Biography.

Burdett was born 1734 or 1735 in Eastwood in Essex, the son of William and Elizabeth Burdett. He inherited a small estate and the name "Perez" from his maternal grandfather who was the clergyman in Eastwood. Little is known about his early life until Burdett met Joseph Wright of Derby early in the 1760s and he was able to borrow money from him to fund his map making. Burdett was a model for several of Wright's paintings and he was able to benefit from his friendship and finance whilst Burdett explained the finer points of perspective to Wright.  In about 1766 Wright painted "A Philosopher Giving that Lecture on the Orrery, in which a Lamp is put in place of the Sun" (sometimes called simply "The Orrery"). The painting depicts a public lecture about the solar system, with a lamp—in place of the sun—illuminating the faces of the orrery and the faces of the audience. Consistent with the astronomical theme, the partially illuminated faces may represent the phases of the moon. The figure to the left of the philosopher has been clearly identified as Burdett whilst the man to the right is thought to be Washington Shirley, the Earl of Ferrers who Burdett stayed with at Staunton Harold which is just within Leicestershire. The Earl was, like Burdett, interested in science and he did briefly own this painting.  By 1767 he had produced a map of Derby at a scale of one inch to one mile. With this map Burdett was the second successful claimant of a 1759 challenge made by the Society of Art for those who created county maps at this scale. He produced the aquatint "Two Boys Blowing a Bladder by Candle-light".

Liverpool.

In 1768, Burdett moved from Derby to Liverpool to create a map for Lancashire as he had successfully done for Derbyshire. He obtained new patrons and assisted George Perry on his map and history of Liverpool. Burdett created drawings and wrote descriptions of major buildings for Perry's history of 1773.  Burdett was so successful at identifying and exploiting his new contacts that he invited his friend, Wright, to join him in Liverpool. This was a successful move for Wright too and he quickly received commissions from the local gentry and merchants, however it was Burdett who founded a Society of Artists in 1769 in Liverpool and became its first president. "Academy by Lamplight", a 1768–69 painting by Joseph Wright of Derby is thought to be of Burdett's academy.  The first British aquatint artist is thought to be Burdett, who exhibited these first aquatints in 1772. Burdett brushed acid direct on to an aquatint ground, only using varnish to stop-off large areas of a single tone. His technique appears to have been novel and was different from early methods developed in France. Burdett published a first aquatint based on an image by John Hamilton Mortimer, but he eventually sold the process to another cartographer, Paul Sandby. Burdett also developed a process for transferring aquatint to pottery; it was not a success.  Burdett learnt his aquatint technique from J.B. Le Prince of Paris. He showed two plates at the Society of Arts Exhibition of 1772, "An Etching in imitation of a Wash Drawing" and "An Etching from a design of Mr. Mortimer". In 1773 he exhibited a plate entitled "The effect of a stained drawing attempted by printing from a plate wrought chemically, without the use of any instrument of sculpture". There are extant three known images by Burdett, "Banditti Terrifying Fishermen" of 1771 and "Skeleton on a Rocky Shore", both after the painter J.H. Mortimer, and "Two Boys Blowing a Bladder by Candle-light" after Wright of Derby. A copy of the latter in Liverpool Public Library bears on its back the inscription “First Speciman of aquatinta invented in Liverpool by P.P. Burdett, 1774, assisted by Mr. S. Chubbard.”  The artist Paul Sandby learnt the basic techniques of aquatint from the Hon. Charles Greville, who himself had purchased the knowledge either from Burdett or from Le Prince. It appears that Greville had received incomplete information, and Sandby found it difficult to produce a plate by Le Prince's method of sifting the rosin over the surface. He discovered that by dissolving the rosin and floating it on the copper a better effect was obtained. Benjamin Franklin wrote to Burdett on 21 August 1773 “I should be glad to be inform’d where I can see some example of the new Art you mention of printing in Imitation of Paintings. It must be a most valuable Discovery: but more likely to meet with adequate Encouragement on this side the water than on ours.”  In 1771 he produced 'A Chart for the Harbour of Liverpool’. and in 1772 Survey of the County Palatine of Chester.

Karlsruhe.

In 1774 he left Liverpool, to escape debt, and entered the service of Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden. Intriguingly he took with him the painting of himself and his wife, but left his wife to face his debtors. The painting of Burdett and his wife is now in the National Gallery in Prague. It recently returned for an exhibition in Liverpool. This was the second time the work has been seen in the United Kingdom since it left with Burdett on his departure from Liverpool in the eighteenth century.  He did not leave his friends entirely and Joseph Wright visited him in 1774 in south Germany. He married again to Friederike Kotkowski in Germany on 11 July 1787 and he had a daughter Anna, who went on to marry a Count. In the same year he was drawing up plans for Karlsruhe marketplace whose outline can still be seen in the layout of today's buildings.  Burdett died in Karlsruhe on 9 September 1793.  He was a correspondent of Benjamin Franklin who was a founder member of the Lunar society of Birmingham which included such figures as Erasmus Darwin, John Whitehurst, Matthew Boulton, Joseph Priestley, Josiah Wedgwood and James Watt. Burdett has been described as "if not in the centre at least in the penumbra of the Lunar Society of Birmingham".

Peter Perez Burdett (c. 1734 – 9 September 1793) was an 18th-century cartographer, surveyor, artist, and draughtsman originally from Eastwood in Essex where he inherited a small estate and the name "Perez" from his maternal grandfather who was the clergyman there. He would have been notable just for his many appearances in Joseph Wright's pictures but he was also involved with numerous projects including surveying the route for one of the major projects of the industrial revolution, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, in 1769. He has been described as "if not in the centre at least in the penumbra of the Lunar Society of Birmingham". He spent the last years of his life in Karlsruhe, avoiding debtors, but still active in German society. His German daughter married a Count.


Plot.

The story arises from the murder of Rikaine Delmarre, a prominent "fetologist" (fetal scientist), responsible for the operation of the planetary birthing center of Solaria, a planet politically hostile to Earth, whose death Elijah Baley is called to investigate, at the request of the Solarian government. He is again partnered with the humanoid robot R. Daneel Olivaw, and asked by Earth's government to assess the Solarian society for weaknesses.  The book focuses on the unusual traditions, customs, and culture of Solarian society. The planet has a rigidly controlled population of 20,000, and all work is done by robots, which outnumber humans ten thousand to one. People are taught from birth to avoid personal contact, and live on huge estates, either alone or with their spouse only. Face-to-face interaction (referred to in the book as "seeing"), and especially impregnating a woman, when replacement of a descendent is necessary, was seen as a dirty chore. (Other science fiction novels examine the extra-uterine care of fetuses, but this is not Asimov's concern here.) Communication takes place through technology unknown off of their world: holography, 3-D television. At the time, 2-D (ordinary) color television was a novelty, with very limited programming and not many of the expensive receivers. Asimov was a scientist with a wide range of interests, and was familiar with the principles of electron microscopes then being developed, and from which holography descends.  The Solarians have no modesty when communicating with each other in this fashion. In the book it is referred to as "viewing", in contrast to "seeing", which is face-to-face and dangerous, because a disease could be transmitted. Nudity was frequent.  Baley, however, insists on face-to-face conversations, traveling in a closed vehicle because of his own agoraphobia, resulting from his life in the enclosed cities of Earth.  Normally the prime suspect in a murder would have been Delmarre's wife Gladia, who was present in the house when he was killed by being beaten over the head. She claims to have no memory of what happened, nor is there any sign of the object used to beat Rikaine Delmarre to death. The only witness is a malfunctioning house robot that has suffered damage to its positronic brain because it allowed harm to be done to a human, in violation of the First Law.  Baley's first encounter with Gladia is through viewing, at which point he discovers that Solarians have no taboo about nudity when viewing, though Baley is shocked. Thereafter he develops a relationship with Gladia in face-to-face contact. She reveals to Baley that she does not like all Solarian customs, and was on bad terms with Rikaine, partly from sexual frustration.  The situation becomes more complex when Hannis Gruer, the Head of Security on Solaria, is poisoned while viewing with Baley. Baley, unable to intervene physically, has to call on Gruer's robots to save him. Baley is able to prevent the house robots from cleaning up the scene and destroying evidence, which happened after Delmarre's death.  Ultimately, it is revealed that Delmarre's neighbor, roboticist Jothan Leebig, was working on putting positronic brains in spaceships. This would negate the First Law, as such ships would not recognize humans, and would be able to attack and destroy other ships without regard for their crews. Delmarre was one of his opponents, as were other Solarians who were horrified by the prospect of robots that could actually harm them. Leebig poisoned Gruer by tricking his robots, using his knowledge of positronic brains, into putting poison into Gruer's drink. Daneel goes to arrest Leebig, who kills himself in Solarian fear of human contact, not knowing that Daneel is a robot. It is assumed that he also engineered the murder of Rikaine Delmarre. Baley conceals Gladia's role on the grounds that her emotional breakdown was under the pressure of the Solarian way of life. Leebig had instructed the Delmarre house robots to detach an arm and give it to Gladia in the heat of an argument. She then hit her husband with it, killing him, before going into a fugue state, after which she remembered nothing. She decides to emigrate to the Spacer planet of Aurora.  Baley returns to Earth to acclaim from his boss. Asked by his boss to reveal any weaknesses he found, Baley says that the features once regarded as Spacer strengths; their robots and long lives, will ultimately prove to be weaknesses. They discourage an active, exploratory attitude that Earth-born humans will eventually rediscover once they are able to leave Earth.  The story of the aftereffects can be found in the sequel "The Robots of Dawn".

Reception.

"Galaxy" reviewer Floyd C. Gale praised the novel as "an interesting exercise in scientific detection... Asimov appears to be laying the groundwork for a new category of science fiction, the S-F detective story".

Social distancing.

Asimov portrays in "The Naked Sun" a world focused on avoiding contact with other people. The Solarians use social distancing, and interact with each other largely through technology. They live far from each other, spread out across a sparsely populated planet. Communication is frequent, but it is "viewing" of a transmitted image. To make a baby, which is infrequent, requires that a male and female do it the traditional way, but old-fashioned, in-person sex is a nasty chore. A character remarks that to be in the same room with another person is "most unpleasant... I feel strongly as though something slimy were about to touch me." A doctor has to "get hardened" to it.  The dangers of in-person contact are so feared that a character commits suicide to avoid it. In contrast, when there is no in-person contact, there is no modesty about the body; nudity is frequent.  Asimov suggests that to live in this way is unwise; it leads to the violence which is the novel's point of departure.

