondary workers. However, the “male livelihood support” function, which provides married women with the opposite of unpaid labor, only works for middle-class married women in Korea, and in this sense, Korea's gender system is more of a "layered" male livelihood support rather than a "typical" male livelihood support. And the poor social rights of female irregular workers are responsible for all three closely linked structures: a social insurance-driven welfare state, a dual labour market system, and a gender system in the male-dependent model. But the most important of these is the “dual labour market system.” Without solving the problem of the dual labour market system, it is unlikely that the social rights of non-regular female workers will be improved. The Glass Ceiling for women has been tested in contemporary times. In 2012, Samsung promoted three women into executive roles, which was unusual for a company of its size. Samsung has also stated that it aims to have at least 10% of its executive positions to be held by women. In 2013 Kwon Seon-joo became South Korea's first female bank CEO, as the CEO of state-owned Industrial Bank of Korea. In 2021, South Korea's actress Youn Yuh-Jung becomes the first Korean actress nominated for Oscar. The nominated movie "Minari" is about the settlement of Korean families who immigrated to the United States. In this movie, she played the role of Monica's grandmother, Soon-Ja. She won the Oscar for best-supporting actress for her performance in "Minari" and made history by becoming the first Korean actor to win an Academy Award. Prostitution. Prostitution in South Korea is illegal, but according to one estimate, brothels, bars, massage parlors, discos, and what are known as "Taiwan style" barbershops (that is, those often employing a greater number of masseuses than barbers) employed as many as 1 million women, though not all were prostitutes. This underworld of abuse and exploitation has begun to be criticized and exposed by women's activists. South Korean women and girls have been victims of sex trafficking in South Korea. They are raped and physically and psychologically harmed in brothels, businesses, homes, hotels, and other locations throughout the country. In 2003, after recovering from a financial meltdown, the unemployment rate for women was 12% in the 15-29 age group. In 2006, women in the age group of 20-29 constituted 40% of the total unemployed population, the figure being roughly around 340,000. The high levels of unemployment for women has contributed to the growth of the Korean sex trade. There are an estimated 500,000-1,000,000 women who partake in the sex trade, that being approximately one in every twenty-five women. The prominence of the sex trade has given birth to the "Bacchus Ladies", grandmothers who trade sex and other favours on top of the energy drink Bacchus they sell, of which their name was coined after. South Korean law first acknowledged women as rapists in June 2013; in 2015, the first woman was charged with rape in South Korea. The woman, only identified with her surname Jeon, was also the first woman to be arrested for sexually abusing a man. As well, South Korea outlawed marital rape in 2013. Crimes against women. Spy Cameras known as "Molka"(ko: 몰카) is an ongoing crisis predominantly against females in South Korea. As technology progresses, cameras have become subsequently smaller and become looks like an everyday life things(ex: ball pen, key ring, USB). These small ‘spy cams’ have been placed in anything from Public Restrooms and motels to hairdryers and TV’s. More than 6,000 spy camera cases are reported to the police every year between 2013 and 2017. Criminals often use these videos or pictures to publish them online for money. It has been known that sometimes they even end up getting published to online live streams. While many are indiscriminate of their victims, some are target specifically for their fame or wealth such as K-pop stars, actors, government officials, or popular social media figures. One of K-pop star, Goo Hara had committed suicide because of taking spycam and blackmailing by her ex-boyfriend. The realities associated with this fierce invasion of privacy and disregard to human rights has a lot of impacts on their victims. The fear of the thought someone is always watching you can be terrifying. The mental and physical toll this has affected on some people have led to stress, drinking, and in some cases the victims have even committed suicide. Before the National Assembly expanded on the laws for this, offenders would only serve up to 18 months for this crime. It has now been expanded to only 3 years, this includes anyone who has the footage in possession rather than just the perpetrator alone. In June 2018, President Moon Jae-In further expanded this to 10 million won (U.S. $9,000) or five years of prison time. This is still a very short amount of time for possibly causing the victim to take their own life from this action. Over 6,400 cases of illegal filming was reported in 2017, while in 2012 that number was only at 2,400. While there has been over 26,000 reported cases from 2012 to 2016. [43] With minimal government staff available to inspect public restrooms and items, it has become difficult for the government agencies to find any of these hidden cameras since it is usually only placed in a location for a short amount of time. In 2018 there was a #MeToo movement that swept the country, raising awareness on problems such as these, sexual assault, harassment, and gender inequalities. Many protests have sprung up from this movement and in Gwangwhamun Plaza, almost 200 women talked about their sexual harassment experiences for a total of 2018 minutes. While South Korea’s movement is among the most vigorous and widespread in the world, many believe that there have been little to no practical changes made to the legal structures and that there is a long way to go. Recently a petition for further punishment on sex crimes has gained nearly 250,000 signatures, while the government only requires 200,000 signatures to respond. In Korean online culture, stereotypes, discrimination, demeaning, or contempt, which regard women as sexual tools, such as focusing on appearance and age, replacing women with body parts or genitals, are becoming commonplace. The important problem is that even if these expressions are written off as being done by some malicious people online, the production and distribution of hateful online expressions risks reinforcing stereotypes or leading to generalization. Disgusting expressions are being expanded and reproduced in ways that solidify and materialize prejudice against women. And these are becoming out of control. So, there need for education policy efforts to pursue gender equality in the online space. In 2021, a digital sex crime called Nth room case occurred in South Korea. The suspects using messenger apps such as Telegram to lure and threaten the victims, filming and distributing sexual exploitation. Recently, research has been active in South Korea on ways to reasonably respond to digital sex crimes such as the Nth room case. The matter of the research is to face the lack of punishment for digital sex crimes so far and to emphasize that digital sex crimes are also violence and crimes against women. Therefore, as a reasonable countermeasure to digital sex crimes, it is necessary to strengthen the punishment for illegal photographs and to actively investigate them. In addition, technology is required to block the spread of illegal photographs. Finally, there is an opinion that "watching" illegal photographs also should be severely punished. Prospect. The hate expression for Korean women in the 2000s has been moving toward racialization, as can be seen in the expression "Kimchi girl." In this situation, the "Megalian" phenomenon occurred in which female parties in their 20s and 30s actively carry out hate speech. These women claim to employ a mirroring strategy by parodying the misogyny of men. In other words, the existing patriarchal gender discourse is materialized in reverse on a narrative level, emphasizing its sexual discrimination and contradiction. Korean women in their 20s and 30s were called "" in 2008. These were symbols of empathy for others and solidarity with minorities. “Megalian” results from the prevailing hatred against women in Korean society, the absence of a discourse on racism, and the focus on the encouragement of patriarchal family and child-care in women’s policy. In 2021, the Megalian site has been closed, but mirroring practices initiated by Megalian are still being called by radical feminists in Korea. Before unnecessary conflicts and extreme gender-based compatibility intensify, the Candle Light Girl aspiration for democracy, which was extremely radical in its early stage of development, can be developed into another form. Over the past 20 years, Korean society has achieved a lot in terms of social interest in women or institutional achievement, and women's research has also achieved quantitative growth, with expanding academic fields and diversifying research topics. However, it is hard to say that such quantitative growth of research extends the influence of feminism. Rather, the feminism of backlash or callousness and hatred is spreading in the last decades. The women's movement has achieved a lot since the 1990s in pursuit of participatory politics such as "sexualization" and "governance," but faces a crisis caused by the loss of identity of the women's movement and the disappearance of progressive frames. Recently, the expansion of neo-liberalism has deepened the problem of irregular workers in the female labor force and job insecurity. In addition, the increase in work-family conflicts has led to widespread instability in women's labor and personal lives. In particular, women in their 20s and 30s are immersed in individualism and consumer capitalism amid social anxiety. So they are moving away from the identity of feminism. Meanwhile, the Korean family system is in danger because of the conflict between individualism and the preservation of traditional patriarchy. Nevertheless, most women's studies remain in studies that merely suggest phenomenological analysis or fragmentary policies, and do not find answers to essential signs of crisis. The decrease in critical women's research is also linked to the crisis of feminism. To revitalize feminism, which has been fading since the 2000s, it is time to seek more critical and practical awareness of women's reality. See also. References. (Data from 1990.)

escort trade

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=35283755

Rashtriya Sanskrit Model Senior Secondary School (R.S. Model Sr. Sec. School) was founded in 1951. Its main aim was protection of the dying Indian language Sanskrit and for serving Sanskrit. This is where the name Rashtriya Sanskrit comes from. In the beginning it was a primary school, affiliated with the Punjab School Education Board’s syllabus. After three years, in 1959, it was upgraded to a middle school. It was finally recognized in the year 1964 and upgraded to a high school the very next year in 1965. On 1 April 1976, it got permanent recognition. So it received its new name Rashtriya Sanskrit Model High School. It is now a Punjab School Education Board aided school. Earlier it was located in Arya Samaj Mandir, but in October 1979 it was shifted to its present location. Principals. Mr Mohan Lal Kalra (Current) won the Best Teacher Award at the national level in 1999 and received it from the President of India, Mr K. R. Narayanan. Mr Kalra has authored a book on mathematics. He is a mathematics teacher in R.S. Model School and he still takes teaching classes. Previous principal Mr Mangat Ram Mehta later joined B.C.M. Arya Model Sr. Sec. School (which is another school from Management Committee) as a principal after retirement from RS Model. He is the first teacher of R.S. Model who received national level award of Best Teacher from the President of India. The whole life he used to travel to school by bicycle. As of 2012, he is Education Adviser of the Management Committee. Academics. R.S. Model Sr. Sec. School provides classes from pre nursery to 12th standard. In the last century, 12th standard was only available for girls and 10th standard was the highest level for boys, but in earlier days of this century, the school introduced Arts subjects as co-ed. Subjects. Language Mathematics Science Social studies Physical Education Activities. Satyarth prakash based four tests held every year. Morning Assembly starts with shanti mantra then one of Bhajan, kirtan or Indian National Song and Indian National Anthem Jana Gana Mana. After praying, Physical Training on School's band rhythm. Lastly, the principal shares some words with everyone, sometimes teachers and students also take part in this. Lectures and debates for improving general knowledge and confidence of students. Brass Band RS Model Boy's Brass Band play daily before and after the morning prayer when students march towards the prayer ground and after praying they attend class for studying. The school's band also participates in band competition. NCC- National Cadet Core are very active in every field of them. It was started in 2012. R.S. Model. Sr. Sec. School won many prizes in NCC field. Scouts and Girl Guides are very active in every field of them. The school participates at every front of Scouts and Guides. Every year, many students win national awards for their service as Scouts and Guides. Singing and writing are also very active throughout the year. The school has music class and a history of students who wrote lyrics of beautiful poems and songs. Tree planting, Ranagoli and many more activities in which RS Model made a number of appearances in newspapers. Riya Garg was the topper in the 2014 10th Board exam. She got the 635 marks out of 650. Mahima Nagpal from this school secured the 2nd Position with 632 Marks again one Jannatpreet Kaur secure 630 marks and placed on third position with another 3 students, So we can say that top 3 merits this year by Rashatriya Sanskrit Model Senior Secondary School.

total levels

13924-1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2859040

In medicine, the cardiac examination, also precordial exam, is performed as part of a physical examination, or when a patient presents with chest pain suggestive of a cardiovascular pathology. It would typically be modified depending on the indication and integrated with other examinations especially the respiratory examination. Like all medical examinations, the cardiac examination follows the standard structure of inspection, palpation and auscultation. Positioning. The patient is positioned in the supine position tilted up at 45 degrees if the patient can tolerate this. The head should rest on a pillow and the arms by their sides. The level of the jugular venous pressure (JVP) should only be commented on in this position as flatter or steeper angles lead to artificially elevated or reduced level respectively. Also, left ventricular failure leads to pulmonary edema which increases and may impede breathing if the patient is laid flat. Lighting should be adjusted so that it is not obscured by the examiner who will approach from the right hand side of the patient as is medical custom. The torso and neck should be fully exposed and access should be available to the legs. Inspection. General Inspection: Inspect the hands for: Inspect the head for: Then inspect the precordium for: Palpation. The pulses should be palpated, first the radial pulse commenting on rate and rhythm then the brachial pulse commenting on character and finally the carotid pulse again for character. The pulses may be: Palpation of the precordium. The valve areas are palpated for abnormal pulsations (palpable heart murmurs known as "thrills") and precordial movements (known as "heaves"). Heaves are best felt with the heel of the hand at the sternal border. Palpation of the apex beat. The apex beat is found approximately in the 5th left intercostal space in the mid-clavicular line. It can be impalpable for a variety of reasons including obesity, emphysema, effusion and rarely dextrocardia. The apex beat is assessed for size, amplitude, location, impulse and duration. There are specific terms to describe the sensation such as tapping, heaving and thrusting. Often the apex beat is felt diffusely over a large area, in this case the most inferior and lateral position it can be felt in should be described as well as the location of the largest amplitude. Finally the sacrum and ankles are checked for pitting edema which is caused by right ventricular failure in isolation or as part of congestive cardiac failure. Auscultation. One should comment on Completion of examination. To complete the exam blood pressure should be checked, an ECG recorded, funduscopy performed to assess for Roth spots or papilledema. A full peripheral circulation exam should be performed.

typical framework

10348-1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=8706088

or "Outer Nothingness School" is a Japanese "koryū" martial art school founded by on 23 June 1680. Its formal name is Mugai Shinden Kenpō (無外真伝剣法). History. The founder of Mugai-ryū, Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi (辻月丹資茂) was born to Tsuji Yadayū descendant of Sasaki Shirō Tadatsuna, in the second year of Keian (1649, early Edo period), in the Masugi (馬杉) village area of Miyamura (宮村), in Kōga (甲賀郡) region of Ōmi (近江), now Shiga Prefecture. When he was 13 he went to Kyoto to study swordsmanship and at the age of 26 he received kaiden (full transmission) and opened a school in Edo (now Tokyo). The school he studied is controversial. The most accepted theory is that he learned Yamaguchi-ryū swordsmanship under Yamaguchi Bokushinsai, but earlier documents state he studied under Itō Taizen. Also, he studied Zen Buddhism and Classical Chinese literature under Zen monks Sekitan Ryōzen (石潭良全) and Shinshū (神州) at Kyūkōji temple (吸江寺) in Azabu Sakurada-chō (麻布桜田町). At the age of 32 he reached enlightenment and received from his Zen teacher a formal poem taken from the Buddhist scriptures as an acknowledgment and proof of his accomplishment. Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi used the word Mugai from this poem as his "nom de plume" and hence, later generations alluded to his swordsmanship teachings as being "the style of (Tsuji) Mugai", or Mugai-ryū. The name "Mugai" comes from the following poem: The earlier documents on the school opened by Tsuji Gettan were lost in 1695, when a great fire hit Edo. Later records show that he had 32 "daimyō" as pupils, including the "rōjū" Ogasawara Sado-no-kami Nagashige, Sakai Kageyu Tadataka, the feudal lord of Maebashi, and Yamauchi Toyomasa, the feudal lord of Tosa. The list also included 150 "jikisan", and 932 "baishin". Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi was known not just as a master of the sword, but as an enlightened Zen philosopher and scholar. As an evidence, his writing "Mugai Shinden Kenpō Ketsu" shows heavy influences from Zen and Chinese philosophy. He died on June 23 in the 12th year of Kyōhō 享保 (1725) at the age of 79. The tombs of Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi's successors are kept at the Nyoraiji temple (如来寺), which is now in Nishiōi (西大井町), Shinagawa (品川区), Tokyo. Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi was unmarried and it is assumed that he had no offspring as he adopted the eldest son of priest Sawatari Bungo-no-kami (猿渡豊後守), of Ōkunitama Shrine (大国魂神社) in what is now known as the Tokyo provincial government area, as his son. Sawatari's eldest son took the name Tsuji Kimata Sukehide (都治記摩多資英) and became one of Tsuji Gettan's successors, along with Gettan's nephew, Tsuji Uheita (辻右平太). Tsuji's school spread mainly in four domains: Himeji (now a city in Hyogo Prefecture), Isezaki (now part of Gunma Prefecture), Koromo (now Toyota city of Aichi Prefecture) and Tosa (now Kochi Prefecture). In the Meiji Era, two of the most famous swordsmen in Japan were from Mugai-ryū, both being appointed as "Hanshi" by Dai Nippon Butokukai: Takahashi Kyūtarō (1859-1940) from Himeji and Kawasaki Zensaburō (1860-1944) from Tosa. The lineage of Takahashi Kyūtarō was kept by his grandson, Takahashi Hidezō, "Hanshi" of Zen Nihon Kendō Renmei. Mugai Shinden Kenpō Curriculum. The school has only kenjutsu in its curriculum, having adopted the Jikyō-ryū (自鏡流) school of iaijutsu as a complement, and it has a strong connection with Zen due to Gettan's belief that the "sword and Zen are the way of the same Truth". The curriculum of Mugai-ryū consists of 10 techniques with a long sword and 3 techniques with a short sword. Later, the techniques for duels ("shiaiguchi" 試合口) were also added. An analysis of the techniques present in Mugai-ryū shows a clear influence of Ittō-ryū, so either the Yamaguchi-ryū studied by Tsuji was a derivation of Ittō-ryū, or Itō Taizen was a master of this style. The scarce number of techniques in Mugai-ryū reflects Tsuji Gettan's philosophy on the actual effectiveness of techniques, as well as his methods of teaching and grading. About Jikyō-ryū iaijutsu. Jikyō-ryu (自鏡流) is a school of iaijutsu founded by Taga Jikyōken Morimasa (多賀自鏡軒盛政), being a derivation of the Shin Tamiya-ryū (新田宮流) school. Taga is said to have taught iaijutsu to Tsuji Gettan while in Edo. The Takahashi lineage of Mugai-ryū kenjutsu learned iai from the Yamamura lineage of Jikyō-ryū, generation after generation. Jikyō-ryū's base curriculum features two sections, which comprises two sets each. They are, in order: Goka 五箇 (5 techniques), Kumiai 組合 (15 techniques), Goyō 五用 (7 techniques) and Naiden 内伝 (14 techniques). After those, there is a further "set", taught only to the most advanced students. Although this school is usually known as being associated to the Mugai-ryū, it is a school on its own. Its most famous lineage is the Yamamura lineage, but there are other lesser known lineages. About Mugai-ryū Iai Hyōdō. Mugai-ryū Iai Hyōdō (Mugai Shinden Iai Hyōdō 無外真伝居合兵道) is a modern school of iaido founded by Nakagawa Shiryō Shinichi (中川士龍申一, 1895–1981). Nakagawa was, in his youth, a kendo disciple of Takahashi Kyutarō, but he chose to focus on the iaijutsu techniques that Takahashi knew. Based on those, Nakagawa created Mugai-ryū Iai Hyōdō. Nakagawa's lineage was formally passed to Ishii Gogetsu Zenzō (石井悟月善蔵) in the late 1950s. However, this seems to be revoked by Nakagawa himself later on. Today Mugai-ryū has splintered into several lines and there is no one sōke(representative). Nakagawa Shiryō Shinichi is generally considered the last "sōke". He did not appoint a successor, but awarded several "menkyo kaiden" (full transmission), and his students continue to teach the school and several new lines have been established, each with their own "sōke". Nakagawa also founded an organization called Mugai Kai to help preserve the school. Although there are some minor variations according to the lineage, the base curriculum of the school can be considered as follows: Apart from these, there is a set called "Naiden" (内伝), taught only for the advanced students. The differences between Mugai-ryū Kenjutsu, Jikyō-ryū Iaijutsu and Mugai-ryū Iai Hyōdō. Mugai-ryū Kenjutsu, Jikyō-ryū Iaijutsu and Mugai-ryū Iai Hyōdō are three separate entities, being distinct from each other. Mugai-ryū kenjutsu (Mugai Shinden Kenpō) is a school of kenjutsu whose practitioners also studied Jikyō-ryū iaijutsu. Mugai-ryū Iai Hyōdō (Mugai Shinden Iai Hyōdō) is a gendai budo(modern school) of iaido, being named after the kenjutsu school due to the fact that Nakagawa Shinichi's kendo teacher was from Mugai-ryū kenjutsu. Although the lore in Mugai-ryu Iai Hyōdō traditionally places its founder as Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi, this is historically inaccurate. Nakagawa himself states several times that "Mugai-ryū is actually Jikyō-ryū", hence the Mugai Shinden Iai Hyōdō must be seen as a different school from the Mugai Shinden Kenpō, which is a school of kenjutsu. However, while it can be said that Mugai-ryū Iai Hyōdō was created based on some of the Jikyō-ryū techniques, making several techniques visually similar, both schools are completely different. This can be seen in the actual techniques, as well as their uses, interpretations and variations, and in other teachings. For instance, a glance at the names of the techniques shows that Mugai-ryū Iai Hyōdō altered the order of the curriculum, removed and rearranged several Jikyō-ryū techniques and added new ones. The following table maps some of the Mugai-ryū Iai Hyōdō techniques' names to the original Jikyō-ryū curriculum: Notes on differences. Also, although Nakagawa had access to several Jikyō-ryū's "densho" (scrolls and manuscripts), he was not fully instructed in them. This is apparent in his explanation of the "densho" called "Yōhō(Mochiikata) Nijūgoka-ji(Nijūgoka no koto)" (用方二十五箇事), where he admits his ignorance about the concept of "misumi" (三角), for instance. Other evidences of his incomplete instruction can be seen in his explanation on the length of the sword and on the "sageo"(下緒), both lacking crucial information for a true Jikyō-ryū practitioner, among other teachings and oral instructions that are not seen in Mugai-ryū Iai Hyōdō. The grading system used in Mugai-ryū Iai Hyōdō is based on the modern "dan/kyū" systems of modern martial arts like judo and kendo. Jikyō-ryū and Mugai Shinden Kenpō employ an older grading system, used during the Tokugawa Shogunate.

acknowledged speculation

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=979276

Johnny Moss (May 14, 1907 – December 16, 1995) was a gambler and professional poker player. He was the first winner of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, at the time a cash game event in which he was awarded the title by the vote of his peers in 1970. He also twice won the current tournament format of the WSOP Main Event in 1971 and 1974. He was one of the charter inductees into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1979. Early years. Moss was born on May 14, 1907 in Marshall, Texas and grew up in Dallas, Texas, which was where he learned how to gamble as a young boy. A group of cheaters taught him how to cheat in games, but Moss put this knowledge to good use. As a teenager, he was hired by a local saloon to watch over games and make sure they were played fairly. While he was keeping games safe from cheaters, he was learning the strategy behind playing poker. Gambling career. Two years later, Moss became a rounder and traveled the country looking for gambling action. In the 1950s, Moss moved to Odessa, Texas to be a part of the oil boom and gambling action. Moss and his fellow gamblers were part of one of the biggest poker games in Texas for many years. Heads-up marathon with Nick The Greek. In 1949, Moss played with Nick the Greek in a five-month-long "heads up" poker marathon set up by mob boss Benny Binion, winning between $2 and $4 million. At the conclusion of the game, Nick the Greek uttered what has become one of the most famous poker quotes ever: "Mr. Moss, I have to let you go." This game is often cited as the inspiration behind the WSOP. This game became the foundation for Al Alvarez's book "The Biggest Game in Town" and is one of the best known stories in poker. Despite being one of the best-known poker stories, a soon to be released book, "Showgirl Stories", by Steve Fischer claims the game never took place. According to Fischer, there were no stories or reports of this tournament until six years after Nick's death. Binion never spoke of the game even when providing a detailed history of Las Vegas and avoided answering questions about the game by saying, "Well, my memory ain't what it used to be." While Nick the Greek was often covered by the national media, there are no news reports in any local or national source. Fischer says that nearly every version of the story is virtually identical to the version first told by Moss beginning "circa" 1971. The story is consistently said to have taken place in 1949 at the Horseshoe Casino, a casino that did not exist for another year and a half. Fischer also points out that during the time that Binion supposedly set up the game, he was fighting off a request from Texas to have him extradited. Because of his past, Binion lost his license to run a gambling establishment in 1948 and did not regain it until April 13, 1950. He was not granted a license to open the Horseshoe Casino until December 5, 1952. Fischer believes that the notion of Binion sponsoring a poker game, in front of a window, of a casino that had not opened, while fighting extradition is "absurd." In reaction to a 2017 pokernews.com article on the topic, Jack Binion, at the time 80 years old, attempted to clarify. To address the heart of the matter first, Binion explained that Johnny Moss and Nick Dandolos "did" play a poker match in 1949, although it was not at the Horseshoe at all. Nor was it the months-long spectacle open to spectators many have suggested the match to have been. "It took place at the Flamingo," Binion explained. Also, it was "not in public." This, he noted, was a quote from Dandolos himself. Meanwhile, a few years later there was another poker game involving Moss, this time at the Horseshoe. "There was a big game at the Horseshoe in the early '50s," Binion explained, "but Nick didn't participate." The game featured "multiple players" including Moss, who came and went as the game continued around the clock. Unlike the game at the Flamingo in 1949, the later one "was held in public." The confusion, Binion surmised, likely stemmed from Moss having participated in both games. However, there was never one between him and Dandolos at the Horseshoe, and the pair never did have a high-stakes heads-up battle in public. Binion also clarified that the inspiration for the WSOP was the previously held Texas Gamblers Reunion and not any Moss/Dandolos match. World Series of Poker. Moss won the 1970, 1971, and 1974 World Series of Poker Main Events. For the 1970 Main Event, Moss was actually elected champion by his peers and received a silver cup as his prize. A (possibly apocryphal) story about that election which has appeared in print several times has every one of the seven players voting for himself as the best player, and that it was only when the players were asked to vote for the "second" best player that Moss emerged. He played at every WSOP from 1970 through 1995, and during his career, he won nine WSOP bracelets, placing him in fifth place all-time, behind Johnny Chan, Doyle Brunson, and Phil Ivey (10 each), and Phil Hellmuth (15). Moss had at least a share of the lifetime WSOP bracelet lead up until the 2005 World Series of Poker, which is where Johnny Chan won his tenth career bracelet. During Moss's career, he won $834,422 in WSOP tournament play. Personal life and legacy. Moss's wife was Virgie, who was from West Texas. One of Moss's strategies for tournament poker was survival in the early stages. As the tournament goes on and blinds increase, his strategy was to test opponents with aggression and bigger pots. Fellow professional Doyle Brunson put Moss on his Mount Rushmore of poker players, along with Puggy Pearson, Sailor Roberts, and Chip Reese. An authorized autobiography on Moss, which is called "Champion of Champions", was written by Don Jenkins.

subsequent event

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=228851

In logic and reasoning, a faulty generalization, similar to a proof by example in mathematics, is an informal fallacy. It involves drawing a conclusion about all or many instances of a phenomenon that has been reached on the basis of one or a few instances of that phenomenon. It is an example of jumping to conclusions. For example, one may generalize about all people or all members of a group, based on what one knows about just one or a few people: Expressed in more precise philosophical language, a fallacy of defective induction is a conclusion that has been made on the basis of weak premises, or one which is not justified by sufficient or unbiased evidence. Unlike fallacies of relevance, in fallacies of defective induction, the premises are related to the conclusions, yet only weakly buttress the conclusions, hence a faulty generalization is produced. The essence of this inductive fallacy lies on the overestimation of an argument based on insufficiently-large samples under an implied margin or error. Logic. A faulty generalization often follows the following format: Such a generalization proceeds from a premise about a sample (often unrepresentative or biased), to a conclusion about the population itself. Faulty generalization is also a mode of thinking that takes the experiences of one person or one group, and incorrectly extends it to another. Underpowered generalization. Underpowered generalization is an informal fallacy of faulty generalization, which involves reaching an inductive generalization based on insufficient evidence—essentially making a rushed conclusion without considering all of the variables or enough evidence. In statistics, it may involve basing broad conclusions regarding the statistics of a survey from a small sample group that fails to sufficiently represent an entire population. Its opposite fallacy is called slothful induction, which consists of denying a reasonable conclusion of an inductive argument (e.g. "it was just a coincidence"). Examples. Hasty generalization usually follows the pattern: For example, if a person travels through a town for the first time and sees 10 people, all of them children, they may erroneously conclude that there are no adult residents in the town. Alternatively, a person might look at a number line, and notice that the number 1 is a square number; 3 is a prime number, 5 is a prime number, and 7 is a prime number; 9 is a square number; 11 is a prime number, and 13 is a prime number. From these observations, the person might claim that all odd numbers are either prime or square, while in reality, 15 is an example that disproves the claim. Alternative names. The fallacy is also known as: When referring to a generalization made from a single example, the terms "fallacy of the lonely fact", or the "fallacy of proof by example", might be used. When evidence is intentionally excluded to bias the result, the fallacy of exclusion—a form of selection bias—is said to be involved.

justifiable opinion

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=892630

is a graphic adventure game developed and published by Konami. It was written and directed by Hideo Kojima, and originally released for the PC-9821 in 1994. A hard science fiction story, "Policenauts" is set in the mid 21st century and follows Jonathan Ingram, an astronaut recently recovered floating in space in cryosleep after an accident at a space colony sent him drifting into space 24 years ago. Now a detective in Los Angeles, Ingram travels back to the colony to investigate the murder of his ex-wife and her husband's disappearance. As he begins his investigation, he starts to uncover an illegal organ trafficking ring. Kojima conceived "Policenauts" while working on "Snatcher" (1988), and began development in 1990. He wanted the production quality to match that of major motion pictures, and created a scripting engine to give him more creative control. He drew creative influences from American buddy television shows, contemporary social debates on Japan bashing and organ transplantation, and Japan's heightened interest in space travel following the first Japanese man's trip to space in 1990. He wanted to explore the concept of how living in space may affect human society and life, socially and physiologically. The original PC-9821 release used pixel art while wider re-releases on the 3DO, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn featured cel animation by Anime International Company. An English localization was planned for the Saturn but was eventually cancelled, with Kojima citing technical problems with the translation. After interest in Kojima's work grew following the release of "Metal Gear Solid" (1998), demand for a translation built until a fan translation of the PlayStation version was released in 2009. Critics have praised "Policenauts" for its animation, voice acting, and overall presentation; several commentators have analysed its cinematic influences from films in the science fiction, action, comedy, and buddy genres, while others noted its reflection of Kojima's fascination with science and technology, and have praised its storyline, technical writing and worldbuilding. Along with "Snatcher", which has been retrospectively identified as its spiritual predecessor, "Policenauts" has been called one of the best science fiction works in games, and a foundation for Kojima's later work in the "Metal Gear" franchise. Gameplay. "Policenauts" is a graphic adventure game with a point-and-click interface. It has also been called a visual novel and an interactive movie. The player moves a cursor freely across the screen to click on objects to examine them. During conversations, the player is given dialogue options to choose from. Once the right object in the scene has been examined or the dialogue options have been exhausted, the game progresses to the next scene in the story. In versions with cel animation, these scenes the player must examine are stills from the animated cinematics, so the game moves seamlessly between them and cutscenes. There are occasional action scenes where the player must fire a gun at enemies in a first-person perspective. The Sega Saturn version supports a light gun for these segments. Synopsis. In 2013, Los Angeles Police Department officer Jonathan Ingram (Hideyuki Tanaka) was one of five "Policenauts", police officers who received astronaut training to protect Beyond Coast, humanity's first functional self-supporting space colony. During the test of a new space suit, an accident causes Jonathan to drift into space, presumed dead by his colleagues. In reality, the cryogenic survival system in the suit preserved him, and he is found and revived 25 years later. During that time, Beyond Coast has become the principal development location for potential interstellar travel, and is protected by a dedicated police force dubbed the Beyond Coast Police Department (BCPD). In 2040, Jonathan has become a private investigator on Earth in Old Los Angeles. He is visited by his former wife Lorraine (Chiyoko Kawashima), who remarried while he was presumed dead. Lorraine asks for Jonathan's help in solving the disappearance of her husband, Kenzo Hojo; the only clues are a torn leaf, a set of capsules, and the word "Plato". Jonathan is reluctant to take her case at first, but after Lorraine leaves his office, she is murdered by a man in a black motorcycle suit. After failing to catch the culprit, Jonathan decides to fulfill Lorraine's final request and travels to Beyond, where he is reunited with his former LAPD partner, BCPD vice department chief Ed Brown (Shōzō Iizuka), who agrees to help Jonathan investigate the circumstances surrounding Hojo's disappearance and Lorraine's murder along with BCPD detective Meryl Silverburgh (Kyoko Terase). During their investigation, Jonathan receives information from Karen (Kikuko Inoue), Lorraine's daughter with Hojo, that Hojo was growing increasingly stressed working at Tokugawa Pharmaceuticals, which is helping research medical solutions to health problems caused by living in space. Jonathan and Ed also run into former Policenauts Gates Becker (Osamu Saka) and Joseph Tokugawa (Iemasa Kayumi), the latter of whom Jonathan suspects of being involved. They get further leads from an informant, Hojo's co-worker who is later killed and used to lure Jonathan and Ed into an unsuccessful booby trap. Hojo's body is eventually found, and Jonathan is framed for the killings. Tokugawa and Becker are revealed to have both been responsible for Jonathan's accident, and the prime movers behind an illegal drug and organ trafficking ring designed to counteract the negative side-effects of being in space for long periods of time. Hojo became involved in the conspiracy to save Karen from her terminal bone cancer, but eventually tried to break away and was murdered. With help from Ed and Meryl, Jonathan storms the Tokugawa headquarters, killing Lorraine's assassin and then confronts Becker. When apparently cornered, Jonathan tricks Becker into revealing the whole scheme through a live video feed, exposing the scandal to Beyond Coast. Ed saves Jonathan by killing Becker, while Meryl and the remaining police arrest Tokugawa. Jonathan donates his bone marrow to Karen upon learning that he is her biological father, and returns to Earth. Development. "Policenauts" was developed by Konami and directed by Hideo Kojima. Kojima began to explore concepts for "Policenauts" during the development of "Snatcher" (1988) when memory limitation issues prompted them to take a break. He wanted the game to remain in the adventure genre, feeling it was the best method to express what he wanted with video games. He was also growing frustrated with game development and wanted more creative control. After the release of "" (1990), he developed a scripting engine so he could maintain control over when animations and music played instead of the programmers. Development on "Policenauts" began in earnest in 1990 and lasted four years. Kojima wanted to explore a near future scenario that could realistically occur rather than outlandish science fiction. The game's story was influenced by news that captured his interest at the time. One such influence was the public debate over organ transplantation and brain death injuries. Another influence was the rise in Japan bashing caused by the American crime film "Rising Sun" (1993). Some Asian-Americans held protests, fearing the negative characterization of Japanese in the film would lead to hate crimes. Space travel was also an influence after Toyohiro Akiyama became the first Japanese person to travel to space in 1990. Concurrently, many NASA documents about space travel and its effects on the human body were being published in Japan for the first time and were hot topics among Kojima's friends and family. Kojima was curious as to what effect living in space would have on the human body, relationships, and wondered what facets of humans would be exposed in space. He chose to explore these concepts in "Policenauts". Kojima mixed his space interests with the aforementioned social issues to build the thematic basis of "Policenauts" and hoped the players would ponder these topics. Earth was called "Home" in the game while the space colony was named "Beyond", names chosen to reflect a parent-child relationship. "Beyond" also references the colony's distance from Home and the 25 years protagonist Jonathan Ingram passed through during his cryosleep. Kojima hoped that these names would reflect the persistence of human society and relationships, even after extreme technological advances. The colony's cylindrical shape was inspired by "Gundam". "Policenauts" was originally titled "Beyond", but Konami changed the name after they were unable to trademark it. Kojima's familiarity with film and television influenced the cinematography in "Policenauts". Though not attempting to use video games as a vehicle for presenting movies, he wanted to fill what he perceived to be a lack of production quality in games. Kojima worked to take the excellence of acting, lighting, direction, and storytelling in filmmaking and match that quality in his games. He took inspiration from American buddy television shows he enjoyed growing up like "Starsky & Hutch". The game was originally going to be marketed as a "Cinematic Virtual Reality". Konami did a trademark search early in development that turned up empty, but by 1994, the "Virtual Reality" term had been trademarked so it was dropped. Release. "Policenauts" was first released for the PC-9821 on July 29, 1994. Kojima received a letter from a hearing-impaired player after release, upset that modern games like "Policenauts" with its CD-ROM technology were replacing game text with actual speech. Kojima originally omitted subtitles to evoke a cinematic feel, but he added them for following versions to satisfy the players. The first port was for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer and released on September 29, 1995. A short demo with a game glossary, artwork, and design documents was released on April 21, 1995 called the "Pilot Disk". The 3DO version and subsequent console ports had a drop in display resolution, and used newly animated full motion video in contrast to the animated stills used in the PC version. The visuals were animated by Anime International Company using traditional cel animation techniques. The game was ported a second time to the PlayStation, released on January 19, 1996. A bonus disc called "Policenauts Private Collection" was released concurrently which has most of the same content as the 3DO's "Pilot Disk" bonuses plus storyboards and the game script, as well as select shooting segments from the main game. The full motion videos in this version run slower at 15 frames per second (FPS) compared to 24 on the 3DO. Some story details that suggested subplots were also removed. The PlayStation launched while Konami was still developing "Policenauts" for the PC-9821. Seeing the system's potential, Kojima promised himself he would make a "Metal Gear" game for the system, though first he ported "Policenauts". In contrast to computer games, Sony and other console manufacturers ran quality testing on games for their consoles to check for bugs and rate game content. When "Policenauts" was being evaluated, Shuhei Yoshida of Sony Computer Entertainment told Kojima they were discussing the extent of breast jiggling in the game. This version was re-issued on August 7, 2003 through Konami's online store, and it was re-released digitally on PlayStation Store on May 14, 2008. The final port was for the Sega Saturn, released on September 13, 1996. The version comes packaged in a slipcase containing the game case itself and a hardbound art book. It also includes some additional scenes and some modified story details, including the readdition of removed details in the PlayStation version. Kojima insisted that the Saturn port have increased video fidelity, retaining the 3DO's original 24 FPS and not using Cinepak encoding. The port also includes light gun support, a concept Kojima had since the inception of a Saturn port. His hope was that players would feel more emotion using the gun in "Policenauts" than in games like "Lethal Enforcers" (1992) which he felt did not evoke empathy. The Saturn version also has some of the content featured in the "Pilot Disk" and "Private Collection" bonus discs released on previous consoles, such as some of the making-of videos and an interview with voice actress Kikuko Inoue (unlocked after completing the game once), as well as the glossary, which is now accessible during play, allowing players to look up keywords whenever they are first used in the story. Localization. An official English translation of "Policenauts" was announced for release on the Sega Saturn in 1996 in North America. It appeared in catalogs with promotional box artwork, but the game never materialized. Kojima discussed making an English translation three times, but encountered translation difficulties. As he explained, the Japanese dialogue was parsed into phrases with flags the program could reference, and making English dialogue work with this system would be too difficult. According to Jeremy Blaustein, who worked in Konami's international business department and led the translations of "Snatcher" and "Metal Gear Solid" (1998), there were never plans to localize "Policenauts". He personally felt it was one of Kojima's weaker games, not enjoying the "space cowboy" theme and feeling it lacked the tension and humor of "Snatcher". Industry journalists have speculated in hindsight that Konami may have passed on localization because of "Snatcher"'s commercial failure and "Policenauts"' long scenes and protracted dialogue during an era of heightened consumer interest in 3D action games. After the successful release of "Metal Gear Solid", fan interest grew in "Snatcher" and "Policenauts". Around 2000, a petition on the Konami of America online message boards prompted the subsidiary to discuss localizing "Policenauts" with Konami of Japan. Their attempts were unsuccessful because Kojima did not want to work on older games. In response to the PS One re-release in 2003, fans organized an email campaign to pressure Konami to localize the game once again. Their attempt was publicized and supported by "IGN". Work on an English fan translation began in 2002. In February 2007, the team announced it was nearing completion with a planned release for the second half of the year. The translation was finally released two years later in August 2009 as a patch for the PlayStation version. It can be played on an emulator, or a PlayStation modified to read CD-Rs by ripping the game files from retail discs, applying the English patch, and burning the patched game to CD-Rs. Because some fans consider the Sega Saturn version a superior port, fans released a translation patch for it in 2016. Reception. In Japan, critics praised "Policenauts" for its high level of presentation. Both "Sega Saturn Magazine" and "Famitsu" praised the quality of animation, voice acting, and its engrossing setting. "Sega Saturn Magazine" found some of the text difficult to understand and warned that its heavy scientific writing may not be suitable for everyone. They also felt it was more like a movie than a game, and praised its unique blend of buddy films, science-fiction, action, and comedy. "Famitsu" described the narrative as "hardboiled". Both publications recommended "Policenauts" to fans of adventure games and anime. Some Western publications reviewed the game even though it was not released in English. "Computer and Video Games" previewed the 3DO version and considered it a sequel to "Snatcher". They felt the game had an interesting plot, "bizarre and inventive" characters, and they appreciated the "level of senseless violence and gratuitous rudity of graphics." "GameFan" reviewed the PlayStation and Saturn ports. They felt it pushed the genre of interactive movies better than previous games, particularly those that came from Hollywood when CD-ROMs were new and the genre was making headlines. "GameFan" also praised the game's intricate detail on medical and technical minutiae, although they cautioned its specificity may put off some players. They also praised the game's suspenseful storytelling, and felt it was worth players' time even though it emphasized text over action. They concluded that "Policenauts" was "a masterful achievement, a near-future scenario so intricately detailed, well thought out and full of originality it puts Hollywood's best attempts at sci-fi to shame." Konami was busy releasing many sports games at the time, so "GameFan" feared it would not be localized. Retrospective. "Policenauts" has continued to receive praise for its writing and presentation in retrospective reviews. Critics highlighted Kojima's obvious cinematic influences from science fiction films, buddy cop films, and other Eastern and Western films. In particular, the character designs drew comparisons to "Lethal Weapon" (1987). Simon Parkin of "Eurogamer" wrote that "Kojima's Hollywood fetishism is more rampant in "Policenauts" than any other title in his oeuvre." Mark Ryan Sallee of "IGN" called the game a manifest of Kojima's film obsessions, and accomplished in its "unique direction and striking moods", aided by the well done animation and voice work. Bob Mackey of "1UP.com" felt its production value matched that of anime in the mid 1990s. He liked how the "organic" animation transitioned seamlessly between cutscene and gameplay, and found this style of presentation better than other games that attempt to flex technical prowess and large budgets with cinematics that mismatch the gameplay. N. Ho Sang and Peter Tieryas of "Kotaku" wrote that "Its flashes of "Lethal Weapon"-esque intrigue give way to the deep metaphysical meanderings that makes for the usual Kojima mind meld on top of fantastic production values and mesmerizing art." Some critics picked up on Kojima's fascination with space and future technology. Mackey felt that like other Kojima games, "Policenauts" was a "collage" of Kojima's obsessions during that era. For "Policenauts", this happened to include space travel in a near-future "painted with the brush of Kojima's excited and optimistic imagination." Critics praised the elaborate detail placed into describing hypothetical technologies and commonplace items. Parkin called it a fascinating and believable speculation into the future, writing that "each and every piece of technology is so thoroughly justified in the descriptions that the world takes on a weighty sense of verisimilitude." Critics felt the game's scientific terminology and dark plot themes were translated well by fans into English. Regarding the game's story, Sallee wrote that the "somber dialogue" progressed it in a unique way. Kurt Kalata of "Hardcore Gaming 101" criticized the story for being easy to predict, and described it as "empty, merely a buddy cop film with some sci-fi elements. Parkin wrote that it may be a detective story on the surface, but felt it was a game about middle age at a deeper level. He was fascinated by the game's focus on middle-aged characters as opposed to adolescents in most other games. Sam Bishop of "IGN" also praised the game's strong characterization. The game did receive some criticism. Some felt its sexism conflicted with its otherwise more serious tone. Mackey explained that this was a mark left over from the game's origins on Japanese computers, a market flooded with hentai games when it was first released. The game's slow pacing was also criticized. Mackey wrote that the game requires patience, as some scenes linger for too long and subsequently remove tension. Kalata criticized the lack of a dialogue skip option, especially since the player sometimes needed to read through the same dialogue multiple times to find the option that progresses the story. Parkin wrote that its format is outdated and not for everyone, but still called it "a triumph of gentle interactive storytelling" and accomplished within context as a science fiction novella from the 1990s. He felt it could be enjoyed by those with interests in "thrillers, point and click adventures, science fiction homage and Japanese esoterica". Legacy. "Policenauts" was not well known in the West until the fan translation was released 2009. Critics have expressed interest in a re-release or sequel. Sam Bishop of "IGN" included it among a list of games he wanted to see receive a high-definition remaster. N. Ho Sang and Peter Tieryas of "Kotaku" included it on a list of desired sequels, and expressed interest in a proper English port of the original. Writing in 2013, Jon Leo of "GameSpot" wrote that he wanted to see the game re-released for the PlayStation 4, feeling it could be a good mainstream push for visual novels and adventure games. While still working with Konami in 2012, Kojima expressed interest in exploring a follow-up to "Policenauts", but felt it was difficult to carry out from a business perspective. Bob Mackey of "1UP.com" criticized Konami for failing to acknowledge or pursue localization of "Policenauts" and other non-"Metal Gear" games by Kojima. In retrospect, the game is often called a spiritual successor to "Snatcher." Sang and Tieryas wrote that ""Snatcher" was a masterpiece. "Policenauts" took it a step further." Both have been called some of the best science fiction works in games, and are credited for establishing Kojima's style that propelled him to excellence with his later games. Some of the "Policenauts" staff went on to hold lead development roles on Kojima's later efforts, including the "Zone of the Enders" and "Metal Gear" series. The character Meryl Silverburgh and the Tokugawa Corporation in "Policenauts" were repurposed for the "Metal Gear" series.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=62607245

Soledad is a novel by Angie Cruz, published in 2001. Introduction. "Soledad" outlines a story about a girl (Soledad) who could not get away from her contentious family fast enough despite the petty fights and the endless tragedies that they experienced. At some point, Soledad found her way out and enrolled for an art course at Cooper Union. However, after finding her way out, Soledad returns to Washington Heights’ neighborhood after mother, Olivia, mysteriously becomes ill. Evidently, Olivia is in a state where she is considered a “living ghost” . It appears that she is in an emotional coma and the return of Soledad is regarded as the only cure. After her return to 164th street, Soledad tries to tame her cousin Flaca’s unruly behavior and resists falling for a neighborhood boy, Ritche, besides dealing with the greatest challenge she was facing at the time. Evidently, Soledad was confronting the daunting memory she had with her mother in the past as well as salvaging their broken relationship Also, during her return, Soledad is forced to confront her family to understand the secrets behind the death of her father. A significant section of the novel is provided from the perspective of Soledad’s female relatives, Flaca and Gorda. Flaca is constantly in rivalry with Soledad. Gorda is Soledad’s aunt, who is also known as a witch (bruja), who treats her sister’s ailments with ceremonies and home remedies. The story is also unveiled from Olivia’s point of view through the use of flashbacks and italicized dream narration. The three characters are more interesting in comparison to Soledad. Evidently, when Cruz outlines fresh details of rhythms and behavior of Dominican community life, the three are rarely left out. "Soledad" is an important literary piece which presents a story of chaos and culture, integrity with family and mysticism while examining the concepts from the perspective of a Latina.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=6225705

The animated television series "Totally Spies!" follows the adventures of three Beverly Hills teenage girls – Sam, Clover and Alex – who work as secret agents on missions to save the world while keeping their identity a secret from their peers. Supporting the girls is their employer Jerry from the World Organization of Human Protection (WOOHP). The show has spawned a variety of characters including students from their high school and university, fellow WOOHP agents, and a cast of villains, many of whom have returned in later episodes. Conception and development. The show's conception came from the rise of girl band and female singers in the music industry. Wanting to capitalize on the niche, David Michel and Vincent Chalvon-Demersay put their idea into development, which later shifted into production within a year. According to Michel, the series' animation style was intended to incorporate anime influences. The production company, Marathon Media, intended on building on the series brand by forming a three-piece girl band, utilizing German talk show "Arabella" to create it. Using a panel of judges, 20 demo videos were selected and the winners were selected based on the strength of their performance and the show's viewers. The band was selected and released a single in the spring of 2002, through EMI. According to managing director Dirk Fabarius, "The plan is to eventually create an entire album and establish and promote Totally Spies as a real band." In an interview with WorldScreen.com, Michel said that prior to his show, there were a lot of boy action-adventure shows and practically nothing for girls, yet in pop culture, there was Britney Spears and Spice Girls. He said that the characters are heavily inspired by the movie "Clueless" and wanted to mix that with a James Bond format. When they first pitched the show, it had a moderate response, but when the first season was broadcast, the "Charlie's Angels" film came out, and suddenly the market was full of girl show properties. The character design was originally done by Gil Formosa. Main characters. Sam. has long slightly wavy orange hair, emerald green eyes and fair skin; she dons a green catsuit on missions. She is described by her Télétoon and film profiles as rational, logical and mature, like a big sister, although she is known to easily become gullible at times, especially when it comes to romance. She thinks up plans and diversions so that the girls can defeat the villains. Although she is fairly serious during her missions, she enjoys hanging out, shopping, and visiting salons. She is not as boy crazy as the other girls, she has fallen for a few in the series, but without much success. One of the running gags is that she is frequently brainwashed. Her last name is not mentioned in her profiles, however, in "Do You Believe in Magic? ", where she is undercover as a reporter, she introduces herself as Samantha Simpson. She is voiced by Jennifer Hale in the English version and by Claire Guyot in the French version. In an interview regarding Sam's development in the first three seasons, Hale described Sam as "smart and adventurous, but now you see more of her wacky side and her girly side as well." Clover. Clover has short yellow hair, light blue eyes, and medium-toned skin; she dons a red catsuit on missions. Of the three girls, she is the most expressive with the Beverly Hills teenage fashionista attitude, with a strong valspeak dialect, being the first to court the newest available good-looking boy, concerning herself with the latest clothes, diets, and trends, and often competing against Mandy in all sorts of popularity contests. Her Télétoon profile describes her as athletic, agile, strong, and especially impulsive, reacting spontaneously and jumping into action; and ready to teach the bad guys a lesson even if she has no chance of winning. Clover is voiced by Andrea Baker (who was credited as Andrea Taylor for the first two seasons) in the English dub, and by Fily Keita in the French version. In an interview, Baker said Clover has a thing for musicians, likes to get pampered, and is all into fashion. She likes that the girls have fun and kick butt. Alex. Alexandra has short black hair, light brown eyes, and dark skin; she dons a yellow catsuit on missions. She is described in the Télétoon profile as the best friend character, affectionate and not afraid to show her feelings. She enjoys sports and athletics but also shares her friends' fashion interests. She is the most naive and absent-minded of the three, sometimes interpreting figures of speech literally, often thinking it was literally going dark just because something is blocking her sight, or picking up and eating foodstuff at crime scenes that is potentially harmful. In the episode "Do You Believe In Magic", it is revealed Alex is the youngest of the three girls (and Clover the oldest). Her driving ability becomes a running gag in some episodes, despite the fact that she keeps getting to take the wheel and proves to be capable of improvising dangerous car stunts. She is sensitive and sometimes gets down on herself. Starting with season 3, Alex reveals interests in Taekwondo, skateboarding, soccer and video games. Alex appears to be racially mixed at first, having a dark-skinned mother and a white father in the season 4 episode "Alex Gets Schooled"; however, her father later appears with a completely different physical appearance, notably with dark skin in the season 6 episode "Evil Ice Skater". In "Totally Spies! The Movie", which takes place when the girls first transfer to Beverly Hills High, she adopts a baby pig whom she names (), who does not appear in seasons 1-5 but recurs in season 6 when the girls have already gone to college. Although Alex says she is allergic to cats in season 1 episode "Wild Style", she later works in a university cat lab in season 6 episode "Nine Lives" without problems. Alex is voiced by Katie Leigh for the first two seasons and by Katie Griffin in the following seasons for the English dub. In voicing Alex, Griffin used a higher vocal register than usual. She was worried about nodules developing and about being recast when the series returned for season 6 following a hiatus, but was happy when she could return. She found the part to be really fun, easy to play, and liked that Alex was so lovely to animals. Alex is voiced by Céline Mauge in the French dub. Recurring characters. Jerry. The founder and chief administrator of World Organization Of Human Protection (WOOHP, pronounced like "whoop"), as the girls' supervisor. Jerry is a middle-aged British gentleman who briefs the girls on their missions and provides their various gadgets, most of which are in the form of women's accessories such as boots, hairpins, lipsticks, eyelash curlers, hair dryers, and are very mission-specific as if he knew everything beforehand. Some of the accessories are named with convoluted acronyms (such as RASH ("Rocket-powered Amphibious Stealth Hydrofoil"), AWFUL Boots ("All-Weather Fleece Ultra-Light Boots"), or CATS ("Crystalline Airtight Trisect Shield")). He usually summons the girls (or "WOOHPs" them) using trap doors or portals from random items and places (e.g. closet door, trash can, vacuum cleaner), sends them off in similarly over-the-top manners (in roller coasters or even rockets), most of which are practically impossible, or as noted by Sam, "sometimes defy the laws of physics". He also tends to make a lot of bad puns, which the girls sometimes find annoying. During the missions, he looks up information for the girls and analyzes items they send over. His movie profile notes that he cares a lot for the girls and acts like a second father to them. In the episode "Totally Switched", Jerry's last name is revealed to be Lewis. Jerry was voiced by Jess Harnell for first two seasons and then by Adrian Truss for seasons 3–6 in the English dub. In the French version, Jerry has been voiced by Jean-Claude Donda. Jerry also appears in the spin-off series "The Amazing Spiez!". Mandy. Mandy is the girls' primary antagonist for their non-spy adventures starting at Beverly Hills High. She has long black hair and violet eyes, with a beauty mark under her left eye. The film website profiles her as the popular girl, charismatic, cute, very rich, and hyper-fashionable. However, she is "the spies' worst nightmare – a pest that does everything to ridicule". She has a high, squeaky voice with a nasal laugh. Her rivalry with Clover is most pronounced, as they often compete over boys, popularity, and bragging rights. Mandy will go out of her way to annoy the girls and will even use dishonest means in order to do it. In the first four seasons, she is accompanied by her crony friends Dominique and Caitlin. In season 3, when the spies move into their villa, Mandy ends up becoming their next-door neighbor. In season 5, she ends up attending college at Malibu University, where she shares a room with her cousin Mindy in the same dorm as the spy girls. In season 6, she employs an intern named Trent. Despite frequently interacting with Clover and the girls, she is not aware that they are spies. In turn, the girls put up with Mandy's shenanigans and try to protect or rescue her when she is in serious danger from the real villains. Usually when she does discover they are spies, she gets her memory erased following the situation. Jerry makes her a WOOHP spy for the episode "Evil Coffee Shop Much? ", and dons a purple uniform. Some episodes have her in a villain role, such as: "Futureshock!" where she is the top media celebrity in an alternative future and tries to "Mandify" everyone and "Attack of the 50 Ft. Mandy" where she transforms into a giant and captures the other girls. In the multi-episode season finale "Totally Busted", she, Caitlin and Dominique are infected by a chemical called SUDS and become spy hunters or "spy-'ssassins". In the English dub, Mandy has been voiced by Jennifer Hale, who also voiced Sam. In an interview where she was asked about her impressions of Sam and Mandy, Hale said that she enjoyed voicing such opposite characters: "I love spy/action stuff and it always rocks when I get to be one of those characters. Plus I get to be a total snot, which is fun too." In the French dub, Mandy is voiced by Céline Mauge, who also voiced Alex. G.L.A.D.I.S.. Gadget Lending And Distribution Interactive System (G.L.A.D.I.S.) is Jerry's new personal assistant that is introduced as a main character in season 3 and 4. Michel describes her as a "robot with a SERIOUS attitude". She takes the form of an assembly line with a bunch of robotic arms that can outfit the girls with the gadgets. Although Jerry created her, she often expresses her own attitude, picking out gadgets on her own and disobeying Jerry's orders. Following her disapproval by the show's fans, G.L.A.D.I.S. was written off the show, where it is mentioned in a season 5 episode that she is sent to a recycling facility. G.L.A.D.I.S. is voiced by Stevie Vallance. Arnold Jackson. is a classmate who regularly shows up in the side stories at Beverly Hills High; he is portrayed as a nerd with glasses who has helped out the girls on the condition that they go on a date with him. In the series opener, he successfully campaigns for Clover to win a popularity contest, and gets to date her for a day, and in "A Spy Is Born" double-episode, he asks Sam out as a secret admirer with the initials "A.J." Despite being turned down "a few, uh, hundred times" by Clover, he is still attracted to her, and works on her publicity campaign in "Super Agent Much? "; he is also a member of Mandy's fan club. He participates in school events including the Halloween costume contest, Most Charitable Teen contest, local raves, student president elections, and the head cheerleader contest, the last of which he beats Mandy and Clover. Arnold serves as the episodic villain In "Super Nerd Much? ", where he acquires a magic ring that allows him to steal the "coolness" from other people. In the episode "Arnold the Great", he is inspired to dress as comic book superhero Admiral Admirable, but it is manipulated by villain Geraldine Husk into thinking the girls are his enemies. His final appearance was in the season 5 opener, "Evil Graduation" where, as class valedictorian, he tells the class off with a "Goodbye and good riddance!" Blaine. Blaine is a Mali-U student introduced in the season 5 episode "The Granny" as the captain of the beach volleyball team. He is a freelance assassin whose mission to get Clover to fall in love with him, and then to kill her off. After realizing that Clover is working for the good side, he goes after his boss, revealed to be Geraldine Husk. He later joins WOOHP's Australian branch along with Britney. He appears in the season 5 finale "Totally Dunzo" where he is captured by Mr. X, but when he reunites with Clover, they almost kiss. In the season 6 episode "Baddies on a Blimp", he stows away on the WOOHP blimp to help out the spies when things go awry and the prisoners are released. However, he turns down Clover's affections, saying that he is done with dating LA girls after having dated the "high-maintenance" Mandy. Blaine makes a guest appearance in an episode of "The Amazing Spiez!" where he is abducted by the spiez' nanny. Britney. Britney is introduced in the season 2 episode "Alex Quits" as a new teenage WOOHP spy. She has long, dark bluish/black hair, violet eyes, a yellow complexion, and her uniform is blue. She quickly befriends Clover when she says that she is the captain of her high school's cheerleading squad, and Sam when she says she loves playing chess; however, her introduction to WOOHP and her immediate competence and leadership as an agent makes Alex jealous. Following the completion of the mission, Jerry announces that she has completed her training, and deploys her to another branch. She reappears in the season 3 episode "Escape from WOOHP Island" where she is forced on land on a prisoner's island, but is rescued by the girls as they team up again to re-capture the villains. She reveals that she has two agent co-workers, both of whom are good-looking guys. Following Britney's appearance on "WOOHP Island", producer David Michel noted she would reappear in some special episodes. In the season 5 episode "Virtual Stranger" she gets stuck in a virtual simulation as the result of an accident, causing a cyber demon using her as a host to manifest as three incarcerated villains in the real world. After being freed by the spy girls, she transfers to Mali-U for three more episodes, causing Alex to become jealous of her again. In the episode "Whoopersize-me", The girls and Britney discover that a new exercise trend has been going around campus, and it involves moves taught at WOOHP. Jerry has them track down who's responsible. "Evil Hotel", Britney and Alex become friends again, having common interests such as their favorite movie actor who they are assigned to protect. Britney is assigned to WOOHP Australia and partnered with Blaine, much to Clover's disdain. She returns in the multi-episode finale "Totally Dunzo" as one of the spies captured by Mr. X. Britney makes a guest appearance in an episode of "The Amazing Spiez" where she is abducted by the spiez' nanny. Carmen. Carmen is Alex's mother. She has a darker skin/eye tone and originally her hair was dark brown but has since appeared the same color as Alex's. Her main goal and focus is for Alex to get a boyfriend. Carmen made an appearance in the Season 2 episode "Mommies Dearest", the Season 4 episode "Alex Gets Schooled", and her final appearance in the Season 4 finale "Totally Busted". During her short duration as a spy, her catsuit is royal blue. At the end of that episode, she becomes an official spy. She looks identical to her daughter Alex. Voice Actress: Katie Leigh. David. David is a classmate who manages to garner the romantic affections of all three of the spy girls (and Mandy). He is introduced in the season 2 episode "It's How You Play The Game". He has many varied interests such as painting and poetry, but also dabbles in extreme sports such as rock climbing and street luge. He is oblivious to the girls' attempts to garner his attention and thinks of them as just friends, or like a sister. In his interviews when producer David Michel was asked if he could share some inside jokes that were put into episodes, he said: "In season II, guess what's the name of the totally hunky, totally clever boy that the 3 girls fall in love with at the same time? David." When asked about why David did not return in the third season, Michel said, "David never was a recurring character. He was present in a few season II episodes so we didn't have to justify his not being in our stories anymore. But we have realized how important he is to the fans, and decided to have him back in season 4." Dean. Dean is a WOOHP agent who first appears in the season 3 multi-episode finale "Evil Promotion Much?" where he and the girls undergo special training to become super spies. He wears a blue uniform. Ever since he was a baby he has demonstrated exceptional agility and was recruited to join WOOHP. Following the first day of the super spy training, he is captured by Terence and used as ransom in order for the girls to eliminate Jerry and steal his microchip. He briefly sides with Terence when the girls return but then reveals he has been siding with WOOHP all along, and that he is the actual training instructor. He then helps the girls rescue Jerry and defeat Terence. He was later shown in "Deja Cruise" where he pretends to be a lifeguard who turns down Clover's advances. He returns in "WOOHP-tastic!" where he is put in charge of the WOOHP gadget lab. In the season 5 finale, he is one of the agents who was abducted by Mr. X. He also appears in the spin-off series "The Amazing Spiez!". Dominique and Caitlin. Mandy's two crony friends who accompany her at school and other events. Both have snobby attitudes and high nasal voice inflections like their leader. They were not given names in the first two seasons. According to the profile on Mandy in the feature film, although they support Mandy, the latter is too selfish to care for them. Dominique has dark red hair styled in way similar to Alex's hair, blue eyes, and peach skin. Caitlin has long and curly black hair and dark skin. Caitlin was voiced by Katie Griffin and Dominique was voiced by Andrea Baker. They only appeared scarcely in episodes of the first four seasons, and the movie, when the story was set at Beverly Hills High; when the story was shifted to set at Mali-U starting from season 5, they were written off entirely. Their most notable appearance was in the "Totally Busted" arc of season 4, in which they were brainwashed along with Mandy and actively attacked the Spies. In portraying the girls, Baker said that she and Griffin both tried to do their own versions of Mandy. Gabby. Gabby is Sam's mother. She wears her hair long like Sam's, though slightly curlier. Gabby's hair was originally brown, but it has since appeared the same color as Sam's. Gabby can be overprotective of Sam and only has her best safety in mind. Gabby's first appearance was in the Season 2 episode "Mommies Dearest". She reappears in her second appearance in the Season 4 finale "Totally Busted". During her short duration as a spy, her catsuit is jade-colored. At the end of that episode, she becomes an official spy. She looks identical to her daughter Sam. Sam is Gabby's only child. Gabby made a brief appearance in "The Wedding Crasher". Mindy. Mindy is Mandy's cousin who appears in season 5 as a student at Mali-U. She has blonde hair, green eyes, a tan complexion, and speaks in a strong Southern accent, acting very much like a second Mandy, to annoy the girls for the season. She and Mandy room together in the same dorm as the spy girls. Mrs. Lewis. Jerry's mother who lives in Devonshire, England. Her first appearance is in the season 2 episode "Mommies Dearest". She gets very annoyed with her son, who tells her that he is a hotel manager. In the season 5 finale "Totally Dunzo!" she becomes evil after a drop of evil DNA falls into her cup of tea. She becomes "Mr. X" and creates robot droids to replace the spies after buying out WOOHP as a way to take over the world. After Jerry manages to reverse the effects, she returns to normal. It is revealed that she was a top spy back in her youth, something Jerry never knew. In the season 6 episode "Totally Switched Again" she becomes a WOOHP spy, donning a lilac catsuit, but retires again at the end of the episode. Mrs. Lewis has also appeared in the spin-off series "The Amazing Spiez!" when her daughter Sherry has a flashback in "Operation WOOSCI". Norman. Norman is Clover's younger cousin. He first appears in the season 2 episode "Zooney World" and is seen again in the Season 6 episode "Danger TV". Phoebe. Phoebe is Mandy's mother who also has long dark hair and a snooty nasal-pitched voice. She first appears in the season 3 episode "Forward to the Past" where, in 1975, she wears hippie clothing and had worked on the school news magazine at Beverly Hills High. She has a few appearances later in the season such as the episode "Dental? More Like Mental", she disciplines Mandy for her poor grades by not only grounding her but also withholding her platinum credit card. In the episode "Evil G.L.A.D.I.S Much?" she helps Mandy by buying out the Yves Mont Blanc store. Plunkett. is the spies' fashion design instructor at Malibu University. He is a regular character in season 6, and has high expectations of Clover, especially in the episode "Inferior Designer" where he gives only one A for a midterm runway project. In the season finale, "So Totally Versailles", he leads the class on a field trip to France. Stella. Stella is Clover's mother, who looks just like Clover but originally with lighter hair until later with the same hair color tone as her daughter's. She appears in the season 2 episodes "Mommies Dearest", where she is controlled by Tim Scam, and "Zooney World", where she asks Clover to take care of Clover's cousin Norman. In the season 4 finale "Totally Busted", she becomes a spy and her catsuit is hot pink. In the season 6 episode "Nine Lives", it is revealed that she is an earlobe surgeon. Trent. Trent is Mandy's intern who debuts as a regular character in season 6. He drives Mandy around in a golf cart, and does errands such as buying her drinks and magazines, carrying her shopping bags, and shading and fanning her in the heat. He wears a dress shirt with a black vest and slacks. He serves as the episodic villain in "Trent Goes Wild" where, during his memory wipe at WOOHP, he accidentally absorbs the DNA of an evil scorpion man. He then becomes a cool dude at Mali-U, and takes revenge against Mandy for the abuse she has laid on him. Virgil. Virgil is the supervisor at the coffee shop where Alex, Sam, and Clover take on part-time jobs in season 5. He first appears in "Evil Professor". He appears in several episodes including "The Show Must Go On... Or Else" where he is transformed to become an actor in a western, In "Zero To Hero", he asks out Alex, who considers him just a friend. When the date goes terribly wrong because of his clumsiness and bad luck, he later discovers the girls are spies and uses a serum to bulk up in order to be a superhero, concocting dangerous situations where he can save her. Recurring villains. Many villains began making return appearances starting with the second season. In another interview, Michel said that in the third season there is an episode called "Escape from WOOHP Island" in which some of the past villains reappear. Most of them broke out of the WOOHP detention facility, or in the case of Jazz Hands, he was simply released after finishing doing his time. In season 4, Terence rounds up some of the villains to form an organization called League Aiming to Menace and Overthrow Spies (LAMOS), of which their members include Tim Scam, Helga Von Guggen, Myrna Beesbottom and Boogie Gus. In season 6, some villains from earlier seasons, such as the Granny, also returned; one exception was Seth Toyman, who was portrayed as an unwitting perpetrator in season 2, now as a villain with a different backstory and motive. Boogie Gus. Boogie Gus is an afro-wearing guy who first appears in the season 3 episode "Forward to the Past" where he uses Jerry's time machine invention to travel back and forth to steal technology from the future and bring it back to his groovy 1970s past where he creates his own WOOHP organization: World Organization Of Harming People. It is revealed that he was actually from the present as a former WOOHP janitor. In season 4, he joins LAMOS where he still sports his 1970s look. In one of the episodes, he uses a ray gun to transform people to a younger version of themselves but dressed in 1980s fashion. In the double-episode "Like, So Totally Not Spies", he accidentally leaks the information regarding Terence's plans and the secret behind the bracelets to the girls. Boogie Gus has also appeared in the spinoff series "The Amazing Spiez! ", where his son Gus Jr., has a passion for the decade he was born, the 1990s, which included low-tech electronics and ghetto-based outfits. They try to turn everything back to the way it was in the 1990s but are stopped by the spiez. Candy Sweet. Candy is introduced as a coach in the episode "The Black Widows" where her cheerleading squad makes a strong impression in the national competitions. However, it is later revealed that her team is made up of gynoids who have been programmed with the cheerleading routines stolen from the other teams. It is revealed that she was a former student named Margaret Nussbaum who had been rejected by the Honeybees cheerleading team, and has since vowed to have her revenge. In "Sis-KaBOOM-Bah!" she brainwashes teenage cheerleaders nationwide (including Clover and Mandy) with a small training DVD so they can break her out of prison. Candy is voiced by Amanda Anka. Diminutive Smalls. Tired of being looked down upon, Smalls invented a shrink ray to shrink others down to his liking, but the machine backfired and shrank him instead. However, he was able to attain incredible strength in the process. In the episode "Shrinking", he uses the ray to shrink major tourist attractions. In the episode "Attack of the 50 Foot Mandy", he tried to seek revenge by enlarging the spies, only to miss and hit Mandy instead. Dr. Gelee. Gelee is a scientist who appears in "Ice Man Cometh". Deciding that mankind was too evil and destructive to the planet, he plans to eliminate everyone by freezing the planet while he and his henchmen hole up in his mountain fortress. He chooses Clover to be his ice queen, and forces her to play a game of chess with him, but is foiled by the girls and sent to prison. However, in "Ski Trip", he escapes and follows the girls to a ski resort where he tries to kill them off in a series of accidents. When he kidnaps Clover, he mistakenly grabs Mandy instead because she wears a red snow outfit that resembles Clover's spy suit. Regardless, he uses Mandy as a hostage to capture the girls. He is last seen at the side of the mountain where he tries to fire a laser at the girls, only to have it bounce off and cause an avalanche that buries him. Geraldine Husk. Geraldine Husk first appears as the head of a spy agency called Super Protection International (S.P.I. ), which during its introduction, becomes extremely successful in capturing criminals, and practically puts WOOHP out of business. However, it is later revealed that she has been using her S.P.I. employees to act as the criminals in fake arrests in order to upstage WOOHP and get her revenge from being rejected from joining WOOHP when she was younger. Geraldine was later foiled by Sam, Clover and Alex, and she swore revenge against them. In "Super Agent Much? ", Geraldine places a serum in Clover's drink which transforms Clover into a "super spy", with enhanced superhuman abilities and powers, while becoming more selfish. She ultimately recruits Clover to join SPI and orders her to kill her friends and destroy WOOHP. However, after being thrown in the lake, Clover's bionic abilities are disabled and Geraldine was again captured. In "Arnold the Great", she tries to ensnare the girls but ends up targeting Arnold instead, giving him some superhero powers. In the season 5 episode "Return Of Geraldine", she is revealed to have hired Blaine to kill Clover, and upon Blaine's failure, changes her goal to make Clover's life miserable. Geraldine is voiced by Kathy Laskey. Granny. She is the title character in the episode "The Granny", appearing like a sweet woman in her 80s who likes to bake goodies. In the episode, she is a WOOHP prisoner considered to be very dangerous, but the girls fall for her pleasant personality. She escapes when the girls were trying to transport her to another facility, and reunites with her gang to rob the city's banks but is ultimately foiled by the girls and sent to another prison facility that is more like a retirement resort. In a follow-up episode "Super Sweet Cupcake Company", she bakes cupcakes that make their consumers compliant to her commands. She escapes prison and uses the cupcakes to rob banks without the bank staff aware of any wrongdoing. She would return in two episodes of the Amazing Spiez "Operation Old School", and "Operation Senior Spy". Captain Hayes. Captain Hayes is obsessed with celebrities. He first appears in "Evil Airlines Much?" where he captains a luxury airplane that transports celebrities from Los Angeles to Paris, France. However, it is soon revealed that he plans on keeping the airplane in the skies forever. He returns in "Evil Hotel", where he has escaped from prison and creates an underwater luxury hotel with a very exclusive VIP list. Hoping to fill the hotel with celebrities that he has kidnapped, he also devises equipment to raise the sea level of the world's oceans. In the season 6 episode "Celebrity Swipe", instead of trapping celebrities at a location, he abducts them and steals their attributes that made them famous so he can become a celebrity himself. Helga Von Guggen. Helga is a fashion designer whom Clover notes as an icon in the industry. In the season 1 episode, "Wild Style", she masterminds the abduction of cruise ship passengers along with her assistant where she makes a serum that transforms people into animal-like creatures in order to harvest their fur coats. When she clashes with the spy girls, she is infected by her own serum and transforms into a massive Chimaera-like monster, but is defeated and then captured. She returns in the season 2 episode "Fashion Faux Pas" where, having broken out of prison, she hatches a scheme where she creates a fashion line called Mystique whose clothing becomes popular, but in reality it will constrict its users to death when activated. She reappear in the season 4 as a member of LAMOS. In the episode "Evil Jerry", she is arrested, but escapes and returns in the double episode "Like, So Totally Not Spies" where she and the rest of LAMOS conspire against WOOHP by giving out bracelets that make the spy girls forget their spy history. She is voiced by Adrienne Barbeau. Jazz Hands. A mime artist who wears an old-fashioned black tuxedo, cape, wine-colored tight pants and top hat. Although he is dressed as a mime, he often speaks, explaining elaborate plans of turning everyone into mime slaves. He despises entertainers such as singers and comedians because they have rendered his practice obsolete and forgotten. His weapon of choice is an accordion outfitted with a cannon that shoots lasers that transform people into voiceless mimes and turns their clothes black and white. In "Mime Your Own Business", he zaps Sam and Alex and attempts to zap folks all over Beverly Hills. In season 5, he has a three-episode story arc where he is released from WOOHP prison and devises a mime-based theme park where he converts visitors into a mime army. He befriends a fellow mime named Miss Spirit Fingers and commissions her to steal a high-tech microchip. However, he later learns that Miss Spirit Fingers is Sam in disguise, and converts her to his cause. Jazz Hands is voiced by Ben Joseph, who also co-wrote the episode in which Jazz Hands debuted. Marco Lumière. The villain of the two-part episode "A Spy Is Born", Lumière is an eccentric Hollywood director who became an outcast from the mainstream film community for his bizarre methods. In revenge, he concocted a scheme where he kidnaps the biggest Hollywood stars and takes them to his private island, filled with various killer robots and death traps. There, the actors would star in Lumière's own personal action movie where all the dangers and deaths would be real. Following his defeat at the island, he is arrested but escapes the WOOHP plane taking him into custody, kidnapping Alex and forcing the girls to participate in his new action film. He is eventually defeated by the girls and Jerry. He returns in the episode "0067", where he escapes prison and uses plastic surgery and the alias "Ocram Ereimul" to impersonate an A-list movie producer to manipulate Jerry into capturing Hollywood's top producers. Marco Lumière is voiced by Dee Baker. Myrna Beesbottom. Myrna Beesbottom is a former WOOHP agent who is introduced in the season 3 episode "Space Much?" where she is assigned to be the girls' nanny, which lasts for the duration of that episode. She wears a maid uniform and is very strict on the girls. She reappears as a villain in the episode "Evil Valentine's Day" where she puts a ring on Jerry's finger that causes him to fall in love with her. Jerry and Myrna marry, however, it is revealed that she did so in order to take over WOOHP headquarters. In the season 4 opener episode "The Dream Teens", she joins LAMOS and develops plasma androids who act as the spies' boyfriends with the purpose of draining the girls' energy. Despite her large build, Myrna is very agile and strong, with familiarity in ninja martial arts and weapons. Sebastian Saga. Sebastian Saga is the first villain to appear in the series. He is introduced as the manager for fledgling rock star Ricky Mathis. A former guitar player, he was severely injured in a pyrotechnics accident that he became unable to play guitar and had to use a metal prosthetic left hand and had to style his hair to conceal the left side of his face. In the series' first episode "A Thing for Musicians", he uses hypnotic music in the form of glowing microdisc CDs during Mathis's performances to control the crowd and to incite them into attacking the world's governments. However, the spy girls foil his plans and he is imprisoned. He returns in "Stark Raving Mad" where he has escaped from prison (apparently, his escape wasn't noticed) and acts as a DJ at the local raves where he turns the girls' peers into angry rioters to trash the girls' favorite places such as the skating rink, the art museum, the Beverly Hills mall, and ultimately their high school. Sebastian is voiced by Jim Ward. Terence. Terence is Jerry's evil twin brother and the primary arch-nemesis starting in the multiple-episode season 3 finale, "Evil Promotion Much?". In that episode, he facilitates the training for the girls so that they can become super spies. At first, Terence appeared to be an easy-going, relaxed administrator, but soon turns against them. His underlying motive is that he was betrayed by his brother when they were copying each other's answers during an exam. He then had his face and voice surgically altered. In season 4, he creates an organization called League Aiming to Menace and Overthrow Spies (L.A.M.O.S. ), made up of WOOHP villains from previous episodes. During their first meeting, he discovers the silliness of the acronym, but as he had already purchased merchandise with the brand, he keeps it as is. He wears a white curly wig and runs the group from a leaky submarine where they serve as recurring villains for several episodes. He also makes an appearance in episode "Scary Jerry" on the spinoff show "The Amazing Spiez!". Tim Scam. He first appears in "The New Jerry" episode, where he kidnaps Jerry and replaces him at WOOHP, going under the alias "Mac Smit", and giving the girls an assignment but sabotaging their vehicles. He is later revealed to be a former WOOHP weapons technician who developed a heat-ray capable of evaporating the Earth's oceans; he ultimately got fired for illegal use of WOOHP weapons and seeks revenge on the organization. In "Mommies Dearest" he escaped from jail and attempted to get revenge on the girls by mind-controlling their mothers and using them to kill the girls. In "Morphing is so 1987" Tim attempts to destroy WOOHP using "liquid-metal" robots capable of mimicking the appearance of others. He reappears in season 4 as a member of LAMOS. Violet Vanderfleet. Violet Vanderfleet is a botanist who appears in "Evil Bouquets Are So Passe". She develops a hybrid of poisonous plants that are able to move on their own and knock out their targets with sleeping gas. In the episode, she delivers the plants to all the guys who have dumped her, and plans to use the flowers to destroy all of the men in the world and to stand up for all the heartbroken girls. She is eventually stopped when one of the plants catches a strand of her hair and attacks her, putting her to sleep until WOOHP arrests her and undoes the effects with an antidote. She returns in the episode "Baddies on a Blimp" where she, Manny Wong and Yves Mont Blanc are accidentally released and take over the WOOHP blimp. Willard. Willard is a scientist first appearing in the season 2 episode "Alex Quits". He despises anything that moves too quickly, recalling remarks from his past such as not getting a raise because of working too slow, or not making the track team because of running too slow. After years of failed cloning research, he develops a ray gun that slows down the molecules of its targets, putting them in a state of slow motion. In the season 3 episode "Escape from WOOHP Island", he orchestrates an escape attempt of WOOHP prisoners by employing a different ray gun to bring down Britney's plane, and then disguises himself as her in order to kill the spies and take their plane. However, the spies unmask him, forcing him to attack directly. Although he dislikes speed, his martial arts technique is quick, although not as fast as Britney's. Following "WOOHP Island", he has appeared as a background character in episodes involving WOOHP prisoners. Willard has been voiced by Dee Baker. and Jamie Watson. Yves Mont Blanc. Yves Mont Blanc is a shoe designer who has been referenced in multiple episodes and as Clover's favorite shoe designer. In "Evil Shoe Designer", he abducts fashion critics who have responded negatively to his latest designs and forces them to wear boots that comply with his commands. He also appears in the episode "Baddies on a Blimp" where helps take over the WOOHP blimp. Works cited. "Totally Spies!" episodes

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2351216

　 was the Constable ("shugo") of Echizen Province during the 14th century Nanboku-chō Wars in Japan. He acted to block the northward progress of Nitta Yoshisada, who supported the Emperor's Southern Court against the "shōgun"s Northern Court. Shiba, in his role as Constable, served the "shōgun" and thus the Northern Court. In 1336, an ally of Nitta named Uryū Tamotsu attacked Shiba's castle, which fell soon afterwards. Two years later, Shiba was ordered by the shogun Ashikaga Takauji to attack Uryū's fortress at Somayama. The attack failed, and Shiba was forced to fight Nitta's forces again in the defense of the Kuromaru (Black Fortress). With the aid of forces sent by Takauji and warrior monks from Heisenji, the fortress was held, and Nitta Yoshisada mortally wounded in the battle. Despite this great victory, Shiba was defeated once again in 1340, when the newly throned Emperor Go-Murakami sent an army to attack the Kuromaru. Shiba was forced to surrender. The same year, a number of men claiming to serve Shiba invaded an area called Kawaguchi-shō, which was controlled by the Kōfuku-ji temple. In 1363 Shiba seized the area officially, becoming essentially a "daimyō" (feudal lord), gaining independent power beyond what was given him by the Shogunate. The monks of Kōfuku-ji resorted to various forms of blackmail and were granted their land back. However, Shiba continued to gain power, instituting "shugo-uke", a system under which the Constable would take a set amount of rice from the people of the land, paying the peoples' taxes to the Shogun and keeping the rest as a sort of commission. Of those few Constables who became lords in their own right, most if not all abused this system, earning great revenues for themselves. Shiba Yoshimasa was the son of Takatsune.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=36273898

