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Al Leiter
Alois Terry Leiter (; born October 23, 1965) is an American former professional baseball player and current television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from to for the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Florida Marlins and New York Mets.
A two-time National League (NL) All-Star player, Leiter pitched for three World Series winning teams and threw a no-hitter in 1996 during his tenure with the Marlins. In 2000, Leiter was named the recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award. After his playing career, he worked as a television color commentator and baseball analyst for the YES Network and the MLB Network.
Career.
Early career.
Leiter was raised in a baseball-oriented family; all five of his brothers played the game. A native of Berkeley Township, New Jersey, Leiter attended Central Regional High School, in the township's Bayville section. During one stretch in high school, he pitched consecutive no-hitters followed by a 32-strikeout game in 13 innings on April 19, 1984 (a game which ended in a tie when it was called for rain). Leiter was selected for the Wilson First Team All-American team. In 2016, the NJSIAA named Leiter to the NJ High School Hall of Fame.
New York Yankees.
Leiter was drafted by New York Yankees in 1984 MLB draft as a second round pick. Both he and his brother Mark became Yankees prospects.
Leiter made his MLB debut as the starting pitcher for the Yankees on September 15, 1987, earning the win in a Yankees 4–3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium. Leiter has mentioned on a YES Network broadcast that early in his career with the Yankees, manager Billy Martin walked up to him and asked him why he was lifting weights. Leiter responded, "To strengthen my arm." Billy was quoted as saying, "If you want to strengthen your arm, do some long toss." The young Leiter grew nervous easily; teammate Tommy John observed "If they had named him to start on opening day [in 1989], he wouldn't have slept for a week. That's how high-strung he was. He was a rookie bouncing off the walls." In one of his final starts as a young player for the Yankees, manager Dallas Green left Leiter in to throw 162 pitches on a cold damp day in 1989.
Toronto Blue Jays.
The Yankees traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays for outfielder Jesse Barfield on April 30, 1989. After being dealt to Toronto, the left-hander had arthroscopic surgery. He pitched in fewer than 20 innings for the Blue Jays from 1989 to 1992, because of the surgery, a pinched nerve in his elbow, tendinitis, and another arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder. His statistics during this period were a 5.17 ERA, IP, 14 H, 10 K, 11 BB, 1 HR, 1 GS, 0–0. He was, however, able to overcome a blisters problem with an exotic liniment (that he used throughout his career), and was still seen as a very promising prospect.
Leiter finally got over his injury troubles in 1993, making 32 appearances (12 starts) for the Blue Jays. That year he appeared in 5 postseason games and even picked up a win in relief in Game One, and hit a double in Game Three of the 1993 World Series, as the Blue Jays went on to win their second consecutive World Championship. Leiter pitched effectively for the Blue Jays for the next two seasons before departing via free agency in 1996.
Florida Marlins.
Following the 1995 season, Leiter left Toronto and signed with the Florida Marlins as a free agent. In his first season as a Marlin, Leiter made his first All-Star team, going 16–12 with a 2.93 ERA and 200 strikeouts.
On May 11, 1996, he pitched a no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies, the first no-hitter in Marlins franchise history. This was also the first no-hitter that included a three-pitch inning. Leiter was also selected to his first All Star game. The game was played at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia where he recorded the last out of a National League 6–0 win over the American League. The win was the last NL win for 13 years until 2010 when the National League won the All Star Classic in Anaheim.
In 1997, Leiter won another World Series as the Marlins beat the Cleveland Indians. Leiter started Game 7 for the Marlins, pitching 6 innings and giving up two earned runs while being credited with a no decision. The Marlins would go on to win the game 3–2 in 11 innings to capture the championship.
New York Mets.
In the following off-season, Leiter was traded to the New York Mets in part of the Marlins' fire sale where owner Wayne Huizenga traded away almost all of the team's higher priced players.
In Leiter's first season as a Met, he reached a career high in wins going 17–6 and a career low in ERA finishing with a 2.47 ERA. In 1999, when the Mets were tied with the Cincinnati Reds for the National League Wild Card spot after 162 games, Leiter was the Mets starting pitcher in the "winner take all" one game playoff at Cinergy Field in Cincinnati. Leiter pitched a 2-hit shutout to earn the win in the Mets 5–0 victory. The win put the Mets in the playoffs for the first time in 11 seasons. The Mets would go on to lose the 1999 National League Championship Series to the Atlanta Braves 4 games to 2.
In 2000, Leiter made the All-Star team once again going 16–8 with a 3.20 ERA and 200 strikeouts. The Mets made the playoffs again in 2000 and this time reached the World Series. Leiter started Game 1 of the 2000 World Series at Yankee Stadium and Game 5 at Shea Stadium. Although he managed to achieve a 2.87 ERA and 16 strikeouts in innings, the Mets lost both games he started and eventually lost the World Series 4 games to 1. He was booed by Yankee fans when presented that year's Roberto Clemente Award prior to Game 2 of the World Series. Leiter was the second New York Met to be honored with the award. During the 2000 season, he pitched in the All Star game, and gave up a single to Derek Jeter.
On April 30, 2002, Leiter became the first Major League pitcher to defeat all 30 teams, after beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 10–1. Leiter would pitch for the Mets until the end of the 2004 season. In his seven seasons in a Met uniform, all wearing number 22, he went 95–67 with a 3.42 ERA. At the time he left the Mets, he ranked highly on several Mets all-time lists including wins (6th), strikeouts (7th with 1106), innings pitched (7th with 1360.0), and games started (6th with 213). He was the Mets Opening Day starting pitcher in 1999, 2001, and 2002.
In ten straight seasons, from 1995 to 2004, Leiter had at least 10 wins and at least a .500 record.
Second stint with Marlins.
Following the 2004 season, the Mets declined Leiter's US$10 million option for 2005, making him a free agent. His former team, the Marlins, signed Leiter to a one-year, $8 million contract on December 8, 2004.
Leiter struggled during his return to the Marlins. He walked more batters than usual (60 in 80 innings, in addition to 88 hits). In 17 appearances (16 starts), he had a 3–7 record and a 6.64 ERA, and he took much criticism for the Marlins' first-half struggles in 2005 (they were 7 games behind the surprising Washington Nationals at the All-Star break). He was demoted to the bullpen in late June, but he returned to the rotation after an injury to Josh Beckett. On July 10, when the Marlins played their last game before the three-day All-Star break, he gave up six runs in three-plus innings.
On July 14, 2005, the Florida Marlins designated Leiter for assignment.
Second stint with Yankees.
On July 15, 2005, Leiter was acquired by the New York Yankees, who had four starting pitchers on the disabled list, for a player to be named later. His first start as a Yankee since April 26, 1989, came on July 17, 2005, against the division-leading Boston Red Sox. Leiter won the game, pitching innings, allowing one run and three hits, and striking out eight. After several starts with mixed success, he informed Joe Torre that he would be willing to pitch out of the bullpen, where he would stay for the latter part of the season, yielding his starting slot to Aaron Small.
Leiter worked out of the bullpen in the 2005 American League Division Series pitching in four of the five games between the Yankees and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Angels won the series 3 games to 2. In his final official appearance in a Major League uniform, Leiter earned a win, pitching scoreless innings in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won the game 3–2.
Leiter signed a minor league contract with the Yankees in 2006; however, he stated he would likely retire. The primary reason he spent part of spring training with the Yankees was to keep in shape for the World Baseball Classic. After the United States team was eliminated from the World Baseball Classic, he officially retired in an interview on YES, after a Yankees spring training victory versus the Indians where Leiter pitched of an inning.
Broadcasting career.
Al Leiter has worked in the television broadcast booth for Fox during the playoffs for several seasons, mainly to provide in-depth analysis of various pitchers. Worked the post season for ESPN as studio analyst in 1998 and 1999. While still playing for the NY Mets, his first opportunity as a color commentator for Fox Sports was in 2003 NLCS. The Marlins went on to win the World Series that year beating the Yankees. Leiter worked as an analyst alongside Thom Brennaman and Steve Lyons. The following year, Leiter was in the booth with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver for the Boston Red Sox Vs. NY Yankees in the ALCS. Since 2006, Leiter has worked as a color commentator and a studio analyst for the YES Network. He won a NY Emmy in 2007 for the "Manny game" in Boston. In 2009, Leiter was hired by MLB Network and appeared on the very first show the Network produced on January 1, 2009. He became a studio analyst for MLB Network in addition to his commentating job for the YES Network. In 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2018, and 2019 he received a National Sports Emmy Award Nomination for Studio Analyst. In 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2019 he received the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Studio Show-Daily MLB Tonight Segment Producer. He also worked select games for the Miami Marlins on Fox Sports Florida in 2016. In 2016, he won the NY Sports Emmy for game analyst for the YES Network.
On March 3, 2019, he was named a baseball operations advisor for the Mets. Leiter will focus on scouting and player development with an emphasis on mental preparation for pitchers, working with players at every level of the organization, from newly drafted players to Major Leaguers.
Charitable work.
Leiter has won nearly every philanthropic award MLB offers, including the 2000 Roberto Clemente Award. He also won the Branch Rickey Award in 1999.
Political activities.
Leiter has expressed interest in running for political office as a Republican in his home state of New Jersey. He served as a member of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's transition team. Leiter was appointed as a member to the New Jersey Sports, Gaming, and Entertainment Committee. Governor Christie nominated him for the New Jersey Hall of Fame Commission and he was appointed to the commission by the state senate.
Leiter has donated thousands of dollars to GOP candidates, including Donald Trump, David Perdue, Kelly Loeffler, Lindsey Graham, Chris Christie, and Rudy Giuliani.
Personal life.
Leiter is of Austrian, Czech and British descent. He and his wife Lori have four children: Lindsay Brooke, Carly Jayne, Jack Thomas, and Katelyn Grace. His brother Mark Leiter pitched 11 seasons in the Majors. Another brother, Kurt, played in the Baltimore Orioles organization and reached as high as Double-A. His nephew Mark Leiter Jr. is also a professional baseball pitcher. |
Cementville
Cementville is a 1991 dark comedy play written by Jane Martin, a Pulitzer-nominated author. It premiered at the Humana Festival of New American Plays on 1991. The work has also been republished in several collections of modern American plays.
Set in a dingy arena locker room in a Tennessee rust town, the story follows a collection of run-down female professional wrestlers and their blow-hard manager as they try to put on a card of matches and everything goes wrong.
Plot.
In a dismal locker room, Dwayne, an autograph hound, is trolling around when Nola (a local fan and arena gopher girl) and Tiger (a road-weary ex-con) enter. He dives into the broom closet. Another wrestler, Dani comes in and rants about their typical treatment and money issues. Netty and Angelessa come in next. Dani runs down the line up for tonight's card, revealing that all of them will actually be playing several parts.
Tiger sends Nola on a beer run for them. Big Man enters to run down the lineup. His brother Eddie had to be taken to the hospital the night before, and his best guess is a hooker assaulted him. Dani complains about the lack of pay, and Big Man slaps her. He then tells them since Eddie's out, the cruiserweight title match is off. Angelessa offers to do a mixed match. But despite her being a former Olympian, Big Man shoots it down. He tells them that he's called in The Knockout Sisters, a tag team of two sisters, who happen to live not too far away. The women aren't very happy, knowing that Big Man will be spending part of their pay for the extra wrestlers.
As the ladies dress, they ponder over Eddie's fate. Suddenly, there's a thump from the broom closet. Angelessa opens the door and finds Dwayne hiding. He pleads for autographs but after they, including Nola, have signed his book, he starts preaching at them for being sinful whores. Angelessa grabs him and throws him out, but not before he can grab Tiger by her sore ribs, leaving her in even more pain.
Before bell time, Big Man introduces Mother Crocker and her girls, The Knockout Sisters (Dolly and Dottie). They know little about actual wrestling, as their mother's guidance has gotten them this far.
Dani and Tiger do the first match (Bloody Mary vs. Tarzana, Queen of the Jungle). It doesn't go very well and Tiger is in real pain. Angelessa and Netty are up next (as Black Lightning vs. Pajama Mama). When some guy in the crowd throws something at Angelessa, she leaves the ring and goes after him.
Angelessa gets dressed as “Olympia” for her next match with Tiger. Mother steps in saying that she can't go out there and play the face (good girl) since she's black and the crowd is full of rednecks. Mother complains to Big Man. During the argument, Dolly pulls out a pistol to break it up.
Willie "The Kid" Cayman, a former boxer pops in. He's touring the old arenas he fought in. He talks the girls up about the old days and how the fight game has changed.
Mother convinces Dani to do a lingerie match for one hundred dollars. Nola volunteers to wrestle her. They return triumphant. The match not only went well, but they got tips from the crowd after the fight. The big tag-team match is finally ready to go. Dani and Nola (as Ninjas) will job a match (take a dive) for The Knockout Sisters.
Angelessa snaps before the tag match starts. She locks Nola in the broom closet, and puts on Nola's Ninja costume. Before she can leave, Eddie arrives. He has come back for Angelessa, since it was she who injured him the night before. Meanwhile, the crowd boils into a riot. Dottie flees to the locker room, bleeding. Netty and Tiger tend to her. She says her sister was lost, swept up into the crowd. Angelessa re-enters the locker room, with Mother in a headlock. Despite Mother's bribe offers for her to stop, Angelessa hits her and trashes the room.
Big Man storms in from the fray, furious at Angelessa for what she's done. Mother and Dottie make a run for it. Anglessa and Big Man brawl, but he eventually beats her down. Willie grabs Dolly's pistol and shoots Big Man in the leg to stop him. Dani, Nola, Netty and Anglessa run out the back to Willie's car. The raging crowd is now at the door. Willie calmly moves a locker set aside to reveal an old service tunnel leading out. Big Man and Eddie start to come to, but the mob outside is starting to bash down the old wooden door when the lights go out.
Characters.
"(In order of appearance in the play)"
Stage.
The original production opened at the Humana Festival of New American Plays in 1991 at Actor's Theatre of Louisville, directed by Jon Jory. Since then, it has been performed in repertory theaters across the country.
Film.
In 2003, Screenwriter J.C. Young optioned "Cementville" for an independent feature film. At that time, the project had attached director and wrestling consultant Dan Madigan, the screenwriter for "See No Evil" and a former WWE writer. Jessie Kresa, Gina Torres and Louis Gossett Jr as well as Joanie Laurer aka WWE star Chyna had been approached to play major roles. Stunt Coordinator, Stuntwoman and former pro wrestler Deven MacNair was attached to play a role as well as choreograph the wrestling scenes.
The film was originally picked up and greenlit by DIMI Entertainment, however, the company ceased business before the film could go into production. |
Jermain Defoe
Jermain Colin Defoe (born 7 October 1982) is an English former professional footballer and coach who is under-18's coach at Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.
Defoe was a striker and began his career with Charlton Athletic, joining their youth team aged 14, before moving to West Ham United aged 16 and rising through the ranks. He made his first-team debut for West Ham in 2000 and, after a season-long loan spell at AFC Bournemouth during the 2000–01 season, established himself in the West Ham line-up. After West Ham's relegation in 2003, a move to Tottenham Hotspur in January 2004 soon followed, where Defoe played for four years before being sold to Portsmouth in January 2008. He spent one season at Fratton Park before returning to Tottenham in the January 2009 transfer window. He left for Toronto of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2014, before returning to England in January 2015 to sign for Sunderland where he stayed until the club was relegated from the Premier League in 2017. Following a brief spell at AFC Bournemouth in 2017, Defoe joined Scottish team Rangers in 2018 on loan. The move was later made permanent. At his new club he was involved in winning the 2020–21 league title. This was the first and only league title in his career at the age of 38.
In April 2011, Defoe became the 20th player to score a century of Premier League goals, and is currently the ninth-highest goalscorer in Premier League history as well as the sixth highest goalscorer in Tottenham's history. Defoe also holds the Premier League record for the most goals scored as a substitute, with 22, as of 11 January 2014. On 19 November 2016, Defoe scored his 150th Premier League goal, becoming the joint tenth-highest goal scorer in Premier League history.
Defoe made his England national team debut in 2004 and has made 57 appearances, scoring 20 goals, including three appearances and a goal at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Early life.
Born in Beckton, Greater London, Defoe attended St Joachim Primary School in Custom House, London and St Bonaventure's in Forest Gate, London. Defoe grew up in Canning Town and when his family moved to Beckton, played five-a-side football at Newham Leisure Centre. He joined the Sunday league team Senrab, well known in London for producing players such as Lee Bowyer, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Ledley King, and then joined the FA National School of Excellence at Lilleshall, Shropshire, as a 14-year-old in 1997. While there, he attended Idsall School. He was born to a Dominican father and his mother is of Saint Lucian descent.
Club career.
West Ham United.
Defoe was spotted playing football by Charlton Athletic who enrolled him at the FA National School of Excellence at Lilleshall Hall in 1997. Two years later, he took the controversial decision, aged 16, to turn professional with West Ham United, following which Charlton were subsequently awarded compensation rising to £1.4 million contingent on Defoe's Premier League and international appearances. At West Ham, he was a member of the Under-19 team that won the Premier Academy League title in 1999–2000, scoring twice against Arsenal in the play-off final.
Defoe made his first-team debut in a League Cup match against Walsall in September 2000, scoring in a 1–0 win. Shortly thereafter, he joined Second Division club AFC Bournemouth on a near season-long loan, where he scored in ten consecutive matches, equalling John Aldridge's and Clarrie Jordan's post-war record. He scored 18 goals in 29 league appearances for Bournemouth. West Ham manager Harry Redknapp tipped him for stardom, saying, "He's done great. I sent him out to Bournemouth to get some experience playing league football and he's coped marvellously. To score 10 goals in 10 games is a terrific achievement. He's a bright lad who's full of confidence. Nothing knocks him, he's a typical goal-scorer. If he misses, he'll be there the next time looking for a goal. He's a kid with a big future."
Defoe finished as West Ham's top scorer in the 2001–02 season despite being used primarily as a substitute by manager Glenn Roeder, scoring 14 goals in 39 league and cup appearances, one of which was a 1–0 away win against Manchester United in December 2001, as West Ham finished seventh in the Premier League. He scored a further 11 goals in 42 league and cup appearances in 2002–03 but was unable to prevent West Ham from being relegated.
Less than 24 hours after the club had been relegated, Defoe made a written request for a transfer, saying, "As much as I love West Ham United I feel that now is the right time for me to move on in my career. This is very much a career decision. I am very ambitious and hungry to achieve at the highest levels of the game for both club and country." The timing of his request, however, drew criticism from both fans and teammates and was turned down by the club. He later apologised to supporters, saying, "I mishandled that move and I can only apologise. I'm young and I've learned from it. I still played my hardest for West Ham and gave them 100% and want to thank the fans for their support."
Defoe began 2003–04 with West Ham but a refusal to sign a new contract and disciplinary problems, including three sendings-off, which saw him play only 22 matches out of a possible 34, led to West Ham accepting an offer from Tottenham Hotspur for him in the January transfer window.
Tottenham Hotspur.
Defoe joined Tottenham in February 2004 for an initial fee of £6 million, rising to £7 million depending on "specific performance criteria", and with Bobby Zamora joining West Ham. Manager David Pleat said, "I can't think of a British striker at his age who has achieved as much in such a short space of time. His goal record for a 21-year-old is quite exceptional. I hope he will have a fine career at Tottenham." Defoe marked his arrival at Tottenham with a goal on his debut in the 4–3 home win over Portsmouth in February 2004 and added a further six in the remainder of 2003–04, scoring 7 goals in 15 matches. He then scored 13 goals in 36 matches in the Premier League, including a hat-trick in a 5–1 win over Southampton in December 2004, and nine goals in eight matches in the FA Cup and League Cup, in 2004–05. He also received the club's Player of the Year award for the 2004 calendar year, as voted by season ticket holders and Spurs members. Despite speculation linking him with other clubs, Defoe signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with Tottenham in April 2005. The following season was not as profitable for Defoe, and Spurs manager Martin Jol used Defoe in rotation with Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov and Mido providing the competition for a starting position. Defoe started 23 times and came on as substitute 13 times, scoring nine goals.
Defoe made 49 league and cup appearances for Tottenham, scoring 18 goals, during 2006–07 as Tottenham competed in the UEFA Cup as well as the domestic competitions. He appeared to bite West Ham player Javier Mascherano on the shoulder during Tottenham's 1–0 win over West Ham in October 2006, sparking a melee between players of both teams. The FA declined to take action against Defoe as the referee, Steve Bennett, had booked Defoe for the incident. Defoe scored his 50th goal for Tottenham in the 2–1 win over Aston Villa on Boxing Day in December 2006, in which he scored both goals, and scored in Tottenham's 2–0 win over Charlton in May 2007, which condemned his former club to relegation to the Championship. During the summer of 2007, there was speculation about Defoe's future at Tottenham following the arrival of Darren Bent for a fee of £16.5 million. However, Defoe insisted that he would stay at Tottenham and fight for his place, saying, "I'm really excited about the new season and the prospect of another campaign in Europe. We have made some good signings and are now stronger and better equipped to compete in all competitions."
On 20 September 2007, Defoe came on as a substitute against Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta to score twice in a 6–1 win, his first goals of the season. On 25 November 2007, he missed a penalty against former club West Ham at the Boleyn Ground in added time which would have won the match for Spurs; the match finished 1–1.
Portsmouth.
Defoe joined Portsmouth in January 2008 for £7.5 million. He scored the equalising goal on his debut, a 1–1 draw at home to Chelsea. In March 2008, he was unable to play against Tottenham as the Premier League ruled that he was ineligible to do so as he was initially signed on loan in January 2008. In Portsmouth's match against Wigan Athletic the following week, he scored twice; in so doing, he became the first ever Portsmouth player to score in his first five home matches. Due to appearances in Tottenham's third and fourth round ties, Defoe found himself cup-tied for all the subsequent matches of Pompey's successful 2007–08 FA Cup campaign. This also meant that he missed out on playing in Spurs' League Cup final victory over Chelsea, however he still received his winners' medal, albeit 10 years later, in December 2018. Defoe ended 2007–08 with eight goals in 12 appearances for Portsmouth.
Defoe scored Portsmouth's first goal of 2008–09 on 30 August 2008 with the opener in a 3–0 win at Everton, and then scored their first home goals on 13 September with a brace against Middlesbrough. Five days later, he contributed a goal and an assist in Pompey's first ever major European match, a 2–0 UEFA Cup first round win over Portuguese club Vitória de Guimarães on 18 September.
Return to Tottenham.
In January 2009, Portsmouth chairman Peter Storrie revealed Defoe's intentions to leave the club in the near future. This came after joining the club only in the same transfer window of the previous year. It was reported that Defoe's former club Tottenham made a formal approach for the striker, but no agreement was reached; Spurs manager Harry Redknapp described the clubs as "miles apart in their valuation of the player", suggesting that Portsmouth wanted "in excess of £20 million". After negotiations, Portsmouth accepted a bid from Tottenham thought to be around £15.75 million (including fees owed to Tottenham for the previous transfers of Younès Kaboul and Pedro Mendes and waiving a £4 million sell-on clause that had also been negotiated during his transfer from Spurs to Portsmouth) on 6 January 2009. The player had agreed to a five-year contract and was confirmed as a Tottenham player by his new club on 9 January 2009. Defoe was presented at White Hart Lane with a carnival atmosphere before the start of Spurs' League Cup clash against Burnley after his return to White Hart Lane.
2008–09 season.
Defoe made his return debut on 11 January 2009 in a Premier League match against Wigan Athletic. He scored his first goal against former club Portsmouth at White Hart Lane on 18 January 2009, in a match which finished 1–1. He also scored his team's second goal in the League Cup semi-final second leg loss at Burnley, which helped Spurs book a place in the final with a 6–4 aggregate win. He scored three goals in his first four matches before suffering a broken foot which meant that he returned for Spurs against Newcastle United on 19 April in which the club won 1–0. This injury meant he missed Spurs' appearance in the 2009 Football League Cup Final. He scored his first goal since his return from injury in a 2–1 win against Manchester City and helped his team secure eighth place in the league.
2009–10 season.
On 19 August 2009, Defoe scored his first hat-trick for Tottenham in a 5–1 away victory over Hull City in the second match of the 2009–10 Premier League. Following the match, his manager Harry Redknapp stated his high opinion of Defoe: "With [Cristiano] Ronaldo gone, he can push to be the [Premier League] top scorer." After a fine run of form which saw him score seven goals for club and country, Defoe was named Premier League Player of the Month for August 2009. On 12 September 2009, Defoe scored after 38 seconds with an overhead kick against 2008–09 Premier League champions Manchester United in a match which ended in a 3–1 loss for Tottenham, taking his tally for the 2009–10 league season to five goals in five matches. On 23 September 2009, Defoe scored a header during Tottenham's 5–1 win over Preston. Defoe scored a goal and was sent off during the match against his former club, Portsmouth.
Defoe scored five goals at White Hart Lane in a 9–1 thrashing of Wigan on 22 November 2009. This included the second-fastest hat-trick in Premier League history, which was scored in seven minutes. In doing so, Defoe became only the third player to score five goals in one Premier League match, after Alan Shearer and Andy Cole. Dimitar Berbatov and Sergio Agüero have subsequently equalled this feat. After the match, Harry Redknapp further asserted his belief that Defoe would go on to be the Premier League's top scorer in 2009–10. Redknapp later said that although Wayne Rooney is the best all-round attacking player, Defoe is the best finisher in England and should be a regular for the England national team. On 3 February, Defoe claimed his third hat-trick of the season in an FA Cup fourth-round replay against Leeds United at Elland Road, with Spurs winning 3–1. His rich vein of form continued on 21 February with another goal in the Premier League, against Wigan. Defoe's next goal was a penalty in Tottenham's win against Chelsea, which itself followed a famous 2–1 win over Arsenal. This took his tally to 24 goals for the season.
2010–11 season.
Defoe played his part in Tottenham qualifying for the UEFA Champions League group stage, thanks to a controversial goal against Young Boys, where he appeared to use his arm before scoring the second goal of the match, which finished 4–0 to Tottenham. He was injured in the beginning of September when he was on duty with England, He made his comeback in Tottenham's 3–2 victory against Arsenal in the North London derby. He won a header which started the attack in which Gareth Bale scored five minutes in the second half to begin the comeback from 2–0 down to a 3–2 victory.
On 26 December 2010, Defoe received a straight red card, his first of the season and first since 17 October 2009, in a match at Aston Villa; his team leading at the time went on to secure the win despite playing over an hour with ten men. Defoe began Tottenham's 2010–11 FA Cup campaign with a brace of goals in the third round match at home to Charlton Athletic on 9 January 2011, with Spurs winning 3–0, but in the following round, they were defeated by Fulham.
In the 2010–11 Premier League, Defoe scored his first league goals of the season on 6 March 2011 against Wolverhampton Wanderers, getting the first two for Spurs in a 3–3 draw. He scored his third goal of the 2010–11 season with a long-range shot with his left foot against West Bromwich Albion. This was a triple landmark for Defoe, as it was his 100th Premier League goal as well as his 100th goal scored as a Tottenham player. In addition, it signified the 1,000th goal scored for Tottenham in the Premier League era.
2011–12 season.
In pre-season, Defoe scored two goals, one coming in a 3–0 win against Orlando Pirates on 23 July, and the other in a 2–1 win against Athletic Bilbao at White Hart Lane on 6 August. Defoe started 2011–12 by scoring in a 5–0 win against Hearts in a UEFA Europa League play-off match on 18 August. His first Premier League goal of the season came in a 2–0 win at Wolves, scoring the second goal after exchanging passes with Niko Kranjčar. Defoe's first goal of 2012 came in a 1–0 home win against West Brom, converting a Gareth Bale cross. He scored on the last day of the season against Fulham, the second in a 2–0 win. Defoe ended the season with 17 goals in 38 matches across all competitions; in the Premier League, he scored 11 in 25 appearances, of which only 11 were starts.
2012–13 season.
Defoe started by scoring on the opening day of the 2012–13 Premier League against Newcastle United in a 2–1 defeat. On 30 August 2012, Defoe signed a new three-year contract with Tottenham. He scored the 200th goal of his club career in a 4–2 defeat to Chelsea on 20 October and on 8 November, he scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 win against Slovenian club Maribor in the Europa League. In doing so, he overtook Teddy Sheringham on Tottenham's all-time goalscorers list. On 21 April 2013, Defoe scored his 15th goal of the season in the home match against Manchester City, a 3–1 win. The goal took him level with Alan Gilzean in joint-seventh place on the all-time Tottenham scorers list.
2013–14 season.
Defoe started 2013–14 as a substitute, with newly signed striker Roberto Soldado starting for Tottenham. Nonetheless, manager André Villas-Boas used him as a first-choice striker for their opening matches in the Europa League, and on 29 August he scored his first goals of the campaign in a 3–0 home win against Dinamo Tbilisi. The result took Tottenham through to the group stages via an 8–0 aggregate victory after winning 5–0 in the first leg.
On 19 September, Defoe scored twice in a 3–0 victory against Tromsø in the Europa League group stages, taking his tally in Europe to within two goals of the record holder, Martin Chivers. On 24 September 2013, Defoe scored another two in a 4–0 win against Aston Villa in the League Cup, which took his tally for Tottenham to 139 goals, moving him past George Hunt as the club's fifth-highest scorer of all-time. His goal on 3 October against Anzhi Makhachkala in a 2–0 win took him to one short of the club's all-time record of 22 held by Chivers. Two further goals, against Sheriff Tiraspol in two consecutive fixtures in the Europa League, saw Defoe with 23 European goals, one more than Chivers' previous record as Tottenham's highest European goalscorer. Defoe said Chivers had been at the match and had encouraged him to beat his record.
Toronto FC.
On 10 January 2014, Tottenham announced that Defoe was leaving to join Major League Soccer (MLS) club Toronto FC, effective 28 February 2014. He agreed to a four-year deal worth between £68,000–90,000 per week. Toronto began its pursuit of Defoe the previous October, when the team management – which included Defoe's ex-Tottenham teammate Ryan Nelsen – met with him in London, and he received phone calls from rapper Drake, a Toronto native. The transfer also includes an agreement between Tottenham Hotspur and Toronto's owners, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, involving marketing, merchandise and broadcast rights, as well as a friendly match during Tottenham's North American tour in July 2014. Defoe was immediately loaned back to Tottenham until the end of February 2014, with whom he made two more appearances as a substitute.
Defoe debuted with Toronto in their season opener at Seattle Sounders on 15 March 2014, scoring both goals in their 2–1 victory. On 31 August 2014, Toronto FC called a press conference to fire manager Nelsen; during the press conference, the general manager Tim Bezbatchenko was non-committal on Defoe's future at the club, implying that the player might be unsettled and that the club would entertain offers in excess of the £6 million paid for the striker. He said, "We're speaking with him [Defoe] and then we'll make a decision. We'll discuss it over the next 24 hours."
Sunderland.
2014–15 season.
On 16 January 2015, Defoe joined Premier League club Sunderland after agreeing to a three-and-a-half-year deal, as part of a player exchange deal sending Jozy Altidore to Toronto FC, after completing only 11 months of his four-year deal with Toronto. He made his Sunderland debut the following day against former club Tottenham. Defoe started the match but was goalless when he was substituted after 75 minutes, ending his record of scoring on his first appearance for every club he has played for. Defoe scored his first Sunderland goal on his home debut in a 2–0 victory over Burnley on 31 January 2015. His second goal came the following week on 7 February 2015, where he scored the opening goal in a 1–1 draw away to Swansea City.
On 5 April, he scored the only goal in the Tyne–Wear derby victory over Newcastle with a 22-yard volley to end a sequence of eight matches without a win, and their first victory under the management of Dick Advocaat. The emotion of scoring the goal caused him to cry. On 9 May, Defoe scored his fourth goal of the season in a 2–0 win against Everton at Goodison Park, a result which moved Sunderland out of the relegation zone and gave Everton their first home defeat of 2015.
2015–16 season.
On the opening day of the 2015–16 Premier League, Defoe scored in a 4–2 loss at Leicester City, meaning he had scored in 15 Premier League seasons. On 25 August, he scored a hat-trick in a 6–3 home win over Exeter City in the second round of the League Cup. Defoe then scored twice in Sunderland's opening match of 2016, a 3–1 defeat of Aston Villa on 2 January. In the team's next league fixture, he scored a hat-trick against Swansea City in a 4–2 win at the Liberty Stadium. On 6 February, Defoe scored an 89th-minute equaliser against Liverpool as Sunderland came from 2–0 down to draw the match. On 16 March, Defoe opened the scoring away to Newcastle as the Tyne–Wear derby was drawn 1–1.
On 16 April 2016, Defoe scored Sunderland's second goal in a crucial 3–0 away victory over fellow strugglers Norwich, which left Sunderland one point from safety. On 7 May 2016, Defoe scored the winning goal against Chelsea, moving Sunderland out of the bottom three, and taking his Premier League tally to 15 for the season. Defoe was part of the Sunderland squad on the matchday when they secured their Premier League status with a 3–0 home win over Everton on 11 May 2016.
Defoe ended the season as Sunderland's top scorer with 15 league goals, and was also named the club's player of the season. On 9 June, Defoe signed a new contract with Sunderland, committing his future to the club until 2019.
2016–17 season.
On 13 August 2016, the opening day of the 2016–17 Premier League, Defoe scored in a 2–1 loss at Manchester City, meaning he has now scored in 16 Premier League seasons. On 5 November 2016, Defoe scored the winning goal from the penalty spot as 10-man Sunderland came from behind to win at Bournemouth, their first league win of the season. On 19 November 2016, Defoe scored his 150th Premier League goal in a 3–0 home win against Hull City, becoming the joint seventh highest goal scorer in Premier League history. On 2 January 2017, Defoe scored twice from the penalty spot as Sunderland came from behind to draw at home to Liverpool.
In January 2017, with Sunderland lying in the relegation zone, Defoe was linked with a return to former club West Ham United. However, Sunderland rejected a bid in the region of £6 million, with manager David Moyes describing Defoe as "priceless". On 4 February 2017, Defoe scored twice in first half stoppage time in a 4–0 away victory at Crystal Palace to move on to 14 league goals for the season.
AFC Bournemouth.
In April 2017, Defoe hinted that he may leave Sunderland, if the club were to be relegated at the end of the 2016–17 Premier League. He was linked with a possible transfer to Newcastle United, and potential returns to former clubs Bournemouth and West Ham United. Sunderland's relegation was confirmed later that month. On 23 June, it was confirmed that Defoe had signed a contract with Bournemouth on a free transfer, leaving Sunderland on 1 July. He had previously played for the club in the 2000–01 season, on loan from West Ham United.
On 16 September 2017, Defoe scored the winning goal and his first goal since his return to Bournemouth in a 2–1 home win against Brighton, providing the team with its first victory in the 2017–18 Premier League season, meaning he had scored in 17 different Premier League seasons.
Rangers.
After making only eight appearances for Bournemouth in the 2018–19 season, Defoe joined Scottish Premiership club Rangers on 6 January 2019 on an 18-month loan, with two recall clauses inserted into the deal, which could have been activated in July 2019 or January 2020. On 23 January 2019, he scored a debut goal for Rangers against Kilmarnock, which meant he had scored a debut goal for 5 of his last 7 clubs. After scoring in a game on 27 September 2019 he was involved in a car accident.
On 25 January 2020, it was announced that Defoe had signed a pre-contract agreement with Rangers, and would join the club permanently on a one-year deal, at the expiry of his Bournemouth contract in June 2020.
Defoe joined Rangers permanently in the summer transfer window of the 2020–21 season. He scored his 300th career club goal, against Livingston on 25 October 2020.
On 8 June 2021, Defoe signed a new one-year deal with Rangers to keep him at the club. As part of the contract, he will also become a coach at the club. On 15 November 2021, following the departure of manager, Steven Gerrard from Rangers to Aston Villa, Defoe was named as part of a four-man caretaker team responsible for leading the club during the pursuit of a new permanent head coach. On 12 January 2022, Defoe departed Rangers.
Return to Sunderland.
On 31 January 2022, Defoe re-signed for Sunderland on a short-term deal until the end of the 2021–22 season. On 24 March 2022 he announced his retirement from professional football.
International career.
Youth.
Defoe was capped by England at two youth levels, earning eight caps for the under-16s and seven caps for the under-18s. Defoe's form for Bournemouth in the 2000–01 season saw him selected for the England under-21 team to play Mexico in May 2001, and he marked his debut with the second goal as England U21s won 3–0. He went on to gain 23 caps for England at under-21 level, scoring seven goals.
2006 FIFA World Cup.
Defoe debuted for the senior England team in a 1–0 defeat to Sweden in March 2004, coming on as an early substitute for the injured Darius Vassell. England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson singled out Defoe's display for praise in an otherwise poor performance by England, saying, "Jermain Defoe did very well – I liked what I saw. He showed that he can do very well even in international football and that he is technically very good. Jermain is quick and he knows where the goal is." He was not however selected for the England squad to take part in UEFA Euro 2004.
He made his first start for England in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Poland in September 2004, scoring in a 2–1 win. Eriksson again paid tribute to Defoe, saying, "Jermain is a great talent. It couldn't have been much better for him. He did very well. He scored one goal and created other chances as well. He is a great player who will always score goals."
Despite appearing regularly for England in FIFA World Cup qualifying matches and friendly matches, Defoe was not named in the provisional England squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and named only on a five-man standby list. He joined the squad for training in Germany, but returned to England when Wayne Rooney was cleared to play after having suffered a foot injury in April. He confessed that he was baffled by his omission, saying, "I've been involved in every squad for the last two years and feel I've played a part in helping us to qualify. I have never felt fitter and sharper than I was in training and believe I could have scored goals in the tournament. It's a strange decision and everybody I speak to thinks so as well." Eriksson explained why Defoe was not selected for the England squad: "Jermain had a very bad season. I don't think he deserved to go to the World Cup."
2010 FIFA World Cup.
Steve McClaren, who took over as England manager after the FIFA World Cup, selected Defoe for England in his first match, a friendly against Greece in August 2006. Defoe continued to be selected and to appear for England in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying matches and friendly matches.
Defoe was initially omitted from Fabio Capello's first squad with the new manager insisting he would only select players who were playing regular club football. One day after scoring on his Portsmouth debut, Defoe was recalled to the England squad to replace the injured Gabriel Agbonlahor. Defoe took his international goals tally up to five in the Caribbean on 1 June 2008 when he scored twice against Trinidad and Tobago and in the process staking a claim for a more regular place in the international team.
Defoe scored his first competitive international goal of 2008 with the final goal in England's 5–1 win over Kazakhstan on 11 October 2008 after coming on as a late substitute for Wayne Rooney. He also scored two goals in three minutes against Andorra in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
His 2009–10 season got off to the perfect start as he came from the bench to score both goals in the 2–2 draw against the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Arena on 12 August 2009 and was announced as man of the match.
On 23 June 2010, he scored the only goal in England's third group stage match against Slovenia in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. This goal gave England the win they needed to progress into the Round of 16.
UEFA Euro 2012 and 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Defoe opened up the scoring for England's UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign against Bulgaria, volleying home from the six-yard box after a cross from Ashley Cole, whose initial effort was saved by the Bulgarian goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov. Defoe went on to score his first international hat-trick, which was the first ever at the new Wembley. Defoe was called up to the England squad to face Wales on 26 March 2011, though he served as an unused substitute. Defoe was named as a member of the England squad for UEFA Euro 2012.
Defoe did not play for the full 90 minutes in any of his England appearances until 11 September 2012 where he played the entire match against Ukraine.
Defoe started England's first 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match, a 5–0 away win against Moldova and scored his 17th goal for England, tying him with David Beckham.
Defoe was not included in the 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Defoe believes that he "likely won't ever get over the decision", and stated, "I don't think I'll ever be at peace with it." However, he was named as one of seven players on "standby".
Defoe's form in the 2015–16 season, where he helped Sunderland avoid relegation with 15 goals, led to calls for him to be included in the England squad for UEFA Euro 2016. He was not, however, named in manager Roy Hodgson's 26-man preliminary squad, and expressed his disappointment at his omission.
2017.
After over three years away from international football, Defoe was recalled to the England squad in March 2017 by manager Gareth Southgate for a friendly match against Germany and a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Lithuania. On 26 March, Defoe returned to the first team, against Lithuania. Ahead of captain, Joe Hart, Defoe led the team onto the pitch with terminally ill child, Bradley Lowery, a Sunderland supporter who suffered from neuroblastoma. England won the match 2–0 with Defoe scoring the first goal.
Influences and goal celebrations.
In a 2018 interview with Sky Sports, Defoe spoke about the influence of former Arsenal striker Ian Wright on his career, which included being inspired by his goal celebrations. He explained that his own favourite celebration is outstretching both arms straight, before stating when scoring a goal "you just want to go mad".
Coaching career.
On 12 August 2022, Defoe returned to Tottenham Hotspur as club ambassador and an academy coach. Appointed as coach of the under-18's, Defoe said he aims to inspire more black coaches and managers.
Personal life.
Defoe is a practising Roman Catholic. In 2017 he adopted a vegan diet in order to prolong his football career. He is teetotal.
On 24 April 2009, his 26-year-old half-brother, Jade Defoe, died of head injuries following an assault in Leytonstone, London. On 7 June 2012, his father, Jimmy Defoe, died after a long battle with throat cancer. Defoe was with the England squad ahead of UEFA Euro 2012 at the time, and returned home from Poland upon receiving the news, but rejoined the squad on 9 June, two days before the opening match and played against France as a 77th-minute substitute.
Whilst playing for Sunderland, Defoe befriended Bradley Lowery, a terminally-ill six-year-old fan with neuroblastoma, describing their relationship as the "highlight of his season". Lowery was named 'Child of Courage' at the Pride of North East Awards in May 2017; Defoe attended the award ceremony, saying, "As a person he has changed me because of what he's going through at such a young age". Lowery died on 7 July 2017, at the age of 6.
Defoe was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2018 Birthday Honours for services to the Jermain Defoe Foundation, a charitable foundation he founded in 2013.
Honours.
Tottenham Hotspur
Rangers
Individual
Orders |
Aniruddha's Academy of Disaster Management
Aniruddha's Academy of Disaster Management (AADM) is a non-profit organization incorporated in Mumbai, India with 'disaster management' as its principal objective. The basic aim of AADM is to save life and property in the event of a disaster, be it natural or manmade. Towards this end, AADM imparts disaster management training. The main objective of AADM is to build up a volunteer base across the globe, that will be able to handle various disasters and disaster situations effectively. AADM has a trained Disaster Management Volunteer (DMV) force of about 60,000.
History.
AADM was founded in April 2005, under section 25 of The Companies Act, 1956. The academy was formed under the guidance of Dr. Aniruddha D. Joshi (M.D. Medicine, Rheumatologist, who is fondly referred as Aniruddha Bapu).
Mission.
AADM's mission is to teach a person to save one's life first, in order to be able to save other people's lives during and in the aftermath of a man made or natural disaster. The trained disaster management volunteers, in turn, will impart training in the basics of disaster management.
Textbook of Disaster Management.
The Textbook of Disaster Management was compiled by AADM in the year 2002. It has proved to be of great help in training the trainer on how to impart effective disaster management training to an average citizen of India. It also serves as a virtual handbook in the event of a disaster.
Volunteers.
There are two types of volunteers:
(i) ‘DMV’ (Disaster Management Volunteer) The members trained in the 7-day basic disaster management course offered by AADM are termed as ‘DMV’s.
(ii)‘Transmitter’ (Trainers for DMVs). Those come forward to teach fellow citizens in basic disaster management are termed as ‘Transmitters’. Currently AADM has a total of 60,000 DMVs and 450 Transmitters.
Basic Disaster Management Course.
The Basic Disaster Management Training Course includes training the common citizen in the finer aspects of first-aid, with the objective of saving lives until Qualified Medical Assistance arrives. Apart from the first-aid techniques, the training course also covers information on all possible kinds of disasters and ways to effectively respond to them. This includes natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, cyclones, famines, drought, etc. and man made disasters such as explosions (bomb blasts), religious violence (communal riots), etc., as also nuclear, biological and chemical warfare, which have come to pose a genuine and serious threat to the very survival of mankind and civilization.
Activities.
Assistance to local civic authorities during 26 July 2005 Heavy rainfall disaster:
On July 26, 2005, when heavy rains created a disaster like situation in Mumbai and Maharashtra, AADM's DMVs offered help to the local civic authorities in the rescue operations by making rafts out of used plastic bottles and ferrying the affected to safety.
On the same day when a landslide struck Saki Naka, a suburb of Mumbai, the DMVs played a crucial role in saving lives and extricating bodies from the rubble in extremely challenging conditions.
Assistance to local civic authorities during incidents of fire:
AADM DMVs actively assist Mumbai's fire brigade and Mumbai police authorities during incidents of fire. For instance, they successfully assisted the authorities when fire broke out at the office of Fairdeal Corporation Ltd., at Jogeshwari, Mumbai, Maharashtra on 26 January 2006
Fire at Hansa Ind. Estate, Mumbai on 6 July 2006
Assistance to local civic authorities during man made disasters:
When serial blasts occurred in the compartments of the suburban trains of Western Railway on 11 July 2006, as also the bomb blast at the Agarwal Hospital, Mulund (W), Mumbai on March 15, 2003, at Bomb Blasts at German Bakery, Pune on February 15, 2010
Crowd control activities during fairs and festivals at religious places:
AADM DMVs help in controlling and regulating the crowds queuing up for darshan, or where large crowd movement takes place following are such examples,
Siddhivinayak Temple, Mumbai,
Mahalakshmi Temple, Mumbai
Mount Mary Church, Bandra, Mumbai,
Mandher Devi Temple in Mandhradevi, Satara, Maharasshtra
Paithan, Aurangabad, Maharashtra
Immersion of Lord Ganesh Idols during Ganesh Utsav in different parts of Maharashtra
A disaster management training workshop was conducted for the Nandurbar police force on the invitation of the Superintendent of Police – Nandurbar, Maharashtra.
Vermiculture Project.
AADM considers soil fertility and environmental protection as the two key aspects of disaster management (prevention section). AADM achieves these by adopting to vermiculture which is an eco-friendly waste management technology.
It is the technology of rearing or cultivating earthworms and using them as natural bio reactors in waste management. It is a simple procedure of maintaining and culturing earthworms that feed on the biodegradable waste, defaces and multiply on wastes.
It can handle all types of bio-degradable waste like food waste, floral and vegetable waste, garden waste, cow dung and paper waste. The non vegetarian food items can also be used. However they take longer time to decompose which could produce poor smell. The dry waste like glass, thermocol, plastic, rubber or likewise which does not decompose cannot be used in the process.
It also helps to protect the earthworm species which plays an important role in soil fertility and environment protection.
It can be practiced in cities and villages or farms. In cities, the citizens should show active participation to overcome the alarming state of the environment. It can be carried out near cow sheds, backyards, basements or any suitable place which can be well protected. Unlike cities, villages have a wider scope for adopting Vermiculture with all the necessary resources easily available and in abundance.
Consultancy projects:
AADM also offers consultancy to various housing societies, corporate, schools and colleges. Under consultancy, a team of volunteers from the Academy visit the site for survey, and submit a survey report thereafter to cater the requirements for the project execution. The people handling the projects are trained by the Academy's team by personal visits till the first crop of Vermicompost is harvested Thereafter it is the sole responsibility of the society or institution to continue the project in the long run.
Consultancy for vermiculture was provided to the various Educational Institutes, Govt. organizations like
• Naval Dockyard – Colaba
• Central Railway Matunga workshop
• Pearl Society - Vile Parle
• NABARD
Project awareness:
Upon request from schools and colleges, introduction and demonstrations have been given to students.
The demonstrations have been conducted through power point presentations, display charts and practicals. The students are encouraged to maintain a small scale vermiculture bin which can be rated by the teachers as a part of the school project.
Key awareness projects
Awareness through lecture and demonstrations in 24 wards of MCGM-Education Dept. for school children, parents, staff teachers, gardeners and CDO (Community Development Officers) covering around 200 schools. for such programs were conducted half-yearly during Feb.’05 to Dec.’06.
Future for vermiculture in India
Till date 87 tons of Vermicompost has been produced from the academy’s own projects in Mumbai and Maharashtra region and has been utilized for tree plantation. That amounts to approx. 340 tons of waste conversion into Vermicompost.
Vermiculture is an eco-friendly waste management technology. It is definitely cost effective and can be implemented in urban and rural areas. It is easy to practice and helps us curb air, water and land pollutions. ‘Trees’ are considered as living immovable souls. By supplying them with good fertilizers and water, we are not only nurturing them but also trying to repay the obligation of our Mother Earth in a small and righteous way.
Participation.
In 2007, AADM was invited by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai to participate in the 'Monsoon Disaster Plan (2007)’ launched by it.
Participation in Disaster Risk Management Master Plan Project :
AADM has contributed to this project initiated by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, by gathering and compiling information for the Emergency Operation Plan, and preparing the process document for Emergency Support Function which form part of the Disaster Risk Management Master Plan Project.
Participation in Tatpar Mumbai Project:
AADM participated in the Tatpar Mumbai Project, organized by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and the Mumbai Police, Fire department, National Disaster Unit and non-governmental organizations.
Participation in Asia Megacities Forum 2009 event:
This forum was organized between the 22 and 24 April 2009, by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, who are also partners of the Earthquakes and Megacities initiative. |
John I Albert
John I Albert (; 27 December 1459 – 17 June 1501) was King of Poland from 1492 to his death and Duke of Głogów ("Glogau") from 1491 to 1498. He was the fourth Polish sovereign from the Jagiellonian dynasty and the son of Casimir IV and Elizabeth of Austria.
Related to the House of Habsburg, John Albert was groomed to become emperor in the Holy Roman Empire, a plan that ultimately failed. He was well-educated and tutored by scholars such as Johannes Longinus and Callimachus, whom he had subsequently befriended. Heavily influenced by the Italian Renaissance, John sought to strengthen royal authority at the expense of the Catholic Church and the clergy. In 1487, he led a force against the Ottoman Empire and defeated the Tatars of the Crimean Khanate during the early phase of the Polish–Ottoman War. In the aftermath of the Bohemian–Hungarian War, John attempted to usurp Hungary from his elder brother Vladislaus, but was instead granted the Duchy of Głogów to calm his ambition.
John ascended to the Polish throne in 1492, and his younger brother Alexander was elected Grand Duke of Lithuania by an independent Lithuanian assembly, thus temporarily breaking the personal union between the two nations. He was proclaimed the king by an oral ballot orchestrated by Cardinal Frederick Jagiellon. To secure his succession against the Piast princes from the Duchy of Masovia, he dispatched an army to the electoral proceedings, which alienated the higher nobles and magnates. He later invaded Masovia to deprive Konrad III of his ancestral holdings and curtail internal opposition to his rule. In 1497, John Albert launched a personal crusade into Moldavia to uphold Polish suzerainty, establish control over Black Sea ports and dethrone Stephen III in favour of John Albert's brother Sigismund. The campaign's failure greatly hindered Polish expansion into Southeastern Europe, preventing any significant further expansion.
John Albert remains a largely forgotten and overlooked figure in the history of Poland, his relatively short reign ended in a major military setback, and he was criticised during his lifetime for embracing absolutism as well as attempting to centralise the government. He is credited for creating a bicameral parliament, comprising the Senate and the Sejm, which granted lower-class gentry the right of expression in the matters of state. Conversely, he limited the movement of peasants by confining them to nobles' estates for life.
Early life, 1459–1492.
Birth and family background.
John was born on 27 December 1459 at Wawel Castle in Kraków, which served as the seat of Polish monarchs. He was one of thirteen children and the third son born to Casimir IV Jagiellon and Elizabeth Habsburg. His mother was the second child of Albert II, Duke of Austria and King of the Romans, and the granddaughter of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor. It was the ambition of John's parents to install one of their sons as Emperor in the Holy Roman Empire. Thus, he received the second name Albert at christening to honour his maternal grandfather and in the hope of securing his candidacy to the Imperial throne.
Paternally, John was the grandson of Jogaila, the pagan ruler of Lithuania who, upon the marriage to Jadwiga of Poland, adopted Catholicism, converted his native people to Christianity and was crowned King of Poland as Władysław II Jagiełło in 1386. Subsequently, his descendants held a strong claim to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Lithuanian lords were at first apprehensive about forming a union with Poland. The Lithuanian nobility and minorities feared that merging the two countries would threaten their sovereignty. The Poles were also dissatisfied as the Jagiellonians possessed no blood relations with their predecessors, the Piasts, who "de facto" ruled since the creation of statehood in AD 966. In the wake of Jogaila's death, his eldest son Ladislaus III succeeded him in Poland, and his younger son Casimir in Lithuania. Ladislaus' fall at the Battle of Varna in 1444 enabled Casimir's lineage and sons to become the potential successors to both titles. John's father was reluctant to accept the Polish crown and only did so when his opponents, Bolesław IV of Warsaw and Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg, strengthened their efforts. Raised abroad, he was initially branded as illegitimate by the Poles and was influenced by the Lithuanian gentry, whom he supported in their calls for a separate state.
John's right to the throne came entirely by coincidence, and it was his eldest brother, Vladislaus, who was destined to inherit Poland and Lithuania by primogeniture. This changed when George of Poděbrady pledged to make Vladislaus his heir in neighbouring Bohemia on the condition that Casimir IV negotiated a peace treaty with Matthias Corvinus of Hungary. Although the mediation between the two failed, the Bohemian Diet elected Vladislaus the King of Bohemia following George's death in 1471. Casimir IV's second son and his namesake, Casimir, then became the new heir apparent in Poland, however, he fell ill with tuberculosis and died in 1484. Six years later, Vladislaus was proclaimed King of Hungary, which was met with hostility from a faction of Hungarian nobles advocating for John Albert. Motivated by the Hungarians, John briefly invaded Hungary to usurp the title but was defeated by his brother at Košice in 1491 and again at Prešov in 1492. In spite of the conflict, the bond between the two siblings remained unhindered, and Vladislaus made John the Duke of Głogów ("Glogau") for life to satisfy his ambition.
Education.
Casimir IV was determined to educate all his sons equally and prepare them to assume the role of a monarch. In September 1467, chronicler and historian Johannes Longinus (Polish: "Jan Długosz") was entrusted by Casimir with tutoring the royal children, including young John. Longinus, a deeply spiritual man, made sure that the princes were raised with great care and in accordance with Church laws. During their childhood, John and his brother Alexander were instructed to regularly visit the tombs of past sovereigns in an attempt to strengthen their allegiance to Poland. Latin and German, law, history, rhetoric, and classical literature were part of the rigid curriculum. According to the 16th-century political writer Stanisław Orzechowski, John was subjected to corporal punishment which was encouraged by his father.
The Italian humanist and diplomat Filippo Buonaccorsi, known as Callimachus or Kallimach, exercised immense authority and influence over John in his early years and during his reign. He was initially appointed royal advisor and mentor at the behest of Queen Elizabeth. Buonaccorsi was described as more lenient and moderate than Longinus; he amended the syllabus with chess, sports and ancient studies concerning the works of Cicero and Virgil. Radical for the time, many of his ideas and theories were later endorsed by John, such as limiting the power of the clergy and centralising the government. Buonaccorsi further argued for the strengthening of the king's authority, and asserting an absolute monarchy, at the expense of the nobility and inconspicuously advocated for the split with Rome. His appeal extended beyond politics and diplomacy; he befriended John and remained his most trusted courtier until he died in 1496.
Reign, 1492–1501.
Accession, 1492.
In accordance with the Union of Horodło (1413), Lithuania was to elect the Grand Duke by its own independent assembly of nobles in Vilnius. In turn, the Polish Crown Diet was obliged to nominate the King of Poland. These titles could be shared by one individual whose election was confirmed by both assemblies. On his deathbed, Casimir IV requested that John succeed him in the Crown and Alexander Jagiellon in the Grand Duchy. Lithuanian dignitaries were satisfied with the proposition; a cluster of Polish nobility wished to continue the personal union between the two countries and initially opted for Alexander.
An electoral tribunal convened on 15 August 1492 in the city of Piotrków. The assembled nobles were to decide which candidate should ascend the throne. John's successful 1487 engagement during the Polish–Ottoman War (1485–1503) against the Crimean Khanate and its Tatar units in the far east was a considerable determinant. Others pointed out his failed intervention in Hungary against his brother. Personal characteristics made the nobles agitated; although intelligent, John Albert was often described as supercilious and intolerably arrogant. In consequence, the Tęczyński and Leszczyński magnates voiced their support for John's younger brother Sigismund, distinguished by his intellect and presumed chastity.
Quarrels between highly-elevated members of state marked the tribunal; it was their course of action that determined the outcome. A considerable threat to the assembly were Janusz II of Płock and his brother Konrad, escorted a company of 1,000 hardline soldiers sent from the Duchy of Masovia. Janusz's candidacy was endorsed by a strictly covert contingent of conservatives, whose intention was to restore the ancient House of Piast on the Polish throne. Zbigniew Oleśnicki, Primate of Poland, was part of that faction but was unable to attend due to poor health. Thereby, the Queen Dowager Elizabeth nominated her acquiescent son, Frederick Jagiellon, to lead the proceedings in his stead.
An army of 1,600 men was dispatched to counter Janusz and Konrad if their troops resorted to violence. Meanwhile, John preoccupied himself with negotiations and aimed to procure the Prussian vote by recognising Lucas Watzenrode as the new Prince-Bishop of Warmia (Ermland). In the end, it was Frederick's personal intervention that secured the crown for John, who was unanimously proclaimed king by an oral ballot amongst the shrieks of nobles on 27 August 1492. A courier carried the news to the burghers of Kraków, which brought great joy to the townsfolk and prompted a bonfire celebration. The entourage then hurried to the capital, where he was crowned at Wawel Cathedral just less than a month later, on 23 September, by his ailing adversary Oleśnicki.
John Albert's first months as king were unsettling and marred by insecurities. The Masovian Dukes still posed a considerable threat and placed his reign in jeopardy, with Masovia being independent of Poland at the time. In December 1492, John turned to Vladislaus and formed a much needed military alliance with Hungary against common foes. The brothers pledged mutual assistance and vowed to quell any opposition that undermined their rule.
Creation of parliament, 1493.
Constitutionalism and parliamentary tendencies in Poland date back to the Late Middle Ages, when Louis I issued the 1374 Privilege of Koszyce, granting the nobility concessions (tax reductions) and prerogatives in return for favours or military support. Earlier attempts at unifying lower-class gentry with the high magnates into a single political entity were largely unsuccessful. Nobles of lower social status objected to the judiciary practices, superintended by their upper-class counterparts, which caused much discontent throughout the nobility. A major breakthrough came in 1454, when John's father, Casimir, approved the Statutes of Nieszawa; which obligated the monarch to seek advice from the gentry and sejmiks (regional land councils) before taking action. According to Aleksander Gieysztor, the statutes acted as a counterweight to the oligarchy cultivated by the magnates and paved the way for an early parliamentary system.
Before establishing a long-lasting legislative body of government, the Polish king would summon a so-called "curia regis" which had no real authority over the sovereign. Its permanent members comprised the "consiliarii" — trusted courtiers and loyal dignitaries personally selected by the reigning monarch. Under John Albert, the "curia regis" slowly transformed itself into the Senate of Poland. There were changes in conventional practices, for instance, Casimir IV first debated with his close council and then travelled to individual provincial sejmiks. John, on the other hand, called the sejmiks' representatives from across the country to gather and create a single unified assembly.
In January 1493, the first parliament composed of two chambers convened in Piotrków, which would host successive tribunals and parliament sittings long into the 16th century. The Sejm summoned on 18 January, the precise inauguration date is difficult to determine as the king stayed in Kraków until 13 January, and subsequently left for the town of Nowy Korczyn where the Lesser Polish nobility gathered on the 15th of the same month. He then returned to the capital before departing for Miechów and finally arriving in Piotrków no later than 28 January. It is, widely regarded that John's entourage and the Lesser Polish lords arrived late to the parliament. Historian outlined that the weather conditions were not to blame, as the January of 1493 appeared relatively warm and dry. The delay may have been attributed to the extensive distance covered (approximately 40–50 kilometres a day), as well as to the festivities and welcoming ceremonies in each town his royal cortège passed. On 2 March, the king issued a universal act on taxation and closed the assembly on 3 March.
Expelling Jews from Kraków, 1494–1495.
In June 1494, a fire broke out in Kraków during the visit of a Turkish envoy. Panic arose when the and nearby settlements became engulfed in flames. Commoners began to speculate and blamed the Jews for the inferno. Jewish-owned enterprises and dwellings were then pillaged, soon followed by riots against the city's Jewish community. In the same year, the Jewish inhabitants, jointly with the city council representatives and burghers, lodged their complaints before John Albert in a private audience. John initially held the Jews in contempt and incarcerated leaders of the Jewish community; but was persuaded by Callimachus to release them shortly after. According to Byron Sherwin, instrumental in coercing the king was a Jewish woman by the name of Rachel, who was the lady-in-waiting to Queen Mother Elizabeth. In 1495, John issued an edict whereby he expelled Jews from Kraków and forcibly relocated them in the adjacent township of Kazimierz, which became one of Poland's primary centres of Judaism. Chroniclers from the period make no mention of an expulsion; Martin Kromer suggested that the relocation was in part voluntary and for the benefit of the Jews who faced persecution from Christians.
Intervention in Masovia, 1495–1496.
John desired to assert royal power over Poland's fiefdoms, most notably the Duchy of Masovia, whose Piast rulers held closer ties to the Gediminids and were allied with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Jagiellonians perceived the duchy as a quasi-state and a "blot" on their absolute sovereignty over East-Central Europe. John was a staunch supporter of imposing Polonisation into Poland's spheres of influence, including Masovia and Monastic Prussia.
When Duke Janusz II died heirless in February 1495, his brother Konrad hurried to secure his disputed succession by sending out troops to fortify Masovian castles. He failed in deterring Polish ambitions; John soon assembled a small force that marched into Masovia and occupied the ecclesiastical city of Płock, the region's primary bishopric. Cardinal Frederick then prevented local canons from obtaining office and installed Jan Lubrański as bishop. Fearing an escalation, Konrad ordered his men to stand down; paving the way for the Jagiellons to uphold their claim to Masovia. A year later, Konrad paid homage to John at Piotrków; where, on accusations of insubordination, he was deprived of most holdings and hereditary possessions.
Invasion of Moldavia, 1497–1499.
John desired to pose as the champion of Christendom against the Ottoman Turks, whilst regaining lost ports near the Black Sea (Cetatea Albă and Chilia) and strengthening suzerainty over Moldavia. His primary objective was to forcibly install his younger brother, Sigismund, on the Moldavian throne. Circumstances seemed, moreover, to favour the Poles. In his brother Vladislaus, he found a counterpoise to the machinations of Emperor Maximilian I, who in 1492 had concluded an alliance against him with Ivan III of Russia. As suzerain of Moldavia, John Albert was favourably situated for attacking the Turks. At the conference of Leutschau (1494), the details of the expedition were arranged between the kings of Poland and Hungary and Elector John Cicero of Brandenburg. However, John's plan to dethrone Stephen III in favour of Sigismund was met with staunch resistance from the Hungarians.
In May 1496, John raised civil taxes to finance the forthcoming campaign. The true motive behind his personal crusade was concealed, and all religious dimensions were excluded. In turn, national defence and preventing an Ottoman incursion were chosen as the most suitable cause. This false narrative was conveyed to the people through tax proclamations. In August 1497, tax levies equivalent to 25 percent of ecclesiastical incomes were demanded from the clergy by Cardinal Frederick Jagiellon to support his brother. By the summer of 1497, John assembled a strong army numbering some 80,000 men, supported by heavy artillery. Stephen III attempted to prevent John and the Poles from crossing into Moldavia. Endorsed by Ivan III, he persuaded John's brother Alexander not to partake in the campaign. As reported by the "Bychowiec Chronicle", the Lithuanian nobles condemned Poland's actions and refused to set foot on Moldavian territory.
The Polish army marched across the river Dniester and invaded Moldavia in August 1497. The Ottoman Sultan then sent reinforcements of about 600 men mostly comprising Janissaries who joined Stephen's forces stationed at Roman, in modern-day Romania. His final attempts to halt the Polish advance proved futile. The Moldavian chancellor, sent on a peacekeeping mission to the Polish camp, tried to convince the Poles to withdraw from the country; but John refused and had him confined. The unsuccessful attack on Suceava lasting from 24 September to 19 October curtailed John's ambitions. The Polish army had its supply lines disrupted by the Moldavian forces and suffered from disease which forced John into bed. The siege of Suceava was lifted after Vladislaus sent a Hungarian army counting some 12,000 men to help Stephen. A truce was signed. At the Battle of the Cosmin Forest in Bukovina, the Moldavians routed the retreating Poles, whose heavy cavalry was unable to charge in thick woodland. The attack led to significant casualties, disorder and a loss of prestige for the Polish army. John eventually agreed to a humiliating peace treaty in 1499 and recognised Stephen as his equal and not as a feudal dependent.
The defeat in Moldavia incited raids into Polish territory, largely conducted by Tatars and other irregulars. In July 1498, Turkish marauders of Malkoçoğlu Balı Bey crossed into Podolia and reached as far west as Lwów, pillaging the city's environs. Fearing a retaliatory attack by the Moldavians or the Ottoman Empire, John ordered the construction of new defensive fortifications; including what became one of Poland's most recognisable monuments, the Kraków Barbican.
Dispute with Teutonic Knights, 1499–1501.
The ceding of Prussia to Poland as a royal dependency in the aftermath of the Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466) caused great animosity between the Teutonic State and the Polish Crown, even when the two were allies. Tensions escalated further when John tried to secure his brother Frederick as Watzenrode's successor in the Holy See.
After the death of Johann von Tiefen, the Teutonic Order proclaimed Friedrich Wettin von Sachsen as the new Grand Master ("Hochmeister"). Unlike his predecessor, Friedrich disregarded the Second Peace of Thorn of 1466 and refused to render homage to the Polish Crown. In 1499, he rejected John's request to partake in a Sejm sitting at Piotrków, claiming that his absence stemmed from troubled domestic affairs. He then referred the matter to the Imperial Diet. Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, permitted Friedrich to aid Poland when called, but insisted that he refrains from searing oath of allegiance to the Polish king, instead maintaining "friendly" and "neighbourly" relations.
According to Jędrzej Moraczewski, John demanded on five occasions that the Teutonic Knights pledge reverence and submission. When Maximilian denounced the Peace of Thorn, asserting that neither the Empire nor the Holy See approved it, John mobilised a force with heavy artillery and set out to Toruń ("Thorn") in 1501 where the accords were initially signed. Friedrich dismissed the ultimatum to appear before John but sent representatives on his behalf to negotiate. Fearing a major regional conflict, George, Duke of Saxony, and John's brother-in-law by marriage to Barbara Jagiellon, entrusted the Catholic Bishop of Meissen with mediating between the Poles and the Teutonic Knights. However, the negotiations stalled when John died unexpectedly.
Death and burial.
The catastrophic Moldavian Campaign was a major blunder that psychologically scarred John for life and likely affected his health. He died suddenly on 17 June 1501 in Toruń, where he agreed to negotiate with the Teutonic Knights. The most likely cause of death was syphilis, though the monarch suffered from other ailments and battle wounds. The king's body was embalmed for the journey, and on 29 June, the funeral cortège left Toruń for the royal capital of Kraków. His heart was embedded inside the Toruń Cathedral, but its exact location remains unknown.
John was laid to rest on 28 July 1501 at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, in one of the dedicated chapels adjacent to the cathedral's nave. The Late Gothic red-marble headstone with the king's effigy and ledger was sculpted by Stanisław Stwosz, the son of Veit Stoss. From 1502 to 1505, Francesco Fiorentino created an Early Renaissance niche and archway, based on Leonardo Bruni's tomb at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence. The tomb's resemblance to a triumphal arch was said to be an allusion to the imperial pretensions of John and the Jagiellonian dynasty in general. It is widely regarded as the first Renaissance composition in Poland and a breakthrough in Polish architecture.
Personal life and assessment.
Unlike Alexander, John was not easily swayed and held firm views on the matters of state. 19th-century historians called him a "valiant soldier, but no commander". Józef Ignacy Kraszewski emphasized the king's interest in militarism and absolutism, which stemmed from his education supervised by radical Callimachus. To win support for the Moldavian Campaign, John was compelled to appease the nobility. In 1496, the townspeople were forbidden to own land, and the freedom of movement for peasants was abolished. The nobles would profit from the non-migrating peasants tied to the land and serfdom-based manorial estates called folwarks. This greatly hindered the development of Polish towns and cities in comparison with their Western European counterparts, and resulted in low urbanisation rates across the country.
John never married and remained a lifelong bachelor. It is uncertain whether he fathered any illegitimate children; it is evident that the king was a libertine who led a promiscuous life. Even during his lifetime, John was known to be a notorious womaniser and a dissolute. Maciej Miechowita writes that he "indulged in [sexual] pleasures and desires like a warrior", and Martin Kromer noted his "insistence on carnal and affectionless love". Kromer did point out his ambition, occasional wit, and intelligence. He was known to be shrewd and gifted in languages, which assisted him in diplomacy. Privately, he enjoyed banqueting, hunting, and frequent drinking, which encouraged chroniclers to brand him as a drunkard. Accounts of John strolling intoxicated in the alleyways of Kraków; and engaging in public brawls cannot be substantially justified due to the lack of evidence.
During their encounter, Miechowita described John as "tall, brown-eyed, with reddish skin on the face […] he was quick in movement and girded with a smallsword".
John's unconventionally large court was the biggest of any Polish monarch: it numbered around 1,600 knights and courtiers. |
Super-Kamiokande
Super-Kamiokande (abbreviation of Super-Kamioka Neutrino Detection Experiment, also abbreviated to Super-K or SK; ) is a neutrino observatory located under Mount Ikeno near the city of Hida, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It is located underground in the Mozumi Mine in Hida's Kamioka area. The observatory was designed to detect high-energy neutrinos, to search for proton decay, study solar and atmospheric neutrinos, and keep watch for supernovae in the Milky Way Galaxy.
Description.
The Super-K is located underground in the Mozumi Mine in Hida's Kamioka area. It consists of a cylindrical stainless steel tank that is tall and in diameter holding 50,220 metric tons (55,360 US tons) of ultrapure water. The tank volume is divided by a stainless steel superstructure into an inner detector (ID) region, which is in height and in diameter, and outer detector (OD) which consists of the remaining tank volume. Mounted on the superstructure are 11,146 photomultiplier tubes (PMT) in diameter that face the ID and 1,885 PMTs that face the OD. There is a Tyvek and blacksheet barrier attached to the superstructure that optically separates the ID and OD.
A neutrino interaction with the electrons or nuclei of water can produce a charged particle that moves faster than the speed of light in water, which is slower than the speed of light in vacuum. This creates a cone of light known as Cherenkov radiation, which is the optical equivalent to a sonic boom. The Cherenkov light is projected as a ring on the wall of the detector and recorded by the PMTs. Using the timing and charge information recorded by each PMT, the interaction vertex, ring direction and flavor of the incoming neutrino is determined. From the sharpness of the edge of the ring the type of particle can be inferred. The multiple scattering of electrons is large, so electromagnetic showers produce fuzzy rings. Highly relativistic muons, in contrast, travel almost straight through the detector and produce rings with sharp edges.
History.
Construction of the predecessor of the present Kamioka Observatory, the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo began in 1982 and was completed in April 1983. The purpose of the observatory was to detect whether proton decay exists, one of the most fundamental questions of elementary particle physics.
The detector, named KamiokaNDE for Kamioka Nucleon Decay Experiment, was a tank in height and in width, containing 3,058 metric tons (3,400 US tons) of pure water and about 1,000 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) attached to its inner surface. The detector was upgraded, starting in 1985, to allow it to observe solar neutrinos. As a result, the detector (KamiokaNDE-II) had become sensitive enough to detect neutrinos from SN 1987A, a supernova which was observed in the Large Magellanic Cloud in February 1987, and to observe solar neutrinos in 1988. The ability of the Kamiokande experiment to observe the direction of electrons produced in solar neutrino interactions allowed experimenters to directly demonstrate for the first time that the Sun was a source of neutrinos.
The Super-Kamiokande project was approved by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture in 1991 for total funding of approximately $100 M. The US portion of the proposal, which was primarily to build the OD system, was approved by the US Department of Energy in 1993 for $3 M. In addition, the US has also contributed about 2000 20 cm PMTs recycled from the IMB experiment.
Despite successes in neutrino astronomy and neutrino astrophysics, Kamiokande did not achieve its primary goal, the detection of proton decay. Higher sensitivity was also necessary to obtain high statistical confidence in its results. This led to the construction of Super-Kamiokande, with fifteen times the water and ten times as many PMTs as Kamiokande. Super-Kamiokande started operation in 1996.
The Super-Kamiokande Collaboration announced the first evidence of neutrino oscillation in 1998. This was the first experimental observation supporting the theory that the neutrino has non-zero mass, a possibility that theorists had speculated about for years. The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Super-Kamiokande researcher Takaaki Kajita alongside Arthur McDonald at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory for their work confirming neutrino oscillation.
On 12 November 2001, about 6,600 of the photomultiplier tubes (costing about $3000 each) in the Super-Kamiokande detector imploded, apparently in a chain reaction or cascading failure, as the shock wave from the concussion of each imploding tube cracked its neighbours. The detector was partially restored by redistributing the photomultiplier tubes which did not implode, and by adding protective acrylic shells that are hoped will prevent another chain reaction from recurring (Super-Kamiokande-II).
In July 2005, preparations began to restore the detector to its original form by reinstalling about 6,000 PMTs. The work was completed in June 2006, whereupon the detector was renamed Super-Kamiokande-III. This phase of the experiment collected data from October 2006 till August 2008. At that time, significant upgrades were made to the electronics. After the upgrade, the new phase of the experiment has been referred to as Super-Kamiokande-IV. SK-IV collected data on various natural sources of neutrinos, as well as acted as the far detector for the Tokai-to-Kamioka (T2K) long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment.
SK-IV continued until June 2018. After that, the detector underwent a full refurbishment during Autumn of 2018. On 29 January 2019 the detector resumed data acquisition.
In 2020 the detector was upgraded for the SuperKGd project by adding a Gd salt to the ultrapure water in order to enable detection of antineutrinos from supernova explosions.
Detector.
The Super-Kamiokande (SK) is a Cherenkov detector used to study neutrinos from different sources including the Sun, supernovae, the atmosphere, and accelerators. It is also used to search for proton decay. The experiment began in April 1996 and was shut down for maintenance in July 2001, a period known as "SK-I". Since an accident occurred during maintenance, the experiment resumed in October 2002 with only half of its original number of ID-PMTs. In order to prevent further accidents, all of the ID-PMTs were covered by fiber-reinforced plastic with acrylic front windows. This phase from October 2002 to another closure for an entire reconstruction in October 2005 is called "SK-II". In July 2006, the experiment resumed with the full number of PMTs and stopped in September 2008 for electronics upgrades. This period was known as "SK-III". The period after 2008 is known as "SK-IV". The phases and their main characteristics are summarised in table 1.
SK-IV upgrade.
In the previous phases, the ID-PMTs processed signals by custom electronics modules called analog timing modules (ATMs). Charge-to-analog converters (QAC) and time-to-analog converters (TAC) are contained in these modules that had dynamic range from 0 to 450 picocoulombs (pC) with 0.2 pC resolution for charge and from −300 to 1000 ns with 0.4 ns resolution for time. There were two pairs of QAC/TAC for each PMT input signal, this prevented dead time and allowed the readout of multiple sequential hits that may arise, e.g. from electrons that are decay products of stopping muons.
The SK system was upgraded in September 2008 in order to maintain the stability in the next decade and improve the throughput of the data acquisition systems, QTC-based electronics with Ethernet (QBEE). The QBEE provides high-speed signal processing by combining pipelined components. These components are a newly developed custom charge-to-time converter (QTC) in the form of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a multi-hit time-to-digital converter (TDC), and field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Each QTC input has three gain ranges – "Small", "Medium" and "Large" – the resolutions for each are shown in Table.
For each range, analog to digital conversion is conducted separately, but the only range used is that with the highest resolution that is not being saturated. The overall charge dynamic range of the QTC is 0.2–2500 pC, five times larger than the old . The charge and timing resolution of the QBEE at the single photoelectron level is 0.1 photoelectrons and 0.3 ns respectively, both are better than the intrinsic resolution of the 20-in. PMTs used in SK. The QBEE achieves good charge linearity over a wide dynamic range. The integrated charge linearity of the electronics is better than 1%. The thresholds of the discriminators in the QTC are set to −0.69 mV (equivalent to 0.25 photoelectron, which is the same as for SK-III). This threshold was chosen to replicate the behavior of the detector during its previous ATM-based phases.
SuperKGd.
Gadolinium was introduced into the Super-Kamiokande water tank in 2020 in order to distinguish neutrinos from antineutrinos that arise from supernova explosions. This is known as the SK-Gd project (other names include SuperKGd, SUPERK-GD, and similar names). In the first phase of the project, 1.3 tons of a Gd salt (gadolinium sulfate octahydrate, ) were added to the ultrapure water in 2020, giving 0.02% (by mass) of the salt. This amount is about a tenth of the planned final target concentration.
Nuclear fusion in the Sun and other stars turns protons into neutrons with the emission of neutrinos. Beta decay in the Earth and in supernovas turns neutrons into protons with the emission of anti-neutrinos. The Super-Kamiokande detects electrons knocked off a water molecule producing a flash of blue Cherenkov light, and these are produced both by neutrinos and antineutrinos. A rarer instance is when an antineutrino interacts with a proton in water to produce a neutron and a positron.
Gadolinium has an affinity for neutrons and produces a bright flash of gamma rays when it absorbs one. Adding gadolinium to the Super-Kamiokande allows it to distinguish between neutrinos and antineutrinos. Antineutrinos produce a double flash of light about 30 microseconds apart, first when the neutrino hits a proton and second when gadolinium absorbs a neutron. The brightness of the first flash allows physicists to distinguish between low energy antineutrinos from the Earth and high energy antineutrinos from supernovas. In addition to observing neutrinos from distant supernovas, the Super-Kamiokande will be able to set off an alarm to inform astronomers around the world of the presence of a supernova in the Milky Way within one second of it occurring.
The biggest challenge was whether the detector's water could be continuously filtered to remove impurities without removing the gadolinium at the same time. A 200-ton prototype called EGADS with added gadolinium sulfate was installed in the Kamioka mine and operated for years. It finished operation in 2018 and showed that the new water purification system would remove impurities while keeping the gadolinium concentration stable. It also showed that gadolinium sulfate would not significantly impair the transparency of the otherwise ultrapure water, or cause corrosion or deposition on existing equipment or on the new valves that will later be installed in the Hyper-Kamiokande.
Water tank.
The outer shell of the water tank is a cylindrical stainless-steel tank 39 m in diameter and 42 m in height. The tank is self-supporting, with concrete backfilled against the rough-hewn stone walls to counteract water pressure when the tank is filled. The capacity of the tank exceeds 50 kilotonnes of water.
PMTs and associate structure.
The basic unit for the ID PMTs is a "supermodule", a frame which supports a 3×4 array of PMTs. Supermodule frames are 2.1 m in height, 2.8 m in width and 0.55 m in thickness. These frames are connected to each other in both the vertical and horizontal directions. Then the whole support structure is connected to the bottom of the tank and to the top structure. In addition to serving as rigid structural elements, supermodules simplified the initial assembly of the ID. Each supermodule was assembled on the tank floor and then hoisted into its final position. Thus the ID is in effect tiled with supermodules. During installation, ID PMTs were pre-assembled in units of three for easy installation. Each supermodule has two OD PMTs attached on its back side. The support structure for the bottom PMTs is attached to the bottom of the stainless-steel tank by one vertical beam per supermodule frame. The support structure for the top of the tank is also used as the support structure for the top PMTs.
Cables from each group of 3 PMTs are bundled together. All cables run up the outer surface of the PMT support structure, i.e., on the OD PMT plane, pass through cable ports at the top of the tank, and are then routed into the electronics huts.
The thickness of the OD varies slightly, but is on average about 2.6 m on top and bottom, and 2.7 m on the barrel wall, giving the OD a total mass of 18 kilotons. OD PMTs were distributed with 302 on the top layer, 308 on the bottom, and 1275 on the barrel wall.
To protect against low energy background radiation from radon decay products in the air, the roof of the cavity and the access tunnels were sealed with a coating called Mineguard. Mineguard is a spray-applied polyurethane membrane developed for use as a rock support system and radon gas barrier in the mining industry.
The average geomagnetic field is about 450 mG and is inclined by about 45° with respect to the horizon at the detector site. This presents a problem for the large and very sensitive PMTs which prefer a much lower ambient field. The strength and uniform direction of the geomagnetic field could systematically bias photoelectron trajectories and timing in the PMTs. To counteract this 26 sets of horizontal and vertical Helmholtz coils are arranged around the inner surfaces of the tank. With these in operation the average field in the detector is reduced to about 50 mG. The magnetic field at various PMT locations were measured before the tank was filled with water.
A standard fiducial volume of approximately 22.5 kilotonnes is defined as the region inside a surface drawn 2.00 m from the ID wall to minimize the anomalous response caused by natural radioactivity in the surrounding rock.
Monitoring system.
Online monitoring system.
An online monitor computer located in the control room reads data from the DAQ host computer via an FDDI link. It provides shift operators with a flexible tool for selecting event display features, makes online and recent-history histograms to monitor detector performance, and performs a variety of additional tasks needed to efficiently monitor status and diagnose detector and DAQ problems. Events in the data stream can be skimmed off and elementary analysis tools can be applied to check data quality during calibrations or after changes in hardware or online software.
Realtime supernova monitor.
To detect and identify such bursts as efficiently and promptly as possible Super-Kamiokande is equipped with an online supernova monitor system. About 10,000 total events are expected in Super-Kamiokande for a supernova explosion at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Super-Kamiokande can measure a burst with no dead-time, up to 30,000 events within the first second of a burst. Theoretical calculations of supernova explosions suggest that neutrinos are emitted over a total time-scale of tens of seconds with about a half of them emitted during the first one or two seconds. The Super-K will search for event clusters in specified time windows of 0.5, 2 and 10 s. Data are transmitted to realtime SN-watch analysis process every 2 min and analysis is completed typically in 1 min. When supernova (SN) event candidates are found, formula_1 is calculated if the event multiplicity is larger than 16, where formula_1 is defined as the average spatial distance between events, i.e.
formula_3
Neutrinos from supernovae interact with free protons, producing positrons which are distributed so uniformly in the detector that formula_1 for SN events should be significantly larger than for ordinary spatial clusters of events. In the Super-Kamiokande detector, Rmean for uniformly distributed Monte Carlo events shows that no tail exists below formula_1⩽1000 cm. For the "alarm" class of burst, the events are required to have formula_1⩾900 cm for 25⩽formula_7⩽40 or formula_1⩾750 cm for formula_7>40. These thresholds were determined by extrapolation from SN1987A data. The system will run special processes to check for spallation muons when burst candidates meeting "alarm" criteria and make a primarily decision for further process. If the burst candidate passes these checks, the data will be reanalyzed using an offline process and a final decision will be made within a few hours. During the Super-Kamiokande I running, this never occurred.
One of the important capabilities for [Super-Kamiokande] is to reconstruct the direction to supernova. By neutrino–electron scattering, formula_10, a total of 100–150 events are expected in case of a supernova at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The direction to supernova can be measured with angular resolution
formula_11
where N is the number of events produced by the ν–e scattering. The angular resolution, therefore, can be as good as δθ∼3° for a supernova at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. In this case, not only time profile and the energy spectrum of a neutrino burst, but also the information on direction of supernova can be provided.
Slow control monitor and offline process monitor.
There is a process called the "slow control" monitor, as part of the online monitoring system, watches the status of the HV systems, the temperatures of electronics crates and the status of the compensating coils used to cancel the geomagnetic field. When any deviation from norms is detected, it will alert physicists to prompt to investigate, take appropriate action, or notify experts.
To monitor and control the offline processes that analyze and transfer data, a set of software was sophisticatedly developed. This monitor allows non-expert shift physicists to identify and repair common problems to minimize down time, and the software package was a significant contribution to the smooth operation of the experiment and its overall high lifetime efficiency for data taking.
Research.
Solar neutrino.
The energy of the Sun comes from the nuclear fusion in its core where a helium atom and an electron neutrino are generated by 4 protons. These neutrinos emitted from this reaction are called solar neutrinos. Photons, created by the nuclear fusion in the center of the Sun, take millions of years to reach the surface; on the other hand, solar neutrinos arrive at the earth in eight minutes due to their lack of interactions with matter. Hence, solar neutrinos make it possible for us to observe the inner Sun in "real-time" that takes millions of years for visible light.
In 1999, the Super-Kamiokande detected strong evidence of neutrino oscillation that successfully explained the solar neutrino problem. The Sun and about 80% of the visible stars produce their energy by the conversion of hydrogen to helium via
formula_12 MeV
Consequently, stars are a source of neutrinos, including the Sun. These neutrinos primarily come through the p-p chain in lower masses, and for cooler stars, primarily through the CNO cycle of heavier masses.
In the early 1990s, particularly with the uncertainties that accompanied the initial results from Kamioka II and the Ga experiments, no individual experiment required a non-astrophysical solution of the solar neutrino problem. But in aggregate, the Cl, Kamioka II, and Ga experiments indicated a pattern of neutrino fluxes that was not compatible with any adjustment of the SSM. This in turn helped motivate a new generation of spectacularly capable active detectors. These experiments are Super-Kamiokande, the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO), and Borexino. Super-Kamiokande was able to detect elastic scattering (ES) events
formula_13
which, due to the charged-current contribution to formula_14 scattering, has a relative sensitivity to formula_14 s and heavy-flavor neutrinos of ∼7:1. Since the direction of the recoil electron is constrained to be very forward, the direction of the neutrinos are kept in the direction of recoil electrons. Here, formula_16 is provided where formula_17 is the angle between the direction of recoil electrons and the Sun's position. This shows that the formula_18 solar neutrino flux can be calculated to be formula_19. Comparing to the SSM, the ratio is formula_20. The result clearly indicates the deficit of solar neutrinos.
Atmospheric neutrino.
Atmospheric neutrinos are secondary cosmic rays produced by the decay of particles resulting from interactions of primary cosmic rays (mostly protons) with Earth atmosphere. The observed atmospheric neutrino events fall into four categories. Fully contained (FC) events have all their tracks in the inner detector, while partially contained (PC) events have escaping tracks from the inner detector. Upward through-going muons (UTM) are produced in the rock beneath the detector and go through the inner detector. Upward stopping muons (USM) are also produced in the rock beneath the detector, but stop in the inner detector.
The number of observed number of neutrinos is predicted uniformly regardless of the zenith angle. However, Super-Kamiokande found that the number of upward going muon neutrinos (generated on the other side of the Earth) is half of the number of downward going muon neutrinos in 1998. This can be explained by the neutrinos changing or oscillating into some other neutrinos that are not detected. This is called neutrino oscillation; this discovery indicates the finite mass of neutrinos and suggests an extension of the Standard Model. Neutrinos oscillate in three flavors, and all neutrinos have their rest mass. Later analysis in 2004 suggested a sinusoidal dependence of the event rate as a function of "Length/Energy", which confirmed the neutrino oscillations.
K2K Experiment.
The K2K experiment was a neutrino experiment from June 1999 to November 2004. This experiment was designed to verify oscillations observed by Super-Kamiokande through muon neutrinos. It gives first positive measurement of neutrino oscillations in conditions that both source and detector are under control. The Super-Kamiokande detector plays an important role in the experiment as the far detector. Later experiment T2K experiment continued as the second generation follow up to the K2K experiment.
T2K Experiment.
T2K (Tokai to Kamioka) experiment is a neutrino experiment collaborated by several countries including Japan, United States and others. The goal of T2K is to gain deeper understanding of parameters of neutrino oscillation. T2K has made a search for oscillations from muon neutrinos to electron neutrinos, and announced the first experimental indications for them in June 2011. The Super-Kamiokande detector plays as the "far detector". The Super-K detector will record the Cherenkov radiation of muons and electrons created by interactions between high energy neutrinos and water.
Proton Decay.
The proton is assumed to be absolutely stable in the Standard Model. However, the Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) predict that protons can decay into lighter energetic charged particles such as electrons, muons, pions, or others which can be observed. Kamiokande helps to rule out some of these theories. Super-Kamiokande is currently the largest detector for observation of proton decay.
Purification.
Water purification system.
The 50 kilotons of pure water is continually reprocessed at rate about 30 tons/hour in a closed system since early 2002. Now, raw mine water is recycled through the first step (particle filters and RO) for some time before other processes, which involve expensive expendables, are imposed. Initially, water from the Super-Kamiokande tank is passed through nominal 1 μm mesh filters to remove dust and particles, which reduce the transparency of the water for Cherenkov photons and provide a possible radon source inside the Super-Kamiokande detector. A heat exchanger is used to cool down the water in order to reduce the PMT dark noise level as well as suppress the growth of bacteria. Surviving bacteria are killed by a UV sterilizer stage. A cartridge polisher (CP) eliminates heavy ions, which also reduce water transparency and include radioactive species. The CP module increases the typical resistivity of recirculating water from 11 MΩ cm to 18.24 MΩ cm, approaching chemical limit. Originally, an ion-exchanger (IE) was included in system, but it was removed when IE resin was found to be a significant radon source. The RO step that removes additional particulates, and the introduction of Rn-reduced air into the water that increases radon removal efficiency in the vacuum degasifier (VD) stage which follows were installed in 1999. After that, a VD removes dissolved gases in the water. These gases are dissolved in water with a serious background of events source for solar neutrinos in the MeV energy range and the dissolved oxygen encourages the growth of bacteria. The removal efficiency is about 96%. Then, the ultra filter (UF) is introduced to remove particles whose minimum size corresponds to molecular weight approximately 10,000 (or about 10 nm diameter) thanks to hollow fiber membrane filters. Finally, a membrane degasifier (MD) removes radon dissolved in water, and the measured removal efficiency for radon is about 83%. The concentration of radon gases is miniaturized by realtime detectors. In June 2001, typical radon concentrations in water coming into the purification system from the Super-Kamiokande tank were less than 2 mBq m−3, and in water output by the system, 0.4±0.2 mBq m−3.
Air purification system.
Purified air is supplied in the gap between the water surface and the top of the Super-Kamiokande tank. The air purification system contains three compressors, a buffer tank, dryers, filters, and activated charcoal filters. A total of 8 m3 of activated charcoal is used. The last 50 L of charcoal is cooled to −40 °C to increase removal efficiency for radon. Typical flow rates, dew point, and residual radon concentration are 18 m3/h, −65 °C (@+1 kg/cm2), and a few mBq m−3, respectively. Typical radon concentration in the dome air is measured to be 40 Bq m−3. Radon levels in the mine tunnel air, near the tank cavity dome, typically reach 2000–3000 Bq m−3 during the warm season, from May until October, while from November to April the radon level is approximately 100–300 Bq m−3. This variation is due to the chimney effect in the ventilation pattern of the mine tunnel system; in cold seasons, fresh air flows into the Atotsu tunnel entrance that is a relatively short path through exposed rock before reaching the experimental area, while in the summer, air flows out the tunnel, drawing radon-rich air from deep within the mine past the experimental area.
In order to keep radon levels in the dome area and water purification system below 100 Bq m−3, fresh air is continually pumped at approximately 10 m3/min from outside the mine which generates a slight over-pressure in the Super-Kamiokande experimental area to minimize the entry of ambient mine air. A "Radon Hut" (Rn Hut) was constructed near the Atotsu tunnel entrance to house equipment for the dome air system: a 40 hp air pump with 10 m^3 min−1 /15 PSI pump capacity, air dehumidifier, carbon filter tanks, and control electronics. In autumn 1997, an extended intake air pipe was installed at a location approximately 25 m above the Atotsu tunnel entrance. This low level satisfies that goals of air quality so that carbon filter regeneration operations would no longer be required.
Data processing.
Offline data processing is produced both in Kamioka and United States.
In Kamioka.
The offline data processing system is located in Kenkyuto and is connected to Super-Kamiokande detector with 4 km FDDI optical fiber link. Data flow from online system is 450 kbytes s−1 on average, corresponding to 40 Gbytes day−1 or 14 Tbytes yr−1. Magnetic tapes are used in offline system to store data and most of the analysis is accomplished here. The offline processing system is designed platform-independent because different computer architectures are used for data analysis. Because of this, the data structures are based on ZEBRA bank system developed in CERN as well as the ZEBRA exchange system.
Event data from Super-Kamiokande online DAQ system basically contains a list of number of hit PMT, TDC and ADC counts, GPS time-stamps and other housekeeping data. For solar neutrino analysis, lowering the energy threshold is a constant goal, so it is a continual effort to improve the efficiency of reduction algorithms; however, changes in calibrations or reduction methods require reprocessing of earlier data. Typically, 10 Tbytes of raw data is processed every month so that a large amount of CPU power and high-speed I/O access to the raw data. In addition, extensive Monte Carlo simulation processing is also necessary.
Offline system was designed to meet demand of all these: tape storage of a large database (14 Tbytes yr−1), stable semi-realtime processing, nearly continuous re-processing and Monte Carlo simulation. The computer system consists of 3 major sub-systems: the data server, the CPU farm and the network at the end of Run I.
In US.
A system dedicated to offsite offline data processing was set up at the Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, NY to process raw data sent from Kamioka. Most of the reformatted raw data is copied from system facility in Kamioka. At Stony Brook, a system was set up for analysis and further processing. At Stony Brook the raw data were processed with a multi-tape DLT drive. The first stage data reduction processes were done for the high energy analysis and for the low energy analysis. The data reduction for the high energy analysis was mainly for atmospheric neutrino events and proton decay search while the low energy analysis was mainly for the solar neutrino events. The reduced data for the high energy analysis was further filtered by other reduction processes and the resulting data were stored on disks. The reduced data for the low energy were stored on DLT tapes and sent to University of California, Irvine for further processing.
This offset analysis system continued for 3 years until their analysis chains were proved to produce equivalent results. Thus, in order to limit manpower, collaborations were concentrated to a single combined analysis
Results.
In 1998, Super-K found first strong evidence of neutrino oscillation from the observation of muon neutrinos changed into tau-neutrinos.
SK has set limits on proton lifetime and other rare decays and neutrino properties. SK set a lower bound on protons decaying to kaons of 5.9 × 1033 yr
In January 2023 from data collected during the 1996–2018 period new limits were reported by Super-Kamiokande for sub-GeV dark matter excluding the dark matter–nucleon elastic scattering cross section between formula_21 and formula_22 with masses from formula_23 to formula_24.
In popular culture.
Super-Kamiokande is the subject of Andreas Gursky's 2007 photograph, "Kamiokande" and was featured in an episode of "".
In September 2018, the detector was drained for maintenance, affording a team of Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporters the opportunity to obtain 4K resolution video from within the detection tank. |
Kyle Rittenhouse
Kyle Howard Rittenhouse (born January 3, 2003) is an American man who shot three men, two fatally, during the civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020 when he was 17 years old. At his trial in November 2021, a jury found Rittenhouse not guilty of murder and all other charges after he testified that he acted in self-defense.
Rittenhouse's prosecution attracted wide media coverage, and became a cause célèbre for right-wing organizations and media. Following his trial, he attended several events hosted by conservative organizations and individuals, including a meeting with former president Donald Trump, television features with political commentator Tucker Carlson, and guest appearances at several Turning Point USA productions. Rittenhouse's likeness has been used by fans to sell products, especially T-shirts. In 2022, he started a fundraising effort to sue media outlets in civil court for alleged defamation and announced a video game, "Kyle Rittenhouse's Turkey Shoot," to raise funds for legal defense.
Early life and education.
Kyle Howard Rittenhouse was born on January 3, 2003, in Antioch, Illinois, to Michael and Wendy Rittenhouse. His parents were married in Lake County, Illinois, in February 2000, three years before his birth. He has two siblings, an older sister and a younger sister. His parents separated by 2014.
As a high school freshman, Rittenhouse participated in the Explorers program at the Grayslake Police Department, as well as a cadet program at the Antioch Fire Department, with the goal of becoming a paramedic or working in law enforcement. Eventually transitioning to online school, he dropped out and left Lakes Community High School altogether in 2018 after attending for one semester in 2017–2018. He expressed interest in law enforcement through publicly-viewable social media posts. In December 2018, Rittenhouse started a fundraiser through Facebook for Humanizing the Badge, a nonprofit. Other posts revolved around "honoring police, with Blue Lives Matter graphics, photos of officers killed in the line of duty, and the "thin blue line" flag associated with support for law enforcement." On his TikTok profile description, Rittenhouse had written, "BLUE LIVES MATTER 🔵" and "Trump 2020 🇺🇸 🇺🇸".
On January 30, 2020, Rittenhouse attended a Trump rally in Des Moines, Iowa, seated in the front row. He got a part-time job as a lifeguard at the YMCA in Lindenhurst, but was furloughed in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Kenosha unrest shooting.
On August 25, 2020, when he was 17, Rittenhouse shot three men during the civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin that followed the shooting of a black man, Jacob Blake, by a police officer. Rittenhouse, a white American, was armed with an AR-15 style rifle and had joined a group of armed citizens in Kenosha who had said they were there to protect local businesses. After a man chased him into a parking lot and grabbed the barrel of his rifle, Rittenhouse fatally shot him. Rittenhouse fled and was pursued by a crowd. He then fatally shot a second man after the man struck Rittenhouse with a skateboard and tried to grab his rifle. Rittenhouse wounded a third when he was approached and had a handgun pointed at him.
At a criminal trial in Kenosha in November 2021, prosecutors argued that Rittenhouse was seen as an active shooter and had provoked the other participants while defense lawyers argued that he had acted in self-defense, stating that he had used force necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself. A jury weighed two counts of homicide, two counts of attempted homicide, and one count of reckless endangerment, and found Rittenhouse not guilty on all charges. Public sentiment and media coverage of the shootings was polarized and politicized, with an "Economist"/YouGov poll finding that two-thirds of Republicans thought Rittenhouse should be acquitted while three-quarters of Democrats thought he should be convicted.
The family of one of the men who was fatally shot filed a civil suit against the police and county sheriff's departments in Kenosha in August 2021, and added Rittenhouse as a named defendant in January 2022.
Media appearances through July 2022.
After the acquittal, Rittenhouse was sought for media appearances and attended a number of Republican and conservative events described as a public relations campaign and publicity tour. During the tour, he was represented by publicist Jillian Anderson, a former contestant on season 19 of the reality TV show "The Bachelor". A picture of the two released on November 22, 2021, went viral on social media.
Tucker Carlson projects.
A film crew for Tucker Carlson and Fox Nation followed Rittenhouse during the trial for a documentary feature, against the advice of Rittenhouse's attorneys.
Carlson of Fox News held an exclusive interview with Rittenhouse for "Tucker Carlson Tonight" immediately following his acquittal. Two days later on November 22, 2021, the hour-long episode titled "The Kyle Rittenhouse Interview" released, where Carlson interviewed him about a wide range of subjects. In the interview, Rittenhouse said he would eventually like to become a lawyer or nurse. He also said that he supported the Black Lives Matter movement and "peacefully demonstrating". Carlson introduced Rittenhouse as "bright, decent, sincere, dutiful, and hardworking... exactly the kind of person you would want many more of in your country." The episode was the second-most watched episode of the show's run since it premiered in 2016, following the episode on the 2021 U.S. Capitol attack earlier in 2021. It was watched by 4.942 million viewers (the show averages 3.16 million viewers) and had more than four times the viewers of any other network, leading "TheWrap" to state that the interview "crushed the rest of cable news" on the night it aired. Lorraine Ali of the "Los Angeles Times" said the interview "canonized" Rittenhouse while categorizing it as an overly sympathetic "soft ball" interview. Rittenhouse and Fox News both denied he was compensated in any way for the interview.
Meeting with President Trump.
Former President Trump announced on Sean Hannity's show that Rittenhouse had requested a meeting, saying, "He called. He wanted to know if he could come over, say hello, because he was a fan." Rittenhouse, his mother, and Trump met at Mar-a-Lago, the same day the "Tucker Carlson Tonight" interview aired on November 22, 2021. Trump called him "really a nice young man," and the two were photographed together.
Turning Point USA events.
Rittenhouse has appeared at several events run by Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit organization, including a panel called "Kenosha on Camera" at Turning Point USA's conservative youth conference AmericaFest in December 2021. Held on the third day of the conference on December 20, the panel consisted of Rittenhouse, Charlie Kirk, Jack Posobiec, Elijah Schaffer, and Drew Hernandez. During the panel, Rittenhouse said, "I think my trial was an example of them trying to come after our Second Amendment rights, our right to defend ourselves and trying to take our weapons." Kirk described him as a "hero to millions," and the crowd gave him a standing ovation after chanting his name. The organization arranging the event said Rittenhouse was not compensated for the 45-minute panel appearance.
Rittenhouse also appeared onstage at a Turning Point Young Women's Leadership Summit in 2022, introduced as "the kind of man you should want to be attracted to" who would "protect [his] family" and "stand strong in the face of opposition from culture and evil".