Adaptations.

The novel was adapted for television as an episode of the British anthology series "Out of the Unknown", with Baley being portrayed by Paul Maxwell and Daneel by David Collings. Broadcast on BBC2 on 18 February 1969, the story was dramatised by Robert Muller and directed by Rudolph Cartier and the music and sound effects were created by Delia Derbyshire of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.  Cast of BBC2 Adaptation:  "The Naked Sun" was one of six Asimov stories dramatised for the "Out of the Unknown" series. The others were "The Dead Past", "Sucker Bait", "Satisfaction Guaranteed", "Reason" (as "The Prophet") and "Liar!"  Although the episode was wiped by the BBC and no copy is known to exist, three of Delia Derbyshire's sound sequences were published on a BBC record of sound effects Out of This World, renamed as "Heat Haze", "Frozen Waste" and Icy Peak".  In 1978, the novel was adapted in the Soviet Union under the name "The Last Alternative" ()

The Naked Sun is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, the second in his "Robot" series. Like its predecessor, "The Caves of Steel", this is a whodunit story. The book was first published in 1957 after being serialized in "Astounding Science Fiction" between October and December 1956.


Cast and characters.

Recurring.

+ Luthi portrays Ling Ling in season 1, Chew in season 2.

Production.

The series was originally developed at Starz, which had picked up the series in January 2012. After attempts to film in China failed, the project was released back to The Weinstein Company. Netflix then picked up the series for a 10-episode season, for approximately $90 million, making it one of the most expensive TV shows in the world, second to "Game of Thrones". The project was officially announced at Netflix in January 2014. Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg serve as executive producers and directed the pilot and second episodes, "The Wayfarer" and "The Wolf and the Deer", respectively. The series was filmed in Kazakhstan, Italy, and at Pinewood Studios in Malaysia, not to mention at outdoor locations in Malaysia, particularly tropical wilderness, as well as Slovakia and Hungary. Kazakhstan doubled as the steppes of Mongolia, Malaysia was the base of operations as well as serving as a location, Hungary provided a setting for Renaissance Rome, and Slovakia provided some mountain settings for Season 2.  Stuntman Ju Kun was working on the show alongside fight choreographer Brett Chan, but went missing with the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 during pre-production.  To prepare for her role as Chabi, Joan Chen read the book "The Secret History of the Mongol Queens" by Jack Weatherford, as she wanted her performance to reflect the culture of the time period.  During his extensive research, show creator John Fusco traveled the Silk Road by horseback and also crossed the Ming Sha Dunes of Western China on camel. In Venice, Italy he sought out and studied the "Last Will and Testament of Marco Polo". While some Mongolian viewers and experts view it as "riddled with historical errors", many have praised the series. Orgil Narangerel, who played Genghis Khan in a BBC documentary, said it was more accurate than any previous foreign portrayal of Mongolian culture. "As a Mongol and an artist, "Marco Polo" makes me feel like our dreams are coming true," he told AFP. "I watched all 10 episodes in just one day."

Music.

The series featured music by Mongolian bands Altan Urag and Batzorig Vaanchig of "Asia's Got Talent", who cameoed as a singer. Daniele Luppi composed the main theme, whilst Peter Nashel and Eric V. Hachikian are composers of the original score.

Reception.

The first season of "Marco Polo" was met with negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a rating of 34%, based on 44 reviews, with a rating average of 4.79/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "An all-around disappointment, "Marco Polo" is less entertaining than a round of the game that shares its name." On Metacritic, the show's first season has a score of 48 out of 100 based on 21 reviews by critics, indicating "mixed reviews".  In his review for "Entertainment Weekly", Jeff Jensen gave the first season a "B−" rating, calling the premise "stale", but added "Somewhere in the middle of episode 2, though, "Marco Polo" becomes surprisingly watchable. The filmmaking becomes bolder." Writing for "People", Tom Gliatto praised the series, calling it "...a fun, body-flinging, old-fashioned epic". "USA Today" reviewer Robert Bianco gave the series 1 stars out of 4, saying, "Clearly what Netflix hopes you'll see a [sic] big-bucks, prestige entertainment along the lines of that HBO fantasy epic, but in truth, "Marco" is far closer to one of those cheesy international syndicated adventures." The second season was met with more positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a rating of 100%, based on 6 reviews, with a rating average of 7.2/10.  In 2015, the President of Mongolia Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj presented John Fusco and the "Marco Polo" creative team with an award, honoring their positive portrayal and global presentation of Mongolian subject matter. Fusco himself has described the series as historical fiction based on the accounts of the Italian traveler Marco Polo.

Marco Polo is an American drama web television series inspired by Marco Polo's early years in the court of Kublai Khan, the Khagan of the Mongol Empire and the founder of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). The show premiered on Netflix on December 12, 2014. The series was written and created by John Fusco and stars Lorenzo Richelmy in the title role with Benedict Wong as Kublai Khan. The series was produced by The Weinstein Company. On January 7, 2015, "Marco Polo" was renewed by Netflix for a 10-episode second season, which premiered on July 1, 2016.


Medical use.

Favipiravir has been approved to treat influenza in Japan. It is, however, only indicated for novel influenza (strains that cause more severe disease) rather than seasonal influenza. As of 2020, the probability of resistance developing appears low.

Side effects.

There is evidence that use during pregnancy may result in harm to the baby.

Mechanism of action.

The mechanism of its actions is thought to be related to the selective inhibition of viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Other research suggests that favipiravir induces lethal RNA transversion mutations, producing a nonviable viral phenotype. Favipiravir is a prodrug that is metabolized to its active form, favipiravir-ribofuranosyl-5'-triphosphate (favipiravir-RTP), available in both oral and intravenous formulations. Human hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRT) is believed to play a key role in this activation process. Favipiravir does not inhibit RNA or DNA synthesis in mammalian cells and is not toxic to them. In 2014, favipiravir was approved in Japan for stockpiling against influenza pandemics. However, favipiravir has not been shown to be effective in primary human airway cells, casting doubt on its efficacy in influenza treatment.

Approval status.

The US Department of Defense developed favipiravir in partnership with MediVector, Inc. as a broad-spectrum antiviral and sponsored it through FDA Phase II and Phase III clinical trials, where it demonstrated safety in humans and efficacy against the influenza virus. Despite demonstrating safety in more than 2,000 patients and showing accelerated clearance of influenza virus by 6 to 14 hours in the Phase III trials, favipiravir remains unapproved in the UK and the USA. In 2014, Japan approved favipiravir for treating influenza strains unresponsive to current antivirals. Toyama Chemical initially hoped that favipiravir would become a new influenza medication that could replace oseltamivir (brand name Tamiflu). However, animal experiments show the potential for teratogenic effects, and the approval of production by The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare was greatly delayed and the production condition is limited only in an emergency in Japan.  On 15 March 2020, the drug was approved in China for the treatment of Covid-19.

Research.

COVID-19.

In February 2020, favipiravir was being studied in China for experimental treatment of the emergent COVID-19. Trials are also being planned in Japan.  A study on 80 people in comparison to lopinavir/ritonavir found that it reduced viral clearance time, and that 91% of people had improved CT scans with few side effects. The limitation of this study was that it was not randomized double-blinded and placebo-controlled.  The drug has been approved for use in clinical trials of coronavirus disease 2019 in China. In March 2020, Italy approved the drug for experimental use against COVID-19 and has begun conducting trials in three regions most affected by the disease. The Italian Pharmaceutical Agency, however, has reminded the public that the existing evidence in support of this drug is scant and preliminary. There are plans to study it in three hospitals in Massachusetts, USA as of April 20, 2020. As of early May 2020, a trial is starting in London, UK.  The drug was approved for the treatment of COVID-19 in the hospital settings in Russia on May 29, 2020, after an ongoing open-label randomized clinical trial had recruited 60 subjects on favipiravir. According to the government clinical trial registry, this study COVID-FPR-01 is expected to recruit 390 subjects overall and finish by December 31, 2020. On May 30, 2020, the Russian Health Ministry approved a generic version of favipiravir named Avifavir. RDIF backed the development of Avifavir and found it highly effective in the first phase of clinical trials.

Ebola.

Research in 2014 suggested that favipiravir may have efficacy against Ebola based on studies in mouse models; efficacy in humans was unaddressed.  During the 2014 West Africa Ebola virus outbreak, a French nurse who contracted Ebola while volunteering for MSF in Liberia reportedly recovered after receiving a course of favipiravir. A clinical trial investigating the use of favipiravir against Ebola virus disease began in Guéckédou, Guinea, in December 2014. Preliminary results presented in 2016 at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), later published, showed a decrease in mortality in patients with low-to-moderate levels of virus in blood, but no effect on patients with high levels (the group at a higher risk of death).[1] The trial design was concomitantly criticised for using only historical controls.

Other.

In experiments in animals favipiravir has shown activity against West Nile virus, yellow fever virus, foot-and-mouth disease virus as well as other flaviviruses, arenaviruses, bunyaviruses and alphaviruses. Activity against enteroviruses and Rift Valley fever virus has also been demonstrated. Favipiravir has showed limited efficacy against Zika virus in animal studies, but was less effective than other antivirals such as MK-608. The agent has also shown some efficacy against rabies, and has been used experimentally in some humans infected with the virus.

Favipiravir, sold under the brand name Avigan or Abigan, is an antiviral medication used to treat influenza in Japan. It is also being studied to treat a number of other viral infections. Like the experimental antiviral drugs (T-1105 and T-1106), it is a pyrazinecarboxamide derivative.


Early life.

Weir was born and raised in California, the only child of an accelerator physicist father and an electrical-engineer mother who divorced when he was eight. Weir grew up reading classic science fiction such as the works of Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov. At the age of 15, he began working as a computer programmer for Sandia National Laboratories. He studied computer science at UC San Diego, although he did not graduate. He worked as a programmer for several software companies, including AOL, Palm, MobileIron and Blizzard, where he worked on the video game.

Writing.