"Suits" is an American legal drama, created by Aaron Korsh. It premiered on USA Network in June 2011. The series revolves around Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), a senior partner at a top law firm in Manhattan, and his recently hired associate attorney Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) as they hide the fact that Mike does not have a law degree. Each episode focuses on a single legal case and its challenges while examining the work environment of the firm, Mike's and Harvey's personal relationships, and problems stemming from Mike's lack of a degree. The rest of the starring cast portray other employees at the firm: Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman), a partner who manages the associates; Rachel Zane (Meghan Markle), a paralegal who develops feelings for Mike; Donna Paulsen (Sarah Rafferty), Harvey's long-time legal secretary, close friend, and confidant; and Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres), the co-founder and managing partner of the firm. Main characters. Harvey Specter. Harvey Reginald Specter is a newly promoted senior partner at the prestigious New York law firm Pearson Hardman and is known as one of the city's top litigators. In episode 1 of season 8, it is revealed he was born and raised in Riverside, NY, the same town as fellow attorney Samantha Wheeler. In the pilot episode, he is told of his promotion to senior partner—the youngest to hold that position—and is forced to hire a Harvard Law School graduate to be his associate attorney. He is impressed with Mike Ross' quick thinking and drive to be a good lawyer, as well as his inherent ability to absorb enormous amounts of information (his photographic memory) and his extensive knowledge of law. Mike, however, does not have a law degree, but is hired anyway because Harvey does not want to waste time interviewing less-promising candidates. Mike reminds Harvey of a younger version of himself, and so they agree to conspire to pretend that Mike is, in fact, a Harvard graduate. He acts as Mike's mentor, as well as his immediate superior: although he performs these roles somewhat reluctantly and emotionally distantly at first, he later begins to show that he does care about Mike and Mike's future as a lawyer. Harvey began working in the mail room, went to New York University (NYU) for his undergraduate degree, and Jessica Pearson later paid for his tuition at Harvard Law, from which he graduated in 1997. Though years later Jessica muses to him that he did not take his studies seriously, he still graduated fifth in his class. Although he intended to start his law career at Gordon, Schmidt & Van Dyke (Pearson Hardman's previous name partners), Jessica sent him to the New York County District Attorney's Office for mentoring and he worked as an assistant district attorney (ADA) under District Attorney Cameron Dennis (Gary Cole). While there, he met his legal secretary Donna Paulsen, who became his close friend and confidante. After two years, he discovered a case with which Dennis was suppressing evidence, and rather than report it, Harvey abruptly left the DA's office to go into private practice at Pearson Hardman. Five years before the events of the series, a senior associate, Jessica, informs him that she has discovered an embezzler in the firm and requests that Harvey discreetly investigate; in return, he requests a promotion to junior partner upon its successful completion. With help from several other lawyers at the firm, including Louis Litt, Specter discovers that the money is being embezzled by Daniel Hardman, the founding managing partner of the firm. When Harvey discovers this, he insists that Jessica must report it to the DA; she refuses, choosing to instead confront Daniel, who claims the money is being used to fund his wife's cancer treatments. However, after further investigation, Harvey discovers that in reality the money is being used to finance an affair with a colleague. Shortly afterwards, Harvey learns that his father Gordon succumbed to a myocardial infarction; though visibly devastated at this news, he mourns quietly, choosing to celebrate his promotion instead. To win his cases, which he tries to do at all costs, Harvey will not hesitate to use unorthodox methods, including coercive persuasion, bluffing, and calling in the many favors owed to him by various influential and powerful people. Although he may be unconventional, Specter is a fair lawyer; he will not tamper with facts to win cases, and he hates any lawyer who will. Many wrongly believe that he lacks in integrity and expect that he will break the law to win; these incorrect assumptions helped him win a case by bluffing the opposing counsel into believing he was willing to commit perjury to win, while having no such intention whatsoever. In stark contrast to the methods of Louis Litt, Specter strongly prefers out-of-court settlements over going to court; Harvey's longstanding belief is that a courtroom has too many variables for him to be able to control, a tenet that was instilled into him by DA Cameron Dennis, his mentor. Despite the fact Jessica Pearson, his immediate superior, is much more cautious and tends to favor less risk over greater reward, Specter ignores her instructions, openly challenges her decisions, and does as he wants. Although Harvey generally wins his cases to far greater profit than had he followed Pearson's instructions, his risky methods tend to perpetuate her belief that he needs to remain on a leash. Harvey places his own interests above those of his colleagues, although his job performance always benefits his clients, and, by extension, Pearson Hardman and its employees. He dislikes pro bono publico cases, most likely due to their simplicity; generally, he will assign such cases to Mike Ross. On occasion, however, Specter will waive his right to collect legal fees for less wealthy clients; in these cases, he insists that this be kept secret for the sake of his reputation. He has a rivalry with Louis Litt that began when they were associates; though Harvey feels superior to Louis and often mocks him, he respects Louis, acknowledging his financial expertise and commitment to the firm, and considers him a skilled lawyer. This rivalry is later shown to be friendly; Louis characterizes it as similar to that between Ralph the Wolf and Sam the Sheepdog in the "Looney Tunes" cartoons. Louis, in turn, reluctantly realizes Harvey's value to the firm. In a season 2 episode, Louis (standing in for Travis Tanner) humiliates Donna on the witness stand in a preparatory mock trial, and Harvey confronts Louis afterwards, stating that Louis has taken their rivalry too far. Louis fires back that, although the experience pained him greatly, he did it to accurately portray the lengths Tanner would have gone to in court if the case had gone to trial. He never becomes emotionally attached to his clients, either; he performs his work with cold professionalism, rarely showing emotional attachment to his client. However, Harvey expresses a strong loyalty for those who have been loyal to him, such as Donna, his longtime secretary, Ray Benghazi, his chauffeur, and (eventually) Mike Ross, his associate. When confronted about his emotional distance, he states that caring makes a person appear weak, and that a lawyer who shows feelings gets trampled. Because of this belief, he never shows any vulnerability, even to romantic interests. In season 5, Harvey starts having panic attacks as a consequence of Donna leaving him to work for Louis. He starts seeing a therapist. Harvey has several female romantic interests, but he has trouble committing to a long-term relationship. He briefly dated Zoe Lawford. He attempted to have a real relationship with Dana "Scottie" Scott in the second half of season 3, which was revealed to be a rekindling of a past relationship. But this ended in the season 3 finale when the two realized they could not handle the necessary separation between their personal and business lives. Later in season 7, he dated Dr. Paula Agard, his therapist but it ended later in the season when she gave him an ultimatum to choose between their relationship and working with Donna. Since the very beginning, Harvey has been attached to Donna more than anyone else and they both have a very strong friendship and often portray romantic feelings for each other. She is his moral compass and the only person Harvey listens to. In the finale of season 8, Harvey is able to realise his feelings for Donna and they kiss with all their pent up feelings and emotions. The series ends with the pair getting married. He seems to have had a good relationship with his father Gordon Specter, a saxophone player; Gordon was immensely proud of Harvey, called him at work, and constantly wondered why his son had not been promoted to partner. It is insinuated by Travis Tanner that his mother (Lily Specter) was promiscuous, and Jessica's statements about Harvey's personality suggest his early life was emotionally damaging; Harvey later reveals in a conversation with Mike that Tanner's insinuations were true. Lily repeatedly dishonored Gordon Specter (James McCaffrey), and Harvey witnessed one of these events at the age of sixteen. He kept quiet about it so as not to distress his father but eventually told him. His mother then left them; and he held deep-rooted hatred for his mother for years but made amends with her in season 6 after Donna told him to. Harvey also has a younger brother (Marcus Specter); little else is known about his past or family. Harvey is a car and sports enthusiast and was a star pitcher for his high school baseball team. However, a shoulder injury prevented him from pitching in the state championship; the team won without his help, a fact that has continued to haunt him. His office features an extensive vinyl record collection and a collection of signed basketballs and baseballs. He also loves Macallan single malt Scotch. He dated Elizabeth Hurley in 1998. He constantly quotes movies, such as "Top Gun", "The Untouchables", "The Breakfast Club", "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", "Silence of the Lambs", and "Highlander". Mike Ross. Michael James Ross (Patrick J. Adams) is a lawyer with a photographic memory who never attended law school. While in college, he aspired to be a lawyer and even passed the bar examination on a dare. However, he was expelled after his friend Trevor Evans convinced him to memorize a calculus test and sell it in order to pay off Trevor's debts to a drug dealer, and they unknowingly sold the answers to the Dean's daughter, forcing the dean to resign under scrutiny, but not before revoking Mike's scholarship and expelling him. Since then, he began smoking marijuana and took the LSAT as a proxy for others to pay the nursing home bills of his grandmother, who raised him after his parents died when he was eleven. To keep his grandmother in the private nursing home, he agrees to deliver marijuana for Trevor. However, he discovers that the delivery is a sting operation. He escapes the police by accidentally slipping into the hotel room where Harvey Specter's interviews for prospective associate attorneys is taking place. He impresses Harvey with his encyclopedic knowledge of law and drive to become a better lawyer than any graduate of Harvard Law School, the only school from which the Pearson Hardman law firm hires. Harvey hires him and becomes his reluctant mentor, keeping Mike's lack of a law license a secret from everyone at the firm except Donna. Later, a hacker alters Harvard Law's records to show that Mike is a graduate. Mike often comes across as naive and initially has trouble adjusting to daily life as an attorney. He often gets emotionally involved with clients and even with some opponents, a trait both Harvey and Jessica Pearson view as weakness. Despite this, Mike does not want to be a cold-hearted and emotionally distant person like Harvey. Mike has feelings for Trevor's girlfriend Jenny Griffith and is her boyfriend after she breaks up with Trevor. However, Jenny breaks up with him because he has feelings for Rachel Zane, a colleague. He does not want to base his relationship with Rachel on a lie, so he intends to tell her that he does not have a law degree. Harvey advises him against this, and Rachel senses Mike is hiding something and breaks up with him. He eventually does tell her but the timing is awful, as Rachel had just found out that she was denied admission to Harvard Law. She smacks Mike in the face a few times, and they have sex in the file room. Mike later takes a job as an investment banker to avoid having his fraud come back to haunt him, jeopardizing his future as well as Harvey's. As season 4 begins, Mike gets his feet wet with his first case as an investment banker on a takeover with Gillis Industries. This puts him and Harvey at edge, seeing as how the other party working on the takeover is Logan Sanders, and he is represented by Harvey and Pearson Specter. Mike boldly goes head to head with Harvey, holding his own until finally succumbing when Louis undoes a deal Mike was working with Charles Forstman for money. As a direct result of the deal with Forstman, which Mike agreed to cut his boss Jonathan Sidwell out of, and which Forstman himself notified Sidwell, Mike was promptly fired. Before taking a job with Charles Forstman, Louis Litt, guilty over his own deal with Forstman, uses a favor with Jessica to rehire Mike to Pearson Specter. His relationship with Rachel is tumultuous during this period, finding out that she had a history with Logan and also that she had kissed him. At first they had broken off their relationship following this betrayal. Mike then relented, realizing he cared greatly for her, enough to overlook the incident and he moved back in after she approached him and convinced him to do so. For the remainder of the season, Mike is in the background, doing side work, and helping solve issues as Louis Litt's deal with Forstman falls apart. Mike, through his own compassion in the final summer episode of "Suits", "This is Rome..." returns Louis's possessions to his house. When there, and attempting to comfort Louis, he asks about a key he found in Louis's box of things. At first, Louis takes it as playful and dismisses him. However, after Mike asks about the key again when he failed to get Louis hired with Robert Zane, Louis is able to piece together that Mike truly isn't a Harvard graduate. In season 5, Mike's secret is discovered and he accepts time in prison for 2 years after a long trial against Anita Gibbs, an attorney who makes sending him to jail her life's mission. In season 6, Mike is able to cut down his prison time with the help of Harvey and works as a teacher at the church for a while before being reported by a student's parent. He then passes the bar with the help of Harvey and Jessica even though Anita Gibbs makes a full effort to stop him. In season 7, he returns to the firm. In the last episode of season 7, Mike marries Rachel and they both leave the firm to run a legal clinic in Seattle. Mike returns from Seattle in season 9 with a case that intersects with one of the firm's clients. The case ultimately leads to special master Faye Richardson firing Samantha Wheeler. In the series finale, Mike and Harvey devise a scheme to get Faye to leave. Louis Litt. Louis Marlowe Litt (Rick Hoffman) is a partner at Pearson Hardman (later Pearson Specter Litt) who is the firm's leading authority and expert on all financial matters and the direct supervisor of the firm's associate attorneys. He is self-serving and often bends rules to get what he wants, including faking a positive drug test to blackmail Mike Ross. He is overly pedantic, jealous to the point of paranoia, highly suspicious, snobbish, and cruel. Louis tends to be someone who would be considered a "wanna be" person. Louis often fails to understand how he appears to others, honestly surprised to find people hold grudges over his behavior and that he can be hurtful. However, he highly values loyalty to his colleagues and the firm. Unlike Harvey, who is known to almost always prefer settlements to trials, Louis believes that trials are not necessarily a bad thing. He is known to be the firm's highest billing attorney in terms of hours, and has a strong work ethic, on one occasion proving it by finishing the associates' monthly work in a single evening. Louis has a love of Broadway, ballet, origami, mudding, tennis, and recreational gun target practice. His address is 601 E 59th St., New York City. He has a rivalry with Harvey Specter that began when they were associates. Louis is particularly jealous of Harvey's success and feels that his own contributions to the firm have been overlooked as a result. He was promoted to junior partner before Harvey was, but Harvey is promoted to senior partner first, a promotion Louis believes he should have gotten instead. Jessica tells him that she does appreciate his work and is able to trust him with cases that require her instructions to be carried out precisely and without question, something the brash, self-centered Harvey cannot be relied upon to do. Despite his animosity toward Harvey, Louis believes that Harvey is a great lawyer and does his best to help Harvey when the good of the firm is at stake. Harvey, in return, acknowledges Louis's value, financial expertise, and commitment to the firm, with Harvey himself expressing more than once that Louis is the firm's hardest-working attorney. Harvey confirms this again in the series finale while arguing about Louis with special master Faye Richardson, telling her that she took "the best lawyer in this firm" and stripped him of his dignity. He has been rightfully suspicious of Mike Ross' status as a Harvard graduate since he was hired, going so far as to fake a positive drug test in an attempt to trick him into admitting it. When Harvey is accused of suppressing evidence, Louis is asked to stand-in for prosecutor (to-be) Travis Tanner in the mock trial. He uses the mock trial to confront Jessica about Harvey's better treatment. In the season two episode "Sucker Punch", Louis has Mike hooked up to a lie detector (as a means of getting information about Harvey) and asks Mike where he attended law school. Mike answers that he has a diploma from Harvard Law School, which is an essentially true statement, and it seems to have eased Louis's suspicions. As of the season 2 episode "Asterisk," Louis has been promoted to senior partner by Daniel Hardman. He has the deciding vote in the firm's managing partner vote; though he is angry with Hardman for treating him poorly in the past, he is also angry with Jessica for the way she has constantly overlooked him in recent years. He ultimately votes in favor of Hardman which gives Jessica's position to Hardman by one vote, although this is short-lived. After Hardman has been ousted once again and Jessica reinstated as managing partner, his relationship with Harvey is severely damaged, but Louis tries to move on. As a newly minted senior partner, Louis is entitled to hire a Harvard Law graduate as an associate attorney of his own. He becomes smitten with Maria (the secretary of her Harvard class and former US Supreme Court clerk) who accepts his offer; but by chance when she is introduced to Donna and it becomes clear that Mike's undercover status as a fraudulent HLS graduate could be put in jeopardy, Jessica is forced to order Louis to rescind the offer, leaving him angry and embittered. Harvey's resentment and anger towards Louis doesn't die off. In the episode "Blood in the Water" after Hardman's dismissal, Harvey seethingly confronts Louis in his office and accuses him (falsely) of betrayal, leaking a list of the best Pearson Hardman associates to Alison Holt at Bratton Gould. Louis emphatically insists that he didn't, which Harvey eventually accepts, but Harvey goes on to recite many of Louis's worst transgressions against himself and Jessica as reasons not to trust Louis whatsoever: bugging Harvey's office, leaking the CM lawsuit to Hardman (significantly damaging Jessica's already tenuous position as managing partner with Hardman back); spying on Mike's clandestine meeting with Monica Eaton and telling Hardman; accepting Hardman's offer of a senior partnership, casting the swing vote for Hardman as managing partner, and once successful, sneaking into Harvey's office and searching it after hours for information to damage Harvey's credibility, and immediately instituting a new partner drug test policy less than 12 hours later specifically (and solely) designed to force Harvey's resignation; all reasons to make Harvey tell him that for all intents and purposes (other than strict business required by Jessica) their relationship is finished and will never be repaired. The intensity of Harvey's confrontation leaves Louis seriously shaken, and, convinced he has no future at Pearson Hardman, approaches Alison Holt to inquire about moving to a position at Bratton Gould. He comes to Jessica (convinced that she sent Harvey to intimidate him into leaving) requesting her to waive the non-compete clause of his partner's agreement so he can join Bratton Gould; Jessica does as he asks, but reveals that Harvey's actions were not under her direction whatsoever and requests that he stay at Pearson Hardman. She also verbally acknowledges face-to-face (seriously and unprompted) for the first time that she was wrong, and (in contrast to her initial reaction in the episode "Asterisk") that Hardman's decision to grant Louis a senior partnership was indeed correct and well-deserved; Louis is visibly moved by this rare show of remorse (on Jessica's part). Despite this, Louis initially decided to submit his resignation regardless, but later changes his mind and decides to stay. Starting off season 4, Louis is torn inside following the events of the previous season, and his former love Sheila seeming out of reach he dives into his work and into mild depression. Highly critical of his own actions, things are made more complicated by the introduction of Jeff Malone during "One-Two-Three Go…", prosecutor for the SEC comes to Pearson Specter. Louis, still unsure of what to do, goes to Donna for advice who tells him "to wait for Jessica to come to him" with a large offer. His secretary Katrina, however, after seeing Jeff Malone's entrance tells Louis that if he waits, he may miss his chance, which he does. Things continue downhill for Louis, Malone being offered a senior partner position only worsens things as it was seen as an attempt to make himself obsolete. As friction between Louis and Jeff increase, Donna helps intervene on Louis's behalf, and convinces her to give Louis, the large coveted corner office to help soothe his ego, which it does. The friction, however, continues over into "Two in the knees" as the firm becomes increasingly pressed by the SEC and Louis rebuffs Jeff's attempt to calm the waters during the broker investigation. Louis is heavily offended by Mike, when going into a courtroom right before their hearing, when Mike shows him doctored photos of his love Sheila, seemingly being engaged, which rattles him to the core. This, however, turns out to be fake and as revenge, in "Leverage" Louis goes above Mike's head to prevent him from getting much-needed investment funds from Tony Gianopolous in the takeover war that Mike is waging with Pearson Specter over Gillis Industries. Louis attempts to patch his relationship in several episodes, failing miserably and actually putting Harvey at arm's length. Defeated, and intent on proving his worth to his friend, Jessica provides him that opportunity when she offers him a chance to invalidate the sale of Wexler stocks so that the firm never bought them and prevent the SEC from being able to scrutinize the firm further. Louis finds a loophole, and instead of waiting for Jessica's approval or consulting Harvey, he unwinds the sale and puts the deal, which at that moment takes Harvey off his feet as he was just using those shares of Wexler to try and leverage a deal with Forstman, who had as a result of Louis's actions purchased them already on the open market. Louis, feeling bad and guilty for betraying Harvey; albeit without knowing it, is intent on fixing the problem. Going to Forstman, Louis makes a deal with Forstman to sell the shares to Logan Sanders, Harvey's former client through the Gillis takeover arc. Only after this does Louis confide in Katrina that in order to do the deal, he had to funnel money through offshore accounts, which amounted to Tax Evasion, and is a felony. While impressing Harvey, the sale wracks on Louis's nerves as he frantically searches for a way to undo the deal when Forstman then seals him into it, by forcing Louis to take a payoff as "incentive" to not rat him out or turn on him over the deal. Louis, still enraged from his Forstman deal and seemingly at his own pity, is offered a reward from Jessica for his save-the-day move. Originally, he chooses that he wants to finally be named partner in the firm, which Jessica says is still off the table. He then chooses to get more vacation and work-from-home time, giving him an opportunity to fix things with Sheila. However, after encountering Mike on his way to take a job with Forstman which Louis interrupts, he instead uses his reward from Jessica to rehire Mike and prevent him from taking a job with Forstman. Hoping the Gillis deal is behind them, Louis buries his fee receipt deep in the Gillis files, but then is immediately dismayed when Mike informs him of Sean Cahill's attempt from the SEC to get the Gillis takeover files. This panics Louis as Mike proposes to turn over all Gillis files to get the SEC off their backs. Louis desperately tries to get Forstman to undo their deal, but Forstman will only agree if he can get Harvey involved in a similar deal. As Louis is there, Harvey and Mike both figure out what Louis is doing and try to find him, but in their effort, Louis has already gone to Jessica and explained what he did. As Harvey arrives she fills him in, and expresses her discontent and promises to fire Louis after the deals are done. Louis goes then to the SEC the next day and confesses in-person to Cahill, but unable to reach him, speaking to Woodall first. He is quickly rushed from the building and told by Woodall that the SEC is "only going after the big fish" and is not interested in his confession. Louis, perplexed, returned to the office and the next morning, realizes that the reason for this is that Woodall must have made a similar deal with Forstman in the past, which if the SEC were to begin investigations on, would find that Woodall had taken money from Forstman. Louis, knowing that Jessica intends to fire him but still wanting to help, tags along with Mike and Harvey as they convince to Sean Cahill that instead of coming to Pearson Specter, that he should focus his attention on his own boss for malicious prosecution. They offer up Woodall, who plays right into their hand by denying access to his bank records. After returning to the firm, Louis leaves his resignation in "Gone" before Jessica has the chance to fire him. "This Is Rome" starts with Louis coming to Harvey and asking for three of his own clients to start looking for other work in the city, but because of the company by-laws, he can't take them without Jessica's approval. Louis is then given a job opportunity in Boston via Harvey, where Sheila also works. Happy and trusting, Louis goes to Sheila who quickly rebuffs his love advances as not genuine, and she dismisses him. Determined to help Louis, Mike gets him an interview with Robert Zane, Rachel's father. Zane is impressed with Louis's billables at Pearson Specter, but insists that Louis must steal ONE client from Harvey to get hired. Acting on a tip from Katrina, his former associate, Louis steals Versalife, a client that Harvey would possibly have to drop due to antitrust complications. Harvey, however, with Mike's assistance, approaches Walter Gillis and convinces him to buy a division of Versalife, thus getting Pearson Specter under the antitrust threshold. Mike returns the contents of Louis's office to him and attempts to console him. In doing so, Mike drops a clue that accidentally gives away his secret about never attending Harvard. Mike asks about a key in Louis's box several times. Louis then explains the significance of the key, that it is an item given to Harvard graduates of the Order of the Coif. After Mike leaves, Louis deduces that Mike, as a "magna cum laude" graduate of Harvard Law, should have known about the key. (The key is fictional; Harvard Law School does not have a chapter of Order of the Coif.) Taking his allegations to Jessica in the final scenes of "This Is Rome", Louis angrily gets her to admit to being a liar and a hypocrite with regard to Mike. He demands to be named partner, and in a tense standoff, stammers out the name "Pearson-Specter-LITT!" After being named partner, Louis changes considerably and though fidgeting now and then, he stands by the firm and his partners. He has been engaged to Sheila Sazs and Tara Messer in the past and failed both relationships. In season 7, Sheila walks back into Louis's life and they both decide to be together and have children. Rachel Zane. Rachel Elizabeth Zane (Meghan Markle) is a paralegal who has worked at Pearson Hardman for six years (as of season 4). She is at first Mike Ross' friend, and she later develops romantic feelings for him. She aspires to be an attorney, but she suffers from test anxiety and cannot score well enough on the LSAT. Mike tries to help her score higher on the LSAT, but she learns that he used to take tests for others when she inadvertently tries to hire him to take the test for her. Late in season 1, she kisses Mike, leaving him confused about his feelings for her. She later leaves him a voice-mail, which Mike never hears. However, Mike's girlfriend Jenny learns about it and become suspicious about Mike's feelings for Rachel. After Rachel goes on a double-date with Mike and Jenny, Jenny breaks up with Mike, opening the door to a relationship between Mike and Rachel. However, the relationship ended before it started as Rachel sensed that Mike was hiding something and broke up with him. Her father, Robert Zane, is a name partner at Rand, Calder, and Zane, a fact she does not want people to know. Her family is wealthy, but she lives on her own income to prove a point to her father, who always wanted a son and who has told her multiple times that she should consider another career. She is a foodie and loves ballet. However, she does stun Mike with the revelation that she hasn't seen classic movies like "Casablanca" or "Citizen Kane", dismissing them as "old." In a season 2 episode, Rachel is seen taking the LSAT after work. Rachel eventually gets a 172 on her LSAT, passing the criteria to gain admission into Harvard Law. It is revealed late in season 2 that, despite her score and being a legacy via her father, she does not rate highly enough among all the applicants to get into the next semester's Harvard Law class. Louis discovers this and, to spare Rachel's feelings, blames it on his affair with Sheila Sasz going badly. The season 3 episode "She's Mine" reveals that Rachel has been admitted into Columbia Law School. Two episodes later, she learns she was also accepted into Stanford Law School, much to the chagrin of Mike who does not want her to move 3,000 miles away. She finally decides to attend Columbia Law School to stay close to Mike and also work as a part-time associate at the firm. In season 4, Rachel replaces Mike as Harvey's associate, but is often snubbed and mistreated by him, unlike Mike. Harvey is involved in keeping together Logan Sanders' company, who is revealed to be Rachel's ex-boyfriend. After a series of events, Rachel and Logan share a passionate kiss, which makes her feel guilty and she immediately confesses to Mike, who is hurt and leaves her for a while. At the end of the season, Mike proposes marriage to Rachel. In season five, Rachel continually struggles to keep Mike's secret from her parents. When Mike's former love interest Claire turns out to be the opposing counsel on Mike's first case as a junior partner, Rachel handles the entire case on Mike's behalf and ultimately has to beg Claire for keeping Mike's secret. When Mike gets arrested, Anita Gibbs tries to get Rachel to testify against Mike and Harvey by using her contacts with Rachel's professor, threatening her entire career. When Mike decides to settle with Anita Gibbs, he decides to marry Rachel; however, changing his decision at the last moment out of guilt leaving her in her wedding dress. In season six, Rachel's abilities as a lawyer are put to test when she handles an innocence project and against all odds saves Leonard Bailey from getting executed for a crime that he didn't commit. Later she is given assurance by Louis that she will be admitted as a Second year associate after her graduation. However, her career is once again threatened when in midst of a plan to get Harvey's help, an ethics board member refuses her the opportunity to pass the bar although Harvey later saves her. She also constantly supports Louis through his tempestuous relationship with Tara and is the only one holding him through his trauma when it ends. Throughout season 5 and 6, Rachel goes through a tough time with Mike going to jail and puts in all her efforts to help him. In season 7, they decide to get married and move to Seattle to run a legal clinic together. They get married in the last episode of the season. Donna Paulsen. Donna Roberta Paulsen (Sarah Rafferty) is Harvey Specter's legal secretary, close friend, and confidant. She has worked with him since his first year as an Assistant District Attorney, and she left the DA's office with him to work with him at Pearson Hardman. She listens in on all the conversations in his office, partially because he never turns the intercom off. She knows the private details of his personal life and relationships. She is also an integral part of Harvey's pre-trial ritual. She was promoted to the post of Chief Operating Officer of the firm in season 7. Donna, like Harvey, is brashly confident and self-assured, but unlike Harvey, she is able to understand her own feelings well and intuitively understand the feelings of others around her and how those people's feelings are reflected through their corresponding actions. She often explains Harvey's feelings to him when he is on the verge of making a gut decision with significant potential for future repercussions for him or his relationships with his clients or co-workers. She often also takes pride at knowing things before Harvey asks for them, and is usually able to out-think everyone, except for Harvey, who is usually able to quickly discern when Donna has an ulterior motive and makes a point of calling her out on it, despite her efforts to prevent him from doing so. Donna is considered the best legal secretary in New York City, and she carries enough power in the firm to intimidate senior partner Louis Litt, especially since she remembers most of Louis's indiscretions. Mike Ross often comes to her when he thinks he needs help, and she mocks him because he does not really need help; when Mike actually needs help, she provides all the assistance she can. She often jokes that she knows everything, and she is witty and has a sardonic sense of humor. Whenever she solves a seemingly impossible problem for Harvey, Louis or Mike, they inevitably ask how she did it and she often gives the simple response, "I'm Donna." Donna is friends with Rachel Zane. During a conversation with Mike in season 2, it is implied that Donna once had romantic feelings for Harvey. In an earlier conversation with Rachel, she says that she was never romantically involved with Harvey because if the relationship did not work out, she could not continue working for him. However, it is revealed that she once had a boyfriend who broke up with her because she placed her working relationship with Harvey over her romantic relationship with her boyfriend. When she learns that Harvey believes she loves him, she tells him that despite what she once told him, she loves him "like a brother or a cousin." In the season 2 episode "Break Point", Donna found that she signed in an allegedly buried document and then lost it. When she finds it, she succumbs to pressure from outside counsel and illegally destroys it, exposing and causing trouble for the firm; She is soon after fired by Jessica Pearson for her actions. Afterwards, Donna is furious with Harvey because he did not fight aggressively for her job, did not fire her himself, and never personally called her. She hires her own attorney and intends to plead the Fifth in the trial. She refuses to participate in the mock trial, even though Harvey asks her in person. Mike eventually convinces her, but she declines to answer any questions as she intended. Louis, playing the part of prosecutor, asks her if she loves Harvey. She tries to say that she cannot answer with a simple yes or no, but Louis aggressively pursues a simple answer. When Harvey comes to her defense and ends the questioning, she leaves without a word and is later furious with Mike for not anticipating that Louis would ask such a question. At the end of the episode "High Noon", when it is revealed that Hardman forged and planted the document that Donna allegedly signed, Harvey resolves to get Donna her job back. Though she is initially upset with Harvey for defending her against Louis and letting Louis believe she loves Harvey, she returns to the firm after Harvey admits he needs her. In season 3, Donna begins a romantic relationship with Darby's fixer, Stephen Huntley. The morning after their first date, she goes to the copy room to flirt with Stephen, leaving Harvey to ask where she was upon her returning to her desk. Not wanting to tell Harvey about her and Stephen dating, she simply says she was helping Stephen with some copying, leaving Harvey to sternly remind her, "You work for "me"." In the fifth episode of the third season, when Donna tells Harvey that she's sleeping with Stephen; though visibly a bit uneasy, he responds that it is ultimately a matter of indifference to him, so long as Donna keeps it fully separate from her life and work in the office, where she is responsible only to him, to which she fully agrees. Later though, in the season 3 episode "The Other Time", Harvey admits that her relationship with Stephen does aggravate him. In the sixth episode of the third season, it is revealed that Harvey and Donna slept together once when he quit the DA's office 10 years ago, since Donna had told him she doesn't date people she works with and they didn't work together any longer (for the time being). When Harvey was promoted at Pearson Hardman, he tells her he needs her there and that he doesn't want to be a lawyer without her. She decides to accept his offer to be his secretary and they both agree that they will forget their night together, and from there starts the mysterious can-opener tradition. After remembering all they've been through, Harvey admits to Donna that her relationship with Stephen does bother him but implies that it does not mean he wants her for himself. She tells him she knows and says, "This is exactly why I had that policy." When he asks her why she changed it for Stephen, she replies, "Because I have to live my life, Harvey." In season 4, Donna falls into significant legal jeopardy when she illegally acquires evidence from Mike and it forces Harvey and her to put the problem of defining their relationship under a microscope. Harvey has often said that he loves her, but it often leaves Donna perplexed and upset with Harvey, who is unwilling to outwardly move past it strictly platonic emotion and show a romantic interest because of the vulnerabilities it would force him to be exposed to. Donna eventually realizes that she cannot deal with this never-ending lack of definition to their relationship, and decides to leave Harvey to go to work for Louis, whose previous secretary had just died in the season finale. Season 5 starts where the previous one leaves off, with Harvey feeling gutted and abandoned. He angrily rebuffs her offer of a standard 2-week transitional period to look for a replacement. In season 6, Donna works with office IT guy Benjamin to develop a digital personal assistant featuring her quips and advice. While their efforts to market the device are frustrating and ultimately fail, the experience inspires Donna to want more out of her life, but she is not exactly sure what. In season 7, she demands that Harvey give her a "seat at the table" as a senior partner. Harvey initially agrees, but later says it won't work because it dilutes what it means to be a senior partner at the firm. Donna agrees but now has a new demand: she wants to be Chief Operating Officer (COO). During the season, Donna becomes jealous of Harvey's growing romantic relationship with his therapist Dr. Paula Agard as her unresolved feelings for Harvey bubble back up to the surface. In season 7, episode 10 "Donna", she kisses Harvey unexpectedly after having conversations with Mike and Louis. She later apologizes for it, but this leads to Harvey admitting to Paula not only about the kiss but also that he had slept with Donna in the past, causing a rough patch between the two. Donna also resigns from the firm when Paula gives him an ultimatum to choose between working with Donna and his relationship but Harvey brings her back by breaking up with Paula and choosing her. In season 8, she starts dating Louis's client, Thomas Kessler. Harvey breaks privilege by telling Donna that a deal Thomas has been given by Harvey's client is merely a rouse to use him as a stalking horse. Donna ultimately tells Thomas, ultimately resulting in Harvey and Donna fighting about the latter losing faith in the former. While Harvey has been summoned for questioning with the ethics committee, he tells Thomas to not throw Donna under the bus and blame him completely. Donna doesn't show up to the hearing despite being summoned, making Harvey realise that she's the one he wants to be with and he runs to her apartment and they passionately kiss. In season 9, Donna and Harvey married in the last episode of the series finale, with Mike Ross visiting from Seattle. After their wedding, it was announced Donna and Harvey would be moving to Seattle to work with Mike Ross and Rachel Zane Ross. Jessica Pearson. Jessica Lourdes Pearson (Gina Torres) is the co-founder, name/managing partner of Pearson Hardman (later Pearson Darby, Pearson Darby Specter, Pearson Specter, and finally Pearson Specter Litt). She received her undergraduate degree from Vassar College on a full scholarship, graduated second in her class from Harvard Law, served on the Law Review, and did one year as the first black female clerk in the Third US Circuit Court of Appeals. Although she is well-respected, her "overbearing nature" and "holier-than-thou attitude", as described by Harvey Specter, often makes it difficult for those working with/for her. When faced with a dilemma, she will choose the less risky choice, although it may have diminished returns. If, in spite of this, Harvey or Mike Ross choose a riskier but more profitable course of action, she will harshly rebuke him, even if the risk pays off. Despite outward appearances, Jessica has performed unethical, immoral, and possibly illegal deeds. She takes loyalty seriously and will react badly to those who betray her as in season 1 when she discovers a good friend has been stealing from the firm for years and harshly leads a lawsuit against her. While in college, she felt that classmate (currently a Judge) Ella Medeiros was too uptight; simultaneously they were competing for a job they both wanted. To neutralize her as a threat to Jessica's chances she caused Ella to become heavily intoxicated and placed her in the nude while unconscious in a lecture classroom. This comes back to haunt Jessica when Ella becomes the judge assigned to a case involving her client. Whenever Jessica feels that someone is too uptight, she "straightens them out"; to straighten Louis Litt out, she did to him what she did to Ella, and she told him to blame Harvey, to straighten Harvey out. Jessica is in a quandary with respect to Harvey: she realizes Harvey is her greatest asset and the firm's best rainmaker because of his willingness to do whatever it takes to win, but she has difficulty controlling him and she cannot trust him to do exactly as she instructs. Jessica is divorced from Quentin Sainz, a pharmaceutical chemist and businessman who was diagnosed with ALS, and later dies in the third-season episode 'Yesterday's Gone'. At the end of season 1, Trevor Evans tells her that Mike does not have a law degree and Harvey is protecting Mike. When Jessica investigates, she discovers that Harvard's records show that Mike has a law school diploma, but she also finds that he has no record of an undergraduate degree, convincing her that the Harvard degree is a fraud. Even though she plans to have Harvey fire Mike, she lets Mike continue working because Daniel Hardman returns to the firm and Harvey threatens to quit if Mike is fired, leaving her vulnerable to Daniel. Jessica uses Mike's secret against him at the end of season 2, when she has him deliberately lose a case to ensure her merger with Darby International goes through, under the threat that she will use an anonymous letter to reveal Mike's status as an unlicensed attorney. This puts her at odds with Harvey, and even though she and Harvey work together on a case while she tries to make amends, she admits that if she had to do it all over again, she would. In the meantime, Mike cashed in a favor with the firm's I/T specialist to gain proof that the anonymous letter came from Jessica's hard drive, meaning Mike can now put Jessica's career in jeopardy should she reveal his secret. With this threat lifted, Harvey plots (with Darby's apparent compliance) to take over the New York office from Jessica. Eventually Harvey admits this to her, and their relationship is temporarily destroyed. She remains angry for a while and make that clear to both Harvey and Edward. Eventually, she begins to empathize with Harvey, and as a consolation prize, makes him a name partner. After Ava's charges are dropped, Jessica forces Darby to begin negotiations to dissolve the merger. She agrees to waive the Harvard rule for Rachel and, after noting her long presence at the firm and overwhelming expertise as a paralegal, agrees to also pay for Rachel's law school tuition (as she did for Harvey). In season 4, it is revealed that Jessica had been engaging in a romantic relationship with a senior prosecutor for the SEC (Jeff Malone) for quite some time. She hires him at the firm at the beginning of the season, but insists to him that the romantic side of their relationship is finished as long as he is at the firm. She eventually relents and changes her mind on this, after Malone's respectful but incessant forcing of emotions on her, him wanting to keep both parts of their relationship. Eventually, she is forced to lie to Jeff about the truth behind Louis's sudden resignation and near-immediate return, which puts their relationship on the line. When Jeff finds out that she had been lying, he breaks up with her, and resigns from the firm a few days later. In season 6, Jessica leaves the firm to Louis and Harvey to explore more of herself by moving to Chicago live with Jeff. She appears in season 7 on various occasions. Katrina Bennett. Katrina Bennett (Amanda Schull) is a fifth-year associate attorney recently hired at Pearson Hardman. She first appears in the season two episode "Blind-Sided" as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DA's office, assigned to prosecute a hit-and-run accident case involving the son of a longtime client of Harvey's. She offers Mike a deal on the case in exchange for Mike putting in a good word for her with Harvey, indicating her desire to leave the DA's office and enter private practice. She was soon after hired by Harvey, but solely to protect Mike from being investigated after he broke privilege during the case's proceedings. Once hired, she constantly uses her "fifth" year status to intimidate everyone beneath her at the firm; she browbeats both Rachel and Mike into following her orders as if they were her subordinates under her purview (she might outrank them in terms of seniority, but they don't report to her and aren't required to follow her instructions). In the episode "Unfinished Business", she desires to be involved in a case that Harvey and Mike are working on, so she sneaks into Harvey's office while Harvey is gone and Donna is away from her desk and places a file with important (though unsolicited) research on Harvey's desk. When confronted by Mike in Harvey's office, she refuses to back off, only doing so after being sternly reprimanded by Donna in support of Mike. She later attempts to make amends with Mike, but he rebuffs her. Suspicious of her motives, Mike points out her mistreatment of everyone below her level at the firm since her arrival. In response, she deliberately humiliates Mike to the whole firm by creating a prank cartoon with Mike's face attached to a baby in a stroller with a pacifier, then displays it on all the computer monitors in the entire firm by hacking the firm's server. When confronted by Harvey, she claims to be resentful of the fact that he hired her to solve a crucial problem, but since then he completely ignores her, not giving her any cases or instructions. She insists that he should be also working with her, not only Mike. Ultimately, her actions against Mike lead her to be left to only work with Louis, to whom she had initially refused a request to be his personal associate. Louis eventually gives in and gives her a case to work on, becoming his protege. After she and Mike are forced to work together on Louis's case and they come up with a solution, she tells Louis that Mike deserves the credit. Katrina and Mike call a truce, though she assures him that her allegiance is now to Louis. Her loyalty to Louis gets her fired by Jessica in the season 3 episode "Know When to Fold 'Em", but Rachel is able to convince Jessica that Katrina was not at fault, and she is soon reinstated. In season 4, she helps Louis navigate through the Gillis Industries takeover battle, and his dealings with Charles Forstman, even forging a document to cover up Louis's part in the tax evasion on Forstman's behalf. In the episode "This is Rome", she gives the recently fired Louis information that allows him to steal a Pearson Specter client, which is a condition of Louis's offer of a senior partnership from Robert Zane. She assumes that she will be Louis's associate at his new firm, and is therefore not bothered when Jessica finds out and fires her—that is, until Jessica reveals that Mike was able to win the client back, meaning Louis will not be getting the job he was promised. Later in the season, Rachel gets the presently unemployed Katrina a job at her father's firm. In season 5, Katrina reappears while Mike is at the offices of Rand, Kaldore, & Zane, to help him work on Mike and Robert Zane's class-action lawsuit against Kelton Insurance. In season 6, Katrina is lured back to the struggling Pearson Specter Litt firm, after Louis convinces her she will have a much quicker path to senior partner at her old place of employment. She makes senior partner at Zane Specter Litt in season 8. Katrina is fired by special master Faye Richardson in the penultimate episode of the series (season 9), but is rehired following Faye's exit and promoted to name partner in the series finale. Alex Williams. Alex Williams (Dulé Hill) joins the firm in season 7 after Harvey convinces him to leave Bratton Gould. He serves as one of the main characters of season 8, as he competes with Samantha to get his name on the wall next after a merger with Robert Zane. Harvey and Robert ultimately agree to put both Samantha's and Alex's names on the wall. It's revealed in season 9 that Alex, under duress, helped cover up the Reform Corp prison murder while at Bratton Gould, something that has haunted him ever since. Samantha Wheeler. Samantha Wheeler (Katherine Heigl) joins the firm when Specter Litt merges with Robert Zane's part of his original firm. She serves as Robert's right-hand man. After being promised by Zane that her name would be next on the wall, she learns that she will be in competition with Alex for that honor because Harvey had promised the same thing to Alex. Having come from a difficult childhood in Foster care, Samantha looks to Robert as a father figure. In season 9, she decides to search for her biological parents. After meeting her birth father, she learns that neither of her parents gave her up. The father says he merely had a fling with her mother, who never told him she got pregnant, and her mother died when Samantha was two years old. She is fired from Specter Litt Wheeler Williams in season 9 by Faye Richardson, who was appointed by the bar as a special master to oversee operations at the firm following the disbarment of Robert Zane. In the series finale, Louis rehires Samantha and her name is returned to the wall. Recurring characters. Jenny Griffith. Jenny Griffith (Vanessa Ray) is Trevor Evans' girlfriend and a close friend of Trevor's best friend Mike Ross. Though she is Trevor's girlfriend, she has had feelings for Mike since their first meeting and kisses him while she is still dating Trevor. She is initially unaware that Trevor is dealing marijuana. When she learns the truth, she is upset that both Trevor and Mike lied to her. She asks Mike to convince Trevor to stop dealing, but before Mike can talk to him, Trevor again lies and tells her that he stopped dealing because of his conversation with Mike. Mike tells Jenny that the conversation never happened, and she breaks up with Trevor. She is happy to learn that Mike is working as a lawyer and keeps the fact that he does not have a law degree secret. She agrees to act as a witness in Mike's mock trial, and they begin their relationship while practicing for the trial. However, Trevor tells her about a voice-mail Rachel Zane left for Mike, and Jenny becomes suspicious of Mike's true feelings for Rachel. After meeting Rachel on a double date, Jenny breaks up with Mike to allow him to pursue a relationship with Rachel. Trevor Evans. Trevor Evans (Tom Lipinski) is a marijuana dealer and a computer programmer of dubious skill. He is also Mike Ross' best friend and is Jenny Griffith's boyfriend. He has become financially well-off dealing drugs, but he allows Jenny to believe that he makes his money through computer programming. In the pilot episode, a cash-strapped Mike agrees to deliver drugs for Trevor, but Trevor accidentally sends him into a sting operation. Mike stops talking to Trevor, partially because of the operation and partially because his boss Harvey Specter orders him to do so, and their friendship begins to deteriorate. Because Trevor refuses to stop dealing drugs, Jenny breaks up with him. In the episode "Bail Out", Trevor is held for ransom, and Harvey rescues him. Mike then buys Trevor a bus ticket to Montana, where Trevor stays for most of the season. He later returns and helps Harvey and Mike intimidate a witness into telling the truth. However, Trevor learns that Mike and Jenny are dating through a voice-mail Rachel Zane left Mike. Angry, he tells Jenny about the voicemail, casting doubt over Mike's feelings for Rachel, and tells Jessica Pearson that Mike does not have a law degree in the season 1 finale. At the end of the season 2 premiere, Mike meets in person with Trevor, who threatens to ruin Mike's life more than he already has. Mike responds by revealing that he knows Trevor's social security number and will use the information against Trevor if the need arises. In seasons 2, 3, and 4, Trevor reappears, but only in flashback episodes. In season 5, Trevor reappears in the present, meeting Mike for a drink at a bar to discuss Mike's wedding. Trevor apologizes and takes responsibility for his actions at their last encounter in person (season 2, episode 1). Trevor explains to Mike that, though he graciously appreciates the invitation, he cannot attend because his wife has forbid him from staying in contact with anyone from his past who was associated with him and his criminal activities, and that Mike's current status as a fraudulently licensed (and practicing) attorney fits that category. Later in the season, he appears as a witness for the prosecution against Mike, after promising Mike that he wouldn't. Trevor insists that he had no choice but to comply with Anita Gibbs (the ADA prosecuting the case) and that she showed him that they had an airtight case. While on the stand, Harvey is able to destroy his credibility and testimony in open court, pointing out that Trevor has a long criminal past, his girlfriend (Jenny) left him for Mike once she found out he was dealing, and that he is only appearing because he was promised immunity. Edith Ross. Edith Ross (Rebecca Schull) is Mike Ross' paternal grandmother and guardian after his parents' deaths. Mike placed her in a nursing home after she fell while she was alone. To pay for a private nursing home and keep her out of a state facility, he began taking the LSAT for others and accepts a temporary job dealing marijuana for his friend Trevor Evans. Edith dislikes Trevor and referred to him as an anchor dragging Mike down. She knows that Mike has been smoking marijuana and only wants him to live up to his potential. She dies at the end of the season two episode "Asterisk". In seasons 3, 4 and 5, Edith reappears, but only in flashback sequences. Kyle Durant. Kyle Durant (Ben Hollingsworth) is an associate attorney at Pearson Hardman during season 1. He is a favorite of Louis Litt, under whom all the associates work, and Louis frequently pits him against Mike Ross, the protégé of Louis's own rival Harvey Specter. Louis comments to Harvey that the rivalry between Kyle and Mike reminds him of their own rivalry as associates. Kyle is arrogant and lacking in morals, going so far as to renege on an oral settlement agreement in a mock trial against Mike and then mocking him in a whisper. When Rachel Zane needed a date for her double date with Mike and his girlfriend late in season one, she asks Kyle to go with her though she knows about Kyle and Mike's rivalry, and Mike suspects she was using Kyle to make Mike jealous. The character did not appear after season 1, with no mention of what happened to Kyle. Harold Gunderson. Harold Gunderson (Max Topplin) is a former associate attorney at Pearson Hardman who works for Bratton Gould as of season 2. Harold is socially awkward, sensitive, and his infatuation with Rachel Zane is not reciprocated and makes her uncomfortable. He gets along well with Mike Ross, and the two are sometimes seen working together. Louis Litt tends to treat Harold poorly; Louis verbally abuses Harold and once forced him to watch over his ill cat even after discovering that Harold is severely allergic to cats. Despite Harold's clumsiness and seemingly poor legal skills, he was actually a very good student at Harvard, confiding to Mike that it is only Louis's domineering management that makes him appear flustered and incompetent. Louis eventually fires Harold in the wake of clients leaving the firm. However, through his connections with Jimmy, a former Pearson Hardman associate, Mike is able to get Harold a new job at Jimmy's new firm Bratton Gould. Harold resurfaces in season 3, as the attorney asked by Mike to represent the foreign nationals who are witnesses in the pending Ava Hessington murder trial, getting the witnesses to settle on an undisclosed amount in a civil suit so that they would therefore not be called as witnesses in the murder trial. He later appears in a mock trial as a witness called by Nigel Nesbitt, testifying against Louis. But the move backfires when Rachel (acting as Louis's "lawyer") gets Harold to admit that Louis actually prepared him quite well to be a successful lawyer at Bratton Gould. Harold's deal with Mike in the Hessington case gets them both investigated by the US Attorney's Office at the end of season 3. Louis gets Harold released. Harold later approaches Mike in season 5, offering to testify at Mike's trial as a witness who did indeed know him at Harvard Law. Jimmy Kirkwood. Jimmy Kirkwood (Pooch Hall) is a former associate attorney at Pearson Hardman who works at Bratton Gould as of season 2. Jimmy came from a working-class background, made his own way to get accepted into Harvard Law, graduate and become an associate attorney at Pearson Hardman, having been hired around the same time as Mike Ross. First appearing in the season 1 episode 'Undefeated', Jimmy leaks a confidential witness list to a rival law firm Wakefield Cady, in exchange for a junior partnership; Jimmy has very large outstanding law school debts. His actions cause the firm's leadership to suspect Rachel Zane as the source of the leak and get her temporarily suspended. Mike goes to Benjamin, and makes a wager to convince Benjamin to reveal the name of the person who came to him asking for the confidential employee codes which identify individual employees who use the firm's resources for personal reasons. Benjamin comes to Mike later to make good on the favor, and as he walks away, addresses Jimmy as "Louis" indicating that Jimmy had posed as Louis to Benjamin in order to get the employee codes. Mike is able to deduce this and confronts Jimmy, who eventually admits to leaking the list. Mike gives him an ultimatum: either he comes forward and admits to leaking the list, or Mike will turn him in. It is never shown that Jimmy or indicated comes forward, but Rachel gets reinstated. Jimmy appears in the season two episode "Blood in the Water" now working for Bratton Gould. He offers Mike a chance to move to Bratton Gould, but Mike refuses. He later returns to Jimmy, convincing him to get Harold a job after Louis fired him. Jimmy does not appear again until the season five episode "Compensation", in which he asks for Mike's help in a personal matter, a class action lawsuit. Dana Scott. Dana "Scottie" Scott (Abigail Spencer) was Harvey's on-and-off again girlfriend at Harvard and rival in the professional world. She graduated first in their class at Harvard Law. She also clerked for a US Supreme Court Justice. She works at Edward Darby's London based international law firm. She first appears as the opposing counsel in a merger that Harvey's client, Jones (a British-born luxury hotel chain proprietor) is seemingly eager to complete with Scottie's client Daniel Vega, which Harvey believes he is pushing through too hastily. When Harvey discovers Scottie is opposing counsel he is taken aback and becomes incredibly cautious, wary of Scottie's methods. Scottie tries to con Harvey into believing that her client wants to merge when in reality it is a hostile takeover in disguise. When Harvey discovers this, he instructs his client to immediately put his hotel chain's most valuable assets on the market, foiling her plan and making the advantages of a hostile acquisition disappear. Harvey then confronts her about it. Embarrassed, she pleads with him to not go through with it, knowing that it would make her look very foolish and risk her losing her client. Harvey agrees, in exchange for her admitting her mistake to both parties of the deal, who reconcile with each other and agree to go back to the original negotiations stipulating a merger. Vega ends up terminating her services and firing her anyway following the deal's closing. In season 2 she returns, offering her firm's cooperation and resources on a multi jurisdictional class action lawsuit and, after its success, creates a merger situation that will make both Harvey and herself name partners at the merged Darby/Pearson firm. But because of inside information she gave to Harvey and Mike to help them beat Jessica, Darby personally fires her. Eventually, Harvey convinces Darby to keep Scottie, insisting that without her, Darby wouldn't have the merger. Darby gives Harvey the option of where to send Scottie; he eventually decides to have Darby send her back to London instead of remaining in New York as she desired. In season 3, Harvey begins an "official" romantic relationship with Scottie while also convincing Jessica to offer her a senior partnership at the firm. But this is short lived, ending in the season 3 finale when the two realized they could not handle the necessary separation between their personal and business lives. In season 4, Harvey goes to Scottie to fulfill a favor to Robert Zane, asking her to settle her case against him. She initially refuses, but after a genuine plea from Harvey, she relents and agrees to do so. In season 5, Harvey and Mike go to Scottie to see whether it was she who had reported Mike for being a fraud. Travis Tanner. Travis Tanner (Eric Close) is a rival lawyer of Harvey's. He is introduced in the season-one episode "Undefeated" as a senior partner at Clyde McPhee, a firm in Boston. He received both his undergraduate and law degrees from Yale, with honors in both. He was a junior tennis champion and played at Yale as well. Before he met Harvey, Tanner had never lost a case. It is shown that he is willing to break the law to win, and he believes that Harvey is the same way. In his first case against Harvey, Tanner is initially successful (Harvey admits to Mike, "he [Tanner] has been a step ahead of me this entire time") but Harvey soon makes a comeback. He obtains an electronic wiretap recording (from his private investigator) of Tanner admitting to witness tampering with Harvey's plaintiffs in the case; since the wiretap was placed without a warrant, the recording is inadmissible as evidence for the case in court unless the person submitting it claims to have no knowledge of its origin. Harvey bluffs, threatening to submit an affidavit to this regard; if he had followed through on this ultimatum, Harvey would've been authorizing the submittal to court of a sworn document making a perjurious claim, regardless of its simultaneously proving Tanner's guilt. Tanner notes this to Harvey, but nevertheless backs down under threat of Harvey's evidence against him and accepts the terms, signing the settlement agreement; once Tanner does this, it leaves Harvey with no need to actually submit the affidavit. At the beginning of season 2 he returns to the show as a senior partner at Smith Devane, a firm in New York, accusing Harvey of burying evidence in the season two episode "Discovery". He is determined to have Harvey disbarred and insists that it be included in the settlement. He eviscerates Harvey while deposing him, to the point where Harvey punches Tanner in the face. However, Daniel Hardman is able to blackmail him into dropping Harvey's disbarment from the agreement. The episode "High Noon" reveals that Hardman created the memo and told Tanner that the memo was fake, forcing the him to drop the suit. Though Tanner privately implies this to Harvey, he refuses to testify in court to this regard. At the end of season 3, Tanner returns as the lawyer representing Ava Hessington who is now suing the still-undissolved Pearson Darby Specter firm, and all of the people involved with her case, for malpractice. His strategy is attacking Scottie both personally and professionally. Tanner is aware that Harvey still has feelings for Scottie, and he is well aware of their past dalliances. He utilizes this as a vulnerability by humiliating Scottie while deposing her, forcing Harvey to think twice before responding while putting his ability to constrain his emotions under serious pressure, hoping that it will provoke him into intervening on Scottie's behalf by succumbing to Tanner's financially outrageous settlement demands. Tanner gets Stephen to sign an affidavit claiming that Scottie was complicit in the murders, but Donna is able to neutralize this. She visits Stephen in prison with Mike, then asks Mike to leave the room and gets Stephen to admit that he lied, unaware that he was being recorded. Ava later agrees to withdraw the suit. In season 5, Tanner appears in the episode 'Toe to Toe' as the lawyer representing a young female entrepreneur in an intellectual property/contract dispute against one of Harvey's clients, for whom she was a long time employee but has recently quit to start her own company. Upon taking the case, Harvey seems eager, almost giddy, about going up against Tanner, which he sees as an opportunity to strike back at someone who has caused him no small amount of pain and scrutiny, both personally and professionally. Taking into account Tanner's skills and expertise based on their past cases against him, Mike initially reacts warily and cautions Harvey, noting that he has recently been suffering from a string of panic attacks, and that past experience against Tanner would indicate that it's prudent to assume the upcoming case will be intense and complicated and put Harvey's psychological endurance under serious pressure. But instead, Tanner, claiming to be a changed man, displays a marked difference from his well-known cocky and brashly confident personality, instead conducting himself as a consummate professional: relatively mild-mannered and humble, and reacting instead of immediately attacking, though still confident in his own abilities. Harvey refuses to believe it, and continues to use a combative nature, both during litigation and physically (punching Tanner in the face out on the street outside the office). Eventually, as the case continues, Mike starts to see that Tanner is no longer attacking Harvey indiscriminately or below the belt (as in their past cases), only responding as a veteran attorney might be expected to react to Harvey's disproportionate attacks. He comes to the conclusion that Tanner may be acting honestly, but because of past experiences Harvey is unwilling to take Tanner at his word and agree to his initial settlement offer, which Harvey himself admits to Mike in private is relatively fair, but still refuses to consider as a possibility because Tanner is the one presenting it. Mike realizes that Harvey's emotions are guiding his judgment, and he meets with Tanner privately without Harvey's knowledge, and convinces Tanner to voluntarily remove himself as the case's attorney of record, and allow Katrina Bennett to replace him. Mike then takes the first offer back to Harvey, who immediately agrees to take the deal once Mike points out that Tanner is no longer involved. Cameron Dennis. Cameron Dennis (Gary Cole) is the former New York County (Manhattan) District Attorney. Jessica sent Harvey to the Manhattan DA's office to be mentored by Cameron straight after graduating from Harvard Law. He had a history of altering the evidence in cases to ensure high conviction rates, even at the cost of sending the innocent to jail. In season one he makes a deal with the state attorney general's office to save himself by selling out Harvey. It isn't until Donna secretly presents evidence to Jessica of Cameron's past malfeasance behind Harvey's back that Jessica is able to force Cameron into changing his deal with the AG's office and resign from his position as DA, saving Harvey. In season 3, Dennis returns (with a personal vendetta against Harvey) after being appointed as the special prosecutor in the US Attorney's case against Dr. Ava Hessington and her oil company, and he later brings murder charges against her when six dissidents are killed by the foreign colonel she bribed. He admits to Harvey that he took the case as retribution for Harvey's "betrayal" of him when he was forced to resign from his post as DA, when in reality Harvey knew nothing about Donna's actions at the time (and was furious with her once he did) until long after Cameron had stepped down. Jessica visits him and tells him that Harvey didn't betray him and that he should be mad at Jessica and not take it out on Harvey's client. Cameron realizes Jessica's implication that it was Donna ('the redhead'), but claims it's irrelevant as Harvey did nothing to prevent Jessica from using the evidence against him; Jessica replies, "so after you threw him under the bus and I saved him, he should've thrown himself back under the bus?" Dennis ignores the question, claiming that "you [Jessica] just don't get it! ", going on to imply that Jessica (as he has to Harvey in the past) has no right to point out occasional indiscretions in the morality of his methods, given that she is an expensive attorney for the wealthy while he is a state prosecutor (with a mediocre salary in comparison) serving the public interest. The battle between Harvey and Cameron continues for the rest of the first half of the season, through litigation and eventually to trial, until Darby convinces Harvey to go to Cameron with a deal: drop the charges against Ava, Darby will plead guilty to five years' probation, and will testify at Stephen Huntley's murder trial. Cameron agrees to the deal, but Jessica convinces him to allow her to slip in an additional provision: Darby also must forfeit his legal license and agree to initiate dissolution negotiations. Darby reluctantly agrees to the final deal. Dennis later appears in season 6 episode "The Hand That Feeds You", when he intervenes to prevent Frank Gallo from getting parole in exchange for Mike and Kevin Miller to get released from prison. Daniel Hardman. Daniel Hardman (David Costabile) is the co-founder of Pearson Hardman, former managing partner, and former mentor of Jessica. Five years before the events of the series, he had been secretly embezzling money from the firm's clients. When confronted, he told Jessica that he needed the money to afford breast cancer treatments for his wife Alicia. However, Harvey and Donna discover that the money is financing Daniel's affair with a colleague. Once this is discovered, Harvey deemed Daniel a liability and forced Daniel to resign and name Jessica as his successor by threatening to tell Alicia about the affair. Daniel resigns to prevent his wife's distress. Daniel first appears in the season two premiere following Alicia's death. He returns to the firm, this time working under Jessica instead of above her. Though he is a self-professed "changed man", Harvey and Jessica are not convinced. His role at the firm is more like a guide and voice of logic rather than a disciplinarian. Though he disagrees with Jessica's decision to fight for Harvey when he is accused of suppressing evidence rather than settle and lose Harvey, he does not go against her decision and urges her to prepare for the trial. He has a strong work ethic and is willing to work around the clock to accomplish a goal. At the end of "Sucker Punch", he takes advantage of the partners' apparent lack of faith in Jessica and requests a leadership vote to regain control of the firm. He wins the vote in "High Noon", but Harvey and Mike discover that Hardman forged the supposedly buried memo and orchestrated the lawsuit against the firm. When this is revealed at a partners meeting, Hardman is voted out of the firm. Though he agrees to not sue the firm in return for Jessica not revealing the incident and signing a confidentiality agreement, he tells her that this is not the end of their battle. Hardman later returns to battle his old firm as a contractor, working for Rachel's father, Robert Zane, representing the name defendant in a class action gender discrimination lawsuit being led by Harvey against Folsom Foods, Robert Zane's client. Daniel manipulates the situation and the confidentiality agreement that Jessica signed on the night of his expulsion to get Monica Eaton to sue Jessica Pearson simultaneously for wrongful termination, knowing that the combined assault will box the firm into a corner and damage its credibility; as Harvey insists to Jessica, "you can't be the name defendant in a gender discrimination case while we're suing Folsom Foods for the same thing!". His efforts to drain Jessica's resources and ruin what is left of her firm by having Monica file suit against Jessica are thwarted by Jessica's decision to merge with Darby's firm, giving her an insurmountable advantage in resources and (not including Darby learning of Daniel's prior embezzlement from to the due diligence required for merger negotiations, nullifying the confidentiality agreement's repercussions). He later appears in season 4 during a flashback episode. In season 5, Hardman returns to make another run at taking back control of the firm from Jessica. He first appears when Jessica confronts him about having helped Jack Soloff to land Fletcher Engines as a client. He insists that Jack came to him looking for advice on Fletcher, with no ulterior motives or intentions against the firm itself; Jessica refuses to believe him. In the episode 'Uninvited Guests' Jack Soloff tries to convince the firm's senior partners to let Hardman back into the firm on a trial basis in exchange for sharing the revenues from a billion dollar client that Hardman just recently signed. It is later revealed that the client is the disgraced billionaire Charles Forstman, now incarcerated. Harvey is able to thwart all of Hardman's funding by agreeing to resign from the firm. In season 8, Hardman reappears as the attorney representing Simon Lowe, a former ZSLWW client who Harvey got fired from his post as CEO. Lowe is using Hardman to get Harvey's law license stripped (so Hardman can take over the firm), accusing him of breaking privilege in order to protect Thomas Kessler, Alex William's client whom Lowe was looking to acquire. Harvey told Donna that Lowe had been lying to Kessler about his true intentions, but made her promise not to tell Kessler, as they are dating. Donna nevertheless is unable to restrain herself, and warns Kessler of Lowe's real intentions, causing him to refuse Lowe's initial offer. Lowe realizes that Kessler found out, and asserts that Harvey must've been the source. Hardman offers to represent Lowe pro bono. Zane visits Hardman at home and tries to get him to drop the suit. Hardman refuses, saying he needs to repair his reputation as a serious lawyer. But he accepts Zane's offer to drop the case if he can convince Ellen Rand and Eric Kaldor to make Hardman a name partner at their firm (Zane is unsuccessful). In the end, Zane decides to take the fall for breaking privilege in front of the Bar ethics committee and is thrown out of the Bar, leaving Hardman flabbergasted, but neutralizing his efforts against Harvey. Sheila Sazs. Sheila Amanda Sazs (Rachael Harris) is a high-level official in the Harvard Law School placement department, whose job is to place graduates as associate attorney positions at law firms. As such, she works with recruiters from top law firms such as Pearson Hardman, always trying to get maximum return for her graduates. She and Louis have had an on-off sexual relationship, and she appears to be turned on by his power, especially after he makes senior partner. Louis's relationship with Sheila helps him discover that there is no record of Mike Ross attending Harvard Law. Sheila and Louis get engaged in season 3, but break up soon after when they discover they want very different things after marriage. Louis returns to Sheila in the wake of being fired from Pearson Specter in season 4, stating that he has secured a job in Boston and that they can finally be together. But Sheila rejects Louis's offer of reconciliation, feeling that it was work circumstances, more than love, that brought him back. In season 5, it is revealed that Sheila leaked the information to Anita Gibbs that got Mike arrested for fraud. She reunites with Louis near the end of season 7, and in season 8 proclaims she wants to have a child with him. Monica Eton. Monica Eton (Gina Holden) is a former senior associate attorney at Pearson Hardman, who was Daniel Hardman's mistress. She first appears in the second season flashback episode 'Rewind'. Five years before the events of season 1, Monica was a senior associate at Pearson Hardman and a close friend of Rachel Zane. Louis Litt had a huge crush on her, waiting for her outside her office, following her in the hallways, and perpetually asked her out despite the fact that she rebuffed and rejected him again and again. He also followed her outside the office; he would sit and stare at her while she took her lunch at a nearby diner, and follow her home. When Rachel Zane notices this, she mentions to Monica that there are legal avenues to prevents this; Monica dismisses this with reassurance, saying that 'the day I need laws to protect myself from Louis Litt is the day I stop being a lawyer'. Throughout this time, she is conducting a clandestine affair with the firm's managing partner; during Harvey's investigation of Daniel Hardman's embezzlement, Rachel mentions to Donna that Monica is absent every Tuesday for pilates, coincidentally at the same time when Hardman is absent from the office weekly for lunches at the Harvard Club, which he claims (later found out to be falsely so) to Jessica is, in reality, taking his wife to chemotherapy. Donna tells Harvey, who investigates and deduces that the money he's been embezzling is actually for supporting his affair with Monica; Harvey forces him into resigning by threatening to tell his wife, and name Jessica as his successor. Despite lacking evidence of Monica's complicity in the embezzlement, Jessica deems Monica a liability and demands her immediate resignation from the firm, which Louis Litt accepts from Monica on Jessica's behalf. Monica returns in the second half of the second season as the main plaintiff in a wrongful termination suit against Jessica Pearson, and hires Daniel Hardman as her attorney, who manipulates the suit by intentionally stalling the proceedings and dragging it out, stretching the firm's resources to the limit. Hardman admits this to Harvey, but insists that it is on behalf of Monica. Approached by Mike, Monica later agrees to settle the wrongful termination suit against Jessica. Zoe Lawford. Zoe Lawford (Jacinda Barrett, who is Gabriel Macht's wife in real life) is a recurring character in season 2. She is a UK born former associate attorney of Pearson Hardman who briefly dated Harvey Specter. Harvey later convinces Jessica to bring her back temporarily as a jury consulting for a mock trial simulating Travis Tanner against Harvey in the Coastal Motors case. Harvey attempts to reignite their relationship, but Zoe reveals that her brother is terminally ill and she will end up adopting his daughter, and leave New York. Robert Zane. Robert Zane (Wendell Pierce) is Rachel's father, a well known Harvard-educated attorney (and former classmate of Daniel Hardman) who is a name partner at Rand, Kaldore and Zane, a powerful and respected New York law firm and a Pearson Hardman (later Specter) competitor. Rachel doesn't like to let people know she is his daughter, choosing instead to prove she can make it in the legal profession without his help. Robert has not been very supportive of Rachel's endeavors, especially when her test anxiety kept her from passing the LSAT, and he has on more than one occasion suggested that she choose another career path. Robert was the lawyer who replaced an attorney who died who was representing Folsom Foods against Pearson Hardman in a multi-case gender discrimination suit (season 2), until his daughter personally got involved with the case. That led Robert to drop the case and hire the recently dismissed Daniel Hardman to take over as an independent outside counsel for the case. In season 3, he makes several appearances: once while hosting Mike and Rachel for dinner, and later towards the end of the season when Mike approaches him and tries to convince him to give the firm an advance on the settlement from the Folsom Foods case, in exchange for a 20% cut in the settlement payout. He eventually agrees, but only after Mike leverages his relationship with Rachel in order to convince him to do it (to Rachel's wrath upon her discovery), souring their relationship for a while. In the second half of season 4, Mike approaches Zane to consider hiring Louis, who had been recently fired from Pearson Specter and was having trouble finding another job in New York. He agrees to meet with Louis, and the two of them hit it off. Upon hearing about Mike's actions, Rachel tells him another reason why she did not want to work for her father: he is not the kind of person to whom you want to owe a favor. But when Louis tells him that he cannot bring any PS clients to Zane, he responds with indifference, making a counteroffer: Zane will offer a him a senior partnership if Louis can steal a client from Jessica by breaking the Pearson Specter partnership agreement. After Mike foils Louis's attempt to poach a client, Harvey goes to Zane and asks him to hire Louis anyway as a personal favor to Harvey. After Louis becomes a name partner, Harvey visits Zane and retracts the favor, unaware that Zane already knows that Louis was not just reinstated at the firm, but that Louis told Zane that he was also immediately made name partner, igniting Zane's suspicions about the real reason behind Louis's abrupt departure and near-immediate return. In light of this, Zane makes clear to Harvey that regardless of the status of Zane's offer to Louis, Harvey still owes him a favor. In season 5, Mike and Rachel are engaged, and Robert appears in several episodes. He tries to get Rachel to have Mike sign a prenuptial agreement, which Rachel does not want him to do. Mike tells Robert he is willing to sign it, but Rachel holds firm and refuses, nullifying it. In the episode 'Compensation' Mike takes on a case given to him by his friend Jimmy from Bratton Gould, a pro-bono class-action lawsuit against Kelton Insurance for the negligent deaths of 200 people. Jessica refuses to provide the funding necessary to support the case's inevitably long and complicated litigation and orders him to drop it. Mike, left without recourse, goes to Robert and asks him to take on the case. Robert agrees that Mike and he will co-counsel the case (to Jessica's dismay) and Robert is able to persuade one of his clients, a $20 billion hedge fund, to fund the lawsuit. The case is litigated over the next 2 episodes, and eventually they are able to extract a large settlement from Kelton. In season 7, he merges with Specter Litt and forms Zane Specter Litt after realizing that his partners at the old firm did not have his back. He becomes managing partner after Harvey stepped down after Donna convinced him that he did not want to be a leader. Louis also does not want the leadership role but is upset because Robert and Harvey both do not consider Louis as a viable option. Edward Darby. Edward Darby (Conleth Hill) is managing partner of Darby International, a law firm headquartered in London. He is Jessica's newly named managing partner as of the season 2 finale, following a successful merger of Pearson Hardman and Darby International. It is revealed in the season 3 premiere that the merger caused the firm to be officially renamed Darby Pearson (Darby retains 51% control over the combined firm, leaving Jessica as a 49% minority stakeholder), but as a show of good faith and chivalry, Darby let the New York office's sign read Pearson Darby. This was not only in recognition of Jessica's contingent having been there originally, but also that Pearson's staff, clients and influence make up the majority of the combined firm's presence in New York. While Daniel Hardman is representing Folsom Foods against Jessica, Darby's intervention alone was responsible for the firm winning the case. Jessica could not reveal Daniel's prior embezzlement to anyone on her own without violating the confidentiality agreement she signed; as part of the due diligence of the merger negotiations, Darby is given access to the firm's financials, allowing him indirectly to learn of Daniel's past illicit actions while nullifying the confidentiality agreement's effects, which apply strictly to Jessica and her use of the information. (Since he learned of it legally and wasn't specifically bound by the agreement himself, he can reveal the embezzlement to anyone without the repercussions of breaching confidentiality.) After he discovers the embezzlement, Darby threatens to reveal this to Daniel's own client unless he immediately settles the case on Jessica's terms; left without options and his own reputation at stake, Daniel is forced to advise the company to accept her settlement terms. In season 3, Darby assigns Harvey the case of Ava Hessington and Hessington Oil. He takes this case personally partly due to two factors: the first factor being Ava's father was his first client, and the second factor being her father was his former romantic companion. The case and the litigation involved continues for most of the third season, until it is discovered that Stephen orchestrated the killings of the protestors against the Hessington Oil pipeline in the EIR and Darby only found out after Stephen had done it, but that his discovery of Stephen's actions had taken place before he approached Jessica with merger proposal at the end of season two. During a recess from Ava's murder trial, Harvey finds himself boxed in without options, and Darby comes up with the idea to approach Cameron Dennis with an offer: Darby will plead to obstruction of justice and 5 years' probation, in exchange for Ava's full acquittal and Darby's testimony at Stephen's murder trial. Cameron agrees to the offer; but while signing the final paperwork at Pearson Darby's offices, Edward realizes that an additional condition has been added to the terms of the settlement: forfeiture of his legal license to practice in the United States, which would consequently force him to resign his name partnership in the combined firm and agree to initiate dissolution negotiations with Jessica. Unwilling to re-involve Ava and without recourse, he caves and signs the agreement. Nigel Nesbitt. Nigel Nesbitt (Adam Godley) is Louis's British counterpart, as he fills a similar role to Louis's at Darby International. He initially tries to make a deal with Louis to ensure each will keep his job after the merger goes through. But Louis backhandedly found a way to ensure that if one or the other had to be fired, it would be Nigel. Nigel managed to keep his job as quartermaster at the new Pearson Darby, then used the position to taunt Louis. Louis meets with Darby to present his case that he, not Nigel, would serve the firm best in the quartermaster role. Ultimately, Nigel reveals that he tricked Louis into stealing the quartermaster position, so that Nigel could then take over Louis's role and be in charge of the huge pool of associates at the combined firm. Nesbitt has cat called Mikado. His address is 3291 Belgrave Place, London. In season 3, Nigel and Louis cross swords repeatedly, as Louis refuses to accept having lost his post as head of the combined firm's associates to Nigel. Louis acts as if nothing ever changed, calling his former subordinates into his office to reprimand them for mistakes in their work; though in reality, they are in most cases just following Nigel's directives. Nigel has a much more hands-off management style than Louis; He is often away on business overseas (whereas Louis is never really ever seen leaving New York or traveling on business) and issues his instructions and assigns cases through weekly memos. When Louis hears of this, he is outraged; believing that anything unlike his pedantic, humiliating, drill-sergeant manner to be an improper managerial style, he begins to regularly undermine Nigel's authority by issuing orders and distributing assignments to the associates contrary to Nigel's initial instructions whenever he is not physically present in the office. Louis confronts Nigel at the mud club, where he accuses Nigel of neglecting his responsibilities for overseeing the associates by not forcefully policing them. Nigel tries to explain his reasoning for his more subtle but firm approach; Louis refuses to accept any of it and declares that he is going to continue flouting Nigel's authority until Nigel adopts Louis's harsh, rude and overbearing attitude, and proceeds to melodramatically storm out of the mud club. In response, Nigel retaliates at Louis by distributing a molded glass art piece engraved with the caption, "Louis Litt blew me" on it (Louis's own words during the confrontation at the mud club) to all of the associates, embarrassing him. This makes Louis even more angry, and he confronts Nigel, claiming that his own actions against Nigel are completely justified (him being the expert on handling the associates) while none of Nigel's responses are. This continues for most of the third season. In the end, a mock trial is held to determine who should have possession of Mikado. After an emotional trial for Louis, Nigel approaches Louis with a settlement; Nigel will get his cat back, in exchange for Louis regaining control over the firm's associate attorneys. Rachel convinces an emotionally torn Louis to accept the settlement. Stephen Huntley. Stephen Huntley (Max Beesley) is Harvey's British counterpart, a senior partner at Darby International's London office. He is Darby's "fixer" and right-hand man. Jessica tells Harvey of him, "He is to Darby what you are to me". After meeting him, Harvey admits to Jessica that they have much in common. He is, like Harvey, strikingly handsome and brashly confident (he also wears a handkerchief in the outer breast pocket of his suit jacket), and also appears to be fond of expensive clothing, fine dining, rare sports cars, and women. He states to everyone at the New York office (and Harvey initially) of being in town to help smooth out "cultural integration" between the two firms. He later reveals while out to lunch with Harvey that in reality he was sent by Darby to help Harvey take over the New York office for him from Jessica. He admits to Harvey that he is intrigued by Donna saying, "she has a body like Elizabeth Hurley and the sass of a Maggie Thatcher". He reveals that he dated Elizabeth Hurley in 1999; Harvey states that he had dated her the year before. He is later seen, while driving a 1956 Porsche Speedster (from Harvey's car club) attempting to ask Donna to see a production of "Macbeth" with Daniel Day-Lewis with him, and appears unsuccessful; but, shortly after, Donna accepts his proposal to help him with his "short-term needs" while he is in New York, and the two go on a real date. Further on, it is revealed that Stephen administered the bribe money to Colonel Moriga on behalf of Ava Hessington, while also (unknown to Ava) ordering the Colonel to murder six leaders opposed to Hessington Oil's pipeline. Harvey eventually cuts a deal with Cameron Dennis to have him arrested and charged with the murders, and he is publicly taken into custody while at a restaurant with Donna. During the dissolution negotiations, while he is in prison awaiting trial, Donna and Mike visit him to convince him to recant a sworn, but false affidavit he signed at the behest of Travis Tanner, claiming that Scottie was fully aware of the murders before the initial merger negotiations. Tanner had drawn up the affidavit specifically to leverage Harvey into settling Ava's malpractice allegations against him by targeting Scottie for eviscerating scrutiny under oath while deposing her. Donna eventually convinces him to tell the truth, which he does (once Mike has left the room) unaware that, since the entire conversation is unprivileged, it has been fully recorded; this allows Harvey to confront Tanner with recordings from the conversation and neutralize the affidavit entirely. Ava Hessington. Dr. Ava Hessington (Michelle Fairley) is CEO of Hessington Oil, a UK-based international oil company that she took over from her father. She has PhDs in petroleum exploration and chemical engineering. The local US Attorney's office is investigating her for bribing foreign government officials to gain access to their oil fields for a pipeline—a crime that she admits (to Harvey) to being guilty of, but something that is considered "standard practice" in the oil business, especially in countries that are less than politically stable. Harvey has Scottie look into her background and discovers that she bribed a corporate whistleblower in 2010, covered up an oil spill in 2008, and had an environmental study doctored in 2006. She and her father have been clients of Darby's firm for some time, dating back to her father being Darby's first client, as well as simultaneously being his lover. Her bribery case is assigned by Darby to Harvey, because of Harvey's familiarity with the sitting US Attorney prosecuting the case. She remains his client after being acquitted of the bribery charges and is later arrested for conspiracy to commit murder by Cameron Dennis (also someone Harvey is very familiar with). After she is fully acquitted of all charges she leaves the country for a short time, but later reappears after hiring Travis Tanner to bring a relatively frivolous malpractice suit against Pearson Darby Specter, claiming Harvey's handling of her case caused her damages and hardship, in spite of Darby and Stephen's culpability in the murder charges and Harvey's non-involvement. After an emotional plea and a full apology in person from Harvey, she eventually agrees to fully drop the malpractice suit (to Tanner's grumbling dismay). Jonathan Sidwell. Jonathan Sidwell (Brandon Firla) is the CEO of the Sidwell Investment Group, and Mike's boss as an investment banker for the first part of season 4. He first appears in the season 3 episode, "Conflict of Interest" as hedge fund magnate/corporate raider Tony Gianopolous's deputy at Gianapolous Limited Holdings (GLH). In his first scene, Louis meets with him to try to prevent Gianapolous from taking over Hessington Oil by providing proof of GLH's investments in a wide swath of several industries, enough to draw the FTC's attention for grounds to open an antitrust investigation. Louis threatens to use his connections at the FTC to do so unless Gianapolous backs off; Sidwell thwarts this by pointing out that the FTC's commissioner himself is a personal friend of Gianapolous's and has obtained an exception in regards to the Hessington Oil situation. He next appears in the episode "Bad Faith", once again meeting with Louis, who comes Sidwell with a proposal to reorganize all of Sidwell's finances in a manner to allow him to legally avoid paying taxes; Sidwell, impressed by Louis's demonstration, hires him on the spot to be his personal attorney, misunderstanding that Louis's intention is to get GLH to decide to move all of their business to Pearson Specter. Sidwell refuses to recommend that to Gianapolous, claiming Louis's professional stature is not significant enough to warrant his consideration. Louis goes to Harvey, knowing that his famous reputation and status as a name partner will likely be enough to convince Gianapolous, and they are successful. In the episode "Heartburn" with Louis recovering from his heart attack and not present in the office, Sidwell seeks out Mike for some career advice. He confides that he wants to quit GLH and move to a different company, feeling that his career progress is stalling, but is aware that his employment contract contains a non-compete clause. Mike initially refuses to help, only conceding when Sidwell makes clear of his intention to fire Louis for not being able to help him. Once Harvey discovers what he did Mike is forced to derail Sidwell's plans, but then goes back to him with another idea, which manages to convince Gianapolous to let Sidwell go run a spun-off division as an independent investment firm which will boost the stock price of both entities. At the beginning of season 4, Sidwell is the founding CEO of his own investment firm and Mike's new boss. He is portrayed as a straight-talking, concise, tough but fair boss to Mike. At the beginning, it seems that every conversation he has with Mike ends with him threatening to fire Mike unless he meets his pressing demands, but is shown later to become a bit of a mentor figure to him. In order to stay alive in the Gillis Industries takeover battle against Logan Sanders and Harvey, Mike is forced to buy 100,000 shares of Gillis Industries stock without Sidwell's prior approval. He summons Mike, compliments him on brazenly purchasing the stock without permission but gives him one week to find someone to refund the investment and deleverage Sidwell or it will cost him his job. Eventually, on realizing Mike's plan with Forstman of sidelining him from Forstman's investment, he fires Mike. Harvey goes to him the next day with a stock tip and tries to convince him to rehire Mike, but Sidwell refuses. In Season 5, Harvey goes to Sidwell to convince him to enter a bidding war against his former mentor Tony Gianopolous to take McKernon Motors private. Eric Woodall. Eric Woodall (Željko Ivanek) is a recurring character in seasons 3 and 4. First appearing in the season 3 finale as the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, he has a reputation as a prosecutor who will use his position to bend the rules of the law and deliberately target and investigate certain attorneys in private practice whom he deems "dirty". After finishing a case that took 4 years to complete, he sets his sights on Harvey. He sends his deputies to corner Mike Ross on the street outside the firm's building to coerce Mike to voluntarily be taken in for interrogation without having gotten an arrest warrant; This way, whatever Mike says under questioning could be self-incriminating and be used by Woodall later to make a case against Harvey, without having basis for a case to begin with. Woodall tells him that he is investigating the disappearance of the foreign nationals who were supposed to have been witnesses in the Ava Hessington case that Mike and Harold settled out of court. Mike quickly recognizes what Woodall might be trying to do and refuses to talk to him or answer any of his questions long enough for Harvey to show up and force Woodall to release him. Woodall later formally arrests both Harold and Mike, using the Patriot Act as basis for taking them in for questioning without processing him or allowing him to call his attorney, in violation of his 4th Amendment rights, hoping that will give him enough time to pressure Harold to break down, start talking and implicate Mike. This time Louis gets wind of what's going on and retrieves Harvey from his office before they both go downtown, hoping to get there before Harold caves. Eventually, they show up just in time and manage to keep Harold from talking. As the four of them leave, Woodall stops Harvey, telling him that he won't be dropping the case just because Harold didn't talk. Harvey responds with indifference, saying that he will sue Woodall for malicious prosecution if he refuses to drop the case, noting that Woodall arrested Mike without letting him call his attorney, on the basis of deliberately twisting a provision of the Patriot Act and manufacturing a fabricated terrorist claim to justify doing so. It is understood that Woodall later was forced to resign from his position as US Attorney because of Harvey's reporting his actions to Woodall's superiors. In season 4, Woodall reappears, now as a senior administrator at the New York office of the SEC. He has Sean Cahill file lawsuits against 7 PS clients in order to get them to drop the firm from representation. As part of the court battle, Harvey and Jessica depose Woodall, presenting emails from a past case from while he was US Attorney as proof to support their malicious prosecution claim against him. Under pressure during Harvey's interrogation, he admits that their proof is valid, after which Cahill immediately intervenes and ends the deposition. As they leave the conference room, he implicitly admits to Harvey that he is specifically going after him because of his vendetta against him. Sean Cahill. Sean Cahill (Neal McDonough) is a senior SEC official and long-time friend of Eric Woodall who first appears in season 4. He first appears in a meeting with Jessica and Malone at the SEC's offices where they confront him about the SEC's recently begun harassment of Pearson Specter's clients, likely on behalf of Eric Woodall, and inform him of their recently filed lawsuit against him. Cahill has launched a formal investigation against 4 major New York law firms; the only reason Cahill is targeting the other firms is to back a cover story in order to specifically target Pearson Specter clients but not be accused of unfairly singling them out for extra scrutiny, but still maintain that they are being impartial. The court battle between Cahill and the firm continues for the rest of the first half of the season. After Woodall's deposition, Jessica and Harvey go to court in order to try to get the case dismissed based on proof that Woodall has a propensity for malicious prosecution, but Cahill thwarts her plans by telling the judge that Jeff Malone, the former SEC prosecutor whose last assignment was to target PS's clients, resigned instead of following instructions, and then virtually immediately took a job to work for Jessica. Cahill calls the coincidental nature of this into question by asserting that she did it so readily because she and Malone had been engaging in a clandestine romantic relationship. Confronted by this directly by Cahill in front of the judge, Jessica, though infuriated for being cornered with no way out under penalty of perjury, is left with no recourse other than to reluctantly confirm that Cahill's allegations are true. The judge responds by denying Jessica's motion, allowing Cahill to proceed with his depositions. He next deposes both Harvey and Mike simultaneously (without Woodall present), and tries to further probe and prove his collusion allegations. Mike and Harvey hold firm, noting that neither of them were financial beneficiaries of any alleged collusion and Cahill has no proof to the contrary; from this, Cahill comes to the conclusion that he must look elsewhere. After Katrina brings Louis a copy of the deposition, Louis realizes that it is inevitable that Cahill will eventually find his illegal transaction with Forstman. He goes to see Cahill at his office, intending to confess in exchange for shielding the firm, but runs into Woodall instead, who sends Louis home after hearing his confession. Louis, having confessed to a felony to a senior federal official yet not charged, processed, or booked, is left perplexed, and goes and tells Harvey and Jessica, who come to the conclusion that Woodall must have done a deal with Forstman as well, and thus has no interest in investigating Louis's actions. After spending all night trying to find a link with no success, they go see Cahill in the morning, explaining their assertions of Woodall's collusion with Forstman, and make him an offer: they will give him hard proof of Louis's illegal collusion, but he must force Woodall to allow them access to his bank accounts and prove he has nothing to hide; if Woodall allows them, they are proven wrong and Cahill has all he needs to make an airtight case in court against Louis; if he refuses (indicating their assertions were correct), Cahill must agree to not prosecute Louis. Woodall walks into the room at the end of the conversation, and Cahill explains the situation and asks him to provide access to his accounts. Woodall hesitates in his response, first trying to shrug them off, eventually refusing altogether by pulling rank on Cahill; after a long pause, Cahill, realizing their assertions were accurate, asks them to leave him alone with Woodall. Cahill returns in season 6 with a proposal for Harvey that could get Mike out of prison early, but it involves Mike informing on Kevin, his cellmate and only friend in prison. It is revealed that Kevin's father-in-law, William Sutter, is under investigation by Cahill for insider trading. Harvey takes on Sutter as a client in order to tank his defense, while secretly cooperating/colluding with Cahill. This continues for the rest of the first half of the season, and eventually Mike's deal goes through and he is released. In season 8, Cahill returns when Harvey goes to him to try to cash in a favor to help Stu Buzzini, who is being blackmailed by one of his senior traders, Nick. In the end, Cahill cooperates with Harvey and neutralizes Nick's attempts to overthrow Stu. Logan Sanders. Logan Sanders (Brendan Hines) is a recurring character in season 4. First appearing in the premiere episode, he the son of billionaire businessman Max Sanders, the founder and longtime CEO of Sanders International, and a client of Harvey's. Years before, he and Rachel Zane carried on an extramarital affair while Logan was married to his wife, Alison. They fell in love, but Rachel broke off the affair. Max has just recently decided to retire, appointing Logan to succeed him as CEO. Having had a longtime reputation as brashly confident, aggressive, and often reckless, he is eager to prove himself to Harvey and the world as a competent CEO to be taken seriously. Not having earned his respect yet, Harvey initially ducks Logan's calls to set up a meeting, forcing Logan to call Jessica and have her put it on Harvey's schedule, to Harvey's annoyance and dismay. Logan tells him he wants to pursue a hostile takeover attempt on Gillis Industries, which is coincidentally the same company that Mike had earlier pitched to Harvey, forcing Harvey to resolve a conflict of interest. He ends up choosing Logan, because Mike had also put Harvey's representation of the Sidwell Investment Group (Mike's employer) formally under review due to Harvey's earlier stonewalling of Mike's intentionally non-hostile takeover strategy of Gillis. The takeover battle between Logan and Mike lasts for the first 6 episodes, and puts Rachel in the crossfire and adds an emotional side to the takeover battle, as it is clear that Logan's feelings for Rachel have been reignited in part due to them working together again, and he often tries to force emotions with her while doing so (despite her making clear to him of her present commitment to Mike). Logan's actions include requesting Harvey hire a private investigator to look into Mike. Knowing it is likely that his secret will be discovered, Harvey is forced to try to prevent that by thwarting Logan's request while still working towards winning the takeover. Rachel decides to go to Logan separately and manages to convince him to stop trying to win by pursuing personal attacks against Mike. Eventually, Logan wins the takeover battle and dismembers Gillis' company as originally planned, but once Harvey hears of Logan's inappropriate accosting of Rachel and her brief reciprocation, he makes clear to Donna of his disgust with both of their actions, and that he stands firmly behind Mike. Harvey eventually drops Logan as a client, once Louis rehires Mike back at the firm. Jeff Malone. Jeff Malone (D.B. Woodside) is a senior SEC prosecutor who joins Pearson Specter as a senior partner at the beginning of season 4. He is also Jessica's lover. First appearing in the season premiere, he shows up unannounced at the firm's offices to see Harvey and Jessica, who is well aware of his feared reputation as a career prosecutor at the SEC. He informs them that Eric Woodall will soon be taking a position as a senior official at the New York office of the SEC, and will be pursuing a vendetta against Harvey by using his position to deliberately target Pearson Specter clients with disproportionately invasive scrutiny (the SEC's purview does not usually include formally investigating law firms). Malone offers to leave his position at the SEC and lead Pearson Specter's defense against Woodall in exchange for a senior partnership. Jessica initially balks at the offer because she doesn't appreciate Malone ambushing her and banking on her secret romantic relationship with him as leverage to coerce her to hire him. She also had initially intended to assign this responsibility to Louis, but Harvey, impressed by Malone's brash approach, dismissively rejects the idea of Louis out of hand and convinces her to hire Malone instead. She does so but makes clear to Malone that the romantic side of their relationship is finished so long as they are colleagues. Initially, Louis and Malone have a bit of an acrimonious relationship, due to Louis's bitter humiliation from being passed over in favor of someone who was just recently hired strictly for the purpose instead. Eventually, they put it behind them and become more friendly with each other. He constantly tries to force affections with Jessica, including getting Louis thrown off of a case in order to be able to work one-on-one with Jessica. She initially rebuffs his advances steadfastly, but later changes her mind. This makes for a very complicated dynamic and it eventually forces her to lie to him about Mike's status (and how it factored into Louis's becoming a name partner) in her capacity as his superior and thus puts their romantic relationship at risk. Eventually, Malone discovers that she had been lying to him about Louis (though not discovering Mike's secret) and breaks up with her, and resigns his senior partnership a few days later. Malone appears in the season 5 episode "Live to Fight". Jessica approaches him at his new office requesting that he represent her, if need be, as her personal attorney in the ongoing court proceedings of Mike's fraud case. He is now aware of Mike's fraudulent status, with the criminal allegations against him being public information, and thus he now understands what she had been lying to him about. He initially balks at her request, insisting that he will only consider it if she confides everything in him before formally retaining him – making it unprivileged knowledge. At the end of the episode, he drops her as a client, but does tell her that he would be willing to consider resuming their interpersonal relationship if she approaches him. In the season 6 episode "PSL", Jessica resigns from the firm and moves to Chicago to live with Jeff. Charles Forstman. Charles Forstman (Eric Roberts) is a multi-billionaire investor and corporate raider who seems to reside in New York. First appearing in the season 4 episode 'Leverage', he is a ripe investment opportunity that Mike goes to as a last resort while trying to save Gillis Industries from a hostile takeover. A twisted and corrupt businessman, it is revealed that he has a widespread influence, and has done deals in the past with both Harvey Specter and Eric Woodall, the latter losing his job at the SEC at the end of "Gone" due to this relationship. After Forstman does a deal with Louis Litt to sell the Wexler block to Logan Sanders and renege on his verbal agreement with Mike, Forstman's intention was to hire Mike afterwards, going so far as to sabotage Mike's relationship with Jonathan Sidwell, Mike's then-boss, to make sure that Mike got fired and would be left with little choice other than to accept Forstman's job offer. He offers Mike a $1 million signing bonus, and is surprised that Mike wants time to think about it. He forces Louis to wire Logan's payments through Switzerland and the Cayman Islands in order to illegally avoid US taxes. Louis wires the money as Forstman wants, but he also forces Louis to accept a $1 million fee for putting the deal together, as a form of self-protection for Forstman to cover his act of tax evasion. Louis signs the agreement anyway, implicating himself in an act of embezzlement. Louis later tries and fails to get the deal nullified when the SEC begins investigating Pearson Specter; Forstman tells him that he'd only reverse the deal if Louis could pin similar dirt on Harvey; Louis refuses. After Louis admits to Harvey and Jessica what he did, Harvey goes to Forstman to again try to convince him to nullify the deal and let Louis off the hook, noting to Forstman that Louis has never wronged him and his grudge is against Harvey, not Louis. Forstman acknowledges this, but still refuses to do so. In the season 4 finale flashback scenes, Harvey's first encounters with Forstman 12 years beforehand are explained. Back while Harvey was an ADA at the Manhattan DA's office under Cameron Dennis, the first case he took to trial was a white collar criminal case which ended up with Forstman's biggest rival being sentenced to prison. Forstman sends Harvey a drink while they are at the same bar and offers him a job with a $1 million signing bonus. Harvey firmly but respectfully refuses the offer outright. But when his brother Marcus comes to him asking for $150,000 to open a restaurant, Harvey reconsiders, especially since Marcus tells him he will go ask their mother for a loan if Harvey cannot come through. Marcus also cannot get a bank loan, because he has a gambling problem that Harvey caused and it destroyed his credit rating. Harvey first goes to Jessica, who refuses and warns him about Forstman and his slippery reputation. Harvey finally goes to Forstman and explains the situation and tells him he wants to take his offer. Forstman initially refuses but impressed by Harvey's persistence and brash offer of a bet, he agrees to a wager: If Harvey can beat Forstman in a car race, he will give him the money. But what Harvey didn't realize was that Forstman was using the entire situation to con Harvey into revealing information on the status of a rumored yet publicly unconfirmed criminal investigation by Cameron Dennis against a major investment firm that Forstman holds a large stock interest in. Harvey implicitly confirms that Cameron will indeed press charges soon, unwittingly giving Forstman the heads up he was looking for to sell short and make $100 million before the company's share price inevitably tanked after the investigation was announced publicly. Harvey confronts Forstman after the market opens, realizing what he had done, and tells him that not only is he refusing his job offer, he is going to prosecute him as well. But Forstman had covered himself, and sent to Marcus the $150,000 for the restaurant directly, though making it appear that it had come from Harvey, knowing that he would not be able to muster the courage necessary to tell his brother the truth about the source of the money and give it all back once he had received it. In season 5, Forstman appears in the episode 'Uninvited Guests' when Harvey visits him in prison to confront him about funding Daniel Hardman's renewed run at taking over the firm. Forstman admits to providing Hardman with full power of attorney over his assets for the duration of his prison sentence. But it becomes clear that there is a gap between Hardman's and Forstman's objectives; Hardman is using Forstman as a blank checkbook to target the firm's clients for hostile takeover and eroding Jessica's base of support among the senior partners in order to take over the firm from her. But Forstman is shown to be willing to ditch Hardman and cut off all of his funding immediately in exchange for Harvey's resignation from the firm. In the next episode 'Faith' after significant thought and consulting his therapist for advice, Harvey agrees to resign, and is shown at the vote of no confidence meeting presenting proof of Forstman's termination of Hardman's representation services. Jack Soloff. Jack Edward Soloff (John Pyper-Ferguson) is a senior partner at Pearson Specter Litt. He is first mentioned in the season 5 premiere, but does not appear in person until the episode 'Compensation'. Described by Louis as having "a pirate beard and a stupid pen that he carries around like Linus's blanket" he is the newly appointed chair of PSL's compensation committee. Brashly confident and ambitious, he comes to Louis to propose an alteration to the firm's compensation formula to put more emphasis on billable hours than on contingent fees, which Soloff is well aware would specifically target Harvey (who operates on a contingent fee basis) hoping to earn the respect of the partners and a boost in esteem by successfully picking a fight and beating the firm's de facto chief of staff and second-most-powerful partner. He is temporarily successful, and with Louis's help, he manages to illegally publicize Harvey's salary while maintaining deniability, humiliating him in front of the whole firm in order to get the support necessary to win a vote on his desired compensation alteration. He and Harvey battle for the next few episodes, with Harvey poaching some of Soloff's clients, and with Mike's help, eventually gets him to back off. Later that season, Soloff is shown to be complicit in Daniel Hardman's efforts to remove Jessica and regain control of PSL, using Charles Forstman's money, which causes Jessica and Harvey to become convinced that Hardman holds some kind of damaging information on Soloff. Soloff's efforts are neutralized, when Harvey resigns from the firm and Forstman cuts of Hardman's funding. After Mike is arrested, Soloff goes to Jessica to propose a solution to the firm's crumbling reputation: a wide-ranging pro-bono campaign for their client's leading charities. Jessica is suspicious of his proposal, but agrees that something must be done to re-establish the firm's position as a leading law firm. She asks Soloff to find a department of a competing law firm that is willing to be poached, but the prospective deal falls through, and Soloff is offered a job instead. Soloff later goes to Jessica, and as a demonstration of loyalty, provides her with the damaging information that Hardman has on Soloff. Gretchen Bodinski. Gretchen Bodinski (Aloma Wright) is the legal secretary who Harvey eventually hires to replace Donna after she goes to work for Louis in season 5. At first, Harvey is hoping Donna will come back; when he finally accepts her departure, he looks for a replacement. Surveying the sexy younger applicants waiting outside his office, he immediately calls in Gretchen who, as an older African American woman, is the physical opposite of Donna. Harvey hires Gretchen and, though he has low expectations for her performance, she proves herself as capable and intuitive as Donna. Gretchen and Donna formally meet and clash in the episode "Privilege", but soon respect and even like each other as equals. When Donna goes back to Harvey, Gretchen becomes Louis's assistant. Stu Buzzini. Stu Buzzini (Ian Reed Kesler) is a recurring character who first appears in season 6. He is the chief of the satellite division of the Stevens Investment Group, whom Louis brings in as a tenant to lease PSL office space after Mike is convicted and all of the partners leave the firm. Fast-talking, witty, with a taste for three-piece suits and a fraternity brother personality, he clashes with Louis immediately (much to Harvey's amusement) and they spar over difference in office etiquette and Stu's accidental disposal of Louis's prune juice and his consumption of Louis's treasured raspberry bran bars, provided a comedic side arc for several episodes. He mentions to Louis that he is a Yale-educated lawyer. He is later shown to be more moderate in tone and approach. After crossing Jessica on a favor, he returns to her with a peace offering, requesting that Jessica take him on as a client. She agrees, on the condition that Stu makes peace with Louis, which he agrees to. Esther Litt. Esther Litt-Edelstein (Amy Acker) is Louis's sister who first appears in season 5. Louis convinces Harvey to represent her in her divorce negotiations. After the divorce is settled, she also sleeps with him. She later approaches Harvey again with a case but he dismisses her and convinces her to go to Louis. She also asks Harvey out for dinner after that but he refuses, causing her to become evidently upset which ticks off Louis, leading him to figure out they slept together. It's revealed in season 9 that she was sexually abused by her boss at the firm where she previously worked. When that firm is set to merge with her current employer, she is reluctant to come forward about the abuse now that she is married and has a daughter. Samantha, who suffered similar abuse in the past, convinces Esther to speak up. Dr. Paula Agard. Dr. Paula Agard (Christina Cole) is Harvey's therapist whom he visits after he starts having panic attacks as a consequence of Donna leaving him to work for Louis in season 5. After some struggle, Harvey opens up to her about his mother and his other issues. He sees her throughout season 5 & 6. In season 7, he asks her out for a date, no longer being her patient. They begin a relationship but it comes to an end when she makes him choose between their relationship and working with Donna. Tara Messer. Tara (Carly Pope) is an architect who is appointed to renovate the firm in season 6. She gets romantically involved with Louis while still in a relationship. She ends her relationship and is briefly engaged to Louis. After Louis shares Mike's secret with her, she later leaves him because of the way he treated her when telling her about it. Brian Altman. Brian (Jake Epstein) is the target of verbal attacks by Louis for wanting to leave the office to be with his wife and newborn child. Louis later realizes his abuse is triggered by jealousy, as he wishes to have a child himself, and not by Brian's performance. In season 8, Louis mentions that Brian is one of his favorite associates and tries to keep him from being fired by Katrina. Katrina fires him anyway, citing statistics that show Brian is underperforming as compared to other associates. Donna makes Katrina see that while some employees rack up accolades for themselves, Brian is the type of employee that makes those around him better. Katrina is convinced and rehires Brian. Later that season, Katrina is promoted to senior partner and asks Brian to be her personal associate. The two become close while working a case, putting Brian's marriage in jeopardy. They mutually agree to not act on their attraction, but Katrina later admits she still has feelings for Brian while Brian later insists he can't just "turn off" his feelings for her. The two mutually decide at that point that Brian should leave the firm, with Katrina promising to help him land a good position elsewhere. Faye Richardson. Following the scandal surrounding Robert Zane's disbarment in the season 8 finale, Faye (Denise Crosby) is appointed by the New York Bar Association as a special master to oversee operations at Specter Litt Wheeler Williams in season 9. Her "my way or the highway" approach rubs the remaining name partners and Donna the wrong way, but it appears that she has very few skeletons in her closet that the group can use to take her down.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=43599771

Benjamín Andrés Menéndez (1885, Córdoba - 2 September 1975) was an Argentine brigadier general who attempted on September 28, 1951, to overthrow the government of Juan Domingo Perón. The coup was defeated within a few hours. Attempted coup. President Perón instituted a number of policy reforms after he took office in 1946. He supported a "third-way" that neither subscribed to the views of the West or that of the Soviets. At first his plan was to attain economic independence for Argentina and decrease the influence of imperialist powers. However his wife, Eva Perón, who supported much more radical reforms for the country, influenced him to support much more socialist stances. The five-year plan that Perón initiated found disfavour among much of the military. Eva held ambitions to replace Hortensio Quijano for the 1951 election, although her poor health kept her from this. Nonetheless many were concerned that her agenda would be pushed through. In march of 1951 the government arrested several retired army officers due to their dissent and disapproval of Perón's administration. This raised tensions among the rest of the army, although action did not occur. By September tensions had risen among the military due to the unrivalled power of the Peronist regime. On September 28, 1951, during the election, Menéndez led the military uprising in an attempt to overthrow the government. He led a core of officers, commanding a division, and left Campo de Mayo bound for the Casa Rosada. Resolve for the uprising, especially among the non-commissioned officers and enlisted men, was not strong enough. They were not prepared to fight their own countrymen. The uprising was over as soon as opposition was encountered, almost completely bloodless. Perón admired the loyalty of the troops and pardoned all those involved. Although the revolt was crushed, it did succeed in that Eva never again considered running for office and both Peróns were forced to curtail their reform aspirations. Family. Menéndez had two sons, Romulus and Felix Menéndez, who both had military careers and eventually reached the rank of colonel. Romulus is also a renowned historian who has published several works on military history, including "Las conquistas territoriales argentinas" ("Argentine Territorial Conquests") published by the Military Circle and "Un Soldado" ("A Soldier"), a biography of his father. His nephew, former major general Luciano Menéndez, was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2009 for crimes against humanity. He was also the uncle of Brigadier general Mario Benjamín Menéndez, who was the military governor of the Falkland Islands during the Falklands war.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=21328040

Safety Centre (Hazard Alley) Ltd is a purpose-built interactive safety centre in Milton Keynes, opened in 1994. Primarily it provides safety education to visiting schools and youth groups via its full-size interactive demonstrations, known as Hazard Alley. It also provides a wider community service through adult courses in first aid and fire safety, as well as providing follow-up lessons to schools through its in-house teaching staff. It is a registered charity based in an industrial unit in Kiln Farm, Milton Keynes. Hazard Alley. Most of the unit's floorspace is occupied by Hazard Alley, a full-sized interactive "set" where several safety scenarios are simulated. It consists of two streets, a lake area and a farm (all inside), on which there are twelve scenarios in total. Each scenario is visited in turn by the groups, led by a volunteer guide. Groups spend ten minutes on each scenario, making the average session two hours long. Groups typically contain six children, who are accompanied by one of the centre's guides. School age children are usually year three (age 7-8) and year six (age 10-11), but can vary anywhere between years two and seven. A session is called a "tour", throughout which there will be three opportunities for each member of the group (in pairs) to attempt a simulated 999 call. This is designed to build their confidence should a real emergency ever present itself. The scenarios are as follows: Number 2, Brooks Street - A fire simulation. Children discuss the importance of smoke alarms, and what to do in case of fire. Two children attempt a 999 call (one of them was Luke Lasenby[references available on requests]). Number 4, Brooks Street - A demonstration of dangers within the home, particularly dangers posed to young children such as lit cigarettes and alcohol. Contains a living room area and a kitchen area. Number 8, Brooks Street - A "cinema". Schools are given the option of two interactive videos: a film portraying the consequences of vandalism, or an interactive quiz about internet safety, particularly in chat rooms. Building site - Children are invited to identify ten significant dangers found on building sites, as well as discussing measures that can be put in place to reduce danger. A "burning car" demonstration reiterates the fire safety message, and two children make a 999 call. Road safety - Children are shown a demonstration of stopping distances, and attempt to cross the "road" using a full-size pelican crossing. The importance of high-visibility clothing and bicycle helmets is demonstrated. Railway - A full-scale train simulation indicates the dangers of trespassing on railway lines. There is also an in-depth discussion of the dangers of high voltage cables and electrified tracks. Garage - Children cross from the railway to a filling station forecourt using a zebra crossing, discussing hazards posed by large HGVs. On the forecourt the group explores safe storage of petrol, use of high pressure air lines, airbags, booster seats, seat belts and the dangers of smoking or using mobile phones in a petrol station. Key messages are summarised by a short interactive quiz which uses handsets to allow children to answer the questions. Dark alley - The group investigates an alleyway and its dangers, such as litter, abandoned syringes, and strangers. "Early warning signs", physical reactions to fear such as jumping or sweating, are also physically demonstrated. Water - Groups visit a lake (loosely modelled on nearby Willen Lake), encountering a person who has fallen into the water - prompting the remaining pair to make a 999 call. In the winter groups discuss the dangers of icy lakes, as well as pointing out various dangers such as depth and pollution. Attention is also drawn to the dangers of fishing lines near high-voltage overhead cables, as well as a discussion of the hazards posed by lock gates. First aid - An interactive video allows pairs to attempt the recovery position. Farm - Dangers such as hazardous chemicals (including unlabelled containers), working animals and heavy machinery are discussed. Demonstrations include a combine harvester and a silo. Shop - Children explore their own personal responsibility in matters such as shoplifting. Various methods of theft prevention are demonstrated, and groups discuss various sources of advice in the event of peer pressure or bullying. The Safety Centre's aim is to demonstrate hazards in a highly interactive way using active, hands-on experience as a more effective learning method than classroom teaching. Its policy is to illustrate dangerous situations and ways in which they can be prevented, actively avoiding explaining ways of physically combating dangers, such as extinguishing fires - the knowledge of which might prompt a child to put himself in danger by deciding to fight a fire himself rather than evacuating the area and leaving a responsible adult to combat the problem. Its key message is to put the child's own personal safety as the highest priority. Impact and effectiveness. The Safety Centre has a high profile across Milton Keynes and the wider area. Because of its specialised purpose, there are very few similar centres in the country, thus it has a very wide catchment area including Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and north London. Many schools visit annually. The name "Hazard Alley" is recognised amongst children and students who remember their visits; fan groups on applications such as Facebook have sprung up, and many young people return as volunteer guides. Because its primary purpose is to prevent dangers and injuries, it is impossible to measure the true extent of the Safety Centre's effectiveness. However, there are several examples in the local press of children avoiding accidents using knowledge they had learned at Hazard Alley.

important take away

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=32094489

Nokia's strategic nomenclature can be traced back in 2005 when the Nseries line was launched, offering devices with flagship specifications and premium hardware at various price points. These devices were considered the "bread and butter" of the company and were often positioned to showcase their latest technologies. Thanks to the newfound consumer and enterprise interest in smartphones at the time, the company introduced four additional collections to diversify their product portfolio and meet demands in most market segments. These new phone series were named Eseries, targeting small business and enterprise customers; Xseries, providing consumer-grade multimedia-focused devices; Cseries, which Nokia used to target both the low-end and mid-range market segments; and Tseries, for devices exclusive to the Chinese market. Nokia Nseries. Nokia Nseries was a multimedia smartphone and tablet product family that served as the company's flagship portfolio. It was aimed at users looking to pack as many features as possible into one device. List of Eseries devices. The Nokia Eseries (stands for "Executive") consists of business-oriented smartphones, with emphasis on enhanced connectivity and support for corporate e-mail push services. These phones are for the enterprise market. The list may also include upcoming devices or others that are previously intended to be a part of the series, but was scrapped or renamed due to Nokia's number-only naming change. These are the phones included in the series: List of Xseries devices. Nokia Xseries (stands for "Xpress") is more for younger users. Most of the phones included in the line are feature phones and smartphones that include features focusing social entertainment and music with special dedicated keys, inbuilt storage and other facilities. It succeeded the Nokia XpressMusic brand of phones. The list may also include upcoming devices or others that are previously intended to be a part of the series, but was scrapped or renamed due to Nokia's number-only naming change. These are the phones included in the series: List of Cseries devices. Nokia Cseries (stands for "Core") is what Nokia calls their "core" range of products, offering different phones from low-end to high-end for various markets. The list may also include upcoming devices or others that are previously intended to be a part of the series, but was scrapped or renamed due to Nokia's number-only naming change. These are the phones included in the series: List of Zseries devices. Nokia Zseries (stands for "Zuper") is supposed to be Nokia's MeeGo tablet series. Originally intended to be released in 2010 and early 2011, the tablets were cancelled for unknown reasons. Only a product name has been revealed from the Ovi Store in November 2010. The list may also include upcoming devices or others that are previously intended to be a part of the series, but was scrapped or renamed due to Nokia's number-only naming change. These are the tablets included in the series: List of Tseries devices. Nokia Tseries (stands for "Time") is a China-specific line of phones, made to cater services offered in China where most technologies and Web features are disabled or replaced by the country's proprietary inventions. For instance, most of the phones offered in this series would include the TD-SCDMA and EV-DO networks which are dominant in that marketplace. The line was launched on 13 June 2011 in the Chinese version of the Nokia Conversations blog. The list may also include upcoming devices. These are the phones included in the series: List of Aseries devices. The Nokia Aseries (stands for "Asha", which means "hope"), is a feature-phone line introduced by Nokia during Nokia World 2011. The phones in the series are for developing markets, and more for younger users, for messaging and connectivity. The list may also include upcoming devices. These are the phones included in the series: List of Lseries devices. The Nokia Lseries (stands for "Lumia", which means "light") is a series of smartphones, originally made by Nokia and using the Windows Phone operating system, and officially unveiled at Nokia World 2011. This was created through an exclusive partnership in February of that year, that will allow Nokia to use and modify Microsoft's mobile operating system. These devices come with a host of Nokia-exclusive services. Microsoft purchased Nokia's Devices and Services division in April 2014, and since then the Lumia series has been manufactured exclusively by Microsoft's subsidiary Microsoft Mobile, initially retaining Nokia branding but later dropped in favor of that of Microsoft. The first generation of phones in the series include the Nokia Lumia 510, Nokia Lumia 610, Nokia Lumia 710, Nokia Lumia 800, and Nokia Lumia 900, all of which run Windows Phone 7. Subsequent generations use Windows Phone 8 or Windows Phone 8.1. A full list of devices can be found at Microsoft Lumia#List of Lumia devices.

