The Open-pool Australian lightwater reactor (OPAL) is a 20 megawatt (MW) swimming pool nuclear research reactor. Officially opened in April 2007, it replaced the High Flux Australian Reactor as Australia's only nuclear reactor, and is located at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) Research Establishment in Lucas Heights, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney. Both OPAL and its predecessor have been commonly known simply as the Lucas Heights reactor.

Uses
The main reactor uses are:

 Irradiation of target materials to produce radioisotopes for medical and industrial applications
 Research in the fields of materials science and structural biology using neutron beams and its sophisticated suite of experimental equipment
 Analysis of minerals and samples using the neutron activation technique and the delay neutron activation technique
 Irradiation of silicon ingots in order to dope them with phosphorus and produce the basic material used in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices

The reactor runs on an operation cycle of 30 days non-stop at full power, followed by a stop of 5 days to reshuffle the fuel.

Typically the reactor runs for a total of some 300 days at power per year.

History
The Argentine company INVAP was fully responsible through a turnkey contract, signed in June 2000, for the delivery of the reactor, performing the design, construction and commissioning. Local civil construction was performed by INVAP's partner, John Holland-Evans Deakin Industries. The facility features a large () liquid-deuterium cold neutron source, modern supermirror guides, and a  guide hall.  The cold source was designed by the Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, the cryogenic system designed and supplied by Air Liquide and the initial set of four supermirror guides supplied by Mirrotron.

On 17 December 2001, 46 Greenpeace activists occupied the Lucas Heights facility to protest the construction of OPAL. Protestors gained access to the grounds, the HIFAR reactor, the high-level radioactive waste store and the radio tower. Their protest highlighted the security and environmental risks of the production of nuclear materials and the shipment of radioactive waste from the facility.

OPAL was opened on 20 April 2007 by then Australian Prime Minister John Howard and is the replacement for the HIFAR reactor.  ANSTO received an operating licence from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) in July 2006, allowing commencement of hot commissioning, where fuel is first loaded into the reactor core. OPAL went critical for the first time on the evening of 12 August 2006 and reached full power for the first time on the morning of 3 November 2006.

Facility details

The reactor core consists of 16 low-enriched plate-type fuel assemblies and is located under  of water in an open pool. Light water (normal H2O) is used as the coolant and moderator while heavy water (D2O) is used as the neutron reflector. The purpose of the neutron reflector is to improve neutron economy in the reactor, and hence to increase the maximum neutron flux.

OPAL is the centrepiece of the facilities at ANSTO, providing radiopharmaceutical and radioisotope production, irradiation services (including neutron transmutation doping of silicon), neutron activation analysis and neutron beam research. OPAL is able to produce four times as many radioisotopes for nuclear medicine treatments as the old HIFAR reactor, and a wider array of radioisotopes for the treatment of disease. The modern design includes a cold neutron source (CNS).

The OPAL reactor already has received seven awards in Australia.

Neutron scattering at OPAL
The Bragg Institute at ANSTO hosts OPAL's neutron scattering facility. It is now running as a user facility serving the scientific community in Australia and around the world. New funding was received in 2009 in order to install further competitive instruments and beamlines. The actual facility comprises the following instruments:

ECHIDNA

ECHIDNA is the name of the high-resolution neutron powder diffractometer. The instrument serves to determine the crystalline structures of materials using neutron radiation analogous to X-ray techniques. It is named after the Australian monotreme echidna, as the spiny peaks of the instrument looks like an echidna.

It operates with thermal neutrons. One of the main features is the array of 128 collimators and position sensitive detectors for rapid data acquisition. ECHIDNA allows for structure determinations, texture measurements and reciprocal space mapping of single crystals in most different sample environments serving the physics, chemistry, materials, minerals and earth-science communities. ECHIDNA is part of the Bragg Institute's park of neutron scattering instruments.

Components
 Neutron guide
 The instrument is located on the TG1 thermal neutron guide of the OPAL reactor. The distance from the reactor is . The position is the second on the guide after the WOMBAT instrument. The size of the guide is  high by  wide, and it is plated with supermirror coatings.
 Primary collimator
 There are Söller collimators prior to the monochromator in order to reduce the divergence of the beam and to increase the angular resolution of the instrument. Since this is an intensity compromise, two items of 5' and 10', respectively, can be interchanged or fully removed by an automated mechanism. The collimators cover the full size of the beam delivered by the neutron guide.
 Monochromator
 The monochromator is made by slabs of [115] oriented Germanium crystals which are inclined towards each other in order to focus down the Bragg reflected beam. The device has been acquired from the Brookhaven National Laboratory in the US after the shutdown of their neutron facility.
 Secondary collimator
 Optionally a secondary collimator with 10' angular acceptance and  can be placed in the monochromatic beam between the monochromator and the sample, which again influences the resolution function of the instrument.
 Slit system
 Two automated sets of horizontal and vertical pairs of absorbing plates allow to cut down the size of the monochromatic beam prior to the secondary collimator and sample size. They remove unwanted neutrons and reduce the background near the detector. In addition, they allow selection of the sample position to be studied.
 Beam monitor
 A 235U fission monitor measures the amount of neutrons incident to the sample. The efficiency is 10−4 and most neutrons traverse the device undisturbed. The monitor counts are important to correct for beam flux variations due to changes in the reactor or at the upstream instrument.
 Sample stage
The sample is supported by a heavy load goniometer consisting of a 360° vertical omega rotation axis, x-y translation tables and a chi-phi cross tilt stage of ±20° range. It can hold a few hundred kilograms in order to support heavier sample environments, such as cryostats, furnaces, magnets, load frames, reaction chambers and others. A typical powder sample is filled into vanadium cans which give little unstructured background. The mentioned sample environment allows measurement of changes in the sample as a function of external parameters, like temperature, pressure, magnetic field, etc. The goniometer stage is redundant for most powder diffraction measurements, but will be important for single crystal and texture measurements, where the orientation of the sample plays a role.
 Detector collimators
A set of 128 detectors each equipped which a 5' collimator in front are arranged in a 160° sector focusing to the sample. The collimators select the scattered radiation into the well defined ranges of 128 angular positions. The whole collimator and detector setup is mounted on a common table which is scanned in finer steps around the sample, to be combined further into a continuous diffraction pattern.
 Detector tubes
The 128 linear position-sensitive 3He gas detector tubes cover the full opening height of  behind the collimators. They determine the position of the neutron event by charge division over the resistive anode towards each end of the detector. Overall and local count rates lie in the several 10000 Hz range.

PLATYPUS
PLATYPUS is a time-of-flight reflectometer built on the cold neutron source. The instrument serves to determine the structure of interfaces using highly collimated neutron beams. These beams are shone on to the surface at low angles (typically less than 2 degrees) and the intensity of the reflected radiation is measured as a function of angle of incidence.

It operates using cold neutrons with a wavelength band of 0.2–2.0 nm.  Although up to three different angles of incidence are required for each reflectivity curve, the time-of-flight nature means that timescales of kinetic processes are accessible. By analysing the reflected signal one builds a picture of the chemical structure of the interface.  This instrument can be used for examining biomembranes, lipid bilayers, magnetism, adsorbed surfactant layers, etc.

It is named after Ornithorhynchus anatinus, the semi-aquatic monotreme mammal native to Australia.

WOMBAT
WOMBAT is a high-intensity neutron powder diffractometer. The instrument serves to determine the crystalline structures of materials using neutron radiation analogous to X-ray techniques. It is named after the wombat, a marsupial indigenous to Australia.

It will operate with thermal neutrons. It has been designed for highest flux and data acquisition speed in order to deliver time resolved diffraction patterns in a fraction of a second. Wombat will concentrate on in-situ studies and time critical investigations, such as structure determinations, texture measurements and reciprocal space mapping of single crystals in most different sample environments serving the physics, chemistry, materials, minerals and earth-science communities.

KOWARI
KOWARI is a neutron residual stress diffractometer. Strain scanning using thermal neutrons is a powder diffraction technique in a polycrystalline block of material probing the change of atomic spacing due to internal or external stress. It is named after the kowari, an Australian marsupial.

It provides a diagnostic non-destructive tool to optimise e.g. post weld heat treatment (PWHT, similar to tempering) of welded structures. Tensile stresses for example drive crack growth in engineering components and compressive stresses inhibit crack growth (for example cold-expanded holes subject to fatigue cycling). Life extension strategies have high economic impact and strain scanning provides the stresses needed to calculate remaining life as well as the means to monitor the condition of components since it is non-destructive. One of the main features is the sample table that will allow examination of large engineering components while orienting and positioning them very accurately.

Others

 TAIPAN - Thermal 3-Axis Spectrometer
 KOALA - Laue Diffractometer
 QUOKKA - Small-Angle Neutron Scattering
 PELICAN - Cold-Neutron Time-of-Flight Spectrometer
 SIKA - Cold 3-Axis Spectrometer
 KOOKABURRA - Ultra-Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (USANS)
 DINGO - Neutron Radiography, Tomography and Imaging

Performance
During the initial testing and commissioning stages each equipment and system was tested isolated and then in an integrated manner. First tests were carried out without nuclear fuel loaded into the core, and then a careful plan was followed for loading nuclear fuel in the reactor core and reaching a nuclear chain for the first time. Successive increasing power steps were followed to get the reactor to run at full power. Once commissioning was completed, the Australian Nuclear regulatory Body (ARPANSA) issued a licence that authorise its operation at full power. During the first operation cycles a typical teething period of a first of a kind design followed.
The reactor has shown to be a reliable supplier of radiopharmaceuticals, while also serving as a neutron source to conduct material research activities using the several instruments.

Since commissioned the reactor has been running with a very high availability, during the term 2012-13 it operated 265 days at full power (including an extended routine maintenance period), during 2013-14 for 294 days at full power, and during 2014-15 it operated 307 days at full power.