Weir began writing science fiction in his twenties and published work on his website for years. He also authored a humour web comic called "Casey and Andy" featuring fictionalized "mad scientist" versions of himself and his friends (such as writer Jennifer Brozek) from 2001 to 2008; he also briefly worked on another comic called "Cheshire Crossing" bridging "Alice in Wonderland", "Peter Pan", "The Wizard of Oz" and "Mary Poppins". The attention these gained him has been attributed as later helping launch his writing career, following the failure to publish his first novel attempt called "Theft of Pride". His first work to gain significant attention was "The Egg", a short story that has been adapted into a number of YouTube videos, a one-act play, and is the overarching concept of "Everybody", the third album by American rapper Logic.  Weir is best known for his first published novel, "The Martian". He wrote the book to be as scientifically accurate as possible, and his writing included extensive research into orbital mechanics, conditions on the planet Mars, the history of manned spaceflight, and botany. Originally published as a free serial on his website, some readers requested he make it available on Amazon Kindle. First sold for 99 cents, the novel made it to the Kindle bestsellers list. Weir was then approached by a literary agent and sold the rights of the book to Crown Publishing Group. The print version (slightly edited from the original) of the novel debuted at #12 on "The New York Times" bestseller list. "The Wall Street Journal" called the novel, "the best pure sci-fi novel in years". It was made into a film starring Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain, which was released October 2, 2015.  In 2015 Weir announced he was working on his second novel, provisionally titled "Zhek", which he described as "a more traditional sci-fi novel with aliens, telepathy, faster-than-light travel, etc." A fan-fiction story written by Weir, "Lacero", was published in the 2016 edition of "Ready Player One", making it canonical to the book's fictional universe. The work functions as a prequel to the main novel. Also in 2016, Weir released "The Principles of Uncertainty" collection of short stories on the TAPAS app platform for short fiction.  After announcing that the "Zhek" project had been "back-burnered", Weir moved on to another hard sci-fi novel titled "Artemis", with a female protagonist, based on the Moon and set in the 2080s-2090s. The near-future thriller, published in 2017, follows "Jazz", a twenty-six-year-old woman constrained by her small town (which is also the only city on the Moon). With debts to pay and a salary that barely covers the rent, she can’t say no when a life-changing opportunity drops in her lap. But she finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy for control of the city itself. On September 26, 2017, it was announced that Phil Lord and Christopher Miller had been hired to develop and direct a science fiction film, also called "Artemis", based on the novel.  In 2017 CBS picked up a pilot written by Weir titled "Mission Control", following a group of young NASA astronauts and scientists. In May of the same year, Weir collaborated with webcomic artist Sarah Andersen to remake "Cheshire Crossing" for the website Tapas, before deciding upon publishing it as a stand-alone graphic novel in July 2019; due to restrictions regarding copyright from the estate of P. L. Travers, the character of Mary Poppins from Weir's original version was replaced by a Miss Gwendolyn Poole. On November 16, 2019, a film adaptation was announced to be in development from Amblin Partners and Walt Disney Pictures, to be produced by Michael De Luca and written by Erin Cressida Wilson.

Personal life.

In 2015, Weir lived in Mountain View, California, in a rented two-bedroom apartment. Since he has a fear of flying, he never visited the set of the film adaptation of "The Martian" in Budapest, where most of the scenes set on Mars were shot at Korda Studios. In 2015, with the help of therapy and medication, he was able to fly to Houston to visit the Johnson Space Center, and to San Diego to attend Comic-Con.  Weir has stated that he is agnostic. He has described his political views as fiscally conservative and socially liberal.

Works.

Weir's original website lists his works, with free versions of many of his short stories.

Andrew Taylor "Andy" Weir (born June 16, 1972) is an American novelist whose debut novel in 2011, "The Martian", was later adapted into a film of the same name directed by Ridley Scott in 2015. He received the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2016. He also worked as a computer programmer for much of his life.


Life.

Ajdar Ismailov finished Azerbaijan State University, the faculty of philology in 1961. He was a teacher, school director, worker of "Sherg gapisi" newspaper of Ministry of Internal Affairs, in 1961-1977 and a teacher of literature in Nakhchivan State University, senior teacher as assistant professor and professor, in 1977-1994.

Scientific activity.

He was the candidate of Literature Institute at Azerbaijan SSR Academy of Sciences named Nizami in 1969. He defended his candidacy dissertation "The historical dramas of Huseyn Javid" ("The Prophet", "Topal Teymur", "Seyavush", "Khayyam") under the leadership of academician Mammad Arif Dadashzade, the vice president of Academy, in 1974.  He started to research for a doctoral thesis the topic of "Huseyn Javid's creative work and demonism tradition in world literature" confirmed at The Scientific Council of Literature Institute named after Nizami, in 1982. In here, the Huseyn Javid romanticism source is told to be started from Zarvan (Avesta) philosophy, contrary to the thoughts that the formation of Azerbaijan romanticism is related to the affairs of 1905-1917. The poet's devotion to the creative ways of prominent figures was researched in the demonism context, especially the Turkish "Tenzimat literature" from the point of view of philosophy / aesthetics. The development issues and sequel of demonism traditions at world romanticism in H. Javid legacy were researched in the book. Ajdar Ismailov indicated the philosophical idea, mythological fiction roots of H.Javid creativity and he researched national and universal motives in poet's world.

Political activity.

He had been playing an active role in political life of Azerbaijan, since the end of 1980. He was against the invasion policy of Kreml, he supported H. Aliyev to back again to active politics and played a great role in establishment of the New Azerbaijan Party.

Selected articles and interviews.

<poem> 1. In front of the 250th birth anniversary of Molla Panah Vagif – Singer of beauty and love – “Sherg Gapisi”, September 5, 1968. 4th page. 2. Some specialties of Javid theatre – Gobustan 1972 #4. Pages: 16-20 3. Some features of H. Javid’s historical dramas – The 10th scientific meeting of council of Scientific Academy – thesis. Baki, 1973. Pages: 25-28 4. The people and hero problems – Ulduz magazine 1973, #5. Pages: 62-64 5. The free woman problem in H. Javid creativity – Azerbaijan magazine 1973, #7 6. H. Javid and Shakespeare (Iblis - Othello) – Science and Life magazine, 1976, #9. Pages: 22-24 7. H. Javid and Byron – Science and Life magazine 8. H. Javid and Goethe – Science and Life magazine, 1980, #1. Pages: 35-38 9. H. Javid and Shakespeare – Gobustan, 1981, #1. Pages: 15-17 10. Javid, Jabbarli and Azerbaijan Soviet Theatre – Newspaper of “Azerbaijani teacher”, #65 (3159), 15.08.1979 11. Tracking a myth. Soviet Nakhchivan paper. 27.01.1980 12. Belief in sun in Azerbaijan – Soviet Nakhchivan paper #176 (12999) 26.07.1981 13. Spring holiday of our great ancestor – Soviet Nakhchivan paper #69, (14410) 18.03.1986 14....It’s the holy path we go on! – Sherur front – January 26, 1990, #4-5. P: 2 15. Where is our way – Sherg Gapisi #142 (15.682) – June 30, 1990. P: 3 16. Islamic fundamentalism: fictions, realities – Sherg Gapisi paper, #215 (15.755) – September 22, 1990. Pages: 2-3 17. Russian Empire troops at Sherur borders – Sherur fights frontal bulletin – Sherur print house, December 1990 #1 18. Today of old Sederek global situation – Azerbaijan magazine, 1991, #11 19. Open letter to secretary-in-chief of Azerbaijan National Centre in Turkey, Ahmad Garaja from Nakhchivan (1st part) – Ses (Voice) paper, #41 (70) 01.10.1992 20. Open letter to secretary-in-chief of Azerbaijan National Centre in Turkey, Ahmad Garaja from Nakhchivan (2nd part) – Ses (Voice) paper, #39 (68) 17.10.1992 21. The leader of our party is the people – Ses (Voice) paper 09.12.1992 22. The leader of our party is the people – Nakhchivan paper, #83 (267) 29.11.1997 23. The New Azerbaijan Party is the party of future – Yeni Azerbaycan Paper, #92 (267) 29.11.1997 24. I beg from almighty God – “For the victory” paper, #3-4 (3-4) 10.05.1999 25. XXI century must be the century of Azerbaijan language and Azerbaijan ideology in our national history – “Iki sahil” paper. 24.06.2001. (the interview was taken by Yegane Aliyeva) 26. The relation between “old Armenian statehood” illusion or “ishkil” (Outcast dog) ethnicity and “hay and armyan” meaning. “Iki sahil” paper. 31.10.2001 27. The relation between “old Armenian statehood” illusion or “ishkil” (Outcast dog) ethnicity and “hay and armyan” meaning. “Iki sahil” paper. 02.11.2001 28. The relation between “old Armenian statehood” illusion or “ishkil” (Outcast dog) ethnicity and “hay and armyan” meaning. “Iki sahil” paper. 03.11.2001 29. The relation between “old Armenian statehood” illusion or “ishkil” (Outcast dog) ethnicity and “hay and armyan” meaning. “Iki sahil” paper. 06.11.2001 30. The relation between “old Armenian statehood” illusion or “ishkil” (Outcast dog) ethnicity and “hay and armyan” meaning. “Iki sahil” paper. 07.11.2001 31. The closest friend and companion – “Free Azerbaijan”, #62 (820) 27.04.2005 (The interview was taken by Haji Tofig Seyidov) 32. We need solidarity – national solidarity! 30.09.2006 (national solidarity interview) 33. The problems of 15-year-old NAP (YAP) – National Solidarity #9 (29). 21.09.2007. (The Ruhiyya Nasimigizi interview) 34. The historical realities about “The 26 Baku Commissars” or who are the 3 commissars without grave? – “Khalg” (People) paper-April 19, 2009. P: 4[9] 35. There are no notions of honor, dignity and pride in Armenian. National Solidarity #04 (47). 30.04.2009. (The Ruhiyya Nasimigizi interview). 36. Is it true to translate from Turkish to Turkish? (The National Solidarity paper interview) 31.01.2009 </poem

Ajdar Ismailov (full name: "Ajdar Tagi Ismailov"; b. April 23, 1938, Chomakhtur, Sherur raion, Nakhchivan ASSR, Azerbaijan SSR, USSR), Professor Doctor of philological sciences, one of the 91st, one of the most active founders of New Azerbaijan Party.


Early life.