north Asian type

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=13810067

Zoning in the United States includes various land use laws falling under the police power rights of state governments and local governments to exercise authority over privately owned real property. The earliest zoning laws originated with the Los Angeles zoning ordinances of 1908 and the New York City Zoning resolution of 1916. Starting in the early 1920s, the United States Commerce Department drafted model zoning and planning ordinances in the 1920s to facilitate states in drafting enabling laws. Also in the early 1920s, a lawsuit challenged a local zoning ordinance in a suburb of Cleveland, which was eventually reviewed by the United States Supreme Court ("Euclid v. Ambler Realty"). According to the "New York Times", "single-family zoning is practically gospel in America," as a vast number of cities zone land extensively for detached single-family homes. The housing shortage in many metropolitan areas, coupled with racial residential segregation, has led to increased public focus and political debates on zoning laws. Studies indicate that strict zoning regulations constrain the supply of housing and inflate housing prices. Strict zoning laws have been found to contribute to racial housing segregation in the United States, and zoning laws that prioritize single-family housing have raised concerns regarding housing availability, housing affordability and environmental harms. There are no substantial differences between liberal and conservative homeowners in their opposition to the construction of dense housing in their neighborhoods. Origins and history. Zoning, narrowly construed, refers to the designation of discrete land uses to well-defined areas of the city. More broadly construed, zoning refers to a wide range of local regulations enabled by police powers delegated from the states. In the beginning, zoning ordinances in the United States were more narrow in scope, and later ordinances were more comprehensive. The earliest zoning laws in the United States were influenced by a demand for racial segregation. In the wake of the Fair Housing Act in 1968, which prohibited explicit racial discrimination, localities increasingly used purportedly non-racial zoning laws to keep non-whites out of white neighborhoods. Localities prohibited multi-family buildings, which were more likely to be occupied by racial minorities and recent immigrants. 19081930. 1908 Los Angeles zoning ordinances. Los Angeles City Council passed the first municipal zoning ordinance in the United States on September 24, 1908. Though the ordinance did not assign all parts of the city to a zoning map, as with later American ordinances, it did establish both residential and industrial districts. Existing nuisance laws had already prohibited some industrial land uses in Los Angeles. Dangerous businesses (such as warehousing explosives) were illegal before 1908, as were odorous land uses, such as slaughterhouses and tanneries. The ordinance created three large residential districts with identical laws, and they all prohibited business such as laundries, lumber yards, and in general, any industry using equipment driven by motors. The law could cause businesses to relocate retroactively, and did not require compensation. The prohibition against laundries had a racial component since many were owned by Chinese residents and citizens. The California Supreme Court had already upheld such rules in "Yick Wo" (1886). Many later California court cases supported the 1908 ordinance, even in one case of "ex post facto" relocation of an existing brickyard. The same 1908 ordinance established eight industrial districts. These were drawn mainly in areas which had already hosted significant industrial development, within corridors along the freight railroads and the Los Angeles River. However, between 1909 and 1915, Los Angeles City Council responded to some requests by business interests to create exceptions to industrial bans within the three 1908 Residential Districts. They did this through the legal device of districts within districts. While some might have been benign, such as motion picture districts, some others were polluting, such as poultry slaughterhouse districts. Despite the expanding list of exceptions, new ordinances in other cities (i.e., 1914 Oakland ordinance) followed the 1908 Los Angeles model through about 1917. There existed 22 cities with zoning ordinances by 1913. Race-based zoning ordinances, 19101917. Many American cities passed residential segregation laws based on race between 1910 and 1917. Baltimore City Council passed such a law in December 1910. Unlike the Los Angeles Residential District which created well-defined areas for residential land use, the Baltimore scheme was implemented on a block-by-block basis. Druid Hill had already existed as a "de facto" all-black neighborhood, but some whites in nearby neighborhoods protested for formal segregation. Just a few months later, Richmond, Virginia passed its race-based zoning law, though it was struck down by the Virginia Supreme Court. Over the next few years, several southern cities established race-based residential zoning ordinances, including four other cities in Virginia, one in North Carolina, and another in South Carolina. Atlanta passed a law similar to 1910 Baltimore ordinance. Before 1918, race-based zoning ordinances were adopted in New Orleans, Louisville, St. Louis, and Oklahoma City. In the end, the United States Supreme Court struck down the Louisville ordinance, ruling in "Buchanan v. Warley" that race-based zoning was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment; more specifically, the Court held that the law violated the "right to contract" and the right to alienate property. Despite the "Buchanan" ruling, the city of Atlanta devised a new race-based zoning ordinance, arguing that the Supreme Court had merely applied to specific defects of the Louisville ordinance. Even after the Georgia Supreme Court struck down the Atlanta ordinance, the city continued to use their racially based residential zoning maps. Other municipalities tested the limits of "Buchanan"; Florida, Apopka and West Palm Beach drafted race-based residential zoning ordinances. Birmingham, Indianapolis, and New Orleans all passed race-based zoning laws, while Atlanta, Austin, Kansas City, Missouri, and Norfolk considered race in their "spot zoning" decisions. In some cases, these practices continued for decades after "Buchanan". While not explicitly race-based, it is believed that Berkeley, California is where single-family zoning first originated, as an effort to keep minorities out of white neighborhoods. 1916 New York Zoning Resolution. In 1916, New York City adopted the first zoning regulations to apply citywide as a reaction to construction of the Equitable Building (which still stands at 120 Broadway). The building towered over the neighboring residences, completely covering all available land area within the property boundary, blocking windows of neighboring buildings and diminishing the availability of sunshine for the people in the affected area. Bassett's zoning map established height restrictions for the entire city, expressed as ratios between maximum building height and the width of adjacent streets. Residential zones were the most restrictive, limiting building height to no higher than the width of adjoining streets. The law also regulated land use, preventing factories and warehousing from encroaching on retail districts. These laws, written by a commission headed by Edward Bassett and signed by Mayor John Purroy Mitchel, became the blueprint for zoning in the rest of the country, partly because Bassett headed the group of planning lawyers who wrote The Standard State Zoning Enabling Act that was issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1924 and accepted almost without change by most states. The effect of these zoning regulations on the shape of skyscrapers was illustrated famously by architect and illustrator Hugh Ferriss. Standard State Zoning Enabling Act. The State Standard Zoning Enabling Act (SZEA) is a federal planning document drafted and published through the United States Commerce Department in 1924, which gave states a model under which they could enact their own zoning enabling laws. The genesis for this act is the initiative of Herbert Hoover while he was Secretary of Commerce. Deriving from a general policy to increase home ownership in the United States, Secretary Hoover established the Advisory Committee on Zoning, which was assigned the task of drafting model zoning statutes. This committee was later known as the Advisory Committee on City Planning and Zoning. Among the members of this committee were Edward Bassett, Alfred Bettman, Morris Knowles, Nelson Lewis, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., and Lawrence Veiller. The Advisory Committee on Zoning appointed a subcommittee under the title of "Laws and Ordinances." This committeewhich included Bassett, Knowles, Lewis, and Veillercomposed a series of drafts for SZEA, with one dated as early as December 15, 1921. A second draft came forth from the subcommittee in January 1922. Several drafts culminated in the first published document in 1924, which was revised and republished in 1926. "Euclid v. Ambler Realty". The constitutionality of zoning ordinances was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in "Village of Euclid, Ohio v. Ambler Realty Co." in 1926. The zoning ordinance of Euclid, Ohio was challenged in court by a local land owner on the basis that restricting use of property violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Ambler Realty Company filed suit on November 13, 1922 against the Village of Euclid, Ohio, alleging that the local zoning ordinances effectively diminished its property values. The village had zoned an area of land held by Ambler Realty as a residential neighborhood. Ambler argued that it would lose money because if the land could be leased to industrial users it would have netted a great deal more money than as a residential area. Ambler Realty claimed these breaches implied an unconstitutional taking of property and denied equal protection under the law. Houston, 19241929. Houston remains an exception within the United States because it never adopted a zoning ordinance. However, strong support existed for zoning in Houston among elements within municipal government and among the city's elites during the 1920s. In 1924, Mayor Oscar Holcombe, appointed the first funded City Planning Commission. City Council voted in favor of hiring S. Herbert Hare of Hare and Hare as a planning consultant. Following the passage of a state zoning enabling statute in 1927, Holcombe appointed Will Hogg to chair a new City Planning Commission. Will Hogg was a co-founder of the River Oaks development, the son of a former Texas Governor and an heir to family oil wealth. By 1929, both Hare and Hogg abandoned efforts to push the zoning ordinance to a referendum. In their estimation, there was not enough support for it. Hogg resigned as chair of the City Planning Commission that year. Among large populated cities in the United States, Houston is unique as the largest city in the country with "no" zoning ordinances. Houston voters have rejected efforts to implement zoning in 1948, 1962, and 1993. Houston is similar, however, to other large cities throughout the Sun Belt, who all experienced the bulk of their population growth during the Age of the Automobile. The largest of these cities, such as Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, Tampa, Dallas, Phoenix, and Kansas City, have all expanded their metropolitan footprints along with Houston while having land use zoning. While Houston has no official zoning ordinances, many private properties have legal covenants or "deed restrictions" that limit the future uses of land, with effects similar to those of zoning systems. Also, the city has enacted development regulations that specify how lots are subdivided, standard setbacks, and parking requirements. The regulations have contributed to the city's automobile-dependent sprawl, by requiring the existence of large minimum residential lot sizes and large commercial parking lots. Scope. Theoretically, the primary purpose of zoning is to segregate uses that are thought to be incompatible. In practice, however, zoning is used as a permitting system to prevent new development from harming existing residents or businesses. Zoning is commonly exercised by local governments such as counties or municipalities, although the state determines the nature of the zoning scheme with a zoning enabling law. Federal lands are not subject to state planning controls. Zoning may include regulation of the kinds of activities that will be acceptable on particular lots (such as open space, residential, agricultural, commercial, or industrial), the densities at which those activities may be performed (from low-density housing such as single family homes to high-density such as high-rise apartment buildings), the height of buildings, the amount of space structures may occupy, the location of a building on the lot (setbacks), the proportions of the types of space on a lot (for example, how much landscaped space and how much paved space), and how much parking must be provided. Some commercial zones specify what types of products may be sold by particular stores. The details of how individual planning systems incorporate zoning into their regulatory regimes varies although the intention is always similar. Most zoning systems have a procedure for granting variances (exceptions to the zoning rules), usually because of some perceived hardship due to the particular nature of the property in question. If the variance is not warranted, then it may cause an allegation of spot zoning to arise. Most state zoning-enabling laws prohibit local zoning authorities from engaging in any spot zoning because it would undermine the purpose of a zoning scheme. Zoning codes vary by jurisdiction. As one example, residential zones might be coded as R1 for single-family homes, R2 for two-family homes, and R3 for multiple-family homes. As another example, R60 might represent a minimum lot of 60,000 sq. ft. (1.4 acre or about 0.5 hectares) per single family home, while R30 might require lots of only half that size. Mature zoning practices. Legal challenges. There are several limitations to the ability of local governments in asserting police powers to control land use. First, constitutional constraints include freedom of speech (First Amendment), unjust takings of property (Fifth Amendment), and equal protection (Fourteenth Amendment). There are also federal statutes that sometimes constrain local zoning. These include the Federal Housing Amendments Act of 1988, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000. Freedom of Speech. Local governments regulate signage on private property through zoning ordinances. Sometimes courts invalidate laws which regulate the content of speech rather than the manners and modes of speech. One court invalidated a local ordinance that prohibited "for sale" and "sold" signs on private property. Another court struck down a law which prohibited signs for adult cabarets. Takings after 1987. Beginning in 1987, several United States Supreme Court cases ruled against land use regulations as being a taking requiring just compensation pursuant to the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. "First English Evangelical Lutheran Church v. Los Angeles County" ruled that even a temporary taking may require compensation. "Nollan v. California Coastal Commission" ruled that construction permit conditions that fail to substantially advance the agency's authorized purposes, require compensation. "Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council" ruled that numerous environmental concerns were not sufficient to deny all development without compensation. "Dolan v. City of Tigard" ruled that conditions of a permit must be roughly proportional to the impacts of the proposed new development. "Palazzolo v. Rhode Island" ruled property rights are not diminished by unconstitutional laws that exist without challenge at the time the complaining property owner acquired title. The landowner victories have been limited mostly to the U.S. Supreme Court, however, Each decision in favor of the landowner is based on the facts of the particular case, so that regulatory takings rulings in favor of landowners Even the trend of the U.S. Supreme Court with the 2002 ruling in Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who had previously ruled with a 5-4 majority in favor of the landowner, switched sides to favor the government that had delayed development for more than 20 years because of the government's own indecision about alleged concerns about the water quality of Lake Tahoe. Equal protection. Specific zoning laws have been overturned in some other U.S. cases where the laws were not applied evenly (violating equal protection) or were considered to violate free speech. In the Atlanta suburb of Roswell, Georgia, an ordinance banning billboards was overturned in court on such grounds. It has been deemed that a municipality's sign ordinance must be content neutral with regard to the regulation of signs. The city of Roswell, Georgia now has instituted a sign ordinance that regulates signs, based strictly on dimensional and aesthetic codes rather than an interpretation of the sign content (i.e. use of colors, lettering, etc.). Religious exercise. On other occasions, religious institutions sought to circumvent zoning laws, citing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA). The Supreme Court eventually overturned RFRA in just such a case, "City of Boerne v. Flores" 521 U.S. 507 (1997). Congress enacted the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) in 2000, however, in an effort to correct the constitutionally objectionable problems of the RFRA. In the 2005 case of Cutter v. Wilkinson, the United States Supreme Court held RLUIPA to be constitutional as applied to institutionalized persons, but has not yet decided RLUIPA's constitutionality as it relates to religious land uses. Types. Zoning codes have evolved over the years as urban planning theory has changed, legal constraints have fluctuated, and political priorities have shifted. The various approaches to zoning may be divided into four broad categories: Euclidean, Performance, Incentive, and Form-based. Euclidean. Conventional. Named for the type of zoning code adopted in the town of Euclid, Ohio, Euclidean zoning codes are by far the most prevalent in the United States, being used extensively in small towns and large cities alike. Standard Euclidean. Also known as "Building Block" zoning, Euclidean zoning is characterized by the segregation of land uses into specified geographic districts and dimensional standards stipulating limitations on the magnitude of development activity that is allowed to take place on lots within each type of district. Typical types of land-use districts in Euclidean zoning are: residential (single-family), residential (multi-family), commercial, and industrial. Uses within each district are usually heavily prescribed to exclude other types of uses (residential districts typically disallow commercial or industrial uses). Some "accessory" or "conditional" uses may be allowed in order to accommodate the needs of the primary uses. Dimensional standards apply to any structures built on lots within each zoning district, and typically, take the form of setbacks, height limits, minimum lot sizes, lot coverage limits, and other limitations on the building envelope. Euclidean zoning is used by many municipalities due to its ease of implementation (one set of explicit, prescriptive rules), long-established legal precedent, and familiarity to planners and design professionals. Euclidean zoning has been criticized, however, for its lack of flexibility. Separation of uses contributes to urban sprawl, loss of open space, heavy infrastructure costs, and automobile dependency. Euclidean II. Euclidean II Zoning uses traditional Euclidean zoning classifications (industrial, commercial, multi-family, residential, etc. ), but places them in a hierarchical order "nesting" one zoning class within another similar to the concept of Planned Unit Developments (PUD) mixed uses, but now for all zoning districts. For example, multi-family is not only permitted in "higher order" multi-family zoning districts, but also permitted in high order commercial and industrial zoning districts as well. Protection of land values is maintained by stratifying the zoning districts into levels according to their location in the urban society (neighborhood, community, municipality, and region). Euclidean II zoning also incorporates transportation and utilities as new zoning districts in its matrix dividing zoning into three categories: public, semi-public and private. In addition, all Euclidean II Zoning permitted activities and definitions are tied directly to the state's building code, Municode, and the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) assuring statewide uniformity. Euclidean II zoning fosters the concepts of mixed use, new urbanism and "highest and best use" and, simplifies all zoning classifications into a single and uniform set of activities. It is relatively easy to make a transition from most existing zoning classification systems to the Euclidean II Zoning system. Smart zoning. Smart zoning (or smart coding) is an alternative to Euclidean zoning. There are a number of different techniques to accomplish smart zoning. Floating zones, cluster zoning, and planned unit development (PUDs) are possible even as the conventional Euclidean code exists, or the conventional code may be completely replaced by a smart code, as the city of Miami is proposing. The following three techniques may be used to accomplish either conventional separation of uses or more environmentally responsible, traditional neighborhood development, depending on how the codes are written. For serious reform of Euclidean zoning, traditional neighborhood development ordinances such as form-based codes or the SmartCode are usually necessary. Floating zones involve an ordinance that describes a zone's characteristics and requirements for its establishment, but its location remains without a designation until the board finds that a situation exists that allows the implementation of that type of zone in a particular area. When the criteria of a floating zone is met the floating zone ceases "to float" and is adopted by a zoning amendment. Some states allow this type of zoning, such as New York and Maryland, while states such as Pennsylvania do not, as an instance of spot zoning. To be upheld, the floating zone the master plan must permit floating zones or at least they should not conflict with the master plan. Further, the criteria and standards provided for them should be adequate and the action taken should not be arbitrary or unreasonable. Generally, the floating zone is more easily adoptable and immune from legal challenges if it does not differ substantially from zoned area in which it is implemented. Cluster zoning permits residential uses to be clustered more closely together than normally allowed, thereby leaving substantial land area to be devoted to open space. Planned unit development is cluster zoning, but allows for mixed uses. They include some commercial and light industrial uses in order to blend together a traditional downtown environment, but at a suburban scale. Some have argued, however, that such a planned unit development may be a sham for the purpose of bringing in commercial and industrial uses forbidden by the state's zoning law; some courts have held such a "sham" to be an "arbitrary and capricious abuse" of the police power. Performance. Also known as "effects-based planning", performance zoning uses performance-based or goal-oriented criteria to establish review parameters for proposed development projects in any area of a municipality. Performance zoning often utilizes a "points-based" system whereby a property developer may apply credits toward meeting established zoning goals through selecting from a 'menu' of compliance options (some examples include: mitigation of environmental impacts, providing public amenities, building affordable housing units, etc.). Additional discretionary criteria may be established also as part of the review process. The appeal of performance zoning lies in its high level of flexibility, rationality, transparency, and accountability. Performance zoning avoids the arbitrary nature of the Euclidean approach, and better accommodates market principles and private property rights with environmental protection. However, performance zoning can be extremely difficult to implement and can require a high level of discretionary activity on the part of the supervising authority. For this reason, performance zoning has not been adopted widely in the US and is usually limited to specific categories within a broader prescriptive code when found. New Zealand's planning system is grounded in effects-based performance zoning under the Resource Management Act 1991. Incentive. First implemented in Chicago and New York City, incentive zoning is intended to provide a reward-based system to encourage development that meets established urban development goals. Typically, a base level of prescriptive limitations on development will be established and an extensive list of incentive criteria will be established for developers to adopt or not, at their discretion. A reward scale connected to the incentive criteria provides an enticement for developers to incorporate the desired development criteria into their projects. Common examples include (floor-area-ratio) bonuses for affordable housing provided on-site and height limit bonuses for the inclusion of public amenities on-site. Incentive zoning has become more common throughout the United States during the last 20 years. Incentive zoning allows for a high degree of flexibility, but may be complex to administer. The more a proposed development takes advantage of incentive criteria, the more closely it has to be reviewed on a discretionary basis. The initial creation of the incentive structure in order to best serve planning priorities also may be challenging and often, requires extensive ongoing revision to maintain balance between incentive magnitude and value given to developers. Form-based. Form-based zoning relies on rules applied to development sites according to both prescriptive and potentially discretionary criteria. Typically, these criteria are dependent on lot size, location, proximity, and other various site- and use-specific characteristics. For example, in a largely suburban single family residential area, uses such as offices, retail, or even light industrial could be permitted so long as they conformed (setback, building size, lot coverage, height, and other factors) with other existing development in the area. Form based codes offer considerably more flexibility in building uses than do Euclidean codes but, as they are comparatively new, may be more challenging to create. Form-based codes have not yet been widely adopted in the United States. When form-based codes do not contain appropriate illustrations and diagrams, they have been criticized as being difficult to interpret. One example of a recently adopted code with form-based design features is the Land Development Code adopted by Louisville, Kentucky in 2003. This zoning code creates "form districts" for Louisville Metro. Each form district intends to recognize that some areas of the city are more suburban in nature, while others are more urban. Building setbacks, heights, and design features vary according to the form district. As an example, in a "traditional neighborhood" form district, a maximum setback might be from the property line, while in a suburban "neighborhood" there may be no maximum setback. Dallas, Texas, is currently developing an optional form-based zoning ordinance. Since the concept of form-based codes is relatively new, this type of zoning may be more challenging to enact. One version of form-based or "form integrated" zoning uses a base district overlay method or "composite" zoning. This method is based on a Euclidean framework and includes three district components - a use component, a site component, and an architectural component. The use component is similar in nature to the use districts of Euclidean zoning. With an emphasis on form standards, however, use components are typically more inclusive and broader in scope. The site components define a variety of site conditions from low intensity to high intensity such as size and scale of buildings and parking, accessory structures, drive-through commercial lanes, landscaping, outdoor storage and display, vehicle fueling and washing, overhead commercial service doors, etc. The architectural components address architectural elements and materials. This zoning method is more flexible and contextually adaptable than standard Euclidean zoning while being easier to interpret than other form-based codes. Amendments to zoning regulations. Amendments to zoning regulations may be subject to judicial review, should such amendments be challenged as ultra vires or unconstitutional. The standard applied to the amendment to determine whether it may survive judicial scrutiny is the same as the review of a zoning ordinance: whether the restriction is arbitrary or whether it bears a reasonable relationship to the exercise of the police power of the state. If the residents in the targeted neighborhood complain about the amendment, their argument in court does not allow them any vested right to keep the zoned district the same. However, they do not have to prove the difficult standard that the amendment amounts to a taking. If the gain to the public for the rezoning is small compared to the hardships that would affect the residents, then the amendment may be granted if it provides relief to the residents. If the local zoning authority passes the zoning amendment, then spot zoning allegations may arise should the rezoning be preferential in nature and not reasonably justified. Limitations and criticisms. Land-use zoning is a tool in the treatment of certain social ills and part of the larger concept of social engineering. There is criticism of zoning particularly amongst proponents of limited government or Laissez-faire political perspectives. The inherent danger of zoning, as a coercive force against property owners, has been described in detail in Richard Rothstein's book "The Color of Law" (2017). Government zoning was used significantly as an instrument to advance racism through enforced segregation in the North and South from the early part of the 20th century up until recent decades. Circumventions. Generally, existing development in a community is not affected by the new zoning laws because it is "grandfathered" or "legally non-conforming" as a nonconforming use, meaning the prior development is exempt from compliance. Consequently, zoning may only affect new development in a growing community. In addition, if undeveloped land is zoned to allow development, that land becomes relatively expensive, causing developers to seek land that is not zoned for development with the intention to seek rezoning of that land. Communities generally react by not zoning undeveloped land to allow development until a developer requests rezoning and presents a suitable plan. Development under this practice appears to be piecemeal and uncoordinated. Communities try to influence the timing of development by government expenditures for new streets, sewers, and utilities usually desired for modern developments. Contrary to federal recommendations discouraging it, the development of interstate freeways for purposes unrelated to planned community growth, creates an inexorable rush to develop the relatively cheap land near interchanges. Property tax suppression measures such as California Proposition 13 have led many communities desperate to capture sales tax revenue to disregard their comprehensive plans and rezone undeveloped land for retail establishments. In Colorado, local governments are free to choose not to enforce their own zoning and other land regulation laws. This is called selective enforcement. Steamboat Springs, Colorado is an example of a location with illegal buildings and lax enforcement. Social. In more recent times, zoning has been criticized by urban planners and scholars (most notably Jane Jacobs) as a source of new social ills, including urban sprawl, the separation of homes from employment, and the rise of "car culture." Some communities have begun to encourage development of denser, homogenized, mixed-use neighborhoods that promote walking and cycling to jobs and shopping. Nonetheless, a single-family home and car are major parts of the "American Dream" for nuclear families, and zoning laws often reflect this: in some cities, houses that do not have an attached garage are deemed "blighted" and are subject to redevelopment. Movements that disapprove of zoning, such as New Urbanism and Smart Growth, generally try to reconcile these competing demands. New Urbanists in particular try through creative urban design solutions that hark back to 1920s and 1930s practices. Late in the twentieth century, New Urbanists have also come under attack for encouraging sprawl and for the highly prescriptive nature of their model code proposals. Exclusionary. Zoning has long been criticized as a tool of racial and socio-economic exclusion and segregation, primarily through minimum lot-size requirements and land-use segregation (sometimes referred to as "environmental racism"). Early zoning codes often were explicitly racist. June Manning Thomas provides a survey of the literature concerned with this particular critique of zoning. Exclusionary practices remain common among suburbs wishing to keep out those deemed socioeconomically or ethnically undesirable: for example, representatives of the city of Barrington Hills, Illinois once told editors of the Real Estate section of the "Chicago Tribune" that the city's minimum lot size helped to "keep out the riff-raff." Racial. Since 1910 in Baltimore, numerous U.S. States created racial zoning laws (redlining); however such laws were ruled out in 1917 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that such laws interfered with the property rights of owners ("Buchanan v. Warley"). There were repeated attempts by various states, municipalities, and individuals since then to create zoning and housing laws based on race, however, such laws eventually were overturned by the courts. The legality of all discrimination in housing, by public or private entities, was ended by the Fair Housing Act (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968). Despite such rulings, many claim that zoning laws are still used for the purpose of racial segregation. Housing affordability. Zoning also has been implicated as a primary driving factor in the rapidly accelerating lack of affordable housing in urban areas. One mechanism for this is zoning by many suburban and exurban communities for very large minimum residential lot and building sizes in order to preserve home values by limiting the total supply of housing, which thereby excludes poorer people. This shifts the market toward more expensive homes than ordinarily might be built. According to the Manhattan Institute, as much as half of the price paid for housing in some jurisdictions is directly attributable to the hidden costs of restrictive zoning regulation. For example, the entire town of Los Altos Hills, California (with the exception of the local community college and a religious convent), is zoned for residential use with a minimum lot size of one acre (4,000 m²) and a limit to only one primary dwelling per lot. All these restrictions were upheld as constitutional by federal and state courts in the early 1970s. The town traditionally attempted to comply with state affordable housing requirements by counting secondary dwellings (that is, apartments over garages and guest houses) as affordable housing, and since 1989 also has allowed residents to build so-called "granny units". In 1969 Massachusetts enacted the , originally referred to as the anti-snob zoning law. Under this statute, in municipalities with less than 10% affordable housing, a developer of affordable housing may seek waiver of local zoning and other requirements from the local zoning board of appeals, with review available from the state Housing Appeals Committee if the waiver is denied. Similar laws are in place in other parts of the United States (e.g., Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Illinois), although their effectiveness is disputed. Environmental. A study of greenhouse gas emissions found that strict zoning laws "seem to be pushing new development towards places with higher emissions."

region more easily adoptable and immune from legal challenges

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24044121

Michael McGinn (born December 17, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician. He served as mayor of the city of Seattle, Washington and is a neighborhood activist and a former State Chair of the Sierra Club. In what was characterized as a "sea change in the power structure of Seattle," McGinn differentiated his campaign by his opposition to the proposed tunnel replacement to the Alaskan Way Viaduct. He won election in November 2009 with the support of groups considered to be "political outsiders" such as environmentalists, biking advocates, musicians, advocates for the poor, nightclub owners, and younger voters. Early life and education. Originally from Long Island, New York, McGinn earned a B.A. in economics from Williams College and worked for Congressman Jim Weaver as a legislative aide. McGinn attended law school at the University of Washington School of Law. After graduating, he practiced business law for the Seattle firm Stokes Lawrence, becoming a partner. He left Stokes Lawrence in 2005 and started Great City Initiative, a non-profit advocacy group. Political activism. McGinn is credited with increasing the "clout" of the Sierra Club, helping transform it into a "real political force" in Seattle. According to McGinn, the club's political committee was "moribund" when he volunteered to lead it in the mid-1990s. The group grew to 50 active political leaders by 2009. McGinn is the founder and former executive director of the Seattle Great City Initiative, a non-profit advocacy group, as well as a former head of the Greenwood Community Council. While at Great City, he oversaw a budget of $160,000 and worked alliances with companies like Triad Development, Harbor Properties and Paul Allen's Vulcan Inc. on environmental and urban development issues. As a neighborhood organizer and head of his non-profit, McGinn endorsed his future opponent Mayor Greg Nickels and worked with him to bar development of large, commercial "big box stores", eliminate street parking in favor of bus lanes and push for changes in zoning laws to encourage greater density in the Greenwood neighborhood. McGinn stepped down from his position as head of the Greenwood Community Council in 2006 and stepped down as executive director of his non-profit in March 2009 in order to run for Mayor. In 2007, McGinn used his position as a leader in the Sierra Club's Cascade Chapter to help successfully campaign against metropolitan Seattle's Proposition 1, a combined road and mass transit measure, in favor of a transit-only measure. He later chaired the successful campaign to pass a Seattle parks levy. McGinn's management record as an activist has come under scrutiny, including his chairmanship of Seattle's successful 2008 parks levy campaign. Brice Maryman, a leader in the parks campaign, said "There wouldn't have been a parks levy on the ballot ... without Mike McGinn's leadership". However, some members of the Seattle City Council, including Tom Rasmussen, said that McGinn mismanaged the effort. The City Council became "alarmed" at what members described as a disorganized effort. The City Council appointed Seattle Parks Foundation Executive Director Karen Daubert as co-chair in order to help save the levy campaign. Rasmussen says that it was Daubert who "saved the day" for the levy. McGinn credited his grassroots style of campaigning for the victory. 2009 Seattle mayoral campaign. McGinn announced his candidacy in the 2009 Seattle mayoral election on March 24, 2009. McGinn stated that his principal policy positions would center on schools, broadband Internet access and local transportation infrastructure. He advocated replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a surface street instead of the planned tunnel; supplanting private broadband Internet service with a fiber optic system built and operated by Seattle City Light, the city's municipally owned electric utility; greater local neighborhood control of their parking taxes and meter rates. He also raised the possibility of abolishing the city's independent school board, with operation of the schools to become a city government responsibility. Mayor Greg Nickels proposed eliminating Seattle's business tax on Single-occupancy vehicle commuters on the grounds it was no longer needed and was hurting business and job growth. McGinn opposed ending the tax, called the Employee Hours Tax, which taxes business $25 for each of its employees that drive to work alone. McGinn said that Nickels and fellow candidate Joe Mallahan, who also favored repealing the tax, were "out of touch" and too close to the "business elite". McGinn rode his electrically assisted bicycle to and from political events and maintained no paid campaign staff. In an upset, aided by exposure in the form of a cover profile from "The Stranger", McGinn led the August primary with 39,097 votes, ahead of Mallahan's 37,933 votes and incumbent Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels' 35,781 votes. By October 2009 the McGinn campaign had raised approximately $150,000. In the general election, T-Mobile executive Mallahan was perceived as the "insider candidate" who was endorsed by Governor Christine Gregoire, a supporter of the tunnel. McGinn defeated Mallahan on November 3, 2009 in a close race, winning 51.14% of the vote. Although the race was so close in the early vote count that a recount was considered a possibility, the gap between the candidates widened as the tally proceeded. Mallahan conceded on November 9, saying of McGinn that "he seemed to be the superior campaigner this time around" and that McGinn's message "seemed to resonate" with Seattle's voters. Describing the coalition that backed McGinn, University of Washington political science professor David Olson said, "these new actors are legitimate, numerically important and politically very skilled". Mallahan criticized McGinn for "push polling" with robocalls to Seattle residents during the campaign. Mallahan called one survey about the proposed Alaskan Way Viaduct "dishonest" but McGinn says the poll was legitimate research. Mayor Nickels had used "negative" robocalls himself against McGinn a few months earlier in the primary campaign. 2013 Seattle mayoral campaign. In 2013, McGinn was the incumbent running for re-election. He placed second in a field of nine candidates for the Seattle mayoral primary. Ultimately, McGinn lost the general election with 47% of the votes to Ed Murray's 52% of the votes. 2017 Seattle mayoral campaign. On April 17, 2017, McGinn announced his candidacy in the 2017 mayoral election, looking to unseat the incumbent Murray. Policy positions. Taxes and budget. In 2010, McGinn asked for a higher car tab tax and a mandatory doubling of the parking lot tax, a $241 million levy to replace the city's seawall two years early and almost doubling the city's education levy to $231 million. McGinn's budget included a mandatory, city directed increase in parking fees in several neighborhoods to $4 an hour, increases which were expected to return an estimated $20 million in revenue for the city. He allocated a $13 million funding increase for bicycle and pedestrian projects derived from new taxes on motorists. At the same time, he sought reduced funding in road maintenance and widespread cuts in basics such as police and library services. His increased funding of pedestrian and bicycle projects during a time of general cuts raised criticism of his budgetary priorities. In all McGinn's budget slashed $67 million from various areas by laying off 300 employees, reducing hours at community centers, cutting park maintenance, raising fees, and reducing the wages of union workers. For 2012, McGinn proposed deferring some maintenance on roads and buildings and across the board cuts into the 2012 fiscal year, alerting police, fire and human-services departments to prepare for three to six percent cuts and all other departments for four to eight percent cuts, in order to close a $17 million funding gap. In other areas McGinn proposed funding increases. Responding to a letter from "Seattle Gay News", and at the recommendation of the city government's Seattle Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Commission, McGinn said he will "work to improve" city health benefits packages up for renewal in 2013 so that the city will be able to pay for transgender employees' mental health care, steroid treatments and sex change operations. Citing opinions by the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association, the Commission called the treatments "a medical necessity" and McGinn responded that the issue is more about fairness than costs. McGinn also created a new position at city hall for a former Cascade Bicycle Club lobbyist at $95,000 a year after giving a $21,000 raise to his new communications director, bringing that yearly salary to $120,000. The creation of the new position generated controversy as it coincided with across the board budget cuts for other departments. Education. After winning election, McGinn forwarded an expanded education levy which would raise $115 million in additional taxes for the Seattle Public School District. McGinn asserts that the doubling of the levy is necessary to get additional money to programs serving low-income and minority families. The levy would also expand early education and kindergartens, extra elementary school programs for high poverty areas, support for struggling students transitioning from middle to high school, and academic, career and college planning for at risk high school students. The Seattle Times characterized the size of the tax hike to be "tone deaf" to the economic realities of voters. Acknowledging the size of the levy as a concern the Seattle City Council still voted unanimously to forward the mayor's levy proposal to voters with Tim Burgess, the Council's lead on the levy, saying its size "matched the needs" of Seattle's children. The levy was approved by voters in the 2011 general election. McGinn and the school district launched a program to improve school attendance in Seattle Public Schools called "Be There Get Here" in 2011. The idea behind the program is to improve academic performance by improving attendance, based on data showing that students with fewer absences graduate at a notably higher rate. Incentives are offered to students, such as entering them in a raffle if they keep absences to less than five. Six months into the program absences were reduced by 50%, the lowest rate in five years. Marijuana. McGinn supports the legalization and taxation of marijuana, saying on KUOW-FM, "We recognize that, you know, like alcohol, it's something that should be regulated, not treated as a criminal activity. And I think that's where the citizens of Seattle want us to go." He believes marijuana can be used as a cash crop to offset the city's financial problems. McGinn called for an executive review of Seattle's law enforcement policy in regard to marijuana after a police raid on a medical marijuana user who was growing plants in his home. He has said that he believes the country is in a time of transition in regard to marijuana policy citing California as a "social bellwether". In July 2011, McGinn signed a Seattle-specific medical marijuana bill similar to one vetoed by former Washington Governor Christine Gregoire. The bill allows for the licensing of marijuana dispensaries within Seattle. Transportation. McGinn is a proponent of reducing car ridership and increasing bicycling, walking, and public transportation. McGinn has proposed raising taxes on car transportation. He has been described in a critical editorial as "philosophically anti-car". McGinn described the idea of a war on cars as "silly" and stated his transportation policy is focused on reducing the number of cars in Seattle and expanding biking, walking and public transit. Since his time as a neighborhood activist in Greenwood, to his current position as Mayor, McGinn has pushed for the removal of car lanes and on-street parking around the city in favor of bus and bike lanes. McGinn also supports the reduction of lanes dedicated to vehicular traffic within the city through "road diets". These programs convert four lanes of traffic into two lanes, using the added space from lane reductions for the inclusion of bike lanes and a center turn lane. Some of these programs have been well received as improving safety for bicyclists and lowering vehicle speeds while others have been opposed as hurting local business and being inappropriate for arterial routes. McGinn opposes the currently planned replacement of the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge that connects Seattle to Bellevue and Redmond. McGinn is trying to stop the plan, which calls for six lanes instead of the current four, citing his opposition to building new roads. McGinn opposes adding any traffic capacity and has stated his desire to see the additional capacity planned now instead be used as transit only lanes. He also supports tolling on the bridge in order to further diminish car usage. McGinn advocates expanding light rail in Seattle calling for a public vote in 2011 to raise taxes for a new light rail line for the western side of the city, including Ballard, Interbay, Queen Anne, Belltown, Downtown, West Seattle, and possibly Fremont. Proposed tunnel. During his campaign for mayor, McGinn said that the deep bore tunnel replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct was "a huge waste of money that's completely indefensible." McGinn's opposition to the tunnel received criticism from groups like the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, the downtown business community, the King County Labor Council and the "Seattle Times" which, in an editorial critical of both candidates, called McGinn's surface street plan "impractical" and claimed it would clog downtown and overwhelm nearby Interstate 5. Down in the polls during the final days of the campaign, McGinn, although reiterating his opposition to the tunnel, promised that as mayor he would honor the then-recent unanimous City Council vote to move forward with the project. After the election, state employee emails revealed a discomfort with the McGinn campaign by state government and transportation officials over McGinn's opposition to the tunnel. Ron Judd, an aide to Washington Governor Chris Gregoire, sent emails to staff and DOT officials saying McGinn's position was "BS" and accused McGinn of stoking populist angers and relying on voter's ignorance about funding details to advance opposition to the tunnel. Washington State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond described McGinn's budget forecasting as "wild accusations" as she monitored a campaign debate on her Blackberry, and in a response to questions raising concerns about her involvement in opposing the McGinn campaign said "I can't stand it when politicians make things up in order to win an election. When people do that, I think it's our responsibility to clear the record. That's my motivation." State officials were criticized for supporting Mallahan and opposing McGinn, and also for releasing a video of a 2007 computer animation showing collapse of the Alaskan Way Viaduct in a hypothetical earthquake just nine days before the election. Since taking office McGinn has repeatedly made efforts to stop construction of the tunnel. Citing potential cost overruns McGinn has proposed a surface street replacement of the viaduct and the reduction of cars on that portion of the Washington State Route 99 corridor from 105,000 to 50,000 per weekday. McGinn states that the lost traffic capacity could be offset by diverting more cars to Interstate 5, increased transit use, walking, biking and drivers staying home. Writing in "The Stranger" in June 2010 during negotiations on a master contract with the state, McGinn stated, "Ninety percent of megaprojects have cost overruns… Seattle has to pay overruns, but has no say over the project…[b]ecause the tunnel is a state-controlled project, and the state maintains all decision-making authority over it… Cost overruns could lead to severe cuts to basic services." In February 2011, when the Seattle City Council voted 8-1 to sign an agreement allowing the tunnel project to proceed, McGinn vetoed the ordinance. The City Council then overrode his veto, again 8-1. After the March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake in Japan McGinn, citing the quake, called for the viaduct to be pulled down a year early. No plan to replace or mitigate the lost traffic capacity was put forward. The call is opposed by some businesses and transportation experts. The president of Ballard's North Seattle Industrial Association called the likely fallout of early closure "a horror show" citing the corridor's role as the primary arterial for workers, equipment and supplies between manufacturers along Seattle's two key manufacturing zones, the Duwamish Waterway and along the Lake Washington Ship Canal. Washington's State's Department of Transportation viaduct program administrator also opposed the idea saying, "To simply close the viaduct without a reasonable replacement in place would be very damaging to the city of Seattle economically. To start over now and pursue a new alternative would delay the overall project schedule. The viaduct is just as vulnerable as it was before the earthquake in Japan." After having his veto on the tunnel overridden McGinn called for a referendum challenging the tunnel. Two of his staff members took temporary leaves of absence to work on the anti-tunnel campaign and McGinn and his wife both donated money; Councilmember Sally Clark's aide took a leave of absence to run the pro-tunnel campaign. He called for others to support the measure and donate money. After the campaign turned in 29,000 signatures, Washington State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond said that delays and court costs associated with the referendum will cost the city $54 million and Ron Paananen, the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project administrator, said should it succeed it would cost the city over $1 billion. Fellow tunnel opponent City Councilman Mike O'Brien said that, when looked at a different way, cancelling the tunnel would save the city $700 million. The resulting referendum, on which a yes-vote was effectively pro-tunnel, was approved by approximately 60 percent of Seattle voters. Social welfare and public safety. As both a candidate and a mayor, McGinn supported his predecessor's attempts to ban all guns from parks and other public places. After the King County Superior Court overturned the gun ban, for being in violation of state law, McGinn petitioned for the state legislature to change the law. After a series of controversial police actions McGinn laid out in his State of the City address that there was "no place" for police officers in Seattle who did not share city officials' commitment to racial and social justice. News reports said that a Seattle Police Officer's Guild spokesperson thought "it's scary that the mayor is trying to influence how officers perceive things". Later, in the aftermath of the shooting of a transient woodcarver John T. Williams by a Seattle police officer, McGinn declared February 27 to be "John T. Williams Day." The declaration was met with a variety of reactions from activists, the media and community groups. Some media figures and police officers complained that honoring a man with a lengthy criminal record who had been recorded threatening the lives of police officers was inappropriate and others claimed the declaration was political pandering designed to distract from perceived failures in his leadership. Conversely many members of the community and the Williams family expressed gratitude and John Diaz, Seattle Chief of Police, declared the invitation to the event to be "an honor." In his first two years as mayor, McGinn spearheaded a new program in the Seattle Police Department to expand foot patrols around entertainment venues and nightlife hot spots during the summer, predominantly in the Belltown neighborhood. The program came in response to several early morning shootings outside bars and nightclubs. The emphasis of the program is to preempt crime in the area on evenings and weekends. Additional neighborhoods targeted for increased patrols are Alki beach and the Greek Row around the University of Washington. McGinn and an advisory panel of advocates for the homeless that he appointed, have called for the creation of a "long term" housing facility for the homeless on city land. The panel forwarded seven different locations for the mayor's consideration. After initially choosing a site in the Georgetown neighborhood McGinn elected to have the old Fire Station 39 in Lake City act as the site for a period of four to six months. In March 2011 the City Council rejected McGinn's plan for the permanent facility in Georgetown citing the mayor's failure to secure the environmental review required by state law in order to make the necessary zoning changes. McGinn's criticized the Council and tried to draw a parallel to the Council's decision on the Alaskan Way Viaduct Tunnel project, saying "They approved agreements with the state (for the tunnel) even though the environmental review is far from complete". The homeless facility is expected to cost approximately a half million dollars a year. McGinn vetoed a ban on aggressive panhandling which was passed by a 5-4 vote of the Seattle city council. Supporters said that the law was designed to cut down on aggressive panhandlers using intimidating language and gestures, begging at ATMs, repeatedly soliciting people who have already said "no" or blocking people's path while soliciting money. He cited concerns about free speech rights, the panhandlers not having access to lawyers, and that the bill could compel people into mental health and drug treatment programs instead of what he called the "normal civil commitment process." In a "stunning display" of the clout of McGinn and his political allies to stop a measure that was widely expected to be implemented, the city council failed to override his veto of the panhandling law. Relations with organized labor. In his campaign for mayor, McGinn received the endorsements of several unions, including IBEW Local 77, SEIU Local 925, and UFCW Local 21. However, the King County Labor Council endorsed McGinn's opponent, Joe Mallahan, mainly because of McGinn's opposition to the tunnel to replace the viaduct, described by unions as a "deal breaker" that would cause the city and its unions to lose jobs and billions of dollars from the State of Washington and Federal government. The tunnel would have been partially funded by city, state, and federal governments, bringing federal money into the state and supporting the building industry. Seattle Firefighters Union Local 27 and the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) also endorsed Mallahan. SPOG President Sgt. Rich O'Neill went on record at a news conference to criticize McGinn's lack of an adequate policy position regarding public safety. McGinn's prescriptions in 2010 for the city budget shortfall included additional furloughing of city employees, and were opposed by local public employee unions. Public approval. In February 2010, two months after his election, McGinn's job approval was polled by SurveyUSA at 40% approve, 34% disapprove, and 27% unsure. By July, in a KING 5 poll, his approval was 45%, disapproving 38%, and 17% unsure. In March 2011, a poll by Elway Research reported public opinion of his performance as 4% excellent, 28% good, 39% fair, 27% poor, and 6% no opinion. A poll published by EMC Research in June 2011 showed a job approval rating of 33% and a disapproval rating of 65% in March. The same poll conducted in June showed a job approval of 23% and a disapproval of 73%. A SurveyUSA poll released on February 21, 2012, showed 33% approve, 50% disapprove, and 18% unsure.

construction sector

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=53600146

The 2017–2018 Russian protests were a long series of countrywide street protest actions and demonstrations in the Russian Federation, which were primarily concerned with suppressing corruption in the Russian government (from 26 March 2017 through spring 2018) and abandoning the planned retirement age hike (from 14 June 2018 through the end of 2018). The anti-corruption protests began in March 2017, but were joined by and overlapped the 2018 Russian pension protests. The anti-corruption protests were primarily led by Alexey Navalny, who was joined by well-known participants such as the Libertarian Party, Open Russia and Artpodgotovka. Some actions occurred due to the situative reasons although had their root in the corruption at the different levels up to the highest echelons of the Russian power. The protests and demonstrations against corruption in the Russian government began in March 2017 after the release of the investigative film "He Is Not Dimon to You" by Alexey Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, at a point when the country was already tense. Discontentment was triggered by the alleged corrupt activity of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as presented in the film, the inadequately planned demolition of apartments in Moscow and the protracted strikes of truck drivers related to the Platon toll system, which had been ongoing since 2015. National protests against alleged corruption in the federal Russian government took place simultaneously in more than 100 cities across the country on 26 March 2017. They were caused by the dismissive response from the Russian authorities to the published investigative film "He Is Not Dimon to You", which had garnered more than 23 million views on YouTube. By Sunday evening, riot police in body armor and helmets had detained more than 1000 demonstrators in central Moscow, as the crowd, numbering in the tens of thousands, cheered, whistled and chanted – "Shame! ", "Medvedev, resign!" and "Putin is a thief!" The Levada Centre survey showed that 38% of surveyed Russians supported the protests and that 67% held Putin "entirely" or "to a large extent" responsible for high-level corruption. A new wave of mass protests occurred on 12 June 2017. After the arrest of Alexei Navalny on 29 September, hours before a planned rally in Nizhny Novgorod, a new wave of protests was announced for 7 October, the birthday of Vladimir Putin. Protests and uprisings continued in 2018 with the tendency to radicalization – a record number of protestors was detained on 5 May, two days before Putin's inauguration. Mass rallies were held in more than 60 cities all over Russia. Background. In March 2017, Alexei Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation launched the campaign "He Is Not Dimon To You", accusing Dmitry Medvedev, the prime minister and former president of Russia, of corruption. The authorities both ignored the report produced by Navalny and commented that the report was issued by a "convicted criminal" and was not worth commenting on. On 26 March, Navalny organized a series of anti-corruption rallies in different cities across Russia. This appeal was responded to by the representatives of 95 of Russian cities, and four cities abroad: London, Prague, Basel and Bonn. In some cities, the rallies were sanctioned by the authorities, but in others, including Saint Petersburg, they were prohibited. Moscow authorities declined the event request by Navalny in the city centre, but did not suggest any alternative location. Navalny referred to a decision of the Constitutional court and declared the event for being permitted. The Moscow police said that 500 people had been detained, but according to the human rights group OVD-Info, 1,030 people were detained in Moscow alone, including Navalny himself. The Main Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs posted a message on its official website with a call to Moscow residents not to join the event. It said that the action in Moscow was not coordinated with the municipality and was illegal. Events. 26 March 2017. On 26 March, an estimated 60,000 people took part in anti-corruption protests across 80 Russian towns and cities and hundreds of protesters were detained, including opposition leader Alexei Navalny and employees of the Anti-Corruption Foundation. According to Human Rights Watch, Russian authorities have harassed, intimidated, or threatened to expel schoolchildren and university students who participated in anti-corruption demonstrations on 26 March. 70 children were arrested in Moscow alone. The United States Department of State condemned the detention of protesters, including Alexei Navalny, stating that "detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values." 29 April 2017. Action organized by the Open Russia civic movement led by Mikhail Khodorkovsky took place in dozens of cities all across Russia. Action was called "Fed up with" ("Nadoel" in Russian) with the aim to urge for changes in Russian political rule. Protestors called for Putin and government to resign. In Saint Petersburg, Tyumen, Kemerovo, Tula and several other cities rallies were suppressed by police, with a total of 200 people being detained countrywide. As a consequence, the Open Russia organization was labeled as "undesirable" by Russia's prosecutor general, so that it was officially banned from operating in the country and its website was blocked by official Media Authorities Roscomnadzor 12 June 2017. A new wave of protests with the same goals was announced by Navalny on spring. They took place in even more cities. They occurred in 154 towns and cities. According to Reuters and rights groups, tens of thousands of protesters attended and more than one thousand were detained. A Moscow court sentenced Navalny to 30 days in prison for calling people to the protest. White House spokesman Sean Spicer condemned the arrest of protesters and called for their release. Russian authorities rejected US petitions and criticised the widening on the . 7 October 2017. Protest actions against corruption in the highest echelons of the Russian government were held on 7 October 2017, on the day of the 65th anniversary of V.V. Putin in the form of rallies, processions and single pickets in 79 cities of Russia. At the rallies came from 2560 to 21,520 people, like the supporters of Navalny, and his opponents. The main rallies were rallies in St. Petersburg and Moscow. In Saint Petersburg, the action began on the Field of Mars, and in Moscow on Tverskaya Street. The reason for their conduct were facts of corruption V.V. Putin and his associates. 290 participants of the action were detained. 5 November 2017. In Moscow, many police were present, the Okhotny Ryad station was closed. The police conducted selective searches of citizens, many were taken away in padded wagons. At 13:00 on the message OVD-Info in Moscow, 82 people were detained. 2 people were detained in Saint Petersburg, 4 in Krasnoyarsk. Also detained a representative of the "Echo of Moscow". Later in Saint Petersburg, another 10 people were detained near the Smolny Institute. At 21:00 on the message OVD-Info, the number of detainees increased to 448 people. Most of the detentions took place in Moscow – 339, in Saint Petersburg 21 people, according to unconfirmed reports, 49 of them – minors. It remains to spend the night in the police departments, on the night of 6 November, about 112 people. 28 January 2018. Protests within the framework of the "Strike of voters" were held on 28 January 2018 in the form of rallies, processions and solitary pickets in 118 cities of Russia. The reason was the refusal of the CEC to register at the election of Alexei Navalny, after which he announced a protest on 28 January, and urged all his supporters not to come to the elections and agitate others not to take part in them. The Ministry of Internal Affairs estimated the number of participants in the shares of 3500–4500 people, the HROs – in 5000. According to the supporters of Navalny, the participants were much more. The New Times, referring to eyewitnesses, reported 4,000–5,000 protesters in Moscow and 2,000–3,000 in Saint Petersburg. In Yekaterinburg, in an agreed action, Mayor Yevgeny Roizman and Navaly Head of Staff Leonid Volkov took part and spoke at the rally. The presidential candidate, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, spoke with several protestors on Tverskaya Street in Moscow. According to various estimates, about 15,000 people took part in the protests. 30 April 2018. Approximately 13,000 people gathered in Moscow central Sakharov square for a protest rally to urge government to unblock Telegram Messenger. The app was blocked by Roscomnadzor, Russian media authorities who claimed it was used to coordinate terror attacks. Protesters denounced the block as the censorship act and freedom of speech violation. 5 May 2018. Mass protest actions and rallies took place in 90 towns and cities over the country against Vladimir Putin fourth inauguration. Alexey Navalny in his blog compared Vladimir Putin with a tsar. More than thousand people were arrested countrywide. The majority of people were detained in Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Chelyabinsk, Yakutsk, Krasnodar, Tolyatti, Krasnoyarsk, Voronezh, Astrakhan, Penza, Kaluga, Belgorod, Novokuznetsk, Vladimir and Samara. July–September 2018. From July, almost every weekend, protest rallies and demonstrations were organized against the planned retirement age hike. Such events occurred in nearly all major cities countrywide including Novosibirsk, St.-Petersburg and Moscow. Total number of participants exceeded 200 thousands, with maximal single-event attendance of about 15 thousands (in Moscow). These events were coordinated by all opposition parties with the leading role of the communists. Also trade unions and some individual politicians (among whom Navalny) functioned as organizers of the public actions. The most noticeable street rallies, related with the retirement-age reform, proceeded on 1 July, 18, 28 July-29 July, 2 September and 9 September 2018. So, on 2 September, large-scale anti-reform manifestations were led by the Russian communists and some other left-wing oppositional political forces. A week later, on 9 September, the rallies were organized by Alexey Navalny all over Russia, over 800 people were detained. Aftermath. The Anti-Corruption Foundation building was evacuated due to a bomb message, interrupting the webcast of the protest conducted from the office. Soon the staff of the Foundation were detained by police, who also began to conduct searches and seizure of equipment. Some time later, Alexei Navalny was charged with organizing an unlawful meeting. An ACF employee and the head of the Moscow branch of the unregistered "Party of progress" Nikolay Lyaskin was detained for 25 days. Leonid Volkov, the head of Alexei Navalny's presidential campaign, was charged with extremism. About 1,000 people were detained overall, most of whom were released on Monday. Many detainees were under 25 years of age. This protest is considered by critics of the Russian government to be the biggest since the March 2012 Bolotnaya protests for Moscow, which happened in reaction to Putin's election. Pro-government critics, however, linked Navalny's activities with appealing to the Russian youth, mainly by promoting "rebellious movements" as a way of spending free time. In May, Yury Kuly was sentenced to 8 months in jail, and on 24 May Alexander Shpakov was sentenced for 1.5 years in jail, both for alleged violence against the police on the 26 March rally in Moscow. An April 2017 Levada poll found that 45% of surveyed Russians support the resignation of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, while 33% opposed. "Newsweek" reported that "An opinion poll by the Moscow-based Levada Center indicated that 38 percent of Russians supported the rallies and that 67 percent held Putin personally responsible for high-level corruption". A May 2017 Levada poll found that 58% of surveyed Russians supported the protests, while 23% said they disapprove. Protests across Russia. Protests, meeting and pickets have been erupted in 79-154 towns and cities. Some protests ended with mass arrests and clashes with police (such as Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg). Chelyabinsk. On 5 May, an estimated 2,000 to 5,000 protests have taken to the streets, protesters clashed with police, which resulted in arrests of 164 to 200. There are no official figures. Government reaction. Russian state television completely ignored the protests on Sunday. Monday morning's bulletins were similarly blank. Pro-Kremlin newspapers also ignored the protests. Across the country students have reported being press-ganged into lectures warning them of the perils of supporting those opposed to Putin. Some schools and universities have simply tasked teachers with persuading their students not to go to protests. "They don't have the right to 'reeducate' us, to change our political views," a 13-year-old student said. "I think they're doing this because they're afraid. They know that one day we'll be able to vote." Alisa Vox, a Russian singer, appeared in the video for "Baby Boy", posted online on 15 May. It has amassed more than 2.1 million views and more than a quarter of a million 'dislikes', or downvotes. Navalny said Vox's video was a Russian government PR stunt to dissuade his supporters that she had received money for. In many cities, on the day of the protest, the public transport route was specially changed so that it was more difficult for people to get to the protest. The protest actions on 12 June 7 October, 5 November 2017 and 28 January 2018 were not mentioned at all on state-owned TV channels and the media.

acts of mass destruction

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=46006

Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom to change one's religion or beliefs, "the right not to profess any religion or belief" or "not to practise a religion". Freedom of religion is considered by many people and most nations to be a fundamental human right. In a country with a state religion, freedom of religion is generally considered to mean that the government permits religious practices of other sects besides the state religion, and does not persecute believers in other faiths. Freedom of belief is different. It allows the right to believe what a person, group or religion wishes, but it does not necessarily allow the right to practice the religion or belief openly and outwardly in a public manner, a central facet of religious freedom. History. Historically, "freedom of religion" has been used to refer to the tolerance of different theological systems of belief, while "freedom of worship" has been defined as freedom of individual action. Each of these have existed to varying degrees. While many countries have accepted some form of religious freedom, this has also often been limited in practice through punitive taxation, repressive social legislation, and political disenfranchisement. Compare examples of individual freedom in Italy or the Muslim tradition of dhimmis, literally "protected individuals" professing an officially tolerated non-Muslim religion. In Antiquity, a syncretic point of view often allowed communities of traders to operate under their own customs. When street mobs of separate quarters clashed in a Hellenistic or Roman city, the issue was generally perceived to be an infringement of community rights. Cyrus the Great established the Achaemenid Empire ca. 550 BC, and initiated a general policy of permitting religious freedom throughout the empire, documenting this on the Cyrus Cylinder. Some of the historical exceptions have been in regions where one of the revealed religions has been in a position of power: Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam. Others have been where the established order has felt threatened, as shown in the trial of Socrates in 399 BC. Freedom of religious worship was established in the Buddhist Maurya Empire of ancient India by Ashoka the Great in the 3rd century BC, which was encapsulated in the Edicts of Ashoka. GreekJewish clashes at Cyrene in 73 AD and 117 AD and in Alexandria in 115 AD provide examples of cosmopolitan cities as scenes of tumult. The Romans tolerated most religions, including Judaism and encouraged local subjects to continue worshipping their own gods. They did not however, tolerate Christianity until it was legalised by the Roman emperor Galerius in 311. The early Christian apologist Tertullian was the first-known writer referring to the term "libertas religionis". The Edict of Milan guaranteed freedom of religion in the Roman Empire until the Edict of Thessalonica in 380, which outlawed all religions except Christianity. Genghis Khan was one of the first rulers who in 13th century enacted a law explicitly guaranteeing religious freedom to everyone and every religion. Muslim world. Following a period of fighting lasting around a hundred years before 620 AD which mainly involved Arab and Jewish inhabitants of Medina (then known as "Yathrib"), religious freedom for Muslims, Jews and pagans was declared by Muhammad in the Constitution of Medina. In early Muslim history (until mid 11th century), most Islamic scholars maintained a level of separation from the state which helped to establish some elements of institutional religious freedom. The Islamic Caliphate later guaranteed religious freedom under the conditions that non-Muslim communities accept "dhimmi" status and their adult males pay the punitive "jizya" tax instead of the "zakat" paid by Muslim citizens. Though Dhimmis were not given the same political rights as Muslims, they nevertheless did enjoy equality under the laws of property, contract, and obligation. Religious pluralism existed in classical Islamic ethics and Sharia, as the religious laws and courts of other religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism, were usually accommodated within the Islamic legal framework, as seen in the early Caliphate, Al-Andalus, Indian subcontinent, and the Ottoman Millet system. In medieval Islamic societies, the "qadi" (Islamic judges) usually could not interfere in the matters of non-Muslims unless the parties voluntarily choose to be judged according to Islamic law, thus the "dhimmi" communities living in Islamic states usually had their own laws independent from the Sharia law, such as the Jews who would have their own "Halakha" courts. Dhimmis were allowed to operate their own courts following their own legal systems in cases that did not involve other religious groups, or capital offences or threats to public order. Non-Muslims were allowed to engage in religious practices that were usually forbidden by Islamic law, such as the consumption of alcohol and pork, as well as religious practices which Muslims found repugnant, such as the Zoroastrian practice of incestuous "self-marriage" where a man could marry his mother, sister or daughter. According to the famous Islamic legal scholar Ibn Qayyim (1292–1350), non-Muslims had the right to engage in such religious practices even if it offended Muslims, under the conditions that such cases not be presented to Islamic Sharia courts and that these religious minorities believed that the practice in question is permissible according to their religion. Despite Dhimmis enjoying special statuses under the Caliphates, they were not considered equals, and sporadic persecutions of non-Muslim groups did occur in the history of the Caliphates. India. Ancient Jews fleeing from persecution in their homeland 2,500 years ago settled in India and never faced anti-Semitism. Freedom of religion edicts have been found written during Ashoka the Great's reign in the 3rd century BC. Freedom to practise, preach and propagate any religion is a constitutional right in Modern India. Most major religious festivals of the main communities are included in the list of national holidays. Although India is an 80% Hindu country, India is a secular state without any state religions. Many scholars and intellectuals believe that India's predominant religion, Hinduism, has long been a most tolerant religion. Rajni Kothari, founder of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies has written, "[India] is a country built on the foundations of a civilisation that is fundamentally non-religious." The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan leader in exile, said that religious tolerance of 'Aryabhoomi,' a reference to India found in the Mahabharata, has been in existence in this country from thousands of years. "Not only Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism which are the native religions but also Christianity and Islam have flourished here. Religious tolerance is inherent in Indian tradition," the Dalai Lama said. Freedom of religion in the Indian subcontinent is exemplified by the reign of King Piyadasi (304–232 BC) (Ashoka). One of King Ashoka's main concerns was to reform governmental institutes and exercise moral principles in his attempt to create a just and humane society. Later he promoted the principles of Buddhism, and the creation of a just, understanding and fair society was held as an important principle for many ancient rulers of this time in the East. The importance of freedom of worship in India was encapsulated in an inscription of Ashoka: On the main Asian continent, the Mongols were tolerant of religions. People could worship as they wished freely and openly. After the arrival of Europeans, Christians in their zeal to convert local as per belief in conversion as service of God, have also been seen to fall into frivolous methods since their arrival, though by and large there are hardly any reports of law and order disturbance from mobs with Christian beliefs, except perhaps in the north eastern region of India. Freedom of religion in contemporary India is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 25 of the nation's constitution. Accordingly, every citizen of India has a right to profess, practice and propagate their religions peacefully. In September 2010, the Indian state of Kerala's State Election Commissioner announced that "Religious heads cannot issue calls to vote for members of a particular community or to defeat the nonbelievers". The Catholic Church comprising Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara rites used to give clear directions to the faithful on exercising their franchise during elections through pastoral letters issued by bishops or council of bishops. The pastoral letter issued by Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC) on the eve of the poll urged the faithful to shun atheists. Even today, most Indians celebrate all religious festivals with equal enthusiasm and respect. Hindu festivals like Deepavali and Holi, Muslim festivals like Eid al-Fitr, Eid-Ul-Adha, Muharram, Christian festivals like Christmas and other festivals like Buddha Purnima, Mahavir Jayanti, Gur Purab etc. are celebrated and enjoyed by all Indians. Europe. Religious intolerance. Most Roman Catholic kingdoms kept a tight rein on religious expression throughout the Middle Ages. Jews were alternately tolerated and persecuted, the most notable examples of the latter being the expulsion of all Jews from Spain in 1492. Some of those who remained and converted were tried as heretics in the Inquisition for allegedly practicing Judaism in secret. Despite the persecution of Jews, they were the most tolerated non-Catholic faith in Europe. However, the latter was in part a reaction to the growing movement that became the Reformation. As early as 1380, John Wycliffe in England denied transubstantiation and began his translation of the Bible into English. He was condemned in a Papal Bull in 1410, and all his books were burned. In 1414, Jan Hus, a Bohemian preacher of reformation, was given a safe conduct by the Holy Roman Emperor to attend the Council of Constance. Not entirely trusting in his safety, he made his will before he left. His forebodings proved accurate, and he was burned at the stake on 6 July 1415. The Council also decreed that Wycliffe's remains be disinterred and cast out. This decree was not carried out until 1429. After the fall of the city of Granada, Spain, in 1492, the Muslim population was promised religious freedom by the Treaty of Granada, but that promise was short-lived. In 1501, Granada's Muslims were given an ultimatum to either convert to Christianity or to emigrate. The majority converted, but only superficially, continuing to dress and speak as they had before and to secretly practice Islam. The Moriscos (converts to Christianity) were ultimately expelled from Spain between 1609 (Castile) and 1614 (rest of Spain), by Philip III. Martin Luther published his famous 95 Theses in Wittenberg on 31 October 1517. His major aim was theological, summed up in the three basic dogmas of Protestantism: In consequence, Luther hoped to stop the sale of indulgences and to reform the Church from within. In 1521, he was given the chance to recant at the Diet of Worms before Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. After he refused to recant, he was declared heretic. Partly for his own protection, he was sequestered on the Wartburg in the possessions of Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, where he translated the New Testament into German. He was excommunicated by Papal Bull in 1521. However, the movement continued to gain ground in his absence and spread to Switzerland. Huldrych Zwingli preached reform in Zürich from 1520 to 1523. He opposed the sale of indulgences, celibacy, pilgrimages, pictures, statues, relics, altars, and organs. This culminated in outright war between the Swiss cantons that accepted Protestantism and the Catholics. In 1531, the Catholics were victorious, and Zwingli was killed in battle. The Catholic cantons made peace with Zurich and Berne. The defiance of Papal authority proved contagious, and in 1533, when Henry VIII of England was excommunicated for his divorce and remarriage to Anne Boleyn, he promptly established a state church with bishops appointed by the crown. This was not without internal opposition, and Thomas More, who had been his Lord Chancellor, was executed in 1535 for opposition to Henry. In 1535, the Swiss canton of Geneva became Protestant. In 1536, the Bernese imposed the reformation on the canton of Vaud by conquest. They sacked the cathedral in Lausanne and destroyed all its art and statuary. John Calvin, who had been active in Geneva was expelled in 1538 in a power struggle, but he was invited back in 1540. The same kind of seesaw back and forth between Protestantism and Catholicism was evident in England when Mary I of England returned that country briefly to the Catholic fold in 1553 and persecuted Protestants. However, her half-sister, Elizabeth I of England was to restore the Church of England in 1558, this time permanently, and began to persecute Catholics again. The King James Bible commissioned by King James I of England and published in 1611 proved a landmark for Protestant worship, with official Catholic forms of worship being banned. In France, although peace was made between Protestants and Catholics at the Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1570, persecution continued, most notably in the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day on 24 August 1572, in which thousands of Protestants throughout France were killed. A few years before, at the "Michelade" of Nîmes in 1567, Protestants had massacred the local Catholic clergy. Early steps and attempts in the way of tolerance. The Norman Kingdom of Sicily under Roger II was characterized by its multi-ethnic nature and religious tolerance. Normans, Jews, Muslim Arabs, Byzantine Greeks, Lombards, and native Sicilians lived in harmony. Rather than exterminate the Muslims of Sicily, Roger II's grandson Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (1215–1250) allowed them to settle on the mainland and build mosques. Not least, he enlisted them in his Christian army and even into his personal bodyguards. Kingdom of Bohemia (present-day Czech Republic) enjoyed religious freedom between 1436 and 1620 as a result of the Bohemian Reformation, and became one of the most liberal countries of the Christian world during that period of time. The so-called Basel Compacts of 1436 declared the freedom of religion and peace between Catholics and Utraquists. In 1609 Emperor Rudolf II granted Bohemia greater religious liberty with his Letter of Majesty. The privileged position of the Catholic Church in the Czech kingdom was firmly established after the Battle of White Mountain in 1620. Gradually freedom of religion in Bohemian lands came to an end and Protestants fled or were expelled from the country. A devout Catholic, Emperor Ferdinand II forcibly converted Austrian and Bohemian Protestants. In the meantime, in Germany Philip Melanchthon drafted the Augsburg Confession as a common confession for the Lutherans and the free territories. It was presented to Charles V in 1530. In the Holy Roman Empire, Charles V agreed to tolerate Lutheranism in 1555 at the Peace of Augsburg. Each state was to take the religion of its prince, but within those states, there was not necessarily religious tolerance. Citizens of other faiths could relocate to a more hospitable environment. In France, from the 1550s, many attempts to reconcile Catholics and Protestants and to establish tolerance failed because the State was too weak to enforce them. It took the victory of prince Henry IV of France, who had converted into Protestantism, and his accession to the throne, to impose religious tolerance formalized in the Edict of Nantes in 1598. It would remain in force for over 80 years until its revocation in 1685 by Louis XIV of France. Intolerance remained the norm until Louis XVI, who signed the Edict of Versailles (1787), then the constitutional text of 24 December 1789, granting civilian rights to Protestants. The French Revolution then abolished state religion and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789) guarantees freedom of religion, as long as religious activities do not infringe on public order in ways detrimental to society. Early laws and legal guarantees for religious freedom. Eastern Hungarian Kingdom (Principality of Transylvania). In 1558, the Transylvanian Diet's Edict of Torda declared free practice of both Catholicism and Lutheranism. Calvinism, however, was prohibited. Calvinism was included among the accepted religions in 1564. Ten years after the first law, in 1568, the same Diet, under the chairmanship of King of Hungary, and Prince of Transylvania John Sigismund Zápolya (John II. ), following the teaching of Ferenc Dávid, the founder of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, extended the freedom to all religions, declaring that "It is not allowed to anybody to intimidate anybody with captivity or expelling for his religion". However, it was more than a religious tolerance; it declared the equality of the religions, prohibiting all kinds of acts from authorities or from simple people, which could harm other groups or people because of their religious beliefs. The emergence in social hierarchy wasn't dependent on the religion of the person thus Transylvania had also Catholic and Protestant monarchs, who all respected the Edict of Torda. The lack of state religion was unique for centuries in Europe. Therefore, the Edict of Torda is considered as the first legal guarantee of religious freedom in Christian Europe. Four religions (Catholicism, Lutheranism, Calvinism, Unitarianism) were named as accepted religions (religo recepta), having their representatives in the Transylvanian Diet, while the other religions, like the Orthodoxs, Sabbatarians and Anabaptists were tolerated churches (religio tolerata), which meant that they had no power in the law making and no veto rights in the Diet, but they were not persecuted in any way. Thanks to the Edict of Torda, from the last decades of the 16th Century Transylvania was the only place in Europe, where so many religions could live together in harmony and without persecution. This religious freedom ended however for some of the religions of Transylvania in 1638. After this year the Sabbatarians begun to be persecuted, and forced to convert to one of the accepted Christian religions of Transylvania. Habsburg rule in Transylvania. Also the Unitarians (despite of being one of the "accepted religions") started to be put under an ever-growing pressure, which culminated after the Habsburg conquest of Transylvania (1691), Also after the Habsburg occupation, the new Austrian masters forced in the middle of the 18th century the Hutterite Anabaptists (who found a safe heaven in 1621 in Transylvania, after the persecution to which they were subjected in the Austrian provinces and Moravia) to convert to Catholicism or to migrate in another country, which finally the Anabaptists did, leaving Transylvania and Hungary for Wallachia, than from there to Russia, and finally in the United States. Netherlands. In the Union of Utrecht (20 January 1579), personal freedom of religion was declared in the struggle between the Northern Netherlands and Spain. The Union of Utrecht was an important step in the establishment of the Dutch Republic (from 1581 to 1795). Under Calvinist leadership, the Netherlands became the most tolerant country in Europe. It granted asylum to persecuted religious minorities, such as the Huguenots, the Dissenters, and the Jews who had been expelled from Spain and Portugal. The establishment of a Jewish community in the Netherlands and New Amsterdam (present-day New York) during the Dutch Republic is an example of religious freedom. When New Amsterdam surrendered to the English in 1664, freedom of religion was guaranteed in the Articles of Capitulation. It benefitted also the Jews who had landed on Manhattan Island in 1654, fleeing Portuguese persecution in Brazil. During the 18th century, other Jewish communities were established at Newport, Rhode Island, Philadelphia, Charleston, Savannah, and Richmond. Intolerance of dissident forms of Protestantism also continued, as evidenced by the exodus of the Pilgrims, who sought refuge, first in the Netherlands, and ultimately in America, founding Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts in 1620. William Penn, the founder of Philadelphia, was involved in a case which had a profound effect upon future American laws and those of England. In a classic case of jury nullification, the jury refused to convict William Penn of preaching a Quaker sermon, which was illegal. Even though the jury was imprisoned for their acquittal, they stood by their decision and helped establish the freedom of religion. Poland. The General Charter of Jewish Liberties known as the Statute of Kalisz was issued by the Duke of Greater Poland Boleslaus the Pious on 8 September 1264 in Kalisz. The statute served as the basis for the legal position of Jews in Poland and led to the creation of the Yiddish-speaking autonomous Jewish nation until 1795. The statute granted exclusive jurisdiction of Jewish courts over Jewish matters and established a separate tribunal for matters involving Christians and Jews. Additionally, it guaranteed personal liberties and safety for Jews including freedom of religion, travel, and trade. The statute was ratified by subsequent Polish Kings: Casimir III of Poland in 1334, Casimir IV of Poland in 1453 and Sigismund I of Poland in 1539. Poland freed Jews from direct royal authority, opening up enormous administrative and economic opportunities to them. Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The right to worship freely was a basic right given to all inhabitants of the future Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth throughout the 15th and early 16th century, however, complete freedom of religion was officially recognized in 1573 during the Warsaw Confederation. Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth kept religious freedom laws during an era when religious persecution was an everyday occurrence in the rest of Europe. United States. Most of the early colonies were generally not tolerant of dissident forms of worship, with Maryland being one of the exceptions. For example, Roger Williams found it necessary to found a new colony in Rhode Island to escape persecution in the theocratically dominated colony of Massachusetts. The Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were the most active of the New England persecutors of Quakers, and the persecuting spirit was shared by Plymouth Colony and the colonies along the Connecticut river. In 1660, one of the most notable victims of the religious intolerance was English Quaker Mary Dyer, who was hanged in Boston, Massachusetts for repeatedly defying a Puritan law banning Quakers from the colony. As one of the four executed Quakers known as the Boston martyrs, the hanging of Dyer on the Boston gallows marked the beginning of the end of the Puritan theocracy and New England independence from English rule, and in 1661 King Charles II explicitly forbade Massachusetts from executing anyone for professing Quakerism. Anti-Catholic sentiment appeared in New England with the first Pilgrim and Puritan settlers. In 1647, Massachusetts passed a law prohibiting any Jesuit Roman Catholic priests from entering territory under Puritan jurisdiction. Any suspected person who could not clear himself was to be banished from the colony; a second offense carried a death penalty. The Pilgrims of New England held radical Protestant disapproval of Christmas. Christmas observance was outlawed in Boston in 1659. The ban by the Puritans was revoked in 1681 by an English appointed governor, however it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating Christmas became common in the Boston region. Freedom of religion was first applied as a principle of government in the founding of the colony of Maryland, founded by the Catholic Lord Baltimore, in 1634. Fifteen years later (1649), the Maryland Toleration Act, drafted by Lord Baltimore, provided: "No person or persons...shall from henceforth be any waies troubled, molested or discountenanced for or in respect of his or her religion nor in the free exercise thereof." The Act allowed freedom of worship for all Trinitarian Christians in Maryland, but sentenced to death anyone who denied the divinity of Jesus. The Maryland Toleration Act was repealed during the Cromwellian Era with the assistance of Protestant assemblymen and a new law barring Catholics from openly practicing their religion was passed. In 1657, the Catholic Lord Baltimore regained control after making a deal with the colony's Protestants, and in 1658 the Act was again passed by the colonial assembly. This time, it would last more than thirty years, until 1692 when, after Maryland's Protestant Revolution of 1689, freedom of religion was again rescinded. In addition, in 1704, an Act was passed "to prevent the growth of Popery in this Province", preventing Catholics from holding political office. Full religious toleration would not be restored in Maryland until the American Revolution, when Maryland's Charles Carroll of Carrollton signed the American Declaration of Independence. Rhode Island (1636), Connecticut (1636), New Jersey, and Pennsylvania (1682) founded by Protestants Roger Williams, Thomas Hooker, and William Penn, respectively combined the democratic form of government which had been developed by the Puritans and the Separatist Congregationalists in Massachusetts with religious freedom. These colonies became sanctuaries for persecuted religious minorities. Catholics and later on Jews also had full citizenship and free exercise of their religions. Williams, Hooker, Penn, and their friends were firmly convinced that freedom of conscience was the will of God. Williams gave the most profound argument: As faith is the free work of the Holy Spirit, it cannot be forced on a person. Therefore, strict separation of church and state has to be kept. Pennsylvania was the only colony that retained unlimited religious freedom until the foundation of the United States in 1776. It was the inseparable connection between democracy, religious freedom, and the other forms of freedom which became the political and legal basis of the new nation. In particular, Baptists and Presbyterians demanded the disestablishment of state churches Anglican and Congregationalist and the protection of religious freedom. Reiterating Maryland's and the other colonies' earlier colonial legislation, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, written in 1779 by Thomas Jefferson, proclaimed: [N]o man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities. Those sentiments also found expression in the First Amendment of the national constitution, part of the United States' Bill of Rights: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...". The acknowledgement of religious freedom as the first right protected in the Bill of Rights points toward the American founders' understanding of the importance of religion to human, social, and political flourishing. The First Amendment makes clear that it sought to protect "the free exercise" of religion, or what might be called "free exercise equality." The United States formally considers religious freedom in its foreign relations. The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 established the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom which investigates the records of over 200 other nations with respect to religious freedom, and makes recommendations to submit nations with egregious records to ongoing scrutiny and possible economic sanctions. Many human rights organizations have urged the United States to be still more vigorous in imposing sanctions on countries that do not permit or tolerate religious freedom. Canada. Freedom of religion in Canada is a constitutionally protected right, allowing believers the freedom to assemble and worship without limitation or interference. Canadian law goes further, requiring that private citizens and companies provide reasonable accommodation to those, for example, with strong religious beliefs. The Canadian Human Rights Act allows an exception to reasonable accommodation with respect to religious dress, such as a Sikh turban, when there is a "bona fide" occupational requirement, such as a workplace requiring a hard hat. In 2017 the Santo Daime Church Céu do Montréal received religious exemption to use Ayahuasca as a sacrament in their rituals. International. On 25 November 1981, the United Nations General Assembly passed the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. This declaration recognizes freedom of religion as a fundamental human right in accordance with several other instruments of international law. However, the most substantial binding legal instruments that guarantee the right to freedom of religion that was passed by the international community is the Convention on the Rights of the Child which states in its Article 14: "States Parties shall respect the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. States Parties shall respect the rights and duties of the parents and, when applicable, legal guardians, to provide direction to the child in the exercise of his or her right in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health or morals, or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others." Contemporary debates. Theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs. In 1993, the UN's human rights committee declared that article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights "protects theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief." The committee further stated that "the freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief necessarily entails the freedom to choose a religion or belief, including the right to replace one's current religion or belief with another or to adopt atheistic views." Signatories to the convention are barred from "the use of threat of physical force or penal sanctions to compel believers or non-believers" to recant their beliefs or convert. Despite this, minority religions still are persecuted in many parts of the world. Secular liberalism. The French philosopher Voltaire noted in his book on English society, "Letters on the English", that freedom of religion in a diverse society was deeply important to maintaining peace in that country. That it was also important in understanding why England at that time was more prosperous in comparison to the country's less religiously tolerant European neighbours. If one religion only were allowed in England, the Government would very possibly become arbitrary; if there were but two, the people would cut one another’s throats; but as there are such a multitude, they all live happy and in peace.Adam Smith, in his book "The Wealth of Nations" (using an argument first put forward by his friend and contemporary David Hume), states that in the long run it is in the best interests of society as a whole and the civil magistrate (government) in particular to allow people to freely choose their own religion, as it helps prevent civil unrest and reduces intolerance. So long as there are enough religions and/or religious sects operating freely in a society then they are all compelled to moderate their more controversial and violent teachings, so as to be more appealing to more people and so have an easier time attracting new converts. It is this free competition amongst religious sects for converts that ensures stability and tranquillity in the long run. Smith also points out that laws that prevent religious freedom and seek to preserve the power and belief in a particular religion will, in the long run, only serve to weaken and corrupt that religion, as its leaders and preachers become complacent, disconnected and unpractised in their ability to seek and win over new converts: Hinduism. Hinduism is one of the more broad-minded religions when it comes to religious freedom. It respects the right of everyone to reach God in their own way. Hindus believe in different ways to preach attainment of God and religion as a philosophy and hence respect all religions as equal. One of the famous Hindu sayings about religion is: "Truth is one; sages call it by different names." Judaism. Judaism includes multiple streams, such as Orthodox, Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism, Jewish Renewal and Humanistic Judaism. However, Judaism also exists in many forms as a civilization, possessing characteristics known as peoplehood, rather than strictly as a religion. In the Torah, Jews are forbidden to practice idolatry and are commanded to root out pagan and idolatrous practices within their midst, including killing idolaters who sacrifice children to their gods, or engage in immoral activities. However, these laws are not adhered to anymore as Jews have usually lived among a multi-religious community. After the conquest of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judea by the Roman Empire, a Jewish state did not exist until 1948 with the establishment of the State of Israel. For over 1500 years Jewish people lived under pagan, Christian, Muslim, etc. rule. As such Jewish people in some of these states faced persecution. From the pogroms in Europe during the Middle Ages to the establishment of segregated Jewish ghettos during World War II. In the Middle East, Jews were categorised as dhimmi, non- Muslims permitted to live within a Muslim state. Even though given rights within a Muslim state, a dhimmi is still not equal to a Muslim within Muslim society. Possibly because of this history of long term persecution, Jews in modernity have been among the most active proponents of religious freedom in the US and abroad and have founded and supported anti-hate institutions, including the Anti-Defamation League, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union. Jews are very active in supporting Muslim and other religious groups in the US against discrimination and hate crimes and most Jewish congregations throughout the US and many individual Jews participate in interfaith community projects and programs. The State of Israel was established for the Jewish diaspora after World War II. While the Israel Declaration of Independence stresses religious freedom as a fundamental principle, in practice the current government, dominated by the ultra-Orthodox segment of the population has instituted legal barriers for those who do not practice Orthodox Judaism as Jews. However, as a nation state, Israel is very open towards other religions and religious practices, including public Muslim call to prayer chants and Christian prayer bells ringing in Jerusalem. Israel has been evaluated in research by the Pew organization as having "high" government restrictions on religion. The government recognizes only Orthodox Judaism in certain matters of personal status, and marriages can only be performed by religious authorities. The government provides the greatest funding to Orthodox Judaism, even though adherents represent a minority of citizens. Jewish women, including Anat Hoffman, have been arrested at the Western Wall for praying and singing while wearing religious garments the Orthodox feel should be reserved for men. Women of the Wall have organized to promote religious freedom at the Wall. In November 2014, a group of 60 non-Orthodox rabbinical students were told they would not be allowed to pray in the Knesset synagogue because it is reserved for Orthodox. Rabbi Joel Levy, director of the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, said that he had submitted the request on behalf of the students and saw their shock when the request was denied. He noted: "paradoxically, this decision served as an appropriate end to our conversation about religion and state in Israel." MK Dov Lipman expressed the concern that many Knesset workers are unfamiliar with non-Orthodox and American practices and would view "an egalitarian service in the synagogue as an affront." The non-Orthodox forms of Jewish practice function independently in Israel, except for these issues of praying at the Western Wall. Christianity. According to the Catholic Church in the Vatican II document on religious freedom, "Dignitatis Humanae", "the human person has a right to religious freedom", which is described as "immunity from coercion in civil society". This principle of religious freedom "leaves untouched traditional Catholic doctrine on the moral duty of men and societies toward the true religion." In addition, this right "is to be recognized in the constitutional law whereby society is governed and thus it is to become a civil right." Prior to this, Pope Pius IX had written a document called the "Syllabus of Errors. "The Syllabus was made up of phrases and paraphrases from earlier papal documents, along with index references to them, and presented as a list of "condemned propositions". It does not explain why each particular proposition is wrong, but it cites earlier documents to which the reader can refer for the Pope's reasons for saying each proposition is false. Among the statements included in the Syllabus are: "[It is an error to say that] Every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true" (15); "[It is an error to say that] In the present day it is no longer expedient that the Catholic religion should be held as the only religion of the State, to the exclusion of all other forms of worship"; "[It is an error to say that] Hence it has been wisely decided by law, in some Catholic countries, that persons coming to reside therein shall enjoy the public exercise of their own peculiar worship". Some Orthodox Christians, especially those living in democratic countries, support religious freedom for all, as evidenced by the position of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Many Protestant Christian churches, including some Baptists, Churches of Christ, Seventh-day Adventist Church and main line churches have a commitment to religious freedoms. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also affirms religious freedom. However others, such as African scholar Makau Mutua, have argued that Christian insistence on the propagation of their faith to native cultures as an element of religious freedom has resulted in a corresponding denial of religious freedom to native traditions and led to their destruction. As he states in the book produced by the Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief, "Imperial religions have necessarily violated individual conscience and the communal expressions of Africans and their communities by subverting African religions." In their book "Breaking India", Rajiv Malhotra and Aravindan Neelakandan discussed the "US Protestant Church" funding activities in India, with the book arguing that the funds collected were being used not so much for the purposes indicated to sponsors, but for indoctrination and conversion activities. They suggest that India is the prime target of a huge enterprise a "network" of organizations, individuals, and churches that, they argue, seem intensely devoted to the task of creating a separatist identity, history, and even religion for the vulnerable sections of India. They suggest that this nexus of players includes not only church groups, government bodies, and related organizations, but also private think tanks and academics. Joel Spring has written about the Christianization of the Roman Empire: Christianity added new impetus to the expansion of empire. Increasing the arrogance of the imperial project, Christians insisted that the Gospels and the Church were the only valid sources of religious beliefs. Imperialists could claim that they were both civilizing the world and spreading the true religion. By the 5th century, Christianity was thought of as co-extensive with the "Imperium romanum". This meant that to be human, as opposed to being a natural slave, was to be "civilized" and Christian. Historian Anthony Pagden argues, "just as the "civitas"; had now become coterminous with Christianity, so to be human to be, that is, one who was 'civil', and who was able to interpret correctly the law of nature one had now also to be Christian." After the fifteenth century, most Western colonialists rationalized the spread of empire with the belief that they were saving a barbaric and pagan world by spreading Christian civilization. Islam. Conversion to Islam is simple, but Muslims are forbidden to convert from Islam to another religion. Certain Muslim-majority countries are known for their restrictions on religious freedom, highly favoring Muslim citizens over non-Muslim citizens. Other countries having the same restrictive laws tend to be more liberal when imposing them. Even other Muslim-majority countries are secular and thus do not regulate religious belief. Islamic theologians quote the Qur'an ( and , i.e., Sura Al-Kafirun) to show scriptural support for religious freedom. , referring to the war against Pagans during the Battle of Badr in Medina, indicates that Muslims are only allowed to fight against those who intend to harm them (right of self-defense) and that if their enemies surrender, they must also stop because God does not like those who transgress limits. In Bukhari:V9 N316, Jabir ibn 'Abdullah narrated that a Bedouin accepted Islam and then when he got a fever he demanded that Muhammad to cancel his pledge (allow him to renounce Islam). Muhammad refused to do so. The Bedouin man repeated his demand once, but Muhammad once again refused. Then, he (the Bedouin) left Medina. Muhammad said, "Madinah is like a pair of bellows (furnace): it expels its impurities and brightens and clear its good." In this narration, there was no evidence demonstrating that Muhammad ordered the execution of the Bedouin for wanting to renounce Islam. In addition, , which is believed to be God's final revelation to Muhammad, states that Muslims are to fear God and not those who reject Islam, and states that one is accountable only for one's own actions. Therefore, it postulates that in Islam, in the matters of practising a religion, it does not relate to a worldly punishment, but rather these actions are accountable to God in the afterlife. Thus, this supports the argument against the execution of apostates in Islam. However, on the other hand, some Muslims support the practice of executing apostates who leave Islam, as in Bukhari:V4 B52 N260; "The Prophet said, 'If a Muslim discards his religion and separates from the main body of Muslims, kill him." In Iran, the constitution recognizes four religions whose status is formally protected: Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The constitution, however, also set the groundwork for the institutionalized persecution of Baháʼís, who have been subjected to arrests, beatings, executions, confiscation and destruction of property, and the denial of civil rights and liberties, and the denial of access to higher education. There is no freedom of conscience in Iran, as converting from Islam to any other religion is forbidden. In Egypt, a 16 December 2006 judgment of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt created a clear demarcation between recognized religions Islam, Christianity and Judaism and all other religious beliefs; no other religious affiliation is officially admissible. The ruling leaves members of other religious communities, including Baháʼís, without the ability to obtain the necessary government documents to have rights in their country, essentially denying them of all rights of citizenship. They cannot obtain ID cards, birth certificates, death certificates, marriage or divorce certificates, and passports; they also cannot be employed, educated, treated in public hospitals or vote, among other things. See Egyptian identification card controversy. Changing religion. Among the most contentious areas of religious freedom is the right of an individual to change or abandon his or her own religion (apostasy), and the right to evangelize individuals seeking to convince others to make such a change. Other debates have centered around restricting certain kinds of missionary activity by religions. Many Islamic states, and others such as China, severely restrict missionary activities of other religions. Greece, among European countries, has generally looked unfavorably on missionary activities of denominations others than the majority church and proselytizing is constitutionally prohibited. A different kind of critique of the freedom to propagate religion has come from non-Abrahamic traditions such as the African and Indian. African scholar Makau Mutua criticizes religious evangelism on the ground of cultural annihilation by what he calls "proselytizing universalist faiths" (Chapter 28: Proselytism and Cultural Integrity, p. 652): Some Indian scholars have similarly argued that the right to propagate religion is not culturally or religiously neutral. In Sri Lanka, there have been debates regarding a bill on religious freedom that seeks to protect indigenous religious traditions from certain kinds of missionary activities. Debates have also occurred in various states of India regarding similar laws, particularly those that restrict conversions using force, fraud or allurement. In 2008, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a Christian human rights non-governmental organisation which specializes in religious freedom, launched an in-depth report on the human rights abuses faced by individuals who leave Islam for another religion. The report is the product of a year long research project in six countries. It calls on Muslim nations, the international community, the UN and the international media to resolutely address the serious violations of human rights suffered by apostates. Apostasy in Islam. In Islam, apostasy is called "ridda" ("turning back") and is considered to be a profound insult to God. A person born of Muslim parents that rejects Islam is called a ""murtad fitri" (natural apostate), and a person that converted to Islam and later rejects the religion is called a "murtad milli"" (apostate from the community). In Islamic law (Sharia), the consensus view is that a male apostate must be put to death unless he suffers from a mental disorder or converted under duress, for example due to an imminent danger of being killed. A female apostate must be either executed, according to Shafi'i, Maliki, and Hanbali schools of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), or imprisoned until she reverts to Islam as advocated by the Sunni Hanafi school and by Shi'a scholars. Ideally, the one performing the execution of an apostate must be an imam. At the same time, all schools of Islamic jurisprudence agree that any Muslim can kill an apostate without punishment. However, while almost all scholars agree about the punishment, many disagree on the allowable time to retract the apostasy. S. A. Rahman, a former Chief Justice of Pakistan, argues that there is no indication of the death penalty for apostasy in the Qur'an. Children's rights. The law in Germany includes the concept of "religious maturity" ("Religiöse Mündigkeit") with a minimum age for minors to follow their own religious beliefs even if their parents don't share those or don't approve. Children 14 and older have the unrestricted right to enter or exit any religious community. Children 12 and older cannot be compelled to change to a different belief. Children 10 and older have to be heard before their parents change their religious upbringing to a different belief. There are similar laws in Austria and in Switzerland. Secular law. Religious practice may also conflict with secular law, creating debates on religious freedom. For instance, even though polygamy is permitted in Islam, it is prohibited in secular law in many countries. This raises the question of whether prohibiting the practice infringes on the beliefs of certain Muslims. The US and India, both constitutionally secular nations, have taken two views of this. In India, polygamy is permitted, but only for Muslims, under Muslim Personal Law. In the US, polygamy is prohibited for all. This was a major source of conflict between the early LDS Church and the United States until the Church amended its position on practicing polygamy. Similar issues have also arisen in the context of the religious use of psychedelic substances by Native American tribes in the United States, such as by the Native American Church. In 1955, Chief Justice of California Roger J. Traynor neatly summarized the American position on how freedom of religion cannot imply freedom from law: "Although freedom of conscience and the freedom to believe are absolute, the freedom to act is not." But with respect to the religious use of animals within secular law and those acts, the US Supreme Court decision in the case of the "Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah" in 1993 upheld the right of Santeria adherents to practice ritual animal sacrifice, with Justice Anthony Kennedy stating in the decision: "religious beliefs need not be acceptable, logical, consistent or comprehensible to others in order to merit First Amendment protection" (quoted by Justice Kennedy from the opinion by Justice Burger in "Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division" ). In 1962, the case of "Engel v. Vitale" went to court over the violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment resulting from a mandatory nondenominational prayer in New York public schools. The Supreme Court ruled in opposition to the state. In 1963, the Supreme Court ruled on the case of "Abington School District v. Schempp". Edward Schempp sued the school district in Abington over the Pennsylvania law which required students to hear and sometimes read portions of the bible for their daily education. The court ruled in favor of Schempp and the Pennsylvania law was overturned. In 1968, the Supreme Court ruled on the case of "Epperson v. Arkansas". Susan Epperson, a high school teacher in Arkansas sued over a violation of religious freedom. The state had a law banning the teaching of evolution and the school Epperson worked for had provided curriculum which contained evolutionary theory. Epperson had to choose between violating the law or losing her job. The Supreme Court ruled to overturn the Arkansas law because it was unconstitutional. As a legal form of discrimination. Leaders of the Christian right in the United States, United Kingdom, and other nations frame their opposition to LGBT rights and reproductive freedom as a defence of religious liberty. In court cases, religious adherents have argued that they need exemptions from laws requiring equal treatment of LGBT people to avoid being complicit in "the sinful behaviour" of LGBT people. Moreover, other Christians argue that LGBT rights must be entirely removed from law to preserve the religious liberty of conservative Christians. In 2015, Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk, refused to abide by the Supreme Court decision in "Obergefell v. Hodges" legalising same-sex marriage in the United States. When she refused to issue marriage licences, she became embroiled in the "Miller v. Davis" lawsuit. Her actions caused attorney and author Roberta Kaplan to claim that "Kim Davis is the clearest example of someone who wants to use a religious liberty argument to discriminate." Permitting discrimination because of freedom of religion is an example of the paradox of tolerance. International Religious Freedom Day. 27 October is International Religious Freedom Day, in commemoration of the execution of the Boston martyrs, a group of Quakers executed by the Puritans on Boston Common for their religious beliefs under the legislature of the Massachusetts Bay Colony between 1659–1661. The US proclaimed 16 January Religious Freedom Day. Modern concerns. In its 2011 annual report, the "United States Commission on International Religious Freedom" designated fourteen nations as "countries of particular concern". The commission chairman commented that these are nations whose conduct marks them as the world's worst religious freedom violators and human rights abusers. The fourteen nations designated were Burma, China, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. Other nations on the commission's watchlist include Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Laos, Russia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Venezuela. There are concerns about the restrictions on public religious dress in some European countries (including the Hijab, Kippah, and Christian cross). Article 18 of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights limits restrictions on freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs to those necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others. Freedom of religion as a legal concept is related to, but not identical with, religious toleration, separation of church and state, or secular state ("laïcité"). Social hostilities and government restrictions. The Pew Research Center has performed studies on international religious freedom between 2009 and 2015, compiling global data from 16 governmental and non-governmental organizations–including the United Nations, the United States State Department, and Human Rights Watch–and representing over 99.5 percent of the world's population. In 2009, nearly 70 percent of the world's population lived in countries classified as having heavy restrictions on freedom of religion. This concerns restrictions on religion originating from government prohibitions on free speech and religious expression as well as social hostilities undertaken by private individuals, organisations and social groups. Social hostilities were classified by the level of communal violence and religion-related terrorism. While most countries provided for the protection of religious freedom in their constitutions or laws, only a quarter of those countries were found to fully respect these legal rights in practice. In 75 countries governments limit the efforts of religious groups to proselytise and in 178 countries religious groups must register with the government. In 2013, Pew classified 30% of countries as having restrictions that tend to target religious minorities, and 61% of countries have social hostilities that tend to target religious minorities. The countries in North and South America reportedly had some of the lowest levels of "government" and "social" restrictions on religion, while The Middle East and North Africa were the regions with the highest. Saudi Arabia and Iran were the countries that top the list of countries with the "overall" highest levels of restriction on religion. Topping the Pew government restrictions index were Saudi Arabia, Iran, Uzbekistan, China, Egypt, Burma, Maldives, Eritrea, Malaysia and Brunei. Of the world's 25 most populous countries, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia and Pakistan had the most restrictions, while Brazil, Japan, Italy, South Africa, the UK, and the US had some of the lowest levels, as measured by Pew. Vietnam and China were classified as having high "government" restrictions on religion but were in the moderate or low range when it came to "social" hostilities. Nigeria, Bangladesh and India were high in "social" hostilities but moderate in terms of "government" actions. Restrictions on religion across the world increased between mid-2009 and mid-2010, according to a 2012 study by the Pew Research Center. Restrictions in each of the five major regions of the world increased—including in the Americas and sub-Saharan Africa, the two regions where overall restrictions previously had been declining. In 2010, Egypt, Nigeria, the Palestinian territories, Russia, and Yemen were added to the "very high" category of social hostilities. The five highest social hostility scores were for Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Iraq, and Bangladesh. In 2015, Pew published that social hostilities declined in 2013, but the harassment of Jews increased. In the Palestinian territories, Palestinians face tight restrictions on practicing the freedom of religion due to the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict. In a report published by the Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, eyewitnesses reported systematic practices aiming at preventing young men and women from performing their prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque. These practices include military orders issued by the Israeli Defense Army commander against specific Palestinians who have an effective role in Jerusalem, interrogating young men, and creating a secret blacklist of people who are prevented from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

board chairman

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=33426738

The Hornbill Festival is a celebration held every year from 1 to 10 December, in Nagaland, Northeast India. It is also called the 'Festival of Festivals'. Background. The state of Nagaland is home to several tribes, which have their own distinct festivals. More than 60% of the population of Nagaland depends on agriculture and therefore most of their festivals revolve around agriculture. The Nagas consider their festivals sacred, so participation in these festivals is essential. To encourage inter-tribal interaction and to promote cultural heritage of Nagaland, the Government of Nagaland organizes the Hornbill Festival every year in the first week of December. The first festival was held in 2000. The festival is named after the Indian hornbill, the large and colourful forest bird which is displayed in the folklore of most of the state's tribes. Celebrations. Organized by the State Tourism and Art & Culture Departments, the Hornbill Festival showcases a mélange of cultural displays under one roof. This festival usually takes place between 1 and 10 December every year in Kohima. The Hornbill Festival is held at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama which is about 12 km from Kohima. All the tribes of Nagaland take part in this festival. The aim of the festival is to revive and protect the rich culture of Nagaland and display its extravaganza and traditions. For visitors it means a closer understanding of the people and culture of Nagaland, and an opportunity to experience the food, songs, dances and customs of Nagaland. On 1 December 2017 at the Naga Heritage Village of Kisama, President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the 18th Hornbill Festival and State Formation Day celebrations of Nagaland. Festival activities. The week-long festival unites one and all in Nagaland and people enjoy the colourful performances, crafts, sports, food fairs, games and ceremonies. Traditional arts which include paintings, wood carvings, and sculptures are also on display. Festival highlights include the traditional Naga Morungs exhibition and the sale of arts and crafts, food stalls, herbal medicine stalls, flower shows and sales, cultural medley - songs and dances, fashion shows, the Miss Nagaland beauty contest, traditional archery, Naga wrestling, indigenous games, and musical concert. The Hornbill Festival provides a colourful mixture of dances, performances, crafts, parades, games, sports, food fairs and religious ceremonies. The festival both exposes the culture and tradition of tribal peoples, and reinforces Nagaland’s identity as a unique state in India’s federal union. Experts have commented that A lot of older folk in the villages travel to Kohima to attend this festival and meet people from other villages from Nagaland because they haven’t met before, hence leading to cultural assimilation. Traditional arts are also featured, with paintings, wood carvings, and sculptures by modern Naga artists on display. Naga troupes sing folk songs, perform traditional dances and play indigenous games and sports. In the evenings a programme of music concerts, catering for all tastes, ensures that the festive spirit continues through the night. One of the major highlights of this festival is the Hornbill International Rock Festival, which is held at Indira Gandhi Stadium; local and international rock bands perform. Economic potential. The Hornbill Festival has contributed significantly to enhancing the state's tourism brand. Tourism promoters believe that the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland allows tourists to have an insight into the different tribes of Nagaland. It fosters understanding of the rich cultural heritage of the state, its resourceful architecture and its ethnic cuisine. Camping Facility. Camping facility available near the Hornbill Festival event area organised by local tour operator Camp Zingaros.

special sovereignty

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=17286155

Balch Creek is a tributary of the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Beginning at the crest of the Tualatin Mountains (West Hills), the creek flows generally east down a canyon along Northwest Cornell Road in unincorporated Multnomah County and through the Macleay Park section of Forest Park, a large municipal park in Portland. At the lower end of the park, the stream enters a pipe and remains underground until reaching the river. Danford Balch, after whom the creek is named, settled a land claim along the creek in the mid-19th century. After murdering his son-in-law, he became the first person legally hanged in Oregon. Basalt, mostly covered by silt in the uplands and sediment in the lowlands, underlies the Balch Creek watershed. The upper part of the watershed includes private residential land, the Audubon Society of Portland nature sanctuary, and part of Forest Park. Mixed conifer forest of Coast Douglas-fir, western redcedar, and western hemlock with a well-developed understory of shrubs and flowering plants is the natural vegetation. Sixty-two species of mammals and more than 112 species of birds use Forest Park. A small population of coastal cutthroat trout resides in the stream, which in 2005 was the only major water body in Portland that met state standards for bacteria, temperature, and dissolved oxygen. Although nature reserves cover much of the upper and middle parts of the watershed, industrial sites dominate the lower part. Historic Guild's Lake occupied part of the lower watershed through the 19th century, and in 1905 city officials held the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition there on an artificial island. After the exposition, developers converted the lake and its surrounds to industrial use, and in 2001 the Portland City Council declared the site to be an "industrial sanctuary". Course. Balch Creek begins in the Forest Park neighborhood in unincorporated Multnomah County near the intersection of Northwest Skyline Boulevard and Northwest Thompson Road at the crest of the West Hills. It flows generally east about to its confluence with the Willamette River, a major tributary of the Columbia River. The creek drops from above sea level at its source to at its mouth, a total of . Most of this occurs in the first . In the hills, the stream gradient (slope) generally ranges from 15 to 30 percent interspersed with sections of less than 15 percent along the middle reaches. From its source, the creek runs east on private property near Forest Park, a large municipal park in Portland, before turning briefly south about from the mouth. Soon thereafter, the stream receives an unnamed tributary on the right bank and turns southeast on private property along Northwest Cornell Road. It enters the city and the Audubon Society of Portland simultaneously about from the mouth, receives two more unnamed tributaries on the right, and flows northeast, entering the part of Forest Park known as Macleay Park. For about the creek parallels Wildwood Trail, the main hiking trail in Forest Park, until reaching a former public restroom known as the Stone House. From here Balch Creek runs beside the Lower Macleay Trail, another hiking trail, for about . Near Northwest Thurman Street, roughly from the mouth, the creek flows through a trash rack into an diameter storm sewer. City workers first diverted the creek into a pipe in the early 20th century. The water empties into the Willamette River in the city's Northwest Industrial neighborhood at Outfall 17. About below this outfall, the Willamette enters the Columbia River. Discharge. The Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) of the city of Portland monitored the flow of Balch Creek from June 1996 through September 2002 at a site, Node ABB857, where the stream leaves the surface and enters a storm sewer in Macleay Park. BES reported an average summer flow of , a maximum of , and a minimum of 0. The average flow in winter was , with a maximum of and a minimum of 0. Measurements taken during an individual spring, from mid-May to mid-July 2002, showed the flow starting at about and dwindling to 0 by early June. The flow through June depended partly on the weather; the highest flow, , occurred after a rain. Measurements taken during an individual autumn, late August to late December 2001, were close to zero until November. The largest flows during that season, , occurred after many days of rain. Geology. Solidified lava from Grande Ronde members of the Columbia River Basalt Group underlies the Balch Creek watershed. About 16 million years ago during the Middle Miocene, the Columbia River ran through a lowland south of its modern channel. Eruptions from linear vents in eastern Oregon and Washington flowed down this channel through what later became the Willamette Valley. These flows, some of which reached the Pacific Ocean, occurred between 16.5 and 15.6 million years ago and covered almost . Geologists have identified several basalt flows in the West Hills, where they underlie the steepest slopes of Forest Park and form the columned rocks visible in parts of Balch Creek Canyon. Wind-deposited silts, unstable when wet, later covered most of the lava. Stream bank instability and siltation are common, and the threat of landslides has discouraged urban development in the hills. Between 19,000 and 15,000 years ago, cataclysmic ice age events known as the Missoula Floods or Bretz Floods originating in the Clark Fork region of northern Idaho inundated the Columbia River basin many times. These floods deposited huge amounts of debris and sediment and created new floodplains in the Willamette Valley. From then until the 19th century, the lower Balch Creek watershed consisted of swampy marshlands and shallow semi-permanent lakes such as historic Guild's Lake. The final or so of historic Balch Creek flowed across this floodplain. History. Names. Multnomah County is named for Native Americans who lived in the area before settlement by non-indigenous people in the 19th century. Members of the Multnomah tribe of the Chinookan people lived on Sauvie Island in the Willamette River and on the mainland across from the island, downstream from the mouth of Balch Creek. Much of the area near the lower creek was swampy, and was not favored by the Multnomah. By the 1830s, diseases carried by white explorers and traders reduced the native population by up to 90 percent in the lower Columbia basin. Historic Guild's Lake, in the lower Balch Creek watershed near the Willamette River, was named for Peter Guild (pronounced "guile"), one of the first European American settlers in the area. In 1847, he acquired nearly of the watershed through a donation land claim. Although variations in the spelling of "Guild's Lake" occur in historic newspapers, maps, and other documents, "Guild's Lake" has been the preferred form since the beginning of the 20th century. The creek is named for Danford Balch, who settled a donation land claim upstream of the Guild property in 1850. After a man from a neighboring family eloped with a Balch daughter, Balch killed him with a shotgun. On October 17, 1859, at a public gallows he became the first person to be hanged by the State of Oregon. Macleay Park takes its name from Donald Macleay, a Portland merchant and real-estate developer who acquired what had been the Balch property. In 1897, he donated the land for a park on condition that the city provide transport to the park for hospital patients and build paths wide enough for wheelchairs. Early water supply. Balch Creek was one of Portland's sources of drinking water in the mid-19th century. Stephen Coffin and Finice Caruthers, two early Portland entrepreneurs, established the first public water supply for the city in 1857 by piping water from Caruthers Creek in southwest Portland through round fir logs with holes bored in them. In the 1860s, the Portland Water Company, which had acquired the existing business, added water from Balch Creek to the system. It was piped to a wooden reservoir at Alder and Pacific streets. Water shortages and pollution led to a shift in the water supply from sources within the city to the Bull Run River in the Cascade Range. It began supplying most of Portland's drinking water in 1895. Industry. One of the first industries in the Guild's Lake area was a sawmill built in the 1880s. Although large parts of the land remained undeveloped until the early 20th century, lumber mills, grain storage structures, railroads, and docks appeared along the waterfront. The Guild's Lake Rail Yard, built by the Northern Pacific Railway in the 1880s, became an important switching yard for trains. In 1905, the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, held on an artificial island in Guild's Lake, helped spur growth in the area. After the exposition ended, developers filled the lake and its surrounds with soil sluiced from parts of the Balch Creek watershed in the West Hills above the floodplain or dredged from the Willamette River. Civic leaders promoted the Guild's Lake area as a good place for industry, and by the mid-1920s the lake was gone. The USGS places historic Guild's Lake at coordinates at an elevation of above sea level between what later became Northwest Saint Helens Road and Northwest Yeon Street, slightly west of Northwest 35th Avenue in the Northwest Industrial district of Portland. Between the 1890s and the 1930s, channel-deepening in the Willamette River improved the city's status as a deep-water seaport, as did completion in 1914 of a port terminal. Guild's Lake, close to highways as well as marine and rail terminals, became the most important industrial area in Portland. After World War II, chemical and petroleum processing and storage, metals manufacturing, and other large industries expanded in the area. In 2001, the Portland City Council adopted the Guild's Lake Industrial Sanctuary Plan aimed at protecting the area's "long-term economic viability as an industrial district." Watershed. The Balch Creek watershed consists of , equal to . About 27 percent is zoned for parks and other open space, and about 20 percent is zoned for heavy industry near the Willamette River. Multnomah County has jurisdiction over , about a quarter of the watershed. Lands zoned for residential farms and forests occupy about 13 percent of the total, mostly along the watershed's western edge. A mixture of residential, commercial, and other designations make up smaller segments. About 1,600 people lived in the Balch Creek watershed in 2000, and about 6,700 people worked there. Nearby watersheds include those of other small streams flowing directly into the Willamette along the east flank of the West Hills. The city refers to these as the Johnson-Nicolai subwatershed to the southeast, and the Kittredge and Salzman subwatersheds to the northwest. Rainfall in the watershed from 1977 to 2002 averaged about per year. About of the total fell from November through April, and about fell from May through October. Minor flooding has occurred near the trash rack—where the creek enters a pipe—and has caused occasional basement flooding along nearby streets. City officials are studying the rack design with a view to alterations by 2017. Flora. The watershed lies partly in the Coast Range ecoregion and partly in the Willamette Valley ecoregion designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The historic lower Balch Creek watershed through the 1880s was a mixture of open water, wetlands, grassland, and forest, while above the flood plain the watershed consisted of closed canopy forest. People who settled here in the 19th century logged much of this forest and filled the wetlands. In 2002, aerial photographs showed that buildings, parking lots, shoreline structures, and other cleared areas covered most of the lower floodplain. On the other hand, hill forests protected from major disturbance covered about 65 percent of the watershed. Above the floodplain, much of the habitat in the watershed consists of mixed conifer forest. Trees and shrubs, including stands of red alder and cottonwood trees, cover about 88 percent of the middle reaches. Near the headwaters, the forests consist mainly of mixed conifers and hardwoods with a few older Douglas firs. Common species include big leaf maple, willow, western hemlock, red alder, western red cedar, and Douglas-fir. Most of this forest is relatively young. In Forest Park, old-growth forest, undisturbed for 250 years or more, exists mainly in isolated patches. The largest tree in the park, Heritage Tree 134, is a Douglas-fir near the Stone House. It is high, and the trunk is in circumference. Forest Park and other areas of the watershed have an understory of well-developed shrubs including ferns, Oregon-grape, vine maple, salal, red huckleberry, Fendler's waterleaf, Indian plum, salmonberry, and stinging nettle. Among the prominent wildflowers are wild ginger, Hooker's fairy bells, vanilla leaf, evergreen violet, and trillium. Rare or uncommon species include old conifers, Western wahoo shrubs, and ornamental dawn redwoods. Invasive species are English ivy, European holly, clematis, morning glory, and Himalayan blackberry. Fauna. The historic creek likely supported diverse fish species, including salmon. After people filled the wetlands and diverted the lower stretch of the creek into a pipe, fish could no longer migrate to and from the Willamette River. The industrial parts of the watershed have no remaining aquatic habitat, but above the pipe the aquatic habitat remains relatively high, and Balch Creek and its tributaries support a resident population of coastal cutthroat trout of up to about . In 2005, Balch Creek was the only major water body in Portland that met state water quality standards for bacteria, temperature and dissolved oxygen. Nearby tracts of habitat strongly affect the wildlife in the Balch Creek watershed. This is especially true of Forest Park, which extends into other watersheds to the northwest. Birds and animals from these watersheds and from the Tualatin River valley, the Coast Range, the Willamette River, Sauvie Island, the Columbia River, and the Vancouver, Washington, lowlands, move in and out of the park with relative ease. Sixty-two mammal species, including the northern flying squirrel, black-tailed deer, creeping vole, bobcat, coyote, Mazama pocket gopher, little brown bat, Roosevelt elk, and Pacific jumping mouse use Forest Park. blue grouse, great horned owl, hairy woodpecker, Bewick's wren, orange-crowned warbler, osprey, and hermit thrush are among the 112 species of birds that frequent the area. Amphibian species seen at the Audubon Society pond include rough-skinned newts, Pacific tree frogs, and salamanders. Pressure from habitat loss, pollution, hunting, and urban development has reduced or eliminated the large predators such as wolves, bears, and wild cats and has led to increased numbers of small predators such as weasels and raccoons. Roads through the watershed severely hamper the movement of large animals. Invasive plant species such as English ivy have made the habitat simpler and less supportive of native insects and the salamanders and other amphibians that feed on them. Citizen groups such as the No Ivy League and Friends of Forest Park have engaged in projects to remove ivy, to plant native species, and to widen and protect riparian zones.