As at September 2016 it has accumulated a total of 2200 equivalent Full Power Days. Each 30 days operating cycle more than 150 batches of Silicon are irradiated, Mo99 is produced on a regular basis for the nuclear medicine market. OPAL has delivered 4 million doses.  Regarding research with neutrons the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering (formerly Bragg Institute) features more than 120 scientists and 13 neutron beam operational instruments, and has produced more than 600 scientific research papers using the neutrons coming from OPAL core.

See also
 ANSTO
 INVAP
 Spallation Neutron Source
 Nuclear medicine

References

External links
OPAL
KOWARI
ECHIDNA
Bragg Institute
INVAP Nuclear Division designs
Announcement of the new reactor's name
Nuclear reactor to reopen after six-month shutdown
Govt expects nuclear reactor to restart this month
Reactor ready for second try

Nuclear research reactors
Light water reactors
Neutron facilities
Nuclear research institutes
Research institutes in Australia
Lucas Heights, New South Wales
2007 establishments in Australia

Open-pool Australian lightwater reactor


Community service is work done by individuals or groups of people, to the benefit of their community. Community service is usually done at little or no pay. It is different from volunteering, as there are situations where it isn't done voluntarily

 Some people who have been convicted of a crime may be required to perform community service as part of their conviction.
 Some countries require part or all of their citizens to do military service. For those people who refuse to carry arms or to serve in the military, there usually is an option to replace the military service with some form of community service.
 Some religious groups require people to do some kind of community service. One example of this is The Salvation Army. Both, who founded the group, was a Methodist. In Methodism, charity, and helping those in need are very important

Community

Community service


The Old State Capitol State Historic Site, in Springfield, Illinois, is the fifth capitol building built for the U.S. state of Illinois. It was built in the Greek Revival style in 1837–1840, and served as the state house from 1840 to 1876.  It is the site of candidacy announcements by Abraham Lincoln in 1858 and Barack Obama in 2007. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961, primarily for its association with Lincoln and his political rival Stephen Douglas.

State House

From 1820 through 1837, the political capital of the young state of Illinois was the small village of Vandalia, Illinois, in the south center of the state. On the National Road, Vandalia was initially well-situated to fulfill its governmental role. As northern Illinois opened to settlement in the 1830s, however, public pressure grew for the capital to be relocated to a location closer to the geographic center of the state.

A caucus of nine Illinois lawmakers, including the young Whig Party lawyer Abraham Lincoln, led the effort to have the capital moved to the Sangamon County village of Springfield. Their efforts were successful in 1837, when the Illinois General Assembly passed a law creating a two-year transition period with the goal of moving the capital to Springfield in 1839.

Workers built a state office building, large for the time, on the central square in Springfield in 1837–1840. The cost was $240,000, of which the city of Springfield paid $50,000. The structure, designed by local architect John Francis Rague and constructed of yellow limestone from the nearby town of Crow's Mill, contained chambers for both houses of the General Assembly, offices for the Governor of Illinois and other executive officials, and a chamber for the Illinois Supreme Court.

It was in this building that Lincoln served his final term as a state lawmaker in 1840–41. As a lawyer, he pleaded cases before the state supreme court in this building (1841–1860). In the Illinois House chamber, Lincoln made his House Divided speech in June 1858, announcing his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. It was to the same chamber, in May 1865, that his body was returned to lie in state, arriving from Washington, D.C., prior to final burial in Springfield's Oak Ridge Cemetery.

As a result of economic growth spurred by the American Civil War and consequent industrialization, this fifth or Old State Capitol was, by the 1870s, too small to serve the purpose for which it had been built. Illinois built its sixth and current State Capitol building four blocks to the southwest, and the state government turned the Old State Capitol over to Sangamon County to serve as the county courthouse.

Courthouse
From 1876 until 1966, the Old State Capitol was the county courthouse of Sangamon County. During this time the building was extensively altered. In 1839, a two-floor building had been large enough to hold the entire governmental structure of Illinois; but after continued growth in the population of Springfield and the surrounding townships, in 1898-1899 Sangamon County raised the historic structure , added a third floor under it, and demolished and reconfigured the interior to hold circuit court rooms and office space.

In the early 1960s, the Civil War centennial rekindled interest in the historic central Springfield structure. In addition, Sangamon County's space needs had grown so urgent as to require the county to build for itself an entirely new courthouse building. The county retroceded the Old State Capitol to the state of Illinois, this time as a place of public assembly and museum of Lincoln history.

Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
In order to restore and preserve the Old State Capitol, which had been extensively altered during its life as a courthouse, workers completely dismantled it, stone by stone, and rebuilt it. The public areas of the Old State Capitol were reconstructed to resemble the appearance of the building in 1860, when Lincoln last saw the capitol prior to his departure to Washington.

The state also excavated the plaza under and around the Old State Capitol to construct an extensive office and parking complex, which later served as the headquarters of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

The reconstruction work was carried out in 1966–1969, and the rebuilt House Chamber was available for the state's Constitutional Convention to use in 1970.

The restored Old State Capitol continues to be used for ceremonial functions. In February 2007 then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama officially announced his candidacy for President of the United States at this location, and in August 2008 he formally introduced his vice-presidential candidate, Joe Biden, with the building as a backdrop.

Visitors can tour the capitol on their own or take 30-minute guided tours.

In popular culture
A commemorative one-cent piece was minted for general circulation in 2009 to celebrate Lincoln's work as a lawyer. It used the Old State Capitol, which incorporated a courtroom for the Illinois Supreme Court where Lincoln pleaded key cases in his legal career, as a backdrop.

The Old State Capitol grounds are used as the venue for the Springfield Old Capitol Art Fair, an annual May festival.

See also
Illinois State Capitol

References

External links

 Old State Capitol State Historic Site - Illinois Historic Preservation Agency

Government buildings completed in 1840
Illinois
Illinois State Historic Sites
Law museums in Illinois
Museums in Springfield, Illinois
Former courthouses in Illinois
Government of Illinois
Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign
National Register of Historic Places in Springfield, Illinois
Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois
National Historic Landmarks in Illinois

Old State Capitol State Historic Site


The Protestant Church in Germany (, EKD), formerly known in English as the Evangelical Church in Germany, is a federation of twenty Lutheran, Reformed, and United Protestant regional Churches in Germany, collectively encompassing the vast majority of the country's Protestants. In 2020, the EKD had a membership of 20,236,000 members, or 24.3% of the German population. It constitutes one of the largest Protestant bodies in the world. Church offices managing the federation are located in Herrenhausen, Hanover, Lower Saxony. Many of its members consider themselves Lutherans.

Historically, the first formal attempt to unify German Protestantism occurred during the Weimar Republic era in the form of the German Protestant Church Confederation, which existed from 1922 until 1933. Earlier, there had been successful royal efforts at unity in various German states, beginning with Prussia and several minor German states (e.g. Duchy of Nassau) in 1817. These unions resulted in the first united and uniting churches, a new development within Protestantism which later spread to other parts of the world. When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, his administration tried to reorganize the old confederation into a unified German Evangelical Church as Hitler wanted to use a single Protestant church to further his own ambitions. However, a division emerged between the Reichskirche, led by the pro-government German Christians, and the Confessing Church, which opposed state control of the church. Other Protestant churches aligned themselves with one of these groups, or stayed neutral in this church strife. The postwar church council issued the Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt on 19 October 1945, confessing guilt and declaring remorse for indifference and inaction of German Protestants in the face of atrocities committed by Hitler's regime. In 1948, the Protestant Church in Germany was organized in the aftermath of World War II to function as a new umbrella organization for German Protestant churches. As a result of tensions between West and East Germany, the regional churches in East Germany broke away from the EKD in 1969. In 1991, following German reunification, the East German churches re-joined the EKD.

The member churches (Gliedkirchen), while being independent and having their own theological and formal organisation, share full altar and pulpit fellowship, and are united in the EKD synod, but they act as individual members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE). Boundaries of EKD churches within Germany partially resemble those of the states of the Holy Roman Empire and successor forms of German statehood (to the most part 1815 borders), due to the historically close relationship between individual German states and churches. As for church governance, the Lutheran churches typically practise an episcopal polity, while the Reformed and the United ones a mixture of presbyterian and congregationalist polities. Most member churches are led by a (state) bishop. Only one member church, the Evangelical Reformed Church in Germany, is not restricted to a certain territory. In some ways, the other member churches resemble dioceses of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, from an organisational point of view.

Name
The German term  more accurately corresponds to the broad English term Protestant rather than to the narrower evangelical (in German called ), although the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of England use the term. Literally, the German word  means "of the Gospel", denoting a Protestant Reformation emphasis on , "by scripture alone". Martin Luther encouraged the use of this term alongside Christian.

History

From the Peace of Augsburg in 1555 to the end of the First World War and the collapse of the German Empire, some Protestant churches were state churches. Each  (state or regional church) was the official church of one of the states of Germany, while the respective ruler was the church's formal head (e.g. the King of Prussia headed the Evangelical Church of Prussia's older Provinces as supreme governor), similar to the British monarch's role as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

This changed somewhat with growing religious freedom in the 19th century, especially in the republican states of Bremen, Frankfurt (1857), Lübeck, and Hamburg (1860). The greatest change came after the German Revolution, with the formation of the Weimar Republic and the abdication of the princes of the German states. The system of state churches disappeared with the Weimar Constitution (1919), which brought about disestablishment by the separation of church and state, and there was a desire for the Protestant churches to merge. In fact, a merger was permanently under discussion but never materialised due to strong regional self-confidence and traditions as well as the denominational fragmentation into Lutheran, Reformed, and United and uniting churches.

During the Revolution, when the old church governments lost power, the People's Church Union () was formed and advocated unification without respect to theological tradition and also increasing input from laymen. However, the People's Church Union quickly split along territorial lines after the churches' relationship with the new governments improved.

It was realised that one mainstream Protestant church for all of Germany was impossible and that any union would need a federal model. The churches met in Dresden in 1919 and created a plan for federation, and this plan was adopted in 1921 at Stuttgart. Then in 1922 the then 28 territorially defined Protestant churches founded the German Evangelical Church Confederation (, DEK). At the time, the federation was the largest Protestant church federation in Europe with around 40 million members. Because it was a federation of independent bodies, the Church Union's work was limited to foreign missions and relations with Protestant churches outside Germany, especially German Protestants in other countries.

In July 1933, the German Evangelical Church (, DEK) was formed under the influence of the German Christians, a pro-Nazi religious movement. They had much influence over the decisions of the first National Synod, via their unambiguous partisanship in successfully backing Ludwig Müller for the office of Reich bishop. He did not manage, however, to prevail over the  in the long term. The Confessing Church arose in resistance to the Nazi regime's ideology. After the installation of Hanns Kerrl as minister for church matters in a Führer-directive of 16 July 1935 and the foundation of the – in the end not materialising – Protestant Reich Church, the DEK played more or less no further role.

In 1948, freed from the German Christians' influence, the Lutheran, Reformed (including the German Reformed Church /  Reformierte Kirche) and United churches came together as the Protestant Church in Germany at the Conference of Eisenach. In 1969, the regional Protestant churches in East Germany and East Berlin broke away from the EKD and formed the League of Evangelical Churches in the German Democratic Republic (, BEK), in 1970 also joined by the Moravian Herrnhut District. In June 1991, following German reunification, the BEK merged with the EKD.

While the members are no longer state churches, they enjoy constitutional protection as statutory corporations, and they are still called , and some have this term in their official names. A modern English translation, however, would be regional church. Apart from some minor changes, the territories of the member churches today reflect Germany's political organisation in the year 1848, with regional churches for states or provinces that often no longer exist or whose borders changed since. For example, between 1945 and 1948, the remaining six ecclesiastical provinces (), each territorially comprising one of the Old Prussia provinces, within the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union assumed independence as a consequence of the estrangement among them during the Nazi struggle of the churches. This turned the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union into a mere umbrella, being itself a member of EKD (and the BEK, 1969–1991) but covering some regional church bodies, which were again themselves members of EKD (and the BEK, 1969–1991).

Since 1973, when many Protestant churches in Europe, including the EKD members, concluded the Leuenberg Agreement, also the then 21 EKD members introduced full communion for their parishioners and ministry among each other.

Since also the regional Protestant churches in East Germany had signed the Leuenberg Agreement, thus the then ten members of the Federation of Protestant Churches in the German Democratic Republic practised full communion with the EKD members too. Ordination of women is practised in all 20 member churches with many women having been ordained in recent years. There are also several women serving as bishops. Margot Käßmann, former bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover and Chairperson of the Council of the EKD from 2009 until February 2010, was the first woman to head the EKD. Blessings of same-sex marriages is practised and allowed in 14 of 20 and Blessing of same-sex unions are allowed in all other member churches.
 The EKD opposes abortion in most situations but believes it should remain legal.

The EKD has undergone a split in the 20th century and lost a bulk of its adherents in East Germany due to state atheist policies of the former East German government. After 1990, membership was counted and amounted to around the same number as the Roman Catholic Church. In the 21st century, membership in both the Evangelical Church and the Roman Catholic Church stagnates as more people are becoming religious nones.

Membership

Protestantism is the major religion in Northern, Eastern and Middle Germany, with the Reformed branch predominating in the extreme northwest and Lippe, the Lutheran branch in the north and south, and the United branch in Middle and Western Germany. While the majority of Christians in Southern Germany are Roman Catholic, some areas in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria are predominantly Protestant, e.g. Middle Franconia and the government region of Stuttgart. The vast majority of German Protestants belong to a member church of the EKD. With 20,236,000 members in 2020, around 24.3 percent of all Germans belong to a member church of the EKD. Average church attendance is lower, however, with only around a million people attending a service on Sunday.

The regional Protestant church bodies accept each other as equals, despite denominational differences. No member church runs congregations or churches in the area of another member church, thus preventing competing with each other for parishioners. The only exception is the Evangelical Reformed Church, which combines Reformed congregations within the ambits of usually Lutheran member churches, which themselves do not include the eventual local Reformed congregations. Thus, for example, a Lutheran moving from a place where their parish belongs to a Lutheran member church, would be accepted in their new place of domicile by the locally competent congregation within another member church, even if this church and its local parish are Reformed or of united Protestant confession, with Lutheran being exchangeable with the two other respective Protestant confessions within the EKD. This is due to full altar and pulpit fellowship between all EKD member churches.

In this the ambits of the member churches resemble dioceses of the Anglican or Roman Catholic churches, however, else there is no common hierarchy supervising the member churches, who are legally independent equals with the EKD being their umbrella. Members of congregations within the member churches – like those of parishes within Catholic dioceses and those enrolled in Jewish congregations also enjoying statutory corporation status – are required to pay a church tax, a surcharge on their normal income tax collected by the states of Germany and passed on to the respective religious body.

2011 census results by state

Gallery

Structure
The structure of the EKD is based on federal principles. Each regional church is responsible for Christian life in its own area while each regional church has its own special characteristics and retains its independence. The EKD carries out joint tasks with which its members have entrusted it. For the execution of these tasks, the Church has the following governing bodies, all organised and elected on democratic lines:

Synod
The Synod is the legislature of the EKD. It has 126 members: 106 elected by Landeskirchen synods and 20 appointed by the council. These 20 are appointed for their importance in the life of the Church and its agencies. Members serve six year terms and the synod meets annually.

Praesides of the Synod

 1949–1955: Gustav Heinemann
 1955–1961: Constantin von Dietze
 1961–1970:
 1970–1973: Ludwig Raiser
 1973–1985: Cornelius von Heyl
 1985–2003: Jürgen Schmude
 2003–2009: Barbara Rinke
 2009–2013: Katrin Göring-Eckardt
 2013–2021: Irmgard Schwaetzer
 since 2021: Anna-Nicole Heinrich

Council of the EKD
The EKD Council is the representative and governing body of the Protestant Church in Germany. The Council of the EKD has 15 members jointly elected by the Synod and Church Conference who serve terms of six years.

Chairman of the Council of the EKD
The representative of the EKD is the Chairman of the Council of the EKD.
 1945–1949: Theophil Wurm, Bishop, Württemberg
 1949–1961: Otto Dibelius, bishop of Berlin-Brandenburg
 1961–1967: Kurt Scharf, president, bishop from 1966, Berlin-Brandenburg
 1967–1973: , Bishop, Bavaria
 1973–1979: , Bishop, Württemberg
 1979–1985: , Bishop, Hanover
 1985–1991: , bishop of Berlin-Brandenburg
 1991–1997: , Bishop, Baden
 1997–2003: Manfred Kock, president, Rhineland
 2003–2009: Wolfgang Huber, bishop of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia
 2009–2010: Margot Käßmann, bishop of Hanover
 2010–2014: Nikolaus Schneider, president, Rhineland
 2014–2021: Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Bishop, Bavaria
 2021–: Annette Kurschus, Bishop of Westphalia

Church Conference (permanent body)
The Church Conference is where member churches, through the representatives of their governing boards, can directly participate in the work of the EKD.

Church Office of the EKD
The Church Office is the administration of the EKD and shall the business of the Synod, Council and Conference of the EKD.

Main divisions:

 I = line, law and finance: President
 II = Religious Activities and Education: Vice President Thies Gundlach (since 2010)
 III = Public Responsibility: Vice President Horst Gorski (also head of the Office of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany) (since 2007)
 IV = ecumenism and working abroad: Vice President Bishop , foreign bishop and head of the Office of the Union of Evangelical Churches) (since 2014)

President
 1945–1948: Hans Asmussen
 1949–1965: Heinz Brunotte
 1966–1989:
 1989–1997: Otto von Camphausen
 1997–2006:
 2006–2010:
 since 2010:
The EKD Church Office has approximately 200 employees.

International activities
The EKD holds various charities ("Hilfswerke") under its auspices.  The Gustav-Adolf-Werk (GAW) (Gustaphus Adolphus Union formerly) was founded 1832 in Leipzig as the first and eldest such organization and is responsible to aid feeble sister churches, especially in Roman Catholic countries and the Protestant diaspora. It has separate branches internationally, the organization in Austria is still called the Gustav-Adolf-Verein. Brot für die Welt is responsible for international development aid.

Member churches (since 2012)

The umbrella of the Protestant Church in Germany comprises 20 regional churches:

10 United Protestant (Lutheran and Reformed)
8 Lutheran
2 Reformed

These bodies are termed Landeskirchen ("Regional Churches") though in most cases, their territories do not correspond to the current federal states, but rather to former duchies, electorates and provinces or mergers thereof.

Protestant Church of Anhalt (Evangelische Landeskirche Anhalts), a united church body in Anhalt
Protestant Church in Baden (Evangelische Landeskirche in Baden), a united church body in Baden
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria (Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern), a Lutheran church body in Bavaria
Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (Evangelische Kirche in Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz), a united church body in Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia merged in 2004 from:
 Evangelische Kirche in Berlin-Brandenburg
 Evangelische Kirche der schlesischen Oberlausitz
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick (Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche in Braunschweig), a Lutheran church body in Brunswick
Evangelical Church of Bremen (Bremische Evangelische Kirche), a united church body in Bremen
Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover (Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Hannovers), a Lutheran church body in the former Province of Hanover
Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau), a united church body in the former People's State of Hesse and Nassau
Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck (Evangelische Kirche von Kurhessen-Waldeck), a united church body in former Hesse-Cassel and Waldeck
Church of Lippe (Lippische Landeskirche), a Reformed church body of Lippe
Evangelical Church in Central Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Mitteldeutschland), a united church body that was created in 2009 from the merger of:
 Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony (Evangelische Kirche der Kirchenprovinz Sachsen) (Province of Saxony)
 Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Thuringia (Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Thüringen) (Thuringia)
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Norddeutschland), a Lutheran church body that was created in 2012 from the merger of:
North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church (Nordelbische Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche), a Lutheran church body in Northern Germany
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg (Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Mecklenburgs), a Lutheran church body in Mecklenburg
Pomeranian Evangelical Church (Pommersche Evangelische Kirche), a united church body in Pomerania
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg (Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Oldenburg), a Lutheran church body in Oldenburg
Evangelical Church of the Palatinate (Evangelische Kirche der Pfalz) or Protestantische Landeskirche, a united church body in Palatinate
Evangelical Church in the Rhineland (Evangelische Kirche im Rheinland), a united church body in the Rhineland
Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony (Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Sachsens), a Lutheran church body in Saxony
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg-Lippe (Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Schaumburg-Lippe), a Lutheran church body in Schaumburg-Lippe
Evangelical Church of Westphalia (Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen), a united church body in Westphalia
Evangelical Church in Württemberg (Evangelische Landeskirche in Württemberg), a Lutheran church body in Württemberg
Evangelical Reformed Church (Regional Church) Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche (Landeskirche), a Reformed church body, covering the territories of No. 3, 5, 7, 12, 16, 17, and 19

The Moravian Church ("Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine") and the Federation of Evangelical Reformed Congregations are associate members.

See also
List of Christian denominations by number of members
List of the largest Protestant denominations
Protestantism in Germany
Barmen Declaration
German Protestant Church Assembly
Evangelical Theology Student Council
Protestant Women in Germany
Union of Protestant Churches in the EKD

References

External links

Overview of World Religions

United and uniting churches
Germany
Members of the World Council of Churches
Christian organizations established in 1948
1948 establishments in Germany

Protestant Church in Germany


The term Tinbe-Rochin refers to an arms and armor combination of a short spear (rochin) and a shield (tinbe or tinbei).  It is one of the least well-known Okinawan weapon systems. The tinbe can be made of various materials but is commonly found in vine, cane, metal, or turtle shell. The shield size is generally about 45 cm long and 38 cm wide. The length of the rochin is usually equivalent to the length of the forearm and can be found in many differing designs varying from spears to short swords and machete-style implements. In use, the techniques tend to be circular in order to avoid excessive contact with the shield. The short spear is predominantly used in an upward stabbing motion, piercing armor under the rib cage, armpits, and throat although dependent upon the type of Rochin used, slashing motions can also be employed.

References

External links
https://web.archive.org/web/20080408182948/http://www.karate.org.yu/articles/okinawa_kobudo.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20080321011313/http://ryukyu-kobudo.com/buki/buki.htm

Weapons of Okinawa

Tinbe-rochin


Jagdish Mali (18 January 1954 – 13 May 2013) was an Indian fashion and film photographer. He was the father of Bollywood actress Antara Mali. In his career he took images of celebrities like Rekha, Anupam Kher, Irrfan Khan, Manisha Koirala, Shabana Azmi etc.

Early life
Mali was born on 18 January 1954. He was not interested in school and studies and from his childhood he had a dream to become a professional photographer. He was brought up in the middle-class family living in Bandra East and his father was an artist.

Career

Mali worked for the cine magazine Cine Blitz in the 1980s. During this period he photographed actress Rekha for a span of about 10 years. His pictures of the actress are considered the best and have been selected to feature on the cover of the magazine. His other notable shots include that of actor Aamir Khan for his film Ghulam (1998) where Khan is seen in a black and white photograph packing a punch. Actress and social activist Kavita Radheshyam credits her career's launch to Mali.

Mali's work has been compared and appreciated with his peers like Gautam Rajadhyaksha and Ashok Salian. He had worked with various celebrities like Anupam Kher, Shabana Azmi, Nina Gupta, Manoj Bajpai. He also created portfolios of actors like Luv Sinha after his father Shatrughan Sinha insisted.

Health and death
In January 2013, Mali was reportedly found semi-nude wandering in the Mumbai suburban areas of Andheri. Model-actress Mink Brar and actor Salman Khan helped him. Khan, who runs an NGO named Being Human, blamed Mali's daughter for his condition. But Mali's daughter and his friends reportedly denied it and planned to take legal actions on Brar for giving wrong information to press, claiming it to be her publicity stunt. Mali had diabetes and needed regular insulin injections.

Mali died on 13 May 2013 at Nanavati hospital in Mumbai at the age of 59. The medical superintendent of the hospital reported the reason of his death to be multiple organ failure. He was suffering from liver cirrhosis for 15 years and had diabetes and high blood pressure. He was admitted on 1 May for a hip fracture.

His funeral took place at the Shivaji Park Crematorium.

References

External links

1954 births
2013 deaths
Indian fashion photographers
Indian movie stills photographers
20th-century Indian photographers
Artists from Mumbai
Photographers from Maharashtra

Jagdish Mali


Carnelian (also spelled cornelian) is a brownish-red mineral commonly used as a semi-precious gemstone.

Similar to carnelian is a darker and harder stone called 'sard'. The two names are often used interchangeably. Both carnelian and sard are varieties of the silica mineral chalcedony coloured by impurities of iron oxide.

The gemstone has been used since prehistory.

References

Minerals
Gemstones

Carnelian


Leo Trepp (March 4, 1913 – September 2, 2010) was a German-born American rabbi who was the last surviving rabbi who had led a congregation in Nazi Germany during the early days of The Holocaust.

Early life and work
Trepp was born on March 4, 1913, in Mainz, Germany. He studied philosophy and philology at the University of Frankfurt and the University of Berlin and in 1935 received his doctorate from the University of Würzburg. He was ordained by the Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary  in 1936. Trepp recalled having conducted his first seder in 1936 in Oldenburg, when he was a newly ordained rabbi in Nazi Germany, leading the 15 synagogues in the district. He saw that he had a dual role in working "to keep the Jewish community from breaking down, while at the same time give many fellow believers the possibility to emigrate". As Jews were forbidden to attend public schools, Trepp asked the local Nazi officials if he could form a school in a synagogue in Oldenburg to educate Jewish children together with Aryan students, and was given approval for his plan, along with funding for school supplies and desks, as well as rent for the space that was being used as a school.

Imprisonment
On Kristallnacht, an anti-Semitic pogrom that took place on the night of November 9, 1938 and resulted in the destruction of hundreds of synagogues and the deaths of 91 Jews, Trepp was arrested and placed in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he was held as one of as many as 30,000 Jews who were arrested and held in prison camps by the Nazis. In the wake of Jews being detained and dying, Trepp saw his role as being part of "a very rewarding rabbinate because the Jews needed me".  He recalled the inmates being called out in Sachsenhausen at 4:00 in the morning, seeing the guard towers manned with soldiers holding machine guns and being told "You are the dregs of humanity. I don't see why you should live".  He told God that he was prepared to die, but was overcome with the feeling that "God was with me. I know God was there. In the concentration camp with me. And it was the worst place for it. That's why it was the best."

Trepp was released from Sachsenhausen after 18 days of incarceration through the intervention of Joseph Herman Hertz, the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom—under the condition that he and his wife had two weeks to leave the country.

He went first to England and then to the United States in 1940. He ultimately moved to Northern California, where he led three congregations, Beth Shalom [Napa, California], including Beth Ami in Santa Rosa, California and Beth El in Berkeley.

After the war

Trepp was a frequent visitor to Mainz, where he was involved in the restoration and revitalization of the Weisenau synagogue. Starting in 1983, Trepp spent 20 years teaching Jewish religion, Jewish mysticism and Talmud to students at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. He was the author of the books The Complete Book of Jewish Observance, A History of the Jewish Experience and Judaism: Development and Life.

Despite his longstanding efforts at fostering Christian–Jewish reconciliation, Trepp expressed concern that in the hands of nationalists and Islamists that "Anti-Semitism has become acceptable again". Speaking to German youth in 1993, he stated that "You bear no guilt for what your grandparents did. But there is responsibility. Germany must become the leading country in the fight against anti-Semitism."

Trepp was the subject of the 2009 German language documentary film Der Letzte Rabbiner by Christian Walther, which was translated into English and shown as The Last Rabbi. A resident of San Francisco, Rabbi Trepp conducted his 74th, and final, Passover Seder there with his extended family in 2010. Trepp died at age 97 on September 2, 2010, in San Francisco.

After his death, Trepp's wife, Gunda Trepp, compiled his notes and published his autobiography, The Last Rabbi.

References

1913 births
2010 deaths
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States
Rabbis from Mainz
Humboldt University of Berlin alumni
Goethe University Frankfurt alumni
Academic staff of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
University of Würzburg alumni
Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
People from Rhenish Hesse

Leo Trepp


In Biology, tishie is a cellular organizational level intermediate atween cells an a complete organism. A tishie is an ensemble o seemilar cells frae the same origin that thegither carry oot a specific function. Organs are then furmed bi the functional groupin thegither o multiple tishies.

The study o tishie is kent as histology or, in connection wi disease, histopathology. The classical tuils for studyin tishies are the paraffin block in which tishie is embeddit an then sectioned, the histological stain, an the optical microscope. In the last couple o decades, developments in electron microscopy, immunofluorescence, an the uise o frozen tishie sections hae enhanced the detail that can be observed in tishies. Wi these tuils, the classical appearances o tishies can be examined in health an disease, enablin considerable refinement o clinical diagnosis an prognosis.

Unnerwatter divin pheesiology

Tishie (biology)


Swat () was a princely state and is now part of Pakistan. Swat was part of the Mughal Empire ruled by local Gujar rulers known as Akhoond or Akhwand. From 1926 until 1947, Swat was a princely state in British Raj, and in 1947 it acceded to Pakistan. It lay to the north of the modern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan until it was dissolved in 1969. It incorporated the current states of Swat, Buner and Shangla.

Former subdivisions of Pakistan
Pakistani princely states

Swat (princely state)


Bishkek (Бишкек) is the capital city of Kyrgyzstan. It has a population of 900,000 (2005). It was originally founded in 1878 as the Russian fortress of Pishpek (Пишпек). From 1926 until 1991 it was known as Frunze (Фрунзе), after the Bolshevik military leader Mikhail Frunze. In the Kyrgyz language, a Bishkek is a churn used to make stirred horse milk (kumis), the Kyrgyz national drink.

Bishkek


Handicraft is a type of craft where people make things using only their hands or basic tools. The items are usually decorative and have a particular use. Usually the term refers to traditional methods of making things.

The items often have cultural or religious value. Things made by mass production or machines are not handicraft goods.In Bangladesh we can see many handicrafters living there live only by making handicrafts objects. Also, handicraft things are different from "arts and crafts" because they are meant to be used for something. Handicraft items are generally contrasted with mass production . It stimulates a person's creativity through art . Not only that,it enhances a person's thinking power . It has been protecting our culture in many ways and will further help preserve culture in the future through practice.

Manufacturing

Handicraft


San Juan Chamula is a municipality and township in the Mexican state of Chiapas. It is situated some  from San Cristóbal de las Casas. As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 76,941. Virtually the entire population of the municipality is indigenous and speaks an indigenous language. In 2010, the census reported that 99.5% of the population age 3 years or older speaks an indigenous language.  The Tzotzil people and language dominate the municipality.

Geography

Location
Chamula is located in the Chiapas highlands, at an altitude of . It is inhabited by the indigenous Tzotzil Maya people, whose Tzotzil language is one of the Mayan languages.

The town enjoys unique autonomous status within Mexico. No outside police or military are allowed in the village. Chamulas have their own police force.

Demographics
As of 2010, the town of Chamula had a population of 3,329. Other than the town of Chamula, the municipality had 149 localities, the largest of which (with 2010 populations in parentheses) were: Cruztón (1,756), Yaltem (1,664), Chicumtantic (1,599), Nichnamtic (1,496), Muquén (1,480), Majomut (1,450), Saclamantón (1,348), Catishtic (1,319), Romerillo (1,310), Cuchulumtic (1,275), Narváez (1,207), Bautista Chico (1,173), Las Ollas (1,165), Macvilho (1,142), Tentic (1,121), Arvenza Uno (1,107), Pugchén Mumuntic (1,046), and Tzontehuitz (1,004), classified as rural.

Sights

The church of San Juan, in the municipal cabecera (headtown), is filled with colorful candles, and smoke from burning copal resin incense, commonly used throughout southern Mexico. Along the walls of the church are Catholic saints resting on tables posted in the church, but they represent Mayan gods. Candles are lit and the people sit on the floor and pray below the saints. The local form of Catholicism is a blend of pre-conquest Maya customs, Spanish Catholic traditions, and subsequent innovations.

There are no pews in the church, and the floor area is completely covered in a carpet of green pine boughs. Curanderos (medicine men) diagnose medical, psychological or 'evil-eye' afflictions and prescribe remedies such as candles of specific colors and sizes, specific flower petals or feathers, or - in a dire situation - a live chicken. The specified remedies are brought to a healing ceremony. Chamula families kneel on the floor of the church with sacrificial items, stick candles to the floor with melted wax, drink ceremonial cups of Posh, artisanal sugar-cane-based liquor, and chant prayers in an archaic dialect of Tzotzil.

Photography within the church is strictly prohibited as is photographing the Christmas procession to the church. Visitors can be thrown out of town for violating this rule.

The main agricultural products are corn, beans, and squashes.

Women often make traditional clothing, blankets, and souvenirs that include Zapatista-related items, such as pens with a clay figure on top in the figure of Subcomandante Marcos or Comandante Tacho.

References

External links

Report of religious conflicts between Catholics and Evangelicals in Chamula in the late nineties
The Elliott's 'Remedy' Website
 Video from the town square  during a festival, including a conversation with two young Chamulas (17 September 2007).

Municipalities of Chiapas

Chamula


Dominick  Cataldo (March 19, 1923 – April 27, 1997), known as "Little Dom", was a Sicilian-American soldier in the New York Colombo crime family.

Biography

Dominick Cataldo was born in Lower East Side of Manhattan in a small apartment on Essex Street, his father, Samuel Cataldo, was a Sicilian immigrant from San Cataldo and member of the Profaci crime family. Dominick and his brother, Joseph, both joined the Colombo family. In 1972, Cataldo started an illegal bookmaking operation and casino out of an after-nights club located on 87th Street just across Atlantic Avenue, which was one block over and one block down from Salvatore Polisi's apartment on 95th Avenue and 88th Street. He lived a quiet life in Valley Stream, New York which was home to many Mafioso in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

The Gerard Pappa murder

On June 16, 1980, Genovese crime family Soldier Gerard Pappa was shot to death in a Brooklyn luncheonette by a Colombo hit squad. This was an act of revenge for carrying out the murder of a suspected Colombo police informant Ralph Spero, the uncle of mobster Angelo Sepe. He was murdered by Dominick and his nephews Nicholas and Joseph. Knowing how hard Gerard would be to kill, that he was always armed, very fast and very game, they were hiding in the luncheonette's rear kitchen when he arrived. They approached him from behind and shot him in the head with a sawed-off shotgun, literally blowing his head to pieces. He was killed instantly. Sammy Gravano later spoke of feeling great sadness and remorse for the loss of his childhood friend. Genovese crime family mob boss Vincent Gigante was suspected of handing down the murder contract, but was acquitted of his alleged involvement in the murder in 1997.

Indictment and incarceration
The "books" for membership into La Cosa Nostra had been officially closed since the late 1950s. Following the death of Carlo Gambino in 1976, the last remaining mob boss to have decried such a rule, the books for proposed members were reopened. Cataldo received his membership into the Colombo family in the late 1970s.

In 1981, Cataldo was convicted of providing unlicensed 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol and a silencer to an undercover federal agent.

On October 26, 1984, Cataldo was indicted on federal racketeering charges that included extortion, theft, loansharking, illegal gambling, bribery and drug trafficking.

Because of the testimony and evidence gathered by Ianuzzi and also by his supposed protege, Sal 'The Rat' Polisi, during Operation Homerun, Cataldo was convicted for a host of racketeering crimes or Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act predicate acts. In 1985, Cataldo was sentenced to 35 years in prison. On April 27, 1997, Cataldo died in prison of cancer, aged 74.

References

Sources
Taylor, Nicholas, Sins of The Father The True Story of A Family Running From the Mob Backinprint (August 2002)
Schumacher, Michael, Dharma Lion : A critical biography of Allen GinsbergSt Martins Press (December 1994)
Ianuzzi, Joseph, Joe Dogs: The Life and Crimes of a Mobster Simon & Schuster (June 1993)
Dietche, M. Scott "The Beating of Joe Castellano" (1999)
Albanese, S. Jay Contemporary Issues in Organized Crime

1923 births
1997 deaths
Colombo crime family
American gangsters of Sicilian descent
People convicted of racketeering
People from the Lower East Side
People from Valley Stream, New York

Dominick Cataldo


The Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve is located in the Western Cape of South Africa. It is the 7th and largest of South Africa's biosphere reserves; divided into four connected sectors ranging from sea level to 2,240 metres. The area is the only place in the world where three recognised biodiversity hotspots converge (Fynbos, Succulent Karoo and Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany). The site is characterised by high endemism of plant species (1,325 species including 182 Succulent Karoo endemics and 92 Red List species) and threatened invertebrates including seven endemic species of the enigmatic beetle genus Colophon and 14 butterfly species. It provides a migratory route for large mammals such as the leopard and serves as a nursery for marine species.

Notwithstanding the richness in biodiversity, the area currently faces deep rooted socio-economic challenges including high unemployment, wide-spread poverty, sprawling informal settlements with inadequate services, rising HIV and crime rates.

Ecological characteristics
Because of its relatively large size, the proposed biosphere reserve is subdivided into four sectors or clusters: Towerkop, Kammanassie, Langeberg and St. Blaize. The landscape is characterised by remarkable variety and transition. Along the shore fine-grained sandy beaches and dunes alternate with wave-cut platforms and exposed headlands. Deeply incised river valleys cut into the coastal platform, terminating in estuaries and forming coastal lagoons in places. The Outeniqua and Langeberg Mountains separate the coastal region from the Little Karoo, forming a natural barrier between the southern cape and the interior. Further inland the Kammanassi, Kouga and Swartberg mountain ranges form the northern and eastern boundaries of the reserve.

The Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve is the only area in the world where three recognised biodiversity hotspots converge (Fynbos, Succulent Karoo and Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany). The entire domain falls within the Cape Floristic Region, the smallest but one of the richest of the six floral kingdoms of the world. The reserve is rich in endemic plant species with more than 670 plant species. Even the arid inland portion of the reserve is rich in endemic species with at least 400 plant species.

In terms of fauna, the reserve plays an important role in conserving two unique and threatened populations of Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra) and Bontebok (Damaliscus pyrgargus pyrgargus). Populations of leopard (Panthera pardus) are also present in most of the mountainous areas. Threatened invertebrates include seven endemic species of the enigmatic beetle genus Colophon and 14 endemic butterfly species.

The reserve includes three recognised UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Swartberg Complex, Boosmansbos Nature Reserve and Baviaanskloof.

Socio-economic characteristics
Rural communities primarily consist of farmers and farm dwellers, the former mostly of European descent and the latter identified mainly as members of the Cape Coloured community. Many are descendants of the area's original inhabitants, the ancient Khoisan people. The primary economic activity across these communities is intensive agriculture, including ostrich, dairy, citrus, wine and grain, combined with extensive grazing of cattle and sheep for meat as well as wool production. Tourism is also an important industry in the reserve, however the industry is still poorly developed in rural sections of the area.

The area is facing deep-rooted socio-economic challenges including high unemployment, wide-spread poverty, sprawling informal settlements with inadequate services, rising HIV and crime rates.

The reserve is a centre of immense historical significance. Based on recent and ongoing research, the southern Cape coast is believed to be the place where the lineage that led to all modern human beings was born. The caves at Pinnacle Point near Mossel Bay have yielded proof of the earliest human exploitation of shellfish 164,000 years ago, and the earliest known use of fire for technology in making stone tools 72,000 years ago.

Sources

References

Biosphere reserves of South Africa

Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve


Sir Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière,  (December 5, 1829 – November 16, 1908) lawyer, businessman and politician served as the fourth premier of Quebec, a federal Cabinet minister, and the seventh Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.

Biography

Early years
Sir Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, PC was born as Henry-Gustave Joly in Épernay, France. His father's family was one of the traditional Huguenot families from Switzerland and his mother's family was Roman Catholic. Initially a Huguenot himself, Henri-Gustave converted to Anglicanism before he married in 1856.

His father, Gaspard-Pierre-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, was a pioneer of early photography (the first man to photograph the Acropolis, in 1839) who made a series of daguerreotypes while on a Grand Tour through Greece, Egypt and the Holy Land.

Henri-Gustave's mother was Julie-Christine, the youngest daughter of Michel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière, who inherited the seigneury of Lotbinière, in 1828. His parents' marriage was not a happy one, which is perhaps not surprising as his father had first proposed to Julie-Christine's eldest sister, Louise-Josephe, the Seigneuresse de Vaudreuil, who instead chose to marry Robert Unwin Harwood.

Henri-Gustave Joly studied in Paris from 1836 to 1849, obtaining his bachelier ès lettres from the Sorbonne. He returned to Canada in 1850 and was called to the bar in 1855. Joly inherited the lands and title of seigneur of Lotbinière in 1860.

Family

Joly married Margaretta-Josepha Gowen (25 July 1837 – 14 August 1904), daughter of Hammond Gowen of Quebec, and was the father of eleven children, of whom seven (four girls and three boys) reached adulthood. Their daughter, Margaretta-Anna, married Brigadier-General Herbert Colborne Nanton (1863–1935), brother of Augustus Meredith Nanton. His son, Edmond-Gustave Joly de Lotbinère inherited the seigneury of Lotbinière in 1908. Sir Henri-Gustave was the grandfather of Seymour de Lotbiniere, Director of the British Broadcasting Corporation from 1935 to 1940.

Provincial political career
Joly was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada for Lotbinière in 1861 as a Bleu, a moderate liberal, but was a member of the more radical Parti rouge when re-elected in 1863.

Henri-Gustave Joly became Leader of the Quebec Liberals at the time of Confederation in 1867, and was the member for the federal riding of Lotbinière. He was re-elected in Lotbinière in the Canadian Election of 1872.

In 1878, Conservative premier Charles-Eugène Boucher de Boucherville resigned on March 2 since he was about to be deposed by Lieutenant Governor Luc Letellier de Saint-Just.  They had a conflict over railroad legislation which de Saint-Just deemed unconstitutional.  As a result, Joly became Premier on March 8, 1878, and the first Liberal to become Premier of Quebec. To this day, he remains the only foreign-born and Protestant to be the Leader of the Province of Quebec.

In the May 1, 1878 election, the Liberals won one fewer seat than the Conservatives (there were also two independent Conservatives).  However, Joly remained in power in a minority government for about a year and half. His government was brought down by a motion of censure involving the defection of five Liberals (including future premier Edmund James Flynn) to the Conservatives. The Leader of the Opposition Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau was called to form a government on October 31, 1879.

Joly remained Liberal Party leader until 1883.  In all, he spent about 17 years as Liberal leader, but served only briefly as Premier.

In 1883, Joly resigned as Liberal leader to make way for Honoré Mercier.  He resigned as member of the Legislative Assembly in November 1885.

He added "de Lotbinière" (part of his mother's maiden name) to his name in 1888.

Careers in federal politics and in forestry

Joly de Lotbinière was once again elected to the federal House of Commons in the 1896 federal election, this time as the member from Portneuf. He served as a federal Cabinet minister from 1897 until he retired in 1900.

In March 1900 Sir Henri was invited along with J. R. Booth, William Little, Thomas Southworth and Dr. William Saunders by Elihu Stewart, Canada's chief inspector of timber and forestry, to create the Canadian Forestry Association. On 8 March 1900, these men met in the Railway Committee Room of the House of Commons in Ottawa, playing host to lumbermen, foresters, civil servants, railroad executives and others, all concerned about the survival and future use of Canada's forests. The CFA was truly a national organization, with representation from every province and the districts of Assiniboia, Athabaska, Keewatin and Yukon.

Under the chairmanship of Sir Henri, delegates approved bylaws and a constitution of the Canadian Forestry Association, Canada's oldest conservation organization. These early conservationists recognized that the whole field of renewable resources, the forests, waters, wildlife, soils and recreational values, were closely interrelated. The CFA's mission continues to be to promote the protection and wise use of Canada's forest, water and wildlife resources. His participation as the first president of the Canadian Forestry Association was not altered by his ongoing political activity. He continued to put forward new ideas for forestry. In 1906 the CFA convened Canada's first national forestry convention, chaired by Sir Wilfrid Laurier, honorary CFA President. Sir Henri presented a paper in that called for the forest sector to consider conversion to the metric measurement system, a change that would not come to fruition in Canada until the 1980s.

At the 1905 annual meeting of the Canadian Forestry Association in Québec City, condolences were expressed to Sir Henri on the passing the previous year of his wife. To quote the proceedings: "Then we must all regret the affliction that has come to our honoured president, Sir Henri Joly de Lotbinière and his family in the death of Lady Joly. We all love Sir Henri, and we believe that his name will be remembered for the good work he has done as long as trees grow in this country. He has our sincere sympathy in the affliction that has befallen him."

Prime Minister Laurier appointed him Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia in 1900; he served until 1906. He died in Quebec City in 1908, and was buried in Mount Hermon Cemetery in Sillery, on 18 November 1908.

Elections as party leader

He won the 1878 election (the Liberals won one fewer seat than the Conservatives but he remained premier with the support of a few Conservatives).  He lost the 1881 election.

Electoral record

See also
List of Quebec general elections
Politics of Quebec
Provincial premiers who have become Canadian MPs
Timeline of Quebec history

References

External links

 His summer estate now a garden-park open to visitors

Lieutenant Governors of British Columbia
1829 births
1908 deaths
Canadian Anglicans
Franco-Columbian people
French emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec
Canadian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Premiers of Quebec
Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada
Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec
Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Quebec Liberal Party MNAs
Quebec political party leaders
People from Épernay
Burials at Mount Hermon Cemetery

Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière


The Union for a Popular Movement (French: Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, UMP), was the main French centre-right political party. It was formed in 2002. On 30 May 2015, it was replaced by The Republicans.

The party had an absolute majority in the National Assembly but lost its majority in the Senate in September 2011. The UMP is a member of the European People's Party (EPP), of the Christian Democrat International (CDI) and of the International Democrat Union (IDU).

History
Since the 1980s, the political groups of the parliamentary right joined forces around the values of economic liberalism and the building of Europe. Their rivalries had contributed to their 1981 and 1988 electoral defeats. Therefore, some politicians were in favour of the formation of a confederation, a party.

UMP was founded from the merger of the Gaullist-conservative Rally for the Republic (Rassemblement pour la République, RPR), the conservative-liberal Liberal Democracy (Démocratie Libérale, DL), and a part of the centrist Union for French Democracy (Union pour la Démocratie Française, UDF). Many Christian Democrats (such as Philippe Douste-Blazy and Jacques Barrot), the social-liberal Radical Party and the centrist Popular Party for French Democracy (both associate parties to UDF until 2002) joined the party.

The party was thus born out of the meeting of four major French political traditions: Gaullism, Liberalism (Republicanism), Christian Democracy (Popularism) and Radicalism.

The UMP generally supported the policies of President Jacques Chirac. However, in 2004, the party showed increasing signs of independence. The unpopularity with the electorate of Jacques Chirac and Jean-Pierre Raffarin's government led most members of the UMP to support Nicolas Sarkozy, a rival of Chirac. The party also publicly disapproved of Turkey's proposed membership in the European Union, which Chirac was in favour of.

The first president of the UMP, Alain Juppé, a close associate of Jacques Chirac, resigned on 15 July 2004. On 29 November 2004, Nicolas Sarkozy announced that he would officially take over the presidency of the UMP.

In the 2004 French regional elections the UMP suffered a heavy blow, securing only 2 out of 22 regions in Metropolitan France and half of the departments. This led to the fall of the Jean-Pierre Raffarin government (2001-04), and to the formation of a new cabinet, presided by another UMP politician, Dominique de Villepin.

On 22 April 2007 Nicolas Sarkozy won most of the votes in the first round of the 2007 presidential election. In the second round, he faced Socialist Candidate Ségolène Royal. On 6 May 2007 he won the Presidential election, garnering 53.35% of the vote.

Factions

Sarkozystes
 Liberal Conservatives (conservatives, liberal-conservatives and conservative-liberals): Nicolas Sarkozy, Jean-Claude Gaudin, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Édouard Balladur, Dominique Bussereau, François Fillon, Michel Barnier, Dominique Perben, Jean-François Mattei, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, Charles Millon, Alain Lamassoure, Brice Hortefeux, François Baroin
 The Reformers (liberals and libertarians): Hervé Novelli, Gérard Longuet, Alain Madelin (president of the Liberal Circles), Patrick Devedjian, Jean-Pierre Soisson, Jean-Pierre Gorges, Claude Goasguen, Pierre Lellouche (president of "Liberal Generation"), Louis Giscard d'Estaing
 The Free Right (conservative liberals, libertarians and souverainists): Rachid Kaci, Alexandre Del Valle, Yannick Favennec, Étienne Blanc, François d'Aubert
 Democratic and Popular (Christian-democrats and centrists): Philippe Douste-Blazy, Pierre Méhaignerie, Hervé de Charette, Adrien Zeller, Jacques Barrot, Nicole Fontaine, Pierre-André Wiltzer, Marc-Philippe Daubresse, Alain Joyandet, Antoine Herth
 Forum of Social Republicans (social-conservatives and Christian-democrats): Christine Boutin, Jean-Frédéric Poisson, Vincent You, Charles de Champeaux

Chiraquiens
 Neo-Gaullistes (rightish Gaullistes and secular-minded conservatives, considering themselves the true heirs of President Charles de Gaulle): Jacques Chirac, Dominique de Villepin, Alain Juppé, Jean-Louis Debré, Michèle Alliot-Marie, Jean Tiberi
 Social-Gaullistes (leftish Gaullistes, social-democrats): Jean-Jacques Aillagon, Philippe Dechartre, Jean Matteoli, Bernard Reygrobellet, Yves Guéna, Alain Terrenoire, Jean Peyrelevade, Hamlaoui Mekachera
 Radicals and other social-liberal centrists: André Rossinot, François Loos, Jean-Louis Borloo, Renaud Dutreil, Serge Lepeltier, Jean-Luc Roméro (Gay Lib)

Souverainists
 Arise the Republic (conservative-liberals, national-conservatives and souverainists): Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, Adrien Gouteyron, Yves Jego, Lionnel Luca, Michel Terrot, René André
 Rally for France (national-conservatives and souverainists): Charles Pasqua, Lionnel Luca, Jacques Myard, Jean-Jacques Guillet, Philippe Pemezec, Georges Siffredi
 National Centre of Independents and Peasants (national-conservatives, conservative-liberals and souverainists): Philippe Dominati, Christian Vanneste, Edouard Leveau, Jérôme Rivière

Ecologists
 Blue Ecologie (centrist-ecologists): Corinne Lepage, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, Patrice Hernu, Antoine Waechter

Leadership

Presidents
 Alain Juppé (2002−2004)
 Nicolas Sarkozy (2004−2007)

Vice-Presidents
 Jean-Claude Gaudin (2002−...)

General Secretaries
 Philippe Douste-Blazy (2002−2004)
 Pierre Méhaignerie (2004−...)

Other websites
 UMP official website
 Forum de la Droite Européenne, ancien FPL UMP
 UMP Watch

2002 establishments in France
2015 disestablishments in Europe
Conservative parties
Political parties in France

Union for a Popular Movement


A log house, or log building, is a structure built with horizontal logs interlocked at the corners by notching. Logs may be round, squared or hewn to other shapes, either handcrafted or milled. The term "log cabin" generally refers to a smaller, more rustic log house, such as a hunting cabin in the woods, that may or may not have electricity or plumbing.

Log construction was the most common building technique in large regions of Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Baltic states and Russia, where straight and tall coniferous trees, such as pine and spruce, are readily available. It was also widely used for vernacular buildings in Eastern Central Europe, the Alps, the Balkans and parts of Asia, where similar climatic conditions prevail. In warmer and more westerly regions of Europe, where deciduous trees predominate, timber framing was favoured instead.

Sawn logs, logs sawn to a standard width, but with their original heights
Milled (also called machine-profiled), made with a log house moulder: Constructed of logs that have run through a manufacturing process which convert them into timbers which are consistent in size and appearance

Handcrafted log houses have been built for centuries in Fennoscandia, Fenno-Ugric areas such as Karelia, Lapland, Eastern parts of Finland. Also in Scandinavia, Russia and Eastern Europe, and were typically built using only an axe, knife and log scriber. Settlers from northern Europe brought the craft to North America in the early 17th century, where it was quickly adopted by other colonists and Native Americans. Possibly the oldest surviving log house in the United States is the C. A. Nothnagle Log House (circa 1640) in New Jersey.

Pre-fabricated log houses for export were manufactured in Norway from the 1880s until around 1920 by three large companies: Jacob Digre in Trondheim, M. Thams & Co. in Orkanger, and Strømmen Trævarefabrik at Strømmen. They were factory built from sawn or milled logs, numbered and dismantled for transportation, and reassembled on the buyer's site. Buyers could order standard models from catalogs, custom-made houses designed by architects employed by the companies, or houses of their own design. Log houses from Thams were exhibited at the Exposition Universelle (1889) in Paris.

During the 1920s the first American milled log houses appeared on the market, using logs which were pre-cut and shaped rather than hand-hewn. Many log houses today are of the milled variety, mainly because they require less labor-intensive field work than handcrafted houses. There are about 500 companies in North America which build the handcrafted, scribe-fit type of log house.

Components

The logs in log houses have a varying degree of moisture content; all logs have moisture when freshly cut. In the case of handcrafted logs moisture will naturally leave the timber, drying it out until it stabilizes with its climate. This drying-out causes movement and shrinking of the log's diameter. As logs and timbers dry, the differential shrinkage (radial versus tangential) causes small cracks (known as "checks") to open slowly over time. Checking is a natural process in both air- and kiln-dried logs. This occurs in all log houses regardless of construction method or how the timber is allowed to dry, and is considered normal.

Milled logs are processed in a different manner from handcrafted logs. Logs destined to become milled logs may become one of several types, depending on the desired quality and results.

Green logs
Logs that are cut from the butt forest, brought to a mill or to a log-house construction yard, have their bark removed and are used to build a log-house shell (handcrafted log houses), or sent through profiling machines (manufactured logs) are usually referred to as "green" logs if they have not been air- or kiln-dried. "Green" does not refer to color, but to moisture content. The actual moisture content of "green" logs varies considerably with tree species, the season in which it was cut, and whether sapwood or heartwood is being measured. Green logs may have a moisture content ranging from about 20% to 90%.

One type of air-dried log is "dead standing," which refers to trees which have died from natural causes (bug kill, virus, fire etc.) and cut down after they died. Standing dead trees may be cut one month or several decades after they died, so the term "dead standing" does not necessarily mean the logs have dried down to equilibrium moisture content. Dead standing logs can be green, or more-or-less dry.

After construction, green logs dry in service in the log building. Within about four years, green logs which are part of a completed log house reach equilibrium with local conditions and have an equilibrium moisture content of between 6% and 12%, which varies by local climate, season and location.

Air-dried logs
Some log home companies let the fresh-cut logs (or milled timbers) sit outside in the open air to dry naturally. The timbers may be stacked with spacers (known as "stickers") between them. This process allows the moisture content of the logs to naturally fall as the timber dries. In areas of high humidity, it may require as much as one year per inch of log thickness to dry.  Arid climates may require less.  A log with a diameter of 8 inches will usually reach equilibrium in about 18 months in the Rocky Mountains of North America.  Air circulation is critical or the logs may begin to rot before properly drying, especially in humid regions. If the logs are to be dried to equilibrium with the local climate the process may take several years, depending on the location and size of the timbers. In some environments, the logs must be kept under some type of roof or cover to reduce the impact of rain storms on the drying process.

Once the logs have dried for the desired length of time, they are profiled prior to shipping. Profiling usually does not take place until shortly before shipment, to ensure that the logs stay as uniform as possible. It is uncertain whether this process is advantageous; it depends on many factors such as local climate, wood species, its size, and the location of the log structure.

Kiln-dried logs
Mills that have a kiln on site have the option of artificially accelerating the drying process. Green timber is placed inside a large oven, where heat removes moisture from them; however, they can suffer severe checking and cracking if the kiln controls are not properly monitored during the drying process. Use of a kiln can reduce the drying time from many months to several weeks. Kiln-drying usually results in an average moisture content of 18-20% ("average" means the average moisture content of the outside and the center of the log).

In North America, logs reach equilibrium moisture content at about 6% and 12%; since most kiln-dried logs are dried down to about 18% to 20% moisture content, kiln-dried logs can be expected to shrink and settle over time, but to a lesser extent than green logs.

Glue-laminated timber
"Laminated" or "engineered" logs are a different approach to log-house building. Full trees or (alternatively) sawn cants (unfinished logs to be further processed) are brought to a mill with a dry kiln, the bark is removed and the trees are sawn into boards usually no more than two inches thick. These boards are then taken to the dry kiln, where (because of their size) they can be dried without causing severe damage to the wood. Timber destined for glue lamination must be brought down below 15% moisture before the lamination process will work, so typically these timbers are dried to around 8-10% moisture. The drying process varies on the species of lumber, but can be done in as little as a week. Once the drying process is complete the planks are sent through a surfacer (or planer), which makes the face of the lumber perfectly smooth. These planks travel to a machine, which then spreads a special glue on the interior boards.

Depending on the type of glue and type of mill, there are two ways to finish the lamination process. One type of glue reacts with radio-frequency (RF) energy to cure the glue in minutes; the other uses a high-pressure clamp, which holds the newly reassembled timbers under pressure for 24 hours. Once the glue has dried, the result is a "log cant" that is slightly larger than the buyer's desired profile. These log cants are run through a profiler, and the end result is a log that is perfectly straight and uniform. Some mills are capable of joining together small timbers by using a combination of face and edge gluing and a process known as finger- jointing. Boards which would be scrap at another mill may be used in the center of a laminated log or beam to minimize waste.

Types of milled logs

Milled log homes employ a variety of profiles, which are usually specified by the customer:

 D-shape logs: round on the outside and flat inside
 Full-round logs: fully round inside and out
 Square logs: flat inside and out, and may be milled with a groove which could be chinked. When dealing with milled logs, chinking is a personal preference and not required to seal a house; however, a log house will eventually leak if it is not properly sealed.
 Swedish Cope logs: round inside and out, with a half-moon-shaped groove on the bottom

Nearly every profiled log on the market features an integral tongue and groove milled into the top and bottom of the log; this aids in stacking and reduces the need for chinking.  Wood is not airtight — caulking or chinking will improve energy efficiency.

Construction methods

Scandinavian Full-Scribe (also known as the "chinkless method") is naturally-shaped, smoothly-peeled (drawknifed) logs which are scribed and custom-fitted to one another. They are notched where they overlap at the corners, and there are several ways to notch the logs.
In the flat-on-flat method, logs are flattened on the top and bottom and then stacked (usually with butt-and-pass corners).
Milled log houses are constructed with a tongue-and-groove system which helps align one log to another and creates a system to seal out the elements.
With the tight-pinned butt and pass method, the logs are not notched or milled in any way. They are in a single course and do not overlap; vertical pairs of logs are fastened with tight, load-bearing steel pins.

Corner styles

 Interlocking saddle notch: Normally seen on D- or full-round profiles, where a notch is cut into the top of one log and the bottom of another; these two logs then interlock, creating a tightly-sealed corner. Also popular in handcrafted, full-scribe log houses.

 Dovetail: Typically seen on square, hewn, or chink-style logs. A dovetail joint is cut on the end of a log, where it would rest in a corner—one to the right and one to the left; this creates a tight, interlocking corner. Handcrafted dovetails can be "full dovetail" (notch surface slopes in two directions simultaneously) or "half dovetail" (notch surface slopes in one direction).
 Locked or Tooth-edged joint: Typically seen in square logs. A lock/tooth joint is where distinct tooth-like profiles are cut at the end of each log for a tight "locked" fit.
 Butt-and-pass: Unscribed (or milled) logs butt up against each other at the corners without notching
 Saddle notch: Used where two round logs overlap each other near the corners; common with the Swedish cope profile
 Vertical corner post also known as post-and-plank: Typically larger (e.g., 8" x 8") than the wall logs (e.g., 6" x 6"). The wall logs would be "toe nailed" into the corner post.
 Mortise and Tenon Joinery: the tenon (tongue) of one log connects to the mortise (hole) of another forming a 90 degree angle to secure the joint.

Other methods
 Half-Log: The structure is built with conventional building techniques, and "half-log" siding is applied to the exterior and interior walls to replicate the look of full-log construction. Some half-log sidings may also have saddle notch, butt-and-pass, or dovetail corners to give a more realistic appearance.
 Palisade style: The logs are standing on end, and are either pinned or bolted together.
 Piece en piece or piece sur piece. Similar to post-and-plank above: Uses short logs (e.g. 8' long) lying horizontally between upright posts, resembling post-and-beam construction (but usually lacking the complex notching seen with post-and-beam). Piece en piece typically uses a large (8"x 8") vertical corner post. It is important that a vertical component (often 3"x 6") be placed on both sides of each window and door.
 A unique house type in the Oberlausitz region where Germany, Upper Lusatian house or Umgebinde in German. Part of the ground floor has log walls inside the posts of a timber frame.

Settling
Once fabricated and assembled, the shell of the log house may be disassembled and the parts shipped to the building site. This allows for centralized manufacturing of the house, and relatively quick construction on site. Full-scribe-fit handcrafted log construction is a method of precisely marking where to cut each individual wall log to provide a tight fit between naturally-shaped logs along their entire length and in the corners. A high degree of craftsmanship is required for success in this method, and the resulting tight fit of naturally-shaped logs have aesthetic appeal.

Log houses which settle require slip joints over all window and door openings, adjustable jacks under vertical elements (such as columns and staircases) which must periodically be adjusted as the building settles, allowances in plumbing, wiring, and ducting runs, and fasteners for the walls themselves to prevent uplift.

See also

 Burdei
 Izba
 Kit house
 Lincoln Logs
 Log cabin
 Magoffin County Pioneer Village and Museum, Kentucky
 Carpathian Wooden Churches
The Hess Homestead

References

External links

 National Park Service information on log cabins
International Log Builders Association
NAHB Log & Timber Council
 Saving old Appalachian log homes
 Building a traditional log house at Norsk Folkemuseum, Oslo

House styles
House types
American architectural styles
 Log house
Log houses

Log house


José Ayala Lasso (born in Quito on 29 January 1932) is a retired Ecuadorian lawyer and diplomat, currently residing in Quito. He served as Foreign Minister of Ecuador on three occasions. He was the first United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Career
Pursuant to United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/48/141 of 20 December 1993 Dr. Ayala Lasso was appointed first United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and started his four-year mandate on 5 April 1994.

His first important challenge was to give contours to his mandate and establish the credibility of the Office. Barely appointed, he had to address the crisis caused by the genocide in Rwanda. His years as High Commissioner were marked by a continuous effort to give greater visibility to the United Nations human rights programme. Thus, he opened field offices in all regions of the world and traveled extensively to confer with leaders worldwide. His vision was to transform the former Centre for Human Rights from a passive conference-services secretariat into a pro-active centre of excellence with an expert secretariat and an expanded mandate to conduct projects throughout the world. Under his leadership the office should develop an operational capacity similar to that of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees. His priorities were crisis management, prevention and early warning, assistance to States in transition to democracy, the right to development, and the expansion of national human rights institutions. As an administrator. he is remembered fondly by the staff because of his openness and kindness. Less successful were the efforts at restructuring, primarily because of the failure of the UN General Assembly to approve an adequate budget for the Office.

Dr. Ayala Lasso resigned on 31 March 1997 to return to Ecuador to broker the peace negotiations between Ecuador and Peru, which led to the conclusion of the Treaty of 1998, settling the border dispute. In his diplomatic career he was Ecuador's Ambassador to the United Nations and twice President of the Security Council. During the 48th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 1993, he chaired the working group responsible for the implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, which had been adopted at the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993. One of the recommendations of the Vienna Conference had been the establishment of the post of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. He also served also as Ecuadorian Ambassador to the European Economic Communities, to France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Peru and the Vatican. He continues to be an active human rights advocate and is an active participant of "Project 2048" of the University of California at Berkeley, which aims at the creation of a World Court of Human Rights.

References

 Jose Ayala Lasso, Asi se gano la Paz, Pablo Cuvi Editor, Quito, Ecuador, 2009. .
 José Ayala Lasso, "Defining the Mandate. New UN Efforts to Protect Human Rights", Harvard International Review, Winter 1994/95, pp. 38–78.
 José Ayala Lasso, "Making Human Rights a Reality in the twenty-first century" in: Emory International Law Review, vol. 10 (1996) pp. 497–508.
 José Ayala Lasso, Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on his Mission to Rwanda 11–12 May 1994 (UN Doc. E/CN.4/S3/3)
 Report of Jose Ayala Lasso, High Commissioner for Human Rights, to the 1995 session of the Commission on Human Rights, E/CN.4/1995/98, para. 133.
 Statement by the High Commissioner for Human Rights to a joint meeting of the Commission's rapporteurs, representatives, experts and working groups, E/CN.4/1995/5/Add.1, p. 6.
 Statement by Jose Ayala-Lasso, High Commissioner for Human Rights, to the 1996 session of the Commission, 9 April 1996.
Report of Jose Ayala-Lasso, High Commissioner for Human Rights, E/CN.4/1996/103.
 Ayala Lasso, Jose. In: Encyclopedia of Human Rights, edited by David P. Forsythe. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Volume 1, pages 130-132.
 Alfred de Zayas, "United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights" in Rudolf Bernhardt (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Public International Law, Vol. IV, pp. 1129–1142.
 Alfred de Zayas, "Human Rights, United Nations High Commissioner", in Helmut Volger (ed.), Concise Encyclopedia of the United Nations, Kluwer, 2002, pp. 216–223; 2nd revised edition 2009, .
 Jakob Th. Möller, "United Nations Human Rights Committee Case Law 1977-2008", N.P.Engel Verlag, Kehl/Strasbourg, 2009, p. 7,
 Kirk Boyd, "2048. Humanity's Agreement to live together". Barrett-Kohler Publishers, San Francisco, 2010.  .

External links
 http://www.alfreddezayas.com/Law_history/Ayala2005_de.shtml
 http://www.alfreddezayas.com/Law_history/Ayalaenglish.shtml

1932 births
Living people
People from Quito
Ecuadorian diplomats
20th-century Ecuadorian lawyers
Foreign ministers of Ecuador
Ambassadors of Ecuador to China
Ambassadors of Ecuador to Japan
Ambassadors of Ecuador to Belgium
Ambassadors of Ecuador to Luxembourg
Ambassadors of Ecuador to the European Union
Ambassadors of Ecuador to Peru
Permanent Representatives of Ecuador to the United Nations
United Nations High Commissioners for Human Rights
Ecuadorian officials of the United Nations

José Ayala Lasso


A courtesan  was often a high-class prostitute or mistress, especially one associated with rich, powerful, or noble men who gave
luxuries and status in exchange for her services. In Renaissance Europe, courtesans had an important role in high class society, sometimes taking the place of wives at social roles requiring diplomacy. Courtesans usually enjoyed more freedom than was typical of women at the time. For example, they did not have money problems, and were more independent. Madame de Pompadour (1721–1764), the famous mistress and favorite of King Louis XV of France, was a courtesan. Courtesans also existed in many countries outside Europe, such as India and Japan.

Related pages
Geisha
Oiran

References
 Freundschuh, Aaron.  The Courtesan and the Gigolo:  The Murders in the Rue Montaigne and the Dark Side of Empire in Nineteenth-Century Paris.  Stanford University Press, 2017.

Griffin, Susan. The Book of the Courtesans: A Catalogue of Their Virtues. New York: Broadway Books, 2001.
Hickman, Katie. Courtesans: Money, Sex, and Fame in the Nineteenth Century. New York: HarperCollins, 2003.
Lawnes, Lynne. Lives of the Courtesans: Portraits of the Renaissance. New York: Rizzoli, 1987.
Rounding, Virginia. Grandes Horizontales: The Lives and Legends of Four Nineteenth-Century Courtesans. London: Bloomsbury, 2003.

Other websites
Defining the Courtesan  (Mt. Holyoke College)

Personal service occupations
Prostitution

Courtesan


Ermine Street is the name of one of the main Roman roads in Britain. It ran from London (Londinium) to Lincoln (Lindum Colonia) and York (Eboracum). The original Roman name for the road is not known.

Ermine Street is also called the Old North Road from London to where it joins the A1 near Godmanchester.

The alternative route (in blue) was built to allow transport in all weather. The direct route crosses the River Humber, a tidal estuary of the rivers Trent and Ouse. In bad weather crossing would have been impossible. The Humber is too wide for the Romans to have built a bridge, therefore some kind of ferry must have been used.

Roman roads in Britain

Ermine Street