The practice of castration has its roots before recorded human history. Castration was frequently used in certain cultures of Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa and China, for political, religious or social reasons. After battles in some cases, victors castrated their captives or the corpses of the defeated to symbolise their victory and 'seize' their power. Castrated men — eunuchs — were often admitted to special social classes and were used particularly to staff bureaucracies and palace households: in particular, the harem. Castration also figured in a number of religious castration cults. Other religions, for example Judaism and Islam, were strongly opposed to the practice. The "Leviticus Holiness code", for example, specifically excludes eunuchs or any males with defective genitals from the priesthood, just as castrated animals are excluded from sacrifice.
In China, to become a servant of the emperor, men had to be castrated. This would prevent them from having sons or having affairs with royal concubines. Eunuchs in China have been known to usurp power in many eras of Chinese history, most notably in the Later Han, late Tang and late Ming Dynasties. There are similar recorded Middle Eastern events.
Testicular cancer is generally treated by surgical removal of the cancerous testicle(s) (orchidectomy), often followed by radiation or chemotherapy. Unless both testicles are cancerous, only one is removed.
Edward Gibbon's famous work "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" reports castration of defeated foes at the hands of the Normans. Castration has also been used in modern conflicts, as the Janjaweed militiamen currently (as of 2005) attacking citizens of the Darfur region in Sudan, often castrating villagers and leaving them to bleed to death. In some countries, the law suggests castrating sex criminals such as hebephilles.
In Europe, when females were not permitted to sing in church or cathedral choirs in the Roman Catholic Church, boys were sometimes castrated to prevent their voices breaking at puberty and to develop a special high voice. The first documents mentioning castrati are Italian church records from the 1550s.
Bullock
Bullock may refer to:
Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy is the structure and set of rules that control the activities of people that work for large organizations and government.
It is characterized by standardized procedure (rule-following), formal division of responsibility, hierarchy, and impersonal relationships. In practice, the interpretation and execution of policy can lead to informal influence.
Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science. Four structural concepts are central to any definition of bureaucracy: a well-defined division of administrative labor among persons and offices, a personnel system with consistent patterns of recruitment and stable linear careers, a hierarchy among offices, such that the authority and status are distributed among actors, and formal and informal networks that connect organizational actors to one another through flows of information and patterns of cooperation.
Examples of everyday bureaucracies include governments, armed forces, corporations, hospitals, courts, ministries and schools.
Anzère
Anzère is a small village in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is north of Sion. It is a popular ski resort, with several ski schools.
The ski slopes in Anzère cover about 40 kilometers, with 1 cablecar, 2 chair lifts, and 8 T-bars.
There are several cafes in the area, and the entire area is known as Télé-Anzère.
Facilities in and around Anzère's 'Place du Village' include both indoor and outdoor swimming pools, two supermarkets, many hotels, bars and nightclubs, as well as many restaurants and clothing shops. The 'Place du Village' is a person area right in the heart of the village, housing most of Anzère's cafes and restaurants. There is also an internet cafe, a crèperie and a children's play area.
Sion, Switzerland
Sion is the capital of the Swiss canton of Valais. In 2002, it had a population of 27,700.
Landmarks include the Basilique de Valère and Château de Tourbillon.
The city is home to 28,013 people as of 31 December, 2005. It is in the center of the Rhône valley. Sion is the economic and commercial hub of the region and canton.
The older area of the city still stays and is well preserved. As well as the two Château's, a number of other important buildings are there, such as the "Château de la Majorie", the "Hôtel de Ville" and the "Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Sion".
Sion really started to develop during the time when Celts were big.
It takes its name from the Latin word "Sedunum". It housed the Romans with the rest of the surrounding area in the first century BCE.
The Roman Catholic bishop of Sion is the oldest in Switzerland and one of the oldest north of the Alps.
On 1 January 2013 the former municipality of Salins merged into the municipality of Sion.
Since 2017, Les Agettes part of the municipality.
The tertiary sector is the main economic sector in Sion. Tourism is also an important sector due to its historic "château's" and museums.
Sion is the third largest wine making region in Switzerland, however, the valuable agricultural land and vineyards are undergoing constant regression due to the process of urbanisation.
Sion has also become an important medical site. The Sion-Region hospital is here next to the central institute of Valaisan hospitals and the "Romande" clinic for physical rehabilitation (SUVA).
Finally, the commune hosts a waste incinerator which disposes of the waste from 44 surrounding communes. This incinerator has a catalytic converter, something that reduces harmful gases to below unacceptable levels. The heat created from the burning is converted into electrical energy that is then provided to local communes.
Public Airshows have been held at the airfield of Sion. Participated Aerobatic teams have been for example the Frecce Tricolori from Italy was well as the Patrouille de France.
Sion is on the main railway line, the motorway and also has an airport (Sion Airport).
Brig (district)
Brig is a part of the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It includes the following municipalities:
Monthey, Switzerland
Monthey is the capital of the district of Monthey in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
It has a population is of 15,118 (as of 2004) people ("Montheysans"). Monthey is located on the west side of the Rhône valley, south to Lake Geneva. Monthey is important to Swiss industry, with many important companies including chemical companies. The city is close to the famous winter sports region, the Portes du Soleil.
Sierre
Sierre is the capital of the district of Sierre in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
It has a population of 14,355. It is situated at the language border of the German-speaking upper part of the ""Wallis"" and the French-speaking ""Valais"". This city counts as one of the three official bilingual towns in Switzerland. Sierre is starting point for the tourist sites of the Val d'Anniviers including the villages of Vercorin, Chandolin, St-Luc Vissoie, St-Jean Chandolin, Grimentz, Zinal and Ayer. Sierre is connected with Crans-Montana by a cable car.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Sierre became economically important as very early aluminium smelting is enabled by its access to hydroelectricity.
Brig, Switzerland
Brig is the capital of the district of Brig in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
The historic town of 5,000 people is part of the Brig-Glis municipality. The name 'Brig' comes from "Briva", or "bridge." Its medieval name was "Briga dives". It is a small town in the Swiss canton of the Valais, at the foot of the northern slope of the Simplon Pass, on the right bank of the Saltine stream, and a little above its junction with the Rhone. Its older houses look very Italian. Its buildings were built during the 17th century, because of a single member of the local Stockalper family.