actual firm

14669-1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=18664006

Youth exclusion is a form of social exclusion in which youth are at a social disadvantage in joining institutions and organizations in their societies. Troubled economies, lack of governmental programs, and barriers to education are examples of dysfunctions within social institutions that contribute to youth exclusion by making it more difficult for youth to transition into adulthood. European governments have recently recognized these shortcomings in societies organizational structures and have begun to re-examine policies regarding social exclusion. Many policies dealing with social exclusion are targeted at youth since this demographic of people face a transition into adulthood; defining career and lifestyle choices that will affect the future culture and structure of a society. Youth exclusion is multi-dimensional in that age, race, gender, class and lifestyle all affect youth life experiences within a given culture. This intersectionality affects the degree to which an individual youth experiences exclusion. Similarly, youth exclusion is context specific. This means that youth are excluded from society in different ways depending on their cultural and spatial locations. A simple difference between the opportunities and resources provided in one neighborhood can create a divide among youth who are included and youth who are excluded from their communities. Another consideration is that youth exclusion is relational insofar as social exclusion contains two parties, the excluders and the excluded. Pertaining to youth exclusion, the excluders are often older generations who believe that the economic support services and institutions that help the youth puts their own comfortable standard of living at risk. All of these demographic, cultural, spatial and relational factors contribute to the worldwide experiences of youth exclusion. Roots of youth exclusion. Youth exclusion can be examined by dividing its causes into social and cultural factors. Structural reasons for exclusion include inequalities in power as seen by the inequalities generated in the normal functions of the housing and labor markets. Prolonged unemployment and low income can affect a person's ability to have access to social structures that advance a person in society by opening doors to new opportunities and creating a sense of society acceptance and inclusion. Also on a structural level, youth are excluded from broader society through barriers to education and discriminatory government policies. Cultural factors affecting youth exclusion include reactions to socially constructed categories like race and gender. These classifications can also influence an individual's choice to be excluded from society. Some academics argue that youth are marginalized because they choose to separate themselves from mainstream society, opting instead to participate in alternative lifestyles and subcultures. Others, however, view this choice as a "forced choice", motivated by the fear of racial, gender and other types of discrimination. McDonald presents the example of a young black man in the UK who chooses not to go to university because "he fears discrimination as a university student". McDonald says, "This is a negative externality imposed by the socially included that is influencing the choice of the young black man in the direction of social exclusion". In this example both structural and cultural barriers influenced this student so he felt excluded from society; he felt pressure from society to remain on the periphery, and in doing so denying himself access to an education. In this situation education failed as an established social structure to provide this individual with inclusion into society. Poverty. Poverty is one of the largest factors that contributes to the perpetuation of youth exclusion. Poverty is an isolating state that affects people's social connections and ability to contribute in culturally specific activities that build communities. As the sociologist Peter Townshend explains; "Individuals, families and groups can be said to be in poverty when…their resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average individual or family that they are, in effect, excluded from ordinary living patterns, customs and activities" Indeed, poverty can impair a person's ability to participate in politics, housing and labor markets, secondary education and pop culture related activities. These activities from which those in poverty are excluded can affect a youth's social networking opportunities and thus the future state of their inclusion or exclusion in society. Regional youth exclusion. Given that the definition of youth exclusion varies across cultures, the concept must include an analysis of what it means to be a member of a given society, for example, "analysis of what it means to be Egyptian, Moroccan, Iranian, or Syrian, to be a Muslim, an Arab, and so on”. Within a country, neighborhoods or states can be divided in such a way that even different youth within a culture can experience exclusion on different levels. Globalization creates comparative exclusions across societies. "Globalization has given the division of labour a strong international dimension, one that strongly favors the West over Africa. Also it has reduced the economic strength of African states and placed the control of their economies in the hands of multinational groups with primary allegiance to their mother countries in Europe and America". Thus, young individuals entering the job market in the Global South are impacted by the actions of countries in the Global North. Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), youth exclusion has several dimensions. As in other regions, youth unemployment is high, with a regional average of 25% unemployment among 15- to 24-year-olds, which reaches as high as 37% in Morocco and up to 73% in Syria. There is also a significant level of labor market segmentation related to economic restructuring and insider-outsider issues; “Organized insiders with seniority benefit from rents – higher wages, better benefits, and greater tenure – by monopolizing jobs and restricting access to particular sectors. Outsiders, such as youth and new labor market entrants, suffer from longer unemployment durations, skill atrophy, and declining health, as well as the social dimensions of exclusion from work.” Additionally, youth exclusion in MENA is exacerbated by gender, whether due to child-rearing needs and expectations, sex segregation, parental supervision, or other cultural or religious reasons. For example, compared to 63% of economically active 15- to 24-year-old males, only 22% of females from the same age group were economically active in Egypt in 2006. As a result of youth unemployment, young people have a tendency of extending their education and delaying marriage and family formation. Like Europe, MENA has seen its youth delay leaving the home, getting married, and beginning families. Consequences of youth exclusion in MENA have included young people entering waithood, a period during which they simply wait for their lives to begin, most notably by queuing for long periods of unemployment during which they live with parents and are financially unable to pursue marriage or home ownership. While delayed marriage is a trend seen in many societies, adaptations vary, such that it is normal in the United States and Europe for young unmarried couples to cohabitate, while in MENA such an arrangement is unacceptable. Instead, an increasing number of youths are engaging in nikah urfi, temporary marriages, which offer little security to the wife and any subsequent offspring. The psychological impact is also considerable, with unemployment leading to depression and social isolation, often with physical manifestations. There is considerable concern in the international community that these isolated youths are marketed to by extremist groups such as al-Qaeda, who prey upon their sense of social exclusion and hopelessness. India. Lack of employment in India has caused the exclusion, especially of young men, from society. Despite prolonged higher education, young men are unable to find work. The government's withdrawal from public education funding has been instrumental in perpetuating youth exclusion in India. The youths' reaction has been to join informal groups of other young men who congregate on street corners or in teahouses to pass the time. These groups feel a sense of helplessness in their inability to join society in a productive manner. The poor economy and lack of jobs in this case are the causes of exclusion among the younger generation, creating the social phenomena labeled as "timepass". This exclusion affects young men's transitions to adulthood by making it difficult for men to marry, find housing and meet cultural gender norms of masculinity. There is also a gendered element to youth exclusion in India. Young women were barred from participating in the teahouse discussions and informal meetings that young males hold in order to cope with exclusion. This segregation is influenced by previously established gender roles that have been shaped by culture. Nigeria. The Federal Government of Nigeria explains the youth generation as a group "who is passing through mental and physical developmental process in preparation to face the challenges of adulthood". This definition encompasses a wide range of young people in Nigeria who have had to cope with the struggle of political uncertainty. In addition to government unrest, Nigerian youth have faced barriers to education. When these youth are excluded and barred from future success through unstable political and educational environments, they use violence to protest against society and facilitate a movement for social inclusion. Oftentimes this violence is directed at the government. Research done on Nigerian youth shows that; "The collapse of social services and the high level commercialization of education have barred many young people from formal education. Thus, the unemployed youths without university education and the numerous graduates who lack prospects for employment have been able to develop a volatile strategy of identity transformation both at the level of consciousness and their attempt to find a space in the new political dispensation. Violence has been a common feature of this coping mechanism" In Nigeria political and social exclusion occurs when people in positions of power withhold resources or knowledge from the society, directly hurting the youth population which is the most economically insecure and lacking in networks that could help facilitate a successful transition to adulthood. Violence thus becomes a tool for social change. Canada. Exclusion among youth in Canada has led to problems of increased homelessness and instability among the youth population. Stephen Gaetz demonstrates a unique situation arising among Canadian youth in which they face stigmatization by their society; "For young people who become homeless, social exclusion is experienced across several domains: in terms of access to shelter and housing, employment, and a healthy lifestyle, for instance. It is also manifest in their restricted access to (and movement with within) urban spaces and their limited social capital". Lacking access to certain social organizations and networks has not only excluded youth, but has created a stigma in which society views homeless youth in Canada as criminals. This criminalization is greater among youth because it is known that young people are facing transitions in which riskier behavior may be involved. Government officials are debating policy issues especially in law enforcement in order to prevent this criminalization and perpetuation of exclusion among youth. Costs of exclusion to society. The costs of youth exclusion can be measured in terms of its multi-dimensional nature. This includes how the intersection of race, gender, class and social location affect youth's ability to access employment, education or other social networks that are imperative to their transition to adulthood. Exclusion can preserve negative prejudices or stereotypes within a culture. Urban youth in America face greater prejudice in environments in which ethnic minorities face minimal intergroup contact in peer settings like school. Gendered differences continue to be problematic in this situation as well. Girls prove to be more sensitive to recognizing racial exclusion among their peers since they also face gender discrimination in school settings. Cultural norms associated with gender play a pivotal role in the perpetuation of the division between excluders and the excluded, creating unequal opportunities among youth. Barriers to social organizations and opportunities can result in unwanted consequences including crime and violence. There are many examples in which youth have formed groups that oppose oppressive and exclusionary governments through violent demonstrations, especially among African nations. These violent reactions also lead to concerns about youth politics, youth identity and the future well-being of nations facing this type of conflict with their youth populations. Indian youth experiencing "timepass" also show signs of increased aggression. Specifically this aggression has been directed towards women, since young men feel powerless in their current state of unemployment. Remedies for youth exclusion. Sociologist Ruth Levitas created three sociological interpretations used to examine ways in which societies can remedy social exclusion. These tactics affect youth because they deal with the labor market and thus young people just beginning to gain financial independence. The redistributionist discourse (RED) sees poverty as the greatest contributor to social exclusion. This understanding focuses on transferring taxes and welfare to those in need. The moral underclass discourse (MUD) interpretation blames individual choice for causing social exclusion. This method suggests punishment as a means of remedying social exclusion. The last method, social integrationist discourse (SID), views the labor market as the enemy to social exclusion and therefore explores avenues for getting more people into the labor force. Other ways to decrease youth exclusion include increased intergroup contact between the differing social positions of the excluders and the excluded. Benefits of inclusion have indeed been measured by sociologists. One such experiment researched elementary aged children to record their personal views on prejudice and social exclusion. The researchers found, "In the present investigation, in accord with prior research (e.g., Crystal et al. 2008; Killen et al. 2007b), ethnic minority students reporting high levels of intergroup contact were more likely to rate race-based exclusion as wrong than were students with low levels of intergroup contact". Integration of peer groups helps lessen xenophobic reactions to others and fosters inclusion among all members of a society. This realization is helpful to educators who want to create inclusive environments so that youth will feel secure in their learning environments.

basic standard

9069-1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=9758631

A step climb in aviation is a series of altitude gains that improve fuel economy by moving into thinner air as an aircraft becomes lighter and becomes capable of flying in the thinner air at higher altitude. Description. Since the early days of jet aircraft and commercial travel, the technique of gradually climbing in cruise altitude as fuel burns off and the aircraft becomes lighter has been widely used by pilots. The altitude that provides the most fuel-efficient cruise (at the desired speed) at the start of a long flight, when the aircraft is fully loaded with fuel, is not the same as the altitude that provides the best efficiency at the end of the flight, when most of the fuel aboard has been burned. This latter altitude is usually significantly higher than the former. By climbing gradually throughout the cruise phase of a flight, pilots can make the most economical use of their fuel. Originally, a simple "cruise climb" was used by pilots. This amounted to a simple, continuous, very gradual climb from an initial cruise altitude to a final cruise altitude, and made the most efficient use of fuel. However, with increasing air traffic and the assignment of distinct flight levels to specific flights, airways, and directions of flight, it is no longer safe to climb continuously in this way, and so most flights compromise by climbing in distinct steps—a "step climb"—with ATC approval, in order to ensure that the aircraft is always at an appropriate altitude for traffic control. While not quite as efficient as a continuous cruise climb, step climbs are still more efficient than maintaining a single altitude throughout a flight. The step climb intervals may be , depending on the flight level rules which apply on the particular airway being flown. Where traffic is not an issue, cruise climbs may still be used. Concorde, for example, used a continuous cruise climb throughout its flights, since there was normally never any other traffic at the same altitude (nearly ) in the same direction. In most modern commercial airliners, computers such as flight management systems (FMS) calculate and/or execute the proper steps in a step climb, in order to maximize the efficiency realized by the technique. Step and cruise climbs are not normally applicable to lower-flying aircraft propelled by conventional piston engines with propellers or turboprops, since their performance characteristics may be very different from those of turbofan or jet engined aircraft. In fact, the most efficient altitude for a small general aviation aircraft may be only some 300-1000 meters (a few thousand feet) above the ground, and increasing altitude may diminish efficiency rather than improve it (propellers tend to lose efficiency in thinner air, and many small general aviation aircraft lack supercharging, effectively decreasing the engine's compression pressure, and therefore efficiency, as the aircraft climbs into more rarified atmosphere). Informal step climbs. Some pilots use "rules of thumb" for determining when to perform a step climb. These "rules" do not consider the effects of different winds at different levels; computerised flight planning systems may be better at height optimisation, and may even include 'step descents' in certain weather conditions. Two of the information rules used by some pilots are:

conserving usage

4703-2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=9572796

The history of Piedmont, California, covers the history of the area in California's San Francisco Bay Area that is now known as Piedmont, up to and beyond the legal establishment of a city. Pre-hotel. In 1850, what is now Piedmont was part of Rancho San Antonio. This area, owned by the Peralta family, covered much of the northeastern shore of San Francisco Bay, now northern Alameda County. Rancho San Antonio was sparsely populated except for cattle and the vaqueros who tended them. In 1860, retired South Carolinian Congressman Isaac Holmes bought a piece of land from his neighbor Reed. The area included Bushy Dell Creek, a creek that runs through the dog-walking trail of modern-day Piedmont. Holmes bathed in the foul-smelling pink water of a nearby spring, believing the water beneficial for his rheumatism. Piedmont Springs Hotel. In 1870, Walter Blair bought over 800 acres (3.2 km²) of land in the foothills of East Bay. Where the spring was located he built the Piedmont Springs Hotel, of 20 bedrooms and five dining rooms. The water of the spring was thought to have curative powers. Wealthy San Franciscans retired to the hotel during trips to "the country." In addition to the hotel, Blair built a dairy farm on what is now Highland Avenue and a quarry where Dracena Park is today. In April 1877, James Gamble bought a 350-acre (1.4 km²) tract of land from Blair, and formed the Piedmont Land Company, along with James deFremery, George W. Beaver, L.A. Booth, and T.L. Barker. The Piedmont Land Company hired landscape engineer William Hammond Hall to plan the avenues and subdivide the tract into 67 parcels. The first auction of land took place on April 10, 1877. In January 1891, the women of Piedmont led a temperance movement to block the sale of liquor at the Piedmont Springs Hotel. They petitioned the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to withdraw the liquor license granted to the owner of the hotel. Prominent signers included Annie Barton, Anna Richardson, N. Randall, Florence Wing, Inez Craig, M. Laurence, Ethyl Robert, and Mary Gamble. Fire. The liquor controversy ended quickly with the Piedmont Springs Hotel fire. On November 17, 1892, sparks from the chimney of the hotel set the roof on fire. Newspapers reported that Firefighters had to arrive from Oakland, two hours later, at 11:30 a.m., to contain the flames. Bohemians. Jack London never actually lived in "Piedmont", because in 1900, Scenic Avenue was in unincorporated Oakland. After marrying Bess Maddern, the newlywed couple settled in a redwood bungalow in the eastern hills of unincorporated Oakland, later to become part of the present-day city of Piedmont. At the time, this area was growing into a community for artists. It was here that London wrote his novel "Call of the Wild". London's two daughters, including Joan London, were born during this time. In 1902, London moved to 206 Scenic Avenue, and "tried to create a childhood he never had," Piedmont historian Ann Swift wrote. He entertained "Peter Pans of both sexes," flew kites, held bubble-blowing contests, and competed to see who could swallow the most soda crackers. London's friends included fellow Bohemians George Sterling, James Hopper, Herman Whitaker, Xavier Martinez, Blanche Partington, and Charmian Kittredge. After divorcing Bess Maddern London in 1904, he married Kittredge. The Bohemians were characterized by living non-traditional lifestyles as artists, writers, musicians, and actors. Unlike their wealthier neighbors, the Bohemians of Piedmont could not afford to have their homes constructed for them and instead built them themselves. Becoming a city. Francis Marion Smith and Frank C. Havens encouraged the development of pre-Piedmont into a city. Smith, who made his fortune on borax, built railroads, especially the East Bay's Key System. Havens headed and was in charge of the Realty Syndicate, which subdivided 13,000 acres (53 km²) of East Bay property. Havens acquired a five-year lease on the Piedmont Springs Park and began a major restoration. In May 1898 the new park was complete. In 1901, the first post office opened. In 1908 Havens built an art gallery where the tennis courts are today. Carrie Sterling, estranged wife of George Sterling, nephew of Havens, served as curator. The population of Piedmont increased fourfold following the 1906 earthquake. San Franciscans fled the City to the hills, which were believed to be safer from earthquakes. To accommodate the growing population, a new city hall and fire station were built a block from the park. Two elections were held among the citizens of Piedmont in 1907, both of which narrowly upheld the decision for Piedmont to become a city. By the Roaring Twenties, Piedmont was known as the "City of Millionaires" because it had the most resident millionaires per square mile of any city in the United States. Many of these millionaires built mansions that still stand, notably on Glen Alpine Road/Sotelo Avenue and Sea View Avenue in upper Piedmont. Piedmont became a charter city under the laws of the State of California on December 18, 1922. On February 27, 1923, voters adopted the charter, which can only be changed by another vote of the people. By the 1920s, Frank Havens had died and Piedmont Park was on the path towards subdivision. Wallace Alexander, who had recently moved to Piedmont from Hawaii with his wife, Mary Alexander, stepped forward. He loaned the city enough to buy the park, and encouraged the Bay Area architect Albert L. Farr to create the Civic Center Plan. Civic Center Plan. This plan was presented to the community in 1922. It included expanding City Hall, building a city library, and connecting the entrance of Piedmont Park to the electric trolley line, which was the transportation at the time. Of the plan, little did materialize. The exedra, the structure that includes the iconic vase of Piedmont, was built at the head of Piedmont Park. Piedmont High School was built in 1921 and opened to students the following year. It was funded by a bond passed by voters in 1920. However, the stock market crash of 1929 plunged many into financial ruin that kept the rest of the plan, for which bonds had not already been passed, from completion. Piedmont High School. Up until the creation of the high school, students had attended elementary school in Piedmont, and turned to Oakland for junior and senior high. In September 1922, the Piedmont Unified School District opened the city's first high school. The school was built in 1921 in a neoclassical design, part of the same plan that built the Piedmont city's Exedra. A cafeteria was added in 1923, a library in 1924, and an adjacent junior high in 1926. Since its design by architect W.H. Weeks, the school has undergone several reconstructions, for reasons such as expansion, earthquake retrofitting, and combating dry rot. In 1974, the school was declared unsafe under state earthquake laws. It was demolished, and three new classroom buildings and a gymnasium were built. The original library, quad, and administration buildings were rehabilitated. In the 1920s the high school offered an equestrian club for students who rode their horses around Piedmont, which was then much less developed than today. Girls wore sailor-suit tops with uniform skirts, boys had a stricter dress code than today, and original artwork decorated the walls of the school. Ever since its creation, when an additional $100,000 was needed to expand the school, the high school has faced reconstruction numerous times. In the 1970s the breezeway was one of the "back-to-nature"-esque additions made. During the 2003-2004 school years an entrance and trophy room to the gymnasium was added. In 2006, voters passed Measure E, issuing $56 million to earthquake retrofitting of the city's schools.

place to showcase medals

8060-1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=5042766

Circumstances relating to a Daniel Goldin presidency of Boston University began in the summer of 2003, following the resignation of its eighth president Jon Westling, the Trustees of Boston University voted unanimously to offer the presidency of the university to Daniel S. Goldin, former administrator of NASA under presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. Goldin was set to take over the job on November 1, 2003 and be officially inaugurated on November 17, though the deal collapsed in the week leading up to his arrival in Boston. The University eventually terminated Goldin's contract at a cost of $1.8 million, and initiated a second search to fill the presidential position, culminating with the inauguration of Robert A. Brown as the University's 10th president on April 27, 2006. (Aram Chobanian, who had served as "president ad interim" during most of the second search, was recognized by the Board as the 9th president in 2005.) Fall of Jon Westling. Jon Westling took office as Boston University's 8th president in 1996, succeeding the controversial John Silber, who had served in the office for 25 years. Despite Westling's lack of a PhD, he was Silber's recommendation to the Trustees for the job. In 2002, after six years in office, the Trustees forced Westling to resign (presumably at the behest of Silber, who had "soured" on him). Silber stepped in to take over presidential duties until a suitable candidate could be found. Selection process. According to sources the selection process was hurried for a number of reasons. Most notably, Silber had an intense desire to retire permanently, and his critics on the Board of Trustees (led by Jeffrey Katzenberg) similarly wanted to see his influence within the university diminished or eliminated altogether. This emphasis on expeditiousness, combined with the highly unusual presence of Silber in candidate interviews (and on the selection committee in general) caused some Trustees to feel they were not at liberty to voice their concerns. This led to sloppiness in the interviews and contract negotiations. After only one interview, Goldin was catapulted to the top of the committee's list, due mostly to the personal backing of Silber. Goldin remained the favorite even after he made demands during contract negotiations that would have likely disqualified him from consideration in more ideal circumstances. Among these was his desire to spend much of his time in Malibu, California, where his wife would be living; according to a source Goldin "didn't think he had to be on campus every weekend to be effective." The Trustees agreed to this, and even offered to subsidize this travel with first class airfare as well as a private jet named “BU1”. Tolerance of such requests was reinforced by the hope that Goldin would use the influence from his former association with NASA to draw in more research funding and grants. Despite some Trustees' uneasiness over offering Goldin the position, enough votes existed to do so. As a sign of support, the chairman of the board requested that the vote be unanimous. The Trustees capitulated, unanimously deciding in favor of extending Goldin the job offer. Vote of no confidence. On October 24, a mere week prior to Goldin's arrival on campus, the Trustees gave him a vote of no confidence, and called an emergency meeting to address the matter on October 31. Initial reports as to the reason for this vote were numerous, but mostly implicated Silber's reputation as a man reluctant to relinquish authority. Goldin reportedly had upset Silber loyalists on the Board by "slighting" Silber with his insistence that he would have no hand in university affairs after his departure. One report even alleged that Goldin had retained a psychiatrist to evaluate Silber in hopes of committing him and minimizing his influence. The "Boston Globe" has since reported that Goldin had been planning a purge of BU's upper administration, and had already determined in detail who he thought should remain and who should not. Goldin apparently had intentions to clean house; his plans included the sacking of most of the University's top administrators. The most notable of these were Provost Dennis Berkey and Treasurer Kenneth Condon, both of whom were also finalists for the presidency. This spooked the Trustees, and to a large degree precipitated the no confidence vote. "Columbia" accident investigation report. While unclear how much it may have weighed on the Trustees, in August 2003 NASA's Columbia Accident Investigation Board released Volume I of its report on the causes of the loss of the Space Shuttle "Columbia" the previous February. This report did not cast Goldin's time at NASA in a flattering light. The report said that "Goldin engineered 'not one or two policy changes, but a torrent of changes. This was not evolutionary change, but radical or discontinuous change,'" and described his tenure as "one of continuous turmoil." Termination of contract. Goldin caught wind of the vote, and in a memorandum to the Board dated October 27 apologized "if he had unintentionally offended any trustees in discussions over terms of the job." However, he also reiterated his conditions that Silber not remain as Chancellor or member of the Board of Trustees, saying "there can only be one president", and reminding the Board of their contract. A settlement was eventually reached between the University and Goldin, the details of which were never released but which sources have indicated included a $1.8 million payment to Goldin, in exchange for his abandoning any claims he may have had against BU. Aram Chobanian, Dean of Boston University School of Medicine, was named President Ad interim until a new president could be found. Aftermath. In the wake of this fiasco, the end of which left BU $1.8 million poorer and saw its reputation in the academic world badly damaged, several actions were taken to improve the image projected to potential presidential candidates, as well as the functioning of the Board itself. In a mostly symbolic but still very important gesture, the Board requested that Silber vacate his offices in the university's administrative suites at Sherborn Street. It was hoped this would eliminate any concern on the part of candidates that their authority would be undermined. The Board also accepted the resignations of its chairman and vice-chairman, Christopher Barreca and Dexter Dodge. This, along with proposed checks on Trustee actions such as term limits and plans for an independent oversight body, has signaled an improvement in the management of BU. Dan Goldin Day. Upon the announcement of Goldin's appointment the Trustees cancelled classes across the University and planned a celebratory parade, complete with campus police honor guard, for Goldin's inauguration on November 17. After the vote of no confidence, and Goldin's subsequent withdrawal the Trustees decided to uphold their decision and did not reinstate classes, though they did cancel the parade.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27167977

Tough Mudder is an endurance event series in which participants attempt obstacle courses. It was co-founded by Will Dean and Guy Livingstone. The obstacles often play on common human fears, such as fire, water, electricity and heights. The first Tough Mudder challenge was held in the United States in 2010. As of 2016, more than three million people worldwide have participated in Tough Mudder events. In January 2020, the Tough Mudder was petitioned for involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy by creditors Valley Builders LLC, Trademarc Associates Inc. and David Watkins Homes Inc. Spartan Race acquired Tough Mudder which had been forced into involuntary bankruptcy proceedings, in February 2020. Spartan Race purchased Tough Mudder assets for $700,000 and the assumption of debts, including honoring prepaid tickets, which was approved by the bankruptcy court for the District of Delaware. Tough Mudder is expected to continue its races. History. Tough Mudder was co-founded in 2010 by Will Dean and Guy Livingstone, both British citizens living in New York. Dean, a former British counter-terrorism officer, had developed the idea for the company while studying at Harvard Business School, where the concept was a semifinalist in the school's annual business plan competition. It has been noted that Will Dean took the idea from Billy Wilson and his Tough Guy races staged in England since 1987. Dean and Livingstone, a former corporate lawyer, held the first Tough Mudder event on May 2, 2010 at Bear Creek Ski Resort near Allentown, PA. Promoted exclusively through Facebook advertising and word of mouth, the event drew more than 4,500 participants. On May 2, 2013, Tough Mudder announced that it had reached one million total registrations since it started in 2010. The company had more than 700,000 participants in 2013, with events in the U.S., UK, Australia, Canada, and Germany. In 2014 the company also expanded to Ireland and New Zealand, with an military obstacle course in Auckland, NZ. In 2015, Tough Mudder hosted more than 50 events in seven countries across three continents. In April 2016, Tough Mudder announced a partnership with international sports management company IMG to bring its events to Asia and the Middle East, beginning with China and United Arab Emirates in 2016. Tough Mudder also announced a partnership with media and technology investment firm Seroja Partners to host an event in Bali, Indonesia in October 2016. On October 1, 2016 in Jimbaran Hijau, Bali Indonesia, Tough Mudder held its first event in Asia, drawing 1500 competitors from more than 37 countries including Jakarta, Singapore and Australia. On December 9–10, 2016, up to 5,000 participated in Tough Mudder's first event in the Middle East that took place at the Hamdan Sports Complex. Tough Mudder CEO Will Dean revealed that the company will seek to launch a chain of fitness boutiques in the United States in 2017 to expand the brand beyond Obstacle Course Racing events. In March 2017, Tough Mudder announced it was continuing its international expansion to New Zealand with Sports Media and Entertainment 360 (SME360) as the official licensee of Tough Mudder events in that country. The first event will held on November 4–5, 2017 at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park. Tough Mudder expanded its 2016 partnership deal with IMG to include Australia for 2017 and 2018 seasons, adding to events already slated in China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and United Arab Emirates. In December 2019, Joe Desena of Spartan Race stated he had options on Canadian and German Tough Mudder events via an interview on Obstacle Racing Media. Joe also indicated Spartan was trying to acquire the entire Tough Mudder brand. Tough Mudder also shut down all online registration in December of 2019 and Co-founder Will Dean stated it was because of a dispute with its online registration partner Active (debts, lawsuit). Obstacle Racing Media posted on December 31, 2019 that Tough Mudder Canada filed for bankruptcy. Event types. Tough Mudder Classic. The typical Tough Mudder Classic course is 8–10 miles long and features 25 obstacles. Terrain type varies from course to course; natural features of the land at each venue are incorporated into the course design. Past venues have included ranches, motocross tracks, and ski resorts. The list of obstacles also varies from course to course, though there are several “signature” obstacles at almost every event, including: Tough Mudder 5K. At 5 kilometres long, Tough Mudder Half events are just under half the distance of a typical Tough Mudder challenge. The courses feature signature Tough Mudder obstacles including Block Ness Monster, Kiss of Mud, and Everest; however, they do not include any obstacles with fire, ice, or electric shocks. Tougher Mudder. Tougher Mudder, a timed, competitive start wave at the beginning of Tough Mudder events that will be held at select venues with prize money to the top 3 finishers. The OCR World Championships team confirmed that Tougher Mudder will be a qualifier for the OCR World Championships. In September 2017, Tough Mudder announced that it was launching the $50,000 Tougher Mudder Championship Race Series, which was streamed live on Facebook Watch (see below under Facebook Watch). The series kicked off on Oct. 7 at Tougher Tri-State in Englishtown, New Jersey, and culminated with the Championship on Nov. 4 in Lake Elsinore, California. The race featured some of the world's top extreme athletes, functional fitness athletes and endurance runners as they tackled 20 plus obstacles on a 10-mile course. . Tough Mudder 5K Urban. Tough Mudder 5K is 3.1 miles or 5K in length. Tough Mudder announced in October 2017, that it will be bringing the 5K to London, Manchester, and Edinburgh in the Summer of 2018 and will offer an ”Up-Late” special Friday Evening 5K event as a way for people to kick off their weekends. Tough Mudder expanded its 5K event to more than 25 cities in the US and more than five countries globally including Germany, Canada, and Oman in 2018. The 5K features 10 obstacles. Tough Mudder held its first 5K in the UK on March 23, 2018 in Stratford. Soap Opera actress Jorgie Porter ran the event. Toughest Mudder. In 2016, Tough Mudder, Inc. announced it will debut a new series, Toughest Mudder, in 2017. The series will be six events held in the US, UK and Canada. Each will be eight hours in length, that will lead into the entry into the “Contender Category” for World's Toughest Mudder 2017. Tough Mudder X. Tough Mudder X is a mix of Tough Mudder, strength-based Cross-Fit exercises and road racing to determine “Fittest, Fastest Athletes in the World”. The event has 200 selected athletes (one must apply to be considered for the event) competing in heats of 12 on a one-mile course that includes 10 Tough Mudder obstacles and 10 “Functional Fitness Workout Zones” with such exercises as pull-ups, box jumps, and wall balls. All obstacles and workout zones must be finished. The top 24 male and female finishers of preliminary heats move on to the finals. Winning purse is $50,000—the men's and women's winners each take home $25,000. This new event aired on CBS (see below under CBS Sports) in August and September in 2017. In 2018, the qualifier and open competitions took place Sunday, March 25, in Sacramento, California; and Sunday, April 8, in Miami, with the finale to be held in Richmond, Virginia, on Friday, June 8. Mini Mudder. In 2015, Tough Mudder debuted Fruit Shoot Mini Mudder, an obstacle course challenge for children. Mini Mudder events are designed for children aged five to twelve (as of 2019), and are about a mile long, including of four laps of a loop that has 10 obstacles. Urban Mudder. The 5-mile course featured obstacles including “Rock and a Hard Place” and “Rooftop Series”; the event also featured a live DJ, festival area, and beer garden. World’s Toughest Mudder. The competition consists of a looped course, which participants continuously run through for 24 hours. The participant who completes the most laps is declared the winner. The winners receive the title of "World's Toughest Mudder" and a $10,000 prize for the winning solo male and female and a $12,000 prize for the winning team. World's Toughest Mudder was first held in 2011 at Raceway Park in New Jersey. The team competition was introduced in 2012; a team from Pennsylvania calling themselves “Nine Inch Males” took first place. There were over 1,200 competitors in 2012. World's Toughest Mudder in 2014 was held at Lake Las Vegas in Nevada and was a 5-mile course with obstacles such as a 35-foot drop into a lake during the day and swimming 300 yards while keeping a torch lit at night. Top finishers in 2014 were Ryan Atkins (19 laps, 95 miles, male solo), Amelia Boone (15 laps, 75 miles, female solo), and Team Wolf Pack (15 laps, 75 miles, team). In 2016, about 1500 competitors from around the world converged on Lake Las Vegas for the third year in a row to compete in the World's Toughest Mudder. New to the 6th annual running of the event was a $100K bonus prize for the first team to pass the 100-mile mark. In addition, all three men's finalists surpassed the 100-mile mark (another event milestone) with first place going to Trevor Cichosz who also completed 105 miles. Stefanie Bishop, who signed up for the event at the last minute, took the Women's lead early and never lost it, taking the Women's crown by completing 85 miles. In 2017, Ryan Atkins and Rea Kolbl captured the World's Toughest Mudder titles for Men and Women. World’s Toughest Mudder Results. Tough Mudder Bootcamp. In May 2017, Tough Mudder launched a studio fitness brand extension, Tough Mudder Bootcamp. The first two franchises, Las Vegas and Burlington, Massachusetts opened in April 2018. Franchises cost $50,000 with total startup cost ranging from $200K to $300K. Ten franchises have been sold and more than 65 have been reserved across the USA. The Bootcamps provide 45-minute HIIT classes for up to 24 participants each and are designed to be done with a partner. Classes are instructor-led with assistance from a proprietary technology platform that guides participants through each class station. Mudder Legion. A person who successfully finishes a Tough Mudder event is deemed a “Legionnaire,” Tough Mudder collectively calls all its finishers the “Mudder Legion”. Each finisher receives a headband for completing a Tough Mudder. Tough Mudder created a handcrafted steel headband for the first legionnaire, Jim Campbell, who completed 100 Tough Mudders. Innovation. In 2012, Tough Mudder founded an off-site “Obstacle Innovation Lab” in New Jersey, where the company designs and tests new obstacles. In January 2015, Tough Mudder announced “Tough Mudder Redefined,” an initiative to revamp its courses by adding many new obstacles and updating the remaining ones. In January 2016, Tough Mudder unveiled several new obstacles for 2016, including Block Ness Monster, a series of rotating blocks floating in waist-deep water, designed to require teamwork to conquer. This obstacle received the highest participant rating of any obstacle in Tough Mudder history while in testing. Tough Mudder also revealed three new obstacles for 2016 that are exclusive to participants who have completed more than one Tough Mudder event: Backstabber, an inclined wall ascent using pegs; Rain Main, a watery passage underneath a chain-link fence while water drips down; and Frequent Flyers’ Club, a jump from a height onto a crash mat. Tough Mudder introduced six new obstacles for 2017 season in November 2016. Obstacles include: Augustus Gloop, ascend up a vertical tube with water gushing down; Funky Monkey: The Revolution – an update on the original obstacle with series of revolving wheels to be traversed dangling over water; Arctic Enema: The Rebirth – another update on a classic – slide head first down a tube into icy water and submerge again under a wall to escape; Black Hole – an update on the original Birth Canal obstacle – one must crawl their way through a gauntlet of 100 lb. water-filled barriers in total darkness; The Reach Around – 20 foot wall that one must then go beyond vertical to scale over; and Kong – 30 foot high obstacle that participants swing from ring to ring at increasing further distant like Tarzan. In January 2018, Tough Mudder introduced its new obstacles for the year which include Kong Infinity and Happy Ending. Safety. At the April 20, 2013, Tough Mudder Mid-Atlantic event in Gerrardstown, West Virginia, a 28-year-old participant, Avishek Sengupta, died following an incident on the "Walk the Plank" obstacle. Witnesses told Berkeley County sheriff's office, which investigated the death, that he was submerged in water for between five and 15 minutes. A coroner ruled the death an accidental drowning and the sheriff's office concluded it did not warrant criminal charges. This was the first fatality in Tough Mudder's history. In 2014, "The Atlantic" reported on an incident at an October 2012 Tough Mudder event in Beatty, Nevada. There, three military personnel were admitted to the Nellis Air Force Base medical center with vomiting and bloody diarrhea. All had fallen face-first in mud on the Tough Mudder course on a nearby cattle ranch a week before. Subsequent investigations linked 22 cases "most likely caused by infection with the fecally transmitted bacterium Campylobacter coli," possibly from water contaminated by livestock. Statements released by Tough Mudder since the incident have discussed the company's commitment to safety, and Tough Mudder CEO Will Dean has stated that Tough Mudder events are about 20 times safer than triathlons. According to study by Canadian researchers and published in the Emergency Medicine Journal in 2016, serious injuries are rare at obstacle course races like Tough Mudder. Only about 1 percent of participants are injured during obstacle course races, and most of the injuries are minor and only require first aid. Lead author of the study, Dr. Alana Hawley, of McMaster University in Hamilton, said “The health risks of participating in such obstacle courses are minimal, however, and are comparable to the injury risks at any mass gathering event.” Most of those injured - 89 percent - in the study group of more than 45,000 people participating in eight mud runs returned to the event without needing any further medical care. Charity affiliations. Team Rubicon. In June 2016, Tough Mudder named its new charity partner Team Rubicon, the veteran first responder organization, TEAMRUBICONUSA.org. Tough Mudder also is partnered with Help for Heroes (in the United Kingdom), and Soldier On (in Australia). In the United States, none of the revenue generated from Tough Mudder admissions sales goes directly to any charity. However, participants are incentivized by the Tough Mudder organization to raise money through their participation in a Tough Mudder event for donation to the Wounded Warrior Project. As of February 2014, Tough Mudder reports that their yearly revenue is approximately $75 million, and that participants have raised around $6.5 million total for the US Wounded Warrior Project since Tough Mudder's inception in 2010. Partners. Tough Mudder has partnerships with many notable companies. In November 2015, Tough Mudder announced Merrell as the presenting partner for Tough Mudder and Tough Mudder Half, in a global multi-year deal. For 2016 it announced additional new North American partners including Old Spice and Microsoft Band, in addition to returning sponsors including Shock Top, U.S. Army, and Cellucor, and Toyo Tires. Additional international partners include Virgin Active, Volvic, and Bosch. Past partners have included Chipotle Mexican Grill, Ziploc, Under Armour, Oberto, Wheaties, Degree, Bic, Advil, Clif Bar, CamelBak, Sony, and Samsung (in Canada). In the same month, Tough Mudder also announced Lucozade, as the company's Official Sports Drink Sponsor of Tough Mudder's UK events. Jeep also announced as part of its current deal, that they will be producing 100 limited edition Renegade Tough Mudder vehicles for sale only in the UK. In July 2017, Tough Mudder announced an official partnership with Samsung in the UK. Tough Mudder will deliver exclusive content and training tips to be seen across Samsung devices and offer unique on-site experiences at Tough Mudder's U.K. events. The partnership began this summer and runs through the '18 event season. In the United States, Amazon became the “official online retailer” for Tough Mudder's 2017 US events. The brands opened a digital storefront where users will be able to shop for fitness and health products, as well as view videos from Tough Mudder fitness and wellness experts on training, nutrition and health that being is creating solely for Amazon. Guinness Blonde American Lager became the official beer partner for 2017 and will have a beer garden where participants and spectators gather at events. Tough Mudder announced in November 2017 a new 2018-2019 US official sports drink partner, Kill Cliff. The brand's endurance and recovery sports beverages will be served both during and after all US based events. In addition, Kill Cliff will serve as the presenting sponsor of the Tough Mudder X Series. The partnership kicked off at the 2017 World's Toughest Mudder with Kill Cliff being the official sponsor of one of the event's most infamous obstacles, The Cliff --- a 35-foot cliff jump into Lake Las Vegas. Fitness drink brand Celsius was named in February as the presenting sponsor for the 2018 Tough Mudder North American Challenge series. The series includes more than 100 events this year including Tough Mudder Half, Full and 5K. Celsius is the official sponsor of the Toughest Mudder and World's toughest Mudder race series, which are televised on CBS. Former presenting sponsor, Merrell, remains as the official shoe sponsor for Tough Mudder. In March 2018, Scottish craft beer Brew Dog signed as the official beer partner for all Tough Mudder UK Challenge series events. The brand's Punk IPA will be handed out to participants after each event. Digital content/online video. Tough Mudder brand has expanded by emphasizing and employing shareable content centered around training tips and inspirational participant stories with a great focus on video and live streaming. A dozen events, streamed via Livestream and Facebook, averaged 723,316 views each with a global reach of 42.5 million. In June 2016, the event at Tahoe was seen by millions on Snapchat. In 2016, season 2 of the weekly training series "Coachified" had over 3.5 million views on Facebook. Tough Mudder's YouTube channel has over 85.7 million views, up 23% since May. Tough Mudder finished 2016 by garnering 3.6 million views for its 24-hour live streaming of World's Toughest Mudder setting a record for obstacle course racing events. Viewers from more than 200 countries around the world tuned in on mobile and OTT devices, and computers to watch on Tough Mudder's proprietary live stream and/or Facebook Live. The company has been identified as one of the live streaming industry's content leaders and success stories along with such others as Buzzfeed. Facebook Watch. In the Fall of 2017, Tough Mudder and Facebook announced a new digital partnership in which Tough Mudder will deliver original, live event sports and fitness programming for Facebook Watch. The programming includes the exclusive broadcast of the new $50,000 Tougher Mudder Championship race series, which began on Oct. 7th, that featured views from multiple obstacles, participant “head cams”, drone footage and hosted commentary. In addition, viewers can watch weekly live streaming broadcasts of Tough Mudder Bootcamp fitness studio classes, in which viewers can get into shape and work out to with a partner. With this deal, all of Tough Mudder's competitive event series have a video/broadcast home with major partners. The company's most viewed show on Facebook Watch — the finale of the World's Toughest Mudder in November 2017 garnered 1.2 Million viewers. Television. CBS Sports. In 2016, CBS Sports and Tough Mudder, Inc. announced a programming deal that will span across broadcast, cable and OTT/Streaming/OnDemand platforms that will offer an inside look at World's Toughest Mudder as competitors vie for a $100K prize. In December 2016, CBS Sports aired two shows - “Road to the World’s Toughest Mudder,” on December 15 on CBS Sports Network, which provided a comprehensive look at Tough Mudder leading up to the 2016 World's Toughest Mudder event in Las Vegas. CBS (broadcast) televised on December 25, "World’s Toughest Mudder”, followed by a post-event roundtable show on CBS Sports Network that featured the top competitors from the 2016 event. In 2017, CBS Sports Network will air coverage from each of the six-event “Toughest Mudder Series,” going behind-the-scenes as teams train and compete in the new event. CBS Sports again will air on CBS the "2017 World’s Toughest Mudder”. CBS Sports Digital will feature live streaming coverage of Toughest Mudder events on CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports apps for mobile and connected TV devices, along with on-demand video content available across CBS Sports digital and social platforms. In June 2017, CBS Sports and Tough Mudder expanded their partnership with a new programming deal for the new Tough Mudder X event. As part of the expansion, CBS Sports has moved all Tough Mudder programming to debut on the CBS with repeats to air on CBS Sports Network in primetime and on CBS’ digital platforms. The CW. In 2016, The CW and Tough Mudder, Inc. announced a six-part series, multi-platform programming deal to run on CW Seed (the CW's digital network/streaming platform) and The CW network in 2017. The docu-series focused on “everyday heroes” attempting to run and complete a Tough Mudder including their personal stories and training for the grueling obstacle course that tests teamwork skills, physical abilities and “mental grit. Episodes one through five entitled “The Challenge Within” debuted on CW Seed on Feb. 2, 2017. The hour-long finale featured the team tackling the course and was broadcast on The CW Network on Feb. 14, 2017. The five part series entitled “The Challenge Within” debuted on CW Seed on Feb. 2, 2017 with the hour-long finale airing The CW Network on Feb. 14, 2017. In 2018, the CW ran a second, six part series entitled "Tough Mudder: Tougher Together." The first five episodes debuted on CW Seed on March 8, with the one-hour finale airing on the CW Network on March 15. Flatbush Pictures and Judd Ehrlich, the documentary team behind We Could Be King, the 2014 Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Sports Documentary and recipient of a Grand Clio, served as executive producers of the series, along with Jesse Bull and Jennifer Nelson of Tough Mudder and independent documentary producer Carlin Cwik. Sky Sports. Sky Sports and Tough Mudder announced in early January 2017 that on 24 January 2017 Sky Sports Mix would run Road to World's Toughest Mudder followed by coverage of the 2016 World's Toughest Mudder on 26 January 2017. In addition, Sky Sports Mix will also carry The Challenge Within later in the year. The partnership is Tough Mudder's first broadcast/video content partnership in the UK and includes content on across Sky Sports’ apps for mobile devices and connected devices, as well as on skysports.com and across Sky's social media channels in January 2017. ESPN. ESPN media distribution was named Tough Mudder's international media distribution partner in March 2017 for all of Tough Mudder's global digital and linear broadcast rights (except for the UK and the US) to the brand's competitive event series and original video offerings. Programming includes World's Toughest Mudder, Toughest Mudder, The Challenge Within and Mission Mudder (see CBS Sports, CW, Sky Sports above).

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2246190

Wolf hunting is the practice of hunting gray wolves "(Canis lupus)" or other species of wolves. Wolves are mainly hunted for sport, for their skins, to protect livestock and, in some rare cases, to protect humans. Wolves have been actively hunted since 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, when they first began to pose a threat to livestock vital for the survival of Neolithic human communities. Historically, the hunting of wolves was a huge capital- and manpower-intensive operation. The threat wolves posed to both livestock and people was considered significant enough to warrant the conscription of whole villages under threat of punishment, despite the disruption of economic activities and reduced taxes. The hunting of gray wolves, while originally actively endorsed in many countries, has become a controversial issue in some nations. Opponents see it as cruel, unnecessary and based on misconceptions, while proponents argue that it is vital for the conservation of game herds and as pest control. History. Europe and Russia. In the sixth century BC, the first wolf bounty was reportedly opened when Solon of Athens offered five silver drachmas to any hunter for killing any male wolf, and one for every female. In Ancient Rome, the treatment given to wolves differed from the treatment meted out to other large predators. The Romans generally seem to have refrained from intentionally harming wolves. For instance, they were not hunted for pleasure (but only in order to protect herds that were out at pasture), and not displayed in the venationes, either. The special status of the wolf was not based on national ideology, but rather was connected to the religious importance of the wolf to the Romans. British isles. In England of 950, King Athelstan imposed an annual tribute of 300 wolf skins on Welsh king Hywel Dda, an imposition which was maintained until the Norman conquest of England. At the time, several criminals, rather than being put to death, would be ordered to provide a certain number of wolf tongues annually. The Norman kings (reigning from 1066 to 1154) employed servants as wolf hunters and many held lands granted on condition they fulfilled this duty. William the Conqueror granted the lordship of Riddesdale in Northumberland to Robert de Umfraville on condition that he defend that land from enemies and wolves. There were no restrictions or penalties in the hunting of wolves, except in royal game reserves, under the reasoning that the temptation for a commoner to shoot a deer there was too great. King John gave a premium of 10 shillings for the capture of two wolves. King Edward VI who reigned from 1272 to 1307 ordered the total extermination of all wolves in his kingdom and personally employed one Peter Corbet, with instructions to destroy wolves in the counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Staffordshire, areas near the Welsh Marches where wolves were more common than in the southern areas of England. James I of Scotland passed a law in 1427 requiring three wolf hunts a year between April 25 to August 1, coinciding with the wolf's cubbing season. The wolf became extinct in England during the reign of Henry VII (1485–1509). It is known that wolves survived in Scotland up until the 18th century. Mary, Queen of Scots, is known to have hunted wolves in the forest of Atholl in 1563. Stories on the killing of the alleged last wolf of Scotland vary. Official records indicate that the last Scottish wolf was killed by Sir Ewan Cameron in 1680. Popular folklore on the other hand tells of how an old man named MacQueen of Pall à Chrocain in the Findhorn Valley of Morayshire killed the last wolf in 1743. Ireland throughout most of the first half of the 17th century had a substantial wolf population of not less than 400 and may be as high as 1000 wolves at any one time. Although the Irish hunted wolves, it is evident from documentary data that they did not see the same need as the English to exterminate the wolves. Although wolves were perceived as threats, they were nonetheless seen as natural parts of the Irish landscapes. The level of rewards and bounties established by Oliver Cromwell's regime after the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653) attracted a few professional wolf hunters to Ireland, mostly from England. Politically, the prospect of numbers of armed Irish roaming around the country hunting wolves was not acceptable, given the ongoing conflict between the Irish and the new English settlers, so it was seen as much safer for the English authorities to encourage men from their own country to deal with the wolf problem. Wolves were exterminated from Ireland in the late 18th century, most likely 1786. Western and central Europe. In 9th century France, Charlemagne founded an elite corps of crown funded officials called , whose purpose was to control wolf populations in France during the Middle Ages. Luparii were responsible for the initial reduction of wolf populations in France, which would become decimated in later centuries. The office of is today known as the Wolfcatcher Royal. On 9 August 1787 the office of luparii was dissolved because of financing issues during the French Revolution but was reinstated twelve years later by Napoleon. After the Revolution ended, wolf hunting was no longer an activity reserved for the aristocracy. Wolves could be killed for monetary rewards equivalent to a month's pay. From 1818 to 1829, 1400 wolves were killed each year. This high kill rate coincided with the increased distribution of flintlocks. At the dawn of the 19th century, there were up to 5000 wolves in France, a number which was reduced to half that amount by 1850. By 1890, the wolf population had been reduced to 1000 animals, and further fell to 500 in 1900 because of increased usage of strychnine. Wolves temporarily increased during the First World War, though by the time it ended, the population was estimated to be between 150 and 200 animals. The last confirmed French wolf kill occurred in 1937. With the extinction of the wolf in metropolitan France, the office of Wolfcatcher Royal was modified in 1971 and now serves an administrative function regulating vermin and maintaining healthy wildlife populations. Wolf bounties were regularly paid in Italy during the 12th and 13th centuries and as recently as the 1950s. Gian Galeazzo Visconti himself offered ten Imperial marks for every wolf killed. 600 wolves are recorded to have been bountied between the 14th and 19th centuries. Presentation of the killed wolf to the authorities was obligatory. The authorities had to give an accurate testimony with a description of the presented animal (gender, weight, measurements, color, estimated age, etc.) and the symptomatic ascertainment of any rabies infection. The wolf's paw was then amputated and/or its ears were sealed in wax in order to avoid the spoils being represented elsewhere. Only one case of fraud occurred, in 1834, which was punished by arrest. Italian wolf hunters lacked the organisation or determination of their French counterparts, having not formed any special hunting teams. Wolves were exterminated from the Alps in the 19th century, though they were never fully exterminated in the peninsula. In Switzerland, conflicts between humans and wolves reached a peak in the 16th century, amid large-scale deforestation. Wolves became extinct in Zürich in 1684. They were later exterminated from Appenzell Ausserrhoden in 1695, and Schaffhausen in 1712. The last known traces of wolves in central Switzerland date back to 1707 in Zug, 1753 in Uri, and 1793 in Glarus. Wolves became extinct in Engadin in 1821. Between 1762 and 1842, 80 wolves were recorded to have been bountied in Vaud. Wolves were further exterminated in Valais in 1870, Ticino in 1872 and Solothurn in 1874. Wolves occasionally migrated to Switzerland in small numbers in the early 20th century. In 1908, a wolf was shot in Ticino, and a further two were killed in 1914 in Lignerolle. In 19th century Spain, the Principality of Asturias passed an act between March and December 1816 paying out bounties for the death of 76 adult and 414 young wolves at 160 reales for an adult wolf and 32 for a wolf cub. The hunting of wolves represented a considerable source of wealth for local populations, with the or wolf-hunter being a respected county figure. In an 1856 brochure, the Hungarian nationalist exile István Türr noted, among many other grievances against Habsburg rule in his country, that "Since the restriction of the liberty of hunting and the seizure of all arms in Hungary, wild beasts have so multiplied, that, besides an enormous damage done to the crops, the flocks, and the poultry, the wolves venture, not only into villages, but into the very towns, and besides doing fearful depredations, attack even people. The number of (district huntsmen appointed by the government) is not sufficient to destroy them; arid in consequence of the universal dislike to public functionaries, increased still more by the circumstance that they are not Hungarians, the landed proprietors do not allow them to hunt on their grounds. One of these huntsmen told me that a nobleman, being requested to allow him to kill some wolves which were in his forest, refused by saying, "No, sir! the wolves belong to me, not to the government." In Croatia, between 1986 and 2004, 115 wolf deaths were recorded, of which 54% were due to shooting. During that period, the number of dead wolves found ranged from 0 to 15 annually. The lowest kill rates occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s, coinciding with the start of the Croatian War of Independence. Northern and eastern Europe. The Swedish kings Magnus Eriksson and Christopher of Bavaria decreed wolf hunting a civic duty, with only priests, parish clerks and landless women exempted. Sweden's first wolf bounty was opened in 1647. The bounties remained in force in the new laws of the Kingdom of Sweden from 1734. Hundreds of Sami killed wolves in order to protect their reindeer herds. In the 1960s, wolf numbers rapidly declined with the onset of snow mobiles used for hunting. Sweden's last wolf was killed in 1966, after which, the species was declared legally protected and eventually recolonized the area. Norway followed a similar pattern as Sweden, with its last wolf being killed in 1976, before becoming being protected and eventually recolonizing the area. In the Lithuanian SSR, the hunting of wolves was formally permitted all year long with killing cubs in their dens and payment of monetary rewards. The number of wolves in those times in Lithuania fell to about 20–40 individuals. In Communist Romania, up to 2,800 wolves were killed between 1955 and 1965. During the reign of Nicolae Ceauşescu, a reward equal to a quarter of a month's pay was offered to rangers killing wolf cubs. Full-grown wolves killed by any method at all resulted in as much as a half-month's pay. In Czarist Russia, before the emancipation reform of 1861, wolf hunting was done solely by authorized firearm holders, usually police, soldiers, rich landowners or nobles. Upon learning of the frequency of attacks on livestock and humans, the Ministry of the Interior sent agents to Western Europe in order to learn how the people there dealt with wolf problems. Upon returning, the Ministry of the Interior developed a plan in 1846 to deal with wolves involving the opening of wolf bounties and appointment of government hunters. Each hunter was given jurisdiction to hunt in one district, with more than one for large areas. Hunters were given 3 rubles for each male wolf killed and 1.5 for each cub, with a tail presented as proof. Each hunter would receive an annual salary of 60 rubles a year, provided he killed 15 adults and 30 cubs a year. Peasant hunters, however, were rarely rewarded, because of corrupt bureaucrats stealing the money. In 1858, after paying the equivalent of $1,250,000 for over a million wolves in Central Russia, officials became suspicious, and discovered that some hunters bought wolf pelts for low prices, cut them up and handed them to magistrates as wolf tails. In the later years of the 19th century, Russian hunting societies began an energetic campaign against wolves. In 1897, members of the Moscow Hunting Society killed their first 1000 wolves, though the number of professional wolf hunters at the time was rather low. Former serfs began hunting wolves after their emancipation in 1861, though rarely with success, as civilian firearms were highly expensive, and the cheaper ones were usually primitive and unable to bear the heavy ammunition necessary to kill wolves. After the October Revolution in 1917, the newly formed Soviet government worked heavily to eradicate wolves and other predators during an extensive land reclamation program. During World War II, wolf populations increased, though after Nazi Germany's defeat, wolf hunts resumed. With the end of the war and the onset of aerial hunting, the USSR destroyed 42,300 wolves in 1945, 62,700 wolves in 1946, 58,700 wolves in 1947, 57,600 in 1948, and 55,300 in 1949. From 1950 to 1954, an average of 50,000 wolves were killed annually. In 1966, wolves had been successfully exterminated in 30 oblasts of the RSFSR. During this time, wolf predation on humans and livestock had dropped by a factor of ten. However, with the publishing of a Russian translation of Farley Mowatt's book "Never Cry Wolf", wolf hunts decreased in popularity. Amid public outcry, Czarist and Soviet records of wolf attacks on both livestock and people were ignored and wolf hunts decreased in number, allowing wolves to multiply. 15,900 wolves were reportedly culled from the RSFSR in 1978, compared to 7,900 two years prior. With an increase in population, twice as many wolves were culled in the 1980s than in the prior decade. Wolves became extinct in Wrangel Island in the early 1980s. In 1984, the RSFSR had over 2,000 wolf hunting brigades consisting of 15,000 hunters who killed 16,400 wolves. Overall, the Soviet Union culled over 1,500,000 wolves for a cost of 150,000,000 rubles on bounties alone. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, many wolf bounties were lowered or dropped altogether. Wolf hunting continues in Russia, at the expense of individual hunters rather than the government. Asia. In India, Hindus traditionally considered the hunting of wolves, even dangerous ones, as taboo, for fear of causing a bad harvest. The Santals, however, considered them fair game, as with every other forest dwelling animal. In 1876, in the North-West Provinces and Bihar State of British India, 2,825 wolves were killed in response to 721 fatal attacks on humans. Two years later, 2,600 wolves were killed in response to attacks leaving 624 humans dead. Wolf exterminations remained a priority in the NWP and Awadh through to the 1920s, because wolves were reportedly killing more people than any other predator in the region. Female cubs were bountied for 12 Indian annas, while males for 8. Higher rewards of 5 rupees for each adult and one for each cub were favored in Jaunpur. In Gorakhpur, where human fatalities were highest in summer, the reward for an adult wolf was 4 rupees, with 3 for a cub. Acts of fraud were quite common, with some bounty hunters presenting golden jackals or simply exhuming the bodies of bountied wolves and presenting them to unsuspecting magistrates for rewards. Overall, it is thought that up to 100,000 wolves were killed in British India between 1871 and 1916. Before the onset of the Meiji restoration period in 1868, wolves had a benign rather than noxious place in Japanese culture and folklore. Wolves were, however, occasionally hunted. Wolf bounties ("shōkin") first appeared in Morioka where horse predation by wolves was frequent. Domain lords would pay 700 mon for males, and 900 for females, though peasants received much less. Wolves in Japan became extinct during the Meiji restoration period, an extermination known as "ōkami no kujo". The wolf was deemed a threat to ranching which the Meiji government promoted at the time, and targeted via a bounty system and a direct chemical extermination campaign inspired by the similar contemporary American campaign. Starting August 1875, the Iwate Prefecture government offered bounties ("shōreikin") of 7¥ for male wolves and 8 for females. In 1878 in Sapporo, it was decided to set higher bounties for wolves than bears in order to further motivate the ethnic Ainu people into killing wolves, which were once considered sacred to them. Hokkaido experienced significant development during this period and the Hokkaido wolf also suffered from resulting environmental disruption. The last Japanese wolf was a male killed on 23 January 1905 near Washikaguchi (now called Higashi Yoshiro). The carcass was bought by a man working for the Duke of Bedford, and was subsequently put on display in the British Museum of Natural History. In the Mongolian People's Republic, the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party organized two national wolf hunting weeks, one in March and another in December. Anyone who killed a wolf and presented a pair of ears as proof was rewarded with a sheep and some felt. Each May, the government commanded the populace to scour the countryside for wolf lairs in an effort to exterminate wolf pups. When the inhabitants of a district believed it had destroyed its last wolf, the local government would proclaim a public holiday. Records show that up to 5,000 wolves were taken annually in the early 1930s. 4,000–4,500 wolves were killed annually in Mongolia in 1976. In the Kazakh SSR, some 1,000 professional hunters killed thousands of the wolves yearly to collect government bounties. In 1988, just before the Soviet economy collapsed, the hunters killed 16,000 wolves. North America. In the majority of Native American hunter-gatherer societies, wolves were usually killed for body parts used in rituals, or to stop them raiding food caches, though some tribes would raid wolf dens to kill pups when wolf populations became too large for the Natives to live with. This also served as a method of acquiring food, as wolf pups were considered a delicacy. Native Americans were aware of the dangers of habituated wolves, and would quickly dispatch wolves following them too closely. Active hunting of wolves was rare because many tribes believed that such an act would cause game animals to disappear or bring retribution from other wolves. The Cherokee feared that the unjust killing of a wolf would bring about the vengeance of its pack mates, and that the weapon used for the deed would be useless in future unless exorcised by a medicine man. However, they would kill wolves with impunity if they knew the proper rites of atonement, and if the wolves themselves happened to raid their fish nets. When the Kwakiutl killed a wolf, the animal would be laid out on a blanket and have portions of its flesh eaten by the perpetrators, who would express regret at the act before burying it. The Ahtna would take the dead wolf to a hut, where it would be propped in a sitting position with a banquet made by a shaman set before it. When men from certain Eskimo tribes killed a wolf, they would walk around their houses four times, expressing regret and abstaining from sexual relations with their wives for four days. Young Apaches would kill wolves, cougars or bears as a rite of passage. Although some of the first European colonists traveling to North America would report back that wolves were more populous in the New World than in Europe, writings from the Lewis and Clark Expedition indicate that wolves were seldom seen except in aboriginal buffer zones. After the European colonization of the Americas, the first American wolf bounty was passed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony on November 9, 1630. Further wolf bounties opened in Jamestown, Virginia on September 4, 1632 and in other colonies. Payments to white settlers included cash, tobacco, wine and corn, while Native Americans were given blankets and trinkets. A New Jersey law started in 1697 stated that any Christian who brought a wolf carcass to a magistrate would have been paid 20 shillings, while a Native American or black would have been paid half that much. It later became customary for Native Americans to provide two wolf pelts a year without payment. In 1688, a Virginia law abolished the requirement of tribute in wolves to be paid in accordance to the number of hunters in each tribe, demanding 725 hunters to kill 145 wolves a year. In the 19th century, as the settlers began increasingly moving west in pursuit of more land for ranching, wolves were becoming increasingly more hunted as threats to livestock. In 1818, a "War of Extermination" against wolves and bears was declared in Ohio. Iowa began its own wolf bounty in 1858, with Wisconsin and Colorado following suit in 1865 and 1869. Wolf pelts soon began to increase in demand as beavers began to become scarce from over-trapping. In the 1830s, a wolf pelt was worth only $1, doubling in the 1850s. Records of the upper Missouri outfit of the American Fur Trading Company indicate that 20 wolf pelts were shipped down-river in 1850, with 3,000 being shipped three years later. Civilians turned bounty hunters known as "wolfers" began killing ungulates in large numbers as bait, poisoning the meat in hopes of attracting unsuspecting wolves. It is estimated that between 1871 and 1875, this method killed thirty-four thousand wolves in Montana and Alberta alone. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, wolf hunting could become a cultural event as large numbers of people advanced through wolf territory in hopes of flushing any animals from hiding. In these types of hunts, firearms and dogs were forbidden, and the wolves were killed with clubs or otherwise by hand. Between 1916 and 1926 the National Park Service predator control program resulted in the extermination of sustainable packs of wolves in Yellowstone National Park by 1926. American wolf hunts peaked in the 1920s-1930s, when up to 21,000 were killed annually. After World War II, wolves were seen less as vermin and more as big game trophy animals. The first Canadian wolf bounty was offered in 1793 in Ontario and Quebec. Wolves became rare in Eastern Canada by the 1870s, becoming extinct in New Brunswick by 1880, in Nova Scotia by 1900 and had disappeared from Newfoundland by 1913. Full-scale eradication programs did not peak in western and northern Canada until the 1950s, when resource development brought more people into originally sparsely populated wilderness. A government-backed wolf extermination program was initiated in 1948 after serious declines in caribou herds in the Northern Territories and a rabies concern due to wolves migrating south near populated areas. 39,960 cyanide guns, 106,100 cyanide cartridges and 628,000 strychnine pellets were distributed. Up to 17,500 wolves were poisoned in Canada between 1955 and 1961. In the mid-1950s, wolf bounties were dropped in the western provinces in favor of hiring provincial hunters. Quebec's wolf bounties ended in 1971 and Ontario in 1972. Overall, 20,000 wolves were bountied between 1935 and 1955 in British Columbia, 12,000 between 1942 and 1955 in Alberta and 33,000 between 1947 and 1971 in Ontario. Unlike wolf populations in the lower 48 states, which declined steadily as settlers moved west, the Canadian wolf population fluctuated between growth and decline, largely because the human population in Canada never reached the same level as in the lower 48, thus leaving large areas of land free for the wolves. Unlike European wolf hunts which were usually reserved for the nobility, North American wolf hunts were partaken by ordinary citizens, nearly all of them possessing firearms, thus the extermination of wolves in the lower 48 states was carried out in far less time than in Europe. Current situation. Europe and Russia. In Norway, in 2001, the government authorized a controversial wolf cull on the grounds that the animals were overpopulating and were responsible for the killing of more than 600 sheep in 2000. The Norwegian authorities' original plans to kill 20 wolves were scaled down amid public outcry. However, sheep farmers generally welcome wolf hunting, as the wolves are a great threat to sheep and dogs. In 2005, the Norwegian government proposed another cull, with the intent of exterminating 25% of Norway's wolf population. As of 2015, there were an estimated 460 wolves in the Scandinavian population, with the large majority located in Sweden. Wolf hunting is controversial in Sweden, where decisions by public authorities to authorize hunting seasons each year since 2010 have resulted in legal challenges by the European Commission and by NGOs. In Spain, wolves were hunted north of the Duero river under strict conditions to control damage over livestock, but strictly protected at the South margin. The recent Wolf expansion even to the mountains of Madrid, has generated a great controversy in Autonomous Community of Castile-León over whether to allow hunting also south of the Duero river.In 2021 the wolf hunt has been banned in all Spain. The European Union has exceptionally permitted Estonia, which has the highest wolf density in the EU, to continue wolf hunting as long as the overall numbers remain stable. In 2010, 173 wolves were permitted to be culled, but only 130 were actually caught. In 2011, 149 wolves were culled of the permitted 150. Under the Berne Convention wolves in France are listed as an endangered species, and killing them is illegal, though official culls are permitted to protect farm animals as long as there is no threat to the species in its entirety. Though wolf populations have increased in Ukraine, wolves remain unprotected there and can be hunted year-round by permit-holders. Bulgaria considers the wolf a pest animal and there is a bounty equivalent to two weeks average wages on their heads. With the exception of specimens in nature reserves, wolves in Belarus are largely unprotected. They are designated a game species, and bounties ranging between 60 and 70 Euros are paid to hunters for each wolf killed. This is a considerable sum in a country where the average monthly wage is 230 Euros. In Russia, government-backed wolf exterminations have been largely discontinued since the fall of the Soviet Union. As a result, their numbers have stabilized and are increasing, though they are still hunted legally. According to Alexander Tikhonov, head of the Department of Hunting Resources "the more wolves you have, the more problems there are". His department currently licenses a national bag limit of up to 14,000 wolves annually, with permits given to hunt even within nature reserves. Currently, Russia is the only nation where poison is legally used to kill wolves. The government licensed a fluorine-acetate-barium compound and distributed it through hunting associations. Asia. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, wolf hunting in Kazakhstan has decreased in profit. About 2,000 are killed yearly for a $40 bounty, though the animal's numbers have risen sharply. Wolf hunting has become a fashionable pastime for Mongolia's new capitalist rich, particularly around Ulaanbaatar. It is currently illegal to shoot animals from helicopters or jeeps, though many rich hunters do not pay attention to this, including the lawmakers. For Mongolian nomads, hunting wolves is more than a rich man's hobby because of evocations to the wolf's role in their mythology. Most post-Soviet Mongols have reverted to the traditional belief that to kill a wolf in January, or even to see one, brings good fortune for the whole year. In 2006, the government of the People's Republic of China began plans to auction licenses for foreigners to hunt wild animals, including wolves which are the only carnivores on the list of animals that can be hunted. The license to shoot a wolf can apparently be acquired for $200. North America. In Alaska, it is illegal to shoot a wolf with a rimfire rifle because wolves are classified as big game. The state predator control program includes aerial shooting. In 2007 state biologists' goal was to have volunteer hunters kill 407 to 680 wolves by the time the predator-control season ended April 30, but high fuel prices and poor flying conditions kept hunters from meeting that goal. A subsidy of $150 per wolf offered by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game was overturned by a judge on the grounds that only the Board of Game had the power to offer bounties. Despite relatively heavy hunting and trapping over the last century in Alaska, wolves occur on nearly all of their traditional habitat throughout mainland Alaska. Alaska currently has five wolf control programs that comprise about 9.4% of the state's land area. A closely controlled permit system is used in allowing aerial or airborne methods to remove wolves in designated areas. Wolf numbers are temporarily reduced in these areas, but are not permanently eliminated from any area. Wolf populations in North America commonly sustain annual harvests or natural mortality rates of 20–40% without experiencing a year-to-year decline in numbers. Sarah Palin of Alaska in 2007 approved the use of this provision in the law to shoot wolves and bears while flying for the purpose of protection of property. Many scientists believe that this artificial inflation of game populations is actually detrimental to both caribou and moose populations as well as the ecosystem as a whole; artificially boosted populations "could result in habitat destruction by moose and caribou, and ultimately, a crash in these populations". This is why large numbers of people support the Protect America's Wildlife (PAW) Act which was proposed to Congress by George Miller, the state representative of California in July 2009. This legislation has already received official support from nine former members of the Alaska Board of Game and Wildlife and conservation groups, including Defenders of Wildlife. According to Miller, "The state of Alaska has been operating an airborne hunting program that has blatantly ignored federal law, ignored Alaskans' opposition, ignored the science, and ignored even their own wildlife experts. It's time to ground this air assault on wolves. The PAW Act is urgently needed to close the loophole in federal law and protect our nation's wildlife from the unethical and unsportsmanlike practice of airborne hunting." The PAW Act has been created to close the loophole in the existing Airborne Hunting Act that has allowed Alaska legislators and officials to continue to aerial hunt. The bill would clarify under which conditions it is acceptable to use aircraft to aid in the management of wildlife. It would bar states from using aerial hunting to artificially boost game species when they are not at risk and to clarify the prohibition of harassing animals from planes which is part of the "land and shoot" hunting that is being utilized in Alaska. The PAW Act acknowledges the right of states to manage wildlife by clearly stating that wildlife agencies may use planes to respond to legitimate biological emergencies in wildlife populations. It also states that aircraft may be used for animal control where land, livestock, water, pets, crops, or human health are at risk. An estimated 15% of Canada and Alaska's wolf population of 6,000-7,000 is harvested annually. (Canada's total wolf population is about 30,000. Sentence needs rewording.) Ontario ceased its wolf bounty system in 1972, though retaining a year-round open season for wolves. In Alberta, wolves bounties are still offered by some local governments. Starting in 2010, Big Lakes County offered a bounty of C$300 per adult wolf, leading to 290 wolves worth $87,000 by mid-2012. After the gray wolf was removed from the endangered species list for the western great lakes region in January 2012, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources instituted a hunting season to manage the population. This new season ran from November 3, 2012 through the 18th, 2012 in some regions and continued November 24, 2012 and ran through January 31, 2013 or until the tag limit was reached. That limit was set at a target of 400 wolves across the state. The total number of wolves harvested in this inaugural season was 412 wolves. Twelve more wolves were harvested past the target number. On December 19, 2014 a US Federal Court ordered a stop to the hunting of wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin and in Michigan. Quarry. The grey wolf "(Canis lupus)" is the largest member of the Canidae. Though once abundant over much of North America and Eurasia, the grey wolf inhabits a very small portion of its former range because of widespread destruction of its habitat; in some regions it is endangered or threatened. Considered as a whole, however, the grey wolf is regarded as of least concern for extinction according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Wolf weight and size can vary greatly worldwide, tending to increase proportionally with latitude as predicted by Bergmann's Rule. Wolves are usually hunted in heavy brush and are considered especially challenging to hunt, because of their elusive nature and sharp senses. Grey wolves are notoriously shy and difficult to kill, having been stated to be almost as hard to stalk as cougars, and being far more problematic to dispatch with poison, traps or hounds. However, wolves generally do not defend themselves as effectively as cougars or bears. Some wolves will evade capture for very long periods of time and display great cunning. One specimen nicknamed "Three Toes of Harding County" in South Dakota eluded its pursuers for 13 years before finally being caught. Another wolf nicknamed "Rags the digger" near Meeker, Colorado would deliberately ruin trap lines by digging up traps without tripping them. In sport hunting, wolves are usually taken in late autumn and early winter, when their pelts are of the highest quality and because the heavy snow makes it easier for the wolves to be tracked. Adult wolves are usually too fast to be overtaken by wolfhounds, but not for well conditioned horses, especially in thick snow. A shot wolf must be approached with caution, as some wolves will play possum. Accounts as to how wolves react to being trapped or cornered vary. John James Audubon wrote that young wolves typically show little resistance to being caught, whereas older, more experienced wolves will fight savagely. Pelts. Wolves are commonly hunted for their fur. The color of a wolf's fur can vary, from the pure white of the largest, Alaskan wolves, through the range of reddish brown. Even the so-called "grey wolves" can include pure black pups in a litter, although grey is the most common color. Wolves have two kinds of hairs; an outer coat of long, stiff hairs called "guard hairs" and an "undercoat" of soft fur which grows thick in the winter and helps to insulate their bodies from the cold; this fur has the advantage of not freezing. The five inch (127 mm) long guard hairs which are shed in spring and summer are waterproof, keeping the wolf's underfur dry and warm. The fur of the undercoat may be nearly two and a half inches thick and help keep a wolf warm even in temperatures reaching 40 degrees below zero. Wolves in warm climates have shorter guard hairs and less dense underfur. In some areas of medieval Europe, pelts were the only considered practicality of wolves. Pelts were usually made into cloaks or mittens, though not without hesitation, because of the wolf's strong odor. Wolf pelts were important to many Native American tribes and considered by some to be powerful medicine. Sacred articles were wrapped in wolf skin and some tribes also wove wolf and American bison hair together in small blankets. Native American hunters used wolf pelts as disguises to allow them stalk close bison herds. The bison were accustomed to having wolves walk among them and did not fear wolves unless they were vulnerable because of disease, injury, or if guarding young. Wolf pelts were also valuable as clothing, objects for trade and for ruffs or coats. They were also used in ritual dances and worn by some shamans, or medicine men. Tundra-dwelling wolves are especially valued, as their pelages are more luxuriant than those of forest dwelling wolves, sometimes selling for twice as much. Females typically have smoother coats than males. Ethiopian wolves are not usually exploited for fur, though there was an occasion in Wollo in which wolf skins were used as saddle pads. In Russia, between the years 1600–1725, wolves were not actively sought out for their fur, which was not considered a major commodity, though they were taken when the opportunity presented itself. In the former Soviet Union, between 1976 and 1988, 30,000 wolf pelts were produced annually. Recent statistics from CITES indicate that 6,000-7,000 wolf skins are internationally traded each year, with Canada, the former Soviet Union, Mongolia and China being the largest exporters, and the United States and Great Britain being the largest importers. Today, wolf pelts are still valued for parka trim, fur coats and rugs. The production of wolf pelts is still an important source of income for Arctic communities in Alaska and Canada. While not in the same class as high grade furbearers like beaver, otter or mink, the gray wolf's fur is nonetheless thick and durable, and is primarily used for scarfs and the trimmings of women's garments, though it is occasionally used for jackets, short capes, coats, mukluks and rugs. Aside from bodily protection and adornment, gray wolf pelts have also been used as camouflage in hunting and warfare, as an insignia among western Native Americans and as a form of currency. The quality of wolf peltries rests on the density and strength of the fur fibre, which keeps the fur upright and gives the pelt an appealing bushy aspect. These characteristics are mostly found in northern wolf populations, but gradually lessen further south in warmer climates. North American wolf pelts are among the most valuable, as they are silkier and fluffier than Eurasian peltries. In Medieval Europe, pelts were considered the only practical aspect of wolves, though they were seldom used, because of the skin's foul odour. In Scandinavian folklore, wolf-skin girdles assisted in transforming the wearers into werewolves, while several Native American tribes used wolf pelts for medicinal purposes. Plains Indians often wore wolf pelts as disguises to get close to American bison when hunting. The Pawnee wore wolf skins as capes when exploring enemy territories. The United States Army used wolf skin for parkas during the later stages of World War II and the Korean War to protect the faces of soldiers from frostbite. In the Soviet Union, 30,000 wolf pelts were produced annually between 1976 and 1988. Statistics from CITES indicate that 6,000–7,000 wolf skins are internationally traded each year, with Canada, the former Soviet Union, Mongolia and China being the largest exporters, and the United States and Great Britain being the largest importers. Overall, the harvesting of wolves for their fur has little impact on their population, as only the northern varieties (whose numbers are stable) are of commercial value. Wolf trapping for fur remains a lucrative source of income for many Native Americans. Ritual and traditional medicine. In Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, wolf flesh was a main ingredient in unguents used to ward off evil. When applied in the form of a powder, the wolf unguent would be used to cure epilepsy, plague and gout. Powdered wolf bones were used to cure chest and back pains, broken bones and strained tendons. Wolf teeth, particularly the canines, would be perforated and used as talismans against evil spirits. This practice is thought to fall back to the Paleolithic, as shown by some prehistoric grave sites showing numerous wolf tooth charms. It continues in some areas of rural France, where it is also thought that wearing a wolf tooth offers protection from wolf attacks. The tongue, when cooked with flour and honey, was traditionally used as a remedy for epilepsy and as a guarantee of good luck. The eyes of a wolf were traditionally thought to give courage to children and render the user partially invisible. The liver was particularly prized for medicinal and ritualistic purposes. When cooked or desiccated into a powder and mixed with certain ingredients (flour, wine, water, blood, urine etc. ), wolf liver was said to cure epilepsy, edema, tachycardia, syphilis, gangrene, vertigo, migraines, verucas and dysentery. Wolf penis supposedly cured impotence. Wolf blood was used for gout, period pains and deafness. The paws and fat of a wolf were sometimes used to ward off evil, or facilitate the transformation of a werewolf. Wolf dung was used against colics. The milk of a she-wolf made the drinker invulnerable, while eating the heart of a wolf gave the consumer courage in battle. A wolf's tail, while used for warding off evil, was also used as a love charm. The head of a wolf, if hung outside a house, would deter wolves, robbers and evil spirits. When reduced to powder, a wolf's head could be used against toothache and joint pains. In the cultures of certain Native American tribes, wolf body parts were considered important additions to certain rituals. Pawnee warriors, known as Wolf People, dressed in wolf skin cloaks when scouting or hunting. Nez Perce warriors wore wolf teeth pushed through the septums of their noses. Cheyenne medicine men wrapped wolf fur on sacred arrows used to motion prey into traps. Arikara men wove wolf fur with bison fur in order to make small sacred blankets. Nuxálk mothers painted wolf gall bladders on their young male children's backs, so they could grow up to perform religious ceremonies without making mistakes as hunters. Hidatsan women experiencing difficult births would call upon the familial power of wolves by rubbing wolf-skin caps on their bellies. In Mongolian folk medicine, eating the intestines of a wolf is said to alleviate chronic indigestion, while sprinkling food with powdered wolf rectum is said to cure haemorroids. There are not many traditional uses for Ethiopian wolves, though their livers may be used for medicinal reasons in northern Ethiopia. Meat. It is rare for wolves to be hunted for food, though historically, people have resorted to consuming wolf flesh in times of scarcity, or for medicinal reasons. Most Native American tribes, especially the Naskapis, viewed wolf flesh as edible but inadequate nutrition, as it was not a herbivore and thus did not possess the same healing qualities thought to be distinct in plant eaters. The mountain people of Japan once ate wolf meat in order to boost their courage, though they commented that the meat was tough. Mountain dwelling wolves known as "yomainu" were considered poisonous. The "Derboun" of the Arabian mountains and southern Syria was a small black wolf which apparently was considered by the Arabs to be more closely related to dogs, as they freely ate its flesh like any other game, unlike with regular wolves which had an unpleasant odour. During the European colonization of Western America, wolf meat was considered "not usually eatable", though fair game for a hungry man. However, Martin Schmitt argued that references to the consumption of wolf meat at the time may have actually been on coyotes. During Vilhjalmur Stefansson's Arctic expedition in 1913, George H. Wilkins sampled cooked wolf meat and commented that it was "fine eating" and noted a resemblance to chicken..There have been reports of parasites in the meat. </ref> Wolf meat is considered haram under Islamic dietary laws (Sahih Muslim, no: 1934) In an 1868 issue of "The Sant Paul's Magazine", Anthony Trollope gave an account on the palatability of wolf flesh, and how it was sometimes used as the subject of practical jokes among French hunters. Wolf meat was eaten several times during Vilhjalmur Stefansson's 1913 Arctic expedition, particularly during the summer, when wolves were fat. Natives in Transbaikalia reportedly ate wolf meat even when other food was plentiful. The consumption of wolf flesh and organs plays an important role in Asian folk medicine: in Mongolia, eating the meat and lungs of a wolf is said to alleviate colds, and sprinkling food with powdered wolf rectum is said to cure haemorroids. Some Japanese mountain people ate wolf meat to give them courage. Accounts on how wolf meat tastes vary greatly, with descriptions ranging from "tough", "gristly", "distasteful" and "smelly", to "somewhat [resembling] chicken", and "very superior to lean venison". Terminology. Wolf hunting historically gave rise to a vast vocabulary: Methods. Aerial shooting. Aerial shooting involves the tracking of wolves via a small airplane or helicopter and is considered by many to be the most effective method of wolf control. It was frequently used in the Soviet Union during its wolf control campaigns, starting in 1946 when the Chief Directorate of Aviation received reports that pilots flying at low altitudes frequently saw wolves. Polikarpov Po-2s and Antonov An-2s were the most frequently used models. The normal protocol was for the pilot to search frontally, and the shooter sideways. 70%-80% of wolves were first sighted by the pilot. Rocket guns would be fired into dense brush in order to scare wolves out into the open. Markers were thrown at the site of each kill for later collection. Actual shooting was done from the rear cockpit or left side when at a distance of 18–20 metres from the quarry. An experienced shooter could spot a standing wolf a kilometre away at heights of up to 100–140 metres. Most wolves were killed when the planes flew at speeds of 70 to 85 km/h. The load limit of a Po-2 was 2 men and 5 adult wolves; the rear cockpit could hold 4 wolves, while the shooter's cockpit could hold 2, or carcasses could be tied to the fuselage or wings of the plane. Aerial hunting has been discontinued in the former Soviet Union because of budget restraints. Wolf hunting is still practiced this way in the U.S state of Alaska. "Congress passed the Federal Airborne Hunting Act of 1972, which made it illegal for hunters to shoot animals from a plane or helicopter. The federal legislation does have a provision for predator control, permitting state employees or licensed individuals to shoot from an aircraft for the sake of protecting "land, water, wildlife, livestock, domesticated animals, human life, or crops". Blind. The use of heated box blinds is a popular method of wolf hunting in modern Alberta. Bait stations are set in advance of the hunt, with blinds being erected in the more frequented spots. The method was developed as a response to the fact that finding wolves on foot was almost always a pure luck scenario, because of the wolf's elusiveness. Shots are usually fired when the wolf is from the blind. Calling. Calling is a traditional wolf hunting method of Mongolia. The hunters go to the place where the pack is located early in the morning and will imitate a wolf's howl. The hunters howl in unison with the wolves and wait for the animals to come to them. Mongolian wolf hunting is usually done with the assistance of local herders. Fladry. In modern European Russia, a traditional wolf hunting method involves encircling the located wolf pack with a 3-5 kilometer (2-3 mile) fladry, a long rope with small swatches of fabric stitched to it every few feet. The fabric is usually red in order to be easier spotted over the background of snow by the guides. Since it retains a human scent for several days, wolves tend to stay within the encircled area. When the hunters arrive, the pack of wolves is already "flagged". Hunting with dogs. Several dog breeds known as wolfhounds have been bred for the purpose of hunting wolves, though conventional hunting breeds have also been used. Hunting with eagles. The use of raptors in the hunting of wolves is primarily practised in Central Asia. The Kyrgyz people have traditionally used golden eagles, known as "berkut", to hunt wolves. In the past, wolf pelts provided material for clothes crucial for the survival of the nomadic people in the severe colds. The eagles are used to immobilize the wolves by placing one foot at the back of the neck and another at the flank closer to the heart and lungs. Hunters usually only use eagles against pups, as an adult wolf can cripple in combat even a highly experienced eagle. Losing even one toe or talon will significantly lower the eagle's ability to tackle prey. Only a minor injury to the sinew of a foot may leave the eagle incapable of further hunting. As a wolf is capable of resisting even the best-trained bird, the falconer always keeps near, ready at the first opportunity to help the eagle. This is done carefully, as the wolf, sensing human presence, fights desperately to tear loose from the bird's talons, and the eagle can be severely injured. Because of the violent nature of their work, eagles trained to hunt wolves have shorter life spans. Luring. In 19th century Russia and Scandinavia, pigs were used as decoys and were transported in strong canvas sacks on horse-drawn sleighs. The pigs, kept in the canvas bags, were made to squeal in order to attract the wolves. Hunters would wait at a distance to shoot the wolves when they came out after the pig. Once the wolves arrived, the hunters would either shoot them or retrieve the pig and canvas bag. In the latter case, they took off down the road, luring the wolves behind. The wolves would be led to a palisade, where they would be trapped and shot. Poisoning. Historically, poisoning was very successful in reducing wolf populations, particularly in the American West and Imperial Japan. Strychnine was the most frequently used compound. The poison would be typically mixed in lard or tallow, and spread on bits of meat, or placed within incisions on the bait. Though effective, the method had the disadvantage of greatly loosening the fur of the dead wolf, causing it to shed easily. Wolves killed by strychnine were typically skinned immediately after death, in order to avoid the fur absorbing too much of the poison. Skidor. In Lapland, wolves were occasionally hunted by the Lapps on skis. They would be armed with stout, poles tipped with a pike which was used both as propulsion and as a weapon. A skidor hunt was usually undertaken by multiple hunters over a course of a few days. The kill itself was usually made at a slope or hillside. Traps. Knife traps. The Native Americans used two kinds of knife traps. One method was to encase a sharp blade in fat and frozen upright on a block of ice. The wolf would cut itself while licking the blade and bleed to death. Some argue that this method is a myth. The other method was a baited torsion spring which when triggered, would stab the wolf in the head. Trapping pit. Across the top of the trapping pit was a thick stick or pole, and on this was fastened a plank, which covered the top of the trap. On one end of this plank was a piece of venison, and on the other a stone. The way the trap was meant to work was this: The wolf would come to the venison, and just as it got on the plank to eat it, the plank would turn, causing the wolf to fall into the pit. The weight of the stone at the other end would bring the plank up again, ready baited for another wolf. Steel wolf trap. Steel wolf traps, used frequently in the American west, were made from heavy steel, were six and a half inches wide, and had two springs, each with 100 lbs of power. Steel wolf traps were usually the same models used in the capture of beavers, lynx and wolverine. In order to hide the human scent, trappers would handle their equipment with gloves, and cover the traps in beeswax or blood. As the wolf's power of scent is so great, a mere touch of human skin on the trap will result in the wolf vacating the area. Wolves may also dig up or spring the traps. The traps would typically be set in fours around a bait and strongly fastened to concealed logs, and covered in moss, chaff, cotton or sand for camouflage. Sometimes, the trap and the bait would be placed in a pool of water, thus leaving no other point of access for the wolf to take. Reactions. Livestock and crop damage. Opponents have argued that at least in North America, wolves contribute little to overall livestock losses. In 2005 0.11% of all cattle losses were due to wolves. In states with wolf populations, they were responsible for an average of 2.5% of predation on sheep. Jim Dutcher, a filmmaker who raised a captive wolf pack, observed that the wolves were very reluctant to try meat that they had not previously eaten or seen another wolf eat before, possibly explaining why livestock depredation is unlikely except in cases of desperation. In Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, wolf predation accounts for 1% of total sheep deaths. Wolf hunting proponents have drawn attention to the fact that wolves will on occasion commit acts of surplus killing when within the confines of human-made livestock shelters. Rare incidents of surplus killing by wolves in Minnesota are reported to leave up to 35 sheep killed and injured in flocks and losses of 50 to 200 birds in turkey flocks. In spite of the low percentage of attacks on livestock in Minnesota, farms in wolf territories and environments may become more susceptible to depredation under certain conditions. These conditions include larger farm size, increased numbers of cattle, an increased distance from human management, and improper disposal of livestock carcasses. While loss of livestock by wolves makes up only a small percentage of total losses in North America, surveys in Eurasia show some instances where wolf predation was frequent. In some areas of the former Soviet Union, wolves cause serious damage to watermelon plantations. Wolves will usually only take ripe melons after giving test bites, which can render even unripe fruits worthless for future consumption. Sometimes, up to 20% of the total watermelon crop can be destroyed on one raid. Wolves and game herds. Wolf hunting opponents have argued that wolves serve vital functions in areas where they are sympatric with game herds. By culling unhealthy animals, wolves keep game herds healthy. Opponents state that without wolves, prey populations swell unnaturally, unbalancing ecosystems whilst simultaneously sapping wildlife management resources. In the Iberian Peninsula for example, conservationists consider wolves to be beneficial because they keep wild boar populations stable, thus allowing some respite to the endangered capercaillie populations which suffer greatly from boars eating the eggs and nestlings. In Yellowstone National Park, wolves were shown to have a hugely positive effect on general ecological health, and by extension, that of game herds. Game animals in Yellowstone killed off all young, reachable tree saplings, destroying beaver, songbird, insect, fish and amphibian populations, and threatening to starve themselves via overexploitation. Wolves reduced game animal numbers and forced them to be more mobile, allowing more saplings to grow and allowing the populations of aforementioned animals to increase. Proponents for wolf hunting often point out the apparently adverse effects large wolf populations have on game herds. An example occurred in 2008, in which the Alaska Board of Game approved plans calling for department staff to shoot wolves from helicopters on the southern Alaska Peninsula in order to assist the survival of the Southern Alaska Peninsula Caribou Herd. Wolves were believed to be responsible for a dramatic drop in the Southern Alaska Caribou Herd's population, which once numbered up to 10,000 in 1983, only to drop to a population of 600 animals in 2008. Wolf predation was also believed to be responsible for virtually no calves surviving for the two years prior the culling plans, despite a 70% pregnancy rate. In the former Soviet Union, depending on the locality, a single wolf can consume 90 saiga, 50-80 wild boar or an average of 50 domestic or wild caribou annually. A pack of 2-5 wolves will often kill 2 caribou every three days. Further reports from the former Soviet Union indicate that rather than prey on exclusively sick or infirm prey, wolves seem to attack young or pregnant animals far more frequently, regardless of their sanitary state. In the Nenetskij National Okrug, wolves were shown to select pregnant female domestic caribou and calves rather than infirm specimens, with some reports showing that wolves bypassed emaciated, sickly animals in favour of well fed ones. Large numbers of wolves have also been blamed on the decline of critically endangered saiga antelope herds in Central Asia. During the late 1950s and early 1960s when the Soviet Union used poison to effectively bring down wolf numbers, the number, as well as the range of moose, wild boar and red deer increased. Caspian seals were valued as fur bearers in the Soviet industry, and in a three-week period in February 1978, wolves were responsible for the wanton killing of numerous seals on the Caspian sea near Astrakhan. Between 17-40% of the seals in the area were estimated to have been killed, but not eaten. Wolves and the spread of disease. Some hunt proponents argue that large numbers of wolves are central to the spread of numerous infectious diseases because of their nomadic nature. Diseases recorded to be carried by wolves include rabies, brucella, deerfly fever, listeriosis, foot and mouth disease and anthrax. Wolves are major hosts for rabies in Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and India. Wolves in Russia have been recorded to carry over 50 kinds of harmful parasites. A 10-year study in the former Soviet Union showed that in some regions, every successful wolf litter in spring coincided with a 100% increase in cestode infections in moose and wild boar, with some specimens having up to 30-40 cysts. It also showed that where wolves were absent, the number of cysticercosis-infected wild ungulates was much less. Although they by habit carry harmful diseases, large wolf populations are not negatively influenced by epizootic outbreaks as with other canids, and thus some hunting proponents argue that disease cannot be a guarantee of naturally controlling wolf numbers. Attacks on humans. The absence of a global review, and the language barrier having partially hindered the flow of international information has led some international groups to level criticism at some wolf advocates, claiming that they have extrapolated America's general lack of negative experiences with wolves to the rest of the world, whilst ignoring the differing histories and cultures which lead to diverse interactions with the animals. Hunting proponents argue that wolves with no negative experiences of humans are more likely to encroach upon human settlements and attack people, citing for example the differences in attitudes toward the public distribution of firearms in America and Eurasia as examples as to why nations on both continents have differing accounts of wolf aggression. Hunting wolves is reasoned to maintain shyness in wolves, an idea which is correlated by a modern account demonstrating that wolves in protected areas are more likely to show no fear toward humans than ones in areas where they are actively hunted. Historical and recent accounts indicate that habituated or "fearless" individual wolves or wolf packs must be met with measures to dissociate wolves' association between and dependence on humans for food to mitigate risk for attack.

USA national courtroom

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2422445

Pachanga is a genre of music which is described as a mixture of son montuno and merengue and has an accompanying signature style of dance. This type of music has a festive, lively style and is marked by jocular, mischievous lyrics. Pachanga originated in Cuba in the 1950s and played an important role in the evolution of Caribbean style music as it is today. Considered a prominent contributor to the eventual rise of salsa, Pachanga itself is an offshoot of Charanga style music. Very similar in sound to Cha-Cha but with a notably stronger down-beat, Pachanga once experienced massive popularity all across the Caribbean and was brought to the United States by Cuban immigrants post World War II. This led to an explosion of Pachanga music in Cuban music clubs that influenced Latin culture in the United States for decades to come. Music. Charanga is a type of traditional ensemble that plays Cuban dance music (mostly Danzón, Danzonete, and Cha cha chá) using violin, flute, horns, drums. José Fajardo brought the song "La Pachanga" to New York in the Cuban charanga style. The orquesta, or band, was referred to as charanga, while the accompanying dance was named the pachanga. The similar sound of the words charanga and pachanga has led to the fact that these two notions are often confused. In fact, charanga is a type of orchestration, while pachanga is a musical and dance genre. Eduardo Davidson's tune, "La Pachanga", with rights managed by Peer International (BMI), achieved international recognition in 1961 when it was licensed in three versions sung by Genie Pace on Capitol, by Audrey Arno in a German version on European Decca, and by Hugo and Luigi and their children's chorus. "Billboard" commented "A bright new dance craze from the Latins has resulted in these three good recordings, all with interesting and varying treatments." Dance. As a dance, pachanga has been described as "a happy-go-lucky dance" of Cuban origin with a Charleston flavor due to the double bending and straightening of the knees. It is danced on the downbeat of four-four time to the usual mambo offbeat music characterized by the charanga instrumentation of flutes, violins, and drums. Steps. A basic pachanga step consists of a bending and straightening of the knees. Pachanga is a very grounded dance, with the knees never completely straightening and an emphasis on weight and energy going into the ground. Body movement resulting from weight changes follows the footwork. With a bounce originating in the knees, the upper body will rock as body connectivity and posture are maintained. It mimics a basic mambo step in foot placement and weight shift while incorporating a glide on weight transfer instead of a tap. The shift in weight from one foot to the other gives the illusion of gliding, similar to a moonwalk. Modern Pachanga. Pachanga dance today is mainly seen incorporated into salsa shines or footwork. “Shines” can refer either to a performance by a group of solo men or women without a partner, or a pause in partnerwork for each dancer to show off before coming back together. The term shine originates from young African American shoe shiners who would dance for money. While it is not a very popular social dance, many salsa dancers incorporate pachanga movements into their choreography, especially in mambo or salsa on-2 routines. Although people traditionally learned pachanga from friends or family in social settings, as it was the only way to learn many Latin styles, instructors have adapted to a Western studio style of teaching. Pachanga is taught all over the world at different salsa events and congresses. As technology increases and economies and societies become increasingly global, the crossover of different cultures becomes easier, including the blending of different dance styles from all over. People worldwide can learn dances such as pachanga, as well as incorporate its movements into styles with which they are already familiar. Popular instructors include the “Mambo King” Eddie Torres, his son Eddie Torres Jr., and his former partner Shani Talmor. History. Though Pachanga was created in Cuba, it rose to popularity in the United States in the 1950s during a wave of Cuban immigration. America is where Pachanga truly became popular and known in the public consciousness and developed into the music, dance and overall influence that it is today. Cuban immigration. The development of the style of music that came to be known as Salsa in the U.S. in the late 1960s relied heavily on the Latin music scene in New York City and more specifically the South Bronx. In the post World War Two era, New York city experienced a surge of Cuban immigration. During this time Cuba underwent several economic and social crises including the destabilization of international tobacco and sugar markets and civil upheavals that further disrupted the already fragile Cuban republic. As a result, tens of thousands of Cubans migrated to the U.S. hoping to find greater economic opportunities and more civil liberties, establishing sizeable communities in New Orleans, Tampa, and New York City. The start of the Cuban Revolution in 1953 only gave Cuban civilians more reason to flee the country, adding to the flood of immigrants to the United States. Rise of Pachanga in New York. At the time, the South Bronx had large developments of affordable public housing where many Cubans and other Caribbean immigrants ended up finding a place to call home. In addition to housing, the South Bronx also offered a strong infrastructure for the growth of a culturally rich community. The Cuban communities that formed brought with them their own art and culture and in particular they brought with them Cuban music and dance. The Caribbean music scene in New York exploded along with the rise of Caribbean ballrooms, clubs and dance halls. These establishments featured all the popular Caribbean music styles of the era, beginning with the Mambo. The Mambo grew in popularity at an alarming rate sparking “Mambo mania” throughout the U.S. to the point that even mainstream musicians such as Rosemary Clooney and Perry Como were incorporating the sounds of Mambo into their pop music. The success that Mambo had in finding its way into the mainstream paved the way for other forms of Caribbean music to be successful. It wasn't long before everyone in New York was listening and dancing to Pachanga. Two clubs in particular that are inextricably linked with Pachanga's development and popularity are the Triton After-Hours Club and the Caravana Club. The Bronx's Caravana Club is commonly thought of as the home of Pachanga. Opened in the summer of 1959, the Caravana Club instantly became a major hub for the Latin music scene in New York by presenting major bands every week. The clubs popularity truly rose after the live recording of Charlie Palmieri’s "Pachanga at the Caravana Club" in 1961 which cemented its reputation as the home of Pachanga. At the Triton Club on the other hand, Johnny Pacheco improvised a dance move known as the “Bronx Hop” which later became a major part of the Pachanga dance fad. A group of patrons at the Caravana Club even formed a dance group named “Los Pachangueros” that performed across the city. At this time, a Pachanga dance craze had also struck the city with such popularity that countless articles about it made their way into mainstream American publications including "The New York Times", "El Diario" and the specialized "Ballroom Dance Magazine".