Podcasts.
Rittenhouse has been a guest on several podcasts, including the Blaze Media project "You Are Here", hosted by Elijah Schaffer and Sydney Watson, where Rittenhouse said going to protests was "not the best idea". He also appeared on "The Jenna Ellis Show," hosted by former Trump staffer Jenna Ellis. On that show, he expressed fear of harassment and said he was afraid to run errands. He denied being a racist, domestic terrorist, or white supremacist, saying he had been attacked by those who described him in these terms. Rittenhouse also said he had reached out to President Joe Biden several times but had not received a response, adding, "He still hasn't replied. So it just shows how much of a man he is to not sit down and talk."
Commercialization and use of his image.
While campaigning for president in 2020, Biden used images of Rittenhouse in a campaign video he tweeted the day after the September 29 presidential debate. The BBC wrote the video "appeared to link Rittenhouse, without any evidence, to white supremacists." Rittenhouse said using his image and linking him to white supremacy was "actual malice, defaming my character, for him to say something like that." Charles Homans, writing for "the New York Times", reported that Rittenhouse was adopted as an informal mascot of the Proud Boys and was photographed surrounded by members of the group after he was released on bond.
Right-wing memes using Rittenhouse's image have spread on social media. In a study of his image being used as a meme on Twitter, the Global Network on Extremism and Technology found thousands of instances of Rittenhouse's face and commentary on his actions shared through a variety of different hashtags. Multiple political figures have shared those memes, including Donald Trump Jr. and Barry Moore. In March 2022, Rittenhouse shared a meme of himself crying while on the witness stand during his trial to protest rising gas prices, which he tweeted was "thanks to a Joe Biden presidency".
Rittenhouse's image has been used for a number of products and sales, including clothing, a gun sale, and a video game. Fans of Rittenhouse have continued to sell clothing with his image following the trial. In 2020, YouTube was criticized for a lack of adequate content moderation – arbitrarily allowing videos depicting Rittenhouse which glorified violence and monetized the killings through links to merchandise – until it was pointed out by a BBC journalist.
The week following Rittenhouse's acquittal, the Saddle River Range gun store in Conroe, Texas held a "not guilty" sale and the owner posted a photo of Rittenhouse with a gun on their Instagram page.
The same week, speculation on a book deal began. Attorney Andrew M. Stroth, who previously worked as a talent agent, said Rittenhouse could "easily" get a book contract over $1 million. In January 2022, Rittenhouse spokesman David Hancock said Rittenhouse was considering writing a book chronicling his "unorthodox journey into adulthood". He further said the discussions were in the "early phase".
Video games.
In March 2022, Swedish company Nordic Empire Games launched a video game featuring Rittenhouse called "Acquitted". Described as a far-right extremist group owned by William Hahne, the organization created the game that features Rittenhouse shooting his way through crowds of zombies with the choice of 18 different weapons. It was launched through the Steam hosting platform and available for $5. It was not announced if Nordic Empire Games had sought permission to use Rittenhouse's image.
On June 23, 2022, Rittenhouse announced a video game called "Kyle Rittenhouse's Turkey Shoot," developed by Mint Studios, for the purpose of funding his media defamation suits. The video game, which features a cartoon Rittenhouse holding a bright orange gun with the aim of shooting turkeys that represent the media, has no stated release date. In a social media advertisement for the game, Rittenhouse described the media as "nothing but a bunch of turkeys with nothing better to do than to push their lying agenda and destroy innocent people's lives."
Political internship offers, namesake bills, and politics.
Rittenhouse has been publicly offered multiple internships, all by Republican lawmakers. On November 17, 2021, two days before the jury's decision, Florida House Representative Matt Gaetz offered him an internship. In response, Arizona House Representative Paul Gosar tweeted he would arm-wrestle Gaetz for the chance to have Rittenhouse as an intern. On the day the jury found Rittenhouse not guilty on all charges, North Carolina House Representative Madison Cawthorn offered Rittenhouse an internship. During an appearance on "Newsmax", Colorado House Representative Lauren Boebert responded to Cawthorn's offer and challenged Cawthorn, who is bound to a wheelchair, to "a sprint" to employ Rittenhouse as an intern. In response to Gaetz, Gosar, and Cawthorn offering the internships, Missouri House representative Cori Bush called for their expulsion, tweeting "Not only do these members fuel violence. Now they're actively recruiting someone whose sole qualification is killing people standing up for Black lives and getting away with it."
At least two laws, a bill, and a proclamation have been proposed in different states which have been named after Rittenhouse. In November 2021, U.S. House representative from Georgia Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced the Kyle H. Rittenhouse Congressional Gold Medal Act (H.R.6070) during the 117th United States Congress. The bill, which would award Rittenhouse the Congressional Gold Medal, had no co-sponsors. Taylor Greene said, "Kyle Rittenhouse deserves to be remembered as a hero who defended his community, protected businesses, and acted lawfully in the face of lawlessness. I'm proud to file this legislation to award Kyle Rittenhouse a Congressional Gold Medal."
In November 2021, Oklahoma Senate Representative Nathan Dahm introduced Senate Bill 1120, called "Kyle's Law". The bill states if a defendant is charged with murder, but is found not guilty due to justifiable homicide, the state must reimburse them. A modified version of the bill passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with a majority Republican party-line 7–3 vote in February 2022.
In January 2022, Tennessee State Representative Bruce Griffey introduced HB1769, also known as "Kyle's Law". "The Hill" said the law "would require the state to reimburse defendants found not guilty of homicide charges due to self-defense." Griffey additionally proposed a proclamation be created in honor of Rittenhouse, saying he "deserves to be recognized as a hero."
In November 2022, Rittenhouse met with Republican House of Representative members of the Second Amendment Caucus to discuss his experiences and answer questions from the caucus. The meeting was held at the Conservative Partnership Institute in Washington D.C. Caucus members who were present included Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Andrew Clyde (R-GA) and Byron Donalds (R-FL). Rittenhouse said, "I'm 19 and just got to speak with leaders of the greatest country on earth! This was an amazing evening where I got to share my story and discuss the importance of the Second Amendment. Even while the radical left continues to sue me and disparage my name, I know these great leaders have my back." Rittenhouse has become a gun rights advocate since his trial.
In January 2023, a Texas brewery cancelled an anti-censorship rally it was to host featuring Rittenhouse, citing concerns by local patrons and a conflict with its own values. In response, Rittenhouse accused the brewery of censoring him.
Media projects.
Media Accountability Project.
In February 2022, Rittenhouse announced he was launching the Media Accountability Project, sometimes referred to by its acronym TMAP, during another interview on "Tucker Carlson Tonight", saying:
Rittenhouse's announcement drew a comparison by "The Tennessee Star" to Nicholas Sandmann, a Covington Catholic High School student from Kentucky who became known for the January 2019 Lincoln Memorial confrontation.
In 2022, a satirical story turned into a rumor circulating on social media saying that Rittenhouse had filed and settled a lawsuit against Whoopi Goldberg and "The View". The story was false.
YouTube channel.
Rittenhouse launched a YouTube channel focusing on guns and the Second Amendment on October 16, 2022. His first video on the channel showed him firing a handgun and an automatic rifle and included the YouTube gun advocate Brandon Herrera as a guest.
Personal life.
Educational aspirations.
In October 2021, Rittenhouse started taking online classes at Arizona State University as a non-degree seeking student, and wanted to transition to in-person classes. Non-degree seeking students at ASU go through a "modified admissions process" instead of the full admissions process for degree-seeking students. ASU students held a rally called "Killer off campus" to protest Rittenhouse's enrollment. Multiple student groups organized the rally, including: Students for Justice in Palestine, Students for Socialism, ASU's MEChA chapter, and the Multicultural Solidarity Coalition. By the next month, he had withdrawn.
In a June 2022 appearance on "The Charlie Kirk Show", Rittenhouse said he would be attending Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas; a spokesperson from the university denied he had been accepted. After that announcement, Rittenhouse posted on Twitter he would be attending Blinn College, a junior college and what he referred to as a "feeder school" for Texas A&M. A Blinn College spokesperson confirmed Rittenhouse had applied, but had "not enrolled for a current or upcoming term." |
St Lawrence's Church, Mereworth
St Lawrence's Church is an Anglican parish church at Mereworth, Kent, United Kingdom. It is in the deanery of West Malling, the Diocese of Rochester and Province of Canterbury. The church was built in the mid-1740s by John Fane, the 7th Earl of Westmorland, following his removal of the village's 12th century place of worship to allow for the enlargement of Mereworth Castle.
The Neo-Palladian style stone structure has been described as "the outstanding 18th-century church in the county, in scale, ambition and architectural interest". The architect is unknown, but prominent Palladian-era figures such as Henry Flitcroft, James Gibbs and Roger Morris have been suggested.
Many internal fixtures survive from the medieval church, including heraldic stained glass and a series of high-quality brass and stone memorials. Alterations were made several times in the 19th and 20th centuries, including repairs to wartime bomb damage, and restoration work undertaken in 2009. The church has been awarded Grade I listed status in view of its architectural and historical importance.
History.
Medieval church.
There was already a church dedicated to St Lawrence in Mereworth during the reign of Henry II (1154–89), when its advowson belonged to Roger de Mereworth. The original church was said to have been built by the de Clares and was appropriated by the Knights Hospitallers on its foundation. During the reign of Henry II, there was a dispute between de Mereworth and Leeds Priory concerning the patronage of the church. Gilbert, Bishop of Rochester, was asked to adjudicate on the dispute. He found in favour of de Mereworth, but the parson of the church was to pay the sum of 40s per annum to the priory as a perpetual benefice. Shortly after the settlement of the dispute the church was granted to Tonbridge Priory, in whose possession it remained until the priory was dissolved in 1525. The church then passed into the possession of Cardinal Wolsey, but was amongst the properties forfeited to the Crown in 1529.
The advowson was then granted to Sir George Nevill, passing on his death to his son Henry Nevill and on Henry's death to his daughter Mary, thus coming into the possession of her husband Thomas Fane. In 1589, Leeds Priory abandoned their right to the benefice granted by Gilbert of Rochester. In 1634, the church possessed lands amounting to some in Mereworth.
In the 1720s Mereworth Castle was rebuilt as Palladian villa to a design by Colen Campbell and in the 1740s two flanking pavilions and a stable block were added, necessitating the removal of the church; in 1744 John Fane, the 7th Earl of Westmorland, obtained a faculty for the demolition of the "ancient and most inconvenient" church.
Present church.
Fane built the new church on a site in the centre of the village, ⅝ mile (1 km) northwest of its predecessor. Construction began in 1744 and was completed two years later, with consecration by Joseph Wilcocks, the Bishop of Rochester, on 26 August 1746. Coffins and memorials from the old church were moved to the new building. John Grinsted, the son of John and Mary Grinsted was the first person to be baptised in the church on 23 September 1746. There had been no burials or marriages in the village in 1745 due to the lack of a church.
In 1752, Horace Walpole visited the church. He said that it seemed designed for Cheapside and that the spire was so tall that the poor church curtsied beneath it. Thomas Benge Burr in his "History of Tunbridge Wells" (1766) said that the church "will bear, and indeed richly deserves, the attentive inspection of the curious traveller".
In 1770, the church was "repaired and beautified", possibly by Nicholas Revett, who went on to design Mereworth Rectory in 1780. In 1798, the advowson of the church was in the ownership of Francis, Lord de Despencer. The annual income of the church was then valued at £14 2s 6d.
The spire was rebuilt in 1870, and in 1875 a new round-arched window was cut into the east wall of the church. It is flanked on either side by blind windows. The bells were repaired in 1885 and a clock was installed in the base of the lantern at the top of the tower in 1894, in memory of Eliot Stapleton, rector of Mereworth from 1874 to 1892. A plan by the architect George Crickmay, dated 1896, to extend the church eastwards by building an apse of the same proportions as the west portico was not carried out.
Major repairs were carried out to the spire in 1946–47 under the supervision of architect Kenneth Dalgleish, following damage sustained during the Second World War. In 1957, the bells were again repaired. On 25 August 1959, the church was added to the register of listed buildings. It is Grade I listed. The clock was repaired in 1972 in memory of George Prentice, rector of Mereworth from 1966 to 1970. A new fibreglass clock face was fitted at this time and the winding mechanism converted to electric power. In 2005, an inspection revealed that the church needed major repairs. English Heritage made a grant that covered 95% of the £500,000 cost of restoration. The work was carried out under the supervision of architects Thomas Ford & Partners, and won the 2009 Georgian Group award for best restoration of a Georgian church.
The church is still actively used as a place of worship - details can be found on the church website.
Description.
St Lawrence's is a Palladian-style building by an unknown architect. Colen Campbell worked in a similar style, although he died in 1722, so the design may have been executed by one of his followers. The second-generation Palladian architect Henry Flitcroft has been suggested; by 1746 he was the master carpenter at three London palaces, and his St Giles in the Fields at Holborn was London's first Palladian-style church. James Gibbs has also been suggested, as the spire of St Lawrence's is similar to that of St Martin-in-the-Fields in the City of Westminster, London. Sir Howard Colvin tentatively attributes the church to Roger Morris.
Exterior.
The church is of blocks of Kentish ragstone with dressed ashlar Wealden sandstone used for the porch columns, quoins and tower. The sandstone has galletted joints. It has a simple rectangular form in the 18th-century "temple church" style. St Paul's, Covent Garden in London, an early Palladian church by Inigo Jones, was the model for the design, which was then "purified by neo-Palladian theory". The roof is covered in slate and has prominent eaves and pedimented ends.
Rising above the roof at the west end of the church is a tall tower topped with a steeple flanked by decorative urns. The stone structure, with its square base supporting octagonal upper stages with columned sides and a balustrade, is so similar to the steeple at St Giles in the Fields that the "Buildings of England" series says that it was "copied almost directly" from that church. Projecting from the west end below the pedimented end of the roof is a semicircular open porch with Tuscan columns topped by a cornice. Its design is based on that of the Baroque church of St Paul's, Deptford; St Mary le Strand in central London has also been cited as a model. The tower has a peal of six bells, cast in 1746 by Joseph Eayre of St Neots, Huntingdonshire. They are in the Key of G.
Interior.
The interior is in a Neoclassical style. Entrance to the church is through a porch at the west end, which leads into a circular chamber in the base of the tower. Rooms to the sides of this vestibule house monuments from the original church. On the north side is the Yotes Court Chapel, where the brass of William Shosmyth and his wife Julian can be found. Shosmyth was the warden of the religious guild of the Worshipful Company of Skinners in 1461, and the brass has the earliest known representation of the Skinners' coat of arms. As of 2011, this chapel serves as a vestry. On the south side is the Despencer or Lady Chapel. It contains the brasses to Sir John de Mereworth and Thomas Nevill, and monuments to either Edward Neville, 3rd Baron Bergavenny or his son George Nevill, 4th Baron Bergavenny. Another memorial contains the heart of George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny. The tomb of Sir Thomas Fane and his wife Mary. Their sons Francis and George are depicted kneeling at the base of the tomb.
Beyond the vestibule is a wide aisled nave, seven bays long, its barrel-vaulted ceiling painted with "trompe-l'œil" coffering ("not very convincingly" according to the "Buildings of England" guide), a chancel and a side chapel. The nave and aisles are separated by painted marble-effect stone Doric columns, which were originally partly panelled, They support a horizontal entablature rather than the more usual arches. The strict geometry of the interior – each bay of the aisles is a square, and the nave is three times wider than each aisle – gives it an "austere Neoclassical appearance" not normally associated with the Georgian era in which it was built.
At the east end is a grandiose lunette or "Diocletian window", in imitation of the type used at Roman baths, filling the space left clear by the arch of the barrel vault. Below this is the round-headed window added in 1875.
Fixtures include a marble font which is contemporary with the church. There is much stained glass: the oldest, in the form of heraldic emblems in cartouches, dates from 1562 and is visible in the Diocletian window in the east wall and in another window on the southwest side. The east window was erected in memory of Sir Frank Stapleton, rector of Mereworth 1832–74. Other similar glass dates from the 17th and 18th centuries. Another, depicting the Raising of Lazarus, was designed by Frederic Shields for the Heaton, Butler and Bayne firm in 1889.
The organ is by Gray and Davison. It was installed in 1882 by Lord Falmouth at a cost of £200. In 1892, the rector, E H Stapleton extended the range of the organ in memory of his wife.
The crypt contains several Fane coffins.
Memorials, brasses and notable burials.
The crypt contains several Fane coffins.
The churchyard contains the Commonwealth war graves of two British Army soldiers of World War I.
The church today.
The parish covers Mereworth village, the surrounding rural area and part of the village of Kings Hill. Administratively, it is part of a joint benefice with St Dunstan's Church at neighbouring West Peckham.
As a Grade I listed building, the church is considered by English Heritage to be of "exceptional interest" and greater than national importance. As of February 2001, it was one of 38 Grade I listed buildings, and 1,291 listed buildings of all grades, in the district of Tonbridge and Malling – the local government district in which Mereworth is situated.
The church is still in active use as a place of worship each Sunday and the church website gives full details of times of services. |
Alpine Fault
The Alpine Fault is a geological fault that runs almost the entire length of New Zealand's South Island (c. 480 km) and forms the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate. The Southern Alps have been uplifted on the fault over the last 12 million years in a series of earthquakes. However, most of the motion on the fault is strike-slip (side to side), with the Tasman district and West Coast moving North and Canterbury and Otago moving South. The average slip rates in the fault's central region are about 38 mm a year, very fast by global standards. The last major earthquake on the Alpine Fault was in c. 1717 AD, and the probability of another one occurring within the next 50 years is estimated at about 75 percent.
Geographic extent and plate motion.
The Pacific Plate and Indo-Australian Plate boundary forms the Macquarie Fault Zone in the Puysegur Trench off the southwestern corner of the South Island and comes onshore as the Alpine Fault just north of Milford Sound. The Alpine Fault then runs the length of the South Island just west of the Southern Alps to near Lewis Pass in the central northern section of the island. At this point, it splits into a set of smaller faults known as the Marlborough Fault System. This set of faults, which includes the Wairau Fault, the Hope Fault, the Awatere Fault, and the Clarence Fault, transfer displacement between the Alpine Fault and the Hikurangi subduction zone to the north. The Hope Fault is thought to represent the primary continuation of the Alpine Fault.
The Indo-Australian Plate is subducting towards the east south of the South Island and the Pacific Plate is subducting towards the West to the north. In the middle, the Alpine Fault is a transform boundary and has both dextral (right-lateral) strike-slip movement and uplift on the southeastern side. The uplift is due to an element of convergence between the plates, meaning that the fault has a significant high-angle reverse oblique component to its displacement.
The Alpine Fault has the greatest uplift near Aoraki / Mount Cook in its central section. Here the relative motion between the two plates averages 37–40 mm a year. This is distributed as 36–39 mm of horizontal and 6–10 mm upwards movement on the fault's plane per year.
Geological origin and evolution.
Between 25 and 12 million years ago the movement on the proto-Alpine Fault was exclusively strike-slip. The Southern Alps had not yet formed and most of New Zealand was covered in water. Then uplift slowly began as the plate motion became slightly oblique to the strike of the Alpine Fault. In the last 12 million years, the Southern Alps have been uplifted approximately 20 kilometres, however, as this has occurred more rain has been trapped by the mountains leading to more erosion. This, along with isostatic constraints, has kept the Southern Alps less than 4,000 m.
Uplift on the Alpine Fault has led to the exposure of deep metamorphic rocks near the fault within the Southern Alps. This includes mylonites and the Alpine Schist, which increases in metamorphic grade towards the fault. The eroded material has formed the Canterbury Plains. The Alpine Fault is not a single structure but often splits into pure strike-slip and dip-slip components. Near the surface, the fault can have multiple rupture zones.
Fault zone geology.
The fault zone is exposed at numerous locations along the West Coast, and typically consists of a 10–50 m wide fault gouge zone with pervasive hydrothermal alteration. Most of the movement along the fault occurs in this zone. In outcrop, the fault zone is overlain by mylonites which formed at depth and have been uplifted by the fault.
Earthquakes.
There have been no major historical earthquakes on the Alpine Fault. Because of this, during the mid-20th century it was speculated that the Alpine Fault creeps without making large earthquakes. However, it is now inferred by multiples lines of evidence that the Alpine Fault ruptures, creating major earthquakes approximately every few hundred years.
Prehistoric.
The Māori arrived in New Zealand c.1300 but never reached a high population density in the colder South Island. Therefore, while earthquakes are an important part of Māori oral tradition, no stories have been passed down about South Island earthquakes. Over the last thousand years, there have been four major ruptures along the Alpine Fault, causing earthquakes of about magnitude 8. These had previously been determined to have occurred in approximately 1100, 1430, 1620 and 1717 CE, at intervals between 100 and 350 years. The 1717 quake appears to have involved a rupture along nearly of the southern two-thirds of the fault. Scientists say that a similar earthquake could happen at any time, as the interval since 1717 is longer than the intervals between the earlier events. Newer research carried out by the University of Otago and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation revised the dates of the pre-1717 earthquakes to between 1535 and 1596 (instead of 1620), 1374 and 1405 (instead of 1430), and 1064 and 1120 (instead of 1100). An earlier earthquake was identified to have occurred between 887 and 965.
Historic.
There have been no major earthquakes on the Alpine Fault in historic times; its southern and northern offshoots have, however, experienced sizable earthquakes:
Prediction of next earthquake.
In 2012, GNS Science researchers published an 8000-year timeline of 24 major earthquakes on the (southern end of the) fault from sediments at Hokuri Creek, near Lake McKerrow in north Fiordland. In earthquake terms, the long fault is remarkably consistent, rupturing on average every 330 years, at intervals ranging from 140 years to 510 years. In 2017, GNS researchers revised the figures after they combined updated Hokuri site records with a thousand-year record from another site, 20 km away at John O'Groats River, to produce a record of 27 major earthquake events during the 8000-year period. This gave a mean recurrence rate of 291 years, plus or minus 23 years, versus the previously estimated rate of 329 years, plus or minus 26 years. In the new study, the interval between earthquakes ranged from 160 to 350 years, and the probability of an earthquake occurring in the 50 years following 2017 was estimated at 29 percent.
Projected effects of a rupture.
Large ruptures can also trigger earthquakes on the faults continuing north from the Alpine Fault. There is paleotsunami evidence of near-simultaneous ruptures of the Alpine Fault and Wellington (and/or other major) faults to the north having occurred at least twice in the past 1,000 years. A 2018 study says that a significant rupture in the Alpine Fault could lead to roads (particularly in or to the West Coast) being blocked for months, as with the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, with problems in supplying towns and evacuating tourists. District councils along the West Coast and in Canterbury have commissioned studies and begun preparations for an anticipated large earthquake on the Alpine Fault.
History of research.
In 1940, Harold Wellman found that the Southern Alps were associated with a fault line approximately 650 km (400 miles) long. The fault was officially named the Alpine Fault in 1942 as an extension of a previously mapped structure. At the same time, Harold Wellman proposed the lateral displacement on the Alpine Fault. This displacement was inferred by Wellman due in part to the similarity of rocks in Southland and Nelson on either side of the Alpine Fault. Lateral displacements of this magnitude could not be explained by pre-plate tectonics geology and his ideas were not initially widely accepted until 1956. Wellman also proposed in 1964 that the Alpine Fault was a Cenozoic structure, which was in conflict with the older Mesozoic age accepted at the time. This idea coupled with the displacement on the fault proposed that the earth's surface was in relatively rapid constant movement and helped to overthrow the old geosynclinal hypothesis in favour of plate tectonics.
Richard Norris and Alan Cooper from the Department of Geology, University of Otago conducted extensive research on the structure and petrology of the Alpine Fault respectively throughout the later 20th and early 21st centuries. It was during this time that the cyclicity of the Alpine Fault earthquakes and meaning of the increase in metamorphic grade towards the fault was discovered and refined. Originally this regional increase in grade was inferred to be from frictional heating along the fault not uplift of deeper geological sequences. Richard H. Sibson from the same university also used the Alpine Fault to refine his nomenclature of fault rocks which gained international adherence.
Deep Fault Drilling Project.
The Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP) was an attempt in 2014 to retrieve rock and fluid samples and make geophysical measurements inside the Alpine Fault zone at depth. It was a $2.5 million international research project designed to drill 1.3 km to the fault plan in two months. The DFDP was the second project to try to drill an active fault zone and return samples after the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth. One of the goals of the project was to use the deformed rocks from the fault zone to determine its resistance to stress. Researchers also planned to install long term equipment for measuring pressure, temperature and seismic activity near the fault zone. It was led by New Zealand geologists Rupert Sutherland, John Townsend and Virginia Toy and involves an international team from New Zealand, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
In 2017, they reported they had discovered beneath Whataroa, a small township on the Alpine Fault, "extreme" hydrothermal activity which "could be commercially very significant". One of the lead researchers said that it is likely to be globally unique. |
Douglas Engelbart
Douglas Carl Engelbart (January 30, 1925 – July 2, 2013) was an American engineer and inventor, and an early computer and Internet pioneer. He is best known for his work on founding the field of human–computer interaction, particularly while at his Augmentation Research Center Lab in SRI International, which resulted in creation of the computer mouse, and the development of hypertext, networked computers, and precursors to graphical user interfaces. These were demonstrated at The Mother of All Demos in 1968. Engelbart's law, the observation that the intrinsic rate of human performance is exponential, is named after him.
NLS, the "oN-Line System," developed by the Augmentation Research Center under Engelbart's guidance with funding primarily from ARPA (as DARPA was then known), demonstrated numerous technologies, most of which are now in widespread use; it included the computer mouse, bitmapped screens, hypertext; all of which were displayed at "The Mother of All Demos" in 1968. The lab was transferred from SRI to Tymshare in the late 1970s, which was acquired by McDonnell Douglas in 1984, and NLS was renamed Augment (now the Doug Engelbart Institute). At both Tymshare and McDonnell Douglas, Engelbart was limited by a lack of interest in his ideas and funding to pursue them, and retired in 1986.
In 1988, Engelbart and his daughter Christina launched the Bootstrap Institute – later known as The Doug Engelbart Institute – to promote his vision, especially at Stanford University; this effort did result in some DARPA funding to modernize the user interface of Augment. In December 2000, United States President Bill Clinton awarded Engelbart the National Medal of Technology, the U.S.'s highest technology award. In December 2008, Engelbart was honored by SRI at the 40th anniversary of the "Mother of All Demos".
Early life and education.
Engelbart was born in Portland, Oregon, on January 30, 1925, to Carl Louis Engelbart and Gladys Charlotte Amelia Munson Engelbart. His ancestors were of German, Swedish and Norwegian descent.
He was the middle of three children, with a sister Dorianne (three years older), and a brother David (14 months younger). The family lived in Portland, Oregon, in his early years, and moved to the surrounding countryside along Johnson Creek when he was 8. His father died one year later. He graduated from Portland's Franklin High School in 1942.
Midway through his undergraduate years at Oregon State University, he served two years in the United States Navy as a radio and radar technician in the Philippines. It was there, on the remote island of Leyte in a small traditional hut on stilts, that he read Vannevar Bush's article "As We May Think", which would have a large influence on his thinking and work. He returned to Oregon State and completed his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1948. While at Oregon State, he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon social fraternity. He was hired by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics at the Ames Research Center, where he worked in wind tunnel maintenance. In his off hours he enjoyed hiking, camping, and folk dancing. It was there he met Ballard Fish (August 18, 1928 – June 18, 1997), who was just completing her training to become an occupational therapist. They were married in Portola State Park on May 5, 1951. Soon after, Engelbart left Ames to pursue graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley, he studied electrical engineering with a specialty in computers, earning his MS in 1953 and his PhD in 1955.
Career and accomplishments.
Guiding philosophy.
Engelbart's career was inspired in December 1950 when he was engaged to be married and realized he had no career goals other than "a steady job, getting married and living happily ever after". Over several months he reasoned that:
In 1945, Engelbart had read with interest Vannevar Bush's article "As We May Think", a call to action for making knowledge widely available as a national peacetime grand challenge. He had also read something about the recent phenomenon of computers, and from his experience as a radar technician, he knew that information could be analyzed and displayed on a screen. He envisioned intellectual workers sitting at display "working stations", flying through information space, harnessing their collective intellectual capacity to solve important problems together in much more powerful ways. Harnessing collective intellect, facilitated by interactive computers, became his life's mission at a time when computers were viewed as number crunching tools.
As a graduate student at Berkeley, he assisted in the construction of CALDIC. His graduate work led to eight patents. After completing his doctorate, Engelbart stayed on at Berkeley as an assistant professor for a year before departing when it became clear that he could not pursue his vision there. Engelbart then formed a startup company, Digital Techniques, to commercialize some of his doctoral research on storage devices, but after a year decided instead to pursue the research he had been dreaming of since 1951.
SRI and the Augmentation Research Center.
Engelbart took a position at SRI International (known then as Stanford Research Institute) in Menlo Park, California in 1957. He worked for Hewitt Crane on magnetic devices and miniaturization of electronics; Engelbart and Crane became close friends. At SRI, Engelbart soon obtained a dozen patents, and by 1962 produced a report about his vision and proposed research agenda titled "Augmenting Human Intellect: A Conceptual Framework". Among other highlights, this paper introduced "Building Information Modelling", which architectural and engineering practice eventually adopted (first as "parametric design") in the 1990s and after.
This led to funding from ARPA to launch his work. Engelbart recruited a research team in his new Augmentation Research Center (ARC, the lab he founded at SRI). Engelbart embedded a set of organizing principles in his lab, which he termed "bootstrapping strategy". He designed the strategy to accelerate the rate of innovation of his lab.
The ARC became the driving force behind the design and development of the oN-Line System (NLS). He and his team developed computer interface elements such as bitmapped screens, the mouse, hypertext, collaborative tools, and precursors to the graphical user interface. He conceived and developed many of his user interface ideas in the mid-1960s, long before the personal computer revolution, at a time when most computers were inaccessible to individuals who could only use computers through intermediaries (see batch processing), and when software tended to be written for vertical applications in proprietary systems.
Engelbart applied for a patent in 1967 and received it in 1970, for the wooden shell with two metal wheels (computer mouse – ), which he had developed with Bill English, his lead engineer, sometime before 1965. In the patent application it is described as an "X-Y position indicator for a display system". Engelbart later revealed that it was nicknamed the "mouse" because the tail came out the end. His group also called the on-screen Cursor a "bug", but this term was not widely adopted. Engelbart's original cursor was displayed as an arrow pointing upward, but was slanted to the left upon its deployment in the XEROX PARC machine to better distinguish between on-screen text and the cursor in the machine's low-resolution interface. The now-familiar cursor arrow is characterized by a vertical left side and a 45-degree angle on the right.
He never received any royalties for the invention of the mouse. During an interview, he said "SRI patented the mouse, but they really had no idea of its value. Some years later it was learned that they had licensed it to Apple Computer for something like $40,000." Engelbart showcased the chorded keyboard and many more of his and ARC's inventions in 1968 at The Mother of All Demos.
Tymshare and McDonnell Douglas.
Engelbart slipped into relative obscurity by the mid-1970s. As early as 1970, several of his researchers became alienated from him and left his organization for Xerox PARC, in part due to frustration, and in part due to differing views of the future of computing. Engelbart saw the future in collaborative, networked, timeshare (client-server) computers, which younger programmers rejected in favor of the personal computer. The conflict was both technical and ideological: the younger programmers came from an era where centralized power was highly suspect, and personal computing was just barely on the horizon.
Beginning in 1972, several key ARC personnel were involved in Erhard Seminars Training (EST), with Engelbart ultimately serving on the corporation's board of directors for many years. Although EST had been recommended by other researchers, the controversial nature of EST and other social experiments reduced the morale and social cohesion of the ARC community. The 1969 Mansfield Amendment, which ended military funding of non-military research, the end of the Vietnam War, and the end of the Apollo program gradually reduced ARC's funding from ARPA and NASA throughout the early 1970s.
SRI's management, which disapproved of Engelbart's approach to running the center, placed the remains of ARC under the control of artificial intelligence researcher Bertram Raphael, who negotiated the transfer of the laboratory to Tymshare in 1976. Engelbart's house in Atherton, California burned down during this period, causing him and his family further problems. Tymshare took over NLS and the lab that Engelbart had founded, hired most of the lab's staff (including its creator as a Senior Scientist), renamed the software "Augment", and offered it as a commercial service via its new Office Automation Division. Tymshare was already somewhat familiar with NLS; when ARC was still operational, it had experimented with its own local copy of the NLS software on a minicomputer called OFFICE-1, as part of a joint project with ARC.
At Tymshare, Engelbart soon found himself further marginalized. Operational concerns at Tymshare overrode Engelbart's desire to conduct ongoing research. Various executives, first at Tymshare and later at McDonnell Douglas, which acquired Tymshare in 1984, expressed interest in his ideas, but never committed the funds or the people to further develop them. His interest inside of McDonnell Douglas was focused on the enormous knowledge management and IT requirements involved in the life cycle of an aerospace program, which served to strengthen Engelbart's resolve to motivate the information technology arena toward global interoperability and an open hyperdocument system. Engelbart retired from McDonnell Douglas in 1986, determined to pursue his work free from commercial pressure.
Bootstrap and the Doug Engelbart Institute.
Teaming with his daughter, Christina Engelbart, he founded the Bootstrap Institute in 1988 to coalesce his ideas into a series of three-day and half-day management seminars offered at Stanford University from 1989 to 2000. By the early 1990s there was sufficient interest among his seminar graduates to launch a collaborative implementation of his work, and the Bootstrap Alliance was formed as a non-profit home base for this effort. Although the invasion of Iraq and subsequent recession spawned a rash of belt-tightening reorganizations which drastically redirected the efforts of their alliance partners, they continued with the management seminars, consulting, and small-scale collaborations. In the mid-1990s they were awarded some DARPA funding to develop a modern user interface to Augment, called Visual AugTerm (VAT), while participating in a larger program addressing the IT requirements of the Joint Task Force.
Engelbart was Founder Emeritus of the Doug Engelbart Institute, which he founded in 1988 with his daughter Christina Engelbart, who is Executive Director. The Institute promotes Engelbart's philosophy for boosting Collective IQ—the concept of dramatically improving how we can solve important problems together—using a strategic "bootstrapping" approach for accelerating our progress toward that goal. In 2005, Engelbart received a National Science Foundation grant to fund the open source HyperScope project. The Hyperscope team built a browser component using Ajax and Dynamic HTML designed to replicate Augment's multiple viewing and jumping capabilities (linking within and across various documents).
Later years and death.
Engelbart attended the Program for the Future 2010 Conference where hundreds of people convened at The Tech Museum in San Jose and online to engage in dialog about how to pursue his vision to augment collective intelligence.
The most complete coverage of Engelbart's bootstrapping ideas can be found in "Boosting Our Collective IQ", by Douglas C. Engelbart, 1995. This includes three of Engelbart's key papers, edited into book form by Yuri Rubinsky and Christina Engelbart to commemorate the presentation of the 1995 SoftQuad Web Award to Doug Engelbart at the World Wide Web conference in Boston in December 1995. Only 2,000 softcover copies were printed, and 100 hardcover, numbered and signed by Engelbart and Tim Berners-Lee. Engelbart's book is now being republished by the Doug Engelbart Institute.
Two comprehensive histories of Engelbart's laboratory and work are in "What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry" by John Markoff and "A Heritage of Innovation: SRI's First Half Century" by Donald Neilson. Other books on Engelbart and his laboratory include "Bootstrapping: Douglas Engelbart, Coevolution, and the Origins of Personal Computing" by Thierry Bardini and "The Engelbart Hypothesis: Dialogs with Douglas Engelbart", by Valerie Landau and Eileen Clegg in conversation with Douglas Engelbart. All four of these books are based on interviews with Engelbart as well as other contributors in his laboratory.
Engelbart served on the Advisory Boards of the University of Santa Clara Center for Science, Technology, and Society, Foresight Institute, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, The Technology Center of Silicon Valley, and The Liquid Information Company.
Engelbart had four children, Gerda, Diana, Christina and Norman with his first wife Ballard, who died in 1997 after 47 years of marriage. He remarried on January 26, 2008, to writer and producer Karen O'Leary Engelbart. An 85th birthday celebration was held at the Tech Museum of Innovation. Engelbart died at his home in Atherton, California, on July 2, 2013, due to kidney failure. A close friend and fellow internet pioneer, Ted Nelson, gave a speech paying tribute to Engelbart. According to the Doug Engelbart Institute, his death came after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease, which he was diagnosed with in 2007. Engelbart was 88 and was survived by his second wife, the four children from his first marriage, and nine grandchildren.
Anecdotal notes.
Historian of science Thierry Bardini argues that Engelbart's complex personal philosophy (which drove all his research) foreshadowed the modern application of the concept of coevolution to the philosophy and use of technology. Bardini points out that Engelbart was strongly influenced by the principle of linguistic relativity developed by Benjamin Lee Whorf. Where Whorf reasoned that the sophistication of a language controls the sophistication of the thoughts that can be expressed by a speaker of that language, Engelbart reasoned that the state of our current technology controls our ability to manipulate information, and that fact in turn will control our ability to develop new, improved technologies. He thus set himself to the revolutionary task of developing computer-based technologies for manipulating information directly, and also to improve individual and group processes for knowledge-work.
Honors.
Since the late 1980s, prominent individuals and organizations have recognized the seminal importance of Engelbart's contributions. In December 1995, at the Fourth WWW Conference in Boston, he was the first recipient of what would later become the Yuri Rubinsky Memorial Award. In 1997, he was awarded the Lemelson-MIT Prize of $500,000, the world's largest single prize for invention and innovation, and the ACM Turing Award. To mark the 30th anniversary of Engelbart's 1968 demo, in 1998 the Stanford Silicon Valley Archives and the Institute for the Future hosted "Engelbart's Unfinished Revolution", a symposium at Stanford University's Memorial Auditorium, to honor Engelbart and his ideas. He was inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1998.
Also in 1998, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) SIGCHI awarded Engelbart the CHI Lifetime Achievement Award. ACM SIGCHI later inducted Engelbart into the CHI Academy in 2002. Engelbart was awarded The Franklin Institute's Certificate of Merit in 1996 and the Benjamin Franklin Medal in 1999 in Computer and Cognitive Science. In early 2000 Engelbart produced, with volunteers and sponsors, what was called "The Unfinished Revolution – II", also known as the "Engelbart Colloquium" at Stanford University, to document and publicize his work and ideas to a larger audience (live, and online).
In December 2000, U.S. President Bill Clinton awarded Engelbart the National Medal of Technology, the country's highest technology award. In 2001 he was awarded the British Computer Society's Lovelace Medal. In 2005, he was made a Fellow of the Computer History Museum "for advancing the study of human–computer interaction, developing the mouse input device, and for the application of computers to improving organizational efficiency." He was honored with the Norbert Wiener Award, which is given annually by Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility. Robert X. Cringely did an hour-long interview with Engelbart on December 9, 2005 in his NerdTV video podcast series.
On December 9, 2008, Engelbart was honored at the 40th Anniversary celebration of the 1968 "Mother of All Demos". This event, produced by SRI International, was held at Memorial Auditorium at Stanford University. Speakers included several members of Engelbart's original Augmentation Research Center (ARC) team including Don Andrews, Bill Paxton, Bill English, and Jeff Rulifson, Engelbart's chief government sponsor Bob Taylor, and other pioneers of interactive computing, including Andy van Dam and Alan Kay. In addition, Christina Engelbart spoke about her father's early influences and the ongoing work of the Doug Engelbart Institute.
In June 2009, the New Media Consortium recognized Engelbart as an NMC Fellow for his lifetime of achievements. In 2011, Engelbart was inducted into IEEE Intelligent Systems' AI's Hall of Fame. Engelbart received the first honorary Doctor of Engineering and Technology degree from Yale University in May 2011. |
Henry Dircks
Henry Dircks FRSE FCS (26 August 1806– 17 September 1873) was an English engineer who is considered to have been the main designer of the projection technique known as "Pepper's ghost" in 1858. It is named after John Henry Pepper who implemented a working version of the device in 1862. Dircks also investigated attempts at the invention of a perpetual motion device, writing that those who sought to create such a thing were "half-learned" or "totally ignorant".
Life and career.
Dircks was born in Liverpool on 26 August 1806.
He was apprenticed to a mercantile firm and spent much of his free time studying practical mechanics, chemistry, and literature. Around the mid-1820s he began lecturing about chemistry and electricity while writing literary articles in the local press and scientific papers in the "Mechanics' Magazine" and other journals. In 1837 he became a life member of the British Association, and afterwards contributed papers to its proceedings. Two years later he wrote a pamphlet regarding a proposed union of mechanics' and literary institutions. He also wrote a short treatise entitled "Popular Education, a series of Papers on the Nature, Objects, and Advantages of Mechanics' Institutions", first printed in Liverpool in 1840. In 1843, Dircks and Thomas Hoblyn wrote an overview of the smokeless argand furnace, which was created by Charles Wye Williams in an attempt to solve the issue of smoky air in London.
He became a practical engineer, conducting railway, canal, and mining works, before progressing to the role of consulting engineer. He continued to investigate technologies and invent new devices, taking out several patents between 1840 and 1857. Dircks joined the Royal Society of Literature, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and other scientific bodies. In 1867 he was elected a full Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, his proposer being William John Macquorn Rankine.
The dedications of Dircks' works help give a glimpse into some of his personal and professional acquaintances. "Contribution Towards a History of Electro-Metallurgy" (1863) includes a dedication to Michael Faraday. The dedication is full of high praise for Faraday's contributions to the origin of Electrometallurgy. Faraday became a prominent 19th century scientific figure, and both Dircks and Faraday were members of their Royal Societies. Dircks dedicated "The Life, Times, and Scientific Labours of the Second Marquis of Worcester." "To Which Is Added, a Reprint of His Century of Inventions, 1663, With a Commentary Thereon" (1865) to Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort. "Inventors and Inventions"(1867) begins with a dedication to Henry Bessemer. "A Biographical Memoir of Samuel Hartlib", "Milton’s Familiar Friend, With Bibliographical Notices of Works Published By Him, and a Reprint of His Pamphlet Entitled, "An Invention of Engines of Motion."" (1867) is dedicated to Bennet Woodcroft, in which Dircks references their 25 year friendship and expresses his gratitude for founding the Patent Office Museum.
In 1868 he was given an honorary degree (LL.D.) from Tusculum College in Tennessee.
Dircks died in Brighton on 17 September 1873.
Literary works.
Most of Dircks' literary work involved conducting critical reviews of emerging technologies as well as biographies of scientific figures. One major exception is "Joseph Anstey", a fictional novel written by Dircks under the pseudonym D.S. Henry.
Poetry.
Dircks studied natural poetry, writing many critical essays on various hymns and religious poems in his books "Nature-study," and "Naturalistic Poetry" in 1869 and 1872 respectively. He dedicated "Nature-Study" to the "poet, philosopher, and statesman," Richard Monckton.
Dircks wrote that these study's of poems are to progress the study of nature, quoting Mark Akenside, "Give me to learn each secret cause; Let numbers, figures. Nature's laws, Reveal'd before me stand: Then to great Nature's scenes apply, And, round the globe, and thro' the sky, Disclose her working hand." He later defines nature in his book "Nature-Study" as anything "distinguished from Art, includes the entire Creation, animate and inanimate."
In "Naturalistic Poetry," Dircks writes a series of four essays studying psalms and hymns written in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. In "Nature-Study", he again discusses mostly religious poetry, exploring the poems individually, and deciphering them. He concludes his book by discussing the perfection, creativity, and beauty of nature.
Pepper's ghost.
Spiritualists and phantasmagoria performers plied their trade by attempting to convince audiences that they were able to contact the dead. To add weight to their claims they would use various projection techniques, particularly magic lanterns, that would seemingly make a ghost appear. Dircks was frustrated by such trickery and developed a better technique that could help dispel the simpler methods. He saw this as a triumph of enlightenment over superstition and hoped that the scientific explanations would educate people enough to keep them away from such charlatans.
Dircks developed a way of projecting an actor onto a stage using a hidden room, a sheet of glass, and a clever use of lighting, calling the technique "Dircksian Phantasmagoria". The actor would then have an ethereal, ghost-like appearance while seemingly able to perform alongside other actors. Dircks is believed to have described this invention to the British Association in 1858. The unwieldy implementation of his system meant that theatres would need to be entirely rebuilt to accommodate the technique and some refinements would therefore be needed if it were to be adopted on a wide scale.
Popular science lecturer John Henry Pepper saw the concept and replicated it on a larger scale, taking out a joint patent with Dircks. Pepper debuted his creation with a Christmas Eve production of Edward Bulwer-Lytton's play "A Strange Story" in 1862. This debut was to a small audience of press members held at the Polytechnic. Written permission from Charles Dickens was later given to display his play "The Haunted Man" to exhibit the ghost illusion. This exhibit was ran for fifteen months.
Some reports have suggested that, at the time, Pepper claimed to have developed the technique after reading the 1831 book "Recreative Memoirs" by famed showman Étienne-Gaspard Robert even after Dircks signed over all financial rights. Dirck's published his book "The ghost as produced in the Spectra Drama" describing how the idea came to him and how Pepper produced it. Either way, the effect became known as "Pepper's ghost" and this name was used by those who replicated the technique. Because of this Dircks became increasingly convinced that his invention had been stolen from him, believing that a conspiracy had been perpetrated against him at first by the Polytechnic and then latterly by the newspapers and advertisers who omitted his name.
Dircks' original plan to give rational explanations to dispel the popular appetite for spiritualism was certainly helped by Pepper. Further, Pepper's ghost has been hailed as a key development in stage magic and "the cornerstone upon which much subsequent magic was founded". In one of his later books Pepper would insist that Dircks should have a share of the credit, and though the technique is still today named after the man who popularised it Dircks is hailed as the originator of the invention.
The pair's involvement in the development of Pepper's ghost was summarised in an 1863 article from "The Spectator":
This admirable ghost is the offspring of two fathers, of a learned member of the Society of Civil Engineers, Henry Dircks, Esq., and of Professor Pepper, of the Polytechnic. To Mr. Dircks belongs the honour of having invented him, or as the disciplines of Hegel would express it, evolved him from out of the depths of his own consciousness; and Professor Pepper has the merit of having improved him considerably, fitting him for the intercourse of mundane society, and even educating him for the stage.
Perpetual motion.
Dircks had an interest in ongoing the search for a perpetual motion machine. Interestingly enough, Dircks interest in perpetual motion was not due to his enjoyment of the subject, but more due to his despise of it. It has also been noted that Dircks felt "contemptuous pity for anyone that was seriously interested in studying the topic of perpetual motion. In 1861, he commented on the subject in his book that "The subject of Perpetual Motion opposes paradox to paradox." His book "Perpetuum mobile; or, Search for self-motive power", published in 1861, examined many attempts at creating such a device, and has since been cited by other science writers on the subject. Dircks summarised the ongoing efforts of inventors:A more self-willed, self-satisfied, or self-deluded class of the community, making at the same time pretension to superior knowledge, it would be impossible to imagine. They hope against hope, scorning all opposition with ridiculous vehemence, although centuries have not advanced them one step in the way of progress.and:There is something lamentable, degrading, and almost insane in pursuing the visionary schemes of past ages with dogged determination, in paths of learning which have been investigated by superior minds, and with which such adventurous persons are totally unacquainted. The history of Perpetual Motion is a history of the fool-hardiness of either half-learned, or totally ignorant persons.In 1870, Dircks had a second book published under the title ""Perpetuum Mobile"; or; "a History of the Search for Self-Motive Power from the Thirteenth, to the Nineteenth Century."" This was a follow up to his first book in which he collected and presented more information and history of perpetual motion devices. In these two works, Dircks worked to carefully classify attempts at creating perpetual motion devices by the year that they were created and in some instances by patent applications. For Henry this turned out to be a difficult task as perpetual motion devices have been attempted across many different countries and time periods. Dircks also broke down perpetual motion devices down into three different categories of how the motion would generally be produced. These three types of devices were motion by chemical extractions, motion by magnetical virtues, and motion by the natural affection of gravity.
Dircks study of "perpetuum mobile" built upon the earlier exploration of the subject by Simon Stevin, who wrote: “It is not true [falsum] that the globe moves by itself with an endless movement [aeternum]”. |
Racism in Peru
Racism in Peru comprises negative attitudes and views on race or ethnicity which are related to each other, are held by various people and groups in Peru, and have been reflected in discriminatory laws, practices and actions (including violence) at various times in the history of Peru against racial or ethnic groups. Peruvian intellectuals, who were mainly white and based in the developed capital city of Lima, historically denied that racism existed in Peru and did not focus on the social issue, often participating in racism themselves. The concentration of wealth amongst elites in Lima through "centralismo" resulted with a history of systemic racism in Peru, with individuals in Lima basing their discrimination against rural individuals due to race and geographical location.
Background.
Colonial Peru.
Since the time of the Viceroyalty of Peru, with the establishment of the Spanish colonizers, it brought with it the formation of a Creole aristocracy with a strong endogamy among whites, where miscegenation was not something seen compared to other social classes.
Republic of Peru.
Since independence from Spain was obtained in 1821, the endogamous trend among white continued and was a common practice, thus combining a series of systemic racism with classism. This racism carried over into economic inequality, with wealth gathering in Lima through "centralismo", while indigenous groups in rural Peru experienced poverty and poor health services. Due to "centralismo", racism also developed geographically, with Limeños, or people from Lima, primarily being white while the "cholo" term was associated with populations of indigenous or indigenous-like individuals. From 1910 to 1930, intellectuals focused on race, though later into the twentieth century racism became "silent" through discriminating against class or culture. Intellectuals distanced themselves from establishing a social hierarchy based on race and instead based this system on intellect, though intellect was affected by the existing structure of "centralismo", with higher levels of education granting whiteness to citizens of Lima while those in outlying regions not being granted the same social status.
Discrimination against indigenous people.
El choleo.
It is common within Peruvian society that the cultural and racial aspects of the indigenous people are rejected. The use of the word ""cholo", also widespread in other South American countries, has a strong racist component that has been appeased in recent decades, acquiring nuances of different connotation (even affective), depending on the context in which it is used. The term "serrano" is commonly used as a pejorative with which the individual from the Sierra del Perú who emigrated to Lima or the other large urban agglomerations of the country are designated, and there is also discrimination against people in rural areas. Peruvians who had a background from the Sierra and were educated were described as "gente decente"" ("decent folks"), and recognized as "honorary whites", emphasizing their intellect over their phenotypes.
The term "chola bourgeoisie" refers to a group of indigenous or mestizo origin that, through the creation of companies and other private initiatives, has reached socioeconomic levels higher than the national average income and purchasing power, in a free market scenario, in order to differentiate them from the traditional Creole aristocracy.
Violence.
Ethnic violence and genocide.
During the Rubber Fever in the Peruvian Amazon between 1879 and 1912, rubbery businessmen took prisoners to whom various crimes against humanity were committed; the indigenous people were treated as "inferior", the event was later described as the Putumayo genocide. As a result of the genocide, 40,000 to over 250,000 indigenous Peruvians were killed.
In 1964, the first government of President Fernando Belaúnde Terry from Lima bombed the basin of the Yavarí River in the Loreto department, the event was known as the , because the objective of Belaúnde was to exterminate the indigenous communities of Mayorunas, the advertising campaign to favor the act of the government described the mayoruna as "more bloodthirsty than any red skin from the far west" and to extermination with the phrase: "By blood and fire, civilization and barbarism dispute a territory where until yesterday the viper and the tiger reigned".
Between 1980 and 2000, the indigenous and mestizos groups of the Peruvian jungle and mountains were the main victims of the internal conflict in Peru. For the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, discrimination and racism, through terror, was one of the determining factors of the development of internal war. In an effort to stabilize the nation, the Armed Forces of Peru drafted Plan Verde, a clandestine military operation developed by the armed forces of Peru during the internal conflict in Peru; it involved the genocide of impoverished and indigenous Peruvians, the control or censorship of media in the nation and the establishment of a neoliberal economy controlled by a military junta in Peru. Plan Verde detailed a goal to sterilize impoverished citizens in what Rospigliosi described as "ideas frankly similar to the Nazis", with the military writing that "the general use of sterilization processes for culturally backward and economically impoverished groups is convenient", describing these groups as "unnecessary burdens" and that "given their incorrigible character and lack of resources ... there is only their total extermination". The extermination of vulnerable Peruvians was described by planners as "an economic interest, it is an essential constant in the strategy of power and development of the state". When Alberto Fujimori took office in 1990, he would go on to adopt many of the policies outlined in Plan Verde. Plan Verde's forced sterilization of vulnerable groups through the Programa Nacional de Población has been variably described as an ethnic cleansing or genocidal operation. At least 300,000 Peruvians were victims of forced sterilization in the 1990s, with the majority being affected by the PNSRPF. According to Peru's congressional subcommittee investigations, USAID, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Nippon Foundation supported the sterilization efforts of the Fujimori government.
"Terruqeo".
Right-wing groups in Peru often used the "terruqeo", a negative campaigning and often racist method of fearmongering used to describe anti-Fujimorists, left-wing political opponents and those who are against the neoliberal "status quo" as terrorists or terrorist sympathizers, with the tactic primarily being used by right-wing parties, especially among Fujimorists. Since the 1980s, the word "terruco" has been openly used by right-wing politicians in Peru to target left-wing, progressive and indigenous groups, often in a racist manner.
The polarized electoral contest during the second round of the 2021 Peruvian general election resulted in a series of messages on social networks following the first round of voting attacking voters who voted for Pedro Castillo, a rural teacher of Andean origin who wore his traditional hat and speaker of Andean Spanish. In the messages, voters were called ignorant, and incited the destruction of rural environments and the genocide of native communities, the supposed electoral base of Peru Libre. Conservative politician Rafael López Aliaga would reportedly call for death in two separate incidents; in May 2021 he allegedly chanted "Death to communism! Death to Cerrón! Death to Castillo!" to supporters and at the Respect My Vote rally that was organized by Willax TV owner Erasmo Wong Lu on 26 June 2021, he supposedly stated "Death to communism, get out of here, filthy communists, you have awakened the lion, to the streets!"
When the 2022–2023 Peruvian political protests occurred, right-wing groups and the government of Dina Boluarte used the "terruqueo" to label protesters as terrorists, providing an excuse for authorities to use violence with impunity.
Discrimination against blacks.
The first black inhabitants were brought to Peru with the establishment of the Spanish Empire in the current Peruvian territories, who took them as slaves to work productive activities where a strong workforce was required, in the case of men, such as mining and agriculture, and women to work in the domestic service of the most affluent classes. Racism towards the Afro-descendant community in Peru manifests itself not only towards Afro-Peruvians, but also towards other Afro-Americans of other nationalities residing in the country.
Afro-Peruvian artist Victoria Santa Cruz portrayed her experience of discrimination during her childhood in her poem "Me gritaron negra".
In 2010, activist Mónica Carrillo protested the return of the character of comedian Jorge Benavides "El Negro Mama" to television, considering him "denigrating and racist" for the Afro-Peruvian community.
Saga Falabella has been accused of using advertisements that are described as racist on multiple occasions, including one ad where a black woman was portrayed as being dirty compared to a white woman which resulted with an apology following demands from the Ministry of Culture.
In 2018, the Ministry of Culture issued a statement complaining about a stereotypical and racist imitation of Afro-Peruvian soccer player Jefferson Farfán broadcast on the Peruvian subsidiary of the Fox Sports television network.
In mid-2020, the Alicorp company decided to change the name of its emblematic line of powder preparations "La Negrita" due to its possible racist image towards the Afro-Peruvian community. In October 2021, it was announced that the brand would be called "Umsha", in reference to the jungle version of the yunza.
Discrimination against Asians.
The first Chinese immigrants in the current Peruvian territories arrived as a replacement for black slaves after the abolition of slavery in 1849. Those immigrants were received to work especially in agricultural work, in conditions of labor exploitation and other situations of poor living conditions.
During the War of the Pacific, the Peruvian government used Asian and soldiers against Chilean troops. The conflict increased the anti-Chinese sentiment in the Peruvian population, mainly due to the help of the culíes to the Chilean occupation troops, also in the sugar mills blacks discriminated against the Chinese. After the defeats of Chorrillos and Miraflores, the Lima population looted the shops run by Asians and there was massacre of Chinese.
The federalist revolutionaries of Loreto led by the military Guillermo Cervantes in 1896, described Chinese immigrants, as well as other ethnic groups that were not native to Loreto, as "deious plagues." The historian Jorge Bracamonte reports that the presence of the Chinese in the Peruvian capital was seen as "a threat to Peruvian public health," despite the fact that the medicinal herbs brought from Asia by the Chinese were an appreciated asset to combat the yellow fever epidemic of 1868 in Lima and Callao.
During the Oncenio de Leguía, the Chinese community had already reached such a degree of influence that they began to pressure the Peruvian government to resolve the anti-Chinese discrimination that existed in the Peruvian consulate in Hong Kong. In contrast, an "Anti-Asian Patriotic League" was created to curb Chinese immigration in the country, and an attempt was made to draw a law through the new government of the military Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro took openly anti-Asian measures, such as totally prohibiting the entry of Chinese and even Chinese-Peruvians into the country. In addition, Chinese businesses that were affected by the riots of the coup d'état were not economically compensated, these Chinese businessmen continued to demand compensation until 1936, without any success.
In 1941, during World War II, about 1,800 South Americans of Japanese origin were accused of espionage without evidence and deported to the United States by the government of Peru. On June 14, 2011, the government of Alan García apologized to Japan for the abuse committed. This event has been described as a case of xenophobia and racism towards Asians in Peru.
In the case of the Japanese, similar situations occurred. With the election of Alberto Fujimori as president of Peru, the racist expressions used by the opposition to his government were common, generating an anti-Japanese sentiment through arguments of hasty generalization and other fallacies against the Japanese community. In the 21st century, there was a strong anti-Japanese sentiment related to politics Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, especially on social networks during the 2011 Peruvian general elections.
Discrimination against Jews.
Between 1569 and 1820, Holy Office documents from the Peruvian Inquisition show that various tests were created for the purpose of identifying Jews and Muslims, and members of those groups who were brought before kangaroo courts and failed those tests were punished, tortured or killed for their beliefss.
During World War II, Peruvians who were sympathetic to the National Socialist ideology which was imposed in Nazi Germany by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party provoked an anti-Semitic sentiment among Peruvians. Neo-Nazi groups in Peru have publicly expressed their desire to expel Peruvian Jews from the country.
Discrimination against whites.
The ethnocacerism ideology, developed at the beginning of the 21st century by the revolutionary Antauro Humala, is described as advocating anti-white sentiment.
Discrimination against Venezuelans.
In response to the Venezuelan migration crisis and the explosive rate of Venezuelan immigration to Peru which it has triggered since 2017, anti-Venezuelan feelings and vice versa have emerged, mainly as a result of the cultural clash with immigrants, who may have racist feelings, as well as aporophobic feelings, depending on each particular case. |
MELAS syndrome
Mitochondrial encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) is one of the family of mitochondrial diseases, which also include MIDD (maternally inherited diabetes and deafness), MERRF syndrome, and Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy. It was first characterized under this name in 1984. A feature of these diseases is that they are caused by defects in the mitochondrial genome which is inherited purely from the female parent. The most common MELAS mutation is mitochondrial mutation, mtDNA, referred to as m.3243A>G.
Signs and symptoms.
MELAS is a condition that affects many of the body's systems, particularly the brain and nervous system (encephalo-) and muscles (myopathy). In most cases, the signs and symptoms of this disorder appear in childhood following a period of normal development. Children with MELAS often have normal early psychomotor development until the onset of symptoms between 2 and 10 years old. Though less common, infantile onset may occur and may present as failure to thrive, growth retardation and progressive deafness. Onset in older children typically presents as recurrent attacks of a migraine-like headache, anorexia, vomiting, and seizures. Children with MELAS are also frequently found to have short stature.
Most people with MELAS have a buildup of lactic acid in their bodies, a condition called lactic acidosis. Increased acidity in the blood can lead to vomiting, abdominal pain, extreme tiredness (fatigue), muscle weakness, loss of bowel control, and difficulty breathing. Less commonly, people with MELAS may experience involuntary muscle spasms (myoclonus), impaired muscle coordination (ataxia), hearing loss, heart and kidney problems, diabetes, epilepsy, and hormonal imbalances.
Differential diagnosis.
The presentation of some cases is similar to that of Kearns–Sayre syndrome.
Myoclonus epilepsy associated with ragged red fibers (MERRF) may be confused with MELAS as they both involve seizures, mental deterioration, and myopathy with ragged red fibers on biopsy. MERRF patients may also have hearing loss, visual disturbance secondary to optic atrophy, and short stature. The characteristic myoclonic seizure in MERRF may help to narrow diagnosis, but genetic testing should be considered to distinguish the two conditions.
Leigh syndrome may also present with progressive neurological deterioration, seizures, and vomiting mainly in young children.
Genetics.
MELAS is mostly caused by mutations in the genes in mitochondrial DNA, but it can also be caused by mutations in the nuclear DNA.
NADH dehydrogenase.
Some of the genes (MT-ND1, MT-ND5) affected in MELAS encode proteins that are part of NADH dehydrogenase (also called complex I) in mitochondria, that helps convert oxygen and simple sugars to energy.
Transfer RNAs.
Other genes (MT-TH, MT-TL1, and MT-TV) encode mitochondrial specific transfer RNAs (tRNAs).
Mutations in "MT-TL1" cause more than 80 percent of all cases of MELAS. They impair the ability of mitochondria to make proteins, use oxygen, and produce energy. Researchers have not determined how changes in mitochondrial DNA lead to the specific signs and symptoms of MELAS. They continue to investigate the effects of mitochondrial gene mutations in different tissues, particularly in the brain.
Inheritance.
This condition is inherited in a mitochondrial pattern, which is also known as maternal inheritance and heteroplasmy. This pattern of inheritance applies to genes contained in mitochondrial DNA. Because egg cells, but not sperm cells, contribute mitochondria to the developing embryo, only females pass mitochondrial conditions to their children. Mitochondrial disorders can appear in every generation of a family and can affect both males and females, but fathers do not pass mitochondrial traits to their children. In most cases, people with MELAS inherit an altered mitochondrial gene from their mother. Less commonly, the disorder results from a new mutation in a mitochondrial gene and occurs in people with no family history of MELAS.
Diagnosis.
MRI: Multifocal infarct-like cortical areas in different stages of ischemic evolution, areas that do not conform to any known vascular territory. Initial lesions often occur in the occipital or parietal lobes with eventual involvement of the cerebellum, cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, and thalamus.
Lactate levels are often elevated in serum and cerebrospinal fluid. MR spectroscopy may show an elevated lactate peak in affected and even unaffected brain areas. Muscle biopsy shows ragged red fibers. However, genetic evaluation should be done first, which eliminates the need for muscle biopsy in most cases. Diagnosis may be molecular or clinical:
Due to mitochondrial heteroplasmy, urine and blood testing is preferable to blood alone. PCR and ARMS-PCR are commonly used, reliable, rapid, and cost-effective techniques for the diagnosis of MELAS.
Hearing loss and mitochondrial diabetes are common features. Eyes may have a distinctive speckled pigment in the retina, referred to as a maculopathy. Family members may present differently.
Treatment.
There is no curative treatment. The disease remains progressive and fatal.
Patients are managed according to what areas of the body are affected at a particular time. Enzymes, amino acids, antioxidants and vitamins have been used. Treatment for MELAS currently is 1. support the good mitochondria that is left with a mito cocktail and 2. avoid known mito toxins.
Also the following supplements may help:
Epidemiology.
The exact incidence of MELAS is unknown. It is one of the more common conditions in a group known as mitochondrial diseases. Together, mitochondrial diseases occur in about 1 in 4,000 people. |
CCGS Hudson
CCGS "Hudson" was an offshore oceanographic and hydrographic survey vessel operated by the Canadian Coast Guard. The ship entered service in 1963 with the Canadian Oceanographic Service, stationed at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, called CSS "Hudson". The ship made several significant scientific voyages, among them the first circumnavigation of the Americas in 1970. The ship was transferred to the Canadian Coast Guard in 1996 and decommissioned in 2022. A replacement is not scheduled for delivery until 2024–2025.
Description.
The first Canadian ship built specifically for hydrographic and oceanographic survey work, "Hudson" was designed by the Montreal firm of Gilmore, German and Milne. "Hudson" is long overall and between perpendiculars with a beam of and a draught of The ship has a tonnage of , and a . "Hudson" is certified as Arctic class 2. The ship is powered by a diesel electric DC/DC system composed of four Alco 251D diesel engines and two Caterpillar 398 generators. The system, rated at , drives two fixed pitch propellers and bow thrusters, giving the ship a maximum speed of . The ship is also equipped with one Caterpillar 398 emergency generator. The ship has a fuel capacity of of diesel fuel, giving the ship a range of at and an endurance of 105 days.
The ship is outfitted with a flight deck and a hangar and is capable of operating one light helicopter of either the MBB Bo 105 or Bell 206L types. "Hudson" is equipped with one RHIB and has four laboratories. There is one geo-chem lab, two labs, one hydrographic and one oceanographic and one general purpose lab. The ship has a complement of 31, comprising 11 officers and 20 crew, with 23 additional berths available.
Service history.
"Hudson" was constructed and funded by the Canadian Department of Energy, Mines and Resources on behalf of the Canadian Oceanographic Service. The ship was built by Saint John Shipbuilding at their shipyard in Saint John, New Brunswick with the yard number 1046. The vessel was launched on 28 March 1963 and completed in December later that year. Named for the explorer Henry Hudson the ship entered service as CSS "Hudson", in February 1964. The ship is based at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography.
During the 1960s, "Hudson" performed five surveys of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge as part of the world-wide study of continental drift. The ship took part in Expo '67 and had satellite navigation installed, becoming the first ship outside the United States Navy to have the technology. In 1969, "Hudson" circumnavigated North America. From November 1969 to October 1970, the vessel circumnavigated North and South America, starting in Nova Scotia, travelling south to Antarctic waters, around the southern tip of South America, north through the mid-Pacific and back to Nova Scotia through the Northwest Passage. "Hudson" was the first vessel to circumnavigate both continents. While transiting, the ship carried out several experiments, among them studies of marine life along the east coast of the Americas, tidal current surveys of Chilean fjords and geographic discoveries in the Pacific Ocean. This voyage, in which over 100 scientists participated during various stages, was documented in the 1973 book "Voyage to the Edge of the World" by Alan Edmonds .
During surveys of Canada's Arctic, "Hudson" employed a helicopter for the first time. During the early 1970s, "Hudson" performed surveys of the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine. In March 1976, "Hudson" rescued the entire crew of the fishery patrol vessel "Cape Freels", which had been abandoned on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland after catching fire. In the late 1970s, "Hudson" carried out the first survey of Baffin Bay.
In the 1980s and 1990s, "Hudson" took part in large surveys that were part of international programs such as the Joint Global Ocean Fluxes Study and World Ocean Circulation Experiment. In 1980, "Hudson" circumnavigated North America. "Hudson" contributed significantly during recovery operations during the aftermath of the semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit that sank in Eastern Canadian waters on 15 February 1982. "Hudson" saved all 24 crew members of MV "Skipper 1" in the North Atlantic on 29 April 1987. On 28 April 1988, an explosion was spotted by the crew over the horizon. When "Hudson" arrived on scene, they found the tanker "Athenian Venture" on fire and in two pieces. "Hudson" recovered only one body from among the wreckage.
In the 1990s, "Hudson" performed surveys in Greenland waters, Rankin Inlet and Chesterfield Inlet. During operations in Greenland waters, ice tore a gash in the hull of the ship. "Hudson" was forced to return to Canada for repairs. In 1996, "Hudson" joined the fleet of the Canadian Coast Guard. "Hudson" contributed to the recovery operations during the recovery operations of Swissair Flight 111 in the waters off of Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada during the autumn months of 1998. From 1999 to 2001, "Hudson" performed surveys in the Sable Island region.
Replacement and retirement.
In 2007 the Government of Canada announced several new shipbuilding projects for the Canadian Coast Guard, including a replacement for "Hudson", expected to be in service by 2012. The ship rescued the seven-man crew of the fishing vessel "Ocean Commander" which burned and sank on 6 July 2009. The construction of the replacement for "Hudson" was delayed, forcing the Canadian Coast Guard to replace rusting plates aboard "Hudson" in 2012. The repairs were completed in September 2015. "Hudson" underwent a $4 million CAD refit beginning on 19 December 2016. The refit was performed by Heddle Marine at their shipyard in Hamilton, Ontario. "Hudson" was towed out of Heddle Marine's shipyard to the Canada Centre for Inland Waters in Burlington, Ontario, a Government of Canada facility. The vessel's refit, scheduled to be finished in May 2017 was unfinished at the time of the ship's removal. "Hudson" returned to the East Coast on 14 November 2017 to ensure that the ship was out of the Saint Lawrence Seaway before it closed. The ship underwent further refit at Halifax, which included modification to the cabins and laboratories. The ship is scheduled to return to service in April 2018. On 12 February 2019, St. John's Dockyard Ltd. of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador was awarded the contract to extend "Hudson"s service life by another five to ten years. "Hudson" began the six-month refit on 25 February. On completion of her refit in mid-2020, the ship's retirement date was estimated as 2024. In 2021, further mechanical problems forced the curtailment of one mission and the cancellation of another. After suffering a starboard engine failure "Hudson" was decommissioned in January 2022. A replacement is not scheduled for delivery until 2024–2025. |
Veritas (political party)
Veritas (Latin: truth) was a political party in the United Kingdom, formed in 2005 by Robert Kilroy-Silk following a split from the UK Independence Party (UKIP). Kilroy-Silk served as party leader through the 2005 General Election. He was succeeded by Patrick Eston, who resigned in 2008 citing frustrations of his efforts to reform the party. The party merged into the English Democrats in 2015.
Veritas had no representation in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, although it had members serve in the European Parliament and the London Assembly, elected as UKIP members and defecting upon Veritas' formation. At the time of its merger, the party had not put forward General Election candidates since 2005.
Formation.
Robert Kilroy-Silk, a former Labour shadow cabinet member and television presenter, was elected as a UKIP Member of the European Parliament in the 2004 European Parliament election for the East Midlands region. His ambition to attain the leadership of that party was announced in October 2004, but it proved very unpopular within the party. Instead of risking disciplinary action for continuing this action, Kilroy-Silk resigned the party whip, while remaining a full member and asserting his continued challenge. The plan ultimately failed, and Kilroy-Silk finally resigned from the party – as had been long expected – on 20 January 2005. Rumours circulated immediately that Kilroy-Silk was set to form his own party, fuelled by the registration of the domain name "veritasparty.com" a month earlier. An earlier rumour suggested that he had been in negotiations with the English Democrats to join and lead their party.
"Veritas" – Latin for "truth" – was officially founded in a press conference on 2 February, during which Kilroy-Silk proclaimed "unlike the old parties, we shall be honest, open and straight", devoid of the other parties' "lies and spin". There were a number of defections from UKIP to the new party. They included UKIP London Assembly member Damian Hockney, who became deputy leader.
At the time of formation, its primary policy was opposition to immigration to the United Kingdom. It was perceived to be more specific than UKIP's general euroscepticism, and almost to the point of Veritas being labelled a single-issue party. Kilroy-Silk also proposed support for the introduction of flat tax in opposition to the existing system of income tax bands varying with income. Kilroy-Silk's preferred figure was 22%, the "basic rate" band in which most UK citizens fell at the time.
The party was immediately lambasted as nothing more than a vanity vehicle for Kilroy-Silk, and was nicknamed "Vanitas" by former allies.
2005 election.
The first test of Veritas' ambitions was the general election on 5 May 2005 where it had hoped to overtake UKIP as the primary party opposing the European Union. Although "The Times" newspaper had suggested that Veritas hoped to run candidates in every constituency in Great Britain, the party ended up fielding 65 candidates in England and Wales, polling 40,481 votes, an average of 623 (1.5%).
Kilroy-Silk contested the constituency of Erewash in Derbyshire. He came fourth with 2,957 votes (5.8%); Liz Blackman was elected for Labour with 22,472. No Veritas candidates were elected; Kilroy-Silk was the only one to save his deposit.
In the subsequent Cheadle by-election on 14 July 2005 Les Leggett of Veritas polled 218 votes (0.6%).
Aftermath of 2005 general election.
In the wake of the poor showing in the general election, it was reported that there were many resignations from the party. Some discontented party members came to oppose Kilroy-Silk and formed the Veritas Members Association (VMA). One of its founders, Ken Wharton, challenged Kilroy-Silk for the leadership on 12 July 2005, during the Cheadle by-election campaign but his challenge faltered due to ill health. Kilroy-Silk resigned as party leader on 29 July. In a press statement he said "It was clear from the general election result – and more recently that of the Cheadle by-election – that the electors are content with the old parties and that it would be virtually impossible for a new party to make a significant impact given the nature of our electoral system. We tried and failed". Further resignations included that of his chief-of-staff David Soutter and deputy leader Damian Hockney. Hockney and London Assembly Veritas representative Peter Hulme-Cross (who, like Hockney, had defected from UKIP) subsequently formed the One London party.
A leadership election was held in September 2005. Acting leader Patrick Eston defeated Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Colin Brown, and former boxer Winston McKenzie on a 22% turnout. This, combined with a poor turnout at the party's first Annual General Meeting, is believed to have brought about the subsequent resignation of Brown and the founders of the VMA. Eston appointed a new party chairman, Alan Ainscow, who resigned from that post and the party in November. As defections and resignations continued, a number of members and former members from Veritas and UKIP, including Anthony Bennett and Ken Wharton, formed a new party, the Popular Alliance in March 2006. Eston appointed a deputy, Howard Martin, who was the main Veritas Party spokesperson, and seemed determined to continue with the party, despite the depletion of the Veritas membership.
2005–15.
In the 2006 local elections, Veritas stood four candidates: two each in Kingston-upon-Hull and Bolton. They polled an average of 98 votes each (3.5% of the total). In the 2007 elections, Veritas stood three candidates: two in English council elections and one – Iain James Sheldon in the Mid and West Wales Region for the Welsh Assembly, who received 502 votes (0.2% of the total).
In the summer of 2007, Patrick Eston contacted the leadership of other parties with similar political positions with a view to organising a meeting to discuss co-operation. While all parties were being contacted a later meeting was being arranged for September between Eston and the leaders of the Freedom Party and United Kingdom Popular Democrats who had shown interest. On 15 June 2008 Patrick Eston announced that he could not take the Veritas Party in the direction he wanted and so would be resigning the party leadership. In a resignation letter to the party membership he said:
Therese Muchewicz, Party Secretary, served as Acting Leader until leadership elections in October 2008. She was subsequently elected as the new Party Leader. The party put forward no candidates in the 2010 or 2015 general elections. It was subsequently announced that Veritas would merge into the English Democrats. |
Kes (Star Trek)
Kes is a fictional character on the American science fiction television show "". She is portrayed by actress Jennifer Lien. Set in the 24th century of the "Star Trek" universe, the series follows the crew of the starship USS "Voyager", stranded far from home and struggling to get back to Earth. Kes is a member of the Ocampa (a telepathic alien species with an average life expectancy of nine years) who joins the crew in the series' premiere episode along with her Talaxian boyfriend, Neelix. She subsequently works as 's medical assistant and develops her mental abilities with Tuvok's assistance.
Kes' storylines focus on her relationships with Neelix, the Doctor, Tuvok, Tom Paris, and Captain Janeway. Her psionic powers are also central and secondary themes of some episodes. Lien was removed from the series in the , but reprised her role in a episode, "". Kes has been featured in non-canon novels and short stories adapted from the show.
Critical response to Kes was mostly negative, though some critics praised Lien's performance. Although Kes' relationship with Neelix was panned, critics had a more mixed reaction to her friendships with Tuvok and Tom Paris. Kes' relationships with members of "Voyager's" crew and her psionic powers attracted attention from academics.
Development.
Creation and casting.
Early development of "", including the Ocampa, began in July 1993. Producers initially imagined the Ocampa as an androgynous alien species. In later meetings, they agreed on the idea of the Ocampa having a short lifespan, similar to a mayfly. Kes was intended to live for only seven years, and changes in her appearance were planned for each season, emphasizing her age progression. The androgyny concept was dropped, as the first cast description identified Kes, who was initially named "Dah", as a female. Producers proposed a second Ocampa, shown near the end of his lifespan, as part of the main cast, though this idea was abandoned in favor of Neelix, who was a late addition to the series. Kes was initially created as a scout for "Voyager" journey through the Delta Quadrant, before Neelix assumed the role instead. Kes was then reimagined as a medical intern. In an August 1993 memo, series creator Jeri Taylor suggested Kes have a superhuman ability and be caught in a war between two factions. Producers debated the nature of the character's psionic powers, leading them to ask production associate Zayra Cabot and the Joan Pearce Research Associates to gather information on parapsychology. They later agreed to portray Kes with "some measure of telepathic ability" for the pilot episode (""), and planned to address it further in future episodes.
When casting Kes, "Caretaker" director Winrich Kolbe looked for an actress who was "fragile, but with a steely will underneath". The casting call was for only women in their early-twenties or younger. Producers hired Jennifer Lien based on their belief that she could embody the character's "somewhat childlike and fragile" qualities. Lien was one of the first cast members hired for the series; at the age of nineteen, she was the youngest actor on the show at the time of its debut. Lien only had a basic understanding of the "Star Trek" franchise prior to receiving the part. She said this allowed her to approach her performance without anxiety. She had auditioned for the show due to the opportunity to play a new alien species, and explained "it meant that anything could happen, offering me the chance to learn and grow as an actress". Jennifer Gatti was considered as a runner-up for Kes, and she would later guest star in the episode "".
Series creator Michael Piller was concerned the pilot was too "passionless" due to its focus on an action-adventure storyline over individual character development; he explained: "The biggest danger in the pilot was in creating a story that nobody cared about." Part of Kes' role in the episode, for Piller, was to encourage the audience to care about Neelix. The costumes in "Caretaker" were created by Robert Blackman. He said designing Kes' clothing was a challenge since producers were still unclear about the character and Lien was very introverted. Although he had difficulty with Lien, Blackman said the cast and crew enjoyed working with her. Kes' original costume was pastel colored and based on a sprite, but the producers rejected it after a wardrobe fitting.
The Ocampa prosthetics for "Caretaker" were designed by Michael Westmore. While the early scenes of "Caretaker" were filmed, Lien tested various combinations of wigs and prosthetics; cinematographer Marvin V. Rush filmed each version for series creator Rick Berman to receive his final approval. During the show's first two seasons, it took Lien three hours a day to get into her character's hair, make-up, and wardrobe. As the series progressed, Lien developed an allergic response to the ear prosthetics; starting with the episode "", Lien no longer wore the ear prosthetics and Kes was portrayed with longer hair to cover her ears and hide this.
Characterization and relationships.
The "Caretaker" script stated Kes was a "dazzling, ethereal beauty, waifish and fragile", with a "dignity – her bearing, an alertness in her look, that suggests a being of powerful intelligence". On the "Star Trek" official website, the character is identified as a "tough survivor and a bit of a rebel". In a 1996 interview, Lien characterized Kes as "strong and curious and intelligent" despite still being "a child in a way with the same fears and inhibitions and worries that we all have". She saw the character's lack of "cynicism or precociousness or pretentiousness or sarcasm" as different from typical young female roles. Although she found "this kind of diversity in a character" difficult to play, Lien enjoyed the process and said: "It's a joy to pretend to be this extraordinary creature, so open and everything so new."
Lien was not given information about her character's future storylines prior to receiving the final copies of the scripts. Unlike the show's other actors, she did not campaign for changes to her character, explaining "I felt my contribution was more in the acting, and not in the writing". She viewed Kes' developing mental abilities as representing "her confidence in being able to choose a path for her life", and identified temptation as a key part in her character arc. Author Paul Ruditis summed up Kes through the paradoxical phrase "fragile power".
Kolbe said Kes and Neelix brought romance and comedy to the series. Lien and Neelix's actor Ethan Phillips said they enjoyed filming their scenes together. Writer Kenneth Biller wanted to establish the pair as living together and sexually active, but Taylor and Berman thought Kes looked too young for those storylines. Biller proposed scenes in which the characters talk about sex for the first time as a way to explore "the weirdness of alien sexuality". This discussion led to dialogue being included in the episode "Elogium". Despite this, the sexual relationship between Kes and Neelix is never clearly defined.
After Kes breaks up with Neelix in "", Phillips asked writers to provide closure for the couple in a subsequent episode. He believed the end of their relationship was too "muddy", since Kes was possessed by an alien, and thus unable to control her actions, during the break-up scene. The writers denied his request, saying: "No, let's just drop it, let's move on." Producers had planned a scene for the episode "" in which Kes and Neelix discuss the end of their romantic relationship, but it was removed due to time constraints. Berman discussed the couple during a 1997 interview, saying: "There was a relationship with Neelix that didn't work out that well."
Kes has a more parent-child relationship with Kathryn Janeway and , portrayed by Kate Mulgrew and Robert Picardo, respectively. Ruditis identified Kes' trust in Janeway as representing her desire to explore the universe. Picardo viewed Kes as the Doctor's "sounding board" and "emotional confessor" as she mentored him on being human. Following the removal of Kes in the , Picardo was concerned the Doctor would be relegated to the role as the comic relief. He suggested producers invert the Doctor's relationship with Kes to show him teaching former Borg drone Seven of Nine about humanity. A darker relationship between the Doctor and Kes was planned for the episode "". According to writer Joe Menosky, the Doctor's evil alter ego was going to be "perversely sexual and sadistic" and have a "psychosexual" attraction to Kes. Menosky drafted a scene in which the Doctor interacts with holograms of Kes on the holodeck, including performing surgery on one, but this was cut from the final episode. Unlike Neelix, Janeway, and the Doctor, Kes has few scenes with B'Elanna Torres. Roxann Dawson, who plays Torres, requested for further interaction between the two.
Departure and return.
The show-runners reluctantly terminated Lien's contract as a member of "Voyager's" main cast due to unresolved personal issues that negatively impacted her performances. Chakotay's actor Robert Beltran said changing a lead character mid-season was unusual for the "Star Trek" franchise, though Taylor believed it was typical for a show in its later seasons. There was speculation in the media that Harry Kim's actor Garrett Wang was going to be replaced instead, but that he was kept due to his appeal to a certain demographic and placement on "People"'s "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" list. Wang said: "The timing of that, right during our hiatus, certainly couldn't have hurt me in terms of them keeping me on the show."
At the time Berman and Taylor said they chose to remove Kes since they felt the character was not properly developed over the course of the show, though this was later revealed be a cover story to protect Lien. Executive producer Brannon Braga said this decision was a "failure of imagination on the writers' part". Braga requested freelance writer Bryan Fuller develop the concept for Kes' departure. Receiving a positive response during a pitch meeting, Fuller helped to rewrite the character's final episode "". He said he had "really bonded" with Kes during the episode's production.
Some of the series' writing staff were sorry that Kes was removed; Kenneth Biller stated:
I was a little bit regretful when Kes left the show, because I thought she was an interesting character to write for—from a science fiction standpoint—because she had certain... she had telepathic abilities, she had this very compressed lifespan, she had things about her character that often lent themselves to interesting storytelling [...] We lost something in losing the Kes character.
Mulgrew was also disappointed by Lien's departure, describing it as a "great sorrow to me on many levels", describing the departure as the "fracturing of an ensemble cast that was extremely special to me". Tim Russ, who portrays Tuvok, referred to the character's exit as "gracious" and "poignant".
After leaving "Voyager", Lien stopped acting to pursue an associate degree in health. Despite this, producers invited her back for an episode because they wanted to use Kes to advance the story. The concept for this episode, "", was developed by Braga and written by Fuller and Michael Taylor. "Cinefantastique"'s Anna L. Kaplan considered Fuller's involvement ironic due to his participation in "The Gift". Lien was uncomfortable with the original script, and requested that it be rewritten. She said it was difficult to play a different version of Kes and interact with the other characters who had changed since her last appearance. Lien did not have the same allergic response to the ear prosthetics since she did not have to wear them for the same length of time. During a 2010 interview with StarTrek.com, Lien said she preferred her performance in "The Gift" to that for "Fury", saying she made "a lot of poor acting choices" in the latter.
Appearances.
"Star Trek: Voyager".
Kes was born in 2369 on Ocampa, a planet in the Delta Quadrant. As a part of the Ocampa species, she is telepathic and has a life expectancy of nine years. Prior to the show's pilot episode, Kes lived with her people in an underground city constructed by a Nacene alien known as the Caretaker. He had cared for the Ocampa since inadvertently destroying their planet's ecosystem and atmosphere thousands of years ago; the Ocampa became completely insular and dependent upon him. The Caretaker had sealed the city away from the planet's surface to protect the Ocampa; however, Kes dreamed of leaving the Ocampa enclave to explore the galaxy and develop her psionic powers, with which her ancestors were rumored to have far more proficiency. Finding a way to Ocampa's surface, she was captured and tortured by the Kazon who hope to gain access to the Ocampa city and its resources; Neelix, a Talaxian, rescued her, and they became a couple.
When the Caretaker realizes he is dying, he abducts beings from the Alpha Quadrant in the hopes of finding a compatible mate with whom to produce offspring to ensure someone can continue protecting and caring for the Ocampa. In the show's pilot episode, the Caretaker kidnaps members of a Maquis crew and the Starfleet crew of the starship USS "Voyager". Kes helps the ships' captains, Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay, recover their missing crew members. Janeway encourages the Caretaker to allow the Ocampa to care for themselves; although he refers to the Ocampa as children and believes they are unable to survive by themselves, she says that they must be allowed to grow up and learn to care for themselves. When the Kazon attack and attempt to steal the Caretaker's technology, Janeway orders the destruction of his vessel. Stranded in the Delta Quadrant, the Maquis and Starfleet crew merge on their journey back to the Alpha Quadrant. Kes and Neelix decide to serve as guides to the stranded crews. The remaining Ocampa stay on the planet.
Aboard "Voyager", Kes starts a aeroponic garden to provide vegetables and fruit for the crew's meals. She also develops a friendship with while studying to become his medical assistant. She encourages him to develop a better set of social skills and pushes the crew to recognize him as more than just a hologram. In "", the Vidiians harvest Neelix's lungs, and Kes donates one of her own to save his life. During "Elogium", emanations from space-dwelling lifeforms cause Kes to prematurely enter the elogium, the Ocampa female reproductive state. This condition can only occur once during an Ocampa life cycle. Kes and Neelix disagree over the idea of having children. Neelix eventually agrees to being a father, but Kes decides against conceiving a child. After the ship moves away from the life forms, the Doctor determines that Kes has gone through a false alarm; she will be able to go through a true elogium in the future. Throughout the first two seasons, Neelix becomes jealous of Tom Paris' interest in Kes. Neelix and Paris resolve this tension in "" while nursing a reptilian humanoid baby together during an away mission.
During the first two seasons, Kes slowly develops her psionic powers. She has visions of a planet's destruction in "" and is able to resist a psychoactive trance to save the crew in "". "Voyager" discovers a second Ocampa colony in "", and its leader Tanis teaches Kes to see and control particles on the subatomic level. Kes was previously trained by Tuvok, who took a more cautious approach. Under Tanis' tutelage, Kes develops pyrokinesis, but she is unable to control the power and almost kills Tuvok by boiling his blood. After discovering that Tanis is collaborating with the Caretaker's first mate, Suspiria, to destroy "Voyager", Kes subdues him with her powers. Tuvok reminds Kes that she must learn to control, rather than fear, her darker impulses. Tiernan, a former dictator of the planet Illari, takes control of Kes' body in "Warlord". He uses her mental powers to stage a coup against his planet's leader. While under Tieran's influence, Kes breaks up with Neelix. The crew eventually free Kes from Tieran's control and kill him, though she is traumatized by the experience.
While exploring a Nechani holy site in "", Kes is shocked into a coma by its force field. The Nechani believe Kes is being punished for her sacrilegious behavior. After participating in a religious ritual, Janeway realizes she must rely on her own faith rather than technology to cure Kes. Going against her crew's advice, Janeway carries Kes into the shrine. The force field does not harm them, and Kes recovers. In "Darkling", Kes becomes attracted to Zahir, who is a part of a humanoid species called the Mikhal Travelers. She is interested in the Mikhal Travelers for their desire to explore space. The Doctor injures Zahir and kidnaps Kes after developing an evil alter ego while grafting new personalities into his program. Kes considers leaving "Voyager" to be with Zahir, but later decides against this.
In "Before and After", an episode in the , Kes lives short periods of her life in reverse order, starting with her death and ending with her birth. In this alternative timeline, she is romantically involved with Paris, and they have a daughter, Linnis, who marries and has a son with Harry Kim. During this timeline, Kes participates in "Voyager's" year-long battle with the Krenim, which takes place in the season four episode "Year of Hell". She is infected with particles from a chroniton torpedo during the Krenim attack; Paris speculates that this exposure to chroniton radiation is the reason why Kes is irregularly jumping back in time. When the Doctor brings Kes back to the present, she documents information about the Krenim and their future attack. At the end of the episode, Tuvok says Kes has seen only one possible future for "Voyager". During "", "Voyager" becomes entangled in a major conflict between the Borg and Species 8472. Partially due to her exposure to the powerful telepathic influx of Species 8472, Kes begins to evolve into a different state of being. In "The Gift", she realizes she can no longer remain aboard "Voyager", as her powers threaten to destroy the ship. She uses her newly acquired powers to hurl "Voyager" and its crew safely beyond Borg space, 9,500 light-years closer to Earth, before turning into living energy.
Kes revisits "Voyager" in "Fury", in which she is near the end of her life cycle and experiencing memory loss. She mistakenly believes that Janeway kidnapped her from Ocampa, and she travels back in time to negotiate with the Vidiians, promising to help them access the ship to harvest the crew members' organs if they take her younger self home. After this plan is stopped, the younger Kes creates a hologram to remind her future self about her affection for the crew and how much they had cared for her. After seeing the hologram, the older version of Kes says goodbye to the crew before taking her ship back to Ocampa.
Non-canonical appearances.
Kes appears in non-canon novels and short stories adapted from "Star Trek: Voyager". In Christie Golden's 1997 book "Marooned", an alien kidnaps Kes, and during Greg Cox's 1997 novel "The Black Shore", she feels a "psychic call" when the crew takes shore leave on a planet. Kes is featured in the novels "Mosaic" (1996) and "Pathways" (1998) in which she accompanies an away team on an unknown planet and helps the crew escape a prison camp, respectively. Jennifer Lien contributes recipes for potato salad and a "good-karma lentil soup" for the 1999 cookbook based on the series. Written by Ethan Phillips and William J. Birnes, the book mentions that tubers are Kes' favorite food.
In Christie Golden's novel trilogy "Dark Matters", Kes is known as the "Entity", and gathers mutated dark matter. She has forgotten about her past aboard "Voyager" after turning into living energy, but slowly regains some memories over the course of the books. She does not contact the crew and is told she is a parallel-universe version of herself, separate from the one featured in "Fury". Tuvok, however, does briefly sense her presence before her departure. In Kirsten Beyer's 2012 novel "The Eternal Tide", Kes and Q Junior resurrect Janeway after she is assimilated by the Borg and subsequently killed. Q Junior teaches Kes how to pull Janeway's body back together and restore her to her most perfect state.
Kes also features in Heather Jarman's 2006 book "Evolution", the third installment of the trilogy "String Theory", in which she helps the Doctor and Q with the birth of an Ocampa-Nacene hybrid. When the Ocampan mother is unable to carry the baby to term, Kes merges with her to act as a surrogate. After giving birth to a boy, Kes takes him to Ocampa; a rainstorm on the planet hints at the recovery of its ecosystem. The novel retcons Kes' appearance in "Fury" as the manifestation of her dark side, formed as a side effect of a confrontation with a renegade Nacene. In Penny A. Proctor's short story "Restoration", included in the 2001 anthology "Strange New Worlds V", Kes sacrifices herself to revive Ocampa's ecosystem. The mirror universe version of Kes features in the "Star Trek: Mirror Universe" novel series.
Reception.
Critical reception.
Lien received some positive feedback for her performance. In a 1995 review of "Caretaker", "Varietys Kinsey Lowe praised Lien's performance as a "beguiling blend of naive wonder and fierce dedication". "Screen Rants Alexandra August applauded Lien for trying "her best with what she was given", but felt she could not make Kes "very dynamic" as a character. Kes' removal in season four was praised by critics who believed the character was poorly developed. Rob Owen, writing for Albany's "Times Union", criticized Kes as "reduced to a subservient Nurse Chapel role". However, "The Virginian-Pilot"'s Larry Bonko was disappointed by Kes' exit, as he felt the character "gave the series heart".
"Screen Rant" contributors felt Kes had potential if her storylines focused more on her short lifespan and mental powers. Snellgrove cited Kes as an example of how certain "Star Trek: Voyager" characters were underused. August felt she was not given enough screen time or character development to become interesting. Thompson described the Ocampa as one of the more fascinating species introduced on "Star Trek: Voyager", and wrote that Kes' departure was one of the five things that hurt the show.
Kes' romance with Neelix was the subject of criticism. Although the relationship was introduced in the pilot, Ruditis felt it was "somewhat undefined as the series progressed". TrekMovie.com's Matt Wright panned the couple as "borderline gross", and Thompson cited them as having the worst chemistry on the series. Thompson and Gizmodo's Tom Pritchard wrote that Kes would have benefited if Neelix was not included on the show. August criticized the frequency in which Kes' storylines revolved around her love life. Kes' relationship with other characters received a better response. Thompson praised Paris' attraction for Kes as "a good setup relationship to guide him into being a better and more responsible man for B'Elanna". August believed Tuvok and Kes could be an ideal couple if he were not already married.
Critics had a mostly negative response to Kes' storyline for "Elogium". Commentators questioned the plausibility of an Ocampa woman only giving birth once as it would cause an inevitable decrease in the species population. Writer David A. McIntee criticized the elogium as a poorly-done metaphor for puberty, PMS, teenage pregnancy, abortion, and menopause. "Bustle"'s Marie Southard Ospina praised the episode's depiction of a woman choosing to not have a baby without receiving judgement. Kes' return for "Fury" also received negative feedback from reviewers who found her characterization to be disappointing. "Den of Geek!"'s John Andrews likened the episode to a "sad yet compelling character study", although he believed Kes' shift in morality was not believable. August dislike the episode's version of Kes, describing it as "a ham-fisted way of undermining her entire journey after leaving "Voyager"".
Analysis.
Kes' relationship with "Voyager"'s crew was the focus of academic discussion. Cultural studies scholar Debra Bonita Shaw wrote Janeway only accepts Kes, Neelix, and Seven of Nine as her subordinates; to gain Janeway's acceptance, these characters must adhere to an established "structure of command" and help "Voyager" return home. Media studies scholar Aviva Dove-Viebahn was critical of the portrayal of Kes and Neelix as similar to "native informants", a character type that she described as "token and subjugated". However, Dove-Viebahn clarified that Kes had agency through her mental abilities, which are portrayed as stronger than the crew's scientific and medical technology. English literature professor David Greven criticized Kes' relationship with Tuvok, writing their differences in race and age was too uncomfortably similar to Uncle Tom's friendship with Little Eva in the 1852 novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin".
Scholars discussed her psionic powers in "Cold Fire". According to media studies scholar Marion Gymnich, the "Star Trek" franchise depicts telepathy with "infiltrations and mental intrusions". She cited Kes' loss of control in "Cold Fire" as an example of how "Star Trek" negatively portrays telepathic communication. Analyzing the scene in which Kes boils Tuvok's blood, Greven wrote that he becomes a monster similar to those in "Frankenstein", "The Phantom of the Opera", and "The Monster". Describing the sequence as one of the more disturbing in "Star Trek", Greven criticized the franchise for often changing "the differently-raced into monsters". |
Akai MPC
The Akai MPC (originally MIDI Production Center, now Music Production Center) is a series of music workstations produced by Akai from 1988 onwards. MPCs combine sampling and sequencing functions, allowing users to record portions of sound, modify them and play them back as sequences.
The first MPCs were designed by Roger Linn, who had designed the successful LM-1 and LinnDrum drum machines in the 1980s. Linn aimed to create an intuitive instrument, with a grid of pads that can be played similarly to a traditional instrument such as a keyboard or drum kit. Rhythms can be built not just from samples of percussion but samples of any recorded sound.
Development.
By the late 1980s, drum machines had become popular for creating beats and loops without musicians, and hip hop artists were using samplers to take portions of existing recordings and create new compositions. Grooveboxes, machines that combined these functions, such as those by E-mu Systems, required knowledge of music production and cost up to $10,000.
The original MPC, the MPC-60, was a collaboration between the Japanese company Akai and the American engineer Roger Linn. Linn had designed the successful LM-1 and LinnDrum, two of the earliest drum machines to use samples (prerecorded sounds). His company Linn Electronics had closed following the failure of the Linn 9000, a drum machine and sampler. According to Linn, his collaboration with Akai "was a good fit because Akai needed a creative designer with ideas and I didn't want to do sales, marketing, finance or manufacturing, all of which Akai was very good at".
Linn described the MPC as an attempt to "properly re-engineer" the Linn 9000. He disliked reading instruction manuals and wanted to create an intuitive interface that simplified music production. He designed the functions, including the panel layout and hardware specification, and created the software with his team; he credited the circuitry to a team led by English engineer David Cockerell. Akai did the production engineering, making it "more manufacturable". The first model, the MPC60 (MIDI Production Center), was released on December 8, 1988, and retailed for $5,000. It was followed by the MPC60 MkII and the MPC3000, and the MPC2000, which Linn did not work on.
After Akai went out of business in 2006, Linn left the company and its assets were purchased by Numark. Akai has continued to produce MPC models without Linn. Linn was critical, saying: "Akai seems to be making slight changes to my old 1986 designs for the original MPC, basically rearranging the deck chairs on the "Titanic"."
Features.
Instead of the switches and small hard buttons of earlier devices, the MPC has a 4x4 grid of large pressure-sensitive rubber pads which can be played similarly to a keyboard. The interface was simpler than those of competing instruments; it can be used without a studio and connected to a normal sound system. According to "Vox""," "most importantly, it wasn't an enormous, stationary mixing panel with as many buttons as an airplane cockpit".
Whereas artists had previously sampled long pieces of music, the MPC allowed them to sample smaller portions, assign them to separate pads, and trigger them independently, similarly to playing a traditional instrument such as a keyboard or drum kit. Rhythms can be built not just from percussion samples but any recorded sound, such as horns or synthesizers.
The MPC60 only allows sample lengths of up to 13 seconds, as sampling memory was expensive at the time and Linn expected users to sample short sounds to create rhythms; he did not anticipate that they would sample long loops. Functions are selected and samples are edited with two knobs. Red “record” and “overdub” buttons are used to save or loop beats. The MPC60 has an LCD screen and came with floppy disks with sounds and instruments.
The MPC had a major influence on the development of electronic and hip hop music. It led to new sampling techniques, with users pushing its technical limits to creative effect. It had a democratizing effect on music production, allowing artists to create elaborate tracks without traditional instruments or recording studios. Its pad interface was adopted by numerous manufacturers and became standard in DJ technology.
Legacy.
Linn anticipated that users would sample short sounds, such as individual notes or drum hits, to use as building blocks for compositions. However, users began sampling longer passages of music. In the words of Greg Milner, the author of "Perfecting Sound Forever", musicians "didn't just want the sound of John Bonham's kick drum, they wanted to loop and repeat the whole of 'When the Levee Breaks'." Linn said: "It was a very pleasant surprise. After 60 years of recording, there are so many prerecorded examples to sample from. Why reinvent the wheel?"
The MPC's ability to create percussion from any sound turned sampling into a new artform and allowed for new styles of music. Its affordability and accessibility had a democratizing effect; musicians could create tracks on a single machine without a studio or music theory knowledge, and it was inviting to musicians who did not play traditional instruments or had no music education.
According to "Vox", "The explosion of electronic music and hip hop could not have happened without a machine as intimately connected to the creative process as the MPC. It challenged the notion of what a band can look like, or what it takes to be a successful musician. No longer does one need five capable musicians and instruments." MPCs continue to be used in music, even with the advent of digital audio workstations, and fetch high prices on the used market. The 4x4 grid of pads was adopted by numerous manufacturers and became standard in DJ technology.
"Engadget" wrote that the impact of the MPC on hip hop "cannot be overstated". The British rapper Jehst saw it as the next step in hip hop evolution after the introduction of the TR-808, TR-909 and DMX drum machines in the 1980s. The American producer DJ Shadow used an MPC60 to create his influential 1996 album "Endtroducing", which is composed entirely of samples. The American producer J Dilla disabled the quantize feature on his MPC to create his signature "off-kilter" sampling style. After his death, his MPC was preserved in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2014. The rapper Kanye West used the MPC to compose several of his best-known tracks and much of his breakthrough album "The College Dropout;" West closed the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards with a performance of his 2010 track "Runaway" on an MPC. |
Nissan Quest
The Nissan Quest is a minivan manufactured and marketed by Nissan for model years 1993–2017 over four generations.