Jović was born in the small village of Batar near Bijeljina, to Milan and Svetlana Jović. At the age of five, he started playing football in Loznica, where he was spotted in 2004 and offered to play in Mini Maxi, a development league for kids aged between 4 and 12 in Belgrade. After just one game where Jović scored three goals his father was offered €50 for each game he played and 2,000 dinars for travelling costs from Batar to Belgrade. At one of those games he was scouted by Toma Milićević, Red Star's scout who invited him to trial with Red Star Belgrade. His playing style attracted comparisons to Darko Pančev and Radamel Falcao, who is also his idol.

Club career.

Red Star Belgrade.

Youth.

Jović was offered the chance to play for Red Star Belgrade in 2005. Before he committed, his father took him to train with Partizan, who had been trying to sign Jović for some time. They offered his father €200 per month for Jović to play with them, but he insisted on staying with Red Star.

2013–14 season.

On 28 May 2014, at the age of 16 years, five months and five days, Jović made his professional debut against FK Vojvodina in Novi Sad, where he broke Dejan Stanković's record as the youngest goalscorer in a competitive match in the club's history. He scored the goal only two minutes after he was brought on as substitute, and the final score of 3–3 was enough to give Red Star the 2013–14 Serbian SuperLiga title.

2014–15 season.

On 18 October 2014, Jović became the youngest player ever to play in Eternal derby at the age of 16 years, 9 months and 25 days, breaking the previous record of Dejan Milovanović who was 17 years and 6 months old at the time. Jović missed some crucial chances, but in spring half of the season scored six goals. His first goal of the season came against Vojvodina, in a match where Red Star celebrated its 70th birthday. He then scored against Spartak, a double against Borac and a decisive goal against Voždovac, ahead of the Eternal derby clash. He missed the end of the season and the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand due to injury. On 17 May 2015, he signed a three-year contract with Red Star to last until 2018.

2015–16 season.

From the beginning of the 2015–16 season, Jović started as a first choice in Red Star attack along with Hugo Vieira and scored 3 goals in first 5 games. He scored again against Voždovac a winning goal and brought another win to Red Star at Stadion na Vračaru. He scored another game winner in Subotica, against Spartak. In November 2015, a racketeer from Loznica threatened him and his family that if they did not pay money to him, that he would "break Jović's legs". A suspect was apprehended immediately afterwards.

Benfica.

In February 2016, Jović signed with Portuguese champions Benfica until 2021. On 9 March, he debuted for the club's reserve team in a 2–2 home draw against Sporting da Covilhã in the Segunda Liga. He debuted for the first-team on 20 March, as a substitute, in a 1–0 away victory against Boavista in the Primeira Liga.  On 30 January 2017, Jović made his only appearance for the first team when he came on as a substitute in the 81st minute against Vitória de Setúbal.

Loan to Eintracht Frankfurt.

2017–18 season.

In June 2017, Jović joined Eintracht Frankfurt on a two-season loan while his new club secured an option to sign him on a permanent basis. He made five appearances as they won the 2017–18 DFB-Pokal, and scored the only goal of the win at Schalke 04 in the semi-finals on 18 April 2018, but was an unused substitute in the 3–1 final win over Bayern Munich.

2018–19 season.

20-year-old Jović became the youngest player to score five goals in a Bundesliga game when he did so in a 7–1 home win over Fortuna Düsseldorf on 19 October 2018. On 14 March 2019, he scored the only goal, his seventh for the campaign, in a 1–0 win over Inter Milan to secure the club's progression to the quarter finals of the Europa League. In doing so, he helped Eintracht become the first German club ever to record eight wins in a single season in the competition.  On 17 April 2019, Eintracht Frankfurt exercised a clause in Jović's contract to make his loan move permanent until 30 June 2023.

Real Madrid.

On 4 June 2019, Jović signed for Real Madrid for a reported €60 million, on a six-year contract. He made his debut on 17 August 2019, coming in as a substitute in a 3–1 win over Celta Vigo. On 30 October 2019, he scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 victory over CD Leganés.  Jović started both semi-final and final match of 2019–20 Supercopa de España against Valencia and Atlético Madrid, respectively. Real won the final 4–1 on penalties on 12 January 2020, earning Jović his first trophy as a Real Madrid player.

International career.

On 11 December 2013, Jović scored a hat-trick for Serbia U-17 in a 4–1 win against Croatia U-17. In July 2014, he was called up by youth coach Veljko Paunović to Serbia's U-19 squad for the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.  In May 2018, Jović was named in Serbia's preliminary squad for the FIFA World Cup in Russia. On 4 June, he made his international debut in a friendly match against Chile, coming on as a substitute for Aleksandar Mitrović in the 84th minute. Later in June, Jović was included in the final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where he appeared as a late substitute against Brazil.  On 20 March 2019, Jović scored his debut goal for the national team in a friendly against Germany.

Personal life.

When Jović was 10 years old, his older sister survived leukemia. He stated that period had "left a mark on their lives" and had motivated him to become a "fighter like her".  On 25 February 2019, Jović became a father of a baby boy, David, following a fling with his former girlfriend Anđela Manitašević, whom he split up with in 2016. As of summer 2019, he is in a relationship with Serbian model Sofija Milošević. On 20 March 2020, Milošević announced that she and Jović are expecting their first child.  On 18 March 2020, amid the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Europe, Jović broke Serbia's self-isolation protocol by flying from Madrid to Belgrade to attend Milošević's birthday party, drawing criticism from the Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabić herself and facing possible charges.

Honours.

Red Star  Eintracht Frankfurt  Real Madrid  Individual

Luka Jović (, ; born 23 December 1997) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Serbia national team.


Early years, family and education.

He was born in Oxfordshire, the eldest son of Colonel Charles Jenkinson (1693–1750) and Amarantha (daughter of Wolfran Cornewall). The earl was the grandson of Sir Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Baronet, of Walcot, Oxfordshire. The Jenkinson family was descended from Anthony Jenkinson (died 1611), who was a sea-captain, merchant, and traveller and the first known Englishman to penetrate into Central Asia. Liverpool was educated at Charterhouse School and University College, Oxford, where he graduated Master of Arts in 1752.

Political career.

In 1761, Liverpool entered parliament as member for Cockermouth and was made Under-Secretary of State by Lord Bute. He won the favour of George III, and when Bute retired Jenkinson became the leader of the "King's Friends" in the House of Commons. In 1763, George Grenville appointed him joint Secretary to the Treasury.  In 1766,after a short retirement, he became a Lord of the Admiralty and then a Lord of the Treasury in the Grafton administration. In 1772, Jenkinson became a Privy Councillor and Vice Treasurer of Ireland, and in 1775 he purchased the lucrative sinecure of Clerk of the Pells in Ireland and became Master of the Mint of Ireland.  From 1778 until the close of Lord North's ministry in 1782 he was Secretary at War. From 1786 to 1804, he was President of the Board of Trade and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and he was popularly regarded as enjoying the confidence of the king to a special degree. In 1786 he was created Baron Hawkesbury, of Hawkesbury in the County of Gloucester, and ten years later, Earl of Liverpool. He also succeeded his cousin in 1790 as the 7th Baronet of Walcot and to the family estates. He lived at Addiscombe Place, Surrey and in Hawkesbury, Gloucestershire. He died in London on 17 December 1808.

Family.

Liverpool was twice married. In 1769 he married firstly Amelia, daughter of William Watts, governor of Fort William, Bengal, and of his wife, better known as Begum Johnson. Amelia died in July 1770, a month after the birth of her only child, Robert.  Liverpool married secondly Catherine, daughter of Sir Cecil Bishopp, 6th Baronet, and widow of Sir Charles Cope, 2nd Baronet, on 22 June 1782 at her house in Hertford Street, London. They had one son, Charles, who became 3rd Earl of Liverpool, and one daughter, Charlotte, who married James Grimston, 1st Earl of Verulam.  On Lord Liverpool's death, he was succeeded by his son from his first marriage, Robert, who became a prominent politician and eventually Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Countess of Liverpool died in October 1827, aged 82.

Legacy.

Liverpool wrote several political works, but other than for his "Treatise on the Coins of the Realm" (1805) these are, according to the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, "without striking merits".  The Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, Australia and Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada were named after Jenkinson shortly after he was created Baron Hawkesbury.  At least two ships were named after Jenkinson under his title of Lord Hawkesbury: one launched in America in 1781—presumably under another name—but entered in "Lloyd's Register" from 1787 as the "Lord Hawkesbury", sailing as a whaler; and the East Indiaman "Lord Hawkesbury", launched in 1787.

Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool, PC (26 April 172917 December 1808), known as Lord Hawkesbury between 1786 and 1796, was a British statesman. He was the father of Prime Minister Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool.


Background and education.

Cross was born in Red Scar, near Preston, Lancashire, the son of William Cross (1771–1827) and his wife Ellen, daughter of Edward Chaffers. He was educated at Rugby School and Trinity College, Cambridge, and was the President of the Cambridge Union in 1845. He was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple, in 1849, attaching himself to the Northern Circuit.

Political career.

Cross entered Parliament as one of two representatives for Preston in 1857, a seat he held until 1862. He was out of Parliament for the next year. While out of Parliament, Cross was a partner at Parr's Bank, of which he became chairman in 1870. In 1868 he was elected for South West Lancashire, topping the poll and defeating Gladstone, and continued to represent this constituency until his elevation to the peerage in 1886.  Cross first came to prominence as Home Secretary in Disraeli's second government (1874–1880), to which post he had been appointed without first holding junior office. He remained Home Secretary in Lord Salisbury's first government (1885–1886). The latter year he was raised to the peerage as Viscount Cross, of Broughton-in-Furness in the County Palatine of Lancaster, and was moved over to the India Office (1886–1892), where he oversaw the passage of the Indian Councils Act 1892. Lord Cross was very briefly Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in Salisbury's third government (1895–1902) before being elevated to the sinecure post Lord Privy Seal. In 1898 he chaired the Joint Select Committee on Electrical Energy (Generating Stations and Supply), which recommended granting compulsory purchase powers for the building of power stations. He retired in 1900.  In 1884, Cross was elected to the Board of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, and he remained a Director of that company, and of its successor the Great Central Railway (GCR), until his death. During Board meetings, he would occasionally murmur "Where is the money to come from?" In June 1909, when he was senior Director of the GCR, that railway named one of its class 8D express passenger locomotives "The Rt. Hon. Viscount Cross G.C.B., G.C.S.I." in his honour.