Spanish-speaking traditions

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2479621

The Super Barbarians is a science fiction novel by British writer John Brunner, first published in the United States by Ace Books in 1962. Written in the first person, the story gives an account of an Earthman's struggle to regain lost memories and to uncover the horrifying secret of the feudal society whose people used remarkably advanced technology to conquer Earth and its solar system. Plot summary. For two generations humanity has been enslaved by the Vorra, a race of technologically advanced barbarians who had conquered space. On Qallavarra, the home planet of the Vorra, Gareth Shaw is an indentured servant of the House of Pwill, one of the giant city-states into which the planet is divided. As the only Terran on the estate, he is drawn into a seraglio intrigue by Under-lady Shavarri, the ninth wife of Pwill Himself, the overlord who rules the estate like a medieval duke. Shavarri's demand obliges Shaw to visit the "Acre of Earth", a ghetto-like enclave in the middle of a nearby city. In the Acre humans lived in relative freedom because they provided services that the Vorra could not provide for themselves. Chief among those services was the maintenance and repair of machines brought from Earth for the Vorra to use. But the Terrans also provided certain chemical services and Shaw had been sent to obtain one of those. Chased into the Acre by a Vorrish mob instigated by a squad of soldier-trainees, Shaw meets an almost equally hostile reception from three Terrans—Marijane Lee, her brother Ken, and their friend Gustav—who have rescued him from the mob. Seeing that he's wearing the livery of a Vorrish estate, they take him to Judge Olafsson, the voice of Terran law in the Acre. After being interrogated about his time on Qallavarra, Shaw leaves Judge Olafsson's court and completes his mission. He obtains from Hans Kramer, an apothecary, the love potion that Shavarri has ordered him to bring to her. Containing credulin, a drug that enhances suggestibility, the potion will enable Shavarri to manipulate Pwill Himself in her favor. Returning to the Pwill estate, he is called to the Grand Terrace of the manor house, where he finds Pwill Himself and his primary wife, Over-lady Llaq, having an angry confrontation with their wastrel son, Pwill Heir Apparent. Pwill, Sr. tells Shaw that his son has become addicted to a drug that affects the Vorra much as heroin affects Terrans—coffee—and that he expects Shaw to ensure that no one in the Acre will supply his son with more coffee. Later Pwill, Jr. prevails upon Shaw to keep him supplied with coffee beans through his friend Forrel. Soon after returning from the Acre and after his confrontation with Pwill Himself, Shaw begins to notice that he doesn't know things that he should know and that he knows things that, apparently, he shouldn't. He struggles to decode the meaning of that discovery and to regain lost memories, but has little success. After an encounter with the estate's whipmaster, he uses drugs obtained from Kramer to drive the whipmaster insane and thereby gains a reputation among the superstitious Vorra as a powerful shaman. One day he is taken to confront a rival shaman, who tells him that the Vorra acquired their hyperdrive-propelled starships and advanced weaponry by stealing them from another alien race. The shock of seeing the mummified remains of one of those aliens, still encased in a spacesuit, breaks a barrier in Shaw's mind and he begins to regain his lost memories, including why and how he lost his memories in the first place. On the same day that he regains his memories he is told by Marijane to cut off Pwill, Jr's coffee supply. Shaw agrees, knowing that Heir Apparent's display of withdrawal symptoms will throw the House of Pwill into crisis and put his life into jeopardy. But before anyone can notice his withdrawal symptoms, Pwill, Jr. comes to Shaw's room desperately seeking coffee and attacks Shaw. In self-defense Shaw kills the young man and hides the body in a sewer. Heir Apparent's disappearance precipitates the desired crisis and Shaw comes under suspicion of having provided the coffee that kept the young man addicted. The night before he is to be tortured to death, Shaw is extracted from the Pwill estate by Marijane, Ken, and Gustav and taken to the Acre. The next morning, convinced that his son has gone to the Acre in search of coffee, Pwill Himself leads four companies of his army toward the city, only to be ambushed by six companies of soldiers from the rival House of Shugurra. Soon thereafter the armies of ten other Houses join the battle and the Vorra are fully engaged in an all-out civil war, just as the Terrans had hoped. In the Acre all of the Terrans on Qallavarra climb to the rooftops and watch as a Vorra starship descends upon the city. The ship has been hijacked by a specially developed robot that had been hidden in a cargo container and now the ship will take all of the Terrans back to Earth. There the ship's technology can be copied for use against the Vorra in the general Terran revolt. Safe aboard the ship, Shaw sees the last piece of the puzzle fall into place in his mind. He realizes that the old shaman had lied to him about how the Vorra got their starships and advanced weaponry and he understands then that for the next century or so the Vorra will be the lesser of Earth's worries. Reception. Floyd C. Gale of "Galaxy Science Fiction" rated "The Super Barbarians" three stars out of five.

final component

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=23233452

Brasília Futebol Clube, commonly known as Brasília, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Brasília, Federal District. They are Brasília's oldest professional football club. History. They were founded on June 2, 1975 as Brasília Esporte Clube by the entrepreneurs José da Silva Neto and Vicente de Paula Rodrigues. The club won the Campeonato Brasiliense eight times, the last time being in 1987. Brasília were Torneio Centro-Oeste's runner-up in 1984, after being defeated by Guará in the final. The club's football department was bought in 1999 by Brasília Promoções e Participações Desportivas S/A, which is a company owned by eight members (in Portuguese "sócios") of the club, and the club was renamed to Brasília Futebol Clube, adopting a new logo, and changing its colors from red to yellow and blue. The club reverted to play in red in 2002. They competed in the Série A several times, the last time being in 2000 when the 116-team Copa João Havelange was played. The year 2014 was marked in the history of Brasília by the title of the first edition of the Copa Verde. The club advanced the two initial stages of the competition by defeating CENE and Cuiabá, respectively. In the semifinals, he faced his rival Brasiliense. It was defeated by 2–0 in the first leg, however in the second leg, achieved a spectacular turnaround and won by 3–0. In the final, against Paysandu, defeat by 2–1 in the first leg. In the second game, more than 50,000 people watched Brasília win by the same score and take the decision for the penalties. In an exciting contest, the "Avião do Cerrado" won 7-6 and won the title. With the title, the team secured a spot in the 2015 Copa Sudamericana. Brasília continued making history by eliminating the Goiás in the second stage, but was eliminated in the third stage by Atlético Paranaense. Stadium. Brasília play their home games at Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, one of the venues of both 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2014 FIFA World Cup.

3rd phase

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7674285

The songkok or peci or kopiah is a cap widely worn in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the southern Philippines and southern Thailand, most commonly among Muslim males. It has the shape of a truncated cone, usually made of black or embroidered felt, cotton or velvet. It is also worn by males in formal occasions such as weddings and funerals or festive occasions such as the Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha holidays. In Indonesia, the peci is also associated with the nationalist movement. Names. It is called "songkok" in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. While in Java, it is called "kopiah" or "kopeah". It is also known widely in Indonesia as "peci", although peci has a more ellipse shape and sometimes decorated. The name "peci" was probably derived from the Dutch word "petje" means literary "small hat", or possibly derived from the Turkish "fez" instead. All names refer to the same object. Origin. The origin of the songkok can be traced to the fez, which was adopted by the Ottomans in 1826 and subsequently spread to South Asia and to the Malay Archipelago (now called Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia). The songkok used to be worn during the Ottoman Empire and in some parts of Africa. However this may only be part true, as the words themselves can be traced earlier. Kopiah is recorded as being used by Majapahit elite troops ("Bhayangkara"). Kupiah is recorded in Pigafetta's Italian-Malay vocabulary of 1521. One Brunei newspaper account erroneously states that the songkok became a norm in Malay Archipelago in the 13th century with the coming of Islam in the region. The earliest written mention of the word "songkok" is in Syair Siti Zubaidah (1840). While traditional triangular Malay headress of "Tengkolok" or "destar" is associated with traditional Malay nobles and royalties, songkok on the other hand has become part of traditional Malay men's costume associated with Islam, traditionally worn by local ulamas. The Royal Malay Regiment of the Malaysian Army have been using the songkok as part of their uniform since under British rule. Current use. Traditionally, songkok is usually associated as a cap worn by Muslim men, during religious or formal state occasions. However, in Indonesia, the songkok has become the national headress with secular nationalist connotations made popular by Sukarno. Numbers of Indonesian nationalist movement activist in early 20th century wore peci such as Sukarno, Mohammad Hatta, and Agus Salim. However, as the first president of Indonesia it was Sukarno that popularised peci — more precisely plain black velvet peci — as national men's cap of Indonesian, and Indonesian male presidents have worn peci as part of their official presidential attire ever since. Indonesian official palace guards also wore peci as part of their uniform. The Paskibraka (Indonesian: "pasukan pengibar bendera pusaka") or flag raising squad in Indonesian independence day ceremony also wear peci, and there is even female peci version with curved back. The Betawi people wear the Songkok as their traditional headdress usually colored dark red. In Malaysia, traditional male Malay attire consists of a songkok, shirt, matching pants, and waist wrap that is called a "baju melayu". In a Dewan Undangan Negeri (State Legislative Assemblies) or in Dewan Rakyat (Parliament), all members (regardless of race or religion) within the legislative assembly, are required to wear the songkok (with a gold middle stripe) as a formal custom, at every State Customary Opening of Parliament (or respective State Legislative Assemblies), held once annually, in order to comply with the dress code of each legislative assembly opening. This is done to ensure decorum whenever the respective Head of State (Yang di-Pertuan Agong for the Parliament of Malaysia, respective Sultans for each State Legislative Assemblies) is present to open the legislative assembly proceedings for the year. Similarly, all recipients of honorific orders bestowed by either the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (for federal honourific orders) or the Sultan (for each respective state honourific orders), are required to wear the gold-striped songkok along with the official customary attire in Malaysia, to receive their honourific orders in person. In Singapore, the songkok is not allowed to be worn in government schools, as part of the school uniform, as Singapore is officially a secular state and all religious headgear is not allowed to be worn. It is part of the standard uniform at "madrasahs" (Islamic religious schools). In the Philippines, the songkok, known as "kopiah" or "kupya", plays a role in the heraldry of the Sultanate of Sulu, and is part of the traditional wear of Bangsamoro men. It is worn by Bangsamoro and other Filipino Muslim men throughout the archipelago as a formal cap for prayers, and for religious and social functions.

rounded form

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=63278681

scrcpy is a free and open-source screen mirroring application that allows control of an Android device from a Windows, macOS, or Linux desktop computer. The software is currently developed by Genymobile, which also developed Genymotion, an Android emulator. Communication between the Android device and the computer is primarily performed via a USB connection and Android Debug Bridge (ADB). The software functions by executing a server on the Android device, then communicating with the server via a socket over an ADB tunnel. It does not require rooting or the installation of software on the Android device. The screen content is streamed as H.264 video, which the software then decodes and displays on the computer. The software pushes keyboard and mouse input to the Android device over the server. Setup involves enabling USB debugging on the Android device, connecting the device to the computer, and running the scrcpy application on the computer. Access to more configuration options, such as changing the bit rate or enabling screen recording, is via a command-line interface. The software also supports a wireless connection over Wi-Fi, but that requires more steps to set up. A few features were added to scrcpy in its version 1.9 release in 2019, including the ability to turn the screen off while mirroring and to copy clipboard content between the two devices. Chris Hoffman of How-To Geek compared scrcpy to AirMirror and Vysor, two other applications with a similar function. Hoffman also pointed to Miracast as an alternative, while noting that it is no longer widely supported among new Android devices, and that it does not support remotely controlling the device. History. The first commit to the GitHub repository is on 12 December 2017 by Romain Vimont. scrcpy v1.0 was released 3 months later which included the support for basic screen mirroring and android remote control. The first release packaged a Windows Executable and the server. The community took packaging forward and made scrcpy available for numerous Linux distributions. Features. The official documentation of scrcpy gives the features and ideology to which it was built Graphical User Interface. The command line interface of scrcpy was ported to a graphical user interface by open source developers.

digital uplink

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=39789706

The Switchmen's Union of North America (SUNA) was a labor union formed in October 1894 that represented the track switch operators and people who coupled railway cars in railway yards in the United States and Canada. It became part of the United Transportation Union in 1969. Precursors. The origins of the union can be traced to August 1870 when a local switchmen's mutual aid association was formed in Chicago. At that time, switchmen were paid $50 a week for twelve hour days, seven days a week. The association was formed to help them bargain for better conditions. The Switchmen's Mutual Aid Association of North America was organized in 1877 and held its first meeting in 1886. The national association suffered from a lockout by the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad and the failed Burlington Railroad Strike of 1888 against the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. In 1889 it was affiliated with the Supreme Council of United Orders of Railway Employees. Although blacks were widely employed by the railroads after the American Civil War, particularly in the south, they were generally excluded from the higher-paying jobs of engineers, switchmen and conductors. In 1887 white switchmen staged a walkout in protest against working with blacks in the Southern Pacific Railroad yard at Houston, and were supported by white switchmen from the Houston and Texas Central Railroad. In 1890 the white switchmen quit when the company refused to fire black workers at the yard. The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, Brotherhood of Railroad Conductors, Switchmen's Mutual Aid Association and Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen formed a joint committee that submitted a protest: The company refused to accept this demand. They continued to employ blacks as they had in the past, in part because they accepted lower wages. As the "Houston Daily Post" noted, the railroad owned slaves before emancipation, and continued to employ negroes afterward. "Negro labor was and is the ordinary labor of the country." The Buffalo switchmen's strike was a two-week strike in August 1892 by railroad workers employed by three railroads in Buffalo, New York. The strike collapsed after two weeks when 8,000 state militia entered the town and other unions refused to support the workers. The Switchmen's Mutual Aid Association was dissolved in 1894. Foundation. On October 13, 1894, delegates from several lodges of the former association met in Kansas City, Missouri and formed the Switchmen's Union of North America. It was incorporated in Buffalo, New York on January 9, 1902, covering the United States and Canada, and representing yard workers: yardmasters, switchmen, switch tenders, towermen and interlocking men. The objectives were to promote the social, moral and intellectual interests of its members, to maintain harmonious relations between workers and employers and to protect its distressed or erring members, exercising its beneficial influence in the interests of right and justice. At this period, railway unions such as the Switchmen's Union avoided strikes wherever possible. The organization had a central Grand lodge headed by a president, six vice-presidents as organizers, a secretary-treasurer, an editor and an elected five-person board of directors. It held a triennial convention to enact legislation and elect general officers. It was open to any white male person of good character working in the railway yards in one of the defined occupations. It published the "Journal of the Switchmen's Union". The head office was in Buffalo. The union offered life insurance and permanent disability benefits to its members. In 1901 more than two thirds of claims were related to work accidents. By 1914 the majority of benefits were paid to members who were sick or to the families of members who had died from natural clauses. Claims were forwarded by the local lodges to Buffalo for review by five-man beneficiary board. Typically it took two or three months before payment was made. History. In 1906 the union affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. SUNA was one of the founding unions of the Railway Labor Executives' Association in 1926. Discussions about a merger of train movement unions started in 1929 with the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and the Order of Railway Conductors, but became bogged down. In 1935 SUNA affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress. In 1950 there were a series of disputes between the railroads and yard employees in connection with the 40-hour week. That year the government seized the railroads. The government's Railway Labor Act Emergency Board ruled on June 15, 1950, in favor of the 40-hour basic work week, overtime pay for work in excess of 40 hours, and other improvements. When the railroad owners rejected this John R. Steelman, the President's representative, defined a proposed settlement that included wage increases and cost of living adjustments. The Railroad Yardmasters of America, Railroad Yardmasters of North America and the Switchmen's Union of America agreed to settle with some railroads based on the Steelman formula effective October 1, 1950, but other operating unions held out. By 1969 the Switchmen's Union of North America had 12,000 members in 275 lodges in the United States and Canada. That year it combined with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen to form the United Transportation Union. References. Citations Sources

12 hours of work

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=36412493

An optical beam smoke detector is a device that uses a projected beam of light to detect smoke across large areas, typically as an indicator of fire. They are used to detect fires in buildings where standard point smoke detectors would either be uneconomical or restricted for use by the height of the building. Optical beam smoke detectors are often installed in warehouses as a cost-effective means of protecting large open spaces. Principle of operation. Optical beam smoke detectors work on the principle of light obscuration, where the presence of smoke blocks some of the light from the beam, typically through either absorbance or light scattering. Once a certain percentage of the transmitted light has been blocked by the smoke, a fire is signalled. Optical beam smoke detectors are typically used to detect fires in large commercial and industrial buildings, as components in a larger fire alarm system. Design. Optical beam smoke detectors consist of at least one light transmitter and one receiver, which is photosensitive. The photosensitive receiver monitors light produced by the transmitter under normal conditions. In the absence of smoke, light passes from the light transmitter to the receiver in a straight line. In a fire, when smoke falls within the path of the beam detector, some of the light is absorbed or scattered by the smoke particles. This creates a decrease in the received signal, leading to an increase in optical obscuration i.e. transmittance of light across the beam path. End-to-end. An end-to-end optical beam smoke detector is a system that has a separate light transmitter and receiver. They are used in applications where there is little available room to install a wide area detector – as the receiver is on a separate element each individual unit is quite small. The small size of the detector is also an advantage for aesthetic installations, where fire protection is required without introducing unsightly or overtly modern devices. Aesthetic considerations are especially important for cultural and heritage sites. End-to-end detectors include open-area smoke imaging detection, in which two wavelengths of light are used to detect smoke. UV and IR wavelengths of light react to smoke differently, and the comparative difference helps to verify real smoke by comparing the reflections and seeing a difference in the profile. UV and IR respond identically to things like blockage (ladder in front to detector path), bugs (blocking beam), fog, steam, and other things that commonly cause false alarms, so the two wavelengths of light are used together to detect smoke accurately. Reflective. A reflective optical beam smoke detector incorporates a light transmitter and the detector on the same unit. The light path is created by reflecting light emitted from the transmitter off a retroreflector that is placed opposite the detector. Motorised. A motorised optical beam smoke detector automatically aligns itself during installation and can compensate for alignment 'drift' i.e. where the optical path of the light beam changes over time Both end-to-end systems and reflective systems can be motorised. Limitations. Early examples of optical beam smoke detectors were prone to false alarms, which were caused by many different factors. Most commonly, the build-up of dust, dirt and other debris would lower the detection threshold for the detector, causing the system to enter alarm when no fire was present. Modern devices use automatic gain control as a means of adapting the signal for these effects. Building movement is another common problem, where movement of the building causes the optical beam smoke detector to lose alignment. Motorised beam detectors have partially addressed this issue, but it can still be problematic in certain installations.

also a routine difficulty

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=34661222

The Tissint meteorite is a Martian meteorite that fell in Tata Province in the Guelmim-Es Semara region of Morocco on July 18, 2011. Tissint is the fifth Martian meteorite that people have witnessed falling to Earth, and the first since 1962. Pieces of the meteorite are on display at several museums, including the Museum of Natural History of Vienna and the Natural History Museum in London. History. On July 18, 2011, around 2 AM local time, a bright fireball was observed by several people in the Oued Drâa valley, east of Tata, Morocco. One observer reported that the fireball was initially yellow in color, then turned green, illuminating the entire area before it appeared to break into two pieces; two sonic booms were heard over the valley. In October 2011, nomads began to find very fresh, fusion-crusted stones in a remote area of the Oued Drâa intermittent watershed, centered about ESE of Tata and SSW of Tissint village, near the Oued El Gsaïb drainage and also near El Ga’ïdat plateau known as Hmadat Boû Rba’ine. The largest pieces were recovered in the El Ga’ïdat plateau, and the smallest ones (a few grams) were found closer to the El Aglâb mountains. One crusted stone was documented as found at 29°28.917’ N, 7°36.674’ W. Tissint was named after the town of Tissint, away from the fall site. Up until 1990, only five meteorites had been found in Morocco, but since then, more meteorites have landed in the area. Current records show that meteorite hunters have discovered 754 at specific sites in Morocco as well as thousands of others from uncertain locations. After the increases in meteorite falls, a market for meteorites drove the emergence of a meteorite prospecting industry in northwestern Africa and Oman. The rocks have been quickly brought out of the country into collections abroad because the significant discoveries resulted in high prices for the rocks (an auction on October 14, 2012, included fragments of the Tissent meteorite). This made it difficult for researchers such as Hasnaa Chennaoui-Aoudjehane, the only one who has studied the meteorite, to have access to samples for her research and leaves Morocco with few remains of the meteorites that fell there. Physical characteristics. Dozens of fragments with masses ranging from were collected, totaling roughly . The rocks are variably coated by a shining black fusion crust, characterized by thicker layers on exterior ridges and glossy regions above interior olivine phenocrysts and impact melt pockets. Some stones have a thinner secondary fusion crust on some surfaces, and some are broken in places, revealing the interior. The exposed interior of the stones appears pale green-grey in color, with mm-sized, pale yellow olivine phenocrysts with sparse vesicular pockets and thin veins of black glass. Petrology and origin. The meteorite was ejected from the surface of Mars between 700,000 and 1,1 million years ago. Tissint appears to be derived from a deep mantle source region that was unlike any of the other known Martian shergottite meteorites. The material is highly shocked and indicates it was ejected during the largest impact excavation in record. Given the widely dispersed shock melting observed in Tissint, alteration of other soft minerals (carbonates, halides, sulfates and even organics), especially along grain boundaries, might have occurred. This may in part explain the lack of such minerals in Tissint, but it is unknown if it is of biotic origin. The meteorite fragments were recovered within days after the fall, so it is considered an "uncontaminated" meteorite. The meteorite displays evidence of water weathering, and there are signs of elements being carried into cracks in the rocks by water or fluid, which is something never seen before in a Martian meteorite. Specifically, scientists found carbon and nitrogen-containing compounds associated with hydrothermal mineral inclusions. One team reported measuring an elevated carbon-13 (13C) ratio, while another team reported a low 13C ratio as compared to the content in Mars' atmosphere and crust, and suggested that it may be of biological origin, but the researchers also noted that there are several geological processes that could explain that without invoking complex life-processes; for example, it could be of meteoritic origin and would have been mixed with Martian soil when meteorites and comets impact the surface of Mars, or of volcanic origin. An analysis by Hasnaa Chennaoui-Aoudjehane, a Moroccan meteoriticist of Hassan II University in Casablanca, determined that the meteorite is a depleted picritic shergottite similar to EETA79001A. The internal structure of the meteorite includes olivine macrocrysts (or nodules) embedded into a fine-grained matrix made of pyroxene and feldspar glass. The matrix has numerous cracks filled with black glassy material. Like other shergottites Tissint meteorite is enriched in magnesium oxide and other compatible elements such as nickel and cobalt. The bulk composition is also depleted in light rare earths and other incompatible elements such as beryllium, lithium and uranium. However the glassy material is enriched in these elements. The data on refractory trace elements, sulfur and fluorine as well as the data on the isotopic composition of nitrogen, argon and carbon released upon heating from the matrix and glass veins in the meteorite unambiguously indicate the presence of a Martian surface component including trapped atmospheric gases. So, the influence of "in situ" Martian weathering can be distinguished from terrestrial contamination in the meteorite. The Martian weathering features in Tissint are compatible with the results of spacecraft observations of Mars, and Tissint has a cosmic ray dating exposure age of 0.7 ± 0.3 Ma—consistent with the reading of many other shergottites, notably EETA79001, suggesting that they were ejected from Mars during the same event. The overall composition of the Tissint meteorite corresponds to that of aluminium-poor ferroan basaltic rock, which likely originated as a result of magmatic activity at the surface of Mars. These basalt then underwent weathering by fluids, which deposited minerals enriched in incompatible elements in fissures and cracks. A later impact on the surface of Mars melted the leached material forming black glassy veins. Finally shergottites were ejected from Mars about 0.7 million years ago.

succeeding collision

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=23081287

All or Nothing is the third studio album by British R&B singer Jay Sean, released 23 November 2009 in the United States as the singer's international debut album with Cash Money Records and Universal Republic and a week later on 30 November 2009 with Jayded Records and 2Point9 Records. The album was also released in international markets from December 2009. The album was preceded by the lead single, "Down" featuring label-mate Lil Wayne which impacted in the US on 30 June 2009 and eventually peaked at number one on 17 October 2009. The song was also Sean's highest UK chart entry reaching number three. Following the album's release, "Do You Remember" was released as the second single and in January 2010 peaked at number ten in the US and subsequently making him the first male artist in seven years to have his first two charting singles appear in the Hot 100 simultaneously. According to aggregated music reviews site Metacritic, the album received mixed reviews by critics who scored the album 59/100. Despite success with the two lead singles from the album, the album itself only debuted at #37 on the US "Billboard" 200 albums chart. It was also his lowest-charting entry on the UK Albums Chart, debuting there at #62. Despite this, it has become his highest-charting album in Japan, reaching #11 on the Oricon Albums Chart. Background and conception. Jay Sean has been active in the British Asian and Global South Asian markets since 2003, and put out his second studio album, "My Own Way" in 2008 throughout Europe and Asia independently via his own Jayded Records. Success with R&B/urban singles like "Ride It" and "Maybe" made him a frequent appearance on the UK R&B Chart. Eventually, that success caught the attention of Ronald "Slim" Williams, the CEO of Cash Money Records, who said On 15 October 2008 at the MOBO Awards, Sean announced that he had signed with the American record label. He explained, "It's always been a dream for me to sign to an American label. And it’s great to be accepted by the best in the game." With regards to the album title, in February 2010, Sean was intervied by writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul. Sean commented that, "I don't do things by halves, because there's no point! So I don't want mediocrity. I wanna be the best that I can be. I want it all. And that's what the title and theme of this album is all about!" Recording and production. After signing with Cash Money, Sean announced through an interview with MTV IGGY that he was recording five new songs for the album. Initial reports suggested that a remix was produced for his single "Tonight" with Lil Wayne, as the record label intended to use the song to introduce Sean to the American market. However, it proved to be an unfounded rumour and instead "Down" was announced as the lead single from the album. The album was originally intended to be released during the Summer of 2009, then an October release date was confirmed however the final release date, 23 November 2009 was confirmed. Later announcement confirmed that a whole new set of songs were recorded, where some would feature other artists from the Cash Money Records roster. He discussed a possible collaboration with Akon during the Grammy Awards in 2009, and recorded a song with Nadine Coyle of Girls Aloud and another with Keisha Buchanan of the Sugababes. On 28 October 2009, Sean posted a Twitter message referring to a collaboration with a legendary UK artist. Later he confirmed the artist to be Craig David whom would feature on a previous album song. He was also in the studio with Jive Records recording artist Livvi Franc and Jared Cotter writing new songs, and label mate, Kevin Rudolf. The song with Kevin Rudolf was later confirmed to be "I Made It (Cash Money Heroes)" and released as the first single from Rudolf's second album; and the theme song for the upcoming WWE pay-per-view "WrestleMania XXVI". Prior to the release of the album, "Down" was confirmed to feature Lil Wayne with the rest of the track listing uncertain. Sean described "Down" as "a fun, very easy track something to pump in your car or be played in the clubs". Another song, "War" is about "battling with anybody, whether it's your girl, family or another country never solved anything, the song is about real life". Sean also confirmed the appearance of Drake on "If I Ain't Got You". Unfortunately, Drake was unable to commit and the second single-release was replaced by "Do You Remember". Release and promotion. Jay Sean released the Deluxe Edition of "My Own Way" exclusively in the UK and initially, the Deluxe Edition was set for release in the US, but Cash Money Records executives insisted on the release on a new album." The album contains a mix of new material and songs from Sean's previous studio album "My Own Way", specifically the singles "Ride It" and "Stay" along with "Cry" and the album's title track, "All Or Nothing". A new remixed version of "Stuck in the Middle" with new vocals from both Sean and Jared Cotter is also featured, and for the UK edition, a new version with Craig David was produced. He was invited to perform with Justin Timberlake at "The Justin Timberlake and Friends Concert Benefiting Shriners Hospitals For Children" on 17 October 2009 where he performed an acoustic version of "Down". Other artists performing there included Taylor Swift and Alicia Keys. It became one of the highest-earning charity events of the year, raising more than $9 million. On 11 December 2009, Sean became the first South Asian origin artist since Freddie Mercury to perform at Madison Square Garden, as part of the Jingle Ball concert, alongside fellow British beatboxer MC Zani. Sean's performance "had the entire crowd - parents and children, teens and twenty-somethings - dancing." Jay Sean returned to his roots on 14 February 2010 as he prepares to spend Valentine's Day at London's Wembley Arena, alongside American R&B star Ne-Yo. Launch parties. Jay Sean had a launch party for the album at the Royal Exchange, London. Sean, along with his Cash Money Records family, was in London to celebrate the milestone. Pop artist Rihanna stepped into the building. Alesha Dixon, Alexandra Burke and Craig David was on the party too. One week after the party in London, Jay Sean had a launch party in Hollywood, Los Angeles, for the album, with dancehall artist Sean Paul and rapper Drake showing up to support Sean. Tour. Jay Sean went on a small tour to promote the album. Singles. "Down" was chosen as the lead single for the album. It was released to U.S. radio stations on 31 May 2009 and was officially released on iTunes on 30 June 2009. The song debuted at #72 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 before it started to climb the chart. After several weeks of remaining within the top five, "Down" reached number one, overtaking the long run of The Black Eyed Peas' record-setting single, "I Gotta Feeling". "Down" is the seventh-best selling song of 2009, having sold more than three million digital copies in the United States alone, and six million copies worldwide. It also received a large airplay of two billion listener impressions on radio worldwide. The song also charted inside the top 3 of the UK Singles Chart, becoming Sean's highest charting single to date there. "Down" is Sean's third top 10 and sixth top 20 hit in his home country. The album's second single "Do You Remember" features Sean Paul with additional ad-libs by Lil Jon. The single was released to U.S. radio stations on 20 October 2009 and released as a digital download on iTunes on 2 November 2009. It has also entered the top ten of the Hot 100 chart, during the week end of 9 January 2010. That same week, "Down" was also at #7, thus doubling Sean's presence within the top ten. Like the first single, "Do You Remember" has also sold more than a million copies in the United States. Reception. Commercial performance. The first week sales of "All Or Nothing" in the United States were 32,000 copies. It debuted at #37 on the "Billboard" 200 and at #22 on the Digital Albums chart. It dropped to #87 on the "Billboard" 200 the following week, selling over 13,000 copies. As of 5 August 2013, the album has so far sold over 225,000 copies in the United States. In the UK, where the album was released independently by Jayded Records, it debuted at #62 on the UK Albums Chart, #11 on the UK R&B Chart, and #2 on the UK Indie Albums Chart. It is his lowest charting album in the UK to date, largely due to many of its tracks already being available in the UK as part of his previous album "My Own Way". Three songs from "All or Nothing" which were not released as official singles in the UK entered the UK Indie Singles Chart independently, based on downloads from the album, on the week of release: "Do You Remember" at #6, "Far Away" (featuring Keisha Buchanan) at #16, and "Stuck in the Middle" (featuring Craig David) at #20. "Ride It" also re-entered the UK Indie Singles Chart at #24, based on downloads from the "All or Nothing" album. In Australia, the album has reached #67 on the ARIA Australian Albums Chart, on the week ending 15 February 2010. In Japan, the album debuted on the Japan Oricon Albums Chart at #13 on the week dated 1 March 2010. It rose to #11 the following week, dated 8 March 2010, making it Sean's highest-charting album in Japan. Critical response. The album received mixed reviews on Metacritic, earning a score of 59 out of 100, based on 5 reviews. In North America, "Billboard" gave the album a score of 72 out of 100, concluding that "The saying goes: If it isn't broken, don't fix it." David Jeffries of "Allmusic" gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, stating that ""All or Nothing" is a strong U.S. debut for this Akon-meets-Chris Brown-styled singer, one that takes advantage of his suave back catalog and the hip new possibilities now possible via Cash Money." DesiHits gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, stating that "Jay Sean's smooth vocals and emotional lyrics make his album a treat for all." "Spartanburg Herald-Journal", owned by The New York Times Company, also gave the album a largely positive review, stating that "Sean demonstrates a flair for harmonious R&B that will undoubtedly continue the success he has already achieved." In the Netherlands, FOK! also gave the album a positive review, giving it a rating of 4 out of 5 stars. In the United Kingdom, Caroline Sullivan of "The Guardian" gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, stating, "The only signs of Britishness are the drum'n'bass foundations of If I Ain't Got You and a duet with ex-Sugababe Keisha Buchanan on Far Away – a performance of such weediness that it could only be by two Brits. A collaboration with Craig David, Stuck in the Middle, is much more vigorous. The rest is glossy, super-catchy R&B that should finally establish him in the UK." Neil McCormick of "The Telegraph" also gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, stating, "You'll find no evidence of his London or Punjabi roots on Jay Sean’s formulaic third album, but his sleekly effective R’n’B pop has made him arguably the most successful British urban artist ever. His single Down topped US charts this year. Sean specialises in structurally concise, melodic, romantic songs delivered in a clear, sweet voice to a gushing, synthetic backdrop. Bland but effective." Mike Diver of BBC Music stated that the album is a mainstream, "polished, chart-conquering affair," reminiscent of "the slick RnB/soul of numerous US pop stars," but that it is detached from his British Asian Underground roots (alongside the Rishi Rich Project) that had characterized his debut album "Me Against Myself" (2004) and, to a much lesser extent, his second album "My Own Way" (2008). Personnel. Credits for "All or Nothing" adapted from Allmusic.

dulcet tone

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=8134517

The following is a list of characters from the anime "Space Runaway Ideon". Solo Colonists. Cosmo Yuki. Cosmo Yuki is the male lead of "Space Runaway Ideon". Originally a teenager living on Solo with his archaeologist father, Cosmo is thrust into the role of mecha pilot when the Buff Clan attacks. He is the pilot of the Ideo-Delta/Sol Conver and the lead pilot of the Ideon in its combined form. Although he has the occasional fight with Bes, Cosmo is a well-respected member of the Solo Ship crew. Later on, after half his friends are killed and the situation gradually becomes bleaker, Cosmo's distraught turns into pure rage and determination, becoming the Ide's physical medium for its grim final purpose. With nothing left to lose, Cosmo conducts a last-ditch attack against the Gando Rowa and the Bairaru Jin, resulting in the destruction of the Ideon, Gando Rawa, Solo Ship, and much of the Buff Clan fleet. Cosmo is reunited in spirit form with Kitty Kitten (a rebel who appears in one of the final episodes) and Kasha at the end of Be Invoked. When Kitty goes off with another, Cosmo and Kasha head off together into their new eternity. Bes Jordan. An Earth soldier stationed on Solo who becomes the captain of the Solo ship after the Buff Clan attack. Although Bes initially pilots the Ideo-Nova/Sol Vainer, he retires from piloting when it becomes apparent that younger pilots have more success with piloting the Ideon. Although he occasionally quarrels with Cosmo and Sheryl, Bes is well liked and respected as the leader of the Solo Ship. Bes develops feelings for Karala immediately upon meeting her and is quick to support her, even early in the series when she is distrusted by others among the Solo Ship's crew. The two eventually fall in love and Karala becomes pregnant with his child, although it is never born due to her death. In the final battle between the surviving Solo colonists and the Buff Clan, Bes continues fighting against invading squads of Buff Clan troops on board the Solo Ship. Though he is shot in the waist and in the neck, gradually bleeding to death, he remains the only person "alive" on the ship. Shortly after, he dies along with everyone else as the Gando Rowa's incredible power destroys the Solo Ship. He is reunited in spirit form with Karala in the end. Their son, Messiah, leads them and the souls of everyone else to a reborn Earth. Kasha Imhof. A teenage girl who is friends with Cosmo and Deck on Solo, Kasha quickly becomes involved in the fighting when the Buff Clan launch their attack on Solo. Kasha becomes the main pilot of the Ideo-Buster/Sol-Amber. Although a good pilot, Kasha is quite hot tempered and aggressive, which can get her in trouble at times. Like Cosmo, she at times conflicts with the opinions on the adults on the ship. She is also one of the people most critical of Karala early on in the series. As Ideon draws to a close, Kasha relinquishes her piloting duties of the Ideo-Buster to Deck so she can remain aboard the Solo Ship and protect Karala. During an intense exchange of fire between the Solo Ship's remaining crew and the Buff Clan, Kasha is killed after shrapnel from an explosion tears into her. After the final invocation, Kasha's spirit, along with Deck, watches over a sleeping Cosmo and, after Kitty Kitten arrives and Deck leaves, sees Cosmo reawaken with Kitty. After Kitty leaves with another, Kasha and Cosmo head off together into eternity. Sheryl Formosa. A linguistic scholar who has been investigating the Sixth Civilization on the Planet Solo. Sheryl's primary interest is studying the Ide, the mysterious energy source that powers both the Ideon and the Solo Ship. She becomes quite obsessed with it at times, which leads to conflicts between her, Bes, Cosmo, and Kasha. Sheryl also conflicts with Karala early on in the series. Nonetheless, Sheryl is a valuable crew member who is always willing to put herself in dangerous situations to find the answers to her questions. In the latter part of the series, Sheryl befriends Buff Clan defector Gije Zaral, who shares a similar interest in the Ide. The two fall in love, but Gije is killed on the planet Steckin Star in the second to last episode. This, combined with the murder of her younger sister, Lin, on the planet Ajian, cause Sheryl to spiral into a state of despair and alcoholism followed by psychosis. In order to draw out the full potential of the Ide, Sheryl carries the infant Piper Lou onto the deck of the Solo Ship while the Ideon is fighting off both the Buff Clan and a large comet. Sheryl, consumed by grief and vengeance, "invokes" the Ide to show its true power by putting Piper Lou in mortal danger, taunting the invisible force if its strength comes from the suffering of the innocent. She receives her answer when the Ideon fires its Wave Leader Gun. The resulting shock wave from the blast kills her instantly, hurling her shattered body into space, though Lou survives the blast. As she dies, Gije pulls Sheryl's spirit out of her body, reuniting them prior to the final cataclysms of Be Invoked. Later on, at the end of Be Invoked, both she and Gije reunite with the others. Hatari Naburu. A pilot who survives the Buff Clan attack on New Lopia in the second episode and is one of the refugees who boards the Solo ship. Hatari becomes a subordinate and confidante of Bes, even taking control of the Solo ship's operations when Bes falls ill. During the final battle with the Buff Clan in Be Invoked, Hatari manages to warp the Solo ship to the Buff Clan's mothership, the Gando Rowa. Unfortunately, he is shot in the side of the head and chest in the crossfire between the colonists and Buff Clan troopers aboard the bridge. At the end of Be Invoked, his spirit reunites with Moera and Rapoh. Deck Afta. A boy who is a friend of Cosmo's and Kasha's on Solo. He's generally seen with Rapappa, a tame two-tailed squirrel perched on his shoulder. Although just a young kid, Deck desires to become a pilot of the Ideon and when Cosmo sees how dedicated he is to it, he allows Deck to become his co-pilot on the Ideo-Delta. As expected for his age, Deck is immature at times, but, for the most part, gets along with everyone, though gradually, as the series progresses, he begins to prove himself as a pilot, establishing himself as a predominant role in controlling the Ideon. Deck is vaporized instantly when the Ideon is destroyed by the Gando Rowa. Afterwards, both his spirit and Kasha are seen watching over a sleeping Cosmo. When Kitty Kitten arrives and Deck tells her what happens, Kitty tells him to go on ahead, saying that she and Kasha will look after Cosmo. Strangely, and harshly, enough, Rapappa's spirit form is never seen at the end of the film. Joliver Ira. The engineer of the Solo Ship. At first, and throughout the series, he doesn't put too much trust in Karala, but during the movie Be Invoked, he admits to having falling in love with her. This is further proved after he protects Karala from her father, sustaining a sword wound to the back, and dying later as he assists the Ideon during the final battle. After the final invocation, Joliver surprisingly ends up with Haruru's subordinate, Kilaru, in the new universe. Moera Fatima. A member of the Solo Ship's crew who serves as the main pilot for the Ideo Nova for the majority of the series. He is romantically involved with the ship's doctor, Rapoh. He is also seen chastising Fard on several occasions for his wimpy behavior, encouraging him to stand up for himself and become a man. He is eventually killed during a battle against the Buff Clan and his duties as the pilot of the Ideo Nova are passed on to Gije. At the end of Be Invoked, he is reunited with Rapoh, who embraces him, much to his embarrassment. Banda Lotta. A teenage girl from the planet Solo who becomes one of the civilian refugees aboard the Solo Ship. Lotta's primary role aboard the ship is taking care of the young children along with Lin. Lotta becomes upset with Karala and attempts to kill her since she is of the Buff Clan (in the movie version, she kills Karala's servant Mayaya), although in the end, she is unable to do it. In the movie Be Invoked, Lotta acts a sentry when Karala's sister, Harulu, and her bodyguards, Torolof and Kilarul, board the Solo Ship in a chaotic battle. Lotta kills Torolof with a rocket launcher and is shot to death by Kilarul shortly afterwards. She is reunited in spirit form with Lin Formosa and Fard at the end of the film. Fard Malaka. One of the children on the Solo Ship. He is the most timid of the children and is scolded by Moera for not toughening up. He is killed in the final battle against the Buff Clan - the only time he decides to become brave and face the enemy. He is shot by one of the Buff Clan soldiers. However, it is left to the audience on whether or not he dies before the Solo ship is destroyed as he can be seen breathing after being shot. Fard is reunited with Banda, Lin, and Ashura in spirit form at the end of Be Invoked. Ashura Novak. One of the young children aboard the Solo Ship. Ashura's parents were killed in the attack on New Lopia. She is the leader of the kids and is often seen leading Fard and Piper Lou in various activities. She doesn't understand very much the things that happen around her, but is often happy to help with any minor duties on the ship. She is killed in the final battle against the Buff Clan, when a blast of gunfire blows off her head. Ahsura is later reunited with Fard in spirit form. Piper Lou. A baby who is one of the refugees on the Solo Ship. As the youngest member of the Solo Ship crew, Lou is critical to controlling the Ide, which responds with more power to young children like Lou. In fact, the Ideon displays greater powers almost every time Lou is brought aboard. The Ide protects Lou and the children for they are of a new generation - representing the general innocence of children. As the series draws to a close and the true nature of the Ide becomes apparent, his survival becomes more critical to those aboard the Solo Ship. In Be Invoked, Lou is nearly killed when Sheryl carries him onto the deck of the Solo Ship, hoping to draw out further power from the Ideon. When the power of a blast from the "Wave Leader Gun" knocks him and Sheryl off the ship, Sheryl is killed, but Lou is protected by the Ide and returned to the ship. It is revealed that Lou and Karala's unborn child "Messiah" share a profound empathic connection, triggering enormous outputs of the Ide. Although he is the only character in Ideon to be spared a death sequence, Lou is killed when the Solo Ship is destroyed in the final battle. Lou and Messiah lead the spirits of both races into the reborn universe. Lin Formosa. Sheryl's younger sister, who is often seen taking care of the children along with Lotta. She is killed in episode 37 of the series, while being held hostage by the colonists on the planet Ajian, led by the unstable Commodore. She is shot dead as a demonstration that her captors are serious about killing the hostages unless the Solo Ship and Ideon are surrendered to the Buff Clan. Her death is avenged by Sheryl, who proceeds to gun down the Commodore. Lin is reunited spiritually with Banda Lotta and Fard at the end of Be Invoked and watches as Sheryl and Gije arrive shortly after. Rapoh Famu. The medic of the Solo Ship whose love interest is Moera. Along with Moera, Rapoh acts as a parental figure to the orphaned Fard. She is one of the last to die after being shot by a Buff Clan soldier in the final battle with the Buff Clan in Be Invoked. She's last seen in spirit form, clinging on hysterically to a reluctant Moera as they follow everyone to the reborn universe. Bento Malus. The co-pilot for the Ideo-Nova. Bento is killed when the Ideon is hit by the first blast from the Gando Rowa. Tekuno Gyabari. The co-pilot for the Ideo-Buster. Tekuno is killed in the final battle when the Ideon is destroyed. Rouri Yuki. Cosmo's father, an archeologist who is discovers the Ideon on the planet Solo. He is killed in the first episode when a bulldozer collapses on him. Professor Formosa. Sheryl and Lin's father and a professor who wishes to test the Ide's capabilities, He is killed in the first episode after being crushed by a boulder. Buff Clan. Karala Ajiba. Karala is the female lead in "Space Runaway Ideon". She is the youngest daughter of Doba Ajiba, the Supreme Commander of the Buff Clan military. While investigating the Ide, Karala heads down to the planet Solo against orders and ends up stranded there. After her alien origins are discovered, she is held captive on the Solo Ship, but her good hearted nature leads her to become a regular crew member on the Solo Ship despite being from the Buff Clan. Although early in the series the Buff Clan constantly tries to rescue her, she becomes a traitor to the Buff Clan for associating with the Earthlings. The one who despises her the most is her own sister, Harulu. Karala and Bes fall in love and near the end of the series, Karala becomes pregnant with Bes's child, who is proclaimed 'Messiah' by Cosmo and Kasha. Messiah is seen as the key to controlling the Ide and defending the Solo Ship against the Buff Clan, perhaps as well bringing a possible future peace between both races. However, when Harulu boards the Solo Ship during a battle, Karala confronts and tries to kill her, only to then be shot three times in the face and killed by Harulu. Despite her tragic demise, Karala and Messiah remain as a strange ethereal influence as the carnage between the Buff Clan and Solo Ship rages onwards. Later, after everyone is killed, she and Bes reunite and watch as their son, Messiah, leads everyone to a new world. Gije Zaral. The commander of the initial Buff Clan search expedition that discovers the planet Solo. Gije is a friend and former fiance of Karala's, and hence is gravely concerned with her safety after she heads to the planet Solo. Initially, he leads multiple operations to rescue Karala, but is later sent by Harulu to the Buff Clan homeworld to perform further study of the Ide. After failing once again with the Buff Clan military, Gije is enlisted in the Ome Foundation, a private corporation that also seeks to capture the Ideon. After multiple battles in which he fails to defeat the Ideon, Gije is abandoned on the moon, but he sneaks aboard the Solo Ship during a battle. He befriends Sheryl, who shares a similar interest in the Ide, and the two eventually fall in love. Although initially viewed as untrustworthy, Gije eventually becomes an official member of the Solo Ship crew and pilots the Ideo-Nova after the death of its pilot, Moera. Gije is killed in a battle with the Buff Clan on the planet Steckin Star in episode 38 of the television series. In Be Invoked, Gije's spirit pulls Sheryl's spirit from her body after she is killed in her foolish attempt to use Piper Lou to invoke the Ide, allowing for them to spend eternity together. Later on, after everyone is killed, both he and Sheryl reunite with the others. Harulu Ajiba. The elder sister of Karala and daughter of Doba, the Supreme Commander of the Buff Clan military. A high-ranking member of the Buff Clan military, Harulu leads the pursuit of the Solo Ship and Ideon for much of the first half of the series. She views her younger sister as a traitor to the Buff Clan and despises her. Harulu's former lover is Daram Zuba and, while she doesn't seem too pleased with him in their only meeting in the series, she mourns his death and even goes as far to have a Buff Clan officer assassinated when she laughs at a video of him. When Harulu discovers that Karala is pregnant with a baby that is the key to controlling the Ide, she personally leads a team into the Solo Ship, where she murders Karala. Afterwards, Doba gives her command of the entire Buff Clan army, but in the battle, she is killed by a blast from the Ideon's Wave Leader Gun. At the end of Be Invoked, her spirit is shown being carried by Daram. Doba Ajiba. The Supreme Commander of the Buff Clan military. Doba is the father of both Karala and Harulu. Like Harulu, Doba despises Karala for abandoning the Buff Clan and doesn't care whether she lives or dies. Although he is largely absent for most of the TV series (appearing in only 3 episodes), he comes out of the woodwork near the end after his underlings repeatedly fail to defeat the Ideon. Doba commands the Buff Clan forces from his flagship, the Bairal Jin. Intent on not only defeating the Ideon, but also taking complete control of the Buff Clan, Doba conspires with Gindoro Jinmu of the Ome Foundation to overthrow the Buff Clan Emperor, Zuou Habel Gande, when the battle is over. This becomes meaningless, however, when the Buff Clan's home planet is destroyed by a meteor shower. Doba is eventually killed by his own soldiers when he makes it clear that the Ideon must be defeated, even if it results in the death of the majority of the Buff Clan. Oddly enough, Doba is seen with Emperor Zuou at the end of Be Invoked when they greet Cosmo and Kasha. Damido Pechi. One of the officers in charge of the initial expedition that results in the discovery of the Planet Solo, Damido is a colleague of Gije's and, along with him, pursues Karala early in the series. Damido is much more aggressive than Gije and appears to be more concerned with wiping out the enemy than rescuing Karala. He is put out of commission for a while after a battle with the Ideon, but when he returns, he takes the opportunity to immediately strike the Ideon again. His battle ends in failure yet again, and he perishes in this battle. In the movie version, Damido has a much smaller role and is killed in the initial battle on Solo. After the final invocation, he is paired with Mayaya. Daram Zuba. An officer in the Ome Foundation who is also Harulu's former lover. Daram assists Harulu after her Dorowa Zan is destroyed in a fight against the Solo Ship. He also leads the pursuit of the Solo Ship on the planet Kyaral, and later to Earth. Daram betrays Gije by abandoning him on the moon, frustrated with his constant failures to defeat the Ideon. Gije gets his revenge by shooting Daram in the head during a duel with Cosmo on the Earth. In the movie version, Daram is not a member of the Ome Foundation, but rather a member of the regular Buff Clan military. In the movie, A Contact, he dies when his ship is blown up by the Ideon swords. Daram is later shown carrying Harulu's spirit in his arms at the end of Be Invoked. Gindoro Jinmu. Leader of the Ome Foundation, a private corporation that conspires with Doba to overthrow the Buff Clan Emperor. Gindoro teams up with Doba at the end of the series after the Ome Foundation fails to defeat the Ideon. After the Emperor's death, he remains with Doba for a period of time, but then requests to return to the Buff Clan homeworld, unaware that their home planet has been destroyed. With the battle escalating, Gindoro tries to flee and argues with Doba, which results in him being killed. His spirit talks to Doba shortly after his death. Zou Habel Gande. Grand Emperor of the Buff Clan. For reasons never explained, Doba desires to overthrow him. A very minor character who only appears in one episode of the original TV series, Zou is killed when meteors destroy the Buff Clan homeworld. At the end of Be Invoked, both his spirit and Doba appear and greet Cosmo and Kasha. Abadede Gurimade. The initial commander of the Buff Clan investigation of Logo Dau (Solo) in the initial episodes and the main commander watching over Karala, Mayuyu, Gije, and Damido. He has a wife and child who he wishes to return home to. He is later killed on the planet Crystal Star, which he is forced to return to in pursuit of the Ideon after a previous expedition led to the destruction of his entire crew. In the end, he complains that he merely got a "fool's death" for ironically returning and being killed by the inhabitant creatures on that world. Guhaba Geba. A subordinate of Harulu who is ordered by her to humiliate Karala when she reunites with her sister. He dies piloting a Zigg Mack in episode 14, trying to defeat the Ideon. Later on, at the end of Be invoked, his spirit is reunited with Tolorof. Rukuku Kil. An officer in the Buff Clan military, with loyalties to the Emperor. She is sent to Earth to defeat the Solo Ship and Ideon after the Ome Foundation fails to do so. As a member of the military, she is rather arrogant towards Daram, but nonetheless allows him to fight under her command. Harulu sends an underling, Kulara Kina, to spy on her and when she find an old video of Daram and laughs at it, Harulu has her assassinated. Other characters. Kitty Kitten. A teenage girl who Cosmo meets on the colony planet of Kyaral. Kitten is responsible for taking care of many of the orphaned children on her planet. She desires for the Solo Ship to leave their planet so the Buff Clan will leave them alone, but decides to help Cosmo and the others in their quest for supplies. She and Cosmo become good friends and Cosmo falls in love with her. Kitten is killed when she is shot by Daram Zuba, who had fled to Kyaral in an escape pod after a battle with the Ideon. In the movie version, she dies when she is decapitated in an explosion. Her death greatly traumatizes Cosmo. Later on, at the end of Be Invoked, her spirit appears, along with the children she looked at. She reunites with Kasha and Deck, who are watching over a sleeping Cosmo. After telling Deck to go on ahead, she awakens Cosmo with a kiss. When Cosmo apologizes for not being able to protect her, Kitty forgives him, saying that she was happy just being with him. Commodore. The leader of the planet Ajian after it is devastated by the Buff Clan's Light Speed Missiles. Commodore blames the Solo Ship for this occurrence and teams up with Guldabra Dron of the Buff Clan when the Solo Ship returns to Ajian. He tricks Bes and the others when they arrive and takes all the civilians on the ship as hostages; killing Lin when Bes and the others don't immediately surrender. When Bes and the others arrive to rescue the hostages, Sheryl steals Bes' gun and shoots him. Gije puts him out of his misery. Camyula Lanban. A female officer in the military base Braziller. She calms Cosmo down after a fight with the Buff Clan. Her personality traits and looks remind Cosmo of his mother. Her death motivates Cosmo's urge to fight. Messiah. The hybrid unborn child of Bes Jordan and Karala Ajiba. Messiah's existence is revealed when Karala and Joliver are transported by the Ide to the Buff Clan's flagship, the Bairaru Jin. When she announces that she is pregnant with Bes's child, a series of events unfolds that leads to "Be Invoked"s tragic ending. Even though he is not yet born, Messiah demonstrates enormous influence over the Ide, such as producing miniature protective fields around his mother and anything within range and is capable of communicating with Piper Lou in a manner of telepathy. Such abilities lead to Cosmo and Kasha dubbing the child "Messiah", as it seems he and Piper Lou may be the trumpcards capable of manifesting, if not controlling, the Ide's true strength. Messiah seems to also represent a possibility of peace between the Earthlings and the Buff Clan, but his mother's death at the hands of his aunt prevents his physical birth from ever becoming a reality. After the destruction of the universe, Messiah and Piper Lou spiritually lead the survivors of both races onwards to enlightenment, as their naked souls all collectively join to be "reborn" and witness the creation of a new universe.

same passion

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=6586070

Secret is the eighth studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Ayumi Hamasaki, released November 29, 2006 by Avex Trax. As with all of her previous works, Hamasaki wrote all of the lyrics on "Secret". The album's composition was handled largely by Dai Nagao and Tetsuya Yukumi, both of whom were frequent collaborators with Hamasaki. Generally a rock-pop influenced album, Hamasaki said that the meaning of the album was itself a secret, and that it incorporated secrets she was keeping about herself that the public did not know. Secret had been announced originally as a seven-track EP; however, it eventually evolved into a fourteen-track album. "Startin'/Born to Be..." was released as the lead single from "Secret" on March 8, 2006. It debuted at the number-one position in Japan, becoming Hamasaki's twenty-sixth chart topper; with this, she became the female singer with the most number-one singles in Japan, breaking Seiko Matsuda's record. However, it would sell poorly thereafter, charting for fifteen weeks and selling under 200,000 copies. "Blue Bird" would have more success: it topped the charts in Japan and was certified Platinum for shipments of 250,000 copies. With "Blue Bird", which sold around 300,000 copies, Hamasaki became the first solo artist in Japan to sell over 20 million singles. "Secret" received positive reviews from critics, who praised its rock influences and thought that every song stood well enough on its own, but felt that it "failed to leave a clear impression" as a cohesive record. The album won Album of the Year at the Japan Gold Disc Awards; its title track received "Japanese Song of the Year" at the RTHK International Awards in Hong Kong. "Secret" debuted at number one in Japan with first week sales of 386,280 copies. It would go on to become the 22nd best selling album of 2006 in Japan, and the 73rd best seller of 2007, selling 675,400 copies in its 15-week chart run and receiving a triple-platinum certification for having 750,000 copies shipped to stores. Despite this success, "Secret" would become her lowest-selling album at that point and her first to not to be certified Million. According to Avex, "Secret" has sold 900,000 copies worldwide. Title. Hamasaki on an interview stated that the reason behind naming the album 'Secret' was that the album literally was a secret. She said it was named so that people might think "That's one of her secrets". She also said she wanted to feel when they hear a song, they should think they knew her secret. The album's lyrics reinforce the understanding others, rather than just yourself, as she states: But it's not a secret in the sense that "I'm about to disclose something you didn't know!" Instead, it could be about "me" in my daily life, or it could be about you… Everyone keeps secrets; there is not one person on this planet who does not have at least one secret, nor is there a person who can tell others everything about him or herself. Even when you try to understand others (or to have a mutual understanding with others), there is always a "you" that only you know about. I have aspects that only certain people know about and aspects that everyone knows about. That's what I call a secret. And in this sense, there are secrets incorporated into this album. Production. Originally, "Secret" was announced to be a seven-track mini-album. After announcing that "Secret" was to become a full album on her official website, a message from Hamasaki on her TeamAyu fanclub website stated that she was doing overtime in the studio in order to complete the album on time. Hamasaki stated that "Until that Day..." was originally intended to be an instrumental track composed by CMJK. She loved the sound of the guitar and the b-melody and thus asked him to compose it into a full-length track. From the beginning, she knew just what she had in mind to write about. She admitted to having difficulty matching her emotions with the complex melody of the song so she sat down at home and compiled a list of synonyms of key words and eventually finished the song. Although she tried to keep the song positive, it sparked feelings of heartbrokenness upon revealing it to her staff. The third track, "Startin'", was recorded in New York City. According to Hamasaki, the sound in the studio made it easy for her to sing despite the challenge in vocals that she gave herself by choosing to sing in this particular style. Hamasaki stated that even though the song is generally perceived as a song for dancing on stage with dancers, it was originally intended to be a band-only song. She enjoyed her recording session, commenting that what really brought out the new vocal style was doing the recording in the New York studio with its great sound and atmosphere. "Momentum", the eighth track on the album, took Hamasaki a total of four days to record. This is the longest amount of time she has ever taken to record a song in her whole career. Usually, she goes into the booth and records a song very quickly, but with "Momentum" she had been spending so much time in the recording booth that she felt like she might as well have slept there. Hamasaki stated that listening to the song now makes her remember the strenuous recording and brings her to tears. The album's title track, "Secret", was the last song to be recorded for the album. Since she had so much strain with recording "Momentum", Ayumi vowed to complete the recording for "Secret" in one go. However, by doing this she put great pressure on herself and made herself quite nervous. She had considered forgetting the song and leaving the studio several times due to the stress from her pressure and the extreme time limit to have the song recorded, but she decided to simply give it her all and do her best. By finishing this song, she had completed the recordings for the entire album. Hamasaki stated that she was almost in tears with the staff members because she actually managed to extend this album from a seven-track mini-album into a full length fourteen-track studio album in a matter of weeks. On November 6, 2006, recording for the album was wrapped. On November 7, the track list and both the CD-only and CD+DVD covers were released. "Secret" is Hamasaki's first album to be produced and sold in Malaysia. Promotion. During November and December 2006, Hamasaki performed live on Japanese TV shows eleven times. The main promotional track of the album was 'Jewel', which was performed live on Japanese TV eleven times, three times in which a special orchestra version of the song was performed. Jewel was also released as a ringtone, where it went on to be certified triple platinum, meaning it was downloaded over 750,000 times. "1 Love" was also performed once. Hamasaki was featured on the cover of seven Japanese magazines during the promotion of Secret. These magazines were "Sweet", "Bea's Up", "Vivi", "Popteen", "Cawaii! ", "S Cawaii", and another edition of "Vivi". Hamasaki was also a guest on two major radio shows during the release of the album; All Night Nippon and DoCoMo Hits from the Heart. This album was highly promoted and sold many copies throughout Asia. Music videos. There are a total of 7 music videos (or PVs) on the album. In order of release, they are "Startin'", "Born to Be...", "Blue Bird", "Beautiful Fighters", "Jewel", "Momentum", and "1 Love". The PVs for Startin, Born to Be, Blue Bird, Beautiful Fighters and Momentum were all directed by Takahide Ishii. The video for Startin' has a lighter and comical tone than the other PVs of the album which have a consistently deeper tone. It starts off with two young male friends in a video store. They are conversing when suddenly, Hamasaki drills a hole through the brick wall and comes in. She dances and rejects one of them who makes an advance on her, and points a finger at the other man which shocks him. In the next scene, she is riding a motorcycle in a sports suit, and initiates a little "race" with a Hummer like vehicle with three passengers. She points a finger at them, which shocks the three passengers as well. She then stands up while driving her motorcycle and suddenly jumps off while the motorcycle crashes into a building, causing an explosion. The motorcycle scene has been criticised for being similar to the music video of Britney Spears' Toxic, but looks similar and her look is more recognizable to the brief motorcycle scene in Kill Bill Vol. 1. Hamasaki lands safely and walks away. In the end, it goes back to the video store (in the state before Hamasaki came in) with the two friends conversing. One complains that it is hot in the building and takes off a mask, revealing it to be Hamasaki. Segments of dancing are also present throughout the PV, in between scenes. One is on a platform, while the other dancing scenes are in a dark, desert like setting, similar to "Work It", and the style of dancing is also similar to the dancing in the "Work It" video. This song was used as the opening song for the videogame "Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams" of Capcom for the PlayStation 2. The PV for Born To Be... had thematic ties to the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, which TV channel Nittele promoted using "Born To Be...". Hamasaki is standing and singing in front of bright orange/yellow lights in a dark room which change brightness. In effect, sometimes the viewer cannot see much due to the brightness and sometimes they cannot see much due to the darkness. There is a band playing in the water (in the same setting), and an aerobic dancer also performs in the water. Later, people of all ethnicities around the world, mostly children, are individually projected against a white wall stating what they would like to be when they grow up. Since their voices are not heard due to the song, they have visual aids. (For example, a girl is speaking in an ice skating uniform, holding a pair of ice skates). Hamasaki also appears on this backdrop, saying something although it cannot be heard. The "Blue Bird" PV (music video) officially aired on SpaceShower TV on June 9, 2006. In the first scene, she is singing on an empty beach. She is then seen on a boat with friends (many of whom are featured in her Fairyland PV, while they are in fact her dance team members). Throughout the video, it switches between the first setting, the second setting, and a third setting in which she is feasting and having fun with the same friends. There is also a fourth setting where she sings on a cliff. The PV was filmed in Guam. The Beautiful Fighters PV officially aired on SpaceShower TV on June 12, 2006. In the first scene, fans anticipate entering what looks to be an arena, while three dancers stand outside the door. The fans rush in to watch Ayumi and a group of dancers atop a stage dancing and standing on multi-colored cars. The video switches between scenes of the five female dancers' stories of misfortune at different jobs. The dancers are shown as a delivery person, a waitress, a pool-cleaner, and a painter; Ayumi plays as a cashier at a mart. At the end, each person involved in the dancers' mess-up is shown dancing in the crowd and then each of the dancers, along with Ayumi, circles the stage in her own car. The music video for "Jewel", directed by Wataru Takeishi, is one of the most expensive music videos ever made, allegedly costing over 100 million yen (nearly $1 million USD) to produce. It is basically composed by scenes featuring Hamasaki adorned in diamonds at a winter-like set. It was leaked online November 24, 2006. The PV for "Momentum" first aired on MTV on November 28, 2006 in the morning and the music video shows ayumi as a ghost, but a ghost which people can see and in the music video she sings in the snow and cold, while people look at her through opened windows, In the end of the video, a man put flowers on her grave, ayumi then sees him and she melts away. There were also in-ter cut scenes of ayumi in a room full of candles. The PV for "1 Love" was first played on Headliner on November 27, 2006 and features an underground human bid, where rich people (covered with venetian masks) buy human beings who are slaves and supposedly have special abilities, like a monster, an eat-it-all man, a prostitute, an otaku, and Hamasaki herself, who appears singing and pole-dancing. She is also seen in a cage, and later on tries to escape, covering herself with one of the masks, just to be found by the owner of the bid, a circus-master like man. Tour. Upon her explosive release of Secret throughout Asia, Hamasaki launched her first ever international tour. Entitled "Asia Tour 2007 ~Tour of Secret~", the tour reached various countries and territories throughout Asia such as Japan, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. As with most of Hamasaki's tours, most of the tickets were sold out within minutes. The tickets also sold surprisingly well in Asia. Tickets were sold out to the Taiwan concert in less than two hours. Similarly, tickets were sold out in less than three hours in Hong Kong and in within six hours in Shanghai To promote the album, Hamasaki performed many hit songs from "Secret". This also marked the beginning of her use of the English language at her concerts and press conferences in which she used the language to communicate fluently with fans and media. Tie-ups and theme songs. The album's first single "Startin' / Born to Be..." was used as the opening theme song for Capcom's video game . It is the standard theme song in the Japanese version of the game and can also be heard in the International version if the game language is set to Japanese in the settings menu. It was also used in a commercial advertisement for Japanese music downloading service Mu-Mo. "Born to Be" was a special song used as the theme song for Japan's coverage of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The song was written especially for the occasion and this can be apparent in the style of the song as well as its lyrics. It was also used in a Mu-mo advert. Hamasaki's summer single "Blue Bird" was used in a promotional campaign for Zespri Golden Kiwis. The use of Hamasaki's song in advertisements boosted sales so much that Zespri launched a special press conference to thank her. The song was also used in advertisements for Japanese music downloading services Dwango and Mu-mo. "Beautiful Fighters" was used in a commercial advertisement promoting Panasonic's D-Snap portable audio player. Hamasaki appeared playing tennis while using the product in its commercial to demonstrate the portability of the audio player. "Jewel" was used in a commercial for Panasonic's Lumix FX07 digital camera. Hamasaki appeared in the commercial wearing a traditional Japanese wedding gown as well as various coloured cocktail dresses. It was also used in a Mu-mo advertisement. "1 Love" was used as in a commercial for Panasonic's D-Snap portable audio player. Hamasaki appeared in the commercial using the products while riding on the subway. The commercial demonstrated the noise-cancelling abilities of the product. It was also used in another Panasonic commercial for the D-Dock. Upon the launch of the Lumix FX07 and the D-Snap and D-Dock audio players, Hamasaki appeared as Panasonic's spokesperson at a press conference in Tokyo. The album's title track "Secret" was used as the theme song for Hong Kong film "Confession of Pain".www.confessionofpain.com Hamasaki attended the movie premiere in Hong Kong. That song can also be found on the single Glitter / Fated and is Hamasaki's first song on its original form to be released on a single after it was featured in an album. Charts. Chart information. "Secret" debuted at the top spot of the Oricon weekly chart with first week sales of 386,280 copies, outselling the number two album for a large 160,129 copies. However, its first week sales are about 263,000 lower than her last studio album "(Miss)understood" showed. This is because the "first week sales" of "(Miss)understood" were actually the sales of two weeks, as Oricon blends the last week of a year with the first one of the following year, making an Oricon Year with 51 weeks only. The same rule applies for the first week sales of her "I Am..." album. On the Oricon chart, "Secret" failed to surpass the one-million mark, making it her second album to not do so (the first being "(Miss)understood"). However, while "(Miss)understood" still managed to surpass the one-million mark in accordance to Avex, "Secret" failed to do so, selling only 900,000 copies. The singles of this album together sold a total of 447,177 copies. The sales of the singles and the album itself combined come to a sales revenue of 1,314,551 CDs sold. "Secret" is also believed to be Ayu's most successful album yet in worldwide sales. Not only did "Secret" top the Japanese charts, the album was an instant number-1 hit in countries as Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and China. In Japan, "Secret" charted for 18 weeks.

many pressures

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=5310938

A livery yard, livery stable or boarding stable, is a stable where horse owners pay a weekly or monthly fee to keep their horses. A livery or boarding yard is not usually a riding school and the horses are not normally for hire (unless on working livery - see below). Facilities at a livery yard normally include a loose box or stable and access for the horse to graze on grass. History of livery stables in North America. Historically in North America, "livery stable" had a somewhat different meaning: a stable where horses, teams and wagons were for hire, but also where privately owned horses could be boarded for a short time. Because of the temporary boarding aspect, livery stables were often attached to a hotel or boarding house. Located at Buffalo, New York, the C. W. Miller Livery Stable is an example of a multi-story livery stable. The livery stable was a necessary institution of every American town, but its role has been generally overlooked by historians. In addition to providing vital transportation service, the livery usually also sold hay, grain, coal, and wood. Because of the stench, noise, and vermin that surrounded the livery, cities and towns attempted to control their locations and activities. Often the scene of gambling, cockfighting, and stag shows, they were condemned as sources of vice. With the advent of the automobile after 1910, the livery stables quietly disappeared. American horse boarding. In the United States, terminology is less defined and varies by region. Boarding usually falls into one of the following categories:

required establishment

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2796757

Roasting coffee transforms the chemical and physical properties of green coffee beans into roasted coffee products. The roasting process is what produces the characteristic flavor of coffee by causing the green coffee beans to change in taste. Unroasted beans contain similar if not higher levels of acids, protein, sugars, and caffeine as those that have been roasted, but lack the taste of roasted coffee beans due to the Maillard and other chemical reactions that occur during roasting. The vast majority of coffee is roasted commercially on a large scale, but small-scale commercial roasting has grown significantly with the trend toward "single-origin" coffees served at specialty shops. Some coffee drinkers even roast coffee at home as a hobby in order to both experiment with the flavor profile of the beans and ensure the freshest possible roast. The first recorded implements for roasting coffee beans were thin pans made from metal or porcelain, used in the 15th century in the Ottoman Empire and Greater Persia. In the 19th century, various patents were awarded in the U.S. and Europe for commercial roasters, to allow for large batches of coffee. In the 1950s just as instant coffee was becoming a popular coffee drink, speciality coffee-houses began opening to cater to the connoisseur, offering a more traditionally brewed beverage. In the 1970s, more speciality coffee houses were founded, ones that offered a variety of roasts and beans from around the world. In the 1980s and 1990s, the gourmet coffee industry experienced great growth. This trend continued into the 21st century. History. The first known implements for roasting coffee beans were thin, circular, often perforated pans made from metal or porcelain, used in the 15th century in the Ottoman Empire and Greater Persia. This type of shallow, dished pan was equipped with a long handle so that it could be held over a brazier (a container of hot coals) until the coffee was roasted. The beans were stirred with a slender spoon. Only a small amount of beans could be heated at one time. The first cylinder roaster with a crank to keep the beans in motion appeared in Cairo around 1650. It was made of metal, most commonly tinned copper or cast iron, and was held over a brazier or open fire. French, Dutch and Italian variations of this design quickly appeared. These proved popular over the next century in Europe, England and the American colonies. In the 19th century, various patents were awarded in the U.S. and Europe for commercial roasters, to allow for large batches of coffee. Nevertheless, home roasting continued to be popular. A man working at a commercial roasting plant beginning in the 1850s in St. Louis, Missouri, said that "selling roasted coffee was up-hill work, as everyone roasted coffee in the kitchen oven." Appliances catering to the home roaster were developed; in 1849 a spherical coffee roaster was invented in Cincinnati, Ohio, for use on the top of a wood-fired kitchen stove, fitted into a burner opening. Green beans were available at the local general store, or even through mail order. For roasting, many people used such simple methods as a layer of beans on a metal sheet in the oven, or beans stirred in a cast-iron skillet over a fire. Despite the wide popularity of home roasting, Burns felt that it would soon disappear because of the great strides made in commercial roasting in the 1860s and 1870s, including the benefits of the economies of scale. The commercial roaster inventions patented by Burns revolutionized the U.S. roasting industry, much like the innovations of inventors in Emmerich am Rhein greatly advanced commercial coffee roasting in Germany. As well, the 1864 marketing breakthrough of the Arbuckle Brothers in Philadelphia, introducing the convenient one-pound (0.45 kg) paper bag of roasted coffee, brought success and imitators. From that time commercially roasted coffee grew in popularity until it gradually overtook home roasting during the 1900s in America. In 1903 and 1906 the first electric roasters were patented in the U.S. and Germany, respectively; these commercial devices eliminated the problem of smoke or fuel vapor imparting a bad taste to the coffee. In France, the home roaster did not yield to the commercial roaster until after the 1920s, especially in rural areas. Coffee was roasted to a dark color in small batches at home and by shopkeepers, using a variety of appliances including ones with a rotating cylinder of glass, sheet iron or wire mesh, and ones driven by hand, clockwork or electric motor. Because of the smoke and blowing chaff, country dwellers generally roasted outdoors. In the 1950s just as instant coffee was becoming a popular coffee drink, speciality coffee-houses began opening to cater to the connoisseur, offering a more traditionally brewed beverage. In the 1970s, more speciality coffee houses were founded, ones that offered a variety of roasts and beans from around the world. In the 1980s and 1990s, the gourmet coffee industry experienced great growth. Through the 1970s and 1980s, the Siemens Sirocco home roaster was made in West Germany and marketed globally. It was a small fluid-bed roaster made for the home enthusiast. The product was named after a commercial hot-air roasting process which itself was named after the hot Sahara winds called sirocco. In 1976, chemical engineer Michael Sivetz patented a competing hot air design for manufacture in the U.S.; this became popular as an economical alternative. Sivetz called for the home roaster to focus on the quality of the bean. From 1986 through 1999 there was a surge in the number of patents filed for home roasting appliances. In the 1990s, more electric home roasting equipment became available, including drum roasters, and variations on the fluid-bed roaster. By 2001, gourmet coffee aficionados were using the internet to purchase green estate-grown beans for delivery by mail. Process. The coffee-roasting process follows coffee processing and precedes coffee brewing. It consists essentially of sorting, roasting, cooling, and packaging but can also include grinding. Bags of green coffee beans are hand- or machine-opened, dumped into a hopper, and screened to remove debris. The green beans are then weighed and transferred manually, by belt, or pneumatic conveyor to storage hoppers. From the storage hoppers, the green beans are conveyed to the roaster. Initially, the process is endothermic (absorbing heat), but at around it becomes exothermic (giving off heat). For the roaster, this means that the beans are heating themselves and an adjustment of the roaster's heat source might be required. At the end of the roasting cycle, the roasted beans are dumped from the roasting chamber and are typically cooled by air or water-quenching. During the roasting process, coffee beans lose 15 to 18% of their mass due mainly to the loss of water but also to volatile compounds. Although the beans experience a weight loss, the size of the beans double during the roasting process due to the physical expansion caused by an increase in internal pressure from vaporized water. There are several traditional variations to coffee roasting in different parts of the world. For example, in Vietnam coffee is often coated with oil (traditionally clarified butter) and a small amount of sugar prior to roasting to produce a "butter roast". The roasting process results in an additional caramelized coating on the beans. Equipment. The most common roasting machines are of two basic types: drum and hot-air, although there are others including packed-bed, tangential and centrifugal roasters. Roasters can operate in either batch or continuous modes. Home roasters are also available. Drum machines consist of horizontal rotating drums that tumble the green coffee beans in a heated environment. The heat source can be supplied by natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), electricity, or even wood. The most common employ indirectly heated drums where the heat source is under the drum. Direct-fired roasters are roasters in which a flame contacts the beans inside the drum; very few of these machines are still in operation. Fluid bed or hot-air roasters force heated air through a screen or perforated plate under the coffee beans with sufficient force to lift the beans. Heat is transferred to the beans as they tumble and circulate within this fluidized bed. Roasts. Some coffee roasters use names for the various degrees of roast, such as "city roast" and "French roast", for the internal bean temperatures found during roasting. Recipes known as "roast profiles" indicate how to achieve flavor characteristics. Any number of factors may help a person determine the best profile to use, such as the coffee's origin, variety, processing method, moisture content, bean density, or desired flavor characteristics. A roast profile can be presented as a graph showing time on one axis and temperature on the other, which can be recorded manually or using computer software and data loggers linked to temperature probes inside various parts of the roaster. The most popular, but probably the least accurate, method of determining the degree of roast is to judge the bean's color by eye (the exception to this is using a spectrophotometer to measure the ground coffee reflectance under infrared light and comparing it to standards such as the Agtron scale). As the coffee absorbs heat, the color shifts to yellow and then to increasingly darker shades of brown. During the later stages of roasting, oils appear on the surface of the bean. The roast will continue to darken until it is removed from the heat source. Coffee also darkens as it ages, making color alone a poor roast determinant. Most roasters use a combination of temperature, smell, color, and sound to monitor the roasting process. There are two events called "cracks" that roasters listen for. At approximately , the coffee will emit a cracking sound. This point is referred to as "first crack," marking the beginnings of a very "light roast". At first crack, a large amount of the coffee's moisture has been evaporated and the beans will begin to increase in size. When the coffee reaches approximately , it emits a "second crack", this sound represents the structure of the coffee becoming brittle and fracturing as the bean continues to swell and enlarge from internal pressure. If the roast is allowed to progress further, it begins to take on the characteristics of the roasting process and loses the characteristics of the coffee's origin. Lipids present inside the coffee seed liquify from heat and pressure built up in the bean. These lipids can often be seen on the bean surface. An oily coating is more prevalent with darker roasts. These images depict samples taken from the same batch of a typical Brazilian green coffee at various bean temperatures with their subjective roast names and descriptions. Flavors. At lighter roasts, the coffee will exhibit more of its "origin character"—the flavors created by its variety, processing, altitude, soil content, and weather conditions in the location where it was grown. As the beans darken to a deep brown, the origin flavors of the bean are eclipsed by the flavors created by the roasting process itself. At darker roasts, the "roast flavor" is so dominant that it can be difficult to distinguish the origin of the beans used in the roast. Below, roast levels and their respective flavors are described. These are qualitative descriptions, and thus subjective. World Coffee Research, Kansas State University Sensory Analysis Center, and Texas A&M University worked to develop a sensory lexicon and accompanying flavor wheel to assist in accurately and consistently describing the sensory characteristics of a given coffee. Caffeine levels are not significantly affected by the level of roast. Caffeine remains stable up to and completely decomposes around . Given that roasting temperatures don't exceed for long and rarely if ever reach , the caffeine content of a coffee is not likely changed much by the roasting process. Home roasting. Home roasting is the process of roasting small batches of green coffee beans for personal consumption. Even after the turn of the 20th century, it was more common for at-home coffee drinkers to roast their coffee in their residence than it was to buy pre-roasted coffee. Later, home roasting faded in popularity with the rise of the commercial coffee roasting companies. In recent years home roasting of coffee has seen a revival. In some cases there is an economic advantage, but primarily it is a means to achieve finer control over the quality and characteristics of the finished product. Packaging. Extending the shelf life of roasted coffee relies on maintaining an optimum environment to protect it from exposure to heat, oxygen, and light. Roasted coffee has an optimal typical shelf life of two weeks, and ground coffee about 15 minutes. Without some sort of preservation method, coffee becomes stale. The first large-scale preservation technique was vacuum packing in cans. However, because coffee emits CO2 after roasting, coffee to be vacuum-packed must be allowed to de-gas for several days before it is sealed. To allow more immediate packaging, pressurized canisters or foil-lined bags with pressure-relief valves can be used. Refrigeration and freezing retards the staling process. Roasted whole beans can be considered fresh for up to one month if kept cool. Once coffee is ground it is best used immediately. Emissions and control. Particulate matter (PM), volatile organic compounds (VOC), organic acids, and combustion products are the principal emissions from coffee processing. Several operations are sources of PM emissions, including the cleaning and destoning equipment, roaster, cooler, and instant coffee drying equipment. The roaster is the main source of gaseous pollutants, including alcohols, aldehydes, organic acids, and nitrogen and sulfur compounds. Because roasters are typically heated by combustion of natural gas, carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions result from fuel combustion. Decaffeination and instant coffee extraction and drying operations may also be sources of small amounts of VOC. Emissions from the grinding and packaging operations typically are not vented to the atmosphere. Particulate matter emissions from the roasting and cooling operations are typically ducted to cyclones before being emitted to the atmosphere. Gaseous emissions from roasting operations are typically ducted to a thermal oxidiser or thermal catalytic oxidiser following PM removal by a cyclone. Some facilities use the burners that heat the roaster as thermal oxidisers. However, separate thermal oxidisers are more efficient because the desired operating temperature is typically between , which is more than the maximum temperature of most roasters. Some facilities use thermal catalytic oxidizers, which require lower operating temperatures to achieve control efficiencies that are equivalent to standard thermal oxidisers. Catalysts are also used to improve the control efficiency of systems in which the roaster exhaust is ducted to the burners that heat the roaster. Emissions from spray dryers are typically controlled by a cyclone followed by a wet scrubber.

early coffee bean breaking

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4452507

Center peel, "Australian peel", or simply "peel" for short, is a type of retreat practiced by modern-day infantry. This particular tactic is more specifically designed for situations where smaller groups of infantry withdraw from an engagement of a much larger force. In general terms, it is a sloped or diagonal retreat from the enemy. Definition. This tactic was designed with human psychology in mind. It begins with an infantry unit facing off with a larger force of enemies. Once the command is called, the soldiers implement a column facing into the enemy's midst. The soldiers then begin, or continue, to use suppressing fire to delay the enemy's attack and advance. Depending on the direction of the retreat, the second to last soldier on the farmost end, opposite the retreating direction, calls out, "Peel one". Next, the infantryman next to him, on the end of the column, ceases fire, works his way behind the column towards the other side, takes a position one meter diagonally back from the farthest soldier on this side, and resumes suppressing fire. Then, the process repeats with the commands being simplified to "peel", the "one" only there to signify the actual start of the tactic, and continues until the party has safely disengaged the target. The slanting motion of the tactic gives the impression of increasing numbers of infantry joining the battle, a psychological move designed to deter the opposition. The slanting motion also has the benefit of keeping open one's field of fire. Retreating directly backwards would put the soldier too closely behind his own men, severely limiting his/her field of fire. In the Canadian Army, this technique is referred to as an "Aussie Peelback". In the Australian Army this tactic is known as "The Tunnel of Love" and is often used as the first part of "Break Contact" drills for small reconnaissance and special forces patrols when encountering larger enemy forces. References in film and literature. The center peel tactic was demonstrated in the final gunfight of the 2003 movie, "Tears of the Sun", where Lieutenant Waters (Bruce Willis) directs his men away from a significantly larger group of aggressive Nigerian troops. This tactic was also shown in episode 6 of season 2 of the Amazon Prime show, "Jack Ryan", where a small group of 3 soldiers were ambushed in a ravine. The peel tactic can also be seen in the 1995 film Heat as the LAPD intercept the heist crew as they are leaving the bank.

his/her range

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=51400920

The School House and Town Hall is a historic municipal building on Schoolhouse Road, just west of United States Route 7 in the center of Leicester, Vermont. Built about 1858, it is a fine example of late Greek Revival architecture, and is the town's best-preserved district schoolhouse. Its upper floor has served as the town hall since its construction. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Description and history. The Leicester School House and Town Hall is located in a cluster of civic buildings making up the village center of the rural community, on the north side of the Leicester-Whiting Road just west of US 7. It stands on the east side of Schoolhouse Road, just west of the brick Leicester Meeting House. It is a two-story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof and clapboarded exterior. The building corners have paneled pilasters, rising to entablatures running along the sides. The main (south-facing) facade is symmetrical, with a central entrance set in a slight recess, framed by sidelight windows and pilasters supported a corniced entablature. The interior of the building houses open chambers on both floors, with vestibule areas in the front and a staircase in the front right corner. The building was constructed sometime after 1858, when the association that owns the meeting house granted the town permission to build on its land. Along with the meeting house and the Stagecoach Inn (located just across US 7), this assemblage of buildings represent a quintessential Vermont small-town 19th-century crossroads village center.

head starboard edge

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=23580463

Akila Viraj Kariyawasam is a Sri Lankan politician and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka (,; born 23 May 1973). He served as the Minister of Education of Sri Lanka from 13 January 2015 to 21 November 2019. He is a lawyer by profession and was first elected to the 13th Parliament of Sri Lanka in 2004. Early life and career. Akila Viraj Kariyawasam is the current  Secretary of the United National Party. Kariyawasam is also the President of the Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya, the trade union of the working class of Lankans, affiliated to the United National Party. This politician is also the current Minister of Education of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. He works as the deputy general secretary of the United National Party, the greatest political party which paved way to gain independence in our motherland. Also he is United National Party's spokesman. He is the President of the ‘Jathika Sewaka Sangamaya’(JSS), the single trade union which represents the majority of the working class of this country. He is the current Minister of Education of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. He was born as the fifth son of a family of six children. His father, Mr.William Godage Kariyawasam served as a Registrar of the state university system and later established himself as a prominent business personality and his mother is Mrs. Allen Kariyawasam who was the caring beacon to the family. His family of five out of six brothers and sisters of Graduates. Three of them are esteemed lawyers. He is a graduate of the University of Colombo in the disciplines of Economics, Political Science and international relations. Later he pursued his secondary degree in Law at the Open University of Colombo. He is a politician and a Lawyer in profession. He was able to grasp the true flavor of politics from the childhood since he hailed from a traditional politically affiliated family. He entered politics during his schooldays and made a significant milestone when he formed the very first chapter in Kuliyapitiya for the National Youth Front. National Youth Front was introduced under the patronage of Hon.Ranil Wickramasinghe aiming at enforcing the country's youth. He was appointed the Chairman of the National Youth Front Kuliyapitiya chapter in the year 1995. In 1996, he was appointed the District Chairman of the National youth front in Kuliyapitiya District. Later he was appointed to the executive committee of the National youth front. He held these positions whilst he was a student of the Colombo University. He went on to become the vice president of the National Youth Front at the National level. In 1999 he was appointed the general secretary of the National youth front. He had entered student politics when he was a university student. He extended leadership to University Youth front. He was a forerunner at the protest against the education reforms in 1999, and later he was arrested in this connection. At the age of 28, even without being appointed as an organizer of any electorate he contested the general elections held in 2001. He was appointed as the organizer of the Paduwasnuwara electorate, later he went on to be elected to the parliament securing 83,114 votes at the general election held in 2004. He faced every obstacle with so much of courage even at a crucial point where the United National Party led government was untimely dissolved by the president unleashing her executive powers. He was nominated as the education minister of the shadow cabinet appointed by the UNP which represented the opposition. He was appointed the organizer of the Kuliyapitiya electorate in the year 2005. He extended the strength of his young blood to the party and became the chairman of the National Youth Front in the year 2007. He shouldered the challenge set by his party to restructure National Youth Front at grass root level. He had secured the second highest votes in the Kurunegala district at the general election held in 2010. He stood by what is good for the party whenever the leader ship of the party was at stake. He was committed to safeguard the leadership of the party at every difficult time mounted against the party. He had incorporated his own ways of attracting the crowd in the political arena; he had demonstrated unmatched leadership qualities. He was a beacon of democracy, equality and justice. He had led the Kurunagala district at the 2015 January presidential election victoriously against the former Rajapaksa government. On 12 January 2015, he was appointed as the Minister of Education in the newly formed government. He had made use of the vast experience gathered serving as the Minister of Education in the shadow cabinet when performing the portfolio entrusted by the government. He had contested against the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa who represented Kurunegala District in the general election held in August 2015. He was able to lead the list of UNP preferential votes in the Kurunegala district and was able to secure second highest votes in the island. His 286,155 votes only second to the preferential votes secured by the leader of the UNP, Hon. Ranil Wickramasinghe. Again he was entrusted with the education portfolio along with more responsibilities in the areas of Archaeology and Heritage. One of the major projects pioneered by him is ‘Nearest school is the best school’. It is focusing on uplifting the standards of schools to match the standards of schools in the popular category. Providing good infrastructure and facilities is attained through this project. He has directed the officials to reform the education system to mold students to suite the job market at present. Also he has taken steps to make 13 years of education mandatory to every child in the country. He has guided the education reforms process to focus on the students those who do not get through GCE O/L thus introductory of technological stream to enable those students to obtain professional qualification to be able to enter the job market. Smart classroom project and the project to give a TAB to every school going child are the projects of the minister focusing on uplifting the Information Technology within the youngsters. Minister also has launched a project to provide an insurance cover to all school going child to ensure wellbeing of the younger generation. In order to enhance the human capital required for these projects the minister has taken steps to hold examination to recruit 852 officials to Education Administrative Service and 3901 Principals to institutions island wide. Also he had taken steps to groom them to perform better in their assigned tasks. He had directed the official to foster good eating habits and better choice of nutritious food amongst the school children. Also he had fine tune the ministry procedures by introducing new systems to make affairs more transparent to the stake holders. Apart from the entrusted duties on education the minister has taken up the responsibilities of Archeology and Heritage to preserve our culture to generations to come. He is proving a valuable leadership to the Archeological department, Central Cultural Fund, National archives, National Library and Documentation Services Board and Tower Hall Foundation. He had taken appropriate steps to make these institutions more efficient to achieve organizational objectives. He has taken steps to acquire the assistance of the foreign specialists when preserving the world heritage sites such as Sigiriya, Dambulla. There are many archeological excavations, researches and experiments undertaken by the respective institutions under the guidance of him. He has extended his fullest support to uplift the tourism industry by enhancing facilities provided to visitors at heritage sites under his command. He has guided the officials to introduce novel technological enhancements such as online ticketing systems to ease the burden of making reservations and entry.

vested partners

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=35485631

Naan Pesa Ninaipathellam (English : All that I think of speaking) is a 1993 Tamil language drama film directed by Vikraman. The film features Anand Babu and Mohini in lead roles. The film had musical score by Sirpy and was released on 9 July 1993, and It was a super hit. The film was dubbed in Telugu as "Prema Vasantham". Plot. Viswanath (Anand Babu) has only a cousin Kaveri (Latha) as family and is very affectionate towards her. He even dropped out of school to pay Kaveri's school fees. Viswanath worked hard for her and begins to sing in the street to support Kaveri. A few years later, he becomes a singer in a band and organizes some stage performance with his friend Govind (Vivek). Unknowingly, Govind and Viswanath pick up a woman called Sandhya (Mohini). She tells that she isn't a singer, she doesn't have family and she has come to find a job in the city. But Sandhya helps Viswanath and Govind in a timely manner by helping them settle their house rent. Kaveri completes her graduation and becomes a famous newscaster in a TV channel. However, she gets arrogant owing to her fame and she does not want to marry Viswanath as she thinks him to be a mismatch for her due to his poor condition. She challenges Viswanath to become rich. Viswanath gets an opportunity to perform in a wedding reception. At the marriage reception, Viswanath sees Kaveri as the bride and is shocked knowing that Kaveri ditched him. Viswanath decides to commit suicide but Sandhya saves him and tells her past. Sandhya's father was a rich businessman. Anand (Anand) and Sandhya were in love and they later got engaged. When Sandhya's father's business went bankrupt, Anand refused to marry her. A few days later, her father died because of the shock. Viswanath and Sandhya challenge to succeed in life. They decide to work hard separately. Sandhya passes civil services exam and she becomes a district collector. Sandhya meets with an accident and is spotted by Anand. Anand takes care of Sandhya in the hospital and he proposes to marry. Sandhya agrees to marry him and they decide to get married. Viswanath on hearing about Sandhya's wedding plan gets shocked and rushes to the marriage hall but is stopped by the security guards at the entrance. Just before tying the knot, Sandhya cancels the wedding saying that she wanted to teach Anand a lesson by cancelling the wedding at the last moment. Sandhya walks out from the wedding hall and meets Viswanath and praises him as a great human being in front of everyone. She also informs everyone that she loves Viswanath and they get married. After a few years, it is shown that Viswanath becomes a famous singer and gets interviewed by Kaveri, embarrassed, in a TV interview. Viswanath and Sandhya live happily together. Soundtrack. The film score and the soundtrack were composed by film composer Sirpy. The soundtrack, released in 1993, features 11 tracks with lyrics written by Pulamaipithan, Piraisoodan, Pazhani Bharathi and Vikraman. Critical reception. "New Indian Express" wrote "Vikraman tried to infuse some freshness in the screenplay and treatment but has succeeded only partly."

television meeting

350-2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=29434819

Corruption in Pakistan is widespread, and extends to every sector from government to judiciary, police, health services and education. The problems are long-standing, and despite ongoing calls for reform, and many attempts to improve the situation, there is little evidence of progress. Brief history. The Dominion of Pakistan was created as a result of the Pakistan Movement in 1947. Upon gaining independence, Pakistan inherited a strong bureaucracy and army from the British Raj. There has since been no major change in this bureaucratic set up since it was first implemented by British, albeit reforms were proposed by the Musharraf regime in 2007. This has led many to speculate that "corruption has seeped into the higher echelons of bureaucracy" where "corruption cases are [mostly] reported against irregular and ex-cadre appointments". It was by the late 1960s that the bureaucracy started being portrayed as an "instrument of oppression". In multiple reports published by the World Bank, the Pakistani bureaucracy was seen as being rife with corruption, inefficient and bloated in size with an absence of accountability and resistant to change. Bureaucracy and secession of East Pakistan: 1954–1971. The bureaucratic influence was strong in the western provinces of Pakistan while the eastern province retained a majority of the population. On 22 November 1954, bureaucratic administrators moved a resolution to merge the four western provinces into a single unit called West Pakistan. This led to public outcry in East Pakistan who felt that they were being misrepresented and systematically marginalised by the land-owning Punjabi Muslim elites who enjoyed higher bureaucratic positions at the time. This led to the secession of East Pakistan into the separate nation state of Bangladesh and lay witness to the corrupt malpractices of the Punjabi elite in West Pakistan. Punjabis argued that East Pakistan's majority was a consequence of the high percentage of Bengali Hindus in the province who were not involved in the state's decision-making processes. Thus, the Punjabi landowners remained largely unrepentant of their desires to "[secure] their own hegemony" leading to the loss of the eastern province in 1971. Nationalisation politicises economic planning: 1973–1977. After Zulfikar Ali Bhutto came into power in 1973, he introduced a planned economic system to revitalise the stagnant economy. This led to the introduction of the nationalisation programme bringing entire private industrial corporations under the government ownership. In 1974, Bhutto cancelled the fourth five-year plans bypassing the recommendations of the Planning Commission, focusing entirely on broadening government control over private business enterprises. In doing so, Bhutto's government began the politicisation of economic planning. Political interference opened doors for corrupt political practices to seep into the nation's economic planning processes. The nationalisation programme badly affected the reputation of the Pakistan Peoples Party. Accumulated losses of up to Rs 254 million were reported with several instances of over-staffing and inefficient productivity in heavy mechanical industries. By 1976, the state had been hijacked by group and individuals trying to accumulate wealth by redistributing resources from public enterprises to private individuals. Public enterprises "became a device to extend political patronage to those that the regime favoured, to pay political debts, or to accumulate power". Denationalisation and political favouritism: 1978–1988. Bhutto's nationalisation programme lost its appeal towards the end of his government's term and the demand for denationalisation gained more currency. The successive government of military chief and president Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq released a whitepaper that led to the creation of a commission under Pakistan Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation (PICIC) to reverse earlier nationalisation efforts. Not much was achieved in this regard and only three industries, including future prime minister Nawaz Sharif's conglomerate Ittefaq Group of Industries, were ever denationalised and returned to their owners. Many argue that Sharif was favoured in this process because he was a political protégé of the military dictator at the helm. Unprecedented political corruption: 2008–2013. In 2012, Transparency International (TI) calculated that Pakistan had lost more than Rs 8.5 trillion (US$ 94 billion) in corruption, tax evasion and bad governance in the PPP-led coalition government from 2008 to 2013. However, from 2013 to 2017 while Nawaz Sharif was in power Transparency International indicated a significant drop in corruption as Pakistan improved from a score of 28 to 32 in the TI index, even though serious allegations of corruption were leveled against him during that time. Adil Gillani, an advisor for TI Pakistan observed that if Pakistan checks the menace of corruption and ensures good governance, it would not require a single penny from the outside world. The 2008–2013 PPP-led coalition government is criticised as being the most corrupt in the country's history. The free and powerful local media in Pakistan exposed various cases of corruption during the government's tenure including cases of bribery and corruption in government-owned enterprises like Pakistan International Airlines and Pakistan Railways. On 29 March 2012, a civilian resident of Johar Town Lahore, Tariq Ahmed, filed a court petition in the Lahore High Court, seeking to hear the case of disqualification of prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani. The plea was filed in the High Court in which the petitioner took the stance that "Fauzia Gillani— spouse of prime minister Gillani received loans of millions of rupees from the Agriculture Development Bank Ltd (ADB) and the National Bank of Pakistan for the two mega-corporations owned by the Gillani family of which Fauzia Gillani served both megacorporations as executive director. None of the loans of millions of rupees were paid back to the banks. When the disqualification petition was put to rest by the ruling of the Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza citing that the petition did not hold ground, Gillani was convicted on the charges of Contempt of Court. Gillani became Pakistan's first prime minister to be convicted while holding office and was later sentenced and disqualified. Gillani is prudently criticised for a prolonged era of stagflation, in which fundamental economic problems were ignored, government was mismanaged and corruption was endemic. Anti-corruption efforts. Prevention of Corruption Acts: 1947, 1950 and 1958. The "Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947" implemented in the Dominion of Pakistan was enacted to make effective provisions for the prevention of bribery and corruption of public servants, particularly in the bureaucratic administration. The autonomous Princely State of Bahawalpur adopted its own version of the act, namely the "Bahawalpur Prevention of Corruption Act, 1950". In 1955, an accord was signed between Nawab Sadeq Mohammad Khan V and Lt Gen Ghulam Muhammad Malik which made the state of Bahawalpur a part of the province of West Pakistan. This geopolitical change meant that the original act needed amendments to include Bahawalpur and other regions which were originally left out of the act. Subsequently, in October 1958, an ordinance was passed to extend the act to the whole of the province of West Pakistan – this is known as the "Prevention of Corruption Act (West Pakistan Extension) Ordinance, 1958". This ordinance extended the scope of the original to the districts of Karat, Kharan, Makran and Lasbela and also repealed the "Bahawalpur Prevention of Corruption Act, 1950". National Accountability Bureau Ordinance, 1999. On 16 November 1999, "Ordinance XIX" was passed which later came to be known as the "National Accountability Bureau Ordinance". It called for the establishment of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as an autonomous federal institution building efforts to combat cases of corruption, financial crimes and economic terrorism in Pakistan. According to the ordinance, NAB was granted authority to launch investigations,conduct inquiries, and issue arrest warrants against individuals suspected in financial mismanagement, terrorism, corruption in private, state, defence and corporate sectors), and direct such cases to accountability courts. Individuals convicted under the "National Accountability Bureau Ordinance" are prohibited from holding political office for ten years. Provincial legislation against corruption. The provincial governments of Pakistan are responsible for legislations in their respective provinces and since 2013, there has been several legislative efforts against corruption, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. Following is a list of recent anti-corruption legislations: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa anti-corruption legislations. The "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Bill" was passed in the provincial assembly on 31 October 2013. It was enacted throughout the province by the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 4 November 2013 as the "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act, 2013". The legislation makes way for provisions that add transparency to the various functions and departments of the government. It gives the citizens of the province the right to access any information or record held by a public body, except for the information that is sensitive to the security of the state. Role of mainstream and social media. Mainstream media. Before 2002, the electronic media was entirely dominated by state-owned institutions like Pakistan Television Corporation and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation. This monopoly was thwarted, when the Musharraf regime regulated the electronic media allowing for private television channels to be operated independently. Since the liberalisation of the electronic media in 2002, it has served as a major force in exposing corruption-related cases and scams. Following are a few of the major corruption scams and scandals reported and exposed in the mainstream Pakistani media: Social media. In the wake of 2013 elections, massive electoral rigging was alleged through first-hand accounts of several members of the public via social networking websites. Specialised websites were set up to publish and archive material exposing corrupt malpractices throughout the many polling stations serving several constituencies, e.g., dhandli.com. Several leaked videos of persons supposed to be caught in the act of rigging the polls went viral and caught the eye of the mainstream media becoming topics of discussion in days to follow. However, a judicial probe found these allegations to be unsubstantiated. Even before the elections, social media served as an effective tool to hold the nation's to-be-leaders "accountable" for various issues like corruption and education. Citizen journalism is emerging as a growing phenomenon and social media is being touted in Pakistan as an important tool that can be used to strengthen democracy. Adding to the mix, several prominent politicians have moved to the likes of Twitter to gather support and get prospective voters on board and analysts think that this can lead to a better and direct accountability of political leaders. Social media has also proved effective in identifying corruption in mainstream media, particularly in the case of the mediagate scandal. A lot of positives can be derived from social media and its effects on Pakistan. But it is not without its problems. Lack of legislation and implementation of defamation laws has allowed propaganda against certain people particularly politicians to go unchecked. How to prevent such elements in social media without infringing on freedom of expression should be a topic of debate for legislators in the future. Corruption by sector. Judiciary. In 2002, in a report titled "Nature and Extent of Corruption in the Public Sector", Transparency International (TI) Pakistan reported that the highest amounts of bribery were spent on people affiliated with the judiciary. Later in 2010, TI Pakistan presented a breakdown of the various actors in the judicial system involved in corruption. A majority of the participants reported that they, or someone in their household, has been subjected to an act of corruption while interacting with someone from the judiciary. When asked of the actors involved, 33.62% people said court employees, 23.73% said public prosecutors, 14.12% said witnesses, 12.43% said judges, 8.19% said opponent lawyer, 4.52% said magistrates while 3.39% mentioned others. In a 2011 survey, TI Pakistan identified judiciary as the most corrupt institution in Pakistan alongside police. Nevertheless, with the proceedings of some high-impact corruption cases against government officials, including the prime minister, the Supreme Court demonstrated its positive role in tackling corruption. Where the apex court was being hailed for its anti-corruption efforts in 2013, Mehmoodul Hassan, a member of the Sindh Bar Council, alleged that nepotism and corruption were still "rampant" in the lower judiciary, particularly high courts and the lower courts, where people were unlawfully promoted within the judiciary. Education. In the 2010, TI Pakistan reported that about 23.7% of those surveyed received admission in educational institutions through non-normal and alternate procedures. One of the biggest problems identified in the country is the presence of a non-uniform educational system. The private sector actively encourages western educational models such as the General Certificate of Secondary Education using this to justify unaffordable fees they charge ordinary citizens. Finding gain in such enterprises, the elite class amongst politicians, technocrats, bureaucrats and businessmen usually capitalise in this venture. These attitudes can also explain the deteriorating standards in the public sector educational institutes. On the other hand, state-owned public schools face several challenges including poor management and governance, and incompetence of consecutive governments in the education sector. Further factors for failing standards in state-run institutions include lack of funding, non-utilisation by elite classes, appointments of under-qualified faculty. For a brief time during the regime of Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan received unprecedented investments in its higher-education sector – this funding faltered with the arrival of Zardari's government after 2008. In 2011, Dr Syed Abdul Aziz, director of Hamdard Institute of Education and Social Sciences declared education as one of the most corrupt sectors in Pakistan. According to 2013 findings by Transparency International, factor that contribute to this corrupt culture in the sector include embezzlement of development funds allocated by the government, thousands of "ghost schools" that appear only on paper, bribes taken to sell confidential material to candidates, poor or under-utilisation of funds and an inertia to change on the behalf of the education ministry. Health care. In 2010, 42% of surveyed individuals reported gaining access to hospital services by a method other than standard admission, and 48% reported either having to pay additional costs for essential services or being forced to utilize the services of a designated affiliate. Of the respondents who were asked to identify which parties orchestrated the corrupt acts, 61% reported hospital staff, 25% reported doctors, and 13% reported nurses. Police and law enforcement. Corruption is found to be commonplace in the lower levels of police. Police was observed as the most corrupt sector in a 2013 survey by Transparency International (TI). This situation has persisted since the graft watchdog's July 2010 survey, in which it was noted that the major cause for corruption in this sector was due to a lack of accountability and merit, and low salaries. Payment of bribes in order to escape and avoid charges was also commonplace; 31% of 4,224 respondents reported paying bribes to the police. Citizen journalists upload instances of police officials taking bribes on social networking and video sharing websites like YouTube. Ordinary citizens face challenges in reporting instances of corruption they encounter with the police. In 2005, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz ordered an investigation into claims by a 23-year-old woman who alleged that, in retaliation for attempting to reveal police corruption, police falsely detained her for fifteen days and raped her. Public utilities. As of 2002, 96% of surveyed individuals reported corruption issues with electrical utility officials during the past year. The most common types of corruption were billing related. Some consumers admitted to illegally reducing their utility bills, while others reported being harassed with inflated bills intended to solicit bribes. Out of the pool of corruption-affirmative respondents, 71% reported that money was "demanded directly by the actor". Sports corruption. In August 2010, reporters from "News of the World" orchestrated a sting operation which was able to identify three Pakistani cricket players – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – and a bookmaker Mazhar Majeed of being complicit in a row over spot-fixing in the fourth England-Pakistan test match at Lord's. The cricketers each received 30 months, one year and six months jail term respectively while the bookmaker received two years and eight months jail term in a verdict issued by the Southwark Crown Court on November 3, 2011. Following these events, on 15 November 2011, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Zaka Ashraf established an anti-corruption unit to prevent players from becoming involved in illegal betting practices. Taxation. According to the 2002 study, 99% of 256 respondents reported facing corruption of taxation. Furthermore, 32% of respondents reported paying bribes to have their tax assessment lowered, and nearly 14% reported receiving fictitious tax assessments until a bribe was paid.