The first two generations (internally designated V40 and V41) of the Quest were short-wheelbase models co-developed and manufactured with Ford, aside its badge engineered Mercury Villager. For model year 2004 and the third generation (V42), Nissan ended its joint venture with Ford, manufacturing the Quest on its own. For model year 2011, the fourth generation (RE52) became a widened variant of the Nissan Elgrand minivan and was now manufactured in Japan. For the preceding generations, the Quest loosely shared its chassis and powertrain with the Nissan Maxima.
Following the decline of minivan sales in North America, Nissan ended sales of the Quest after the 2017 model year.
First generation (V40; 1993).
In 1987, Ford and Nissan entered a joint agreement to develop an all-new vehicle to compete in the minivan segment scheduled for 1991. Development officially began later that year under the codename VX54, with the final designs being chosen in 1989. Prototypes went into initial testing in 1990 at Ford and Nissan test tracks, later real-world testing throughout 1991, with development concluding at the end of that year. On January 6, 1992, the 1993 Nissan Quest was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Unusually, its design patents were subsequently filed by design chief Thomas H. Semple for Nissan Motor on March 5, 1992, rather than in advance of its introduction.
The first Nissan Quest rolled off the production line on April 14, 1992 at the Avon, Ohio plant sourced from Japanese production. While assembly took place at Ohio Assembly, initial production began in Japan and later at NMMC that August. NMMC production began in June 1992 on the main body components, with engine assembly beginning in August. The Quest was launched in September 1992 and sold 1,358 units during its first month.
The Quest was a successor to the Nissan Axxess, which was sold in the United States only in 1990 (ended production in 1989) and in Canada from 1990 to 1995. It also replaced the rear-wheel drive Vanette, also discontinued in 1990. The Quest was initially powered by Nissan's 3.0 L VG30E SOHC engine that made and . For a short time, the Quest was sold in Japan in a right hand drive configuration at "Nissan Bluebird Store" locations, but due to the engine displacement and exterior dimensions exceeding Japanese Government dimension regulations sales were limited and cancelled after the facelifted version was released in 1996.
Ford required that Nissan make some design changes to the VG30E before they would agree to use it in the Villager and Quest. Changes included the addition of an oil level sensor and relocating the oil filter assembly for better access. The engine was also modified for the Quest and Villager to become a non-interference design: if the timing belt were to break, the pistons wouldn't come in contact with any open valves in the cylinders. The Quest was available as XE or GXE models. Because of manufacturing issues, Nissan had an arrangement for Ford to assemble the minivan in North America, and in turn they were allowed to rebadge it and sell it under the Mercury brand as the Villager. Many of the interior parts, including the radio, heater controls and power windows controls were adapted from Ford, and were similar to the Ford Aerostar. This generation of the Quest and Villager was built at Ford's Ohio Assembly plant in Avon Lake, Ohio. The van shared the modified version of the VG30E from the U11, and early J30 Maximas, as well as the 4-speed automatic transmission from the Maxima.
Seating was for 7, with a removable 2-seater bench in the middle, allowing the third row bench of 3 seats to slide up (either folded up for more room or down for passengers) behind the front for more rear cargo room. The third row seat was not removable however, and the system was not improved in the 1999 redesign (on which the model was not available in Canada), so newer fold-into-the-floor seats and lightweight buckets quickly eclipsed the system. In 1993, a driver's side airbag was made standard. A passenger airbag was later added in 1995 for the 1996 model year. That year saw the introduction of changes to the front and rear fascias, as well as headlights and tail lamps and the elimination of the motorized shoulder belts.
Second generation (V41; 1999).
For 1999, the Quest was redesigned at Nissan Design America in San Diego, California, under Diane Allen, during 1993 and 1995. The production design by Shinken Tanaka was frozen in 1995 and design patents were filed at the Japan Patent Office on November 2, 1995 under patent #1009611. The exterior was given a more aerodynamic look, and the driver's side sliding door was added (it had been absent in the three-door Quests from 1993 to 1998). The Quest also got a power boost via the 3.3 L VG33E SOHC engine, making and of torque. With the new 3.3-liter engine, the 1999 Nissan Quest had a 0–60 mph acceleration time of 11.1 seconds. The XE trim was discontinued and the GXE was moved as the base model. Two new trim levels were also introduced: the top-of-the-line GLE and the sport model SE. This Nissan Quest model became the first Nissan minivan with four doors since the 1995 Nissan Axxess.
The 2000 Nissan Quest was tested in a competition organized by "Car and Driver" against the Chevrolet Venture, Toyota Sienna, Mazda MPV, and Chrysler Voyager. The Quest performed poorly and placed fifth out of the five minivans tested; the editors cited a lengthy braking distance of 220 feet from 70 mph and inflexible seating configurations (the third-row seat was not removable) as downsides, while the Quest's performance and nimble handling were cited as advantages over its competitors.
In August 2000, the 2001 Quest received various minor improvements. Styling front and rear was updated, along with new alloy wheels on all models. The entry-level GXE gained a rear stabilizer bar, while the SE received acceleration-sensitive strut valving and a strut tower brace. New interior gauges and fabrics as well as a 130-watt sound system were standard on SE and GLE. Luxury GLE models also received an in-dash six-CD changer and a wood and leather-trimmed steering wheel. An optional overhead family entertainment system replaced the former floor-mounted model, though it could still be specified for SEs and GLEs equipped with a sunroof. Front seatbelts were given pretensioners. The 2001 Quest was also slightly longer, with more cargo space than the initial models. The 2002 Nissan Quest was not sold in Canada. The Quest would not return to Canada until the third-generation model arrived in 2003.
By the end of this generation, both Honda and Toyota marketed solely long-wheelbase minivans. In 2001, "Automotive News" reported that 29,232 Nissan Quests were sold, representing a 32% decrease from the previous year. No Quest models were marketed for the 2003 model year.
Third generation (V42; 2004).
Development began in 1999 on the V42 alongside a proposed Ford replacement. In 2000, decisions were made by Ford and Nissan to abandon the joint venture, as both the Windstar and Quest replacements were in initial development and the design process. As a result, Ford made plans to build a Mercury variant on the Windstar (WIN-96) successor's platform due in 2003 and Nissan on the Altima and Maxima platform. The design by Alfonso Albaisa was chosen in late 2000, with a concept vehicle being presented in January 2002 at NAIAS as a thinly veiled preview. Design patents were filed on December 27, 2002 and registered under D483,297 on December 9, 2003. The production third generation Quest was unveiled for the 2004 model year at the 2003 North American International Auto Show using the Nissan Altima and Nissan Maxima platform, Nissan's FF-L platform, in a package slightly longer than the Chrysler long-wheelbase minivans. Production was moved to a new plant in Canton, Mississippi and started on May 27, 2003.
The Quest is powered by the 3.5 L VQ35DE engine from the Maxima, Altima, and others. The 2004 Quest recorded a 0-60 mph acceleration time of 8.8 seconds. In the Quest, it produces and of torque. The Quest has a flat folding rear bench and the two middle chairs fold nearly flat into the floor. The interior volume is . Its appearance shows many similarities to the Renault Espace which appeared in 2002.
The third generation Quest features an unusual moonroof glass arrangement with separate panels above each passenger with individual retractable sunshades, while the roof above the passengers accommodates 2 DVD screens with auxiliary input plug, when the VHS shaped IWCC Xl system was discontinued. Also featured in the SE model were side front airbags, curtain airbags for all rows, VSC (Vehicle Stability Control), Traction Control, dual rear power sliding doors and power rear hatch, Bose audio with RDS and folding second row seats, dual climate control, and rear backup sensors. Nissan redesigned the front grille and the dashboard for the 2007 model. They also moved the DVD player from under the front passenger seat to the instrument panel stack.
Production of this generation Quest ended after the 2009 model year, with Nissan stating that the automaker needed room at the Canton plant for production of a commercial vehicle based on the Nissan NV2000 concept.
National Sales figures
2003 - 23,170 (From remaining 2002 & 2004 model early sales)
2004 - 46,430
2005 - 40,357
2006 - 31,905
2007 - 28,590
2008 - 18,743
2009 - 8,564
Quest Concept.
In March 2022, a Facebook user found the V42 concept in Nashville, Tennessee waiting to be scrapped. The front end of the concept was nearly identical to the production V42, but the rear end used a different design from the production car.
Fourth generation (RE52; 2011).
In 2010, Nissan provided five teaser images of the 2011 Quest revealing the exterior and interior. It was then unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show that year. The design was based on the Nissan Forum concept. The Quest also shared its styling and chassis with the JDM Nissan Elgrand, but is wider. It is powered by Nissan's 3.5L VQ series engine with . The Quest went on sale in North America in early 2011 as a 2011 model.
In Japan, the Elgrand competes with the Toyota Alphard and the Honda Elysion, whereas in the American and Canadian markets, the Quest competed with the Chrysler minivans, the Kia Sedona, Toyota Sienna, and the North American Honda Odyssey. The fourth-generation Quest had been built at the Shatai, Kyūshū plant in Japan from 2010 until 2016.
The Nissan Quest was dropped from regular production in Canada after 2014 and in the United States after the 2016 model year due to declining sales. A shortened 2017 model year was produced only as a fleet vehicle.
Marketing.
To promote its release in China, the Quest was used as a free airport escort service vehicle at Beijing Nanyuan Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport for visitors traveling from those airports.
Safety.
Speaking to the results of the 2014 Nissan Quest's small overlap front crash test, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety executive vice president Dave Zuby described it as "one of the worst crash tests we've ever seen." He speculated that "a person experiencing this would be lucky to ever walk normally again." |
Sisu Auto
Sisu Auto is a truck manufacturer based in Raseborg, Finland. Its name comes from the Finnish word "sisu" meaning guts, grit and determination.
Sisu Auto has a subsidiary company, "Sisu Defence", producing high mobility tactical vehicles for military use.
Production.
Civil trucks.
The currently available Sisu Polar variants are with 3, 4 or 5 axles in various layouts. The applications are:
History.
1931 to 1939.
The company was established on 1 April 1931 as Oy Suomen Autoteollisuus Ab (SAT). It originated from two neighbouring Helsinki-based automobile coach builders, Autokoritehdas and Autoteollisuus-Bilindustri, both of which had fallen into financial troubles by the beginning of the 1930s. The banks, which were funding both companies, pressed them to put together their operations under one company. The founders were Emil Anton Winckelmann, Lars Wilhelm Åberg and Karl Arthur Nordgren. In the first company meeting the company general manager was selected John Hellsten and the technical manager was appointed Tor Nessling.
At first SAT continued the coachbuilding business which it had inherited from its predecessors, but also put into practice the plan of building own vehicles, which was evolved already earlier, when Autoteollisuus-Bilindustri had ordered few Volvo chassis for outfitting. These chassis formed the basis for the first pre-series of vehicles.
As soon as the business started, SAT started to seek a good brand for its products. In the early summer of 1932 the company set up a name competition which was advertised in the main newspapers of Helsinki. The competition got a lot of attention and some 3000-4000 suggestions were received. The jury met in Hotel Kämp in Helsinki to select the winner in the middle of June 1932. Three candidates were selected: Sisu ("guts; stamina; stubbornness, determination"), Karhu ("bear") and Haukka ("hawk"). Eventually, Sisu became selected. As many people had suggested the successful name, the winner of the 1,000 marks' price was selected by lottery - he was young Veikko Arohonka, actually signed up by his older brother Eino, who later became a writer.
The first nine Sisu's, models S-321 and S-323, were handed over to the customers in 1932. Six of them were lorries and one was a bus. The first production series, based heavily on Volvo components, were made in 1933.
Beginning of domestic vehicle production led to an odd episode - the Finnish government became concerned about losing toll incomes because of the locally built vehicles. In 1933 Dr. Juho Jännes was assigned to investigate the financial impact of domestically produced automobiles. The outcome was that if 500 of the vehicles annually sold in Finland were produced domestically, the state would lose 700,000 marks because of reduced toll income but the benefit due to employment effect would be between 17-27 million marks.
John Hellsten was replaced by Tor Nessling as General Manager in 1932. Nessling started to develop the business determinedly; the technical challenges caused by weak locally produced parts were resolved by time and the degree of domestic work could be increased. Another, persistent problem was the continuous lack of cash reserves. Nessling tried to lobby the government underlining the positive effect of domestic vehicle production, but he was not listened, and the state reduced the tolls of imported vehicles making competition more intense. The company owners did not believe in the potential of domestic vehicle industry and Nessling could obtain a large part of the shares from the funding banks for relatively cheap, eventually owning 80% of SAT. The continuous pressure and repeating setbacks did not discourage the personnel and management, who did what ever it took to solve out the challenges. Over time the technical quality was reached to a such level that SAT could convince the customers that the relatively high price of Sisu's, compared to imported vehicles, pays off due to their robustness.
In 1934 The Volvo-based S-321 and S-341 series were followed by short-lived SO-series, which was already in 1935 replaced by the SH-series, with which SB-series was produced in parallel 1938–1941. The first three-axle lorry was produced in 1935.
The first country where Sisus were exported was Estonia, where SAT sold the first SH-2 chassis in 1936. Due to the contemporary Estonian taxation system, complete vehicles could not be exported there, and therefore the cabins and superstructures were built locally. More units were sold in 1938. Latvia was the first country where complete Sisus were exported. The city of Riga bought a series of forward control buses powered by Hercules diesel engines which were delivered in 1937 and 1938. The complete number of vehicles exported to the Baltic states before the Second World War is not known but the business was regarded successful.
1939 to 1945: Second World War.
Changes in line of production.
When the Winter War broke out, as a strategically important company SAT went under military administration. A part of the production was moved to Järvenpää and Lahti. The company produced for example aerial bombs and transportation devices for them.
Right after the Winter War in spring 1940 SAT started producing an own carburettor type under name "Häkä" for carbon monoxide fuel. Technically the carburettor was not one of the most successful of its kind. The development work was continued with subsidies of the state until it was finally filed in 1946 as unnecessary due to improved availability of petrol.
SAT started own engine production in 1940 under Hercules licence. This together with tram building and 1942 started axle production led to lack of space in the factory area. The first plans of moving some of the production out from Helsinki were made already before the war. The plan was put into practice due to the war which made the factory located in the capital vulnerable to Soviet air raids. In 1942 the construction of new premises began in Karis, which was out but sufficiently reachable from Helsinki. Coach- and cabin building was transferred first, after which the tram production followed; building of lorries stayed exclusively in Helsinki until 1950.
The 1942 introduced Sisu S-15 bus chassis was the first Sisu entirely built by using domestically produced components.
The scope of production remained diverse until the 1950s partly due to war reparation industry. SAT produced parts for Finnish paper machine builders and other engineering companies.
Yhteissisu.
At the same time when SAT built the new factory in Karis, the Finnish Defence Forces reported needing thousands of vehicles in the near future. SAT suggested building the factory larger in order to meet the demand. However, the importers of other makes as well as some politicians suspected that SAT tried to use the war to gain a dominant position in the Finnish market. Eventually, an agreement was reached in 1943 when SAT, the state and a number of Finnish companies set up a separate company Yhteissisu to produce lorries. SAT and Yhteissisu signed a contract about transferring Sisu S-21 lorry production to Yhteissisu. Vanaja municipality next to Hämeenlinna was selected for the factory location.
However, the war was over before Yhteissisu could start serial production at the full scale. Yhteissisu had the right to use the Sisu-brand until June 1948. When this expired the company was renamed Vanajan Autotehdas (VAT) and its products were named Vanaja. VAT became a strong competitor to SAT in the Finnish market which was small but still protected by import restrictions.
According to the contract with Yhteissisu, SAT was not allowed to produce lorries during the five years' period. SAT made Sisu S-15 buses but some of the chassis were fitted with lorry cabin and superstructures.
1945 to 1969: Growth and diversification.
In 1949 SAT made a return to lorry production with the Sisu K-23. The first heavy forward control lorries were the 1956 produced B-56 and 1958 introduced B-72, both of them being built on bus chassis. The small forward control lorry Nalle-Sisu KB-24 came to market in 1955. Other notable models introduced in the 1950s are the heavy dumper trucks K-36, the first 6×4 driven Sisu, K-32, and K-44 with a North European specialty, 4×4+2 layout.
SAT started partnership with Leyland Motors Ltd. in 1950. The background originates to friendship between the General Managers of both companies, Tor Nessling and Donald Stokes. For a while the SAT test department investigated for possibilities of producing Leyland engines under licence; trials for better output and torque were made on test bench with turbocharged applications, before Leyland even had taken such into production. As a part of the partnership SAT became representative of Leyland products in Finland.
The 1954-1959 produced trams equipped with two-axle bogies featured progressive steel structure technology that Valmet and Tampella later copied for their jointly developed tram type. SAT produced 4×4-driven "rail trucks" for railway maintenance work under assignment of the Finnish State Railways in the 1950s. The first ones, JXB 7, JXB 12 and JXB 13 were equipped with a one-man cabin; later came JA-4 and JA-5 with cabins for three. The mechanical crane was replaced by a hydraulic one in the 1966-1972 produced JA-9SV, JA-12, JA-14 and JA-16. From 1958 SAT produced rail control vehicles which were equipped with coachwork similar to forward control buses. Some of them were produced jointly with Kiitokori and VAT. Also some KB-48 4×4 road-rail lorries were delivered. Altogether SAT delivered 150 rail trucks of various types to the State Railways. In 1963-1970 SAT produced three types of two-axle light diesel locomotives. The Sisu JA-7 were powered by Leyland diesels and the railway company used designations Tka 2 and Tka 3.
SAT sold a number of Hercules-based Sisu AMG engines to Dutch DAF and got as payment total 96 pieces of forward control DAF models K-50, P-50 and A-50 in 1951. The vehicles were delivered without engines, some of them were lacking of gearboxes and electric components. They were equipped with the same Sisu AMG engines and other Sisu parts at the Fleminginkatu factory in Helsinki. The last units were sold in 1954.
In 1951 and 1955–1957 SAT imported total 105 Trojan vans. The first imported vehicles undertook many changes before they met the requirements. Some of them got a Finnish made body. In 1956 SAT built a series of ten DKW Schnellaster's from CKD kits imported from West Germany; they were sold with name "Donau-Sisu". Additionally, some modifications were made for SAT-imported Aveling-Barford and Avelin Austin graders and dumper trucks and also Leyland Terrier and BMC Mastiff lorries.
In the 1950s Finland was the most important market for Colombian coffee. Finland and Colombia signed a bilateral trade agreement in 1959 and Colombian coffee was paid with Sisu's thereafter. The trading was handled via Banco Cafetero until it changed multilateral in 1968. Colombia grew the most important export destination of Sisu's. SAT had plans of starting local production in Medellín jointly with Leyland Motors but the project was eventually cancelled due to financial risks. In the early 1970s the Andean Community of Nations decided about starting its own lorry production and the successful trading came to end after about 1200 sold units.
The Karis factory grew the main production facility, when the new 157-metre-long assembly hall with nearly 100-metre production line was opened in 1961.
In 1961 SAT produced the ballast tractor K-50SS which is still the largest automobile ever built in Nordic countries. The first European serial built lorry with a hydraulically tiltable forward control cabin, Sisu KB-112, was introduced in 1962. The 1965 introduced<ref name="Sisuviesti 2/1981: Sisu-tuotteiden syntymävuodet 1959-1981"></ref> Sisu K-148 featured bonnet and wings produced from reinforced plastic. Due to lower costs and better durability the solution was soon applied on the whole conventional cabin model range.
During the 1960s SAT made a number of innovations, experiments and extended to new areas. In 1961 the radial type hydraulic motor Sisu Nemo was patented. The main use was powering of trailer axles but Nemo's were installed also in number of other applications. The 1963 introduced K-138 features another innovation of the same period: vertical ejector exhaust pipe that dilutes exhaust gases. At the early 1960s also wide tyres to substitute double wheels were tested; the experiment done together with Nokia did not, however lead to production.
In 1964 Leyland Motors became minority owner of SAT. The other owners were Tor and his wife Maj Nessling, and Arne Söderberg.
SAT got another significant facility in Hämeenlinna in 1968 when the company was merged with Vanajan Autotehdas. Production of Vanaja lorries was run down and all civil lorry production was concentrated in Karis. Instead, production of bus and mobile crane chassis, terminal tractors and military lorries were transferred to Hämeenlinna.
1970 to 1993: Modernisation and restructuring.
The well-proven Vanaja lifting tandem system found its way to new conventional cabin R-series and forward control M-series.
General Manager Tor Nessling resigned in 1970, after leading the company for nearly four decades. He was replaced by Erik Gillberg. Before that, the state had become an owner of the company in the VAT merger first with 17.2 percent share. The state grew its share in the company gradually. In 1976 the state signed the so-called tripartite agreement with British Leyland International and Saab-Scania, which both held 10% share of SAT thereafter.
General Manager Gillberg led SAT through an extensive renewal of the whole product range. The Sisu S-series lorries were a result of this; the first example, light forward control SK 150 was introduced in 1980. The new model series was designed in a such manner, that the same cabin modules could be used for conventional cabins as well as forward control models at different heights. Due to this, the company could offer a comprehensive selection of cabins for different purposes. The development programme had, however, demanded excessive amount of money and the company main owner, the state, removed Gillberg from office at end of 1983. He was replaced by Jorma S. Jerkku who immediately started a heavy reorganisation programme. The company management was cut smaller and moved from Fleminginkatu to Konala in 1985. After some other functions were moved to Karis and Hämeenlinna, the Fleminginkatu premises were sold. Car sales, as well as Iveco representation were discontinued at the end of 1988. In the same year the plastics factory in Mäntyharju was separated under name Simex Oy and sold. Although Jerkku's actions were shocking to many, he by all odds stabilised the company. On the other hand, the new organisation setup led to fragmentation of engineering operations between lorry, terminal tractor and military vehicle segments, and significant loss of synergy.
1994 to 2003: Merger and break-up.
In 1993 Jorma S. Jerkku was replaced by the company Vice President Heikki Luostarinen. Already year after that he was followed by Christer Granskog. A period of turmoil started: in April 1994 Sisu-Auto bought from Valmet its Transmec unit and tractor production; as a consequence, Valmet became minority owner in Sisu-Auto with 24.13% share. As also Valmet was state-owned, the state of Finland owned directly and indirectly total 99.01% part of Sisu-Auto. The new company name was Oy Sisu Ab and its business units were Sisu Tractors with 48% share, Sisu Terminal Systems (19%), Sisu Logging (12%), Sisu Trucks (10%), Sisu Defence (4%), Sisu Factory Automation (4%) and Sisu Components (3%). Subsequently, the corporation was subdivided; first Oy Sisu Trucks Ab in November 1994 and at the beginning of the following year Sisu Defence Oy, Sisu Terminal Systems Oy and Fastems Oy; additionally, Sisu Diesel Oy was separated from Sisu Traktorit Oy. In 1995 Fastems was sold to Mercantile. The Hämeenlinna axle factory became Sisu Axles Oy at the end of the year. Sinex was sold in 1996.
In January 1997 the company main owner, the state, agreed about selling main part of Sisu corporation to Partek. This was carried out by gradual shift of the ownership during the year. In the meantime, the state continued the restructuring: Germany based Stama Maschinenbau GmbH was sold to Chiron-Werke GmbH & Co. KG. Sisu Defence went to the state, which later joined it to new defence industry company Patria. Oy Sisu Ab was fully taken over by Partek by end of 1997 and it was not mentioned any more as a company in the Partek annual report.
The November 1994 newly started Oy Sisu Trucks Ab was renamed Oy Sisu Auto Ab already in the same month. At the beginning the company manager was Per-Håkan Lindberg who resigned already in February 1995. He was replaced by Pekka E. Ojanen who held the post until 2001.
The S-series, which had remained technically competitive over the whole 1980s, was finally replaced by the new E-series launched in 1996. In 1997 Sisu Auto signed an agreement of extensive co-operation with Renault V.I.; Sisu started using Renault components and represent Renault in Finland. Consequently, the new cabin model was replaced by such of Renault just one year after its introduction.
After the Partek takeover, which took place in the same year, the relative weight of lorry production became marginal in the corporate figures; it was further reduced when Kone became the owner of Partek after dramatic takeover in 2002. By now the speculations of selling the lorry production increased.
2004 until present: New ownership.
In 2004 a group of Finnish investors became owners of Sisu Auto, while Kone remained a minor owner with under 20% share. General Manager Nils Hagman, who had replaced Ojanen in 2001, left his position for Teppo Raitis in 2004. Raitis focussed the product scope on customised heavy duty multi axle vehicles for niche markets. Raitis was replaced by Olof Elenius in 2007 In the same year Sisu Auto had sold its aftermarket services to Veho, which also represents Mercedes-Benz. Also the sales of civil lorries were moved to Veho in 2010. The component partnership with Renault was ended in the same year; Sisu introduced the Polar series which uses components of Mercedes Benz.
The first armoured 8×8-driven Sisu E13TP military vehicles were produced in 2008. Between 2009 and 2012 the Sisu production was operated by contract manufacturer Komas.
Elenius bought the Sisu Auto shares jointly with the Deputy General Manager Timo Korhonen in 2010. In 2013 Olof Elenius left his position and sold his share to Timo Korhonen, who now became the General Manager and the sole owner of the company.
Bus coach and chassis production.
The first Sisu bus was produced already in 1932 as a part of a pre-series of the first model. Also the coaches were produced by SAT. The bus coach production was moved to a new facility in Karis and under a subsidiary called Oy Karia Ab in 1942. Bus coach production continued until the late 1950s and Karia was merged back to SAT in 1960.
The first significant post-war bus chassis model was the 1948 introduced B-52 forward control model; the Sisu AMG engine could be rolled out for service on two rails, without dismounting of body panels.
SAT tested layout in which the engine was mounted transversely in the back in a 1965 introduced bus chassis prototype B-65 which also featured independent front suspension. SAT started partnership with the British coach producer Metro Cammell Weymann. The companies aimed to international market and a prototype was displayed in Geneva and London Motor Shows. Only few units were finally built on Sisu B-76 chassis. In 1967 SAT introduced Sisu-Panther bus chassis types B-53 and B-58, made jointly with Leyland. The chassis was progressive type, partly frameless structure, which was rushed unfinished into market leading to several warranty issues. The construction principle, however, was applicable and later used as further improved in other Sisu chassis. After merger with VAT in 1968 Sisu bus chassis production was moved gradually from Karis to Hämeenlinna. In the 1970s Sisu chassis with Lahti bodies and locally built Hess bodies were sold in Switzerland. In the late 1970s SAT produced jointly a hybrid bus prototype SWS for Helsinki City Transport together with Wiima and Strömberg.
In 1983 the company got a new General Manager Jorma S. Jerkku who had previously worked for bus coach builder Ajokki Oy and who was aware of Sisu's position in the intense market. Consequently, Jerkku decided to end the bus chassis production in 1986. The very last Sisu buses were produced in Hämeenlinna in 1989, equipped with Ajokki coaches and delivered to a Soviet customer.
Tram production.
In 1934 SAT started a new line of business despite of the just recently ended great depression: the company started producing trams and the first three units were handed over to the city of Turku in the same year. This was followed by seven trams delivered in 1938. According to some sources, one two-axle tram was delivered to Viipuri in 1939, but this cannot be confirmed from any reliable sources. Between 1941 and 1944 total 18 units were built for the city of Helsinki and four motor trams and six wagons were sold to Turku. The influence of International Electric Company, AEG and ASEA produced models sold to Helsinki in the 1920s and early 1930s was evident.
Later the tram production was separated to a new SAT owned company OY Karia AB.
Military vehicles.
Already the very first production lot of Sisu S-323's included customised lorries for the Finnish Defence Forces. During the Second World War lorry production was transferred to another company, Yhteissisu, which was set up to produce lorries and buses for the military. In 1958 the Defence Forces arranged a thorough test trial comparing lorries of different producers; these tests gave the Sisu K-26, modified from a civil model, a good rating. In 1959 SAT introduced Kärppä-Sisu K-35 for military use but 4×2-driven. Production of military off-road vehicles started in 1964 when SAT presented KB-45, a new light 4×4 lorry. The military vehicle production was moved from Karis to Hämeenlinna when the upgraded A-45 was presented. Medium heavy SA-150 and heavy 6×6-driven SA-240 production followed after. SA-110 was a light lorry prototype which was only produced six units. In 1990 the demining vehicle RA-140 was introduced and they were produced a small series starting from 1994.
The best known Sisu military vehicle is the armoured personnel carrier Pasi in different variants. The production of the first model, XA-180 was started in 1984 after thoroughgoing testing. Pasi's have been commonly used in UN peacekeeping missions. The last Sisu-produced variant is XA-186, the later models have been produced by Patria when Sisu Defence was sold to the state. The last Pasi's were produced in 2005.
Sisu Auto introduced a new series of military designated lorries based on Sisu E-series in 1997, using components supplied by Renault. This series consisted of 6×6- and 8×8-driven vehicles. This led to the re-establishment of Sisu Defence in 2005 as a part of Sisu Auto. A notable milestone was a contract of armoured Sisu E13TP 8×8 vehicles to the Lithuanian Armed Forces. A series of new light lorries Sisu A2045 was produced in 2009–2010 to replace the aged KB-45 and A-45 models.
Mobile crane chassis.
VAT had started producing mobile crane chassis for Lokomo in 1968 and SAT continued the business after taking over VAT. The types were 6×4 driven T-103, which was sold as Lokomo A330/331 NS, and 8×4-driven T-108 and T-109, of which Lokomo models were A 350/351 NS and A 390/391 NS. Making of mobile crane chassis was discontinued in 1981. The production in Hämeenlinna factory totalled 542 units.
Vehicle imports.
SAT planned starting vehicle imports in the late 1930s; a number of British car makes were considered, including Morris Motors products, as well as American tractors. One Austrian Steyr Typ 220 Innenlenker visited in Finland for display in early 1939. The import business started, however, shortly after the Second World War. In 1946 SAT became representative of Rolls-Royce cars and engines, Rover and Bentley followed in 1948. At the same time also West German products came to selection, for example Auto-Union cars and motor cycles and König outboard engines.
Sisu's started using Leyland diesels in 1949 and the partnership was extended to automobile imports in the 1950s. As Leyland owned a part of SAT, the company was obligated to represent its products. Marketing and representing of the fragmented selection of Leyland products was unattractive business for SAT.
The first SAT-imported Renault lorries came in the early 1980s. The business was discontinued when Sisu-Auto took Iveco representation in 1982; this continued until 1988. Sisu Auto started extensive partnership with Renault V.I. in 1997. This included representation of Renault lorries in Finland. Some Renault types were sold as Sisu's for a while.
Key components.
Engines.
The first Sisu's were powered by Volvo supplied Penta engines. The 1934 presented Sisu SO-models were equipped with Finnish produced Olympia engines which turned out to be too weak and unreliable. Therefore, the power source was changed again already in 1935 launched SH-series which was powered by American Hercules engines. In 1937 Sisu became available with Hercules diesel engine but they were not sold many yet. In the following year another American engine, Buda was added in the selection - this Sisu-series was called SB respectively.
During and after the Second World War SAT produced Hercules side valve petrol engines under licence. The initial model was called AMG of which military designation was SA-5; it was also produced by Tampereen Pellava- ja Rauta-teollisuus as Tampella 6000. It was followed by upgraded versions AMH, AMA and AMI. Other variants were marine models VMG and VMI Speedmarine and stationary engine PMG. PMG's were used on winches and compressors delivered to Soviet Union as war reparation. The last SAT-produced Hercules based engine unit was mounted on the first Sisu KB-45 military lorry prototype in 1964.
In the 1950s the lorry and bus model selection diversified heavily and diesel engines became more common pushing aside the self-produced petrol engines. For a short time in late 1940s Hercules diesels were used, but as soon as their production ended, SAT was forced to find new power options. West German Henschels proved sturdy engines, but their power-to-weight ratio was not good, and moreover, the vehicle structures suffered from the heavy engine. Henschel was finally dropped off from the selection because the weakening Finnish mark in relation to German mark made them too expensive.
The first Sisu with British made Leyland engine came already in 1948. From the early 1950s Leyland was virtually the standard power source in Sisu's for during the following three decades; about 30 different types were in use. Some of the types were very robust but also technically failed units appeared with repeating problems; the Leyland O.801 V8 diesel is particularly mentioned as one of the worst. By the early 1970s Leylands had remained too weak for the increased permissible vehicle total weights in Finland.
Rolls-Royce diesels came into selection in 1955 in Sisu K-36, the strongest flatbed hauler in Finland at its time. The 250-hp engine type was C6SFL. Later the same engines were used in some dumper trucks and in 1961 in K-50SS, the up-to-date largest automobile built in the Nordic countries. In 1966 SAT produced vehicles with 300-hp Rolls-Royce diesels; the Sisu K-142SS was one of the most powerful trucks in Finland and advertised as "the king of the highways". The Rolls-Royce Eagle engines became to the selection in 1967. The 1970 introduced R- and M-series had initially the 282-hp Eagles; a number of variants with different outputs were presented after.
Cummins was used for the first time in 1966-1968. The model was Cummins Vale V8 which caused a lot of warranty costs. Next time Cummins came into use in 1978; the 6-cylinder engines gained soon a good reputation pushing aside the other engine makes and Cummins became almost an exclusive engine supplier for Sisu trucks. It maintained its position until the 1990s.
In 1997 Renault started a component supply partnership with Sisu. In parallel with Renault Engines, American Mack came to the selection. The 2002 introduced Sisu with 630-hp Caterpillar C-18 engine raised Sisu to new level of power. For a while Sisu had in its selection most powerful serial produced lorry of Europe.
Valmet engines were used occasionally in various Sisu models since 1969. The first version was a four-cylinder type 411 available for Kontio-Sisu LP-138. Later a horizontally mounted 611 was used to power the modular chassis SB-127 "Moni-Sisu" designated for buses and special vehicles. Also some 1980s produced S-type Sisu's used Valmet. Valmet was the dominant engine in military vehicles during the 1980s. They were dropped off from selection in the 1990s because the engines were not powerful enough and did not fulfill the emission regulations for on-road use.
Various other engine models were used in small numbers. Due to delivery problems of Leyland in the 1950s, Perkins diesels were offered as an option for K-28 for a short time. During 1960s Kärppä-Sisu K-35 was available with BMC diesel. SAT had Ford Dagenham diesels in engine selection in 1958–1972 and they were available for Nalle-Sisu KB-24, KB-124 and KB-121 models. AEC engines were used in 1970 to power some rail vehicles and buses. The Sisu terminal tractors as well as mobile crane chassis used typically customer-designated engines; common options were Cummins, Deutz, Fiat/Iveco, Leyland, Perkins, Scania and Volvo. DAF delivered horizontally mounted six-cylinder engines for Sisu bus chassis in the middle of the 1980s, shortly before the production of bus chassis ceased.
Petrol engines came back into use in NA-110GT which uses GM V8 engine, and NA-140BT with Rover V8.
Gearboxes.
Sisu was among the first to use 5-speed gearbox with overdrive. During the Second World War produced Sisu S-21 featured ZF gearboxes, which were later, in the Yhteissisu produced units, substituted by domestically produced Rosenlew products. The non-synchronised Fuller was the leading transmission type until the 1990s when the synchronised ZF and Renault gearboxes became more popular. When Sisu Auto started component partnership with Mercedes-Benz, the MB Telligent and PowerShift gearboxes came to selection, the non-synchronised Fuller still remaining as an option.
Axles.
The axles used in early Sisu models were produced by Timken. Later the axle housings were locally produced. In 1942 SAT started its own axle production; the first models were based on Timken products and produced in Helsinki. Kirkstall axles were later used in some applications. Soon after Vanajan Autotehdas was merged into SAT in 1968, the outstanding lifting tandem system, used previously in Vanaja lorries, was adopted to Sisu; the robust structure was most welcome because the SAT's own corresponding solution was suffering of fractures. Axle production was moved to Hämeenlinna in 1985 and axle production was split off as a separate company, Sisu Axles, and finally sold to investors in 1999. During the Renault partnership also Renault axles were in selection.
Cabins.
The very first Sisu cabins were self-produced with vertical windscreen but later they were reshaped to a more sleek appearance. External producers were used already since end of the 1930s. The common practice was that the customer selected the cabin supplier. Some of the cabin suppliers were Auto-Heinonen, Messukylän Autokoritehdas, Valmet, Tampella, Ajokki, Lahden Autokori, Kar-Pe, Linjakori and Kiitokori – the last one was the most significant supplier during the 1950s and 1960s. Also the SAT-owned Karia was a significant supplier. Some Jyry-Sisu's sold in Sweden were equipped with locally produced Be-Ge Karosserifabrik cabins. Until the 1950s the cabins had typically a wooden frame. The first completely steel structured cabin came in 1955 introduced Sisu KB-24. The structure was soon adopted also in other Sisu models. The diversity of cabins was narrowed down at the early 1960 when structurally integrated cabins became more common. A typical example is KB-112/117 with a tiltable cabin.
In 1965 K-148, the first Sisu with a plastic bonnet, was introduced. Soon plastic became used also in front wings as well as forward control cabin internal engine covers and dashboards. KB-45 got a plastic roof and back wall. SAT opened a new facility in Mäntyharju for plastic part production; parts were made also for Scania and bus coach builders.
One of the most distinguishing cabin type is the riveted forward-control M-series cabin which was introduced in 1969. They were also sold to Northern Irish Dennison Truck Mfg. Ltd. which used them in their largest lorries. The modulised S-series and the following E-series cabins were sold to Russian KamAZ and Hungarian Csepel in the 1990s. Soon after the introduction of the E-series the company ended the own cabin production in 1997 and sourced them from Renault. A new cabin type was introduced in 2005 for the last E-type generation. For the 2010 introduced Polar series Sisu has sourced cabins, as well as many other key components, from Daimler.
Model nomenclature.
Model codes 1932–1934.
In 1932–1934 the two first numbers in the first model names, for example S-321 and S-342, included the year of introduction. The last number indicated the wheelbase. Between 1934 and 1942 the model name included one or two letter after the "S" showing the engine type and a number indicating the wheelbase: SH-1 was with Hercules engine and short wheelbase. The engine manufacturer code was dropped off in 1943 when SAT started its own engine production, and the number in model meant the sequence of the model series, S-21 as an example; the model series numbering was in use until 1983. The engine code made a return for period of 1946–1948 and now the first letter indicated if the model was bus chassis or a lorry: LG-51 meant bus ("linja-auto") and G stood for Sisu AMG engine.
Model codes 1948–1983.
The practice started in 1948 included letter indicating the vehicle type and model series; letters L, and gradually replaced by B, were used with bus chassis, although sometimes these applications were fitted with lorry cabins and superstructures.<ref name="Sisuviesti 2/1981: Sisu-tuotteiden syntymävuodet 1932-1958"></ref> L-model buses can be distinguished by two-digit model series codes; later L made a return to Sisu model names in lorries, but with three-digit model numbers. Since 1970 the engine configuration of bus chassis was indicated with a second letter: BE meant front engined, BK middle engined and BT rear engined chassis. Conventional cabin lorries were K, U, UM, UP, L, LP, LM, LV and R. Lorries with forward control cabin were KB, M, MS, A, AH, AS, MA, MI and MK. Terminal tractor and mobile crane chassis models started with letter T. The model numbers were not consecutively running; many numbers were jumped over, as some of the numbers were used for configurations which only existed on paper. The lorry model selection of 1958 describes for example forward-control, 6×4-driven Sisu KB-104 which never materialised. The model code was followed by an engine type code, consisting two or three letters.
Between the 1950s and 1980s SAT used additional trade names for different lorry types and size ranges. The heaviest lorries were badged as Jyry-Sisu, "Rumble-Sisu". The medium-heavy model was at first Kontio-Sisu, but later renamed Karhu-Sisu, both of them meaning "Bear-Sisu". The smallest models were Nalle-Sisu, "Teddy-Bear-Sisu" and Kärppä-Sisu, "Stoat-Sisu". A short-lived trade name was 1966 introduced Ukko-Kontio, "Mighty Bear", that fell in its size between Kontio and Jyry.
Model codes 1977–1996.
A new model code system was taken to use gradually starting from 1977, when SAT introduced the SB-model, a multi-application platform "Moni-Sisu". In the new system the army applications had the second letter A; lorry models were SA, armoured personnel carriers XA and tracked vehicles NA. When the first modulised S-models was introduced in 1980, SK meant a low forward control cabin of which high variant was SM. SC was an especially low model. The conventional cabin models were low SL and SN and the high SR. The number was not a running model number any more, but indicated the engine output in kilowatts. In the later models the value was rounded in accuracy of ten. The engine code letters was added at the end. This was followed by letter H if the vehicle was equipped with more than two axles.
Model codes from 1996 until present.
In 1996 E-series was introduced and Sisu's got again new model codes. The number following the letter E was now for the engine displacement in litres. After this was letter M followed by the engine output in horsepower. The M was substituted by gap when the Renault cabin was introduced in 1997. Confusingly, the model was written differently on the badge; for example on E18 630 the model is written as 18 E 630. The 2005 introduced last model with Renault cabins got extra trade names although the official model code was still with E. C500 was used with models powered by Caterpillar and R500 with Renault engine. Also application specific trade names were taken to use: logging vehicle became Sisu Timber, earthmover Sisu Rock, hook loader Sisu Roll, road maintenance vehicle was named Sisu Works, mobile crane Sisu Crane respectively and wheeled vehicle transporter Sisu Carrier.
The 2010 introduced model with Mercedes-Benz components got the trade name Polar. The early model names are DK12M and DK16M; the K stands for high cabin, the number for engine displacement in litres and M means that the cabin is forward control type. The application specific model names are still used in parallel. In 2014 the company introduced new models, model names CK and CM while the commercial name for these products continues as Polar.
Models.
The currently produced models are bolded. |
Lin Bai
Lin Bai, born Lin Baiwei (; born in 1958), is a Chinese avant-garde writer and poet. Her best known works deal with female homoeroticism in post-Mao China and are also known for being very personal and autobiographical. Lin Bai is famously known for "A War of One's Own" and "The Seat on the Veranda." The author won the Chinese Literature Media Award for her novel "Records of Women Gossiping".
Biography.
Lin Bai was born in Beiliu County, Guangxi Province in 1958. She spent her childhood in a small town in Beiliu. Her father passed away when she was three. At the age of 17, she started doing poetry after being "sent to the countryside as an educated youth". After passing the college entrance examination in 1977, Lin Bai studied library science at Wuhan University from 1978 to 1982. She worked as a librarian at the Guangxi Provincial Library after graduating. From 1985 to 1990, she worked as an editor and screenwriter at the Guangxi Film Studio. Her time in film production influenced her fiction writing.
Lin Bai moved to Beijing in the early 1990s to work for the newspaper "Chinese Cultural Forum" (Zhongguo wenhua bao). During this time she married a senior cultural official and they had a daughter in 1991. They have since separated. Lin Bai is still an active writer to this day.
"A War of One's Own".
"A War of One's Own" (also known as "A Self at War" or "A One-Person War") is an autobiographical novel published in 1994. Even though it was ready for publication in 1993, Lin Bai's writings were rejected by many literary magazines.The novel was accepted for publishing by "Flower City" (Huacheng), a Guanzhou-based avant-garde journal. It was only in July 1994 that her novel took interest in the general public, when the front cover to publicize it was a picture of a nude women. In 1995-1996, Lin Bai encountered several censorship issues due to the description of "autoerotic activity and homoerotic relationships" in her book.
"A War of One's Own" follows the story of Lin Duomi from the age of five years old to her adulthood. The story explores female sexuality and experiences. It is narrated in the first person. Many similarities can be found between the main events of "A War of One's Own" and Lin Bai's life experiences. The story is said to be inspired from the author's shift from living in the small town of Beiliu to moving to Beijing. The book explores the notion of rejection through the character of Lin Duomi.
The book is often compared with Chen Ran's "A Private Life" for their similar themes. The common themes shared by both novels are loneliness, sexuality, narcissism, the mix of autobiography and fiction, escape, taboos and privacy. The literary trend called "Individualized Writing" is represented by both authors. According to some, both pieces address the notions of shame and insecurity all while having "daydreaming features and [a] consumerist structure".
"A War of One's Own" is considered a controversial novel. The "Chinese Book Review" (Zhonghua dushubao) depicted the novel as "pornography" (chungong) or "obscenity" (huangse) when it was first published. It is also considered a feminist work by some for its detailed account of female personal experiences. The marketing of this novel is considered by some to have "repackaged" the female narrative and experience to interest the male counterparts through voyeurism. Moreover, even though it was not Lin Bai's main goal through her narration, the novel has been perceived as a "complex view of homophobia as a form of internalized social discrimination".
Writing career and reception.
Lin Bai began writing poems in 1975. Her poetry dating from the 1980s can be depicted as descriptive while her poems starting from the 1990s are seen as more introspective. She started her writing career with a plagiarism issue. During her first publication, one of the four poems published in "Guangxi Literature and Art" (Guangxi wenyi) was found to be written by another person. This incident did not stop Lin Bai from writing her own poetry and fiction work later on. The year of 1987 marked one of the first recognition of her works through the publication of short stories in the well established journals "People's Literature" (Renmin wenxue) and "Shanghai Literature" (Shanghai wenxue). In 1993, she wrote the short stories "Water in a Bottle" (Pingzhong zhi shui) and "A Chair in the Encircling Corridor" (Huilang zhi yi) and the novel "A War of One's Own". These three publications marked Lin Bai's entrance as a major contemporary female writer in China. Her most famous work is "A War of One's Own", which gained popularity in the 1990s. Some say it was a "certain commercial success", however, due to its controversial content, some editions were modified to "emphasize the sexual content".
Lin Bai's writing style is distinctive by her focus on specific issues women may face during their adulthood in the 1990s Chinese society . The author is known to draw her stories from personal experiences, combining them with fiction. The personal aspect of writing is important for the author, as it can be seen in her novel "A War of One's Own." Her publications are often centered around women's relationships and personal experiences. Some of the themes explored in her writings are sexuality, sexual orientation, female friendships, women's psychology, the search for freedom, masturbation, women's conditions in the workplace and at home, regionalism and bodily experiences.
Lin Bai has received some criticism for the themes addressed in her publications. The author is known to have a direct approach to such subjects, which was unique and uncommon during the post-Mao cultural era. Lin Bai is also critiqued for her publications serving as means for "voyeurism and confirming traditional ideas about gender difference". On the other hand, her writings are also considered feminist by some for depicting women's realities and experiences all while denunciating taboos. |
Agwilines Inc
Agwilines Inc was a passenger and cargo shipping company of New York City. Agwilines is short for Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Steamship Inc.
AGWI Lines group operated four main lines in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s:
Agwilines Inc had offices in: New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, and Washington and was founded in 1908. In 1949, Graham-Newman Corporation (1926–1956), an investment corporation, purchased 70,000 shares of Agwilines Inc to become the controlling interest. Graham-Newman Corporation was founded by Benjamin Graham and Jerome Newm in 1926.
Mallory Line.
Mallory Line, also called New York & Texas Steamship Company of New York City was founded in 1866 and closed in 1932. Mallory Line was an early family-owned passenger line, started by Charles Henry Mallory "C. H. Mallory" (1818–1890), in the coastwise trade. Mallory established C.H. Mallory & Company with his partner Elihu Spicer (1825–1993). Mallory Line served New York, Galveston, Texas, New Orleans, Havana, and Mobile. In 1907 Mallory Line was sold to Charles W. Morse who with the Ward Line started the Consolidated Steamship Lines. In 1908 Consolidated Steamship went bankrupt and was sold to the Atlantic, Gulf and West Indies (AGWI) SS Company. AGWI continues the Mallory Line until 1932. The Metropolitan Steamship Company and Eastern Steamship Company that were part of Consolidated Steamship Company were not sold to Agwilines Inc. In 1934 Mallory Line merged with Clyde Line to be the Clyde-Mallory Line. In 1949 the Clyde-Mallory Line was sold to the Bull Line, the line was ended by Bull Line. C. H. Mallory served one term in the Connecticut Senate in 1862. C. H. Mallory father was Patriarch Charles Mallory (1796–1882), he had a fishing fleet in Mystic, Connecticut. The Mallory family had a shipyard in Mystic, that built ships for the Union Navy during the Civil War. Henry H. Raymond was president and general manager of the Clyde Steamship and Mallory Steamship Companies from 1908 to 1923. Clyde-Mallory Lines main ports were: Jacksonville, New York, Miami, Boston, Wilmington, Charleston, Key West, Galveston, Tampa, New Orleans and Mobile.
Clyde Line.
Clyde line ran from 1844 to 1907 under the Clyde Steamship Company. Thomas Clyde started the company in New York in 1872. The line ran between the US northeast and southeast. Later added were routes to the Dominican Republic and other West Indies. In 1908 the Clyde line ran under the Atlantic, Gulf and West Indies (AGWI) SS Company. In 1932 Mallory Line merged with Clyde Line. Thomas Clyde (1812–1885) was the founder and owner of the Clyde Line, Clyde Steamship Company. Main ports were New York City, Florida, Florida Keys, Boston, Providence, Cuba, and New Orleans. In 1861 Clyde's son, William P. Clyde took ownership till the 1906 sale. Clyde line ended in 1932, in the merger with Clyde-Mallory Line that ran from 1932 to 1949. Clyde Santo Domingo Line was a subsidiary of Clyde Line with service from New York City to West Indies.
Porto Rico Line.
Porto Rico Line of the New York and Porto Rico Steamship Company was founded in 1895 in a partnership with Archibald H. Bull and Juan Ceballos. Bull later founded the A. H. Bull and Company. The Porto Rico Line ran from New York to Red Hook's Atlantic Basin's Pier 35 to Puerto Rico. The Porto Rico Line was a cargo and tourists line, also Puerto Ricans migrated to New York's Red Hook, Brooklyn.
Ward Line.
Ward Line was started by the New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company founded in 1877. Ward Line's first route was service to and from New York, Nassau and Havana. Ward purchased the Alexandre Line in 1888 adding service to the east coast of Mexico. In 1907 Charles W. Morse purchased the Ward Line. In 1908 Morse company went bankrupt and the Ward Line combined with several other Morse companies to form the Atlantic, Gulf and West Indies Line, Agwiline, each division ran under independent management. In 1908 was owned by Agwilines Inc, in 1954 became Ward-García Line.
Consolidated Steamship Company.
Consolidated Steamship was founded by Charles W. Morse. On January 1, 1907 Charles W. Morse joined the Mallory Line, Porto Rico Line, the Ward Line, the Metropolitan Steamship Company and Eastern Steamship Company to form the Consolidated Steamship Lines. The financial crisis panic of 1907 put Consolidated Steamship Company into bankruptcy in 1908. Out of the bankruptcy the Consolidated Steamship Company was sold to the Atlantic, Gulf and West Indies SS Company (AGWI Inc.). The Metropolitan Steamship Company and Eastern Steamship Company that were part of Consolidated Steamship Company were not sold to Agwilines Inc.
World War II.
During World War II Agwilines Inc. was active with charter shipping with the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration. During wartime, the Agwilines Inc operated Victory ships and Liberty ships. The ship was run by its crew and the US Navy supplied United States Navy Armed Guards to man the deck guns and radio. The most common armament mounted on these merchant ships were the MK II 20mm Oerlikon autocannon and the 3"/50, 4"/50, and 5"/38 deck guns.
Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Steamship Inc ships.
Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Steamship Inc ships:
Clyde Line ships.
Clyde Line ships:
Clyde Santo Domingo Line ships.
Passenger and cargo from New York City to Monte Cristi, Puerto Plata, Samana, Sanchez, La Romana, Macoris, Santo Domingo City Azua and Barahona.
Clyde Santo Domingo Line ships:
Mallory Line ships.
Mallory Line ships:
Ward Line ship.
Passenger steamships of the Ward Line:
Clyde-Mallory Line ships.
Clyde-Mallory Line ships:
Ship and year built
World War II ships.
World War II chartered ships operated by Agwilines Inc.: |
Luwians
The Luwians were a group of Anatolian peoples who lived in central, western, and southern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. They spoke the Luwian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian sub-family, which was written in cuneiform imported from Mesopotamia, and a unique native hieroglyphic script, which was sometimes used by the linguistically-related Hittites as well.
Luwian was probably spoken over a larger geographic region than Hittite.
History.
Origins.
There is no consensus on the origins of the Luwians. Armenia, Iran, the Balkans, the Pontic–Caspian steppe and Central Asia have all been suggested.
Their route into Anatolia is unknown. Linguist Craig Melchert suggested they were related to the Demirci Hüyük culture, implying entry into Anatolia from ancient Thrace circa 3000 BC. More plausible is a westward migration route along the Aras river toward Cilicia by proto-Luwians of the rapidly expanding Kura–Araxes culture.
Middle Bronze Age.
Luwians first appear in the historical record around 2000 BC, with the presence of personal names and loan words in Old Assyrian Empire documents from the Assyrian colony of Kültepe, dating from between 1950 and 1700 BC (Middle Chronology), which shows that Luwian and Hittite were already two distinct languages at this point. The Luwians most likely lived in southern and western Anatolia, perhaps with a political centre at Purushanda. The Assyrian colonists and traders who were present in Anatolia at this time refer to the local people as "nuwaʿum" without any differentiation. This term seems to derive from the name of the Luwians, with the change from l/n resulting from the mediation of Hurrian.
Hittite period.
The Old Hittite laws from the 17th century BC contain cases relating to the then independent regions of Palā and Luwiya. Traders and displaced people seem to have moved from one country to the other on the basis of agreements between Ḫattusa and Luwiya. It has been argued that the Luwians never formed a single unified Luwian state, but populated a number of polities where they mixed with other population groups. However, a minority opinion holds that in the end they did form a unified force, and brought about the end of Bronze Age civilization by attacking the Hittites and then other areas as the Sea People.
During the Hittite period, the kingdoms of and Arzawa developed in the west, focused in the Maeander valley. In the south was the state of Kizzuwatna, which was inhabited by a mixture of Hurrians and Luwians. The kingdom of Tarḫuntašša developed during the Hittite New Kingdom, in southern Anatolia. The kingdom of Wilusa was located in northwest Anatolia on the site of Troy. Whether any of these kingdoms represented a Luwian state cannot be clearly determined based on current evidence and is a matter of controversy in contemporary scholarship.
Petra Goedegebuure of the Oriental Institute has argued that Luwian was spoken from the eastern Aegean coast to Melid and as far north as Alaca Hoyuk during the Hittite Kingdom.
Kizzuwatna.
Kizzuwatna was the Hittite and Luwian name for ancient Cilicia. The area was conquered by the Hittites in the 16th century BC. Around 1500, the area broke off and became the kingdom of Kizzuwatna, whose ruler used the title of "Great King", like the Hittite ruler. The Hittite king Telipinu had to conclude a treaty with King Išputaḫšu, which was renewed by his successors. Under King Pilliya, Kizzuwatna became a vassal of the Mitanni. Around 1420, King Šunaššura of Mitanni renounced control of Kizzuwatna and concluded an alliance with the Hittite king Tudḫaliya I. Soon after this, the area seems to have been incorporated into the Hittite empire and remained so until its collapse around 1190 BC at the hands of Assyria and Phrygia.
Šeḫa.
Šeḫa was in the area of ancient Lydia. It is first attested in the fourteenth century BC, when the Hittite king Tudḫaliya I campaigned against Wilusa. After the conquest of Arzawa by Muršili II, Šeḫa was a vassal of the Hittite realm and suffered raids from the Arzawan prince Piyamaradu, who attacked the island of Lazpa which belonged to Šeḫa.
Arzawa.
Arzawa is already attested in the time of the Hittite Old Kingdom, but lay outside the Hittite realm at that time. The first hostile interaction occurred under King Tudḫaliya I or Tudḫaliya II. The invasion of the Hittite realm by the Kaskians led to the decline of Hittite power and the expansion of Arzawa, whose king Tarḫuntaradu was asked by Pharaoh Amenhotep III to send one of his daughters to him as a wife. After a long period of warfare, the Arzawan capital of Apaša (Ephesus) was surrendered by King Uḫḫaziti to the Hittites under King Muršili II. Arzawa was split into two vassal states: Mira and Ḫapalla.
Post-Hittite period.
After the collapse of the Hittite Empire c. 1180 BCE, several small principalities developed in northern Syria and southwestern Anatolia. In south-central Anatolia was Tabal which probably consisted of several small city-states, in Cilicia there was Quwê, in northern Syria was Gurgum, on the Euphrates there were Melid, Kummuh, Carchemish and (east of the river) Masuwara, while on the Orontes River there were Unqi-Pattin and Hamath. The princes and traders of these kingdoms used Hieroglyphic Luwian in inscriptions, the latest of which date to the 8th century BC. The Karatepe Bilingual inscription of prince Azatiwada is particularly important.
These states were largely destroyed and incorporated into the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC) during the 9th century BC. |
Li Jinhui
Li Jinhui (; 5 September 1891 – 15 February 1967 although some sources suggest he died 1968) was a Chinese composer and songwriter born in Xiangtan, Hunan, Qing China. He is often dubbed as the "Father of Chinese popular music". He created a new musical form with shidaiqu after the fall of the Qing Dynasty—moving away from established musical forms. Although Li's music was extremely popular, the Chinese Nationalist Party attempted to ban his music. Critics branded his music as "Yellow Music", a form of pornography, because of its sexual associations and he was branded a "corruptor" of public morals. This kind of popular music was banned in China after the Communist takeover in 1949, and Li was eventually hounded to his death, a victim of political persecution in 1967 during the height of the Cultural Revolution.
Early years.
Born into a scholarly family in Xiangtan, Hunan, Li Jinhui was the second oldest of the renowned eight Li brothers. His older brother Li Jinxi was a prominent linguist who taught Mao Zedong, and his youngest brother Chin Yang Lee (Li Jinyang) later became a bestselling author in the US.
Li grew up studying the Confucian classics and attending progressive schools like Shaoshan and Xiangtan. In total he had 8 brothers, including Li Jinxi, who became One of the earliest instruments Li studied was the guqin.
During his teenage years, he became fascinated with Chinese folk music, which he later incorporated into his revolutionary new musical style. Even as a student at Changsha Normal High School, Li's musical aptitude was apparent; the teen served as a musician, choir director, and part-time music instructor before he graduated in 1911.
Career.
After a brief stint in Beijing working as the new National Assembly's secretary from 1911 to 1914, Li returned to his native Hunan to direct other student choirs. Li's burgeoning career began in a dramatic way. He wrote several satirical political songs for a Changsha newspaper, but one such song so angered a local warlord that Li received a beating for it.
Li decided in 1916 to move back to Beijing, where he became involved in the New Culture Movement centered at Peking University. He participated in the May 4th Movement of 1919. In Beijing, Li also delved deeper into his lifelong pursuit of his two passions: the pedagogy of language and folk music. A Mandarin Chinese and music teacher, Li spent his time writing textbooks about effective classroom language instruction and exploring many musical genres. He was inspired by the Hunanese flower-drum opera, which is performed over a stage theatre monologue. Because of this, it can be said that the very first inspirations of Chinese popular music are derived from these forms.
As the head of the division of Peking University's Institute for the Promotion and Practice of Music focused on Hunan music, Li began adapting, transcribing, and performing regional Chinese folk songs to celebrate and reach the common people of China. However, Li's efforts were shunned by his colleagues because he failed to focus on the European Romantic music which was in vogue at the time or on traditional musical forms like the kunqu opera. Instead Li focused on the folk songs, which were considered to be “vulgar” and common.
In 1920, Li organized the Bright Moon Song and Dance Troupe, the name of which Li derived from the New Culture Movement's rhetoric; Li described the focus of his musical endeavors, declaring, “we raise a banner of a ‘music for the common people,’ like the bright moon in the sky, shining across the land for all the people to enjoy". In that same year, Li also became the editor of the "Common People’s Weekly Magazine", and the next year became an editor at the China Book Bureau, and the following year was promoted to be the principal of the National Language Institute in Shanghai.
Also in 1922, Li began editing the children's magazine "Little Friend", which soon became the nation's best selling periodical. In "Little Friend", Li promoted anti-feudalist attitudes, national use of Mandarin Chinese, family values, sharing, harmony with nature, and good citizenship through nursery rhymes and children's operas. The songs were stripped down to just the melody, written in simplified notation, and they fused Chinese instrumentation with guitars, violins and pianos.
Though Li's early work is completely innocent and educational in content, it still met with disapprobation from some critics despite its immense popularity. This resistance may be due to the manner in which these songs were performed. Beginning in 1923, Li's broke the taboo of not allowing women to perform on stage when he hired young girls to sing and dance in his school musical productions, including "The Sparrow and the Child" and "The Little Painter". Even more controversial was his decision to allow his own daughter, Li Minghui (), to perform. Minghui grew to become an extremely popular singer, actress and child film star, but she was also brutally criticized for her public performances due to the traditional distrust of entertainers as “tawdry and shameful”. In 1927 he organized the "Chinese Dance School" () and then the "Chinese Song and Dance Troupe" ().
Although Li was forced to disband the Bright Moonlight group due to pressure from the Kuomintang (KMT) and financial troubles, he established the Beauty School for Girls in 1928 so that he could continue to work with a group of his pupils. After a financially unsuccessful tour with his girls, Li released a wildly popular album called "Family Love Songs" and later released "Patriotic Songs" in 1932. Armed with the success of his first album, Li reconstituted the Bright Moon Song and Dance Troupe in 1929 and toured around the country. The tour began mostly as political squeeze due to the National Revolutionary Army during the Northern Expedition. When he was situated at Singapore, that was when his "period song" compositions began. The style would have some western influence and it moved Chinese music to a new direction. Those period songs would then be labeled as shidaiqu.
As radio became more widely accessible, so then did Li's jazz, for which he received vicious criticism as “Yellow (or pornographic) Music.” One 1934 reviewer said of Li that he is “vulgar and depraved beyond the hope of redemption…[but] as popular as ever”. His greatest source of Jazz influence came from American Buck Clayton who worked with Li for two years. Clayton played a major role in shaping the musical scores written by Li. Li's revolutionary Chinese jazz music dominated the nightlife scene, and it was performed at cabarets, cafes and nightclubs around southeast Asia. Li himself led the first all-Chinese jazz band, which played at an upscale Shanghai nightclub. Li's songs were often performed by different “song-and-dance troupes” composed of female singers and male musicians, many of whom had formerly been members of Li's groups. Among the stars who came to prominence due to Li's efforts were Wang Renmei, Nie Er, and Zhou Xuan. Zhou Xuan would later become one of the Seven great singing stars of the Republic of China.
In 1931, Li's troupe merged with the Lianhua Film Company. Li began writing music for films like "Romance at the Dancehall", one of China's first musical talkies. Li's music began to be associated with the urban mass marketing of the female image, and an obsession with stardom and commercialism. By 1934, the musical and star-driven movement he began progressed without him. In 1949 he was a composer for the Shanghai Animation Film Studio. Li continued to compose music the rest of his life, though he would eventually pay dearly for his fame. Classified as a founder of Yellow Music by the Communist Party of China, he became a victim of political persecution during the Cultural Revolution.
Personal life.
In 1930, Li married Xu Lai, a member of the Bright Moon Troupe. She gave birth to a daughter named Xiaofeng. In 1933, Xu Lai became a movie star with the Mingxing Film Company. Their marriage broke down after the sudden death of Xiaofeng in 1935, and the couple divorced in November that year. Li was devastated by the loss of his daughter and wife. It was an acrimonious divorce and he requested compensation from Xu Lai for the investment he had made in training her. Xu later married Kuomintang general Tang Shengming and worked as a Juntong secret agent during the Anti-Japanese War.
Li Jinhui had a daughter, Li Minghui (1909–2003), from an earlier marriage. She is considered China's first pop singer, performing songs written by Li Jinhui.
Li also adopted Qian Zhenzhen, the daughter of Qian Zhuangfei, a legendary Communist secret agent. She changed her name to Li Lili, and became one of the most famous Chinese actresses of the 1930s.
Legacy.
Though a controversial figure in his time, Li Jinhui contributed hundreds of songs to the musical community released by many major recording companies, including Great China, Pathe-EMI and RCA-Victor. He also discovered and catapulted into stardom some of Shanghai's most famous recording artists and actress during the late 1920s to 1940s. In his lifetime, critics derided his work as "Yellow Music" because of its sexual associations. His work was labeled pornographic and was accepted only by select groups. His music movement would later grow into the cantopop and mandopop phenomenon, which became the main genre of music in Hong Kong and Taiwan respectively in the 20th century. |
George Conway
George Thomas Conway III (born September 2, 1963) is an American lawyer and activist. Conway was considered by President Donald Trump for the position of Solicitor General of the United States, and a post as an assistant attorney general heading the Civil Division at the United States Department of Justice, but withdrew himself from consideration.
In 2018, Conway emerged as a vocal Trump critic, even though his wife, Kellyanne Conway, worked for Trump from 2016 to 2020. During the 2020 presidential election, Conway was involved with the Lincoln Project, a coalition of former Republicans dedicated to defeating Trump.
Conway successfully argued the 2010 case "Morrison v. National Australia Bank" before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Early life and education.
George Conway's father, an electrical engineer, worked for defense contractor Raytheon. His mother was an organic chemist from the Philippines.
Conway grew up outside of Boston and graduated from Marlborough High School in Marlborough, Massachusetts. In 1984, Conway graduated from Harvard College "magna cum laude" with a Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry, where William A. Haseltine served as his faculty advisor. Three years later, he obtained his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, where he was an editor of the "Yale Law Journal" and president of the school's chapter of the Federalist Society.
Career.
Legal career.
In 1987 and 1988, Conway served as a law clerk to Judge Ralph K. Winter Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In September 1988, Conway joined the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. He was named a partner of the firm in the Litigation Department in January 1994 at a million dollars a year. Conway's practice focused on litigation involving securities, mergers and acquisitions, contracts, and antitrust. In 2016, Wachtell Lipton reported $5.8 million in profits per partner.
Conway agreed to work unpaid as one of the attorneys who represented Paula Jones in her lawsuit against U.S. president Bill Clinton. During the representation of Jones, Conway worked closely with Ann Coulter and Matt Drudge.
On March 29, 2010, Conway argued the securities case of "Morrison v. National Australia Bank" before the U.S. Supreme Court. Conway won the case, which was decided by an 8–0 vote; the opinion was written by Justice Antonin Scalia.
Conway has been considered for some United States Department of Justice posts. In January 2017, he was considered for the post of Solicitor General. The job eventually went to Noel Francisco. On March 17, 2017, it was reported that he would be nominated to run the United States Department of Justice Civil Division. However, on June 2, 2017, Conway announced that he declined to pursue the post. On November 16, 2018, Conway stated that a reason he did not join the Trump administration was because it was "like a shitshow in a dumpster fire".
Anti-Trump activism.
On November 9, 2018, Conway and Neal Katyal wrote an op-ed in "The New York Times" challenging the constitutionality of Trump's appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general following the termination of Jeff Sessions. Trump relied on the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (FVRA), which allows the president to make interim appointments, to appoint Whitaker. Conway and Katyal argued that it was a mistake to try to use the FVRA to override the explicit wording of the Constitution, which requires Senate approval of all appointees who answer directly to the president.
In November 2018, Conway organized a group called Checks and Balances. The group was composed of more than a dozen members of the conservative-libertarian Federalist Society, which had been instrumental in selecting candidates for the Trump administration to appoint to federal courts. "The New York Times" reported that the group was "urging their fellow conservatives to speak up about what they say are the Trump administration's betrayals of bedrock legal norms".
Conway is a founding member and advisor of the Lincoln Project, a conservative Super PAC formed in December 2019 and dedicated to "Defeat President Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box". Its detailed aim is "persuading enough disaffected conservatives, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents in swing states and districts to help ensure a victory in the Electoral College, and congressional majorities that don't enable or abet Mr. Trump's violations of the Constitution". The group released its first video on January 9, 2020; called "The MAGA Church"; it warns evangelicals to beware of false prophets. On August 23, 2020, he announced that he would be taking a leave from the Lincoln Project in order to devote more time to his family. Kellyanne Conway, his wife, announced her departure from the White House the same day as well. In 2021, Conway said that the Lincoln Project should shut down considering revelations that some of its leadership ignored warnings that another founder was harassing young men, including interns.
Following the first impeachment of Donald Trump, Conway opined in "The Washington Post" that if the relevant witnesses are not allowed to testify during the Senate Trump impeachment trial, Trump's defenders will be negatively affected by "the very evidence they sought to suppress". Upon Senator Mitch McConnell's refusal to subpoena John Bolton in a Senate impeachment trial, Conway and Neal K. Katyal opined in "The New York Times", "There is only one possible explanation for this behavior: [McConnell] is afraid of the truth. Otherwise, what argument can there be for refusing to hear from a central witness like Mr. Bolton, who other witnesses have indicated was exceptionally concerned about the suspension of military aid to Ukraine?"
Personal life.
In the late 1990s Conway dated conservative pundit Laura Ingraham. After he saw Kellyanne Fitzpatrick on the cover of a society magazine, he asked Ann Coulter for an introduction, and began dating Fitzpatrick. George and Kellyanne married in 2001. They have four children and live in Washington, D.C. Prior to Trump's presidency, the family lived in Closter, New Jersey.
In 2020, Conway's daughter, Claudia Conway, made a series of anti-Trump comments on TikTok. On July 2, she said that her father approved of utilizing her right to free speech and voicing her own opinions.
Since 2018, Conway's stated political positions have often been contrary to those taken by his wife on behalf of the Trump administration. His published legal interpretations of Trump's actions differ from his wife's positions, and on Twitter he has been critical of Trump on a personal level. In March 2019, Trump responded to Conway's attacks by calling him a "stone cold LOSER & husband from hell" on Twitter. Kellyanne defended Trump's comments in an interview, saying that Trump was "a counterpuncher" and was free to respond when he is attacked.
In March 2023, George and Kellyanne announced that they were divorcing after 22 years of marriage. |
Glen Browder
John Glen Browder (born January 15, 1943) is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama's 3rd congressional district. Browder was born in Sumter, South Carolina and graduated in 1961 from Edmunds High School in Sumter. He attended Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, having received a Bachelor of Arts in history in 1965. He went on to obtain a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in political science from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1971.
Before earning his graduate degrees, Browder served a brief stint in 1966 as a sportswriter for the "Atlanta Journal". He worked from 1966 to 1968 as an investigator with the United States Civil Service Commission. After his time at Emory, he became a professor of political science at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama. He served on the faculty from 1971 to 1987. From 1978 to 1987, he was the president of Data Associates in Anniston, Alabama, primarily conducting polls and managing campaigns for candidates for public office.
Political career.
Browder's political career began in the Alabama statehouse, where he served in the Alabama House of Representatives, 1983–86. Upon taking office in January 1983, Browder was appointed to the House Judiciary Committee and the Constitution and Elections Committee. At the end of Browder's first year, Gov. George Wallace appointed him to the Ways and Means Committee. Browder and Wallace worked closely on improving education in Alabama. Following passage of Browder's Education Reform Act in 1984, which provided for the formation of the Governor's Education Reform Commission, Wallace appointed Browder vice chairman of the commission to formulate and implement a series of measures to bring the quality of education in the state up to national standards.
Browder's major accomplishments in the legislature were passing the Browder Education Reform Act of 1984, the Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Act of 1985, and the Alabama Performance-Based Career Incentive Program (Teacher Career Ladder) Act of 1985. His colleagues included him among their Outstanding Legislator ranks in 1985 and 1986, and he received special commendations from crime victims, social workers, and school financial aid administrators.
After one term in the state legislature, Browder was elected to the office of Alabama Secretary of State, serving from 1987 to 1989.
During Browder's tenure, the Secretary of State's office digitized the state's record-keeping system, established a training system for poll workers, monitored the handling of absentee ballots, purged voter rolls of ineligible — mainly deceased — voters, and registered hundreds of new voters through public outreach. Browder established and chaired the statewide Alabama Elections Reform Commission to recommend and popularize changes to outdated laws governing the state's elections. His main accomplishment as Secretary of State was the passage of his Fair Campaign Practices Act of 1988, which replaced the Corrupt Practices Act of 1915 and remains the basis of campaign finance reporting law in the state.
He was elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred First Congress, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States Representative William F. Nichols, and re-elected to the three succeeding Congresses (April 4, 1989 – January 3, 1997).
In the House, Browder served on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Budget Committee. He focused on military readiness and balancing the federal budget.
He successfully defended Fort McClellan, an Army training base in his district, from three efforts to close it in the early 1990s. (The Army eventually won authorization to close the base in 1995.) In 1992–93, he chaired a two-year special House inquiry, Countering the Chemical and Biological Threat in the Post-Soviet World. He advocated for benefits for veterans returning from Operation Desert Storm and study of a set of symptoms that would come to be known as Gulf War Syndrome.
Browder, a moderate Democrat, was a founding member of the Blue Dog Coalition in late 1994. As chairman of the Blue Dogs' Budget Committee and a member of the House Budget Committee, Browder introduced ideas that would eventually form the basis of bipartisan agreement in the contentious 1996 federal budget. Browder authored the Blue Dogs' budget proposals to use savings from spending cuts to pay down the federal deficit and make tax cuts dependent on meeting deficit-reduction goals.
He did not seek re-election to the House of Representatives in 1996, and his seat went to the Republican Bob Riley. Browder was instead an unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate election in Alabama, 1996, losing in the Democratic primary to Alabama State Senator Roger Bedford, Jr., who also proceeded to lose to Alabama Attorney General (and future U.S. Attorney General) Jeff Sessions.
After Congress.
Following his time in the House of Representatives, Browder accepted two academic positions, the first as a distinguished visiting professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School (1997–present), with primary responsibility in the area of "Congress and the Pentagon". He later returned to Jacksonville State University in Alabama as Eminent Scholar in American Democracy. He retired from JSU in 2005 as Emeritus Professor of American Democracy.
He has published three books, "The Future of American Democracy: A Former Congressman's Unconventional Analysis", University Press of America, 2002;
"The South's New Racial Politics: Inside the Race Game of Southern History", NewSouth Books, 2009; and "Stealth Reconstruction: An Untold Story of Racial Politics in Recent Southern History" (with Artemisia Stanberry), NewSouth Books, 2010. |
Eduardo Levy Yeyati
Eduardo Levy Yeyati (born November 14, 1965) is an Argentine economist and author. He is the Dean of the School of Government at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, where he also directs its Center for Evidence-based Policy (CEPE). He is also a professor at the School of Economics of Universidad de Buenos Aires, and a founding Partner at Elypsis, an economic research firm that he founded in 2011.
He holds a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Universidad de Buenos Aires and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Career.
For much of his career, Levy Yeyati combined academic and policy-oriented research with policy making and private practice.
He was an economist at the International Monetary Fund from 1995 to 1998, professor at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella since 1999, where he helped found and directed the Center for Financial Research from 1999 to 2007, Chief Economist at the Central Bank of Argentina in 2002, a visiting professor of public policy and macroeconomics at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, Senior Financial Sector Adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean at The World Bank from 2006 to 2007, and Head of Emerging Markets Strategy and Latin American Research at Barclays Capital from 2007 to 2010.
He was also honorary President of the Board of CIPPEC, an Argentina-based policy think tank (2013-2016), senior research fellow for the Inter-American Development Bank (2005–2006), senior fellow at Brookings Institution, and guest professor at the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics.
More recently, he was a Board Member at Argentina's Bank of Investment and International Trade (BICE), the first honorary president of the Council of Production at Argentina´s Ministry of Production, and a development advisor at the Office of the Chief of Cabinet.
In March 2017 he was appointed as Dean of Universidad Torcuato Di Tella's School of Government, where he founded the Center for Evidence-Based Policy CEPE in June 2017.
Writings.
His academic work on emerging market banking and finance have been published in American Economic Review, Journal of the European Economic Association, Journal of International Economics, European Economic Review, Journal of Development Economics, and Economic Policy, among other international refereed journals, and is ranked at the top by RePEc among Argentina's economists. His research have focused on financial dollarization, the behavior of banks and financial markets during crises, international financial architecture, monetary and exchange-rate regimes and development finance.
Together with Federico Sturzenegger, he prepared a popular classification of de facto exchange-rate regimes, and contributed the monetary and exchange rate policy chapter of the last edition of the Handbook of Development Economics. His writes regularly for Vox EU and Project Syndicate, and for local newspapers La Nación and Perfil.
In Spanish, he has published two essays on Argentina's recent political and economic history, one on the 2002 crisis and its aftermath with the historian Diego Valenzuela (La resurrección: La historia de la poscrisis Argentina, 2007, Ed. Sudamericana) and another one on the decline of the post crisis economic boom with historian Marcos Novaro (Vamos por Todo: La 10 decisiones más polémicas del modelo, 2013, Ed. Sudamericana), a book on development, ("Porvenir: Caminos al Desarrollo Argentino", 2015, Ed. Sudamericana), and an essay on the futuro of work in the developing world ("Después del Trabajo: El empleo argentino en la cuarta revolución industrial", 2018, Ed. Sudamericana).
"De Facto" Exchange Rate Regimes.
In joint work with Federico Sturzenegger, Eduardo Levy Yeyati developed a classification of exchange rate regimes "de facto" in the paper "Classyfing Exchange Rate Regimes: Deeds vs. Words". Stuzenegger and Levy Yeyati highlighted that most of the empirical literature on exchange rate regimes had been using the IMF "de jure" classification based on official sources, despite well-known inconsistencies between reported and actual policies. The authors argued that many countries that in theory adopted a flexible exchange rate regime intervened in exchange markets so pervasively that for practical purposes (in terms of observable performance) they could be assimilated to countries with explicit fixed exchange rate regimes. Conversely, periodic exchange rate realignments in inflation-prone peg countries reflected a monetary policy more inconsistent with flexible exchange rate arrangements.
In this light, the authors proposed a "de facto" classification of exchange rate regimes that attempted to reflect actual rather than reported policies, providing an alternative and a complement to the standard "de jure" groupings. Sturzenegger and Levy Yeyati's classification is based on three variables: changes in the nominal exchange rate, the volatility of these changes, and the volatility of international reserves, following a textbook definition of regimes according to which fixed exchange rates are associated with changes in international reserves (to reduce the volatility of the nominal exchange rate) whereas flexible exchange rates are characterized by volatility in nominal rates coupled with relatively stable reserves. The combined behavior of these three variables can be used to provide a fairly robust characterization of the de facto regime at particular years.
Fiction.
As an author of fiction, he published three novels: Gallo (2008, Random House Mondadori), Culebrón (2013, Ed. Random House)., and El Juego de la Mancha (2018, Random House) |
Renew Party
The Renew Party was a minor centrist political party in the United Kingdom. It was set up in 2017 to provide an alternative for moderate voters in the wake of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. The party described itself as wanting to reform existing political structures and did not identify with either left-wing or right-wing ideologies. It welcomed candidates and members from non-political backgrounds.
One of the party's main positions was to advocate that the UK should be part of the European Union, although it also emphasised investment in education, sustainable development and environmental protection as key values. James Clarke had led the party since July 2020, with Carla Burns as deputy leader.
The party merged into the newly formed True and Fair Party on 1 February 2022.
History.
Renew was founded by Sandra Khadhouri, a former UN worker; Chris Coghlan, a former Foreign and Commonwealth Office anti-terror officer; James Clarke, a tech business development consultant; and James Torrance, an accountant and former Conservative. Coghlan, Clarke and Torrance ran as independents in Battersea, Bermondsey and Southwark and Kensington respectively in the 2017 general election.
Renew was registered with the Electoral Commission in autumn 2017, and the party officials were named as Torrance (leader), Clarke (nominating officer) and David Britten (treasurer). The party was launched on 19 February 2018 at a press conference in London. Following its launch, the party embarked on a "Listen to Britain" tour of the UK, visiting 22 towns and cities and liaising with locals and supporters, addressing schools, holding campaign events and conducting over 5,000 surveys.
On 2 March 2018, James Cousins, a former Conservative and latterly independent councillor of Wandsworth London Borough Council joined Renew, giving the party its first seat in local government. He subsequently lost his seat in the May 2018 local election. John Ferrett, a former Labour councillor in Portsmouth, joined Renew in 2018, but in 2019 was listed as a non-aligned independent.
In September 2018, Renew formed an electoral alliance with Advance Together, with Advance Together's Annabel Mullin joining the leadership team. While the party at first had three leaders – Mullin, Torrance and Clarke – Mullin was later described as leader, with the party's website describing Torrance and Clarke as deputy leaders. Mullin stepped down as leader on 7 June 2019 and was replaced by the independent MEP for the Southwest of England and Gibraltar, Julie Girling.
On 15 April 2019, the party announced that it was preparing to wind up its 2019 European election campaign in order to support Change UK.
On 31 October 2019, Renew announced 51 candidates in England, Scotland and Wales in advance of the general election scheduled for 12 December. On 13 November, it said that only four of these would stand, in Bromley and Chislehurst, Edinburgh North and Leith, Hackney North and Stoke Newington and Sefton Central, in order to improve the chances of remain-supporting candidates in the other 47 seats.
On 7 July 2020, Renew announced the results of its leadership election, with James Clarke elected as Leader and Carla Burns as Deputy Leader.
On 1 February 2022, the Renew Party announced that it had merged its operations into the new True and Fair Party, founded by Gina Miller a few weeks earlier.
Finance.
According to party accounts filed with the Electoral Commission, Renew had an income of £29,480 in 2017, all donations having come from Richard Breen. In the first four months of 2018, Breen donated another £118,916. A further £23,000 was donated by Roderick Thackray. Thackray has been a partner in Breen's business, Sutney LLP, since 2014.
After February 2018, Renew received over a thousand small donations from supporters. In March, the party crowdfunded £17,170 for its "Listen to Britain" tour and in summer 2018 launched its party membership scheme and raised funds through this channel.
Ideology.
Torrance described Renew as a moderate, centrist party which Clarke identified as "centre-right on the economy and centre-left socially".
According to the party's website, its core aim was to renew UK politics, address inequality and division in the country and reform the system. It advocated extensive local devolution and the introduction of proportional representation. The party also aimed to tackle homelessness via a crown corporation tasked with developing and delivering affordable housing and pledged to expand the national healthcare budget while improving efficiency and accountability in the NHS. The party's economic policy focused on fostering innovation and investment-driven growth within a regulated free-market system. The party also promoted environmental sustainability via the widespread use of renewables and developing investment in green technology.
The party was compared to Emmanuel Macron's "En Marche!" party in France and received support from the French MP Amélie de Montchalin, who was the whip of the majority in the French National Assembly at that time. The party campaigned throughout the UK and attended the People's Vote marches of October 2018 and March 2019, alongside other pro-European individuals and groups.
Following the 2019 general election, Renew announced its intention to refocus on reform, participation and openness. In 2021, the party announced a shift away from anti-Brexit politics. Renew's position on Europe was set out as regaining access to the single market and customs union.
Electoral performance.
In the 2018 local elections, the party stood 16 candidates in London and the North East. It won no seats, with James Cousins losing his seat in Wandsworth.
June Davies was the Renew candidate in the 2019 Newport West by-election, finishing in seventh place with 879 votes (3.7%).
The party's then leader, Annabel Mullin, stood as a candidate for London in the 2019 European election as part of a temporary electoral alliance with Change UK. Five other Renew candidates were selected to stand in Scotland, Wales, Yorkshire & Humber and London. The total number of national votes cast for the combined slate was 571,846.
On 2 May, the party returned John Bates as a local councillor for Morecambe, Torrisholme Ward.
For the 2019 Peterborough by-election, Renew worked with the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Change UK to support a "unity remain candidate", but the plan broke down at the last minute. In the event, Renew's candidate, Peter Ward, finished 13th out of 15 candidates. The party chose not to stand a candidate for the 2019 Brecon and Radnorshire by-election "to give a Remain candidate the best chance of winning".
In the 2019 general election, Renew stood down 47 of its 51 announced candidates as part of the Unite to Remain pact to promote a Remain Alliance. Renew stood four candidates in Edinburgh, Kent, Merseyside and North London.
Kam Balayev ran as the Renew candidate for London Mayor, coming in 18th place out of 20 candidates with 0.3% of the vote.
In 2021, Volt Europa's Scotland branch, Volt Scotland, formed an electoral pact with Renew Scotland which meant Volt Scotland standing its candidates alongside Renew's under the Renew party list for the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. For the Scottish Parliament elections, Renew backed a multiple-choice referendum on the issue of Scottish independence like its Volt Scotland counterparts. Renew candidates received 493 votes or 0.02% of the vote for their regional lists and failed to return any MSPs. |
Responsive architecture
Responsive architecture is an evolving field of architectural practice and research. Responsive architectures are those that measure actual environmental conditions (via sensors) to enable buildings to adapt their form, shape, color or character responsively (via actuators).
Responsive architectures aim to refine and extend the discipline of architecture by improving the energy performance of buildings with responsive technologies (sensors / control systems / actuators) while also producing buildings that reflect the technological and cultural conditions of our time.
Responsive architectures distinguish themselves from other forms of interactive design by incorporating intelligent and responsive technologies into the core elements of a building's fabric. For example: by incorporating responsive technologies into the structural systems of buildings architects have the ability to tie the shape of a building directly to its environment. This enables architects to reconsider the way they design and construct space while striving to advance the discipline rather than applying patchworks of intelligent technologies to an existing vision of "building".
History.
The common definition of responsive architecture, as described by many authors, is a class of architecture or building that demonstrates an ability to alter its form, to continually reflect the environmental conditions that surround it.
The term "responsive architecture" was introduced by Nicholas Negroponte, who first conceived of it during the late 1960s when spatial design problems were being explored by applying cybernetics to architecture. Negroponte proposes that responsive architecture is the natural product of the integration of computing power into built spaces and structures, and that better performing, more rational buildings are the result. Negroponte also extends this mixture to include the concepts of recognition, intention, contextual variation, and meaning into computing and its successful (ubiquitous) integration into architecture. This cross-fertilization of ideas lasted for about eight years. Several important theories resulted from these efforts, but today Nicholas Negroponte’s contributions are the most obvious to architecture. His work moved the field of architecture in a technical, functional, and actuated direction.
Since Negroponte’s contribution, new works of responsive architecture have also emerged, but as aesthetic creations—rather than functional ones. The works of Diller & Scofidio (Blur), dECOi (Aegis Hypo-Surface), and NOX (The Freshwater Pavilion, NL) are all classifiable as types of responsive architecture. Each of these works monitors fluctuations in the environment and alters its form in response to these changes. The Blur project by Diller & Scofidio relies upon the responsive characteristics of a cloud to change its form while blowing in the wind. In the work of dECOi, responsiveness is enabled by a programmable façade, and finally in the work of NOX, a programmable audio–visual interior.
All of these works depend upon the abilities of computers to continuously calculate and join digital models that are programmable, to the real world and the events that shape it.
Finally an account of the development of the use of responsive systems and their history in respect to recent architectural theory can be found in Tristan d'Estree Sterk's recent opening keynote address (ACADIA 2009) entitled "Thoughts for Gen X— Speculating about the Rise of Continuous Measurement in Architecture"
Current work.
While a considerable amount of time and effort has been spent on intelligent homes in recent years, the emphasis here has been mainly on developing computerized systems and electronics to adapt the interior of the building or its rooms to the needs of residents. Research in the area of responsive architecture has had far more to do with the building structure itself, its ability to adapt to changing weather conditions and to take account of light, heat and cold. This could theoretically be achieved by designing structures consisting of rods and strings which would bend in response to wind, distributing the load in much the same way as a tree. Similarly, windows would respond to light, opening and closing to provide the best lighting and heating conditions inside the building.
This line of research, known as actuated tensegrity, relies on changes in structures controlled by actuators which in turn are driven by computerized interpreters of the real world conditions.
Climate adaptive building shells (CABS) can be identified as a sub-domain of responsive architecture, with special emphasis on dynamic features in facades and roofs. CABS can repeatedly and reversibly change some of its functions, features or behavior over time in response to changing performance requirements and variable boundary conditions, with the aim of improving overall building performance.
Some key contributors.
Tristan Sterk of The Bureau For Responsive Architecture and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Robert Skelton of UCSD in San Diego are working together on actuated tensegrity, experimenting with pneumatically controlled rods and wires which change the shape of a building in response to sensors both outside and inside the structure. Their goal is to limit and reduce the impact of buildings on natural environments.
MIT's Kinetic Design Group has been developing the concept of "intelligent kinetic systems" which are defined as "architectural spaces and objects that can physically re-configure themselves to meet changing needs." They draw on structural engineering, embedded computation and adaptable architecture. The objective is to demonstrate that energy use and the environmental quality of buildings could be rendered more efficient and affordable by making use of a combination of these technologies.
Daniel Grünkranz of the University of Applied Arts Vienna is currently undertaking PhD research in the field of Phenomenology as it applies to Responsive Architectures and Technologies.
Depicted left: A full scale actuated tensegrity prototype built from cast aluminium, stainless steel components and pneumatic muscles (pneumatic muscles provided by Shadow Robotics UK) by Tristan d'Estree Sterk and The Office for Robotic Architectural Media (2003). These types of structural systems use variable and controllable rigidity to provide architects and engineers with systems that have a controllable shape. As a form of ultra-lightweight structure these systems offer a primary method for reducing the embodied energy used in construction processes. |
Political ethics
Political ethics (also known as political morality or public ethics) is the practice of making moral judgments about political action and political agents. It covers two areas. The first is the ethics of process (or the ethics of office), which deals with public officials and their methods. The second area is the ethics of policy (or ethics and public policy), which concerns judgments surrounding policies and laws.
The concept of political morality can be easily understood when the roots of the term and its gradual development are assessed. The core values and expectations of political morality have historically derived from the principles of justice. However, John Rawls defends the theory that the political concept of justice is ultimately based on the common good of the individual rather than on the values one is expected to follow.
While trying to make moral judgments about political issues, people also leverage their own perceived definition of morality. The concept of morality itself derives from several moral foundations. Morality, seen through the lens of these foundations, shapes peoples' judgments about political actions and political agents.
Ethics of process.
Niccolò Machiavelli is one of the most famous political theorists who spoke on, and later subverted, the matters of political ethics. Unlike Aristotle, he believed that a political leader may be required to behave in evil ways if necessary to maintain his authority.
In contemporary democracies, a variant of this idea has been reframed as the problem of dirty hands, described most influentially by Michael Walzer, who argues that the problem creates a paradox: the politician must sometimes "do wrong to do right". The politician uses violence to prevent greater violence, but his act is still wrong even if justified. Walzer's view has been criticized. Some critics object that either the politician is justified or not. If justified, there is nothing wrong, though he may feel guilty. Others say that some of the acts of violence that Walzer would allow are never justified, no matter what the ends. Dennis Thompson has argued that in a democracy citizens should hold the leader responsible, and therefore if the act is unjustified their hands are dirty too.
In large organizations it is often not possible to tell who is actually responsible for the outcomes—a problem known as the problem of many hands.
Political ethics not only permits leaders to do things that would be wrong in private life but requires them to meet higher standards than would be necessary for private life. For example, they may have less of a right to privacy than do ordinary citizens, and no right to use their office for personal profit. The major issues here ultimately concern the concept of conflict of interest.
As stated above, personal or private morality and political morality are often viewed as a conflict of interest. However, it is important to know that these two concepts of morality can also maintain a common positive relationship between the two. Whether an individual is involved in the political domain as an authority or as an active civic participant, these values bleed through to the personal sector of morality as well. An individual that learned the skills necessary in the political sector may apply these learned qualities in a setting outside of politics, often viewed as a private everyday setting. In contrast, one that is entering the political setting may have already held the qualities and virtues that are expected in the professional setting. Therefore the values already held will then be applied to the new political setting, as anticipated. Reciprocity, as in the context of deriving those traits are commonly present when entering the field if the qualities were not already learned. Both concepts of morality include different expectations, but to say the least, there is a correlation present between the two. Whether the virtues and values were acquired or previously held, they simply factor in and apply to both settings. Those that have emerged into the intense political sphere, knowing that virtues and morals can certainly be an influence, but building one's character can be substantially beneficial prior to the entrance.
Ethics of policy.
Personal morality is also factored into public morality as discussed in the previous section in another way, which is relevant to this area of political ethics. Given the democratic republic present in the United States, public morality is often referred to as 'formal'. Abiding by the order of law, in addition maintaining respect are simply two critical factors in order to achieve the concept of public morality. These elements are expected when an individual is actively participating in the political sphere and ultimately required for the behavior of political authorities. Each citizen has their own belief and morals toward a particularly controversial topic, nonetheless, it is the political authorities' duty to respect others' beliefs and advocate for the beliefs of their constituents while following the law and constitution.
In the other area of political ethics, the key issues are not the conflict between means and ends but the conflicts among the ends themselves. For example, in the question of global justice, the conflict is between the claims of the nation state and citizens on one side and the claims of all citizens of the world. Traditionally, priority has been given to the claims of nations, but in recent years thinkers known as cosmopolitans have pressed the claims of all citizens of the world.
Political ethics deals not mainly with ideal justice, however, but with realizing moral values in democratic societies where citizens (and philosophers) disagree about what ideal justice is. In a pluralist society, how if at all can governments justify a policy of progressive taxation, affirmative action, the right to abortion, universal healthcare, and the like? Political ethics is also concerned with moral problems raised by the need for political compromise, whistleblowing, civil disobedience, and criminal punishment.
Foundations of (political) morality.
According to Graham et al. (2009), there are two broad classes of moral foundations: individualizing foundations and binding foundations.
Individualizing foundations.
The two individualizing foundations to morality are the fairness/reciprocity foundation (ethic of justice), and the harm/care foundation (ethic of care). The former represents a person's desire for fairness and reciprocity. The latter concerns the caring attitude of a person towards another.
Binding foundations.
The three binding foundations are in-group/loyalty, authority/respect, and purity/sanctity. The first two correspond to ethic of community, and represent a person's belonging and attachment to a group dynamic and is concerned with feelings like patriotism, obedience, etc. The last foundation corresponds to the ethic of divinity and represents a person's desire to suppress/control humanity's nature of lust, selfishness, etc, usually via spirituality.
Moral foundations, political identity and moral political judgements.
Graham et al. (2009) conducted a study to determine whether moral judgments about politics are affected a certain way by explicit or implicit political identities. Explicit political identity is the identity supplied by the study participant explicitly during the study. Implicit political identity is the participant's identity determined by the scientists based on an IAT test.
For both, explicitly and implicitly supplied identities, they found that liberals gave more weightage to the individualizing foundations than the binding foundations, while making a moral judgment regarding political issues. On the other hand, the conservatives seemed to give an approximately equal weightage to both classes of foundations. However, they note that this distinction is not necessarily true across time and space.
Criticisms.
Some critics (so-called political realists) argue that ethics has no place in politics. If politicians are to be effective in the real world, they cannot be bound by moral rules. They have to pursue the national interest. However, Walzer points out that if the realists are asked to justify their claims, they will almost always appeal to moral principles of their own (for example, to show that ethics is harmful or counterproductive).
Another kind of criticism comes from those who argue that we should not pay so much attention to politicians and policies but should instead look more closely at the larger structures of society where the most serious ethical problems lie. Advocates of political ethics respond that while structural injustice should not be ignored, too much emphasis on structures neglects the human agents who are responsible for changing them. |
Bridget Partridge
Bridget Mary Partridge (21 October 1890 – 4 December 1966), also known as Sister Mary Liguori, was an Irish-born Australian Roman Catholic religious sister who on the night of 24 July 1920 fled the Presentation Convent in Wagga Wagga dressed only in her nightgown. This act became a national sectarian scandal after the young nun took refuge with Protestants. Partridge was accused of being a lunatic by the local Catholic bishop, whom she subsequently sued in the New South Wales Supreme Court in 1921 for false arrest and reputational damage.
Early life and education.
Partridge was born on 21 October 1890 in Newbridge, Kildare, Ireland. Sources vary and refer to her as both Brigid and Bridget. Her mother was Anne (née Cardiff), an Irish Catholic, and her father was Edward Partridge, a corporal in the Royal Engineers and an English Protestant.
Partridge completed her schooling at the age of 14. In 1908, when she was 18, she entered the Order of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary at St Bridget's Convent in Kildare. Shortly afterwards, on 25 December 1908, she set sail for Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She became a novice with the Presentation Sisters on 21 February 1909, living at the order's mother house, Mount Erin, in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. When she was professed on 25 September 1911, she took the religious name of Mary Liguori, after 18th-century Bishop Alphonsus Liguori, who was the patron saint of confessors. She taught at a convent at Ganmain for around five years before coming back to the mother house in 1918.
Sectarian controversy.
Sources indicate that her supervisors believed Liguori was unsuitable for religious life or teaching (which was the order's predominant work) and tried to persuade her to return to her home in Ireland. When she refused she was effectively demoted and given more menial duties in the sisters' refectory which she was unhappy about. On 24 July 1920 she briefly left the convent without permission and spent time at a neighbour's home but came back to the convent later the same day. A doctor visiting the convent said that she was run down and told her to go to bed. Allegedly, Liguori refused a sedative believing that it was poisoned and fearing for her life she fled the convent that night barefoot and dressed only in her nightgown.
Liguori was taken in by sympathetic local Protestants who refused to reveal her location to the Catholic authorities. Dissatisfied with convent life, she wrote to the Bishop of Wagga Wagga, Joseph Wilfrid Dwyer, requesting to leave the order, a request that was refused. Liguori was taken to Sydney by E. B. Barton, the grandmaster of Protestant institution the Loyal Orange Lodge of New South Wales. She was then taken to the home of Congregational minister the Reverend William Touchell and his wife Laura, who lived at Kogarah.
During this time police and Catholic laymen were searching for Liguori. It was a time of significant sectarian division and conflict between Catholics and Protestants, and the popular press fed public interest with stories about the pursuit of the 'escaped nun'. The drama only intensified when a warrant for Liguori's arrest was issued. This was at the request of Bishop Dwyer, who had alleged that Liguori was insane. Liguori was eventually found and arrested and on 9 August 1921 appeared before the Lunacy Court. The court declared her sane and she was released on 13 August 1921, after having been remanded for observation against her will at the Reception House for the Insane in Darlinghurst. After her release she used her preferred name of Bridget Partridge and returned to stay with William and Laura Touchell. Seeking redress, and with the support of the Loyal Orange Lodge, Partridge subsequently sued Bishop Dwyer for £5,000 for false arrest and associated trauma, citing damage to her reputation. There was considerable media and public interest in the court proceedings, with hundreds lining up seeking admittance to the public galleries, many hoping to hear something sensational about the "mysteries of convent life". The trial lasted from 30 June until 13 July 1921. Partridge ultimately lost her bid in the Supreme Court when Justice (Sir) David Ferguson and a jury of four men found in the bishop's favour.
Several months later, on the night of 26 October 1921, while Partridge and the Touchells were returning home after attending a Home Mission Festival, Partridge was kidnapped by a group of about 20 men, including her brother. Partridge was pushed into a car and driven away. Her brother Joseph, who had travelled from Hong Kong to attend the court case, had previously attempted to have Partridge place herself under his care, something that she had refused to do. The following day, after being recognised, she was taken to police headquarters. Partridge renounced her religion and formally notified her brother that she would not accept being placed under his protection or return to Ireland.
Death.
Partridge continued to live with the Touchells for the rest of her life, travelling with them over the years to various towns in New South Wales. William Touchell died in 1954. Partridge and Laura Touchell were admitted to Rydalmere Mental Hospital in Parramatta in 1962. Laura Touchell died there in 1963 and Partridge died there on 4 December 1966 at the age of 76. Partridge never married and had no relatives in Australia. Only one mourner attended her funeral. She was buried at Rookwood Cemetery according to the customs of the Congregational Church.
Legacy.
Partridge's story inspired a novel by Maureen McKeown, "The extraordinary case of Sister Liguori", which was published in 2017. The book was reviewed in the "Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society" by Jeff Kildea, who had previously presented a paper about Liguori at the society's conference. It is reported that a screenplay is in production and negotiations are underway for a movie about Partridge's life.
Partridge's story was reinterpreted from a modern, feminist perspective in an art exhibition held in 2021. This exhibition drew attention to the story as one of scandal and abuse, with comparisons to modern feminist struggles, and not just as a tale of sectarian conflict. Artist Amanda Bromfield's installation at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery incorporated ceramics, found objects and video performance. Sister Noella Fox, a Presentation Sister and historian, has said that while largely forgotten, Partridge's story is a very important part of the Presentation Sisters' family story.
References. |
BBC Persian
BBC Persian () is the Persian language broadcast station and subsidiary of BBC World Service which conveys the latest political, social, economical and sport news relevant to Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, and the world. Its headquarters are in London, United Kingdom.
Radio.
The BBC first started a Persian radio service during World War II on 29 December 1940, encouraged by the Foreign Office, as part of its Empire Service. The government reasons for prioritising this was concern that the Iranian king, Reza Shah Pahlavi, was sympathetic to Nazi Germany. Following the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in August 1941, the Foreign Office encouraged broadcasting about king's autocratic style and republican systems of Government.
The Persian Service continued after the war as part of the BBC General Overseas Service, with more editorial independence from the UK government. However the risk of the Iranian nationalisation of Anglo-Persian Oil Company created an exceptional circumstance causing the Foreign Office to issue memorandums of advice and lists of points to make to the BBC, and the amount of broadcasting more than doubled. This caused many Iranians to believe the Persian Service was not independent, and an advisor of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh said the "BBC was the voice of British imperialism and we did not trust it".