Family.

Lord Cross married Georgiana, daughter of Thomas Lyon, in 1852. His eldest son, the Hon. William Cross, represented Liverpool West Derby in Parliament. Lady Cross died in January 1907.  Lord Cross survived her by seven years and died in January 1914, aged 90. He was succeeded in the viscountcy by his grandson, Richard Assheton Cross, the only son of the Honourable William Cross.

Richard Assheton Cross, 1st Viscount Cross, (30 May 1823 – 8 January 1914), known before his elevation to the peerage as R. A. Cross, was a British statesman and Conservative politician. He notably served as Home Secretary between 1874 and 1880 and 1885 and 1886.


Background and education.

He came of a mainly south-west Surrey family who in the early 17th century, in Sirs St John and Thomas Brodrick, were granted land in the south of Ireland, mainly in County Cork. The former settled at Midleton, between Cork and Youghal in 1641; and his son Alan Brodrick (1660–1728), Speaker of the Irish House of Commons and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was created Baron Brodrick in 1715 and Viscount Midleton in 1717 in the Irish peerage.  In 1796 the title of Baron Brodrick in the Peerage of Great Britain was created. The English family seat at Peper Harrow, near Godalming, Surrey, was designed by Sir William Chambers. The 8th Viscount Midleton was a conservative in politics, holding seats West Surrey and Guildford in the House of Commons (November 1885 - January 1906), and who was responsible in the House of Lords for carrying the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 which filled the lacuna in the law to protect new borns such as those who have not yet breathed and provide duplicatory protection for late abortions. He was educated at Windlesham, Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, where he served as president of the Oxford Union. He was awarded a Doctorate of Laws (LLD) by Trinity College, Dublin. He owned, in submissions from his landowning heyday, about.  He maintained three homes: Peper Harow (House); 34 Portland Place, London (telephone number on the Langham exchange); Midleton (House), Ireland. His family-settled land was probated before his widow's death in 1943 at and £55,624 in other assets in 1942.

Political career.

Brodrick entered Parliament as Conservative member for West Surrey in 1880.  In 1883 he was appointed to a Royal Commission examining the condition of Irish prisons. He was Financial Secretary to the War Office 1886–92; Under-Secretary of State for War, 1895–1898; Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 1898–1900; Secretary of State for War, 1900–1903; and Secretary of State for India, 1903–05.  He was Secretary of State for War during most of the Second Boer War (1899-1902). He thus had the responsibility of defending the British use of concentration camps in parliament. The conflict itself showed that the British army was not prepared for the guerrilla war of the Boers. He therefore initiated (though successors played a bigger part) a period of reform of the British army, which was focused on lessening the emphasis placed on mounted units in combat. In September 1902, Brodrick and Lord Roberts, the Commander-in-Chief of the army, visited Germany as guests to attend the German army maneuvers.  In 1904, during a crisis in British relations with Russia, he became the first member of a Cabinet since 1714 to attend a meeting of the Privy Council without being summoned to it by the monarch. At the general election of January 1906, the outcome of which was a Liberal win (the biggest landside except for that of the 1931 National Government's Conservatives), he lost his Parliamentary seat, at Guildford, which he had held since 1885. From March 1907 to 1913 he was an alderman of London County Council.  From 1910 he was regarded as the nominal leader of the Irish Unionist Alliance (IUA) in Southern Ireland, while Sir Edward Carson led the party in Ulster (the Ulster Unionist Council). Many Irish followers and sympathisers saw him has remote or condescending, reliant on a few intimates and suspected he was more interested in promotion in British politics. In 1916 Midleton's lobbying helped to defeat an attempt to implement immediate Home Rule with Ulster exclusion; this was supported by the Ulster leader Edward Carson and the Home Ruler John Redmond, but Midleton believed it would be disastrous for the Southern Unionist minority.  In 1918, during the second, final year of his service on the Irish Convention, he tried to reach a compromise with Redmond which would allow Home Rule without partition subject to certain financial restrictions. This was rejected both by Redmond's followers (who saw it as too restrictive) and the hardline IUA rank-and-file, who deposed Midleton. He and his followers then formed the Unionist Anti-Partition League, an elite body mainly concerned with lobbying. It had some influence on the 1920 Government of Ireland Act, but none of the safeguards for Southern Unionist interests which it sought were included in the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty. Successful lobbying by Midleton and associated Southern Unionists was instrumental in ensuring their representation in the Seanad of the Irish Free State.  His speeches and/or questions in Parliament were in each year from 1880 to 1941 except 1906 when he held no seat, and numbered 7584, the last of which was a tribute to the passing of Lord Baden Powell.

Honours and awards.

He was sworn into the Privy Counsel as of 1897. During his 1902 visit to Germany, he received the Grand Cross of the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle.  He received the Honorary Freedom and was appointed a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Broderers in 1902, his family having been associated with the company since the early 17th century.  He was appointed a Knight of the Order of St Patrick (KP) on 18 April 1916.  In the 1920 New Year Honours he was elevated in the British peerage system to Earl of Midleton, which became extinct with the death of his son in 1979. From 1930 he was High Steward of the Borough of Kingston upon Thames.

Family.

He married, first in 1880, Lady Hilda (died 1901), daughter of The 10th Earl of Wemyss, by whom he had five children; and secondly in 1903, Madeleine Stanley, daughter of The Baroness St Helier by her first husband. His children by the first wife were:  His grandson Sir Julian St. John Loyd (by Lady Moyra) became land agent to Queen Elizabeth II at Sandringham. His daughter, Alexandra (Mrs Duncan Byatt), was a Lady-in-Waiting to Diana, Princess of Wales.  His sister, Marian Cecilia married Sir James Whitehead, son of the inventor Robert Whitehead. Sir James Whitehead was to become the British Ambassador to Austria, and his niece Agathe was the first wife of Georg Johannes von Trapp; the story of their children and his second wife, Maria von Trapp, was the basis of the musical "The Sound of Music".  Another, Albinia, became an early supporter of Sinn Féin and became well known in Ireland under the name Gobnait Ní Bhruadair.  Another, Edith later Mrs. Lyttleton Gell was a published author of at least 24 works such as "The Cloud of Witness: A daily sequence of great thoughts from many minds" and autobiography, "Under Three Reigns: 1860-1944".

William St John Fremantle Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton, KP, PC, DL (14 December 1856 – 13 February 1942), styled as St John Brodrick until 1907 and as Viscount Midleton between 1907 and 1920, was a British Conservative and Irish Unionist Alliance politician.


History.

Shortly after its establishment in Serbia in September 1924 by General Wrangel, on 16 November the supreme command of the ROVS, along with all White Army formations in exile, was assumed by Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, who had until August 1915 been the Supreme Commander of the Russian armed forces during WWI and since 1922 resided in France.  Aside from anti-communism, the ROVS did not have an official political orientation, somewhat adhering to the old Russian military dictum: "The army is outside politics" (in Russian "Армия вне политики"), believing that the political orientation of Russia cannot be predetermined by émigrés living outside of its borders (the philosophy of "non-predetermination" or in Russian "непредрешенчество"). Many (but not all) of its members had monarchist sympathies but were divided on whether the House of Romanov should return and whether the government should be autocratic or democratic.  The ROVS, along with other similar Russian émigré organizations, became a prime target for the Soviet secret intelligence service, the GPU/OGPU. The OGPU even set up a fictitious anti-communist monarchist organization, the Monarchist Union of Central Russia, which was used to undermine the ROVS′ activities in the USSR. The ROVS′ secret counter-intelligence branch, the "Inner Line" (in Russian "Внутренная Линия") set up by General Alexander Kutepov in the mid-1920s, was also severely compromised, among other things by suspected recruitment by OGPU of Gen Nikolai Skoblin, who was a senior operative in the Inner Line. Two of the ROVS's successive chairmen, Gen Alexander Kutepov and General Yevgeny Miller, were kidnapped by Soviet agents, in 1930 and 1937 respectively, Miller being brought to the USSR to be interrogated and executed. General, who succeeded Miller as the ROVS chairman, had to quit the post shortly after and was expelled from Bulgaria where he had resided due to the fact that his son was exposed as a Soviet agent. The OGPU/NKVD′s successful operations against the ROVS as well as infighting, intrigues, and antagonisms in the wider Russian émigré community demoralised and rendered impotent an organisation, which by the time World War II began in 1939 had also become largely irrelevant due to the geopolitical realignment. After the outbreak of the war, the ROVS was virtually paralysed, as the war split the ROVS′ leadership and membership into two opposing camps: those who advocated war against, or for, Germany. Gen, who assumed the ROVS presidency in March 1938, was personally of pro-Germany political orientation, a stance opposed by such renowned émigré figures, among others, as General Anton Denikin.  During the war, the ROVS maintained a cautious position, not siding officially with Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union but waiting for the emergence of an independent Russian Liberation Army. However, some, acting as interpreters, joined the ranks of the Wehrmacht at the early stage of war on the German-Soviet Front. The reason for that was ROVS quasi-ideology, in no small way encapsulated in the idea of 'irreconcilability', which meant fighting against the Soviet power in any way possible.  According to a 1988 oral history interview with Nikita Ivanovich Yovich, "Years passed, gradually people began dying off. In 1986, the most senior man still alive turned out to be Captain Ivanov who lived in Detroit. Captain Ivanov received a communication from Paris saying that as the most senior man he was now obliged to assume the presidency of the R.A.S.U. He was ninety-one. He needed a deputy and I was recommended to him. I received a letter from this Captain Ivanov whom I had never met, an official letter -- 'Dear Nikita Ivanovich, As of such and such a date, I have become the President of the Russian Armed Services Union. I am alone and am requesting your help.' And so I answered the letter, -- 'Dear Captain Ivanov: I was brought up to be a soldier -- that means, never volunteer for duty, but never shirk it.' A week later, I received orders from him, stating that as of such and such a date Lieutenant Nikita Ivanovich Yovich would be serving as his deputy. He gave me various orders, xeroxing lists and so forth, which I carried out. After a few years I began having problems with my health and I wrote to Captain Ivanov requesting to be relieved of my duties. I received no reply. I wrote again. All of a sudden I receive a letter saying that Captain Ivanov has had a stroke and is paralyzed. I phoned him, but there was no answer. And then I received orders from him, which he had somehow been able to sign -- I had been appointed president of the Russian Armed Services Union."  The ROVS continued to be active into the 1990s, having evolved into an organization that was principally concerned with the historical preservation of the pre-communist and anti-communist Russian military tradition. In the ROVS's possession were a significant number of Russian imperial and White Army battle flags and standards, which were meant to be returned to Russia when "a national Russian army" was once again in existence.  Although its significance and influence in the Russian émigré community had ceased several decades before, in 1992, ROVS became active in Russia itself. In the mid-1990s, however, since the communist regime had fallen and the Soviet Union was no more, a split emerged within ROVS on whether to continue the organization's existence.  In 2000, Vladimir Vishnevsky, a US resident and the ROVS chairman at that time, requested a vote on this issue. The vast majority of members voted against the dissolution of ROVS. Vishnevsky died of cancer in that same year.