collect and preserve information

8885-1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=11562996

Positive train control (PTC) is a system of functional requirements for monitoring and controlling train movements and is a type of train protection system. The term stems from control engineering. The train is only allowed to move in case of "positive" movement allowance. It generally improves the safety of railway traffic. Train protection systems are used to control traffic movement by technical means. They are especially needed in cases of high speed transportation, dense traffic with short succession of trains and mixed type traffic at widely differing speeds. Train protection systems were in practical testing at least since the beginning of the 1930s in Europe. Stopping a running train is the main goal of any "train protection system". This is most easily done with a stop order, and without a special order the vehicle is allowed to run. A typical representative for this "negative train control" is Indusi. In contrast to this 'easy moving', a PTC restricts the train movement to an explicit allowance; movement is halted upon invalidation. The main concept of PTC (as defined for North American freight railroads) is that the train receives information about its location and where it is allowed to safely travel, also known as movement authorities. Equipment on board the train then enforces this, preventing unsafe movement. PTC systems may work in either dark territory or signaled territory, and may use GPS navigation to track train movements. Various other benefits are sometimes associated with PTC such as increased fuel efficiency or locomotive diagnostics; these are benefits that can be achieved by having a wireless data system to transmit the information, whether it be for PTC or other applications. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has listed among its goals, "To deploy the Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System (NDGPS) as a nationwide, uniform, and continuous positioning system, suitable for train control." The U.S. freight rail industry had said that at the end of 2018, the nation's largest freight railroads were operating PTC across 83.2 percent of the required route miles. The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) describes Positive Train Control as having these primary characteristics: History. Background. With a decline in railway transit in the US after World War II, there was also less impetus for investment in train security. Near the end of the 1980s, a search for solutions re-emerged along with an inventory of technical possibilities. Starting in 1990 the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the US counted PTC (then known as positive train separation) among its "Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements." At the time, the vast majority of rail lines in US relied on the human crew for complying with all safety rules, and a significant fraction of accidents were attributable to human error, as evidenced in several years of official reports from the FRA. In September 2008, the US Congress considered a new rail safety law that set a deadline of December 15, 2015, for implementation of PTC technology across most of the US rail network. The bill, ushered through the legislative process by the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was developed in response to the collision of a Metrolink passenger train and a Union Pacific freight train September 12, 2008, in California, which resulted in the deaths of 25 and injuries to more than 135 passengers. As the bill neared final passage by Congress, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) issued a statement in support of the bill. President George W. Bush signed the 315-page Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 into law on October 16, 2008. Provisions of the law. Among its provisions, the law provides funding to help pay for the development of PTC technology, limits the number of hours freight rail crews can work each month, and requires the Department of Transportation to determine work hour limits for passenger train crews. Implementation. To implement the law, the FRA published final regulations for PTC systems on January 15, 2010. The agency proposed amendments to its rules on December 11, 2012. In December 2010, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that Amtrak and the major railroads have taken steps to install PTC systems under the law, but commuter rail operators were not on track for the 2015 deadline. As of June 2015, only seven commuter systems (29 percent of those represented by APTA) were expecting to make the deadline. Several factors have delayed implementation, including the need to obtain funding (which was not provided by Congress); the time it has taken to design, test, make interoperable, and manufacture the technology; and the need to obtain radio spectrum along the entire rail network, which involves FCC permission and in some cases negotiating with an existing owner for purchase or lease. The Metrolink commuter rail system in Southern California is planning to be the first US passenger carrier to install the technology on its entire system. After some delays, demonstration PTC in revenue service began in February 2014; the system is expected to be completed in late summer 2015. In the Chicago metropolitan area, the Metra system expected it will not be fully compliant with the PTC mandate until 2019. In October 2015 Congress passed a bill extending the compliance deadline by three years, to December 31, 2018. President Barack Obama signed the bill on October 29, 2015. Only four railroads met the December 2018 deadline; the other 37 got extensions to December 2020, which was allowed under the law for railroads that demonstrated implementation progress. Criticism. There is some controversy as to whether PTC makes sense in the form mandated by Congress. Not only is the cost of nationwide PTC installation expected to be as much as , most all of it borne by U.S. freight railroads, there are questions as to the reliability and maturity of the technology for all forms of mainline freight trains and high density environments. The PTC requirement could also impose startup barriers to new passenger rail or freight services that would trigger millions of dollars in additional PTC costs. The unfunded mandate also ties the hands of the FRA to adopt a more nuanced or flexible approach to the adoption of PTC technology where it makes the most sense or where it is technically most feasible. While the FRA Rail Safety Advisory Committee identified several thousand "PPAs" (PTC preventable accidents) on US railroads over a 12-year period, cost analysis determined that the accumulated savings to be realized from all of the accidents was not sufficient to cover the cost of PTC across the railroads. Therefore, PTC was not economically justified at that time. The FRA concurred with this cost assessment in its 2009 PTC rulemaking document. The reason behind the lack of economic justification is that the majority of accidents are minor and FRA crash worthiness standards help mitigate the potential loss of life or release of hazardous chemicals. For example, in the 20 years between 1987 and 2007, there were only two PTC-preventable accidents with major loss of life in the United States (16 deaths in the Chase, Maryland wreck (1987) and 11 in the Silver Spring, Maryland wreck (1996)), and in each case, the causes of the accidents were addressed through changes to operating rules. The cost of implementing PTC on up to 25 commuter rail services in the United States has been estimated at over $2 billion and because of these costs, several services are having to cancel or reduce repairs, capital improvements, and service. Other services simply do not have the funds available for PTC and have deferred action assuming some change from Congress. Railroads that operate lines equipped with cab signalling and existing Automatic Train Control systems have argued that their proven track record of safety, which goes back decades, is being discounted because ATC is not as aggressive as PTC in all cases. Basic operation. A typical PTC system involves two basic components: Optionally, three additional components may exist: PTC infrastructure. There are two main PTC implementation methods currently being developed. The first makes use of fixed signaling infrastructure such as coded track circuits and wireless transponders to communicate with the onboard speed control unit. The other makes use of wireless data radios spread out along the line to transmit the dynamic information. The wireless implementation also allows for the train to transmit its location to the signaling system which could enable the use of moving or "virtual" blocks. The wireless implementation is generally cheaper in terms of equipment costs, but is considered to be much less reliable than using "harder" communications channels. For example, the wireless ITCS system on Amtrak's Michigan Line was still not functioning reliably in 2007 after 13 years of development, while the fixed ACSES system has been in daily service on the Northeast Corridor since 2002 ("see" Amtrak, below). The fixed infrastructure method is proving popular on high-density passenger lines where pulse code cab signaling has already been installed. In some cases, the lack of a reliance on wireless communications is being touted as a benefit. The wireless method has proven most successful on low density, unsignaled dark territory normally controlled via track warrants, where speeds are already low and interruptions in the wireless connection to the train do not tend to compromise safety or train operations. Some systems, like Amtrak's ACSES, operate with a hybrid technology that uses wireless links to update temporary speed restrictions or pass certain signals, with neither of these systems being critical for train operations. Locomotive speed control unit. The equipment on board the locomotive must continually calculate the train's current speed relative to a speed target some distance away governed by a braking curve. If the train risks not being able to slow to the speed target given the braking curve, the brakes are automatically applied and the train is immediately slowed. The speed targets are updated by information regarding fixed and dynamic speed limits determined by the track profile and signaling system. Most current PTC implementations also use the speed control unit to store a database of track profiles attached to some sort of navigation system. The unit keeps track of the train's position along the rail line and automatically enforces any speed restrictions as well as the maximum authorized speed. Temporary speed restrictions can be updated before the train departs its terminal or via wireless data links. The track data can also be used to calculate braking curves based on the grade profile. The navigation system can use fixed track beacons or differential GPS stations combined with wheel rotation to accurately determine the train's location on the line within a few feet. Centralized control. While some PTC systems interface directly with the existing signal system, others may maintain a set of vital computer systems at a central location that can keep track of trains and issue movement authorities to them directly via a wireless data network. This is often considered to be a form of Communications Based Train Control and is not a necessary part of PTC. Trackside device interface. The train may be able to detect the status of (and sometimes control) wayside devices, for example switch positions. This information is sent to the control center to further define the train's safe movements. Text messages and alarm conditions may also be automatically and manually exchanged between the train and the control center. Another capability would allow the employee-in-charge (EIC) to give trains permission to pass through their work zones via a wireless device instead of verbal communications. Technical limitations. Even where safety systems such as cab signaling have been present for many decades, the freight railroad industry has been reluctant to fit speed control devices because the often heavy-handed nature of such devices can have an adverse effect on otherwise safe train operation. The advanced processor-based speed control algorithms found in PTC systems claim to be able to properly regulate the speed of freight trains over in length and weighing over , but concerns remain about taking the final decision out of the hands of skilled railroad engineers. Improper use of the air brake can lead to a train running away, derailment or to an unexpected separation. Furthermore, an overly conservative PTC system runs the risk of slowing trains below the level at which they had previously been safely operated by human engineers. Railway speeds are calculated with a safety factor such that slight excesses in speed will not result in an accident. If a PTC system applies its own safety margin, then the end result will be an inefficient double safety factor. Moreover, a PTC system might be unable to account for variations in weather conditions or train handling, and might have to assume a worst-case scenario, further decreasing performance. In its 2009 regulatory filing, the FRA stated that PTC was in fact likely to decrease the capacity of freight railroads on many main lines. The European LOCOPROL/LOCOLOC project had shown that EGNOS-enhanced satellite navigation alone was unable to meet the SIL4 safety integrity required for train signaling. From a purely technical standpoint, PTC will not prevent certain low-speed collisions caused by permissive block operation, accidents caused by "shoving" (reversing with inadequate observation), derailments caused by track or train defect, grade crossing collisions, or collisions with previously derailed trains. Where PTC is installed in the absence of track circuit blocks, it will not detect broken rails, flooded tracks, or dangerous debris fouling the line. Wireless implementations. Radio spectrum availability. The wireless infrastructure planned for use by all US freights, most small freight railroads, and many commuter railroads is based on data radios operating in a single frequency band near . A consortium created by two freight railroads called PTC 220 LLC has purchased significant spectrum around , from previous licensees for use in deploying PTC. Some of this spectrum is in the form of nationwide licenses and some is not. The consortium plans to make this spectrum available for use by the US freights, but has indicated as recently as 2011 that they are unsure if they have enough spectrum to meet their needs. Several commuter railroads have begun purchasing spectrum in their geographic areas, but there is widespread concern that the acquisition of enough spectrum may be difficult to accomplish because of a lack of availability, difficulties in negotiating complex multi-party deals to gain enough adjacent spectrum, and because the financial cost of the acquisitions may make the task impossible for some state agencies. However, research suggests that dynamic spectrum allocation can solve the spectrum allocation problem at 220 MHz bandwidth. Many of the railroads have requested that the FCC reallocate parts of the spectrum to them. They argue that they must have spectrum to be interoperable with each other. The FCC has stated that there is no reallocation forthcoming, that the railroads are not justified in requesting spectrum reallocation because they have not quantified how much spectrum they need, and that the railroads should seek spectrum in the secondary markets or in other bands. Radio band. There are no regulatory or technical requirements that demand that be used to implement PTC (if a PTC implementation is to use wireless components at all). If wireless data transmission is necessary, there are a few advantages to the spectrum, provided it can be acquired at a reasonable cost. The first reason to consider using spectrum is PTC interoperability for freights and for some, but not all, commuter rail operations. Freight operations in the US often include the sharing of railroad tracks where one railroad's rail vehicles operate as a guest on another railroad's host tracks. Implementing PTC in such an environment is most easily achieved by using the same PTC equipment, and this includes radios and the associated radio spectrum. When a commuter railroad operation must operate on a freight railroad territory, the commuter will most likely be required to install PTC equipment (including a radio) on their rail vehicle that is compliant with the freight railroad's PTC system, and this generally means the use of radios and spectrum. If the commuter uses the same PTC equipment, radios, and spectrum on their own property, they will be able to use it when their vehicles travel onto a freight's territory. From a practical standpoint, if the commuter instead elects to use another type of PTC on their own property, they will need to install a second set of onboard equipment so they can operate PTC on their own property while also operating PTC on a freight's property. If a multi-band radio (such as the current generation software defined radios) is not available, then separate radios and separate antennas will be necessary. With the complexity of track geometries, PTC requires a variable amount of the spectrum in a time critical manner. One way to achieve this is to extend the PTC software defined radios, such that it has the intelligence to allocate the spectrum dynamically. Adding the intelligence to the radio also helps to improve the security of the PTC communication medium. If a small freight or commuter railroad does not operate on another railroad territory, then there is no interoperability-based reason that obligates them to use spectrum to implement PTC. In addition, if a small freight or commuter railroad only operates on their own territory and hosts other guest railroads (freight or other passenger rail), there is still no interoperability-based reason the host is obliged to use spectrum to implement PTC. Such a railroad could implement PTC by freely picking any radio spectrum and requiring the guest railroads to either install compliant PTC equipment (including radios) on board their trains or provide wayside equipment for their guest PTC implementation to be installed on the host railroad property. An interesting case that highlights some of these issues is the northeast corridor. Amtrak operates services on two commuter rail properties it does not own: Metro-North Railroad (owned by New York and Connecticut) and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) (owned by Massachusetts). In theory, Amtrak could have found themselves installing their own PTC system on these host properties (about 15 percent of the corridor), or worse, found themselves in the ridiculous position of trying to install three different PTC systems on each Amtrak train to traverse the commuter properties. This was not the case. Amtrak had a significant head start over the commuter rail agencies on the corridor in implementing PTC. They spent a considerable amount of time in research and development and won early approvals for their ACSES system on the northeast corridor with the FRA. They chose first to use and then later moved to , in part because of a perceived improvement in radio-system performance and in part because Amtrak was using in Michigan for their ITCS implementation. When the commuter agencies on the corridor looked at options for implementing PTC, many of them chose to take advantage of the advance work Amtrak had done and implement the ACSES solution using . Amtrak's early work paid off and meant that they would be traversing commuter properties that installed the same protocol at the same frequency, making them all interoperable. (Actually most of the Northeast Corridor is owned and operated by Amtrak, not the commuter properties, including the tracks from Washington, D.C. to New York Penn Station and the tracks from Philadelphia to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The State of Massachusetts owns the tracks from the Rhode Island state line to the New Hampshire state line, but Amtrak "operates" these lines. Only the line between New York City and New Haven, Connecticut is actually owned and operated by a commuter line.) One other perceived reason to consider for PTC may be PTC-compatible radio equipment availability. Radio equipment specifically targeted toward PTC is currently only available from a limited number of vendors, and they are focused only on . One radio vendor in particular, Meteorcomm LLC, is able to support the I-ETMS PTC protocol with a radio. Meteorcomm is jointly owned by several of the freights, and some in the industry have indicated that using their radio and associated equipment will be done on a per-site licensing basis. Recurring fees may be associated with this process too. There is further concern that the 'buy in' and licensing fees will be significant, and this has led some to speculate that the owners of Meteorcomm (the freights) may have legal exposure to anti-trust violations. For many railroads, there is no other practical option to meet the federal mandate than to install PTC at using I-ETMS with the Meteorcomm radios. On the northeast corridor, another radio vendor, GE MDS, is able to support the Amtrak ACSES protocol with a radio. It should be stressed that the main concern among the freights regarding the PTC deadline is the availability of PTC equipment. With an eye to anti-trust issues and ready radio availability, Meteorcomm radio designs have been second-sourced to CalAmp radios. This all may mean that there is not enough PTC radio equipment available for all of the railroads that must implement PTC. There are also issues with the use of these frequencies outside the US; in Canada, remains part of the radioamateur 1.25-metre band. Other bands besides will support PTC, and have been used to win approvals from the FRA for PTC. When Amtrak received their initial approval, they planned to use frequencies for ACSES. BNSF Railway won its first PTC approvals from the FRA for an early version of ETMS using a multi-band radio that included frequencies, frequencies, frequencies and WiFi. A small freight or commuter that selects one or more of these bands or another one such as might find it easier to acquire spectrum. They will need to research spectrum issues, radio equipment, antennas, and protocol compatibility issues to successfully deploy PTC. Interoperability requirements. There is no single defined standard for "interoperable PTC systems". Several examples of interoperable systems illustrate this point. First, the UP and BNSF are interoperable across their systems. They are both implementing I-ETMS and will use different radio frequencies in different locations. In the second example, Amtrak is interoperable with Norfolk Southern in Michigan. Amtrak uses ITCS, while Norfolk Southern uses I-ETMS. To interoperate, two radios are installed in each wayside location and they both interface with a common PTC system through an interface device (similar to a network gateway or protocol converter) at each wayside location. One radio talks to freight trains using I-ETMS and one radio talks to passenger trains using ITCS. In this case interoperability stops at the wayside and does not include the wireless segment out to the rail vehicles or the onboard systems. In the third example, similar to the first, Metrolink, the commuter rail agency in Los Angeles, is implementing I-ETMS and will use the same PTC equipment as both the UP and BNSF. Metrolink is procuring their own spectrum so that trains on Metrolink territory (commuter and freight) will use other channels than those used by the UP and BNSF. Interoperability is achieved by directing the onboard radio to change channels depending on location. For SEPTA, the commuter operation in and around Philadelphia, Ansaldo is implementing ACSES, the Amtrak northeast corridor PTC protocol. For CSX all the ACSES PTC transactions will be handed to CSX at the SEPTA back office, and CSX will be responsible for deploying I-ETMS infrastructure that they will use to communicate with their freight trains. The SEPTA interoperability model is very similar to that of the public safety radio community wherein different radio systems that use different frequencies and protocols are cross-connected only in the back office to support system to system communications. Multi-band solutions. For the major freight railroads and Amtrak the answer seems to be that one frequency band is sufficient. These rail operations measure on-time performance on a much more coarse scale than commuters do so their tolerance for delay is greater and has less impact on train schedules. In addition, the PTC implementations deployed by commuter operations will be running much closer to the performance envelope than that of either Amtrak or the freights. For commuters in particular there is therefore some concern that implementing PTC with a single frequency band may not be sufficient. The single frequency-band approach to supporting real-time train control has a history of being difficult to use for such applications. This difficulty is not unique to train control. Interference, both man-made and natural, can at times affect the operation of any wireless system that relies on one frequency band. When such wireless systems are employed for real-time control networks it is very difficult to ensure that network performance will not sometimes be impacted. CSX encountered this problem when it experienced propagation ducting problems in its Advanced Train Control System (ATCS) network in the 1990s. The ATCS protocol, which the AAR had recommended the FCC consider as PTC in 2000 (when AAR sought a nationwide "ribbon" license), can support train control operation at both and . The latter frequency band is only used for ATCS on a few subdivisions and shortlines. More recently, the industry had been moving toward a more robust multi-band radio solution for data applications such as PTC. In 2007, BNSF first won FRA approval for their original ETMS PTC system using a multi frequency-band radio. In addition, in mid-2008, an FRA sponsored effort by the AAR to develop a Higher Performance Data Radio (HPDR) for use at actually resulted in a contract being awarded to Meteorcomm for a 4-band radio to be used for voice and data. These more recent multi-band radio efforts were shelved in late 2008, after the Rail Safety Improvements Act became law, and the freights decided to pursue PTC using alone, in a single frequency-band configuration. Amtrak and most commuter operations quickly followed suit, selecting . Suitability of wireless PTC for commuter rail. Soon after the Rail Safety Improvements Act was passed, many commuter railroads chose not to develop their own PTC protocol and instead decided to save time and money by using a protocol developed for either freight or long haul passenger (Amtrak) operations. Deploying such a protocol for urban commuter operation, where it will be necessary to support numerous, small, fast-moving trains, will be a challenge. It remains to be seen whether the performance envelope of PTC protocols developed and optimized for less numerous, slower and/or larger trains can support a more complex operational scenario, such as that of a commuter rail operation, without impacting on-time performance. Detailed and exhaustive protocol simulation testing can ease the risk of problems, however, there are too many variables, especially when the wireless component is considered, to guarantee beforehand that under certain worst-case operational profiles in certain locations, train operations will not be impacted. In fact, during system acceptance testing, such worst-case operational profiles may not even be tested because of the effort involved. One need only consider what it would take to identify the PTC protocol train capacity limitations at each interlocking of a large commuter rail operation when a train is broken down at the interlocking and 10–20 other trains are within communications range of a single wayside location. Such a what-if scenario may be tested at a few interlockings but not at the 30 or more interlockings on a large commuter property. Open standards. A large group of industry experts from the federal government, manufacturers, railroads, and consultants are participating in a study group sponsored by the IEEE 802.15 working group, to look at using lessons learned in protocol development in the IEEE 802 suite to propose a comprehensive solution to the wireless component of PTC. While this effort may not significantly change the current United States PTC efforts already underway, an open standard could possibly provide a way forward for all of the railroads to eventually deploy a more interoperable, robust, reliable, future-proof, and scalable solution for the wireless component of PTC. Upgrade costs. The railroad industry, like the process industry and the power utility industry, has always demanded that the return on investment for large capital investments associated with infrastructure improvements be fully realized before the asset is decommissioned and replaced. This paradigm will be applied to PTC as well. It is highly unlikely that there will be any major upgrades to initial PTC deployments within even the first 10 years. The calculation for return on investment is not a simple one and some railroads may determine, for instance after five years, that an upgrade of certain components of PTC may be justified. An example could be the radio component of PTC. If an open standard creates a less expensive radio product that is backwards compatible to existing systems and that perhaps improves PTC system performance and also includes improvements that save on operational costs, then a railroad would be prudent to consider a plan for replacing their PTC radios. Deployment. Various types of Collision Avoidance Systems have been implemented across the globe. Most if not all of these operate differently from PTC in North America, as described above. Brazil. In Brazil, and ALL deployed a technology based on an onboard computer that uses satellite communication (Autotrac or Iridium satellite constellation), GPS positioning system and, when possible, GPRS or Radio communication. The control center sends licenses to the train and its computer supervises the train avoiding it to overspeed or to occupy an unauthorized block. It is simple and effective. Also is a relatively cheap solution since it doesn't need any signaling system implemented on the railway. Europe (ETCS). Forms of Train Protection System, such as the Great Western Railway ATC system, have been operational in Europe for over one hundred years. Since 1930 in Germany was introduced InDuSI for Automatic Train Protection (ATP), but it is not "positive" in control sense. The Automatic Warning System (AWS) was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1956, and the rail network is being upgraded with Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS). Some of the first systems implementing full ATP functionality were designed for the dedicated high speed rail lines such as the French TVM, German LZB and Italian SCMT. Continuing with the success of ATP systems, Europe is today transitioning to one ATP standard, the European Train Control System (ETCS). It is well evolved as a result of many years of European ATP experience and development. Although a major driver for the implementation of ETCS is European interoperability, many non-European countries such as Australia, China, Israel, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and even US are introducing ETCS or very similar systems as the ATP system of choice. ETCS is together with GSM-R one of the foundations of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). It is a comprehensive standard for in-cab train control. GSM-R is the bundled mobile communications standard for railway operations according to the standard. Some deployments are using other communication components like TETRA. The equipment consists of on-board and infrastructure equipment. In an early cost sensitive application the variant ERTMS Regional has been developed by Banverket and the UIC. Meanwhile, this development was caught up in new baseline revision 3 as part of ETCS Level 3. The ITARUS-ATC is a hybrid of the Russian KLUB-U in-cab signalling and the Italian ETCS Level 2 GSM-R block control and in accreditation process by UIC. The system authority for ERTMS is the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA). India. Indian Railways started working on the selection of a train control system in the late '90s. They installed ETCS Level 2 in a test section between Palwal and Mathura on the Delhi–Mumbai trunk route which is already equipped with multi-aspect color light automatic signals and is electrified with 25 kV AC 50 Hz system that is standard in India. Since then other sections have been equipped with ETCS L2, including the expansion of the original test section to cover all of Delhi to Agra. The first commercial service scheduled for 160 km/h maximum speed on the Delhi to Agra segment named Gatimaan Express using the ETCS L2 system started operation in 2016. Mozambique. Starting in 2013, the first PTC system in Africa began to be installed. Siemens' Trainguard Sentinel PTC system, Westrace interlockings, and Tetra radios are provided on the Nacala Corridor in Mozambique. The work was planned for completion in 2015; as of 2016, it was not yet completed, although it did receive $300 million from the African Development Bank to complete the project. Russia. The Russian KLUB-U train control system is similar to Positive Train Control for its integration of GLONASS satellite-based train location, electronic track map distribution and digital radio (GSM-R or TETRA) usage for track-releases as well as remote initiation of train stops. GE Rail has cooperated with the Russian VNIIAS manufacturer on this system. The KLUB-U system is used widely in the Russian Federation including high-speed rail for the Sapsan. United States. Alaska Railroad (ARRC). Wabtec Corporation is working with the ARRC to develop a collision-avoidance, Vital PTC system, for use on their locomotives. The system is designed to prevent train-to-train collisions, enforce speed limits, and protect roadway workers and equipment. Wabtec's Electronic Train Management System, (ETMS) is also designed to work with the Wabtec TMDS dispatching system to provide train control and dispatching operations from Anchorage. Data between locomotive and dispatcher is transmitted over a digital radio system provided by Meteor Communications Corp (Meteorcomm). An onboard computer alerts workers to approaching restrictions and to stop the train if needed. Amtrak. Alstom's and PHW's Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System (ACSES) system is installed on parts of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston. ACSES enhances the cab signaling systems provided by PHW Inc. It uses passive transponders to enforce permanent civil speed restrictions. The system is designed to prevent train-to-train collisions (PTS), protection against overspeed and protect work crews with temporary speed restrictions. GE Transportation Systems' Incremental Train Control System (ITCS) is installed on Amtrak's Michigan line, allowing trains to travel at . The 2015 Philadelphia train derailment could have been prevented had positive train control been implemented correctly on the section of track that train was travelling. The overspeed warning/penalty commands were not set up on that particular section of track although it was set up elsewhere. Burlington Northern and Santa Fe (BNSF). Wabtec's Electronic Train Management System, (ETMS) is installed on a segment of the BNSF Railway. It is an overlay technology that augments existing train control methods. ETMS uses GPS for positioning and a digital radio system to monitor train location and speed. It is designed to prevent certain types of accidents, including train collisions. The system includes an in-cab display screen that warns of a problem and then automatically stops the train if appropriate action is not taken. CSXT. CSX Transportation is developing a Communications-Based Train Management (CBTM) system to improve the safety of its rail operations. CBTM is the predecessor to ETMS. Kansas City Southern (KCS). Wabtec's Electronic Train Management System, (ETMS) will provide PTC solutions in conjunction with Wabtec's Train Management and Dispatch System (TMDS), which has served as KCS's dispatch solution since 2007, for all U.S. based rail operations along the KCS line. In January 2015, KCS began training personnel on PTC at its TEaM Training Center in Shreveport, La., with an initial class of 160 people. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). Most MBTA Commuter Rail locomotives and cab cars, except for the 1625–1652 series Bombardier control cars and the (now retired) 1000–1017 series F40PH locomotives, are equipped with the PTC compliant ACSES technology which is installed on the Amtrak Northeast Corridor. All MBTA trains traveling on any segment of the Northeast Corridor must be equipped with functioning ACSES onboard apparatus, which affects trains on Providence/Stoughton Line, Franklin Line and Needham Line routings. The MBTA will shut down some lines on weekends in 2017 and 2018 to meet a December 2020 federal deadline for full-system PTC. Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). In November 2013 the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority signed a contract of value up to $428 million to install Positive Train Control on the Long Island Rail Road and the Metro-North Railroad, the two largest commuter railroads in the US, to a consortium of Bombardier Transportation Rail Control Solutions and Siemens Rail Automation. The LIRR and Metro-North installations will include modifications and upgrades of the existing signal systems and the addition of ACSES II equipment. Siemens stated that the PTC installation will be completed by December 2015. However an August 2016 Federal Railroad Administration study concluded Metro-North has done little to implement federally mandated safety technology and made almost no progress on positive train control. New Jersey Transit (NJT). Ansaldo STS USA Inc's Advanced Speed Enforcement System (ASES) is being installed on New Jersey Transit commuter lines. It is coordinated with Alstom's ACSES so that trains can operate on the Northeast Corridor. Norfolk Southern (NS). Norfolk Southern Railway began work on the system in 2008 with Wabtec Railway electronics to start developing a plan implement Positive Train Control on NS rails. NS has already implemented PTC on 6,310 miles of track with plans to achieve it on 8,000 miles of track. NS has requested an extension on the time to have PTC active on its miles of track due to the need to work more on areas with no track signals, as well as making provisions for smaller railroads that the company does business with to be PTC capable. NS keeps experiencing issues with the system and wants to take the proper time to fix the system to ensure the safety of its employees and all others using their tracks. NS has been adding and updating its locomotives with PTC capable computers to allow those locomotives for use on mainlines. 2,900 locomotives out of the almost 4,000 the company has have been fitted with the PTC capable computers. NS plans to put at least 500 locomotives into storage using precision NS has been updating it trackside equipment such as radio towers and control point lighting to assist in PTC operations on the railroad. With the new computers on the locomotives it allows the locomotives to interact with each other and trackside systems. Norfolk Southern's General Electric Transportation locomotives are equipped with GPS to aid in the use of PTC. All of NS's locomotives are equipped with Energy Management a computer system that provides real time data on the locomotive. The system can also control train speed and brake systems on board. The EM system allows the locatives to use less fuel and be more efficient. NS's final goal is completely autonomous operations of their trains. This system will be used alongside Auto-router used to route train movements with little to no human interactions. With these two systems integrated with PTC it allows for more precise movement and train control across the railroad. NS, Union Pacific, CSXT, BNSF, and Virginia Railway Express have been testing interoperation to make sure each companies PTC systems work with each other to ensure safe railroad travel. For this a NS train on CSXT tracks has to act like a CSXT train would or vice versa. That requires the railroads to use the same communications and radio frequencies for everything to operate smoothly. Nearly 3,000 locomotives have been fitted with the PTC capable computers. Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (Caltrain). Caltrain's Communications Based Overlay Signal System (CBOSS) has been installed but not fully tested along the Peninsula Corridor between San Francisco, San Jose and Gilroy, California. Caltrain had selected Parsons Transportation Group (PTG), who had been working on a similar system for Metrolink in Southern California, to implement, install, and test CBOSS in November 2011. In February 2017, Caltrain's board canceled the contract with PTG for failure to meet the scheduled 2015 deadline. PTG and Caltrain would go on to file lawsuits for breach of contract. At its board of directors meeting on March 1, 2018, Caltrain announced that it will be awarding a contract to Wabtec for implementation of I-EMTS. Regional Transportation District (RTD). Positive Train Control (PTC) and vehicle monitoring system technologies have been developed for the Denver Metro Area's new commuter train lines that began opening in 2016. After the University of Colorado A Line opened on April 22, 2016 between Denver Union Station and Denver International Airport, it experienced a series of issues related to having to adjust the length of unpowered gaps between different overhead power sections, direct lightning strikes, snagging wires, and crossing signals behaving unexpectedly. In response to the crossing issues, Denver Transit Partners, the contractor building and operating the A Line, stationed crossing guards at each place where the A line crosses local streets at grade, while it continues to explore software revisions and other fixes to address the underlying issues. The FRA is requiring frequent progress reports, but allowed RTD to open its B Line as originally scheduled on July 25, 2016, because the B Line only has one at-grade crossing along its current route. However, FRA halted testing on the longer G Line to Wheat Ridge – originally scheduled to open in Fall 2016 – until more progress could be shown resolving the A Line crossing issues. G Line testing resumed in January 2018, though the A Line continues to operate under a waiver and no date has been set to open the G Line to passenger service. Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART). Positive train control has been implemented at Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit's 63 crossings for the length of the initial passenger corridor which began regular service on August 25, 2017 after the FRA gave its final approval for SMART's PTC system. SMART uses the E-ATC system for its PTC implementation. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). SEPTA received approval from the FRA on February 28, 2016 to launch PTC on its Regional Rail lines. On April 18, 2016, SEPTA launched PTC on the Warminster Line, the first line to use the system. Over the course of 2016 and into 2017, PTC was rolled out onto different Regional Rail lines. On May 1, 2017, the Paoli/Thorndale Line, Trenton Line, and Wilmington/Newark Line (all of which run on Amtrak tracks) received PTC, the last of the Regional Rail lines to receive the system. Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink). Metrolink, the Southern California commuter rail system involved in the 2008 Chatsworth train collision that provided the impetus for the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, was the first passenger rail system to fully implement positive train control. In October 2010, Metrolink awarded a $120 million contract to PTG to design, procure, and install PTC. PTG designed a PTC system that used GPS technology informing position to on-board train computers, which communicate wirelessly with wayside signals and a central office. Metrolink anticipated placing PTC in revenue service by summer 2013. However, Parsons announced the FRA had authorized Metrolink to operate PTC RSD using Wabtec's I-ETMS in revenue service on the San Bernardino line in March 2015. Metrolink announced PTC had been installed on all owned right-of-way miles by June 2015, and was working to install the system on tracks shared with Amtrak, freight, and other passenger rail partners. Union Pacific (UP). In the 1990s, Union Pacific Railroad (UP) had a partnership project with General Electric to implement a similar system known as "Precision Train Control." This system would have involved moving block operation, which adjusts a "safe zone" around a train based on its speed and location. The similar abbreviations have sometimes caused confusion over the definition of the technology. GE later abandoned the Precision Train Control platform. In 2008, a team of Lockheed Martin, Wabtec, and Ansaldo STS USA Inc installed an ITCS subsystem on a 120-mile segment of UP track between Chicago and St. Louis. Other major software companies, such as PROKARMA, Tech Mahindra, are also some of the strategic IT partners in development of PTC systems. Through December 31, 2017, Union Pacific Installed 99 percent, or more than 17,000 miles, of total route miles with PTC signal hardware. Union Pacific has partially installed PTC hardware on about 98 percent of its 5,515 locomotives earmarked for the same technology and have equipped and commissioned 4,220 locomotives with PTC hardware and software. Union Pacific has also installed 100 percent of the wayside antennas needed to support PTC along the company's right of way. Zambia. In 2014, a consortium of Bombardier Transportation, Huawei and local company GMC Technologies got a contract for delivering of ERTMS Regional on Zambia Railways 980 km Chingola–Livingstone line. Bombardier is supplying its Interflo 550 signalling and train protection technology and Huawei is responsible for GSM-R communication equipment. The backhaul between the GSM-R base stations will be realised with microwave technology.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=6160922

Footprints are the impressions or images left behind by a person walking or running. Hoofprints and pawprints are those left by animals with hooves or paws rather than feet, while "shoeprints" is the specific term for prints made by shoes. They may either be indentations in the ground or something placed onto the surface that was stuck to the bottom of the foot. A "trackway" is set of footprints in soft earth left by a life-form; animal tracks are the footprints, hoofprints, or pawprints of an animal. Footprints can be followed when tracking during a hunt or can provide evidence of activities. Some footprints remain unexplained, with several famous stories from mythology and legend. Others have provided evidence of prehistoric life and behaviours. Footprints in detective work. The print left behind at a crime scene can give vital evidence to the perpetrator of the crime. Shoes have many different prints based on the sole design and the wear that it has received – this can help to identify suspects. Photographs or castings of footprints can be taken to preserve the finding. Analysis of footprints and shoeprints is a specialist part of forensic science. Some detective work is relatively immediate, with criminals being tracked by the footprints they left in the snow leading from the crime scene to their home or hiding place. This is usually reported as a humorous story in news publications. Footprints can also allow the detective to find the approximate height from, footprint and shoeprint. The Foot tends to be approximately 15% of the person's average height. Individualistic characteristics of the footprints like numerous creases, flatfoot character, horizontal and vertical ridges, corns, deformities etc. can help the forensic scientist in cases pertaining to criminal identification. In some forensic cases, the need may also arise to estimate body weight from the size of the footprints. Footprints have been shown to have determine the height and the sex of the individual. Ridge patterns. Friction ridge skin present on the soles of the feet and toes (plantar surfaces) is as unique in its ridge detail as are the fingers and palms (palmar surfaces). When recovered at crime scenes or on items of evidence, sole and toe impressions can be used in the same manner as finger and palm prints to effect identifications. Footprint (toe and sole friction ridge skin) evidence has been admitted in courts in the United States since 1934. The footprints of infants, along with the thumb or index finger prints of mothers, are still commonly recorded in hospitals to assist in verifying the identity of infants. Often, the only identifiable ridge detail that can be seen on a baby's foot is from the large toe or adjacent to the large toe. It is not uncommon for military records of flight personnel to include bare foot inked impressions. Friction ridge skin protected inside flight boots tends to survive the trauma of a plane crash (and accompanying fire) better than fingers. Even though the US Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL), as of 2010, stored refrigerated DNA samples from all active duty and reserve personnel, almost all casualty identifications are effected using fingerprints from military ID card records (live scan fingerprints are recorded at the time such cards are issued). When friction ridge skin is not available from military personnel's remains, DNA and dental records are used to confirm identity. Ancient footprints. Footprints have been preserved as fossils and provide evidence of prehistoric life. Known as "ichnites", these trace fossils can give clues to the behaviour of specific species of dinosaur. The study of such fossils is known as ichnology and the footprints may be given scientific names (ichnospecies). "Grallator" is one example of an ichnogenus based on ichnites. Strictly speaking, an ichnospecies is the name of the trace fossil, not of the animal that made it. For example, an international team's discovery of a set of 1.5 million-year-old human ancestor footprints in Ileret, Kenya has shown the earliest direct evidence of a modern human style of upright walking. The team believe that the prints were probably formed by the species Homo erectus. Footprints in myth and legend. The appearance of footprints, or marks interpreted as footprints, have led to numerous myths and legends. Some locations use such imprints as tourist attractions. Détailed article Petrosomatoglyph Examples of footprints in myth and legend include: Footprints in popular culture. The imagery of footprints has been used in many areas of popular culture. Several poems and songs have been written about them, with the Christian poem "Footprints" being one of the best known. Prints or impressions of a child's feet can be kept as a memento by parents. Usually this is done using paint. The impressions of celebrity's feet, usually in concrete, may be kept in a collection such as that outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

average stature

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=42119537

Government of Telangana is a democratically elected body that governs the State of Telangana, India. The state government is headed by the Governors and Lieutenant-Governors of states of India Governor of Telangana as the nominal head of state, with a democratically elected Chief Minister as the real head of the executive. The governor who is appointed for five years appoints the chief minister and his council of ministers. Even though the governor remains the ceremonial head of the state, the day-to-day running of the government is taken care of by the chief minister and his council of ministers in whom a great deal of legislative powers is vested. The state government maintains its capital at Hyderabad and is seated at the Government Secretariat or the Sachivalayam. The Government of Telangana was formed on 2 June 2014 after bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh as part of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. Government and administration. Structure. The Governor is the constitutional head and the Chief Minister is head of the government who also heads the council of ministers. The Chief Justice of the high court is the head of the judiciary. Governor. The Governor is appointed by the President for a term of five years. The executive and legislative powers lie with the Chief Minister and his council of ministers, who are appointed by the Governor. The Governors of the states and territories of India have similar powers and functions at the state level as that of the President of India at Union level. Only Indian citizens above 36 years of age are eligible for appointment. Governors discharge all constitutional functions such as the appointment of the Chief Minister, sending reports to the President about failure of constitutional machinery in a state, or with respect to issues relating to the assent to a bill passed by legislature, exercise or their own opinion. Ekkadu Srinivasan Lakshmi Narasimhan was the governor from 2 June 2014 to 1 September 2019. Tamilisai Soundararajan has been appointed as the governor on September 1, 2019. The Governor enjoys many different types of powers: Legislature. The legislature comprises the governor and the legislative assembly, which is the highest political organ in the state. All members of the legislative assembly are directly elected The current assembly consists of 119 elected members and one member nominated by the governor.The normal term of the legislative assembly is five years from the date appointed for its first meeting Judiciary. The Telangana High Court is the apex court for the state. It is a court of record and has all the powers of such a court including the authority to punish an individual for contempt of court. Executive. Like in other Indian states, the Executive arm of the state is responsible for the day-to-day management of the state. It consists of the Governor, the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers. The secretariat headed by the secretary to the governor assists the council of ministers. The chief minister is assisted by the chief secretary, who is the head of the administrative services. Chief Minister. The executive authority is headed by the Chief Minister of Telangana, who is the de facto head of state and is vested with most of the executive powers; the Legislative Assembly's majority party leader is appointed to this position by the Governor. The present Chief Minister is Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao, who took office on 2 June 2014. Generally, the party which reaches more than half mark i.e. 60 seats out of 119 decides the Chief Minister. Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers, which answers to the Legislative Assembly, has its members appointed by the Governor; the appointments receive input from the Chief Minister. They are collectively responsible to the legislative assembly of the State. Generally, the winning party and its chief minister chooses the ministers list and submit the list for the governor's approval. Administrative divisions. Telangana State has been divided into 33 districts. The business of the state government is transacted through the various secretariat departments based on the rules of business. Each department consists of secretary to government, who is the official head of the department and such other undersecretaries, junior secretaries, officers, and staffs subordinate to him/her. The "Chief secretary" superintending control over the whole secretariat and staff attached to the ministers. Elections. Elections to the state assembly are held every five years. Elections are generally held for Parliament, State assembly and regional panchayats. Like all other Indian states, the minimum age of registration of a voter is 18 years. Election Commission announced dates for elections in five states including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram. Polls in Telangana, Rajasthan on Dec 7, results on Dec 11: EC

gubernatorial blessing

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=38251956

Quarantine is the debut album by American electronic musician Laurel Halo, released on May 21, 2012 by Hyperdub. It received acclaim from critics, and was named release of the year by British magazine "The Wire". Background. Halo recorded "Quarantine" between July 2011 and February 2012 primarily in her home studio, with some instrument tracks also recorded in London. She made over thirty demos, eighteen of which were deleted. In November 2011, Halo sent the LP demos to Hyperdub label head Steve Goodman, who responded with positive interest. Initially applying extensive echo and reverb to her vocals, which she found "supremely boring", Halo instead opted to leave them dry and unadorned, stating that "it was tempting to use autotune but I decided against it because there's this brutal, sensual ugliness in the vocals uncorrected, and painfully human vocals made sense." Speaking to "Fact", she described the album's thematic focus as "contrails, trauma, volatile chemicals, viruses." The album cover features an adaptation of "Harakiri School Girls", a work by Makoto Aida which Halo chose for the artwork after seeing it at an exhibition on Japanese pop art in New York. She stated that "I love that it's brutal and violent but colourful and slow to sink in." Critical reception. "Quarantine" received positive critical reviews from critics, with an aggregate score of 80 out of 100 on Metacritic. "The Wire" named "Quarantine" as the "release of the year" in its annual critics' poll. Ian Cohen of "Pitchfork" called the album "something definitive" and Halo's "best and most cohesive work to date." "The Quietus" called it "one of this year's most intriguing and divisive listens," and noted that "what's blasted her music headlong into the future is its re-integration of those most ancient of musical devices – the unadorned human voice, verse/chorus structures – into environments they’re usually so thoroughly unfamiliar with." "The Guardian" wrote that "it manages to sidestep pretension at almost every turn, partly due to the near-naive vocals that dominate the warm crackle and glow." "Resident Advisor" states ""Quarantine" binds her past sounds into a toxic, lush blend of ambient suspension and disorienting detail," and called the album Halo's "most immersive and beautiful work to date." Personnel. Credits adapted from the liner notes of "Quarantine".

active engagement

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=67696472

The otter is a fishing device constructed with three parts. An otter board, a fishing line, and a steering mechanism. It may be used from a boat or pulled from the shore. The steering mechanism enables the fisherman to pull it away from the shore and steer it to the desired position. It was introduced into Norway by British anglers sometime around the middle of the nineteenth century. The first account of such a device is found in connection with irish sports fishermen in 1855. The otter may have multiple different designs. Otter boards used in bottom trawling are based on a similar principle of design. The design takes advantage of the shearing effect achieved when the board is positioned at an oblique angle to the current. The effect is reminiscent of that of a kite in the wind. Different designs are found in Switzerland, the nordic countries, California and Japan. Most commonly the traditional board was made by wood, and had a length about two feet, a width of 6 inches and less than an inch thick. To enable it to float in an upright position it was equipped with metal weights made of led or iron. The correct amount of wheights allows the board to float with only an inch or two above the surface. Snells, bated with flies or spoons are placed at intervals along the line. The snells would have different lengths due to the depth of which the line would float in the water. the longest snell would have been closest to the board, and the shortest closest to the fisherman. In Britain fishing with an otter was forbidden by the Salmon Fishery Act 1861, and this may have been one of the reasons why British anglers introduced it to Norway. The first ban on the device in Norway was imposed in 1870 an it was increasingly forbidden throughout the end of the century.

right quantity

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26550302

KDE e.V. is a registered non-profit organization that represents the KDE community in the legal and financial entities. The association supports KDE’s work in cash, hardware, and other donations, and then the use of donations to help the KDE development, but not influence on development. "e.V." stands for "eingetragener Verein" which means "registered association". The three flags on top of the KDE e.V. logo represent the three main tasks of the KDE e.V. : supporting the community, representing the community, and governing the community. History. In August 1997, KDE One was held in Arnsberg, Germany. It's the first KDE community meeting with 15 participants, and budget is 14000 DEM (7158 EUR). Matthias Kalle Dalheimer realized that it wasn't a good idea to channel thousands of money through his personal account to run the meeting, so he wanted to find an association. In November 1997, Matthias Ettrich and Matthias Kalle Dalheimer registered KDE e.V. as association in Tübingen under German law, and became president and vice president. Additionally they had to reach out to housemates and personal friends to meet the minimum number of persons required to create an eingetragener Verein (7 persons). In October 1999, the following candidates were elected to the board in KDE Two, Kurt Granroth became president, Chris Schläger became vice president, Mirko Boehm became treasurer, and Preston Brown became board member. In August 2002, the following candidates were elected to the board in KDE e.V. meeting, Matthias Kalle Dalheimer became president, Mirko Boehm became treasurer, and Eva Brucherseifer and Ralf Nolden became board member. On 26 August 2005, the following candidates were elected to the board in KDE e.V. meeting, president was Eva Brucherseifer, vice president was Cornelius Schumacher, treasurer was Mirko Boehm, and board member was Aaron Seigo. On 15 October 2006, Mark Shuttleworth had become the first "Patron of KDE". On 28 February 2007, Trolltech become the first corporate "Patron of KDE". On 2 July 2007, the following candidates were elected to the board in KDE e.V. meeting, president was Aaron Seigo, vice president were Cornelius Schumacher and Adriaan de Groot, and board member were Sebastian Kügler and Klaas Freitag. On 3 July 2007, KDAB becomes "Patron of KDE". On 7 July 2007, Intel Corporation and Novell had also become "Patron of KDE". On 4 April 2008, the KDE e.V. and Wikimedia Deutschland have opened shared offices in Frankfurt, and has the first KDE e.V. employee. In July 2009, the following candidates were elected to the board in KDE e.V. meeting, Cornelius Schumacher became president, Adriaan de Groot and Frank Karlitschek became vice president, and Sebastian Kügler and Celeste Lyn Paul became board member. In September 2009, KDE e.V. and Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) moved into shared offices in Berlin. In January 2010, Google becomes supporting member. On 9 June 2010, KDE e.V. launched the "Join the Game" campaign. Organization. KDE e.V. includes three types of memberships: "Active members", "Extraordinary members" and "Supporting Members". Both natural persons and legal bodies may become members. The "Active members" have contributed to KDE community. The "supporting members" are supporting the KDE through financial contributions, consist of: basysKom GmbH, Digia, Sirius Corporation Ltd, and Google. The "Patron of KDE" is the highest level of supporting member, are: SUSE, Klarälvdalens Datakonsult AB, and Nokia. All association’s members are invited to attend the general assembly. The general assembly is often as part of Akademy. The board of directors are responsible for the operation of the association. The board of directors has five members via election held by general assembly. KDE e.V. office is located in Berlin. It has 1 paid administrative employee, called business manager. The business manager is full-time responsible for daily operations, resource acquisition and managing interns. KDE e.V. offers internships to qualified students. In Spain, the official representative of KDE e.V. is KDE España. KDE e.V. is an associate organization of the FSFE and a licensee of the Open Invention Network. Activities. KDE e.V. organizes and subsidizes events including developer sprints, Camp KDE and Akademy. It handles the legal issues around the KDE community. The working groups are a structure which will formalize some roles within KDE and enhance coordination within KDE, communication between parts of KDE. Currently, active working groups are community working group (CWG), marketing working group (MWG) and system administration (sysadmin). Disbanded working groups are human computer interaction working group (HCI WG) and technical working group (TWG). The "System Administration Working Group" is responsible for administration of KDE servers. The "Marketing Working Group" was founded in November 2005, help to coordination of marketing and promotion. Currently members are Troy Unrau, Franz Keferböck and Wade Olson. The "Community Working Group" was founded in August 2008, helps with community advice when needed. The "Technical Working Group" is to coordinate planning and release. Furthermore, they should decide what software is included in KDE or removed, as different programs will be combined into modules and the dependencies between the modules and to external software should be allowed. A further task, it is a contact point for general technical questions related to KDE to be contacts between developers of the project and produce. After one year, the Technical Working Group has been replaced by the "Release team", that is independent of KDE e.V..

junction location

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=18863206

Vincenty's formulae are two related iterative methods used in geodesy to calculate the distance between two points on the surface of a spheroid, developed by Thaddeus Vincenty (1975a). They are based on the assumption that the figure of the Earth is an oblate spheroid, and hence are more accurate than methods that assume a spherical Earth, such as great-circle distance. The first (direct) method computes the location of a point that is a given distance and azimuth (direction) from another point. The second (inverse) method computes the geographical distance and azimuth between two given points. They have been widely used in geodesy because they are accurate to within 0.5 mm (0.020in) on the Earth ellipsoid. Background. Vincenty's goal was to express existing algorithms for geodesics on an ellipsoid in a form that minimized the program length (Vincenty 1975a). His unpublished report (1975b) mentions the use of a Wang 720 desk calculator, which had only a few kilobytes of memory. To obtain good accuracy for long lines, the solution uses the classical solution of Legendre (1806), Bessel (1825), and Helmert (1880) based on the auxiliary sphere. Vincenty relied on formulation of this method given by Rainsford, 1955. Legendre showed that an ellipsoidal geodesic can be exactly mapped to a great circle on the auxiliary sphere by mapping the geographic latitude to reduced latitude and setting the azimuth of the great circle equal to that of the geodesic. The longitude on the ellipsoid and the distance along the geodesic are then given in terms of the longitude on the sphere and the arc length along the great circle by simple integrals. Bessel and Helmert gave rapidly converging series for these integrals, which allow the geodesic to be computed with arbitrary accuracy. In order to minimize the program size, Vincenty took these series, re-expanded them using the first term of each series as the small parameter, and truncated them to formula_1. This resulted in compact expressions for the longitude and distance integrals. The expressions were put in Horner (or "nested") form, since this allows polynomials to be evaluated using only a single temporary register. Finally, simple iterative techniques were used to solve the implicit equations in the direct and inverse methods; even though these are slow (and in the case of the inverse method it sometimes does not converge), they result in the least increase in code size. Notation. Define the following notation: Inverse problem. Given the coordinates of the two points ("Φ"1, "L"1) and ("Φ"2, "L"2), the inverse problem finds the azimuths "α"1, "α"2 and the ellipsoidal distance "s". Calculate "U"1, "U"2 and "L", and set initial value of "λ" = "L". Then iteratively evaluate the following equations until "λ" converges: When "λ" has converged to the desired degree of accuracy (10−12 corresponds to approximately 0.06mm), evaluate the following: Between two nearly antipodal points, the iterative formula may fail to converge; this will occur when the first guess at "λ" as computed by the equation above is greater than "π" in absolute value. Direct problem. Given an initial point ("Φ"1, "L"1) and initial azimuth, "α"1, and a distance, "s", along the geodesic the problem is to find the end point ("Φ"2, "L"2) and azimuth, "α"2. Start by calculating the following: Then, using an initial value formula_11, iterate the following equations until there is no significant change in "σ": Once "σ" is obtained to sufficient accuracy evaluate: If the initial point is at the North or South pole, then the first equation is indeterminate. If the initial azimuth is due East or West, then the second equation is indeterminate. If a double valued "atan2" type function is used, then these values are usually handled correctly. Vincenty's modification. In his letter to Survey Review in 1976, Vincenty suggested replacing his series expressions for "A" and "B" with simpler formulas using Helmert's expansion parameter "k"1: where Nearly antipodal points. As noted above, the iterative solution to the inverse problem fails to converge or converges slowly for nearly antipodal points. An example of slow convergence is ("Φ"1, "L"1) = (0°, 0°) and ("Φ"2, "L"2) = (0.5°, 179.5°) for the WGS84 ellipsoid. This requires about 130 iterations to give a result accurate to 1 mm. Depending on how the inverse method is implemented, the algorithm might return the correct result (19936288.579 m), an incorrect result, or an error indicator. An example of an incorrect result is provided by the NGS online utility, which returns a distance that is about 5 km too long. Vincenty suggested a method of accelerating the convergence in such cases (Rapp, 1993). An example of a failure of the inverse method to converge is ("Φ"1, "L"1) = (0°, 0°) and ("Φ"2, "L"2) = (0.5°, 179.7°) for the WGS84 ellipsoid. In an unpublished report, Vincenty (1975b) gave an alternative iterative scheme to handle such cases. This converges to the correct result 19944127.421 m after about 60 iterations; however, in other cases many thousands of iterations are required. Newton's method has been used to give rapid convergence for all pairs of input points (Karney, 2013).

defined interval

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=58143836

BRED (formerly acronym for Banque régionale d'escompte et de dépôts / Regional Discount and Deposit Bank) is the most important cooperative bank in France. It was founded in 1919 by Louis-Alexandre Dagot in Vincennes. As of 2018, the Bank has a network of 344 local branches in France, 16 business centers, 17 asset management centers and a wealth management division. 25% of its 5,500 employees are located outside France and in French overseas collectivities. It has 4.1 billion euros of equity. Presentation. Cooperative bank. BRED is governed essentially as a cooperative by the cooperative legislation enacted by the 1947 Act, and as a bank, by the Monetary and Financial Code. The bank refers to the principles laid down by the International Cooperative Alliance, notably on the declaration on cooperative identity. According to the International Association of Cooperative Banks (IACB), a cooperative bank is "a banking entity owned by its members. The latter have the dual status of partners and users, owners and clients of their bank." BRED has 180,000 members in 2018. For the 2017 financial year, it posted a net profit of 257 million euros and net banking income of 1.152 million euros. History. 1917 – 1935 : Launch. On 17 March 1917, the French government passed a law that allowed the development of cooperative banks. On 7 October 1919, Louis-Alexandre Dagot founded the Banque Populaire Industrielle et Commerciale de la Région Est de Paris, for 233 members. With his 3 partners, Ambroise Leuret, Paul Muris and Gaston Riou, Dagot opened the first agency in Vincennes in December 1919. Other desks in Nogent-sur-Marne and Saint-Maur-des-Fossés became independent branches in 1924. The Ministry of Commerce allocated a constituency to each "Banque Populaire" where they could open different branches. The bank expanded to different areas in the early 1920s: Although the Centre fédératif du crédit populaire and the Caisse centrale des banques were responsible for the supervision of the Banques populaires, their weak authority and means of action allowed the bank to develop independently at first. By 1930, the bank accounted for 365 employees compared to 3 in 1919. 1926 – 1935 : Development and economic crisis. To increase its constituency, the bank expanded to Seine-et-Marne, Seine-et-Oise, Marne and Aisne. Furthermore, it opened branches in Reims, Epernay and Paris. In the early 1930s, the bank renamed itself Banque Populaire Industrielle et Commerciale de la Région Est de Paris. In addition to small accounts, the bank also welcomed larger clients such as the Mouchotte brothers (alcohol merchants), Noël (real estate agent), Paul Coche (furniture manufacturer) and the Banque des Travaux publics. It financed large scale real estate project such as Cité Moderne but also the failed Manufacture française du Bois courbé. In 1929, a bank financial report stated that ‘the Bank is clearly emerging from its role as a popular bank’. Thus, the bank changed its status from a "société coopérative de banque populaire à capital variable" to a "société coopérative de banque populaire à capital fixe", which enables it to significantly increase its capital. On 29 July 1929, the French government launched the Chambre syndicale des Banques populaires whose role was to provide technical, administrative and financial supervision of the Banques Populaires. The Chambre syndicale helped the Banque Populaire Industrielle et Commerciale de la Région Est de Paris several times when the economic crisis hit France in 1931. The repeated interference of the Chambre syndicale did not please Louis Dagot who did not comply with its recommendations, despite the bogging down of his bank in the crisis. In 1934, the operation was losing more money than it was making. On 17 March 1934, following the Stavisky Affair and the resulting social movements, a law was passed which allowed the Chambre syndicale to appoint the directors, presidents and administrators of the Banques Populaires. Pierre Boissou was entrusted with the supervision of the bank and in 1935, as Louis Dagot was asked to step down as president. 1935 – 1944 : The war. Victor Girardin and André Becq (directors), Gabriel Lion (managing director) and Gilbert de Monès del Pujol (co-opted director and chairman) took over the board of directors of the bank. Its accounts – many of which had been concealed – accounted for a record of 66 million francs in receivables. To improve the situation, the unitholders' capital was divided by 5, the Chambre syndicale loaned 18 million francs, and its capital was reduced to 3 million francs. In 1939, the bank had only 11 branches. From 1934 to 1940, the number of agents decreased from 348 to 144. The "one man, one vote" principle was abandoned so that each member now had as many votes as shares. In November 1938, Pierre Boissou was appointed to the general management of the establishment. He then undertook a wave of layoffs, divested unprofitable agencies, re-established headquarters authority, and reinvigorated team spirit. By mid-1939, the bank was profitable again. The start of the war in 1939 caused the bank's customers to withdraw important amounts of cash and a drop in staff numbers as many young men were sent to the front. The German occupation caused a general slowdown of the French economy and working conditions became precarious. In 1942, the bank changed its name and became the Banque régionale d'escompte et de dépôts (quickly nicknamed BRED). 1945 – 1960 : Economic recovery. Following World War II, BRED developed ties to a new clientele including social security funds and large industrial firms. Furthermore, the bank launched medium-term credit for its traditional clients. After the war, employees' social benefits were restored: works council, restoration of the right to strike and form trade unions, and the introduction of social security. A strong corporate culture developed, Pierre Boissou was nicknamed the boss, and the employees were nicknamed the ‘brédards’. In 1956, BRED merged with the Banque Populaire de Rouen to extend into Normandy and in 1953, it acquired the Banque Surchamp. By 1965, BRED had twelve branches et continued to expand in the suburbs. In 1946, BRED modernized its headquarters with a Bull statistical machine. Starting in 1948, the branches were gradually equipped with National Cash Registers, large cash registers that enabled the teller to play the role of positionist, manipulator and cashier. These new machines improved branch performance. In 1956, the bank equipped its headquarters with a new soundproof machine shop, dedicated to 90% of accounting operations. In 1963, BRED entered the electronic age by acquiring an IBM 1401 computer. The National Cash Registers started to be gradually transferred to the accounting centers and agencies became mainly canvassing relays run by salespeople. From 1947 to 1964, the bank's workforce grew from 290 to 1233 employees, and a comprehensive recruitment and training program was put in place. 1966 – 1978 : Modernization. The IBM 1401 offered new media for data, tapes and magnetic disks (8Kb memory). 10 years after the purchase of this computer, punched cards were replaced by 5,000 tapes and 150 magnetic disks. The bank bought a data encoding service and check post-marking service. From 1978 onwards, the first branch terminals could consult the central information system, hosted in Créteil new offices and IT jobs became more and more important. The IT department was created in 1973 and entrusted to Georges Demanneville, a former IBM engineer. All the bank's operations were rethought around this revolutionary new tool. In 1974, the Bank 2000 – a fully automated, agentless branch – was put into operation. IT could also centralize and automate loan applications, thus accelerating this activity. In the 1950s, faced with increased demand for personal loans, BRED developed its own credit sales financing subsidiary completely independent of the Caisse centrale. Legislation towards the Banques Populaires became more flexible, which allowed them to also offer their property loans to non-members and craftsmen. Consumer credit companies required individuals to open a direct debit account. From 1951 to 1958, the number of accounts opened at the BRED increased 76-fold. In 1967, BRED marketed their first debit cards. In 1976, 600 BRED ATMs were set up, and the bank had 22,000 customers using credit cards. 1979 – 1991 : Diversification, international development. In 1985, after the retirement of Louis Chevalier, two men took over the position of general manager: Guy de Chavanne, who directed the bank's commercial activities, and Maurice Leruth, who directed its financial activities. BRED developed its own tools and dissociated itself from Caisse centrale to manage its increasingly important capital. In 1985, it took a 20% stake in the creation of Stern Bank, a treasury bank. In 1988, BRED set up its own "trading room" to manage its own treasury. This trading room handled increasingly complex products, and 60 financial engineers were hired to work there. The bank also launched into insurance savings, with Vie-Bred contracts in 1980, then the creation of Prepar in 1983, its own insurance company. In 1989, BRED managed 2 billion francs in insurance reserves. In 1982, the bank also acquired Richelieu, a securities firm, renamed Compagnie financière d'épargne et de placement (CFEP) the following year. As part of its international development, the bank acquired part of the International Commercial Bank (BIC) in 1986. In 1988, it joined forces with the Italian bank Banco popolare di Lecco. In 1989, it entered into a partnership with the National Bank of Canada, as well as with the Caja de Ahorros de Galicia. In 1990, it partnered with the German Landesgirokasse. In 1988, BRED opened offices in London, acquired Crédit liégeois and opened a branch in Milan. In 1986, BRED acquired Société Betteravière d'Expansion Europe, which later became Société de Banque et d'Expansion (SBE), specializing in the concept of "site banking", i.e. directly within companies. During the 1980s, the branches of the network were renovated with windows open on the streets, and a new blue logo with stripes thus uniformizing the image of the bank across the country. In 1983, the entire network was equipped with financial terminals. In 1981, a telephone banking system was tested, enabling customers to bank by telephone or minitel. In 1984, "Télébred" had 200 corporate clients. In the late 1980s, all operations became tele-transmitted. However, the bank equipped its branches with microcomputers, continuing to rely on its "SIG_08", which allowed a direct connection to all databases. From 1979 to 1991, the bank's staff increased from 2,854 to 3,367. Over the same period, the bank's capital rose from 200 million to 1.250 billion francs, and the number of members rose from 79,000 to 170,000. In 1985, BRED established itself on Reunion Island by acquiring the 3 agencies of the BPFD (and opened a fourth one in Sainte-Clotilde). To ensure a direct link with the metropolis and to offer Reunionese the same services, BRED set up a satellite communication system. In 1986, BRED absorbed the Banque Populaire de Guadeloupe, which had 6 branches, 20,000 customers and 200 employees. To ensure effective training, a video-conferencing tool is adopted. In 1989, a branch was opened in Fort-de-France, Martinique. In 1991, most of BRED's subsidiaries and holdings were grouped together in a newly created holding company, Cofibred. The early 1990s were rocked by HR problems. The BRED employee turnover reached 10% as management's choices were misunderstood by its employees who felt these choices did not match their image of their bank. 1992 – 1997 : Crisis and reorganization. During the 1990s, the BRED continued to develop but its cost/income ratio was higher than that of its competitors. In 1992, credit production slowed considerably. Furthermore, the bank suffered from credit margins slimming down since the banking deregulation in 1984. The bank's restaurant and hotel customers were hit hard by the real estate crisis and the Gulf War. Some international investments proved unprofitable. In 1992, BRED bought a part of the assets of the Pallas bank via its Holding Cofibred, BRED-Pallas Financement immobilier (BPFI). That same year, BRED accumulated a total loss of 396 million francs and BPFI alone accumulated a loss of 512 million francs. In 1990, François-Xavier de Fournas-Labrosse, a former member of Société Générale, was appointed CEO of BRED, alongside Maurice Leruth, who did not announce his departure until 1992. That year, F.-X. de Fournas set the bank's objective for the coming years : to return to profitability. The bank then abandoned its status as a société anonyme to adopt that of a société coopérative. Between 1993 and 1996, BRED received 1.435 billion francs from the Chambre syndicale via the Fonds collectif de garantie. With this influx of money, BRED opened the capital of several of its subsidiaries to the Groupe des Banques Populaires – Soloma (leasing), Novacrédit (consumer credit), Cofibourse, Prepar Vie (the corporate branch), Interépargne and SBE. In 1993, BPFI was dissolved and a large part of BRED's real estate portfolio was sold. In 1996, the real estate division was profitable (119 million francs), but BRED suffered a 375 million francs loss the following year. BRED also sold the Crédit liégeois to Banque Bruxelles Lambert. As to the personal side, the bank reduced its workforce by 20% in 3 years. The focus on business training intensified. The hyper-diversification of the 1980s gave way to a hyper-rationalisation strategy. F.-X. de Fournas focused BRED's development around its trading room, as well as on retail banking. The bank resumed its deployment in the Paris region as well as in the French overseas departments. The agencies were renovated to include privacy areas, something that was lacking during the major renovations of the 1980s. BRED also developed its telephone platform solution, Alodis, and intensified telephone prospecting. A remote banking management, BRED Direct, was established in 1995. On the risk management side, the Special Affairs Department (DAS) was created to assist defaulting clients. In 1996, an inspection report by the banking commission concluded: "The bank has just gone through a particularly difficult period, but it can now be considered to be out of the woods". 1998 – 2012 : Returning to growth. Natexis / Natixis. In 1996 Natexis was created as a result of the merger of Crédit national and Banque française du commerce extérieur. This new body replaced the Chambre syndicale, with ¾ of its capital held by the Banques Populaires. With Natexis, BRED finished repaying the subsidies received from the collective guarantee fund, first by helping Caisse Centrale acquire a 23% stake in Natexis' capital by disbursing nearly 500 million francs, then by selling 25% of Banque Populaire Asset Management (BPAM) to Natexis for 125 million francs and 33% of Interépargne. As a result of these operations, the Groupe des Banques Populaires cleaned up BRED's slate of 1.7 billion francs. In 2006, Natexis joined forces with Ixis Corporate and Investment Bank to form Natixis. On 31 July 2009, following the record losses of Natixis in 2008, due to the economic crisis and poor investment choices, the Banques Populaires and the Caisses d'Épargne central bodies merged to create their new central body, BPCE. Business Development. In December 2003, F.-X. de Fournas reached the age limit (65) and handed over the position of general manager to Jean-Michel Laty, who had made his debut at the Bics. Stève Gentili was named as successor of Michel de Mourgues as president of the group. This new BRED management pursued the objectives put in place by the former. From 1998 to 2009, the total number of clients rose from 300,000 (including 139,000 from Casden) to 659,000. The bank shifted its target to more young people, professionals, SMEs, associations and local authorities. BRED refined its offer for large companies in the management of traditional and dematerialized flows, both domestic and international, as well as in mass processing. As BRED entered the digital age, the bank developed offers for securing payment flows, data safe custody, document dematerialization and Internet purchasing management. This investment in digital technology was reflected in the acquisition of a 66% stake in Click and Trust (a digital certification authority created in 2001 by the Banques Populaires group), an 80% stake in AchatPro (sold to Hubwoo in 2008), as well as in Vialink. The bank launched its first website in 1995 and transferred its Dispobank minitel service online in 1998. In July 2011, the bank launched its first mobile application. In 2006, the bank's commercial activities represented 52% of its net operating income, financial activities 44% and the trading room 4%. The bank's profits rose from 48 million euros in 1999 to 215 million euros in 2006. To avoid another period of crisis, the bank operated a rigorous risk management policy. During the same period, and unlike certain competitors, BRED continued to develop its local network of branches, which grew from 208 to 330. BRED also relied on its BRED Direct platform to provide most of its services directly via telephone. In 2006, 25% of branch appointments and 7% of sales were generated via BRED Direct. To support its development, the workforce increased from 2,684 in 1998 to 3,480 in 2006, the majority of which were oriented towards commercial positions. However, despite stimulus policies, the number of cooperative members fell from 130,000 in 1998 to 108,700 in 2006. International Development. In September 2003, BRED signed a memorandum of understanding with AFD for the takeover of several of its overseas holdings. In 2004, BRED strengthened its presence in the overseas departments by acquiring the shares of the credit companies owned by the Agence Française de Développement in Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Martinique. Starting in 2007, BRED relaunched its international expansion strategy, but this time with a focus on local banks in high-growth countries: acquisition of 15% of the capital of Socredo in 2007 (French Polynesia), 51% of the capital of BCIMR in 2007 (Djibouti), Bank of Queensland (2009, shares sold in 2013), 12.5% of Acleda Bank (Cambodia), creation of BRED Bank Vanuatu in 2008, Banque Franco-Lao in 2010 (Laos), BRED Bank Fiji in 2012, BRED Bank Cambodia and BRED Bank Solomon in 2017. In 2014, international and overseas departments and territories accounted for 45% of BRED's revenue. 2012 – Today. In September 2012, Olivier Klein replaced Jean-Michel Laty as chief executive officer of BRED. In 2013, the bank announced a net profit of 182.6 million euros, up 1.5%. In 2014, Natixis closed its private bank and laid off some of its back-office staff. In April 2014, BRED acquired a portion of Natixis' clients, as it closed its branches. In 2016, for the second consecutive year, BRED's consolidated net banking income exceeded one billion euros: 1,095 million euros, a new record. Excluding exceptional items, NBI growth was 6.9% (+3.6% in accounting terms). This record level of activity despite an unfavorable context (flattening of the yield curve and tightening of regulatory constraints) confirmed the success of the non-distance banking strategy implemented by BRED for several years. After the successful launch of BFL (Banque Franco-Lao) in Laos in 2010, which currently operates 22 branches serving 30,000 customers, BRED Bank entered the Cambodian market in 2017 with the subsidiary BRED Bank Cambodia, the only European bank in the Kingdom. The same year, BRED expanded its operations in the Solomon Islands. International locations. In 2018, BRED has 5,500 employees, 25% of which are located outside France and in French overseas collectivities: Financial data. BRED has 180,000 cooperative members in 2018. For the 2017 financial year, it posted a net profit of 257 million euros and net banking income of 1.152 million euros.

bulk production

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7786897

A drifter drill or drifter is a hydraulic or pneumatic rock or ground drill used to make horizontal holes in tunnel construction and mining. It is mounted on a feed, which is like a rail that the drill travels on or drifts. This kind of drilling procedure is also called drifting. The feed is usually attached with a flexible boom (like an arm) to a stationary or mobile unit that contains the powerpack (engine and hydraulic pump or compressor). Drifters are used in mining, construction, exploration, and natural science. It usually consists of a percussive system and a rotative system. The percussive system strikes the drill steel, for example 2000-5000 strikes per minute, whereas the number of rotations can be, for example, 100-400 per minute. The combination of these functions enables drilling holes into rock. The excess material (cuttings) is pushed up from the bottom of the hole by means of pressurized air or water. Drifter drills can be top-hammer drills (usually hydraulic) or down-the-hole drills (usually pneumatic). Early rock drills. In 1849, J. J. Couch, an American inventor from Philadelphia, received the first patent for a rock drill. It featured a drill rod which passed through a hollow piston and was thrown against the rock. In 1851, James Fowle received a patent for a rock drill powered by steam or compressed air.

Unused parts

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27864490

Saratoga Creek is a north-northeast flowing creek in Santa Clara County, California. History. Saratoga Creek was originally called Arroyo Quito and then Campbell Creek after immigrant William Campbell, who operated a sawmill in 1848 in "Campbell's Redwoods" about three miles west of Saratoga, California, and also a stage station in 1852. The town of Campbell was founded by his son, Benjamin Campbell, in 1885. Other names for the creek included Big Moody Creek and San Jon Creek. The Board of Geographic Names officially decided on Saratoga Creek in May, 1954. Watershed. Saratoga Creek originates on the northeastern slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains along Castle Rock Ridge at an elevation of . The mainstem flows for approximately in an eastern direction through forested terrain, largely contained within Sanborn County Park. It continues for about 1.5 miles through the low-density residential foothill region of the City of Saratoga and then for another 8 miles along the alluvial plain of the Santa Clara Valley, through the cities of San Jose and Santa Clara characterized by high-density residential neighborhoods. Saratoga Creek now joins San Tomas Aquino Creek shortly before joining the Guadalupe Slough and south San Francisco Bay. However, historically San Tomas Aquino Creek and Calabazas Creek were tributaries to Saratoga Creek, which was in turn a tributary of the Guadalupe River upstream of Alviso. Saratoga Creek and Calabazas Creek were disconnected from the Guadalupe River, and San Tomas Aquino Creek was extended directly into Guadalupe Slough by 1876, making Saratoga Creek its tributary. Calabazas Creek was detached from Saratoga Creek and re-routed directly into Guadalupe Slough at this time as well. The historic watershed can be viewed in the Thompson and West 1876 maps. Major tributaries include Booker, Bonjetti and Congress Springs Creeks. Tributaries of Bonjetti Creek include McElroy Creek, Todd Creek, and Sanborn Creek. Congress Springs Creek was also known as "Congress Hall Creek" and is named for "Congress Springs" and the famous "Congress Hall" resort in Saratoga Springs, New York. California's "Congress Hall" resort at "Congress Springs" attracted tourists to the area until it burned down in 1903. Most of Saratoga Creek contains natural channel with some modifications (e.g., gabion walls) and a few sections of hardened channel. Ecology. Historically steelhead trout (coastal rainbow trout) ("Oncorhyncus mykiss irideus") migrated from San Francisco Bay to spawn in Saratoga Creek and its tributaries. An 1877 report in the Sportsman Gazetteer touted the Congress Springs ("Congress Hall") tributary to San Franciscans for trout fishing. J. O. Snyder reported steelhead trout in "Campbell Creek" (now Saratoga Creek) in 1905. An impassable barrier at the confluence of San Tomas Aquino and Saratoga Creeks prevents salmonid fish passage to both creeks. However, stream resident rainbow trout are still found in Saratoga Creek. Recent genetic analysis has shown that the surviving rainbow trout are of native origin and not hatchery stock. Recently, three of the originally native fish species have been collected from the creek including California roach ("Lavinia symmetricus"), Sacramento sucker ("Catostomus occidentalis occidentalis") and rainbow trout. Physical proof of the historic presence of Golden beaver ("Castor canadensis") in south San Francisco Bay tributaries is a "Castor canadensis subauratus" skull in the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History collected by zoologist James Graham Cooper in Santa Clara, California on Dec. 31, 1855. Cooper lived in Mountain View, California from October to December 1855 and collected most of his specimens on Saratoga Creek (then Quito Creek). The upper portions of the Saratoga Creek watershed are vegetated with broadleaved upland forest, especially mixed evergreen forest, including Coast redwood ("Sequoia sempervirens") and Coast Douglas fir ("Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii"), and chaparral. Common riparian tree species along the upper reaches of Saratoga Creek include White alder ("Alnus rhombifolia"), Big Leaf maple ("Acer macrophyllum"), and California bay ("Umbellularia californica"). Native riparian plant species occurring along the lower portions of Saratoga Creek (from Monroe Street to Lawrence Expressway) include arroyo willow, box elder, Fremont cottonwood, western sycamore, red willow, yellow willow, blue elderberry, coffeeberry, coyote brush, and mule fat. Nonnative weedy species are common. See also. List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1447381

NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NBT, or sometimes NetBT) is a networking protocol that allows legacy computer applications relying on the NetBIOS API to be used on modern TCP/IP networks. NetBIOS was developed in the early 1980s, targeting very small networks (about a dozen computers). Some applications still use NetBIOS, and do not scale well in today's networks of hundreds of computers when NetBIOS is run over NBF. When properly configured, NBT allows those applications to be run on large TCP/IP networks (including the whole Internet, although that is likely to be subject to security problems) without change. NBT is defined by the RFC 1001 and RFC 1002 standard documents. Services. NetBIOS provides three distinct services: NBT implements all of those services. Name service. In NetBIOS, each participant must register on the network using a unique name of at most 15 characters. In legacy networks, when a new application wanted to register a name, it had to broadcast a message saying "Is anyone currently using that name?" and wait for an answer. If no answer came back, it was safe to assume that the name was not in use. However, the wait timeout was a few seconds, making the name registration a very lengthy process, as the only way of knowing that a name was not registered was to not receive any answer. NBT can implement a central repository, or "Name Service", that records all name registrations. An application wanting to register a name would therefore contact the name server (which has a known network address) and ask whether the name is already registered, using a "Name Query" packet. This is much faster, as the name server returns a negative response immediately if the name is not already in the database, meaning it is available. The Name Service, according to RFCs 1001 and 1002, is called" NetBIOS Naming Service" or NBNS. Microsoft WINS is an implementation of NBNS. It is worth saying that due to constant development of the way in which the Name Service handles conflict or merges, "group names" varies from vendor to vendor and can even be different by version e.g. with the introduction of a service pack. The packet formats of the Name Service are identical to DNS. The key differences are the addition of NetBIOS "Node Status" query, dynamic registration and conflict marking packets. They are encapsulated in UDP. Later implementation includes an optional "Scope" part of the name, making NetBIOS name hierarchical like DNS, but this is seldom used. In addition, to start a session or to send a datagram to a particular host rather than to broadcast the datagram, NBT will have to determine the IP address of the host with a given NetBIOS name; this is done by broadcasting a "Name Query" packet, and/or sending it to the NetBIOS name server. The response will have the IP address of the host with that name. NBNS is one of the first proper dynamic peer-to-peer distributed name registration services. The NBNS protocol was brought into disrepute by Microsoft: it earned a bad name for being 'chatty', swamping networks with dynamic registration traffic on multiple protocols (IPX/SPX, NBF and TCP/IP) as people badly misconfigured their machines and their networks. The principles implemented in NBNS have been reimplemented many times, including in such systems as ZeroConf and MobileIP. Datagram distribution service. Datagram mode is "connectionless"; NetBIOS datagrams are sent over UDP. A datagram is sent with a "Direct Unique" or "Direct Group" packet if it's being sent to a particular NetBIOS name, or a "Broadcast" packet if it's being sent to all NetBIOS names on the network. Session service. Session mode lets two computers establish a connection for a "conversation", allows larger messages to be handled, and provides error detection and recovery. Sessions are established by exchanging packets. The computer establishing the session attempts to make a TCP connection to port 139 on the computer with which the session is to be established. If the connection is made, the computer establishing the session then sends over the connection a "Session Request" packet with the NetBIOS names of the application establishing the session and the NetBIOS name to which the session is to be established. The computer with which the session is to be established will respond with a "Positive Session Response" indicating that a session can be established or a "Negative Session Response" indicating that no session can be established (either because that computer isn't listening for sessions being established to that name or because no resources are available to establish a session to that name). Data is transmitted during an established session by Session Message packets. TCP handles flow control and retransmission of all session service packets, and the dividing of the data stream over which the packets are transmitted into IP datagrams small enough to fit in link-layer packets. Sessions are closed by closing the TCP connection. Security vulnerabilities. Web servers are typically - but not exclusively - the first point of impact for internet-based attack vectors. Local area network (LAN) ports, by design, advertise information and consequently often become the focus of the most attacks upon Client-Server networks. Many services that are vulnerable to such means of attack, can - dependent on organizational impact to work-flows - safely be disabled. This is particularly true of network services that are inherently intranet-centric. Two such vulnerable network protocols that provide services are: the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol and NetBIOS over TCP/IP. Both services can reveal incredible amounts of detailed and vital security information about an exposed network. When not mitigated, NetBIOS over TCP/IP and SMB provide recurring vectors for malicious attacks upon a network. Specifically, NetBIOS provides attackers with a means to map the network and also freely navigate a compromised intranet. In regards to public Web Servers, neither service is necessary for the successful operation of a public Web server and disabling both services in such scenarios can greatly enhance the security status of a network. Decreasing relevance in post-NT Client-Server Networks. In relation to post-MS Windows 2000 / NT, client-server based networks, NetBIOS is effectively becoming a legacy protocol. NetBIOS was also developed for non-routable LANs. In most post year 2000 networks operating Windows 2000 or later, NetBIOS effectively offers backwards compatibility for network devices that predate compatibility with DNS. A central role of NetBIOS in Client-Server networks (and also those networks that have networked peripheral hardware that also predates DNS compatibility) is to provide name resolution to computers and networked peripherals. Further, it allows for such networked hardware to be accessed and shared and also enables the mapping and browsing of network folders, shares and shared printers, faxes, etc. In its primary capacity, it acts as a session-layer protocol transported over TCP/IP to provide name resolution to a computer and shared folders. To that end, Windows 2000-based, Client-Server networks - and later - do not require this insecure means of name resolving and addressing or navigating of network shares. Troubleshooting NetBIOS. nbtstat. The codice_1 command is a diagnostic tool for NetBIOS over TCP/IP. Its primary design is to help troubleshoot NetBIOS name resolution problems. The command is included in several versions of Microsoft Windows. There are several commands involved with codice_1 that allows several options such as: local cache lookup, WINS Server query, broadcast, LMHOSTS lookup, and Hosts lookup. It is not for DNS server query. When a network is functioning normally, NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) resolves NetBIOS names to IP addresses. It does this through several options for NetBIOS name resolution, including local cache lookup, WINS server query, broadcast, LMHOSTS lookup, Hosts lookup, and DNS server query. The command removes and corrects preloaded entries using a number of case-sensitive switches. The codice_3 command performs a NetBIOS adapter status command on the computer name specified by codice_4. The adapter status command returns the local NetBIOS name table for that computer as well as the MAC address of the adapter card. The codice_5 command performs the same function using a target IP address rather than a name. Syntax. nbtstat [-a RemoteName] [-A IPAddress] [-c] [-n] [-r] [-R] [-RR] [-s] [-S] [Interval] The common parameters are:<br>

departmental influence

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=5377511

Proportionalism is an ethical theory that lies between consequential theories and deontological theories. Consequential theories, like utilitarianism, say that an action is right or wrong, depending on the consequences it produces, but deontological theories, such as Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative, say that actions are either intrinsically right or intrinsically wrong. Proportionalist theories like rule utilitarianism, however, say that it is never right to go against a principle unless a proportionate reason would justify it. In the 1960s, proportionalism was a consequentialist attempt to develop natural law, a principally Roman Catholic teleological theory most strongly associated with the 13th-century scholastic theologian Thomas Aquinas, but also found in Church Fathers such as Maximus the Confessor and John of Damascus, as well as early pagan schools of philosophy such as Stoicism. The moral guidelines set down by Roman Catholic magisterial teachings of Natural Moral Law are mostly upheld in that intrinsically evil acts are still classified so. In certain situations where there is a balance of ontic goods and ontic evils (ontic evils are those that are not immoral but merely cause pain or suffering, ontic goods are those that alleviate pain or suffering). Proportionalism asserts that one can determine the right course of action by weighing up the good and the necessary evil caused by the action. As a result, proportionalism aims to choose the lesser of evils. Pope John Paul II rules out the 1960s proportionalism in his encyclicals "Veritatis Splendor", promulgated in 1993 (cf. section 75), and in "Evangelium Vitae", 1995 (cf. article 68). Instead he offers an account of moral action based on the object of the act ("finis operis"), the intention of the person performing the act ("finis operantis"), and the circumstances surrounding the action.

best type

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=47104560

Reality is the 39th studio album by American musician James Brown. The album was released in 1974, by Polydor Records. Release. "Reality" was released in late 1974. It charted on the Billboard 200 for 10 weeks, peaking at number 56. Reception. In a contemporary review, the "NME" reviewed both "Reality" and "Breakin' Bread", stating that the album were "pretty much up to the standard of his last few [records]." which he found was both positive and negative noting that there has been no major progression in his music since 1972. The review concluded that both albums were "very well produced, exceedingly exciting and irresistible for dancing, but who needs James Brown & The J.B.'s when you can have The Fatback Band or B.T. Express?" AllMusic gave the album a negative review, noting that Brown's "insane schedule was catching up to him" and that it found him "at an artistic impasse." The reviewer noted that "it was foolish to expect a "fun" album from Brown during this time. He seemed to view America as a doomed nation, and considered the gas shortage, Watergate, and unemployment lines as signs of the coming apocalypse. A hint of sadness and ennui cloaks over the album." The review critiqued "The Twist" as Brown hitting a writer's block and that the cover of "Don't Fence Me In" was another sign of his "desperation". The review noted that the album contained "his worst ballads on record". Track listing. Track listing adapted from vinyl of "Reality". Personnel. Credits adapted from back cover of "Reality".

large progress

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=44693309

Spruce sawflies are various sawfly species found in North America that feed on spruce. There are multiple species of sawflies known as spruce sawflies, including species in the genera "Gilpinia", "Pikonema", "Pristiphora", and "Cephalcia". Each kind of sawfly attacks particular parts of the spruce as larvae during different times of the year. Yellow-headed spruce sawfly, "Pikonema alaskensis". The yellow-headed spruce sawfly, "Pikonema alaskensis", is widely known in the northern United States and Canada as a destructive pest of spruce. It attacks white, black, Norway, and Colorado blue spruces. The larvae at first prefer new foliage, but after becoming about half-grown, old needles are included in their diet too. Young plantations become susceptible a few growing seasons after establishment. The insect overwinters underground as a larva in a dark-brown papery cocoon encrusted with soil (Rose and Lindquist 1985). In the spring, the cocoon changes into a pupa, from which the adult emerges, mainly in May or June at about the time the spruce bud scales are sloughed off. The spring-emerging females lay their eggs in shallow slits at the base of expanding needles, generally 1 per needle. Hatching takes place in 6 to 14 days, and the larvae feed in groups on the new needles until only short, brown stubs are left, after which the larvae move back on the twig to feed on the older needles until they are full-grown—usually in late July or early August. Larvae drop to the ground and spin overwintering cocoons. A single generation occurs per season. Larvae are about 20 mm long when fully grown, and have chestnut-brown to reddish-brown heads. The body is yellowish-green above, lighter beneath, with a double row of broad, brown to olive-green stripes along the back, with another green stripe on each side. A small spot occurs near the legs on all but the rearmost section of the body. In spite of the large numbers of parasites that attack this sawfly, planted spruce can be heavily damaged. Any insecticide would maximize larval mortality when applied about 10 days after bud caps have been shed, but when only few trees are infested, the larvae can be picked off by hand. Other than in young plantations, this sawfly generally causes little or no mortality of trees in spite of its widespread presence. Green-headed spruce sawfly, "Pikonema dimmockii". The green-headed spruce sawfly, "Pikonema dimmockii", is closely related to the yellow-headed spruce sawfly, with which it has a similar distribution, but occurring most commonly from Saskatchewan eastward. Damage by this insect is rarely seen, and the life cycle is similar to that of the yellow-headed spruce sawfly. Little spruce sawfly, "Pristiphora lena". The larvae of the little spruce sawfly, "Pristiphora lena", feed on spruce needles in June and July. The insect has been reported from Ontario and Newfoundland, but damage has been inconsequential. The larvae are black-headed until almost fully grown (about 10 mm long) when the head colour changes to reddish brown. The life history is similar to that of the other spruce sawflies. Spruce webspinning sawflies. A number of webspinning sawflies feed on spruce, but most of them are rare and solitary feeders, "Cephalcia fascipennis" being the most common. It occasionally causes damage to ornamental spruce trees or hedges across Canada and the northeastern United States. The larvae overwinter in cells in the ground and pupate in the spring. The adults soon emerge and the female lays green cylindrical eggs singly or in end-to-end rows of 2 to 4 on the needle. On hatching, the larvae construct shelters of silk and excreta at the crotch of a twig and branch. The larvae forage from these shelters by cutting the older needles and eating them from the base outwards, usually leaving the tips of the needles which may be incorporated into the shelters. Larvae of this family typically have elongate antennae, bear a pair of jointed appendages at the posterior end, and lack abdominal legs. The colour is variable, but the head is usually dark and the body brownish with a reddish line along the back. Full-grown larvae, about 25 mm long, drop to the ground to overwinter.

Common existence

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=49219005

The 1973 FIM Motocross World Championship was the 17th F.I.M. Motocross Racing World Championship season. Summary. 500cc championship. Roger De Coster won his third consecutive 500cc world championship for Suzuki ahead of West German rider, Willy Bauer. The championship wasn't decided until the final race in the Netherlands, when Bauer suffered a mechanical breakdown, losing the championship to De Coster by two points. Kawasaki joined the world championships with Brad Lackey in the 500cc class and Torleif Hansen in the 250cc class. Suzuki's defense of the 500cc world championship was dealt a setback when, the FIM announced a new motorcycle minimum weight limit of 209 pounds just before the start of the season. European motorcycle manufacturers competing in the championship complained to the FIM that Suzuki was spending millions of dollars to build lightweight motorcycles that the smaller European manufacturers found impossible to compete with. Suzuki had already developed and built their race bikes so, there was no time to build new bikes. As a result, Suzuki resorted to adding ballast to the bikes. Unfortunately, these alterations threw the bikes out of balance and caused them to lose traction. To make matters worse, Maico and Yamaha had developed new rear suspensions with longer travel which helped transfer power to the rear wheel over rough terrain. The Suzuki management felt they were being unjustly treated by the FIM and were slow to react to developments by the other manufacturers. Most of the Western European riders boycotted the Austrian 500cc round due to heavy snow on the track. As the season got underway, Yamaha's new "monoshock" rear suspension began to make an impact with Christer Hammargren winning a moto and Jaak van Velthoven taking the overall win at the Finnish Grand Prix. De Coster won both motos of the Italian Grand Prix but, Bauer came back with a hard fought victory in Czechoslovakia, relegating De Coster to second place in both motos and took the lead in the championship points tally. Bauer then took control of the championship by winning 5 out of the next 6 motos. Suzuki management's frustration at their perceived unfair treatment led to a lapse in support and, Suzuki team riders De Coster and Sylvain Geboers then took matters into their own hands by modifying their motorcycle's frames and developed new rear suspensions. Going into the final race of the season at Sint Anthonis, Holland, Bauer was still holding the points lead but, the Suzukis were showing improvement. The Sint Anthonis track was composed of deep sand which robbed engines of power and increased fuel consumption. A Suzuki engineer calculated that their bike's gas tanks did not have sufficient capacity to finish the race. De Coster then took one of their tanks and drove two and a half hours to have the tank modified to increase its volume. He then drove back in time for the race. Despite having little sleep, De Coster scored two fourth-place finishes while Bauer suffered a mechanical failure handing De Coster his third consecutive 500cc world championship. 250cc championship. Håkan Andersson won the 250cc world championship to give Yamaha its first motocross world championship. Yamaha's new and innovative rear suspension with a single shock absorber made its debut at the third round in Belgium and was proven to be successful when Andersson won the overall victory. The new suspension design would go on to revolutionize the sport. Jim Pomeroy riding a privateer Bultaco, became the first American rider to win an overall victory in an FIM Motocross Grand Prix race when he won the season opening Spanish Grand Prix. His victory also marked the first Grand Prix victory for the Bultaco factory. Competitors from nine different manufacturers placed in the top ten of the 250cc championship final standings, reflecting the thriving vitality of the sport of motocross.

enough capability

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=15220489

Michael Peter Skelly (born October 19, 1961) is a Houston renewable energy and infrastructure developer and entrepreneur. He is the former Democratic candidate for Texas's 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. From 1999 to 2008, he served as the chief development officer for Horizon Wind Energy, which by 2007 had become the second-largest wind farm developer and third-largest wind farm owner in the United States. Skelly cofounded and served as president of Clean Line Energy Partners, an independent developer of high voltage direct current, long-haul transmission lines until 2018. Skelly's work at Clean Line is detailed in the book, "Superpower: One Man's Quest to Transform American Energy" by Wall Street Energy reporter and Pulitzer Prize finalist Russell Gold. Skelly currently serves as Senior Advisor at Lazard asset management company regarding renewables and sustainability. Family and personal life. Early life and education. Michael Skelly was born in England in 1961 to Irish Parents. At the age of two, Skelly sailed to the United States from Ireland with his family aboard the SS "America". His parents settled in Roanoke, Virginia where Skelly attended public schools. He went on to earn his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame. After college, he joined the Peace Corps and served in Costa Rica, where he helped local fisherman develop a microcredit market to increase their economic viability after the Latin American economic crisis of the 1980s. Following the Peace Corps, Skelly enrolled in Harvard Business School, where he earned his M.B.A.. In 2013 the Skelly and his wife, Anne Whitlock, purchased the hundred year old Houston Firehouse No. 2, which had fallen into disrepair since its decommissioning in the 1980s. With their children out on their own, the couple renovated the firehouse, turning the downstairs into a community and events space and the upstairs into their residence. Adult life. Skelly has been married to Anne Whitlock since 1991. The couple has three grown children: two boys and a girl. Anne earned a degree in Business Finance from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a degree in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Anne is the Founding Director of Connect Community, an organization that works with the largely immigrant Gulfton and Sharpstown neighborhoods of Houston. The organization connects the community to resources it can collaborate with to strengthen itself socioeconomically. Kidney donation. In February 2011, Skelly donated a kidney to his sister, Margaret. After becoming a donor, Skelly became an advocate for living donor programs, becoming a member on the Advisory board of Living Bank, a Houston-based organization that works to advance living organ donation to confront the shortage of organs needed for life-saving transplants. On May 2, 2014 Skelly co-hosted a Cabaret gala fundraiser for Nora's Home - an outpatient facility designed for transplant recipients to recover. In October 2017, Living Bank hosted their annual "Celebrate Life" Fundraiser featuring Skelly as special honoree. Business career. Aerial tram. In 1992, Skelly and his partners began the development of an aerial tram adjacent to the Braulio Carrillo National Park of Costa Rica to promote ecotourism. Skelly navigated logistical, financial and bureaucratic challenges in order to complete the project. The tram equipment was purchased from a U.S. ski resort. Skelly secured a helicopter from the Nicaraguan government to install the tram towers in the dense rainforest through connections he made at Harvard. The project was completed in 1994. The open-air tram is a mile long and rises to the rainforest canopy to deliver guests an up-close view of the incredibly biodiverse ecosystem. The tram is still operational today. New World Power. After developing the Aerial Tram, Skelly went to work for New World Power to develop renewable energy projects in 1995. Soon after he was brought on board, the company began liquidating assets. By 1996 New World Power had gone out of business and Skelly was forced to move on. Energia Global. Skelly joined Energia Global in 1996, developing small energy projects in Central America. Skelly led Energia Global's efforts for a proposed wind farm, Tierras Morenas. Tierras Morenas would be the largest wind farm in Costa Rica, and at the time was one of the largest in Latin America. In order to purchase the wind farm site, Energia Global required a financial partner to invest capital. Skelly forged a partnership with Texan investor and co-owner of International Wind, Michael Zilkha. By 1999, the project was completed and contributing electricity to the Costa Rican grid. In 2001, 4% of the nations power was generated at Tierras Morenas and two smaller wind farms. Horizon Wind Energy. Skelly moved to Houston to work as Chief Development Officer for International Wind in 1999, the company that had partnered with Energia Global on the Tierras Morenas wind farm. Michael Zilkha and his father, Selim Zilkha, owned 50% of International Wind until 2000, when they bought out the other 50% interest and renamed the company Zilkha Renewable Energy. The company developed wind farms across the country including the 75 megawatt (MW) Blue Canyon Wind Farm in Oklahoma and 320 MW Maple Ridge Wind Farm in New York. Goldman Sachs purchased Zilkha Renewable in 2005 and the company was rebranded Horizon Wind Energy. At the time of acquisition, Zilkha Renewables had 4,000 megawatts of wind-energy projects under development in 12 states. In 2005, wind power accounted for less than 1% of electricity generated in the United States. In 2006, the "Houston Business Journal" quoted Skelly as saying, "Houston is the center of energy, and as renewable energy, including wind, plays a bigger role. There is an opportunity for Houston to be involved in the growth for that segment." Goldman Sachs sold Horizon, which had grown to the third largest wind company in the United States, to EDP Renewables for $2.2 billion for a reported gain of nearly $1 billion. Wind Energy Person of the Year. In 2008, the American Wind Energy Association named Michael Skelly "Wind Energy Person of the Year" at the WindPower 2008 Conference. Clean Line Energy partners. His work at Clean Line Energy Partners and Horizon Wind Energy is described in detail in the book Superpower by Russell Gold. In 2009, Skelly founded Clean Line Energy Partners, a company focused on moving energy from resource areas to distant consumer markets. Independent studies by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have shown that in order for the United States to efficiently use renewable energy, the country's power grid must be updated to include long-distance transmission lines. The NOAA study demonstrated the U.S. could reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by 80%, using only existing technologies, and the NREL study showed the U.S. power grid must be updated for the country to run on 30% renewable energy. Clean Line was an independent developer of high voltage direct current (HVDC), long-haul transmission lines, wanting to provide transmission solutions to generators and load-serving utilities in order to interconnect all sources of energy with consumers. Clean line faced numerous bureaucratic challenges while attempting to develop their HVDC transmission lines. The company had four proposed transmission line projects; Plains and Eastern Clean Line, Grainbelt Express Clean Line, Western Spirit Clean Line and Mesa Canyons Wind Farm, and Rock Island Clean Line. The Plains and Eastern Clean Line came the closest to being developed. Plains and Eastern was to deliver up to 4,000 MW from Oklahoma Panhandle wind farms to a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) substation outside of Memphis for offloading power onto the TVA grid and for sale to southeastern utilities. Skelly offered to sell the TVA power at as low as 2 cents per kilowatt hour. Ultimately, the TVA decided not to purchase power from the Plains and Eastern Clean Line, giving up the opportunity to lower costs for their ratepayers and add more renewables to their portfolio and that of the greater Southeast. After ten years of hard work, and no developed HVDC lines, Skelly was forced to sell off the projects to other energy developers. Many of the permits and approvals for these projects still exist and they may be developed in the future. New Mexico utility PNM was approved by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC) to acquire the Western Spirit transmission project in 2019.The Western Spirit transmission project was acquired from Pattern Energy Group and the New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority. who will develop and construct the project. The project will transmit 800 MW of wind energy. PNM expects the project to be finished in 2021. In July 2020, Invenergy won a court ruling to acquire the 780 mile Grain Belt Express Clean Line. The project will carry up to 4,000 MW of wind power from western Kansans to a substation in Kansas, where the energy will be distributed to the 11-state market of grid operator PJM. Lazard. In 2018, Skelly joined investment bank Lazard as a senior advisor on renewables. 2008 Congressional Campaign. In November 2008, Skelly faced three-term incumbent John Culberson in the election for Texas' 7th district. Skelly's campaign received national attention for its fundraising efforts. Texas' 7th congressional district had not been won by a democrat in 40 years. Ultimately, Skelly lost the election to Culberson by 42% to 56% of the vote, respectively. Skelly was 10 years ahead of his time, as Democrat Lizzie Fletcher finally defeated Culberson in 2018 in a hard-fought race. Community leadership. Board leadership. LINK Houston. Michael serves as a board member of LINK Houston. LINK's mission is to advocate for an equitable public transit network in Houston, where owning a car is not a necessity to traverse the city. Lack of transportation is a barrier to opportunity, i.e. affordable housing, education, work, healthcare, and grocery shopping. Low housing costs in Houston are often offset by car and travel related expenses. Reducing bicycle and pedestrian involved car accidents is a priority of LINK through increased access and safety measures. Houston Bike Share. Skelly is a board member for the nonprofit Houston Bike Share. Houston Bike Share operates Houston BCycle, a program operating 113 rental stations and 800 bicycles. Bike's can either be rented on as-needed basis via credit card kiosk or mobile app. Make I-45 Better Coalition. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has proposed plans to expand highway I-45 through Houston. There has been widespread critique of the project concerning displaced businesses and households, increased flood risk, increased proximity of homes and schools to the highway, decreased air quality, disjunction of Bayou Parks Greenways trail system and high cost. Michael Skelly leads the Make I-45 Better Coalition, whose mission is to decrease aforementioned impacts of the proposed project. Skelly has been quoted saying, "This is the biggest decision that Houston will make in 2020. In fact, it may be the biggest project in all of the 2020s." Greentown Labs. Skelly joined the Founding Advisory Board of Greentown Labs as they prepare to open their second location in Houston at the Rice Innovation District in spring 2021. Greentown labs is a Sommerville, Massachusetts-based startup incubator focused on cleantech and climatech. Living Bank. Skelly is a member of the advisory board of Living Bank, a Houston-based organization that works to advance living organ donation to confront the shortage of organs needed for life-saving transplants. Houston Parks Board. Skelly is has served on the Houston Parks Board since 2010. Over the past decade Houston Parks Board launched the Bayou Greenways 2020 to connect Houston's bayous with 150 miles of continuous trail. Houston voters in 2012 approved "Proposition B", which set aside $100 million for the project. Skelly recruited Prop B's campaign team and led the fundraising effort for the campaign. The Houston Parks Board raised another $120 million from other sources to support Bayou Greenways. The public-private partnership created 3,000 acres of green space in Houston with 60% of Houstonians living within 1.5 miles of the Greenways. In an article penned by Skelly in the Houston Chronicle he states, "Bayou Greenways transcends parks, waterways and trails, these greenways have the potential to become one of our most powerful threads weaving together our city's social fabric." Lina Hidalgo. Lina Hidalgo is the county judge for Harris County, Texas, the third largest county in the United States. She is the first woman and the first Latinx person to be elected to the position. In 2018, Hidalgo named Skelly as a co-chair for her Talent Advisory Group. The group's role is to advise Judge-Elect Hidalgo on the naming of select, high-level staff within the County Judge's office. Firehouse No. 2. Purchase and restoration. In 2013, Skelly and his wife, Anne Whitlock, purchased the historic Firehouse No. 2 in the East End of Houston. The firehouse was built in 1910 and was decommissioned in the 1980s and fell into disrepair over the next 30 years. The couple had been looking for a historic industrial building to convert into a residence and community space. In addition to the firehouse, the couple rescued 6 historic Victorians that were slated for demolition and moved them onto the property adjacent to the firehouse. After a two-year rehabilitation and renovation the firehouse and Victorians, Skelly and Whitlock moved into the firehouse in 2015. The downstairs serves as a community and events space and the upstairs is the couples' residence. One of the restored Victorians serves as a guesthouse for the couple and the others were put on the market. Hurricane Harvey. When Hurricane Harvey hit the coast of Texas in 2017, Anne and Michael were ferrying Harvey victims from the hospital to the George R. Brown convention center in Houston. As reported in the Washington Post the couple came across an immigrant family that was forced out of their home by the floodwaters. Knowing the convention center was rapidly filling and the firehouse stands on high ground and was at no risk of flooding, Michael and Anne opened their home to the family - a single mother and her two children, the woman's brother and a family friend. Michael posted on Facebook, urging friends to take in other hurricane refugees, helpting to start a chain reaction of aid to stranded families. The couple then received a phone call from their son, Oliver, who was still at the convention center and had found a disabled woman and her elderly mother waiting in line in the pouring rain. Anne and Michael told Oliver it would be just fine to bring the pair home and they stayed in one of the restored Victorians. Fundraising. Skelly is known to be a prolific fundraiser - for the boards and businesses he has worked for, and political causes. Joe Biden 2020 Presidential Campaign. Skelly bundled donations for the Biden 2020 campaign, and is active in organizing events focused on climate action and a renewable energy future. He has hosted fundraising calls directly with Biden on the topic. Skelly was featured as a speaker for the Give Green event, "Building National Transmission". Published articles. Skelly has a number of published articles on renewable energy, urban issues and infrastructure including:

immediate perspective

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=44910368

Pauline Rhodes (born 1937) is a New Zealand artist. Rhodes is known for her artworks related to the landscape, which take two forms: outdoor works, in which she makes minimal sculptural interventions in the landscape, which exist only through her documentation, and sculptural installations in gallery spaces, which are conceptually related to the outdoor works. Education and travel. Rhodes was born in 1937 in Christchurch, New Zealand. In 1959 she attended the University of Canterbury's School of Fine Arts part-time. In 1960 she moved to Wellington, and took the Basic Studies Art Course at the Wellington Polytechnic School of Design. In 1961 she moved to Westport and lived there until 1965. From 1965 to 1969 Rhodes lived and travelled in Africa and Europe. She lived in Nigeria for 18 months, where she worked on terracotta sculpture, pottery, and bronze casting with a traditional bronze caster. From she 1967 lived in Kent, England and travelled around England, Wales and Scotland, returning to New Zealand by way of Greece and India. In 1971 Rhodes enrolled part-time again at the Canterbury University School of Fine Arts, and completed her Diploma in Fine Arts (Sculpture) in 1974. She attended Teachers College in 1976 and taught part-time briefly, but stopped to focus full-time on her art practice. Work. While at art school in the 1970s Rhodes began working outdoors, becoming one of New Zealand's few environmental sculptors. Rhodes' work takes two main forms: sculptural installations in buildings, usually art galleries, using materials that have often been modified through exposure to the elements (such as paper stained with rusted metal), and ephemeral outdoor interventions, where contrasting coloured elements and forms (such as dyed cloth or coloured rods) are placed in the landscape, photographed by the artist, and then removed. While Rhodes has made outdoors works in New Zealand and Britain, most have taken place in Banks Peninsula, Canterbury, the area in which she lives. Rhodes has developed her own terms for these two kinds of works, both of which she sees as being about space. 'Extensums' are usually outdoor works, which 'extend' a space in Rhodes' terms; 'intensums' are usually installations inside buildings, where space is intensifed. Rhodes began training as a cross-country runner in 1978 and went on to compete regularly in marathon and cross-country events. In 1998 art historian Priscilla Pitts wrote: Every day she runs long distances on the hills, often along Summit Road, 'absorbing the landforms' not just with her eyes, but also through the soles of her feet. She becomes kinetically intimate with the landscape, her whole body responding to the varying nature of the terrain. In response to this way of understanding the land, some works involve upright 'markers' across the chosen site; others construct paths from squares and strips of material; other indicate the lie of the land using a succession of long horizontal elements. Career. Although she did not have her first exhibition until 1977, when she was 40, Rhodes quickly established herself with projects in public galleries throughout New Zealand. In 1980 Rhodes contributed "Extensions" to the Sarjeant Gallery's "4 New Zealand Sculptors" exhibition (which also included Andrew Drummond, Neil Dawson and Matt Pine). Working in space under the gallery's well-known dome, Rhodes installed a floor piece made from squares of weathered steel laid out through the galleries from under the dome and extending into the grounds outside. In 1981 as part of ANZART, the first Australia-New Zealand artist exchange, Rhodes presented a work titled "Stained Silences" at the Robert McDougall Art Gallery. She covered a long wall in the gallery with stained squares of newspaper and gave her first slide talk on her outdoors work as part of the exhibition events programme. In 1982 Rhodes was included with Christine Hellyar and Jacqueline Fraser in "3 Sculptors" at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington. She constructed two walls of rust-stained newsprint sheets attached to lengths of cane, which formed a corridor and shook subtly when visitors passed between them. In the same year she presented an installation work, "Extensums: ground runs - stained ground", at the F1 Sculpture Project, in which chalk and water marks drew attention to details in the factory floor surface, and the space was filled with large pieces of paper stained by rusting steel, upright curved grids and lime green rods. In 1985 Rhodes exhibited in the Auckland Art Gallery's artist project series. Her installation, titled "Intensums '85", filled a long gallery with a three-dimensional grid like a labyrinth, made of a wide variety of materials including steel rods, cane, green painted cane, paper, fabric, copper wire and dried beach grass, all stained with rust, and small boxes of earth which sprouted grass during the exhibition. Rhodes took part in a number of other notable exhibitions in the 1980s and 1990s, including "Content/context: a survey of recent New Zealand art" (1986, organised by the National Art Gallery), "Alter/Image: a different view, women artists in New Zealand 1973–1993" (1993, City Gallery Wellington and Auckland City Art Gallery), and "Action replay: post-object art" (1998, Artspace, Auckland) and had solo projects at a number of galleries, including "Intensum/Extensum" (1986, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, "Extensum – soft ground" and "Paper works: stained ground" (1987, Artspace, Auckland), "INTENSUM in memorium" (1987, Wellington City Art Gallery), "INTENSUM: stained silences, interconnections" (1998, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery), and "In-between" (McDougall Contemporary Art Annex, Christchurch), and made the site-specific sculpture "Ziggurat 2000" in Hagley Park, Christchurch, for the Art and Industry Biennial. In 2003 the Adam Art Gallery in Wellington staged the exhibition "Conduits and containers: Leakages from the tests", curated by Christina Barton, to accompany the publication of Barton’s book on Rhodes’ work from 1977 to 2000, "Ground/Work: The Art of Pauline Rhodes" (2003, Victoria University Press). Rhodes' private archive and documentation of her work was destroyed in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. In 2015 Rhodes created a new, site-specific, temporary outdoor artwork for the 2015 SCAPE Biennial in Christchurch. The work made use of mass-produced industrial components which will be returned to the manufacturers at the end of the festival. In early 2016 Rhodes created a site-specific installation, "Dark Watch", at Auckland's ST Paul St Gallery. Critic John Hurrell compared the work to some of the artist's installations from the early 1980s, such as "Extensum/Extensor" at Christchurch's CSA in 1983. An accompanying publication, also titled "Dark Watch", features essays by Charlotte Huddleston, Tina Barton, Ash Kilmartin and Rebecca Boswell. Awards and recognitions. In 1987 Rhodes was the first recipient of the Olivia Spencer Bower Award. Collections. Because her work is largely temporary and site-specific, few of Rhodes' works are held in public collections. One large sculptural work, "Extensum/Extensor" (1982) is in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa: the artist stipulated that the work could only be purchased if she could personally control how it was presented in future. Both Te Papa and the Christchurch Art Gallery hold drawings by Rhodes and photographic recordings of her outdoor works.

changing landscape

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=382137

The culture of Quebec emerged over the last few hundred years, resulting predominantly from the shared history of the French-speaking North American majority in Quebec. Québécois culture, as a whole, constitutes all distinctive traits - spiritual, material, intellectual and affective - that characterize Québécois society. This term encompasses the arts, literature, institutions and traditions created by Québécois, as well as the collective beliefs, values and lifestyle of Québécois. It is a culture of the Western World. Quebec is the only region in North America with a French-speaking majority, as well as one of only two provinces in Canada where French is a constitutionally recognized official language. As of 2006, 79% of all Quebecers list French as their mother tongue; since French is the official language in the province, up to 95% of all residents speak French. The 2001 census showed the population to be 90.3 percent Christian (in contrast to 77 percent for the whole country) with 83.4 percent Catholic (including 83.2 percent Roman Catholic). History made Quebec a place where people can experience America, but from the point of view of a linguistic minority surrounded by a larger English-speaking culture. This enclaved status has pushed many in Quebec to favour cultural protectionism, which can be seen in efforts such as the adoption of laws like of the Charter of the French Language and the creation of government institutions like the Office québécois de la langue française. The "Encyclopædia Britannica" describes contemporary Quebec political culture as a post-1960s phenomenon resulting from the Quiet Revolution, an essentially homogeneous socially liberal counter-culture phenomenon supported and financed by both of Quebec's major political parties, who differ essentially not in a right-vs-left continuum but a federalist-vs-sovereignty/separatist continuum. The Quiet Revolution also turned Quebec from the most religious province into the most secular. Quebec has been strongly influenced by Early modern France as it was part of New France. Interactions with France today can also be impactful (ex. the "Vive le Québec libre!" declaration). The province has been strongly influenced by British culture as a result of the Conquest of New France and subsequent centuries spent as part of the British Empire and under the British monarchy. Quebec has received a Celtic influence because of past immigrants from Ireland and Scotland. English-speaking Canadians (called "Anglais" or "Anglo") of other provinces, especially of nearby provinces like Ontario, as well as those inside Quebec, continue to influence Québécois today. Quebec is strongly influenced by American culture because of geographical and affective proximity. For historical and linguistic reasons, Quebec has cultural links with other North American French-speaking communities, particularly with the Acadians and Franco-Ontarian communities in Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario. Quebec has links -but to a lesser extent- to francophone communities in Western Canada, the Cajun French revival movements in Louisiana, Haiti and the French Antilles. There is some leftover influence of First Nations from colonial days, which can be seen in certain traditional Québécois activities like snowshoeing or maple syrup production. Folklore. In terms of folklore, Quebec's French-speaking populace has the second largest body of folktales in Canada (the first being Native people); most prominent within Quebec folklore are old parables and tales. Other forms of folklore include superstitions associated with objects, events, and dreams. The "Association Quebecoise des Loisirs Folkloriques" is an organization committed to preserving and disseminating Quebec's folklore heritage. It produces a number of publications and recordings, as well as sponsoring other activities. When the early settlers arrived from France in the 17th century, they brought with them popular tales from their homeland. Adapted to fit the traditions of rural Quebec by transforming the European hero into Ti-Jean, a generic rural habitant, they eventually spawned many other tales. Many were passed on through generations by what French speaking Québécois refer to as "Les Raconteurs", or storytellers. Almost all of the stories native to Quebec were influenced by Christian dogma and superstitions. The Devil, for instance, appears often as either a person, an animal or monster, or indirectly through Demonic acts. Creative arts. Cinema. The first public movie projection in North America occurred in Montreal on June 27, 1896. Frenchman Louis Minier presented a film on a Cinematograph in a Café-Theatre on Saint Lawrence Boulevard. However, it was not be until the 1960s when the National Film Board of Canada was established that a genuine Quebec cinema industry would emerge. The 1970s were a "watershed" moment for Quebec films, when sophisticated themes and techniques were used by filmmakers such as Claude Jutra. Jutra's "Mon Oncle Antoine" (1971) has been assessed by some film critics as "one of Canada's greatest films". Denys Arcand found success in the 1980s with "The Decline of the American Empire" (1986) and "Jesus of Montreal" (1989). In 2004, an Arcand film, "The Barbarian Invasions", won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Jean-Claude Lauzon's films, such as "Night Zoo (Un zoo la nuit)" (1987) and "Léolo" (1992), gained traction with audiences and critics alike. C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005) by Jean-Marc Vallée was successful at home and abroad. Xavier Dolan attracted audience and critical attention with "I Killed My Mother" (2009) and subsequent films. Quebec films have gained recognition through multiple nominations for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in recent years; "Incendies" (2010) by Denis Villeneuve, "Monsieur Lazhar" (2011) by Philippe Falardeau, and "War Witch" (2012) by Kim Nguyen. Important contributions to world cinema include Cinéma vérité and artistic animation. Circus Arts. Quebec has carved a niche for itself in the field of Circus arts, where it emphasizes the European tradition of circus. The Cirque du Soleil circus troupe is known for its artistic productions with rich musical scores. Its productions include "Varekai", "Dralion", "Alegría", "Corteo", "KOOZA", "Quidam", "Kà", "Zumanity", "Love", "Mystère" and "O" (which is performed on a water platform). It is one of the world's few circuses without animal performers. Other internationally successful troupes include Cirque Éloize and Cirque ÉOS. Cavalia, a Shawinigan-based horse show, has, since 2003, gained massive popularity in Montreal and Los Angeles. It features both acrobatic and equestrian arts. All of the horses are male, most of which are stallions. Comic strips. Comic books in Quebec traditionally follow the European tradition of comics, combining both graphic design and literature. Though most are aimed at children, they are generally considered more dignified entertainment and there are many notable exceptions of graphic novels and comic books aimed at an older reading audience, such as the ones published by the Montreal-based Drawn & Quarterly, Les 400 coups, and La Pastèque. Dance. Classical dance in Quebec took root after World War II. Les Ballets Quebec (1948–51) was a short-lived ballet corps founded by Gérald Crevier. Les Grands Ballets Canadiens was founded in 1959, and gained an international reputation. Le Groupe de la Place Royale (1966) was the first modern dance company in Quebec, eventually moving to Ottawa in 1977. Le Groupe Nouvelle Aire (1968–1982) was the second modern dance company, also established in Montreal. During the 1980s, modern dance groups La La La Human Steps and O Vertigo became internally known. Choreographer Margie Gillis has established a successful career across Canada and internationally. Humour and youth programs. Several comedy festivals were created in Quebec, including the festival Just for Laughs in Montreal, which enjoys an international reputation, and the "Grand Rire" festival of Québec, Gatineau and Sherbrooke. Several prominent Quebec artists and humorous groups are known nationally and internationally, such as Rose Ouellette (known as "La Poune"), Juliette Petrie, Stéphane Rousseau, François Pérusse, Gilles Latulippe, Yvon Deschamps, Marc Favreau (famous for his character of "Sol", a hobo clown), Michael Noël (and the character of "Capitaine Bonhomme"), Jacques Desrosiers (performer of the famous clown Patof), Serge Thériault and Claude Meunier (as "Ding et (and) Dong"), Les Grandes Gueules, Lise Dion, Jean-Michel Anctil, Martin Matte and Louis-José Houde, to name only a few. Some humorous programs are or were also popular such as "Cré Basile", "Le Zoo du Capitaine Bonhomme", "Lundi des Ha! Ha!" (Monday, Ha! Ha! ), "Démons du midi" (Midday Devils), "La Petite Vie", "Les Bougon", and "The sketch show (Quebec version)". A famous show called "Bye-Bye", broadcast each year on December 31, was a funny way to review the year just completed and laugh about any news (political or not) that happened that year. The National improvisation League (LNI), created in 1977, puts on scene number of actors and comedians in humorous shows joining the improvisation theatre to comedy. The National School of humour (École nationale de l'humour) was created in 1988 to form the next generations of Quebec comedians. The Association of professionals of the humour industry (APIH) was created in 1998 and is the premier organization for promoting and developing the cultural sector of humour in Quebec. The "Gala Les Olivier", in honour of the former comedian Olivier Guimond, recognizes Quebec personalities of humour. "Le Poisson D'Avril" (April Fools) is an old French tradition involving sticking fish (usually paper ones) on people's back without their knowledge. It dates back to 1564, and is still to this day a tradition in Quebec. Now, in most other parts of the world, people play pranks on each other instead of the fish custom. Prior to the modern Quebec sovereignty movement, many citizens of Quebec decided to express their dissatisfaction with federal elections by forming the Rhinoceros Party of Canada. The party fielded humorous candidates in many ridings with a satirical platform. They added colour to many otherwise drab elections for more than two decades. Children also have their comedy and animated cartoons such as "The Surprise Box", Bobino, "Le Pirate Maboule", Fanfreluche, the "Ribouldingue", Les 100 tours de Centour, "Patofville", Passe-Partout, Robin et Stella, Iniminimagimo, "Vazimolo", "Tele-Pirate", Bibi et Geneviève, Watatatow, Caillou, "Cornemuse", "Macaroni tout garni", "Toc toc toc", "Ramdam", "Tactik" and many more. Literature. Early literature. The first literary output from Quebec occurred under the regime of New France, with the many poems written by the early inhabitants, as well as histories. It was, however, during the 19th century that Quebec novels were first published. The first Quebecois novel was written by Philippe Aubert de Gaspé in 1837, titled "Le chercheur de trésor" or "L'influence d'un livre". The period 1895 to 1930 saw a rapid growth in French literature in Quebec, and writers were heavily influenced by poetry and novels from Paris. Prominent Quebec writers of this period include Émile Nelligan, Victor Barbeau, Paul Morin, Guy Delahaye, René Dugas, René Chopin, Charles Ignace Adélard Gill, Jean-Aubert Loranger, Arthur de Bussières, Albert Lozeau, Robert Choquette, Albert Dreux, Gonzalve Desaulniers, Lionel Léveillé, Robert de Roquebrune, and Léo d'Yril. "Roman du terroir" (1900–1960). After 1900, Quebecois writers explored regional and ethnic identity in what has become called the "roman du terroir" (English: novel of the homestead, or from the land) movement. Writers who can be placed within the "terroir" framework include Camille Roy, Adjutor Rivard, Frère Marie-Victorin, Louis Hémon, Lionel Groulx, Alfred Desrochers, Albert Laberge, Blanche Lamontagne-Beauregard, Henriette Dessaulles, Germaine Guèvremont, Damase Potvin, Albert Ferland, Adélard Dugré, Pamphile Lemay, Ulric Gingras, Alphonse Désilets, Nérée Beauchemin and Rodolphe Girard. The "roman du terroir" style of novel continued its popularity during the era sometimes called "La grande noirceur" (the great darkness), during the premiership of Maurice Duplessis, a time of extreme social and political conservatism in the province. Other types of novels developed during the 1940s and 1950s, such as the "roman de moeurs urbaines" (novel of urban mores), as exemplified by the writing of Gabrielle Roy, Ringuet, and Roger Lemelin. Another development in the novel was the "roman psychologique" (psychological novel), showing the inner turmoil of a character who cannot live "within the colonized society that values religion, family, and a mythic past". In the meantime, English-language writers from Quebec became prominent in Canada. Writers of this period include Claude-Henri Grignon, Félix-Antoine Savard, Ringuet, Anne Hébert, Saint-Denys Garneau, Alain Grandbois, Rina Lasnier, Clément Marchand, Roger Lemelin, Gabrielle Roy, Yves Thériault, Félix Leclerc, Isabelle Legris, Claire Martin, Francis Reginald Scott, Jean-Charles Harvey, A.M. Klein, Irving Layton, Léo-Paul Desrosiers, André Langevin, Gérard Bessette, Gratien Gélinas, Marcel Dubé, Paul-Émile Borduas, Robert Élie, Robert Charbonneau, André Giroux, Claude Gauvreau, Rex Desmarchais, Gilles Hénault, and Jean Le Moyne. Among the well-known literary works produced in Quebec at this time were two cultural and political manifestos, Prisme d'yeux (1948) and Refus global (1948), early indications of the beginning of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec. Quiet Revolution (1960–1970). The Quiet Revolution began in earnest during the 1960s. The expression of Quebecois identity, or even nationalist sentiment, shaped much of Quebecois literature in the period 1960 to 1970. The Cold War, the feminist movement, the influence of the United States' "counterculture", the concerns of the baby boom generation, and other cultural developments sweeping the Western world during the era also permeated the works of Quebec writers. Writers of the Quiet Revolution era include Gaston Miron, Réjean Ducharme, Hubert Aquin, Marie-Claire Blais, Jacques Ferron, Jacques Poulin, Roch Carrier, Georges Dor, Jacques Godbout, Michel Tremblay, Jacques Renaud, Victor-Lévy Beaulieu, André Major, Jacques Brault, Paul-Marie Lapointe, Gatien Lapointe, Paul Chamberland, Fernand Ouellette, Roland Giguère, Alphonse Piché, Jean-Guy Pilon, Françoise Loranger, Jean-Claude Germain, Jean Barbeau, Michel Garneau, Fernand Dumont, Pierre Vadeboncœur, Pierre Vallières, Jean Bouthillette. Also writing during this era were Mavis Gallant, Denis Vanier, Michèle Lalonde, Lucien Francoeur, Patrick Straram, Gérald Godin, Michel Beaulieu, Nicole Brossard, Pierre Morency, Marcel Bélanger, Hélène Brodeur, Claude Jasmin, Gilles Archambault, Gilbert La Rocque, Jean-Pierre Ronfard, Normand Chaurette, Leonard Cohen, Jean Éthier-Blais, Yves Beauchemin, and André Loiselet. Post-modernism and today. After 1970, themes and techniques of post-modernism began to influence much of Quebec's literature. Writers prominent from 1970 onward include Mordecai Richler, Nicole Brossard, Louky Bersianik, France Théoret, Madeleine Gagnon, Denise Boucher, François Charron, Claude Beausoleil, Yolande Villemaire, Marie Uguay, Roger Desroches, Gaétan Brulotte, Jean-Yves Collette, Daniel Gagnon, Michel Khalo, François Ricard, Marie José Thériault, André Belleau, and Claudine Bertrand. Popular French-language contemporary writers of the late 20th and early 21st century include Louis Caron, Suzanne Jacob, Yves Beauchemin, and Gilles Archambault. English-language writers of Quebec include David Homel, Neil Bissoondath and Yann Martel. An association, the Quebec Writers' Federation, promotes English-language literature of Quebec and gives out an annual prize to Quebec writers. English-language literature from Quebec is sometimes classified under English-Canadian literature. Literature has been produced in other minority languages in Quebec, such as Hebrew, Yiddish (including an active Yiddish theatre scene in Montreal during the early to mid-20th century), and indigenous aboriginal languages. Music. The traditional folk music of Quebec has two main influences: the traditional songs of France, and the influence of Celtic music, with reels and songs that show a definite affinity with the traditional music of Canada's Maritime Provinces, Ireland, Scotland, and Brittany. This traditional music is becoming increasingly more popular, with the success of groups such as La Bottine Souriante. Quebec has also produced world-class classical music over the years, such as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (MSO), founded in 1934. Under the direction of Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit from 1977 to 2002, the MSO gained a truly international reputation. Montreal is also home to the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, the Orchestre de la Francophonie, the early music ensemble Arion, the all-female ensemble La Pietà, created by violinist Angèle Dubeau, to name but a few; Quebec City is home to the Violons du Roy under the direction of Bernard Labadie and the Orchestre symphonique de Québec under the direction of Yoav Talmi. Quebec has a number of classical music festivals, such as the Festival de Lanaudière, Festival Orford chamber music festival held at the Orford Art Centre, and where the ensemble the Orford String Quartet was first formed. Classical music aficionados can attend performances in a number of concert halls. Salle Wilfrid Pelletier at the Place des Arts cultural centre in the heart of Montreal is home to the MSO. Montreal's McGill University also houses three concert halls: Pollack Hall, Tanna Schulich Hall and Redpath Hall. The Université de Montréal has its Salle Claude Champagne, named after Quebec composer Claude Champagne. The Grand Théâtre de Québec in Quebec City is home to the Orchestre symphonique du Québec. A regional centre, Rimouski, is home to the Orchestre symphonique de l'Estuaire and has a large concert hall, the Desjardins-Telus theatre. Jazz also has a long tradition in Quebec. Montreal's annual Montreal International Jazz Festival draws a number of visitors each summer. Many Quebecers have made a name for themselves in the jazz world, such as Oscar Peterson, Oliver Jones, Karen Young, Lorraine Desmarais, Vic Vogel, Michel Donato, and Alain Caron. A number of performers enjoy considerable success at home, both in terms of record sales and listenership, while remaining relatively unknown outside Quebec. In a number of cases, French-speaking Quebec singers are able to export their talent to France and Belgium. Belgian singer Lara Fabian followed the reverse path, moving to Quebec to seek a breakthrough in North America. Artists like Céline Dion and the pop-punk group Simple Plan have achieved considerable success in English-speaking countries by expanding their audience base. Celine Dion, for instance, has sold over 50 million albums in the United States alone. Montreal also has a flourishing English-language music scene. Some of the well-known English-language musical acts from Quebec include Leonard Cohen, April Wine, The Box, Men Without Hats, Corey Hart, sisters Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, and Arcade Fire. Quebec is also well known for their French-language country music. Though English-language country is found in Quebec as well, French is the primary version. French-language singers include Renée Martel, Gildor Roy, Patrick Norman, Willie Lamothe, Steph Carse, and Georges Hamel. The Quebec scene is renowned in metal circles for its production of some of the world's finest Technical and Progressive Death metal bands such as Voivod, Gorguts, Quo Vadis, Neuraxis and Martyr as well as Augury and Unexpect. The Quebec metal scene also produced other fine bands such as Kataklysm (northern hyperblast), Despised Icon (deathcore) and Cryptopsy (death metal). Various musical events are held throughout Quebec, such as the Festival d'été de Québec, the "Emerging Music Festival" of Rouyn-Noranda, "Festival en chanson de Petite-Vallée", the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the "Granby International Song Festival", the "International Festival of Rhythms of the World" in Saguenay, the Festival Western de Saint-Tite, the Montreal FrancoFolies festival, the Mondial des Cultures of Drummondville, the White Nights of Anse de Roche, Woodstock en Beauce, etc. Other festivals join music to fireworks, such as Grand Feux Loto-Québec at the Montmorency Falls, Quebec City, the International Loto-Québec Firework at amusement park La Ronde, Montreal, or the "Grands Feux du Casino" in the park of Lac-Leamy in Gatineau. Theatre. Quebec theatre was largely based on plays originating in France, Great Britain, or the United States before the mid-20th century, when plays written by Quebec dramatists gained popularity. Gratien Gélinas gained fame in Quebec and made an important contribution to Québécois identity with his character Fridolin, a Montreal boy who speaks in local slang (Joual) and has humorous views about everyday life. Since the 1960s, many playwrights have embraced themes of modernism and post-modernism. This became known as the "new Quebec theatre", featuring works by playwrights such as Michel Tremblay, Jean-Claude Germain, and Jean Barbeau. Michel Tremblay, perhaps the most well known outside Quebec, brought themes such as Quebec identity, working class values, gay relationships, and urban life to the stage. Robert Lepage is prominent as a playwright, actor and director. Wajdi Mouawad is known for the critically praised play "Scorched", which was filmed as "Incendies". Several landmark theatres are active in Montreal and Quebec City. The Théâtre du Nouveau Monde was established in Montreal in 1951 as a classical theatre company, staging works by Molière among others. During the Quiet Revolution, it began staging plays of a more contemporary and experimental nature as well. It lies within the precinct of the Quartier des Spectacles entertainment district, which encompasses more than 30 live performance halls. Other prominent theatres in the district include Théâtre Jean-Duceppe, Théâtre Saint-Denis, Montreal Arts Interculturels, and Théâtre Telus. There are also the Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui, Théâtre de Quat'Sous, Théâtre du Rideau Vert, Théâtre Espace Go, Monument-National, and Théâtre Maisonneuve among others. The Monument-National theatre is owned by the National Theatre School of Canada located in Montreal. The Maison Théâtre, founded in 1982, is an association of 27 theatre companies that has a mission to develop and promote theatre for children and youth. On its part, Quebec City is home to Capitole de Québec and Grand Théâtre de Québec. Centaur Theatre is Montreal's largest English-language theatre. The summer theatre is a true symbol of Quebec literature. Presented in the summer, it offers a variety of amusements, usually musicals or humorous dramas, sometimes outdoors, in rural and semi-rural regions of Quebec, in venues such as the theatre of "la Dame de Cœur" (the Lady of Heart) in Upton, Montérégie, the "Grands Chênes" (Great Oaks) Theatre in Kingsey Falls, Centre-du-Québec and the theatre of "la Marjolaine" in Eastmain, Estrie. The Quebec Theatre Academy and the Quebec Association of Playwrights (AQAD) are the main organizations for the promotion of literature and theatre in Quebec. The Quebec literary awards, including the Medal of the Académie des lettres du Québec, and the "Soirée des Masques" reward the important personalities of the year. Visual arts. For many years a mostly rural society, Quebec has a tradition of craft art, including the making of stained glass windows, as exemplified in the art of Marcelle Ferron. The group known as Les Automatistes, and its best known artist, Jean-Paul Riopelle, is perhaps Quebec's best known contribution to the world of fine art. During the 19th and early 20th century, Quebec art was dominated by landscape painting, although some artists, including James Wilson Morrice, Ozias Leduc, and Alfred Laliberté, showed a receptiveness to European trends such as symbolism and the style of Matisse. Modern Quebec art developed during and after World War II. Alfred Pellan and Paul-Émile Borduas were leaders of the modern art movement in Quebec. Non-figurative works became notable among the creations of Quebec artists. Two broad trends during the post-War years have been identified: abstract expressionism (Marcelle Ferron, Marcel Barbeau, Pierre Gauvreau, and Jean-Paul Riopelle) and geometric abstraction (Jean-Paul Jérôme, Fernand Toupin, Louis Belzile, and Rodolphe de Repetigny). Jean Dallaire and Jean-Paul Lemieux became prominent figurative painters during this period. The most well-known painters of the 1960s include Guido Molinari, Claude Tousignant, and Yves Gaucher. During the 1960s, art "happenings" took place in Montreal, as in other artistic centres worldwide. Public art also became more visible in Montreal. Montreal was the first city in Canada to participate in the Nuit Blanche (White Night) art festival, which is now an annual event. During this festival, art galleries and performance spaces open their doors to the public for evening exhibits. In the 1990s, Charles Carson was "discovered" by Guy Robert, founder of the Musée d'Art Contemporain de Montréal. Struck by "the freshness and vivacity of the palette, the dynamism and diversity of the compositions, the rhythm that animates each segment of his paintings" (ROBERT, Guy. "Carson", Mont-Royal: Iconia, 1993, 55 pp. ), he sees Carson as one of the main painters known in Quebec, and he coined the word "carsonism" to name his art. Lifestyle. Family life. During the 1950s and 1960s, Quebec maintained record fertility rates. The Roman Catholic church using their priests (established in all parishes and small towns) guided and directed people's attitudes and morals in those days. In the post–Quiet Revolution era, this attitude completely changed. In 2001, the fertility rate in Quebec was 1.474 per thousand. [needs citation and source] In Quebec, many, if not all, married women retain their maiden names when they marry, as was the case in the Middle Ages. [needs citation and source] This is mandated in the Civil Code of Quebec. This followed the 1970s strong feminist movement and the Quiet Revolution. Since June 24, 2002, Quebec has had a civil union system available to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples. On March 19, 2004, Quebec became the third province in Canada to legally perform a same-sex marriage, following a court challenge brought by Michael Hendricks and René Leboeuf. The province is known as one of the most tolerant and gay friendly places in North America. Food. As in European countries like Italy or France, where cooking is considered one of the fine arts, fine dining is a passion among the well-to-do of Quebec society. Even small communities proudly boast of famous inns where the chef has an international reputation. This could be partly explained by a strong immigration in the 1960s and 1970s from Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and France. Many of those immigrants were waiters, cooks and chefs. Food from Quebec include most of the foods from Canada, The Americas, Northern Africa, Asia, Europe and then some scattered other food. Work. The province at the beginning of the 20th century was known for its low-paid blue-collar workers employed in textiles, paper plants and shops. Quebec also has a long tradition in forestry. In the first part of the 20th century, many lumber camps in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire were staffed by French-Canadian workers. Despite a nationwide decline in union membership in Canada since 1981, Quebec has sustained one of the highest rates of union membership in the country. Quebec is the only jurisdiction in North America where a Walmart has ever successfully unionized, although the store closed shortly thereafter. Leisure and hobbies. Vacation. Starting probably in the late 1940s and reaching its peak in the 1970s, some Quebec residents have vacationed or spent the whole winter months in southeast Florida, mainly in the Hallandale Beach and Fort Lauderdale regions. Initially a trend that only the wealthy could afford; this destination is now considered by many as outdated and unstylish. It did, however, spur the coining of the term, "Floribécois", a Quebec snowbird. The increasing real estate taxes might explain why Quebecers increasingly tend to visit the North Miami area instead of residing there for part of the year. Many snowbirds owned a trailer or a house but were renting the land where their property was located. New locations and resort areas such as Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Caribbean islands are now favoured by many Quebecers to spend their traditional sunny one or two-week vacations. A lot of Quebec tourists go to The Wildwoods or Cape May along the Jersey Shore in the summer; in 2010 it was estimated 13 percent of the tourists to the area came from Quebec and brought in around $650 million. Several hotels in The Wildwoods and Cape May are named to attract Canadian tourists. Cape May County began targeting Quebec tourists around 1970 and once operated a tourism office in downtown Montreal. Video games. Video games are popular in Quebec, as they are in the rest of Canada and the United States. The majority of video games come from either the United States, Canada, or Japan. Only some games have been translated into French, but the government of Quebec and the Entertainment Software Association of Canada made a deal in 2007 that will require all games sold in Quebec to be translated into French by 2009, as long as they are available in another part of the world in French as well. In some cases the game includes optional French text and/or subtitles, while in other cases the game is fully translated in French complete with dubbed voice acting (as is the case with games by Montreal-based Ubisoft), which may be recorded either locally or in Europe. Sports. Sporting activities are increasingly popular in Quebec. As Quebec is snow-bound for several months of the year, typically from November to March, it is no surprise that many winter activities have taken root and, in a few cases, even originated here. Ice hockey is by far the sport of choice in Quebec. It lives in the hearts and minds of Quebecers thanks to the rich legacy of the Montreal Canadiens. The rules of the game were set up by students at McGill University in 1875. There are many junior ice hockey teams, and one would be hard-pressed to find even the smallest community without a rink available for organized play. Association football, known in North America as soccer, Canadian football, baseball, basketball, rugby union and volleyball are the most practised and watched sports during the summer season in Quebec. Cross-country skiing is very easily accessible due to the abundance of snow and an unending supply of open fields. With the Laurentian Mountains close at hand, some of the best downhill skiing in Canada east of the Rockies is to be found in Quebec as well. The snowmobile (or "skidoo"), invented in Quebec by Joseph-Armand Bombardier, is a popular hobby, though its reputation has been marred by several deaths each year. Through the 1990s, the Mont Tremblant and Mont Sainte-Anne ski resorts became popular destinations internationally. Another popular pastime is ice fishing. Rivers freeze over quickly come wintertime and as soon as the ice is solid enough to walk upon, one can find dozens of tiny homemade shacks (ice houses) dotting the frozen surface. Quebec is home to many professional sports teams and events, the majority of which call Montreal home. Athletes. Noted Quebec athletes include: Media. Quebec is dominated by French-language media, although there are a small number of English-language media centred in Montreal, and Quebecers also have access to Canadian English-language media, and media from the United States, France, and elsewhere. Québecor Média is a significant corporate presence in Quebec media; the company also controls the large Sun Media chain across Canada. The major newspapers in Quebec include the broadsheets "La Presse" (Montreal), "Le Devoir" (Montreal) and "Le Soleil" (Quebec City), the tabloids "Le Journal de Montréal" (Montreal) and "Le Journal de Québec" (Quebec City), and the English-language broadsheet "The Gazette" (Montreal). Other smaller centres have their own newspapers, and there are also several free papers including "alternative weeklies" and daily micro-presses available in cafes and the Montreal Metro. A number of television networks and stations broadcast in Quebec. Two public broadcasters broadcast over the air in French: Radio-Canada, operated by the federal government, and Télé-Québec, operated by the provincial government. Two private (commercial) broadcasters broadcast over the air in French: TVA (which generally has the highest ratings of all French-language broadcasters) and Noovo. These Quebec television networks produce a considerable amount of their content locally, including the popular téléromans. The three main Canadian English networks also broadcast over the air in Quebec: public broadcaster CBC and private broadcasters CTV and Global Television. These networks provide some local content, primarily news and public affairs programming. Montreal's CJNT, owned by Global, is a hybrid affiliate of English language CH system and multicultural programming. A number of networks are only available to cable and satellite subscribers. Subscribers can watch a wide range of specialized French-language TV channels. Amongst these offerings is TV5, the international French-language network. Most major Canadian English-language cable and satellite networks are also available. Most American television networks are available in Quebec, although in some locations farther from the border they are not available over the air, but only on cable. The PBS affiliates from the neighbouring states, WETK in Burlington, Vermont, and WCFE in Plattsburgh, New York, sometimes run Quebec-specific material. Cultural institutions. Many cultural institutions were set up in Quebec in the wake of the Quiet Revolution. Among the key institutions are: Quebec's rich heritage of culture and history can be explored through a network of museums, which include the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, the Musée de la civilisation and the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. Many of Quebec's artists have been educated in universities' arts faculties and specialized art schools. Notable schools include the Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Québec, the École nationale de théâtre du Canada and the École nationale de cirque. Prizes and awards. Quebec rewards its singers, musicians, authors, actors, directors, dancers, etc. regularly. Among the awards are: Regional cultures. each have their own quirks. Inside of these administrative regions, there can often be other regions with their own character (ex. Magdalen Islands in Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Nunavik in Nord-du-Québec, etc.) as well as cities with their own personality (ex. Québec, Montréal, etc.). Beauce. A region of small towns and farmland south of Quebec City, its people have a strong regional identity connected with the area's long history. Some of the earliest settlements of New France were in this region. Côte-Nord. The large Côte-Nord region borders the northern stretch of the Saint Lawrence River. Its small-sized municipalities mainly concern themselves with the exploitation of natural resources via forestry, mining, hydroelectricity and fishing. The region is home to the famous "eye of Quebec", the massive submerged crater of Manicouagan Reservoir. Eastern Townships (Estrie). This southeast region is located along the US border (Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine). It was influenced during the 19th century by American loyalists who settled there. Its main city is Sherbrooke and the region is also well known for its skiing centres (Orford, Sutton, Owl's Head, all part of the Appalachian mountains). Gaspé. The Gaspé Peninsula (Gaspésie in French) borders on the Maritimes and shares its maritime culture. Acadians are a majority in many towns close to New Brunswick such as Bonaventure, and some Québécois Gaspesians living in those towns have an accent very close to that of their Acadian neighbours. The culture of the Gaspé is very much based on the sea. Tourist attractions include the shrimp industry and salmon pass of Matane, regional food, coastal scenery, the Percé Rock, and the Chic-Choc section of the Appalachian Mountains. Montreal. Montréal, Quebec's largest city, is the second largest French-speaking city in the Western World after Paris. The city is known for its culture, festivals, cuisine, and shopping. Montreal also has a large English-speaking and allophone population. Most immigrants to Quebec settle in Montreal, and many come from French-speaking nations. Outaouais. A local accent is characteristic of the people of Outaouais in western Quebec. The region includes some predominantly English-speaking towns such as Wakefield, but it is generally French-speaking. The city of Gatineau lies across the Ottawa River from the city of Ottawa, and many people in the area are employed with the federal government. Quebec City. Quebec City, the provincial capital (albeit dubbed "La capitale nationale", national capital, in French), is best known as the first permanent settlement and the only fortified city in North America north of Mexico. The old city, partially encircled within the centuries-old walls, is often said to have a European flair. Saguenay–Lac-St-Jean. A region known for its blueberries, its tourtière which is a kind of a stew inside crust, its soupe aux gourganes and other specialties, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean is also the birthplace of many of Quebec's public figures such as former Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard, singer Mario Pelchat and Olympic athlete Marc Gagnon. The accent of this region is one of the most distinctive and peculiar ones found in Quebec. The region hosts many festivals during summertime and receives many tourists. This area is sometimes considered the heartland of the Quebec sovereigntist movement.

opposite route

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=44545417

Silver Shadows is the fifth book in the Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead. It is the second in the series to be told from dual perspectives. Plot. The novel starts with Sydney Sage in re-education, still in her dark cell, called reflection time by the Alchemists. She is still resisting their mind games, holding onto Adrian's love for her, until they start talking about letting her see her family if she admits she has been corrupted, making her think that if she's out of reflection, she might be able to see Adrian in a dream. Meanwhile, Adrian is still searching for her in his dreams, but sporadically, and is losing heart because he never connects, so he turns to drinking again. Jill tells his mother where he is. Since she's out of prison, she comes and takes him to the Moroi Court, where he meets Nina Sinclair again. He takes her under his wing, oblivious to the fact that she's in love with him. While at Court, Adrian discovers that his parents don't love each other, and that his mother is staying with his father for the money and status, which disgusts him. Back in the secret Alchemist facility, Sydney tells the Alchemists that she is ready to 'purge the darkness' so she can get out of the dark cell, and then she is taken to re-education, where she meets other Alchemists who have all been there for varying amounts of time. They are all told about her relationship with a Moroi, and as a result, nobody speaks to her. They even go so far as to move as far away from her as possible. She thinks that she will be able to have a normal sleep, meaning that Adrian will be able to reach her, but when she wakes up in the morning, she realises that the Alchemists are still drugging them somehow. She quickly makes a friend who has been there over a year, and he provides her with snippets of information, while being careful not to get noticed. Adrian is taking Nina to various parties at Court, and after a visit to Sonya, in which he demands that Nina get compensation for her time and help with the research for the Spirit vaccine, Nina kisses him in his room. He pushes her away, but then she talks about how no one understands each other like they do because they are both Spirit users. He responds to her kiss, but then he thinks of Sydney and rejects Nina, trying to let her down gently. He then decides to go back to Palm Springs. Sydney makes the mistake of defending the Moroi and speaking out in her first class, and so is then subjected to "purging," which means that she is given a drug that makes her nauseous but unable to vomit. Once under the drug's influence, she is shown images of happy Moroi. This "treatment" is designed to invoke the reaction and feeling of disgust and sickness when she sees Moroi. She realises that this needs repeat sessions to work. Adrian finally realises he hasn't been trying Sydney when she would be asleep as he's been on a vampire schedule. He begins trying at night. Sydney succeeds at cutting off the flow of anti-Spirit gas to her room, thanks to some help from her roommate. After a few days, she finally gets a Spirit dream with Adrian. The Alchemists' techniques clearly aren't working, because all she wants to do is kiss him! She gets woken up too soon, but they have dreams on following nights. Sydney decides to start exploring at night, using magic, and information from her friends, to check out the facility and see if she can find an escape route. After seeing an apology to her sister from Keith, Sydney realises that she is being held at the same facility he was, which gives her 'rescuers' a lead. Sydney gets hold of some salt and manages to magically charm it, trying to recreate her "Alchemist-proof" ink from the previous book, to give to one of the other young Alchemists before he gets re-inked. It works, so then other inmates want her to do the same for them. Adrian talks to Marcus and Eddie and the rest of the Palm Springs gang, and they try to figure out where Sydney is so they can break her out. Adrian and Marcus talk to Carley and Keith, and realise that the facility is closer than anyone knew. Adrian grows increasingly worried when he loses the dream connection with Sydney again and assumes she has been caught, which turns out to be true. The Alchemists have figured out she was using magic, and trapped her in a torture chamber. Adrian and the Dhampirs storm the facility and manage to get most of the inmates out, but realise Sydney is missing. So, Eddie and Adrian go to find her, and they get her and the only other occupant of the torture cells out as well. She happens to be Duncan's friend (a friend of Sydney on the re-education center )- Chantal who was missing for a year. They run, and Sydney and Adrian are meant to meet Marcus, but she wants to go off on their own as she says that if Sydney is with the other people, the alchemists might catch the others easily. They are found by the Alchemists again and again. Adrian has an idea of how Sydney would be granted aid from the Moroi Queen: by becoming his wife. They plan to have a Las Vegas wedding, but Adrian wants Sydney to have the best wedding she would want, with whatever dress, shoes, and accessories she wants, so he finds a venue that looks like one of her favourite places. To pay for all of it, he sells his Aunt Tatiana's cuff links, and makes the jewels into the wedding bands. They then have to escape the Alchemists again. Jill has arranged a helicopter ride from a small Moroi school as their escape, but Sydney has to get past the Alchemists that were torturing her in the facility, and she uses magic to threaten them with fire. She hates hurting them, but there is nothing she wouldn't do for Adrian. They make it to Court, and everybody is shocked that Adrian married a human, but Lissa allows Sydney to stay and the Alchemists - including Sydney's father, sister, and Ian (who has a crush on her) - are removed from the premises. The book ends with the discovery that Jill is missing.

contemplation moment

7818-1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7360412

The Colt–Browning M1895, nicknamed "potato digger" because of its unusual operating mechanism, is an air-cooled, belt-fed, gas-operated machine gun that fires from a closed bolt with a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute. Based on a John Browning and Matthew S. Browning design dating to 1889, it was the first successful gas-operated machine gun to enter service. Operating mechanism. Filed for patent in 1892, the M1895's operating mechanism was one of Browning's and Matthew S. Browning's early patents for automatic rifles; they had previously been working on lever action rifles for Winchester such as the Winchester 1886. In a typical lever action design, the operating lever lies under the rear of the gun, typically below the stock, and is hinged near the breech area. It is operated by rotating the lever down and forward, which causes the breechblock to slide rearward away from the barrel and eject the spent round. The potato digger mechanism, in effect, bears some similarities to the basic lever action design; it uses a lever that is powered by the expanding gases that are propelling the bullet down the barrel, rather than the operator's hands. The M1895 used a tilting bolt to lock into position when firing, the first example of such in a machine gun design. The bolt slid forward and rearward within a slot in the receiver area, held forward by a spring inside the tube that also held the operator's grip handle. As it moved forward the bolt eventually met the barrel. At that point a cam below the bolt dropped into a hole which allowed the rear of the bolt to tilt downward, seating it against the rear of the breech and locking it in position. The bolt remained locked when the round was fired. As the bullet travelled down the barrel after firing, it eventually passed a hole drilled in the bottom of the barrel known as a "port". The hot gasses behind the bullet flow into the port and push down on a plug, marked "p" in the diagrams. This causes the plug to pop out of the hole with some velocity. The plug is attached to one end of a short lever, "l", the other end of the lever is connected to a hinge below the barrel. The motion of the plug causes the entire lever to rotate down and to the rear, around the hinge point. This action is essentially front-to-back version of the typical back-to-front motion of a lever action rifle. The end point of this motion can be seen in the lower diagram, with the lever having traveled through an arc of about 160 degrees. A spring located at the hinge is compressed by this motion, and eventually causes the lever to rotate forward again, forcing the plug back into the port and holding it there when it is not in motion. Connected to the midpoint of the rotating lever is a long metal arm. The motion of the lever causes this arm to be forced rearward, pushing the entire breech mechanism with it. The rear end of this mechanism presses on the cam, forcing the bolt upward and unlocking it. Continued motion slides the bolt rearward against the spring, while also operating the mechanism that feeds the ammunition belt and readies the next round. When it reaches the end of its motion the spring pushes everything forward again, carrying the new bullet with it and seating it in the barrel before locking again. Development. The earliest prototype developed by Browning in fall 1889 was a .44 caliber black powder cartridge rifle, weighing under 12 pounds. This version placed the operating lever at the front of the barrel, and was acted on directly by the muzzle blast. An improved design was offered to Colt in 1892. The lever was moved rearward, and power was supplied by a gas port about six inches (15 cm) back from the muzzle. To minimize heating during rapid fire, the gun used a very heavy straight contour barrel, bringing its weight up to 35 pounds. Later versions added prominent finning to aid air cooling. The standard tripod mount with seat for the gunner added another 56 pounds. Despite the heavy barrel, the closed bolt mechanism would cook off shots if a round was left chambered in a hot barrel. This required that the gun be unloaded immediately after an extended burst of firing. During testing of the gun, it was found to be capable of firing extended bursts of over 1,000 rounds before the barrel overheated and bullets began to tumble out of control; upon stopping, the red-hot barrel cooked off four or five additional shots before cooling down. The gun was originally chambered in 6mm Lee Navy and later, after the adoption of the Krag–Jørgensen rifle, in .30-40 Krag, 7×57mm Mauser caliber (the same cartridge used in the Spanish Model 1893 Mauser), and .30-06 Springfield in 1914. The 1914 version also included a lower tripod for firing prone; this is likely what led to the gun's nickname of "potato digger", as the operating lever would dig into the ground if it were fired from too low a position. The M1895 was made for export as well; the Russians ordered several thousand M1895 machine guns in 1914 in 7.62×54mmR caliber for use in World War I. In .303 British caliber, the M1895/14 saw service in England and France. The M1895 was also sold in 7×57mm Mauser caliber for use by various countries in South America. The Colt's unusual method of operation had both advantages and disadvantages compared to competing machine gun designs of the day. The lever-operated repeating action gave the weapon a relatively low rate of fire (less than 400 rounds a minute). However, the low rate of fire combined with a heavy barrel also allowed the gun to be air-cooled, resulting in a simpler, lighter, and more portable machine gun compared to water-cooled designs. Though combat reports of action stoppages were not uncommon, most of these could be overcome by manually cycling the action. As gunners gained experience with operating an air-cooled machine gun, it became apparent that avoiding long continuous periods of fire materially added to the weapon's reliability and barrel life. Use. The M1895 was the first machine gun adopted by the United States military, and it saw service with the Army (who never formally adopted it), and the US Navy/US Marines, and was adapted to use in many roles. It was mounted on tripods, horse-drawn carriages, boats, aircraft, and even armored cars. The US Navy was the first to begin testing, as early as 1893, with a version chambered in the Navy's 6mm cartridge. Early conflicts. In 6mm Lee Navy caliber, the M1895 saw service with the United States Marines during the Spanish–American War, including the 1898 invasion of Guantanamo Bay, where a Marine battalion deployed four Colt guns (two of them borrowed from the USS "Texas"'s armory). The M1895 proved to be a significant advance in firepower for the Marines, who employed them in the first known use of machine guns by the American military to provide tactical support of infantry forces during an assault. In contrast, Army regular forces in the campaign were still burdened with heavy, manually operated Gatling guns that required heavy artillery carriages pulled by mule transport. Lt. Colonel Roosevelt's Rough Riders, a dismounted volunteer cavalry regiment that fought in Cuba, also deployed two M1895 Colt machine guns in 7×57mm Mauser caliber (built for export, both guns were privately purchased for the Rough Riders by family members of the troops), but although they did cause some Spanish casualties were reportedly somewhat unreliable. As Lt. Col. Roosevelt noted, "These Colt automatic guns were not, on the whole, very successful...they proved more delicate than the Gatlings, and very readily got out of order." The two M1895 guns were transferred to Lt. John Parker's Gatling Gun Detachment, who used them in the siege of Santiago. The M1895 in 6mm Lee was also utilized by American Naval and Marine forces during the Philippine–American War, and the Boxer Rebellion, where it proved to be accurate and reliable. Around 1904 the Mexican government purchased 150 of these guns in 7mm Mauser caliber, and these guns were employed throughout the protracted Mexican Revolution. Use of the 7mm M1895 in the Mexican Revolution has been photographically documented, including the use of the gun by what appears to be a Villista. The US Navy also deployed some 6mm Lee M1895 guns from ship armories during the 1914 Vera Cruz fighting and occupation. The US Army, while never formally adopting the M1895, purchased two guns in 1902, followed by an additional purchase of 140 guns in 1904. These guns, along with small quantities of Maxim and Vickers guns, were issued to various units for evaluation purposes. These saw intermittent use by Army and National Guard Units at least until 1921. The first formally adopted machine gun by the US Army was the M1909 Benét–Mercié (Hotchkiss) machine-rifle, a bipod-mounted, strip-feed machine gun. Further south, the M1895 was also used by the Uruguayan Army against rebels during a late flare-up of the Uruguayan Civil War in 1904. Canadian mounted troops successfully used .303 M1895 guns in the Second Boer War (1899–1902). In one spectacular rear guard action at the Battle of Leliefontein on 7 November 1900, Sergeant Edward James Gibson Holland of The Royal Canadian Dragoons used a Colt gun mounted on a Dundonald galloping carriage to stop a rare mounted Boer charge, resulting in his being awarded the Victoria Cross, one of three awarded to Canadians in that action. Winston Churchill, then a young Lieutenant in the South African Light Horse and a war correspondent, was impressed by the effect of the fire of a whole battery of these guns. The Canadian success with the M1895 led to the further use of the gun by the Canadian Army in World War I. The M1895 was also used by various U.S. state militia and guard units, including the Colorado National Guard. A few of these guns fell into the hands of private militias staffed by mine company guards after the state discontinued funding of most of the guard units assigned to maintain order during the prolonged miners' strike that became the Colorado Coalfield War. In 1914, an emplaced "digger" of one of these private militias fired extensively into a miner camp in Ludlow, Colorado, an event later termed the Ludlow Massacre. A privately purchased M1895 also provided the main armament of an armored car of the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency used to terrorize miners' camps during the strike, which the miners called the "Death Special". World War I. The M1895/14 Colt–Browning saw use in France by some Canadian infantry formations. Deploying to France in 1915, the 21st Canadian Light Infantry Battalion used .303-caliber M1895/14 machine guns in combat. These guns saw significant combat but were soon replaced by Vickers machine guns. They were not taken out of combat however, but were instead given to equip formations of the Belgian Exile Army. The French also tested the Colt and some were used in early aircraft for testing. Additional Colt guns were sent to the Russians, who used them extensively. While the United States used the M1895 for training, it was considered obsolete by the time the United States entered the war, and saw no service. Colt ceased production of the M1895 and variants in 1916, selling the machinery and rights to manufacture to Marlin Rockwell, who took over the still active Russian military and Italian Navy contracts, in order to concentrate on increased Vickers production. Marlin Rockwell M1917/M1918 versions. After Marlin started making the Colt 1914s, it developed an improved version of the M1895. In 1917 this was adopted by the US Army as a training weapon and approximately 2,500 were purchased. Besides its designation of Colt–Browning M1895/14, it was also called the "Marlin Gun" and "Model 1917". The primary improvement was the use of a detachable barrel, a more generous side plate cut-out and a sliding door on the right side plate opening (also made larger) for easier access. Despite these improvements, the Marlin was limited to 500 rounds of continuous fire due to a tendency to overheat. The Navy also purchased a version of the Marlin gun with a gas piston in lieu of the lever mechanism, although very few if any guns saw service aboard ship. A second, much more radical version of the M1895 was introduced in 1917 for tank and aircraft use, later designated the Marlin M1917 and M1918, with a Swedish armaments designer named Carl Gustave Swebilius responsible for the improvements. Like the Navy Marlins, these variants used a linear gas piston in place of the 'potato digger' arm and bore little outward physical resemblance to the basic "digger" design. The new reciprocating piston was located parallel to the barrel and below it, allowing the gun to be mounted lower to the ground. Another improvement was the addition of a breech-to-muzzle aluminum heat sink, with lengthwise fins and covering some 270° of the gun barrel's outer circumference's upper areas, to dissipate heat. Most Marlin M1917 and M1918 guns saw use in aircraft as defensive armament—however, as they retained the original M1895 "potato digger" ordnance's closed bolt firing cycle, these Marlin guns, weighing only some 25 pounds (11.34 kg) apiece, versus the standard Vickers gun's 33 pound (15 kg) figure for aviation use, could readily be used for forward-firing offensive armament with fighter aircraft, when used with synchronization gear for safely firing forward through a spinning propeller - the non-synchronizable, open bolt-firing cycle Lewis gun was still slightly heavier than the Marlin, at about 28 pounds (12.7 kg). By the last months of World War I, almost 50% of the SPAD XIII fighter aircraft used by the United States Army Air Service in France had their Vickers guns replaced with Marlins. Had the war lasted into 1919 the Marlin would have been the primary U.S. tank and aircraft gun. The M1917/1918 also equipped Thomas Morse Scout aircraft used for advanced training at stateside bases. A number of Colt and Marlin-made machine guns was also provided to Italian forces during World War I to replace similar weapons lost in the retreat that followed the massive Austrian-German breakthrough at the Battle of Caporetto. Besides being chambered for the standard 6.5×52mm Mannlicher–Carcano Italian rifle cartridge, they were converted to liquid cooling with the installation of a narrow brass sleeve around the barrel; M1895/14 machine guns receiving this modification were designated "6.5/80" and employed by the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) as a field weapon for Marine infantrymen defending the mouth of the Piave river. They also appeared on Navy vessels, with as many as four equipping each Italian MAS (torpedo boat), on "Class F" submarines and on some destroyers. The MAS used by Gabriele D'Annunzio in the famous "Beffa di Buccari" and displayed at his former residence ("Vittoriale degli italiani") still mounts a Colt M1895. The Marlin gun saw postwar use on the machine gun version of US Army's M1917 Tank, an American version of the French Renault FT. However, the Marlin guns quickly disappeared from U.S. military service after the great success of the .30 Browning machine guns and variants subsequently adopted for air, ground, and shipboard use, with the debut of the M1919 Browning machine gun air-cooled ordnance. Postwar service. After World War I, some Colt–Browning guns (possibly including the M1917/18 Marlin variants) saw use in the Russian Civil war. Its most spectacular use came during the Czech Legion's exodus from Russia, where the guns (either Colt–Browning M1914 or Marlin M1917 models) were photographed in sandbagged stations on the top of trains being used to transport the Legion as it withdrew from Soviet Russia. Many of these guns were also used in the Polish–Soviet War of 1920. At the outset of World War II, M1917 and M1918 Marlins were also sent to Britain for use by the Home Guard, but were never used in combat. The last documented use of the type was by the US National Guard against striking miners in the Battle of Blair Mountain, West Virginia, U.S., in 1921. A contemporary photo illustrates a Colt–Browning gun with one of the aforementioned finned aluminum heat-sink outfitted barrel from the Marlin-Rockwell firm, in the hands of a guardsman supporting sheriff's deputies. The presence of the breech-to-muzzle finned aluminum heat sink indicates the gun was most likely a Marlin-Rockwell M1917/18 machine gun purchased by the Army in 1917–18 for training and familiarization purposes, as the U.S. military never purchased the Colt M1895/1914 variant. Due to their previous use in the Spanish Army the machine gun was used extensively on both sides of the Spanish Civil War. It was notably used to great effect at the battle of Jarama by the British battalion however it often jammed and so was ill thought of by the troops. The Belgian army acquired a large number of 7mm Mauser M1895/14 versions towards the end of World War I, which were kept in storage after the conflict and allocated to certain reserve infantry regiments before the outbreak of World War II. The guns were widely used in action during the German invasion of Belgium between 10 May and 28 May 1940. Colt–Browning guns placed in storage by the US military after the First World War were purchased for the British Home Guard in the summer of 1940. There were mostly later "Marlin" variants, and few appear to have reached troops. Italy also kept M1895s in its inventory for a very long time. Well into the Second World War they were still being issued to second-line units, namely to MVSN branches such as DICAT (in charge of Flak guns) and MILMART (coastal artillery) for the antiaircraft defense of Italy proper as late as 1943.

extra acquisition

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=41576473

Oraalppokkam is a Malayalam film written and directed by Sanalkumar Sasidharan. It is the first Malayalam movie which has been produced through online crowdfunding program. This is an initiative of Kazhcha Chalachithra Vedi, a film society movement based in Thiruvananthapuram. Kazhcha has a history of producing short movies with the financial contribution from film lovers. Oraalppokkam is the fourth venture of Kazhcha. It is claimed that Oraalppokkam will be copyleft after 5 years from the date of release. Synopsis. The storyline of the movie revolves round an honest man-woman relationship in the backdrop of a natural calamity. Mahendran and Maya are in a relationship. They have their own independent lives even while they are living as a couple. Slowly the relationship ends up in a usual pattern and Mahendran the protagonist decides to separate. Maya leaves him and disappears without revealing her whereabouts. But the separation which is more or less forced and unnatural causes imbalance in the life of Mahendran. His curiosity to know the whereabouts of Maya mounts slowly and he starts a journey in search of her. At the end of the journey he reaches the flood affected Himalayan mountain valley Kedarnath. The story develops through the people he meets on the way and his dreams. Production. Oraalppokkam is scripted and directed by Sanalkumar Sasidharan. This will be the debut feature film of Sanal, an independent film maker from Thiruvananthapuram. The cast including actor-producer Prakash Bare, writer Meena Kandasamy, Bengali director Bikramjit Gupta, senior journalist Venkatesh Ramakrishnan and theatre and film artiste Krishnan Balakrishnan. Indrajith S handles the cinematography and Appu N. Bhattathiri is the editor. Murugan is handling the production design. Renowned sound editor T Krishnanunni is the sound designer while Sandeep Kurissery and Jiji P Joseph are the location sound recordists. Basil Joseph is the music director and Derrick Sebastian is the executive producer of this project. Awards. Other Awards

Revenue support

2710-2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=12678705

The Competitive Tax Plan is an approach to taxation, suggested in the United States, that would impose a 10–15% value added tax (VAT) and reduce personal and corporate income taxes. The plan was created by Michael J. Graetz, a tax law professor at Columbia Law School and a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy. Graetz states that the plan would generate enough revenue to exclude families earning less than $100,000 of annual income from having to pay income taxes or file tax returns. The Competitive Tax Plan would provide a new payroll tax offset to replace the Earned Income Tax Credit, protecting low and moderate income workers from any tax increase under the new system. Under the initial proposal, households with an annual income of more than $100,000 would be taxed at a flat 25% rate and the corporate income tax rate would be reduced to 25%. Graetz argues that reducing the corporate tax rate "would make the United States an extremely attractive nation for corporate investments for both U.S. citizens and foreign investors". In 2013, Graetz presented an updated version of his plan for 2015. About plan author. Michael J. Graetz is a professor at the Columbia Alumni of Tax Law. He was born on November 20, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia. He is married and has five children. Graetz is a leading expert on national and international tax law. He has taught at University of Virginia Law School, University of Southern California, California Institute of Technology, and Yale Law School, and also worked as assistant to the secretary and special counsel for the Department of the Treasury. Graetz won the Daniel M. Holland Medal by the National Tax Association. He has written more than 80 articles on a wide range of tax, international taxation, health policy, and social insurance issues. The "Competitive Tax Plan" updated for 2015. In his work, Graetz describes the U.S. as a "Low Tax Country" in comparison to other OECD countries. This means that the total federal, state and local tax revenues, as a percentage of GDP are much lower than that of other OECD countries. Income Tax in the U.S. , when compared to EU27 and OECD is currently equal to or greater than most countries. According to Graetz's data from 2010, the U.S also has low consumption tax as a percentage of total taxation. Furthermore, Graetz mentions that the U.S. has been the only OECD country without a VAT. More than 160 countries all over the world already have a VAT. This needs to change according to his work. To address this, Graetz outlined "the five pieces of competitive tax plan" in his paper "Updating the Competitive Tax Plan: A New Epilogue for 100 Million Unnecessary Returns" as follows: There are some basic principles surrounding the proposal of a goods and service tax: Proposed VAT is 12.9%. The next point in the competitive tax plan is to shrink the income tax. He proposed to limit the income tax only to high income earners in order to ensure that the federal tax system remain progressive. Another step is to provide a Family Allowance of $100,000 for married couples ($50,000 for singles, $75,000 for heads of households). This step will eliminate great part of income tax return( more than 120 million), and it also will resulted in fewer than 20 percent of all U.S. tax units will be required to file income tax returns. He stated specific levels of income tax rates. For example, for married couples it will be: The next step of the Proposal is to "Reduce and Reform the Corporate Income Tax". Proposed tax rate is 15 percent. This step should solve the problem of international income taxation as it removes current law incentives to locate deductions in the US and income abroad. It will also repeal the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax. It should simplify small businesses taxation. Another part of the plan is to protect low and middle income families by delivering new child credits through debit cards that can be used at the cash register. All children qualify for $1,500 per child( but for married couples with more than $150,000 ($75,000 singles and heads of households), these credits phase-out at a rate of 5%*). For low and moderate income workers it will be even more. Next to protecting low and middle income families, the plan also speaks about protecting low and moderate income workers by providing a Payroll Tax Credit of 15.3 percent for wages up to $10,000 and $1,530 per worker for all workers with earnings between $10,000 and $40,000. This credit eliminates all payroll taxes for workers with $10,000 or less of earnings, also it eliminates at least the employees’ share (half) of payroll taxes for workers with earnings below $20,000. Above $40,000 this credit phases out at a rate of 7.65 percent. No formal bill for the Competitive Tax Plan itself is in Congress; however Senator Ben Cardin's Progressive Consumption Tax Act has many similar features.

ensuing measure

11684-1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=3390

The Bible (from Koine Greek τὰ βιβλία, "tà biblía", "the books") is a collection of religious texts or scriptures sacred to Jews, Samaritans, Christians and others. It appears in the form of an anthology, a compilation of texts of a variety of forms that are all linked by the belief that they are collectively revelations of God. These texts include theologically-focused historical accounts, hymns, prayers, proverbs, parables, didactic letters, poetry, and prophecies. Believers also generally consider the Bible to be a product of divine inspiration. Those books included in the Bible by a tradition or group are called canonical, indicating that the tradition/group views the collection as the true representation of God's word and will. A number of biblical canons have evolved, with overlapping and diverging contents from denomination to denomination. The Hebrew Bible shares most of its content with its ancient Greek translation, the Septuagint, which in turn was the base for the Christian Old Testament. The Christian New Testament is a collection of writings by early Christians, believed to be mostly Jewish disciples of Christ, written in first-century Koine Greek. Among Christian denominations there is some disagreement about what should be included in the canon, primarily about the biblical apocrypha, a list of works that are regarded with varying levels of respect. Attitudes towards the Bible also differ among Christian groups. Roman Catholics, high church Anglicans, Methodists and Eastern Orthodox Christians stress the harmony and importance of both the Bible and sacred tradition, while many Protestant churches focus on the idea of "sola scriptura", or scripture alone. This concept rose to prominence during the Reformation, and many denominations today support the use of the Bible as the only infallible source of Christian teaching. Others, though, advance the concept of "prima scriptura" in contrast. The Bible has had a profound influence on literature and history, especially in the Western world, where the Gutenberg Bible was the first book printed using movable type. According to the March 2007 edition of "Time", the Bible "has done more to shape literature, history, entertainment, and culture than any book ever written. Its influence on world history is unparalleled, and shows no signs of abating." With estimated total sales of over five billion copies, it is widely considered to be the best-selling book of all time. As of the 2000s, it sells approximately 100 million copies annually. Etymology. The English word "Bible" is derived from , meaning "the books" (singular ). The word itself had the literal meaning of "scroll" and came to be used as the ordinary word for "book". It is the diminutive of "byblos", "Egyptian papyrus", possibly so called from the name of the Phoenician sea port Byblos (also known as Gebal) from whence Egyptian papyrus was exported to Greece. By the 2nd century BCE, Jewish groups began calling the books of the Bible the "scriptures" and they referred to them as "holy", or in Hebrew כִּתְבֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ ("Kitvei hakkodesh"), and Christians now commonly call the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible "The Holy Bible" (in Greek , ) or "the Holy Scriptures" (, ). The Greek "ta biblia" (lit. "little papyrus books") was "an expression Hellenistic Jews used to describe their sacred books" (the Septuagint). Christian use of the term can be traced to c. 223 CE. The biblical scholar F. F. Bruce notes that Chrysostom appears to be the first writer (in his "Homilies on Matthew", delivered between 386 and 388) to use the Greek phrase "ta biblia" ("the books") to describe both the Old and New Testaments together. Medieval Latin is short for "biblia sacra" "holy book", while "biblia" in Greek and Late Latin is neuter plural (gen. "bibliorum"). It gradually came to be regarded as a feminine singular noun (, gen. ) in medieval Latin, and so the word was loaned as singular into the vernaculars of Western Europe. Latin "biblia sacra" "holy books" translates Greek "tà biblía tà hágia", "the holy books". Development. The Bible is not a single book but a collection of books, whose complex development is not completely understood. The books began as songs and stories orally transmitted from generation to generation before being written down in a process that began sometime around the start of the first millennium BCE and continued for over a thousand years. The Bible was written and compiled by many people, from a variety of disparate cultures, most of whom are unknown. British biblical scholar John K. Riches wrote: Considered to be scriptures (sacred, authoritative religious texts), the books were compiled by different religious communities into various biblical canons (official collections of scriptures). The earliest compilation, containing the first five books of the Bible and called the Torah (meaning "law", "instruction", or "teaching") or Pentateuch ("five books"), was accepted as Jewish canon by the fifth century BCE. A second collection of narrative histories and prophesies, called the Nevi'im ("prophets"), was canonized in the third century BCE. A third collection called the Ketuvim ("writings"), containing psalms, proverbs, and narrative histories, was canonized sometime between the second century BCE and the second century CE. These three collections were written mostly in Hebrew, with some parts in Aramaic, and together form the Hebrew Bible or "TaNaKh" (a portmanteau of "Torah", "Nevi'im", and "Ketuvim"). Greek-speaking Jews in Alexandria and elsewhere in the Jewish diaspora considered additional scriptures, composed between 200 BCE and 100 CE and not included in the Hebrew Bible, to be canon. These additional texts were included in a translation of the Hebrew Bible into Koine Greek (common Greek spoken by ordinary people) known as the Septuagint (meaning "the work of the seventy"), which began as a translation of the Torah made around 250 BCE and continued to develop for several centuries. The Septuagint contained all of the books of the Hebrew Bible, re-organized and with some textual differences, with the additional scriptures interspersed throughout. During the rise of Christianity in the first century CE, new scriptures were written in Greek about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who Christians believed was the messiah prophesized in the books of the Hebrew Bible. Two collections of these new scripturesthe Pauline epistles and the Gospelswere accepted as canon by the end of the second century CE. A third collection, the catholic epistles, were canonized over the next few centuries. Christians called these new scriptures the "New Testament", and began referring to the Septuagint as the "Old Testament". Between 385 and 405 CE, the early Christian church translated its canon into Vulgar Latin (the common Latin spoken by ordinary people), a translation known as the Vulgate, which included in its Old Testament the books that were in the Septuagint but not in the Hebrew Bible. The Vulgate introduced stability to the Bible, but also began the East-West Schism between Latin-speaking Western Christianity (led by the Catholic Church) and multi-lingual Eastern Christianity (led by the Eastern Orthodox Church). Christian denominations' biblical canons varied not only in the language of the books, but also in their selection, organization, and text. Jewish rabbis began developing a standard Hebrew Bible in the first century CE, maintained since the middle of the first millennium by the Masoretes, and called the Masoretic Text. Christians have held ecumenical councils to standardize their biblical canon since the fourth century CE. The Council of Trent (1545–63), held by the Catholic Church in response to the Protestant Reformation, authorized the Vulgate as its official Latin translation of the Bible. The Church deemed the additional books in its Old Testament that were interspersed among the Hebrew Bible books to be "deuterocanonical" (meaning part of a second or later canon). Protestant Bibles either separated these books into a separate section called the "Apocrypha" (meaning "hidden away") between the Old and New Testaments, or omitted them altogether. The 17th century Protestant King James Version was the most ubiquitous English Bible of all time, but it has largely been superseded by modern translations. Textual history. The books of the Bible were written and copied by hand, initially on papyrus scrolls. No originals survive, and the oldest existing scrolls are copies that were made centuries after the books were first written. The copies contained both errors and intentional changes, resulting in different versions of the books in circulation, ultimately diverging into distinct lineages, called "text families" or "text types". Over time, the individual scrolls were gathered into collections, but these collections had different scrolls, and different versions of the same scrolls, with no standard organization. By the 3rd century CE, scrolls were supplanted by early bound books called codexes, and collections of biblical books began being copied as a set. More than 220 Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Qumran in 1947, which date between 250 BCE and 100 CE, are the oldest existing copies of the books of the Hebrew Bible of any considerable length. The Qumran scrolls attest to many different biblical text types. In addition to the Qumran scrolls, there are three major manuscript witnesses (historical copies) of the Hebrew Bible: the Septuagint, the Masoretic Text, and the Samaritan Pentateuch. Existing complete copies of the Septuagint, a translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, date from the third to the fifth centuries CE, with fragments dating back to the second century BCE. The Masoretic Text is a standardized version of the Hebrew Bible that began to be developed in the first century CE and has been maintained by the Masoretes since the latter half of the first millennium CE. Its oldest complete copy in existence is the Leningrad Codex, dating to c. 1000 CE. The Samaritan Pentateuch is a version of the Torah maintained by the Samaritan community since antiquity and rediscovered by European scholars in the 17th century; the oldest existing copies date to c. 1100 CE. There are about 3,000 existing New Testament manuscripts, copied between the 2nd and 17th centuries. The manuscripts include papyri, over a hundred of which have been discovered in Egypt since 1890; about 300 great uncial codices, which are vellum or parchment books written in block Greek letters, mostly dating between the 3rd and 9th centuries CE; and about 2,900 minuscules, written in a cursive style (using connected letters) that superseded uncials beginning in the 9th century. These manuscripts differ in varying degrees from one another and are grouped according to their similarities into textual families or lineages; the four most commonly recognized are Alexandrian, Western, Caesarean, and Byzantine. Hebrew Bible. The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew text of the Hebrew Bible. It defines the books of the Jewish canon, and also the precise letter-text of these biblical books, with their vocalization and accentuation. The oldest extant manuscripts of the Masoretic Text date from approximately the 9th century CE, and the Aleppo Codex (once the oldest complete copy of the Masoretic Text, but now missing its Torah section) dates from the 10th century. The term "Keter" (crown, from the Arabic, "taj") originally referred to this particular manuscript, Over the years, the term Keter came to refer to any full text of the Hebrew Bible, or significant portion of it, bound as a codex (not a scroll) and including vowel points, cantillation marks, and Masoretic notes. Medieval handwritten manuscripts were considered extremely precise, the most authoritative documents from which to copy other texts. The name Tanakh (Hebrew: ) reflects the threefold division of the Hebrew Scriptures, Torah ("Teaching"), Nevi'im ("Prophets") and Ketuvim ("Writings"). Torah. The Torah (תּוֹרָה) is also known as the "Five Books of Moses" or the Pentateuch, meaning "five scroll-cases". Traditionally these books were considered to have been written almost entirely by Moses himself. In the 19th century, Julius Wellhausen and other scholars proposed that the Torah had been compiled from earlier written documents dating from the 9th to the 5th century BCE, the "documentary hypothesis". Scholars Hermann Gunkel and Martin Noth, building on the form criticism of Gerhard von Rad, refined this hypothesis, while other scholars have proposed other ways that the Torah might have developed over the centuries. The Hebrew names of the books are derived from the first words in the respective texts. The Torah consists of the following five books: The first eleven chapters of Genesis provide accounts of the creation (or ordering) of the world and the history of God's early relationship with humanity. The remaining thirty-nine chapters of Genesis provide an account of God's covenant with the biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (also called Israel) and Jacob's children, the "Children of Israel", especially Joseph. It tells of how God commanded Abraham to leave his family and home in the city of Ur, eventually to settle in the land of Canaan, and how the Children of Israel later moved to Egypt. The remaining four books of the Torah tell the story of Moses, who lived hundreds of years after the patriarchs. He leads the Children of Israel from slavery in ancient Egypt to the renewal of their covenant with God at biblical Mount Sinai and their wanderings in the desert until a new generation was ready to enter the land of Canaan. The Torah ends with the death of Moses. The commandments in the Torah provide the basis for [[Halakha|Jewish religious law]]. Tradition states that there are [[613 commandments]] ("taryag mitzvot"). Nevi'im. "Nevi'im" (, "Prophets") is the second main division of the Tanakh, between the "Torah" and "Ketuvim." It contains two sub-groups, the Former Prophets ( , the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings) and the Latter Prophets ( , the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel and the [[Twelve Minor Prophets]]). The Nevi'im tell the story of the rise of the Hebrew monarchy and its division into two kingdoms, [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|ancient Israel]] and [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]], focusing on conflicts between the [[Israelites]] and other nations, and conflicts among Israelites, specifically, struggles between believers in "the God" ([[Yahweh]]) and believers in foreign gods, and the criticism of unethical and unjust behaviour of Israelite elites and rulers; in which prophets played a crucial and leading role. It ends with the conquest of the Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians followed by the conquest of the Kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Former Prophets. The Former Prophets are the books Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings. They contain narratives that begin immediately after the death of Moses with the divine appointment of Joshua as his successor, who then leads the people of Israel into the [[Promised Land]], and end with the release from imprisonment of the last [[king of Judah]]. Treating Samuel and Kings as single books, they cover: Latter Prophets. The Latter Prophets are divided into two groups, the "major" prophets, [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]], [[Book of Jeremiah|Jeremiah]], [[Book of Ezekiel|Ezekiel]], [[Book of Daniel|Daniel]], and the [[Twelve Minor Prophets]], collected into a single book. The collection is broken up to form twelve individual books in the Christian Old Testament, one for each of the prophets: Ketuvim. "Ketuvim" or "Kəṯûḇîm" (in "writings") is the third and final section of the Tanakh. The Ketuvim are believed to have been written under the [[Ruach HaKodesh]] (the Holy Spirit) but with one level less authority than that of [[prophecy]]. The poetic books. [[File:Bhs psalm1.png|thumb|[[Hebrew]] text of ]] In [[Masoretic]] manuscripts (and some printed editions), Psalms, Proverbs and Job are presented in a special two-column form emphasizing the parallel stichs in the verses, which are a function of their [[Biblical poetry|poetry]]. Collectively, these three books are known as "Sifrei Emet" (an acronym of the titles in Hebrew, איוב, משלי, תהלים yields "Emet" אמ"ת, which is also the Hebrew for "truth"). These three books are also the only ones in Tanakh with a special system of [[cantillation]] notes that are designed to emphasize parallel stichs within verses. However, the beginning and end of the book of Job are in the normal prose system. The five scrolls ("Hamesh Megillot"). The five relatively short books of [[Song of Songs]], [[Book of Ruth]], the [[Book of Lamentations]], [[Ecclesiastes]] and [[Book of Esther]] are collectively known as the "Hamesh Megillot" ([[Five Megillot]]). These are the latest books collected and designated as "authoritative" in the Jewish canon even though they were not complete until the 2nd century CE. Other books. Besides the three poetic books and the five scrolls, the remaining books in Ketuvim are [[Book of Daniel|Daniel]], [[Ezra–Nehemiah]] and Chronicles. Although there is no formal grouping for these books in the Jewish tradition, they nevertheless share a number of distinguishing characteristics: Order of the books. The following list presents the books of Ketuvim in the order they appear in most printed editions. It also divides them into three subgroups based on the distinctiveness of "Sifrei Emet" and "Hamesh Megillot". The Three Poetic Books ("Sifrei Emet") The [[Five Megillot]] ("Hamesh Megillot") Other books The Jewish textual tradition never finalized the order of the books in Ketuvim. The [[Talmud|Babylonian Talmud]] ([[Bava Batra]] 14b–15a) gives their order as Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Daniel, Scroll of Esther, Ezra, Chronicles. In Tiberian [[Masoretic]] codices, including the [[Aleppo Codex]] and the [[Leningrad Codex]], and often in old Spanish manuscripts as well, the order is Chronicles, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Esther, Daniel, Ezra. Canonization. The Ketuvim is the last of the three portions of the Tanakh to have been accepted as [[biblical canon]]. While the Torah may have been considered canon by Israel as early as the 5th century BCE and the [[Former Prophets|Former]] and [[Latter Prophets]] were canonized by the 2nd century BCE, the Ketuvim was not a fixed canon until the 2nd century of the [[Common Era]]. Evidence suggests, however, that the people of Israel were adding what would become the Ketuvim to their holy literature shortly after the canonization of the prophets. As early as 132 BCE references suggest that the Ketuvim was starting to take shape, although it lacked a formal title. References in the four [[Gospels]] as well as other books of the New Testament indicate that many of these texts were both commonly known and counted as having some degree of religious authority early in the 1st century CE. Many scholars believe that the limits of the Ketuvim as canonized scripture were determined by the [[Council of Jamnia]] c. 90 CE. "[[Against Apion]]", the writing of [[Flavius Josephus|Josephus]] in 95 CE, treated the text of the Hebrew Bible as a closed canon to which "... no one has ventured either to add, or to remove, or to alter a syllable..." For a long time following this date the divine inspiration of Esther, [[the Song of Songs]], and [[Ecclesiastes]] was often under scrutiny. Original languages. The Tanakh was mainly written in [[biblical Hebrew]], with some small portions (Ezra 4:8–6:18 and 7:12–26, Jeremiah 10:11, Daniel 2:4–7:28) written in [[biblical Aramaic]], a sister language which became the "[[lingua franca]]" for much of the Semitic world. Samaritan Pentateuch. Samaritans include only the Pentateuch in their biblical canon. They do not recognize [[Authorship of the Bible#Divine authorship|divine authorship]] or [[Biblical inspiration|inspiration]] in any other book in the Jewish [[Tanakh]]. A [[Book of Joshua (Samaritan)|Samaritan Book of Joshua]] partly based upon the Tanakh's [[Book of Joshua]] exists, but Samaritans regard it as a non-canonical secular historical chronicle. Septuagint. [[File:Codex Vaticanus (1 Esdras 1-55 to 2-5) (The S.S. Teacher's Edition-The Holy Bible).jpg|thumb|upright|Fragment of a Septuagint: A column of [[uncial]] book from [[1 Esdras]] in the "[[Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209|Codex Vaticanus]]" c. 325–350 CE, the basis of Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton's Greek edition and [[Brenton's English Translation of the Septuagint|English translation]].]] The Septuagint, or the LXX, is a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures and some related texts into [[Koine Greek]], begun in the late 3rd century BCE and completed by 132 BCE, initially in [[Alexandria]], but in time it was completed elsewhere as well. It is not altogether clear which was translated when, or where; some may even have been translated twice, into different versions, and then revised. As the work of translation progressed, the canon of the Septuagint expanded. The Torah always maintained its pre-eminence as the basis of the canon but the collection of prophetic writings, based on the "Nevi'im", had various [[hagiographa|hagiographical]] works incorporated into it. In addition, some newer books were included in the Septuagint, among these are the [[Books of the Maccabees|Maccabees]] and the [[Wisdom of Sirach]]. However, the book of [[Sirach]], is now known to have existed in a Hebrew version, since ancient Hebrew manuscripts of it were rediscovered in modern times. The Septuagint version of some Biblical books, like [[Book of Daniel|Daniel]] and [[Book of Esther|Esther]], are longer than those in the Jewish canon. Some of these [[deuterocanonical books]] (e.g. the [[Book of Wisdom|Wisdom of Solomon]], and the [[2 Maccabees|second book of Maccabees]]) were not translated, but composed directly in Greek. Since [[Late Antiquity]], once attributed to a hypothetical late 1st-century [[Council of Jamnia#Developments attributed to Jamnia|Council of Jamnia]], mainstream [[Rabbinic Judaism]] rejected the Septuagint as valid Jewish scriptural texts. Several reasons have been given for this. First, some mistranslations were claimed. Second, the Hebrew source texts used for the Septuagint differed from the Masoretic tradition of Hebrew texts, which was chosen as canonical by the Jewish rabbis. Third, the rabbis wanted to distinguish their tradition from the newly emerging tradition of Christianity. Finally, the rabbis claimed a divine authority for the Hebrew language, in contrast to Aramaic or Greek – even though these languages were the "[[lingua franca]]" of Jews during this period (and Aramaic would eventually be given a holy language status comparable to Hebrew). The Septuagint is the basis for the [[Vetus Latina|Old Latin]], [[Old Church Slavonic language|Slavonic]], [[Syro-hexaplar version|Syriac]], Old [[Armenian language|Armenian]], Old [[Georgian language|Georgian]] and [[Coptic language|Coptic]] versions of the Christian Old Testament. The [[Roman Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodox]] Churches use most of the books of the Septuagint, while [[Protestant]] churches usually do not. After the [[Protestant Reformation]], many Protestant Bibles began to follow the Jewish canon and exclude the additional texts, which came to be called [[biblical apocrypha]]. The Apocrypha are included under a separate heading in the [[Authorized King James Version|King James Version]] of the Bible, the basis for the [[Revised Standard Version]]. Incorporations from Theodotion. In most ancient copies of the Bible which contain the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, the [[Book of Daniel]] is not the original Septuagint version, but instead is a copy of [[Theodotion]]'s translation from the Hebrew, which more closely resembles the Masoretic Text. The original Septuagint version was discarded in favour of Theodotion's version in the 2nd to 3rd centuries CE. In Greek-speaking areas, this happened near the end of the 2nd century, and in Latin-speaking areas (at least in North Africa), it occurred in the middle of the 3rd century. History does not record the reason for this, and St. [[Jerome]] reports, in the preface to the [[Vulgate]] version of Daniel, "This thing 'just' happened." One of two Old Greek texts of the Book of Daniel has been recently rediscovered and work is ongoing in reconstructing the original form of the book. The canonical [[Ezra–Nehemiah]] is known in the Septuagint as "Esdras B", and 1 Esdras is "Esdras A". 1 Esdras is a very similar text to the books of Ezra–Nehemiah, and the two are widely thought by scholars to be derived from the same original text. It has been proposed, and is thought highly likely by scholars, that "Esdras B" – the canonical Ezra–Nehemiah – is Theodotion's version of this material, and "Esdras A" is the version which was previously in the Septuagint on its own. Final form. Some texts are found in the Septuagint but are not present in the Hebrew. These additional books are [[Book of Tobit|Tobit]], [[Judith]], [[Book of Wisdom|Wisdom of Solomon]], [[Sirach|Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach]], [[Book of Baruch|Baruch]], the [[Letter of Jeremiah]] (which later became chapter 6 of Baruch in the Vulgate), [[additions to Daniel]] ([[The Prayer of Azariah|The Prayer of Azarias]], the [[The Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children|Song of the Three Children]], [[Susanna (Book of Daniel)|Susanna]] and [[Bel and the Dragon]]), additions to [[Book of Esther|Esther]], [[1 Maccabees]], [[2 Maccabees]], [[3 Maccabees]], [[4 Maccabees]], [[1 Esdras]], [[Book of Odes (Bible)|Odes]], including the [[Prayer of Manasseh]], the [[Psalms of Solomon]], and [[Psalm 151]]. Some books that are set apart in the Masoretic Text are grouped together. For example, the [[Books of Samuel]] and the [[Books of Kings]] are in the LXX one book in four parts called Βασιλειῶν ("Of Reigns"). In LXX, the [[Books of Chronicles]] supplement Reigns and it is called "Paralipomenon" (Παραλειπομένων – things left out). The Septuagint organizes the [[minor prophets]] as twelve parts of one Book of Twelve. Christian Bibles. [[File:Gutenberg Bible scan.jpg|thumb|A page from the [[Gutenberg Bible]] ]] A Christian Bible is a set of books that a [[Christian denomination]] regards as [[Biblical inspiration|divinely inspired]] and thus constituting [[Religious text|scripture]]. Although the [[Early Christianity|Early Church]] primarily used the Septuagint or the [[Targum]]s among [[Aramaic]] speakers, the [[Apostles in Christianity|apostles]] did not leave a defined set of new scriptures; instead the canon of the New Testament [[Development of the New Testament canon|developed over time]]. Groups within Christianity include differing books as part of their sacred writings, most prominent among which are the biblical apocrypha or deuterocanonical books. Significant versions of the Christian Bible in [[English language|English]] include the [[Douay-Rheims Bible]], the [[Authorized King James Version]], the [[Revised Version]], the [[American Standard Version]], the [[Revised Standard Version]], the [[New American Standard Version]], the [[New King James Version]], the [[New International Version]], the [[New American Bible]], and the [[English Standard Version]]. Old Testament. The books which make up the Christian Old Testament differ between the Catholic (see [[Catholic Bible]]), Orthodox, and Protestant (see [[Protestant Bible]]) churches, with the Protestant movement accepting only those books contained in the Hebrew Bible, while Catholic and Orthodox traditions have wider canons. A few groups consider particular translations to be divinely inspired, notably the Greek Septuagint and the Aramaic [[Peshitta]]. The Old Testament consists of many distinct books produced over a period of centuries: The first five books – [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]], [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]], [[Leviticus]], [[book of Numbers]] and [[Deuteronomy]] – reached their present form in the [[Yehud Medinata|Persian period (538–332 BCE)]], and their authors were the elite of exilic returnees who controlled the [[Second Temple|Temple at that time]]. The books of [[Book of Joshua|Joshua]], [[Book of Judges|Judges]], [[Books of Samuel|Samuel]] and [[Books of Kings|Kings]] follow, forming a history of Israel from the [[Conquest of Canaan]] to the [[Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)|Siege of Jerusalem c. 587 BCE]]. These history books make up around half the total content of the Old Testament. Of the remainder, the books of the various prophets – [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]], [[Book of Jeremiah|Jeremiah]], [[Book of Ezekiel|Ezekiel]], and the twelve "[[minor prophets]]" – were written between the 8th and 6th centuries BC, with the exceptions of [[Book of Jonah|Jonah]] and [[Book of Daniel|Daniel]], which were written much later. The "wisdom" books – [[Book of Job|Job]], [[Book of Proverbs|Proverbs]], [[Book of Ecclesiastes|Ecclesiastes]], [[Book of Psalms|Psalms]], [[Book of Song of Solomon|Song of Solomon]] – have various dates: Proverbs possibly was completed by the Hellenistic time (332–198 BCE), though containing much older material as well; Job completed by the 6th century BCE; Ecclesiastes by the 3rd century BCE. Apocryphal or deuterocanonical books. [[File:KJV 1769 Oxford Edition, vol. 1.djvu|page=21|thumb|The contents page in a complete 80 book [[King James Bible]], listing "The Books of the Old Testament", "The Books called Apocrypha", and "The Books of the New Testament".]] In [[Eastern Christianity]], translations based on the Septuagint still prevail. The Septuagint was generally abandoned in favour of the 10th-century Masoretic Text as the basis for translations of the Old Testament into [[Western world|Western]] languages. Some modern Western translations since the [[Wycliffe's Bible|14th century]] make use of the Septuagint to clarify passages in the Masoretic Text, where the Septuagint may preserve a variant reading of the Hebrew text. They also sometimes adopt variants that appear in other texts, e.g., those discovered among the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]]. A number of books which are part of the [[Syriac versions of the Bible|Peshitta]] or the Greek Septuagint but are not found in the Hebrew Bible (i.e., among the protocanonical books) are often referred to as deuterocanonical books by Roman Catholics referring to a later secondary (i.e., deutero) canon, that canon as fixed definitively by the [[Council of Trent]] 1545–1563. It includes 46 books for the Old Testament (45 if Jeremiah and Lamentations are counted as one) and 27 for the New. Eighty book Protestant Bibles have [[List_of_books_of_the_King_James_Version#Apocrypha|fourteen books]] in between the Old Testament and New Testament in a section called the Apocrypha. [[Protestantism|Protestant]] traditions traditionally teach that these books are useful for instruction, but are non-canonical. However, Eastern Orthodox Churches include these books as part of their Old Testament and the Roman Catholic Church most of them with the exception of three books. The Roman Catholic Church recognizes: In addition to those, the [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek]] and [[Russian Orthodox Church]]es recognize the following: Russian and Georgian Orthodox Churches include: There is also [[4 Maccabees]] which is only accepted as canonical in the [[Georgian Orthodox Church|Georgian Church]], but was included by [[St. Jerome]] in an appendix to the [[Vulgate]], and is an appendix to the Greek Orthodox Bible, and it is therefore sometimes included in collections of the Apocrypha. The [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac Orthodox tradition]] includes: The [[Ethiopian Biblical canon]] includes: and some other books. The [[Revised Common Lectionary]] of the [[Lutheran Church]], [[Moravian Church]], [[Reformed Church]]es, [[Anglican Church]] and [[Methodist Church]] uses the [[List_of_books_of_the_King_James_Version#Apocrypha|Apocryphal Books]] liturgically, with alternative Old Testament readings available. Therefore, editions of the Bible intended for use in the Lutheran Church and Anglican Church include the fourteen books of the Protestant Apocrypha, many of which are the Deuterocanonical books accepted by the Catholic Church, plus [[1 Esdras]], [[2 Esdras]] and the [[Prayer of Manasseh]], which were in the Vulgate appendix. Pseudepigraphal books. The term pseudepigrapha commonly describes numerous works of Jewish religious literature written from about 300 BCE to 300 CE. Not all of these works are actually pseudepigraphical. It also refers to books of the New Testament canon whose authorship is misrepresented or questionable. The Old Testament pseudepigraphal works include the following: Book of Enoch. Notable pseudepigraphal works include the Books of Enoch (such as [[1 Enoch]], [[Second Book of Enoch|2 Enoch]], surviving only in [[Old Church Slavonic|Old Slavonic]], and [[3 Enoch]], surviving in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], c. 5th to 6th century CE). These are ancient [[Jewish]] religious works, traditionally ascribed to the prophet [[Enoch (Biblical figure)|Enoch]], the great-grandfather of the patriarch [[Noah]]. They are not part of the [[biblical canon]] used by [[Jews]], apart from [[Beta Israel]]. Most Christian denominations and traditions may accept the Books of Enoch as having some historical or theological interest or significance. It has been observed that part of the Book of Enoch is quoted in the [[Epistle of Jude]] (part of the New Testament) but Christian denominations generally regard the Books of Enoch as non-canonical or non-inspired. However, the Enoch books are treated as canonical by the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]] and [[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church]]. The older sections (mainly in the Book of the Watchers) are estimated to date from about 300 BCE, and the latest part (Book of Parables) probably was composed at the end of the 1st century BCE. Denominational views of pseudepigrapha. There arose in some Protestant biblical scholarship an extended use of the term "pseudepigrapha" for works that appeared as though they ought to be part of the biblical canon, because of the authorship ascribed to them, but which stood outside both the [[biblical canon]]s recognized by Protestants and Catholics. These works were also outside the particular set of books that Roman Catholics called "deuterocanonical" and to which Protestants had generally applied the term Apocryphal. Accordingly, the term "pseudepigraphical", as now used often among both Protestants and Roman Catholics (allegedly for the clarity it brings to the discussion), may make it difficult to discuss questions of pseudepigraphical authorship of canonical books dispassionately with a lay audience. To confuse the matter further, Eastern Orthodox Christians accept books as canonical that Roman Catholics and most Protestant denominations consider pseudepigraphical or at best of much less authority. There exist also churches that reject some of the books that Roman Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants accept. The same is true of some [[Jewish denominations|Jewish sects]]. Many works that are apocryphal are otherwise considered genuine. Role of the Old Testament in Christian theology. The Old Testament has always been central to the life of the Christian church. Bible scholar [[N.T. Wright]] says "Jesus himself was profoundly shaped by the scriptures." He adds that the earliest Christians also searched those same Hebrew scriptures in their effort to understand the earthly life of Jesus. They regarded the "holy writings" of the Israelites as necessary and instructive for the Christian, as seen from Paul's words to Timothy (2 Timothy 3:15), and as pointing to the Messiah, and as having reached a climactic fulfilment in Jesus himself, generating the "[[new covenant]]" prophesied by [[Jeremiah]]. New Testament. The New Testament is the name given to the second and final portion of the Christian Bible. [[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus]] is its central figure. The term "New Testament" came into use in the second century during a controversy among Christians over whether the Hebrew Bible should be included with the Christian writings as sacred scripture. The New Testament presupposes the inspiration of the Old Testament. Some other works which were widely read by early churches were excluded from the New Testament and relegated to the collections known as the [[Apostolic Fathers]] (generally considered orthodox) and the New Testament [[Apocrypha]] (including both orthodox and heretical works). The New Testament is a collection of 27 books of 4 different [[genres]] of Christian literature ([[Gospels]], one account of the [[Acts of the Apostles]], [[Epistles]] and an [[Apocalyptic literature|Apocalypse]]). These books can be grouped into: [[Gospel|The Gospels]] [[Acts of the Apostles (genre)|Narrative literature]], account and history of the Apostolic age [[Pauline Epistles]] [[Pastoral epistles]] [[General epistles]], also called catholic or general epistles [[Apocalyptic literature]], also called Prophetical The New Testament books are ordered differently in the Catholic/Orthodox/Protestant tradition, the [[Slavonic translations of the Bible|Slavonic tradition]], the [[Syriac versions of the Bible|Syriac]] tradition and the Ethiopian tradition. Original language. The mainstream consensus is that the New Testament was written in a form of [[Koine Greek]], which was the [[lingua franca|common language]] of the [[Eastern Mediterranean]] from the [[Conquests of Alexander the Great]] (335–323 BCE) until the evolution of [[Byzantine Greek]] (c. 600). Historic editions. [[File:Lutherbibel.jpg|thumb|right|An early German translation by [[Martin Luther]]. His translation of the text into the [[vernacular]] was highly influential.]] The original [[autograph]]s, that is, the original Greek writings and [[Biblical manuscript|manuscripts]] written by the original authors of the New Testament, have not survived. But historically "copies" exist of those original autographs, transmitted and preserved in a number of [[Bible manuscript#Textual criticism|manuscript traditions]]. There have been some minor variations, additions or omissions, in some of the texts. When ancient scribes copied earlier books, they sometimes wrote notes on the margins of the page ("[[Glosses to the Bible#Glosses as marginal notes|marginal glosses]]") to correct their text – especially if a scribe accidentally omitted a word or line – and to comment about the text. When later scribes were copying the copy, they were sometimes uncertain if a note was intended to be included as part of the text. The three main textual traditions of the Greek New Testament are sometimes called the [[Alexandrian text-type]] (generally [[biblical minimalism|minimalist]]), the [[Byzantine text-type]] (generally [[biblical maximalism|maximalist]]), and the [[Western text-type]] (occasionally wild). Together they comprise most of the ancient manuscripts. Development of the Christian canons. [[File:Marinus Claesz. van Reymerswaele 002.jpg|thumb|"St. Jerome in his Study", by [[Marinus van Reymerswaele]], 1541. [[Jerome]] produced a 4th-century [[Latin]] edition of the Bible, known as the "[[Vulgate]]", that became the Catholic Church's official translation.]] The Old Testament canon entered into Christian use in the Greek Septuagint translations and original books, and their differing lists of texts. In addition to the Septuagint, Christianity subsequently added various writings that would become the New Testament. Somewhat different lists of accepted works continued to develop in antiquity. In the 4th century a series of [[synod]]s produced a list of texts equal to the 39, 46, 51, or 54-book canon of the Old Testament and to the 27-book canon of the New Testament that would be subsequently used to today, most notably the [[Synod of Hippo]] in 393 CE. Also "c". 400, [[Jerome]] produced a definitive Latin edition of the Bible (see [[Vulgate]]), the canon of which, at the insistence of the Pope, was in accord with the earlier Synods. With the benefit of hindsight, it can be said that this process effectively set the New Testament canon, although there are examples of other canonical lists in use after this time. The Protestant Old Testament of today has a 39-book canon – the number of books (though not the content) varies from the Jewish Tanakh only because of a different method of division – while the Roman Catholic Church recognizes 46 books (51 books with some books combined into 46 books) as the canonical Old Testament. The Eastern Orthodox Churches recognize 3 Maccabees, 1 Esdras, Prayer of Manasseh and Psalm 151 in addition to the Catholic canon. Some include 2 Esdras. The term "Hebrew Scriptures" is often used as being synonymous with the Protestant Old Testament, since the surviving scriptures in Hebrew include only those books, while Catholics and Orthodox include additional texts that have not survived in Hebrew. Eighty book Protestant Bibles include [[List_of_books_of_the_King_James_Version#Apocrypha|14 books]] called Apocrypha in between the Old Testament and the New Testament that are deemed useful for instruction but non-canonical. Both Catholics and Protestants (as well as Greek Orthodox) have the same 27-book New Testament Canon. The New Testament writers assumed the inspiration of the Old Testament, probably earliest stated in , "All scripture is given by inspiration of God". Some denominations have [[Religious text#Additional scriptures|additional canonical holy scriptures]] beyond the Bible, including the [[standard works]] of the [[Latter Day Saints movement]] and "[[Divine Principle]]" in the [[Unification Church]]. Ethiopian Orthodox canon. The Canon of the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]] is wider than the canons used by most other Christian churches. There are 81 books in the Ethiopian Orthodox Bible. The Ethiopian Old Testament Canon includes the books found in the [[Septuagint]] accepted by other Orthodox Christians, in addition to [[Book of Enoch|Enoch]] and [[Jubilees]] which are ancient Jewish books that only survived in [[Ge'ez language|Ge'ez]] but are quoted in the New Testament, also Greek Ezra [[1 Esdras|First]] and the [[Jewish Apocalypse of Ezra|Apocalypse of Ezra]], 3 books of [[Meqabyan]], and [[Psalm 151]] at the end of the Psalter. The three books of Meqabyan are not to be confused with the books of Maccabees. The order of the other books is somewhat different from other groups', as well. The Old Testament follows the Septuagint order for the Minor Prophets rather than the Jewish order. Peshitta. The Peshitta ( "or" "") is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac tradition]]. The consensus within biblical scholarship, although not universal, is that the [[Old Testament]] of the Peshitta was translated into [[Syriac language|Syriac]] from [[biblical Hebrew]], probably in the 2nd century AD, and that the [[New Testament]] of the Peshitta was translated from the Greek. This New Testament, originally excluding certain [[Antilegomena|disputed books]] ([[2 Peter]], [[2 John]], [[3 John]], [[Epistle of Jude|Jude]], [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]), had become a standard by the early 5th century. The five excluded books were added in the [[Harklean Version]] (616 AD) of [[Thomas of Harqel]]. Divine inspiration. [[File:Altar and bible st Johns Lutheran.jpg|thumb|A Bible is placed centrally on a [[Lutheran]] altar, highlighting its importance]]The Second Epistle to Timothy says that "all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness". () Various related but distinguishable views on divine inspiration include: Within these broad beliefs many schools of [[hermeneutics]] operate. "Bible scholars claim that discussions about the Bible must be put into its context within church history and then into the context of contemporary culture." [[Christian fundamentalism|Fundamentalist Christians]] are associated with the doctrine of biblical literalism, where the Bible is not only inerrant, but the meaning of the text is clear to the average reader. Jewish antiquity attests to belief in sacred texts, and a similar belief emerges in the earliest of Christian writings. Various texts of the Bible mention divine agency in relation to its writings. In their book "A General Introduction to the Bible", [[Norman Geisler]] and William Nix write: "The process of inspiration is a mystery of the providence of God, but the result of this process is a verbal, plenary, inerrant, and authoritative record." Most evangelical biblical scholars associate inspiration with only the original text; for example some American Protestants adhere to the 1978 [[Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy]] which asserted that inspiration applied only to the [[autograph]]ic text of Scripture. Among adherents of Biblical literalism, a minority, such as followers of the [[King-James-Only Movement]], extend the claim of inerrancy only to a particular version. Versions and translations. [[File:1588 First Welsh Bible.jpg|thumb|Title page from the first [[Welsh language|Welsh]] translation of the Bible, 1588. [[William Morgan (Bible translator)|William Morgan]] (1545–1604)]] The original texts of the Tanakh were almost entirely written in Hebrew; about one per cent is written in Aramaic. In addition to the authoritative Masoretic Text, Jews still refer to the Septuagint, the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, and the [[Targum Onkelos]], an Aramaic version of the Bible. There are several different ancient versions of the Tanakh in Hebrew, mostly differing by spelling, and the traditional Jewish version is based on the version known as Aleppo Codex. Even in this version there are words which are traditionally read differently from written, because the oral tradition is considered more fundamental than the written one, and presumably mistakes had been made in copying the text over the generations. The primary biblical text for early Christians was the Septuagint. In addition, they translated the Hebrew Bible into several other languages. Translations were made into Syriac, [[Coptic language|Coptic]], [[Ge'ez language|Ethiopic]], and Latin, among other languages. The Latin translations were historically the most important for the Church in the West, while the Greek-speaking East continued to use the Septuagint translations of the Old Testament and had no need to translate the New Testament. The earliest Latin translation was the [[Old Latin]] text, or "[[Vetus Latina]]", which, from internal evidence, seems to have been made by several authors over a period of time. It was based on the Septuagint, and thus included books not in the Hebrew Bible. According to the Latin [[Decretum Gelasianum]] (also known as the Gelasian Decree), thought to be of a 6th-century document of uncertain authorship and of pseudepigraphal papal authority (variously ascribed to [[Pope Gelasius I]], [[Pope Damasus I]], or [[Pope Hormisdas]]) but reflecting the views of the Roman Church by that period, the [[Council of Rome]] in 382 CE under Pope Damasus I (366–383) assembled a list of books of the Bible. Damasus commissioned Saint [[Jerome]] to produce a reliable and consistent text by translating the original Greek and Hebrew texts into Latin. This translation became known as the [[Vulgate|Latin Vulgate Bible]], in the fourth century CE (although Jerome expressed in his prologues to most [[Biblical apocrypha|"deuterocanonical"]] books that they were non-[[Biblical canon|canonical]]). In 1546, at the [[Council of Trent]], Jerome's Vulgate translation was declared by the Roman Catholic Church to be the only authentic and official Bible in the [[Latin Church]]. Since the [[Protestant Reformation]], [[Bible translations]] for many languages have been made. The Bible continues to be translated to new languages, largely by Christian organizations such as [[Wycliffe Bible Translators]], [[New Tribes Mission]] and [[Bible society|Bible societies]]. Views. John Riches, professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at the [[University of Glasgow]], provides the following view of the diverse historical influences of the Bible: Other religions. In [[Islam]], the Bible is held to reflect true unfolding [[revelation]] from [[God in Islam|God]]; but revelation which had been corrupted or distorted (in Arabic: "[[tahrif]]"); which necessitated the giving of the [[Qur'an]] to the [[Prophets of Islam|Islamic prophet]], [[Muhammad]], to correct this deviation. Members of other religions may also seek inspiration from the Bible. For example, [[Rastafari]]s view the Bible as essential to their religion and [[Unitarian Universalism|Unitarian Universalists]] view it as "one of many important religious texts". Biblical studies. [[Biblical criticism]] refers to the investigation of the Bible as a text, and addresses questions such as authorship, dates of composition, and authorial intention. It is not the same as [[criticism of the Bible]], which is an assertion against the Bible being a source of information or ethical guidance, or observations that the Bible may have [[translation]] errors. Higher criticism. In the 17th century, [[Thomas Hobbes]] collected the current evidence to conclude outright that Moses could not have written the bulk of the Torah. Shortly afterwards the philosopher [[Baruch Spinoza]] published a unified critical analysis, arguing that the problematic passages were not isolated cases that could be explained away one by one, but pervasive throughout the five books, concluding that it was "clearer than the sun at noon that the Pentateuch was not written by Moses ..." Archaeological and historical research. [[Biblical archaeology]] is the [[archaeology]] that relates to and sheds light upon the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Greek Scriptures (or the New Testament). It is used to help determine the lifestyle and practices of people living in biblical times. There are a wide range of interpretations in the field of biblical archaeology. One broad division includes [[biblical maximalism]] which generally takes the view that most of the Old Testament or the [[Hebrew Bible]] is based on history although it is presented through the religious viewpoint of its time. It is considered to be the opposite of [[biblical minimalism]] which considers the Bible to be a purely [[post-exilic]] (5th century BCE and later) composition. Even among those scholars who adhere to biblical minimalism, the Bible is a historical document containing first-hand information on the [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] and [[Roman era]]s, and there is universal scholarly consensus that the events of the 6th century BCE [[Babylonian captivity]] have a basis in history. The historicity of the biblical account of the [[history of ancient Israel and Judah]] of the 10th to 7th centuries BCE is disputed in scholarship. The biblical account of the 8th to 7th centuries BCE is widely, but not universally, accepted as historical, while the verdict on the earliest period of the [[United Monarchy]] (10th century BCE) and the [[historicity of David]] is unclear. Archaeological evidence providing information on this period, such as the [[Tel Dan Stele]], can potentially be decisive. The biblical account of events of the [[Exodus from Egypt]] in the Torah, and the migration to the [[Promised Land]] and the period of [[Biblical judges|Judges]] are not considered historical in scholarship. Illustrations. The grandest medieval Bibles were [[illuminated manuscript]]s in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated [[initial]]s, borders ([[marginalia]]) and [[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniature illustrations]]. Up to the twelfth century, most manuscripts were produced in monasteries in order to add to the library or after receiving a [[Commission (art)|commission]] from a wealthy patron. Larger monasteries often contained separate areas for the [[monks]] who specialized in the production of manuscripts called a [[scriptorium]], where "separate little rooms were assigned to book copying; they were situated in such a way that each scribe had to himself a window open to the cloister walk." By the fourteenth century, the [[cloisters]] of monks writing in the scriptorium started to employ laybrothers from the urban scriptoria, especially in Paris, Rome and the Netherlands. Demand for manuscripts grew to an extent that the Monastic libraries were unable to meet with the demand, and began employing secular scribes and illuminators. These individuals often lived close to the monastery and, in certain instances, dressed as monks whenever they entered the monastery, but were allowed to leave at the end of the day. The manuscript was "sent to the [[rubricator]], who added (in red or other colours) the titles, [[headlines]], the initials of chapters and sections, the notes and so on; and then – if the book was to be illustrated – it was sent to the illuminator." In the case of manuscripts that were sold commercially, the writing would "undoubtedly have been discussed initially between the patron and the scribe (or the scribe's agent,) but by the time that the written gathering were sent off to the illuminator there was no longer any scope for innovation." External links. [[Category:Bible| ]] [[Category:Judeo-Christian topics]]