In September 2022, the World Service announced the proposed closure of its Persian and Arabic radio service as part of a cost-cutting plan, but an online service will remain.
Role in 1953 Iranian coup d'état.
The British government used the BBC's Persian service for advancing its propaganda against democratically elected Prime minister of Iran Mohammad Mosaddegh and anti-Mosaddegh material were repeatedly aired on the radio channel to the extent that Iranian staff at the BBC Persian radio went on strike to protest the move. The BBC was at times even used directly in the operations, sending coded messages to the coup plotters by changing the wording of its broadcasts.
Under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.
From 1965 the newly formed BBC World Service took over the running of the BBC Persian Service.
In the years before the revolution, the BBC Persian Service became highly trusted and liked by listeners, and gained mass appeal beyond intellectuals and the Iranian diaspora.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his supporters became critical of the BBC in creating the environment for the popular upheaval that eventually led to the Iranian Revolution in February 1979. The Shah frequently sent telegrams to the BBC about Persian Service reporting. The Iranian Ambassador in London, Parviz Radji, tried to tone down these complaints recognising the BBC was acting independently, but had many meetings with the top management of the BBC in the late 1970s, including the Director-General Ian Trethowan. In the year before the revolution the Persian Service interviewed the major contenders: one with Ayatollah Khomeini, three or four with Prime Minister Shapur Bakhtiar and two with Karim Sanjabi, leader of the National Front who were seeking a peaceful democratic transition from the Shah's rule.
During the revolution Iranian media was heavily censored, resulting in long strikes by journalists, and the BBC Persian Service gained an even larger country-wide audience.
After the 1979 revolution.
In 1980 the BBC correspondent in Iran was expelled and the BBC office in Tehran closed. For 19 years the BBC covered Iran from London with occasional short visits to Iran by correspondents. However, after the 1999 election of President Mohammad Khatami the BBC was able to re-open a Tehran office with a resident correspondent.
As of 2000, BBC Persian Service output was about 28 hours per week, with a mixture of news, education and entertainment programmes.
Internet.
BBC Persian has had a web presence since May 2001.
Television.
In 2008, the BBC announced the launch of the BBC Persian Television. It was launched in January 2009 and is based in BBC Broadcasting House, London. It complements the BBC's existing Persian-language radio and online services.
It was initially broadcast for eight hours a day, seven days a week, from 17.00 to 01.00 hours – peak viewing time in Iran. It is freely available to anyone with a satellite dish in the region.
BBC proposals for the service were drawn up by senior BBC management. These were approved by the then BBC Governors – the body that oversaw the BBC and ensures the BBC's independence from the UK Government. They were then submitted to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for their consent as the BBC is obliged to do under the agreement with the FCO.
The operating cost of £15m a year will be funded by the UK Government. Funding for the new service was announced by then UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown in a speech in October 2006. The funding was confirmed by the next Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling in October 2007. Some 140 staff are employed of which about 40 are support personnel.
Criticism.
BBC Persian has been long criticized and accused of promoting Iran regime's propaganda such as homophobic views in their programs by many Iranian's living outside of Iran. Many of Iranian's regime opposition believe that BBC's news are directional and one-sided that helps and justifies Iranian's regime brutality toward people of Iran. BBC Persian have been accused of the publication of a large amount of low important news and information, fragmented and sometimes archival images that have drawn severe criticism from the audience of this media claiming to be honest.
Staff harassment.
In 2018 the BBC made an appeal to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva to help stop Iran from harassing its Persian Service staff in the United Kingdom and their families in Iran. The BBC states Iran began targeting BBC Persian staff after the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests, when the Iranian government accused foreign media and intelligence services of interference. Iran has accused 152 current and former staff and contributors of "conspiracy against national security" and started criminal investigations, as well as instigating an asset freeze on many of those staff.
Iran rejects the harassment allegations. Iran's permanent mission to the UN in Geneva stated "BBC Persian is not an independent media network ... Its financial and political affiliation with the ministry of foreign affairs and the British security agencies has been very serious." |
Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum
The Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum is a general interest museum within historic Roscoe Village, a restored Ohio & Erie Canal town in Coshocton, OH. It has four permanent themed exhibits within five galleries, including a Native American Gallery, Historic Ohio, Asian (Japanese and Chinese), and 19th and 20th Century Decorative Arts. There are more than 17,000 items in its collections.
History.
The museum is the legacy of John and David Johnson, two brothers who grew up in Coshocton in the mid 19th century and traveled the world collecting regional and cultural artifacts from the places they visited. They bequeathed their personal collections of over 15,000 objects, to their home town with the request that a museum be formed in honor of their parents, Joseph Johnson and Mary Susan Humrickhouse. The Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum opened to the public on May 8, 1931. The brother's original collections included American Indian basketry and bead work, pre-Columbian clay figurines from Mexico, Japanese ceramics, woodblock prints and Samurai swords, Chinese lacquer ware, textiles, ceramics and wood carvings, and American and European ceramics, glassware, and textiles. JHM's collections have grown from private donations, primarily in areas of local history and pre-historic Ohio Indian tools and points.
Permanent Exhibits.
I. Native American Gallery
JHM's Native American gallery includes a wealth of stone tools and points from Ohio's earliest pre-historic peoples through the Adena and Hopewell periods. Of notable interest is the Rothenstein Cache, a collection of 342 blades found in 1963 when a plumber discovered a cache of prehistoric points while laying pipe for a house in Coshocton. The find consisted of 330 points packed side by side on their edges with twelve lying flat on top. The unfinished blades, composed of Coshocton black flint, ranged in length
from 2.5 to 8.5 inches. They date back to the Adena culture, about 2,000 years old.
The gallery displays pottery, bead and quill work, carvings, and garments from various regions and tribes during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.
II. Historic Ohio
This gallery includes a mock-up of a typical pioneer cabin and features the various tools, furnishings, and longrifles from Ohio's settlers of the late 18th through 19th centuries. The center piece of this gallery is a showcase of various 18th century longrifles, including smooth bore flintlocks, and 19th century rifles, muzzle loaders, percussion cap, and breech loading rifles.
Coshocton is also the birthplace of advertising art. In 1886, newspaper owner Jasper Meek used his printing press to advertise a shoe store on the surface of burlap school bags. After Meek established the first advertising art company, many start-ups followed. Most of the advertising was printed on metal trays and signs. Coca-Cola trays are the most common. It is believed that during the first decade of the 20th century, Coshocton had more artists in residence than any other city except New York City. Visitors can view Jasper Meek's 1830 model Washington Press and many examples of Coshocton advertising art.
III. Golden Gallery – The Golden Gallery features a Victiorian nook with 18 & 19th Century European & American furniture, textiles and decorative arts. Half of the gallery space is devoted to temporary displays.
IV. Asian: Chinese & Japanese 18 & 19th Century Arts & Weaponry. Japanese and Chinese artifacts, including Jade, porcelain, cloisonne, embroidery, lacquer ware, theater masks, intricate ivory and wood carvings, samurai armor, and samurai swords.
V. Special Exhibit - Gallery display five changing exhibits each year, and they vary from contemporary quilts, fine art and craft to World War II posters and traveling exhibits.
Newark Holy Stones.
The JHM houses the original and controversial Newark Holy Stones, composed of four objects: the Keystone, the Decalogue Stone, a two-piece box made to house the Decalogue Stone, and a bowl. Both the Keystone and Decalogue Stone are inscribed in Hebrew, and the Decalogue Stone also bears an image of Moses. Uncovered in the Newark earthworks in the 1860s, the context suggested a link with the Hopewell Indian culture, which thrived between 100 BC and 500 AD.
Notes of Interests.
The Historic Ohio Gallery displays 19th and early 20th century tools, firearms and furnishings, most of which were donated to the museum in 1946 by a local family. Their descendants were Nicholas Miller and Mary Darling, Ohio pioneers. Nicholas came to what is now Coshocton County in 1802 with $36 and two axes. During his first winter he slept in a cave with his dog, which subsequently was killed by a bear. Nicholas used the money he earned surveying the land to purchase property. Meanwhile, the Darling family migrated from Virginia to the area in 1806. Eighteen-year-old Mary drove the four-horse team that pulled the covered wagon. She had eleven brothers and sisters who also made the journey. Nicholas and Mary married and their great-grandchildren were the donors. The museum displays the tar bucket that the Darlings used to grease their wagon wheels. A cave has also been constructed for children to climb into in memory of Nicholas and his dog.
References.
"The Newark "Holy Stones": The Social Context of an Enduring Scientific Forgery" Written by Bradley T. Lepper, Ohio Historical Society and Jeff Gill, Newark Earthworks OHS Site |
Fingersoft
Fingersoft is a Finnish video game developer based in Oulu. Fingersoft is one of the most northern game studios in the world, located just 170km south of the Arctic Circle. It is best known for the mobile games "Hill Climb Racing" and "Hill Climb Racing 2", which together have over 2 billion installations.
History.
In late 2011 Toni Fingerroos had to make a choice between job hunting and establishing his own business, since all funds reserved for the development of a new game for Sony PlayStation had been spent. He made a bet with himself and started developing mobile applications for Android devices. He worked alone and published new applications every couple of days to see if they would take off. He established Fingersoft in 2012 together with his girlfriend and Teemu Närhi, who became the company's CEO. Fingerroos had come up with the company's name already at the age of 10, when developing his first game. The Rally 94 game could be played on his grandmother's old laptop. In February 2012 he published the Cartoon Camera app, which allowed users to edit their photos to look like sketches or drawings. The app quickly reached 10 million downloads. Fingersoft also published other camera applications that were downloaded tens of millions of times.
The Hill Climb Racing game published in September 2012 was born out of testing physics. The graphics for the game were made in Fingerroos's circle of acquaintances on a freelance basis, but he did the coding entirely on his own working on it 16 hours a day for a couple of months. The new racing game gained visibility in an affordable way, when it was advertised to the users of the camera applications. Other than that, the company spent hardly any money on paid user acquisition. One month after its Android launch, an iOS version of the game was also published. During the first 12 months, the Hill Climb Racing game reached over 100 million downloads. The game gained visibility on the top lists of the most downloaded games on Android phone marketplaces such as Google Play, which consistently generated more downloads. In November 2012, the company had 2 employees and hiring a third employee was being planned.
In 2013 the Hill Climb Racing was the 10th most downloaded game in the United States and the 7th most downloaded game in the whole world. Fingersoft celebrated the milestone of one hundred million downloads and the game's first anniversary by publishing localized versions of the game in Spain, Germany, Russia, France, Poland and Japan. The company's turnover for the first financial year of 14 months was over 15 million euros.
In 2014 the company employed 12 people. In the early days the company's office was a detached house with a Jacuzzi and a pool room. The company also began publishing games developed by other companies, such as the Fail Hard game by Viima Games Oy, the Pick A Pet mobile game by the Irish company SixMinute and the Benji Bananas game by Tribeflame.
In September 2015, Fingersoft and the construction company Rakennusteho Group bought a city block in downtown Oulu, where the Department of Architecture of the University of Oulu had previously operated.
In 2016 Fingersoft published the Hill Climb Racing 2 multiplayer game. Fingersoft renovated the premises of the Oulu game campus with Rakennusteho. Fingersoft invested more than 4 million euros in the new premises. Turnover in 2016 was almost 16 million euros.
In 2017 Fingersoft moved to the Oulu game campus, where the Game Lab of Oulu University of Applied Sciences acted as a tenant and also arranged teaching. The game campus also distributed funding to new game companies. Fingersoft's turnover was close to 30 million euros.
By the year 2018, games published by Fingersoft had been globally downloaded more than one billion times in total. The company did not publish any new games, but its turnover was 21 million euros.
In 2019 Teemu Närhi voluntarily resigned as CEO and became a programmer at Fingersoft. Celine Pasula started as the CEO in late 2019 but was soon succeeded by Jaakko Kylmäoja in February of 2021.
In early 2020 Fingersoft launched its game on Apple devices in China.
Organization.
Fingersoft's parent company is the Finger Group. Fingersoft's operations are divided so that Fingersoft Oy is responsible for operational game development and Hill Climb Racing Oy owns the hit game's IP. In 2019 Fingersoft employed 55 people.
Fingersoft operates in downtown Oulu on a campus, where it has also collected other local game studios. Toni Fingerroos serves on the company's Board of Directors.
Games.
The company has developed the games Hill Climb Racing and Hill Climb Racing 2. It has also published other games including Benji Bananas, Fail Hard and Make More.
Hill Climb Racing was the 7th most downloaded mobile game in the 2010s globally. Published in 2016, the Hill Climb Racing 2 game reached over 40 million downloads within the first two months. The one billion gamers’ limit in the Hill Climb Racing games was exceeded in April 2018. The sum took into account the original game, its sequel, and a special version made for China. In the Chinese market, Fingersoft cooperates with MyGamez - a company to whose development it has invested in. |
264th (Sussex) Field Company, Royal Engineers
264th (Sussex) Field Company was a Territorial Army (TA) unit of Britain's Royal Engineers (RE) raised in Sussex just before the outbreak of the Second World War. It formed part of 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division and went with it to France early in 1940. After being evacuated back to the UK and serving in home defence it was sent to North Africa, where it participated in the Tunisian Campaign. It then joined in the Italian Campaign, including sending a detachment to Yugoslavia, before moving to Germany for the final stages of the war. The company was disbanded in 1946.
Mobilisation.
Following the Munich Crisis the TA was doubled in size and 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division was formed as a duplicate of 44th (Home Counties) Division. 264 (Sussex) Field Company, Royal Engineers was raised from recruits obtained from Seaford, Lewes and Newhaven by 210 (Sussex) Field Company of 44th (HC) Divisional Engineers. It was embodied at Seaford on the outbreak of war, separated from 210 Fd Co on 5 September and 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division became active on 7 October 1939. The unit moved to Milton Barracks, Gravesend, to guard the airport, undergo training, and receive reinforcements.
Battle of France.
12th (E) Divisional RE sailed from Gravesend and arrived at Le Havre on 20 April. The company was then sent by rail to Abancourt, where it was put to building camps. When the German invasion began and 12th (E) Division was ordered to concentrate at Amiens. The RE were entrained but never reached Amiens, which was already on fire after air raids. They were then withdrawn via Le Mans to Blain on the Atlantic coast, where they began building a new camp at Chateau Pont Pietin. The infantry of 12th (E) Division fought as part of 'Petreforce', holding up the German advance at the coast of heavy casualties before being evacuated through Dunkirk. The rest of the BEF remaining on the Atlantic coast then began to be evacuated through Cherbourg Naval Base, 12th (E) Divisional RE moving via Caen to get there early on 7 June. They embarked on the RMS "Duke of Argyll" and arrived at Southampton that evening.
The divisional RE was moved to Hexham in Northumberland, then returned to the south coast to work on anti-invasion beach defences along the South Coast and inland stop lines in Sussex and Kent. The 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division was broken up on 10 July, so the survivors could help bring up other units up to full strength. The divisional RE was converted into XII Corps Troops, RE, (XII CTRE) the field companies formally being termed 'Army Field Companies'.
Home Defence.
XII Corps HQ was formed in Aldershot Command in July 1940. XII CTRE served with it for the rest of the war, with 264 Fd Co based at Mayfield, East Sussex, working on defence lines and anti-tank obstacles behind the coast. In January 1941 the company moved to Paignton in Devon, working on defences and clearing up after the Plymouth Blitz. In September it moved to Bridgwater in Somerset for training, and in December it transferred to VIII CTRE in Southern Command, with the company also being part of the War Office Reserve.
In July 1942 264 (S) A Fd Co joined the newly formed 2nd General Headquarters Troops RE (2nd GHQTRE). The rest of the unit was composed of Yorkshire companies formerly part of 49th (West Riding) Division. 2nd GHQTRE was assigned to First Army for the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch). On 5 November 1942 the company was in billets in Tiverton, Devon, when embarkation orders arrived. It moved to Newport, Wales, where on 9 November it boarded the SS "Orontes", which sailed on 14 November via Scottish waters for North Africa.
Tunisia.
The Torch landings began on 8 November, and 264 (Sussex) Fd Co disembarked at Algiers on 23 November. It moved by train to Constantine, dropping off No 1 Section to work on a base hospital, and went to Doukam de Kroub where the unit transport, which had landed later at Bougie, caught up. The company was employed on bomb disposal, building camps, field workshops and Prisoner-of-war camps, stone quarrying and water supply. No 1 Section rejoined from Guelma on 11 January, when the company was given responsibility with some of the South African Engineer Corps for opening a route for an armoured division along the Le Kroub–Guelma road.
On 31 March 1943 the company moved to Souk Ahras to work in the 18th Army Group camp, then at Haidra in April and Gafour in May, constructing camps, building bridges, clearing minefields and establishing water supplies. During the final operations against Tunis (Operation Vulcan), 2nd GHQTRE took over responsibility for routes behind the corps TREs. After the Axis surrender the unit continued its maintenance work with local labour at Pont du Fahs in June, and then moved to Tarif in July to study petrol distribution. Afterwards it built fuel pipelines from Bône harbour to various airfields. For the succeeding months the unit was engaged in mine clearance and dismantling Bailey bridges for re-use.
Italy and Yugoslavia.
In November 1943 264 (S) Fd Co mobilised with new transport for a move to Italy, embarking on the "Ville d'Oran" at Philippeville on 5 December and landing at Taranto on 8 December to join 15th Army Group at Brindisi. The company then moved to Capua and spent the winter there working on water supplies, quarries, and Bailey bridges. Early in 1944 No 1 Platoon was detached to Force 133 (Special Operations Executive) on the island of Vis where it worked for several weeks with the Yugoslav Partisans on defence works and stripping a vineyard to establish an airfield. Water supply was critical and the platoon had to establish large storage tanks.
No 1 Platoon rejoined the company in late May 1944. In June the company was attached to 4th Indian Division for its advance through the mountains towards Florence, clearing mines and maintaining 'Blue Route'. The company moved steadily northwards, repairing bridges, with No 3 Platoon in the lead. By August the company was at Rome, where it joined I Canadian Corps, moving with it to Rimini by 24 September, where the company built an airstrip for Auster light aircraft. In October the company moved forwards once again, strengthening Bailey bridges erected by the front line engineers. On 11 November the unit built a Bailey bridge under fire at Portoforce, suffering some casualties. It spent the winter in the area of San Petro and then Ravenna, maintaining routes.
North West Europe.
In the winter of 1944–45 the Allies began Operation Goldflake, secretly transferring I Canadian Corps from Italy to reinforce 21st Army Group fighting in . 2nd GHQTRE was along the units selected, and 264 Fd Co received its warning order on 13 March 1945. It embarked at Livorno for Marseilles on 23 March, and later joined a road convoy for the five-day journey north. On 4 April it reached Zillebeke, where it overhauled its vehicles and came under the command of 1st Canadian Commander, Royal Engineers, Works. It was put to maintaining main supply routes including 'Victoria Up and Down' and bridges on 'Maple Leaf'.
As the war in Europe drew to a close in May, 264 Fd Co was engaged in dismantling bridges over the Rhine that were no longer required, and maintaining roads. It moved to Arnhem just after VE Day, and then to Meppen to convert a Bailey to two-way operation. It then moved into occupied Germany to clear demolished bridges and other obstructions to make the Ems–Weser Canal navigable, and repairing damaged autobahns.
Disbandment began in December 1945, with the last of the personnel being posted to 231 (West Riding) Fd Co in 2nd GHQTRE on 15 December. As a 2nd Line unit, 264 (Sussex) Fd Co was not reformed in the reconstituted TA in 1947, but a number of its veterans rejoined its original parent unit, 210 Field Squadron at Seaford. |
CIELAB color space
The CIELAB color space, also referred to as L*a*b*, is a color space defined by the International Commission on Illumination (abbreviated CIE) in 1976. (Referring to CIELAB as "Lab" without asterisks should be avoided to prevent confusion with Hunter Lab). It expresses color as three values: "L*" for perceptual lightness and "a*" and "b*" for the four unique colors of human vision: red, green, blue and yellow. CIELAB was intended as a perceptually uniform space, where a given numerical change corresponds to a similar perceived change in color. While the LAB space is not truly perceptually uniform, it nevertheless is useful in industry for detecting small differences in color.
Like the CIEXYZ space it derives from, CIELAB color space is a device-independent, "standard observer" model. The colors it defines are not relative to any particular device such as a computer monitor or a printer, but instead relate to the CIE standard observer which is an averaging of the results of color matching experiments under laboratory conditions.
The CIELAB space is three-dimensional and covers the entire gamut (range) of human color perception. It is based on the opponent color model of human vision, where red and green form an opponent pair and blue and yellow form an opponent pair. The lightness value, "L*", also referred to as "Lstar," defines black at 0 and white at 100. The "a*" axis is relative to the green–red opponent colors, with negative values toward green and positive values toward red. The "b*" axis represents the blue–yellow opponents, with negative numbers toward blue and positive toward yellow.
The "a*" and "b*" axes are unbounded and depending on the reference white they can easily exceed ±150 to cover the human gamut. Nevertheless, software implementations often clamp these values for practical reasons. For instance, if integer math is being used it is common to clamp "a*" and "b*" in the range of −128 to 127.
CIELAB is calculated relative to a reference white, for which the CIE recommends the use of CIE Standard illuminant D65. D65 is used in the vast majority industries and applications, with the notable exception being the printing industry which uses D50. The International Color Consortium largely supports the printing industry and uses D50 with either CIEXYZ or CIELAB in the Profile Connection Space, for v2 and v4 ICC profiles.
While the intention behind CIELAB was to create a space that was more perceptually uniform than CIEXYZ using only a simple formula, CIELAB is known to lack perceptual uniformity, particularly in the area of blue hues.
The lightness value, "L*" in CIELAB is calculated using the cube root of the relative luminance with an offset near black. This results in an "effective" power curve with an exponent of approximately 0.43 which represents the human eye's response to light under daylight (photopic) conditions.
Advantages.
Unlike the RGB and CMYK color models, CIELAB is designed to approximate human vision. The "L*" component closely matches human perception of lightness, though it does not take the Helmholtz–Kohlrausch effect into account. CIELAB is less uniform in the color axes, but is useful for predicting small differences in color.
The CIELAB coordinate space represents the entire gamut of human photopic (daylight) vision and far exceeds the gamut for sRGB or CMYK. In an integer implementation such as TIFF, ICC or Photoshop, the large coordinate space results in substantial data inefficiency due to unused code values. Only about 35% of the available coordinate code values are inside the CIELAB gamut with an integer format.
Using CIELAB in an 8-bit per channel integer format typically results in significant quantization errors. Even 16-bit per channel can result in clipping, as the full gamut extends past the bounding coordinate space. Ideally, CIELAB should be used with floating-point data to minimize obvious quantization errors.
CIE standards and documents are copyright by the CIE and must be purchased; however, the formulas for CIELAB are available on the CIE website.
CIELAB coordinates.
The three coordinates of CIELAB represent the lightness of the color ("L*" = 0 yields black and "L*" = 100 indicates diffuse white; specular white may be higher), its position between red and green ("a*", where negative values indicate green and positive values indicate red) and its position between yellow and blue ("b*", where negative values indicate blue and positive values indicate yellow). The asterisks (*) after "L*", "a*," and "b*" are pronounced "star" and are part of the full name to distinguish "L"*"a"*"b"* from Hunter's "Lab", described below.
Since the "L*a*b*" model has three axes, it requires a three-dimensional space to be represented completely. Also, because each axis is non-linear, it is not possible to create a two-dimensional chromaticity diagram. Also, it is important to understand that the visual representations shown in the plots of the full CIELAB gamut on this page are an approximation, as it is impossible for a monitor to display the full gamut of LAB colors.
The red-green and yellow-blue opponent channels relate to the human vision system's opponent color process. This makes CIELAB a Hering opponent color space. The nature of the transformations also characterizes it as an chromatic value color space.
A related color space, the CIE 1976 "L"*"u"*"v"* color space (a.k.a. CIELUV), preserves the same "L*" as "L*a*b*" but has a different representation of the chromaticity components. CIELAB and CIELUV can also be expressed in cylindrical form (CIELChab and CIELChuv, respectively), with the chromaticity components replaced by correlates of chroma and hue.
Since the work on CIELAB and CIELUV, the CIE has been incorporating an increasing number of color appearance phenomena into their models and difference equations to better predict human color perception. These color appearance models, of which CIELAB is a simple example, culminated with CIECAM02.
Perceptual differences.
The nonlinear relations for "L*", "a*" and "b*" are intended to mimic the nonlinear response of the visual system. Furthermore, uniform changes of components in the "L*a*b*" color space aim to correspond to uniform changes in perceived color, so the relative perceptual differences between any two colors in "L*a*b*" can be approximated by treating each color as a point in a three-dimensional space (with three components: "L*", "a*", "b*") and taking the Euclidean distance between them.
RGB and CMYK conversions.
In order to convert RGB or CMYK values to or from "L*a*b*", the RGB or CMYK data must be linearized relative to light. The reference illuminant of the RGB or CMYK data must be known, as well as the RGB primary coordinates or the CMYK printer's reference data in the form of a color lookup table (CLUT).
In color managed systems, ICC profiles contain these needed data, which are then used to perform the conversions.
Range of coordinates.
As mentioned previously, the "L"* coordinate nominally ranges from 0 to 100. The range of "a"* and "b"* coordinates is technically unbounded, though it is commonly clamped to the range of −128 to 127 for use with integer code values, though this results in potentially clipping some colors depending on the size of the source colorspace. The gamut's large size and inefficient utilization of the coordinate space means the best practice is to use floating-point values for all three coordinates.
Converting between CIELAB and CIEXYZ coordinates.
From CIEXYZ to CIELAB.
where, being "t" = , , or :
"X, Y, Z" describe the color stimulus considered and "X"n, "Y"n, "Z"n describe a specified white achromatic reference illuminant. for the CIE 1931 (2°) standard colorimetric observer and assuming normalization where , the values are:
For Standard Illuminant D65:
For illuminant D50, which is used in the printing industry:
The division of the domain of the function into two parts was done to prevent an infinite slope at . The function was assumed to be linear below some and was assumed to match the part of the function at "t"0 in both value and slope. In other words:
The intercept was chosen so that would be 0 for : . The above two equations can be solved for and :
where .
From CIELAB to CIEXYZ.
The reverse transformation is most easily expressed using the inverse of the function "f" above:
where
and where .
CIEHLC cylindrical model.
The "CIELCh" or "CIEHLC" space is a color space based on CIELAB, which uses the polar coordinates "C"* (chroma, relative saturation) and "h"° (hue angle, angle of the hue in the CIELAB color wheel) instead of the Cartesian coordinates "a"* and "b"*. The CIELAB lightness L* remains unchanged.
The conversion of "a"* and "b"* to "C"* and "h"° is performed as follows:
where "Y"n is the "Y" tristimulus value of a specified white object. For surface-color applications, the specified white object is usually (though not always) a hypothetical material with unit reflectance that follows Lambert's law. The resulting "L" will be scaled between 0 (black) and 100 (white); roughly ten times the Munsell value. Note that a medium lightness of 50 is produced by a luminance of 25, due to the square root proportionality.
"a" and "b" are termed opponent color axes. "a" represents, roughly, Redness (positive) versus Greenness (negative). It is computed as:
where "K"a is a coefficient that depends upon the illuminant (for D65, "K"a is 172.30; see approximate formula below) and "X"n is the "X" tristimulus value of the specified white object.
The other opponent color axis, "b", is positive for yellow colors and negative for blue colors. It is computed as:
where "K"b is a coefficient that depends upon the illuminant (for D65, "K"b is 67.20; see approximate formula below) and "Z"n is the "Z" tristimulus value of the specified white object.
Both "a" and "b" will be zero for objects that have the same chromaticity coordinates as the specified white objects (i.e., achromatic, grey, objects).
Approximate formulas for "K"a and "K"b.
In the previous version of the Hunter "Lab" color space, "K"a was 175 and "K"b was 70. Hunter Associates Lab discovered that better agreement could be obtained with other color difference metrics, such as CIELAB (see above) by allowing these coefficients to depend upon the illuminants. Approximate formulae are:
which result in the original values for Illuminant "C", the original illuminant with which the "Lab" color space was used.
As an Adams chromatic valence space.
Adams chromatic valence color spaces are based on two elements: a (relatively) uniform lightness scale and a (relatively) uniform chromaticity scale. If we take as the uniform lightness scale Priest's approximation to the Munsell Value scale, which would be written in modern notation as:
and, as the uniform chromaticity coordinates:
where "k"e is a tuning coefficient, we obtain the two chromatic axes:
and
which is identical to the Hunter "Lab" formulas given above if we select and . Therefore, the Hunter Lab color space is an Adams chromatic valence color space. |
Decatur, Nebraska
Decatur is a village in Burt County, Nebraska, United States, adjacent to the upper Missouri River. The population was 481 at the 2010 census. This town is named after one of its incorporators, Stephen Decatur. It developed around a trading post established by Colonel Peter Sarpy, the namesake for Sarpy County in the state.
History.
The area was long occupied by the Omaha Native Americans, who settled along the creeks and river Explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark passed through the area in 1804 as their expedition traveled via the upper Missouri River on their way to and from the Pacific Coast, in their exploration of the Louisiana Purchase.
The first European settler in the area was a man named Woods, who settled at the mouth of Wood Creek (his namesake) in 1837. Stephen Decatur arrived in the area in 1841. A former schoolteacher in New Jersey and New York, he had abandoned his wife and two children when he migrated to the West. Here he changed his name, dropping his former surname of "Bross." His farm was called Decatur Springs, after a spring which supplied water to the village for the next century.
In 1854, the U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs purchased 300,000 acres of land from the Omaha, including the area which is now Decatur. The town of Decatur was incorporated in 1856 under the name "The Decatur Townsite & Ferry Company." The other incorporators included Thomas Whiteacre, T. H. Hineman, George Mason, and Herman Glass. Peter Sarpy helped lay out the town, which developed around his Indian trading post at the mouth of Wood Creek. He also owned Fontenelle's Post and is the namesake for Sarpy County.
The patents for the town were granted by the legislature on May 1, 1862. Following the dissolution of the Decatur Townsite and Ferry Company, the town was renamed Decatur Village in 1858.
Geography.
Decatur is located at (42.006018, -96.250982).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land.
Demographics.
2010 census.
As of the census of 2010, there were 481 people, 240 households, and 136 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 275 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 89.0% White, 0.6% African American, 7.1% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 1.0% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population.
There were 240 households, of which 20.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.3% were non-families. 38.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.62.
The median age in the village was 52.9 years. 17% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 16% were from 25 to 44; 37% were from 45 to 64; and 25.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.
2000 census.
As of the census of 2000, there were 618 people, 278 households, and 180 families residing in the village. The population density was 681.4 people per square mile (262.2/km2). There were 368 housing units at an average density of 405.8 per square mile (156.1/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 87.70% White, 0.65% African American, 7.93% Native American, 0.32% Asian, and 3.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.81% of the population.
There were 278 households, out of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.80.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 21.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.
As of 2000 the median income for a household in the village was $30,125, and the median income for a family was $37,857. Males had a median income of $25,938 versus $20,114 for females. The per capita income for the village was $14,118. About 8.0% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over. |
Nginx
Nginx (pronounced "engine x" , stylized as NGINX) is a web server that can also be used as a reverse proxy, load balancer, mail proxy and HTTP cache. The software was created by Igor Sysoev and publicly released in 2004. Nginx is free and open-source software, released under the terms of the 2-clause BSD license. A large fraction of web servers use Nginx, often as a load balancer.
A company of the same name was founded in 2011 to provide support and "Nginx Plus" paid software. In March 2019, the company was acquired by F5, Inc. for $670 million.
Popularity.
W3Tech's web server count of all web sites ranked Nginx first with 33.6%. Apache was second at 31.4% and Cloudflare Server third at 21.6%. , Netcraft estimated that Nginx served 22.01% of the million busiest websites with Apache a little ahead at 23.04%. Cloudflare at 19.53% and Microsoft Internet Information Services at 5.78% rounded out the top four servers for the busiest websites. Some of Netcraft's other statistics show Nginx ahead of Apache.
A 2018 survey of Docker usage found that Nginx was the most commonly deployed technology in Docker containers. In OpenBSD version 5.2 (November 2012), Nginx became part of the OpenBSD base system, providing an alternative to the system's fork of Apache 1.3, which it was intended to replace, but later in version 5.6 (November 2014) it was removed in favor of OpenBSD's own httpd(8).
Features.
Nginx is easy to configure in order to serve static web content or to act as a proxy server.
Nginx can be deployed to also serve dynamic content on the network using FastCGI, SCGI handlers for scripts, WSGI application servers or Phusion Passenger modules, and it can serve as a software load balancer.
Nginx uses an asynchronous event-driven approach, rather than threads, to handle requests. Nginx's modular event-driven architecture can provide predictable performance under high loads.
Mail proxy features.
Other features include upgrading executable and configuration without client connections loss, and a module-based architecture with both core and third-party module support.
The paid Plus product includes additional features such as advanced load balancing and access to an expanded suite of metrics for performance monitoring.
Nginx vs Nginx Plus.
There are two versions of Nginx: Nginx Open Source and Nginx Plus.
Nginx Open Source is free and open-source software.
Nginx Plus is sold as a subscription model. It offers features in addition to Nginx Open Source, such as active health checks, session persistence based on cookies, DNS-service-discovery integration, Cache Purging API, AppDynamic, Datalog, Dynatrace New Relic plug-ins, Active-Active HA with config sync, Key-Value Store, on-the-fly with zero downtime updates upstream configurations, and key‑value stores using Nginx Plus API and web application firewall (WAF) dynamic module.
Nginx in comparison to Apache.
Nginx was written with an explicit goal of outperforming the Apache web server. Out of the box, serving static files, Nginx uses much less memory than Apache, and can handle roughly four times as many requests per second. However, this performance boost comes at a cost of decreased flexibility, such as the ability to override systemwide access settings on a per-file basis (Apache accomplishes this with an .htaccess file, while Nginx has no such feature built in).
Formerly, adding third-party modules to Nginx required recompiling the application from source with the modules statically linked. This was partially overcome in version 1.9.11 in February 2016, with the addition of dynamic module loading. However, the modules still must be compiled at the same time as Nginx, and not all modules are compatible with this system; some require the older static linking process.
Nginx Unit.
Nginx Unit is an open-source web application server, released in 2017 by NGINX, Inc. to target multi-language microservices-based applications. The initial release supported applications written in Go, PHP, and Python. By version 1.11.0, the support was extended to Java, Node.js, Perl, and Ruby applications; other features include dynamic configuration, request routing, and load balancing.
History.
Igor Sysoev began development of Nginx in 2002. Originally, Nginx was developed to solve the C10k problem, and to fill the needs of multiple websites including the Rambler search engine and portal, for which it was serving 500 million requests per day by September 2008.
Nginx Inc. was founded in July 2011 by Sysoev and Maxim Konovalov to provide commercial products and support for the software.
The company's principal place of business is San Francisco, California, while legally incorporated in British Virgin Islands.
In October 2011, Nginx, Inc. raised $3 million from BV Capital, Runa Capital, and MSD Capital, Michael Dell's venture fund.
The company announced commercial support options for companies using Nginx in production. Nginx offered commercial support in February 2012, and paid Nginx Plus subscription in August 2013.Support packages focus on installation, configuration, performance improvement, etc. Support includes proactive notifications about major changes, security patches, updates and patches. Nginx, Inc. also offers consulting services to assist customers in custom configuration or adding additional features.
In October 2013, Nginx, Inc. raised a $10 million series B investment round led by New Enterprise Associates. That round included previous investors, as well as Aaron Levie, CEO and founder of Box.com. In December 2014, Nginx raised a $20 million series B1 round led by New Enterprise Associates, with participation from e.ventures (formerly "BV Capital"), Runa Capital, Index Ventures and Nginx's own CEO Gus Robertson.
In September 2017, Nginx announced an API management tool, NGINX Controller, which would build off of their API Gateway, NGINX Plus. In October 2017, Nginx, Inc. announced general available Nginx Amplify SaaS providing monitoring and analytics capabilities for Nginx.
In June 2018, Nginx, Inc. raised $43 million in Series C Funding in a round led by Goldman Sachs "to Accelerate Application Modernization and Digital Transformation for Enterprises".
On 11 March 2019, F5 Networks acquired Nginx, Inc. for US$670 million.
On 12 December 2019, it was reported that the Moscow offices of Nginx Inc. had been raided by police, and that Sysoev and Konovalov had been detained. The raid was conducted under a search warrant connected to a copyright claim over Nginx by Rambler—which asserts that it owns all rights to the code because it was written while Sysoev was an employee of the company. On 16 December 2019, Russian state lender Sberbank, which owns 46.5 percent of Rambler, called an extraordinary meeting of Rambler's board of directors asking Rambler's management team to request Russian law enforcement agencies cease pursuit of the criminal case, and begin talks with Nginx and with F5.
On 18 January 2022, it was announced that Igor Sysoev is leaving Nginx and F5. |
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (born St Petersburg, September 25 1906; died Moscow August 9 1975) was a Russian-Soviet composer.
Shostakovich's life.
Early years.
Shostakovich's parents came from Siberia. His father was a biologist and engineer, and his mother was a pianist. They lived comfortably, although this was to change after the Revolution (1917). Shostakovich studied the piano and composition at the Petrograd Conservatory (St. Petersburg was called Petrograd between 1914 and 1924, after which it became Leningrad until 1991, when it became St. Petersburg again). After his mother died, the family were short of money, so young Dmitri had to earn money by playing the piano in cinemas for silent movies. He worked extremely hard and with a lot of concentration. He was very successful both as a pianist and a composer. His Symphony No. 1 was very popular. His music sounded very modern with lots of dissonant chords. His first dramatic works include an opera called "The Nose" and a ballet called "The Golden Age".
Maturity.
In 1930 he wrote an important opera called "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District". It was a huge success, and the critics said that “it could only have been written by a Soviet composer brought up in the best traditions of Soviet culture”. One night in 1936 Stalin came to watch it. He left before the end. Two days later there was an article in the official government paper "Pravda". The title was “Chaos instead of Music”. It said that this opera was primitive and vulgar, full of screaming and noise. The politicians were criticizing not just Shostakovich but all modern Soviet music. Shostakovich was denounced, and his friends were too frightened to defend him in case they were denounced as well. Shostakovich suffered quietly and wrote his Fifth Symphony. The politicians liked this symphony. He was once more thought of as the leading Soviet composer. He was supposed to have said that his new symphony was the “creative reply of a Soviet artist to justified criticism”, but it was actually a critic who said this. Shortly afterward, he received the Stalin Prize for his Piano Quintet.
During World War II Shostakovich was evacuated with his wife and two children. His next two symphonies, nos.7 "Leningrad" and 8, describe the war. They were hugely popular in the West. In the United States, the Seventh Symphony became the symbol of resistance against Nazism.
After World War II.
After the war, Soviet politicians again began to control and criticize artistic life very hard. In 1948, there was a big meeting at which Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and several other composers were criticized. Their music was called “formalist”, “anti-democratic”, and lots of other things which had nothing to do with music. There was nothing the composers could do except to say how sorry they were. For the next five years Shostakovich was careful not to write anything the politiciones would not like. He wrote songs such as "The Sun Shines on our Motherland". Some of his other compositions in which he expressed his real feelings were kept in a drawer so that no one could see them.
In 1953, Stalin died and things became easier again. Shostakovich wrote his Tenth Symphony. The whole world now saw Shostakovich as the greatest Soviet composer. He suffered less from official repression. Surprisingly, articles criticizing the music of modern young composers carried his name, but a lot of these articles he had not written. He was persuaded to sign them so that the politicians would leave him in peace. He wrote more symphonies and quartets as well as concertos. His opera "Lady Macbeth" was revised and given a different title: "Katerina Izmaylova". It was performed in many countries, and was made into a movie. Yet in 1962, he wrote his very serious Symphony No. 13 using poems including one of the Babi Yar massacre, so he suffered from repression again.
In his later years, Shostakovich suffered from ill-health. He had poliomyelitis, which made it difficult for him to use his hands and legs. He suffered several heart attacks, and started to lose his sight. He died of lung cancer in 1975.
Shostakovich’s music.
Shostakovich is best known for his fifteen symphonies and fifteen string quartets. His most important opera is "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District". He also wrote a lot of film music and music for plays including "Hamlet". Shostakovich read a lot of Russian literature. His songs had words by famous Russian writers such as Alexander Pushkin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Marina Tsvetaeva and Alexander Blok. He wrote twenty-four Preludes and Fugues for piano, a piano trio, two piano concertos, a piano quintet, a sonata for cello and piano, and a sonata for viola and piano (his last work).
He had lots of friends who regularly gave the first performances of his works. Most of his symphonies were first performed by the Leningrad Philharmonic conducted by Eugeny Mravinsky. His string quartets were first performed by the Beethoven String Quartet. The violinist David Oistrakh, the cellist Mstislav Rostropovitch, and the pianist Sviatoslav Richter were all close friends who played his music.
Shostakovich the pianist.
Shostakovich had an amazing musical memory and could play almost anything he knew by ear. When he was young he spent hours improvising, composing, and playing. Although he had small hands, he was a very gifted pianist. He had no difficulty in playing any of his works on the piano, even music written for an orchestra. He often played his music too fast and without much expression.
Shostakovich’s personality.
Shostakovich was a very nervous person. He was shy and very self-critical. He hated having to talk to people he did not know. He did not sit still, always fidgeting and twitching his face nervously. He was, however, always very polite and very kind to everyone he met. He was very careful not to criticize musicians who asked him for advice. He said very little, but what he said was carefully thought out. He wrote lots of letters to the authorities to try to help his friends. He was very reliable, and always tried to arrive on time. In his last years, he found it very difficult to use his hands because of his illness, but he always insisted on writing down his music himself. |
Norrbotten Regiment
The Norrbotten Regiment (), designation I 19, is a Swedish Army arctic armoured, light infantry and commando regiment that traces its origins back to the 19th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the province of Norrbotten, and it is currently garrisoned in Boden, Norrbotten. The regiment has the responsibility for training two armoured and one special recon battalion, as well as number of Arctic light infantry battalions from the home guard as well as running the army's winter unit.
As of 2018, the Norrbotten Regiment employs 489 professional officers, 402 full-time soldiers, 512 part-time soldiers, 116 civilians and 683 reserve officers.
History.
The regiment was created in 1841 when Västerbotten Field Jäger Regiment was split into two corps units of battalion size, one of them being Norrbotten Field Jäger Corps. The unit was upgraded to regimental size and renamed Norrbotten Regiment in 1892. The regiment had its training grounds at various places in Norrbotten, but was eventually garrisoned in Boden in 1907. A ski battalion was created in 1910, and in 1943 this ski battalion was split off from the regiment, later becoming The Army Ranger School and in 1975 Lapland Ranger Regiment.
The regiment merged with the Norrbotten Armoured Battalion (P 5) in 1975 to form Norrbotten Regiment with Norrbotten Armoured Battalion, designated I 19/P 5. For a short time in the 1990s, the unit was then merged with the wartime-organised Norrbotten Brigade, and designated MekB 19. In 2000, the unit was reorganised once again, and was redesignated back to its old designation I 19 despite being an armoured regiment, the name was also changed back to Norrbotten Regiment.
Organisation.
The current organisation of the regiment includes:
Heraldry and traditions.
Colours, standards and guidons.
The Norrbotten Regiment presents one regimental colour, three battalion colours and two battalion standards:
Colour of Norrbotten Regiment.
On 31 August 1974, the regiment was presented with a new colour by His Majesty the King Gustaf VI Adolf in connection with the 350th anniversary of the regiment. When the Norrbotten Armoured Battalion (P 5) was amalgamated with the regiment, its standard was carried to the side of the regimental colour. The standard is carried again by the Norrbotten Armoured Battalion since 1 July 2000.
A new colour was presented to the regiment in Boden by His Majesty the King Carl XVI Gustaf on 27 August 2001. The colour is drawn by Kristina Holmgård-Åkerberg and embroidered by machine and hand in insertion technique by Maj-Britt Salander/company Blå Kusten. Blazon: "On blue cloth powdered with yellow estoiles, the provincial badge of Västerbotten; a white reindeer at speed, armed and langued red. On a white border at the upper side of the colour, battle honours (Landskrona 1677, Düna 1701, Kliszow 1702, Fraustadt 1706, Malatitze 1708, Strömstad 1717) in blue and close to the staff the provincial badge of Lappland; a red savage with green garlands on head and around loins, clutching a yellow club on right shoulder (a legacy from the former Lappland Brigade, NB 20).
A new colour was presented to the regiment in Boden by His Majesty the King Carl XVI Gustaf on 7 September 2019. The colour is drawn by Henrik Dahlström, heraldic artist and graphic designer at the State Herald at the National Archives of Sweden. The colour was made by Friends of Handicraft in Stockholm, which is a subcontractor to the Swedish Army Museum. Pre- and post-work as well as embroidery work were done by Viola Edin and Anna Eriksson at company . The wild man in red (I 20's coat of arms) that was to the left of the battle honours in the old colour has been removed, as the Västerbotten Group (), that carry those traditions, from 2020 belongs to Northern Military Region with the Västerbotten Group in Umeå.
Colour of Norrland Artillery Battalion.
The colour is drawn by Kristina Holmgård-Åkerberg and embroidered by machine in insertion technique by Sofie Thorburn. The colour was presented to the battalion in Kristinehamn by His Majesty the King Carl XVI Gustaf on 15 April 2002. The colour may be used according to the decisions of CO I 19. Blazon: "On blue cloth in the centre the lesser coat of arms of Sweden, three yellow crowns placed two and one. In the first corner the town badge of Boden; a white wall with a gatetower embattled (the original name of the battalion was Boden Artillery Regiment, A 8), in the second corner two crossed yellow gunbarrels of older pattern, in the third corner the provincial badge of Västerbotten, a white reindeer at speed, armed red (a legacy from the former Norrbotten Artillery Corps, A 5) and in the fourth corner the provincial badge of Jämtland, a white elk passant, attacked on its back by a rising falcon and in the front by a rampant dog, both yellow; all animals armed red (a legacy from the former Norrland Artillery Regiment, A 4)."
Colour of Norrland Engineer Battalion.
The colour is drawn by Kristina Holmgård-Åkerberg and embroidered by machine and hand (the badge) in insertion technique by the company Libraria. The colour was presented to the then Norrland Engineer Battalion in Boden by His Majesty the King Carl XVI Gustaf on 27 August 2001. The colour may be used according to the decisions of CO I 19. Blazon: "On blue cloth in the centre the lesser coat of arms of Sweden, three yellow crowns placed two and one. In the first corner a mullet with a cluster of rays, all in yellow. In the lower part of this the coat of arms of the unit; argent, throughout a wall with a gatetower both embattled gules (the original name of the battalion was Royal Boden Engineers Regiment, Ing 3); on a chief azure three open crowns in fess or (a legacy from the former Svea Engineer Regiment, Ing 1). The shield ensigned with a royal crown proper.
Colour of Norrland Signal Battalion.
The colour is drawn by Brita Grep and embroidered by hand in insertion technique by the company Libraria. The colour was presented to the then Royal Norrland Signal Battalion (S 3) in Boden by His Majesty King Gustaf VI Adolf on 7 July 1961. It was used as regimental colour by S 3 until 1 July 2000. The colour may be used according to the decisions of CO I 19. Blazon: "On blue cloth in the centre the lesser coat of arms of Sweden, three yellow crowns placed two and one. In the first corner a mullet with a cluster of rays, all yellow. In the lower part of this placed upon a cluster of yellow bolts, the provincial coat of arms of Västerbotten; azure powdered with estoiles or, a reindeer at speed argent armed and langued gules. The shield ensigned with a royal crown proper."
Standard of Norrland Air Defence Battalion.
The standard is drawn by Brita Grep and embroidered by hand in insertion technique by the Kedja studio, Heraldica. The standard was presented to the then Royal Luleå Anti-Aircraft Corps (Lv 7) in Luleå by the military commander of the VI Military District, major general Nils Rosenblad in 1943. It was used as regimental standard by Lv 7 until 1 July 2000. The standard may be used according to the decisions of CO I 19. Blazon: "On blue cloth in the centre the lesser coat of arms of Sweden, three open yellow crowns placed two and one. In the first corner the town badge of Luleå ; two white keys, the left inverted (the original name of the battalion was Luleå Anti-Aircraft Corps). In the other corners two winged yellow gunbarrels of older pattern in saltire. Yellow fringe."
Standard of Norrbotten Armoured Battalion.
The standard is drawn by Brita Grep and embroidered by hand in insertion technique by Libraria. The standard was presented to the former Royal Norrbotten Armoured Battalion (P 5) in Boden by His Majesty the King Gustaf VI Adolf on 28 July 1961. It was used as battalion standard until 1975 and then as a traditional standard at I 19 up to 1 July 2000. The standard may be used according to the decisions of CO I 19. Blazon: "On blue cloth powdered with yellow estoiles the provincial badge of Västerbotten; a white reindeer at speed, armed and langued red. Blue fringe."
Coat of arms.
The coat of the arms of the Norrbotten Regiment (I 19) 1977–1994. Blazon: "Azure, powdered with estoiles or, the provincial badge of Västerbotten, a reindeer courant argent, armed and langued gules. The shield surmounted two muskets in saltire or." The coat of arms of the Norrbotten Armoured Battalion (P 5) 1957–1975 and the Norrbotten Regiment and Norrbotten Brigade (NMekB 19) 1994–2000. Blazon: "Azure, powdered with estoiles or, the provincial badge of Västerbotten, a reindeer courant argent, armed and langued gules. The shield surmounted two arms in fess, embowed and vambraced, the hands holding swords in saltire, or". The coat of the arms of the Norrbotten Regiment (I 19) since 2000. Blazon: "Azure, powdered with estoiles or, the provincial badge of Västerbotten, a reindeer courant argent, armed gules".
Medals.
In 1967, the ("Norrbotten Regiment (I 19) Medal of Merit") in gold/silver/bronze (NorrbregGM/SM/BM) of the 8th size was established. The medal ribbon is of blue moiré with a yellow stripe on the middle followed on each side by a black line and a white stripe.
Other.
When the Lapland Brigade (, NB 20) was disbanded on 31 December 1997, Norrbotten Regiment took over its traditions and colour, which should not be mixed with the colour and traditions of Västerbotten Regiment, which were transferred on 1 July 2000 to the Västerbotten Group (). In addition to the traditional heritage of the Lapland Brigade, the regiment also has primarily traditional heritage from Norrbotten Regiment with Norrbotten Armoured Battalion (I 19/P 5), Norrbotten Regiment and Norrbotten Brigade (MekB 19), Norrbotten Armoured Battalion (P 5) and Norrland Dragoon Regiment (K 4).
Commanding officers.
Regimental commanders active from 1900. For regimental commanders active from 1994 to 2000, see Norrbotten Regiment and Norrbotten Brigade |
Human impact on river systems
Many river systems are shaped by human activity and through anthropogenic forces. The process of human influence on nature, including rivers, is stated with the beginning of the Anthropocene, which has replaced the Holocene. This long-term impact is analyzed and explained by a wide range of sciences and stands in an interdisciplinary context. The natural water cycle and stream flow is globally influenced and linked to global interconnections. Rivers are an essential component of the terrestrial realm and have been a preferable location for human settlements during history. River is the main expression used for river channels themselves, riparian zones, floodplains and terraces, adjoining uplands dissected by lower channels and river deltas.
Human impact.
The relationship between humans and rivers, which represent freshwater environments, is complicated. Rivers serve primarily as a freshwater resource and as sinks for domestic and industrial waste water. The consequences from this usage occur from diverse activities and root themselves in complex, interdisciplinary systems and practices.
Environmental changes in rivers usually result from human development, such as population growth, the dependence on fossil resources, urbanization, global commerce and industrial and agricultural emission. Anthropogenic activities also include discrete elements like the use of fire, domestication of plants and animals, soil development, the establishment of settlements and irrigation. River ecosystems have been transformed downstream from the point of pollution. Active human transformations, river engineering, have altered the river systems and ecosystems.
River engineering.
River engineering, a branch of civil engineering, deals with the process of planned human intervention to improve and restore rivers for human and environmental needs. With modern technologies, data collection and modelling, navigation can be improved, dredging reduced and new habitats can be created. River engineering also handles sediment and erosion control, which can be a threat to humankind by destroying infrastructure, hindering water supply and causing major river cutoffs. River training structures will help to modify the hydraulic flow and the sediment response of a river.
Humans have modified the natural behavior of rivers for longer than history is recorded. The management of water resources, protection against floods and hydropower are not new concepts. Regardless, river engineering has changed in the past century because of environmental concerns. The available amount and type of data about rivers has increased which provides more useful information about the behaviour of rivers and their ecosystems. Engineering experts are able to analyse and adapt in a more environmentally conscious way. Renaturalisation projects raise more awareness for the environment, however, rapidly growing and urbanizing population needs to be supplied with enough water resources and hydropower energy, which calls for more sustainable solutions.
River pollution.
Water pollution occurs when water bodies, such as rivers, lakes and oceans are contaminated with harmful substances. These substances degrade the water quality and are toxic to humans as consumers and to the environment. The contamination in a river can come from a point source or non-point source pollution. The most common types of surface water pollution are agriculture, sewage and waste water (including stormwater runoff), oil pollution and radioactive substances. The agricultural sector consumes a lot of fresh water and is the leading source for water degradation.
Timeline.
Most settlements in human history were placed along rivers, developing into "riverine cities" and traceable by their considerable environmental footprint. The human influence on rivers can be divided into six chronological stages:
Consequences.
While river engineering can improve the behaviour of the river or hold it back to adapt to our infrastructure, and therefore be rated as positive or negative impact, pollution undoubtedly has a negative impact on our environment. The consequences are very complex and difficult to measure and classify, as often benefits for humankind imply drawbacks for the environment and the other way around.
Indicators.
Indicators that make the human impact measurable and quantitatively assessable are: artificial water surface ratio, artificial water surface density ratio, disruption of longitudinal connectivity ratio, artificial river ratio, sinuosity of artificial cutoff, channelization ratio, artificial levee ratio, road along river ratio, artificial sediment transport ratio and the integrated river structure impact index.
Material and sediment flux.
Through anthropogenic impact the material flux of rivers has changed, which enters the sea and has a strong effect on coastal and shelf environments.
Runoff.
Alternate land use, deforestation, afforestation and different types of river engineering have also led to changes in hydrologic processes, such as runoff. Mushrooming illegal mining activity can, for example, change the soil structure, the pressure-gradient between stream flow and groundwater and the vegetation cover and therefore lead to increased or decreased runoff. In southern Ghana in the Lower Pra River Basin, the percentage of runoff change, which is linked to human activity is approximately up to 66 %.
Human presence and infrastructure has benefited from river management, by changing and straightening rivers to make the valuable land around them more live-able.
Water quality.
The consumption of polluted water leads to many deaths. In the year 2015, 1.8 million people world wide died because of water pollution and over 1 billion people became ill. Low-income and third-world communities are especially endangered, because they often live close to industries with high emission. Hazards like waterborne pathogens and diseases spread fast in water surface bodies like rivers and are especially threatening in third-world countries without sewage- and wastewater treatment systems.
Ecosystem and biodiversity.
Large dams and the production of hydropower are an important part of today's energy supply and cover a broad part of river engineering. The approach of releasing small quantities of water through turbines responds to the growing power demand from rapidly growing cities; however, it also flattens the rivers hydrographs, and is responsible for a decline in seasonal hydraulic variability and for the loss of delta-building dynamics, as the sediments are stored in the reservoir. Small-scale users of the deltas lose the biodiversity and ecosystem productivity on which they depend.
The aquatic ecosystem consists of a chain of organisms which are dependent on each other. When pollution causes harm to one organism only, this process can start a chain reaction and danger the entire aquatic habitat. When the proliferation of newly introduces nutrients evoke plant and algae growth, oxygen levels in the water decrease. This process, known as eutrophication, suffocates plants and animals and leads to dead zones i.e. water habitats without any life. Chemicals and heavy metals from industrial wastewater are also toxic to aquatic life. They can shorten an organism's life span and its ability to reproduce while also endangering humans, since humans may feed on these organisms and any toxic impacts on these organisms may adversely impact humans.
Global and social impacts.
Rivers have always been a reliable source for human communities. They have been a preferable place for settlements in early history and still provide a rich environment for big cities. Many trade routes lead along rivers and build global connections. |
History of business architecture
The history of business architecture has its origins in the 1980s. In the next decades business architecture has developed into a discipline of "cross-organizational design of the business as a whole" closely related to enterprise architecture. The concept of business architecture has been proposed as a blueprint of the enterprise, as a business strategy, and also as the representation of a business design.
The concept of business architecture has evolved over the years. It was introduced in the 1980s as architectural domains and as an activity of business design. In the 2000s the study and concept development of business architecture accelerated. By the end of the 2000s the first handbooks on business architecture were published, separate frameworks for business architecture were being developed, separate views and models for business architecture were further under construction, the business architect as a profession evolved, and more businesses added business architecture to their agenda.
By 2015 business architecture has evolved into a common practice. The business architecture body of knowledge has been developed and is updated multiple times each year, and the interest from the academic world and from top management is growing.
Overview.
Business architecture has its roots in traditional cross-organizational design. Bodine and Hilty (2009) stipulated, that the "responsibility for the cross-organizational design of the business as a whole, the work of the Business Architect, has historically fallen to the CEO or their assignee, supported by generalist management consulting firms whose teams of MBAs work with corporate managers to transform strategy into new business configurations using the newest tools." John Zachman (2012) commented in this context, that "a lot of material has been written about business architecture (by some definition), going back to "The Principles of Scientific Management" (1911) by Frederick Taylor."
One of the roots of business architecture lies in the proposals for enterprise architecture made since the 1980s and 1990s. Bernus & Noran (2010) distinguished two types of proposals. On the one hand "Proposals that created generally applicable ‘blueprints’ (later to be called reference models, partial models...) so that the activities involved in the creation (or the change) of the enterprise could refer to such a common model (or set of models)." And on the other hand "proposals which claimed that to be able to organise the creation, and later the change, of enterprises one needs to understand the life cycle of the enterprise and of its parts... the ‘Enterprise Reference Architecture’."
More specific about the emerge of business architecture Whelan & Meaden (2012) described, that this emerged against a backdrop of change. The business architecture is "maturing into a discipline in its own right, rising from the pool of inter-related practices that include business strategy, enterprise architecture, business portfolio planning and change management – to name but a few.
1980s.
Concept.
The concept of business architecture emerged in the 1980s in the field of information systems development. One of the first to mention business architecture was the British management consultant Edwin E. Tozer in the 1986 article "Developing strategies for management information systems." He introduced the concept of business architecture in the context of business information systems planning, and distinguished:
And he explained, that "each entity class in the Information Architecture is represented in some database and each business function may be supported by one or more systems." In this paper Tozer was "prescriptive about the order in which [strategy] issues should be identified.", and focussed on "IS adaptability to organizational strategies."
First models.
The American organizational theorist William R. Synnott (1987) presented one of the first models of business architecture, (see image), in the context of data management. Synnott wanted to develop an overall Information Resource Management (IRM) architecture, and proposed business architecture as its foundation. He described:
Business architecture is the foundation upon which the IRM architecture rests. The architectural model consists of a set of building-blocks of linked architectures which together form the basis for the technology infrastructure of the firm... In the figure data architecture and communication architecture are shown as horizontal bars because these are corporate-wide information resource components. They serve all business units. The four vertical resource components are business specific. The resources can be divided according to the business units they serve. That us, data and communication might be centralizes resources, whereas human resources (professional systems staffs), computers, user-computing, and systems could all be decentralized resources to one degree or another.
This model of Information Resource Management (IRM) distinguished seven types of architecture:
This type of architectural model classifies different types of architecture. In the later theories and models different sets of architectures have been proposed. For example, the late 1980s NIST Enterprise Architecture Model distinguished five types, and this was incorporated in the 1990s Federal Enterprise Architecture, which contained four types of architecture.
Base for the total development process.
Synnott (1987) furthermore described, how business architecture should work and introduced the idea of architectural planning:
The business architecture of the company (organization structure, strategic business units and missions, product and services) is the foundation of IRM planning. Since every company has an existing architecture, architectural planning begins with an inventory of the firm's information resources. Assembling the various information resource components' inventories results in an "as is" picture of the corporation's technology structure. From this inventory, the CIO can analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the company's information resources, particularly as they relate to business information needs as identified in the strategic planning process. From this analysis one can evolve an architectural plan, which is a "to be" picture of where one wants to go and how to get there, not just a picture of the status quo.
Cees J. Schrama. (1988) of the European IFIP Technical Committee on Information Systems IFIP TC8 presented the opinion, that "business architecture is required to provide a solid base for the total development process." He pictured another model consisted of elements such as information processing architecture and network architecture, and explained:
[Business architecture] contains the fundamentals for the information processing architecture, where process data, support systems and network architecture are performed. In business architecture the following can 'be identified:
There are some basic elements in business architecture: management, organization, processes to be performed and data to be made available/delivered. In the past, when mainly operational systems were developed, the processes received considerable attention. Information was seen as being needed to perform processes. This is changing. It is becoming important to have data available to serve information retrieval needs as well.
These ideas around the concept of architectural planning evolved in the early 1990s into frameworks, such as TAFIM, the predecessor of TOGAF.
View models of enterprise architecture.
In the 1987 article "A Framework for Information Systems Architecture" John Zachman presented some of the principles of Enterprise architecture,
Framework for information systems architecture.
In the 5th NIST workshop on Information Management Directions (1989) a working groups under guidance of W. Bradford Rigdon developed one of the first Enterprise Architecture frameworks, the NIST Enterprise Architecture Model. In this model business architecture was incorporated as one of the layers of Enterprise Architecture. Bradford Rigdon et al. (1989) brought it like this:
A discussion of architecture must take into account different levels of architecture. These levels can be illustrated by a pyramid, with the business unit at the top and the delivery system at the base. An enterprise is composed of one or more Business Units that are responsible for a specific business area. The five levels of architecture are
The levels are separate yet interrelated... The idea if an enterprise architecture reflects an awareness that the levels are logically connected and that a depiction at one level assumes or dictates that architectures at the higher level.
In the original 1989 illustration of the NIST AE Framework (see image) the top layer was named "Business Unit Architecture." In representation of this model in the 1990s the top layer was named "Business architecture."
1990s.
The unfolding information age.
In the 1990s the information age was unfolding changing the global market economy. With the businesses adapting, the new concept of business architecture was presented as promising alternative. Gharajedaghi (1999) explained the context:
In a global market economy with ever-increasing levels of disturbance, a viable business can no longer be locked into a single form or function. Success comes from a self-renewing capability to spontaneously create structures and functions that fit the moment. In this context, proper functioning of self-reference would certainly prevent the vacillations and the random search for new products/markets that have, over the past years, destroyed so many businesses.In fact, the ability to continuously match the portfolio of internal competencies with the portfolio of emerging market opportunities is the foundation of the emerging concept of new business architecture...
According to Bodine and Hilty (2009) "important advances in this area borrowed from the operations discipline came in 1993 in the form of Michael Hammer and James Champy‘s book "Reengineering the Corporation", which introduced tools for mapping and optimizing business activities using process modeling. The Balanced Scorecard developed by Robert Kaplan and David Norton at about the same time enabled the business to measure overall corporate success against goals on qualitative as well as quantitative dimensions."
Descriptions.
In the 1990s works the concept of business architecture is presented in distinguished ways:
Business architectures is presented as tool for change management, acknowledged Van Rensburg (1997). It "provide organisations with the means to understand organisational activities in such a manner that it is used as a mechanism to support the organisation through the business transformation process. Using an object-oriented modelling approach in the design of the business architecture allows for a robust modelling approach which captures real world instances in a business architecture repository. This enables the creation and caption of organisational understanding required for the transformation process."
FEA and business subarchitecture.
In 1996 the US government introduced the Clinger–Cohen Act, to improve the acquisition and management of their information resources.
Enterprise reference architecture.
Beside the enterprise architecture frameworks a second type of architectural models were proposed in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which were called Enterprise Reference Architecture.
Foundation.
In 1999 two works on business architecture and its foundation were published, which became two of the most cited works on business architecture. In his "Systems thinking: Managing chaos and complexity" Jamshid Gharajedaghi presented a set of principles to design business architecture, which were based on systems thinking. Gharajedaghi argued, that business Architecture should be considered a system:
Business Architecture is a general description of a system. It identifies its purpose, vital functions, active elements, and critical processes and defines the nature of the interaction among them. Business architecture consists of a set of distinct but interrelated platforms, creating a multidimensional modular system. Each platform represents a dimension of the system, signifying a unique mode of behavior with a predefined set of performance criteria and measures.
The IBM researcher Douglas W. McDavid presented the paper "A standard for business architecture description." According to Evernden & Evernden (2003) this paper described a "high-level semantic framework of standard business concepts – abstracted from experience, enterprise business models, the organization of business terminology and the various generic industry reference models. There is an excellent discussion on what constitutes business architecture and the nature and use of information categories, although concepts such as product and agreement seem to be missing." McDavid argued:
The concepts in the Business Architecture description provide a semantic framework for speaking about common business concerns... For our purposes, this semantic structure provides a common set of concept patterns to be able to understand the types of content that needs to be supported in technology-based information systems... a set of generic concepts and their interrelationships organize business information content in terms of requirements on the business, the boundary of the business, and the business as a system for delivery of value.
2000s.
NOTE: This Framework draws heavily from BusinessGenetics Business Modelling Language (BML)
Business architect.
According to Bodine and Hilty (2009)
The arrival of Internet technologies like email, instant messaging and online data repositories in the mid-1990s opened up tremendous flexibilities in the ways co-workers could collaborate, while the new ability of buyers and sellers to interact in virtual space and transact online changed the traditional structure of businesses...
By the late 1990s, MBAs with advanced skills in Internet technologies began developing live business models for e-commerce websites in real-time. They used the development tools to both represent and build the business at the same time. The model became the business, and thousands were launched, allowing companies to access vast volumes of data and respond rapidly to changing market conditions... A Google search on ―Business Architect‖ at the time returned just 12 results... A Google search on ―Business Architect‖ in 2009 returns over 1 million listings.
This is just the beginning of a valuable and rapidly expanding profession. Today‘s Business Architects take a holistic view of the complete business representing all interests and engaging all expertise. They see the business organization as a constantly changing, dynamic organism that balances central planning with individual initiative to achieve its mission through the articulate implementation of its corporate strategy.
Tools and frameworks.
According to Bodine and Hilty (2009)
Important advances in this area borrowed from the operations discipline came in 1993 in the form of Michael Hammer and James Champy‘s book "Reengineering the Corporation", which introduced tools for mapping and optimizing business activities using process modeling. The Balanced Scorecard developed by Robert Kaplan and David Norton at about the same time enabled the business to measure overall corporate success against goals on qualitative as well as quantitative dimensions.
According to Bernus & Noran (2010):
Architecture Frameworks have been used in many industries, including the domains of industrial automation / manufacturing / production management, business information systems (of various kinds), telecommunications and defence. Part of the Enterprise Architecture practice is ‘enterprise engineering’ and the practice of ‘enterprise modelling’ (or just modelling) and complete AFs describe the scope of modelling (which later can be summaised as a Modelling Framework that is part of the AF).
One specific type of Framework is called the "Enterprise Reference Architecture." According to Bernus & Noran (2010):
Several proposals emerged in those two decades – e.g. PERA (Williams 1994), CIMOSA (CIMOSA Association 1996), ARIS (Scheer 1999), GRAI-GIM (Doumeingts, 1987), and the IFIP-IFAC Task Force, based on a thorough review of these as well as their proposed generalisation (Bernus and Nemes, 1994) developed GERAM (IFIP-IFAC Task Force, 1999) which then became the basis of ISO15704:2000 “Industrial automation systems – Requirements for enterprise-reference architectures and methodologies”...
Business Architecture Working Group.
The Business Architecture Special Interest Group (BASIG) is a working group on business architecture of the Object Management Group (OMG). This working group was founded in 2007 as the Business Architecture Working Group (BAWG).
Business strategy.
In the 2006 article "Business Architecture: A new paradigm to relate business strategy to ICT," Versteeg & Bouwman explained the relation between business architecture, business activities and business strategy. They wrote:
We use the concept of 'Business Architecture’ to structure the responsibility over business activities prior to any further effort to structure individual aspects (processes, data, functions, organization, etc.). The business architecture arranges the responsibilities around the most important business activities (for instance production, distribution, marketing, et cetera) and/or economic activities (for instance manufacturing, assembly, transport, wholesale, et cetera) into domains
Versteeg & Bouwman also stipulated, that "the perspectives for subsequent design next to organization are more common: information architecture, technical architecture, process architecture. The various parts (functions, concepts and processes) of the business architecture act as a compulsory starting point for the different subsequent architectures. It pre-structures other architectures. Business architecture models shed light on the scantly elaborated relationships between business strategy and business design. We will illustrate the value of business architecture in a case study."
2010s.
Handbooks.
In the 2010 the first handbooks on Business architecture were published. In the US William M. Ulrich and Neal McWhorter of the OMG Business Architecture Special Interest Group published the "Business Architecture: The Art and Practice of Business Transformation," in 2010.
In 2012 in Britain the business consultants Jonathan Whelan and Graham Meaden published their "Business Architecture: A Practical Guide."
Definition.
In several sources in the exact definition of "business architecture" is under review. In 2008 Jeff Scott had commented in this matter:
Interest in business architecture is growing dramatically. During the past two years both IT and business leaders have joined the discussion about the need for a well-defined business architecture. Though there is a great deal of discussion, there is little consensus about what business architecture is, how it should be pursued, and what value it delivers. Business architects in IT as well as in the business have started developing business-unit-wide and enterprise-wide business architectures, learning as they go. Their ultimate goals are to improve business decision-making and facilitate better alignment between IT and the business units it supports. Architecture teams that want to play a leading role in business architecture development must start soon or be left behind.
Other sources came to the same conclusion, that over the years many different definitions of business architecture have been proposed Some of the more notable definitions have described business architecture as:
The discussion kept going. John Zachman (2012) declared in this matter, that "a lot of people define business architecture differently (I know a lot of people who have a lot of different opinions and definitions for business architecture). Not too many people do business architecture, at least not in a comprehensive and definitive fashion (in my estimation)..."
Roots in various academic domains.
Ideas and definitions about business architecture originate from different academic sub disciplines, where the concept of business architecture and methods and techniques are developing in numerous initiatives. A selection of related subfields:
Field of practice.
Guitarte (2013) stipulated, that also different types of organizations have been active, and created a so-called "business architecture vortex.” He listed four types:
Guitarte commented, that "influencers led followed by communities of practice and standards-setting bodies; vendors followed. Conflicting ideas provide opportunity to define the future of business architecture profession."
Management interests.
Surveys have reported a growing interest of management in business architecture, as well as on universities: |
Practical Electronics/Basic Theory
Electrostatic Charge.
Electrostatic referring to the stationary electric charge that are built up on an insulating material.
Electric Charge.
Normally all matter are neutral or have net Charge equal to zero . When an object loses or gains an electron , that object will either becomes positively charged or negatively charged .
All Charges possess a quantity of Electric Charge called Electric Charge denoted as Q measured in Coulomb (C).
An Electric Field made of Electric Field Lines radiate outward or inward .
For Negatively Charge, the Electric Field Lines radiates inward ,otherwise for Positively Charge, the Electric Field Lines radiates outward.
Electric Field is denoted as E measured in N/C .
Charges interact with each other according to Coulomb's Law.
Electricity.
The interaction of charges cause a force of repulsion or attraction between charges. this force of repulsion or attraction cause electricity
ElectroStatic Force.
ElectroStatic Force or Coulomb Force is the force of attraction between two unlike Charges . For 2 static point charges of different polarities lying in a straight line on a plane . The force of attraction of the two point charge can be calculated by Coulomb's Law
ElectroDynamic Force.
electroDynamic force produced by potential
Charge & Electric Force.
If there is a Electric Force that sets stationary charge in straight motion to cause a flow of charge called Current then the Electric Field can be calculated by Ampere's Law
Charge & Magnetic Force.
If there is a Magnetic Force that can change the direction of the moving charge perpendicular to the initial direction of moving charge, such that Positive charge will moved up perpendicular to the initial direction and Negative Charge will move down perpendicular to the initial direction, then Magnetic Field can be calculated by Lorentz's Law
ElectroMagnetic Force.
The total force acting on the moving charge is the sum of the Electric Force calculated by Ampere's Law plus the Magnetic Force calculated by Lorentz's Law. The sum of Ampere's Force and Lorentz's force is called ElectroMagnetic Force
Matter and Electricity.
Matter that interact with Electricity is divided into three groups Conductor,Non Conductor,Semi Conductor depends on the ease of how current flow in the matter
Conductor and Electricity.
When connect conductor with source of Electricity in a closed loop circuit . The Force of Electricity will exert a pressure to make conductor's charges to move in a straight line . The pressure of the Electricity Force is called Voltage denoted as V measured in Volt (v) . The straight line movemoment of charges in the conductor is called Current denoted as I measured in Amp (A)
Voltage.
Voltage is defined as the potential differences of the electricity force to make charges in the conductor to move in straight line and calculated by the ratio of work done on an electric charge .The larger the potential difference, the larger the flow of charge. It appears across a pair of points in a circuit, such as the terminals of a battery.
Voltage is denoted as V measured in Volt (V) and the formula is shown below:
formula_9 , where formula_10
Current.
Current is defined as flow rate of electric charges flow through an area of conductor in a period of time and is calculated by the ratios of electric charges flow rate over time .
Current is denoted as I measured in Ampere (A) and the formula is shown below:
formula_7 , where as formula_12
Power.
Power is defined as work done over time and is calculated by the product of voltage and current . Power is denoted as P measured in Watt or Volt Amp (VA) and the formula is shown below:
formula_13 where formula_14
Resistance.
Resistance is defined as voltage across the conductor divided by the current flowing and is calculated as voltage over current.
It is also one of properties of a conductor by virtue of when the passage of current is opposed, it will cause electric energy to be transformed into heat<br>
Resistance is denoted as Ω measured in Ohm Ω with formula shown below:<br>
formula_15 where formula_16
Resistance & Temperature.
It's been observed that "Resistance of a conductor changes with change in temperature "<br>
formula_17 where : <br>
R1 = Conductors resistance at temperature T1<br>
R2 = Conductors resistance at temperature T2<br>
α1 = Temperature coefficient of the material<br>
T1 = Reference temperature at which α1 is specified<br>
T2 = Conductor present temperature<br>
Resistance & Electric Power Loss.
Also, "When conductor of resistance R conducts current . Conductor releases Heat Energy into the surrounding result in loss of Electric Power Energy directly proportional to the resistance of the conductor"
Without Energy loss the Power supplied is Pi
With energy loss PR known as Power Loss or Dissipated Power
The real Power supplied would be
The efficiecy of Power transmission can be calculated as the percentage of Real Power over the Supplied Power
Conductance.
Conductance is defined as the ratio of Current over Voltage . Conductance is denoted as Y measured in Siemen 1 / Ω |
Rhind Lectures
Rhind Lectures are a series of lectures on archaeological topics. They have been hosted by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland since 1874. The content of the lectures is usually published in journals or expanded into new works by their authors.
The name commemorates Alexander Henry Rhind, whose bequest to the society funded this lectureship. Rhind directed that his estate be used for this purpose, once the interests of living parties were extinguished, which took place 11 years after his death in 1863. The speaker and subject are selected some three years in advance, allowing the speaker to give a detailed exposition of a topic in their area of expertise.
The Rhind Lectures have continued into the 21st century, and since 2009 the society has published a video file that is freely available to the public.
Lecturers 1874–2008.
The total number of lectures in the series in 2012 was 133. The following is a list of all lecturers to 2012, with the title of their lectures where known.
1 1874/76 "The past in the Present"
Arthur Mitchell, MD, LLD
2 1876/78 "The past in the Present"
Arthur Mitchell, MD., LLD
3 1879 "Scotland in Early Christian Times"
Joseph Anderson
4 1880 "Scotland in Early Christian Times"
Joseph Anderson
5 1881 "Scotland in Pagan Times: The Iron Age"
Joseph Anderson
6 1882 "Scotland in Pagan Times: The Bronze and Stone Ages"
Joseph Anderson
7 1883 "The Roman Occupation of Britain"
Rev J Collingwood Bruce, LLD FSA
8 1884 "Ogham inscriptions in Ireland and Scotland"
Sir Samuel Ferguson, QC., LLD., President of the Royal Irish Academy
9 1885 "Early Christian symbolism in Great Britain and Ireland"
J Romilly Allen, CE
10 1886 "Register of Privy Council of Scotland"
David Masson, MA LLD., Professor of Rhetoric & English Literature, University of Edinburgh
11 1887 "Greek Antiquities"
Alexander Stuart Murray, LLD., Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, London
12 1888 "The Lake Dwellings of Europe"
Robert Munro, MA MD., Author of "Ancient Scottish Lake Dwellings"
13 1889 "Early Ethnology of the British Isles"
John Rhys, MA, Professor of Celtic at Oxford
14 1890 "Archaeological Aspects of Scottish Zoology"
Professor J Duns, DD., New College, Edinburgh
15 1891 "The Anthropological History of Europe"
John Beddoe, MD LLD FRS, Vice-President of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
16 1892 "The Early Christian Monuments of Scotland"
Joseph Anderson, LLD., Assistant Secretary and Keeper of the Scottish National Museum of Antiquities, Edinburgh
17 1893 "The Place-names of Scotland"
Sir Herbert Maxwell, 7th Baronet
18 1894 "Early fortifications in Scotland"
David Christison, MD
19 1895 "The Origins of Celtic Art"
Arthur Evans, MA., Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
20 1896 "Industrial arts of Scandinavia in pagan times"
Dr Hans Hildebrand, Royal Antiquary of Sweden
21 1897 "The Evidence for a Roman Occupation of North Britain"
James MacDonald, LLD
22 1898 "Heraldry"
James Balfour Paul, Lyon King-of-Arms
23 1899 "Architecture in Scotland"
Thomas Ross
24 1900 "The Edwards in Scotland, 1296–1377"
Joseph Bain, FSA Scot
25 1901 "The Constitution, Organisation, and Law of the Mediaeval Church in Scotland"
Bishop Dowden
26 1902 "Castellated architecture of Scotland"
Thomas Ross
27 1903 "Scotland in the Time of Queen Mary"
P Hume Brown, MA LLD., Fraser Professor of Ancient (Scottish) History and Palaeography in the University of Edinburgh
28 1904 "Roman Scotland"
George Macdonald, MA
29 1905 "Roman Britain"
Dr F Haverfield, MA LLD
30 1906 "The Archaeology of the Cuneiform Inscriptions"
Professor Archibald Sayce
31 1907 "Roman Britain"
Dr F Haverfield, MA LLD
32 1908 "The Roman Station at Newstead"
Mr James Curle
33 1909 "The Occupation and use of the land in Scotland in Early Times"
Dr David Murray
34 1910 "Art of the Period of the Teutonic Migrations"
Professor Gerard Baldwin Brown
35 1911 "The Records of Scotland"
J Maitland Thomson, LLD
36 1912 "The Early Chronicles relating to Scotland"
Rt Hon Sir Herbert Maxwell, Bart., President of the Society
37 1913 "Some aspects of Scottish Feudalism"
Dr George Neilson
38 1913 "The Development of writing and printing in Western Europe"
Dr W K Dickson
39 1914 "The Liturgy and Ceremonial of The Mediaeval Church in Scotland"
Mr F C Eeles
40 1915 "Medals of the Renaissance"
Mr George Francis Hill, Keeper of Coins & Medals, British Museum
41 1916 "Celtic Place-Names in Scotland"
Professor W J Watson, LLD
42 1917 "Arms and Armour"
Mr Charles J. ffoulkes, Curator of the Royal Armouries, Tower of London
43 1918 "The Prehistoric Monuments of Scotland"
Mr A O Curle
44 1919 "House Furnishing and Domestic Life in Scotland 1488–1688"
Mr John Warrack
45 1920 "Painting in the Roman Empire (from the last century of the Republic to about 800 AD)"
Mrs Arthur (Eugénie) Strong, British School at Rome
46 1921 "Egyptian Science"
Professor W M Flinders Petrie
47 1922 "Monastic Building in Britain"
Mr C R Peers
48 1923 "The Civilisation of Greece in the Bronze Age"
Dr H R Hall
49 1924 "Early Races of Scotland"
Professor Thomas H Bryce
50 1925 "The Mediaeval Castle in Scotland"
Mr W M Mackenzie, Secretary RCAHMS
51 1926 "Italian Sculpture of the Renaissance"
Mr Eric Maclagan, director, V & A Museum
52 1927 "Roman Britain"
Sir George Macdonald, KCB FBA LLD
53 1928 "The Ancient Connections between Scotland and Norway"
Professor A W Brøgger
54 1929 "The History of the Brooch"
Mr Reginald A Smith, BA FSA
55 1930 "The Hittites"
Professor Garstang
56 1931 "Monastic Life and its influence on the Civilisation of Scotland"
Mr George Gordon Coulton, Litt D DLitt LLD FBA
57 1932 "The Megalithic Culture of Northern Europe"
Dr C A Nordman, Helsingfors
58 1933 "English Illumination from AD 700 to the end of the Fifteenth Century"
Mr Eric G Millar, DLitt
59 1934 "Augustan Civilisation in Western Europe"
Mr Ian A Richmond
60 1935 "Early Anglo Saxon Art and Archaeology"
Mr E T Leeds, Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum
61 1936 "The Archaeology of the Iberian Peninsula"
Professor P Bosch Gimpera
62 1937 "Mediaeval Edinburgh"
Dr C A Malcolm
63 1938 "Excavations at Ras Shamra"
Monsieur Claude Shaeffer
64 1939 "Early Art of Scandinavia"
Professor Haakon Shetelig
1940 Postponed (delivered in April 1942)
65 1941 "The Province of Mar"
Dr W Douglas Simpson
66 1942 "Jurisdictions of Mediaeval Scotland"
Dr W C Dickinson
67 1943 "The Topography of Roman Scotland"
Mr O G S Crawford, FSA
68 1944 "The Development of Tribal Society in Scotland"
Professor V G Childe, DLitt DSc FBA V-PSA
69 1945 "The Scottish Burghs"
Dr W Mackay Mackenzie
70 1946 Spring "Scandinavian Art of the Post-Christian Pagan Period"
Professor Haakon Shetelig
71 1946 Oct "Castles and Cannon: A Study of Early Artillery Fortifications in England"
Mr Bryan H St John O’Neil
1947 No lecture
72 1948 "Early Christian Monuments in the Near East"
Professor W M Calder, LLD
73 1949 "First: The Mediaeval Stone Carver in Scotland"
(Two series of lectures delivered) Mr James S Richardson, LLD
74 "Second: Regional House-Styles: their origins and development: recent studies in South Wales"
Sir Cyril Fox, DLitt FSA
75 1950 (Series of seven lectures) "Periods of Highland Civilization"
Miss I F Grant LLD
76 1951 "Discipline of Field Archaeology"
Professor R E Mortimer Wheeler
77 1952 "Greek Sculpture: The Century after Pheidias"
Mr Bernard Ashmole, MC MA BLitt FBA
78 1953 "Architecture in Elizabethan England"
Mr John Summerson, CBE FSA ARIBA
79 1954 "The Laboratory in the service of Art and Archaeology"
Dr H J Plenderleith
80 1955 "A Survey of American Archaeology"
Dr G H S Bushnell
81 1956 "Classical inspiration in Medieval Art"
Mr W F Oakenshott
1957 No lecture due to the death of Professor S P O’Riordain
82 1958 "The Historical Local Institutions of Scotland"
Professor G S Pryde of Glasgow
83 1959 "The Role of Constantinople in Byzantine Art"
Professor D Talbot Rice
84 1960 "Roman Imperial Art"
Mr J B Ward Perkins, Director of The British School at Rome
85 1961 "The Origins of the Late Celtic Art"
Professor Haseloff of Würzburg
86 1962 March "Mounds of the Middle East: their formation and excavation"
Mr Seton Lloyd, CBE
87 Nov "The Prehistoric Origins of Europe"
Professor Stuart Piggott, BLitt DLitt HUM
88 1964 "The Coins of the Ancient Celts"
Mr D F Allen, BA FBA FSA
89 1965 March "Anglo-Saxon Pottery and the Settlement of England"
Mr J N L Myres, MA LLD FSA
90 Oct "Cultural Structure and Movement in East Asia from the Neolithic Period to the Unification of China"
Mr William Watson, MA
91 1966/67 "Scottish Architects and English Architecture in the 18th Century"
Dr PJ Murray
92 1967/68 "Late Medieval Monumental Sculpture in the West Highlands"
Dr K A Steer
93 1968/69 "The Roman Frontier in Germany in the Light of New Research"
Prof Dr Hans Schonberger
94 1969/70 "The Furnishing of Medieval Churches in Scotland"
The Rt Rev Monsigneur D McRoberts S.T.L.
95 1970/71 "Plough and Field shape from Prehistoric Times to c1500 AD"
Prof Axel Steensberg
96 1972/73 "Byzantine Mosaic and Wall Paintings"
D Winfield
97 1973/74 "Aspects of Archaeology in Iran"
D B Stronach
98 1974/75 "Scottish Silversmiths and Their Work"
Stuart Maxwell
99 1975/76 "Interior Decoration in Great Britain"
G Beard
100 1976/77 "Pictish Art and Society"
Dr I Henderson
101 1977/78 "Pre-Roman Celtic Art"
Prof O-H Frey
102 1978/79 "The Medieval Cathedrals of Scotland"
Dr R Cant
103 1979/80 "The Course of Architecture in Ireland"
Dr M Craig
104 1980/81 "The Industrial Heritage"
Prof S G E Lythe
105 1981/82 "Pre-Roman and Native Settlement between the Tyne and Forth"
Prof G Jobey
106 1982/83 "Aspects of the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in the Netherlands and Britain"
Prof JD van der Waals
107 1983/84 "The Danube Frontier of the Roman Empire"
Prof J J Wilkes
1985/86
108 1986/87 "Culture, Tradition and Artifact"
Dr A Gailey
109 1987/88 "The Archaeology of Death in Ancient Egypt"
Dr A Rosalie Davie
110 1988/89 "An Heroic Age: War and Society in Northern Britain AD 450–850"
Prof Leslie Alcock
111 1989/90 "The Archaeology of the Slavs"
Dr Martin Gojda
112 1990/91 "The Revival of Medieval and Early Renaissance Architecture in Scotland 1745–1930"
Dr D M Walker
113 1991/92 "Altering The Earth: The Origins of Monuments in Britain and Continental Europe"
Prof R Bradley
114 1992/93 "Scottish Monastic life on the Eve of the Reformation"
Dr Mark Dilworth
115 1993/94 "Oral Narrative in Scotland"
Donald A MacDonald
116 1994/95 "Enlarging the Past: the contribution of Wetland Archaeology"
Professor John and Dr Bryony Coles
117 1995/96 "Death and Wealth in Viking Scotland"
Professor James Graham-Campbell
118 1996/97 "The Food of the Scots" Professor Alexander Fenton
119 1997/98 "Scottish Royal Palaces: The Architecture of the Royal Residences during the Late Medieval and Early Renaissance Periods"
John Dunbar
120 1998/99 "The Origins of Insular Monasticism"
Professor Charles Thomas
121 1999–2000 "Significant Figures: Anderson, Baldwin-Brown, Childe, AO Curle, J Curle, A McBain, L Mann, WF Skene"
Dr D J Breeze; Dr DV Clarke; Professor D Meek; Dr JNG Ritchie; Mr WDH Sellar
122 2000–2001 "Art as Archaeology, Archaeology as Art: Transformations through material culture"
Professor Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn, University of Cambridge
123 2001–2002 "Peoples Between The Oceans"
Professor Barry Cunliffe, University of Oxford
124 2002–2003 "Lines from the past: towards an anthropological archaeology of inscription"
Professor Tim Ingold, University of Aberdeen
125 2003–2004 "Court, Capital and Country: the Emergence of Renaissance Scotland"
Professor Michael Lynch, University of Edinburgh
126 2004–2005 "Men who turned towards the light: Cult and creativity in the Romans’ world"
Professor Greg Woolf, University of St Andrews
127 2006 "Rock and Cave Art"
Paul Bahn
128 2007 "Living in an Age of Stone: Neolithic people and their worlds"
Professor Gabriel Cooney, University College Dublin
129 2008 "Archaeology and the Sea in Scandinavia and Britain"<ref name="google/books-978-87-85180-05-6"></ref>
Professor , Denmark
Lecturers 2009-.
130 2009 "New Light on the Dawn: a new perspective on the Neolithic Revolution in Southwest Asia" Emeritus Professor Trevor Watkins, University of Edinburgh
131 2010 "Design versus Dogma: Reflections on Field Archaeology"
Professor Martin Carver, University of York
132 2011 "Material and spiritual engagements; Britain and Ireland in the first age of metal"
Dr Stuart Needham
133 2012 "On the windy edge of nothing: Vikings in the North Atlantic world – ecological and social journeys"
Professor Kevin Edwards, University of Aberdeen
134 2013 "‘magnificent for the beauty and extent of its buildings and worthy of everlasting fame’ – the architecture of the Scottish late medieval Church"
Professor Richard Fawcett, University of St Andrews
135 2014 "Archaeology and Celtic Myth – an exploration"
Professor John Waddell, NUI Galway
136 2015 "British Archaeology: its progress and demands"
Various contributors including, Professor Audrey Horning, Queen’s University Belfast; Professor Ian Baxter, University Campus Suffolk; Dr Jacqui Mulville, Cardiff University; Margaret Maitland, National Museums Scotland; Dr Rebecca Jones, Historic Environment Scotland; Dr Alan Leslie, Northlight Heritage; Professor Mary Bownes, University of Edinburgh; Professor Keith Dobney, University of Aberdeen; Dr Greger Larson, University of Oxford; Dr Eva-Maria Geigl, CNRS University Paris 7; Professor Ian Barnes, Natural History Museum; and Professor Richard Bradley
137 2016 "Antiquaries, archaeologists and the invention of the historic town c.1700–1860" Professor Roey Sweet, University of Leicester, Centre for Urban History
138 2017 "Sacred Heritage: medieval monasticism, magic and memory"
Professor Roberta Gilchrist, University of Reading
139 2018 "Drystone technologies: Neolithic tensions and Iron Age compressions"
Dr John Barber, AOC Archaeology Group |
Jackson Plan
The Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan, an urban plan of 1822 titled "Plan of the Town of Singapore", is a proposed scheme for Singapore drawn up to maintain some order in the urban development of the fledgling but thriving colony founded just three years earlier. It was named after Lieutenant Philip Jackson, the colony's engineer and land surveyor tasked to oversee its physical development in accordance with the vision of Stamford Raffles for Singapore, hence it is also commonly called Raffles Town Plan. Raffles gave his instructions in November 1822, the plan was then drawn up in late 1822 or early 1823 and published in 1828. It is the earliest extant plan for the town of Singapore, but not an actual street map of Singapore as it existed in 1822 or 1827 since the plan is an idealised scheme of how Singapore may be organised that was not fully realised. Nevertheless, it served as a guide for the development of Singapore in its early days, and the effect of the general layout of the plan is still observable to this day.
The plan is currently on display in the Singapore History Gallery at the National Museum of Singapore.
Origin.
Sir Stamford Raffles founded the colony in 1819, and before he left Singapore, he wrote to William Farquhar giving instructions on how the colony may be organised. Farquhar governed Singapore from 1819 until 1823, and with limited funds, he chose a pragmatic approach to allow the colony to flourish. Under the sheer volume of trade that passed through her port, some instructions were disregarded and the town grew haphazardly. Upon his final return to colony in October 1822, Raffles was displeased by the disorderliness of the town and that Farquhar had not followed closely the instructions he gave. For example, Farquhar allowed merchants to encroach on designated government area – he permitted the erection of houses and godowns on the Padang and on the nearby banks of the Singapore River, within an area Raffles specified not to be permanently appropriated by individuals. In response, Raffles formed a Town Committee, consisting of a merchant, Alexander Laurie Johnston; a civil servant George Bonham; and Captain Charles Edward Davis of the Bengal Native Infantry, who acted as president of the committee. They were assisted by Lieutenant Philip Jackson who drew up the layout plan of the city according to Raffles' instructions.
Raffles' instructions.
Raffles issued his set of instructions to the committee on 4 November 1822, some of which are as follows:
Raffles' instructions were incorporated into the plan, although not all of these were implemented. The committee consulted representatives from the Malay, Chinese, Bugis, Javanese, and Arab communities on the proposed resettlement of the population into their respective areas. The plan was drawn up some time in December 1822 or January 1823, and it was first published in an article by John Crawfurd as an engraving made in June 1828.
Layout and effect of the plan.
Overall layout.
The plan is an idealised scheme of how Singapore may be arranged; the streets of the colony were laid out for the large part in a grid pattern, but taking into account the curves of the seashore and rivers as well as the topology of the hills. A map of 1825 shows that the actual layout of the town at that time was irregular to the south of the river, and the streets in grid pattern on the south side of the Singapore River (the Chinese kampong) shown in the Jackson Plan did not yet exist. The area west of South Bridge Road was still an undeveloped marshy land in a survey conducted by Coleman in 1829 and published in 1836, but had built up according to the maps of John Turnbull Thomson from 1846. The attempt to arrange the streets in a more regular pattern is also evident in the maps of 1836 and 1846.
Administrative and commercial zones.
The area west of the European Town to the Singapore river between the Fort Canning Hill and the sea was reserved for government use, and the area on the southeast of the river designated the commercial district. Although some European merchants had constructed buildings in the area designated for government and public use before the Jackson Plan was implemented, further such privately owned buildings were not permitted. Nevertheless, the rule was still ignored for a while, for example, the Old Parliament House was originally built as a private home, but was then later acquired by the colonial government. The area now has a high concentration of public and government buildings, including Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, National Gallery, Asian Civilisations Museum, St Andrew's Cathedral, The Arts House, as well as the Parliament House and the Supreme Court of Singapore.
The south bank of the Singapore River however was marshy and would only have become suitable for commercial purposes after the marshy land was filled in and the river embanked. A small hill once existed between what is now Raffles Place and Battery Road; under the personal supervision of Raffles in 1823, the hill was levelled, and its soil used to fill and reclaim the marshy land just to the southwest of the River. The level of Battery Road was raised, and the river bank was embanked to become the Boat Quay and the Circular Road area. An open space with a garden in the middle was created, which became the Commercial Square, later renamed Raffles Place in Raffles' honour. This section remains the financial hub of Singapore today, and together with the administrative area and other areas in the plan, evolved into the present-day Downtown Core.
Ethnic areas.
The plan of Singapore divided the town into ethnic functional subdivisions. These ethnic residential areas were to be segregated into four areas.
The European Town had residents who consisted of European traders, Eurasians and rich Asians. An area south of the Singapore River was designated the Chinese "Kampong"; the Chinese area was originally further down the river, but was moved up the river to make way for the new commercial district, and this Chinese district evolved into the present-day Chinatown. The Indian area, called Chuliah Kampong, was located further up the river next to the Chinese zone (the Indians however would later also settle in another area north of the river now called Little India). Kampong Glam consisted of Muslims, ethnic Malays and Arabs who had migrated to Singapore, and was further divided into three parts, for the Bugis, the Arabs and an area for the Sultan.
The division however appeared not to be strictly enforced, as may be indicated by the presence of Nagore Durgha, Al-Abrar and Jamae mosques in the Chinese Kampong with the Chinese temple Thian Hock Keng located next to Nagore Durgha. A area marked "Kling Chapel" nearer to the Indian area was reserved for an Indian place of worship, although the Indian mosques and Sri Mariamman Temple were built within the Chinese zone. The concept of different ethnic zones would be abandoned, but the distinction of each district is still noticeable to the present day.
Architecture.
In addition to his proposal for the layout of the town of Singapore, Raffles also made recommendations on how the buildings may be constructed. Among many of Raffles' recommendations are that houses should be built with masonry and roof tiles to reduce fire risk. He also proposed that these buildings should have uniform and regular facades and that they should have a continuous sheltered public walkway at the front. This proposal produced the distinctive five foot ways of the local architecture of Singapore and Malaysia where by-laws were enacted requiring such walkways, and it also spread to other countries including parts of Thailand and the Philippines as well as Taiwan, Hong Kong and the port cities of southern China. |
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (d/b/a BSNL) is a central public sector undertaking headquartered in New Delhi, India. It is under the ownership of Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India. It was incorporated on 1 October 2000 by the Government of India. Its top official is designated as "Chairman and Managing Director" who is a central government civil servant of the Indian Communication Finance Service cadre or a central government engineer of the Indian Telecommunications Service cadre. It provides mobile voice and internet services through its nationwide telecommunications network across India. It is the largest government-owned-wireless telecommunications service provider in India.
Name.
The name "Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited" derives from Hindi, which means "India Communications Corporation Limited" in English.
History.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited is India's government enterprise and its history can be traced back to the British India. The foundation of telecom network in India was laid by the British sometime during the 19th century. During the British era, the first telegraph line was established between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour in 1850. The British East India Company started using the telegraph in 1851 and until 1854 telegraph lines were laid across the country. In 1854, the telegraph service was opened to the public and the first telegram was sent from Mumbai to Pune. In 1885, the Indian Telegraph Act was passed by the British Imperial Legislative Council. After the bifurcation of Post and Telegraph department in the 1980s, the creation of Department of Telecom eventually led to the emergence of the government owned telegraph and telephone enterprise which led to the foundation of BSNL.
For 160 years, BSNL had operated the public telegram service. In 2010 the telex network between its 182 offices was replaced with the "Web Based Telegram Messaging System" which relied on internet connections rather than telex lines (which are more reliable where power outages are more common). This led to a decline in service, and the company applied the title "diminished service" to telegrams in 2010. Finally on 15 July 2013 the public telegram service was shut down completely.
Products and services.
Telephone and Mobile.
BSNL provides both fixed line telephones and mobile telephony services on GSM platform.
BSNL Mobile.
BSNL Mobile is a major provider of GSM network under brand name "CellOne" and BSNL all over India. It has wide network coverage in both urban and rural areas of India. It has over 121.82 million customers across India.
BSNL Mobile offers prepaid, postpaid services and value-added services such as Free Phone Service (FPH), India Telephone Card (Prepaid card), Account Card Calling (ACC), Virtual Private Network (VPN), Tele-voting, Premium Rate Service (PRM). It also offers the IPTV which enables customers to watch television through the Internet and Voice and Video Over Internet Protocol (VVoIP).
BSNL Landline.
BSNL Landline was launched in early 1990s. It was the only fixed-line telephone serving for whole country before the New Telecom Policy was announced by the Department of Telecom in 1999. Only the Government-owned BSNL and MTNL were allowed to provide land-line phone services through copper wire in the country. BSNL Landline is the largest fixed-line telephony in India. It has over 9.55 million customers and 47.20% market share in the country as of 28 February 2021.
Internet.
BSNL is the fourth largest ISP in India, with having presence throughout the country. It also has the largest fibre-based telecom network in the country, around 7.5 lakh kilometers, among the four operators in the country.
BSNL Broadband.
BSNL Broadband provides telecom services to enterprise customers including MPLS, P2P and Internet leased lines. It provides fixed-line services and landline using CDMA technology and its own extensive optical fiber network. BSNL provides Internet access services through dial-up connections as prepaid, "NetOne" as postpaid, and "DataOne" as BSNL Broadband.
BSNL Bharat Fiber.
BSNL Bharat Fiber (FTTH) was launched in February 2019. It offers TV over IP (IPTV), Video On-Demand (VoD), Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Audio On-Demand (AoD), Bandwidth On-Demand (BoD), remote education, video conferencing services, interactive gaming, Virtual Private LAN services. BSNL said that, its huge optic fiber network provides fixed access to deliver high-speed Internet up to 300 Mbit/s.
Bharat Net.
With effect to Govt. of India's policy decision to provide state-owned BSNL with another revival package worth 1.64 lakh crore rupees, the struggling PSU was merged with Government's special purpose vehicle BBNL. This gave the struggling PSU a boost and an additional advantage of additional 5.67 lakh kilometre of optical fibre which has been laid across 1.85 lakh village panchayats in the country using the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). Currently, it has an optical fibre cable network of over 6.83 lakh kilometre.
BSNL 4G.
BSNL started 4G service in some parts of India since January 2019 such as Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, but is limited to a few cities or towns. Most of 4G services are currently available in Southern India. However, BSNL is trying to launch pan India 4G services up to September 2022. The telecom minister said that BSNL will launch its 4G services all over India on 75th Independence day of India along with various other projects.
BSNL 5G.
On behalf of the Govt. of India, the hon'ble Minister of Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the State-Owned Telco would start its 5G operations by 15 August 2023. He also added that the 4G and 5G network of the state-owned BSNL would be a completely home-grown indigenous 4G and 5G network technology; thus, emphasising more on Govt. of India's Atmanirbhar Bharat.
IP services.
BSNL Wing Services.
On 16 August 2018, BSNL has launched "BSNL Wings Services" in 22 telecom circles in which, there is no need of SIM card or cable wiring as is a VoIP service through an app. It offers unlimited free calling for one year throughout India.