Organizational structure and membership.

Before WWII ROVS was divided into departments (), based on regions or/and countries:  According to the data contained in the declassified UDBA documents of 1955, in 1934 ROVS′s global membership totaled 400,000 people, which included 206,000 people in Europe, 175,000 in the Far East, and 25,000 in America.

The Russian All-Military Union (, abbreviated РОВС, "ROVS") is an organization that was founded by White Army General Pyotr Wrangel in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes on 1 September 1924, initially headquartered in the town of Sremski Karlovci. The organization′s ostensible purpose was provision of aid to the veterans of the Russian White movement (usually of the Imperial Russian Army as well), soldiers and officers alike, who now lived outside the USSR; the undeclared aim was to maintain a Russian military organisation with a view to fighting the Bolsheviks.


Taxonomy.

The genus was first validly named in 1754 by Philip Miller. In 1913 Nathaniel Lord Britton and Addison Brown selected "Mimosa scorpioides" (≡ "Acacia scorpioides" () = "Acacia nilotica" () ), a species from Africa, as the lectotype of the name. The genus as recognized in 1986 contained 1352 species. That year however, Les Pedley published a paper in which he questioned the monophyletic nature of the genus, and proposed a split into three genera: "Acacia" sensu stricto (161 species), "Senegalia" (231 species) and "Racosperma" (960 species), the last name first proposed in 1829 by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius as the name of a section in "Acacia", but raised to generic rank in 1835. In 2003, Pedley published a paper with 834 new combinations in "Racosperma" for species, most of which were formerly placed in "Acacia". All but 10 of these species are native to Australia, where it constitutes the largest plant genus.  In 2003, Anthony Orchard and Bruce Maslin filed a proposal to conserve the name "Acacia" with a different type in order to retain the Australasian group of species in the genus "Acacia". Following a controversial decision to choose a new type for "Acacia" in 2005, the Australian component of "Acacia s.l." now retains the name "Acacia". At the 2011 International Botanical Congress held in Melbourne, the decision to use the name "Acacia", rather than the proposed "Racosperma" for this genus, was upheld. Other "Acacia s.l." taxa continue to be called "Acacia" by those who choose to consider the entire group as one genus.  Australian species of the genus "Paraserianthes" "s.l." are deemed its closest relatives, particularly "P. lophantha". The nearest relatives of "Acacia" and "Paraserianthes s.l." in turn include the Australian and South East Asian genera "Archidendron", "Archidendropsis", "Pararchidendron" and "Wallaceodendron", all of the tribe Ingeae.

Etymology.

The origin of "wattle" may be an Old Teutonic word meaning "to weave". From around 700 A.D. "watul" was used in Old English to refer to the interwoven branches and sticks which formed fences, walls and roofs. Since about 1810 it refers to the Australian legumes that provide these branches.

Species.

One species of "Acacia" ("sensu stricto") is native to Madagascar, one to Reunion island, 12 to Asia, and the remaining species (over 900) are native to Australasia and the Pacific Islands. These species were all given combinations by Pedley when he erected the genus "Racosperma", hence "Acacia pulchella", for example, became "Racosperma pulchellum". However these were not upheld with the retypification of "Acacia".

Evolution.

Acacias in Australia probably evolved their fire resistance about 20 million years ago when fossilised charcoal deposits show a large increase, indicating that fire was a factor even then. With no major mountain ranges or rivers to prevent their spread, the wattles began to spread all over the continent as it dried and fires became more common. They began to form dry, open forests with species of the genera "Allocasuarina", "Eucalyptus" and "Callitris" (cypress-pines).  The southernmost species in the genus are "Acacia dealbata" (silver wattle), "Acacia longifolia" (coast wattle or Sydney golden wattle), "Acacia mearnsii" (black wattle), and "Acacia melanoxylon" (blackwood), reaching 43°30' S in Tasmania, Australia.

Fossil record.

An "Acacia"-like 14 cm long fossil seed pod has been described from the Eocene of the Paris Basin. "Acacia" like fossil pods under the name "Leguminocarpon" are known from late Oligocene deposits at different sites in Hungary. Seed pod fossils of †"Acacia parschlugiana" and †"Acacia cyclosperma" are known from Tertiary deposits in Switzerland. †"Acacia colchica" has been described from the Miocene of West Georgia. Pliocene fossil pollen of an "Acacia" sp. has been described from West Georgia and Abkhazia. Oldest records of fossil "Acacia" pollen in Australia are from the late Oligocene epoch, 25 million years ago.

Distribution and habitat.

They are present in all terrestrial habitats, including alpine settings, rainforests, woodlands, grasslands, coastal dunes and deserts. In drier woodlands or forest they are an important component of the understory. Elsewhere they may be dominant, as in the Brigalow Belt, Myall woodlands and the eremaean Mulga woodlands.  In Australia, "Acacia" forest is the second most common forest type after "Eucalypt" forest, covering or 8% of total forest area. "Acacia" is also the nation’s largest genus of flowering plants with almost 1,000 species found.

Description.

Several of its species bear vertically oriented phyllodes, which are green, broadened leaf petioles that function like leaf blades, an adaptation to hot climates and droughts. Some phyllodinous species have a colourful aril on the seed. A few species have cladodes rather than leaves.

Uses.

Aboriginal Australians have traditionally harvested the seeds of some species, to be ground into flour and eaten as a paste or baked into a cake. The seeds contain as much as 25% more protein than common cereals, and they store well for long periods due to the hard seed coats. In addition to utilizing the edible seed and gum, the people employed the timber for implements, weapons, fuel and musical instruments. A number of species, most notably "A. mangium" (hickory wattle), "A. mearnsii" (black wattle) and "A. saligna" (coojong), are economically important and are widely planted globally for wood products, tannin, firewood and fodder. "A. melanoxylon" (blackwood) and "A. aneura" (mulga) supply some of the most attractive timbers in the genus. Black wattle bark supported the tanning industries of several countries, and may supply tannins for production of waterproof adhesives.  Acacia is a common food source and host plant for butterflies of the genus "Jalmenus." The imperial hairstreak, "Jalmenus evagoras," feeds on at least 25 acacia species.  Wattle bark collected in Australia in the 19th century was exported to Europe where it was used in the tanning process. One ton of wattle or mimosa bark contained about 150 lbs of pure tannin.  In ancient Egypt, an ointment made from the ground leaves of an Acacia (senso latu) was used to treat hemorrhoids. Acacia (senso latu) is repeatedly mentioned in the Book of Exodus, perhaps referring to "Vachellia tortilis" (previously known as "Acacia raddiana"), in regards to the construction of the Tabernacle.  The hardened sap of various species of the acacia tree (senso latu) are known as acacia gum. Acacia gum is used as an emulsifier in food, a binder for watercolour painting, an additive to ceramic glazes, a binding in gum bichromate photography, a protective layer in the lithographic processes and as a binder to bind together fireworks.  Acacia honey is not collected from plants in the acacia family, but rather from "Robinia pseudoacacia", known as black locust in North America. Honey collected from "Caragana arborescens" is sometimes also called (yellow) acacia honey. See also Monofloral honey.

Cultivation.

Some species of acacia - notably "A. baileyana", "A. dealbata" and "A. pravissima" - are cultivated as ornamental garden plants. The 1889 publication 'Useful native plants of Australia' describes various uses for eating.

Toxicity.

Some species of acacia contain psychoactive alkaloids, and some contain potassium fluoroacetate, a rodent poison.

Acacia, commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australia.


History.

In the 1980s, Wint-O-Green Life Savers were used to create soda geysers. The tubes of candies were threaded onto a pipe cleaner and dropped into the soft drink to create a geyser. At the end of the 1990s, the manufacturer of Wintergreen Lifesavers increased the size of the mints and they no longer fit in the mouth of soda bottles. Science teachers found that Mint Mentos candies had the same effect when dropped into a bottle of any carbonated soft drink.  Lee Marek and "Marek's Kid Scientists" performed the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment on the "Late Show with David Letterman" in 1999. In March 2002, Steve Spangler, a science educator, did the demonstration on KUSA-TV, an NBC affiliate, in Denver, Colorado. The Diet Coke and Mentos geyser experiment became an internet sensation in September 2005. The experiment became a subject of the television show "MythBusters" in 2006. Spangler signed a licensing agreement with Perfetti Van Melle, the maker of Mentos, after inventing an apparatus aimed to make it easier to drop the Mentos into the bottle and produce a large soda geyser. Amazing Toys, Spangler's toy company, released the Geyser Tube toys in February 2007. In October 2010, a Guinness World Record of 2,865 simultaneous geysers was set at an event organized by Perfetti Van Melle at the SM Mall of Asia Complex, in Manila, Philippines. This record was afterwards beaten in November 2014 by another event organized by Perfetti Van Melle and Chupa Chups in León, Guanajuato, Mexico, where 4,334 Mentos and soda fountains were set off simultaneously.

Cause.