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=753281

The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (to c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval continuation, the Eastern Roman Empire (i.e. the Byzantine Empire). It is thus a term that may span approximately 2,205 years (753 BC–1453 AD), during which the Roman armed forces underwent numerous permutations in composition, organisation, equipment and tactics, while conserving a core of lasting traditions. Historical overview. Early Roman army (c. 500 BC to c. 300 BC). The early Roman army was the armed forces of the Roman Kingdom and of the early Roman Republic. During this period, when warfare chiefly consisted of small-scale plundering raids, it has been suggested that the army followed Etruscan or Greek models of organisation and equipment. The early Roman army was based on an annual levy. The army consisted of 3,000 infantrymen and 300 cavalrymen. All of which were Equites. The Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans under the Roman state would each provide an extra 1,000 soldiers and 100 cavalrymen. King Servius of Rome would institute the Servian reforms. These would divide the population into five classes. Each of which would have different roles in the military. The first class could afford to have a cuirass, greaves, a shield, a sword, and a spear. The second class had greaves, a shield, a sword, and a spear. The third class could only afford to have the shield, a sword, and a spear. The fourth class had a shield and a spear. The fifth class would only be slingers. Any poorer citizen, called Capite Censi would have no weapons. The Capite Censi would not serve in the army unless it was an emergency. The infantry ranks were filled with the lower classes while the cavalry ("equites" or "celeres") were left to the patricians, because the wealthier could afford horses. Moreover, the commanding authority during the regal period was the king. When the army of Rome would be brought together on the Campus Martius it was called the Comitia Curiata. Until the establishment of the Roman Republic and the office of consul, the king assumed the role of commander-in-chief. However, from about 508 BC Rome no longer had a king. The commanding position of the army was given to the consuls, "who were charged both singly and jointly to take care to preserve the Republic from danger". The term legion is derived from the Latin word "legio"; which ultimately means draft or levy. At first there were only four Roman legions. These legions were numbered "I" to "IIII", with the fourth being written as such and not "IV". The first legion was seen as the most prestigious. The bulk of the army was made up of citizens. These citizens could not choose the legion to which they were allocated. Any man "from ages 16–46 were selected by ballot" and assigned to a legion. Until the Roman military disaster of 390 BC at the Battle of the Allia, Rome's army was organised similarly to the Greek phalanx. This was due to Greek influence in Italy "by way of their colonies". Patricia Southern quotes ancient historians Livy and Dionysius in saying that the "phalanx consisted of 3,000 infantry and 300 cavalry". Each man had to provide their equipment in battle; the military equipment which they could afford determined which position they took in the battle. Politically they shared the same ranking system in the Comitia Centuriata. Roman army of the mid-Republic (c. 300–88 BC). The Roman army of the mid-Republic was also known as the "manipular army", or the "Polybian army", after the Greek historian Polybius, who provides the most detailed extant description of this phase. The Roman army started to have a full-time strength of 150,000 at all times and 3/4 of the rest were levied. During this period, the Romans, while maintaining the levy system, adopted the Samnite manipular organisation for their legions and also bound all the other peninsular Italian states into a permanent military alliance (see "Socii"). The latter were required to supply (collectively) roughly the same number of troops to joint forces as the Romans to serve under Roman command. Legions in this phase were always accompanied on campaign by the same number of allied "alae" (Roman non-citizen auxiliaries), units of roughly the same size as legions. After the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), the Romans acquired an overseas empire, which necessitated standing forces to fight lengthy wars of conquest and to garrison the newly gained provinces. Thus the army's character mutated from a temporary force based entirely on short-term conscription to a standing army in which the conscripts were supplemented by a large number of volunteers willing to serve for much longer than the legal six-year limit. These volunteers were mainly from the poorest social class, who did not have plots to tend at home and were attracted by the modest military pay and the prospect of a share of war booty. The minimum property requirement for service in the legions, which had been suspended during the Second Punic War, was effectively ignored from 201 BC onward in order to recruit sufficient volunteers. Between 150 BC and 100 BC, the manipular structure was gradually phased out, and the much larger cohort became the main tactical unit. In addition, from the Second Punic War onward, Roman armies were always accompanied by units of non-Italian mercenaries, such as Numidian cavalry, Cretan archers, and Balearic slingers, who provided specialist functions that Roman armies had previously lacked. Roman army of the late Republic (88–30 BC). The Roman army of the late Republic (88–30 BC) marks the continued transition between the conscription-based citizen levy of the mid-Republic and the mainly volunteer, the professional standing forces of the imperial era. The main literary sources for the army's organisation and tactics in this phase are the works of Julius Caesar, the most notable of a series of warlords who contested for power in this period. As a result of the Social War (91–88 BC), all Italians were granted Roman citizenship, the old allied "alae" were thereby abolished and their members integrated into the legions. Regular annual conscription remained in force and continued to provide the core of legionary recruitment, but an ever-increasing proportion of recruits were volunteers, who signed up for 16-year terms as opposed to the maximum 6 years for conscripts. The loss of "ala" cavalry reduced Roman/Italian cavalry by 75%, and legions became dependent on allied native horse for cavalry cover. This period saw the large-scale expansion of native forces employed to complement the legions, made up of "numeri" ("units") recruited from tribes within Rome's overseas empire and neighbouring allied tribes. Large numbers of heavy infantry and cavalry were recruited in the Roman Provinces of Hispania, Gallia and Thracia, and archers from the Eastern Mediterranean, ( Mostly from Thrace, Anatolia and Syria ). However, these native units were not integrated with the legions, but retained their own traditional leadership, organisation, armour and weapons. Imperial Roman army (30 BC–AD 284). During this period, the Republican system of citizen conscription was replaced by a standing professional army of mainly volunteers serving standard 20-year terms (plus five years as reservists), although many in the service of the Roman Empire would serve as many as 30 to 40 years on active duty, as established by the first Roman emperor, Augustus (sole ruler 30 BC–14 AD). Regular annual conscription of citizens was abandoned and only decreed in emergencies (e.g. during the Illyrian revolt of 6–9 AD). Under Augustus, there were 28 legions, consisting almost entirely of heavy infantry, with about 5,000 men each (total 125,000). This had increased to a peak of 33 legions of about 5,500 men each (c. 180,000 men in total) by 200 AD under Septimius Severus. Legions continued to recruit Roman citizens, mainly the inhabitants of Italy and Roman colonies, until 212. Legions were flanked by the auxilia, a corps of regular troops recruited mainly from "peregrini", imperial subjects who did not hold Roman citizenship (the great majority of the empire's inhabitants until 212, when all were granted citizenship). Auxiliaries, who served a minimum term of 25 years, were also mainly volunteers, but regular conscription of "peregrini" was employed for most of the 1st century AD. Under Augustus, the "auxilia" consisted of about 250 regiments of roughly cohort size, that is, about 500 men (in total 125,000 men, or 50% of the total army). Under Septimius Severus, the number of regiments increased to about 400, of which about 13% were double-strength (250,000 men, or 60% of total army). "Auxilia" contained heavy infantry equipped similarly to legionaries, almost all of the army's cavalry (both armoured and light), archers and slingers. Later Roman army (284–476 AD) continuing as East Roman army (476–641 AD). The Late Roman army period stretches from (284–476 AD and its continuation, in the surviving eastern half of the empire, as the East Roman army to 641). In this phase, crystallised by the reforms of the emperor Diocletian (ruled 284–305 AD), the Roman army returned to regular annual conscription of citizens, while admitting large numbers of non-citizen barbarian volunteers. However, soldiers remained 25-year professionals and did not return to the short-term levies of the Republic. The old dual organisation of legions and auxilia was abandoned, with citizens and non-citizens now serving in the same units. The old legions were broken up into cohorts or even smaller units. At the same time, a substantial proportion of the army's effectives were stationed in the interior of the empire, in the form of "comitatus praesentales", armies that escorted the emperors. Middle Byzantine army (641–1081 AD). The Middle Byzantine army (641–1081 AD) was the army of the Byzantine state in its classical form (i.e. after the permanent loss of its Near Eastern and North African territories to the Arab conquests after 641 AD). This army was largely composed of semi-professional troops (soldier-farmers) based on the themata military provinces, supplemented by a small core of professional regiments known as the "tagmata". Ibn al-Fakih estimated the strength of the themata forces in the East c. 902 at 85,000 and Kodama c. 930 at 70,000. This structure pertained when the empire was on the defensive, in the 10th century the empire was increasingly involved in territorial expansion, and the themata troops became progressively more irrelevant, being gradually replaced by 'provincial tagmata' units and an increased use of mercenaries. Komnenian Byzantine army (1081–1204). The Komnenian Byzantine army was named after the Komnenos dynasty, which ruled from 1081 to 1185. This was an army built virtually from scratch after the permanent loss of half of Byzantium's traditional main recruiting ground of Anatolia to the Turks following the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, and the destruction of the last regiments of the old army in the wars against the Normans in the early 1080s. It survived until the fall of Constantinople to the Western crusaders in 1204. This army had a large number of mercenary regiments composed of troops of foreign origin such as the Varangian Guard, and the "pronoia" system was introduced. Palaiologan Byzantine army (1261–1453). The Palaiologan Byzantine army was named after the Palaiologos dynasty (1261–1453), which ruled Byzantium from the recovery of Constantinople from the Crusaders until its fall to the Turks in 1453. Initially, it continued some practices inherited from the Komnenian era and retained a strong native element until the late 13th century. During the last century of its existence, however, the empire was little more than a city-state that hired foreign mercenary bands for its defence. Thus the Byzantine army finally lost any meaningful connection with the standing imperial Roman army. This article contains the summaries of the detailed linked articles on the historical phases above, Readers seeking discussion of the Roman army by theme, rather than by chronological phase, should consult the following articles: History Corps Strategy and tactics Equipment & other Some of the Roman army's many tactics are still used in modern-day armies today. Early Roman army (c. 550 to c. 300 BC). Until c. 550 BC, there was no "national" Roman army, but a series of clan-based war-bands which only coalesced into a united force in periods of serious external threat. Around 550 BC, during the period conventionally known as the rule of king Servius Tullius, it appears that a universal levy of eligible adult male citizens was instituted. This development apparently coincided with the introduction of heavy armour for most of the infantry. Although originally low in numbers the Roman infantry was extremely tactical and developed some of the most influential battle strategies to date. The early Roman army was based on a compulsory levy from adult male citizens which was held at the start of each campaigning season, in those years that war was declared. There were no standing or professional forces. During the Regal Era (to c. 500 BC), the standard levy was probably of 9,000 men, consisting of 6,000 heavily armed infantry (probably Greek-style hoplites), plus 2,400 light-armed infantry ("rorarii", later called "velites") and 600 light cavalry ("equites celeres"). When the kings were replaced by two annually elected "praetores" in c. 500 BC, the standard levy remained of the same size, but was now divided equally between the Praetors, each commanding one legion of 4,500 men. It is likely that the hoplite element was deployed in a Greek-style phalanx formation in large set-piece battles. However, these were relatively rare, with most fighting consisting of small-scale border-raids and skirmishing. In these, the Romans would fight in their basic tactical unit, the "centuria" of 100 men. In addition, separate clan-based forces remained in existence until c. 450 BC at least, although they would operate under the Praetors' authority, at least nominally. In 493 BC, shortly after the establishment of the Roman Republic, Rome concluded a perpetual treaty of military alliance (the "foedus Cassianum"), with the combined other Latin city-states. The treaty, probably motivated by the need for the Latins to deploy a united defence against incursions by neighbouring hill-tribes, provided for each party to provide an equal force for campaigns under unified command. It remained in force until 358 BC. Roman army of the mid-Republic (c. 300 – 107 BC). The central feature of the Roman army of the mid-Republic, or the Polybian army, was the manipular organization of its battle-line. Instead of a single, large mass (the phalanx) as in the Early Roman army, the Romans now drew up in three lines consisting of small units (maniples) of 120 men, arrayed in chessboard fashion, giving much greater tactical strength and flexibility. This structure was probably introduced in c. 300 BC during the Samnite Wars. Also probably dating from this period was the regular accompaniment of each legion by a non-citizen formation of roughly equal size, the "ala", recruited from Rome's Italian allies, or "socii". The latter were approximately 150 autonomous states which were bound by a treaty of perpetual military alliance with Rome. Their sole obligation was to supply to the Roman army, on demand, a number of fully equipped troops up to a specified maximum each year. The Second Punic War (218–201 BC) saw the addition of a third element to the existing dual Roman/Italian structure: non-Italian mercenaries with specialist skills lacking in the legions and "alae": Numidian light cavalry, Cretan archers, and slingers from the Balearic islands. From this time, these units always accompanied Roman armies. The Republican army of this period, like its earlier forebear, did not maintain standing or professional military forces, but levied them, by compulsory conscription, as required for each campaigning season and disbanded thereafter (although formations could be kept in being over winter during major wars). The standard levy was doubled during the Samnite Wars to 4 legions (2 per Consul), for a total of c. 18,000 Roman troops and 4 allied "alae" of similar size. Service in the legions was limited to property-owning Roman citizens, normally those known as "iuniores" (age 16–46). The army's senior officers, including its commanders-in-chief, the Roman Consuls, were all elected annually at the People's Assembly. Only "equites" (members of the Roman knightly order) were eligible to serve as senior officers. "Iuniores" of the highest social classes ("equites" and the First Class of commoners) provided the legion's cavalry, the other classes the legionary infantry. The "proletarii" (those assessed at under 400 "drachmae" wealth) were ineligible for legionary service and were assigned to the fleets as oarsmen. Elders, vagrants, freedmen, slaves and convicts were excluded from the military levy, save in emergencies. The legionary cavalry also changed, probably around 300 BC onwards from the light, unarmoured horse of the early army to a heavy force with metal armour (bronze cuirasses and, later, chain-mail shirts). Contrary to a long-held view, the cavalry of the mid-Republic was a highly effective force that generally prevailed against strong enemy cavalry forces (both Gallic and Greek) until it was decisively beaten by the Carthaginian general Hannibal's horsemen during the second Punic War. This was due to Hannibal's greater operational flexibility owing to his Numidian light cavalry. The Polybian army's operations during its existence can be divided into three broad phases. (1) The struggle for hegemony over Italy, especially against the Samnite League (338–264 BC); (2) the struggle with Carthage for hegemony in the western Mediterranean Sea (264–201 BC); and (3) the struggle against the Hellenistic monarchies for control of the eastern Mediterranean (201–91 BC). During the earlier phase, the normal size of the levy (including allies) was in the region of 40,000 men (2 consular armies of c. 20,000 men each). During the latter phase, with lengthy wars of conquest followed by permanent military occupation of overseas provinces, the character of the army necessarily changed from a temporary force based entirely on short-term conscription to a standing army in which the conscripts, whose service was in this period limited by law to 6 consecutive years, were complemented by large numbers of volunteers who were willing to serve for much longer periods. Many of the volunteers were drawn from the poorest social class, which until the 2nd Punic War had been excluded from service in the legions by the minimum property requirement: during that war, extreme manpower needs had forced the army to ignore the requirement, and this practice continued thereafter. Maniples were gradually phased out as the main tactical unit, and replaced by the larger cohorts used in the allied "alae", a process probably complete by the time the general Marius assumed command in 107 BC. (The "Marian reforms" of the army hypothesised by some scholars are today seen by other scholars as having evolved earlier and more gradually.) In the period after the defeat of Carthage in 201 BC, the army was campaigning exclusively outside Italy, resulting in its men being away from their home plots of land for many years at a stretch. They were assuaged by the large amounts of booty that they shared after victories in the rich eastern theatre. But in Italy, the ever-increasing concentration of public lands in the hands of big landowners, and the consequent displacement of the soldiers' families, led to great unrest and demands for land redistribution. This was successfully achieved, but resulted in the disaffection of Rome's Italian allies, who as non-citizens were excluded from the redistribution. This led to the mass revolt of the "socii" and the Social War (91-88 BC). The result was the grant of Roman citizenship to all Italians and the end of the Polybian army's dual structure: the "alae" were abolished and the "socii" recruited into the legions. Imperial Roman army (30 BC – AD 284). Under the founder–emperor Augustus (ruled 30 BC – 14 AD), the legions, c. 5,000-strong all-heavy infantry formations recruited from Roman citizens only, were transformed from a mixed conscript and volunteer corps serving an average of 10 years, to all-volunteer units of long-term professionals serving a standard 25-year term (conscription was only decreed in emergencies). In the later 1st century, the size of a legion's First Cohort was doubled, increasing legionary personnel to c. 5,500. Alongside the legions, Augustus established the auxilia, a regular corps of similar numbers to the legions, recruited from the "peregrini" (non-citizen inhabitants of the empire – about 90% of the empire's population in the 1st century). As well as comprising large numbers of extra heavy infantry equipped in a similar manner to legionaries, the auxilia provided virtually all the army's cavalry (heavy and light), light infantry, archers and other specialists. The auxilia were organised in c. 500-strong units called "cohortes" (all-infantry), "alae" (all-cavalry) and "cohortes equitatae" (infantry with a cavalry contingent attached). Around 80 AD, a minority of auxiliary regiments were doubled in size. Until about 68 AD, the auxilia were recruited by a mix of conscription and voluntary enlistment. After that time, the auxilia became largely a volunteer corps, with conscription resorted to only in emergencies. Auxiliaries were required to serve a minimum of 25 years, although many served for longer periods. On completion of their minimum term, auxiliaries were awarded Roman citizenship, which carried important legal, fiscal and social advantages. Alongside the regular forces, the army of the Principate employed allied native units (called "numeri") from outside the empire on a mercenary basis. These were led by their own aristocrats and equipped in traditional fashion. Numbers fluctuated according to circumstances and are largely unknown. As all-citizen formations, and symbolic guarantors of the dominance of the Italian hegemony, legions enjoyed greater social prestige than the auxilia. This was reflected in better pay and benefits. In addition, legionaries were equipped with more expensive and protective armour than auxiliaries. However, in 212, the emperor Caracalla granted Roman citizenship to all the empire's inhabitants. At this point, the distinction between legions and auxilia became moot, the latter becoming all-citizen units also. The change was reflected in the disappearance, during the 3rd century, of legionaries' special equipment, and the progressive break-up of legions into cohort-sized units like the auxilia. By the end of Augustus' reign, the imperial army numbered some 250,000 men, equally split between legionaries and auxiliaries (25 legions and c. 250 auxiliary regiments). The numbers grew to a peak of about 450,000 by 211 (33 legions and c. 400 auxiliary regiments). By then, auxiliaries outnumbered legionaries substantially. From the peak, numbers probably underwent a steep decline by 270 due to plague and losses during multiple major barbarian invasions. Numbers were restored to their early 2nd-century level of c. 400,000 (but probably not to their 211 peak) under Diocletian (r. 284–305). After the empire's borders became settled (on the Rhine-Danube line in Europe) by 68, virtually all military units (except the Praetorian Guard) were stationed on or near the borders, in roughly 17 of the 42 provinces of the empire in the reign of Hadrian (r. 117–38). The military chain of command was relatively uniform across the Empire. In each province, the deployed legions' "legati" (legion commanders, who also controlled the auxiliary regiments attached to their legion) reported to the "legatus Augusti pro praetore" (provincial governor), who also headed the civil administration. The governor in turn reported direct to the emperor in Rome. There was no army general staff in Rome, but the leading "praefectus praetorio" (commander of the Praetorian Guard) often acted as the emperor's "de facto" military chief-of-staff. Legionary rankers were relatively well-paid, compared to contemporary common labourers. Compared with their subsistence-level peasant families, they enjoyed considerable disposable income, enhanced by periodic cash bonuses on special occasions such as the accession of a new emperor. In addition, on completion of their term of service, they were given a generous discharge bonus equivalent to 13 years' salary. Auxiliaries were paid much less in the early 1st century, but by 100 AD, the differential had virtually disappeared. Similarly, in the earlier period, auxiliaries appear not to have received cash and discharge bonuses, but probably did so from Hadrian onwards. Junior officers ("principales"), the equivalent of non-commissioned officers in modern armies, could expect to earn up to twice basic pay. Legionary centurions, the equivalent of mid-level commissioned officers, were organised in an elaborate hierarchy. Usually risen from the ranks, they commanded the legion's tactical sub-units of "centuriae" (c. 80 men) and cohorts (c. 480 men). They were paid several multiples of basic pay. The most senior centurion, the "primus pilus", was elevated to equestrian rank upon completion of his single-year term of office. The senior officers of the army, the "legati legionis" (legion commanders), "tribuni militum" (legion staff officers) and the "praefecti" (commanders of auxiliary regiments) were all of at least equestrian rank. In the 1st and early 2nd centuries, they were mainly Italian aristocrats performing the military component of their "cursus honorum" (conventional career-path). Later, provincial career officers became predominant. Senior officers were paid enormous salaries, multiples of at least 50 times basic. A typical Roman army during this period consisted of five to six legions. One legion was made up of 10 cohorts. The first cohort had five centuria each of 160 soldiers. In the second through tenth cohorts there were six centuria of 80 men each. These do not include archers, cavalry or officers. Soldiers spent only a fraction of their lives on campaign. Most of their time was spent on routine military duties such as training, patrolling, and maintenance of equipment etc. Soldiers also played an important role outside the military sphere. They performed the function of a provincial governor's police force. As a large, disciplined and skilled force of fit men, they played a crucial role in the construction of a province's Roman military and civil infrastructure: in addition to constructing forts and fortified defences such as Hadrian's Wall, they built roads, bridges, ports, public buildings, entire new cities (Roman colonies), and also engaged in large-scale forest clearance and marsh drainage to expand the province's available arable land. Soldiers, mostly drawn from polytheistic societies, enjoyed wide freedom of worship in the polytheistic Roman system. They revered their own native deities, Roman deities and the local deities of the provinces in which they served. Only a few religions were banned by the Roman authorities, as being incompatible with the official Roman religion and/or politically subversive, notably Druidism and Christianity. The later Principate saw the rise in popularity among the military of Eastern mystery cults, generally centred on one deity, and involving secret rituals divulged only to initiates. By far the most popular in the army was Mithraism, an apparently syncretist religion which mainly originated in Asia Minor. Late Roman army/East Roman army (284–641). The Late Roman army is the term used to denote the military forces of the Roman Empire from the accession of Emperor Diocletian in 284 until the Empire's definitive division into Eastern and Western halves in 395. A few decades afterwards, the Western army disintegrated as the Western empire collapsed. The East Roman army, on the other hand, continued intact and essentially unchanged until its reorganization by themes and transformation into the Byzantine army in the 7th century. The term "late Roman army" is often used to include the East Roman army. The army of the Principate underwent a significant transformation, as a result of the chaotic 3rd century. Unlike the Principate army, the army of the 4th century was heavily dependent on conscription and its soldiers were more poorly remunerated than in the 2nd century. Barbarians from outside the empire probably supplied a much larger proportion of the late army's recruits than in the army of the 1st and 2nd centuries. The size of the 4th-century army is controversial. More dated scholars (e.g. A.H.M. Jones, writing in the 1960s) estimated the late army as much larger than the Principate army, half the size again or even as much as twice the size. With the benefit of archaeological discoveries of recent decades, many contemporary historians view the late army as no larger than its predecessor: under Diocletian c. 390,000 (the same as under Hadrian almost two centuries earlier) and under Constantine no greater, and probably somewhat smaller, than the Principate peak of c. 440,000. The main change in structure was the establishment of large armies that accompanied the emperors ("comitatus praesentales") and were generally based away from the frontiers. Their primary function was to deter usurpations. The legions were split up into smaller units comparable in size to the auxiliary regiments of the Principate. In parallel, legionary armour and equipment were abandoned in favour of auxiliary equipment. Infantry adopted the more protective equipment of the Principate cavalry. The role of cavalry in the late army does not appear to have been enhanced as compared with the army of the Principate. The evidence is that cavalry was much the same proportion of overall army numbers as in the 2nd century and that its tactical role and prestige remained similar. Indeed, the cavalry acquired a reputation for incompetence and cowardice for their role in three major battles in mid-4th century. In contrast, the infantry retained its traditional reputation for excellence. The 3rd and 4th centuries saw the upgrading of many existing border forts to make them more defensible, as well as the construction of new forts with much higher defensive specifications. The interpretation of this trend has fuelled an ongoing debate whether the army adopted a defence-in-depth strategy or continued the same posture of "forward defence" as in the early Principate. Many elements of the late army's defence posture were similar to those associated with forward defence, such as a looser forward location of forts, frequent cross-border operations, and external buffer-zones of allied barbarian tribes. Whatever the defence strategy, it was apparently less successful in preventing barbarian incursions than in the 1st and 2nd centuries. This may have been due to heavier barbarian pressure, and/or to the practice of keeping large armies of the best troops in the interior, depriving the border forces of sufficient support. Komnenian Byzantine army (1081–1204). The Komnenian period marked a rebirth of the Byzantine army. At the beginning of the Komnenian period in 1081, the Byzantine Empire had been reduced to the smallest territorial extent. Surrounded by enemies, and financially ruined by a long period of civil war, the empire's prospects looked grim. At the beginning of the Komnenian period, the Byzantine army was reduced to a shadow of its former self: during the 11th century, decades of peace and neglect had reduced the old thematic forces, and the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 had destroyed the professional "tagmata", the core of the Byzantine army. At Manzikert and later at Dyrrhachium, units tracing their lineage for centuries back to Late Roman army were wiped out, and the subsequent loss of Asia Minor deprived the Empire of its main recruiting ground. In the Balkans, at the same time, the Empire was exposed to invasions by the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, and by Pecheneg raids across the Danube. The Byzantine army's nadir was reached in 1091, when Alexios I could manage to field only 500 soldiers from the Empire's professional forces. These formed the nucleus of the army, with the addition of the armed retainers of Alexios' relatives and the nobles enrolled in the army and the substantial aid of a large force of allied Cumans, which won the Battle of Levounion against the Pechenegs (Petcheneks or Patzinaks). Yet, through a combination of skill, determination and years of campaigning, Alexios, John and Manuel Komnenos managed to restore the power of the Byzantine Empire by constructing a new army from scratch. This process should not, however, at least in its earlier phases, be seen as a planned exercise in military restructuring. In particular, Alexios I was often reduced to reacting to events rather than controlling them; the changes he made to the Byzantine army were largely done out of immediate necessity and were pragmatic in nature. The new force had a core of units which were both professional and disciplined. It contained formidable guards units such as the Varangians, the "Athanatoi", a unit of heavy cavalry stationed in Constantinople, the "Vardariotai" and the "Archontopouloi", recruited by Alexios from the sons of dead Byzantine officers, foreign mercenary regiments, and also units of professional soldiers recruited from the provinces. These provincial troops included "kataphraktoi" cavalry from Macedonia, Thessaly and Thrace, and various other provincial forces such as Trebizond Archers from the Black Sea coast of Anatolia. Alongside troops raised and paid for directly by the state the Komnenian army included the armed followers of members of the wider imperial family and its extensive connections. In this can be seen the beginnings of the feudalisation of the Byzantine military. The granting of "pronoia" holdings, where land, or more accurately rights to revenue from land, was held in return for military obligations, was beginning to become a notable element in the military infrastructure towards the end of the Komnenian period, though it became much more important subsequently. In 1097, the Byzantine army numbered around 70,000 men altogether. By 1180 and the death of Manuel Komnenos, whose frequent campaigns had been on a grand scale, the army was probably considerably larger. During the reign of Alexios I, the field army numbered around 20,000 men which was increased to about 30,000 men in John II's reign. By the end of Manuel I's reign the Byzantine field army had risen to 40,000 men. Palaiologan Byzantine army (1261–1453). The Palaiologan army refers to the military forces of the Byzantine Empire from the late 13th century to its final collapse in the mid 15th century, under the House of the Palaiologoi. The army was a direct continuation of the forces of the Nicaean army, which itself was a fractured component of the formidable Komnenian army. Under the first Palaiologan emperor, Michael VIII, the army's role took an increasingly offensive role whilst the naval forces of the Empire, weakened since the days of Andronikos I Komnenos, were boosted to include thousands of skilled sailors and some 80 ships. Due to the lack of land to support the army, the Empire required the use of large numbers of mercenaries. After Andronikos II took to the throne, the army fell apart and the Byzantines suffered regular defeats at the hands of their eastern opponents, although they would continue to enjoy success against the crusader territories in Greece. By c. 1350, following a destructive civil war and the outbreak of the Black Death, the Empire was no longer capable of raising troops and the supplies to maintain them. The Empire came to rely upon troops provided by Serbs, Bulgarians, Venetians, Latins, Genoans and Ottoman Turks to fight the civil wars that lasted for the greater part of the 14th century, with the latter foe being the most successful in establishing a foothold in Thrace. The Ottomans swiftly expanded through the Balkans and cut off Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, from the surrounding land. The last decisive battle was fought by the Palaiologan army in 1453, when Constantinople was besieged and fell on 29 May. The last isolated remnants of the Byzantine state were conquered by 1461.

4th category

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=46668665

The National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches (NACCC) is an association of charismatic Christian churches in Ghana. Origin. The NACCC plays a supervisory role to ensure that ministers maintain high moral standards. Protestant churches in Ghana belonged to The Christian Council of Ghana or The Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) until the NACCC was founded. The NACCC was founded on 1 December 1999 by Dag Heward-Mills who was also elected twice as Chairman. It had existed informally before that date. The word "Christian" was included in the name to show that the organization was open to churches that shared its vision even if they did not consider themselves charismatic. The NACCC defined one of its objectives as fostering close cooperation between its members and with other umbrella church organizations including the CCG, GPCC and the Council of Charismatic Churches. History. The NACCC and the GPCC came to play an important role in the transmission of gospel teaching in Ghana. The older classical Pentecostals belong to the GPCC, while the younger, independent Charismatic ministries are NACCC members. The majority of charismatic churches now belong to the NACCC, but some are associated with the GPCC including the Perez Chapel International, Royal House Chapel International, Full Gospel Church International and the Christian Action Faith Ministry. By May 2006 the NACCC had registered 119 member churches, each of whom agreed with the query, "Would you be faithful to ministry by upholding the highest standards of ministerial ethics, moral and financial rectitude, self-sacrifice, living a godly life and cherishing the call of God on your life?" Most of the members are Neo-Pentecostal. In August 2003 Steve Mensah of Christian Evangelistic Ministry (CEM) was elected Chairman of the NACCC for a two-year term at the end of its four-day annual conference, replacing Dag Heward-Mills of Lighthouse Cathedral. As of 2015 Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams was chairman of the NACCC. Since 2004 the NACCC has organized all Christians all night prayer vigils. Members. As of 2015 the NACCC board members included representatives of the following churches or organizations:

managerial part

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=3223840

Oculesics, a subcategory of kinesics, is the study of eye movement, eye behavior, gaze, and eye-related nonverbal communication. The specific definition varies depending on whether it applies to the fields of medicine or social science. Nonverbal communication. Oculesics is one form of nonverbal communication, which is the transmission and reception of meaning between communicators without the use of words. It can include the environment around the communicators, the physical attributes or characteristics of the communicators, and the behavior of the communicators. The four nonverbal communication cues are spatial, temporal, visual and vocal. Each relates to one or more forms of nonverbal communication: Dimensions of oculesics. There are four aspects involved with oculesics: Dimension 1: eye contact. There are two methods of assessing eye contact: Dimension 2: eye movement. Eye Movement occurs voluntarily or involuntarily. It can include changing eye direction, changing focus, or following objects with the eyes. Dimension 3: pupil dilation. Pupillary response is change in the size of the pupil, voluntarily or involuntarily. This change happens at the appearance of real or perceived new objects of focus, and even at the real or perceived indication of such appearances Dimension 4: gaze direction. Gazing deals with communicating and feeling intense desire with the eye, voluntarily or involuntarily. Theorists and studies. Many theorists and studies are associated with nonverbal communication, to include oculesics. Ray Birdwhistell. Professor Ray Birdwhistell was one of the earliest theorists of nonverbal communication. As an anthropologist, he created the term "kinesics", and defined it as communication and perceived meaning from facial expressions and body gestures. Birdwhistell spent over fifty years analyzing kinesics. He wrote two books on the subject: "Introduction to Kinesics" (1952) and "Kinesics and Context" (1970). He also created films of people communicating and studied their methods of nonverbal communication in slow-motion. He published his results as attempts to make general translations of gestures and expressions, although he later acknowledged it was impossible to equate each form of body language with a specific meaning. Birdwhistell's study of oculesics was greatly enhanced by his use of film. In one study, he would film specifically in which directions and at what objects children looked as they learned activities from their parents. Paul Ekman. Dr. Paul Ekman is a psychologist with over five decades experience researching nonverbal communication, especially with facial expressions. He has written, co-authored and edited over a dozen books, and published over 100 articles on the subject. He also served as an advisor for the television show "Lie to Me", and currently works with the Dalai Lama on increasing awareness of the influence of emotion on behavior to help people reach peace of mind. Dr. Ekman's work in facial expressions includes studies looking for connections between oculesics and other facial movements, eye behavior and physically covering the eyes when recalling personal traumatic events, and on his self-coined phrase, "the Duchenne smile" (named after Guillaume Duchenne), which relates to involuntary movements of the orbicularis oculi, pars orbitalis when smiling sincerely. Most prominently, oculesics play a major role in the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), which is a microexpression database created by Dr. Ekman and his colleagues. W. Gerrod Parrott. Dr. W. Gerrod Parrott is a Professor of Psychology at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. His focus is on human emotions and how they affect thought processes. In his paper "Positioning and the Emotions", he discusses the concept of counter-argument, in which a communicator projects an emotion to a receiver in an attempt to elicit a specific emotion, but the receiver instead projects a different emotion to deflect or disrupt the original intentions of the communicator. Oculesics can play a major part in these emotional projection strategies. Robert Plutchik. Professor Robert Plutchik was a psychologist who specialized in communicating emotion with expressions and gestures. Many of his articles and books discuss the influence of emotion on nonverbal communication as well as the effect of those expressions and gestures back onto emotions. Professor Plutchik's work on oculesics includes studies on the "synthesis of facial expressions," which look for connections between expressions in the eye along with expressions from the forehead and mouth. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of therapy created by Dr. Francine Shapiro to help treat conditions such as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). EMDR uses eye movement to communicate within the subject in an attempt to re-create meaning and processing of past traumatic events. Communicating emotions. In the book "Human Emotions," author Carroll Ellis Izard says "a complete definition of emotion must take into account all three of these aspects or components: (a) the experience or conscious feeling of emotion, (b) the processes that occur in the brain and nervous system, and (c) the observable expressive patterns of emotion, particularly those on the face" (p. 4). This third component is where oculesics plays a role in nonverbal communication of emotion. Oculesics is a primary form of communicating emotion. The study of Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) establishes three main types of thinking: in terms of what you see, hear or feel. According to this science, oculesics can show which type of thinking someone is using when they are communicating. A person thinking visually might physically turn their eyes away, as if to look at an imagined presentation of what they are thinking, even to the point of changing the focus of their eyes. Someone thinking in terms of hearing might turn their eyes as much as possible to one of their ears. A person thinking in terms of what they feel could look downwards, as if looking toward their emotion coming from their body. Whether or not someone intends to send a particular meaning, or someone else perceives meaning correctly, the exchange of communication happens and can initiate emotion. It is important to understand these dynamics, because we often establish relationships (on small and grand scales) with oculesics. Lists of emotions. There are many theories on how to annotate a specific list of emotions. Two prominent methodologies come from Dr. Paul Ekman and Dr. Robert Plutchik (both professors are referenced above as well). Dr. Ekman states there are 15 basic emotions – amusement, anger, contempt, contentment, disgust, embarrassment, excitement, fear, guilt, pride in achievement, relief, sadness/distress, satisfaction, sensory pleasure, and shame – with each of these fifteen stemming out to similar and related sub-emotions. Dr. Plutchik says there are eight basic emotions which have eight opposite emotions, all of which create human feelings (which also have opposites). He created Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions to demonstrate this theory. Perceptions and displays of emotions vary across time and culture. Some theorists say that even with these differences, there can be generally accepted "truths" about oculesics, such as the theory that constant eye contact between two people is physically and mentally uncomfortable. The following emotions and their associated eye behaviors come from Changing Minds.org: Emotions with eye summary: Eye behaviors with emotional summaries: Cultural impact. Cultural differences in nonverbal communication. In his essay "The Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM)," Dr. W.Barnett Pearce discusses how people derive meaning in communication based on reference points gained or passed down to them culturally. Winston Bremback said, "To know another's language and not his culture is a good way to make a fluent fool of one's self." Culture in this sense, includes all of the nonverbal communication, customs, thought, speech and artifacts that make a group of people unique. Brembeck knew of the significant role that communication plays besides language. While most of the nonverbal communication is conveyed subconsciously, there are cultural similarities that enable us to understand the difference between what is being said and what is actually meant. But generalizing between nonverbal communication between cultures can be tricky since there are as many cultural differences in nonverbal communication as there are languages in the world. While it may take a child a couple of years to speak understandably in a certain language, it is important to remember that the child is also learning the idiosyncrasies of nonverbal communication at the same time. In fact, the first couple of years of a child's life are spent learning most of these nonverbals. The differences between cultures are thus ingrained at the very earliest points of development. Projected similarity. Anthropologists have proven for years that nonverbal communication styles vary by culture. Most people, however, are not only oblivious to the differences in these nonverbal communication styles within their own culture, but they also assume that individuals from other cultures also communicate in the same way that they do. This is a phenomenon called projected similarity. The result of projected similarity is that misperceptions, misinterpretations, and misunderstandings occur in cross-cultural interactions when a person interprets another's non- verbal communication in the light of his or her own cultural norms. While all nonverbal communication differs greatly among cultures, perhaps none is so obviously different as the movement and study of eye contact. A particular nonverbal interaction between two individuals can have completely different meaning in different cultures. Even within that same culture, oculesics plays a tremendous role in obtaining meaning from other nonverbal cues. This is why, even among the same culture, humans still have trouble sometimes understanding each other because of their varying eye behavior, nonverbal cues, and cultural and personal differences. Stereotypes in cultural differences. It is because of these personal differences, that in studying cultural communication patterns we sometimes find it necessary to speak in stereotypes and generalizations. Just as one might say that Puerto Ricans who speak Spanish tend to use a louder voice than others communicating at the same distance, it would not be fair to say that all Puerto Ricans exhibit the same qualities. There are obviously enormous variations within each culture. These variations can depend on age, gender, geographical location, race, socioeconomic status, and personality. Because there are so many factors to study, most are generally glossed over in favor of stereotypes and generalizations. Some oculesic findings from around the world. As previously discussed, the effect that eye movement has on human behavior has been widely studied. In some cultures, however, this study actually allows for insights into individuals whose only way of communication is by nonverbal means. Studies show that eye behavior shows special patterns with mental patients, autistic children, and persons from diverse cultures. In some countries, doctors use the study of oculesics to test stimulation among patients and interest levels in children who are not as expressive verbally. While lack of eye contact in many cultures can signal either disinterest or respect, depending on the culture of the individual, it may be an insight into a mental patient's brain functions on a particular day. Latin American culture vs. Anglo Saxon culture. There are many differences between Anglo Saxon culture and Latino/Latin American cultures, both in the way the two groups interact with each other as well as the way they interact with members of other cultural groups. Besides the obvious language differences, nonverbal communication is the most noticeable difference between the two groups. Specifically within nonverbal communication, eye contact and eye behavior can actually help one differentiate between the cultural backgrounds of two individuals by looking at nothing but their eyes. Sociologists have found that Anglos tend to look steadily and intently into the eyes of the person to whom they are speaking. Latinos will look into the eyes of the person to whom they are speaking, but only in a fleeting way. The Latino tends to look into the other person's eyes and then immediately allow his or her eyes to wander when speaking. In traditional Anglo Saxon culture, averting the eyes in such a way usually portrays a lack of confidence, certainty, or truthfulness. However, in the Latino culture, direct or prolonged eye contact means that you are challenging the individual with whom you are speaking or that you have a romantic interest in the person. Imagine the confusion that this slight difference can cause in professional situations such as an interview. If an Anglo Saxon individual was interviewing a Latino for a position and found the person to be lacking confidence because of their lack of eye contact, the Latino would lose out on the employment opportunity solely because of the cultural differences. Imagine, also, how uncomfortable the Latino would feel during the interview because he or she may interpret the Anglo's direct eye contact as expressing disapproval. These kinds of cultural differences occur every day and cause unnecessary mixed signals to be sent because of the lack of knowledge of another individual's culture. Muslim culture. In the Islamic faith, most Muslims lower heads and try not to focus on the opposite sex's features except for the hands and face. This is a show of respect but also a cultural rule which enforces Islamic law. Lustful glances to those of the opposite sex are also prohibited. Western Pacific Nations. Many western Pacific nations share much of the same cultural customs. Children, for instance, are taught in school to direct their eyes to their teacher's Adam's apple or tie knot. This continues through adulthood, as most Asian cultures lower their eyes when speaking to a superior as a gesture of respect. East Asia and Northern Africa. In many East Asian and north African cultures such as Nigeria,[6] it is also respectful not to look the dominant person in the eye. The seeking of constant unbroken eye contact by the other participant in a conversation can often be considered overbearing or distracting- even in western cultures. United States. In the United States, eye contact may serve as a regulating gesture and is typically related to issues of respect, attentiveness, and honesty in the American culture. Americans associate direct eye contact with forthrightness and trustworthiness. Dealing with cultural differences. So how do you deal with these cultural differences? How does one recognize to which culture a particular person identifies so that he or she will infer correctly all of the nonverbal cues associated with that culture? From such a potentially complicated question comes a relatively simple answer. Study, listen and learn. Communicators and leaders become successful because they observe the unconscious actions of others. Sometimes an individual's actions are the result of their culture or upbringing and sometimes they are the result of the emotion or feeling they are portraying. Keen communicators are able to tell the difference between the two and effectively communicate based on their observations. Oculesics is not a standalone science. Combining the information obtained from eye movements and behaviors with other nonverbal cues such as Haptics, Kinesics, or Olfactics will lend the observer to a much more well rounded and accurate portrait of an individual's behavior. Social scientists teach that individuals need to first become consciously aware of their own culture before being able to interpret differences among other cultures. In learning about our own culture, we learn how we are different from the cultures of those around us. Only then, will we become aware of the differences among the cultures of others. Finally, we should undergo acculturation, that is, borrow attributes from other cultures that will help us function effectively without in any way having to relinquish our own cultural identities. In Nonverbal Communication, Nine-Curt stresses that "we should develop, refine, and constantly practice the skill of switching cultural channels, as on a TV set, in order to be able to interact with people from other cultures, and often with people from subcultures within our own, more effectively. This is indispensable if we are to avoid the pain, frustration, and discomfort that usually accompany trying to move and live in a culture different from our own. As we become proficient in this skill, we will find it less difficult and highly satisfying to accept others and their styles of living. Medical field. Ophthalmology. Ophthalmology is the medical science specializing in the health of eyes and vision. Ophthalmologists are authorized to oversee all aspects of the medical treatment of eyes and eye disease. This field requires a medical degree and three years in residency. eye care, from prescribing glasses and contact lenses to complex and delicate eye surgery. Optometry. Optometry is a profession dealing with visual health care. Optometrists are licensed to refract for and prescribe glasses, fit and prescribe contact lenses, examine, diagnoses and treat eye conditions and diseases, including cataracts, macular degeneration, glaucoma, dry eyes and many other diseases. They can treat most eye diseases but cannot perform surgery. They are doctors of Optometry, not medicine. This field requires an undergraduate degree, plus four years in the college of optometry.

attention span

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=61227631

The foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration was the foreign policy of the United States from April 12, 1945 to January 20, 1953, in the presidency of Harry S. Truman. The main issues were working with Allies to bring victory over Germany and Japan in Diplomacy of World War II, the aftermath of that war, and the beginning of the Cold War, as well as launching new international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank. Truman's presidency was a turning point in foreign affairs, as the United States engaged in an liberal internationalist foreign policy and renounced isolationism. Truman took office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt during the final months of war. Until then Truman had little interest in foreign affairs and no knowledge of Roosevelt's plans. He relied heavily on advisers like George Marshall and Dean Acheson, both of whom served as Secretary of State. Germany surrendered days after Truman took office, but the Japan initially refused to surrender or negotiate. In order to force Japan's surrender without resorting to an invasion of the main Japanese islands, Truman approved of plans to drop atomic bombs on two Japanese cities. After Japan surrendered on September 1945, the Truman administration worked with the Soviet Union, Britain, and other Allies to establish post-war international institutions and agreements such as the United Nations, the International Refugee Organization, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The Truman administration also embarked on a policy of rebuilding democracy and the economy in Japan and West Germany. Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union escalated after 1945, and by 1947 the two countries had entered a sustained period of geopolitical tension known as the Cold War. Truman adopted a policy of containment, in which the U.S. would attempt to prevent the spread of Communism but would not actively seek to regain territory already lost to Communism. He also announced the Truman Doctrine, a policy of aiding countries in danger of falling to Communism. Pursuant to this doctrine, Truman convinced Congress to provide an unprecedented aid package to Greece and Turkey, overcoming opposition from isolationists and some on the left who favored more conciliatory policies towards the Soviet Union. The following year, Truman convinced Congress to approve the Marshall Plan, $13 billion aid package enacted to rebuild Western Europe. In 1949, the U.S., Canada, and several European countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty, establishing the NATO military alliance. Meanwhile, domestic fears of Soviet espionage led to a Red Scare and the rise of McCarthyism in the United States. The Truman administration attempted to mediate the Chinese Civil War and failed. The Communist forces under Mao Zedong took control of Mainland China in 1949. In June 1950 Communist North Korea invaded South Korea in an attempt to reunify the country. Acting under the aegis of the United Nations, the U.S. intervened, defeated the invaders, and prepared to unify Korea on American terms. However in late 1950 millions of Chinese soldiers entered Korea and pushed the allies back. The war settled into a stalemate along a line close to its starting point. Truman left office quite unpopular, but scholars generally consider him to be an above average president, and his administration has been credited for establishing Cold War policies that contained the Soviets. Leadership. At first Truman kept all of Roosevelt's cabinet. By late 1946 only one remained. Even as vice president, knowing of the president's poor health, he showed little curiosity about Roosevelt's postwar plans and was kept out of the loop. Furthermore he had a small White House staff that knew little about diplomacy. As president he relied heavily on top officials from the State Department. Truman quickly replaced Secretary of State Edward Stettinius Jr. with James F. Byrnes, a close personal friend. By 1946, Truman was taking a hard line against the Kremlin, although Byres was still trying to be conciliatory. The divergence in policy was intolerable. Truman replaced Byrnes with the highly prestigious five-star army general George Marshall in January 1947, Despite Marshall's failure in negotiating a settlement in the Chinese Civil War. In 1947, Forrestal became the first Secretary of Defense, overseeing all branches of the United States Armed Forces. Mental illness sent Forrestal into retirement in 1949, and he was replaced successively by Louis A. Johnson, Marshall, and finally Robert A. Lovett. At the Department of State, the key person was Dean Acheson, who replaced Marshall as secretary in 1949. The Marshall Plan embodied Acheson's analysis of the European crisis; he designed America's role. As tensions mounted with Moscow, Acheson moved from guarded optimism to pessimism. He decided negotiations were futile, and the United States had to mobilize a network of allies to resist the Kremlin's quest for world domination, using both military and especially economic power. Downplaying the importance of communism in China, Acheson emphasized Europe, and took the lead, as soon as he became Secretary of State in January 1949, to nail down the NATO alliance. It worked closely with the major European powers, as well as cooperating closely with Republican Senator Arthur Vandenberg, build bipartisan support at a time when the Republicans controlled Congress after the 1946 elections. According to Townsend Hoopes, throughout his long career, Acheson displayed: The American occupation of Japan was nominally an Allied endeavor, but in practice it was run by General Douglas MacArthur, with little or no consultation with the Allies or with Washington. His responsibilities were enlarged to include the Korean War, till he broke with Truman on policy issues and was fired in highly dramatic fashion in 1951. Policy for the occupation of West Germany was much less controversial, and the decisions were made in Washington, with Truman himself making the key decision to rebuild West Germany as an economic power. Roosevelt had handled all foreign policy decisions on his own, with a few advisors such as Harry Hopkins, who helped Truman too, even though he was dying of cancer. Roosevelt's final Secretary of State, Edward R. Stettinius was an amiable businessman who succeeded at reorganization of the department, and spent most of his attention in the creation of the United Nations. When that was accomplished, Truman replaced him with James F. Byrnes, whom Truman knew well from their Senate days together. Byrnes was more interested in domestic than foreign affairs, and felt he should have been FDR's pick for vice president in 1944. He was secretive, not telling Truman about major developments. Dean Acheson by this point was the number two person in State, and worked well with Truman. The president finally replaced Byrnes with Marshall. With the world in incredibly complex turmoil, international travel was essential. Byrnes spent 62% of his time abroad; Marshall spent 47% and Acheson 25%. End of World War II. By April 1945, the Allied Powers, led by the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union, were close to defeating Germany, but Japan remained a formidable adversary in the Pacific War. As vice president, Truman had been uninformed about major initiatives relating to the war, including the top-secret Manhattan Project, which was about to test the world's first atomic bomb. Although Truman was told briefly on the afternoon of April 12 that the Allies had a new, highly destructive weapon, it was not until April 25 that Secretary of War Henry Stimson told him the details of the atomic bomb, which was almost ready. Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945 and Truman's attention turned to the Pacific, where he hoped to end the war as quickly, and with as little expense in lives or government funds, as possible. With the end of the war drawing near, Truman flew to Berlin for the Potsdam Conference, to meet with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and British leader Winston Churchill regarding the post-war order. Several major decisions were made at the Potsdam Conference: Germany would be divided into four occupation zones (among the three powers and France), Germany's border was to be shifted west to the Oder–Neisse line, a Soviet-backed group was recognized as the legitimate government of Poland, and Vietnam was to be partitioned at the 16th parallel. The Soviet Union also agreed to launch an invasion of Japanese-held Manchuria. While at the Potsdam Conference, Truman was informed that the Trinity test of the first atomic bomb on July 16 had been successful. He hinted to Stalin that the U.S. was about to use a new kind of weapon against the Japanese. Though this was the first time the Soviets had been officially given information about the atomic bomb, Stalin was already aware of the bomb project, having learned about it through espionage long before Truman did. In August 1945, the Japanese government ignored surrender demands as specified in the Potsdam Declaration. With the support of most of his aides, Truman approved the schedule of the military's plans to drop atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hiroshima was bombed on August 6, and Nagasaki three days later, leaving approximately 135,000 dead; another 130,000 would die from radiation sickness and other bomb-related illnesses in the following five years. Japan agreed to surrender on August 10, on the sole condition that Emperor Hirohito would not be forced to abdicate; after some internal debate, the Truman administration accepted these terms of surrender. The decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki provoked long-running debates. Supporters of the bombings argue that, given the tenacious Japanese defense of the outlying islands, the bombings saved hundreds of thousands of lives that would have been lost invading mainland Japan. After leaving office, Truman told a journalist that the atomic bombing "was done to save 125,000 youngsters on the American side and 125,000 on the Japanese side from getting killed and that is what it did. It probably also saved a half million youngsters on both sides from being maimed for life." Truman was also motivated by a desire to end the war before the Soviet Union could invade Japanese-held territories and set up Communist governments. Critics have argued that the use of nuclear weapons was unnecessary, given that conventional tactics such as firebombing and blockade might induce Japan's surrender without the need for such weapons. Postwar international order. Truman at first was committed to following Roosevelt's policies and priorities. He kept Roosevelt's cabinet for a short while before putting in his own people. In 1945 Truman repeatedly rejected Churchill's recommendations for a hard line against postwar Soviet expansion. Public opinion in America was demanding immediate demobilization of the troops. The policies followed were designed to benefit individuals, regardless of the damage it did when experienced military units lost their longest-serving and most experience soldiers. Truman refused to consider keeping an army in Europe for the purpose of neutralizing Stalin's expansion. While Churchill and the U.S. State Department were taking an increasingly hard line, the War Department took a conciliatory position, led by Secretary Henry Stimson and General George Marshall. They rejected pleas and refused to allocate additional forces to Europe. In practice, the American forces were removed from Europe as fast as possible. By 1946, however, Truman had changed. Disappointed with Stalin and the United Nations, And alarmed about Soviet pressures on Iran and Poland, he was accepting more and more advice from the State Department and was moving rapidly toward Churchill's hard-line, Cold War position. The Soviet Union had become the enemy. United Nations. When Truman took office, several international organizations that were designed to help prevent future wars and international economic crises were in the process of being established. Chief among those organizations was the United Nations, an intergovernmental organization similar to the League of Nations that was designed to help ensure international cooperation. When Truman took office, delegates were about to meet at the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco. As a Wilsonian internationalist, Truman strongly supported the creation of the United Nations, and he signed United Nations Charter at the San Francisco Conference. Truman did not repeat Woodrow Wilson's partisan attempt to ratify the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, instead cooperating closely with Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg and other Republican leaders to ensure ratification. Cooperation with Vandenberg, a leading figure on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, would be crucial for Truman's foreign policy, especially after Republicans gained control of Congress in the 1946 elections. Construction of the United Nations headquarters in New York City was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and completed in 1952. Trade and refugees. In 1934, Congress had passed the Reciprocal Tariff Act, giving the president an unprecedented amount of authority in setting tariff rates. The act allowed for the creation of reciprocal agreements in which the U.S. and other countries mutually agreed to lower tariff rates. Despite significant opposition from those who favored higher tariffs, Truman was able to win legislative extension of the reciprocity program, and his administration reached numerous bilateral agreements that lowered trade barriers. The Truman administration also sought to further lower global tariff rates by engaging in multilateral trade negotiations, and the State Department proposed the establishment of the International Trade Organization (ITO). The ITO was designed to have broad powers to regulate trade among member countries, and its charter was approved by the United Nations in 1948. However, the ITO's broad powers engendered opposition in Congress, and Truman declined to send the charter to the Senate for ratification. In the course of creating the ITO, the U.S. and 22 other countries signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), a set of principles governing trade policy. Under the terms of the agreement, each country agreed to reduce overall tariff rates and to treat each co-signatory as a "most favoured nation," meaning that no non-signatory country could benefit from more advantageous tariff rates. Due to a combination of the Reciprocal Tariff Act, the GATT, and inflation, U.S. tariff rates fell dramatically between the passage of the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act in 1930 and the end of the Truman administration in 1953. World War II left millions of refugees displaced in Europe. To help address this problem, Truman backed the founding of the International Refugee Organization (IRO), a temporary international organization that helped resettle refugees. The United States also funded temporary camps and admitted large numbers of refugees as permanent residents. Truman obtained ample funding from Congress for the Displaced Persons Act of 1948, which allowed many of the displaced people of World War II to immigrate into the United States. Of the approximately one million people resettled by the IRO, more than 400,000 settled in the United States. The most contentious issue facing the IRO was the resettlement of European Jews, many of whom, with the support of Truman, were allowed to immigrate to British-controlled Mandatory Palestine. The administration also helped create a new category of refugee, the "escapee," at the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. The American Escapee Program began in 1952 to help the flight and relocation of political refugees from communism in Eastern Europe. The motivation for the refugee and escapee programs was twofold: humanitarianism, and use as a political weapon against inhumane communism. Atomic energy and weaponry. In March 1946, at an optimistic moment for postwar cooperation, the administration released the Acheson-Lilienthal Report, which proposed that all nations voluntarily abstain from constructing nuclear weapons. As part of the proposal, the U.S. would dismantle its nuclear program once all other countries agreed not to develop or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons. Fearing that Congress would reject the proposal, Truman turned to the well-connected Bernard Baruch to represent the U.S. position to the United Nations. The Baruch Plan, largely based on the Acheson-Lilienthal Report, was not adopted due to opposition from Congress and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union would develop its own nuclear arsenal, testing a nuclear weapon for the first time in August 1949. The United States Atomic Energy Commission, directed by David E. Lilienthal until 1950, was in charge of designing and building nuclear weapons under a policy of full civilian control. The U.S. had only 9 atomic bombs in 1946, but the stockpile grew to 650 by 1951. Lilienthal wanted to give high priority to peaceful uses for nuclear technology, especially nuclear power plants, but coal was cheap and the power industry was largely uninterested in building nuclear power plants during the Truman administration. Construction of the first nuclear plant would not begin until 1954. In early 1950, Truman authorized the development of thermonuclear weapons, a more powerful version of atomic bombs. Truman's decision to develop thermonuclear weapons faced opposition from many liberals and some government officials, but he believed that the Soviet Union would likely develop the weapons and was unwilling to allow the Soviets to have such an advantage. The first test of thermonuclear weaponry was conducted by the United States in 1952; the Soviet Union would perform its own thermonuclear test in August 1953. Beginning of the Cold War, 1945–1950. Escalating tensions, 1945–1946. The Second World War dramatically upended the international system, as formerly-powerful nations like Germany, France, Japan, and even Britain had been devastated. At the end of the war, only the United States and the Soviet Union had the ability to exercise influence, and a bipolar international power structure replaced the multipolar structure of the Interwar period. On taking office, Truman privately viewed the Soviet Union as a "police government pure and simple," but he was initially reluctant to take a hard-line towards the Soviet Union, as he hoped to work with the Soviets in the aftermath of Second World War. Truman's suspicions deepened as the Soviets consolidated their control in Eastern Europe throughout 1945, and the February 1946 announcement of the Soviet five-year plan further strained relations as it called for the continuing build-up of the Soviet military. At the December 1945 Moscow Conference, Secretary of State Byrnes agreed to recognize the pro-Soviet governments in the Balkans, while the Soviet leadership accepted U.S. leadership in the occupation of Japan. U.S. concessions at the conference angered other members of the Truman administration, including Truman himself. By the beginning of 1946, it had become clear to Truman that Britain and the United States would have little influence in Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe. Former Vice President Henry Wallace, former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and many other prominent Americans continued to hope for cooperative relations with the Soviet Union. Some liberals, like Reinhold Niebuhr, distrusted the Soviet Union but believed that the United States should not try to counter Soviet influence in Eastern Europe, which the Soviets saw as their "strategic security belt." Partly because of this sentiment, Truman was reluctant to fully break with the Soviet Union in early 1946, but he took an increasingly hard line towards the Soviet Union throughout the year. He personally approved of Winston Churchill's March 1946 "Iron Curtain" speech, which urged the United States to take the lead of an anti-Soviet alliance, though he did not publicly endorse it. Throughout 1946, tensions arose between the United States and the Soviet Union in places like Iran, which the Soviets had occupied during World War II. Pressure from the U.S. and the United Nations finally forced the withdrawal of Soviet soldiers. Turkey also emerged as a point of contention, as the Soviet Union demanded joint control over the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, key straits that controlled movement between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The U.S. forcefully opposed this proposed alteration to the 1936 Montreux Convention, which had granted Turkey sole control over the straits, and Truman dispatched a fleet to the Eastern Mediterranean to show his administration's commitment to the region. The Soviet Union and the United States also clashed in Germany, which had been divided into four occupation zones. In the September 1946 Stuttgart speech, Secretary of State Byrnes announced that the United States would no longer seek reparations from Germany and would support the establishment of a democratic state. The United States, France, and Britain agreed to combine their occupation zones, eventually forming West Germany. In East Asia, Truman denied the Soviet request to reunify Korea, and refused to allow the Soviets a role in the post-war occupation of Japan. By September 1946, Truman was convinced that the Soviet Union sought world domination and that cooperation was futile. He adopted a policy of containment, based on a 1946 cable by diplomat George F. Kennan. Containment, a policy of preventing the further expansion of Soviet influence, represented a middle-ground position between friendly detente (as represented by Wallace), and aggressive rollback to regain territory already lost to Communism, as would be adopted in 1981 by Ronald Reagan. Kennan's doctrine was based on the notion that the Soviet Union was led by an uncompromising totalitarian regime, and that the Soviets were primarily responsible for escalating tensions. Wallace, who had been appointed Secretary of Commerce after the 1944 election, resigned from the cabinet in September 1946 due to Truman's hardening stance towards the Soviet Union. Truman Doctrine. In the first major step in implementing containment, Truman gave money to Greece and Turkey to prevent the spread of Soviet-aligned governments. Prior to 1947, the U.S. had largely ignored Greece, which had an anti-communist government, because it was under British influence. Since 1944, the British had assisted the Greek government against a left-wing insurgency, but in early 1947 London informed Washington that it could no longer afford to intervene in Greece. At the urging of Acheson, who warned that the fall of Greece could lead to the expansion of Soviet influence throughout Europe, Truman requested that Congress grant an unprecedented $400 million aid package to Greece and Turkey. In a March 1947 speech before a joint session of Congress, written by Acheson, Truman articulated the Truman Doctrine. It called for the United States to support "free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." Overcoming isolationists who opposed involvement, as well as those on the left who wanted cooperation with Moscow, Truman won bipartisan approval of the aid package. The congressional vote represented a permanent break with the non-interventionism that had characterized U.S. foreign policy prior to World War II. The United States became closely involved in the Greek Civil War, which ended with the defeat of the insurgency in 1949. Stalin and Yugoslavian leader Josip Broz Tito both provided aid to the insurgents, but they fought for control causing a split in the Communist bloc. American military and economic aid to Turkey also proved effective, and Turkey avoided a civil war. The Truman administration provided aid to the Italian government during the 1948 general election where the Communists had strength. The aid package, combined with a covert CIA operation, anti-Communist mobilization by the Catholic Church and Italian Americans, helped to produce a Communist defeat. The initiatives of the Truman Doctrine solidified the post-war division between the United States and the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union responded by tightening its control over Eastern Europe. Countries aligned with the Soviet Union became known as the Eastern Bloc, while the U.S. and its allies became known as the Western Bloc. Although the far left element in the Democratic Party and the CIO was being expelled, some liberal Democrats opposed the Truman Doctrine. Eleanor Roosevelt wrote Truman in April 1947 calling him to rely on the UN instead of his Truman Doctrine. She denounced Greece and Turkey because they were undemocratic. Truman needing support from the Roosevelt's liberal wing, wrote her that while he held onto his long-term hopes for the United Nations, he insisted that and an "economically, ideologically and politically sound" peace would more likely come from American action, than from the UN. He emphasized the strategic geographical importance of the Greek-Turkish land bridge as a critical point in which democratic forces could stop the advance of communism that had so ravaged Eastern Europe. A new policy in 1947 was to forbid the sale to the Soviet bloc (and China after 1949) of high technology that had military uses. Washington convinced its allies to follow suite. Richard Nixon finally relaxed the policy in 1970. Military reorganization and budgets. Facing new, global challenges, Washington reorganized the military and intelligence establishment to provide for more centralized control and reduce rivalries. The National Security Act of 1947 merged the Department of War and the Department of the Navy into the National Military Establishment (which was later renamed as the Department of Defense). The law also separated the U.S. Air Force from the Army. It created the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the National Security Council (NSC). The CIA and the NSC were designed to be civilian bodies that would increase U.S. preparation against foreign threats without assuming the domestic functions of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The National Security Act institutionalized the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which had been established on a temporary basis during World War II. The Joint Chiefs of Staff took charge of all military action, and the Secretary of Defense became the chief presidential adviser on military matter. In 1952, Truman secretly consolidated and empowered the cryptologic elements of the United States by creating the National Security Agency (NSA). Truman also sought to require one year of military service for all young men physically capable of such service, but this proposal never won more than modest support among members of Congress. Truman had hoped that the National Security Act would minimize interservice rivalries, but the Army, Navy and Air Force each retained considerable autonomy and battled over budgets and strategy. In 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced that he would cancel a "supercarrier," which the Navy wanted as a key weapon for the future. The cancellation sparked the "Revolt of the Admirals", when a number of retired and active-duty admirals publicly disagreed with the administration's emphasis on less expensive strategic atomic bombs delivered by the Air Force. During congressional hearings, public opinion shifted strongly against the Navy, which ultimately kept control of Marine aviation but lost control over strategic bombing. Military budgets following the hearings prioritized the development of Air Force heavy bomber designs, and the United States accumulated a combat ready force of over 1,000 long-range strategic bombers capable of supporting nuclear mission scenarios. Truman gave a low priority to the defense budget—it got whatever money was left over after tax cuts and domestic spending. From the beginning, he assumed that the American monopoly on the atomic bomb was adequate protection against any and all external threats. Military spending plunged from 39% of GNP in 1945 to only 5% in 1948. The number of military personnel fell from just over 3 million in 1946 to approximately 1.6 million in 1947, although the number of military personnel was still nearly five times larger than that of U.S. military in 1939. In 1949, Truman ordered a review of U.S. military policies in light of the Soviet Union's acquisition of nuclear weapons. The National Security Council drafted NSC 68, which called for a major expansion of the U.S. defense budget, increased aid to U.S. allies, and a more aggressive posture in the Cold War. Despite increasing Cold War tensions, Truman dismissed the document, as he was unwilling to commit to higher defense spending. The Korean War convinced Truman of the necessity for higher defense spending, and such spending would soar between 1949 and 1953. Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was launched by the United States in 1947-48 to replace numerous ad hoc loan and grant programs, with a unified, long-range plan to help restore the European economy, modernize it, remove internal tariffs and barriers, and encourage European collaboration. It was funded by the Republican -controlled Congress, where the isolationist Republican element was overwhelmed by a new internationalism. Stalin refused to let any of his satellite nations in Eastern Europe participate. Much less famous was a similar aid program aimed at Japan, China and other Asian countries. All the money was donated – there was no repayment needed. (At the same time, however, there were also separate American government loan programs that did require repayment.) The United States had suddenly terminated the war-time Lend-Lease program in August 1945, to the surprise and distress of Britain, the Soviet Union and other recipients who had counted on a steady flow. However the United States did send large sums and loans and relief supplies, though in an uncoordinated fashion with no long-term plan. Western Europe was slowly recovering by 1947; Eastern Europe was being stripped of its resources by Moscow. Churchill warned that Europe was "a rubble heap, a charnel house, a breeding ground for pestilence and hate." American leaders feared that poor economic conditions could lead to Communism in France and Italy, where the far left was under Stalin's control. With the goal of containing Communism and increasing trade between the U.S. and Europe, the Truman administration devised the Marshall Plan. Dean Acheson was the key planner, But Marshall's enormous worldwide prestige was used to sell the program at home and abroad. To fund the Marshall Plan, Truman asked Congress to approve an unprecedented, multi-year, $25 billion appropriation. Congress, under the control of conservative Republicans, agreed to fund the program for multiple reasons. The 20-member conservative isolationist wing of the Republican Party, based in the rural Midwest, was led by Senator Kenneth S. Wherry. He argued that it would be "a wasteful 'operation rat-hole'"; that it made no sense to oppose communism by supporting socialist governments; and that American goods would reach Russia and increase its war potential. The isolationist bloc opposed loans or financial aid of any sort to Europe, opposed NATO, and tried to void presidential power to send troops to Europe. Their political base included many German-American and Scandinavian American communities that had suffered nasty attacks on their American patriotism during World War I. No matter what the issue, they could be counted on as vocal enemies of the Truman administration. The isolationists were outmaneuvered by the emerging internationalist wing in the Republican Party, led by Michigan Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg. With support from Republican Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., Vandenberg admitted there was no certainty that the plan would succeed, but said it would halt economic chaos, sustain Western civilization, and stop further Soviet expansion. Senator Robert A. Taft, a leading conservative Republican who was generally skeptical of American commitments in Europe, chose to focus on domestic issues and deferred to Vandenberg on foreign policy. Major newspapers were highly supportive, including pro-business conservative outlets like "Time Magazine". Both houses of Congress approved the initial appropriation, known as the Foreign Assistance Act, by large majorities, and Truman signed the act into law in April 1948. Congress would eventually allocate $12.4 billion in aid over the four years of the plan. A new Washington agency the European Recovery Program (ERP) ran the Marshall Plan and close cooperation with the recipient nations. The money proved decisive, but the ERP was focused on a longer-range vision that included more efficiency, more high technology, and the removal of multiple internal barriers and tariffs inside Western Europe. ERP allowed each recipient to develop its own plan for the aid, it set several rules and guidelines on the use of the funding. Governments were required to exclude Communists, socialist policies were allowed, and balanced budgets were favored. Additionally, the ERP conditioned aid to the French and British on their acceptance of the reindustrialization of Germany and support for European integration. The Soviets set up their own program for aid, the Molotov Plan, and the new barriers reduced trade between the Eastern bloc and the Western bloc. The Marshall Plan helped European economies recover in the late 1940s and early 1950s. By 1952, industrial productivity had increased by 35 percent compared to 1938 levels. The Marshall Plan also provided critical psychological reassurance to many Europeans, restoring optimism to a war-torn continent. Though European countries did not adopt American economic structures and ideas to the degree hoped for by some Americans, they remained firmly rooted in mixed economic systems. The European integration process led to the creation of the European Economic Community, which eventually formed the basis of the European Union. Berlin airlift. In reaction to Western moves aimed at reindustrializing their German occupation zones, Stalin ordered a blockade of the Western-held sectors of Berlin, which was deep in the Soviet occupation zone. Stalin hoped to prevent the creation of a western German state aligned with the U.S., or, failing that, to consolidate control over eastern Germany. After the blockade began on June 24, 1948, the commander of the American occupation zone in Germany, General Lucius D. Clay, proposed sending a large armored column across the Soviet zone to West Berlin with instructions to defend itself if it were stopped or attacked. Truman believed this would entail an unacceptable risk of war, and instead approved Ernest Bevin's plan to supply the blockaded city by air. On June 25, the Allies initiated the Berlin Airlift, a campaign that delivered food and other supplies, such as coal, using military aircraft on a massive scale. Nothing like it had ever been attempted before, and no single nation had the capability, either logistically or materially, to accomplish it. The airlift worked, and ground access was again granted on May 11, 1949. The Berlin Airlift was one of Truman's great foreign policy successes, and it significantly aided his election campaign in 1948. NATO. Rising tensions with the Soviets, along with the Soviet veto of numerous United Nations Resolutions, convinced Truman, Senator Vandenberg, and other American leaders of the necessity of creating a defensive alliance devoted to collective security. In 1949, the United States, Canada, and several European countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty, creating a trans-Atlantic military alliance and committing the United States to its first permanent alliance since the 1778 Treaty of Alliance with France. The treaty establishing NATO was widely popular and easily passed the Senate in 1949. NATO's goals were to contain Soviet expansion in Europe and to send a clear message to communist leaders that the world's democracies were willing and able to build new security structures in support of democratic ideals. The treaty also re-assured France that the United States would come to its defense, paving the way for continuing French cooperation in the re-establishment of an independent German state. The U.S., Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Iceland, and Canada were the original treaty signatories. Shortly after the creation of NATO, Truman convinced Congress to pass the Mutual Defense Assistance Act, which created a military aid program for European allies. Cold War tensions heightened following Soviet acquisition of nuclear weapons and the beginning of the Korean War. The U.S. increased its commitment to NATO, invited Greece and Turkey to join the alliance, and launched a second major foreign aid program with the passage of the Mutual Security Act. Truman permanently stationed 180,000 in Europe, and European defense spending grew from 5 percent to 12 percent of gross national product. NATO established a unified command structure, and Truman appointed General Dwight D. Eisenhower as the first Supreme Commander of NATO. West Germany, which fell under the aegis of NATO, would eventually be incorporated into NATO in 1955. Spain. Truman usually worked well with his top advisors--the exceptions were Israel in 1948 and Spain 1945-50. Truman was a very strong opponent of Francisco Franco, the right-wing dictator of Spain. He withdrew the American ambassador (but diplomatic relations were not formally broken), kept Spain out of the UN, and rejected any Marshall Plan financial aid to Spain. Liberal opposition to Spain faded after the Wallace element left the Democratic Party in 1948; the CIO dropped its attacks on Spain. When the Korean War began in 1950, support for the Spain as an anti-Communist ally grew in Congress, the Pentagon, the business community and other influential elements such as Catholics and cotton growers. As Secretary of State Acheson increased his pressure on Truman, the president, stood alone in his administration as his own top appointees wanted to normalize relations. Admitting that he was "overruled and worn down," Truman relented and sent an ambassador and made loans available. Military talks began and President Eisenhower later brought Spain into NATO. Point Four. Point Four was a new program of technological aid to poor Third World countries that started in 1949. It began with a $25 million budget; Iran was an early favored recipient. In Nepal, Point Four promoted mineral development, agriculture and public health programs, and improved trade routes to India. Truman boasted it was the "Front line of the Cold War.” The program encouraged private investment and many of its technical people went on to careers in international trade. The Eisenhower administration kept the policy but changed the name to the International Cooperation Administration and tied it to military objectives. It is now known as the United States Agency for International Development. German rearmament. The rearmament of West Germany was acheieved in the early 1950s. The main promoter was Adenauer, with France the main opponent. Washington had the decisive voice. It was strongly supported by the Pentagon (the U.S. military leadership), and weakly opposed by President Harry S. Truman; the State Department was ambivalent. The outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 changed the calculations and Washington now gave full support. That also involved putting Dwight D. Eisenhower in charge of NATO forces, and sending more American troops to West Germany. Widespread fears of another rise of German militarism necessitated the new military to operate within an alliance framework, under NATO command. The events led to the establishment of the "Bundeswehr", the West German military, in 1955. Latin America. Cold War tensions and competition reached across the globe, affecting Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, and Africa. The United States had historically focused its foreign policy on upholding the Monroe Doctrine in the Western Hemisphere, but new commitments in Europe and Asia diminished U.S. focus on Latin America. Partially in reaction to fears of expanding Soviet influence, the U.S. led efforts to create collective security pact in the Western Hemisphere. In 1947, the United States and most Latin American nations joined the Rio Pact, a defensive military alliance. The following year, the independent states of the Americas formed the Organization of American States (OAS), an intergovernmental organization designed to foster regional unity. Many Latin American nations, seeking favor with the United States, cut off relations with the Soviet Union. Latin American countries also requested aid and investment similar to the Marshall Plan, but Truman believed that most U.S. foreign aid was best directed to Europe and other areas that could potentially fall under the influence of Communism. There was bad blood with Argentina. Washington detested dictator Juan Peron, who held fascist sympathies, tried to remain neutral in the Cold War and continued to harbor Nazi war criminals. Washington blocked funds from international agencies and restricted trade and investment opportunities. Meanwhile Peron championed Anti-Americanism across Latin America, and financed radical elements in other countries. He did not, however, ally with the USSR in the Cold War. Asia. Recognition of Israel. Truman had long taken been sympathetic to the Jewish community in Kansas City. Regarding British-controlled Mandatory Palestine, in 1943, he had called for a homeland for those Jews who survived the Nazi regime. However, State Department officials were reluctant to offend the Arabs, who were opposed to the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. Secretary of Defense Forrestal warned Truman of the importance of Saudi Arabia's supply of oil; Truman replied that he would decide his policy on the basis of justice, not oil. American diplomats with experience in the region were likewise opposed, but Truman told them he had few Arabs among his constituents. Regarding policy in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, Palestine was secondary to the goal of protecting the "Northern Tier" of Greece, Turkey, and Iran from communism. In 1947, the United Nations approved the partition of Mandatory Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The British announced that they would withdraw from Palestine in May 1948, and Jewish leaders began to organize a provisional government. Meanwhile, the Truman administration debated whether or not to recognize the fledgling state of Israel. Truman recognized the State of Israel on May 14, 1948, eleven minutes after it declared itself a nation. Israel quickly secured its independence with a victory in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, but the Arab–Israeli conflict remains unresolved. China. In 1945 China descended into a civil war. The civil war baffled Washington, as both the Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek and the Communists under Mao Zedong had American advocates. Truman sent Marshall to China in early 1946 to broker a compromise featuring a coalition government. The mission failed, as both sides felt the issue would be decided on the battlefield, not at a conference table. Marshall returned to Washington in December 1946, blaming extremist elements on both sides. In mid-1947, Truman sent General Albert Coady Wedemeyer to China to try again, but no progress was made. Though the Nationalists held were strong in the large cities, Mao had a potentially much larger base in the rural villages. Steadily the Communists gained the upper hand after 1947. Corruption, poor economic conditions, and poor military leadership eroded popular support for the Nationalists. As the Nationalists collapsed in 1948, the Truman administration faced the question of whether to intervene on the side of the Nationalists or seek good relations with Mao. Chiang's strong support among sections of the American public, along with desire to assure other allies that the U.S. was committed to containment, convinced Truman to increase economic and military aid to the Nationalists. However, Truman held out little hope for a Nationalist victory, and he refused to send U.S. soldiers. In 1949 the Communists took control of the mainland of China, driving the Nationalists to Taiwan. The United States had a new enemy in Asia, and Truman came under fire from conservatives for "losing" China. Along with the Soviet detonation of a nuclear weapon, the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War played a major role in escalating Cold War tensions and U.S. militarization during 1949. Truman would have been willing to maintain some relationship with the new government, but Mao was unwilling. Chiang established the Republic of China on Taiwan, which retained China's seat on the UN Security Council until 1971. In June 1950, after the outbreak of fighting in Korea, Truman ordered the Navy's Seventh Fleet into the Taiwan Strait to prevent further conflict between the two Chinas. Japan. Under the leadership of General Douglas MacArthur, the U.S. occupied Japan after the latter's surrender in August 1945. MacArthur presided over extensive reforms of the Japanese government and society, implementing a new constitution that established a parliamentary democracy and granted women the right to vote. He also reformed the Japanese educational system and oversaw major economic changes, although Japanese business leaders were able to resist the reforms to some degree. As the Cold War intensified in 1947, the Truman administration took greater control over the occupation, ending Japanese reparations to the Allied Powers and prioritizing economic growth over long-term reform. The Japanese suffered from poor economic conditions until the beginning of the Korean War, when U.S. purchases stimulated growth. In 1951, the United States and Japan signed the Treaty of San Francisco, which restored Japanese sovereignty but allowed the United States to maintain bases in Japan. Over the opposition of the Soviet Union and some other adversaries of Japan in World War II, the peace treaty did not contain punitive measures such as reparations, though Japan did lose control of the Kuril Islands and other pre-war possessions. Southeast Asia. With the end of World War II, the United States fulfilled the commitment made by the 1934 Tydings–McDuffie Act and granted independence to the Philippines. The U.S. had encouraged decolonization throughout World War II, but the start of the Cold War changed priorities. The U.S. used the Marshall Plan to pressure the Dutch to grant independence to Indonesia under the leadership of the anti-Communist Sukarno, and the Dutch recognized Indonesia's independence in 1949. However, in French Indochina, the Truman administration recognized the French client state led by Emperor Bảo Đại. The U.S. feared alienating the French, who occupied a crucial position on the continent, and feared that the withdrawal of the French would allow the Communist faction of Ho Chi Minh to assume power. Despite initial reluctance to become involved in Indochina, by 1952, the United States was heavily subsidizing the French suppression of Ho's Việt Minh in the First Indochina War. The U.S. also established alliances in the region through the creation of the Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines and the ANZUS pact with Australia and New Zealand. Korean War. Outbreak of the war. Following World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union occupied Korea, which had been a colony of the Japanese Empire. The 38th parallel was chosen as a line of partition between the occupying powers since it was approximately halfway between Korea's northernmost and southernmost regions, and was always intended to mark a temporary separation before the eventual reunification of Korea. Nonetheless, the Soviet Union established the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) in 1948, while the United States established the Republic of Korea (South Korea) that same year. Hoping to avoid a long-term military commitment in the region, Truman withdrew U.S. soldiers from the Korean Peninsula in 1949. The Soviet Union also withdrew their soldiers from Korea in 1949, but continued to supply North Korea with military aid. On June 25, 1950, Kim Il-sung's Korean People's Army invaded South Korea, starting the Korean War. In the early weeks of the war, the North Koreans easily pushed back their southern counterparts. The Soviet Union was not directly involved, though Kim did win Stalin's approval before launching the invasion. Truman, meanwhile, did not view Korea itself as a vital region in the Cold War, but he believed that allowing a Western-aligned country to fall would embolden Communists around the world and damage his own standing at home. The top officials of the Truman administration were heavily influenced by a desire to not repeat the "appeasement" of the 1930s; Truman stated to an aide, "there's no telling what they'll do, if we don't put up a fight right now." Truman turned to the United Nations to condemn the invasion. With the Soviet Union boycotting the United Nations Security Council due to the UN's refusal to recognize the People's Republic of China, Truman won approval of Resolution 84. The resolution denounced North Korea's actions and empowered other nations to defend South Korea. North Korean forces experienced early successes, capturing the city of Seoul on June 28. Fearing the fall of the entire peninsula, General Douglas MacArthur, commander of U.S. forces in Asia, won Truman's approval to land U.S. troops on the peninsula. Rather than asking Congress for a declaration of war, Truman argued that the UN Resolution provided the presidency the constitutional power to deploy soldiers as a "police action" under the aegis of the UN. The intervention in Korea was widely popular in the United States at the time, and Truman's July 1950 request for $10 billion was approved almost unanimously. By August 1950, U.S. troops pouring into South Korea, along with American air strikes, stabilized the front around the Pusan Perimeter. Responding to criticism over unreadiness, Truman fired Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson and replaced him with the George Marshall. With UN approval, Truman decided on a "rollback" policy—conquest of North Korea. UN forces launched a counterattack, scoring a stunning surprise victory with an amphibious landing at the Battle of Inchon that trapped most of the invaders. UN forces marched north, toward the Yalu River boundary with China, with the goal of reuniting Korea under UN auspices. Stalemate and dismissal of MacArthur. As the UN forces approached the Yalu River, the CIA and General MacArthur both expected that the Chinese would remain out of the war. Defying those predictions, Chinese forces crossed the Yalu River in November 1950 and forced the overstretched UN soldiers to retreat. Fearing that the escalation of the war could spark a global conflict with the Soviet Union, Truman refused MacArthur's request to bomb Chinese supply bases north of the Yalu River. UN forces were pushed below the 38th parallel before the end of 1950, but, under the command of General Matthew Ridgway, the UN launched a counterattack that pushed Chinese forces back up to the 38th parallel. MacArthur made several public demands for an escalation of the war, leading to a break with Truman in late 1950 and early 1951. On April 5, House Minority Leader Joseph Martin made public a letter from MacArthur that strongly criticized Truman's handling of the Korean War and called for an expansion of the conflict against China. Truman believed that MacArthur's recommendations were wrong, but more importantly, he believed that MacArthur had overstepped his bounds in trying to make foreign and military policy, potentially endangering the civilian control of the military. After consulting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and members of Congress, Truman decided to relieve MacArthur of his command. The dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur ignited a firestorm of outrage against Truman and support for MacArthur. Fierce criticism from virtually all quarters accused Truman of refusing to shoulder the blame for a war gone sour and blaming his generals instead. Others, including Eleanor Roosevelt, supported and applauded Truman's decision. MacArthur meanwhile returned to the U.S. to a hero's welcome, and addressed a joint session of Congress. In part due to the dismissal of MacArthur, Truman's approval mark in February 1952 stood at 22% according to Gallup polls, which was, until George W. Bush in 2008, the all-time lowest approval mark for an active American president. Though the public generally favored MacArthur over Truman immediately after MacArthur's dismissal, congressional hearings and newspaper editorials helped turn public opinion against MacArthur's advocacy for escalation. The war remained a frustrating stalemate for two years. UN and Chinese forces fought inconclusive conflicts like the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge and the Battle of Pork Chop Hill, but neither side was able to advance far past the 38th parallel. Throughout late 1951, Truman sought a cease fire, but disputes over prisoner exchanges led to the collapse of negotiations. Of the 116,000 Chinese and Korean prisoners-of-war held by the United States, only 83,000 were willing to return to their home countries, and Truman was unwilling to forcibly return the prisoners. The Korean War ended with an armistice in 1953 after Truman left office, dividing North Korea and South Korea along a border close to the 38th parallel. Over 30,000 Americans and approximately 3 million Koreans died in the conflict. The United States maintained a permanent military presence in South Korea after the war. International trips. Truman made five international trips during his presidency: His only trans-Atlantic trip was to participate in the 1945 Potsdam Conference with British Prime Ministers Churchill and Attlee and Soviet Premier Stalin. He also visited neighboring Bermuda, Canada and Mexico, plus Brazil in South America. Truman only left the continental United States on two other occasions (to Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, February 20-March 5, 1948; and to Wake Island, October 11–18, 1950) during his nearly eight years in office. Legacy. Scholars have on average ranked Truman in the top ten American presidents, most often at #7. In 1962, a poll of 75 historians conducted by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. ranked Truman among the "near great" presidents. Truman's ranking in polls of political scientists and historians, never fallen lower than ninth, and ranking as high as fifth in a "C-SPAN" poll in 2009. A 2018 poll of the American Political Science Association’s Presidents and Executive Politics section ranked Truman as the seventh best president. A 2017 C-Span poll of historians ranked Truman as the sixth best president. Truman was one of the most unpopular chief executives in U.S. history when he left office; in 1952, journalist Samuel Lubell stated that "after seven years of Truman's hectic, even furious, activity the nation seemed to be about on the same general spot as when he first came to office ... Nowhere in the whole Truman record can one point to a single, decisive break-through ... All his skills and energies—and he was among our hardest-working Presidents—were directed to standing still". Nonetheless, Truman's image in university textbooks was quite favorable in the 1950s. During the years of campus unrest in the 1960s and 1970s revisionist historians on the left attacked his foreign policy as too hostile to Communism, and his domestic policy as too favorable toward business. That revisionism was not accepted by more established scholars. The harsh perspective faded with the decline in Communism's appeal after 1980, leading to a more balanced view. The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 caused Truman advocates to claim vindication for Truman's decisions in the postwar period. According to Truman biographer Robert Dallek, "His contribution to victory in the cold war without a devastating nuclear conflict elevated him to the stature of a great or near-great president." The 1992 publication of David McCullough's favorable biography of Truman further cemented the view of Truman as a highly regarded Chief Executive. According to historian Daniel R. McCoy in his book on the Truman presidency,

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