Administrative units.
BSNL vertical divisions.
BSNL is primarily divided into three verticals
BSNL horizontal divisions.
Horizontally, BSNL is divided into a number of administrative units, variously known as: telecom circles, metro districts, project circles and specialized units. It has 24 telecom circles, two metro districts, six project circles, four maintenance regions, five telecom factories, three training institutions and four specialized telecom units. Each circle is being headed by a Chief General Manager (CGM) who is an officer of Indian Telecom Service (ITS).
The organisational structure of BSNL is as follows: Chief General Manager being the head of the Circle who is the officer of HAG+ level, assisted by three or four Principal General Manager (PGM) who is the officer of grade HAG. The districts over a circle is being headed by the designations as General Manager officer of grade of SAG who looks over around two to four districts, while where the connections are less and the smaller district is being headed by Telecom District Manager (TDM) Officer of the grade of JAG and Telecom Divisional Engineer (TDE) officer of STS grade, all the officers above the post of TDE (including TDE) are of Group A and they are the officers of grade of Indian Telecom Service (ITS) directly or promotive. Then the Group B consists of Additional Divisional Engineer, Sub Divisional Engineer and Junior Telecom officer and then the organisation has Group C and D employees.
Merger and acquisitions.
On 24 October 2019, the Government of India has announced revival package for BSNL and MTNL which includes monetising assets, raising funds, TD-LTE spectrum, voluntary retirement scheme for employees. Apart from package, the Ministry of Communications has decided to merge MTNL with BSNL. Pending this, MTNL will be a wholly owned subsidiary of BSNL.
On 24 October 2019, the Government of India has announced revival package for BSNL and has given its nod for in-principal merger (operational merger, i.e. only the operations of MTNL and BSNL would be merged and to be managed by BSNL) for MTNL and BSNL
On 27 July 2022, the Government of India announced another revival package for the state-owned BSNL, for providing 4G and 5G services making the PSU more viable and vibrant and turning it into a profit making organisation; under this policy decision the government also merged BBNL with BSNL.
Controversies.
Cyber Attack.
In July 2017, BSNL had suffered a cyber attack which affected south India, especially Karnataka, when a malware affected the telco's broadband network using modems with default passwords. The virus has reportedly affected 60,000 modems and blocked their internet connectivity. Later BSNL issued an advisory notice to its broadband customers, urging them to change their default router username and passwords. |
National scenic area (Scotland)
National scenic area (NSA) is a conservation designation used in Scotland, and administered by NatureScot on behalf of the Scottish Government. The designation's purpose is to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to protect them from inappropriate development. There are currently 40 national scenic areas (NSAs) in Scotland, covering 13% of the land area of Scotland. The areas protected by the designation are considered to represent the type of scenic beauty "popularly associated with Scotland and for which it is renowned". As such they tend to be mainly found in remote and mountainous areas, with a review in 1997 noting a potential weakness of national scenic areas was that the original selection placed undue emphasis on mountainous parts of the country. National scenic areas do however also cover seascapes, with approximately 26% of the total area protected by the designation being marine. The designation is primarily concerned with scenic qualities, although designated national scenic areas may well have other special qualities, for example related to culture, history, archaeology, geology or wildlife. Areas with such qualities may be protected by other designations (e.g. national nature reserve) that overlap with the NSA designation.
National scenic areas are designated by the IUCN as "Category V Protected Landscapes", the same international category as Scotland's two national parks. Within the United Kingdom the NSA designation is regarded as equivalent to the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The national scenic area designation does not have a high profile when compared to other conservation designations used in Scotland: in 2018 a survey by the National Trust for Scotland found that only 20 % of Scots were "definitely aware" of national scenic areas, compared to 80 % for National Parks.
History.
After the Second World War, the Labour government passed the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, which led to the creation of ten national parks in England and Wales between 1951 and 1957, although no parks were created in Scotland. A committee, chaired by Sir Douglas Ramsay, was however established to consider preservation of the landscape in Scotland. The report, published in 1945, proposed that five areas (Loch Lomond & the Trossachs, the Cairngorms, Glen Coe-Ben Nevis-Black Mount, Wester Ross and Glen Strathfarrar-Glen Affric-Glen Cannich) should receive a level of protection. Accordingly, the government designated these areas as "national park direction areas", giving powers for planning decisions taken by local authorities to be reviewed by central government. After a further review of landscape protection in 1978, additional areas were identified for protection, and in 1981 the direction areas were replaced by national scenic areas, which were based on the 1978 recommendations.
Following the passage of the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000, two national parks were established: Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park and the Cairngorms National Park. Both of these parks included areas that were already designated as national scenic areas, and the NSA designation remains in place alongside national park status for the areas in question.
Scottish Natural Heritage reviewed the national scenic areas between November 2007 and March 2009 to try to identify what makes the scenery of each NSA special; however no formal review into the number and extent has been undertaken since the original report. The current national scenic areas, which therefore remain as originally mapped in 1978, were legally redesignated in 2010. Despite calls from bodies such as the John Muir Trust for the protection to be extended to other areas to protect landscape and support tourism, the Scottish Government has stated that it has no plans to designate further areas. In September 2017 the Scottish Parliament's Public Petitions Committee asked the government to explain why it is not reviewing the NSAs.
Operation.
NSAs are currently designated under the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006: all 40 current NSAs were redesignated under this act via a single order in 2010. Designation provides an additional level of protection to specified areas. For developments that would ordinarily require only local authority planning permission the Scottish Government must be informed if advice from NatureScot is ignored. Additionally, there are some classes of development that would not normally require planning permission to proceed when located outwith a national scenic area, but which are subject to controls within them. These developments include the erection of agricultural and forestry buildings over 12 m high, the construction of vehicle tracks for agriculture or forestry purposes (unless forming part of an approved scheme), and local authority roadworks outside present road boundaries costing more than £100,000.
There is no equivalent to a national park authority for national scenic areas, as controls on development are exercised through the planning system. Local authorities can produce a management strategy for each of the NSA within its territory. This strategy defines the area's special qualities and identifies the actions needed to safeguard them. As of 2018, only the three national scenic areas within Dumfries and Galloway have current management strategies .
Public access to all land in Scotland is governed by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, which grants the public a right of responsible access to most land (and water) for activities such as walking, camping, cycling, canoeing, swimming and climbing; this right applies to land regardless of ownership or whether or not it is in a designated or protected area such as an NSA, providing it is exercised responsibly (as defined by the Scottish Outdoor Access Code).
List of national scenic areas.
As of 2020 there were 40 national scenic areas: |
Roger Wicker
Roger Frederick Wicker (born July 5, 1951) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Mississippi, in office since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, Wicker previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the Mississippi State Senate.
Born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, Wicker is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and the University of Mississippi School of Law. He was an officer in the United States Air Force from 1976 to 1980 and a member of the United States Air Force Reserves from 1980 to 2003. During the 1980s, he worked as a political counselor to then-Congressman Trent Lott on the House Rules Committee. In 1987, Wicker was elected to the Mississippi State Senate, representing the 6th district, which included Tupelo.
Wicker was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994, succeeding longtime Representative Jamie Whitten. Wicker served in the House from 1995 to 2007, when he was appointed to the Senate by Governor Haley Barbour to fill the seat vacated by Lott. Wicker subsequently won a special election for the remainder of the term in 2008 and was reelected to a full term in 2012. Wicker served as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee from 2015 to 2017 and is a deputy Republican whip. He was reelected in 2018, defeating Democratic nominee David Baria.
Early life and education.
Wicker was born on July 5, 1951, in Pontotoc, Mississippi, the son of Wordna Glen (née Threadgill) and Thomas Frederick Wicker. In 1967, the 16-year-old Wicker worked as a United States House of Representatives Page for Democratic Representative Jamie L. Whitten of . He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and political science and a J.D. degree from the University of Mississippi, where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity and student body president. He was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa for his student leadership and academic merit while at the University of Mississippi.
After graduation, Wicker served as an officer in the United States Air Force from 1976 to 1980. Starting in 1980, he was a member of the Air Force Reserve; he retired from the reserve in 2003 as a lieutenant colonel. Wicker served as a judge advocate.
Early political career.
Wicker began his political career in 1980 as House Rules Committee counsel to U.S. Representative Trent Lott. He was elected to the Mississippi State Senate in 1987, spending $25,000 on the race. He represented the 6th district, which included Tupelo, from 1988 to 1994. He amended a 1994 state Medicaid bill to authorize the Mississippi Attorney General to contract private attorneys on contingency.
U.S. House of Representatives.
Elections.
In 1994, Whitten declined to seek reelection; he had represented the 1st District for 53 years, longer than any other congressman at the time. Wicker ran to succeed him, spending $750,000 on his campaign. He finished first in a crowded six-way Republican primary with 7,156 votes (26.62%) and proceeded to a runoff with attorney Grant Fox, who received 5,208 votes (19.37%). Former U.S. Attorney Bob Whitwell finished 600 votes short of the runoff with 4,606 votes (17.14%), 1992 nominee Clyde E. Whitaker came fourth with 4,602 votes (17.12%), 1986 nominee Larry Cobb came fifth with 4,162 votes (15.48%) and 1990 nominee Bill Bowlin took the remaining 1,147 votes (4.27%). In the runoff, Wicker defeated Fox, 11,905 votes (53.07%) to 10,527 (46.93%).
In the general election, Wicker defeated Fulton attorney Bill Wheeler, 80,553 votes (63.06%) to 47,192 (36.94%), making him the first Republican to represent the 1st district in over a century. This was not considered an upset, as the 1st has always been a rather conservative district (especially in the Memphis suburbs). The district had only supported the Democratic nominee for president once since 1956, when Jimmy Carter carried the district in 1976. Although Whitten had a nearly unbreakable hold on the district, it had been considered very likely that he would be succeeded by a Republican once he retired.
Wicker was reelected six times without serious difficulty, never receiving less than 65% of the vote. In 2004, he was unopposed by a Democratic candidate, facing only Reform Party nominee Barbara Dale Washer, whom he defeated by 219,328 votes (79.01%) to 58,256 (20.99%).
Tenure.
Assuming office in 1995, Wicker was president of the freshman class, which included 53 other new Republican representatives, elected as part of the 1994 "Republican Revolution".
Wicker was a member of the House Appropriations Committee. He was also deputy Republican whip.
In Congress, Wicker worked on issues related to medical research and on economic development for his home state. He advocated private-public partnerships to bring investment to rural areas. Wicker also worked for veterans' issues while serving as a member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee. In his final year as representative, Wicker topped the list in earmarks.
In 2007, Wicker was criticized after securing a $6 million earmark for a defense company whose executives had made significant contributions to his campaign.
U.S. Senate.
Appointment.
On November 26, 2007, Senator Trent Lott announced that he would resign before the end of the year to become a lobbyist. At a press conference on December 31, 2007, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour appointed Wicker to fill the Senate seat Lott vacated on December 18, 2007. He was sworn in by the Senate clerk just before that news conference.
Elections.
Wicker ran for the remainder of Lott's term in the November 2008 special election against Democrat Ronnie Musgrove, Barbour's predecessor as governor. Wicker defeated Musgrove, 683,409 votes (54.96%) to 560,064 (45.04%). Wicker's resignation from the House also triggered a May 13, 2008, special election to fill the vacancy in the House, which was won by Democratic nominee Travis Childers.
Wicker ran for reelection to a full term in 2012. He was opposed by Robert Maloney and Tea Party activist E. Allen Hathcock in the Republican primary, defeating them by 254,936 votes (89.17%) to 18,857 (6.60%) and 12,106 (4.23%), respectively. In the general election, he defeated Albert Gore, the Chairman of the Oktibbeha County Democratic Party and a distant relative of former Vice President Al Gore, 709,626 votes (57.16%) to 503,467 (40.55%).
Tenure.
On September 16, 2010, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Wicker as representative of the United States to the Sixty-fifth Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
In the Senate, Wicker is a member of the Senate Republicans' whip team and has repeatedly introduced a bill to overturn "Roe v. Wade", the Supreme Court decision ruling abortion bans unconstitutional. Wicker called the Affordable Care Act the "great fight for the rest of this term, maybe our lifetimes" and later introduced a bill to enable state officials to challenge the law. In the interest of protecting gun owners, he amended a fiscal 2010 transportation spending bill to allow Amtrak passengers to carry firearms and ammunition in checked baggage.
Wicker and Representative Gene Taylor pushed amendments allowing purchasers of federal flood insurance to add wind coverage to their policies, helpful to a hurricane-prone state. As a member of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) monitoring human rights and other issues, in late 2012 Wicker worked with Senator Ben Cardin to enact a bill imposing penalties on Russians accused of violating human rights. The measure led Russian President Vladimir Putin to announce a subsequent ban on U.S. adoptions of Russian-born children.
Wicker was one of three politicians targeted during the April 2013 ricin letters bioterrorism attack. On April 16, 2013, a letter addressed to Wicker tested positive for the poison ricin as part of a series of letters. The letter was detected by postal officials and law enforcement and prevented from reaching the Capitol. The letter was tested three times, with each test confirming the presence of ricin.
In July 2013, Wicker proposed that the Senate meet to discuss a controversial change to filibuster rules. The Senate held the private meeting in the Old Senate chamber to discuss Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's threat of the so-called "nuclear option", which would change the rules for Senate votes on Obama's executive branch nominees. Wicker said he hoped the chamber's bipartisan past could serve as an inspiration for the debate about the nuclear option: "I think there are concessions that can be made on both sides. And then I would just hope that, institutionally, we can get away from this mindset."
Wicker supported the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014 (S. 2363; 113th Congress), a bill related to hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation, aimed at improving "the public's ability to enjoy the outdoors." He said, "Mississippians know the importance of efforts to preserve our natural resources for future generations."
Wicker was elected chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 114th U.S. Congress on November 13, 2014.
Weeks after the 2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign and Umbrella Movement broke out, demanding genuine universal suffrage among other goals, Wicker joined Senator Sherrod Brown and Representative Chris Smith's effort to introduce the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which would update the United States–Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 and U.S. commitment to Hong Kong's freedom and democracy. "U.S. should stand steadfast with the people of Hong Kong in their fight to exercise self-determination," Wicker said, and "speak with a unified American voice in support of universal freedom and democratic values. The Congress and the Obama Administration should act to ensure China honors its longstanding obligation under international law to maintain Hong Kong's autonomy."
In March 2017, Wicker co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (s. 720), which made it a federal crime for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel and Israeli settlements in the West Bank if protesting actions by the Israeli government.
In May 2020, a group of Senate Republicans planned to introduce a privacy bill that would regulate the data collected by coronavirus contact tracing apps. The COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act would "provide all Americans with more transparency, choice, and control over the collection and use of their personal health, geolocation, and proximity data", according to a joint statement. Wicker said the legislation also would "hold businesses accountable to consumers if they use personal data to fight the COVID-19 pandemic." The act would permit the creation of "platforms that could trace the virus and help flatten the curve and stop the spread – and maintaining privacy protections for U.S. citizens", Wicker said.
In September 2020, less than two months before the next presidential election, Wicker supported an immediate Senate vote on Trump's nominee to fill the Supreme Court vacancy caused by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, saying that Senate Republicans had "promised to confirm well qualified, conservative judges" and that there was a "constitutional duty" to fill vacancies. In March 2016, Wicker had taken the opposite position by declining to consider Obama's Supreme Court nominee during a presidential election year, saying that the "American people should have the opportunity to make their voices heard before filling a lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court."
Wicker announced before the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count that he would vote to certify the election on January 6, 2021. He was participating in the certification when Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol. When the Capitol was secure and Congress returned to complete the certification, Wicker voted to certify the count, with his senate counterpart, Cindy Hyde-Smith objecting to the count. In the wake of the violence and certification, Wicker called for perpetrators to be prosecuted "to the fullest extent of the law" and said, "we must work together to rebuild confidence in our institutions." Wicker opposed Trump's removal from office, encouraging a peaceful transfer of power on Inauguration Day.
In March 2021, after Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Wicker highlighted on social media that the bill awarded $28.6 billion of "targeted relief" to "independent restaurant operators" to "survive the pandemic". In that post, he neglected to mention that he had voted against the bill.
In August 2021, Wicker voted for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
After President Joe Biden said that he planned to select a black woman to appoint to the Supreme Court in January 2022, Wicker told Mississippi radio host Paul Gallo that the nominee would be a "beneficiary" of an affirmative action "quota", drawing a rebuke from the White House.
Political positions.
The Heritage Foundation gave Wicker a lifetime conservative rating of 61% (the average Republican scored 79%). As of December 2017, Wicker ranks 14th of 98 in the "Bipartisan Index" compiled by The Lugar Center, which reflects a low level of partisanship.
Foreign policy.
Wicker supported the Iraq War and called it just. As a U.S. representative, Wicker believed it was necessary to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Experts have said the Iraq War cost the U.S. over $3 trillion.
Wicker supported the U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan and called withdrawing "one of the biggest foreign policy catastrophes in my lifetime.” He also said, "we were better off with a Korea-like presence". Afterward, he cosponsored legislation that would have ended official diplomatic relations with Afghanistan. The U.S. War in Afghanistan has cost American taxpayers an estimated $2.3 trillion.
In December 2021, Wicker threatened a preemptive nuclear strike against Russia, saying: "we don't rule out first-use nuclear action." He issued this threat two months before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. Wicker also supported implementing a no-fly zone over Ukraine in 2022, which National Review called "a very bad idea".
Wicker is an ardent Zionist and one of the most pro-Israel U.S. politicians. According to the American Jewish Congress, he "opposed the Iran Deal and opposed UN Security Resolution 2334", which affirmed that Israel’s settlement activity violated international law. Wicker also voted for the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, supported the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, and cosponsored the United States-Israel Security Authorization Act of 2018, which allocated military funding for Israel regardless of the Palestinian question. He opposed opening a U.S. Palestinian consulate in East Jerusalem, which would have answered to the U.S. Department of State.
2023 omnibus appropriations bill.
Wicker was one of 18 Republican senators to vote for the $1.7 trillion omnibus bill that former President Donald Trump heavily criticized. The bill prohibited the construction of new immigration barriers and did not increase border enforcement spending past current inflation levels. Wicker also voted to send $45 billion more to Ukraine.
Refugees.
Wicker strongly supports expanding U.S. visas for Ukrainian refugees. He previously opposed Mississippi accepting Syrian refugees who fled from war-torn Syria.
Ukraine.
Wicker has been one of Ukraine's strongest Republican supporters. He voted each time to increase aid to Ukraine. In a press release, Wicker wrote: "President Reagan once called the Soviet Union 'the focus of evil in the modern world.' After two months of unprovoked brutality, it is obvious that the Kremlin remains one of the chief forces for evil in our world."
Federal spending.
Wicker identifies as a fiscal conservative but has consistently voted to increase federal spending for agriculture, infrastructure, and military projects throughout Mississippi.
Mississippi flag.
Since 2015, Wicker has sought to change the Mississippi flag, calling it offensive to many of his "fellow citizens". 64% of Mississippians voted to keep the flag in a 2001 referendum. Wicker supported nullifying that vote in 2020 and replacing the flag without a new referendum.
Confederacy.
While discussing Mississippi's previous state flag, Wicker said his Confederate military ancestors were "Americans" and "brave".
Climate change.
In 2015, Wicker was the only U.S. senator to vote against an amendment declaring that climate change is real. The final vote was 98 to 1, with Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic leader from Nevada, not voting. The amendment affirmed that "climate change is real and not a hoax."
In 2017, Wicker was one of 22 senators to sign a letter to President Trump urging him to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. According to OpenSecrets, Wicker has received over $200,000 from the oil and gas industry since 2012.
Gun law.
Wicker's support for pro-gun legislation and gun rights has earned him an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA endorsed Wicker during the 2012 election. Wicker has said that he will filibuster any bill that he feels "infringes" on the Second Amendment, including weapon bans. He has received $21,350 in funding from gun lobbyists for his political activities.
In 2009, Wicker introduced a bill allowing Amtrak passengers to check unloaded and locked handguns in their luggage. The law passed 68–30. His rationale for the bill was that people's Second Amendment rights were violated on a federally subsidized train system if they could not bring their guns.
One day after the 2015 San Bernardino attack, Wicker voted against a bill, co-sponsored by a Democrat and a Republican, that would make background checks mandatory when a person buys a gun. He said he voted against it because he feared it would have "opened the door to a national gun registry."
In 2017, Wicker voted in favor of "a joint resolution of disapproval aimed at former President Obama's executive action requiring the Social Security Administration (SSA) place beneficiaries on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System 'mental defective' list."
Secularism.
Wicker asked the United States Navy to deny the admission of a secular humanist to the Chaplain Corps, saying, "It is troubling that the Navy could allow a self-avowed atheist to serve in the Chaplain Corps."
January 6 commission.
On May 28, 2021, Wicker voted against creating an independent commission to investigate the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
Political ratings.
In 2020, Wicker received a score of 74 from the American Conservative Union. He has a lifetime rating of 83.62. The Americans for Democratic Action gave Wicker a score of 0 for the term.
Electoral history.
The following is a partial summary of Wicker's election results.
Personal life.
Wicker has consistently ranked amongst the poorest members of Congress, with a 2018 net worth of -$180,996. The Clarion Ledger ranked Wicker as the poorest federal politician from Mississippi in 2014, with a negative net worth of minus $200,000. Wicker earns an annual Senate salary of $174,000; it is unclear why he has a negative net worth.
Wicker has been married to Gayle Long since 1975. They have three children and six grandchildren. The Wickers reside in Tupelo, where Wicker is a deacon and a member of the First Baptist Church Tupelo choir. He previously served on the Board of Advisors for the , a nongovernmental organization that works in crisis areas. |
Special routes of U.S. Route 2
There are a number of special routes of U.S. Route 2 (US 2). These special routes connect US 2 to downtown areas, bypass city centers, or provide alternate routes around an area.
Williston business loop.
U.S. Highway 2 Business (US 2 Bus.) in Williston, North Dakota, is a route that goes into the downtown area of Williston. This was formerly also signed as US 85 Bus.
Minot business loop.
U.S. Highway 2 Business (US 2 Bus.) in Minot, North Dakota, begins at US 2 and US 52. US 2 is a bypass of the downtown area while US 2 Bus. goes through the downtown area. It intersects US 83 and a connector leading to US 52 before returning to US 2 east of downtown Minot.
Grand Forks–East Grand Forks business loop.
U.S. Highway 2 Business (US 2 Bus.) begins at US 2 in North Dakota near US 2's intersection with US 81 Bus. US 2 Bus. continues to the southeast, passing through the town square of Grand Forks, North Dakota, and intersecting North Dakota Highway 297 (ND 297). US 2 Bus. then enters Minnesota before terminating at US 2 in East Grand Forks.
Superior truck route.
Truck U.S. Highway 2 (Truck US 2) is a truck route used to divert heavy truck traffic out of downtown Superior, Wisconsin. It begins at a roundabout on US 2 and follows local streets bypassing downtown Superior to the north before meeting US 53 at an intersection. It runs concurrently with US 53 until the route meets back up with US 2.
Major intersections
Ashland alternate route.
Alternate U.S. Highway 2 (Alt. US 2) in Ashland, Wisconsin, is an alternate route of US 2. Alt. US 2 begins at US 2 west of Ashland at the western terminus of State Trunk Highway 137 (WIS 137), heading west along WIS 137, as well as WIS 13A, in a concurrency. After passing the intersection with Lindblad Road, Alt. US 2/WIS 13A/WIS 137 gains the name Gold Course Road, traveling west until the intersection with Sanborn Avenue in Ashland, where WIS 137 ends its concurrency at its eastern terminus. Alt. US 2/WIS 13A continue north along Sanborn Avenue/WIS 112, where Alt. US 2 ends at US 2.
Ironwood business spur.
Business US Highway 2 (Bus. US 2) is a business route running through Ironwood, Michigan, to the Wisconsin state line on the Montreal River. The western terminus of Bus. US 2 is at the Wisconsin state line between Hurley, Wisconsin, and Ironwood on Silver Street. The eastern terminus is at the intersection with US 2 at the corner of Cloverland Drive and Douglas Street north of downtown.
The business route was created in August 1942 when former M‑54 in Ironwood was renumbered as a business loop of US 2. It was originally a bistate business connection before the Wisconsin Department of Transportation decommissioned Bus. US 2 in Hurley westward along State Trunk Highway 77 and northward along US 51 in 2002.
Montpelier business loop.
U.S. Route 2 Business (US 2 Bus.) is a business route of US 2 located in Montpelier, Vermont. The route is coextensive with State Street and the lower half of Main Street. The road begins when US 2 turns right to bypass downtown Montpelier. By following US 2 Bus., one will pass by the majority of the state offices, including the Vermont State House. However, this road is barely signed as being "US 2 Bus." and is even less referred to as such.
St. Johnsbury truck route.
U.S. Route 2 Truck (US 2 Truck) is a truck route used to divert heavy truck traffic around the town of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. It begins at an interchange with I-91 and US 2 in St. Johnsbury. It travels to the south-southeast, running concurrently with I-91, in the southern part of the city. The two routes have an interchange with US 5. Then, they cross over the Passumpsic River and leave the city limits of St. Johnsbury. They reach an interchange with I-93. At this interchange, US 2 Truck ends its concurrency with I-91 and begins one with I-93 to the northeast. I-93/US 2 Truck travel concurrently for one exit, an interchange with Vermont Route 18 (VT 18). At this interchange, US 2 Truck ends its concurrency with I-93 and begins a brief one with VT 18. The two highways have an intersection with US 2 on the northeastern edge of the city limits of St. Johnsbury. At this intersection, both US 2 Truck and VT 18 terminate.
Navigating a semitrailer truck through downtown St. Johnsbury via US 2 is tricky at best and dangerous at worst, with several sharp turns on narrow, downtown streets with one very steep grade involved on Eastern Avenue. The truck route was designated in an attempt to alleviate the truck traffic in the congested downtown area, which includes the campus of St. Johnsbury Academy, a private secondary school. St. Johnsbury officials still hope to persuade the state to increase weight limits on Interstates in an effort to keep 18-wheelers away from St. Johnsbury Academy. Selectmen contend heavy trucks passing through the Academy campus present a danger to students, and a nuisance for drivers.
Since the truck route utilizes two Interstate Highways, the maximum weight limit allowed was the same as the Interstates in Vermont, which was . This posed a problem for local trucks loaded with logs and wood chips. Their weight typically exceeds Interstate limits but is still within the limits for state and U.S. highways. This created a situation where the most dangerous and difficult-to-handle trucks were forced to use the main US 2 route through downtown St. Johnsbury. Signs at the junctions of US 2 Truck and US 2 warned commercial drivers that the weight limits were limited to those on the Interstate Highway System. Federal legislation authored by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) included Vermont in a pilot program to allow Interstate weight limits to be increased for a period of one year, with evaluation of the program to follow. Vermont's state legislature quickly authored a measure to allow the heavier limits, which was signed into law by the governor on January 13, 2010.
Major intersections
Orono–Old Town alternate route.
U.S. Route 2A (US 2A), also known as U.S. Route 2 Alternate (US 2 Alt.), in Orono and Old Town, Maine, is a alternate route of US 2, which connects it to the University of Maine. At its southern terminus near downtown Orono, the route splits from US 2 to follow College Avenue, then turns onto Stillwater Avenue to reach Old Town. The northern terminus is at the intersection of Center Street (US 2A) and Main Street (US 2) in downtown Old Town, where US 2A rejoins US 2 to cross the Penobscot River into Milford, while Main Street continues north in Old Town as State Route 43.
Aroostook County alternate route.
U.S. Route 2A (US 2A), also known as U.S. Route 2 Alternate (US 2 Alt.), is a alternate route that runs from US 2 in Macwahoc Plantation, Maine, to US 2 and US 1 in Houlton.
Unlike US 2, which runs north from Macwahoc Plantation and parallels Interstate 95 (I-95) from Sherman to Houlton, US 2A veers to the south and east to serve an isolated area of the state. It is also the Haynesville Woods road made famous by country music singer Dick Curless in his song "A Tombstone Every Mile". |
Floor plate
The floor plate is a structure integral to the developing nervous system of vertebrate organisms. Located on the ventral midline of the embryonic neural tube, the floor plate is a specialized glial structure that spans the anteroposterior axis from the midbrain to the tail regions. It has been shown that the floor plate is conserved among vertebrates, such as zebrafish and mice, with homologous structures in invertebrates such as the fruit fly "Drosophila" and the nematode "C. elegans". Functionally, the structure serves as an organizer to ventralize tissues in the embryo as well as to guide neuronal positioning and differentiation along the dorsoventral axis of the neural tube.
Induction.
Induction of the floor plate during embryogenesis of vertebrate embryos has been studied extensively in chick and zebrafish and occurs as a result of a complex signaling network among tissues, the details of which have yet to be fully refined. Currently there are several competing lines of thought. First, floor plate differentiation may be mediated by inductive signaling from the underlying notochord, an axial mesoderm derived signaling structure. This is supported experimentally in chick, in which floor plate induction, as well as associative ventral nervous tissue differentiation, is mediated by the secreted signaling molecule sonic hedgehog (Shh). Shh is expressed in a gradient with highest concentration localized in the notochord and floor plate. "In vitro" tissue grafting experiments show that removal of this molecule prevents differentiation of the floor plate, whereas its ectopic expression induces differentiation of floor plate cells. An alternative view proposes that neural tube floor plate cells stem from precursor cells which migrate directly from axial mesoderm. Through chick – quail hybrid experiments as well as genetic interaction experiments in zebrafish, it appears that notochord and floor plate cells originate from a common precursor. Furthermore, in zebrafish, Nodal signaling is required for differentiation of medial floor plate cells whereas Shh is expendable. These data may indicate that the floor plate induction mechanism in amniotes and anamniotes differs. To reconcile these differences, a dual-mode induction model has been proposed in chick. In this model, exclusively ectodermal cells are induced to become medial floor plate during gastrulation by prechordal mesoderm, possibly through Nodal signaling. Later in development during neurulation, extended contact and interaction between notochord and fated floor plate cells causes differentiation, suggesting a cooperative effect between Nodal and Shh signaling.
Axon guidance.
In the development of the central nervous system, the decision of a neuron to cross or not cross the midline is critical. In vertebrates, this choice is mediated by the floor plate, and enables the embryo to develop successful left and right body halves with respect to nervous tissue. For example, while ipsilateral neurons do not cross the midline, commissural neurons cross the midline forming a single commissure. These particular neurons develop in the dorsal region of the neural tube and travel ventrally toward the floor plate. Upon reaching the floor plate, commissural neurons cross through the structure to emerge on the opposite side of the neural tube, whereupon they project anteriorly or posteriorly within the tube.
The signaling molecules guiding the growth and projections of commissural neurons have well studied homologs in invertebrates. In the Netrin/DCC chemoattraction pathway the C. elegans homologs are Unc-6/Unc-40 and Unc-5 while the Drosophila homologs are Netrin-A and Netrin-B/Frazzled and Dunc5. In the Slit/Robo chemoreppelant pathway the C. elegans homologs are Slt-1/Sax-3 whereas the Drosophila homologs are also known as Slit/Robo(1-3).
Glial fate mapping.
In the central nervous system (CNS), overall cell fate mapping is typically directed by the sonic hedgehog (Shh) morphogen signaling pathway. In the spinal cord, Shh is directed by both the notochord and floor plate regions which ultimately drives the organization of neural and glial progenitor populations. The specific glial populations impacted by Shh in these two regions include oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), oligodendrocytes, NG2+ cells, microglia, and astrocytes. The floor plate (FP) region of the spinal cord individually contributes to gliogenesis, or the formation of glial cells. Traditionally, progenitor cells are driven from their progenitor expansion phase, to the neurogenic phase, and ultimately to the gliogenic phase. From the gliogenic phase, the former progenitor cells can then become astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, or other more specialized glial cell types. Recently, there have been efforts to use conditional mutagenesis to selectively inactivate the Shh pathway specifically in the FP region to identify different roles of molecules involved in oligodendrocyte cell fate. Oligodendrocytes are the cells responsible for myelinating axons in the CNS.
Shh regulates Gli processing through two proteins, Ptch1 and Smo. When Shh is not active, Ptch1 is responsible for suppressing the pathway through the inhibition of Smo. Smo is crucial to the overall transduction of signal of the Shh pathway. If Smo is inhibited, the Shh pathway is also inactive, which ultimately represses gliogenesis. Specific factors such as Gli3 are required for oligodendrocyte cell fate. Since Shh regulates Gli processing, if Smo is compromised or inhibited by Ptch1, this inactivates the Shh pathway and prevents Gli processing which disrupts glial cell fate mapping. Shh signaling in the FP region is very important because it needs to be active in order for gliogenesis to occur. If Shh is inactivated within the FP region and activated in other regions of the spinal cord such as the Dbx or pMN domains, gliogenesis is compromised. But, when Shh is active in the FP region, gliogenesis is activated and glial cells begin migrating to their targeted destinations to function.
Spinal cord injury and axon regeneration.
The floor plate region aids in axon guidance, glial fate mapping, and embryogenesis. If this area of the spinal cord becomes injured, there could be serious complications to all contributing functions of this region, namely limited proliferation and production of the glial cells responsible for myelination and phagocytosis in the CNS. Spinal cord injury (SCI) also most often results in axon denudation or severance. Wnt signaling is a common signaling pathway involved in injury cases. Wnt signaling regulates regeneration after spinal cord injury. Immediately following injury, Wnt expression dramatically increases. Axon guidance is driven by Netrin-1 in the FP region of the spinal cord. During injury cases, specifically cases of axon severance, Wnt signaling is upregulated and axons begin to initiate regeneration and the axons are reguided through the FP regions using Shh and Wnt signaling pathways.
The spinal cord ependymal cells also reside in the FP region of the spinal cord. These cells are a neural stem cell population responsible for repopulating lost cells during injury. These cells have the capacity to differentiate into progenitor glial populations. During injury, a factor entitled Akhirin is secreted in the FP region. During spinal cord development, Akhirin is expressed solely on ependymal stem cells with latent stem cell properties and plays a key role in the development of the spinal cord. In the absence of Akhirin, stemness of these ependymal cells is not regulated. Injury compromises Akhirin expression and regulation and the cells of the FP region cannot properly be restored by the ependymal stem cell populations. |
84th Guards Rifle Division
The 84th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 110th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Throughout its combat path it was considered a "sister" to the 83rd Guards Rifle Division.
It was redesignated after the relatively minor battles along the front held by the 16th Army north of the Oryol salient during most of 1942 and into early 1943. Under a "STAVKA" directive of April 16 that Army was officially redesignated as the 11th Guards Army on May 1, 1943. The division was not immediately assigned to a corps command but soon joined the 36th Guards Rifle Corps and it would serve under these headquarters for the duration of the war. It re-entered the fighting in July during the offensive for the liberation of the Oryol region and in the process earned a battle honor. By early autumn the entire Army was moved northward, becoming part of the 2nd Baltic Front before moving to the 1st Baltic Front. The 84th Guards saw combat in the slow and bloody battles east and north of Vitebsk through the winter during which it was awarded the Order of Suvorov as a result of the fighting north of Gorodok in December. Early during the summer offensive against Army Group Center, now as part of 3rd Belorussian Front, the division further distinguished itself in crossing the Neman River and shortly after received the Order of the Red Banner. It then took part in the advance through Lithuania and into East Prussia, taking part in the siege and capture of Königsberg before moving with its Army to the Zemland Group of Forces and spending the last weeks of the war mopping up German resistance in the Baltic ports. Despite an admirable record the 84th Guards was gradually disbanded from mid-1945 to mid-1946.
Formation.
The 84th Guards was redesignated on April 10, 1943 in recognition of the 110th Rifle Division's steadfast qualities in positional fighting north of the Oryol salient through most of 1942 and early 1943, as well as its role in the liberation of Vyasma on March 12. It officially received its Guards banner on May 25. At that time its order of battle became as follows:
The division continued under the command of Maj. Gen. Georgii Borisovich Peters, who had commanded the 110th since November 11, 1942. As of the beginning of June it was a separate division of Lt. Gen. I. Kh. Bagramyan's 11th Guards Army on the southern flank of Western Front. The former militia divisions such as the 110th were well-regarded for their courage and sacrifice in the face of the German onslaught in 1941:The division was one of five of the original twelve Moscow volunteer divisions that eventually gained Guards status.
Operation Kutuzov.
The German Operation Zitadelle officially ended on July 12, the same day that forces of Western and Bryansk Fronts struck the positions of the 2nd Panzer Army on the north flank of the Oryol salient. By now the 84th Guards had been assigned to the 36th Guards Rifle Corps which also contained the 5th and 18th Guards Rifle Divisions. The division would serve under this Corps for the duration of the war. The division was one of four that the Army had deployed in its second echelon. Within 36th Guards Corps the 18th Guards was in first echelon with the 213th Tank Brigade, 84th Guards in second and 5th Guards in third; the Corps was supported by two artillery and one Guards Mortar regiments.
Following a massive preparatory bombardment 11th Guards Army achieved a deep penetration at the boundary between the German 211th and 293rd Infantry Divisions. General Bagramyan committed his mobile forces in the afternoon and advanced about 10–12 km. Army Group Center hurriedly brought up the 5th Panzer Division to mount a counterattack in the evening, which was unsuccessful. 36th Guards Corps, operating as part of the Army's shock group along the Bolkhov axis, by the second day was attacking from the line from Dolgaya to Slobodka toward the southwest. 2nd Panzer Army had constructed strongpoints in the SorokinoUkolitsy area as a base to cut off any Soviet units that broke deeply into its defenses. Having formed a strike force based on elements of the 18th and 20th Panzer, 25th Panzergrenadier Division and remnants of the 293rd Infantry these units counterattacked on the morning of July 14 from the Sorokino area in the direction of Rechitsa. This was beaten off with heavy losses and 36th Guards Corps continued its offensive, forced a crossing of the Vytebet River and outflanked Sorokino from the northeast with the 18th Guards and from the southeast and south with the 84th Guards supported by the 43rd Guards Tank Brigade and the 2nd Guards Heavy Tank Regiment. Following a powerful artillery preparation Sorokino was attacked from the northeast and south and after stubborn fighting by 1100 hours on July 15 the German garrison had been completely destroyed. Meanwhile, the 5th Guards, which had been committed from behind the 84th Guards' right flank, outflanked Ukolitsy from the south. This took the German command by surprise, cut the road to Kireikovo and enveloped the eastern outskirts of Ukolitsy. The 84th followed up its victory at Sorokino by attacking the strongpoint from the west and northwest. By the morning of July 16 German resistance in Ukolitsy had been crushed and the two Guards divisions were in pursuit of remnants retreating southeast toward Kireikovo.
Battle for Kireikovo.
During the day the 84th Guards, along with the 213th Tanks and in cooperation with units of 61st Army, outflanked Kireikovo from the north and east. Simultaneously the 5th Guards and 43rd Guards Tanks turned the village from the west, south and southeast and, having taken Dubenka, linked up with the left flank of the division, completing its encirclement. Kireikovo, an important road junction and German supply center, had been heavily fortified but its garrison was overwhelmed by the rapid Soviet manoeuvres and was largely destroyed when the village was liberated on the morning of July 17. During the pursuit of the defeated remnants units of 36th Guards Corps reached the line of the Mashok River.
As the front shortened at this time the 5th Guards was transferred to 8th Guards Corps and the 36th Guards Corps was moved to the wooded area north of Kamenka where it incorporated the 217th Rifle Division. The Corps was now to launch an attack in the direction of Gnezdilovo and Bogoroditskoe in conjunction with the 1st and 25th Tank Corps for the purpose the OryolBryansk railroad and paved road and also to secure the flank of the 8th Guards Corps as it attacked toward Bolkhov. The two tank corps renewed their advances on July 18 while the 36th Guards Corps joined in the next morning and by the end of the day had reached a line from Peshkovo to Krasnikovo. Meanwhile, the 108th Rifle Division of 8th Guards Corps, in cooperation with the 5th Tank Corps, had cut the Blokhov - Khotynets road by July 19.
Battles for Bolkhov.
On July 20 the Bolkhov group of German forces went over to the counterattack, soon clearing the road but failing to encircle and eliminate the 108th Division. These attacks continued until late on July 22 and forced Soviet withdrawals on several sectors but were halted by the 8th and 36th Guards Corps and the 25th Tanks. These forces renewed their offensive the next day and by the end of July 25 had reached a jumping-off point for a decisive attack to eliminate the German Bolkhov grouping in cooperation with 61st Army.
By July 26, after several delays, the 4th Tank Army had reached the front. 11th Guards Army was to break through the German defense with the 8th and 36th Guards Corps and create a breach for 4th Tanks, then follow in the direction of Borilovo. The assault began that day following a powerful one-hour artillery preparation but encountered a stubborn and well-organized defense and failed to break through. The Soviet command was forced to commit the 4th Tank Army to complete the breach while still facing a strong antitank defense which claimed many vehicles and limited the penetration to just 3km in depth. However the defenders were also shaken and overnight received orders to abandon Bolkhov while continuing to hold the road to Khotynets. Intense fighting continued into July 27 and two days later 11th Guards Army completed its breakthrough while 61st Army finished clearing Bolkhov. 36th Guards Corps and the 25th Tanks advanced slowly to the south in the face of fierce rearguard battles and by the end of July 30 were fighting along a line from outside Brezhnevskii to outside Proletarskii.
Battles for Khotynets.
By the beginning of August the 11th Guards Army had been transferred to Bryansk Front. From July 31 to August 5 the Army, along with 4th Tank Army, was involved in stubborn fighting for control of the paved road and railroad between Oryol and Bryansk. By the morning of August 6 the 11th Guards had handed over its right-flank sector to 11th Army and had regrouped for an offensive on Khotynets. 36th Guards Corps occupied a start line on a 7km-wide sector from the Vytebet west of Ilinskoe to the northern outskirts of Brezhnevskii and was to attack with 1st Tanks in the direction of Studenka and Obraztsovo, outflanking Khotynets from the northwest and east. 11th Guards Army as a whole was to break through between Ilinskoe and Gnezdilovo to create a breach for 4th Tanks and then encircle and capture Khotynets before developing the offensive toward Karachev.
The renewed offensive began with reconnaissance operations by each first-echelon division at 0600 hours followed by an artillery and airstrike preparation at noon. The 8th and 36th Guards Corps with heavy tank support went over to the attack at 1300 and quickly broke through the forward edge of the German defense, which was soon falling back to its intermediate line. By 1530 hours the infantry had penetrated up to 3km and the 1st Tanks was committed. Late in the day the right-flank units of 36th Guards Corps were successfully advancing and reached the approaches to Klemenovo the next morning. Despite these initial successes the German forces used broken ground and village strongpoints to delay the offensive. On August 8 units of the 25th Panzergrenadiers appeared on the approaches to Khotynets. Further reserves arrived the next day and two armored trains were coursing along the railroad. Despite this, on August 9 fighting began on the immediate approaches to the town and individual strongpoints changed hands several times. By day's end elements of the 36th Guards Corps and the 1st Tanks were fighting along the outskirts of Abolmasovo, Voeikovo and Khotynets itself while units of 8th Guards Corps and 25th Tanks outflanked Khotynets from the south and cut the railroad. The town was now outflanked from three sides and on the morning of August 10 was completely cleared of German forces as remnants fell back to the west; the battle had cost them 7,500 officers and men, 70 armored vehicles and 176 guns and mortars. In the pursuit the next day the 36th Corps reached the eastern outskirts of Yurevo and straddled the KhotynetsKarachev road southeast of Yakovlevo.
The immediate fighting for Karachev began at 0300 hours on August 15. In order to hold the town, which was an important road junction and supply base, the German command had concentrated units of the 78th Assault Division and 38th Infantry Division plus remnants of the 253rd and 293rd Infantry, 18th and 8th Panzer Divisions and the 45th Security Regiment. 11th Guards Army committed the 16th Guards and 84th Guards Divisions against the town from the east and southeast. These were assisted in part by the 83rd Guards which attacked Karachev from the southeast and captured the strongpoints of Height 246.1 and Glybochka. The left-wing forces of 8th Guards Corps forced the Snezhet River after outflanking the town from the south. Having crushed German resistance along the surrounding heights and villages the Soviet forces broke into Karachev at 0830 hours and completely occupied it. In recognition of its role in the liberation of Karachev the 84th Guards Division was one of four that were awarded its name as an honorific.
Into Belarus.
Beginning on September 1 the 11th Guards Army took part in the operations that liberated Bryansk. On September 19, two days after the city was cleared, the Army began withdrawing from the front lines. Bryansk Front was disbanded on October 10 and the Army, along with the Front headquarters, moved northwest to be incorporated into the new Baltic Front (ten days later 2nd Baltic Front), but at noon on November 18 the 11th Guards was moved to 1st Baltic Front, which was now under command of General Bagramyan.
Given the complex situation in the Nevel region, where the 3rd and 4th Shock Armies had carved out a large salient behind the lines of German 16th Army (Army Group North) and 3rd Panzer Army (Army Group Center), Bagramyan planned an attack along the GorodokVitebsk axis with 11th Guards Army. Its 36th and 16th Guards Rifle Corps would deliver the main attack toward Mekhovoe and Gorodok. 36th Guards Corps (now consisting of the 16th and 84th Guards and the 360th Rifle Division) was deployed in a single first echelon with all three divisions in line. In the event the "STAVKA" delayed the start of the offensive until November 26, but an unseasonal thaw forced a further delay into early December.
Battle for Gorodok.
The offensive was finally able to proceed on December 13. 36th Guards Corps attacked the eastern side of the German-held Ezerishche salient north of Vitebsk, to the south of Lake Ezerishche, with the 84th Guards flanked by the 360th Division to its north and the 16th Guards to its south; its immediate objective was the village of Gurki on the NevelGorodok railway. The initial goal of the offensive was to cut off the northwestern portion of the salient in cooperation with 4th Shock Army and destroy the German grouping southwest of the lake. Subsequently, it was to develop the attack in the direction Mekhovoe and Gorodok as before prior to driving south to seize Vitebsk. 11th Guards Army faced the 129th Infantry and 6th "Luftwaffe" Field Divisions of German IX Army Corps.
11th Guards Army kicked off after a two-hour artillery preparation but without air support due to poor flying weather. Little progress was made apart from on the sector of the 84th Guards, which penetrated the first German defensive position but was soon halted by a counterattack from reserves of the 129th Infantry. After an overnight regrouping the division, supported by the 1st Tank Corps' 159th Tank Brigade and another artillery preparation, broke through on this same sector and opened the gates to be exploited by the remainder of 1st Tanks along with the 83rd and 16th Guards. This attack completely compromised the German defenses and soon cut the GorodokNevel road in the rear of IX Corps. Early on December 15, despite counterattacks by the 20th Panzer Division, forward elements of the 156th Rifle Division of 4th Shock had linked up near Laptevka with the 83rd Guards and 29th Rifle Divisions, completely encircling the 87th Infantry Division and part of the 129th. A larger encirclement was completed the next day containing the remainder of IX Corps. With this completed the 36th Guards Corps took part in reducing the German pocket in two days of heavy fighting; according to Soviet sources 20,000 German troops became casualties while German sources admit to just over 2,000. For its part in this encirclement operation, on December 21 the 84th Guards would be decorated with the Order of Suvorov, 2nd Degree.
What remained of the German forces fell back to more defensible lines to the south. After a complex regrouping 11th Guards Army resumed its advance on December 23. The difficulties of this advance were later noted by the Army's commander, Lt. Gen. K. N. Galitskiy, in his memoirs:Despite these difficulties Gorodok was cleared on December 24. Following this the 11th Guards Army continued to face stubborn resistance and advanced only 4-5km by the end of December 25, being "halted by powerful and carefully organized artillery-mortar and machine-gun fire and also by enemy counterattacks." This was based on a fortified line which was part of the external defense belt around Vitebsk, 25km from the center of the city and Galitskiy's forces spent several days assessing it; it became clear that the goal of liberating the city by December 30-31 in conjunction with 4th Shock was unrealistic. From December 25-31 the Army gradually wedged its way into the German positions, with the 26th, 11th and 31st Guards Divisions making the greatest progress, but even this amounted to just 5-7km of ground gained. The fighting continued into early January, 1944 but was beginning to tail off by January 5 as both sides exhausted themselves.
By January 14 the 1st Baltic Front went over to the defense in front of Vitebsk, but this was temporary as the "STAVKA" ordered Bagramyan to begin a new attack southeast toward Vitebsk to begin at first light on February 2 on a 12km-wide sector from Mashkina past Lake Zaronovskoe to Gorbachi facing a partly-rebuilt 87th Infantry and battlegroups from 12th Infantry, 20th Panzer and 201st Security Divisions. 36th Guards Corps was in the Army's first echelon along with 8th Guards Corps and they had 1st Tank Corps in support. Altogether Bagramyan was able to concentrate 14 understrength rifle divisions and two tank corps for this effort, a far from overwhelming advantage especially given mid-winter conditions. Following an extensive artillery preparation the assaults quickly overcame the forward defenses of the 87th and 12th Divisions and in two days of heavy fighting advanced up to 3.5km on a 9km-wide front. The 84th and 16th Guards pushed forward 3km, reached the western outskirts of Kisliaki and took the German strongpoint at Gorodishche on the north shore of Lake Zaronovskoe near the boundary of the 87th and 12th Infantry Divisions; the LIII Army Corps was forced to again withdraw the badly shaken 87th from the front and replace it with fresher troops from 20th Panzer. By the end of February 3, the shock group had made enough progress that General Bagramyan released the 26th Guards Rifle Division from 36th Guards Corps' second echelon, while 1st Tank Corps went into action the next morning. The tanks attacked along the Kozly and Mikhali axis at dawn and in two days of heavy fighting with the help of their supporting riflemen managed to advance another 4km, taking Kozly and Novoselki before being halted by 20th Panzer. The attackers were now just 15km northwest of downtown Vitebsk.
By the end of February 5, although LIII Corps had lost considerable territory north of the VitebskSirotino road its defenses were firming up. To deal with this Bagramyan ordered Galitskiy to redirect 36th and 16th Guards Corps to the south. After a brief regrouping the attack began again on February 7, but 36th Corps made no notable progress before the offensive was halted on February 16. By now 1st Tank Corps had fewer than 10 tanks serviceable, the rifle divisions of 11th Guards Army numbered fewer than 3,000 personnel each due to nearly constant combat since mid-fall, and they had used up most of their ammunition. The next day Bagramyan was ordered to withdraw the Army for rest and refitting with the intention to commit it against Army Group North which was falling back from Leningrad. In the event, after a period in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command it was reassigned to 3rd Belorussian Front in May. The 84th Guards would remain in this Front for the duration.
Operation Bagration.
While in reserve the Army trained intensively in the forests in the Nevel region and received over 20,000 replacements, bringing the 84th Guards and the rest of its rifle divisions to an average of 7,200 personnel each. Beginning on May 25 the Army moved up well behind the front of 3rd Belorussian, followed by a secret move of 300km on June 12-13 to a sector north of the Dniepr River 30km northeast of Orsha, replacing elements of 31st Army. General Galitskiy screened most of his sector with the 16th Guards Corps while the 36th and 8th Guards Corps concentrated on a narrow sector adjacent to 31st Army. On June 22 the 36th Guards Corps was crammed into less than 10km with 8th Guards Corps and had two heavy tank regiments and two assault gun regiments attached. It faced elements of the XXVII Army Corps of German 4th Army, primarily the 78th Assault Division that the division had faced at Karachev.
General Galitskiy decided to launch his main attack along the highway to Minsk on a sector from Ostrov Yurev to Kirieva. The immediate objective was to break through the German defense and pave the way for the 2nd Guards Tank Corps to seize the line of the Orshitsa River by the end of the first day. The 36th Guards Corps, on the Army's left flank, would attack the sector from Slepin to Kirieva towards Shalashino to reach just outside Makarovo. Galitskiy received orders that upon the arrival of the Army's main forces in the area north of Orsha he should attack with a single rifle division from the Moshkovo area toward Baran and Novosele and in this way assist the 31st Army in taking the city. In the event he allotted for this task both the 26th and 84th Guards Divisions.
Along with the other first-echelon divisions of its Front, the 84th Guards prepared a forward battalion to take part in a reconnaissance in force which was conducted through the afternoon and evening of June 22, supported by a 25-minute artillery preparation. While the main purpose of this reconnaissance was to uncover the German fire system, seizing their forward defenses was a secondary goal. While the battalions of 5th Army to the north had considerable success in this regard those of 11th Guards Army generally failed, including that of the division. Following an intensive artillery and airstrike preparation the Front's main offensive began at 0900 hours on June 23. The 36th and 8th Guards Corps encountered fierce resistance from the 78th Assault Division and other German units and through the day only advanced 2km. As a result the 2nd Guards Tanks remained in its jumping-off positions. At 0850 hours on June 24, following a 40-minute artillery preparation the 11th Guards Army resumed its offensive. While 8th and 16th Guards Corps advanced as much as 14km during the day, 36th Corps had still not cleared a path for the commitment of 2nd Guards Tanks and soon became caught up in the fighting for Orsha.
On June 26, as the leading Corps of 11th Guards attacked towards Borisov to prevent 4th Army from withdrawing across the Berezina River, the 36th Guards Corps prepared to capture Orsha in conjunction with 31st Army. The assault was preceded by a 30-minute artillery preparation, supplemented by a series of heavy air attacks lasting for two hours; the Corps began fighting in the northern and western outskirts in the late evening and after stubborn fighting the city was completely cleared by 0700 hours on June 27. The 84th Guards Division was among the units given special recognition for the liberation of Orsha.
Minsk Offensive.
By now the 36th Guards Corps was 35 to 40km in the rear of the rest of 11th Guards Army and it spent the next few days catching up. The "STAVKA" directed 3rd Belorussian Front to make the main attack in the direction of Minsk with 11th Guards, 31st and 5th Guards Tank Armies. On June 29, the main body of 11th Guards advanced 30km, closing to within 22 to 28km of the Berezina while 36th Corps covered up to 40km pursuing rapidly retreating German forces. The Army advanced decisively across the river on July 1, throwing the defenders 25 to 30km to the west. By the end of the next day the entire 11th Guards had consolidated along a line from Lishitsy to Logoisk to Sarnatsk to Smolevichi as elements of the 36th Guards and 2nd Guards Tank Corps were deployed to cover Minsk from the east. The Belarusian capital was liberated on the morning of July 3, primarily by units of 31st Army. On the same day 11th Guards Army advanced 30 to 35km and took Radashkovichy.
Vilnius–Kaunas Offensive.
On July 5, after liberating Molodechno, the main forces of 11th Guards Army pushed on towards the Neman (Berezina) River which they reached and crossed the next day before running into the German defenses of the "East Wall" and being halted. This line was cracked by a deliberate attack beginning at midday on July 7, despite German tank ambushes and heavy counterattacks. On July 8 the leading units of the Army advanced another 25 to 30km and by now were approaching Vilnius, which held a garrison of about 15,000 men. While the battle for this city went on until the 13th forward detachments of 5th Guards Tanks reached the Neman River, followed by the left flank and center forces of the Front. The 11th Guards faced the relatively fresh 131st Infantry Division in the Rudiskes area. By the end of July 15, the Army, in cooperation with 5th Army, had seized a bridgehead 28km long and 2 to 6km deep, while it also was maintaining a second bridgehead up to 6km deep.
Overnight on July 17/18 another bridgehead was created near the city of Alytus, largely under the leadership of Sen. Lt. Nikolai Fedorovich Semyonov, a company commander of the 93rd Guards Sapper Battalion. His company had been included in the division's forward detachment and upon reaching the Neman he skilfully chose a crossing place and organized the building of rafts and other improvised means for crossing the infantry and artillery. His company's fighters reached the west bank silently, neutralized German sentries and secured the bridgehead without a shot being fired. After dawn he continued to lead the successful crossing of the artillery under enemy fire. For his courage and leadership Semyonov would be made a Hero of the Soviet Union on March 24, 1945. After the war he was moved to the reserve and returned to his hometown near Solnechnogorsk where he got an education in forestry and worked in that profession until his retirement. He died in Moscow in 1980 at the age of 76.
The bridgeheads continued to expand in fighting through to the 20th as German counterattacks were repelled, at which point the Front went over to a temporary defense. A further advance began on July 29, which gained 10–15km. Kaunas was taken by 5th Army on August 1, and German forces continued falling back to the west. By now the 84th Guards had only a single company in each rifle battalion, and each company averaged 25–30 men. On August 12 the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the forcing of the Neman.
Into Germany.
On October 16 the division, along with the rest of 11th Guards, began attacking into East Prussia as part of the Front's abortive Goldap-Gumbinnen Operation, which ended in early November. At about this time the 89th Guards Antitank Battalion had its towed guns replaced with 12 SU-76 self-propelled guns. General Peters had suffered a head wound during the Neman crossing on July 24 but remained with the division. On October 27 he was more severely wounded and evacuated to hospital. After his recovery he was given command of the 5th Guards Rifle Division which by then had returned to 36th Guards Corps. In recognition of his successful leadership in the battles for East Prussia he would be made a Hero of the Soviet Union on May 5, 1945. Maj. Gen. Ivan Kuzmich Shcherbina took command of the division on October 28 and held this post for the duration of the war.
In the planning for the Vistula-Oder Offensive the 11th Guards Army began in the second echelon of 3rd Belorussian Front, on a sector from Kybartai to Kaukern on the right and Millunen to Georgenburg on the left. The intermediate objective was to capture Insterburg by the end of the fifth day in cooperation with 28th Army. The offensive against East Prussia began on January 13, 1945 and on January 21 the Front commander, Army Gen. I. D. Chernyakhovsky, decided to use his 11th Guards, 5th and 28th Armies to encircle and eliminate the German InsterburgGumbinnen group of forces, with the objective of pursuing and advancing directly on Königsberg. Chernyakhovsky assigned 11th Guards and 5th Armies to encircle Insterburg and capture it on January 22.
Battle for Insterburg.
In order to block the Soviet advance on Insterburg the German command organized a defense along a line from Lindenburg to Zaken to Insterburg, using remnants of three infantry divisions and other assorted troops. This was soon broken through by 16th Guards Rifle Corps supported by 2nd Guards Tank Corps. Meanwhile, to the right, the 8th Guards Corps attacked along the paved road from Gross Skeisgirren to Welau with the 26th Guards Division and 1st Tank Corps leading the pursuit towards the Pregel River; 36th Guards Corps remained in second echelon. Altogether the 11th Guards Army advanced 45km in two days, reaching the approaches to Insterburg while the 26th Guards and 1st Tanks deeply outflanked the German InsterburgGumbinnen grouping from the west. Chernyakhovsky now ordered the 11th Guards and 5th Armies to break through the German defensive line with a concentric attack from north, east and south.
General Galitskiy chose to attack the town at night with the 36th Guards Corps, to break into the town from the north and destroy the German garrison (remnants of the 1st, 56th and 349th Infantry Divisions with tanks from the 5th Panzer Division) in cooperation with 5th Army's 72nd Rifle Corps from the northeast and east. The 36th Guards Corps carried out a regrouping and attacked at 2300 hours on January 21, following a 20-minute artillery preparation; it was met by powerful machine gun and mortar fire and frenzied counterattacks. German units covering the road intersections north of the town held on with particular stubbornness. Units of the 16th Guards Division were counterattacked six times and forced to slow the pace of their advance. In response the Corps commander, Lt. Gen. P. K. Koshevoy, committed the 84th Guards from second echelon and at 0100 hours on January 22 its regiments broke through the defense. By 0600 hours Insterburg was completely cleared. 8th Guards Corps outflanked and secured Wehlau the following day and the Army was now ordered to attack from the line of the Alle River along the south bank of the Pregel and reach a line from Steinbeck to Grunbaum by the end of January 24. In recognition of its part in the capture of Insterburg, on February 19 the 186th Guards Artillery Regiment would be awarded the Order of Suvorov, 3rd Degree.
Battle of Königsberg.
On the morning of January 30 forward detachments of the 16th Guards Corps broke through the German defenses and reached the shore of the Frisches Haff, isolating Königsberg from the rest of Germany while units of the 36th and 8th Guards Corps turned their fronts to face north and took several concrete fortifications in the city's outer defensive zone. On February 9 the 11th Guards along with the 43rd and 39th Armies, all operating close to Königsberg, were transferred to 1st Baltic Front while 3rd Belorussian focused on eliminating the large group of German forces in the western regions of East Prussia. As of February 24 the 1st Baltic was redesignated as the Zemland Group of Forces with the three armies and 3rd Air Army under command, now back as part of 3rd Belorussian Front. Before Königsberg could be reduced it was necessary to isolate it again. For this offensive the 11th Guards Army was detached from the Zemland Group. On March 13 the attack to the southwest began, following a 40-minute artillery preparation. The German forces put up particularly fierce resistance against the Army, which was attacking in the direction of Brandenburg. Its left flank was able to advance 2-3km and the attack continued into the night and the following day through dense fog. On March 15 the 36th Guards Corps captured Wangitt on the Frisches Haff, again cutting communications with the city. By March 26 the 11th Guards was mopping up German remnants and preparing to return to the Zemland Group.
When the assault on Königsberg began on April 6 the 11th Guards was responsible for the attack from the south. The German garrison numbered more than 100,000 men, with 850 guns and up to 60 tanks and assault guns. For the attack the Army was reinforced with the 23rd Tank Brigade, three self-propelled artillery regiments, a Guards heavy tank regiment, the 10th Artillery Division and many other artillery units. It faced the German 69th Infantry Division. On the first day, after a 90-minute artillery bombardment, the attack went in at noon. 36th and 16th Guards Corps on the left and center made the most progress, penetrating 4km into the German defenses, blockading two forts, clearing 43 city blocks and beginning fighting for the railway station. On April 7 the Army continued fighting for the city's railroad junction, now assisted by heavy airstrikes. By the end of the day it had captured two forts and the suburbs of Zeligenfeld, Speihersdorf and Ponart. On the afternoon of April 8 it forced the Pregel to the northwest of Ponart and linked up with 43rd Army, cutting off the fortress from the forces of the German Samland Group and also capturing the port area. Over the following day German resistance slackened and by its end Königsberg had officially capitulated.
In the Samland offensive that followed beginning on April 13 the 11th Guards Army was initially in the Zemland Group's second echelon. It was committed into the first line overnight on April 17/18, relieving 2nd Guards Army on the Vistula Spit, facing the heavily fortified town of Pillau. After reconnaissance over the next two days the 16th and 36th Guards Corps attacked at 1100 hours on April 20 but made little progress, which did not change the following day. On April 22, after 8th Guards Corps was brought in as reinforcements, the German defense began to crack. Pillau finally fell on April 25.
Postwar.
When the fighting ended the men and women of the division shared the full title of "84th Guards Rifle, Karachev, Order of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Division". (Russian: 84-я гвардейская Карачевская Краснознамённая ордена Суворова дивизия.) On May 28 the 186th Guards Artillery would be further decorated with the Order of Kutuzov, 3rd Degree. The division was gradually disbanded from late 1945 into 1946. |
Information Technology and Ethics/IT Professionals and Their Relationship
Contractor from Outsourcing service provider.
IT Professional, just like other industries, there are all different types of outsourcing service, such as Structured cabling system to application development. Due to the essential nature of, IT industry’s complicated architecture, there are different IT professionals, networks, support desk, hardware, system services, security, infrastructure, internet, and so on. All need to work together just like an orchestra.
Enterprises owners are more likely to hire contractors from service providers to save money. However, Contractors are not the employee of the Enterprises, due to different company culture or working habit, there are a lot of ethical problems would arise:
SLA.
A lot of service providers just provide on-site professional services. However, there is no detailed SLA or service level agreement. For example, the typical on-site service will charge clients per man day. A project should be finished in 100 Man Day.
But the service provider may charge the client 200 Man-Day or even more.
At the same time, the client may always adjust their project expectation so as to deny pay the service fee. One of my company’s service providers did a project which is not supported by the vendor, Oracle 11g. All these contradictions were caused by no clear SLA. both client and vendor, or service provider, may lose a lot of profits. Some clients want to terminate the SLA or the contract but have no appropriate execution, so the client will give a lot of difficult tasks to the contractors to finish, or refuse the contractor to use the Internet connection, which is very important to their jobs. Some client even asks the contractor to log what he did every minute, such as the following form :
Time Morning | What
9:00 to 9:15 | Job activity debrief
9:15 to 9:30 | Job activity debrief
9:30 to 9:45 | Job activity debrief
Just like a slave or labor.
Service Termination.
Service Termination is caused by the project finished, which is expected. Another is caused by a client's financial problem. If the contractor from the service provider has no other client, the contractor may lose his job. Big IT service providers such as TATA, HP or IBM, have a lot of projects, this kind of problem does not exist. Small businesses may be closed due to service Termination. To the side of the client,no need to pay a compensative salary to the contractor, it is not good, ethically. But transfer the cost to the service provider.
Security.
Every company has its security policy, such as access card, server account, database access. I remember many years ago, I went to a client’s server room to install the software. The client’s boss asked a staff member to open the door and let me in. Then he left. I found the door in the server room can not open inside. I refused to work and asked whether the client provides me a temporary visitor access card or a staff member accompanies me. It is very dangerous to be locked in the server room. Once on fire, all the doors will be locked and the automatic fire extinguishing device will release a kind of toxic gas.
Meanwhile, some contractors changed jobs whereas not returning the access card or the client did not lock the contractor’s account timely, which will lead to information security problems.
Internal cross-department.
IT professions also work with colleagues from other departments. Different business units have different KPI, the same project may have different expectations. Here are some decennia for cross-department
CASE 1. As a support engineer, my job is to install software for clients and provide a platinum service for clients for free. Another team from my company, the sales team, committed to the client that the platinum service will be handed over to the client. So the sales asked me to provide the password to the client for the platinum service. I denied the request. Very simply, I can not violate the company’s security policy.
CASE 2. The software we installed has a bug which leads to the server rebooting again and again. The sales consultant noticed the bug will be released next week from the internal website. The sales manager asked me to apply the patch for the client. How can I apply a patch which is not released? I also denied the request.
CASE 3: There is a project manager who will manage the project which may be involved with different teams or business units. Another IT engineer just finished the software installation. The PM asked me to take over his job and it is first priority. After talking to the department manager, I denied the PM’s request. The PM is not my boss.
To sum up, every IT professional should not violate the policy and let his direct boss coordinate with others in the project.
Change job to competitions.
Due to financial problems, an employee may experience no salary increase. He may change his job for a better salary. It is a very common thing to switch jobs to a competitor’s company for IT professions. For a freshman, just graduating from college without any experience, his buddy or senior staff or his boss may teach him a lot of things. The company may demand him a high expectation. Unfortunately, he changed his job and the new employer is the competition of the old employer, even though it is legal does not mean it is ethical. For example, if the employee masters the core technology, the old company may fail in the market.
Xiaolang Zhang who worked for Apple, was arrested by the FBI in 2019, when he was ready to board the flight to China, got the offer of Xiao Peng Car, Xiaolang had the key hardware and software of auto-piloting core technology.
To sum up, this kind of situation should find a solution from a legal perspective. Ethically we can not stop it.
References.
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Issues in Ethics: Competition in Professional Practice.
https://www.asha.org/practice/ethics/competition-in-professional-practice/
An ex-Apple employee has been charged with stealing autonomous vehicle secrets. (2018, July 10). Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/xiaolang-zhang-apple-autonomous-vehicle-secrets-2018-7?international=true&r=US&IR=T
Gardner, T. M., Stansbury, J., & Hart, D. (2010). The Ethics of Lateral Hiring. Business Ethics Quarterly, 20(3), 341–369. https://doi.org/10.5840/beq201020326
The Code affirms an obligation of computing professionals to use their skills for the benefit of society. (n.d.). Https://Www.Acm.Org/Code-of-Ethics. https://www.acm.org/code-of-ethics |
Correio Braziliense
The Correio Braziliense (in English, "Mail of Brasília", after the archaic demonym) is a daily newspaper in Brazil. The paper was first published on 21 April 1960. Its founder is Assis Chateaubriand. The paper has its headquarters in Brasília.
The name came from the historical "Correio Braziliense", published in London from 1808 to 1822 by Hipólito José da Costa, a Liberal Brazilian exile. First newspaper of Brasilia, born together with the new federal capital on April 21, 1960. The inaugural edition totaled 108 pages, most of them in the notebook commemorating the inauguration of the city.
In making the decision to build a city that would become the new capital of the Republic, displacing it from Rio de Janeiro, President Juscelino Kubitschek obtained from the owner of the Associated Diaries, Assis Chateaubriand, skeptical of the magnitude of the project, the promise that if the work was carried out at the scheduled time would have accompanied it, recording the birth, a newspaper of his chain. The new newspaper would in fact become the main printed diary of the Chain of Associated Diaries.
The circulation of Correio Braziliense, which in 1963 was 1,500 copies, reached 24,500 copies in 1969. In the 1980s, the increase in the capital's population was accompanied by an increase in the newspaper's circulation, which exceeded 30,000 daily copies. In 2008, the average daily circulation reached 53,000 copies, reaching an average of 92,000 copies on Sundays, according to the Circulation Verifiable Institute (IVC). The Braziliense Post thus consolidated its position as the main newspaper of Brasilia, became the largest circulation daily in the Midwest and became among the 20 daily newspapers of the largest circulation in Brazil.
The proposal to occupy the space in a market that was still nascent and that would expand over the years was accompanied by an identification between the newspaper and the city of Brasilia. Initially, issues related to the fixing of the new capital were highlighted in the pages of the Post. Later, topics such as preservation and changes in the city's urban project and issues related to the increase in population, such as housing problems and the city's traffic, would be highlighted. The weight of civil servants in the economy and politics of the capital was replicated by the emphasis attributed to matters related to functionalism, which made up an important segment of the newspaper's readers.
Throughout its history, Correio Braziliense has oscillated between maintaining the local character and seeking to be among the main brazilian daily newspapers. The relationship with the daily life of the city of Brasília and, especially after the 2009 reform, with the daily life of the other cities of the Federal District (which together have approximately twice the population of Brasília), is an important part of the newspaper's identity. At the same time, the fact that it was located in the capital of the country made it a prominent presence in federal public agencies and among parliamentarians. The proximity to the daily politics in the capital and to sources (techniques and policies) of the federal government made the political news differentiated from that of other Brazilian newspapers with local profile. In 1988, when the highlight among the news was going to work in the Constituent, the newspaper created its own news agency, the News Agency of the Associated Diaries (Anda). The agency had correspondents in several capitals of the country and its material circulated among the organs of the Associated Diaries.
Some of the notable episodes in the recent political trajectory of the Post, however, were related to conflicts or approximations with the local politics of the Federal District. The removal of journalist Ricardo Noblat from the position of editor in 2002 was linked to the polarization of district politics, especially during the 1990s, among former governors Joaquim Roriz, who was governor of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), and Cristovam Buarque, who ruled by the Workers' Party (PT).
The first major reform of Correio Braziliense took place in 1976 and was conducted by journalist Evandro de Oliveira Bastos, who took over the head of the newsroom in place of Ari Cunha. The reform of 1976 was motivated by the growth of Jornal de Brasília, Correio's main competitor in the capital. It was also from this moment that the division of tasks in the writing was accentuated, guided by a greater specialization of the subjects and a clearer delimitation among the editorials, following changes that occurred in Brazilian journalism. The 1980s would be marked by the change of direction of journalism, which would pass to journalist Ronaldo Junqueira (1982-1990). The position would later pass into the hands of journalists Luis Adolfo (1990-1993), Ricardo Noblat (1993-2002) and Josemar Gimenez, who took over the editorial board from 2002, accumulating this position in correio and minas state, a daily newspaper of Belo Horizonte that is also part of the chain of Associated Diaries. The death of Edilson Cid Varela, who has been director of the company since the 1960s, led journalist Paulo Cabral to the business direction of correio and printed new guidelines to the newspaper, with an accentuation of business concerns in the definition of journalistic routines. Paulo Cabral held the presidency of the Stock Condominium of Diários Associados for 22 years, until his death in 2009. The graphic and editorial reforms carried out since the 1990s, especially in 1996, yielded visibility to Correio Braziliense and the main award of the Society for News Design, the World's Best Designed Paper, in 1998. The 1996 reform introduced new notebooks, such as Sports, Vehicles, Informatics and Tourism, and modified the newspaper's visual identity. Since then, the Post has undergone three more reforms. The one in 2000, like the one in 1996, was made by Ricardo Noblat. The last two, from 2003 and 2009, were coordinated by Josemar Gimenez, who replaced Noblat in the writing direction. The 2009 reform presented a series of modifications, including the expansion of the Cidades notebook (which has been circulating in the newspaper since 1990) and the intention to reinforce the newspaper's information portal on the Internet, establishing a greater interactivity with readers, according to the current trend of the national and international print media.
The internet news and services page went on the air in 1996. Since then, it has undergone several reforms and name changes. Born as correiobraziliense.com.br, it became correioweb.com.br in 1997, and since then the two versions. Since April 2008, the first address has been presented as the newspaper's content portal.
Throughout its existence, Correio Braziliense has received several important awards from national and international journalism. By 2008, the newspaper had received 14 Esso journalism awards and 84 Awards from the Society for News Design, in addition to the Embratel, Ayrton Senna, Vladimir Herzog, Ethos and Amigo da Criança Journalist awards (from the Children's Rights News Agency, Andi), among others. |
Gleb Botkin
Gleb Yevgenyevich Botkin (; 29 July 1900 – 27 December 1969) was the son of Dr. Yevgeny Botkin, the Russian court physician who was murdered at Yekaterinburg by the Bolsheviks with Tsar Nicholas II and his family on 17 July 1918.
In later years, Botkin became a lifelong advocate of Anna Anderson, who claimed to be the surviving Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia. DNA results later proved that she was an impostor called Franziska Schanzkowska.
In 1938 he founded his own goddess-worshipping, monotheistic church, The Church of Aphrodite.
Early life.
Gleb was the youngest son of Russian physician Yevgeny Botkin and his wife, Olga Manuilova Botkina. Gleb was born 30 July 1900 in Ollila, Hyrynsalmi Municipality, Kainuu, Finland (at the time a ducal province of Russia).
His parents divorced in 1910, when Botkin was 10, due to his father's demanding position at court and his mother's affair with his German tutor, Friedrich Lichinger, whom she later married. Yevgeny Botkin retained custody of the children following the divorce. His older brother Dmitry was killed in action during World War I. According to Botkin's memoirs, he and his sister
Tatiana Botkina (Tatiana Evgenievna Botkina Melnik) played with the children of Nicholas II during holidays. He used to amuse the grand duchesses on holidays and when they were all in exile at Tobolsk with his stories and caricatures of pigs dressed in human clothing acting like stuffy dignitaries at court. Exiled along with the Romanoffs, Gleb and his sister hid in a basement after the royal family was executed along with the Botkins' father. After the then-secret execution of their father alongside the royal family, the young Botkins escaped and made their way to Japan. He took with him the illustrations and stories that he created in exile for the young Romanovs. The manuscript was donated to the Library of Congress in 1995, and published by Random House Value Publishing in 1996 as 'Lost Tales: Stories for the Tsar's Children".
Botkin was described by one historian as "articulate, sensitive, with pallid skin and soulful green eyes" and as "a talented artist, a wicked satirist, and a born crusader". His obituary in the "New York Times" called him "a tenacious champion [of Anna Anderson's] fight for recognition as Anastasia" and a "devoted monarchist".
Exile.
Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the murder of his father, Botkin fled Tobolsk as a teenager. He later spent a summer at a Russian Orthodox monastery in Siberia and briefly considered becoming a priest, but decided against the religious life. He married Nadezhda Mandrazhi-Konshina, widow of Ensign of the Dragoons regiment, nobleman Mikhail Nikolaevich Mandrazhi, who was the chevalier of the Order of Saint George and was killed in battle in June 1915 at Grodno in Belarus. Two months after his death, Nadezhda (sometimes anglicised Nadine) gave birth to a daughter, Kira Mikhailovna Mandrazhi (1915–2009). Nadezhda's father, nobleman Alexei Vladimirovich Konshin, was the president of the Russian Bank of State from 1910 to 1914 and the president of the Russian Industry and Commerce Bank from 1914 to 1917. Ultimately the Botkins had a daughter and three sons, as well.
The Botkins immigrated to the United States via Japan, arriving in San Francisco from Yokohama on 8 October 1922. Botkin worked as a photo engraver and attended art classes at the Pratt Institute in New York City. Later, he earned his living as a novelist and illustrator.
Association with Anna Anderson.
Botkin first visited Anna Anderson in May 1927 at Seeon Abbey, where Anderson was a guest. Anderson had asked Botkin to bring along "his funny animals". Botkin wrote later that he immediately recognized Anderson as Anastasia because she shared memories of their childhood play.
Historian Peter Kurth wrote that Botkin tended to overlook some of the more unattractive aspects of Anderson's personality, such as her stubbornness and rapid changes in mood, or to view them as manifestations of her royal heritage.
"She was, to Gleb's way of thinking, an almost magically noble tragic princess, and he saw it as his mission to restore her to her rightful position by any means necessary", wrote Kurth in "Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson".
Botkin penned letters in support of Anderson to various Romanov family members, wrote books about her and the Romanovs, including "The Woman Who Rose Again," "The Real Romanovs," and "Lost Tales: Stories for the Tsar's Children," and arranged for Anderson's financial support throughout his life. He was Anderson's friend even when other supporters abandoned her.
Religious views.
Botkin, following his father's murder, had considered becoming a priest, but he eventually turned away from the Russian Orthodox Church. Botkin eventually turned his interest in religion towards his own nature-based religion, which he started first in West Hempstead, New York and later in Charlottesville, Virginia. His church was called the Church of Aphrodite. Botkin was of the opinion that patriarchal society had caused many of the problems plaguing humankind. "Men!" he once said. "Just look at the mess we've made!"
His church drew from ancient pagan rituals and from some of the tenets of the Old Believers, a rebel branch of the Russian Orthodox Church who had separated after 1666 -1667 from the hierarchy of the church as a protest against liturgical reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon. Anderson never joined his church but did not object when Botkin finished his letters to her with this prayer: "May the Goddess bestow Her tender caress on Your Imperial Highness's head."
Botkin had argued his case before the New York State Supreme Court in 1938 and won the right to an official charter for the religion. The judge told him, "I guess it's better than worshipping Mary Baker Eddy." His wife, whom he doted on, converted to his church in later life.
Botkin held regular church services in front of a statue of Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess of love, and presided over them dressed in the regalia of an archbishop. The female symbol, a cross surmounted by a circle representing Aphrodite, was embroidered on his headdress. He later published a book, at his own expense, arguing that Aphrodite was the supreme deity and creation had been much like a woman giving birth to the universe. This symbol also was engraved on his gravestone at his death.
Botkin told a reporter for "The Cavalier Daily", the student newspaper at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, that his religion pre-dated Christianity. With Christianity, he said, "you have the dilemma of either following the straight and narrow path and going to Heaven or having fun on earth and going to Hell". On the other hand, he said that his "Aphrodisian religion" was based on "truth and reality. Anything true will survive. Life itself is the blossoming of love, and love is the basis of goodness and happiness". He thought his church would expand in coming years.
The student newspaper reporter commented on Botkin's "unorthodox" beliefs regarding sexual relations between men and women. Botkin believed that it was inappropriate for a man to react to his wife's affair with the rage that was expected by society: "A woman falls in love with another man. All that is necessary is to let her have her fling. After that she is often a better wife and mother. It is like a person who loves to play Bach and suddenly wants to play Beethoven." One historian commented that Botkin's church "was a curious faith, to be sure", but "the Church of Aphrodite was not nearly so wanton as it sounds".
The church did not continue long after Botkin's death from a heart attack in December 1969, but some of his followers went on to join neopagan movements with beliefs superficially similar to those of the Church of Aphrodite.
Death.
Rev. Gleb Botkin passed away at home from a heart attack in December 1969. He was buried alongside his wife Nadine in Monticello Memorial Park, Albemarle County, Virginia, on the outskirts of Charlottesville.
DNA used to identify father's remains.
Botkin and his wife had four children, daughter Marina and sons Nikita, Peter, and Yevgeny. He also had a stepdaughter, Kira, from Nadine's previous marriage. His daughter Marina Botkina Schweitzer's DNA was later used to help identify the remains of her grandfather, Yevgeny Botkin, after they were exhumed along with those of some of the Romanovs in 1991 from a mass grave discovered in Ganina Yama near Yekaterinburg. Schweitzer's DNA was compared against the DNA of her maternal half-sister Kira, who also gave a blood sample, to help scientists isolate the DNA Schweitzer shared in common with her grandfather. This enabled scientists to create a "Botkin DNA profile" and use it to positively identify Dr. Botkin. Scientists in the early 1990s were unable to identify Dr. Botkin using mitochondrial DNA, or DNA that is passed down from mother to child, as they used it to identify the Romanovs. Schweitzer was descended from Dr. Botkin in the paternal line and didn't share mitochondrial DNA with her father and grandfather.
Schweitzer later expressed scepticism about the DNA results proving that Anna Anderson could not have been the Grand Duchess Anastasia. |
C1orf68
Chromosome 1 open reading frame 68, or C1orf68, is a human gene which encodes for skin-specific protein 32. C1orf68 gene is expressed in the skin, is apart of the epidermal differentiation complex, and potentially plays a role in epidermal cornification, and epidermal barrier function.
Gene.
C1orf68 is mapped on the plus strand of chromosome 1 at 1q21.3, that spans 949 base pairs in the human genome. Other aliases include Late envelope protein 7 (LEP7), XP32, Skin-Specific Protein (Xp32). This gene has only 1 exon, and no introns. It is apart of the Epidermal differentiation complex (1q21).
Protein.
Skin-specific protein 32 has only one isoform, and has a sequence length of 250 amino acids. It has a molecular mass of 26 kDa, and a predicted pI value of 8.41. It was noted that the amino acid sequence contained high levels of cysteine relative to other human protein sequences.
Domains, repeats.
Skin-specific protein 32 has one domain, PRK10264, which is a DNA translocase FtsK. It also contains a cysteine rich region, which is shown to be conserved across most mammal orthologs, excluding Monotremes.
The protein sequence also contains a repeat sequence, the three continuous repeat sequences are located from amino acid position Gln65 to Cys127. The repeat sequences can be observed in the conceptual translation on the right. They are within the DNA translocase Ftsk domain and the cysteine rich region. The repeat sequences are conserved across mammal orthologs. The conservation of each individual amino acid can be observed in the LOGO below.
Gene level regulation.
Promoter.
One promoter was identified for C1orf68 using ElDorado Genomatics. This promoter, GXP_1818199, spans 1,040 bases and overlaps C1orf68 by 40 bases. Since C1orf68 does not contain a 5'-UTR, the promoter overlaps the start codon, which can be visualized in the diagram below.
Expression pattern.
C1orf68 is expressed in a select few tissues, specifically in the skin and in breast tissue. In humans, C1orf68 protein abundance is moderate. In terms of specific cell types within the skin, C1orf68 is expressed in suprabasal keratinocytes, which are a type of epithelial cell. It has also been noted that C1orf68 is moderately expressed in stratum corneum and granular layer of skin. This could be because the protein remains in the cell as it differentiates and matures.
Transcript level regulation.
C1orf68 does not contain a 5'-UTR, but does contain a 3'-UTR. The predicted secondary structure of C1orf68's 3'-UTR mRNA contains various stem loops. The stem loop containing PUM2 RNA protein binding site, which was shown in all of the predicted structures created by mFold.
Protein level regulation.
Subcellular Localization.
Skin-specific protein 32 is predicted to be localized in the cytoplasm. The protein has been shown to occupy the cytoplasm within skin cells, which can be observed in the immunofluorescence staining in Human Protein Atlas, Subcellular.
Evolution.
Paralogs.
There are no known paralogs of C1orf68.
Orthologs.
C1orf68 has a range of orthologs within mammals, and some amphibians, specifically shown in two Frog species. The ortholog sequence similarity percentages range from 96-23%. There are no orthologs in birds, fish, and reptiles but there was a few in amphibians. Additionally, within the Mammals, there was no orthologs in Cetacea (marine mammals). The most highly conserved amino acids across mammals and amphibians with available sequences are Pro61, Pro73, Pro126, Pro182, which are all proline amino acids.
The figure below shows more information about the evolutionary rate of C1orf68 throughout its orthologs. The rate of evolution of C1orf68 was observed to be fast when comparing to cytochrome c and fibrinogen alpha. This observation is determined since C1orf68 appears to evolve at a similar rate to fibrinogen alpha, which serves as a standard for rapidly evolving genes.
Interacting proteins.
Transcription factor binding sites.
Three different transcription factors for C1orf68 were predicted and obtained from MatInspector Genomatics.
GRHL2.
Grainyhead-like 2 has been shown to impair keratinocyte differentiation through transcriptional inhibition of the gene in the epidermal differentiation complex. Also showed enhanced protein and mRNA levels in chronic skin lesions, such as in psoriasis.
ZEB1.
Zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 has been shown to regulate corneal epithelial terminal phenotype.
GATA3.
GATA-binding factor 3 has been shown localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus of proliferating keratinocytes but only in the nucleus in differentiated keratinocytes. It has also been shown that GATA3 induces differentiation of primary keratinocytes, and suggested that it may regulate human interfollicular epidermal renewal.
Protein-protein interactions.
Other potential proteins that interact with C1orf68 are located in the table below. These proteins were selected from the results from prediction tools because of their participation in the epidermal cornified envelope, the location of their gene within the epidermal differentiation complex, and the localization to the cytoplasm.
Clinical significance.
Psoriasis.
C1orf68 is expressed differently when we look at samples of healthy skin, skin with psoriasis without lesions and skin with psoriasis with lesions. In one study, it was suggested that proteins with significant differences in expression in skin with psoriasis without lesions and skin with psoriasis with lesions, could contribute to maintaining the non-lesional state and may add to our understanding of lesion formation. |
Hamuchtar
Hamuchtar (Hebrew: המוכתר), Gilad Philip Ben-David, b. 1971, is a singer and cabaret artist who began his career in Tel Aviv in the late 1980s. He has also played various films most notably “Amazing Grace” by the late director Amos Guttman, as well as directing his own films and theatre plays. His musical style incorporates cabaret, mizrahi music, Yemenite music and electronica.
Chronology.
Music.
1988 „Charlie“ - self produced vinyl record (Israel)
1989 „Horrible Days“- with kozo-bass and drum (Israel)
1990-1992 „The Moon and the Parthenon“ - chansons
1991 „Soldiers and Hookers“ - electro Hispanic nights with original live show integrated dialogues performed by two actors.
1993 „Imperial“ - (Israel)
1994 Dance CD released by Head Artzi Record Co. after five successful singles
1995 „Good Night“ - co-producer Nutty (Dance) . Project was halted and recordings lost
1996 „Slave“ CD coproduced with Uri Frost (London)
1997 „Death in an Armchair“ (Amsterdam, London)
1999 „Imperial“ - live CD with Doron Burstein-piano
2000 „Cocktail“ - 17 all-time tracks (Israel)
2001 „Dirty little thing“ -with Doron Burstein (Berlin)
2001 „Above the lower “Urban gospels with Oly (London)
2002 „Allenby“ a CD diving into the darkest of Yemenite music with Reuven Natan (Israel)
2002 „Safari“ with Uri Frost
2003 „Berlin Nights“ -with Doron Burstein (Berlin)
2004 „The Successful Show“- musicshow premiere at „Spirit“ (New York)
2005 „Hausverbotsclub“ (Berlin)
2005 „Half a zebra half a man“ one man freak show
2006 „I am a woman“ CD
2007 „The way of all flesh“ CD
2008 „The Blintches House“ CD
2008 „Drum and Prophecy“
2008 „Social club metropolitan“ an online CD
2009 „I am a Woman. Ver. 2
2009 „Schlagerwurst“
2011 „YaffaDamari”
2015 „Electric Palm Tree show”- „Peach Moon Festival”, Tokyo. Penguin, Tel Aviv. „Musrara Mix Festival”, Jerusalem
2016 „The Model” CD
2018 „Cheap and Cheerful”
2019 „The Best of 1988-2018” CD
Film, Video, TV.
1988 ″The Spider“ - 40 min 8 mm film written and directed by Hamuchtar (Israel)
1991 ″Amazing Grace“ - nominated for Best Foreign Film the same year (Israel)at Cannes - directed by A. Gutmann, featuring Hamuchtar
1991 ″Astray“ - 40 min video film directed and played by Hamuchtar (Israel)
1991-1994 various TV appearances, in particular New Year’s Eve 1993 with the legendary Allenby Choir (Israel)
1994 ″Angel“ and ″Tears“ - music videos for these two pre-CD release singles, directed and produced by Hamuchtar (Israel)
1997 ″Vader Sport“ - director Femke for Dutch RTL TV featuring Hamuchtar (NL)
1998 ″Airport“ - directed by Gil Landberg for Israeli Television and taken to cinema the same year - supporting actor Hamuchtar (Israel)
1999 ″Jose“ - feature film directed by T. Genehar featuring Hamuchtar (Israel)
2000 ″Paradiso“ - 40 min ambient video, directed and acted by Hamuchtar (Israel)
2003 ″Entertaining little night display“ -2 hours film written and directed by Hamuchtar (D)
2005 ″Digger“ a half an hour film showing Hamuchtar digging his own grave ( Berlin)
2005 ″Imperial“ - music video directed by Hamuchtar (Israel)
2005 ″Bordeaux“ - music video directed & edited by Hamuchtar (Israel)
2007 ″Sports wear“and ″An Encore" - music video directed & edited by Hamuchtar (Berlin)
2007 ″The Moon and the Parthenon“ 1992 live show reedited and released on DVD (Berlin)
2009 ″Ra-ah“ a music video directed & edited by Hamuchtar
2009 ″Secret diaries of a lone voyeur“ 5 hours long ambient movie
2014 The Kindergarten Teacher, Israeli feature directed by Nadav Lapid; Hamuchtar acted the part of a poetry teacher (Israel)
Writing.
1991 „A Soldier and a Hooker“ - five short combative dialogues (Israel)
1993 „1,5“ and „Ice-cream“ - two short stories (Israel)
1994 „Happy Birthday“ - theatre monologue (Israel)
1996 „The Translated Mythology of the Truth“ - theatre monologue co-writer Maria Segura Thijssen (NL)
1997 „The Rising“ - adults puppet play (GB)
1998 „Black Octopus“ - theatre play for five actors (GB)
1999 „Inside a Woman’s Handbag“ - screen play transliterated by Annie Kelley (GB)
2001 „Last Coffee“ a theatre play (GB)
2003 „The cemetery“ a screen play (D)
2003/04 „Schwarzer Tintenfisch“ - filmscript for 8 actors, translated to German by Miri Kämpfer (D)
2006 „The fury of the Gutted Camel“ translated to German the same year by Manfred Niepel (D)
2007 „Good day for a pink Hat“ children book inc.illustrations translated to German by Cosima Lemke (D)
2009 „The 13th month “ a children book inc.illustrations
2019 „A Cluster of Snakes“, Hamuchtar's poetry anthology, editor: Idan Zivoni. Resling Publishing.
Opera, Theatre.
2013 - „Yvonne” - An opera (composer and director), starring Daniella Lugassi, produced by "Fringe Opera Center", Tel-Aviv. Premiered in Tel-aviv Central Bus Station's site.
2014 - „The Plastic Wood” - A theatre play for 5 actors(writer and director), Karov Theatre, Israel. Premiered in the "Citizen Here Festival".
2015 - „The Dyke” - Utopic Middle-Eastern opera (composer and director). Premiered in Cameri Theater, Tel Aviv.
2017 - „Null Stern Hotel” - With opera singer Niva Eshed (composer and director). Premiered in „Neu West Berlin”, Berlin, and in Einav Auditorium, Tel-Aviv, 2019. |
Random Hand
Random Hand is a British ska band, formed in Keighley in 2002. Their sound fuses influences from many genres, including ska, reggae, punk rock, metal, hip hop and dub. The band is typically associated with the punk subculture, due to its ethics and lyrical content. Their lyrical themes are mostly of a sociopolitical nature, however recent albums "Inhale/Exhale" and "Seething Is Believing", feature more personal lyrics and subject matter.
Biography.
Early career.
Formed in late 2002, the original lineup consisted of Joe Tilston (bass and vocals), Robin Leitch (vocals and trombone), Matt Crosher (guitar and vocals) and Joe Dimuantes (percussion and samples). Random Hand played their first show on 31 December 2002 in a friend's basement in Haworth, with other shows around the West Yorkshire, namely in Huddersfield, Leeds and Halifax.
In summer 2003, the band recorded a demo, which was given as a free release for download. In late 2004, the band spent time with producer TimG to record the "On The March" EP.The band set off on their first tour in January 2004 with Catch-it Kebabs and Zen Baseball Bat. This tour was soon followed by a self-booked UK tour in March to coincide with the release of their debut EP, "On The March". The band then performed at events like Morcambe's Wasted Festival and shows with The Planet Smashers, Adequate Seven, Sonic Boom Six, Bad Manners, The Beat, Skindred and Babar Luck. The latter teamed up with the band in the studio to record two tracks.
"Change Of Plan".
The band began to be represented by Hidden Talent Booking in 2006. This saw Random Hand playing shows on Adequate Seven's final tour, Lightyear's reunion tour and the "Three Way Dance" with Sonic Boom Six, Failsafe and Crazy Arm, before heading to the studio to record their debut album "Change of Plan". The record was released on Riot Music on 7 May 2007.
Following the release, the band toured with Voodoo Glow Skulls, Grown at Home, The JB Conspiracy and Left Alone, and played at the festivals City Invasion, Rebellion and Leeds Festival. Songs from the album received regular play on the "Mike Davies Show" and were played on the "Steve Lamacq Show", and the band recorded a session at Maida Vale Studios for the BBC Radio 1 "Punk Show" in late 2007. Their songs also appeared on several cover CDs for "Big Cheese Magazine". In September 2007 Random Hand signed to independent music publisher Bomber Music.
2008 started with the band's first headline tour of the UK, with 20 dates across the UK. The band then joined Voodoo Glow Skulls on their 2008 west coast United States tour. 2008 also saw performances at several festivals in the UK, in April at City Invasion in Bolton and London, and at the end of May as part of their tour with Sonic Boom Six and Big D and the Kids Table, and at Dunk Fest, Strummercamp and in August at Rebellion. The band appeared at the 2008 Reading and Leeds Festival on the Lock-Up stage.
"Inhale/Exhale".
In early September 2008, Random Hand announced the upcoming January 2009 release of their second album, "Inhale/Exhale" on Rebel Alliance Records.
The band again worked with "Change Of Plan"'s producer Peter Miles. Random Hand recorded the album in November 2008 and it was released in February. Touring with ska punk legends Reel Big Fish followed a 21 date January headline tour in support of the new album. Separate tours with Canadian punks Propagandhi and Manchester peers Sonic Boom Six took place in April and May 2009.
Visibility and awareness of the second album in comparison to Change Of Plan increased with more investment from the band and new label. A video was released for debut single 'Anger Management', which was released on CD and download in September 2009. Prior to the release, the band embarked on a 14 date UK headline tour with UK reggae band The Skints.
"Seething Is Believing".
In late 2009, the band started writing material for a third album. During January and February 2010 the band took part in the Rebel Alliance Tour with The Skints, Mouthwash & Chris Murray, with all the bands having releases on Rebel Alliance Recordings. During this tour, drummer and founding member Joe Dimuantes decided to leave the band.
The band took a few months out to practice with new drummer Sean Howe (formerly of The Wayriders and Out From Animals) and finish writing their third album. In the meantime, singer/trombonist Robin Leitch and bassist Joe Tilston played solo shows whilst the band took a break from touring.
To make up for the shows missed due to van problems Random Hand played a clutch of "pay what you want" shows to repay fans for cancelled shows.
In June 2010, the band self re-released their first album, "Change of Plan" via Bomber Music with added tracks from the "On The March" EP as "Another Change Of Plan" and in July the band will tour to promote the release. The cover was designed by Simon Mitchell, who has provided the artwork for t-shirts, posters, album and EP covers for many underground bands such as MikeTV.
On 12 December 2010, the band played a triple headline show along with The Creepshow and The Skints. The Hydropaths and ACiD DROP also performed as part of the Slam Dunk punk/ska all dayer at The Cockpit (Leeds).
The third album "Seething Is Believing" was released on Bomber Music in March 2011.
In April 2012, the band announced that founding member and guitarist Matthew Crosher had been told to leave the band, with Dan Walsh confirmed as his replacement.
"Hit Reset" and hiatus.
On 15 February, Random Hand announced on Facebook that they would be going on indefinite hiatus to allow them to spend time with their families. They ended this stage in their careers with a tour and PledgeMusic Campaign to release their final album "Hit Reset", which was made available to download for donators on 13 September 2015. They ended their live career in spectacular fashion with their sell out final gig at the Camden Underworld supported by friends in Faintest Idea, River Jumpers and Sonic Boom Six, the latter whom provided a lot of support to Random Hand in their early days.
In October 2017, after a two year break, Random Hand announced their return in 2018 with appearances at Mighty Sounds Festival in Prague and OutCider Festival and
Manchester Punk Festival in the UK.
"Hit Remix".
In late October 2021 Random Hand released a collaborative album with bands and artists such as Sonic Boom Six, Voodoo Glow Skulls and Call Me Malcom remixing their previous album "Hit Reset" featuring the "Hit Reset" album cover with the appearance of distortion. |
David Ehrenfeld
David Ehrenfeld is an American professor of biology at Rutgers University and is the author of over a dozen publications, including "The Arrogance of Humanism" (1978), "Becoming Good Ancestors: How We Balance Nature, Community, and Technology" (2009), and "Swimming Lessons: Keeping Afloat in the Age of Technology" (2002). He is often described as one of the forerunners of twentieth-century conservation biology. Ehrenfeld's work primarily deals with the inter-related topics of biodiversity, conservation, and sustainability. He is also the founding editor of "Conservation Biology", a peer-reviewed scientific journal that deals with conserving the biodiversity of Earth, and has written for various magazines and newspapers including "The New York Times", the "Los Angeles Times", and "Harper's Magazine".
Personal life.
Education.
Ehrenfeld attended Harvard University for both his undergraduate and medical school studies, where he received his MD in 1963. He later attended the University of Florida in 1967, where he earned a PhD in zoology. As a professor at Rutgers, Ehrenfeld teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses in ecology.
Adult life.
Ehrenfeld is the father of four children and the grandfather of seven grandchildren. His wife, Joan Ehrenfeld, worked as an ecology professor at Rutgers University alongside David for 35 years. Like her husband, she served the scientific community in a variety of ways. She participated in National Science Foundation panels, reviewed articles for scholarly journals, and was appointed as a member of the Science Advisory Board of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. AAAS fellow Joan Ehrenfeld, an expert on invasive species, wetlands ecology, and urban ecology, died at her home in Highland Park, New Jersey on June 25, 2011, after a year-long battle with acute leukemia.
Career.
Throughout his life, Ehrenfeld has written a number of books elaborating on the issues of social ecology and the ever-present dangers of technology. From 1970-1980, Ehrenfeld published "Biological Conservation", "Conserving Life on Earth", "The Arrogance of Humanism", and "The Chameleon Variant". Amid the years from 1980-2009, he published the likes of "Beginning Again: People and Nature in the New Millennium," "Swimming Lessons: Keeping Afloat in the Age of Technology," and "Becoming Good Ancestors: How We Balance Nature, Community, and Technology." The underlying themes in all of his literature are linked in some way or another and serve to portray Ehrenfeld's genuine concern for the progression of human society.
Early work.
"Conserving Life on Earth" (1972).
The central theme in this book revolves around the idea that biodiversity among species must be preserved in order to maintain a healthy balance in nature and society. Ehrenfeld offers many examples of how natural communities are jeopardized through the actions of humans. For instance, the actions of the United States Army Corps of engineers, which threatened ecosystems within the Oklawaha River valley in Florida, and the numerous problems associated with preserving Pacific Coast Redwood communities, are utilized as case-studies to elucidate the impact of human activity on the environment. The case-studies are complemented with several discussions of how modern landscapes are changing due to human activities such as agriculture, public construction, and pollution. With all of these implications in mind, Ehrenfeld explains why, as a result, extinction rates are higher than ever and that the "Sixth Great Extinction" is currently under way, which has created ecological animosity among local and global communities throughout the world. The ideas expressed by him in this book are similar to those exhibited by ecologists Barry Commoner and Jane Jacobs.
"The Arrogance of Humanism" (1978).
Ehrenfeld states that the arrogance exhibited by today's society is attributed to humans' over-dependence on technology to solve environmental and social problems. He concludes that the intelligence of humans can not simply solve everything and that until humans accept this fact, society will not truly progress. Ehrenfeld utilizes a pessimistic tone in the course of this book in regards to these "arrogant" assumptions made by modern society. He states that, "We must live in our century and wait, enduring somehow the unavoidable sadness ... nothing is free of the taint of our arrogance. We have defiled everything, much of it forever, even the farthest jungles of the Amazon and the air above the mountains, even the everlasting sea which gave us birth." Environmentalist David Orr accentuates the main points of this book when he states Ehrenfeld's belief that Americans lack the science of land health that Aldo Leopold described in the early twentieth century. This book is widely regarded as one of Ehrenfeld's most influential works.
"Beginning Again: People and Nature in the New Millennium" (1993).
Throughout this publication, a wide array of suggestions are offered to perpetuate a more sustainable life in the new millennium. Ehrenfeld urges people of society to embrace a more refined ecological awareness of advancing agricultural technology, carbon dioxide emissions, disappearing fauna, and global biodiversity. As described by philosopher Bryan Norton, "The lessons of "Beginning Again" are usually about the limits of general knowledge and the unlikelihood that expertise will solve the innumerable problems that arise within a society obsessed with information and centralized control." In sum, the underlying message of this story outlines the dangers present in relying on technical expertise to solve the social and environmental problems of today.
Later work.
"Swimming Lessons: Keeping Afloat in the Age of Technology" (2002).
Similar to the writing style of "Becoming Good Ancestors: How we Balance Nature, Community, and Technology," the author employs a number of narratives to establish the main themes present throughout this novel. For example, in his chapter entitled "Rejecting Gifts," Ehrenfeld discusses how the values of modern society are steadily deteriorating through the "rejection" of the perennial gifts that Earth offers to humans such as economically viable resources. Ehrenfeld insists that, "The life of contemporary civilization is like the fairy tale of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf in reverse. Having started with a house of brick, we have moved, with great fanfare, to a house of straw; it is hard to concoct a happy ending for such a story." All in all, the main objective of this book works to emphasize the relationship between technology and the environment while also outlining how corporate economics play an influential role in how the environment is shaped. University
"Becoming Good Ancestors: How we Balance Nature, Community, and Technology" (2009).
A volume pieced together with several anecdotes to portray the overshadowing effects of technology on modern ecological thought. Ehrenfeld goes on to delineate the limits of human capacity and how technology alone will not be able to solve the various environmental issues that society faces today. He draws upon specific examples of how technology will never replace natural energy sources like crude oil. The book as a whole focuses on the effects of modern society on nature and how negative patterns are reversible through the moral judgment and intelligence of humans to make changes that will positively impact the future.
Awards and honors.
In his tenure, Ehrenfeld has procured a number of teaching awards. He was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, was the recipient of the annual award of the Society for Conservation Biology in 1993, and was named the Barbara Munson Goff Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Teacher of the Year in 2011.
Reception.
Ehrenfeld is widely regarded as one of the most prominent conservation biologists in the world. With more than forty years of teaching experience under his belt at Rutgers, he has come into contact with hundreds of students and colleagues. As a result, Ehrenfeld is warmly received throughout campus for his rapport with students and faculty.
Many of his critics, such as sociologist Robert Bierstedt, argue that his literature contains a pessimistic connotation and that he speaks through sermons in his writings. These critics claim that Ehrenfeld's literature presents a bleak future and tends to focus more on the negative aspects of society towards the environment. Yet, others insist that his work represents optimistic viewpoints in that it depicts the capacity of humans to reverse the forewarned implications of humans' environmental actions.
Publications.
Apart from select book chapters, Ehrenfeld has written: |
Leverian collection
The Leverian collection was a natural history and ethnographic collection assembled by Ashton Lever. It was noted for the content it acquired from the voyages of Captain James Cook. For three decades it was displayed in London, being broken up by auction in 1806.
The first public location of the collection was the Holophusikon, also known as the Leverian Museum, at Leicester House, on Leicester Square, from 1775 to 1786. After it passed from Lever's ownership, it was displayed for nearly twenty years more at the purpose-built Blackfriars Rotunda just across the Thames, sometimes called Parkinson's Museum for its subsequent owner, James Parkinson (c. 1730-1813).
At Alkrington.
Lever collected fossils, shells, and animals (birds, insects, reptiles, fish, monkeys) for many years, accumulating a large collection at his home at Alkrington, near Manchester. He was swamped with visitors, whom he allowed to view his collection for free, so much so that he had to insist that visitors that arrived on foot would not be admitted. (In other words, only those who could afford a carriage or a riding horse were welcome.) He decided to exhibit the collection in London as a commercial venture, charging an entrance fee.
At Leicester House.
Lever acquired a lease of Leicester House in 1774, converting the principal rooms on the first floor into a single large gallery running the length of the house, and opened his museum in February 1775, with around 25,000 exhibits (a small fraction of his collection) valued at over £40,000. The display included many natural and ethnographic items gathered by Captain James Cook on his voyages. The museum took its name from its supposedly universal coverage of natural history, and was essentially a huge cabinet of curiosities.
Lever charged an entry fee of 5s. 3d., or two guineas for an annual ticket, and the museum had a degree of commercial success; the receipts in 1782 were £2,253. In an effort to draw in the crowds, Lever later reduced the entrance fee to half a crown (2s. 6d.) and was constantly looking for new exhibits. He also set out his exhibits to impress the visitor, as well as (unusually) including educational information. However, he spent more on new exhibits than he raised in entrance fees.
One admirer of the museum was Philip Bury Duncan as a boy: he went on to become keeper of the Ashmolean Museum. Among the objects displayed was the large Viking silver thistle brooch from the Penrith Hoard, discovered by a boy in Cumbria in 1785. In 1787, a print of it was published, claiming that it was the insignia of the Knights Templar. It was bought by the British Museum in 1909 (M&ME 1909,6-24,2).
Lottery for the collection.
The British Museum and Catherine II of Russia both refused to buy the collection, so Lever obtained an Act of Parliament in 1784 to sell the whole by lottery. He only sold 8,000 tickets at a guinea each - he had hoped to sell 36,000.
The collection was acquired by James Parkinson, a land agent and accountant. It continued to be displayed at Leicester House until Lever's death in 1788, at a reduced entrance fee of one shilling.
Move south of the Thames.
Parkinson transferred the Leverian collection to a purpose-built Rotunda building, at what would later be No. 3 Blackfriars Road. Leicester House itself was demolished in 1791.
A catalogue and guide was printed in 1790. Parkinson also had George Shaw write an illustrated scientific work; the artists involved included Philip Reinagle, Charles Reuben Ryley, William Skelton, Sarah Stone, and Sydenham Edwards. Some of John White's specimens were put on public display there for the first time. The museum also served as a resource and opportunity for women: Ellenor Fenn wrote "A Short History of Insects" (1796/7), for which the long title concludes as "a pocket companion to those who visit the Leverian Museum", and a similar volume on quadrupeds; the artist Sarah Stone continued to work for Parkinson, as she had done for Lever.
Parkinson had some success in getting naturalists to attend the museum, which was easier at the time to visit than the British Museum. A visitor in 1799, Heinrich Friedrich Link, was complimentary.
Disposal of the collection.
Parkinson also tried to sell the contents at various times. One attempt, a proposed purchase by the government, was wrecked by the adverse opinion of Sir Joseph Banks. In the end, for financial reasons, Parkinson sold the collection in lots by auction in 1806. Among the buyers were Edward Donovan, Edward Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby, and William Bullock; many items went to other museums, including the Imperial Museum of Vienna.
The contents of the museum are well recorded, from a catalogue of the museum created in 1784, and the sale catalogue in 1806, with a contemporary series of watercolours of its contents by Sarah Stone. There are also sale catalogue annotations allowing, for example, the counting of 37 lots bought by Alexander Macleay. The Royal College of Surgeons bought 79 lots, and notes by William Clift survive. Purchases from the sale founded the collection of Richard Cuming. In all 7,879 lots were sold over 65 days.
Surviving specimens and objects.
The specimens purchased by Edward Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby were bequeathed to the people of Liverpool upon his death in 1851 and were part of the founding collection of what is now World Museum, National Museums Liverpool.
Stanley bought approximately 117 mounted birds, representing some 96 species, at the auction in 1806. 82 specimens still survived in 1812, 74 in 1823, and at least 29 in 1850. Among the present collections of World Museum are 25 study skins (relaxed mounts) of 22 species recognized as having originated from the Leverian Sale. Nine are recognized as having been collected during the second voyage of James Cook and third voyage of James Cook.
A number of ethnographic objects survive in the collections of the British Museum. |
Bob Beatty
Robert "Bob" Beatty is the head football coach for the Trinity Shamrocks, a high school football team located at Trinity High School in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the most successful High School Football coach in Kentucky state history, having won 12 state championship titles, and 1 National Championship over the course of his forty-year long career.
In 2011, he was named by "USA Today" as the National High School Coach of the Year. Beatty was the East's head coach at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in 2012.
In 2013, he was named by "Athlon Sports" as the tenth most important High School Football Coach in the United States. On January 10, 2017, he was given the Key to the City of Louisville, Kentucky, by Mayor (and Trinity graduate) Greg Fischer.
Personal life.
Beatty was born on June 7, 1955, in Butler, Missouri. In 1974, he went to Missouri Southern State College, where he graduated in 1978 with a Bachelor's in Education. In 1980, Beatty married his wife Jayne. They have two grown up children, Jennifer and David.
Coaching career.
Clinton High School.
Beatty's Coaching Career began in 1978, when he took a job as an Assistant Coach at Clinton High School in Clinton, Missouri. He worked there for two years, then he moved to Liberty, Missouri. Beatty was also a teacher during that time.
William Jewell College.
In 1980, Beatty took a job as the Offensive Coordinator for William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. He worked at the job from 1981 to 1986. Beatty then left the college and moved to Blue Springs, Missouri. Beatty was also a teacher during that time.
Blue Springs High School.
In 1986, Beatty took a job as the Offensive Coordinator at Blue Springs High School, in Blue Springs, Missouri. He was there until 1997, when he was offered the position of head coach. He took the role and was their head coach until the year 2000, when he moved to Louisville, Kentucky. Beatty was also a teacher during that time.
Trinity High School.
Beatty came to Trinity High School in 2000 to be the head coach of the Trinity Shamrocks Football team. The very next year, Beatty led the team to victory over rival Male High School in the 2001 state championship. Beatty kept up his winning streak by winning the state championships in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2012. However, in 2013, the Shamrocks ended the season 6-6. Beatty took this as a sign that his team needed a complete makeover. He said: "It's been a long time since we ended a season with a loss. You find out whether you want to spit that taste out of your mouth or swallow it again."
Beatty chose to follow up these words with a plan. He fired all but one of his defensive coordinators, and hired Jay Cobb, a former head coach at Knott County Central, Somerset, and Campbellsville, as the new defensive coordinator. After the shakeup, Trinity went on to win the state championship the next year in 2014, as well as in 2016.
In addition to serving as the Head Football Coach, Beatty also works at Trinity as a teacher for freshmen at the school. He teaches a course that combines Physical Education, as well as Health education, which includes information on drugs, alcohol and tobacco, as well as anatomy and physiology.
State Championship Record.
Below is a list of Trinity High School's State Championship Wins during the tenure of Head Coach Bob Beatty.
Coaching Record at Trinity.
Below is a year-by-year breakdown of Beatty's coaching record at Trinity.
Coaching Method.
In late May 2013, a Trinity player approached Beatty and said, “I can’t wait for practice to start.” Beatty allegedly was startled by the comment. “You’re ready for me to scream and yell and cuss and spit?” he asked. “Sure,” the player said. “You’re not my friend. You’re my coach." According to Beatty, he had to smile, because that's the way he approaches his players. “I don’t have 17-year-old friends, I have 17-year-old champions."
According to Beatty, his team trains, practices, and plays for 11 months of the year. In 2013, he stated, "If you are going to be in this program, you have to punch the clock." In late April, when Beatty starts practices for the next season, Beatty allegedly tells his players "You better pray hard, because you belong to me now." He also stated in an interview that "We try to get more done in two hours than other teams do in two weeks. There are no superfluous meetings. It’s all about efficiency and winning."
Former Players.
Beatty has sent many of his former players to the NCAA D-I level. He coached quarterback Brian Brohm, who was featured on the cover of "Sports Illustrated" while he was a junior in high school at Trinity and who later played for the Louisville Cardinals, as well as with the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills. Beatty also coached former quarterback Nick Petrino, who is the son of Louisville Cardinals football coach Bobby Petrino. |
Jamie Anderson (snowboarder)
Jamie Louise Anderson (born September 13, 1990) is an American professional snowboarder. She won the gold medal in the inaugural Women's Slopestyle Event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia and repeated the feat at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, making her the first female snowboarder to win more than one Olympic gold medal. She has won gold medals in slopestyle at the Winter X Games in consecutive years in 2007/8 and 2012/3. She has 25 total medals: eighteen gold, five silver, and two bronze.
Personal life.
Anderson was born and raised in South Lake Tahoe, California, the fifth of eight children. She snowboarded for the first time at age nine and immediately fell in love with the sport. Anderson was homeschooled at Visions in Education, allowing her to spend almost every day on the mountains.
Anderson currently resides in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada with her fiance, Tyler Nicholson, a Canadian snowboarder. She met Nicholson at a bar at Whistler, and they've been together since 2015. She also owns The Dream Inn, a private residence suite that overlooks Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort and other private places in Tahoe and Colorado.
Aside from snowboarding, Anderson does yoga and meditation to keep her healthy for her upcoming competitions. She is also a member of the POW's Athlete Alliance & an ambassador for Protect Our Winters.
Career.
Anderson has built a reputation as one of the top slopestyle riders in the business. She has been one of the most successful female snowboarders on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour and took home the gold medal in the Olympic debut of women's snowboard slopestyle at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.
In addition to her many career wins, Anderson has been giving back to the snowboarding community through participation in the High Cascade Snowboard Camp. She hosted a Signature Session™ at High Cascade in 2009–2012 and was scheduled to host another Signature Session™ camp in 2014.
Anderson began snowboarding in 2000 when she received a hand-me-down snowboard at the age of nine and qualified for the 2004 Winter X Games just four years later. In 2005, she took home a bronze, becoming the youngest female medalist in the competition at age 15.
Through the Jamie Anderson Foundation established in 2013, she has provided more than 30 young winter sports athletes with equipment, clothing, season passes and financial backing for travel to the USASA national competitions.
2006–2007.
During the 2006–2007 season, Anderson won the TTR 6Star Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships slopestyle, and the Roxy Chicken Jam emporium in Kaprun, Austria, the quarterpipe event at the O'Neill Evolution in Davos, the Billabong slopestyle Jam and the Abominable Snow man.
2007–2008.
With impressive results at all major events on the TTR World Snowboard Tour in 2007–2008, among those victories at the Burton European Open slopestyle and the Roxy Chicken Jam US slopestyle, she took home the Women's Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour Champion title.
2008–2009.
Anderson started the season with the first half-pipe victory of her career with a win in both the slopestyle and halfpipe events of the 5-Star Burton New Zealand Open. After her successful start and after leading the rankings for over 40 weeks, Anderson finished the season in third place on the Swatch TTR Tour due to injury.
2009–2010.
Again, there was another promising kick-off for Anderson on the TTR World Tour with a win at the 5-Star Burton New Zealand Open slopestyle and the 3Star Billabong Bro Down in Australia. Anderson continued her season with good results from the Winter Dew Tour, finishing off the season in the lead of the Winter Dew Tour Cup Standings.
Anderson then returned to the TTR Tour and took home the Roxy Chicken Jam US slopestyle title and a podium finish at the Burton US Open slopestyle. She ended her season in world no. 5 on the Swatch TTR World Tour.
Anderson ended her season in the no. 1 spot on the Swatch TTR World Tour.
2013–2014.
Anderson won an Olympic gold medal, the first ever offered in slopestyle, at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
2017–2018.
Anderson won her second Olympic gold medal at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. She also won a silver in the big air event. This was the second time slopestyle had been offered in the Olympics, so Anderson has won both gold medals in slopestyle in Olympic history, making her the first female snowboarder to win more than one Olympic gold medal.
2019–2020.
Anderson won a bronze medal in the big air event at the 2019 Winter X Games Aspen. She also participated the 2019 FIS Snowboard World Championships where she won a bronze medal and denounced the FIS President Gian-Franco Kasper in response to an article from Deadspin, where Kasper "denied the existence of climate change and spoke disparagingly about immigrants and lauded the ease of working with dictators to organize Olympic Games." Her winnings in that event were donated to Protect Our Winters, and she urged her fellow competitors to do the same thing on her Instagram post. In 2020, she won a gold medal in the slopestyle event at the 2020 Burton US Open and at the 2020 Winter X Games Aspen, where she became the most-medaled female competitor in the history of X Games.
Television appearances.
In 2015, Anderson competed on the seventh season of "The Celebrity Apprentice" for her charity, Protect Our Winters. She was fired in the fourth episode.
In April 2018, Anderson was announced as one of the celebrities who will compete on season 26 of "Dancing with the Stars". She was partnered with professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev. She was eliminated on the first episode, and she finished in 9th place. |
Tocomar
Tocomar is a Pleistocene volcano in the Jujuy Province, Argentina. It is part of the Andean Volcanic Belt, more specifically to its sub-belt the Central Volcanic Zone. The Central Volcanic Zone consists of about 44 active volcanoes and large calderas of the Altiplano-Puna volcanic complex. Volcanism there is caused by the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South America Plate in the Peru-Chile Trench. At Tocomar, volcanism is further influenced by a large fault zone, the Calama-Olacapato-El Toro fault, which runs diagonally across the volcanic arc.
Tocomar has generated several pyroclastic flows during the Pleistocene as well as phreatic-phreatomagmatic activity, and a magma chamber may still exist beneath the volcano. Hot springs are found at the volcanic centre and have been prospected for the generation of geothermal power; the water discharged by the springs eventually forms the Tocomar river. Wetlands are found in the area. Other than this, Tocomar was used as a source of obsidian in antiquity and more recently as a candidate site for a gamma ray observatory and as a mine.
Geography and geomorphology.
Tocomar lies in northwestern Argentina, away from the town of San Antonio de los Cobres in the Jujuy Province and in proximity to the border with the Salta Province farther south. The area is part of the Puna, a high plateau of the Andes which formed starting in the Eocene and whose margins are formed by the Eastern Cordillera and the volcanic Western Cordillera. The Salta-Antofagasta railway and pass close to the volcanic field.
Tocomar is located at elevation within a northwestward draining valley. In this valley, pyroclastic flow and pyroclastic surge deposits crop out on the valley floor and parts of its slopes. In the northwestern and southeastern segments of the field, two vents can be recognized and are associated with springs. An obsidian lava dome marks one of the vents; aside from vents and dome the pyroclastic deposit forms most of this volcano.
Hot springs are found at Tocomar and their activity has generated travertine deposits on the field, including at Baños de Tocomar where silica and sulfur accumulations can be found. The temperature of the water is about and the waters are salty. Pits interpreted as having formed during hydrothermal explosions are also found. The springs are mostly found where the terrain has been incised by valleys. Electrical resistivity has been used to infer the structure of the geothermal reservoir beneath Tocomar, which is mostly located within an Ordovician basement; the temperatures of the reservoir have been estimated to be at depth. The water appears to be precipitation water that infiltrates terrain south of Tocomar, at elevations of . After being heated by the deep geothermal system, the water seems to interact with another shallower aquifer before emerging in the springs.
Tocomar has been investigated for the potential to generate geothermal power. Exploration of the Tocomar-Cerro Tuzgle area ceased after a few wells were drilled and ended up being unproductive but has been reinitiated.
Geology.
Background.
Tocomar is part of the Andean Volcanic Belt's Central Volcanic Zone, which runs along the western margin of South America and lies in the countries of Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. The Central Volcanic Zone features about 44 active volcanoes as well as several large ignimbrite caldera systems; some of these are part of the Altiplano-Puna volcanic complex. About 200 of all volcanoes in the Andes have been active during the Holocene, 66 of these in historical times. The date of the last eruption of Tocomar is not known with certainty but was in the Pleistocene.
Aside from the regular volcanic arc, volcanoes aligned along west-northwest to east-southeast lineaments are also part of the Central Volcanic Zone.
Local.
At Tocomar, the Calama-Olacapato-El Toro fault is subdivided into two subsidiary faults called Incachule and Chorrillos, which in turn are connected by a number of normal faults that give the whole are a complex faulting scheme. These normal faults are associated with the Tocomar vents, and deformation of the eruption deposits indicates that some of the faults were active just as eruptions occurred; it is likely that eruptions were triggered by movement along these faults. These faults also control where geothermal spring activity occurs, but whether the faults themselves were active in the Quaternary is unclear; microseismic activity is still ongoing.
The Tocomar volcano was constructed atop the ignimbrites from the Aguas Calientes caldera, as well as Pleistocene sediments which display traces of earthquake activity and form an alluvial cone. The area is a former basin now filled with volcanic and sedimentary rocks. The oldest outcropping basement in the region is the Precambrian Puncoviscana Formation east of Tocomar, in the San Antonio de los Cobres ridge. Other volcanoes in the region are Cerro Tuzgle and two maars due north, Negro de Chorrillos and San Jéronimo due east and the Aguas Calientes caldera due south; the last two are located fairly close to Tocomar. These volcanoes were active roughly in reverse order, with Aguas Calientes active between 11-10 million years ago, while the other centers are of Quaternary age.
Composition.
The Tocomar centre has erupted rhyolitic ignimbrites, which belong to the potassium-rich peraluminous calc-alkaline magmatic series. It does not contain many crystals, which are formed by biotite, plagioclase and quartz.
Climate, hydrology and vegetation.
The region is sunny, dry, windy, cold and has a high difference between daytime and nighttime temperature. Average precipitation is less than mostly during summer; consequently Tocomar has an arid climate. The region was warmer and even drier in the past during the early Holocene, but Tocomar was paradoxically wetter.
Springs give source to several permanent rivers in the region, which flow in deep valleys. Among these rivers is the , which after originating in a wetland receives the water from the Tocomar geothermal field and eventually ends in the .
Much of the area around Tocomar has no vegetation. Of the plants that grow in the region, vegetation in the Puna occurs in the form of grass and shrub steppe. Because of the dry climate, wetlands are highly important for the regional biota and feature a characteristic biota. They have a different flora; 25 species have been identified in the Tocomar wetland. Green algae form mats close to the warm springs, which are also colonized by blue-green algae.
Among the animals of the area are camelids such as the guanaco and the vicuña, rodents like the chinchilla and viscacha, the cervid taruca, 20 species of birds including the iconic flamingos and the Andean toad "Rhinella spinulosa", which lives in high altitude wetlands. Other animals found in the wetlands are amphipods such as "Hyalella" and leeches, among other aquatic macroinvertebrates. During the mid-Holocene dry period the wetlands of Tocomar may further have offered a refuge for local humans.
Eruptive history.
Between 1,150,000 ± 300,000 and 550,000 ± 100,000, the "Tocomar ignimbrite" was emplaced in the area. It consists of several different units of pyroclastic material, which cover a surface of about . It is likely that geothermal activity was occurring at Tocomar prior to the emplacement of these ignimbrites; geothermally altered material was ejected during the eruptions.
The eruption process has been reconstructed with the aid of the volcanic deposits. A first eruptive episode was phreatomagmatic and generated a low eruption column which in turn gave rise to pyroclastic flows and pyroclastic surges, which were heavily influenced by the topography as they propagated and then came to rest, giving rise to several geological units which are each thick. These units include a lithic unit formed by pre-existent country rock which overlies other units and is sometimes embedded into them as lens-like forms, and a pumice fall deposit that has undergone hydrothermal alteration and fluvial erosion in part. At least three lapilli tuff units are present, the thickest of which has a massive structure and reaches a thickness of . An obsidian containing facies is found inside of one vent of the volcano. In addition to these three primary lapilli tuff units, a secondary unit is exposed in some parts of the volcano and was emplaced during a later stage of volcanic activity. The secondary unit is about thick and consists of blocks embedded within a matrix formed by lapilli. This second eruption was phreatic and took place a while after the first one; it was probably caused by the interaction of rhyolitic magma with the old geothermal system, and triggered by movement along the local faults.
Gravimetric anomalies, the presence of magmatic water in the springs and their high temperatures of about indicate that a magma chamber still exists beneath Tocomar.
Human use.
Indigenous people of the region obtained obsidian at Tocomar and other sites of the region. Tocomar itself was not a major obsidian source however; other sites in the region were far more important.
In modern times, Tocomar has been investigated as a candidate site for a gamma ray observatory in Argentina. The existence of a kaolin mine in the area was reported in 1993. |
Cuisine of Houston
In 1998, "USA Today" referred to Houston, Texas as "the dining-out capital of [the United States ]." Houstonians ate out at restaurants more often than residents of other American cities, and Houston restaurants have the second lowest average prices of restaurants of major cities. Tory Gattis, who published op-eds in the "Houston Chronicle", said in 2005 that Houston has "a great restaurant scene." Gattis said that one factor contributing to the status is Houston's ethnic diversity, related to Houston's role as a major city of the energy industry, Houston's role as a port city, and Houston's proximity to Latin America and the Cajun areas of adjacent Louisiana. Gattis cited Houston's lack of zoning, which makes it easy for a business owner to start a restaurant as land is less expensive and there are fewer regulations and permitting rules. Gattis also cited Houston's freeway network, which, according to Gattis, puts restaurants within a 15-20 minute drive within the residences of most Houstonians during non-rush hour times. Gattis explained that the size of Greater Houston's population allows the city to support niche ethnic restaurants and provides a large customer base for area restaurants. Also he stated that the competition in Houston's restaurant industry forces restaurants of lower quality to go out of business, leaving high quality restaurants open. The journalist explained that Houston's relatively low cost of living reduces labor costs for restaurants and allows its residents more leftover income that could be spent at restaurants. Jobs in Houston have relatively high salaries, Gattis explains that the wages help support Houston's restaurant market.
As of 2010 many food truck vendors are frequently forced to close by city regulations, and Katharine Shilcutt of the "Houston Press" stated that food truck vendors have difficulties obtaining licenses. A nonprofit organization called "Save Our Food Trucks" started to assist food truck vendors in navigating the municipal bureaucracy.
By 2019 food halls became prominent in Houston, though Greg Morago of the "Houston Chronicle" stated that year that this was not the first time the concept existed in the city.
In 2022 the oldest still operating restaurant in Houston was Christie's Seafood and Steaks, established by an ethnic Greek man who originated from Istanbul.
Ethnic enclaves reflecting national cuisines.
Ethnic enclaves in Greater Houston outside the city limits
Tex-Mex cuisine.
Tex-Mex cuisine is very popular in Houston. Many Mexican cuisine restaurants in Houston have aspects that originate from Texas culture. In his book "", Arnoldo De León said that the recent immigrants from Mexico to Houston add foods that are popular with immigrants to menus of Mexican restaurants in Houston. Robb Walsh of the "Houston Press" said "You might say that the immigrant flow is what keeps the "Mex" in Tex-Mex." In Houston, as in other places in Texas, the existing Chicano community influences the cooking methods used by recent immigrants.
Louisiana Creole cuisine.
The Louisiana Creole people who settled Houston around the 1920s brought their cuisine with them and often sold the food. The cuisine style spread in Houston in the post-World War II era. Because of the post-World War II increase, various chains in the Houston area sell Creole food, including Frenchy's Chicken, Pappadeaux, and Popeyes. Creole food items include boudin, black rice and shrimp creole, crawfish, gumbo, and jambalaya. Bernadette Pruitt, author of "The Other Great Migration: The Movement of Rural African Americans to Houston, 1900-1941", wrote that Creole cooking became "an important cultural bridge" in the city and in its African-American community, and that "As cooks, Creole housewives transformed Houston's typical southern cuisine."
Vietnamese cuisine and Vietnamese-operated restaurants.
The presence of Vietnamese immigrants lead to the development of Vietnamese restaurants throughout Houston. Some establishments from Vietnamese restaurateurs offer Vietnamese-style crawfish, a mixture of Louisiana cuisine and Vietnamese cuisine.
Houston has many "you buy, we fry" seafood restaurants. Most of the "you buy, we fry" restaurants in Houston are operated by Vietnamese immigrants and Vietnamese Americans. Carl Bankston, an associate professor of Asian studies and sociology at Tulane University, said in 2004 that ethnic Vietnamese are disproportionately employed in fishing, seafood processing, and shrimping in the Gulf Coast area. Around 1974 Vietnamese immigrants began coming to the Gulf Coast to work in the shrimping industry, therefore many ethnic Vietnamese worked for related industries in Texas. African Americans tend to be the main clientele of Houston's "you buy, we fry" fish restaurants. As of 2004 the Third Ward, an African American neighborhood, has the city's highest concentration of "you buy, we fry" restaurants.
Barbecue.
According to J. C. Reid of the "Houston Chronicle", the area within Beltway 8 had over 100 barbecue establishments. The first new-style "craft barbecue" restaurants of the 2010s were established in the 610 Loop in 2011, and much of the subsequent expansion came to areas north and south of that. Reid stated in 2018 that expansion of barbecue establishments into Greater Katy came recently. That year he stated "northwest Houston has a legitimate claim to being the most active neighborhood for barbecue." In 2016 Reid stated that distances between barbecue establishments in Houston are greater, due to urban sprawl, compared to such establishments in Austin, and therefore it is easier for news media organizations to give coverage to Austin barbecue than Houston barbecue. He added that restaurants in Houston face less competition than Austin ones due to the distances between one another.
Beef brisket was available commercially beginning in the 1900s, declined due to wartime rationing in World War I, and by the 1960s became a regular menu item.
Po-Boy.
Houston has its own variety of the Po-Boy, with chowchow added to ham, salami and provolone cheese, traditionally served cold. The sandwich is currently known as the "Original Po' Boy" and was previously the "regular". There is also a version with added meats and cheeses called the "Super". Stephen Paulsen of the "Houston Chronicle" stated that the "Original" variety is "in the city's food DNA, the Shipley Do-Nuts of sandwiches."
It was developed by Lebanese American Jalal Antone, owner of Antone's Import Company in the Fourth Ward, in 1962 after his brother-in-law stated that area residents at the time would not be accustomed to Levantine cuisine, and therefore the business needed to be openly focused around more familiar cuisine. John Lomax of "Houstonia" described the 1970s and 1980s as the height of their popularity and that the growth of chain sandwich shops that operated across the United States, the introduction of banh mi, and the poor quality of third party sandwiches in gas stations resulted in a decrease in popularity for the variety. Lomax in particular stated that the storage of the sandwiches at grocery stores ruined the flavor due to the delicate properties of the chowchow and mayonnaise. In 2002, 40% of the sandwiches sold at Antone's were the "Original" variety.
Middle Eastern cuisines.
multiple Houston-area restaurants selling Levantine cuisine also served sandwiches. This trend started with Jalal Antone, who in the 1960s/1970s advised Levantine businesspeople that American people at the time would consider Levantine cuisine to be too foreign, so it would make more business sense to open a sandwich shop that also sells Levantine dishes on its menu.
Chinese American cuisine.
the longest-operating Chinese American restaurant in the city is China Garden () in Downtown Houston.
Vegan.
By 2020 Houston had a group of vegan restaurants. According to Emma Balter of the "Houston Chronicle" most of the vegan restaurants she chronicled, in a list that was "comprehensive, yet not exhaustive", were owned by African-Americans, and races other than non-Hispanic white owned an "overwhelming majority". |
Norwegian Current
The Norwegian Current (also known as the Norway Coastal Current) is one of two dominant arctic inflows of water. It can be traced from near Shetland, north of Scotland, otherwise from the eastern North Sea at depths of up to 100 metres. It finally passes the Opening into the Barents Sea, a large outcrop of the Arctic Ocean. Compared to its partial source the North Atlantic Current (which otherwise loops into the East Greenland Current) it is colder and less salty; the other sources are the less saline North and Baltic seas and the Norwegian fjords and rivers. It is considerably warmer and saltier than the Arctic Ocean, which is freshened by precipitation and ice in and around it. Winter temperatures in the flow are typically between 2 and 5 °C — the co-parent North Atlantic flow, a heat remnant of its Gulf Stream chief contributor, exceeds 6 °C.
Norwegian coastal waters are dominated by two main water masses, the Norwegian Coastal Current and the North Atlantic Drift Water (Atlantic Water). As the Norwegian Coastal Current moves northward, North Atlantic Drift Water is mixed in, raising the salinity (see Salinity below).
The current is both wind-driven, “piling up” of water along the Norwegian coast by southwesterly winds (creating elevation and thus pressure differences), and also driven by its salinity distribution which in turn creates density gradients.
Sources.
It is composed primarily of outflow from the Baltic Sea (50% of its freshwater input) through the Skagerrak into the North Sea (10% of its freshwater input) circulation, joining with a fraction of the North Atlantic Drift (the western turn of the northward Gulf Stream). The current is seasonally affected but on average has inputs of fjords and rivers of Norway being 40% of its freshwater input. North-west of the Skagerrak (Baltic's access) the current has about 2100 m3/s of freshwater, 75% of which is Baltic outflow, 15% North Sea outflow and 10% runoff from Norway and Sweden It is thus seen from a saline osmotic pressure viewpoint as a continuation of the Baltic Current and means relatively less salty ocean water than would intuitively be expected counterbalances the naturally non-saline precipitation and ice melt topping up the Arctic (and outcrop Barents) Seas. The current uses the Norwegian Trench picking up fresh and brackish water. It is a surface current – it flows along the top 50–100 metres.
As the current moves North north-east, saltier North Atlantic Drift Water joins (see Salinity below).
Properties.
Salinity.
The Norwegian Coastal Current is a wedge-shaped current that has varying salinity and temperature characteristics, and thus densities. The volume of freshwater inputs is greatest in the summer months and smaller during the winter months, contributing to the variability in salinity. On average, it has a salinity of about 34.5 psu (ppt); the near coastal waters have a slightly lower salinity (32-31 psu), the current's boundary to the North Atlantic Drift is marked by a slightly higher salinity, 35 ppt.
Temperature.
The average winter temperature of the Norwegian Coastal Current is about 3.5 °C and ranges from 2 to 5 °C, while in summer the temperature of the current is warmer as the tributary sources (Baltic sea, Norwegian fjords, rivers) are warmed up.
Velocity.
Although there is much variability in the current's velocities, ranging from as little as 20 cm/s to 100 cm/s at its maximum it is characterized by a velocity of 30 cm/s.
Effects on climate.
A mechanism of exchange of energy between the atmosphere and the surface waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Norwegian Coastal Current, is very important to the climate of Norway.
In the winter time, there is a release of heat from the ocean to the overlying air masses. These air masses generally flow in the direction of north-east, thereby warming the adjacent land masses (Norway); especially the coastal regions.
In the summer, the effect is actually reversed. Warm air masses (heated by the Sun on long days) above the Atlantic Ocean will transfer heat to the underlying cooler ocean. This results in cooler air masses reaching the Scandinavian Peninsula, thereby cooling it down in the summer months, especially the coastal regions.
Hence, the Atlantic Ocean and the nearby coastal waters have a moderating effect on the extremes of temperature in Norway, making (especially the coastal regions) warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. The same effect is very pronounced at Iceland.
To a slight extent, the Norwegian Coastal Current is conveying warmer water into the Barents Sea, decreasing the amount of ice that will form there. In this perspective, the effect of the North Atlantic Drift is much larger.
Fisheries effects.
The current brings nutrient rich water along the coast of Norway, and with it rich fisheries of cod, herring, and capelin. Wind driven upwelling along the Strait of Skagerrak brings abundant nutrients to the surface which are then carried along the coastline. Norway has one of the biggest fishing industries in the world, harvesting an average of 3 million metric tons of fish each year. The Norwegian coast is also an important spawning ground for many of the commercial fishes.
Global climate change.
The 1990s were an exceptional decade for interannual climate variations in Norway.
The temperatures were, on average, warmer, producing wet, warm winters and hot summers in Norway. This has led to increased precipitation extremes, and changes in fish stocks.
Increased atmospheric temperatures due to global climate change cause strong south westerly winds to pile water up along the Norwegian coast. The pressure difference creates storm surges that have increased coastal flooding in recent years.
Temperatures have also been rising in the deep layers of Norwegian coastal waters.
Increasing temperatures cause a decrease in sea ice that is supplying the Norwegian Sea with greater amounts of freshwater and lowering the salinities overall.
This decrease in salinity could cause changes in the rate at which (Arctic) bottom water form (through the process of sea ice formation and the sinking of the highly saline by-product excluded when sea ice forms). If the rate of the formation of (Arctic) bottom water is slowed, then the entire inward flow of the North Atlantic Drift to the Arctic Ocean may be slowed down.
Additionally, increased warming of the North Atlantic Drift is a much larger contributor to the inhibition of formation of sea ice in the Arctic, than the contribution from the Norwegian Coastal Current. Hence, the impact of the Norwegian Coastal Current on climate change is relatively small. |
Workers Communist League of New Zealand
The Workers Communist League of New Zealand (abbreviated WCL) was a political party in New Zealand. During the 1980s the WCL was the second-largest Marxist organisation in the country (after the pro-Moscow Socialist Unity Party of New Zealand). Whilst relatively small, the organisation played a key role in various social movements. The organisation was noted for its role in the protest movements against tours of the South African rugby union team "Springboks". The group was active in the trade union movement, in particular in Wellington. During the 1980s WCL diverged from Leninist orthodoxy and embraced feminism and Maori self-determination.
1970 split.
The WCL traced its roots to a 1970 split in the Communist Party of New Zealand (CPNZ). A faction had emerged in Wellington, that saw the CPNZ as being under the control of a 'bureaucratic, devious and drunken party leadership clique'. In 1970 CPNZ expelled its Wellington District organisation. The expelled faction, referred to by the CPNZ as the 'Manson-Bailey gang' after its leaders "Xinhua" correspondent Rona Bailey and watersider Jack Manson), began building a rival organization to the CPNZ. The Manson-Bailey group continued to refer to itself as the Wellington District Committee of the CPNZ for some time. It gained supporters in other parts of the country, such as Auckland. But the group hesistated to announced themselves as a new political party, hoping to gain a majority of CPNZ membership on their side and obtaining the support from the Communist Party of China. The group organized activities at campuses of Victoria University, against Apartheid and the Vietnam War and in favour of Maori land rights. Ron Smith was among the cadres of the Wellington group that would become the WCL. The group was active in the New Zealand China Friendship Society, organizing student delegations to visit China. The independent leftist monthly "The Paper", published 1973–1975, was seen as close to the group.
Working Women's Alliance.
The group led the formation of the Working Women's Alliance (WWA) in 1974, seeking to unite female workers and housewives into a platform of socialist feminism. The WWA set up branches in Wellington, Dunedin, Hamilton, Palmerston North and New Plymouth. By 1978 WWA had become largely defunct.
Wellington Marxist-Leninist Organisation.
In 1976 the group took the name Wellington Marxist–Leninist Organisation. The group would be nick-named 'MILO'. MILO began publishing "Unity" in 1978.
Formation of WCL.
In 1980 MILO merged with the Waikato-based Northern Communist Organisation and different campus-based groupings, forming the WCL. Whilst the CPNZ turned towards the Party of Labour of Albania in the Sino-Albanian split, the WCL remained aligned with the Communist Party of China. WCL upheld Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought, seeking to 'unite democratic forces under working-class leadership to "oppose fascism, imperialism and reaction in New Zealand" with "mass struggle to defend living standards, democratic rights and oppose superpower contention".' The party was established on the foundation of democratic centralism.
WCL functioned as an underground party. The membership was largely academics and students. The group also had a some presence among unemployed and industrial workers, in particular around Wellington.
1981 anti-tour protest movement.
Opposition to rugby union exchanges with apartheid South Africa had organized in New Zealand since the 1960s, with the emergence of the Halt All Racist Tours movement. The WCL played a prominent role in the 1981 South Africa rugby union tour protests in Wellington, with a more "disciplined" approach compared to the chaotic protests in Auckland. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Robert Muldoon publicly attacked "members of subversive organisations" within the anti-tour movement, including many "known" and "probable" members of the WCL, with his controversial publication of a report prepared by the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (SIS). According to activist Don Carson, who later successfully sued for libel, Muldoon was "trying to drive a wedge between what the SIS described as the radicals and subversives, and the mainstream decent protesters."
Tripod theory.
In the aftermath of the anti-tour protests, tensions arose between WCL cadres (who had key roles in the Halt All Racist Tours movement) and Maori radicals who wished to steer the energy of the anti-tour movement to local anti-racist and land rights causes (a proposition the WCL leadership rejected). The increasingly public debates between WCL and Maori activists brought Maori radical discourse to a wider audience, with Donna Awatere Huata articulating the views of the Maori movement in articles and literature. The post-1981 tour protest debates influenced Sue Bradford and other WCL members came to become increasingly oriented towards women's and Maori struggles. During 1982–1983 WCL revised its political model, and by 1984 the organisation came to reject the Leninist ideal of a proletarian vanguard party in favour of seeking to build a coalition of diverse forces struggling against capitalism, patriarchy and colonialism. WCL came to adopt the 'tripod theory' of oppression, which argued that race, gender and class as interlocking pillars of societal oppression. Under the new line WCL placed struggles for women's liberation and Maori self-determination at par in importance with the class struggle.
Rights Centre and labour movement.
In 1983 the Auckland Unemployed Workers' Rights Centre was founded, at an assembly of unemployed workers, Auckland University students, WCL members, community workers, Auckland Trades Council representatives and PEP workers. Majority of the Rights Centre founders came from WCL, such as Sue Bradford, Bill Bradford, Zoe Truell and Brian Avison. The Rights Centre rivalled the Auckland Trades Council-sponsored Auckland Unemployed Workers Union, which was led by the SUP. There was notable tensions between the SUP and WCL within the unemployed workers' movement. When the "Te Roopu Rawakore o Aotearoa" movement for unemployed workers was launched in 1985, the WCL and the Rights Centre played a key role in it. In 1987 WCL supported Therese O'Connell as a candidate for vice president of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, running against Angela Foulkes.
Later period.
As of the mid-1980s, WCL was estimated to have had around 120 members and a larger network of sympathizers. During the 1985 protests against the planned All Blacks tour in South Africa, WCL reportedly controlled the demonstration's marshals' committee of the Citizens Opposed to the Springbok Tour, thus effectively controlling the protest movement in Wellington. In the preparations for protests against the 1985 All Blacks tour in South Africa, WCL sought to combat sexism throughout the protest movement.
WCL remain active in anti-Apartheid movements and organised solidarity campaigns for Central America. WCL maintained links with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
In its latter period WCL was led by Graeme Clarke. By the late 1980s WCL held formal conversations with the Trotskyist Socialist Action League about a possible merger, albeit no such unification materialized.
Dissolution and launch of Left Currents.
By 1989 the group was estimated to have had some 50 members. The last issue of "Unity" was published on 16 March 1990. The issue outlined that the publication had been discontinued due to financial difficulties, that the 7th WCL congress held in January 1990 had disbanded the party and that a new organization called Left Currents had been formed in its place. The 16 March 1990 "Unity" issue stated that Left Currents intended "build a revolutionary alliance for the forces struggling for Maori, women's and workers liberation" and that the organization had removed the word 'communist' from its discourse due to its "negative associations with monolithic, patriarchal, excessively hierarchical, racist and/or national chauvinistic, and environmentally exploitative actions of communist parties in power". Left Currents lasted for about a year before becoming defunct.
The history of the WCL is outlined in Ron Smith's 1994 autobiography "Working Class Son: My Fight Against Capitalism and War". |
ZiU-5
The ZiU-5 (in Russian "ЗиУ-5") is a Soviet trolleybus model that was built by the Uritsky factory. The ZiU acronym stands for "Zavod imeni Uritskogo" (in Russian "Завод имени Урицкого", "ЗиУ"), which translates as "Plant named after Uritskiy" (Moisei Uritsky, a Russian revolutionary). This model of city trolleybus was in mass production from 1959 to 1972. The total number of ZiU-5s produced exceeded 14,500 vehicles. This allowed the ZiU-5 to become dominant model of trolleybus in Soviet towns and cities of that time. The last vehicles were withdrawn from active service in the mid-1980s (the exact date varies from city to city). The small number of surviving vehicles are kept now for museum purposes.
History of development.
The first decade after the Second World War was a period of huge expansion of trolleybus systems in the Soviet Union. They were considered as an innovative decision in comparison with "semi-obsolete" and expensive trams. The mainstay for trolley fleet for that time was extremely simple, reliable and durable MTB-82 vehicle. But it was medium-sized and uncomfortable for both driver and passengers. After small series and experimental TBU-1 vehicles ZiU developed completely new model for mass production with all disadvantages of MTB-82 eliminated. This was first variant of ZiU-5. More than 200 vehicles were produced for wide testing on Moscow streets in 1959. This huge testing work discovered the weaknesses of new design. Trolley depots in collaboration with ZiU and "Dynamo" electric motors factory fixed the problems in their repair facilities. Using this experience ZiU engineers corrected the ZiU-5 design, in 1960 new updated mass production series was launched. During mass production some technological adjustments were made, see "Variants" section. In 1971 ZiU introduced completely new trolleybus design, the ZiU-9. It was more cheap due to technology improvements and refusal from aluminium hull and was able to carry more passengers than ZiU-5. So mass production of ZiU-5 ceased in 1972.
Operators.
ZiU-5s in Budapest.
Budapest transport operator FVV (roughly: Electric Tramways Company of the Capital), later BKV (Budapest Transport Company) ordered altogether 100 ZiU-5 vehicles between 1966-69. These cars, equipped with power steering and automatic controllers, were relatively modern compared to the trolleybuses running on the streets of Budapest that time. On the other hand, in some ways they proved seriously impractical.
The cars were rather long but had only two passenger doors. Moreover, having no cab window on the right side impaired the driver's vision to the right, which was worked around by further narrowing the front door. These problems ended the career of the Budapest ZiU-5 fleet very soon, and all (except for one preserved car) got scrapped by 1982. However, this is not the end of the ZiU5- story. Between 1975 and 1978, BKV obtained 79 articulated Ikarus 280 bus bodies together with an Ikarus 260 solo bus body, and installed the electric system of the ZiU-5s in parallel with the scrapping.
These articulated Ikarus-ZiU trolleys were in service by the 1990s, when they got replaced by more modern, although similar looking, Ikarus trolleys equipped with Ganz chopper-based electronics.
Technical details.
ZiU-5 is a high-floor big class trolleybus for city mass transit. It's duraluminium hull mounted on the steel frame and carcass constructions. The hull has two doors in its front and rear ends. The doors open and close automatically by electric gear under driver's control. The vehicle is powered by DK-207A 95-kilowatt electric motor. The current regulation system (controller unit) is an automatic indirect one. All commutation of power-circuit resistors is performed by a low-voltage electric servomotor. These resistors limit the electric current through the main motor and, therefore, regulate its speed and torque. ZiU-5 is equipped with motor-generator for transformation of the input DC high voltage (550V) to low service DC voltage of 24V. This transformation is quite simple - 550V electric motor has coaxial connection with 24V electric generator. However, the drawback of this simplicity is a constant noise of this device. However good oilment and centring procedures can reduce this noise to tolerant level. The low voltage subsystem includes mentioned above controller unit, internal and external lights, door gear and two accumulator batteries. Due to differentiating voltage levels the hazard of electric shock to driver and passengers was reduced greatly. All electric devices inside passengers' saloon and driver cabin are supplied only with safe 24V voltage. Power 550V circuits are placed under the floor. The brake system includes electrodynamic, mechanical and pneumatic brakes. The pneumatic brake has the electric compressor unit to maintain the pressure in air reservoirs.
ZiU-5 has 38 passengers seats and is able to transport 122 persons with full load. The maximal speed is limited by 68 km/h, but some drivers were able to accelerate the vehicle up to 100 km/h without passengers.
Survivors.
There are a few number of operable ZiU-5s today. None of them work on the city lines and became museum vehicles. Many of them were reconstructed from empty abandoned hulls. They are available for observation (and sometimes for hire for city excursions) in Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Minsk and Nizhny Novgorod. The group of city electric transport enthusiasts from many cities in Russia, with guests from Estonia and United States, hired the Nizhny Novgorod Museum ZiU-5 for their meeting in 2004 (see photo above).
In Budapest there is a completely restored and operational heritage Ziu5, number 573, and also an Ikarus 260 trolley with Ziu5 electronics, number 600. |
Arthur Wynn
Arthur Henry Ashford Wynn (22 January 1910 – 24 September 2001), was a British civil servant, social researcher, and recruiter of Soviet spies for the KGB.
Early life.
Wynn was the son of a professor of medicine. Educated at Oundle School, he played rugby union. Wynn read natural sciences and mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Wynn was in Germany when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor. He married German communist Lieschen Ostrowski, to enable her to escape Nazi Germany.
He returned to England, dissolved his marriage, and moved to Oxford for further study. While at the University of Oxford he joined the Clarendon Club, and met and married Margaret 'Peggy' Moxon, a student and a fellow member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. They married in 1938, and had four children (three sons and a daughter). In the following year, Arthur and Peggy Wynn wrote a study of the financial connections of the Conservative establishment which they published as "Tory M.P." It was published in the USA as "England's Money Lords"; the Wynns published under the pseudonym 'Simon Haxey'.
Intending to specialise in trade union law in partnership with Sir Stafford Cripps QC, Wynn studied law at Lincoln's Inn, and was called to the bar in 1939. During World War II, Wynn worked as a technical specialist on secondment at electronics company A.C. Cossor, working on projects that include IFF radar and advanced navigational aids for RAF Bomber Command.
Agent Scott.
Recruited by Edith Tudor-Hart in 1936, Wynn was the Soviet spy known as "Agent Scott" of the KGB. Wynn created the less prominent Oxford spy ring, in some sense the University of Oxford "counterpart" to the Cambridge Five.
The name Agent Scott first appeared in Soviet files in October 1936. In the 1998 book "The Crown Jewels" by writer Nigel West and the former KGB officer Oleg Tsarev, the NKVD London station reported a significant intelligence coup, stating that Edith Tudor-Hart had recruited "a second Sohnchen," the code name used for Kim Philby. The memo further stated that "in all probabilities, they offer even greater possibilities than the first."
During the Stalinist purges, the KGB's London recruiting station was briefly closed, but "Agent Scott" appears to have maintained contact, and by 1941 he was recruiting additional sources.
Spying.
Recruited to the NKVD's British team, Wynn began sending reports on Oxford members of the Communist Party. These were related to recruitment of spies, of which he listed 25, for which later screening – which Wynn himself was subjected to – five were considered highly suitable. These included an individual code-named "Bunny", who has never been identified. The basis of the Oxford spy ring he ran are suspected to have included a former Labour MP, a former director of the Victoria and Albert Museum and an Oxford don.
This team Wynn recruited became the basis for the Oxford spy ring. Another Oxford student that Wynn recruited was David Floyd. Floyd joined the British Diplomatic Service and spied for the Russians in Moscow at the UK military mission and the British embassy from 1944 to 1947 and then was posted to Belgrade. Wynn also identified and offered to recruit students from the University of Cambridge and the University of London, but his handlers urged him to be more "selective. There should be no mass recruitment."
Post-war.
Moved by a series of post-war coal mining disasters, he switched his attention to mining safety. After the nationalisation of the coal industry in 1948, Wynn became director of mining safety research at the Ministry of Fuel and Power. He was the National Coal Board's scientific member from 1955 to 1965, and then a senior civil servant in Tony Benn's Ministry of Technology until his retirement in 1971.
Post-retirement, with his wife he became a prominent medical researcher and social commentator, particularly in the area of nutrition. Their papers were widely published and read, and used by many politicians to advance their own political agenda. Through their publications, the Wynns struck up a friendship with Tory MP Peter Bottomley. Tory leadership hopeful Keith Joseph based a 1975 speech on their published article for the Child Poverty Action Group examining the issue of poverty and single parenthood. Joseph's interpretation of the article lost him the support of Margaret Thatcher, who decided to run for the leadership herself.
Public revelations from 1992.
The real name of "Agent Scott" first came to light when the KGB permitted access to its files in 1992. The double life of Wynn was exposed in "The Weekly Standard" magazine by historians John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr and former KGB officer Alexander Vassiliev.
The KGB refused to divulge "Agent Scott"'s name in 1992, prompting media speculation of a series of moles. When the KGB confirmed the existence of "Agent Scott" in 1996, the mole was incorrectly described as an Old Etonian, a Scotsman and a member of the Foreign Office: Wynn was none of these. Those accused of being "Agent Scott" therefore included former diplomat Sir David Scott Fox and Sir Peter Wilson, the former chairman of Sotheby's.
From information uncovered by Vassiliev, a memo dated July 1941 from Pavel Fitin, the KGB's war time head of counter-intelligence, to KGB chief Vsevolod Merkulov, named "Agent Scott" as Wynn. It also identified "Scott's" recruiters as London based NKVD controller Theodore Maly, and Austrian-born spy Edith Tudor-Hart, who also recruited Kim Philby:
Personal life.
Arthur Wynn died in London in 2001 and his ashes were buried on the west side of Highgate Cemetery.
Wynn is the grandfather of the historian and author Adam Tooze. Tooze's book, "The Wages of Destruction" (2006), is dedicated to Wynn and his wife, Peggy. |
Fábio Silva (footballer, born 2002)
Fábio Daniel Soares Silva (born 19 July 2002) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a striker for Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven, on loan from club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Silva made his professional debut for Porto in August 2019, and set several club records relating to his young age.
Club career.
Early career.
Born in Gondomar, Porto District, Silva began his career at FC Porto before transferring to rivals Benfica in 2015, then returning two years later. Silva was part of the squad that won the 2018–19 UEFA Youth League. With 20 goals in 26 games for the under-19 team by February 2019, he was called up by manager Sérgio Conceição to train with the first team.
Porto.
He made his Primeira Liga debut for Porto on 10 August 2019 in a 2–1 loss at Gil Vicente, playing the final 11 minutes in place of Otávio; at 17 years and 22 days, he surpassed Bruno Gama as the youngest league player in the club's history. On 19 September against Young Boys in the UEFA Europa League group stage, he became the club's youngest player in European competitions, beating Rúben Neves. Six days later, he became the club's youngest starter in any competition when he lined up against Santa Clara in the Taça da Liga group stage, beating a record held by Serafim Pereira since 1960.
On 19 October, Silva scored his first goal to conclude a 5–0 win at neighbouring Coimbrões in the third round of the Taça de Portugal; with this goal he surpassed Neves as the youngest goalscorer in the club's history, by a month. Eight days later, he beat the same player's record as Porto's youngest league goalscorer in a 3–0 home win over Famalicão. On 10 November, in a 1–0 win at Boavista in the "Derby da Invicta", he became the youngest starter in the club's history, a record held since Serafim's days.
On 9 February 2020, Silva dropped into Porto's reserve team in LigaPro, debuting as a starter in a 1–1 home draw with Farense, as one of three appearances at this level. He made two further appearances for Porto's first team following the resumption of the league after the coronavirus-enforced shutdown as the club won the league title.
Wolverhampton Wanderers.
On 5 September 2020, Silva moved to English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers in a five-year deal for a club record fee of a reported £35 million. He made his full club debut on 17 September 2020 in an EFL Cup defeat to Stoke City; four days later he made his Premier League debut as a second-half substitute in a 3–1 home loss to Manchester City.
Silva scored his first two goals in a Wolves shirt for the under-21 team in a 2–1 away win over Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Trophy on 10 November 2020. His first league start was in a 1–0 home defeat against Aston Villa on 12 December, and eight days later he scored his first league goal through a penalty in a 2–1 away loss against Burnley. In doing so, Silva became Wolves' youngest ever Premier League goalscorer.
On 16 January 2021, Silva scored his first goal from open play and his first goal at Molineux for Wolves against West Bromwich Albion in the first Black Country derby of the 2020–21 season. After scoring his fourth goal of the 2020–21 Premier League season against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns on 3 May, he became the second-highest scoring Portuguese teenager in Premier League history, with only Cristiano Ronaldo (eight goals) having scored more in the competition before turning 20.
Silva made his first start for Wolves in the 2021–22 Premier League season in a 2–1 away win over Brentford on 22 January 2022, due to Raúl Jiménez missing the game through injury.
Loan to Anderlecht.
On 19 July 2022, Silva joined Belgian club Anderlecht on a season-long loan, as well as signing a contract extension with Wolves. On 24 July 2022, Silva scored on his league debut against Oostende after coming off the bench in a 2-0 win.
Loan to PSV Eindhoven.
On 25 January 2023, the agreement with Anderlecht was terminated and Silva was loaned out to Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven until the end of the season.
International career.
Silva had his first international experience with Portugal's under-15 team in 2017. He was part of the under-17 team that reached the quarter-finals of the 2019 UEFA European Championship in the Republic of Ireland, scoring in a 4–2 group win over Iceland.
On 11 October 2019, Silva scored a hat-trick for the under-19s in a 4–1 friendly win over Italy in Bragança.
Personal life.
Silva's father Jorge was a defensive midfielder who won the league in 2001 for Boavista and was capped twice by Portugal, and his older brother also named Jorge played that position for Lazio.
Honours.
Porto Youth
Porto |
Sky Arts
Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, films, documentaries and music (such as opera performances and classical and jazz sessions). The channel is available in the United Kingdom trough Freeview, Freesat, BT TV, Sky, Virgin Media, and TalkTalk TV and in the Republic of Ireland via Sky Ireland, Virgin Media Ireland, Vodafone Ireland and eir, included in most basic subscription packs, but started life as a premium service requiring an additional payment on top of the monthly Sky subscription. The channel launched on Freeview and Freesat as a free-to-air service in September 2020.
History.
Artsworld (2000–07).
In its early days, it was owned and managed by a public partnership (Artsworld Channels) including Sir Jeremy Isaacs. However, the channel suffered severe financial difficulty. In July 2002, it even staged its own farewell party, only to find emergency funding that very evening. In 2003, with a skeleton staff, it was facing closure. At this point, Sky stepped in, taking an initial 50% stake.
Sky subsequently bought out the remaining shareholders (including Isaacs) and in June 2005 took full control, reducing the staff further, and dropping the channel's premium subscription fee shortly afterwards. 60 hours of classic music along with seven full-length operas were broadcast each month to help bring in potential new subscribers.
John Cassy, the channel manager of Artsworld, said: "It is great news for the arts that a dedicated cultural channel will be available to millions of households."
Sky Arts (2007–present).
On 1 March 2007, Artsworld became Sky Arts and Artsworld HD became Sky Arts HD. This resulted in all of BSkyB's wholly owned channels carrying the Sky name (until Pick TV was launched and Virgin Media Television - which included Challenge - was acquired).
From 8 June 2007, Sky Arts introduced a series called Friday Night Hijack. Artists were invited to schedule a night of television that reflects their tastes, interests and passions. Guests included legendary punk DJ Don Letts, Don McCullin, Saffron Burrows, Anthony Horowitz, Malcolm McLaren, Phill Jupitus, Germaine Greer, George Melly and "Reggie Perrin" writer David Nobbs.
Picks included a Franz Ferdinand documentary entitled "Rock it to Rio", a concert performance by Damon Albarn's new band The Good, the Bad & the Queen as well as documentaries and films on Salvador Dalí, Andy Warhol, Rachel Whiteread and Elvis Costello. This weekly feature was later moved and renamed "Sunday Night Hijack".
In 2013, Sky Arts launched a painting competition series "Portrait Artist of the Year" presented by Frank Skinner and Joan Bakewell. The series is judged by art experts Tai-Shan Schierenberg, Kathleen Soriano and Kate Bryan. Nick Lord won the first series and was awarded a commission to paint Hilary Mantel for the British Library. In 2014 the second series was won by Christian Hook and his portrait of Alan Cumming is now part of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery collection. In 2015 Sky Arts introduced a development of the competition for landscape painters called "Landscape Artist of the Year" in association with National Trust. The first series was won by Nerine McIntyre and she was awarded a commission to paint the scene made famous by John Constable at Flatford.
On 9 June 2015, Sky Arts 2 closed and merged its content with Sky Arts 1 to form one channel.
The free-to-air era.
On 17 September 2020, Sky Arts launched on Freeview and Freesat as a free service.
Since becoming a free-to-air service, the channel has picked up a number of acclaimed music documentaries such as "King Rocker - A Film About Robert Lloyd and the Nightingales", "" and "Blitzed: The 80s Blitz Kids' Story", many of which were broadcast on Sky Arts a short while after premiering to the press.
Channels.
Sky Arts.
Sky Arts (formerly known as "Artsworld" and "Sky Arts 1") focused on the more modern and independent side of Sky Arts' programming. Schedules included cutting-edge documentaries, cult films, and rock concerts. but since 9 June 2015 it has also featured the high brow programmes from the former Sky Arts 2.
Sky Arts 2.
Sky Arts +1 began broadcasting on 18 August 2008, filling the Performance Channel's EPG slot (purchased by Sky) until the full launch of Sky Arts 2 on 20 October 2008. This channel focused on high brow programme and featured classical music, opera, dance, fine arts programming and reruns of "Tales of the Unexpected".
From 30 March to 14 April 2013, Sky Arts 2 was temporarily rebranded as Sky Arts Rieu in honour of André Rieu, broadcasting back-to-back concerts by the violinist.
On 9 June 2015, at 06:00 UTC+1 (05:00 UTC), Sky Arts 2 closed after showing its final classical music programme followed by promos for the new merged channel.
Sky Arts HD.
Artsworld HD was one of the launch channels on Sky HD in 2006. It was a high-definition simulcast of Artsworld, and later Sky Arts, showing HD programmes when available, and upscaling standard-definition programmes.
Following the launch of Sky Arts 2, Sky Arts HD showed a mix of programmes in high definition from both channels – generally Sky Arts 1 all day on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays and Sky Arts 2 until 7pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, switching to Sky Arts 1 from 7pm onwards on those days.
On 2 March 2009, Sky Arts HD was split into two channels. Sky Arts 1 HD then broadcast from 7pm to 2am daily, and Sky Arts 2 HD from 8am to 7pm. The standard definition channels continued to broadcast a full schedule from 8am to 2am. Sky Arts 1 HD also broadcast a further hour of HD-only programming called 'Aquariavision' intended to be recorded by Sky+ HD owners.
As of June 2009, both Sky Arts 1 and 2 HD broadcast full-time between 6am and 2am.
From 1 March 2010, all Sky Arts channels are broadcasting 24 hours a day.
An on and off-air brand refresh for all four channels (Sky Arts 1, Sky Arts 1 HD (a simulcast), Sky Arts 2 and Sky Arts 2 HD (a simulcast)) was launched on 16 August 2010.
On 9 June 2015, at 6am, Sky Arts 2 HD closed down.
As of September 2020, Sky Arts is currently made up of the following channels: Sky Arts and Sky Arts HD (a simulcast).
Sky Arts Ireland.
Sky launched an Irish standard definition feed of Sky Arts on 8 April 2021. Sky Arts Ireland broadcasts the same content as the UK version but has adverts tailored to Ireland and is available in standard definition only as its high definition counterpart has UK-tailored adverts. The channel is registered with the broadcasting regulator in Luxembourg with the (Independent Luxembourg Audiovisual Authority) making use of the classification system set by Ireland's BAI Code of Program Standards.
Previous life.
Originally, Sky Arts was planned as a full channel on the Astra 1A satellite at the beginning of the Sky Television service back in 1989. Promotional material broadcast during the launch indicated the channel would appear later that year along with Disney Channel. Neither channel launched at the time, Disney due to disputes with Sky, whilst arts programming (such as an early broadcast of the opera 'Carmen') was instead broadcast on Sky One.
Following the merger of British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) and Sky Television plc to form British Sky Broadcasting in 1990, BSkyB replaced the BSB lifestyle channel Now with Sky Television's news channel Sky News. However, contracts were still in place for some shows intended for the Now channel to be shown by BSkyB. BSkyB solved this by occasionally opting out of the regular Sky News service during weekends on the Marcopolo satellite (which was owned by BSB prior to the merger and which carried "Now") and showing the programmes as part of a weekend service entitled 'Sky Arts'. The service was only seen by former BSB viewers, since Sky Arts did not interrupt Sky News on the existing Astra satellite service.
After all outstanding programmes had been broadcast, the full Sky News service was broadcast on both Marcopolo and Astra and Sky Arts ceased to broadcast. |
German People's Party
The German People's Party (German: , or DVP) was a conservative-liberal political party during the Weimar Republic that was the successor to the National Liberal Party of the German Empire. Along with the left-liberal German Democratic Party (DDP), it represented political liberalism in Germany between 1918 and 1933.
The party's best known politician was its founding chairman and later Reich Chancellor and Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann. With the exception of two short-lived cabinets in 1921 and 1922, the DVP was represented in all Weimar governments from 1920 to 1931. In the late 1920s it turned more to the right politically but could not compete with other nationalist parties. By 1932 the DVP's share of the vote had shrunk to barely over one percent, and it disbanded shortly after the Nazi seizure of power in 1933.
History.
Foundation.
Following the end of World War I and the collapse of the German Empire, the party system in Germany remained largely in place because the groups with a common religion, social status, culture, etc. had for the most part survived. In the political center, there were strong efforts in both the Progressive People's Party (FVP) and the National Liberal Party (NLP) to overcome the historical split between "democrats" (more left-liberal, as the FVP) and "liberals" (more to the right, as the NLP) and to form a large middle class democratic party. Economist and banker Hjalmar Schacht, economist and sociologist Alfred Weber and journalist and editor Theodor Wolff were the driving forces.
At the beginning of the 1918 November Revolution that brought down the German Empire, party leaders Gustav Stresemann (National Liberals) and Otto Fischbeck (Progressive Liberals) also discussed such possibilities. Negotiations between the two parties began on 15 November 1918, and on the same day they agreed on a program that required significant concessions from the National Liberals, including a commitment to a republic as the future form of government. On 16 November representatives of both parties issued an "Appeal for the Formation of a German Democratic Party". For the first time it seemed possible to unite the middle class non-sectarian forces in Germany. When Stresemann asked Alfred Weber whether he could be admitted to the executive committee of the new party, the latter expressed reservations because during World War I Stresemann had become known as an annexationist, i.e., someone who favored increasing Germany's power by annexing land either in Europe or as overseas colonies. Weber did not, however, object to collaboration with Stresemann or to his candidacy for the Weimar National Assembly.
Further negotiations on the merger on 18 and 19 November ultimately failed because the majority of National Liberal board members were not prepared to lose their political head and most gifted speaker. As a result, on 20 November Stresemann and three other leading National Liberals drew up an appeal for the formation of the German People's Party. It was founded provisionally on 22 November 1918 and permanently on 15 December 1918 by a resolution of the central executive committee of the former National Liberal Party. They stressed the importance of members viewing the action not as the foundation of a new party but rather as a reorganization of the old National Liberal Party. The executive committee's resolution was approved only narrowly, by a vote of 33 to 28.
Most of the National Liberal Party’s center and right wing joined the DVP. Between 22 November and 15 December there were additional attempts to reach an agreement with the new German Democratic Party (DDP), which had been formed out of the Progressive Liberal Party and the more left-leaning members of the National Liberal Party, but these failed. Stresemann remained chairman of the DVP until his death in 1929.
Establishment and consolidation.
Although the DVP initially rejected the Weimar Constitution, it participated in almost all Reich governments from 1920 to 1931. This was primarily due to Stresemann. Although he was at heart a monarchist, he recognized that a return to monarchy could only be achieved through a coup followed by civil war, a path he firmly rejected. At the party congress in Jena on 13 April 1919, he said: "We must not proceed from one bloodbath to another. ... The path to domestic peace can only be on the basis of a republican form of government. That is why we are working for it."
Initially, this balancing act – cooperation in forming the new state despite rejection of the Republic – was successful. The party criticized the Treaty of Versailles and the enormous burdens associated with it as well as the tax policy of Finance Minister Matthias Erzberger of the Catholic Centre Party, which especially affected the middle class. Unlike the nationalist-conservative German National People's Party (DNVP), the DVP was not directed destructively against the Weimar Republic but combined its criticisms with proposals for reform that stayed within the system. During the 1920 Kapp Putsch, however, the party, like its chairman Stresemann, played a role that was less than friendly to the Republic. At first they openly tolerated the putsch, which attempted to overthrow the Republic and set up an autocratic state in its place, although they opposed the use of violence. Only when the failure of the putsch was obvious did they attempt to mediate between the putschists and the Reich government.
In the 1920 German federal election, the DVP was able to improve its percentage of the vote by almost ten points, to 13.9%. The Weimar coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Centre Party and DDP lost the overwhelming majority it had from the 1919 election, falling from 78% to 56%. At the time of the election, the DVP had about 800,000 members.
In June 1920 the German People's Party for the first time participated in a Reich government, the Fehrenbach cabinet. The SPD, the leading party in founding the Republic, had suffered significant losses in the election and withdrew into opposition even though it was still the strongest force in the Reichstag at 22% (down from 38%). Its previous coalition partners, the Centre Party and the left-liberal DDP, which had also lost a considerable number of votes to right-wing parties, formed a minority government with the DVP. The SPD decided to accept it on the condition that the DVP protect the Republic. There were three DVP members in the new cabinet: Rudolf Heinze as justice minister and vice chancellor, Ernst Scholz as economics minister, and Hans von Raumer as treasury minister. In May 1921 the DVP left the Reich government when the Fehrenbach cabinet fell, but in the Reichstag it supported on a case-by-case basis the government of Centre Party politician Joseph Wirth, under whom the Weimar coalition had been revived. When the "Cabinet of the Economy" was formed under the nonpartisan Wilhelm Cuno in November 1922, the DVP again participated in the government, with Rudolf Heinze as minister of justice and Johann Becker the economics minister.
The minority government – the parties represented in the government held only 172 of the 459 Reichstag seats – was from the outset under strong pressure from the right and the left, especially since the political situation – the occupation of the Ruhr by France and Belgium in January 1923 and the hyperinflation which peaked in November 1923 – made it difficult for it to govern. After Cuno's government broke up under the strain of the Ruhr occupation, Stresemann and the DVP, together with the SPD, Centre Party and DDP, formed their first grand coalition on 13 August 1923. It was the only Reich government led by the German People's Party. This basic constellation of the four parties made up the majority of the governments during the short-lived Republic. Although Stresemann was only able to lead the government for three months, since he also was voted out of office due to the Ruhr crisis, the first steps toward consolidating the Weimar Republic were taken during the short period. In spite of fierce attacks from the opposition DNVP, passive resistance to the Ruhr occupation was abandoned and the inflation of 1914 to 1923 was fought successfully with the introduction of the Rentenmark on 15 November 1923.
Although the DVP was unable to maintain its 1920 results of 13.9% of the total votes, it received between 8.7 and 10.1 percent in the three Reichstag elections between 1924 and 1928. Despite Stresemann's brief time in office, the German People's Party had become fully a part of the Weimar Republic and went on to be one of it mainstays. Stresemann was foreign minister in all subsequent cabinets until his death in October 1929. He made a sustained effort to end Germany's foreign policy isolation and to revise the Treaty of Versailles by peaceful means. His involvement was central to the realization of both the 1924 Dawes Plan, which resolved the issue of German payment of war reparations, and the Locarno Treaties of 1925 which contributed to Germany's admission to the League of Nations in 1926. Stresemann, along with his French counterpart Aristide Briand, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1926 for their work on the Locarno Treaties.
While the initial cabinets that the DVP participated in were middle class cabinets in which, in addition to the DVP, the Centre, DDP and Bavarian People's Party, the DNVP was also sometimes represented, the German People's Party also participated in the second cabinet of the Social Democrat Hermann Müller from 1928 to 1930. In foreign policy the DVP was in favor of an understanding with the Western powers and thus of a typically republican foreign policy. After Stresemann's death in October 1929, Julius Curtius, the previous economics minister, succeeded him in the foreign office and took a more demanding stance. Stresemann's approach, which had been directed towards rapprochement, gave way, according to historian Andreas Rödder, to one of negotiation that nevertheless still pursued its goals peacefully.
Z=Centre Party BVP=Bavarian People's Party WF=Economic Party KVP=Conservative People's Party
Downturn and end.
The DVP’s more conservative members never really trusted Stresemann, especially when he became more supportive of the Republic. Even in the early 1920s there was internal opposition to Stresemann, centered especially around the industrial magnate and DVP member Hugo Stinnes. This element sought much closer cooperation with the DNVP but was initially unable to achieve it because of the close ties between the DVP and the Republic. In 1924 former Reich Minister of Economics Johann Becker, together with other representatives of the right wing such as the entrepreneur Albert Vögler, left the DVP and founded the National Liberal Reich Party, which joined the DNVP in 1925. After Stresemann's death in October 1929, Ernst Scholz became party chairman, and the DVP tended more to the right. In Thuringia, for example, it participated in the Baum-Frick government, the first state government with Nazi Party (NSDAP) participation. Although the DVP was represented in Heinrich Brüning's first cabinet, its downturn had begun. The Reichstag election of 14 September 1930 sent the DVP back to the low level of 1919, with just 4.5% of the votes and a loss of 15 seats. The moderate party leader Scholz, who was in poor health, had to resign, making way in November 1930 for Eduard Dingeldey. As a representative of the younger generation, he tried to mediate between the party's wings in order to make a political comeback with a united DVP.
The elections of 1932 showed that the DVP was unable to compete with the DNVP and the NSDAP when it came to the national consciousness they emphasized. It sank to insignificance, with just 1.2% of the vote and 7 seats in the Reichstag. It joined lists with the DNVP for the Reichstag elections in November and gained four seats. But many representatives of the liberal wing left the party, as did a large number of the members of the German National Association of Commercial Employees () who had chosen the DVP because of their dislike of Alfred Hugenberg of the DNVP.
In the spring of 1933 Otto Hugo, the deputy chairman of the DVP, demanded that the party be completely merged into the NSDAP, but Dingeldey refused. It was only after the National Socialists threatened him with personal consequences that on 4 July 1933 he announced the decision taken by the Reich Executive () on 27 June to voluntarily disband the party.
Ideological foundations and program.
The party was generally thought to represent the interests of German industrialists. Its platform stressed Christian family values, secular education, lower tariffs, opposition to welfare spending and agrarian subsidies, and hostility to socialism (Communists and Social Democrats).
The liberal concept of the people which shaped political thinking in the DVP was fed off impulses from Romanticism and Idealism (see Bildungsbürgertum). Like the National Liberal Party of the German Empire, it saw itself primarily as a liberal rather than a democratic party. This was expressed in the fact that in its politics the freedom of the individual from state intervention was more important than the enforcement of majority decisions against the interests of individuals. Its concept of man was shaped by the view that the individual who justifies himself through self-acquired education and property knows better what is important for himself and thus for society as a sum of all its individuals than do the purely quantitative masses. On the other hand, it called on the intellectual and economic elites to have their actions measured against moral standards and to place themselves at the service of society out of a sense of responsibility to it.
Only from these principles can it be understood why the DVP, which as a supporter of an enlightened constitutional monarchy had rejected the Weimar Constitution, sided completely with the Republic after the failure of the Kapp Putsch. Stresemann made this clear in a speech on 25 October 1923, in which, as Reich Chancellor, he explained in the face of hyperinflation and the Ruhr struggle: "In the distress of the present, I call 'national' the man who, when the cart is in the mud, lends a hand to pull it out, but not the man who stands by and says, 'After all, it won't help, and you are not the right men to do it.'"
Members and representatives.
The members and representatives of the DVP, who were primarily committed, principled scholars and civil servants, belonged to the middle and upper classes. They represented the wealthy educated middle class which had come together in the National Liberal Party during the Empire. After1922 there was a party-affiliated student association, the Reich Committee of University Groups of the German People's Party (), whose influence in the predominantly right-wing student body remained comparatively small.
Voter base.
The DVP had its voter base predominantly in large and mid-sized cities: in the 1920 Reichstag elections, for example, it won an average of 13.2% of the vote in cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants, while it received only 7.2% of the vote in small communities with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants.
The DVP was also a predominantly Protestant party. In areas with a very high proportion of Roman Catholic voters, the DVP's share of the vote always fell far short of its Reich average. In contrast, the lower the proportion of Catholics, the greater the percentage of DVP votes.
The DVP's voter structure thus resembled that of the former National Liberal Party in its distribution by denomination and urban versus rural.
Support in the press.
In contrast to the German Democratic Party, which was openly sponsored by the major liberal papers in Berlin (including the "Vossische Zeitung" and "Berliner Tageblatt"), the DVP received support only from the "Kölnischen Zeitung" (Cologne), the "Magdeburg Zeitung", the "Tägliche Rundschau" from Berlin, and the "Königsberger Allgemeine Zeitung". The other major parties of the Weimar Republic were also better positioned in terms of the media. The SPD had its own newspapers, the ideas of the Centre Party were promoted by the Catholic papers and the DNVP had Hugenberg's opinion empire behind it.
Finances.
Even though the DVP was considered the party of big industrial capital, it always struggled with financial problems. The DDP was able to rely primarily on Berlin and Hamburg businesses, especially in the early days of the Weimar Republic, while the DNVP was mainly supported by Rhenish-Westphalian heavy industry. Hugo Stinnes and Albert Vögler were the only two business barons who were on the side of the German People's Party. Stinnes' death and Vögler's resignation from the party, both in 1924, considerably reduced the DVP's base of donations. Smaller amounts were contributed by the Kali-Society and the companies of the Hansabund, an anti-monopolistic economic-political interest group led by DVP politician Rießer.
Involvement in founding parties in 1945.
Politicians from the DVP participated in the founding of the German Party (DP), Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) after World War II. |
Idolle Ramayana
Idolle Ramayana () in Kannada, shot simultaneously in Telugu as Mana Oori Ramayanam (), is a 2016 Indian comedy drama film directed by Prakash Raj. The film was produced by Prakash himself with Ramjee Narasiman under Prakash Raj Productions and First Copy Pictures. The film is a remake of 2012 Malayalam film "Shutter" with Jogi and Raman Gopisetti writing the dialogues for both versions simultaneously.
The film is shot in two languages, Kannada and Telugu, each with a slightly different cast. It stars Prakash Raj and Priyamani with Achyuth Kumar, Rangayana Raghu, Raghubabu, Prudhviraj, Aravind Kuplikar and Satyadev portraying supporting roles. The film's soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Both versions were released worldwide on 7 October 2016.
Plot.
The film is set against the backdrop of the Rama Navami festival. Bhujanga is a businessman who returned from Gulf is highly respected in his hometown. Bhujanga has invested in a small commercial property next to his house, which he has let out to the shopkeepers and except one of his shops lies vacant. He is short-tempered and doesn't want his daughter to study further and wants her to get married. His anger increases when his daughter is arrested for staging a protest, during the time he meets his friends every evening inside the vacant shop and they bond every night over a few drinks.
Bhujanga sees a prostitute Susheela and wants to bond with her, however, despite his intentions Bhujanga gets scared fearing that his reputation will be tarnished. During one such evening, Shiva an auto-rickshaw driver and a friend of Rajeeva brings the prostitute and locks her along with Bhujanga inside the vacant shop promising to unlock the shop shutter after they spend some time together inside the locked shop.
Meanwhile, Shiva meets one of his passengers, a film director, who had forgotten his bag in Shiva's autorickshaw that morning. Shiva told him he saw the bag, but he had left that inside the locked shop shutter, and that he will go back and get the bag and come. Director on knowing that he would get his bag back celebrates by offering a couple of drinks to Shiva, however, both get into trouble with the cops for drunken driving and fails to return that night to open the shutter as promised to Bhujanga. They both get released in the morning as inspector Ramdas is a good friend of the director. But Shiva could not come to unlock the shutter that night as well due to certain circumstances. This way Bhujanga and Susheela are forced to spend a couple of nights together inside the locked shutter waiting for Shiva's return to unlock it.
Trapped inside the shutter, Bhujanga through what he hears from outside learns many lessons about the real face of people who he had earlier considered as friends and foes and his attitude about many things in life changes. His initial disgust towards Susheela's apparent lack of manners also slowly goes away as he realises she is a good soul after all.
In the end, somebody unlocks the shutter and they both come out from the shutter. But they don't see anyone around and do not understand who opened the shutter. Bhujanga is confused and he goes into a home where he learns from his daughter that she had her friend open the lock. She indicates she knows everything but did not reveal it to everyone and trusts that her father is a good man whatever may happen. Bhujanga is moved by this and his experiences inside the shutter and he decides to postpone his daughter's marriage and allow her to study. The Director is seen to have got back the script from Susheela (while not explicitly revealing how they are related), as Susheela had earlier found the script inside the bag inside the shutter. But he decides to make a film on her incidents which happened in the shutter.
Soundtrack.
Soundtrack has only one song composed and sung by Ilaiyaraaja.
Critical reception.
"Times of India" wrote "This film is a definite must-watch for those who want cinema that doesn’t have the usual action, song and dance routines and look for a good storyline. The performances are the cherry on the cake here." "The Hindu" wrote "For those who have not watched the original, Idolle Ramayana offers a different experience, as it is rooted in nativity." "Bangalore Mirror" wrote "The film makes you laugh and sympathise at the plight of the characters. But what it lacks is a heartwarming experience because it is so clinically made and sanitised."
"Sify" wrote "Mana Oori Ramayanam is a moral fable told with deft direction by Prakash Raj. Priyamani's excellent performance is mainstay. Despite its length and slow pace, the middle portion makes an engrossing watch." |
1973 British Grand Prix
The 1973 British Grand Prix (formally the John Player Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 14 July 1973. It was race 9 of 15 in both the 1973 World Championship of Drivers and the 1973 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.
The race is known for the first lap pile-up which ultimately caused eleven cars to retire. The accident happened when Jody Scheckter, running fourth in his McLaren, spun across the track at Woodcote Corner at the end of the first lap, causing many other cars to collide and crash. The incident eliminated nine cars, including all three works Surtees cars, while Brabham driver Andrea de Adamich suffered a broken ankle that ended his F1 career. The race was stopped at the end of the second lap, before being restarted over the original 67-lap distance with 18 of the original 29 cars (David Purley and Graham McRae having also retired in separate incidents).
On the first start, a swift start by Jackie Stewart brought him from fourth to first in less than half a lap. At Becketts Corner, Stewart out-braked race leader Ronnie Peterson and took the lead. However, the massive pile-up at the end of the first lap caused the race to be restarted and Stewart had to start from fourth again. This time it was Niki Lauda who had an excellent start and moved up behind Peterson into second, with Stewart third. Stewart passed Lauda on lap 2, and charged after Peterson. On lap 6, Stewart again tried to pass Peterson for the lead, but the Swedish driver shut the door; Stewart lost control of his Tyrrell and spun off into the thick grass. Although he was able to continue, Stewart ended up finishing 10th, one lap down.
Another notable drive came from James Hunt in his Hesketh Racing March, who ran fourth for most of the race and was part of a four-way battle for the lead between himself, Peterson, Denny Hulme and Peter Revson. American driver Revson took his first Grand Prix victory by 2.8 seconds from Peterson.
The pile-up was to be a factor in this being the last World Championship F1 race held on the original Silverstone layout: a chicane would be added at Woodcote shortly before the next British Grand Prix at Silverstone two years later. MotoGP, which would come to Silverstone from the Isle of Man in 1977, would use the original layout until 1986.
Race.
First start and multi-car pileup.
The race started at 2.00pm local time, it featured the most cars to start a grand prix as it featured 28 cars in rows of three by two. Ronnie Peterson led away but a very quick start by Jackie Stewart brought him from fourth to second but passed Peterson to take the lead at Beckets. Carlos Reutemann was in third with Denny Hulme and Jody Scheckter behind him. As the exited Woodcote corner to complete the first lap, Stewart led Peterson and Reutemann but carnage was happening behind them. Scheckter tried to pass Hulme on the outside Scheckter's car went wide and spun right across the track and it hit the retaining wall of the pits and bounced back into the middle of the track. Hulme escaped undamaged, Francois Cevert, James Hunt, Peter Revson and Clay Regazzoni also went by. The big one then happened as Scheckter's car ricocheted back from the pit wall, Revson struck Scheckter's rear wing and then all hell broke loose as the rest of the field crashed into the wrecks or dodged about to miss the wreckage. Nine cars were involved in the resulting carnage, Andrea de Adamich had crashed headlong into the barriers on the outside of the track and he was trapped in the cockpit of his Brabham with a broken ankle. Apart from minor bruises and shakings no-one else was hurt but the Surtees cars of Mike Hailwood, Carlos Pace and Jochen Mass were smashed up. The Shadow's were also involved, Jackie Oliver's car was wrecked, George Follmer's car was ripped open. The Embassy Hill-entered Shadow of Graham Hill was struck in the rear and a wishbone broken, but Hill drove it round back to the pits under its own power. The BRM of Jean-Pierre Beltoise and the works March of Roger Williamson were wrecked, as was the McLaren of Scheckter. The race organisation acted instantly and the race was red flagged indicating without argument or discussion that the race was stopped and would be started again later. Meanwhile, those ahead of the accident were still racing, until they ended the lap, when they all came to a rapid stop at the scene of the crash. It took 30 minutes to release de Adamich from the wreckage of the Brabham plus an hour to clear away the wrecked cars and the debris. The cars that escaped were wheeled back to the starting grid and Hill's Shadow was repaired in the pits, and Niki Lauda's BRM that had been in the pits all the time had a new drive-shaft fitted. Hunt's March needed a new airbox as his original one was damaged in the wreck and borrowed Mike Beuttler's airbox from his car.
Second start.
Drivers were allowed to use spare cars but none were used, Lauda's BRM and Hill's Shadow having been repaired during the red flag period. Non-starters included de Adamich who had been taken to hospital, Scheckter who was barred by McLaren as several team bosses including John Surtees wanted to throw him out for causing the crash, Graham McRae's Iso-Marlboro which had a throttle issue and couldn't restart, and David Purley's March which had spun off before the big one and didn't restart.
Other drivers who did not take the restart included Oliver, Follmer, Beltoise, Williamson, Purley, Pace, Hailwood, and Mass. It was 3.30 p.m. before the track was clear and there were nineteen starters ready for the restart over the original distance on 67 laps. At 3:35pm the depleted field moved up on to the starting grid. Everyone took up their original positions, leaving gaps for those who had been eliminated. This time it was Lauda who had an excellent start and moved up behind Peterson into second, with Stewart third. Stewart passed Lauda on lap 2 and charged after Peterson. On lap 6, Stewart again tried to pass Peterson for the lead, but the Swedish driver shut the door; Stewart lost control of his Tyrrell and spun off into the thick grass. Although he was able to continue, Stewart ended up finishing 10th, one lap down. |
2020 United States presidential election in Nebraska
The 2020 United States presidential election in Nebraska was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Nebraska voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, incumbent President Donald Trump, and running mate Vice President Mike Pence against Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his running mate California Senator Kamala Harris. Nebraska has five electoral votes in the Electoral College, two from the state at large, and one each from the three congressional districts.
Located in the conservative Great Plains, Nebraska is one of the most reliably Republican states in the country, having backed the Democratic presidential nominee only once since 1936, during Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 landslide, and having gone to the Republican nominee by a double-digit margin in every presidential election since. However, Nebraska is one of two states, the other being Maine, to allocate its electoral votes by congressional district. A candidate receives one electoral vote for each district won while the statewide winner receives an additional two electoral votes. Ever since Nebraska first adopted this system in 1992, in practice the Republican nominee has almost always won all three districts, and hence all the state's electoral votes. The first time it split its electoral votes came in 2008 when Barack Obama carried Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, anchored by Omaha, and thus received one electoral vote from the state despite losing statewide. The 2nd district returned to the Republican column in the following two elections, but in 2020 it was considered a key battleground.
Trump carried Nebraska statewide by 19 points on Election Day, down from 25 points in 2016. Biden was able to flip the 2nd district, carrying it by 6.6 points, the best Democratic performance since Nebraska first adopted its system of allocation by district, and the first time in this period that the district has voted more Democratic than the nation. Trump received the state's other four electoral votes. Prior to the election, all news organizations declared Nebraska a safe red state, while most organizations viewed the 2nd district as either Lean Biden or a tossup. This was the first election in which both Nebraska and Maine would officially split their electoral votes.
Biden won only the two most populous counties in the state: Douglas County, home to Omaha, by 11 points, approximately the same margin Lyndon B. Johnson won the county with in 1964 and the best result for Democrats since that election, and Lancaster County, home to the state's second largest city and state capital Lincoln, where the University of Nebraska is located, by just under 8 points, another 56-year high for Democrats. While he didn't win the state's third largest, Sarpy County, a growing suburban county to the south of Omaha, which in all presidential elections from 1968 to 2016 except 2008 had backed the Republican candidate by at least 21 points, he reduced Trump's winning margin to only 11 points and won 43 percent of the vote there, again a 56-year best for Democrats. Biden also received more than 40 percent of the vote in two counties in the northeastern corner of the state: Thurston County with a Native American majority, and Dakota County with a large Hispanic population.
Per exit polls by the Associated Press, Trump's strength in Nebraska came from whites, who comprised 90% of the electorate, and specifically from Protestants with 70%. Post-election, many rural Nebraskans expressed worries about trade and the economy under a Biden presidency, with 59% of voters stating they trusted Trump more to handle international trade.
Joe Biden improved on Hillary Clinton's performance in Nebraska, as he did in most other states. Nebraska was one of 43 states where the Democratic nominee received a greater proportion of the two-party vote than in the prior election. Despite his loss, Biden's 374,583 votes are the most received by a Democratic candidate for president statewide in Nebraska.
Primary elections.
The primary elections were held on May 12, 2020.
Republican primary.
Donald Trump was declared the winner in the Republican primary, and thus received all of Nebraska's 36 delegates to the 2020 Republican National Convention.
Democratic primary.
Joe Biden was declared the winner in the Democratic primary.
Libertarian primary.
Jo Jorgensen was declared the winner of the Libertarian primary and went on to win the LP nomination.
General election.
Polling.
Aggregate polls
Electoral slates.
These slates of electors were nominated by each party in order to vote in the Electoral College should their candidate win the state:
Results.
As expected, Trump easily carried the state at large. However, because Nebraska (along with Maine) allocates its remaining electoral votes by congressional district, Joe Biden was able to win an electoral vote from Nebraska's second district, which covers the increasingly liberal Omaha metro area. Barack Obama also won the same district in 2008 before it went back to the Republican column in 2012 and 2016.
By congressional district.
Trump won two of Nebraska's three congressional districts. |
2021 Nagaland killings
On 4 December 2021, a unit of 21st Para Special Forces of the Indian Army killed six civilians near the village of Oting in the Mon District of Nagaland,India. Eight more civilians and a soldier were killed in subsequent violence. The killings were widely condemned with many calling to repeal and revoke the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
Background.
Nagaland has been long beset with secessionist politics, often spilling into armed insurgency, to which the government has responded with a heavy presence of armed forces. In 1958, the Parliament of India enacted the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which granted considerable leeway to armed forces and eliminated procedural safeguards. Civil society has accused the Indian Army of engaging in rampant human rights violations, including rape and extrajudicial murders under the cover of this law.
Oting is a village in Upper Nagaland, within the Mon community development block. In the last census (2011), total population stood at 1266; 99% of them were classed under scheduled tribes with a 29% literacy rate. About 45.4% had annual employment exceeding half-a-year and were mostly cultivators; another 9.1% were "marginal workers" and mostly employed in household industries for less than 3 months.
Incidents.
Ambush.
On the evening of 4 December 2021 at around 4:00–5:00p.m. IST, a unit of 21 Para Special Forces ambushed an open-bed pickup truck—carrying civilians from Oting village () who were returning from a coal mine at Tiru—and opened fire. Six people died, and two received serious injuries.
The Army claims to have been the victim of an intelligence failure; they had suspected the vehicle to contain Naga insurgents. They further claim to have only opened fire when instructions to the vehicle to stop were not followed. The two survivors reject the claims, as did Nagaland Police upon a preliminary inquiry.
Discovery of Bodies.
Neighboring villagers—apprehensive about the gunshots and villagers who were yet to return back—soon arrived at the scene and intercepted a convoy of military vehicles; the troops claimed to be reinforcements who were shifting "injured people" to hospital and feigned ignorance about why the pickup truck stood splattered with blood. Subsequently, they were found to be transporting the dead to their base camp while also trying to change the attire of the deceased, evidently to stage an encounter.
In the ensuing melee, tires of army vehicles were punctured, and three vehicles torched; in accompanying gunfire, seven civilians were killed and twenty injured. The Indian Army claimed troops were attacked by machete-wielding villagers and opened fire only under compulsion, as one infantryman was dead and others injured. Villagers rejected the claims and accused the Army of indiscriminate shooting. Nyawang Konyak, president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s district unit claimed to have been fired at by Indian army soldiers despite his vehicle displaying a party-flag.
Aftermath.
Protests and remembrance.
The following day, the Government of Nagaland imposed Section 144 in Mon District to restrict public assembly and movement; mobile internet and bulk SMS services were indefinitely suspended. Despite, public protests were organized — hundreds of men entered into a local camp of Assam Rifles in Mon Town during which one more civilian was killed.
The Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO), which represents six tribes, withdrew from the ongoing annual Hornbill Festival. The Nagas hoisted black flags on all its morungs at the festival while the Konyaks decided to have its cultural troupe abstain from participating at the festival. This was followed by the other Naga cultural troupes also abstaining on 5 December. Two minutes of silence were also observed at the venue on the same day. Later on the evening of 5 December, the people of Kohima observed a power blackout for 30 minutes to mourn the death of the civilians. Candlelight marches were organised in Kohima, Dimapur and other towns on the same day. A six-hour shutdown was also called by the Naga Students' Federation. On 7 December, the Government of Nagaland announced that it would suspend all activities at the Hornbill Festival.
Politics.
Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs of India, regretted the killings before the Parliament—which was in session—, and tasked a Special Investigation Team to complete an enquiry within a month; however, he reiterated the narrative of Indian Army in toto. The opposition staged a walkout in protest and later, condemned the government preventing political from accessing the area.
Even members of the state BJP unit and its political allies reject Shah's narrative — party president Temjen Imna Along held the event to be "summary execution as well as genocide." The local village council has since issued an informal ban on Indian Army entering into the village.
Investigations.
On 6 December, the Nagaland Police registered a First information report against the 21 Para Special Forces, bringing charges of first degree murder. The National Human Rights Commission of India has sent notices to the central and the state governments.
The Indian Army constituted a Court of Inquiry headed by a Major General to probe the circumstance under which the operation took place. In addition, it will also examine the credibility of the intelligence report which led to the detachment of the 21 Para Special Forces led by an officer of the rank of Major.
Funeral.
On 6 December, all fifteen civilian casualties were interred in a mass funeral service, led by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.
Legacy.
The incident infused vigor into calls to repeal and revoke the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. On 7 December, the Government of Nagaland announced that it would officially seek its repeal. |
Joyce Summers
Joyce Summers is a fictional character in the action-horror television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997–2003). Played by Kristine Sutherland, Joyce is the mother of the main character, Buffy Summers, and appears in 58 of the 144 episodes, the show's most recurring character and only one to appear in every season.
The premise of the series is that Buffy is the latest Slayer, a young woman endowed by mystical forces with superhuman powers to fight and defeat vampires, demons, and other evil forces in the fictional town of Sunnydale. Like every Slayer before her, she was chosen and informed of her destiny when she was 15 years old. Her mother is unaware of her daughter's powers and responsibilities until Buffy is forced to tell her at the end of the second season of the television series. Although Joyce is shocked at this revelation, she recovers quickly and remains a source of stability for Buffy and Buffy's small circle of friends who assist her, dubbed the Scooby Gang. Eventually Joyce is able to take Buffy's dangerous demon-fighting in stride and even become proud and respectful of her daughter's abilities. Her natural death from an illness in the fifth season forces Buffy to face becoming an adult.
Creation and casting.
The television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (often simplified as "Buffy") was created by Joss Whedon, who originally used the concept of a teenage girl who is given superhuman powers to fight evil, in a screenplay that became a film in 1992. Unhappy with the outcome of the film, Whedon created the series, which picks up shortly after the events of the film and is loosely based on its ending. At the end of the film, which was set in Los Angeles, Buffy fights and defeats a gang of vampires in her school's gymnasium. At the start of the television series Buffy and her mother Joyce, who has divorced Buffy's father, move to a new town named Sunnydale where Buffy is to attend Sunnydale High School, which, unknown to her, is situated on a portal to hell, called a Hellmouth. The series explains that she has relocated from Los Angeles after burning down the gymnasium, marking her as a trouble-making student and a worrisome daughter. The series regularly employs the elements of dark fantasy and horror to represent the real problems regularly encountered by adolescents, with many situations also reflecting adult fears and anxieties.
Buffy's parents are barely seen in the film, but her mother Joyce (Kristine Sutherland), plays a prominent role in the series. Sutherland, a fantasy fiction fan who dislikes the horror genre, had recently moved to Hollywood from New York City in 1996 and was not actively looking for acting jobs when her agent called her with the opportunity to play Joyce. Sutherland auditioned the same day as David Boreanaz, Buffy's romantic interest Angel, and was impressed with how naturally she felt at ease with the material in the readings with the writers and casting agents. Sutherland stated in an interview that she felt she identified strongly with adolescents. Her empathy for them made her protective not only of the actors, but their characters as well. However, a storyline that has Joyce possessed as the mother from hell was one of Sutherland's favorite possible scripts, but it was cut.
Progression.
Seasons 1 and 2.
Buffy is introduced to her new school as a student who is both emotionally and academically troubled. With the move to Sunnydale, she believes she is starting fresh, a notion her mother also believes and encourages. As Buffy establishes herself in school in early episodes, Joyce, who is recently divorced, is preoccupied with setting up their home and running an art gallery. Initially unwilling to become involved again with her role as the Slayer, Buffy is nevertheless confronted by the school librarian Giles (Anthony Head), her new Watcher, the mentor and teacher assigned to instruct her how to fight vampires and other demons she is destined to face. Buffy does not tell her mother about this development, and Joyce remains ignorant of Buffy's role as the Slayer and of Giles' influence in her life, something she later resents when he seems to be closer to Buffy in ways Joyce is not.
Joyce's initial role in the series is, according to scholar J. P. Williams, very similar to the Superman character Lois Lane, who is unable to discern the likeness between Clark Kent with his glasses on and Superman with his glasses off. Buffy is frequently referred to as a superhero by authors, and Joyce's initial ignorance of Buffy's abilities and responsibilities creates skepticism among both characters in the series and viewers about Joyce's intelligence and motivations. For example, Joyce sees the extremely attentive Giles merely as a teacher concerned about Buffy as a student who has experienced academic problems in the past.
This willful ignorance of Buffy's vocation has been well-analyzed by Buffy studies scholars. A persistent theme in "Buffy" is the nearly unbreachable generation gap between adolescents and adults. Throughout the series, adults are either unable or unwilling to see the genuine horrors teenagers face. As Buffy's mother, Joyce is repeatedly confronted with evidence of her daughter's role as the Slayer; Sutherland saw this as a form of denial on Joyce's part. The resulting conflict between Joyce and Buffy is both tragic and humorous. When Buffy skips class or stays out late to attend to her Slayer duties, Joyce is left trying to punish her by restricting her to the house. Joyce responds to the dire situations Buffy must face by placing regular and inconvenient restrictions on her, such as grounding her at a time when Buffy must confront and try to kill the Master (the head of a vampire cult who is attempting to fulfill a prophecy that he will kill the Slayer and open the Hellmouth in Sunnydale), saying sarcastically to Buffy, "I know—if you don't go out it'll be the end of the world", when in fact, it just may be, or telling Buffy that she is free to make her own life choices, when Buffy knows exactly what her destiny is, and that it may include dying young. This duality of language reinforces the generation gap between the characters.
Joyce is, according to author Lorna Jowett, a typical "teen-horror parent": loving and supporting, but not really facing or knowing the true extent of reality, therefore ineffective at helping her child. She embodies the expectation that mothers should intuitively understand their children. Buffy confronts her mother's denial in "Becoming", the second-season finale, forcing Joyce to see the reality of what Buffy is and does. As a result of their confrontation, Joyce gives Buffy an ultimatum that she either stay at home or never come back. As Buffy is compelled to thwart the apocalypse, she accepts her mother's decision, leaves the house and, ultimately, Sunnydale. Sutherland read the script for the second-season finale in her car, unable to stop reading until the resolution, where she sat sobbing when it is revealed Buffy leaves. In their heated encounter Buffy says to her mother, "Open your eyes, Mom. What do you think has been going on for the past two years? The fights? The weird occurrences. How many times have you washed blood out of my clothing and you still haven't figured it out?" Joyce responds by trying to restrict Buffy again, then attempting to physically restrain her, at which point Buffy ends Joyce's ideas of parental authority by easily overpowering her and walking out the door.
Despite her difficulty with understanding Buffy, Joyce frequently expresses her love for her daughter and supports her when other adults do not. The love Joyce expresses is interpreted by scholars as an attempt to compensate for having failed to understand intuitively that something was going on with her daughter before the revelation that Buffy is the Slayer. Following that revelation, Joyce makes many attempts to understand what a Slayer does. Many scenes showing Joyce giving love and support to Buffy take place in their home, establishing it as center of motherly devotion, stability, and safety. Shots are usually composed so that the two are not seen in the same frame, or are separated by objects such as tables, or placed in opposite sides of rooms, a visual representation of Joyce's inability to understand her daughter's responsibilities and powers.
Seasons 3 and 4.
The third season opens with Buffy returning home from Los Angeles at the end of "Anne". Joyce and Buffy are at first very ill at ease with each other during the next episode "Dead Man's Party", while Buffy starts to understand how difficult Joyce's time has been without her. Sutherland welcomed the change; she felt the relationship between Joyce and Buffy "became so much richer" after Joyce finally knew of and faced Buffy's role as the Slayer. The overt conflict of "Dead Man's Party" has Joyce bringing home a cursed mask that calls zombies to the house while a party is occurring, killing several people. Author Nikki Stafford sees the zombies at the party as symbolism for the utter confusion of dealing with Buffy's return. During the party, Buffy feels so uncomfortable around her family and friends she considers leaving again. Joyce and Buffy's best friend Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) both angrily confront Buffy; Joyce admits that she does not know all the answers and that giving Buffy an ultimatum was a mistake. The episode marks Joyce's return as a parent; her recognition of her own shortcomings in the error of pushing Buffy away is a measure of nobility common among Joss Whedon's characters.
Following her realization that Buffy is the Slayer, Joyce begins to express concern for Buffy's well-being and long-term plans. The third season showcases two episodes in which Joyce is a major character. Both of them posit Buffy as a parent figure over Joyce. With "Band Candy" the episode begins with Buffy being petulant and Joyce working with Giles to create a schedule for studying and slaying, but these roles quickly dissolve in the ensuing chaos. In an attempt to offer a sacrifice to a demon, Sunnydale's shadowy mayor intoxicates the adults of the town with drugged chocolate bars, making them devolve into adolescents. Joyce descends into the behavior of a 16-year-old, a prospect Kristine Sutherland found not only fun, but painful as it brought back memories she had not faced in years. Giles is also affected, turning into his adolescent miscreant self, which Joyce finds irresistible (the two have sex on a police car in the middle of downtown Sunnydale). Giles has become Buffy's father figure following her parents' divorce, and Buffy finds Joyce's attraction to Giles disquieting. Joyce had dated before ("Ted") but Buffy, and consequently the audience, do not see Joyce as a sexual character; she is foremost a mother. According to Lorna Jowett, Joyce is rare among the characters on the series: "Joyce is always and only Buffy's mother, never just another person or a member of the team."
The second instance of role-reversal is in the episode "Gingerbread", where again children demonstrate more wisdom than the adults. The episode is noted as highlighting this motif specifically, as the divide between parents and children is exaggerated and symbolized by Joyce's confusion. In an attempt to learn more about her daughter's Slayer duties, Joyce follows Buffy on patrol at night, bringing snacks and saying she wants to observe Buffy work. Joyce finds two dead children in a playground and is deeply disturbed. After Buffy comforts her mother, the Scoobies discover that the children are the manifestation of a demon whose sole purpose is to tear communities apart by sparking moral panics. Joyce, meanwhile, becomes entirely consumed with finding the culprit of the apparent murders. She starts a parents' activist organization named "Mothers Opposed to the Occult" (or "M.O.O." to Buffy's mortification) with Willow's mother, an academic and parenting expert so self-involved that she virtually ignores her daughter. Both Buffy and Willow—whose skills in witchcraft are growing—are seized by M.O.O., who attempt to burn them at the stake. Joyce takes a leadership role, giving a speech to concerned parents about the unnatural evils in the town, citing the "slayers and witches" among other monsters. Her compulsion to become involved in Buffy's dark world, with its disastrous results, represents her feeling of helplessness in relation to Buffy's calling. She is unable to protect or comprehend what Buffy must endure—another expression of teenage-parent alienation.
In the fourth season, as Buffy and Willow attend college, Joyce's role is scaled back considerably. Kristine Sutherland and her family moved to Italy to live, so she starred in only five episodes in the season, including the first one, "The Freshman," when Buffy comes home during her bewildering first week at college to discover that Joyce has filled her room with packing crates from the art gallery. This sign of her mother's life going on without her increases Buffy's disorientation and underscores Joyce's independent life. Consequent to her mother's distance, Buffy must begin to face some of her problems alone, the least of which is cooking Thanksgiving dinner for Giles and the Scooby Gang in "Pangs". Buffy encounters a female psychology professor at college who challenges and frustrates her, but also validates her intellect, something Buffy has not been well known for. Professor Maggie Walsh becomes, for the first part of the season, a substitute mother for Buffy. The last episode of the season,"Restless", explores the dreams of Willow, Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon), Giles, and Buffy. Joyce appears as a seductress to Xander (in a red silk nightgown), and appears again in Buffy's dream as Buffy wanders the halls of college. Joyce is stuck inside a wall, saying that she is content making lemonade and learning to play mahjong. The enigmatic nature of "Restless" allows analysts to explain the depth of the characters and their relationships, as well as the foreshadowing of events to come in subsequent seasons. Joyce's confinement in a tight space in Buffy's dream indicates that Buffy considers her mother's life to be very limited. The hole in the wall through which Joyce and Buffy speak briefly shows only Joyce's head and shoulders, which, according to Nikki Stafford, is the prevailing image in the fifth-season episode "The Body", an episode which explores Joyce's death and its immediate aftermath.
Season 5: Joyce's death.
As noted by author Roz Kaveney, Joyce becomes central to the fifth season themes of family and Buffy facing forces she is unable to fight or control. A new character is introduced to the Summers family: Buffy gets a 14-year-old sister named Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg), who is the mystical embodiment of a "key" which opens portals to all dimensions. Prior to Dawn's arrival, Joyce has been experiencing loneliness as Buffy's increasing responsibilities takes over, at one point remarks that her house gets very quiet without Buffy present. She inadvertently invites the Romanian vampire mystic Count Dracula as the result. Although Dawn is unaware of what she is, Buffy learns her true identity after becoming suspicious that Dawn is attempting to harm Joyce. After experiencing debilitating headaches, collapsing, then requiring hospitalization, Joyce learns that she has a brain tumor. A side-effect of the tumor is that Joyce sees Dawn as she truly is: a bright, beautiful, mystical energy that must be protected from harm. Despite knowing the truth of Dawn's origins, Joyce still loves her, realizing that she is an innocent who belongs in the Summers family, and collaborate with Buffy and Giles of protecting her. The spell which made Dawn human also made her biologically related to Joyce and Buffy. To protect Dawn as well as tend to Joyce after she has brain surgery, Buffy moves out of her dorm and returns to the family home. Riley Finn (Marc Blucas), Buffy's boyfriend for the past year, leaves in the episode "Into the Woods". Following his departure, and in the course of the episode "I Was Made to Love You", Buffy comes to feel that she does not need a boyfriend. Her confidence in this decision is immediately shaken at the end of the episode when she comes home to find her mother's lifeless body on the sofa. Joyce's death is fully explored in "The Body" as the entire cast of characters struggles to understand how the once-vibrant Joyce has become a body in the morgue. Scholar Jes Battis writes that in contrast to the way family members are portrayed throughout the series as absent (Willow's), chaotic (Xander's), or highly disruptive (Anya's), Joyce straddles these extremes. The ease of her success at mothering a violent superhero and a mystical key while appearing to enjoy a normal life is eroded by a brain tumor, and only then do she and the other characters come to understand what a complex job she has. To scholars the tumor represents the physical manifestation of not being able to take care of Buffy, or a form of mortality that Buffy will not soon face.
To Joss Whedon, the tumor represented nothing more than cancer. He planned to kill Joyce as early as the third season, and he wrote the episode to reflect what he experienced when he lost his own mother to a brain aneurysm. In 2001, Whedon told an interviewer, "I knew I was going to kill Joyce, and I knew that what I wanted to capture — because I had lost my own mother — was that weird dumb grief and the various reactions that people have to death." "The Body" begins with a Christmas dinner scene presided over by Joyce as the head of her chosen family. At the table are Buffy, Dawn, Giles, Willow, her girlfriend Tara (Amber Benson), Xander, and his ex-demon girlfriend Anya (Emma Caulfield). Pragmatically, the scene was included so the credits would not roll over the dramatic moments of Buffy finding her dead mother and trying to revive her. Whedon did not want to include any element that broke the illusion presented in the episode. In a realm where the main adolescent characters, who are becoming adults, must regularly face horrors and evils, Joyce represents a stable and predictable life. Her death crushes the illusion that real or normal life — which Buffy frequently says she wants but cannot have — is trouble-free. Joyce is mourned by all of the characters in the series. Even the amoral vampire Spike (James Marsters) expresses his condolences. In an earlier episode he had confided in a very sympathetic Joyce about his equally amoral and insane lover Drusilla (Juliet Landau) leaving him. Likewise, Anya, who has very little experience with human emotions and frailties, is confused and unexpectedly saddened by Joyce's death.
Other appearances.
Joyce appears in four episodes after her death in "The Body", first as a young woman in season five's "The Weight of the World": Buffy has a recurring but false memory of her parents bringing Dawn home as a newborn. The episode deals with Buffy's inability to cope with her mother's death and her inadequacy at protecting Dawn, and explores Buffy's obsession with her failure and guilt. The sixth-season episode "Normal Again" posits Buffy's world of Sunnydale as a manifestation of psychopathology: after being stabbed by a demon, Buffy becomes convinced that the world in which she is a hero is an illusion. Her parents, who have remained happily married, visit her in a mental institution and encourage her to fight the seductive world she has imagined and return home with them. Joyce appears twice in the seventh season: she haunts Dawn as a face of the First Evil in "Conversations with Dead People", and makes her final appearance again as an incarnation of the First Evil in Buffy's dream in "Bring on the Night".
Influence.
Throughout the series, Buffy frequently expresses anxiety about being wanted and accepted. One of the most overt expressions of her concern is in the first-season episode "Nightmares", where characters' nightmares come true. In Buffy's nightmare, her father cruelly tells her he no longer wants to spend any time with her because of her defects as a daughter. She further worries that her ostensible troubled behavior at school and disobedience at home may have been a significant reason for the ending of her parents' marriage. She pushes away her friends and family to protect them from what she must face, while simultaneously depending on their assistance. Psychologists writing about Buffy state that she is a candidate for an anxiety disorder, as most often people diagnosed with anxiety disorders worry and fixate on problems, behaviors which studies suggest are inherited. In this light, they analyze Joyce's actions as overprotective of Buffy in early seasons: her vigilance causes Buffy to need to sneak in and out of the house through her bedroom window. Joyce is also continually encouraging her to avoid badly-behaved classmates. Regardless of this, Joyce's nurturing of Buffy is cited as being one of the reasons Buffy has been able to live as long as she has — much longer than other Slayers, who historically have usually died very young — and is a source of Buffy's strength. Joyce and Giles often work in similar ways to guide Buffy morally and emotionally. Buffy's tragic love affair with Angel, a relationship that could bring neither of them any happiness, was broken off, in part, after Joyce's request that Angel be the one to end it.
According to Lorna Jowett, Joyce is a vehicle through which older viewers can judge the actions of the younger characters. Jowett sees Joyce as a "post-feminist matriarch": she is the head of a household that rarely requires the presence of men. Buffy, according to Jowett, descends from two female lines: the Slayer line and the Summers line. In opposition to Buffy, Joyce never expresses that she has been abandoned by men, and she retains feminine characteristics: she runs an art gallery, has other friends, and dates. Jes Battis argues that Joyce's role as Buffy's mother goes mostly unnoticed because of societal expectations audiences are expected to make about single mothers — at least until her death. Buffy's grief must coincide with Buffy becoming who Joyce was. In this process, Buffy struggles to fill Joyce's role, finding it more difficult than being a Slayer.
Appearances.
Joyce appeared in 60 episodes of television, with Kristine Sutherland guest starring as the character in 58 of them:
Joyce has also appeared in 5 canonical issues of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" comics.
Bibliography. |
123rd Airlift Wing
The 123rd Airlift Wing (123 AW) is a unit of the Kentucky Air National Guard, stationed at Louisville International Airport (Louisville Air National Guard Base), Kentucky. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command.
Overview.
The Kentucky Air National Guard's 123rd Airlift Wing mission is to provide worldwide theater airlift for U.S. military and humanitarian operations. The wing is equipped with eight C-130H Hercules aircraft. Multiple groups, squadrons and flights carry out the unit's mission by providing administrative and logistical support, including airlift operations, combat control, pararescue, maintenance, supply, transportation, contracting, communications, civil engineering, personnel, base services, security forces and medical functions.
In November 2021, the 123rd was re-equipped with C-130J Super Hercules
Units.
The 123rd Airlift Wing consists of the following units:
History.
Korean War Federalization.
With the surprise invasion of South Korea on 25 June 1950, the 123rd Fighter Group and its component squadrons were mobilized into federal active duty at Godman Air Force Base at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Shortly after being federalized, the group and its support units of the 223rd Air Service Group were reorganized under the wing base organization and the 123rd Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated to control the operational and support elements that had been mobilized.
After over a year of training at Godman, the 123rd deployed to RAF Manston, Kent, England to replace the Strategic Air Command (SAC) 12th Fighter-Escort Wing which returned to Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas. In England, the mission of the 123rd was to provide fighter escort for SAC Boeing B-50 Superfortress and Convair B-36 Peacemaker bombers while flying over Western European airspace on their deterrence alert missions. The 123rd left their F-51Ds at Godman AFB and the personnel
boarded C-47s to Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts and later to transport ships to England. They arrived in early December, 1951 at Manston where they began conversion training on Republic F-84E Thunderjets.
The training program began with the inexperienced F-51D pilots experiencing training difficulties with the jet aircraft, with several aircraft being lost in accidents. However, by March 1952 the unit was judged to be 80% combat ready on the Thunderjets. However, the period of federalization for the 123rd was expiring and in July 1952, the unit personnel were returned to the United States, the aircraft at Manston being passed on to the active duty 406th Fighter-Bomber Wing took over its personnel and equipment.
Tactical Fighter mission.
After returning from England, the unit re-formed at Louisville. Because most jet aircraft were still in USAF use, the squadron received P-51D Mustangs and initially returned to its pre-federalization air defense mission, being designated as a fighter interceptor unit. However, with the P-51s, the Kentucky Air National Guard was limited to daylight training only.
On 1 January 1953, the wing was transferred to Tactical Air Command jurisdiction and re-equipped with refurbished North American F-86A Sabre air superiority fighter. With the switchover to TAC, the unit designation was changed to "Fighter-Bomber".
Tactical Reconnaissance mission.
The wing only flew the Sabre for two years, when it was re-equipped with Martin RB-57A Canberra reconnaissance aircraft and became the 123rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing.. The 123rd became a Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, in which it would remain for the next thirty years.
The wing would perform day and night, high and low, and visual and photographic reconnaissance. Unlike the Sabre fighters, the RB-57A was totally unarmed. The crew was two—one pilot and one photo-navigator One of their major activities of the 123rd in the United States was to carry out photographic surveys of areas hit by natural disasters such as hurricanes or tornadoes. In 1965, the 123rd was awarded its second Spaatz Trophy for superior combat readiness and flight training.
In 1965, the unit transferred its RB-57s to active duty to be deployed to South Vietnam. In return the 123rd was re-equipped, receiving the RF-101G Voodoo. The RF-101G was a derivative aircraft from twenty-nine ex-USAF F-101A Tactical Fighters that were withdrawn from fighter duty and were modified by Lockheed Aircraft Service Company of Ontario, California to serve as unarmed tactical reconnaissance aircraft for use by the Air National Guard. These aircraft were redesignated as RF-101G. As compared to the RF-101A dedicated photo-reconnaissance version of the F-101A, the RF-101G had a shorter and broader nose. These aircraft went to the Kentucky Air National Guard in July 1965, replacing the RB-57B.
On 26 January 1968, the Pueblo Crisis precipitated the 123rd's recall to federal service. The unit flew just under 20,000 tactical flying hours with the RF-101G and delivered nearly 320,000 reconnaissance prints to requesting agencies. Assigned personnel served on active duty for 16 months.
The 123rd experienced a rocky tour of active duty. The wing had not been rated combat-ready when mobilized on 26 January 1968 primarily due to equipment shortages. It was not part of Secretary McNamara's Selected Reserve Force. The unit was given an unsatisfactory ORI rating in October 1968. Despite those problems, the 123rd made a significant contribution to active force operations. It began functioning as the primary Air Force tactical reconnaissance unit in the continental U.S. Elements of its squadrons rotated temporary duty assignments in Japan and South Korea from July 1968 until April 1969 providing photo reconnaissance support to American forces in those areas, including service in South Vietnam flying combat reconnaissance missions.
The 123rd was released from active duty and returned to Kentucky state control on 8 June 1969. The wing earned its first Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for its exceptional performance during this period.
In 1971, there was a re-organization of Air National Guard tactical reconnaissance units, with all the RF-101Gs being sent to the Arkansas Air National Guard's 184th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. The Kentucky ANG transferred its RF-101Gs to the Arkansas ANG and transitioned to the RF-101H Voodoo, a follow-on to the RF-101G. Being derived from the F-101C tactical fighter, the RF-101H differed from the RF-101G in having a strengthened airframe designed to allow maneuvers at up to 7.33 G. and having different fuel pumps and fuel feed and control systems, increasing its maximum available afterburner time from six minutes to 15.
During 1976, a no-notice conversion announced by the National Guard Bureau brought the two-seat RF-4C Phantom II to the Kentucky Air National Guard, with the RF-101Hs aircraft being retired to AMARC. The unit attained combat-ready status within seven months—a record time. The Phantom years were marked with many overseas deployments, participation in international photo reconnaissance competitions and a remarkable flight safety record. In 1981, the unit placed first in the Air National Guard Photo Finish Competition and earned an unprecedented third Spaatz Trophy.
In May 1983 the unit reached another historic milestone when it earned the highest possible rating from Tactical Air Command during its Operational Readiness Inspection. This was the first time that a TAC unit had received an outstanding rating. On 1 January 1989 the unit was awarded its seventh Air Force Outstanding Unit Award—a record for any Air National Guard unit.
Tactical airlift.
The collapse of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact led to accelerated retirement plans for active duty USAF RF-4Cs. In 1988, the Kentucky Air National Guard's Phantoms were sent to AMARC, and on 9 January 1989 the 123rd was officially re-designated the 123rd Tactical Airlift Wing and began conversion to the C-130B Hercules transport aircraft. By the end of the year, the unit had been involved in many worldwide airlift missions, including Exercise Volant Oak in Panama. The unit also participated in an airlift competition, Sentry Rodeo. The wing's first humanitarian airlift came in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo.
Although the wing's 165th Tactical Airlift Squadron was not federally mobilized for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, unit volunteers served during the conflict. From August 1990 to March 1991, the 165th flew 1,240 airlift sorties worldwide in direct support of the Gulf War—the most for any Air National Guard unit. An additional 88 wing members were activated in support of Desert Shield/Storm.
Post Cold War era.
In May 1992 the 123rd received the 2000th C-130 straight off the assembly line as it began conversion to the C-130H Hercules. Eight months later, the 123rd deployed to Mombassa, Kenya, to fly relief missions into Somalia for Operation Restore Hope and Operation Provide Relief. Citizen-soldiers from the 123rd flew 150 sorties and transported 720 tons of relief supplies and 1,444 passengers into some of the hardest-hit areas in Somalia.
When the world's attention shifted to Eastern Europe in February 1993, the 123rd responded again, deploying in support of Operation Provide Promise. The unit flew 1,082 airdrop and air-land sorties and delivered 2,215 tons of food and supplies into war-torn Bosnia-Herzegovina. To support the operation, the wing deployed 451 personnel into Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany, over several rotations until May 1994.
In July 1994 the 123rd answered another call for help and deployed within 72 hours of notification to fly relief missions into Rwanda and Zaire for Operation Support Hope. Operating out of Mombassa, Kenya, unit personnel flew 147 sorties, transporting 652.5 tons of relief supplies to the beleaguered Rwandan refugees. Personnel from the unit's 205th Combat Communications Squadron also deployed to Haiti that year as part of Operation Uphold Democracy, providing satellite communications links for the theater commander.
In September 1994 the wing's sustained record of achievement was recognized by award of the 1993 Curtis N. Rusty Metcalf Trophy, presented annually to the best Air National Guard airlift or air refueling unit. The wing also earned the Air National Guard Distinguished Flying Unit Plaque and Air Force Flight Safety Plaque. In November 1994 the unit was granted its eighth Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.
The wing returned to Bosnia in 1996 to provide airlift for U.S. and NATO troops who were protecting the fragile peace. More than 170 Kentuckians volunteered for the mission, which delivered 913 tons of cargo and transported 2,296 passengers. The wing also achieved the highest readiness rate of any unit in the theater. That commitment to service continued in 1997, when the unit participated in several overseas deployments while offering a helping hand at home. More than 100 Kentucky Air Guard troops provided security forces, medical aid, communications links and civil engineering crews after record flooding ravaged several Kentucky communities.
The unit also made its presence felt overseas, offering civil engineering skills in Spain and airlift services in Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Southern Watch, which enforced the no-fly zone in Southern Iraq. Other wing members deployed to Egypt as part of a multinational training exercise that integrated 7,000 troops from every branch of the U.S. military and six foreign countries.
In February 1998, the 123rd Airlift Wing received its ninth Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. The following month, the wing accepted its sixth Distinguished Flying Unit Plaque, recognizing the 123rd Airlift Wing as one of the top five Air Guard flying units in the nation for 1997. A mere three months later, the wing as presented with the 15th Air Force Reserve Forces Trophy as the top reserve unit in the numbered Air Force.
1998 continued the 123rd Airlift Wing's tradition of global deployments with missions to Panama as part of Operation Coronet Oak and Ecuador for Nuevos Horizontes '98. The latter operation, whose name means New Horizons in Spanish, was a Southern Command joint training exercise that gave Kentucky Army and Air Guard engineers the opportunity to fine-tune military skills while constructing clinics, schools, and latrines in rural areas of the South American nation. Nearly 1,300 of the Commonwealth's citizen-soldiers participated in the effort, which also provided impoverished Ecuadorians with basic dental and medical care.
The following year, the wing returned to Bosnia once more to provide theater airlift for the continuing peacekeeping mission, now called Operation Joint Forge. More than 350 Kentucky aircrew, maintainers, and support personnel deployed for the operation, along with about 200 members of the Ohio Air National Guard's 179th Airlift Wing.
The two unit's C-130s flew nearly 500 sorties during the deployment, delivering 3,500 passengers and more than 1,000 tons of cargo to sites across Europe and inside Bosnia, including Sarajevo and Tuzla. The units also were tasked with helping stockpile equipment for what became Operation Allied Force, the NATO air campaign against Serbian forces in the former Republic of Yugoslavia. Working around the clock with the 37th Airlift Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, the Kentucky and Ohio crews flew more than 70 tons of fighter support equipment from U.S. bases in England and Germany to bases in Italy. The Kentucky Air Guard closed out 1999 by again deploying for Operation Southern Watch, providing theater airlift services from an air base in Muscat, Oman.
Air Expeditionary deployments.
In mid-1996, the Air Force, in response to budget cuts, and changing world situations, began experimenting with Air Expeditionary organizations. The Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) concept was developed that would mix Active-Duty, Reserve and Air National Guard elements into a combined force. Instead of entire permanent units deploying as "Provisional" as in the 1991 Gulf War, Expeditionary units are composed of "aviation packages" from several wings, including active-duty Air Force, the Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard, would be married together to carry out the assigned deployment rotation.
Shortly thereafter, the unit began planning for a 90-day deployment to Muscat, Oman, to again support U.S. troops enforcing the no-fly zone in Southern Iraq. More than 160 personnel were joined by members of the Ohio Air Guard's 179th Airlift Wing to support Operation Northern Watch. Together, the two units flew 345 sorties during their three-month tasking, delivering 895 tons of cargo and 1,122 passengers to destinations in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The mission, which was part of the Air Force's first-ever Aerospace Expeditionary Force, concluded in December 1999.
By April 2000 the 123rd Airlift Wing had received its 10th Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, and global deployments continued to mark the wing's activities.
More than 580 Kentucky Air Guard members deployed overseas from December 2000 to March 2001 as part of Air Expeditionary Forces based in Germany and Southwest Asia. Other unit members were sent to South America to participate in drug interdiction efforts. The largest contingent of Kentucky forces—nearly 470 aircrew, maintenance and support personnel—operated from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, in support of Operation Joint Forge, the multinational peacekeeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina. While there, unit members transported approximately 2,500 passengers and 410 tons of cargo to locations like Sarajevo and Tuzla, Bosnia; and Taszar, Hungary.
Other 123rd members deployed to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey in support of Operation Joint Forge, Operation Southern Watch and Operation Northern Watch. The latter two missions are responsible for enforcing no-fly zones imposed upon Iraq following the 1991 Gulf War.
Global War on Terrorism.
After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, unit members were tasked to participate in the war against terrorism and in homeland defense. Currently, more than 500 Kentucky ANG troops have been called to active duty for at least a year while scores of additional troops are serving on short-term duty as needed to support Operation Noble Eagle and Operation Enduring Freedom.
In the first half of 2002, the wing received three major honors recognizing its superior performance in 2001. The awards were the 15th Air Force Solano Trophy, given each year to the top reserve unit in the 15th Air Force; the Metcalf Trophy, given annually to the best tanker or airlift unit in the Air National Guard; and the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award—the wing's 11th such honor.
A member of the wing's 123rd Special Tactics Squadron, MSG Keary Miller (retired) was awarded the Air Force Cross for his actions on 4 March 2002. During a 17-hour battle on an Afghan mountaintop, then TSG Miller, a special tactics pararescueman, against overwhelming odds and a barrage of heavy fire from al-Qaida militants, dashed through deep snow into the line of fire multiple times to assess and care for critically wounded fellow service members. Sergeant Miller was the combat search and rescue lead to recover two fellow special operations members from the top of Takur Ghar. During this mission, Miller is credited with saving the lives of 10 service members, and the recovery of seven others who were killed in action.
The wing also stood up the Air National Guard's first Contingency Response Group—a rapid-reaction "airbase in a box" with all the personnel, training and equipment needed to deploy to a remote site, open up a runway and establish airfield operations so that aid and troops can begin to flow into affected areas after a disaster.
The group was instrumental in responding to the statewide ice storm last year that left nearly 770,000 households without power and water for days. All told, the wing deployed more than 380 Airmen across the Commonwealth to clear roads, distribute food and water and conduct house-to-house "wellness checks" credited with saving two people from death by carbon monoxide poisoning.
The unit was equally engaged back home. When Hurricane Gustav began closing in on the Gulf Coast in August 2008, the 123rd Airlift Wing provided the facilities and support for relief agencies to evacuate more than 1,400 New Orleans residents to Louisville and then repatriate them after the danger had passed.
In 2009, the Wing was awarded its 14th Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for accomplishments from 1 October 2007 to 30 September 2009. During those two years, the wing stepped up to perform numerous critical missions at home and abroad, deploying 759 personnel to 62 locations in 20 countries—many of them in harm's way. For example, about 300 Kentucky Airmen and multiple C-130 aircraft were deployed to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, from March through May 2009 to provide key airlift support for U.S. forces engaged with the enemy in Operation Enduring Freedom.
The unit maintained an unprecedented 100 percent mission-capable rate during the deployment, never missing a single scheduled flight due to aircraft maintenance issues while completing more than 1,500 combat sorties that delivered 3,900 tons of cargo and transported 20,000 troops throughout the theater of operations. The wing also deployed more than 120 Airmen and two C-130 aircraft to the Caribbean in support of Operation Coronet Oak, an ongoing U.S. Southern Command mission to provide theater airlift capability for U.S. military and government agencies in Central and South America.
A third major overseas deployment saw more than 200 Kentucky Air Guardsmen and three C-130 aircraft deploy to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, from January through March 2008 and August through September 2009 as part of Operation Joint Enterprise. Kentucky aircrews transported more than 200 tons of cargo and 700 troops to 18 nations across Europe and Africa during their tours.
BRAC 2005.
In its BRAC 2005 Recommendations, DoD recommended that Berry Field Air National Guard Base, Nashville, Tennessee, be realigned. This recommendation would distribute the C-130H Hercules aircraft of the 118th Airlift Wing (ANG) to the 123rd Airlift Wing (ANG), Louisville Air National Guard Base at Louisville Airport (four aircraft) and another installation. Military judgment was the predominant factor in this recommendation—this realignment would create one right-sized squadron at Louisville (79) and would retain experienced ANG personnel.
C-130J upgrade.
On 25 November 2020, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and the Kentucky congressional delegation jointly announced that the 123rd would soon receive C-130J Hercules aircraft from the United States Air Force to replace the "H" model aircraft that have been in service for over 25 years. |
Ostrov (air base)
Ostrov (Russian: "Веретье" ("Veret"); also Ostrov-5, Gorokhovka) is a Russian Air Force air base in Pskov Oblast, Russia located 7 km southeast of Ostrov and 57 km south of Pskov. It was subordinate to the Baltic Fleet and was a nuclear bomber facility with 15 very large revetments on the east side of the airfield and about 30 small revetments on the west side. As many as 63 Tupolev Tu-16s were based here. A US intelligence analysis in 1984 identified a normal complement of 52 Tu-16 aircraft at Ostrov. The base hosted the Russian Navy's 444th Center for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel Naval Aviation.
The base is now home to the 15th Army Aviation Brigade which was formed during 2013. The brigade operates Ka-52, Mi-28N, Mi-35M, Mi-26 and Mi-8 MTV-5.
History.
In 1953 the 12th Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment, part of the 116th Heavy Bomber Aviation Division (LRA), arrived from Tartu in the Estonian SSR. In 1960 it was transferred to the Baltic Fleet and the Navy and retitled the 12th Naval Missile-carrying Aviation Regiment (12 MRAP). Briefly under the control of the 57th Maritime Torpedo Aviation Division Long-Range, it was subordinated directly to the Baltic Fleet in 1961. It flew Tupolev Tu-16Ks and Tu-16Zs throughout the 1960s to 1980s. The regiment was disbanded on 29 December 1989.
The 240 Gv MRAP (240th Naval Missile-carrying Regiment) flying Tupolev Tu-16, active for many years, was disbanded in 1991. It was reformed in 1995 as the 240th Guards Research-Instructor Mixed Aviation Regiment, subordinate to the 444th Center. From 1995 it flew the Sukhoi Su-24 and Tupolev Tu-22M3s. Also at the base was the 5501 BKhu (5501st Aviation Equipment Disposal Base) with 74 probably-scrapped Tupolev Tu-16 aircraft in 1992).
There is little reliable information on the early history of the airfield.
There is information that the Veretie airfield was built in the mid 1930s. At first, the airfield was used as summer camps. In 1940, on the basis of the Directive of the NKO USSR 0/4104725 of July 25, 1940, the 158th Fighter Aviation Regiment was formed and was based at the Veretie airfield. By 22.06.41, the regiment was armed with 46 aircraft Polikarpov I-16 and 20 Yakovlev Yak-1. During the war years, the airfield was used by German aviation (judging by the archival photographs - auxiliary and military transport).
In 1953, the 12th TAP DD was redeployed from the Tartu airfield to the Veretie airfield by airplanes Tupolev Tu-4 (a reverse engineered Boeing B-29 Superfortress). Until 1954, the 12th TAP remained in the 326th TACB of the 74th Long-Range Aviation Heavy Bomber Corps. In the same year, he, together with the 685th TAP, joined the specially formed 116th Heavy Aviation Division of the 74th UTBAK. This division was created for the development of a new anti-ship missile system KS-1 Komet. The division management, as well as its regiments (the 12th TAP and the 685th TAP) were stationed at the Veretie airfield. In addition to heavy regiments, the division included the 61st Separate Fighter Aviation Squadron of SPN SDK-5 aircraft (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 SDK). The division and the units included in it were assigned to especially regime objects.
At the end of 1959 - the beginning of 1960, the management of the 116th TAJ and the 685th TAP were disbanded. According to the directive of the Civil Code of the Navy No. OMU / 13028 of 03/27/1960, the 12th heavy aviation regiment was transferred to the BF Air Force and renamed the 12th long-range torpedo aviation regiment. The regiment commander was reassigned to the 61st OIAE Special Forces, based on the Veretie airfield, which was also transferred to the BF Air Force. In July 1960, the 61st OIAE was reorganized into the 12th separate fighter squadron of SPN, without changing the place of deployment.
On April 13, 1961, in connection with the transformation of mine-torpedo aviation into naval rocket-carrying aircraft, on the basis of the Order of the USSR Ministry of Defense No. 0028 of 03/20/1961, the Order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy No. 048 of April 13, 1961 and the Order of Commander BF No. 0036 On April 27, 1961, the 12th OMTAP DD was renamed the " '12th Separate Naval Missile Aviation Regiment' '.
In mid-1961, the 12th Special Forces Company, subordinated to the regimental commander, was disbanded.
June 1, 1971, on the basis of the directive of the General Staff of the Navy No. 730 / 1/00186 of February 10, 1971, the 9th Guards. The IRPA, armed with airplanes Tu-16, was transferred to the Baltic Fleet Air Force, redeployed from the Severomorsk-1 airfield to Veretie airfield. 9th Guards. The entire MTRP was part of the 5th MTAD of the Northern Fleet, with a deployment at the Vaenga airfield (Severomorsk-1). After the end of the war, the armament of the regiment was equipped with the Ilyushin Il-4 and A-20 Boston airplanes, then the regiment was re-equipped Ilyushin Il-28 and Tupolev Tu-14, in 1956, at Tu-16. One of the reasons for the relocation of the regiment was the need to release the airfield to the 24th separate anti-submarine regiment of the DD on Ilyushin Il-38 as early as 1968. In 1972, the year of the 9th Guards. the air regiment flew over to the Island.
At the same time, the regiment is preparing for overseas travel to Egypt to provide military assistance to the "brotherly people." The command of the Soviet Navy decided to send a squadron of airplanes (ten cars) to the "hot spot" Tu-16KSR-2-11 from the 9th Guards. MRPA. The commander of the air group was Colonel V. I. Kolchin. The aircraft received camouflage and identification marks of the Arab Republic of Egypt. In late October - early November 1971, Tu-16 aircraft were redeployed to Aswan, where the crews began to study the area of flights in new, unusual for northerners conditions. The aircraft flew in pairs through Hungary and Yugoslavia, the squadron's technical personnel was relocated by aircraft Antonov An-12. The formal task of the squadron was to train Egyptian pilots on Tu-16KSR-2 aircraft.
By June 1972, 10 Egyptian crews were retrained to this rocket system, and in July they received an order to wind down the activities of the Soviet air group. In July 1972, pilots and vehicles of the 9th Guards. The MRPA has left Egypt. Before their departure, all 10 missile carriers were transferred to the Egyptian side. As part of the Air Force ARE of them was formed the 36th Aviation Squadron, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Rauf.
However, despite the categorical demands of the UAR President Anvar Sadat about the complete withdrawal of Soviet military specialists, the Egyptian Air Force commanders had to resort to the help of Soviet Tu-16 specialists. In December 1972, a group of so-called “instructors” from the 9th Guards arrived in Egypt. MRAF BF Air Force, commanded by Major Kornev. The group included: navigators, equipment for all aviation specialties, specialists in rocket equipment and cruise missiles. Under the contract, they worked for six months, and the "missilemen" remained for another three months - until the end of October 1973.
December 31, 1974 9th Guards. MRPA was disbanded. One of the reasons for disbanding the regiment was that it was armed with the KS missile system that was outdated by that time, and it was considered inexpedient to rearm it.
In 1975, the 846th Separate Guards Naval Assault Aviation Regiment of the military unit 39064 was formed at the [Vera] airfield Sukhoi Su-17 - the first naval assault aviation regiment in the Naval Aviation of the USSR post-war period. This regiment became the heir of the famous 1st Guards Mine-Torpedo Aviation Regiment The Air Force twice of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, to which all regalia and honorary names were transferred. On May 20, 1980, the regiment was relocated to the airfield Chkalovsk, Kaliningrad.
In 1978, at the airfield of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet air force of the city of Bykhaw, the 342nd separate air regiment electronic warfare " 'was formed on Tu-16 aircraft. In 1980, the regiment was transferred to the airfield Veretie, where he worked until 1989, after which the 342nd ERA EW was disbanded, and its units were again returned to the 170th and 240th Guards. Mrapov in Bykhov.
On December 29, 1989, the 12th OMFR of the BF air force was disbanded. The Battle Banner of the regiment was handed over to the archive of the USSR Ministry of Defense, and the aircraft were transferred to the aviation storage base again formed at the Veret airfield (the 5501th reserve base of aircraft and helicopters). From there, the Tu-16K-26 regiment aircraft were transferred to the EBC 170th Guards squadron. MRPA and the 240th Guards. MRPA, gradually replacing the older by the years of release of the Tu-16PSS.
In 1989, the Veretie garrison, after redeploying the 392nd ODRAP there, came under the authority of the SF air force and remained in their structure until 1993.
444th Center for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel Naval Aviation.
After the collapse of the USSR in 1992, there were 33rd in Ukraine (Nikolaev/Kulbakino) and the 1063rd (Saky) BP and PLC centers of the USSR Navy, 859 CA (Kacha) whose fate was in question . Naval Aviation of the Russian Federation was left without its own base for training and retraining of flight and engineering staff. The command of the Navy Air Force was faced with the need to create a new Training Center already in Russia. 10.10.1993, the resolution of the Board of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation was adopted on the creation of a new Center for Naval Aviation. Following this, in December of the same year the order of the General Staff of the Navy to form a new Aviation Training Center of the Russian Navy was issued. According to the directive of the commander of the Navy Air Force of 09/01/1994, the 444th Center for Combat Use and Retraining of the Navy's Air Force Flight Personnel was formed. The first commander of the Center was appointed Major General A. Ya. Biryukov.
In 1995, the Center formed the Central Officer Courses.
In 1993-94 management of the 132nd naval assault aviation division and the 170th Guards. naval assault air regiment were disbanded, and the 240th Guards. The MSARP and the 392nd ODRAP were reorganized into the new 240th Guards Red Banner Sevastopol-Berlin mixed (instructor-research) aviation regiment of the Navy Air Force. He began to obey the chief of the newly formed 444th pulp and paper industry and the FL. The 444th pulp and paper industry and the 240th AI SAP were called upon to replace, to some extent, the 33rd pulp and paper industry left by independent Ukraine. Preobrazhensky, 540th MRPA (AI) (Kulbakino), 555th Subsidiary Surveillance Unit (AI) (Ochakov), 316th OPLAE (Kulbakino).
In service with the 240th Guards. SAPs were all types of aviation equipment operated at that time by the Russian Federation Aviation Aviation (except helicopters): Tupolev Tu-154M, Tupolev Tu-142, Tupolev Tu-134UBL, Tu-134UBC, Tupolev Tu-22M3, Ilyushin Il-38, Sukhoi Su-24M, Beriev Be-12, Antonov An-26, Ilyushin Il-18 also several training aircraft such as Aero L-39 Albatros
On October 1, 2001, the transport squadron was withdrawn from the 240th Regiment. It is transferred to the newly formed "" '46th separate transport Red Banner aviation regiment of the Navy " (central subordination) at the airfield Ostafyevo. Part of the regiment's aircraft continue to be based at the Veretie airfield.
So, by the beginning of the 21st century, there were stationed at the airfield:
On December 1, 2009, the 444th combat use center and the air force and air defense forces of the Navy was disbanded. Aircraft equipment (partially) was transferred to the newly formed 859th Center for Combat Training and Retraining of Naval Aviation flight personnel of the Navy in Yeysk, Krasnodar Territory. 46th OTAP reformed 7055th Guards. The Red Banner Sevastopol-Berlin Avb Navy of the central subordination of the 2nd category based on the Ostafyevo airfield.
In 2013, the Veretie airfield was transferred to 6th Air and Air Defence Forces Army.
According to Google and Yandex satellite maps, at the Veretie airfield (as of 2018) 6 Be-12, 7 Su-24, 1 An-26, 1 Tu-22M3, 1 Tu-134UBL and 1 Tu-142M aircraft are in storage.
15th AA Brigade.
The 15th Army Aviation Brigade (4th Air Squadron) was formed in 2013. This formation was formed in the Russian Armed Forces for the first time, instead of the existing helicopter air bases of the second category. For the staffing of the brigade, a new and most advanced equipment is being sent, in particular: on December 25, 2013, the transfer to the combat crew of the 15th brigade of the new helicopters Mil Mi-28N and Mil Mi-35M took place. On the same day, the team at the Progress Far East plant in Arsenyev, in the presence of the Director General of the Russian Helicopters holding company, Alexander Mikheev, and the commander-in-chief of the Air Force, Lieutenant-General Viktor Bondarev, received 12 new [Ka] 52 teams. In addition to these helicopters, the brigade has transport-combat Mi-8MTV-5 and heavy helicopters of the type Mil Mi-26.
Disasters and accidents.
29 December 1974. Airplane Tu-16, commander kn A. Korepanov, class 1. During the flight Ostrov - Severomorsk-3 the plane collided with a hill at a distance of 18 km from the airfield, due to the incorrect barometric pressure of the landing airfield at altimeter and VD-20. The crew of 7 people died.
13 July 1988. Departure by a pair of Tu-16s in the Barents Sea, in the afternoon. Complicated weather conditions: cirrus cloudy 5 points, visibility 2–4 km. At an altitude of 9900 meters, the leading aircraft, with the smoke of the right engine, with the left bank and an energetic decline, went out of sight of the slave. A rescue plane at the crash site found two oil stains in the sea, floating debris, a LAS-5M-3 boat and personal belongings of crew members of the aft cockpit. The true cause of the disaster could not be established. Crew: Efimov, Usov, Isaenko, Yerknapishyan, Rybaltovsky, Moskalenko - died.
6 October 1998, the plane crash Sukhoi Su-24. The aircraft was driven from the airfield of Chernyakhovsk to Veretie airfield. Before landing, an unauthorized demonstration passage was made over the airfield at near-sonic speed and ultra-low altitude. Due to a pilot error the plane collided with the ground. The crew, consisting of: commander crew a - deputy regiment commander lieutenant colonel Tolmachyov and navigator - programmer major Pisarco - died (crew from Chernyakhovsk).
17 July 2001, during celebrations in honor of AVMF Day, while performing a demonstration flight on an Sukhoi Su-33 plane, allegedly due to an pilot error, the Deputy Commander of the MA, Major General of the naval aviation, Hero RF Timur Avtandilovich Apakidze.
8 February 2016, the Mi-8 helicopter made an emergency landing. At 19:21 communication with the crew of the helicopter was interrupted, the search and rescue team found in a wooded area 5 km south of the airfield a burning helicopter and the bodies of 4 crew members.
On June 16, 2016, when landing at the airport, Ostrov rolled out of the strip and broke the landing gear of the long-range missile carrier bomber Tu-22M3 of the Russian Aerospace Forces (side number 10 red, registration number RF-94146, serial number 10905). The crew was not injured, the restoration of the aircraft was considered inappropriate. The crew and aircraft from Shaykovki. |
Model United Nations
Model United Nations, also known as model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a country, organization, or person, and must solve a problem with other delegates from around the world. MUN teaches participants skills like research, public speaking, debating, and writing, in addition to critical thinking, teamwork, and leadership. While MUN is typically used as an extracurricular activity, some schools also offer it as a class. MUN is meant to engage students, and allow them to develop deeper understanding into current world issues.
Delegates conduct research before conferences: they must formulate position papers, and create policy proposals that they will debate with other delegates in their committee. At the end of a conference, delegates will vote on written policies (called draft resolutions), with the goal of passing them with a majority vote. The best-performing delegates in each committee, as well as delegations, are sometimes recognized with awards.
MUN organizations have conferences that accommodate students, from elementary school, all the way to college or university levels. Most conferences will often cater to just one of these three levels. Delegates usually attend conferences together, as delegations sent by their respective school or university's model UN clubs, though some delegates attend conferences independently.
History.
Model UN began as a series of student-led model League of Nations simulations. The first simulations were called "international assemblies", the first of which was held at Oxford University in November 1921, with the potential first ever simulation being on the 12th of November 1921. Following several simulations in Oxford, Mir Mahmood, the president of the first Oxford International Assembly, traveled to Harvard in 1922 to help spread this idea further. He advocated for the League of Nations, and inspired the Harvard Liberal Club to create the first American International Assembly held at Harvard University in 1923. The Oxford International Assembly ceased to exist in the following years, but the Harvard International Assembly remained strong, and has since encouraged the development of these simulations worldwide.
After World War II, model League of Nations transitioned to model United Nations after the formation of the League's successor organization, the United Nations, in 1945. Today, some model United Nations conferences include a wide variety of topics in their committee offerings, some even simulating the League of Nations.
The first recorded instance of a model United Nations conference was at Swarthmore College on April 5, 1947. Over 150 students from over 41 colleges were reported as participating. The delegates simulated a General Assembly, and recommended that member states "establish an international control and development of atomic energy", "conclude a treaty on disarmament", that the UN adopt "a uniform system for citizenship of refugees", that the UN amend the charter to adopt a definition of aggression, and that nations "promote the reconstruction of devastated areas through economic assistance through the U.N."
Another historic model United Nations was held at St. Lawrence University from 11 to 13 February 1949. It was initiated by Dr. Harry Reiff, head of the History and Government Department, with the assistance of departmental colleague Otto L. George. The 1949 St. Lawrence University Model UN conference included delegates from regional colleges and universities, including Adelphi University, Alfred University, Champlain College, Clarkson University, McGill University, Middlebury College, Potsdam College, Saint Michael's College, and The University of Vermont. The conference continued annually for many years at St. Lawrence, and has recently been revived on the campus.
The three oldest conferences in the world that are still active today were established in the early 1950s. They are Berkeley Model United Nations (BMUN) at Berkeley (1952) Harvard Model United Nations (HMUN) at Harvard (1953) and Model United Nations of the Far West (MUNFW), which has held college-level conferences since 1951. The first being at Stanford University where Ralph Bunche was the honored speaker.
Academic aspects.
Participation in Model UN is meant to foster skills in negotiation, speaking, and communication. Material issues of diplomacy and policy are approached through a quasi-academic process. In addition, crisis committees, which deal with crisis scenarios which can be contemporary or historical, can develop leadership skills, and the ability to adapt and deal with unexpected situations. In preparation for a conference, topics are chosen for each committee. Typically, research and background guides are made available by the organizers of a conference. Based on these guides, delegates of each committee are often expected to research and formulate a position for the country or group they represent, and submit a position paper. The purpose of writing a position paper is to familiarize delegates with the substantial topics of debate, encourage academic research and writing, and to enable substantial preparation for conferences.
Procedures.
In order to maintain decorum, most model UN committees use parliamentary procedures derived from Robert's Rules of Order. In addition, the United Nations has spearheaded efforts to introduce new model UN rules of procedure that are more closely aligned with those used by the actual UN. Since there is no governing body for Model UN, each conference differs in their rules of procedure.
The following rules of procedure apply to general MUNs but may not apply to every MUN:
Points and Motions.
Points and Motions outline how topics are prioritized, the way resolutions are voted on, and how they facilitate the general flow of debate. Points are used to discuss topics that are outside of substantive debate. They are more personal, and don't require a vote. Motions are used to discuss procedural matters, and they help to further the discussion on a committee topic. A delegate may request the committee as a whole to perform a particular action. Most motions will require a vote in order to pass; the number of votes required to pass these motions works according to a Quorum – this is the minimum number of delegates required to make decisions in a committee. The motions used at any given time in a Model UN committee change, according to where the committee is with the flow of debate.
Flow of Debate.
Most MUN committees follow a flow of debate. This starts with a speakers list, followed by formal/informal debate and then voting procedure. A Dais will maintain a list of speakers and the delegates follow the order written on the 'speaker list'. Delegates may be added to the speaker list by raising their placards or sending a note to the chair. During this time, delegates talk to the entire committee. They make speeches, answer questions, and debate on resolutions and amendments. If there are no other motions, the committee goes back to the speaker list by default.
Formal/Informal debate includes both moderated and unmoderated caucuses. Caucus is an opportunity to discuss policy ideas. A Moderated Caucus is more formal and is run by the committee chair, an Unmoderated caucus is a time where delegates move around the room and have a more informal discussion on the topic. In a moderated or unmoderated caucus, the committee goes into a recess and the rules of procedure are suspended. Anyone may speak if recognized by the chair. A vote on a motion is necessary to go into a moderated caucus. There is a comparatively shorter time limit per speech. In an unmoderated caucus, the delegates informally meet with other delegates and the staff for discussions.
Resolutions.
A resolution is a legal document that expresses the general opinion of the committee. Once passed it can be seen as a list of actions that your committee recommends.
Resolutions are the written compilation of the ideas discussed during debate. They are considered the final results of conversations, writings, and negotiations. Resolutions must go through a draft, approval by the dais, and consequent debate and modification.
MUN Resolutions are composed of both preambulatory and operative clauses. Preambulatory clauses help to outline the general problems that a resolution will fix, whereas operative clauses help to display solutions in an organized and easily understandable way.
Conference management.
MUN societies and conferences are run by a group of administrators known as the secretariat. A secretariat is headed by a Secretary-General. Other members of the secretariat include the Director-General, Under-Secretaries-General and President of General Assembly.
Committee dais.
Each committee usually has a dais that is composed of a chair (also known as moderator or director), one or more vice-chairs and a team of note-passers (also known as pages, runners, security, admins, or similar).
In crisis committees, there can also be a crisis staff composed of a crisis director, assistant director, and crisis staffers. These members are responsible for facilitating the back-room portion of a committee.
Languages.
Traditionally, English has been the official and working language of most conferences. However, as Model UN has become more popular around the world, and as conferences in countries such as the United States have sought to appeal to underrepresented minorities (such as the Spanish-speaking community), committees using languages other than English, or which are bilingual, have become common. However, this is still not a mainstream phenomenon, especially in the United States, where most bilingual or Spanish language committees are found only at conferences hosted in Puerto Rico or the South West.
Attire.
Nearly all model United Nations conferences require delegates to wear Western business attire. Dressing professionally is an important way to show respect for the nation, organization, or individual one is representing, as well as for the rest of one's committee.
Committees.
Model United Nations conferences regularly simulate the bodies of the United Nations, the European Union, government cabinets, regional bodies such as ASEAN, as well as corporate boards, NGOs or so-called Press Corps. Idiosyncrasies and fictional Committees also exist. An example for such a special committee that does not have a parallel in the actual United Nations which deals with a crisis is known as a 'Crisis Committee.' In this committee, a crisis is given to a team of students and the teams must come up with solutions. The Crisis Committee traditionally focuses on a single historical event, but recently current and future events have been used as well. The event may be fictional or non-fictional.
Crisis committees.
Crisis is a specialized form of model UN where participants can emulate a variety of entities, from a board of directors to historical figures. Crisis committees tend to be much smaller in size than their classic counterparts, and revolve around a quickly-developing series of events known as a "crisis." Delegates are assigned positions, and must create directives consisting purely of operative actions this means that rather than solving problems with Resolutions, delegates pass Directives. While delegates are working to solve the crisis at hand through directives, they are also often tasked with individual objectives that can be achieved with the submission of crisis notes. Delegates may sometimes find out what other committee members have been doing through crisis updates.
Unlike regular committees, crisis committees have two distinct forums: the in-room and the out-room (also known as the front-room and the back-room, respectively). The in-room consists of delegate activity in the committee, including the usual speaking, while out-room refers to directives sent to staffers (also known as directors), communication with other crisis committees. Directives can either be written by an individual, several individuals working together, or the whole committee.
Staffers can update crisis events based partly on a preset direction and partly on interaction from delegates and committees. Crisis committees are also subject to more variation in rules and experimentation than regular committees. One relatively common variant is the "midnight crisis" where delegates attend a committee session at night to respond to an emergency situation. There also may be crisis committees that interact with each other, where resolutions that are written impact debate in other committees.
Organization.
Model United Nations conferences are usually organized by high school clubs or college clubs.
Model UN by region and country.
Although model United Nations originated in the United States, MUN clubs and conferences are not isolated to that country. Rather, like the actual UN, model UN is found in countries around the globe. Because model UN is decentralized and has grown autonomously around the world, there are significant differences in how MUN is done between regions.
Europe.
Denmark.
MUN is relatively popular in Denmark, with BIGMUN being the largest conference in Scandinavia.
Germany.
MUN is popular amongst university and high school students in . The country's largest conference is (OLMUN).
Most model United Nations Conferences in Germany debate in the English language. Exceptions to that are high school conferences including the ones organized by (DMUN e.V.) in (MUNBW), (MUNSH) and (MUNBB), as well as the ones organized by (SvEN, Simulation Vereinte Nationen). On college level, BIMUN/SINUB in takes place as a multi-lingual conference with live interpretation.
The Netherlands.
The largest MUN in the Netherlands is The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN) conference, which includes over 3500 participants, coming from around 200 schools and 100 countries. Although it is not located near the United Nations Headquarters in New York, it is one of the pioneer model United Nations conferences in the world, since it has been founded in 1968 and located in the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) world city of the Hague. A whole network of conferences is marked by its THIMUN affiliation, a label which basically describes the universality of the procedures that rule the conference, and make it part of the UN recognized foundation. In 1995, the THIMUN Foundation was accredited as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information. Additionally, THIMUN has established its own conferences' network throughout time: THIMUN Qatar, THIMUN Singapore, THIMUN Online MUN (O-MUN) and THIMUN Latin America conferences have been set up from 2005. The second and third biggest MUN-conferences of the Netherlands are MUNISH (Model United Nations at the International School of the Hague) and HMUN (Haarlem Model United Nations).
Portugal.
The Iberian Model United Nations (IMUN), held in Lisbon, is the largest MUN in Portugal and one of the largest high school MUN conferences in Europe. IMUN's keynote speakers have included prominent politicians, diplomats, United Nations officials, and rights activists, such as internationally awarded author Richard Zimler, U.S. Ambassador Robert A. Sherman, and President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. There are numerous other conferences throughout the country.
Spain.
MUN first arrived in Spain in 2006 with the organization of the Catalonia Model United Nations (C'MUN) in Barcelona. In 2019 Madrid hosted the Harvard World Model United Nations (WorldMUN), and among the 2,300 participants were 500 Spanish students belonging to 20 different universities. Madrid's bid for WorldMUN was led by the Spanish Alliance for Model United Nations (SAMUN), which reunited the students of the four public universities of Madrid: Complutense University of Madrid, Autonomous University of Madrid, Charles III University of Madrid and King Juan Carlos University.
Asia-Pacific.
Afghanistan.
The Kabul Model United Nations was established in Kabul in 2014. The objectives are to bring young female and male individuals together to discuss global issues and promote diplomacy, human rights, peace building, and social welfare. Participants include university students up to the age of 30. They come from four or five Afghanistan provinces to develop critical thinking and public speaking skills. Pamir International Model United Nations (PIMUN) was established in October 2016.
Australia.
Model United Nations conferences in Australia are typically separated into tertiary and high school levels. At the high school level, the large majority of model United Nations events are organized by the various state and territory branches of UN Youth Australia through the Evatt competition or UN Youth various conferences and summits, or by the many branches of Rotary Australia.
Bangladesh.
Model United Nations is practiced in Bangladesh since 2002, when the Model United Nations on Combating Terrorism – Bangladesh Model United Nations first took place. Since then, plenty of model United Nations conferences have been held in the country. But the concept of MUN became a popular one in Bangladesh from 2013.
MUN in Bangladesh grew rapidly after the formation of the first university based MUN club of the country Dhaka University Model United Nations Association in 2011. Dhaka University National Model United Nations (DUNMUN) started from 2012.
China.
Model United Nations first came to China in 1995, when the China Foreign Affairs University held the country's first collegiate model United Nations conferences. Arriving in Chinese high schools in 2005, model UN expanded rapidly. Peking University (PKU) students, after attending Harvard's HMUN, organized the first national model UN conference for high school students in China. PKU's conference was initially backed by UNA-USA, however support was curtailed in 2010 due to the Great Recession.
Between 2005 and 2010, national model United Nations conferences such as those organized by PKU and the rivaling Fudan University in Shanghai drew the best high school students from around the country, who competed for limited spaces. Over time, lesser-known national conferences, as well as regional and even local conferences for high school students, began to develop and gradually spread to cities beyond Beijing and Shanghai.
One major conference is the Annual NEOMUN conference, also known as SCAMUN by internal members.
Most model United Nations conferences in China are organized through private or academic enterprises, however some government-affiliated MUNs have also flourished, and recently, unofficial student-run grassroots conferences have begun to dominate the Chinese MUN scene.
MITMUNC China was jointly organized online by ASDAN and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2020.
India.
Delegates from across India attend the Doon School Model United Nations. The Harvard MUN India hosted over 1700 attendees in 2019.
New Zealand.
A high number of New Zealand high schools operate their own MUN events, with UN Youth New Zealand functioning as a managing organisation. UN Youth NZ also organises regional and national events, along with Aotearoa Youth Declaration, the Pacific Project, and New Zealand's THIMUN delegation.
Pakistan.
The first MUN in Pakistan was held in 2006 and since then, the number of MUN conferences in the country has grown, attracting participants from schools, colleges, and universities across the country. Some notable MUNs in Pakistan include the Lahore Model United Nations, Youth International Conclave Model United Nations, and Karachi Model United Nations.
The Aitchison College Model United Nations Society was established in 2009. Most notably, they won the overall Best Delegation at HMUN China for two years in a row, and for a record third time.
Others.
Another major conference in Pakistan is the "Lahore University of Management Sciences Model United Nations" in Lahore, Pakistan which hosts more than 400 delegates.
Vietnam.
There has been an increasing number of conferences, including invitational ones such as UNISMUN, SAMSUN, and many other non-invitational ones. These conferences are often organized by schools or student-led organizations with varying scales and exclusivity. One of the most inclusive model United Nations conferences in the country is Vietnam National Model United Nations (VNMUN), open to not only Vietnamese in all parts of the country but also international students studying around the world.
Middle East.
United Arab Emirates.
The United Arab Emirates Universities Model United Nations occur on a yearly basis. It draws more than 300 delegates from local universities and from across the Middle East. Many schools also have their own MUN conferences, including DIAMUN in Dubai.
Bahrain.
The Bahrain Universities Model United Nations occur on a yearly basis. It draws more than 200 delegates from local universities and from across the Middle East.
Israel.
In 2008, Reichman University established the first United Nations Model Club at the academic level in Israel. Since then, university level MUN in Israel has grown to include over 10 universities and colleges and is led by the Israeli Model United Nations Association. Some universities hold a yearly conference of their own such as Tel Aviv University's TLVMUN.
Kuwait.
The American Creative Academy Model United Nations (ACAMUN), the American School of Kuwait Model United Nations (ASKMUN), and the Bayan Bilingual School Model United Nations (BBSMUN) are the most popular Model United Nations organizations in the State of Kuwait amongst high schoolers. Comparatively, the American University of Kuwait Model United Nations (AUKMUN) is the leading Model United Nations organization amongst university and collegiate leveled people, with AUKMUN being recognized and well-respected by the United Nations in Kuwait due to the highly regarded submission of a proposal based on climate finance and cap-trade policies written by executive members.
Africa.
Nigeria.
Lagos Model United Nations is one of Africa's pioneer MUN Conferences. Set in Lagos, it is the largest MUN Conference in West Africa, and attracts over 400 delegates each year. The Conference is hosted by the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos and simulates up to 10 committees of the United Nations annually. The Conference began in 2016, due to the desire of the founders to organize a conference in Nigeria, after participating in several model United Nations conferences worldwide including National Model United Nations and Rome Model United Nations.
Beyond the simulation of committees, the Conference offers other activities for delegates such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Workshop and the Idea Fair. The SDG Workshop is a platform for SDG experts to share their experiences with the delegates, while the Idea Fair is an opportunity for young innovators working on different SDGs to win a cash grant.
Tunisia.
Conferences in Tunisia are mostly found in Tunis and they are usually sponsored by the Tunisian International Model United Nations (TIMUN). The most famous conference in Tunisia is the "Grande Simulation annuelle du TIMUN" in Tunis, which host more than 300 delegates. These conferences are usually hosted by the biggest national universities. Since the 6th edition, the "Grande Simulation annuelle" is under the patronage of the Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs and welcomes Tunisian ministers and diplomats.
Botswana.
The majority of MUN conferences held in Botswana are centred around the capital city, Gaborone. Model United Nations events have also happened online, with Youth International Conclave hosting an event to encourage more of the youth to take part. Some private schools in Gaborone such as Maru-a-Pula School have MUN as an extra curricular activity.
Other countries.
The other conferences in Africa include NAIMUN in Marrakech. Established in August 2012 by a coalition of North African youths, NAIMUN is the largest student-run model United Nations conference in Africa and the Middle East, with 4 sub-branches in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt. It trains and encourages young people to address pressing global issues and engages them in resolving global problems. NAIMUN is a non-profit organization which provides an equal opportunity for all youth to actively participate in an open debate. JoMUN in Johannesburg, and IMIRAMUN in Windhoek took place in Benin, in Cotonou. The first edition of Algeria Model United Nations was held in December 2014.
South America.
Brazil.
The Americas Model United Nations (AMUN ) was the first MUN Conference to be held in Latin America, accomplishing 21 years of history in 2018 with the edition "Bring Walls Down, Build Up Connections". The event official language of the conference is English, which has enabled AMUN to receive students from various countries worldwide. The committees vary with each edition of the project, as well as its themes addressed, among which are international security, cooperation, human rights, democracy and transnational crimes.
Among the cultural activities, there is a tour around Brasília, the city hosting the event, and the Nations Fair, in which the peculiarities and customs of each country are shown by the participants representing them on the Conference.
Peru.
At university level, model United Nations started in Peru in 2006 with the United Nations Studies Circle (CENU), a college team from the University of Lima founded to compete at Harvard National Model United Nations. This team would evolution into a full-scale organization, the Peruvian Association for the Study of the United Nations (AENU Peru for its Spanish acronym), a non-for-profit NGO charged with task of promoting MUN in Peru and creating Peru's first "National Delegation", thus creating the Peruvian Universities Debate Team (PU). Starting their new trademark since 2011, PU's has garnered the Best Large Delegation award at Harvard World Model United Nations 2014 held in Brussels, Belgium, and the Best Large Delegation award at Harvard National Model United Nations - Latin America 2017, held in Lima, Peru.
At high school level, MUN has been a popular extracurricular activity since 2012, with the first high school conference Lima Model United Nations (LiMUN) 2012, followed by Villa Maria Model United Nations (VMMUN) 2015, Newton Model United Nations (NewMUN) 2015, and Carmelitas Model United Nations 2015, being the latter school the host for the first Ivy League Model United Nations Conference Peru (ILMUNC 2016). Each school delegation hosts its own conference, including Lima, Cusco, Arequipa and Piura.
North America.
United States.
Model United Nations is popular across the United States, with MUN clubs and conferences being found in every region. However, because Model UN is decentralized and has grown autonomously, there are significant differences in how MUN is done between regions. |
Perceptual narrowing
Perceptual narrowing is a developmental process during which the brain uses environmental experiences to shape perceptual abilities. This process improves the perception of things that people experience often and causes them to experience a decline in the ability to perceive some things to which they are not often exposed. This phenomenon is a result of neuroplasticity, including Hebbian learning and synaptic pruning. Through these mechanisms, neural pathways that are more consistently used are strengthened, making them more efficient, while those pathways that are unused become less efficient. This process is most evident during sensitive periods of development. The prevailing theory is that human infants are born with the ability to sense a wide variety of stimuli, and as they age, they begin to selectively narrow these perceptions by categorizing them in a more socio-culturally relevant way. Most of the research in this area focuses on facial discrimination and phoneme distinction in human infants. However, other work has found that perceptual narrowing also occurs for music and sign language perception. Perceptual narrowing has also been implicated in synaesthesia.
Facial discrimination.
Cross racial.
Most of the research done to date in the area of perceptual narrowing involves facial processing studies conducted with infants. Using a preferential looking procedure in cross racial studies, Caucasian infants were tested on their ability to distinguish two faces from four different racial groups. Facial prompts were presented from their own racial group, as well as, African, Asian, and Middle Eastern. At three months of age, infants were able to show recognition for familiar faces from all racial groups, but by six months, a pattern was beginning to emerge where the infants could only recognize faces from the Caucasian or Chinese groups—groups they had more familiarity with. At nine months, recognition took place only in the own-race group. These cross race studies provide strong evidence that children do start out with cross racial recognition abilities but as they age, they quickly begin to organize the data and select the stimuli that is most familiar to them, typically own-race faces.
Cross species.
Cross species studies have been conducted where human infants at 6 months of age were familiarized with individual monkeys. When the monkey faces were associated with unique proper name labels, the infants maintained their ability to discriminate between them when retested at nine months of age. If the exposure was just to monkey faces in general, without name labels, the infants were unable to discriminate between them when retested at the nine months mark. This research shows that the individuation process helps to shape and maintain discrimination abilities for categories of familiarity, and is instrumental in the recognition of familiar faces later in life. It also highlights the importance of experience in perceptual narrowing.
Infants showed similar results to non-primate species such as cats and dogs at the ages of three to four months of age, however without the confirmation of whether or not the ability to discriminate decreases as development occurs after nine months.
Phoneme distinction.
At birth, infants have broad abilities to detect similarities and differences among languages. The phonemes of different languages sound distinct to infants less than six months of age, but as the infant grows and their brain develops, they become less able to distinguish phonemes of nonnative languages and more responsive to their native language. This is presumably due to infants experiencing their native language often, while not getting much experience with non-native languages. Research suggests that this perceptual narrowing phenomenon occurs within the first year of life. Infants aged 6–8 months have a greater ability to distinguish between nonnative sounds in comparison to infants who are 8–10 months of age. Near the end of 12 months, infants are beginning to understand and produce speech in their native language, and by the end of the first year of life infants detect these phonemic distinctions at low levels that are similar to that of adults.
Neural mechanisms.
Brain plasticity is responsible for this "tuning" of infants' perceptual ability. While plasticity is evident throughout the human lifespan, it occurs most often at younger ages, during sensitive periods of development. This is a function of synaptic pruning, a mechanism of plasticity where the overall number of neurons and neural pathways are reduced, leaving only the most commonly used—and most efficient—neural pathways. These pathways are also more myelinated which increases the speeds at which processing occurs. Evidence suggests that perceptual narrowing, especially phoneme distinction, is heavily reliant on infants' social interaction with the adults in their environment; this is referred to as the "social gating hypothesis". The Social Gating Hypothesis suggests that social interaction creates an optimal learning environment for infants, an environment that introduces learning through social context. Social Gating might function in a number of ways; for example, by increasing infants' attention or arousal, increasing infants' sense of relationship, and by strengthening an infant's link between perception and action.
Synaesthesia.
Synaesthesia is a condition in which the stimulation of one sense evokes an additional stimulation in another sense, such as a tone (auditory stimulation) evoking the experience of color or shapes (visual stimulation). Some research suggests that infants universally have this experience due to the greater number of functional synaptic connections across sensory domains compared to adults, and that over the course of normal development this experience dissipates through the process of perceptual narrowing. There is evidence that a failure in the perceptual narrowing process can, in rare cases, lead to adult synaethesia. |
DEC 3000 AXP
DEC 3000 AXP was the name given to a series of computer workstations and servers, produced from 1992 to around 1995 by Digital Equipment Corporation. The DEC 3000 AXP series formed part of the first generation of computer systems based on the 64-bit Alpha AXP architecture. Supported operating systems for the DEC 3000 AXP series were DEC OSF/1 AXP (later renamed Digital UNIX) and OpenVMS AXP (later renamed OpenVMS).
All DEC 3000 AXP models used the DECchip 21064 (EV4) or DECchip 21064A (EV45) processor and inherited various features from the earlier MIPS architecture-based DECstation models, such as the TURBOchannel bus and the I/O subsystem.
The DEC 3000 AXP series was superseded in late 1994, with workstation models replaced by the AlphaStation line and server models replaced by the AlphaServer line.
Models.
There were three DEC 3000 model families, codenamed Pelican, Sandpiper, and Flamingo. Within Digital, this led to the DEC 3000 series being affectionately referred to as "the seabirds".
Note: Server configurations of the Model 400/500/600/700/800/900 systems were suffixed with "S".
Description.
The logic in Flamingo- and Sandpiper-based systems are contained on two modules (printed circuit boards), the CPU module and the I/O module, with the CPU module being the largest board. The two modules are connected via a 210-pin connector. The logic in Pelican-based systems are contained the CPU module and system module. The CPU module is a daughterboard that plugs into the system module and contains the CPU and the B-cache (L2 cache).
The architecture of the Flamingo- and Sandpiper-based systems is based around a crossbar switch implemented by an ADDR (Address) ASIC, four SLICE (data slice) ASICs and a TC (TURBOchannel) ASIC. These ASICs connect the various different width buses used in the system, allowing data to be transferred to the different subsystems. PALs were used to implement the control logic. The cache, memory and TURBOchannel controllers, as well as other control logic, is entirely implemented by PALs. Pelican-based systems have an entirely different architecture from the other systems, similar to that of late-model Personal DECstations that they are based on, with a traditional workstation architecture with buses and buffers.
Memory.
The Sandpiper and Flamingo used proprietary 100-pin, 40-bit (32 bits plus 8 bits ECC) Fast Page Mode SIMMs with capacities of 2 MB, 4 MB, 8 MB, 16 MB or 32 MB. These were eight-way interleaved, providing a 256-bit-wide bus to memory. The Sandpiper had two such eight-SIMM banks, for up to 512 MB total system RAM, while the Flamingo had four banks and supported up to 1 GB. In comparison, the Pelican was a budget architecture utilising eight standard 72-pin Fast Page Mode SIMMs that were protected with longword parity instead of ECC, with capacities of 8 MB or 32 MB, for a total of up to 256 MB RAM. These were two-way interleaved, for a 64-bit-wide bus to memory.
Expansion slots.
The DEC 3000 AXP series uses the 32-bit TURBOchannel bus running at various speeds, 12.5 MHz in the 300 models, 22.5 MHz in the 400 models and 25 MHz in models 500 to 900. The TURBOchannel bus is provided by an ASIC, which connected it to the SLICE data path ASICs. The number to expansion slots also varied, the 300 models had two slots, except for the 300L, which had none. Models 400, 600 and 700 had three slots, the model 500X featured five, while models 500, 800 and 900 featured six.
Graphics.
The Model 300 Series and the Model 500, 500S and 500X feature integrated graphics provided by the CXTurbo subsystem, which resides on the system module. This subsystem is essentially an onboard HX TURBOchannel option module. The subsystem features a SFB (smart frame buffer) ASIC, a Brooktree Bt459 RAMDAC, 2 MB of VRAM and in the Model 500, 500S and 500X, a 256 KB flash ROM that holds part of the system firmware. The CXTurbo subsystem can reach resolutions of 1280 × 1024 at 72 Hz in the 300, 300X and 300LX models, 1024 × 768 at 72 Hz in the Model 300L and 1280 × 1024 at 66 Hz or 72 Hz in the Model 500, 500S and 500X.
Because of the DEC 3000 AXP's similarity with Digital's previous RISC workstation line, the DECstation, the same TURBOchannel graphics options, which consisted of framebuffers, 2D and 3D accelerated graphics, were carried over the DEC 3000 AXP. Like the DECstation, up to three (the actual number may be less, depending on the number of TURBOchannel option slots the system features) framebuffers of the same model can be installed in a single system to support multiscreen configurations.
Despite using the same graphics options as the DECstation at introduction, later options for the DEC 3000 AXP were designed exclusively for the platform. These options were Digital's ZLX-E1/E2/E3, ZLX-L1/L2 and ZLX-M1/M2 series of PixelVision architecture-based 2D/3D accelerated graphics and Kubota's high-end 3D accelerated graphics subsystem, the Denali. The Denali is an external enclosure that contains up to six geometry engines and multiple memory modules. It was capable of advanced (for the time) 3D graphics, such as interactive volume rendering. It connects to the DEC 3000 AXP via a cable and a TURBOchannel interface module.
I/O subsystem.
The I/O subsystem provides the DEC 3000 AXP with Ethernet, ISDN and audio capability, four serial lines, and a real-time clock. The I/O subsystem is interfaced to TURBOchannel by the IOCTL ASIC, which also implements two 8-bit buses, known as IOBUS HI and IOBUS LO, to which the I/O devices connect to. These two 8-bit buses can be combined to serve as one 16-bit bus to provide an I/O device with more bandwidth. Ethernet is provided by an AMD Am7990 LANCE (Local Area Network Controller for Ethernet), an AMD Am7992 SIA (Serial Interface Adapter) that implements the 10BASE-T or AUI Ethernet interface, and an ESAR (Ethernet Station Address ROM) that stores the MAC address. The Am7990 is the only I/O device in the subsystem to have a 16-bit interface to the IOCTL ASIC. ISDN and telephone-quality audio is provided by an AMD Am79C30A DSC (Digital Subscriber Controller). The four serial lines are provided by two Zilog Z85C30 SCC (Serial Communications Controller) dual UARTs, and the real-time clock is a Dallas Semiconductor DS1287A.
SCSI interface.
The DEC 3000 AXP used a TCDS (TURBOchannel Dual SCSI) ASIC to provide an interface between the SCSI controllers and the TURBOchannel bus. Early systems used one (Model 300s) or two (Model 400 and 500) NCR 53C94 SCSI controllers, which provided one or two 5 MB/s 8-bit single ended SCSI buses. Later and higher end systems such as the Model 600, 700, 800 and 900 also feature two SCSI controllers, but used the NCR 53CF94-2 instead, which provided faster 10 MB/s 8-bit single ended SCSI buses. |
Monobloc engine
A monobloc or "en bloc" engine is an internal-combustion piston engine some of whose major components (such as cylinder head, cylinder block, or crankcase) are formed, usually by casting, as a single integral unit, rather than being assembled later. This has the advantages of improving mechanical stiffness, and improving the reliability of the sealing between them.
"Monobloc" techniques date back to the beginnings of the internal combustion engine. Use of the term has changed over time, usually to address the most pressing mechanical problem affecting the engines of its day. There have been three distinct uses of the technique:
In most cases, any use of the term describes single-unit construction that is opposed to the more common contemporary practice. Where the monobloc technique has later become the norm, the specific term fell from favour. It is now usual practice to use monobloc cylinders and crankcases, but a monobloc head (for a water-cooled inline engine at least) would be regarded as peculiar and obsolescent.
Cylinder head.
The head gasket is the most highly stressed static seal in an engine, and was a source of considerable trouble in early years. The monobloc cylinder head forms both cylinder and head in one unit, thus averting the need for a seal.
Along with head gasket failure, one of the least reliable parts of the early petrol engine was the exhaust valve, which tended to fail by overheating. A monobloc head could provide good water cooling, thus reduced valve wear, as it could extend the water jacket uninterrupted around both head and cylinder. Engines with gaskets required a metal-to-metal contact face here, disrupting water flow.
The drawback to the monobloc head is that access to the inside of the combustion chamber (the upper volume of the cylinder) is difficult. Access through the cylinder bore is restricted for machining the valve seats, or for inserting angled valves. An even more serious restriction is de-coking and re-grinding valve seats, a regular task on older engines. Rather than removing the cylinder head from above, the mechanic must remove pistons, connecting rods and the crankshaft from beneath.
One solution to this for side-valve engines was to place a screwed plug directly above each valve, and to access the valves through this (illustrated). The tapered threads of the screwed plug provided a reliable seal. For low-powered engines this was a popular solution for some years, but it was difficult to cool this plug, as the water jacket didn't extend into the plug. As performance increased, it also became important to have better combustion chamber designs with less "dead space". One solution was to place the spark plug in the centre of this plug, which at least made use of the space. This placed the spark plug further from the combustion chamber, leading to long flame paths and slower ignition.
During World War I, development of the internal combustion engine greatly progressed. After the war, as civilian car production resumed, the monobloc cylinder head was required less frequently. Only high-performance cars such as the Leyland Eight of 1920 persisted with it. Bentley and Bugatti were other racing marques who notably adhered to them, through the 1920s and into the 1930s, most famously being used in the purpose-built American Offenhauser straight-four racing engines, first designed and built in the 1930s.
Aircraft engines at this time were beginning to use high supercharging pressures, increasing the stress on their head gaskets. Engines such as the Rolls-Royce Buzzard used monobloc heads for reliability.
The last engines to make widespread use of monobloc cylinder heads were large air-cooled aircraft radial engines, such as the Wasp Major. These have individual cylinder barrels, so access is less restricted than on an inline engine with a monobloc crankcase and cylinders, as most modern engines are. As they have high specific power and require great reliability, the advantages of the monobloc remained attractive.
General aviation engines such as Franklin, Continental, and Lycoming are still manufactured new and continue to use monobloc individual cylinders, although Franklin uses a removable sleeve. A combination of materials are used in their construction, such as steel for the cylinder barrels and aluminum alloys for the cylinder heads to save weight. Common rebuilding techniques include chrome plating the inside of the cylinder barrels in a "cracked" finish that mimics the "cross-hatched" finish normally created by typical cylinder honing. Older engines operated on unleaded automotive gasoline as allowed by supplemental type certificates approved by the FAA may require more frequent machining replacement of valves and seats. Special tools are used to maintain valve seats in these cylinders. Non-destructive testing should be performed to look for flaws that may have arisen during extreme use, engine damage from sudden propeller stoppage or extended engine operation at every overhaul or rebuild.
Historically the difficulties of machining, and maintaining a monobloc cylinder head were and continue to be a severe drawback. As head gaskets became able to handle greater heat and pressure, the technique went out of use. It is almost unknown today, but has found a few niche uses, as the technique of monobloc cylinder heads was adopted by the Japanese model engine manufacturer Saito Seisakusho for their glow fueled and spark ignition model four-stroke engines for RC aircraft propulsion needs.
Monobloc cylinders also continue to be used on small 2 stroke-cycle engines for power equipment used to maintain lawns and gardens, such as string trimmers, tillers and leaf blowers.
Cylinder block.
Casting technology at the dawn of the internal combustion engine could reliably cast either large castings, or castings with complex internal cores to allow for water jackets, but not both simultaneously. Most early engines, particularly those with more than four cylinders, had their cylinders cast as pairs or triplets of cylinders, then bolted to a single crankcase.
As casting techniques improved, the entire cylinder block of four, six or even eight cylinders could be cast as one. This was a simpler construction, thus less expensive to manufacture, and the communal water jacket permitted closer spacing between cylinders. This also improved the mechanical stiffness of the engine, against bending and the increasingly important torsional twist, as cylinder numbers and engine lengths increased. In the context of aircraft engines, the non-monobloc precursor to monobloc cylinders was a construction where the cylinders (or at least their liners) were cast as individuals, and the outer water jacket was applied later from copper or steel sheet. This complex construction was expensive, but lightweight, and so it was only widely used for aircraft.
V engines remained with a separate block casting for each bank. The complex ducting required for inlet manifolds between the banks were too complicated to cast otherwise. For economy, a few engines, such as the V12 Pierce-Arrow, were designed to use identical castings for each bank, left and right. Some rare engines, such as the Lancia 22½° narrow-angle V12 of 1919, did use a single block casting for both banks.
A monobloc engine was used in 1936's Series 60. It was designed to be the company's next-generation powerplant at reduced cost from the 353 and Cadillac V12. The monobloc's cylinders and crankcase were cast as a single unit, and it used hydraulic valve lifters for durability. This design allowed the creation of the mid-priced Series 60 line.
Modern cylinders, except for air-cooled engines and some V engines, are now universally cast as a single cylinder block, and modern heads are nearly always separate components.
Crankcase.
As casting improved and cylinder blocks became a monobloc, it also became possible to cast both cylinders and crankcase as one unit. The main reason for this was to improve stiffness of the engine construction, reducing vibration and permitting higher speeds.
Most engines, except some V engines, are now a monobloc of crankcase and cylinder block.
Modern engines - Combined block, head and crankcase.
Light-duty consumer-grade Honda GC-family small engines use a headless monobloc design where the cylinder head, block, and half the crankcase share the same casting, termed 'uniblock' by Honda. One reason for this, apart from cost, is to produce an overall lower engine height. Being an air-cooled OHC design, this is possible thanks to current aluminum casting techniques and lack of complex hollow spaces for liquid cooling. The valves are vertical, so as to permit assembly in this confined space. On the other hand, performing basic repairs becomes so time-consuming that the engine can be considered disposable. Commercial-duty Honda GX-family engines (and their many popular knock-offs) have a more conventional design of a single crankcase and cylinder casting, with a separate cylinder head.
Honda produces many other head-block-crankcase monoblocs under a variety of different names, such as the GXV-series. They may all be externally identified by a gasket which bisects the crankcase on an approximately 45° angle. |
Bryan Watson (ice hockey)
Bryan Joseph Watson (November 14, 1942 – July 8, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Oakland Seals, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, and Washington Capitals from 1963 to 1979, and briefly in the World Hockey Association with the Cincinnati Stingers. He later served as head coach of the Edmonton Oilers during the 1980–81 NHL season.
Early life.
Watson was born in Bancroft, Ontario, on November 14, 1942. His father was employed by the county; his mother was a housewife. In order to expand his sporting opportunities, Watson moved to Peterborough, Ontario, when he was 13 to live with his grandparents. There, he played junior hockey with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey Association from 1960 to 1963, under the tutelege of head coach Scotty Bowman.
Playing career.
Montreal Canadiens (1963–65).
Watson signed with the Montreal Canadiens and made his NHL debut during the 1963–64 NHL season. He played in 39 games in the regular season and six games in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs. In Watson's second year, he appeared in only five games with Montreal and spent the bulk of the season with the AHL's Quebec Aces, where he played with Doug Harvey. Watson was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for Don Johns on June 8, 1965. He was then claimed the next day by the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL Intra-League Draft.
Detroit Red Wings (1965–67).
During his first year with the Red Wings in 1965–66, Watson played all 70 games in the regular season, during which he scored his first NHL goal and led the team in penalty minutes. He also appeared in all twelve playoff games for Detroit, scoring two goals – the only playoff goals he scored in his whole career – and helping the Red Wings advance to the Stanley Cup Finals against his former team the Canadiens. In 1966–67 Watson split his time between the Red Wings and the Memphis Wings, Detroit's farm team in the CPHL.
Montreal Canadiens (1967–68).
Watson was left unprotected by the Red Wings in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft. The Minnesota North Stars consequently selected him as their fifteenth pick. That same day the North Stars traded Watson to Montreal for three young prospects, Bill Plager, Leo Thiffault and Barrie Meissner. Watson appeared in only a dozen games with the Canadiens in the 1967–68 season, registering just one assist and nine penalty minutes. He played the rest of the season in the minors, first for the Cleveland Barons in the AHL (12 games) and then the majority of the season with the Houston Apollos in the CPHL.
Oakland Seals and the Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–74).
Watson was traded to the Oakland Seals on June 28, 1968, in exchange for Tom Thurlby and a first round draft pick in 1972. After playing fifty games for the Seals in the 1968–69 season Watson was sent to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a trade involving six players. Watson spent most of the next six seasons with the Penguins. He had the best offensive season of his career in 1971–72, when he scored three goals and twenty points. He also led the Penguins in penalty minutes in three of his four full seasons with the club, and led the NHL in that statistic with 215 in 1971–72.
Detroit Red Wings (1974–76).
Watson started the 1973–74 season with the Penguins, before being traded to the St. Louis Blues on January 17, 1974. He played just 11 games with the team before returning to Detroit in a six-player trade less than a month later on February 14. He accumulated a career-high of 322 penalty minutes in 1975–76, second only to Steve Durbano with 370. He was also suspended for 10 games that season after fighting with Keith Magnuson of the Chicago Blackhawks on October 30, 1976.
Washington Capitals (1976–79).
Watson was traded to the Washington Capitals for Greg Joly several weeks into the 1976–77 regular season. In three seasons with the Capitals, he played 155 games and served 294 minutes in penalties. Watson received the Charlie Conacher Humanitarian Award in 1978 for his contributions to the Special Olympics. He sustained a serious cut to his right arm from a chainsaw in July 1978, while assisting his neighbour in chopping down a tree. However, he avoided long-term injury due to the uncommon nerve structure in his arm. During the 1978–79 regular season, he left the NHL to join the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association, with whom he ended his playing career.
Coaching career.
Watson was appointed head coach of the Edmonton Oilers in 1980, at the start of the franchise's second season in the NHL, replacing Glen Sather who was promoted to President and General Manager. However, when the team posted a record of four wins, nine losses and five ties to start the season, Watson was demoted to an assistant by Sather, who resumed head coaching duties. Watson left the team after the season and never returned to coaching.
Personal life and death.
Watson was married to Lindy Wilson for 53 years until his death. Together, they had two children: Stephen and Lisa. Watson and Lindy opened an Armand's pizza outlet in the Old Town section of Alexandria, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. in 1983. Fifteen years later, the business's name was changed to Bugsy's, his nickname during his playing years. Watson sold his interest in the business in 2013.
During the 1980s, Watson kept on playing hockey in an over-40 league in Mount Vernon.
Watson died on July 8, 2021, at his home in St. Michaels, Maryland. He was 78, and suffered from pneumonia prior to his death. |
Music community
A music community is a group of people involved in a given type of music. Typically such a community has an informal, supportive structure.
In the past such groups have typically developed within a town or school, where the members can meet physically. The internet has made it possible for a more dispersed music community to use the web for communication, either via specialized websites or through broader social media. Ethnographic studies indicate that online music communities do not center around one website, but use a network of sites, including personal blogs, artist or publisher sites and social media.
General.
The musician and musicologist Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin has broadly defined a music community as "a group of interested participants who agree on the form and content of the music and its social contexts". A music community may be taken to mean a group of people with strong ties who often come together to play and talk about music, but a sense of community may also come from a national educational system that connects young people to their cultural heritage and traditions.
The concept of music communities is well-developed in ethnomusicology. A large part of this discipline consists of studies of groups of people who frequently exchange and communicate musical material.
Barry Shank, writing in 1994 of Rock and roll in Austin, Texas, used the word "subculture" to define the shifting meanings and membership of musical communities, or cultural spaces. Will Straw built on this work, replacing the term "subculture" by "scene". Straw saw a "scene" as relatively transient, while a music community is more stable. He wrote in 1991 that a music community engages in "an ongoing exploration of one or more musical idioms said to be rooted within a geographically specific historical heritage."
Disputing Straw's characterization, later writers have pointed out that music communities may be mobile and transient.
Musical communities typically have very flexible structures, voluntary membership and people of a wide range of ages. They offer participants the opportunity to play different roles including creator, participant or observer. Conscious efforts may be made to involve disadvantaged members. Typically the group encourages diversity, and all members are committed to lifetime learning. When a music community is widespread, aspects of music-making such as repertoire and style may evolve and diverge.
Types of music community.
There are many types of music community. Women's music communities among the Ewe people of Ghana help create bonds and nurture cooperation between women who would otherwise be pulled apart by competition in their polygamist society. Irish immigrants to the United States were generally keen to assimilate and adopt a new ethnic identity as Americans, but a minority held onto their traditional culture and formed Irish traditional music communities in Boston, New York, Chicago and other cities. After over one hundred years these communities persisted. The primary reason seems to have simply been the entertainment value. Teachers may deliberately foster development of a music community within their school, which can assist students in reaching their full potential. Such teachers may build on the Suzuki method in the belief that cooperation in group classes plays an important role, and that competition is inappropriate. According to Mary Ann Froehlich, "Competition isolates, while cooperation creates community. ... Our goal is to build an inclusive music community."
Researchers have explored how a sense of musical community is developed through routine use of shared metaphors and symbols, and have demonstrated how particular social practices and institutions are sustained through development of musical communities.
Online music communities.
One of the early online music communities was established in 1996 by Oh Boy Records, a small independent record company. It took the form of a chat page on its website that let fans of John Prine exchange views and information. The website became the base of a specialized Prine music community. However, as Prine ceased performing while fighting cancer, and no new recordings were released, the community ran out of information to exchange and went into decline. Oh Boy eventually closed the chat page.
Another early online music community that was the subject of an ethnographic study was the Banjo Hangout, established in 2000.
As of 2011 it had about 51,000 members and featured a large online learning center.
imeem, a social networking site with 28 million monthly visitors, was the first music community to provide ad-supported free online music streaming and downloading. Other sites such as Myspace followed with similar services. Specialized software has been developed to support online music communities.
Online communities have emerged for genres of folk music such as Blue Grass and Old Time. Cyber-ethnography using the framework of Étienne Wenger's social learning theory shows that sites like this may be considered a community of practice (CoP). The members of an online music community can publish, listen to and evaluate the music they have created, giving them a strong sense of membership. It provides a platform within which members can create a musical identity as well as one in which they can build social bonds. J. P. Williams, writing in 2006 in the "Journal of Contemporary Ethnography", argued that the driving force behind online music communities is the interest of the participants in building their identities, despite the ostensible focus on making and sharing music.
A 2013 book notes that in Finland the "Mikseri" music portal, with about 140,000 registered users, helps people create, share and discuss their music in this sparsely-populated country.
This web-based community was the object of ethnographic studies in 2008 and 2009 based on theories of sociocultural learning.
Members of Mikseri do not exclusively belong to that community, but may belong to other real-world or online communities. An analysis of event-related data from an online music community shows that events on that site often cause increased interest in a given artist, but propagation over links within digital social communities is also an important factor. An investigation of the music community of fans of Swedish indie music showed that they do not gather around one site, but interact with a network of sites including their own fan sites, Myspace, Last.fm, YouTube and so on.
Online discussion forums may provide some of the functions of virtual music communities. However, according to Mary McCarthy a music community should teach uninitiated listeners or musicians, and an online group cannot fill this role. Only a community of real people in a real place can provide the depth of contact, discussion, sharing and support that the novice musician requires for their development.
Vampr is a social network app for people in the music industry to discover, connect and build a community of other like-minded musicians and professionals. With a userbase of over 1,000,000 users, it's currently the number 1 network platform for musicians. |
Ronnie Brunswijk
Ronnie Brunswijk (; born 7 March 1961) is a Surinamese politician, businessman, former rebel leader, and convicted drug trafficker, who is serving as the current Vice President of Suriname.
Brunswijk served as the personal bodyguard of military dictator Dési Bouterse in the early 1980s, but was discharged after asking for a raise, and denied back pay. In 1985, he formed the Surinamese Liberation Army, better known as the Jungle Commando. Brunswijk sought to gain recognition and rights for the Maroon minority of the interior, descendants of runaway African slaves who had established independent communities in the 17th and 18th centuries. From 1986, his forces fought against the national military under Bouterse in the Surinamese Interior War, a civil war that resulting in hundreds of deaths and more than 10,000 refugees in French Guiana, until a peace treaty was signed in 1992.
Brunswijk remained active in politics, serving as chair of the General Liberation and Development Party ("Algemene Bevrijdings- en Ontwikkelingspartij", ABOP), and as a representative in the National Assembly. In addition he is the owner of Marowijne football club Inter Moengotapoe, which he has also appeared for as a player. On 29 June 2020, Brunswijk became Chairperson of the National Assembly of Suriname.
On 13 July, Brunswijk was elected vice-president by acclamation in an uncontested election. He was inaugurated on 16 July.
Biography.
Ronnie Brunswijk joined the Suriname National Army at the age of 18. He was considered a good soldier, and was sent to Cuba for commando training. After finishing his training, he was appointed as a personal bodyguard of Desi Bouterse. During a state visit to Nickerie a gunshot was fired. Brunswijk immediately rushed forward to protect the President. Later it was discovered that a soldier in the honorary guard had fired his weapon by accident. In 1984, Brunswijk asked for a raise, but was discharged instead on 16 April, and refused back pay by Major Paul Bhagwandas.
The Surinamese Interior War started in Stolkertsijver on 22 July 1986 at around 03:00. 12 soldiers guarding the checkpoint were captured by the Jungle Commando headed by Brunswijk. In 1986, Brunswijk was sentenced "in absentia" for a bank robbery in Moengo on 26 April. Said bank robbery, a non-violent offence, earned Ronnie Brunswijk the title "Robin Hood of Suriname" due to his liberation of stolen funds from government held institutions that were returned to the people. During the war, the Jungle Commando received arms and funding from the Netherlands, and Dutch Colonel Bas van Tussenbroek was moved to French Guiana to transfer funds, and serve as military advisor.
Moiwana massacre.
On 29 November 1986, the Surinamese army took revenge by attacking Brunswijk's birth village of Moiwana, where they murdered at least 39 villagers, mostly women and children. They burned down Brunswijk's house and destroyed the village. More than 100 refugees fled across the border to French Guiana, which became a destination for other refugees as the war wore on. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered the government to pay millions of dollars (US) in compensation to the 130 survivors of the village attack.
Post-war activities.
The government and Brunswijk negotiated a ceasefire on 21 July 1989 in Kourou that included conversion of the Jungle Commando to a regular part of the Surinamese Army, with responsibility for patrolling their traditional interior territory. The government also promised jobs for Maroons in gold prospecting and forestry, as they were isolated from many developing industries. On 8 August 1992, a final peace treaty was signed.
The Netherlands prosecuted both Brunswijk and Bouterse "in absentia" for drug trafficking, and both men were convicted. Brunswijk was convicted "in absentia" in the Netherlands to eight years imprisonment for cocaine smuggling by a Dutch court in Haarlem despite numerous witnesses contesting the claims. Brunswijk appealed the ruling pursuant to insufficient evidence. In 2000, he was convicted to six years on appeal. There is as of July 2020, an Interpol arrest warrant against him.
Brunswijk is chairman of the Surinamese political party General Liberation and Development Party ("Algemene Bevrijdings- en Ontwikkelingspartij", ABOP).
In December 2007, Brunswijk and Paul Somohardjo assaulted Rashied Doekhi, a member of Desi Bouterse's party, in the Surinamese parliament after Doekhi assaulted Brunswijk and Somohardjo, then chair of the Surinamese parliament. The event was broadcast on live television.
Brunswijk was owner of Robruns NV, a gold mining company. According to a "", Brunswijk owned six gold concessions in 2012. In July 2020, Brunswijk transferred ownership of the gold concessions to a foundation in order to qualify for the Vice Presidency.
2020 elections.
Brunswijk was elected to the National Assembly in the 2020 elections. He was elected as Chairman of the National Assembly of Suriname on 29 June 2020, in an uncontested election. Dew Sharman was elected as Vice Chairman. Brunswijk subsequently ran for vice president, and on 8 July, Brunswijk announced that he will be succeeded by Marinus Bee as Chairman of the National Assembly who was installed on 14 July. Brunswijk was the shortest serving chairman in the history of Suriname.
On 1 July 2020, Brunswijk tested COVID-19 positive. He had been tested, because Paul Somohardjo with whom he had lengthy meetings about the new government tested positive. He was released from hospital on 6 July. To show his appreciation for the hospital staff, he donated three cars to nurses who did not have transportation.
On 7 July, the coalition nominated Chan Santokhi as President of Suriname and Ronnie Brunswijk as Vice-president. No other candidates have been nominated as per 8 July 2020, 15:00 (UTC−3), and therefore Brunswijk was elected as vice president on 13 July by acclamation in an uncontested election. Brunswijk was inaugurated as vice president on 16 July on the Onafhankelijkheidsplein in Paramaribo in ceremony without public due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Football career.
Administration.
Brunswijk is also a player and owner of Marowijne football club Inter Moengotapoe. In 2002, Brunswijk built a football stadium in Moengo, which he named the Ronnie Brunswijkstadion. The disciplinary committee of the Surinamese Football Association suspended him for five years because he threatened some players with a handgun during a match in 2005. The suspension was retracted due to lack of evidence. In June 2012, Brunswijk was suspended for one year because he behaved violently towards the referee and a player in football match.
Playing career.
On 21 September 2021, Brunswijk played for Inter Moengotapoe (the club he owns) as a starter in the first leg of a round of 16 fixture in the 2021 CONCACAF League against Honduran side C.D. Olimpia. He played for 54 minutes and completed 14 of the 17 attempted passes before he was replaced in the second half by his son Damian Brunswijk during the 6–0 home loss. He made history by becoming the oldest player to play in an international club competition, at 60 years and 198 days old. He donned the number 61 jersey as a tribute to the year he was born and captained the team during the match.
Brunswijk made international headlines for playing in the match. Following the match, video leaked online that showed Brunswijk paying Olimpia players after the match, suspecting pundits that Brunswijk engaged in match fixing. On 22 September 2021, CONCACAF launched a formal investigation. Three days later, the federation announced the investigation had found "serious breaches of integrity rules", with both clubs being disqualified from the tournament and Brunswijk being banned from "participating in any capacity in CONCACAF competitions" for three years as a result.
Personal life.
Brunswijk's nephew, Clyde Brunswijk, is a professional kickboxer. , a Dutch comedian and television personality is a cousin. |
514th Air Mobility Wing
The 514th Air Mobility Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. The 514th is an associate Air Force reserve unit. The wing flies aircraft assigned to the active-duty 305th Air Mobility Wing, also based at McGuire. The 514th shares the responsibility of maintaining and flying the McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender and the McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III.
The wing was organized in June 1949, when Continental Air Command reorganized its reserve units under the wing base organization. It was mobilized for the Korean War, serving at its home station as part of Eighteenth Air Force, which was initially composed of reserve troop carrier units. The wing was released from active duty and inactivated in February 1953.
The wing was reactivated in April 1953. In 1968, it lost its aircraft and became an associate unit, flying and maintaining aircraft of the regular 438th Military Airlift Wing, and later of the 305th Air Mobility Wing.
History.
The wing was first activated at Birmingham Municipal Airport, Alabama in June 1949 as the 514th Troop Carrier Wing, assuming the resources of the 19th Air Division, while its 514th Troop Carrier Group replaced the inactivating 99th Bombardment Group. It trained under the supervision of the 2587th Air Force Reserve Training Center. Only four months after activation, it moved on paper to Mitchel Air Force Base, New York, where it replaced the 84th Fighter Wing, while the 319th Bombardment Wing assumed its personnel and equipment in Birmingham.
At Mitchel, the wing trained under the supervision of the 2233d Air Reserve Training Center until it was mobilized for the Korean War in May 1951. The wing was one of six Curtiss C-46 Commando wings mobilized for Tactical Air Command. These wings formed the basis for the formation of Eighteenth Air Force It served on active duty at Mitchel until inactivated in February 1953.
Troop carrier operations.
The wing was again activated in the reserves in April 1953 and, again, trained under the 2233d Center, initially with Commandos but with Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars by August 1954. In the summer of 1956, the wing participated in Operation Sixteen Ton during its two weeks of active duty training. Sixteen Ton was performed entirely by reserve troop carrier units and moved United States Coast Guard equipment From Floyd Bennett Naval Air Station to Isla Grande Airport in Puerto Rico and San Salvador in the Bahamas. After the success of this operation, the wing began to use inactive duty training periods for Operation Swift Lift, transporting high priority cargo for the Air Force and Operation Ready Swap, transporting aircraft engines between Air Materiel Command's depots.
In 1958, the 2233d Center was inactivated and some of its personnel were absorbed by the wing. In place of active duty support for reserve units, ConAC adopted the Air Reserve Technician program, in which a cadre of the unit consisted of full-time personnel who were simultaneously civilian employees of the Air Force and also held military rank as members of the reserves. After 1958, the wing increasingly participated in humanitarian and other airlift missions. By the mid-1960s, it was augmenting Military Air Transport Service airlift operations on a regular basis.
Dispersed squadrons.
Starting in late 1955, Continental Air Command (ConAC) began to disperse some of its reserve flying squadrons to separate bases in order to improve recruiting and avoid public objection to entire wings of aircraft being stationed near large population centers under what was called the Detached Squadron Concept. The wing's 337th Troop Carrier Squadron was activated at Bradley Field, Connecticut in July 1958 and its 336th Troop Carrier Squadron moved to Stewart Air Force Base, New York in April 1961 as part of this program.
In April 1959, the wing reorganized under the Dual Deputy system. Its 514th Troop Carrier Group was inactivated and the 335th, 336th and 337th Troop Carrier Squadrons were assigned directly to the wing.
Activation of groups under the wing.
Although the dispersal of flying units was not a problem when the entire wing was called to active service, mobilizing a single flying squadron and elements to support it proved difficult. This weakness was demonstrated in the partial mobilization of reserve units during the Berlin Crisis of 1961 To resolve this, at the start of 1962, ConAC determined to reorganize its reserve wings by establishing groups with support elements for each of its troop carrier squadrons. This reorganization would facilitate mobilization of elements of wings in various combinations when needed. However, as this plan was entering its implementation phase, another partial mobilization occurred for the Cuban Missile Crisis. The formation of troop carrier groups was delayed until January for wings that had not been mobilized. The 903d Troop Carrier Group at McGuire, the 904th Troop Carrier Group at Stewart, and the 905th Troop Carrier Group at Bradley were all assigned to the wing on 17 January.
Vietnam War.
The wing trained South Vietnamese aircrews and maintenance personnel and Greek maintenance personnel in C-119 aircraft, 10 August to 18 December 1967. In 1968, it ferried C-119s to South Vietnam. Also in 1968, two of the wing's groups began flying Lockheed C-141 Starlifters belonging to the 436th Military Airlift Wing at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware and the 438th Military Airlift Wing at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. A third C-141 group joined the wing in September 1969, associated with the 437th Military Airlift Wing at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina. In 1969, the wing gained another group which flew the McDonnell Douglas C-9 Nightingales of the 375th Aeromedical Airlift Wing. A C-119 group remained with the wing until mid-1970.
Associate unit.
By 1968 regular air force military airlift squadrons were operating the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, while the reserves still flew the obsolete Douglas C-124 Globemaster II. As the Globemaster was retired, Air Force Reserve formed associate units. In this program reserve units flew and maintained aircraft owned by an associated regular unit. In September 1968, the wing gave up its own aircraft and became an associate of the 438th Military Airlift Wing at McGuire.
In Jul 1973, its groups at Dover and Charleston were replaced by new reserve wings, and the 514th Wing absorbed all of the squadrons of what had been its 903d Group at McGuire. Continuing to use C-141 aircraft of the active wing at McGuire Air Force Base (first the 438th and later the 305th Air Mobility Wing), the wing's crews augmented Military Airlift Command units for strategic airlift missions worldwide, including contingency and humanitarian operations and took part in strategic mobility exercises for training.
Operations in which crews participated were Urgent Fury to Grenada in 1983, Operation Just Cause to Panama in 1989, and Operation Restore Hope to Somalia in 1992. In 1993 the wing added aerial refueling to its airlift mission. Since then the wing has been a part of every major conflict including Operations Desert Storm/Shield, Operation Uphold Democracy, Southern Watch, Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. Its members deployed in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Lineage.
Components.
Squadrons |
Magic Kingdom for Sale—Sold!
Magic Kingdom for Sale—Sold! is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, the first in his "Magic Kingdom of Landover" series. Written in 1986, it tells the story of how Ben Holiday, a talented but depressed Chicago trial lawyer, comes to be king of Landover, an otherworldly magical kingdom. The book was re-released as part of a Landover omnibus in 2009.
Plot summary.
The novel begins with Ben Holiday, a trial lawyer from Chicago, lamenting the loss of his wife and unborn child in a car accident. He finds an advertisement in an upscale Christmas catalog claiming to offer a magical kingdom for one million dollars by a man named Mr. Meeks. Although skeptical, Ben pursues the offer out of a desperate need to start a new life.
Ben receives a magical medallion and is transported through a swirling mist to the kingdom of Landover. He learns that Landover is a world that connects many other worlds such as Earth. It is surrounded by the Fairy Mist wherein reside creatures of Fairy that created Landover and guard the passages to these worlds. He finds it not exactly as described. He soon finds that Landover has not had a true king in twenty years. The son of the last king did not wish to take up the throne and escaped with the court wizard, Meeks, to Earth. They have been selling the throne to dozens of people in the past two decades, but no one has been able to face the challenge and successfully complete so much as a few months as king. Further, kings of Landover used to be protected by a magical knight called the Paladin, but he has not been seen since the last king's death.
Further, Ben has only four loyal subjects. The court wizard is a hack named Questor Thews, who is also Meeks' half-brother. Abernathy is the court scribe, who was transformed into a large dog by one of Questor's spells gone awry. Finally, two creatures called Kobolds, Bunion and Parsnip, serve Ben as caretakers of the castle and as protection against the wild creatures of the kingdom.
Ben's coronation is barely attended, so he decides to travel the land to gain the pledges of the local rulers. He travels first to meet with the Lords of the Greensward, the most prominent landowners in the kingdom. They agree to serve Ben only on the condition that he rid them of Strabo, a dragon that ravages their countryside.
Next Ben visits the River Master and the Fairy fold of Elderew, a city of outcasts from the Fairy Mists. The River Master also places conditions on his pledge, requiring Ben to stop the Lords of the Greensward from polluting their rivers. In the river country Ben stumbles upon a sylph named Willow. She is also a fairy creature who turns into a tree some evenings. She claims that the Fairies have foretold that she will marry Ben. Though he initially rebuffs her, he finds himself falling in love with her over time.
Ben is entreated by Fillip and Sot, two of a race of thievish "G'Home Gnomes" to rescue some of their people from a clan of trolls. They manage to do so, but barely escape with their lives. They finally decide to ask for the help of the witch Nightshade, and travel to her home in the marshes known as the Deep Fell. She tells Ben to enter the Fairy Mists, where he may be able to obtain mind-controlling Io Powder to use on Strabo. Ben does so and endures a series of frightening trials by the Fairy creatures to obtain the powder. Emerging from the mists, he finds that Nightshade has used her magic to banish all of his companions to Abbadon, Landover's underworld. Nightshade attempts to trick Ben out of his Io Powder, but Ben uses some of the substance on the witch and sends her to an uncertain fate in the Fairy Mists.
Ben travels to the Fire Springs to confront Strabo, and is surprised to find the dragon to be sentient and rather well-spoken, if still vicious. Ben uses the Io Powder on Strabo, and rides him to Abaddon to rescue his friends with the help of two g'home gnomes. He also extracts a promise from the dragon to stay out of the Greensward.
Finally, Ben is challenged by the Mark, lord of Abaddon, to a duel for the throne. Ben's medallion responds during the fight and transforms Ben into the Paladin, allowing him to subdue the demon. The challenge is witnessed by the leaders from the Greensward, Elderew, and the Troll tribes, who then swear their allegiance. Ben Holiday, King of Landover, then sets about to restore Landover to its former glory.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations.
The rights to sell a film based on this book have been bounced around since the 1980s, but as of April 2010, the film was said to be as active, though it is still unclear if the film will eventually see screening. Although the film is seen as in production, actors have not even been talked about. Brooks is still in negotiations with Hollywood execs, per his monthly letter at terrybrooks.net.
Previous plans for adding two children to the screen play have been dropped according to Terry Brooks because of the lack of a real story arc for each character.
The option to produce the movie reverted to Brooks in July 2010.
In January 2012, Brooks issued a statement on terrybrooks.net in a blog entry titled "Hollywood Is Going to Landover", indicating that the option for a Hollywood produced "Magic Kingdom for Sale—Sold!" movie had been granted to Warner Brothers Studios.
Reception.
J. Michael Caparula reviewed "Magic Kingdom for Sale...Sold!" in "Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer" No. 80. Caparula commented that "I think Brooks could have done better, considering that his 'Shannara' novels at least benefited from a colorful world setting". |
Single White Female (album)
Single White Female is the fourth studio album by American country music artist Chely Wright. The album was released on May 18, 1999, on MCA Nashville Records and was produced by Tony Brown, Buddy Cannon, and Norro Wilson. "Single White Female" became Wright's most successful album, receiving an RIAA certification and spawning two major hit singles. The album received mainly positive reviews from critics, many of which praised the blending of its musical differentiation.
Background.
"Single White Female" was recorded in January 1999 in Nashville, Tennessee, United States and consisted of ten tracks. The record was Wright's second collaboration with producer Tony Brown, but her first with both Buddy Cannon and Norro Wilson. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic considered the album to "pick up where its predecessor left off", giving ten songs with "clean" and "tasteful arrangements". Erlewine then proceeds to say that the record's production helped to put Wright's vocals in the lead of the instrumentation instead of being left behind large orchestral arrangements. "About.com" found "Single White Female" to incorporate "a nice mixture of fast-paced songs and ballads." The reviewer then briefly described the production of the ten tracks: "The singles are really well-done, and the rest of the album is not what you'd call filler. The songs have that uniqueness that is Chely, and it's easy to see why this record is her most successful to date." Unlike her previous release, Wright only wrote or co-wrote two of the album's ten tracks: "Picket Fences" and "Some Kind of Somethin'". Fellow country artists Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Patty Loveless, and Trisha Yearwood sing harmony vocals on several of the album's tracks. "Single White Female" included a re-recorded cover of Wright's 1996 single "The Love That We Lost". In addition, the album's sixth track "The Fire" would later be recorded by Mindy McCready on her 2002 self-titled record.
Critical reception.
"Single White Female" was given for the most part, positive reviews from critics. Writing for "Country Standard Time", Rick Teverbaugh called the album "more mature" and "thoughtful" than her latter record. Teverbaugh later mentioned that the track "Picket Fences" seemed as if it was "TV inspired", while he considered "Some Kind of Somethin'" to be a "lighter" track on the record. Teverbaugh then discussed the ninth track "Rubbin' It In", calling it the most "clever" song on the record. Teverbaugh described the plot behind the song: "...about a woman so self-absorbed in her own lovesickness that she believes everyone knows and is making her more aware of her own misery." "About.com" gave "Single White Female" a fairly mixed review, stating that the release "was filled with songs of emotion, happy or sad." The site gave the song "The Love That We Lost" negative feedback, calling the production on it, "bland and pop". The album's seventh track "Picket Fences" was also given a negative response, finding its tempo to drag. The reviewer then gave his/her reasoning: "The slow tempo of the song just makes things seem to drag, and frankly, I'm not inclined to be sympathetic to the character's story." Overall however, the site found the album to be "a collection of songs which range in emotion from happy-go-lucky to taking charge of your life." Writing for Allmusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave "Single White Female" four out of five stars, stating that most of its tracks do not immediately grab the listener's attention, but will eventually work well into someone's memory. Erlewine noted that Wright's best vocal performances were on the album's balances, however he found the title track and "The Fire" to be "equally convincing". He concluded that the album's tracks are the main reasons that the record is a "welcome addition" to Wright's catalog of music.
Release and singles.
"Single White Female" released its lead song, the title track, as the album's first single in March 1999. The song became Wright's first Top 10 single and her first and only number one hit, reaching the top spot in September 1999. The title track also reached #36 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and also topped the "Canadian Country Tracks" chart. The album itself was released on May 18, 1999 and peaked at #15 on the "Billboard" Top Country Albums chart, #124 on the "Billboard" 200, and #16 on the "RPM" Country Albums/CD's chart. The second single released was the third track entitled "It Was", which was issued in September 1999, peaking at #11 on the "Billboard" Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and #52 on the Canadian Country Tracks chart. The third and final single released from "Single White Female" was the record's second track "She Went Out for Cigarettes". The song reached #49 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks list and #84 on the Canadian Country Tracks chart. |
Rosemarie Greco
Rosemarie Greco began her career in the financial services industry as a bank-branch secretary; rising to be one of the highest-ranking woman in banking in the United States. She currently is co-chairwoman of VISION 2020, a national initiative for women's economic and social equality that works with affiliated organizations to advance issues important to women.
Education.
Greco is a magna cum laude graduate of St. Joseph's University and has received Honorary Degrees from Temple, Cabrini, Albright and Thomas Jefferson Universities.
Early life.
Prior to entering the financial services industry, Greco was a schoolteacher in Philadelphia's Catholic schools.
For four years, Greco served as a member of the Board of Education for the School District of Philadelphia.
Greco chaired the board of trustees of the Philadelphia Award, served on the board of directors of the Franklin Institute and as a trustee for her alma mater. Greco also served as chair of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, one of the largest business Chambers in the U.S. During her tenure, the Paradigm Award, the Region's most prestigious award given annually to a woman business and civic leader, was awarded to her.
During the past dozen years, she has held director, trustee and committee chair positions for a total of nine public and privately held corporations in various business sectors, most recently Sunoco, Inc and the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust.
Career.
CoreStates.
She was the chief executive officer and president of CoreStates Bank, N.A. and president of its parent corporation, CoreStates Financial Corp. During her tenure the bank, ranked as the eighteenth largest in the United States at the time, was recognized as one of America's most profitable and efficient banks. CoreStates was also heralded for its corporate philanthropy, service quality, and its culture of employee empowerment and diversity.
Fidelity Bank and First Fidelity Bancorporation.
Greco served as president and chief executive officer of Fidelity Bank and as senior executive vice president, chief retail officer and director of First Fidelity Bancorporation.
Health care reform.
Greco is also known as a civic and community leader, eventually adding public service to her commitments. For six years, she served as a member of Governor Edward G. Rendell's Administration, in the cabinet-level position of executive director of the Governor's Office of Health Care Reform.
She became regarded in the Health Care Policy arena for her proposals, including: the codification and expansion of scope-of-practice parameters for nurses and non-physician health care professionals; an agreement with the State's Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans which resulted in the contribution of several hundred million new dollars to provide health insurance for uninsured, low- wage working people; the country's first comprehensive law requiring health-care-acquired infection reporting from hospitals and nursing homes.; and for arousing the statewide initiatives of the Chronic Care Commission.
She currently works on providing Quality and affordable healthcare in Pennsylvania.
Corporate and non-corporate positions.
Greco is currently a director of Exelon Corporation, chair of its compensation committee and a member of its Executive, Governance and Energy Delivery committees. She also serves as a director of the board of PECO Energy, a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation. Greco is also a Trustee of SEI MUTUAL FUNDS and is chair of its Governance Committee, and is a director of the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and chairs its Nominating and Governance Committee. She is also a director emeritus of the board of directors of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Her current non-corporate positions include chair of the board of overseers of the School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, a founding advisory board member of ASAP, an award-winning after-school activity program for inner-city youth, and co-chair of VISION 2020, a campaign to make equality a national priority through shared leadership among women and men.
She has served the City of Philadelphia as chair of the first Women's Commission, as a member of the City Planning Commission, as chair of a task force, which drew the charter for Mayor Rendell's Office for Management, Productivity and Planning, and as a member of the executive committee of the founding board of Philadelphia's Special Service District. Greco also served the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a member of the Casey Philadelphia Special Judiciary Nominating Panel, the Advisory Commission for the Department of Banking, as a member of Pennsylvania 2000, a statewide coalition for education reform, and as a member of the Foundation for a Drug Free Pennsylvania.
She founded and chaired the School-to-Career Leadership Council, personally recruiting and engaging chief executive officer colleagues of the city's major corporations to assume leadership responsibility for the Philadelphia School District's Community Resource Boards. She has served on the executive committee of the Business Public School Partnership for Reform and as chairman of the Philadelphia Youth Network. She founded and co-chaired the Campaign for Human Capital for the School District of Philadelphia, its goal is to hire and keep the jobs of certified teachers for the city's schools and students.
She served as interim president and CEO of the Philadelphia Private Industry Council, affecting the agency's turnaround and establishing the infrastructure for implementing Pennsylvania and Philadelphia's Welfare to Work Program.
She served as chair of the Philadelphia Compact, a joint venture between the Pew Foundation and the Annenberg Center for Public Policy, which led the public effort to ensure the issue-based focus of the 1999 mayoral race.
Five years after having courted the Women's NCAA to bring the Final Four to Philadelphia, Greco served as co-chair of Philadelphia's sponsoring organization for the event. Under her leadership, this national event, for the first time, generated a significant surplus, which was designated for continuing support of girls’ athletics.
Awards.
She is the recipient of several awards, including appointment as the "Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania", "Lucretia Mott Women's Way Award", The "John Wanamaker Award", and the U.S. Marine Corp's "Semper Fidelis Award."
Publications.
Greco's career, management style and business accomplishments have been documented and reviewed in major publications and in books on leadership, sales and financial management. She has also authored articles which have appeared in financial and business publications, including the Harvard Business Review. |
Tetris Attack
Tetris Attack, also known as in Japan, is a puzzle video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. A Game Boy version was released a year later. In the game, the player must arrange matching colored blocks in vertical or horizontal rows to clear them. The blocks steadily rise towards the top of the playfield, with new blocks being added at the bottom. Several gameplay modes are present, including a time attack and multiplayer mode.
"Tetris Attack" was first released as "Panel de Pon" in Japan in October 1995, featuring fairies as the main characters with a mythical, fantasy setting. The game was released outside Japan in 1996, with the original characters and settings replaced by those from "Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island". Though international releases have the name "Tetris Attack", the game bears no relation to the "Tetris" video game series, leading Tetris Company co-founder Henk Rogers to regret giving Nintendo the license to use the name. Both "Panel de Pon" and "Tetris Attack" were later broadcast through the Japan-only Satellaview peripheral, the latter renamed to
"Tetris Attack" was well received by critics for its graphical style, addictive gameplay and multiplayer modes, with some noting the North American version was superior to the original Japanese release. It was followed by a series of sequels and remakes for multiple platforms, most of which instead use the name "Puzzle League". The game is referenced in other Nintendo games, such as the "Super Smash Bros." series, "", and "Captain Rainbow".
Gameplay.
"Tetris Attack" is a puzzle video game. The player must use an on-screen cursor to arrange colored blocks into horizontal or vertical rows – matching together three or more blocks of the same color will destroy them. Any blocks above cleared lines will fall, which can be used to cause chain reactions if they touch other matching blocks. The player can also earn combos, clearing more than three blocks in a single move. As the stage progresses, the blocks will begin to rise steadily towards the top of the screen, with new blocks generating from the bottom. Should the blocks touch the top of the playfield, the game will be over.
Several different gameplay modes are included. Story Mode pits the player against a series of computer-controlled opponents. In Endless Mode, the player is challenged to play as long as possible with a continuously rising stack of blocks, which increases in speed over time. Timed Mode challenges the player to score as many points as possible within a two-minute time limit. Stage Clear mode takes the player through a series of stages, in which the objective is to clear all blocks underneath a "boundary" line. In Puzzle Mode, the player must clear all the blocks in a preset block arrangement in a set number of moves – the blocks here do not rise towards the top. Several multiplayer modes are also present with adjustable difficulty levels.
Development and release.
"Tetris Attack" was released in Japan on October 27, 1995, August 1996 in North America, and November 28, 1996, in Europe. Development was headed by Intelligent Systems and produced by Gunpei Yokoi, known as the creator of the Game Boy. The Japanese version of the game is titled "Panel de Pon", featuring fairies as the main characters with a fantasy setting. International versions instead replace these with characters and settings from "", a game released earlier in 1995. Though international releases have the name "Tetris Attack", the game has no relation to the "Tetris" video game franchise, leading to Tetris Company co-founder Henk Rogers saying in a 2009 interview he regrets giving Nintendo permission to using the name. Although Rogers liked the game, he believed it "got lost in history" due to it using the "Tetris" branding.
A Game Boy version of "Tetris Attack" was released in 1996. Two years later, in 1998, a special version of "Panel de Pon" was broadcast through the Satellaview peripheral for the Super Famicom in Japan, renamed "BS Panel de Pon – Event '98" as part of a contest by St. GIGA. "Tetris Attack" was later released for the Satellaview the same year, renamed "BS Yoshi no Panepon". The original "Panel de Pon" was digitally re-released for the Japanese Wii Virtual Console on November 27, 2007. The original version of "Tetris Attack" was added to the Nintendo Switch Online service on May 20, 2020, under its Japanese title "Panel de Pon".
Reception.
"Tetris Attack" was met with very positive reviews, earning a 90% average rating on GameRankings. The four reviewers of "Electronic Gaming Monthly" gave it an 8.25 out of 10, lauding the addictive gameplay, colorful and cartoony graphics, use of Mario characters in the North American localization, and two-player mode. "GamePro" gave it a perfect 5 out of 5 in graphics, control and FunFactor, and a 4.5 out of 5 in sound. The reviewer commented that it has "a gentler, slower style of gameplay that requires learning some easy new controls, but this game's no less addicting than the original "Tetris"." "GameSpot" called it "absolutely brilliant".
"GamePro" gave the Game Boy version a brief positive review, saying it "updates the age-old "Tetris" concept by inverting the basic action".
Accolades.
"Electronic Gaming Monthly" editors named "Tetris Attack" Super NES Game of the Year, Hand-Held Game of the Year, and Puzzle Game of the Year, commenting that "[T]he simple premise makes it a game of mass appeal; its depth makes it a hardcore gamer's delight." In 1997 "Electronic Gaming Monthly" editors ranked the Super NES version the 16th best console video game of all time. They cited its accessibility and addictive quality, confessing that their boss had confiscated the office copy of the game because of how much time they spent playing it. "GamesRadar+" listed it 87th on their list of "The 100 best games of all time", stating "you haven't lived until you've played "Tetris Attack" two-player and dropped an immensely satisfying five-line garbage block on your opponent." "Game Informer" featured it on its own best games of all-time list at 96 and called it one of the most addictive puzzle games made. In 2018, Complex listed the game #64 on its "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time".
Legacy.
"Tetris Attack" was followed by several sequel games, most using the name "Puzzle League" in western territories. The first of these were "Pokémon Puzzle Challenge" for the Game Boy Color and "Pokémon Puzzle League" for the Nintendo 64 in 2000, featuring characters from the "Pokémon" anime series. A previously unreleased sequel, "Panel de Pon 64", was later released as part of "Nintendo Puzzle Collection" for the GameCube in 2003, followed by "Dr. Mario & Puzzle League" for the Game Boy Advance in 2005. "Planet Puzzle League" was released for the Nintendo DS in 2007 (renamed to "Panel de Pon DS" in Japan and "Puzzle League DS" in Europe), featuring online multiplayer support via the now-defunct Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service and touch-screen controls. A similar game for DSiWare, "Puzzle League Express", was released in 2010 for the Nintendo DSi with many of the same features as "Planet".
Several Nintendo games reference "Tetris Attack" and "Panel de Pon". The "Lip's Stick", the primary weapon of the main character of "Panel de Pon", appears throughout the "Super Smash Bros." series since "Super Smash Bros. Melee", poisoning the opponent. "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" features multiple "Panel de Pon 64" characters and a red-colored block as collectible stickers. A remix of Lip's theme song appears in multiple series entries, beginning with "Brawl". Lip appears in the Japan-only Wii game "Captain Rainbow" and as a Spirit and Mii Fighter costume in "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate". A 2016 update to "" adds a minigame based on the "Puzzle League" series, titled "Animal Crossing Puzzle League". Completing the minigame will award the player a costume based on Lip.
"Panel de Pon" was released on the Nintendo Switch Online service on May 20, 2020, including in international regions for the first time. |
Virtual currency
Virtual currency, or virtual money, is a digital currency that is largely unregulated, issued and usually controlled by its developers, and used and accepted electronically among the members of a specific virtual community. In 2014, the European Banking Authority defined virtual currency as "a digital representation of value that is neither issued by a central bank or a public authority, nor necessarily attached to a fiat currency but is accepted by natural or legal persons as a means of payment and can be transferred, stored or traded electronically." A digital currency issued by a central bank is referred to as a central bank digital currency.
Definitions.
In 2012, the European Central Bank (ECB) defined virtual currency as "a type of unregulated, digital money, which is issued and usually controlled by its developers, and used and accepted among the members of a specific virtual community".
In 2013, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the US Treasury, in contrast to its regulations defining currency as "the coin and paper money of the United States or of any other country that [i] is designated as legal tender and that [ii] circulates and [iii] is customarily used and accepted as a medium of exchange in the country of issuance", also called "real currency" by FinCEN, defined virtual currency as "a medium of exchange that operates like a currency in some environments, but does not have all the attributes of real currency". In particular, virtual currency does not have legal tender status in any jurisdiction.
In 2014, the European Banking Authority defined virtual currency as "a digital representation of value that is neither issued by a central bank or a public authority, nor necessarily attached to a fiat currency, but is accepted by natural or legal persons as a means of payment and can be transferred, stored or traded electronically".
In 2018, Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and of the Council entered into force. The Directive defines the term "virtual currencies" to mean "a digital representation of value that is not issued or guaranteed by a central bank or a public authority, is not necessarily attached to a legally established currency and does not possess a legal status of currency or money, but is accepted by natural or legal persons as a means of exchange and which can be transferred, stored and traded electronically".
History of the term.
In a 2013 congressional hearing on virtual currencies, Ben Bernanke said they "have been viewed as a form of 'electronic money' or area of payment system technology that has been evolving over the past 20 years", referencing a 1995 congressional hearing on the Future of Money before the Committee on Banking and Financial Services.
The Internet currency Flooz was created in 1999. The term "virtual currency" appears to have been coined around 2009, paralleling the development of digital currencies and social gaming.
Although the correct classification is "digital currency", the US government prefers and has uniformly adopted the term "virtual currency". The FinCEN was first, followed by the FBI in 2012, the General Accounting Office in 2013, as well as the government agencies testifying at the November 2013 US Senate hearing on bitcoin, including the Department of Homeland Security, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of the Attorney General.
Limits on being currency.
Attributes of a real currency, as defined in 2011 in the Code of Federal Regulations, such as real paper money and real coins are simply that they act as legal tender and circulate "customarily".
The IRS decided in March 2014, to treat bitcoin and other virtual currencies as property for tax purposes, not as currency. Some have suggested that this makes bitcoins not fungible—that is one bitcoin is not identical to another bitcoin, unlike one gallon of crude oil being identical to another gallon of crude oil—making bitcoin unworkable as a currency. Others have stated that a measure like accounting on average cost basis would restore fungibility to the currency.
Categorization by currency flow.
Closed virtual currencies.
Virtual currencies have been called "closed" or "fictional currency" when they have no official connection to the real economy, for example, currencies in massively multiplayer online role-playing games such as World of Warcraft. While there may be a grey market for exchanging such currencies or other virtual assets for real-world assets, this is usually forbidden by the games' terms of service.
Virtual currencies with currency flow into one direction.
This type of currency, units of which may also be circulated as (printed) coupons, stamps or reward points, has been known for a long time in the form of customer incentive programs or loyalty programs. A coupon loses its face value when redeemed for an eligible asset or service (hence: flow in one direction), may be valid for only a limited time and subject to other restrictions set by the issuer. The business issuing the coupon functions as a central authority. Coupons remained unchanged for 100 years until new technology enabling credit cards became more common in the 1980s, and credit card rewards were invented. The latest incarnation drives the increase of internet commerce, online services, development of online communities and games. Here virtual or game currency can be bought, but not exchanged back into real money. The virtual currency is akin to a coupon. Examples are frequent flyer programs by various airlines, Microsoft Points, Nintendo Points, Facebook Credits and Amazon Coin.
Convertible virtual currencies.
A virtual currency that can be bought with and sold back is called a convertible currency. A virtual currency can be decentralized, for example bitcoin, a cryptocurrency. Transacting or even holding convertible virtual currency may be illegal in particular jurisdictions and to particular national citizens at particular times and the transactor/recipient/facilitator liable for prosecution by the State.
Centralized versus decentralized.
FinCEN defined centralized virtual currencies in 2013 as virtual currencies that have a "centralized repository", similar to a central bank, and a "central administrator".
A decentralized currency was defined by the US Department of Treasury as a "currency (1) that has no central repository and no single administrator, and (2) that persons may obtain by their own computing or manufacturing effort". Rather than relying on confidence in a central authority, it depends instead on a distributed system of trust.
Money matrix.
Digital currency is a particular form of currency which is electronically transferred and stored, i.e., distinct from physical currency, such as coins or banknotes. According to the European Central Bank, virtual currencies are "generally digital", although their enduring precursor, the coupon, for example, is physical.
A cryptocurrency is a digital currency using cryptography to secure transactions and to control the creation of new currency units. Since not all virtual currencies use cryptography, not all virtual currencies are cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrencies are not always legal tender, but some countries have moved to regulate cryptocurrency-related services as they would financial institutions.
Ecuador is the first country attempting a government run a cryptography-free digital currency; during the introductory phase from Christmas Eve 2014 until mid February 2015 people can open accounts and change passwords. At the end of February 2015 transactions of electronic money will be possible.
Estonia has been exploring various possibilities for blockchain technology, such as Estcoin and the use of crypto tokens within its e-residency program, which gives both Estonians and foreigners a digital form of identification.
Regulation.
Virtual currencies pose challenges for central banks, financial regulators, departments or ministries of finance, as well as fiscal authorities and statistical authorities.
Gareth Murphy, Central Bank of Ireland, described the regulatory challenges posed by virtual currencies as relating to:
United States.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission guidance.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has determined virtual currencies are properly defined as commodities in 2015. The CFTC warned investors against pump and dump schemes that use virtual currencies.
Internal Revenue Service guidance.
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruling Notice 2014-21 defines any virtual currency, cryptocurrency and digital currency as property; gains and losses are taxable within standard property policies.
Treasury guidance.
On 20 March 2013, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a guidance to clarify how the US Bank Secrecy Act applied to persons creating, exchanging and transmitting virtual currencies.
Securities and Exchange Commission guidance.
In May 2014 the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) "warned about the hazards of bitcoin and other virtual currencies".
State regulations.
New York state regulation.
In July 2014, the New York State Department of Financial Services proposed the most comprehensive regulation of virtual currencies to date commonly referred to as a BitLicense. Unlike the US federal regulators it has gathered input from bitcoin supporters and the financial industry through public hearings and a comment period until October 21, 2014, to customize the rules. The proposal, per NY DFS press release "sought to strike an appropriate balance that helps protect consumers and root out illegal activity". It has been criticized by smaller companies to favor established institutions, and Chinese bitcoin exchanges have complained that the rules are "overly broad in its application outside the United States".
European Union.
European Central Bank guidance.
In February 2015 the ECB concluded "Virtual currency schemes, such as Bitcoin, are not full forms of money as usually defined in economic literature, nor are virtual currencies money or currency from a legal perspective. Nevertheless, Virtual currency may substitute [for] banknotes and coins, scriptural money and e-money in certain payment situations". In a May 2019 report ECB expressed concerns that "crypto assets provide opportunity for anonymous participation in illegal activities of all sorts".
Legal classification.
In the European Union, a legal definition of cryptocurrency was introduced to be broadly be regarded as “a digital representation of value that can be digitally transferred, stored or traded and is accepted… as a medium of exchange” in the 5th Anti Money Laundering Directive. This also means that within the European Union cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency exchanges are considered “obliged entities” subject to the European Union's Anti-Money Laundering Directives, and face the same CFT/AML regulations. As of July 20, 2021, the European Commission has proposed replacing the previous Directive 2015/849/EU with provisions from the 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive.
Virtual currencies are defined as "a digital representation of value that is not issued or guaranteed by a central bank or a public authority, is not necessarily attached to a legally established currency and does not possess a legal status of currency or money, but is accepted by natural or legal persons as a means of exchange and which can be transferred, stored and traded electronically".
The fact that European Union lawmakers regard Bitcoin as the archetypal example of virtual currencies and that Bitcoin therefore fulfills all elements of the legal definition can serve as an anchor point for interpretation. Basically, the definition consists of six elements:
The authors of the legal definition under EU law primarily had blockchain technology in mind – and Bitcoin as an archetypal form. Against this background, it is remarkable that the definition does not contain any elements tailored to the use of a particular technology. On the contrary, the legal definition is strikingly technology neutral.
In a CNN interview, the financial crime expert Veit Buetterlin explained that the raise of the cryptocurrency market opened creative channels for terror groups to finance themselves. |
Flora Antarctica
The Flora Antarctica, or formally and correctly The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror in the years 1839–1843, under the Command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross, is a description of the many plants discovered on the Ross expedition, which visited islands off the coast of the Antarctic continent, with a summary of the expedition itself, written by the British botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker and published in parts between 1844 and 1859 by Reeve Brothers in London. Hooker sailed on HMS "Erebus" as assistant surgeon.
The botanical findings of the Ross expedition were published in four parts, the last two in two volumes each, making six volumes in all:
All were "splendidly" illustrated by Walter Hood Fitch, who prepared thousands of detailed botanical figures on 530 colour plates. The greater part of the plant specimens collected during this expedition are now part of London's Kew Herbarium.
The "Flora of Tasmania" contains an introductory essay on biogeography written from a Darwinian point of view, making the book the first case study for the theory of evolution by natural selection. This has been seen as the foundation of evolutionary biogeography. Hooker gave Darwin a copy of the work, which proposed that plant groups on different landmasses had common ancestors, spreading via long-vanished land bridges. Darwin doubted the explanation but agreed that geographical distribution would be vital to understanding the origin of species. In the 21st century the book is still treated as a major reference work.
Context.
Ross and earlier expeditions.
The British government fitted out an expedition led by the explorer and naval officer James Clark Ross to investigate magnetism and marine geography in high southern latitudes, which sailed with two ships, HMS "Terror" and HMS "Erebus" on 29 September 1839 from Chatham.
The ships docked at Madeira, Tenerife, the Cape Verde archipelago, Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, Trinidad and arrived at the Cape of Good Hope on 4 April 1840. On 21 April the giant kelp "Macrocystis pyrifera" was seen off Marion Island, but no landfall could be made there or on the Crozet Islands due to the harsh winds. On 12 May the ships anchored at Christmas Harbour for two and a half months, during which all plants previously encountered by James Cook on the Kerguelen Islands were collected. On 20 July they sailed again to arrive on 16 August at the River Derwent, to remain in Tasmania until 12 November. A week later the flotilla stopped at Lord Auckland's Islands and Campbell's Island for the spring months.
Large floating forests of "Macrocystis" and "Durvillaea" were found until the ships ran into the icebergs at latitude 61° S. Pack-ice was met at 68° S and longitude 175°. During this part of the voyage Victoria Land, Mount Erebus and Mount Terror were discovered. After returning to Tasmania for three months, the flotilla went via Sydney to the Bay of Islands, and stayed for three months in New Zealand to collect plants.
From 6 April 1842 a long stay in the Falklands began, where the flora was investigated to supplement the work of the French explorer Admiral Jules Dumont d'Urville, who had sailed to the Antarctic and the Pacific between 1837 and 1840, and of the crew of the "Uranie", who had visited the South Atlantic and the South Pacific between 1817 and 1820. In the "Flora Atlantica", Hooker praises the work of the English botanist Sir Joseph Banks and his Swedish assistant, Daniel Solander, on Captain Cook's first voyage in 1769. Hooker also mentions Cook's second voyage and the explorations of the French survey ship "Coquille", on which D'Urville had served as a young officer. When visiting the Hermite Islands, seedlings of the deciduous "Nothofagus antarctica" and the evergreen "Nothofagus betuloides" were collected from this southernmost location of any tree. These were planted on the Falklands, and some were later brought to Kew. On Cockburn's Island twenty cryptogam species were found. The ships returned to the Cape of Good Hope on 4 April 1843. At the end of the journey specimens of some fifteen hundred plant species had been collected and preserved.
Few earlier botanical descriptions of the region had been written, and little or no plant collecting had been attempted other than on the coasts before 1820. The first flora for New Zealand was Achille Richard's 1832 "Essai d'une flore de la Nouvelle-Zélande", based on d'Urville's work and such earlier data as existed. This was followed by Allan Cunningham's 1839 "Florae insularum Novae-Zelandiae praecursor".
Joseph Dalton Hooker.
Joseph Dalton Hooker was a British botanist. His father, William Jackson Hooker, was the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the United Kingdom's centre for the study of plant species. The voyage to the Antarctic on the Ross expedition, when he was 23 years old, was his first; formally, he sailed on HMS "Erebus" as assistant surgeon. Charles Darwin wrote to Hooker in November 1843, urging him to write "some general sketch of the Flora" of the Antarctic, complete with "comparative remarks on the species allied to the European species". Hooker subsequently made voyages to regions around the world including the Himalayas and India in 1847–1851, Palestine in 1860, Morocco in 1871, and the Western United States in 1877, collecting plants and writing monographs on his findings in each case. These helped him to build a high scientific reputation, and in 1855 he became Assistant-Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; he became full Director in 1865, remaining so for 20 years.
Walter Hood Fitch.
Hooker was ably assisted by the illustrator Walter Hood Fitch, who "splendidly" prepared the many colour illustrations required for the "Flora". William Hooker had encouraged Fitch to move into botanical illustration; from 1834, Fitch was the sole artist for "Curtis's Botanical Magazine". In 1841, when William Hooker became Director at Kew, Fitch became Kew's sole artist for all its publications, making the chromolithographs by drawing directly onto the lithographic stone; Hooker paid him personally.
Monograph.
Publication history.
The four parts of the "Flora Antarctica" total 6 volumes, describe about 3000 species, and contain 530 plates which depict 1095 of the species. They were published by Reeve Brothers in London between 1844 and 1849. The work was reprinted (in English) by the German publisher J. Cramer in Weinheim in 1963.
Approach.
The work is prefaced with a "Summary of the Voyage". Each volume begins with a brief general overview of the flora of its region. The body of the work consists of a systematic list of the plant families found in that region, such as Ranunculaceae. Each such family receives a brief overall description, followed by a brief account of the family's habitat in the region. The description of each family and species is in Latin, while the discussion is in English. Each species is illustrated in the colour plates, the details indexed at the end of the text on that species. Thus for instance "Ranunculus pinguis" is described as ('unstalked, fleshy, hairy, ...'); the "a" and "β" varieties living in Lord Auckland's group of islands, in "boggy places on the hills, alt. 1000 feet...". The Latin is tersely botanical, confining itself to anatomical features; the English discussion is more wide-ranging, with comments such as "A very handsome species, and quite distinct from any with which I am acquainted." The flowering plants are described first, followed by the "lower plants" and ending with the lichens.
Contents.
Botany of Lord Auckland's Group and Campbell's Island.
Part I, published between 1844 and 1845, covers the "Flora of Lord Auckland and Campbell's Islands". It has 208 pages, 370 species, 80 plates and a map, and illustrates 150 species. According to Hooker, the flora of the islands south of Tasmania and New Zealand is related to that of New Zealand and bears no likeness to that of Australia. On the Auckland Islands wood grows near the sea and consists of the tree "Metrosideros umbellata" intermixed with woody "Dracophyllum", "Coprosma", "Hebe" (assigned to "Veronica" by Hooker) and "Panax". These are undergrown by many ferns. Higher up grow alpines. On the Campbell Islands brushwood is limited to narrow bays which are relatively sheltered. These islands are steeper and rocky and have bear less vegetation, primarily grasses.
Hooker was the first to study the sub-Antarctic Campbell Island and the Auckland group.
Botany of Fuegia, the Falklands, Kerguelen's Land, Etc..
Part II, published between 1845 and 1847, covers the "Botany of Fuegia, the Falklands, Kerguelen's Land, Etc." It has 366 pages, 1000 species, 120 plates, and illustrates 220 species.
According to Hooker, the flora of New Zealand's Antarctic islands is so different from that of the remainder of the territories visited during the voyage, that it merits a separate description. An exemplary difference is the dominance of Asteraceae in New Zealand's islands, and absence of representatives of the Rubiaceae, while the reverse is true for those two plant families on the other Antarctic archipelagos. So the "Flora Antarctica" describes in its second part the plants of Tierra del Fuego and the south-western coast of Patagonia, the Falkland Islands, Palmer's Land, South Shetlands, South Georgia, Tristan da Cunha, and Kerguelen's Land.
Flora Novae-Zelandiae.
Part III, the "Botany of New Zealand" or "Flora Nova-Zelandiae", was published in two volumes between 1851 and 1853.
The book has an introductory essay which begins by summarizing the history of botanical research of the islands. Hooker singles out the work of Sir Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander on Captain Cook's first voyage in 1769, also mentioning Cook's second voyage and, 20 years later, the explorations of the French survey ship "Coquille" and the plant collector D'Urville. Hooker notes that the fungi of the islands remained largely unknown. The next chapter of the essay, on plant biogeography and evolution, is entitled "On the limits of species; their dispersion and variation"; Hooker discusses how plant species may have originated, and notes how much more they vary than was often supposed. The third chapter of the essay considers the "affinities" (relationships) of the New Zealand flora to other floras. The flora proper begins with a short introduction explaining the book's approach; as with the other volumes, the bulk of the text is a systematic account of the families and species found by the expedition.
The "Flora" "largely completed" the "primary phase of botanical survey in the [New Zealand] region".
Flora Tasmaniae.
Part IV, the "Botany of Tasmania" or "Flora Tasmaniae" was published in two volumes between 1853 and 1859.
Hooker dedicated this Part to the local Tasmanian naturalists Ronald Campbell Gunn and William Archer, noting that "This Flora of Tasmania .. owes so much to their indefatigable exertions". Although the book is sometimes stated to have been published in 1859, the dedication is dated January 1860. It made use of plants collected by the local naturalist Robert Lawrence as well as Gunn and Archer.
The book begins with an "Introductory Essay" on biogeography. It is followed by a "Key to the Natural Orders of Tasmanian Flowering Plants" and a more detailed key to the genera. The Flora proper begins with the first order, the Ranunculaceae.
"Flora Tasmaniae" was "the first published case study supporting Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection". It contained a "milestone essay on biogeography", "one of the first major public endorsements of the theory [of evolution by natural selection]". Hooker gradually changed his mind on evolution as he wrote up his findings from the Ross expedition. While he asserted that "my own views on the subjects of the variability of existing species" remain "unaltered from those which I maintained in the 'Flora of New Zealand'", the "Flora Tasmaniae" is written from a Darwinian perspective that effectively assumes natural selection, or as Hooker named it, the "variation" theory, to be correct.
Reception.
Contemporary.
The American botanist Asa Gray welcomed the publication of the first two parts of the "Flora", describing it as an "elaborate and highly beautiful work,—second in importance and in perfection of illustration, to no other Flora which has appeared in our time".
The work's author, Hooker, gave Charles Darwin a copy of (a draft of) the "Flora"; Darwin thanked him, and agreed in November 1845 that the geographical distribution of organisms would be "the key which will unlock the mystery of species". To explain the presence of plant groups on the widely-separated landmasses of Australia, New Zealand, and southern South America, Hooker proposed that the groups indeed had common ancestors, and that the plants had spread across now-vanished land bridges. Darwin was sceptical of the explanation, preferring the hypothesis of long-distance seed dispersal. For this work, Hooker has been described as "the real founder of causal historical biogeography".
In 1868, the botanist Robert Oliver Cunningham described the "Flora" as "invaluable" for his study of the plants of "Fuegia" from the survey ship HMS "Nassau".
Modern.
"Flora Antarctica" remains important, and continues to be cited in modern botanical research. For example, in 2013 W. H. Walton in his "Antarctica: Global Science from a Frozen Continent" describes it as "a major reference to this day", encompassing as it does "all the plants he found both in the Antarctic and on the sub-Antarctic islands", surviving better than Ross's deep-sea soundings which were made with "inadequate equipment".
David Senchina notes that Hooker was the first botanist to set foot on Antarctica, in 1840; the first sighting of a plant on the continent was only a few years earlier, namely A. Young's observation of "Deschampsia antarctica" (Antarctic hair grass) in 1819, from HMS "Andromache", and the first plant specimen from an Antarctic island had been collected by the American James Eights only in 1830. Senchina calls Hooker's work "monumental", and notes that it covers ecology, with discussion of rocks as sources of heat for plants, and wind as a means of dispersing seeds and spores, as well as "standard plant collection, description, and classification". He concludes that Hooker, in the book and in discussion with Darwin, initiated the study of Antarctic plant geography and ecology. |
World Youth Chess Championship
The World Youth Chess Championship is a FIDE-organized worldwide chess competition for boys and girls under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18. Twelve world champions are crowned every year. Since 2015, the event has been split into "World Cadets Chess Championship" (categories U8, U10 and U12) and "World Youth Chess Championship" (categories U14, U16 and U18).
Notes.
Tournament history
The first predecessor of the youth championship was the Cadet Championship. It started off unofficially in 1974 in France for players under 18. The 1975 and 1976 editions were also for U18. The 1976 featured very young players such as Julian Hodgson (12+) but also players slightly older than 18, but younger than 19 such as Louis Roos. It was recognized in 1977 by FIDE as the World Championship for Cadets for players under 17 and attracted for example Garry Kasparov. In 1981 the age limit was reduced to under 16, applicable at the start of the year the championship is played in. It was also the year in which the first girls' championship for U16 was played.
In 1979, International Year of the Child, the first edition of the World Infant Cup was played for under 14. This cup had four editions, 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1984. In 1985 the U14 event was included in the first edition of the World Youth Chess Festival for Peace. Subsequently, the age categories U10, U12 and U18 were introduced. In 1987 the festival included the sections U10, U12, U14 and U18, while the U16 was held separately. In 1988, U16 was incorporated, but U18 was held separately. It was not until 1989 that the festival included all five age categories. Later, the U16 and U18 were sometimes played at separately from the U10, U12 and U14, as was the case in 1990, 1991, 1995 and 1997. In 1997 the name of tournament was changed to the World Youth Chess Championships. The under 8 category was first introduced in 2006.
1974 – Pont-Sainte-Maxence, France, 2–13 July – The first World Cadet Championship was an Under-18 event, organised by the French chess authorities. Thirty players took part in an 11-round Swiss. Englishman Jonathan Mestel won by a one-and-a-half point margin, scoring +8−0=3. The silver and bronze medals went to Evgeny Vladimirov and Oskar Orel, respectively. Also competing were the Canadian Jean Hébert and the Lebanese Bachar Kouatly.
1975 – Creil, France, 1–12 July – The second World Cadets was once again a French organised Under-18 event, comprising twenty-five players in an 11-round Swiss. David Goodman of England won the gold medal (8½/11), with silver going to Terence Wong of Singapore (8/11) and bronze to Predrag Nikolić of Yugoslavia (7/11). Also with 7 points was Australia's Ian Rogers, taking a share of third place. The West German Eric Lobron and Lebanese Bachar Kouatly were two future grandmasters who also took part.
1978 – Sas-van-Gent, Netherlands, December 1978 – January 1979 – The World Cadets tournament was held over the New Year. Scotland gained its first ever world champion in chess, Paul Motwani from the city of Dundee. Following closely were England's Nigel Short, aged only 13, and Jose Huergo of Cuba, who required a tie-break to separate them. Other well known players in the pack included Ivan Morovic of Chile and Jóhann Hjartarson of Iceland.
1979 – Belfort, France – (July) – For a second successive year, England's Nigel Short (age 14) narrowly failed to take the World Cadets title, after losing out to his Argentine rival, Marcelo Tempone on the sum of opponent's scores rule (a method of tie-break). Third place was taken by Ivan Morovic and further down the field were future grandmasters Gilberto Milos, Joel Benjamin, Jan Ehlvest, Alon Greenfeld and Jóhann Hjartarson.
1980 – Le Havre, France – (? – ?) – The World Cadet Championship (for players under 17 on 1 September 1980) was played alongside the familiar Le Havre Open chess tournament. A total of fifty-one 'cadets' represented forty-nine different countries. France fielded three players, two by right and a third when immigration officials mysteriously refused entry to the Pakistan entrant. The winner, Valery Salov, displayed the usual Soviet formula of good preparation and technique, with strategically planned draws against his nearest rivals, Alon Greenfeld and Joel Benjamin. Greenfeld might have tied first, but lost his crucial last round game with Benjamin, despite having the white pieces. Some of the players and their seconds were unhappy about the conditions, particularly the dormitory-style accommodation and food quality. Many also felt that the Brazilian, Gilberto Milos, was unfairly treated when his twice adjourned game was concluded on the free day without prior warning. He was awoken at 9.10 am and told that his clock had been started. Understandably upset, he played and lost, his follow-up protest falling on deaf ears. The list of entries also contained future grandmasters Suat Atalık and Dibyendu Barua, among others.
1989 – Aguadilla, Puerto Rico – (28 July – 9 August) – There were 54 countries and 281 juniors participating. Living conditions were quite stretched as the organisers were not expecting the players to be accompanied by more than 200 adults. Regrettably, there was a shortage of competent decision-making organisers, but a friendly, good humoured atmosphere prevailed and the problems were resolved amicably. A variety of tie-breaking systems were used to separate the final places. In the case of the Boys Under-10 category, the resulting split was particularly harsh on the Brazilian Rafael Leitão, who was deprived of a gold medal on the basis of 'strength of first round opponent'. Antoaneta Stefanova, the winner of the girls Under-10 event, was already being talked about as a future women's world champion. IM Bob Wade attended the event and felt that the most successful countries were those that prepared their competitors best in terms of 'basic' rather than 'opening' training. Among the lesser medals were; Alex Sherzer (silver, U-18), Christopher Lutz (bronze, U-18), Matthew Sadler (silver, U-16), Vladimir Kramnik (silver, U-14), Peter Leko (bronze, U-10). In the girls events, Tea Lanchava took silver in the U-16 and Corina Peptan, bronze in the U-12.
1990 – Fond du Lac, USA – (14–22 July) – Wisconsin's Marian College hosted the 5th World Youth Festival, which attracted 170 players from 44 nations. With federation officials and parental entourages, this number swelled to more than 300. It was the first time that the USA had hosted a chess event of this size and importance and the accommodation and conditions received high praise from the competitors. Judit Polgár celebrated victory on her fourteenth birthday (23 July), by taking the gold medal in the Boys U-14 event. This was the second occasion on which she had successfully competed in the Boys category. Her father, Laszlo Polgar, pointed out that Judit's last three 'world' competitions, including the Thessaloniki Olympiad, had resulted in a score of +26 =9 -0. Vasily Emelin of the USSR and Gabriel Schwartzman of Romania finished in silver and bronze medal places. Russia's Diana Darchia won the corresponding Girls' U-14 event from the USSR's Inna Gaponenko and Hungarian Monika Grabics. In the Boys U-12, Boris Avrukh outdistanced second placed John Viloria and third placed Peter Leko. Corina Peptan was triumphant in the Girls U-12, ahead of Monika Bobrowska and Nikoletta Lakos. In the Boys U-10, Nawrose Nur won by a good margin from the Romanian Alin Berescu and Adrien Leroy of France. Ecuador's Evelyn Moncayo took gold in the Girls U-10, while Claudia Bilciu of Romania and Jovanka Houska of England took silver and bronze, respectively. "New In Chess" Best Game awards were chaired by Arnold Denker and won by Judit Polgár, Yvonne Krawiec, Tal Shaked, Corina Peptan, Francisco Vallejo Pons and Claudia Bilciu. Polgar made it a clean sweep by winning an Under-14 Blitz tournament from Vasily Emelin and Ronan Har-Zvi of Israel.
1992 – Duisburg, Germany – (29 June – 13 July) – The venue, a large sports complex, was playing host to over 500 competitors engaged in 10 World Junior Championships. There were initially some problems with overcrowding, but these were quickly sorted out by the organisers. There was a commentary room where those who had finished their games could benefit from the expert opinion of Grandmaster Helmut Pfleger. TV screens were displayed throughout the venue to cover the positions on the top boards. Peter Leko of Hungary, the world's youngest IM at the time, played in the U-14 event and was expected to win with an enormous Elo rating advantage over his closest rival. However, his opponents had not read the script and he finished a disappointing fourth. There was a shock too in the Girls' U-14 section, when the Romanian Corina Peptan, top seed and national champion at 14, only managed to secure the silver medal. In contrast, the U-18 events went according to expectation with Sakaev (in the Boys/Open) and Kadimova (in the Girls) totally dominant. There was a good showing from the English contingent; by comparison other western European nations failed miserably. McShane won the Boys/Open U-10 event, despite being the youngest competitor at 8. Ruth Sheldon took silver in the U-12 Girls and Harriet Hunt a bronze in the U-14 Girls, even though she was heavily outrated.
1993 – Bratislava, Slovakia – (17–29 July) – Held at the Park of Culture and Leisure, the Slovakian Federation played host to a record number of participants from a staggering 78 nations. Unfortunately the tournament got off to a bad start, before even a game had been played. The organisers had implemented an arduous registration process, designed to catch late registrants and penalise them or their federation with a $100 U.S. late entry fee. It appeared to be a cynical attempt at earning the organising committee a tidy sum. There were a number of protests; some paid up and others refused. Before things turned too nasty, Florencio Campomanes stepped in and ordered a reduction in the fee, which helped patch things up. However, the French were so upset that they decided to boycott the opening celebrations. Attending the closing ceremony was former World Champion Anatoly Karpov, the guest of honour replacing Campomanes on his departure. The contest contained a few surprises; Malakhov edged out Peter Leko in the Boys U-14 and a similar fate awaited the rapidly improving Vallejo Pons in the Boys U-12.
1994 – Szeged, Hungary – (August) – Peter Leko finally got his gold medal, this time in the U-16 Boys event. Bearing in mind his past disappointments, it is worth noting that other high-profile players missed gold medals at this event, including 2 future World Champions. In retrospect, this underlines the strength of the event. Among those taking home silver medals, were Alexandra Kosteniuk (U-10 Girls), Étienne Bacrot (U-12 Boys) and Rustam Kasimdzhanov (U-16 Boys). There was an impressive showing from the Ukrainian Girls Squad, taking 3 of the 5 gold medals on offer.
1998 – Oropesa del Mar, Spain – (October – November) – The Marina d'Or venue played host to over 1000 players from 48 countries. Russia's bright prospect Alexander Grischuk, already an International Master with a near Grandmaster rating, was (at 15 years) participating in the U-18 category. England turned up with a strong looking squad and performed even above their own expectations, landing two gold medals. Russia's Kosintseva sisters did enough to suggest they might become a powerful force in Ladies chess for years to come; Nadezhda took gold in the U-14 and Tatiana took silver in the U-12. The Boys / Open U-14 category comprised an unusually strong list of entrants, with David Navara and Zahar Efimenko taking silver and bronze respectively. |
Midlands State University
Midlands State University is a government owned university in Zimbabwe. The university has 9 faculties (Agriculture, Arts, Commerce, Education, Engineering, Law, Science, Social Sciences and Medicine) offering a wide variety of courses and many specialist programmes. The university is accredited through the National Council for Higher Education, under the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education of Zimbabwe.
The main campus is located in Gweru the third largest city in Zimbabwe. The university adopted a multi campus system therefore it has a satellite campus in the mining town of Zvishavane and other campuses located in the city of Gweru. TelOne campus is the second popular campus after Main campus.
History.
The idea of a university in the Midlands Province dates back to the foundation of the National University of Science and Technology when Gweru, which was identified as a possible site for a second university campus in the country, lost its bid to Bulawayo. Two other opportunities to host institutions of higher learning (the Open University and the Catholic University) were also missed by the Midlands Province, when the two universities went to Harare. It was in the midst of such disappointments that two initiatives converged to give birth to what has since become the Midlands State University. The President R G Mugabe, on the nudging of the provincial political leadership of the Midlands, accepted the idea of a national university being built in the Midlands. This coincided with the then Ministry of Higher Education and Technology's policy of devolution, which was aimed at expanding access to higher education by converting teachers and technical colleges into degree granting institutions. It was through the process of devolution that beginning in 1998 Gweru Teachers College started to enrol students studying for the Bachelor of Commerce with Education and the Bachelor of Science with Education degrees offered by the University of Zimbabwe.
In the meantime, although the devolution policy inaugurated an irrevocable process of bringing university education to the Midlands, there was a strong feeling, especially in the Province, that what was being done did not quite amount to the President's promise of a fully fledged state university in the province. Responding to these feelings, but without losing sight of constraints imposed on Government by declining national funds, the Minister of Higher Education and Technology transformed the devolution project at Gweru into Zimbabwe's third state university by means of the State University in the Midlands Act of April 1999.
The new university, whose name was later changed to the Midlands State University, was to be housed at the Gweru Teachers College premises.
Organisation.
The titular head of the university is the Chancellor, who is the President of Zimbabwe. The university is governed by a University Council, comprising the university's chief officers, representatives of the Senate, staff and students, nominees of the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education and representatives form various sectors of commerce and civil society. The chief executive of the university is the Vice-Chancellor, who is appointed by the Chancellor after consultation with the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education and the University Council. The Vice-Chancellor is assisted by one or more Pro–Vice-Chancellors, appointed by the University Council with the approval of the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education.
The academic authority of the university is vested in the Senate, comprising the university's chief officers, the deans of faculties, all full professors, the chairmen of departments and staff and student representatives. The university is divided into faculties, managed by an executive dean and governed by a Faculty Board comprising all professors and lecturers.
Academic programmes.
The degree programmes and courses on offer are strengthened through flexible packaging of modules. Flexible packaging allows students studying for a particular degree to make themselves more marketable by including in this package of studies more modules from other programmes.
Fully semesterised university.
Midlands State University is a fully semestered and modularised University. Enrolment takes place twice a year, in March and in August. Modules offered at any level in a semester are available at the same level during the next semester. This arrangement gives an opportunity to those students who, at the end of a semester are required to 'carry' or 'repeat' failed modules to do so in the next semester.
Students enrolled at MSU study for four-year or five-year degree programmes spending their Third Level on Work Related Learning in industry and other work places. Work Related Learning is an approach to teaching and learning which requires a student to spend some time during the course of study on 'hands on' practical experience.
Student life.
Residences
There is a large number of flats which house male and female students separately. Many of the flats are named after prominent anti-colonial patriots such as Kaguvi and Nehanda. In 2013, the university constructed new halls of residence so as to cope with the increasing number of undergraduates. MSU is also currently constructing Halls of residence at its Telone Campus, and these are the most expensive and stylish hostels. The Batanai Campus has two hostels namely Rutendo and Ruzivo. Below is a table of all hostels and their locations:
These hostels, however cannot accommodate all students and may not be preferred or afforded by all students therefore a lot of students are accommodated in close neighbourhoods that include Senga, KMP, Nehosho, Windsor Park, Daylesford, Kopje and Gweru East.
Ranking.
MSU is featured in major international rankings such as the Times Higher Education Supplement, QS World University Rankings or the Academic Ranking of World Universities. It is ranked number one in Zimbabwe as the fastest growing in Zimbabwe and it is ranked number two in Zimbabwe
Campuses.
Midlands State University has many campuses and these include
In 2018, MSU also announced plans of opening another campus in Redcliff Town and back in 2015 news hit the newspapers that MSU had been given land to open a Law School in Kwekwe. |
Fairmount, Indiana
Fairmount is a town in Fairmount Township, Grant County in the east central part of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 2,954 at the 2010 census. It is 55 miles (88 km) northeast of Indianapolis. Largely a bedroom community for nearby Marion, Fairmount is best known as the boyhood home of actor James Dean, who is buried there.
Geography.
Fairmount is located at (40.417702, −85.648942).
According to the 2010 census, Fairmount has a total area of , all land.
Demographics.
2010 census.
As of the census of 2010, there were 2,954 people, 1,241 households, and 837 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 1,350 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.6% White, 0.1% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 0.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.9% of the population.
There were 1,241 households, of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.6% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.85.
The median age in the town was 40.3 years. 23.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.2% were from 25 to 44; 28% were from 45 to 64; and 16.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.5% male and 51.5% female.
2000 census.
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,992 people, 1,226 households, and 859 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 1,325 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.30% White, 0.17% Black or African American, 0.70% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.43% of the population.
There were 1,226 households, out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $33,843, and the median income for a family was $44,033. Males had a median income of $31,136 versus $23,041 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,029. About 7.4% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
History.
The Fairmount area was settled in the 1830s mostly by Quakers from North Carolina. The town was laid out in 1850 and named for Fairmount Park in Philadelphia; it was formally incorporated in 1870.
After a large deposit of natural gas was found in 1887, Fairmount became part of the Indiana Gas Boom and a center of the glass industry for the rest of the 19th century. Shortly after the depletion of the gas in 1900 the automobile industry set up factories in the nearby large cities, and Fairmount became a bedroom community, restoring some of its lost prosperity.
In the 1940s, James Dean lived with an aunt and uncle, Ortense and Marcus Winslow, on a farm north of Fairmount. He attended Fairmount High School, graduating in 1949. After his death in 1955, Dean was buried in Park Cemetery. In 1996, a small Memorial Park north of the town's business district was dedicated in his memory with a bronze bust by Hollywood artist Kenneth Kendall.
During the prosperity of the 1960s, Fairmount enjoyed a time of building with a new town hall, water works, post office and elementary school. At the end of the decade the local school district merged with a neighboring one, forming the Madison-Grant united school district. A new high school was built for this district, and Fairmount High School became a middle school. When a new junior high school was opened in 1986, the Fairmount High School building was permanently closed.
Fairmount was hit hard by the recession of 1980–1982, which brought the permanent loss of factory jobs and the failure of many farms, but rebounded later in the decade. Fairmount is still relatively prosperous despite the ill fortunes of nearby industrial cities and a steady loss of population.
On September 21, 1975 The James Dean Museum opened at 203 E Washington Street in Fairmount, Indiana. The museum houses the world's largest collection of James Dean's personal belongings, which are on loan from the Winslow family. The museum includes his 1947 Czech 125cc motorcycle, 1955 Triumph TR5 Trophy 500cc motorcycle, clothing, movie props, photographs, letters, artworks, awards, and more! Since 1975, The James Dean Museum has sponsored the annual James Dean Festival. The festival is always held the last full weekend of September. It includes a huge car show, parade, carnival, vendors, and the world famous James Dean look-alike contest. Come visit Fairmount and pay your respects to one of the world's greatest icons.
On September 30 of each year there is a Memorial Service for James Dean at The Back Creek Friends Church, south of The Winslow Farm.
The Baldwin Addition Historic District, Fairmount Commercial Historic District, and J.W. Patterson House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Education.
Madison-Grant United School Corporation operates public schools Fairmount is assigned to.
Schools serving Fairmount:
The town has a lending library, the Fairmount Public Library. |
Nuclear weapons debate
The nuclear weapons debate refers to the controversies surrounding the threat, use and stockpiling of nuclear weapons. Even before the first nuclear weapons had been developed, scientists involved with the Manhattan Project were divided over the use of the weapon. The only time nuclear weapons have been used in warfare was during the final stages of World War II when USAAF B-29 Superfortress bombers dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August 1945. The role of the bombings in Japan's surrender and the U.S.'s ethical justification for them have been the subject of scholarly and popular debate for decades.
Nuclear disarmament refers both to the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world. Proponents of disarmament typically condemn a priori the threat or use of nuclear weapons as immoral and argue that only total disarmament can eliminate the possibility of nuclear war. Critics of nuclear disarmament say that it would undermine deterrence and make conventional wars more likely, more destructive, or both. The debate becomes considerably complex when considering various scenarios for example, total vs partial or unilateral vs multilateral disarmament.
Nuclear proliferation is a related concern, which most commonly refers to the spread of nuclear weapons to additional countries and increases the risks of nuclear war arising from regional conflicts. The diffusion of nuclear technologies -- especially the nuclear fuel cycle technologies for producing weapons-usable nuclear materials such as highly enriched uranium and plutonium -- contributes to the risk of nuclear proliferation. These forms of proliferation are sometimes referred to as horizontal proliferation to distinguish them from vertical proliferation, the expansion of nuclear stockpiles of established nuclear powers.
History.
Manhattan Project.
Because the Manhattan Project was considered to be "top secret," there was no public discussion of the use of nuclear arms, and even within the US government, knowledge of the bomb was extremely limited. However, even before the first nuclear weapons had been developed, scientists involved with the Manhattan Project were divided over the use of the weapon.
Franck Report.
On June 2nd 1945, Arthur Compton, the leader of the Manhattan Project's Metallurgical Laboratory, also known as Met Lab, at the University of Chicago briefed his staff on the latest information from the Interim Committee, which was formulating plans for the use of the atomic bomb to force Japanese capitulation. In response to the briefing, Met Lab's Committee on the Social and Political Implications of the Atomic Bomb, chaired by James Franck, wrote the Franck Report. The report, to which Leo Szilárd and Glenn T. Seaborg also contributed, argued that instead of being used against a city, the first atomic bomb should be "demonstrated" to the Japanese on an uninhabited area. The recommendation was not agreed with by the military commanders, the Los Alamos Target Committee (made up of other scientists), or the politicians who had input into the use of the weapon.
The report also argued that to preclude a nuclear arms race and a destabilized world order, the existence of the weapon should be made public so that a collaborative, international body could come to control atomic power:"From this point of view a demonstration of the new weapon may best be made before the eyes of representatives of all United Nations, on the desert or a barren island. The best possible atmosphere for the achievement of an international agreement could be achieved if America would be able to say to the world, “You see what weapon we had but did not use. We are ready to renounce its use in the future and to join other nations in working out adequate supervision of the use of this nuclear weapon.” - The Franck Report
Szilárd Petition.
70 scientists involved in the Manhattan Project, many of them from Met Lab, represented in part by Leó Szilárd, put forth a petition to President Harry Truman in July 1945. The Szilárd Petition urged Truman to use the atomic bomb only if the full terms of surrender were made public and if Japan, in full possession of the facts, still refused to surrender. "We, the undersigned, respectfully petition: first, that you exercise your power as Commander-in-Chief, to rule that the United States shall not resort to the use of atomic bombs in this war unless the terms which will be imposed upon Japan have been made public in detail and Japan knowing these terms has refused to surrender; second, that in such an event the question whether or not to use atomic bombs be decided by you in the light of the considerations presented in this petition as well as all the other moral responsibilities which are involved." - The Szilárd PetitionThe petition also warned Truman to consider the future implications of the decision to use the atomic bomb, including the probability of a rapid nuclear arms race and a decline in global security, and pleaded with him to prevent such an eventuality if possible.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The Little Boy atomic bomb was detonated over the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Exploding with a yield equivalent to 12,500 tonnes of TNT, the blast and thermal wave of the bomb destroyed nearly 50,000 buildings (including the headquarters of the 2nd General Army and Fifth Division) and killed approximately 75,000 people, among them 20,000 Japanese soldiers and 20,000 Koreans. Detonation of the "Fat Man" atomic bomb exploded over the Japanese city of Nagasaki three days later on 9 August 1945, destroying 60% of the city and killing approximately 35,000 people, among them 23,200-28,200 Japanese civilian munitions workers and 150 Japanese soldiers. The role of the bombings in Japan's surrender and the U.S.'s ethical justification for them has been the subject of scholarly and popular debate for decades. J. Samuel Walker suggests that "the controversy over the use of the bomb seems certain to continue".
Postwar.
After the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world’s nuclear weapons stockpiles grew, and nuclear weapons have been detonated on over two thousand occasions for testing and demonstration purposes. Countries known to have detonated nuclear weapons and that acknowledge possessing such weapons are (chronologically) the United States, the Soviet Union (succeeded as a nuclear power by Russia), the United Kingdom, France, the People's Republic of China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea.
In the early 1980s, a revival of the nuclear arms race caused a popular nuclear disarmament movement to emerge. In October 1981 500,000 people took to the streets in several cities in Italy, more than 250,000 people protested in Bonn, 250,000 demonstrated in London, and 100,000 marched in Brussels. The largest anti-nuclear protest was held on June 12, 1982, when one million people demonstrated in New York City against nuclear weapons. In October 1983, nearly 3 million people across western Europe protested nuclear missile deployments and demanded an end to the arms race.
Arguments.
Under the scenario of total multilateral disarmament, there is no possibility of nuclear war. Under scenarios of partial disarmament, there is a disagreement as to how the probability of nuclear war would change. Critics of nuclear disarmament say that it would undermine the ability of governments to threaten sufficient retaliation upon an attack to deter aggression against them. Application of game theory to questions of strategic nuclear warfare during the Cold War resulted in the doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD), a concept developed by Robert McNamara and others in the mid-1960s. Its success in averting nuclear war was theorized to depend upon the "readiness at any time before, during, or after an attack to destroy the adversary as a functioning society." Those who believe governments that should develop or maintain nuclear-strike capability usually justify their position with reference to the Cold War, claiming that a "nuclear peace" was the result of both the US and the USSR possessing mutual second-strike retaliation capability. Since the end of the Cold War, theories of deterrence in international relations have been further developed and generalized in the concept of the stability–instability paradox Proponents of disarmament call into question the assumption that political leaders are rational actors who place the protection of their citizens above other considerations, and highlight, as McNamara himself later acknowledged with the benefit of hindsight, the non-rational choices, chance, and contingency, which played a significant role in averting nuclear war, such as during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and the Able Archer 83 crisis of 1983. Thus, they argue that evidence trumps theory and deterrence theories cannot be reconciled with the historical record.
Kenneth Waltz argues in favor of the continued proliferation of nuclear weapons. In the July 2012 issue of "Foreign Affairs" Waltz took issue with the view of most US, European, and Israeli commentators and policymakers that a nuclear-armed Iran would be unacceptable. Instead, Waltz argues that it would probably be the best possible outcome by restoring stability to the Middle East since it would balance the Israeli regional monopoly on nuclear weapons. Professor John Mueller of Ohio State University, author of "Atomic Obsession" has also dismissed the need to interfere with Iran's nuclear program and expressed that arms control measures are counterproductive. During a 2010 lecture at the University of Missouri, which was broadcast by C-Span, Dr. Mueller also argued that the threat from nuclear weapons, including that from terrorists, has been exaggerated in the popular media and by officials.
In contrast, various American government officials, including Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, Sam Nunn, and William Perry, who were in office during the Cold War period, now advocate the elimination of nuclear weapons in the belief that the doctrine of mutual Soviet-American deterrence is obsolete and that reliance on nuclear weapons for deterrence is increasingly hazardous and decreasingly effective ever since the Cold War ended. A 2011 article in "The Economist" argued, along similar lines, that risks are more acute in rivalries between relatively-new nuclear states that lack the "security safeguards" developed by the Americans and the Soviets and that additional risks are posed by the emergence of pariah states, such as North Korea (possibly soon to be joined by Iran), armed with nuclear weapons as well as the declared ambition of terrorists to steal, buy, or build a nuclear device. |
FAO Schwarz
FAO Schwarz is an American toy brand and store. The company is known for its high-end toys, life-sized stuffed animals, interactive experiences, brand integrations, and games.
FAO Schwarz claims to be the oldest toy store in the United States, first opening its doors in 1862 in Baltimore before moving to New York City, where it has moved between several locations since 1870. The "dance-on piano", made famous by the 1988 Tom Hanks film "Big", brought national attention to the brand. FAO filed for bankruptcy twice in 2003 before temporarily shuttering the Fifth Avenue store in January 2004.
In May 2009, Toys "R" Us Inc. acquired FAO Schwarz, but in 2015, it permanently closed the Fifth Avenue store. The brand was then acquired by ThreeSixty Group, who opened the new FAO Schwarz store at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in November 2018. In 2019 locations in Chicago, Beijing, London and Dublin were opened.
The "FAO Schwarz" brandname and trademarks are owned by the FAO Schwarz Family Foundation and exclusively licensed to the ThreeSixty Group who own and operate the retail locations.
History.
Early history.
FAO Schwarz was founded in 1862 in Baltimore under the name "Toy Bazaar" by German immigrant Frederick August Otto Schwarz.
In 1870, Schwarz opened a New York City location known as the "Schwarz Toy Bazaar" at 765 Broadway, which moved to 42 E. 14th Street in Union Square in 1880 and operated at that location until April 28, 1897, when it took over two vacant store locations at 39 and 41 W. 23rd Street. That year, "The New York Times" declared Schwarz as "the largest dealer in toys in this city."
Beginning in November 1869, the Schwarz Toy Bazaar held an exhibition of toys that would be available for the Christmas season. In 1896, Schwarz proclaimed the store as the "Original Santa Claus Headquarters" in New York. The FAO Schwarz holiday catalog has been published annually since 1876.
In 1931, the New York City location moved to 745 Fifth Avenue, where it operated for 55 years. In 1963, FAO Schwarz was purchased by "Parent's" Magazine Enterprises. The terms of the deal read that it would license the name FAO Schwarz and continue using it for a maximum of five years before dropping the name, while still paying the Schwarz family a royalty on sales. However, the lease was renewed as the owners felt the name was too significant to lose. Part of the price of keeping the name was to keep the royalty agreement, and the Schwarz family set up a foundation to fund opportunities for young people to work in nonprofit with the income the royalties were making. Nine percent of the company remained in the hands of the Schwarz family. The company subsequently sold to W.R. Grace in 1970, and then to toy retailer Franz Carl Weber of Zurich, Switzerland, in 1974.
In 1985, Christiana Companies, a company based in San Diego, California, owned FAO Schwarz for one year. In 1986, Peter Harris, with the help of Philadelphian investment banker Peter Morse, bought the company under Morse Partners Ltd. and moved the toy store across 58th Street to the General Motors Building at 767 Fifth Avenue at 58th Street. FAO Schwarz was sold to Netherlands-based NV Koninklijke Bijenkorf Beheer (later renamed Royal Vendex/KBB NV) in 1990. Throughout the 1990s, new FAO Schwarz stores opened across the United States; by 2000, the company had 40 locations.
Right Start, FAO Inc. and bankruptcy.
In 2001, the Calabasas-based toy retailer Right Start, Inc. purchased 23 of the 40 stores, including the Fifth Avenue flagship store, from Royal Vendex for somewhere between $50 to $60 million.
In 2002, Right Start Inc. changed its corporate name to FAO Inc. operating stores under The Right Start, Zany Brainy and FAO Schwarz names. On December 17, the company projected they would find bankruptcy if its bank did not relax borrowing restrictions. On January 13, 2003, FAO Inc. filed for bankruptcy, but emerged from it three months later in April. The company filed for bankruptcy a second time in December 2003. All 13 remaining FAO Schwarz locations closed in January 2004 as a result of the bankruptcy, with the flagship Fifth Avenue store expected to reopen in July of that year but the others closing permanently. The Fifth Avenue store reopened several months later than planned on Thanksgiving Day 2004, redesigned and renovated to accommodate a growing number of tourists, and the Las Vegas location at The Forum Shops at Caesars ultimately remained open until 2010.
D. E. Shaw & Co..
In February 2004, investment firm D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P., acquired the FAO Schwarz stores in New York and Las Vegas, as well as FAO Schwarz's catalog and internet business. The New York and Las Vegas stores were reopened on Thanksgiving Day 2004. In November 2007, FAO Schwarz acquired premium children's clothing company Best & Co., which had plans to expand, but the company ceased business in 2009.
Toys "R" Us, Inc..
In May 2009, Toys "R" Us Inc. acquired FAO Schwarz. In 2009, Toys "R" Us subsequently put temporary FAO Schwarz boutiques in its U.S. Toys "R" Us stores for the holidays, and in October 2010, the concept was expanded into permanent boutiques in Toys "R" Us stores. In addition, FAO Schwarz-branded infant and toddler items are available in all of its Babies "R" Us stores nationwide. The company closed the Las Vegas location in January 2010, followed by its previous flagship New York store.
ThreeSixty Group.
In October 2016, ThreeSixty Group, Inc. acquired FAO Schwarz from Toys ‘R’ Us, Inc.
The FAO Schwarz brand is currently the property of the descendants of the founder through the FAO Schwarz Family Foundation but is exclusively operated by ThreeSixty Group. In August 2018, ThreeSixty Group announced plans to open two new FAO Schwarz stores in New York. The one at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Rockefeller Center opened on November 16, 2018. Public transit access is available at 47-50 Streets Rockefeller Center Station. The second opened at LaGuardia Airport in December 2018.
In October 2018, FAO Schwarz pop-up stores opened at 90 Hudson's Bay Company stores across Canada, just ahead of the Christmas holiday season, to remain open through the holidays. In March 2019 a store opened at Chicago Midway Airport.
In November 2021 a store opened in Milan.
Brand.
FAO Schwarz is known for its large assortment of plush animals and the Piano Dance Mat, a smaller replica of The Walking Piano featured in the Tom Hanks film "Big". FAO Schwarz also features limited-quantity luxury items including a drivable, child-size automobile encrusted with over 40,000 crystals and valued at US$25,000.
In addition to its own line of products, FAO Schwarz carries brands including Steiff, the world's oldest German designer of stuffed animals; Melissa & Doug, a leading designer and manufacturer of educational toys; and Build-A-Bear Workshop, a make-your-own experience featuring a selection of exclusive FAO Schwarz stuffed animals and accessories, among other in-store retail partners.
When "Kinectimals: Now with Bears!" was released, the brand also released an exclusive teddy bear plush with a scan tag.
Logo.
Through the years, the FAO Schwarz logo has had versions that included a teddy bear, toy blocks, a toy soldier, rocking horse and an animated clock tower. In 2010, the FAO Schwarz logo was redesigned in colors of red and silver. The new logo emphasized the initials of company founder, Frederick August Otto Schwarz. It also debuted a company mascot, Wit. In 2017, FAO Schwarz hired design studio, Mattson Creative, to rebrand the FAO Schwarz logo and packaging. Mattson Creative also created the store's reopening tagline and hashtag, "Return to Wonder".
In popular culture.
The New York store was featured in the 1988 Tom Hanks film "Big", in which Hanks and Robert Loggia danced "Heart & Soul" and "Chopsticks" on the store's large dance-on piano.
The store's interior was the inspiration for the fictional "Duncan's Toy Chest" featured in the 1992 film "."
In 1995, the store was featured in Woody Allen's "Mighty Aphrodite" in the final scene where main characters Lenny and Linda have a chance encounter. It is also featured in "Baby Boom" (1987) and "Big Business" (1988), among others.
In the 1999 remake of the musical film "Annie", during the song "NYC", the characters Oliver Warbucks, Grace, and Annie join a crowd of people all admiring an impressive Christmas themed window display containing a sign that reads "F.A.O. Schwarz".
In the 2010 film "Toy Story 3", when Buzz Lightyear is captured, Lots-o-Huggin' Bear unties him and indirectly references FAO Schwarz in a euphemism: "Oh F-A-O my Schwarz".
In 2011, the store was featured in "The Smurfs" during a chase scene. Scenes from the movie were shot over five nights in May 2011.
In the 2019 episode of "The Simpsons", "Crystal Blue-Haired Persuasion", a healing crystal shop is named "FAO Quartz".
In the 2021 series "Hawkeye", the climax of the battle between Kate Bishop and Wilson Fisk occurs in the 30 Rockefeller Plaza location. The actual name of the shop is obscured. |
Diseases of the foot
Diseases of the foot generally are not limited, that is they are related to or manifest elsewhere in the body. However, the foot is often the first place some of these diseases or a sign or symptom of others appear. This is because of the foot's distance from the central circulation, the heart and its constant exposure to pressures from the ground and the weight of the body.
The foot may look simple but is a complex structure with 26 bones, 33 joints, numerous muscles, nerves and different ligament types. Any part of the foot can be affected. Some foot disorders may present with just a mild ache, but other foot disorders can be very serious and limit ability to walk or bear weight. Most minor cases of foot pain respond to home care treatments except when severe pain is present as it is a disabling condition and usually needs some type of medical attention. If foot pain is not treated in time, it can lead to long term disability and continuing damage to the foot.
Causes.
The most common cause of foot pain is wearing ill fitting shoes. Women often wear tight shoes that are narrow and constrictive, and thus are most prone to foot problems. Tight shoes often cause overcrowding of toes and result in a variety of structural defects. The next most common cause of foot disease is overuse or traumatic injuries.
Diagnosis.
Besides a physical examination, an x-ray MRI or an ultrasound study may be obtained to assess the soft tissues and blood vessels. Standardized questionnaires and scoring systems, like the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) foot and ankle questionnaires, can help elicit the history and physical exam necessary to make and accurate diagnosis of foot and ankle conditions.
Skin and nails.
Often there is a distinction made between conditions of the dorsal skin and plantar skin. Common examples include callus thickened skin, fungal infections of the skin (athlete's foot) or nails (onychomycosis), viral infection of verrucae, and ingrowing toenails that may cause bacterial nail infections (paronychia).
Corns and calluses are chunky tough layers of skin that develop on the foot to protect underlying skin from pressure and friction. Corns and calluses are very common and do not look pleasant. Corns and calluses generally need treatment only if they cause problems. For most people, the best treatment of corns and calluses is to eliminate the source of friction or pressure.
Ingrown toe nail is a disorder where the nail starts to grow into the soft fleshy area of the toe. It causes intense redness, pain and swelling. Ingrown toe nails often affect the big toe. The best treatment for ingrown toe nails is to get the nail partially or completely removed.
Arthritic foot conditions.
Arthritic foot conditions often present differently from arthritis other areas of the body. Achilles tendinitis results from stress on calf muscles and Achilles tendon. This strong tendon often gets inflamed while playing sports like basketball. The tendon gets irritated and does cause moderate pain . When treated promptly, the tendinitis is relieved. Sometimes, the Achilles tendon can rupture if it is overstretched. When the Achilles tendon ruptures, one may feel a sudden pop followed by sharp pain. Rupture of the Achilles tendon makes it impossible to walk.
Bunion is an abnormal bony mass that forms on the big toe and points outwards. This deformity is unsightly and painful. When the big toe enlarges at the base, it can force the other toes to crowd against each other. Over time, the big toe pushes outwards and alters the normal outline of the foot. Bunions occur for many reasons but the most common is not wearing proper shoes, arthritis and different inherited structural defects.
Flat feet (Pes planus foot) essentially means that the arch inside the foot is flat. This very common painless disorder may occur at birth or after pregnancy. Flat feet generally do not cause problems but may sometimes cause the foot to rotate inwards (pronation). There are orthotic shoe insoles (foot orthotics) that help correct flat feet. Surgery does not correct flat feet and should be avoided.
Hammer toes are unsightly and reveal a toe that is curled due to a bend in the middle joint of the toe. A hammer toe occur chiefly because the shoe is too tight at the front or the heels are too high. In such situations, the toe is strained against the front of the shoe and results in an abnormal twist. Relieving pain, pressure, changing shoe wear or wearing a type of shoe insert is adequate for most people.
Gout often presents with pain and tenderness at the base of the big toe. Generally women are more prone to gout after menopause. An acute attack of gout is intensely painful and walking on the foot is impossible. Gout is essentially a disorder caused by precipitation of uric acid crystals in the joint.
Plantar fasciitis is a very common cause of heel pain. The thick fibrous bands at the bottom of the heel get inflamed and cause excruciating pain. The pain occurs the moment you step out of bed. After a few hours, the pain does subside but can return after prolonged periods of standing. Plantar fasciitis is most common in runners, obese individuals, women who are pregnant and those who wear shoes with inadequate heel support. The treatment of this agonizing disorder involves pain control, steroid injections, proper foot wear and rest.
Pain relief.
In some cases, foot diseases and painful conditions can be treated. Synovium hydrates the cartilage in the heel and can bring pain relief quickly. Synovium gel looks as well as strongly smells like urine, straying some consumers away. However this only occurs after expiration. Blood thinners can also work however are deemed as bad relievers by medical practitioners due to the fact that they can contribute to headaches and in some cases increase foot pain afterwards.
Vascular disorders.
Atherosclerotic restriction to the arterial supply in peripheral artery occlusive disease may result in painful arterial ulcers of the ankle and foot, or give rise of gangrene of the toes and foot. Immobility of a person may result in prolonged pressure applied to the heels causing pressure sores.
Impaired venous drainage from the foot in varicose veins may sequentially result in brown haemosiderin discolouration to the ankle and foot, varicose stasis dermatitis and finally venous ulcers.
Other disorders of the foot include osteoarthritis of the joints, peripheral neuropathy and plantar warts. |
War (2007 film)
War is a 2007 American action thriller film directed by Philip G. Atwell in his directorial debut and featuring stage combat choreographed by Corey Yuen. The film stars Jet Li and Jason Statham, and was released in the United States on August 24, 2007. "War" features the second collaboration between Jet Li and Jason Statham, reuniting them for the first time since 2001 film "The One". Jason Statham plays an FBI agent determined to take down a mysterious assassin known as Rogue (played by Jet Li), after his partner is murdered.
"War"s working title was "Rogue"; it was changed to avoid conflict with another film with the same name. It was re-titled as Rogue Assassin in New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Australia, the Philippines, and several European countries.
Plot.
During a shootout against Japanese Yakuza at a San Francisco dock warehouse, FBI agents John Crawford (Jason Statham) and Tom Lone (Terry Chen) stumble across the notorious assassin Rogue, a former CIA assassin who now works for the Japanese Yakuza. Rogue ambushes Crawford and is about to execute him when Lone appears and shoots Rogue in the face, causing him to fall into the water. Rogue's body was never found and he is presumed dead. However, Rogue survives and retaliates against Lone, his wife and his daughter. He kills them, burns down the house, and leaves their three corpses in the ashes of their home.
Three years later, Rogue re-appears, working under Chinese Triad boss Li Chang (John Lone). While working with Chang, Rogue secretly instigates a war between the Triads and the Yakuza, led by Shiro Yanagawa (Ryo Ishibashi). Rogue first attacks a club run by the Yakuza by killing the gangsters and later on the runners in order to recover a pair of antique gold horses, family heirlooms of Chang's.
Now the head agent of the FBI's Asian Organised Crime Unit, Crawford is determined to hunt Rogue down and exact revenge for Lone's death. Crawford's obsessive pursuit of Rogue has taken a toll on his personal life causing him to be estranged from his family. Crawford comes close to catching Rogue in the wake of Rogue's various killing sprees against the Triads and Yakuza, but Rogue always manages to stay one step ahead.
Ultimately, Rogue's actions have gained the trust of both Chang and Yanagawa. Rogue succeeds in killing Chang, but spares Chang's wife and child, turning on the Yakuza. With Chang dead, Yanagawa appears in America, intending to expand Yakuza business operations. However, he is confronted by Crawford and the FBI; Crawford presents Yanagawa with proof that Rogue has betrayed him and spared Chang's family, but Yanagawa refuses to assist Crawford in locating Rogue.
Later, Rogue delivers the horses to Yanagawa personally. Knowing of Rogue's betrayal, Yanagawa captures Rogue and demands the location of Chang's family. Rogue turns the tables on Yanagawa's men and kills them all, and engages in a sword fight against Yanagawa himself. Yanagawa discovers that the real Rogue was killed when attempting to assassinate Lone. Lone in turn surgically altered himself to assume the assassin's identity. Lone reveals that his actions have all been designed to bring him face-to-face with Yanagawa, so he could kill the man who ordered the death of his family. Yanagawa reveals that Crawford was in his pocket that whole time and responsible for leaking Tom Lone's identity and home address to the real Rogue. Angered, Lone disarms and decapitates Yanagawa.
Meanwhile, Chang's wife receives a package from Lone, containing one of the two golden horses that belongs to Chang's family and a message reading, "Make a new life". Yanagawa's daughter also receives a package with the same message and inside the box is her father's head. Lone then calls Crawford as he is packing up his office, asking him to meet him at the dock warehouse where they last made their investigation. Before going to the warehouse, Crawford enlists the help of Goi (Sung Kang), an FBI sniper that aided Crawford throughout the investigation.
At the warehouse, Crawford and Lone battle each other in an intense hand-to-hand fight in which Lone reveals his true identity to Crawford.
When Lone reveals his true identity, a devastated Crawford reveals that it was true that he was working for Yanagawa at the time but had no idea that Rogue was still alive. He was then blackmailed into giving Lone's address to Yanagawa thinking that Yanagawa's men were only going there to "rough him up a bit". Ever since, Crawford was angry at himself and wanted revenge against Rogue and those involved in what he thought was his partner's death.
Crawford asks for forgiveness, but Lone refuses and shoots him in the back after Crawford jumps in front of Goi’s line of sight to prevent a kill shot. The next day, Lone drives out of town to start a new life.
Reception.
Box office.
"War" opened on August 24, 2007, with $9.8 million from 2,277 theaters, a $4,312 average. As of December 2007, the film grossed $22.5 million in the United States and $18.2 million in international box offices, totaling $40.7 million. DVD sales totaled $28 million.
Critical response.
Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 13% and an average rating of 3.90/10 based on reviews from 60 critics. The website's "Critics Consensus" for the film reads, "Jet Li and Jason Statham find themselves on opposing sides in the immensely boring "War", which is full of clichés but short on action." On Metacritic the film has a score of 36 out of 100, based on reviews from 15 critics. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B.
Paul Semel of Premiere wrote, ""War" is like Statham's other actioners "The Transporter" and "Crash" -- fun, but not big or dumb enough to be glorious."
Joe Leydon of Variety magazine wrote "Quickly devolves into a standard-issue crime drama laced with routine martial artistry."
In 2014, "Time Out" polled several film critics, directors, actors and stunt actors to list their top action films. "War" was listed at the 93rd place on this list.
Soundtrack.
The soundtrack was composed by Brian Tyler. The additional music is by RZA, Mark Batson and Machines of Loving Grace. |
Dewey Defeats Truman
"Dewey Defeats Truman" was an incorrect banner headline on the front page of the "Chicago Daily Tribune" (later "Chicago Tribune") on November 3, 1948, the day after incumbent United States president Harry S. Truman won an upset victory over his opponent, Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York, in the 1948 presidential election. It was famously held up by Truman at a stop at St. Louis Union Station following his successful election, smiling triumphantly at the error.
Background.
The "Chicago Daily Tribune", which had once referred to Democratic candidate Truman as a "nincompoop", was a famously Republican-leaning paper. In a retrospective article some 60 years later about the newspaper's most famous and embarrassing headline, the "Tribune" wrote that Truman "had as low an opinion of the "Tribune" as it did of him".
For about a year prior to the 1948 election, the printers who operated the linotype machines at the "Chicago Tribune" and other Chicago papers had been on strike, in protest of the Taft–Hartley Act. Around the same time, the "Tribune" had switched to a method by which copy for the paper was composed on typewriters, photographed, and then engraved onto the printing plates. This process required the paper to go to press several hours earlier than usual.
Election of 1948.
On election night, this earlier press deadline required the first post-election issue of the "Tribune" to go to press before states had reported most of the results from the polling places.
The paper relied on its veteran Washington correspondent and political analyst, Arthur Sears Henning, who had predicted the winner in four of the five presidential contests since 1928. As conventional wisdom, supported by various polls, was almost unanimous that Dewey would win the election by a landslide, the first (one-star) edition of the "Tribune" therefore went to press with the banner headline "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN".
The story by Henning also reported Republicans had retained control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which would work with President-elect Dewey. Henning wrote that "Dewey and Warren won a sweeping victory in the presidential election yesterday. The early returns showed the Republican ticket leading Truman and Barkley pretty consistently in the western and southern states" and added that "indications were that the complete returns would disclose that Dewey won the presidency by an overwhelming majority of the electoral vote".
As returns began to indicate a close race later in the evening, Henning brushed them off and stuck to his prediction. Thousands of papers continued to roll off the presses with the banner headline predicting a Dewey victory.
Even after the paper's lead story was rewritten to emphasize local elections and to indicate the narrowness of Dewey's lead in the presidential contest, the same banner headline was left on the front page. Only late in the evening, after press dispatches cast doubt upon the certainty of Dewey's victory, did the "Tribune" change the headline to "DEMOCRATS MAKE SWEEP OF STATE OFFICES" for the later two-star edition. Some 150,000 copies of the paper had already been printed with the erroneous headline before it was corrected.
Truman, as it turned out, won the electoral vote with a 303–189–39 majority over Dewey and Dixiecrat candidate Strom Thurmond, though swings of less than one percent of the popular vote in Ohio, Illinois, and California would have produced a Dewey victory; the same swing in any two of these states would have forced a contingent election in the House of Representatives.
Instead of a Republican sweep of the White House and retention of both houses of Congress, the Democrats retained the White House and took control of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Aftermath.
Two days later, when Truman was passing through St. Louis on the way to Washington, he stepped to the rear platform of his train car, the "Ferdinand Magellan", and was handed a copy of the "Tribune" early edition. Happy to exult in the paper's error, he held it up for the photographers gathered at the station, and the famous picture (in several versions) was taken. Truman reportedly smiled and said, "That ain't the way I heard it!" Henning's obituary in 1966, published in the "Tribune", makes no mention of the event.
"Tribune" publishers could laugh about the blunder years later and had planned to give Truman a plaque with a replica of the erroneous banner headline on the 25th anniversary of the 1948 election. However, Truman died on December 26, 1972, before the gift could be bestowed.
The "Tribune" was not the only paper to make the mistake. "The Journal of Commerce" had eight articles in its edition of November 3 about what could be expected of President Dewey. The paper's five-column headline read, "Dewey Victory Seen as Mandate to Open New Era of Government-Business Harmony, Public Confidence".
In popular culture.
In the 1992 alternate history anthology "Alternate Presidents", the story "The More Things Change..." by Glen E. Cox tells the story of the 1948 election in reverse, with Thomas E. Dewey as the underdog who eventually defeats the early overwhelming favorite, the incumbent Harry S. Truman, by playing to anti-communist fears. Accordingly, the "Tribune"'s headline now inaccurately reads "Truman Defeats Dewey". The front cover of the anthology depicts a grinning Dewey proudly holding up the relevant edition of the "Tribune" in the same manner as Truman did in real life.
The newspaper appeared in the original artwork on the cover of the Rush album "Permanent Waves."
"Lisa's Substitute", a second season episode of "The Simpsons", spoofs the incident.
The back of the satirical newspaper "The Onion"'s 1999 book "Our Dumb Century", which features fabricated front pages throughout the 20th century, shows the famous photo of Truman, the "Tribune" front page altered into a fictitious "Onion" paper with the headline "OTHER GUY DEFEATS WHATS-HIS-FACE."
In Sidney Sheldon's thriller novel "The Best Laid Plans", this news article is presented by Leslie Stewart as an example of information gotten wrong by a major newspaper.
The American indie rock band Dewey Defeats Truman is named after the iconic headline.
Similar incidents.
This is not the only instance in which the media has declared an incorrect result in an election. This includes newspapers publishing headlines reporting inaccurate projections of election results, and broadcast media announcing inaccurate projections. The following are select examples of this.
The morning following the 1916 United States presidential election the "Brown Daily Herald" prematurely published the headline "Hughes Elected to Presidency; Republicans Carry Both Houses". This proved to be entirely erroneous, as once the results were fully counted, Democratic incumbent Woodrow Wilson won reelection to the presidency and Democrats won both chambers of the United States Congress.
In the morning after the 1960 United States presidential election, NBC wrongly projected John F. Kennedy as having won the state of California (Richard Nixon would ultimately prove the winner of that state).
In the 2000 United States presidential election, a number of television networks initially made projections on election night that Al Gore had won in the state of Florida, and with it, the presidency, before retracting their projections. Around 2:00 am EST the following morning, a number of networks projected George W. Bush the victor in Florida, before retracting this projection roughly an hour later and declaring the race "too close to call". Bush would ultimately win a narrow victory in the state after a United States Supreme Court decision halted a recount of the state's results.
In the 2016 United States presidential election, following Hillary Clinton's predicted victory, the magazine "Newsweek" printed copies with Clinton's face alongside the caption "Madam President" on the cover and sent them to stores. Following Donald Trump's upset victory, they quickly corrected the error.
In the 2017 United States Senate special election in Alabama, the One America News Network declared Roy Moore the victor based upon their own unofficial polling, projecting him to win by a large margin, when he would, in fact, lose the election to Doug Jones.
In reporting on the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections, the Associated Press initially made a projection that California Republican David Valadao had won reelection to the House. They retracted this projection. When the results were fully counted, Valadao lost to TJ Cox. |
Phenyl group
In organic chemistry, the phenyl group, or phenyl ring, is a cyclic group of atoms with the formula , and is often represented by the symbol Ph. Phenyl group is closely related to benzene and can be viewed as a benzene ring, minus a hydrogen, which may be replaced by some other element or compound to serve as a functional group. Phenyl group has six carbon atoms bonded together in a hexagonal planar ring, five of which are bonded to individual hydrogen atoms, with the remaining carbon bonded to a substituent. Phenyl groups are commonplace in organic chemistry. Although often depicted with alternating double and single bonds, phenyl group is chemically aromatic and has equal bond lengths between carbon atoms in the ring.
Nomenclature.
Usually, a "phenyl group" is synonymous with and is represented by the symbol Ph or, archaically, Φ. Benzene is sometimes denoted as PhH. Phenyl groups are generally attached to other atoms or groups. For example, triphenylmethane () has three phenyl groups attached to the same carbon center. Many or even most phenyl compounds are not described with the term "phenyl". For example, the chloro derivative is normally called chlorobenzene, although it could be called phenyl chloride. In special (and rare) cases, isolated phenyl groups are detected: the phenyl anion (), the phenyl cation (), and the phenyl radical ().
Although Ph and phenyl uniquely denote , substituted derivatives also are described using the phenyl terminology. For example, is nitrophenyl, and is pentafluorophenyl. Monosubstituted phenyl groups (that is, disubstituted benzenes) are associated with electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions and the products follow the arene substitution pattern. So, a given substituted phenyl compound has three isomers, "ortho" (1,2-disubstitution), "meta" (1,3-disubstitution) and "para" (1,4-disubstitution). A disubstituted phenyl compound (trisubstituted benzene) may be, for example, 1,3,5-trisubstituted or 1,2,3-trisubstituted. Higher degrees of substitution, of which the pentafluorophenyl group is an example, exist and are named according to IUPAC nomenclature.
Etymology.
Phenyl is derived , which in turn derived , as the first phenyl compounds named were byproducts of making and refining various gases used for lighting. According to McMurry, "The word is derived , commemorating the discovery of benzene by Michael Faraday in 1825 from the oily residue left by the illuminating gas used in London street lamps."
Structure, bonding, and characterization.
Phenyl compounds are derived from benzene (), at least conceptually and often in terms of their production. In terms of its electronic properties, the phenyl group is related to a vinyl group. It is generally considered an inductively withdrawing group (-"I"), because of the higher electronegativity of sp2 carbon atoms, and a resonance donating group (+"M"), due to the ability of its π system to donate electron density when conjugation is possible. The phenyl group is hydrophobic. Phenyl groups tend to resist oxidation and reduction. Phenyl groups (like all aromatic compounds) have enhanced stability in comparison to equivalent bonding in aliphatic (non-aromatic) groups. This increased stability is due to the unique properties of aromatic molecular orbitals.
The bond lengths between carbon atoms in a phenyl group are approximately 1.4 Å.
In 1H-NMR spectroscopy, protons of a phenyl group typically have chemical shifts around 7.27 ppm. These chemical shifts are influenced by aromatic ring current and may change depending on substituents.
Preparation, occurrence, and applications.
Phenyl groups are usually introduced using reagents that behave as sources of the phenyl anion or the phenyl cation. Representative reagents include phenyllithium () and phenylmagnesium bromide (). Electrophiles are attacked by benzene to give phenyl derivatives:
where (the "electrophile") = . These reactions are called electrophilic aromatic substitutions.
Phenyl groups are found in many organic compounds, both natural and synthetic (see figure). Most common among natural products is the amino acid phenylalanine, which contains a phenyl group. A major product of the petrochemical industry is "BTX" consisting of benzene, toluene, and xylene - all of which are building blocks for phenyl compounds. The polymer polystyrene is derived from a phenyl-containing monomer and owes its properties to the rigidity and hydrophobicity of the phenyl groups. Many drugs as well as many pollutants contain phenyl rings.
One of the simplest phenyl-containing compounds is phenol, . It is often said the resonance stability of phenol makes it a stronger acid than that of aliphatic alcohols such as ethanol (p"K"a = 10 vs. 16–18). However, a significant contribution is the greater electronegativity of the "sp"2 alpha carbon in phenol compared to the "sp"3 alpha carbon in aliphatic alcohols. |
Zec de la Rivière-Moisie
The Zec de la Rivière-Moisie (ZEC of Moisie River) is a "zone d'exploitation contrôlée" (controlled harvesting zone) (ZEC) in the city of Sept-îles in Sept-Rivières Regional County Municipality (MRC), in the administrative region of North Shore, in Quebec, in Canada.
"Zec de la Rivière-Moisie" is one of 22 controlled harvesting zone in Quebec dedicated to fishing salmon. It is run by two nonprofit organizations, mandated by the Government of Québec:
The fame of the river Moisie characterized a priori by its wild and natural environment. The panoramas of mountains and cliffs are superb. In addition, fish abound in this river and many specimens collected have a significant size.
Geography.
Located on the North Shore of St. Lawrence River, the Moisie River takes its source from water bodies of lakes Opocopa and Ménistouc, having an elevation of above sea level. The main tributaries of the Moisie River are Pékans River which begins south of the Mont Wright (Quebec) and Nipissis River (deriving its source in Lake Wacouno). The watershed of the Moisie River is between that of St. Margaret River (west side) and Matamec River (east side).
The waters of the Moisie River descend to 410 km up to its mouth in the cove at Elzéar, 25 kilometres east of Sept-Îles, where the river empties into the St. Lawrence river. The waters of the cove flow into the St. Lawrence River to Moisie, Quebec between the "Pointe Moisie" and "East Point". This loop provides a safe haven to protect ships from heavy seas.
Just before its mouth, the river Moisie forms a large bend at 180 degrees for around two peninsulas:
Going up the river Moisie after crossing the cove at Elzéar great bend and crossed the river, boaters encounter pits Pomeroy (km 20) Hatchery (24.3 km) and Royal (25.3 km). At km 30.1, boaters pass under the railway bridge connecting Sept-Îles to Wabush and Labrador City, which will run along the river (east side) up towards the north. Boaters then enter the Matamec Ecological Reserve. Then, boaters crossing "Basin" and "Rapids of 12th Mille" at km 31.7. Above, boaters crossing the mouth of the "Big Creek Mercier" in the 42 km upriver Still, boaters face "Pointe de la Fourche" (at km 54). While at kilometre 59.9, boaters encounter zone "Falls".
This river is deep at the bottom of a narrow valley, usually surrounded by high mountains. The Montagnais still use the river as a route into that territory.
The river has a rapid because of the sudden drop in its path flow; it has several waterfalls and rapids. The river also has several pits suitable for bolting and retention of salmon.
Salmon fishing.
Areas of the river are:
Although fishing rights belong to the "Camp's fishing river Moisie" they are administered by the APRM under a renewable agreement from year to year. The Fishing Camp holds the exploitation rights to eight kilometers, being the owner of the riverbed. On public lands upstream, fishing rights are leased to five outfitters: Moisie-Nipissis, Camp Messnak, Moisie-Ouapetec, Moisie-Water-Gold and Upper Moisie.
Subsistence fishing is practised in Sector 2 of the ZEC by Montagnais of Uashat and Maliotenam. The downstream part of the river is easily accessible either via the ZEC and the "Camp's fishing of river Moisie". Users can access the upstream sectors by air. Fishing in the ZEC and the Winthrop-Campbell sector practice only from a river boat.
According rensencement aquatic wildlife species twelve fish live in the watershed of the Moisie River. In addition to the Atlantic salmon, these species are lake trout, the brook trout, the char on suckers on sucker red on gaspereau, the sea lamprey, burbot, pike, the stickleback and eel d'Amérique.
Toponymy.
Montagnais nicknamed 'Mistashipu', meaning "great river".
The name "ZEC River Moisie" was formalized on June 25, 1987 at the Bank of place names in the Commission de toponymie du Québec (Geographical Names Board of Québec). |
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