The eruption is caused by a physical reaction, rather than any chemical reaction. The addition of the Mentos leads to the rapid nucleation of carbon dioxide gas bubbles precipitating out of solution:  The conversion of dissolved carbon dioxide to gaseous carbon dioxide forms rapidly expanding gas bubbles in the soda, which pushes the beverage contents out of the container. Gases, in general, are more soluble in liquids at elevated pressures. Carbonated sodas contain elevated levels of carbon dioxide under pressure. The solution becomes supersaturated with carbon dioxide when the bottle is opened, and the pressure is released. Under these conditions, carbon dioxide begins to precipitate from solution, forming gas bubbles.  The activation energy for bubble nucleation (formation of bubbles) depends on where the bubble forms. It is very high for bubbles that form in the liquid itself (homogeneous nucleation), and much lower if bubble growth occurs within tiny bubbles trapped in some other surface (heterogeneous nucleation). Bubble nucleation and growth in carbonated beverages almost always occurs by heterogeneous nucleation: diffusion of carbon dioxide into pre-existing bubbles within the beverage. When dissolved gas diffuses into bubbles that already exist in a liquid, it is called Type IV bubble nucleation. When the pressure is released from a soda bottle upon opening it, dissolved carbon dioxide can escape into any tiny bubble located within the beverage. These ready-made bubbles (which are nucleation sites) exist in things such as tiny fibers or non-wettable crevices on the sides of the bottle. Because there usually are very few of such pre-existing bubbles, the degassing process is slow. Mentos candies contain millions of cavities that remain unwetted when added to a soda. Because of this, addition of Mentos candies to a carbonated beverage provides enormous numbers of pre-existing bubbles into which dissolved carbon dioxide can escape. Thus, adding Mentos candies to a carbonated beverage introduces millions of nucleation sites into the drink, which allows for degassing that is rapid enough to support a jet of foam out of a bottle.  Pre-existing bubbles provide a way for the reaction to occur without requiring bubbles to form within the liquid itself (homogeneous nucleation). Because Type IV nucleation sites (such as found on Mentos) allow the reaction to proceed with a substantially lower activation energy, Mentos candies can appropriately be considered a catalyst of the process. As another example, dropping grains of salt or sand into the solution provides Type IV nucleation sites, lowers the activation energy compared to that of homogeneous nucleation, and increases the rate of carbon dioxide precipitation.  The physical reaction that drives the eruption also causes a chemical reaction that slightly increases the pH of the soda. This is because when carbon dioxide is dissolved in water, carbonic acid is formed:  <chem> H2O(l) + CO2(aq) <=> H2CO3(aq) </chem>  Loss of carbon dioxide shifts the above equilibrium to the left, removing carbonic acid and increasing pH. It must be stressed that it is the physical reaction (carbon dioxide leaving solution) and not the loss of carbonic acid that causes the eruption.  The physical characteristics of Mentos (surface roughness) have the effect of drastically reducing the activation energy for carbon dioxide bubble formation, so that the nucleation rate becomes exceedingly high. The activation energy for the release of carbon dioxide from Diet Coke by addition of Mentos has been found to be 25 kJ mol. The foaming is aided by the presence of food additives such as potassium benzoate, aspartame, sugars, and flavorings in Diet Coke, all which influence the degree to which water can foam. It has been claimed that gelatin and gum arabic in the Mentos candy enhance the fountain, but experiments have shown that these candy additives have no effect on the fountain.  The nucleation reaction can start with any heterogeneous surface, such as rock salt, but Mentos have been found to work better than most. Tonya Coffey, a physicist at Appalachian State University, suggested that the aspartame in diet drinks lowers the surface tension in the water and causes a bigger reaction, but that caffeine does not accelerate the process. It has also been shown that a wide variety of beverage additives such as sugars, citric acid, and natural flavors can also enhance fountain heights. In some cases, dissolved solids that increase the surface tension of water (such as sugars) also increase fountain heights. These results suggest that additives serve to enhance geyser heights not by decreasing surface tension, but rather by decreasing bubble coalescence. Decreased bubble coalescence leads to smaller bubble sizes and greater foaming ability in water. Thus, the geyser reaction will still work even using sugared drinks, but diet is commonly used both for the sake of a larger geyser as well as to avoid having to clean up the stickier residue left by a sugared soda.

A Diet Coke and Mentos eruption (also known as a soda geyser) is a reaction between the carbonated beverage Diet Coke and Mentos mints that causes the beverage to spray out of its container. The candies catalyze the release of gas from the beverage, which creates an eruption that pushes most of the liquid up and out of the bottle. Lee Marek and "Marek's Kid Scientists" were the first to publicly demonstrate the experiment on the "Late Show with David Letterman" in 1999. Steve Spangler's televised demonstration of the eruption in 2005 became popular on YouTube, launching a chain of several other Diet Coke and Mentos experiment viral videos.


Club career.

Real Betis.

Ceballos was born in Utrera, Province of Seville. He joined Sevilla's youth system in 2004 at the age of eight, but was released in 2009 due to a chronic bronchitis problem. He subsequently played for hometown club Utrera, and completed his development in Real Betis after signing in 2011; he signed a professional contract with the latter club on 22 February 2014, while still a junior.  On 26 April 2014, without even appearing for the B-team, Ceballos played his first official game with the Andalusians' main squad, coming on as a late substitute in a 0–1 La Liga home loss against Real Sociedad. He scored his first professional goal on 21 December, netting the first of a 2–0 home win over Racing Santander for the Segunda División championship; he featured in 33 matches and netted five times for the "Verdiblancos" during the campaign, as they returned to the top level at the first attempt.  On 15 October 2015, after lengthy negotiations, Ceballos renewed his contract until 2020. He scored his first goal in the Spanish top flight on 16 April 2017, netting the last in a 2–0 home win against Eibar.

Real Madrid.

On 14 July 2017, Ceballos signed for Real Madrid on a six-year contract, for a transfer fee of around €18 million. He made his competitive debut on 16 August, replacing Toni Kroos on the 80th minute of the second leg of the Supercopa de España, a 2–0 home victory over Barcelona. On 23 September, in his first start, he scored a brace in a 2–1 away win over Deportivo Alavés.  Ceballos made four appearances during the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, as Madrid won their third consecutive and 13th overall title in the tournament. On 13 January 2019, after only 15 minutes on the pitch and having been constantly booed by his former club's supporters, he scored from a free kick in the last minute of a 2–1 defeat of Betis at the Estadio Benito Villamarín.

Arsenal (loan).

On 25 July 2019, Ceballos joined English Premier League club Arsenal on a season-long loan. He made his first start for Arsenal on 17 August in a 2–1 victory over Burnley, providing two assists in a man-of-the-match performance. On 3 October, Ceballos scored his first goal for Arsenal in a 4–0 home victory against Standard Liège in the group stage of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.

International career.

On 5 November 2014, Ceballos was called up to the Spain under-19 side, appearing against Germany, France and Greece in a tournament played in the latter nation. He made his debut for the under-21s on 26 March 2015, replacing Samu Castillejo at half-time of a 2–0 friendly win over Norway in Cartagena, Murcia; four days later, in León, he made his first start, in a 4–0 defeat of Belarus.  Despite beginning the competition in Poland on the bench, Ceballos' performances at the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship led Spain to the second place. Subsequently, he was named the player of the tournament.  With the U21 side he also took part in the victorious 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Spain team. He was named in the UEFA ‘Team of the Tournament’ for the second successive European U-21 Championship.  Ceballos won his first cap for the full team on 11 September 2018, playing the entire 6–0 home rout of Croatia for the UEFA Nations League. He scored his first goal for his country on 15 November, but in a 2–3 loss in Zagreb against the same opponent and for the same competition.

Honours.

Real Betis  Real Madrid  Spain U19  Spain U21  Individual

Daniel Ceballos Fernández (; born 7 August 1996) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central or attacking midfielder for Premier League club Arsenal, on loan from Real Madrid of La Liga, and the Spain national team.


Princess Alexandrine of Prussia (1842–1906)

Family and early life.

Alexandrine ('Addy') was the youngest child born to Prince Albert of Prussia and his wife Princess Marianne of the Netherlands. She was named after her aunt (and later mother-in-law) the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. She had two elder surviving siblings, Princess Charlotte (later Hereditary Princess of Saxe-Meiningen), and Prince Albert. Her parents' marriage was dissolved on 28 March 1849. Her father later remarried in 1853 to one of the court maids-of-honor, Rosalie von Rauch, who was created Countess of Hohenau. The couple had two sons. Their mother also remarried morganatically to a former coachman, producing issue with Johannes van Rossum.  Due to the troubled marriage of her parents, Alexandrine was to all intents and purposes the adopted daughter of her otherwise childless uncle and aunt, King Frederick William IV of Prussia and Queen Elisabeth Ludovika, and became their ward. They took Alexandrine to live with them, bringing her up as their own offspring.

Marriage.

Marriage prospects.

As a young woman, Alexandrine was considered as a potential bride for the one-year older Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII of the United Kingdom), but was not considered "clever or pretty" enough by his sister Crown Princess Victoria ('Vicky') of Prussia. The prince married Alexandra of Denmark instead. Despite her comment, Vicky had a fondness for Alexandrine, writing to her mother that she was "such an excellent girl and much admired here". There were also financial advantages to a marriage to Alexandrine; she already had one million dollars through her mother, and would have even more wealth when she married. Consequently, Vicky tried again to marry her off to another British relative, Prince George, Duke of Cambridge. Nothing came of this either, however.

Wedding.

On 9 December 1865, Alexandrine married her much-older cousin Duke William of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1827–1879). He was a younger son of Paul Frederick, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg and Alexandrine's aunt and namesake Princess Alexandrine of Prussia. Though the marriage was meant to give her financial security in the future, it was certainly not a love match; Alexandrine cried during the entire wedding ceremony. Vicky described the wedding to her mother, "The wedding was celebrated with the greatest pomp, but had something of the solemnity of a funeral about it – nothing gay, festive or bridal. The only thing that made a pleasing impression on me was dear Addy herself, who although she cried the whole time, had such a dignified and touching appearance that I never saw her look so well. She went through it all with the most perfect tenue – though I never saw her smile once. She did not look a bit like a bride but I must say very elegant and distinguee... The bridegroom's tenance looked as evil as possible the whole time. I looked in vain for a trace of softness of feeling".

Marriage and later life.

William's older brother Frederick Francis already had many children from his two marriages, so there was no chance of William and Alexandrine succeeding to the throne of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. During their marriage, the couple lived at Bellevue Palace in Berlin; Alexandrine saw little of Mecklenburg, her husband's native country. The marriage was unhappy, and she tried to escape several times, only to be forced back by pressure from her powerful Aunt Alexandrine. William managed with difficulty to secure an unimportant command in the Prussian army during the Franco-Prussian War. He was badly injured from an explosion during the war, but continued to live on until 1879. The couple had one surviving daughter:  After her husband's death, Alexandrine dedicated her life to her daughter, and played very little part in public life. Alexandrine died on 26 March 1906 at Schloss Marley, near Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany. Bellevue Palace was next occupied by Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia and his new bride Duchess Sophia Charlotte of Oldenburg.

Princess Frederica Wilhelmina Louise Elisabeth "Alexandrine" of Prussia (1 February 1842 – 26 March 1906) was a member of the House of Hohenzollern as the daughter of Prince Albert of Prussia and his wife Princess Marianne of the Netherlands.


Early life.

Duda was born in Kraków, to Janina Milewska and Jan Tadeusz Duda, professors at the AGH University of Science and Technology. His grandfather fought in the Polish–Soviet War and later was a member of the Home Army during the Second World War.  Duda attended Jan III Sobieski High School, Kraków. He subsequently studied law at the Jagiellonian University. In October 2001 he was appointed as an assistant (holding M.A.) in the Administrative Law Department of Jagiellonian University. In January 2005, Duda also obtained a PhD degree in law at the Jagiellonian University. Due to his political career, he has been mostly on unpaid leave (from the university) since September 2006, except for a 13-month interval beginning in September 2010, when he returned to the university.

Political career.

Duda began his political career with the now-defunct Freedom Union Party in the early 2000s. After the parliamentary elections in 2005, he began his collaboration with the Law and Justice Party (PiS). From 2006 to 2007, Andrzej Duda was an undersecretary of state in the Ministry of Justice. Then, from 2007 to 2008, Duda was a member of the Polish State Tribunal.  From 2008 to 2010, during the presidency of Lech Kaczyński, Duda was an undersecretary of state in the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland. In 2010, he was an unsuccessful candidate to become the Mayor of Kraków as a PiS candidate, but was more successful in the 2011 parliamentary election, where he received 79,981 votes for the Kraków area, and thus became member of the Sejm.  In September 2013, the news magazine "Polityka" commended Duda for being one of the most active members of parliament, at the time, describing him as being open to opposition arguments and as refraining from personal attacks, as part of his role at the Commission for Constitutional Responsibility. Duda remained a member of the Sejm until he was elected to the European Parliament in 2014.

2015 Presidential Campaign.

As Bronisław Komorowski's first presidential term was expiring, Komorowski was able to seek re-election in a scheduled presidential election. Duda was Komorowski's Law and Justice rival in the election.  In the first round of the 2015 presidential election, Duda came first, receiving 5,179,092 votes and thus 34.76% of valid votes.  In the second round Duda took 51.55% of the vote against the 48.45% share of his rival, then-incumbent president Bronisław Komorowski. On 26 May 2015, he officially resigned from party membership.

Presidency.

The five-year term of Andrzej Duda began on 6 August 2015 with taking an oath of office during a National Assembly session.  Duda rejected the European Union's proposal of migrant quotas to redistribute asylum seekers, saying: "I won’t agree to a dictate of the strong. I won’t back a Europe where the economic advantage of the size of a population will be a reason to force solutions on other countries regardless of their national interests".  In September 2015 Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz declared that Poland, as an expression of “European solidarity”, would take in 2,000 people over the next two years, mainly from Syria and Eritrea (out of 3,700 originally requested).  Duda and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović were the originators of the Three Seas Initiative.  Duda repeatedly met with general secretary of the Communist Party of China and China's leader, Xi Jinping, stating that "Polish companies will benefit hugely" from China's Belt and Road Initiative. Duda and Xi signed a declaration on strategic partnership in which they reiterated that Poland and China viewed each other as long-term strategic partners. Duda said that he hope Poland will become a gateway to Europe for China.  In September 2017, his approval rating stood at 71% and in February 2018, at 72%, a record surpassed only by Aleksander Kwaśniewski, whose approval ratings surpassed 75% from 1995 to 2005.

Pardon of Mariusz Kamiński.

In November 2015, basing on Art. 139 of the Constitution of Poland, Duda pardoned former Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA) head Mariusz Kamiński and three CBA officers convicted by a court of 1st instance in the so-called "", marking the first pardon granted by a president before reaching a final verdict. According to some lawyers (including professors Jan Zimmermann – Andrzej Duda's doctorate promoter, Leszek Kubicki – former Minister of Justice and Andrzej Zoll – former president of the Constitutional Tribunal) Duda breached the Constitution of Poland.

Constitutional crisis.

Andrzej Duda has refused to swear in any of the five Constitutional Tribunal judge candidates selected by the Sejm of the VII term. Three of those were selected since 7 November 2015 whose election was declared constitutional. On 3 and 9 December 2015 Duda swore in five other candidates for the same office selected by the Sejm of the VIII term. On 28 December 2015, Duda signed the Constitutional Tribunal bill (passed on 22 December 2015 by the Sejm), which unequivocally breaches the Constitution of Poland according to the National Council of the Judiciary of Poland, the Public Prosecutor General and the Polish Ombudsman.  In June 2016, Duda rejected appointing 10 judges selected by the National Council of the Judiciary of Poland.  In July 2017, Duda informed the public he had decided to veto two controversial judicial bills backed by the government and passed by both houses of the Polish parliament. The President's spokesman subsequently said that the third act – the common courts bill – would be signed. The veto was just one example of Duda opposing the policies of PiS.

Politics of memory.

In February 2018, Duda said that he would sign into law Amendment to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance, making it illegal to accuse 'the Polish nation' of complicity in the Holocaust and other Nazi German atrocities, a measure that has roiled relations with Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu going as far as accusing the Polish government of "Holocaust denial".

Stance on the LGBT rights.

In June 2020, Duda said that he would not allow gay couples to marry or adopt children, while describing the LGBT movement as "a foreign ideology" and comparing it to indoctrination in the Soviet Union. In response to Duda's comments, former Prime Minister of Belgium Elio Di Rupo publicly asked European Commission for official reaction. Soon after his comments, Duda invited Robert Biedroń (who requested meeting the President) and an LGBT activist, Bartosz Staszewski to the Presidential Palace, though Robert Biedroń eventually did not take the invitation. According to Staszewski, during their meeting Duda cited freedom of speech to defend his words about "LGBT ideology".

Personal life.

Duda is married to Agata Kornhauser-Duda, a teacher of German language at Jan III Sobieski High School in Kraków. They had met at a party while still attending rival schools and have been married since 21 December 1994. Together they have one daughter, Kinga, born in 1995, who also graduated in law in 2019. His father-in-law is Julian Kornhauser, a well-known writer, translator and literary critic.  He is a keen skier and while studying participated in the Polish Academic Championships in the Alpine skiing category.  Duda is a Catholic. He took part in religious ceremonies on many occasions, including Midnight Mass, the blessing of food on Holy Saturday, or the Corpus Christi procession in Kraków.

Andrzej Sebastian Duda (born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as president of Poland since 6 August 2015. Before becoming president, Andrzej Duda was a member of Polish Lower House (Sejm) from 2011 to 2014 and the European Parliament from 2014 to 2015.


Description.

The tucuxi is frequently described (see references below) as looking similar to the bottlenose dolphin, but it is typically smaller at around 1.5 m (4.9 ft). The dolphin is colored light to bluish grey on its back and sides. The ventral region is much lighter, often pinkish. It is theorized that this pinkish color may be caused or intensified by increased blood flow. The dorsal fluke is typically slightly hooked. The beak is well-defined and of moderate length. There are 26 to 36 pairs of teeth in the upper and lower jaws.. The tucuxi has one of the largest known encephalization quotients among mammals.

Taxonomy.

The tucuxi ("Sotalia fluviatilis") was described by Gervais and Deville in 1853, and the costero ("Sotalia guianensis") by Pierre-Joseph van Bénéden in 1864. These two species were subsequently synonymized, with the two species being treated as subspecies of marine and freshwater varieties. The first to reassert differences between these two species was a three-dimensional morphometric study of Monteiro-Filho and colleagues. Subsequently, a molecular analysis by Cunha and colleagues unambiguously demonstrated that "Sotalia guianensis" was genetically differentiated from "Sotalia fluviatilis". This finding was reiterated by Caballero and colleagues with a larger number of genes. The existence of two species has been generally accepted by the scientific community.

Distribution.

The tucuxi exists along much of the length of the Amazon River and many of its tributaries, and is found in Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, southeastern Colombia. Numerous individuals have been seen in the Orinoco River further north, though it is not clear whether these are tucuxi or costero.This species occurs in freshwater habitats only.

Food and foraging.

Tucuxis forage in tight groups, often chasing fish in rapid dashes just below the water surface, with fish jumping out of their way. Thirty species of fish are known to be prey, some living in protected lakes and channels, while others occur in fast-flowing rivers.

Behaviour.

The tucuxi exists in small groups of about 10-15 individuals, and swim in tight-knit groups, suggesting a highly developed social structure. Tucuxis are quite active and may jump clear of the water (a behavior known as breaching), somersault, spy-hop or tail-splash. They are unlikely, however, to approach boats.  Tucuxis have been observed to feed with other river dolphins. They feed on a wide variety of fish. Studies of growth layers suggest the species can live up to 35 years. The oldest known animal was 36 years of age.

Conservation.

The tucuxi is endemic to the regions described above; although no precise estimates of population are available, it is common. A significant human problem is fishing nets. Deliberate hunting in the Amazon basin for food has also been reported. Pollution, in particular, mercury poisoning of water due to gold mining, is a particular concern for this species. The IUCN also cites habitat fragmentation by dam construction as a threat, though more detailed study is necessary.  Tucuxis are observed not to maintain good health and attitude in captive environments. A few tucuxis remained in captivity in European aquaria, but the last one ("Paco") died in 2009 in the Zoo of Münster, Germany.  The tucuxi is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). It is listed on Appendix II as it has an unfavourable conservation status or would benefit significantly from international co-operation organised by tailored agreements.

The tucuxi ("Sotalia fluviatilis"), alternatively known in Peru bufeo gris or bufeo negro, is a species of freshwater dolphin found in the rivers of the Amazon basin. The word "tucuxi" is derived from the Tupi language word "tuchuchi-ana", and has now been adopted as the species' common name. Despite being found in geographic locations similar to those of 'true' river dolphins such as the boto, the tucuxi is not closely related to them genetically. Instead, it is classed in the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae).