Victor David Brenner (born Avigdor David Brenner; June 12, 1871 – April 5, 1924) was a Lithuanian sculptor, engraver, and medalist known primarily as the designer of the United States Lincoln Cent.

Biography
Brenner was born to Jewish parents in Šiauliai, Russian Empire. His name at birth was Avigdor David Brenner ("Avigdor ben Gershon," in Hebrew, as his gravestone attests), but he changed the name to Victor David Brenner.

He emigrated to the United States in 1890, living mostly in the New York City area.  When Brenner arrived in America, he had little more to fall back upon except the trade taught to him by his father — gem and seal engraving.  This technical preparation included the tools of the sculptor's craft.  He took night classes at Cooper Union.  Brenner soon mastered English as he had mastered French.

Eight years later Brenner was in Paris, studying with the great French medalist Oscar Roty at the Académie Julian.  There he exhibited his work and obtained awards at the Paris Exposition of 1900.  He returned to the United States, and from that time on his career prospered.  He appeared to be on his way to the fulfilment of the splendid predictions made for his future by Rodin.

Brenner died in 1924 and is buried at Mount Judah Cemetery, Ridgewood, Queens, New York.

Lincoln cent

Brenner is probably best known for his enduring Lincoln coin design, the obverse of which is the longest-running design in United States Mint history, and perhaps the most reproduced piece of art in world history.  Brenner's design had been picked by President Theodore Roosevelt, who had earlier posed for him in New York.  Since arriving nineteen years earlier in the United States, Brenner had become one of the nation's premier medalists.  Roosevelt had learned of Brenner's talents in a settlement house on New York City's Lower East Side and was immediately impressed with a bas-relief that Brenner had made of Lincoln, based on the early Civil War era photographer, Mathew Brady's photograph.

Roosevelt, who considered Lincoln the savior of the Union, the greatest Republican president and also considered himself Lincoln's political heir, ordered the new Lincoln penny to be based on Brenner's work and that it be produced to commemorate Lincoln's 100th birthday in 1909.  The likeness of President Lincoln on the obverse of the coin is an adaptation of a plaque Brenner executed several years earlier and which had come to the attention of President Roosevelt in New York.

Bronze bas-reliefs dated 1907 and signed by Brenner have been identified and some sold in auctions for as much as $3,900.

Charles Eliot Norton of Harvard, whom Brenner counted among his friends, gave the sculptor an unpublished portrait of Lincoln which served Brenner as a basis for Lincoln's features.  He also examined other portraits.

When Brenner forwarded the model of the Lincoln cent to the Director of the Mint, the design bore his whole name, after the fashion of the signatures on the coinage of other countries, notably on the gold coins which Oscar Roty designed for France.  The Director, however, decided to have the initials substituted for the name.

Following the precedent of James B. Longacre, whose initials "JBL" (or simply "L") graced a number of U.S. coin designs for much of the latter half of the 19th century, Brenner placed his initials "VDB" at the bottom of the reverse between the wheat ear stalks.

Widespread criticism of the initials' prominence resulted in their removal midway through 1909, the design's first year of issue.  In 1918, Brenner's initials returned as small letters below Lincoln's shoulder, where they remain today.  (The incorporation of the designer's initials into a coin design is now commonplace in the U.S.)

A 1909 VDB US cent was mounted on the calibration target on the Mars Curiosity rover. This is a nod to the rover's geologic mission and the common practice by geologists including a coin in photographs to document the size of objects.

Works
Some of Brenner's most noteworthy sculptural works include:
 Rev. Dr Muhlenberg Medal (issued by the American Numismatic and Archaeological Society)
 Portrait-plaquette of Fridtjof Nansen
 Portrait medallion of J. Sanford Saltus
 Portrait medallion of C. Delacour
 Portrait-plaquette of Abraham Lincoln (the same plaquette that was used in the design of the Lincoln cent)
 Portrait medallion of Prince Heinrich of Prussia (1902)
 Portrait bas-relief of John Paul Jones
 Portrait bas-relief of Carl Schurz
 Bust of Charles Eliot Norton
 Seal of the New York Public Library
 Portrait of Spencer Trask.
 A Song to Nature in Schenley Plaza at the University of Pittsburgh

See also
 List of Saltus Award winners

Gallery

References

External links

 PCGS The Professional Coin Grading Service's biography of Victor David Brenner
 Leonard Forrer, Biographical Dictionary of Medallists (Vol 1, 1904) pp. 277–279

1871 births
1924 deaths
People from Šiauliai
People from Shavelsky Uyezd
Jews from the Russian Empire
Jewish sculptors
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States
American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
20th-century American sculptors
20th-century male artists
19th-century American sculptors
19th-century male artists
American male sculptors
Cooper Union alumni
American medallists
American currency designers
Coin designers
Sculptors from the Russian Empire

Victor David Brenner


Death Eaters are fictional characters in the Harry Potter series of books by J.K. Rowling. They are characterized as evil wizards and witches who have allied themselves with Lord Voldemort in his efforts to take over the world, kill all witches and wizards born to non-magical parents for being "mudbloods" and enslave all non-magical beings as well as seeking to opress non-human magical creatures such as goblins and elves. They believe that people of pure magical ancestry known as Pure-Bloods are superior to those of only partial magical ancestry, whom they call Half-Bloods. Nonetheless not all Death Eaters are Pure-Blood. Their leader Lord Voldemort originally known as Tom Riddle is Half-Blood because his father was not a wizard.  The Death Eater spy turned double agent Severus Snape is Half-Blood because even though his mother was a witch his father was not a wizard. Fenrir Greyback is allowed to be a Death Eater even though he is a werewolf. Hermione Granger observes that a lot of Death Eaters must be Half-Blood because there are too many for them all to be Pure-Blood.

Harry Potter characters

Death Eater


The Province of Carolina was a British colony in North America from 1663 to 1729. It covered the present states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and a part of Florida. An argument over how the it would be governed led to its becoming the Province of North Carolina and the Province of South Carolina. Officially, these two provinces did not become separate colonies until 1729.

1660s establishments in the Thirteen Colonies
History of North Carolina
18th century in South Carolina
1663 establishments
18th-century disestablishments in the United States
History of Georgia (U.S. state)
History of Florida
1729 disestablishments
1660s establishments in England
18th-century disestablishments in Europe
Car

Province of Carolina


The Conciliar Movement was a Christian reform movement in the 14th and 15th centuries in the Roman Catholic Church which held that final authority in spiritual matters resided with the Church as a corporation of Christians, embodied by a general church council, not with the Pope.  This movement occurred in Western Europe.
Conciliarism was started by Pope Innocent III and is still used today in France.

Christianity of the Middle Ages

Conciliar movement


Wayne Edward Alley (born May 18, 1932) is an inactive Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.

Biography

Born in Portland, Oregon, Alley received an Artium Baccalaureus from Stanford University in 1952 and was a lieutenant in the United States Army during the Korean War, from 1952 to 1954. He received a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1957, and was a law clerk on the Supreme Court of Oregon, in Salem, Oregon in 1957, and then in private practice in Portland from 1957 to 1959. He returned to the military as assistant staff judge advocate, U. S. Army Artillery and Missile Center, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, 1959–1960 and then as assistant staff judge advocate, Headquarters, U. S. Army Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa, Japan), 1960–1964.  He was in the Thirteenth Career Class, TJAGSA, 1965, and was a member of the faculty of Judge Advocate General's School in Charlottesville, Virginia, from 1965 to 1968. He was a military judge for the U.S. Army Trial Judiciary in Saigon, Republic of Vietnam, from 1968 to 1969, and at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii from 1970 to 1972. He then served on the U.S. Army Court of Military Review in Falls Church, Virginia, from 1972 to 1975, serving as chief trial judge of that court in 1975. He was chief of the Criminal Law Division, Office of the Judge Advocate General, Department of the Army, in Washington, D.C. from 1975 to 1978, and in the United States Army, judge advocate, in Heidelberg, Germany, from 1978 to 1981. He was dean and professor of law at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, in Norman, Oklahoma, from 1981 to 1985.

District Court service

On May 29, 1985, Alley was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma created by 98 Stat. 333. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 10, 1985, and received his commission the following day. He assumed senior status on May 16, 1999.

References

Sources

1932 births
Living people
Oregon lawyers
Lawyers from Portland, Oregon
Stanford University alumni
Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan
20th-century American judges
Stanford Law School alumni
United States Army officers
University of Oklahoma faculty
21st-century American judges

Wayne Alley


The naitional banner o Japan is a white rectangular banner wi a lairge reid disk (representin the sun) in the center. This banner is offeecially cried  in Japanese, but is mair commonly kent as .

The Nisshōki banner is designatit as the naitional banner in Law Regardin the Naitional Banner an Naitional Anthem, which wis promulgatit an became effective on August 13, 1999. Awtho no earlier legislation haed specified a naitional banner, the sun-disc banner haed awready acome the de facto naitional banner o Japan. Twa proclamations issued in 1870 bi the Daijō-kan, the govrenmental body o the early Meiji Era, each haed a proveesion for a design o the naitional banner. A sun-disc banner wis adoptit as the naitional banner for merchant ships unner Proclamation No. 57 o Meiji 3 (issued on Februar 27, 1870), an as the naitional banner uied bi Navy unner Proclamation No. 651 o Meiji 3 (issued on October 27, 1870). Uise o the Hinomaru wis severely restricted during the early years o the American occupation efter Warld War II, awtho restrictions wur later relaxed.

Japan
Naitional seembols o Japan
Empire o Japan
Postwar Japan

Banner o Japan


William Smithson (May 31, 1950 – March 21, 2013) was a professional wrestler who wrestled as Moondog Spike during the early 1990s with Moondog Spot from 1991 to 1992 and Moondog Cujo from 1992 to 1993 as part of The Moondogs.

Professional wrestling career
Trained by Tojo Yamamoto in Tennessee, Smithson made his debut in 1978 as a tag team partner of Jerry Ralph in one of the many incarnations of the "Inferno" tag teams managed by Mike Duprée. During the mid-1980s, under the name Dizzy Golden, he formed a tag team with his storyline brother Mike Golden in the Mid-South area winning the Texas All-Star U.S.A. Tag Team Championship twice during a feud with the "Dream Team" of King Parsons and Tiger Conway, Jr. in 1986 and reigned as its last tag team champions until the title was retired in November 1986 following the federation's purchase by World Class Championship Wrestling. He briefly went to Memphis after the demise of Texas All Star Wrestling as the Australian "Bluey". He was bought in by George Barnes to help feud with Bill Dundee who Barnes had turned on and said Dundee had gotten too "American". That same year he worked for All Japan Pro Wrestling. After that he went to ICW in the New England area where he wrestled there in late 1987 and 1988 as Moondog Spike.He won the Hwy Title as well as twice the Tag straps.

In 1991, Smithson began teaming with Moondog Spot in the Memphis-based United States Wrestling Association. Together they violently feuded with Jeff Jarrett and Jerry "The King" Lawler throughout the year; the feud being featured in Pro Wrestling Illustrated's "Feud of the Year" in 1992.

With Moondog Spot's retirement the following year, Lanny Keane, Jr. was brought in as Moondog Cujo to replace Moondog Spot. Smithson and Keane, Jr. would feud with The Dogcatchers and win the USWA Southern Tag Team Championships several times before Lanny Keane left to pursue a singles career as Bloody Ox Brody. In 1993 he returned to Japan teaming with Moondog Splat for W*ING.  Smithson disappeared soon after the split however, possibly due to health problems resulting from his weight gain. He would work occasionally in the independent circuit until his last match in 2011. He died in March 2013.

Championships and accomplishments
International Championship Wrestling (New England)
ICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
ICW Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Moondog Spot (1) and The Dungeon Master (1)
Texas All-Star Wrestling
Texas All-Star USA Tag Team Championship (2 times) with Mike Golden
United States Wrestling Association
USWA World Tag Team Championship (6 times) - with Moondog Spot (3), Moondog Cujo (2) and Mike Lozansky (1)
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
PWI ranked him # 150 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1992.

References

External links
Online World of Wrestling: Bill Smithson
Moondog Spike
Legends: The Moondogs

2013 deaths
1950 births
American male professional wrestlers
ICW/IWCCW Heavyweight Champions
Professional wrestlers from Tennessee
USWA World Tag Team Champions

Moondog Spike


Robin Soans (born 20 June 1946) is a British actor, and a playwright specialising in verbatim and documentary plays. These plays include Across the Divide (2007); A State Affair (2000) which looked at life on a Bradford estate, produced by Out of Joint Theatre Company; The Arab Israeli Cookbook (Gate Theatre 2004); Talking to Terrorists (Out of Joint theatre company and Royal Court Theatre);  Life After Scandal (Hampstead Theatre); and Crouch, Touch, Pause, Engage (Out of Joint theatre company, National Theatre Wales, Arcola Theatre, and Sherman Cymru). Other plays include Bet Noir (Young Vic 1986); Sinners and Saints (The Croydon Warehouse) and Will and Testament (The Oval House).

He wrote Mixed Up North for LAMDA theatre school in 2008, about a youth theatre group created as a means to unite divided racial communities in the Lancashire mill town of Burnley; in 2009 it was performed professionally in a co-production between Out of Joint theatre company and Bolton Octagon Theatre.

As an actor, he has appeared at The National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare's Globe. He also starred in Bill Douglas's epic film of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, Comrades.

In 2014 he appeared as Arthur in Barney Norris' play Visitors at the Arcola Theatre.

In 2015 his verbatim play Crouch, Touch, Pause, Engage, about the rugby player Gareth Thomas and young people in Bridgend, toured Britain and was staged at the Arcola.

References

External links

 Robin Soans at Theatricalia

Living people
British male stage actors
1946 births
British male film actors
British male television actors
20th-century British male actors
21st-century British male actors
Royal Shakespeare Company members

Robin Soans


Michael William ffolliott Aldridge (9 September 1920 – 10 January 1994) was an English actor. He was known for playing Seymour Utterthwaite in the television series Last of the Summer Wine from 1986 to 1990 and he had a long career as a character actor on stage and screen dating back to the 1930s.

Early life
The son of Dr Frederick James Aldridge and his wife Kathleen Michaela Marietta White, Aldridge was born in Glastonbury, Somerset, England, on 9 September 1920. He was educated at Gresham's School, Holt, Norfolk, where he acted in school plays. In his last year at school he played the title role in a production of Othello, a report in The Times noting "M. W. ff. Aldridge (aged 17½ years) was masterly and dignified as Othello and well worthy of the formal designation 'a noble Moor.

Career
He started his acting career in August 1939 at the Palace Theatre, Watford, appearing in Terence Rattigan's play French Without Tears. A few days later, World War II broke out. From 1939 to 1940, he was in rep at Bristol, Blackpool, Sunderland, Sheffield, Bradford and Amersham. In 1940, he joined the Royal Air Force and served in Africa, the United States, the Middle East and the Mediterranean, leaving the service in 1945 as a flight lieutenant.

After the war, Aldridge returned to acting, and toured with the Arts Council Midland Theatre Company from 1946 to 1948, but it was not until 1954 that his career started to gain him recognition, when he took a role in Salad Days at the Vaudeville Theatre, where he remained until 1957. He played many roles in musicals throughout his career, usually in supporting roles in which he was highly reliable and professional.

Theatre
Aldridge's first professional appearance was in the part of Kenneth in French without Tears, at the Palace Theatre, Watford, in August 1939. He was in rep until 1940. His first West End appearance was in This Way to the Tomb, playing the Prologue and the Mechanic, at the Garrick Theatre, 1946; toured with the Arts Council Midland Theatre Company from November 1946 to July 1948; appeared in Nottingham Theatre Trust productions from November 1948 to March 1949, playing Othello in Othello at Nottingham, 1948, and at the Embassy Theatre, 1949; with Birmingham rep, 1949; Old Vic Company at New Theatre, 1949-1950: Love's Labour's Lost, She Stoops to Conquer, The Miser, Hamlet; returned to Arts Council Midland Theatre Company, 1950; Bristol Old Vic, 1951-1952: played Macbeth in Macbeth, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Of Mice and Men; Escapade, at St James's Theatre, Strand, London, 1953–1954; Salad Days, Vaudeville Theatre, 1954; Free as Air, Savoy Theatre, 1957; Moon for the Misbegotten, Arts Theatre, 1960; Vanity Fair, Queen's Theatre, 1962; The Fighting Cock, Duke of York's Theatre, 1966; at Chichester Festival, 1966–1969, and 1971–1972. Heartbreak House, Lyric Theatre, 1967; The Cocktail Party, Wyndham's Theatre, Haymarket, 1968; The Magistrate, Cambridge, 1969; A Bequest to the Nation, Haymarket, 1970; Reunion in Vienna, Piccadilly, 1972; Absurd Person Singular, Criterion Theatre, 1973; The Tempest, Royal Shakespeare Company at The Other Place, 1974; Jeeves, Her Majesty's Theatre, 1975; Lies, Albery Theatre, 1975; The Bed before Yesterday, Lyric Theatre, 1976; Rosmersholm, Haymarket, 1977;The Old Country, Queen's Theatre, 1978; Bedroom Farce, National Theatre at The Prince of Wales, 1978; The Last of Mrs Cheyney, Cambridge, 1980; Noises Off, Lyric, Hammersmith and Savoy, 1982; The Biko Inquest, Riverside, 1984; Relatively Speaking, Greenwich, 1986.

Television
On television, an early significant role was as criminologist Ian Dimmock in the Granada TV series The Man in Room 17 and its sequel The Fellows (1965–67). His screen work included playing Pistol in Orson Welles' movie Chimes at Midnight in 1967.

In 1974, Aldridge appeared as Grigory Rasputin in the historical drama Fall of Eagles.

In 1975 Aldridge appeared in the title role of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Alan Ayckbourn's musical Jeeves, based on the stories by P. G. Wodehouse. The show was a rare flop for Webber, and the negative critical reaction led to Aldridge giving up his stage career to concentrate on television and film roles.

He played the part of Rollo in the 1977 serial Love for Lydia, produced by London Weekend Television.

He played Percy Alleline in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy on BBC TV in 1979, Sir Basil in the 6th episode "Neck" of 1st series of Anglia Television's Tales of the Unexpected first aired on ITV in the same year and appeared in the sitcom Yes, Prime Minister.

In 1980 he played the role of Matthew Radlett, Lord Alconleigh, in the TV miniseries Love in a Cold Climate - Simon Raven's adaptation of the Nancy Mitford novels Love in a Cold Climate and the Pursuit of Love for Thames Television.

Between 1986 and 1990, he starred as Seymour Utterthwaite in Last of the Summer Wine. The character was an ex-headmaster and inventor, designed to replace the Foggy Dewhurst character played by Brian Wilde, who had left the series. However, Aldridge wanted to retire to nurse his sick wife, and this coincided with Wilde deciding to return to the show, so Aldridge's character was written out.

One of his most memorable later roles was as the elderly professor Digory Kirke in the television version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1988).

When Aldridge died in 1994, his obituary in The Times said of him:

Private life
Aldridge married Kirsteen Rowntree, and they had three daughters: Charlotte L. Aldridge (born 1948), Harriet K. Aldridge (born 1952) and Emma R. Aldridge (born 1954). He stated his main interests as sailing, market gardening, watching cricket and playing tennis, and also liked to make his own bread and jam.
At the time of his death, he was living in Greenwich, London.

He had left his role in Last of the Summer Wine to be a full-time carer for his wife.

Selected filmography
Nothing Venture (1948) - Michael Garrod
Murder in the Cathedral (1951) - Second Knight
Life for Ruth (1962) - Dr. Richard Harvard
Chimes at Midnight (1965) - Pistol
Follow Me! (1972) - Sir Philip Crouch
"Love For Lydia" (TV series 1979) - Rollo Aspen
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) - Percy Alleline
Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983) - Orlov
Bullshot (1983) - Prof. Rupert Fenton
A Voyage Round My Father (1984) (TV) - Headmaster
Hallelujah! (1983) (TV)
Charters and Caldicott (1985) (TV) - Caldicott
Turtle Diary (1985) - Mr. Meager, Bookstore Owner
Mussolini: The Untold Story (1985) - Matteotti
Yes Prime Minister (1986) (TV) - Geoffrey - Director General MI5
Clockwise (1986) - Prior
Shanghai Surprise (1986) - Mr. Burns
Murder by the Book (1986) - Edmond Cork
The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe (1988) - Professor Digory Kirke
Countdown to War (1989) - Neville Chamberlain
Inspector Morse episode - The Last Enemy (1989) - Arthur Drysdale
Last of the Summer Wine (1986–1990) (TV) - Seymour
Stanley and the Women (1991) (TV) - Dr. Alfred Nash

References
Notes

Bibliography
Who's Who 1993 (A. & C. Black, London, 1993) page 19

External links

 Stout-hearted Men
 icHuddersfield Obituary

1920 births
1994 deaths
English male film actors
English male stage actors
English male television actors
People educated at Gresham's School
People from Glastonbury
Royal Air Force officers
Royal Air Force personnel of World War II
20th-century English male actors
British male comedy actors
Male actors from Somerset

Michael Aldridge


Konrad Heiden (7 August 1901 – 18 June 1966) was a  German-American journalist and historian of the Weimar Republic and Nazi eras, most noted for the first influential biographies of Adolf Hitler. Often, he wrote under the pseudonym "Klaus Bredow."

Life
Heiden was born in Munich, Bavaria. He spent his youth in Frankfurt, where his father worked as a union organizer and member of the municipal council, while his mother was a homemaker. Having obtained his high school Abitur, he returned to Munich to study law and economics at the Ludwig Maximilian University. At the university, he organized a republican and democratic student body and, like his father, became a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He graduated in 1923 and began his career as a journalist.

In the political turmoils of the Weimar Republic, Heiden was one of the first critical observers of the rise of Nazism in Germany after he attended a party's meeting in Munich in 1921. He worked for the Frankfurter Zeitung and the Vossische Zeitung, from 1930 as a correspondent in Berlin, but became a freelancer in 1932. In the same year, he published his first book History of National Socialism, released by Rowohlt Verlag with a circulation of 5,000 copies. Upon the Nazi seizure of power in January 1933, he fled into exile; first to the Saar territory, then moved to Zürich in Switzerland from June to December 1933, and again to Saarbrücken where he published two writings on the coming Saar status referendum. After the vote in favour of Nazi Germany in January 1935, he moved to France.

In Zürich, Heiden published his book Birth of the Third Reich in 1934. He, together with other emigrants like Albert Einstein, Heinrich Mann and Thomas Mann struggled for the liberation of Carl von Ossietzky imprisoned at Esterwegen concentration camp and began a campaign for awarding him the 1935 Nobel Peace Prize. Upon his flight to France, he worked as editor in chief of the German-language exile magazine Das Neue Tage-Buch published by Leopold Schwarzschild. In 1937, his German citizenship was withdrawn and his property confiscated.

Upon the outbreak of World War II, Heiden was at first interned by the French authorities. During the German occupation of France in 1940, he managed to escape to the United States via Lisbon with the help of Varian Fry and the International Rescue Committee. He arrived in New York City in late October. In 1944, Heiden published his highly successful biography Der Führer – Hitler's Rise to Power, released by Houghton Mifflin and reprinted by both the US Book of the Month Club and the UK Left Book Club. In the same year, he identified Matvei Golovinski as an author of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

After the war, Heiden travelled back to West Germany from December 1951 to May 1952. He published several articles and contributions in Süddeutscher Rundfunk and Radio Bremen broadcasts and continued to write for Life magazine. He finally received US citizenship.

Heiden's last years were affected by deteriorating Parkinson's disease. He died at the Beth Abraham Hospital in New York City on 18 June 1966, having resided in the United States for 26 years after fleeing from Germany.

Work
Heiden's book, The New Inquisition, published jointly by Modern Age Books, Inc. and Alliance Book Corporation, in New York in 1939, with a translation from German by Heinz Norden, includes a series of personal, but necessarily anonymous accounts by German Jews of violent persecution under the Nazi regime accelerating from the time of the fall of 1938 and a  prediction of the Final Solution planned by the Nazi regime:

To drive 600,000 people by robbery into hunger, by hunger into desperation, by desperation into wild outbreaks, and by such outbreaks into the waiting knife—such is the coolly calculated plan.  Mass murder is the goal, a massacre such as history has not seen—certainly not since Tamerlane and Mithridates.  We can only venture guesses as to the technical forms these mass executions are to take.

Heiden's book includes some of the earliest firsthand reports popularly read in America from Jews who fell victim to torture and internment at Dachau near Munich, Sachsenhausen or Oranienburg near Berlin, or Buchenwald near Weimar following the mass arrests of 1938.

Selected works
History of National Socialism (Berlin, 1932)
Birth of the Third Reich (Zürich, 1934)
Hitler: A Biography (Zürich, appeared in two volumes, 1936–1937)
The New Inquisition (New York City, 1939)
Der Führer – Hitler's Rise to Power (Boston, 1944)

See also
List of Adolf Hitler books

References

1901 births
1966 deaths
Journalists from Munich
People from the Kingdom of Bavaria
German male journalists
German Lutherans
German male writers
German expatriates in France
Pseudonymous writers
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States
Historians of Nazism
Historians of fascism

Konrad Heiden


Yucatec Maya ("Maaya T'aan" in the revised orthography of the Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala) is a Mayan language spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula. It is also spoken in northern Belize and parts of Guatemala. To native speakers, it is known only as Maya - "Yucatec" is a label linguists use to distinguish it from other Mayan languages (such as K'iche' and Itza' Maya).

In the Mexican states of Yucatán, northern Campeche and Quintana Roo, Maya remains many speakers' first language today, with approximately 800,000 speakers.

Languages of North America
Languages of Mexico
Maya civilization

Yucatec language


Cesare Valletti (18 December 1922 - 13 May 2000) was an Italian operatic tenor, one of the leading tenore di grazia of the postwar era.

Valletti was born in Rome, where he studied music. He also studied privately with Tito Schipa. He made his debut in Bari, as Alfredo in La traviata, in 1947. He came to prominence in 1950, when he sang in Il turco in Italia, opposite Maria Callas, in Rome. In the same year he made his debut at La Scala in Milan, singing Fenton in Falstaff, a role he reprised when the company took the production to Covent Garden later that year.

In 1951, Valletti went to Mexico City to sing La traviata with Maria Callas. He also partnered her in the famous Visconti production of La sonnambula, conducted by Leonard Bernstein, at La Scala in 1955, and again in La traviata at Covent Garden in 1958.

In September 1953, he made his American debut at the San Francisco Opera in the title role of Werther, opposite  Giulietta Simionato as Charlotte, and later that same year, in December, he debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, singing Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni. Other roles at the Met included Tamino, Almaviva, Nemorino, Ernesto, Alfredo, and des Grieux. His career at the Met ended abruptly in November 1960 when manager Rudolf Bing replaced Valletti, for no apparent reason, after dress rehearsal in a new production of L'elisir d'amore.  Valletti left the Met and thereafter refused numerous offers to return.

In the 1960s Valletti returned to Italy, where he was particularly popular at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence.  He extended his range to art song, and became a highly respected recitalist.  Valletti officially retired in 1967, but returned in 1968 to appear at the Caramoor Festival in New York. There he sang his last role, Nerone in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea.

After retirement he flourished in a new career in his father-in-law's pasta machine making business. Valletti was married to Nicoletta Braibanti, a granddaughter of Italian composer Ildebrando Pizzetti.
In May, 2000, Valletti died of a heart attack in Genoa, Italy, while undergoing treatment for liver cancer.

He can be heard on "live recordings" in the two aforementioned historical performances of La sonnambula and La traviata with Maria Callas. Valletti can also be heard in a best-selling RCA Victor recording of Madama Butterfly which paired him with Anna Moffo.

Selected studio recordings

 Cimarosa - Il matrimonio segreto - Alda Noni, Ornella Rovero, Giulietta Simionato, Sesto Bruscantini, Antonio Cassinelli - Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Manno Wolf-Ferrari (1950, Florence)
 Mozart - Don Giovanni - Giuseppe Taddei, Italo Tajo, Mary Curtis Verna, Carla Gavazzi, Elda Ribetti, Vito Susca - Coro e Orchestra della Rai Torino, Max Rudolf (1953, Turin)
 Rossini - L'italiana in Algeri - Giulietta Simionato, Graziella Sciutti, Mario Petri, Marcello Cortis - La Scala Chorus and Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini (1954, Milan)
 Rossini - Il barbiere di Siviglia - Robert Merrill, Roberta Peters, Fernando Corena, Giorgio Tozzi - Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf (1958, New York)
 Rossini - La cenerentola - Giulietta Simionato, Saturno Meletti, Cristiano Dalamangas - Coro e Orchestra della Rai Torino, Mario Rossi (1949, Turin)
 Donizetti - L'elisir d'amore - Alda Noni, Afro Poli, Sesto Bruscantini - Coro e Orchestra della Rai Roma, Gianandrea Gavazzeni (1952, Rome)
 Verdi - Maria Callas and Mario Zanasi, the "London Traviatta director Nicola Rescigno and Covent Garden Orchestra (1958, London)
 Donizetti - La fille du régiment - Lina Pagliughi, Sesto Bruscantini, Rina Corsi - Coro e Orchestra della Rai Milano, Mario Rossi (sung in Italian) (1950, Turin)
 Donizetti - Don Pasquale - Alda Noni, Mario Borriello, Sesto Bruscantini - Coro e Orchestra della Rai Torino, Mario Rossi (1949, Turin)
 Verdi - La traviata - Rosanna Carteri, Leonard Warren - Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Pierre Monteux (1956, Rome)
 Puccini - Madama Butterfly - Anna Moffo, Rosalind Elias, Renato Cesari - Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf (1957), Rome
 Schumann - Dichterliebe "Poet's Love", Op.48 - Leo Taubman, piano  (1960)

Sources

 Opera News, Obituaries, August 2000.
 The Metropolitan Opera Guide to Recorded Opera, edited by Paul Gruber, (W.W. Norton, 1993)

External links
 History of the Tenor / Cesare Valletti / Sound Clips and Narration

Italian operatic tenors
1922 births
2000 deaths
20th-century Italian male opera singers
Singers from Rome

Cesare Valletti


Italian Mare Nostrum was the name given during World War II, by Benito Mussolini and his fascist propaganda to the Mediterranean Sea.

The Mare Nostrum of Mussolini
The Mediterranean was called Mare Nostrum (Latin for "Our Sea") during the centuries of the Roman Empire, an empire that Fascism intended to recreate after the conquest of Ethiopia in 1936.

Mussolini wanted to re-establish the greatness of the Roman Empire and believed that Italy was the most powerful of the Mediterranean countries after World War I. He declared that "the twentieth century will be a century of Italian power" and created one of the most powerful navies of the world in order to control the Mediterranean Sea.

However, the nation that really dominated the Mediterranean in 1940 was the United Kingdom, as the British had strong naval bases in Gibraltar, Malta and Cyprus. The British also controlled the Suez Canal, along with the French; the French Third Republic had a relatively powerful navy, and controlled the African Maghreb. Only after the conquest of Greece and Yugoslavia, in April 1941, Mussolini started to talk about an Italian dominated Mediterranean sea.

In 1942 Mussolini dreamed to create a Greater Italia in his "Mare Nostrum" and promoted the fascist project -to be realized in a future peace conference after the expected Axis victory- of an enlarged Italian Empire, stretching from the Mediterranean shores of Egypt to the Indian Ocean shores of Somalia and eastern Kenya. All these projects disappeared with the final Italian defeat of September 1943.

Italian-controlled seashores

Italy controlled (directly or indirectly) the seashores of these Mediterranean countries, when Mussolini spoke and boasted of an "Italian Mare Nostrum" in 1941/1942/1943:
 France: From June 1940 to September 1943, the Menton riviera (between Monte Carlo and the Italian border). From November 1942 to September 1943, the delta of the Rhone river to the French Riviera.
 Corsica: From November 1942 to September 1943.
 Italy: From the Alps to Istria. The Governatorato di Dalmazia was added between between April 1941 and September 1943.
 Yugoslavia: From April 1941 to September 1943, all the coasts of Croatia and Montenegro.
 Albania: From 1939 to September 1943 all the coast. (Saseno island was Italian).
 Greece: From April 1941 to September 1943, all the continental coast from Epirus to Thessalia and most of the Aegean Islands (with eastern Crete).
 Dodecanese: Italian islands from WWI to September 1943.
 Tunisia: From November 1942 to May 1943.
 Libya: Italian from 1911 to 1943.
 Egypt: The western coast up to El Alamein was intermittently controlled by the Axis, between June 1940 and November 1942.

Battle of the Mediterranean in WWII

When France collapsed in 1940, Mussolini started to expand the Italian maritime control on the central Mediterranean, attacking British possessions. The ensuing Battle of the Mediterranean had many changes of fortune and finished with the victory of the Allies.

There were a series of surface actions (e.g., Battle of Cape Matapan, Battle of Punta Stilo, Battle of Cape Teulada, Second Battle of Sirte, Battle of Mid-June, Battle of Mid-August ) between Allied navies and the Italian Regia Marina, during which the British, able to replace losses with warships redeployed from other theatres, finally gained the upper hand.

The Battle of Taranto in 1940 was a successful air attack on the Italian Navy at anchor when 21 British torpedo bombers sunk one battleship and damaged two others.The Italian Navy slowly recovered from that attack.

The Italian Navy's most successful attack, however, was when human torpedo divers planted mines on British battleships in Alexandria (Egypt) harbour (19 December 1941), and the HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Valiant were sunk  . After these sinkings (and the contemporary destruction of the British Force K), the Italian Navy obtained for some months the nearly complete control of the central Mediterranean.  In this way the Regia Marina was able to deliver the military supply and oil for the Axis victory of Tobruk and for the advance toward El Alamein in Egypt.

Regia Aeronautica

The Italian Regia Aeronautica entered the war with 3296 airplanes (1332 Bombers and 1160 "Caccia", as were called the Fighters in Italian) distributed in all the Italian Empire, but only 1796 were in perfect fighting conditions. Most were old "wood" models, and could not match the British aircraft in 1940.

But in April 1941, when Italy started together with the Germans the coordinated Axis attack in the Mediterranean (in the Balkans and in Libya), the Italian Air Force had the new and competitive Macchi C.202, able to fight successfully the British Spitfires.  These airplanes (with the new Reggiane Re.2002) took control of the Malta and Libyan airspace (together with the German military aircraft) during the successful campaign of General Rommel in Tobruk.

Only at the beginning of 1943 appeared the modern Macchi C.205 and Reggiane Re.2005, but they could not match the overwhelming superiority of the American Air Force.

One of the most renown and important branches of the Regia Aeronautica was the "torpedo bomber" group. In 1941 and 1942, Italian pilots, mostly flying the three-engined, medium bomber Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 "Sparviero" , inflicted considerable losses to Allied shipping in the Mediterranean Sea.

The only four engine heavy bomber of the Regia Aeronautica was the Piaggio P.108 B. In the 274th Long-Range Bombardment group these bombers made many long range bombardments of Gibraltar from Sardinia in summer 1942   and reinforced in this way the Regia Aeronautica supremacy during those of months in the Italian Mare Nostrum.

Regio Esercito

The Italian Army (Regio Esercito) entered the war with 73 divisions (and one fascist Legion of "Blackshirts"), but only 19 were fully operational for combat in June 1940. Italy during the first years of WWII had only small and medium tanks (Fiat M13/40 and Fiat M15/42), that were no match for the Allies tanks. Only in summer 1943 the Italians developed a heavy tank (the P40 tank)  , but just 5 were ready for combat when Italy signed the armistice.  The Italian Army had good antitanks (like the Semovente 75/18)    and reliable armoured cars (like the AB 41) .

Slowly the initial Italian setbacks (suffered mainly in the African colonies) were corrected with German help and in spring 1941 the Italians started an offensive in the Balkans (Greece and Yugoslavia) and in North Africa (Libya).

In summer/autumn 1942 Italy controlled the European seashores of the Mediterranean from the Rhone river in occupied France to Mount Olympus in Aegean Greece. A similar situation happened in the African shores of the Mediterranean Sea, where Mussolini's control went from Tunisia to El Alamein in Egypt. This Italian domination was increased by the fact that most of the remaining shores of the Mediterranean were controlled by the fascist Spain of General Franco, the France of Vichy and the Turkey of Kemal Atatürk, all of them with friendliness toward Mussolini.

In those months Mussolini referred to the Mediterranean Sea as Mare Nostrum, in the same manner as the Romans had done when they dominated the Classical World.  However, the Roman Mare Nostrum lasted for roughly six hundred years, while Mussolini's Mare Nostrum lasted a few years until the Italian armistice in September 1943.

All the overseas possessions of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea (Dodecanese, Libya, Saseno island, etc.) were lost formally as a result of the Treaty of peace with Italy (1947).

Regia Marina

When Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940, the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina) was the fourth largest navy in the world.  The Italian Navy had a mix of modernised and new battleships and challenged the Allies, mostly the British Royal Navy, for supremacy of the Mediterranean Sea.

Air support was provided by the Italian Air Force Auxiliary to the Navy (Aviazione Ausiliara per la Marina), the naval air service during wartime. The Air Force Auxiliary was in charge of all land-based aircraft, shore-based hydroplanes amongst of vessel-based aircraft, and hydroplanes of Italian Navy.

Italian warships had a general reputation as well-designed and good-looking.  But some Italian cruiser classes were rather deficient in armour.  All Italian warships lacked radar for most of the war, although the lack of radar was partly offset by the fact that Italian warships had good "rangefinder" and "fire-control" systems.  In addition, whereas Allied commanders at sea had discretion on how to act, Italian commanders were closely and precisely governed by Italian Naval Headquarters (Supermarina).  This could lead to action being avoided when the Italians had a clear advantage (e.g., During "Operation Hats"  . Italian Naval Headquarters was conscious that the British could replace ships lost in the Mediterranean, whereas Italian Navy resources were limited).

The Allies had "Ultra" intercepts, which predicted the Italian movements, and radar, which enabled them to locate the ships and range their weapons at distance and at night. The better air reconnaissance skills of the Fleet Air Arm and their close collaboration with surface units were other major causes of the initial Italian defeats (like in the Battle of Cape Matapan).

The most successful attack performed by the Italian Navy involved divers planting mines on British battleships in Alexandria harbour (19 December 1941): HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Valiant were sunk in shallow water by the maiali of Luigi Durand De La Penne.

On the same night, Force K, comprising three cruisers and four destroyers based at Malta, became stranded in an Italian minefield off Tripoli. A cruiser (HMS Neptune) and a destroyer (HMS Kandahar) were lost, three other ships were seriously damaged, and more than 900 men died. Force K was put out of action and Malta's offensive capabilities were reduced to a minimum.

This sudden series of Allied defeats allowed the Regia Marina to achieve naval supremacy in the central Mediterranean, her supply routes were almost untouched by the enemy for several months. This is the beginning of nearly one year in which the Mediterranean sea was effectively an "Italian Mare Nostrum".

The Italian fleet also took advantage of the situation and moved onto the offensive, blocking or decimating at least three large Allied convoys bound for Malta. This led to a number of naval engagements, such as the Second Battle of Sirte, the Battle of Mid-June or Operation Harpoon (plus Operation Vigorous) and finally to Operation Pedestal, all of them  favourable to the Axis but sufficient supplies had been delviered to Malta for it to survive as a British base. The biggest success of the Italian Fleet was the aerial and surface attack on the Harpoon convoy, which sank several Allied warships and damaged others. Only two transports of the original six reached Malta. This was the only undisputed squadron-size victory for Italian surface forces in World War II.

During these months the Regia Marina even planned an attack to New York harbour for December 1942, but it was delayed for many reasons and was never done  .

However, this was only a brief happy time for Mussolini. The oil and supplies brought to Malta, despite heavy losses, by Operation Pedestal in August and the Allied landings in North Africa, Operation Torch, in November 1942, turned the fortunes of war against Italy. After years of stalemate, the Axis forces were ejected from Libya and Tunisia in six months after the Battle of El Alamein, while their supply lines were harassed day after day by the growing and overwhelming aerial and naval supremacy of the Allies in what has just been the Mussolini's "Italian Mare Nostrum".

The Regia Marina performed well and bravely in its North African convoy duties, but remained at a technical disadvantage. The Italian ships relied on a speed advantage, but could easily be damaged by shell or torpedo, due to their relatively thin armour. The fatal and final blow to the Italian Navy was a shortage of fuel, which forced her main units to remain at anchor for most of the last year of the Italian alliance with Germany  .

Main naval battles in the Italian Mare Nostrum

From summer/fall 1941 to November 1942 the Mediterranean sea was effectively an "Italian Mare Nostrum", fully controlled by the Italians in the central area around the Italian peninsula and Tunisia/Libya. These were the main battles/events in those months:

 Attack on the British base at Suda Bay, Crete by destroyers Crispi and Sella, both transporting explosive motor boats: HMS York beached and abandoned and one oil tanker sunk (26 March 1941).
 First Battle of Sirte (1941): Naval engagement tactically inconclusive ; British warships ran on a minefield in the aftermath, while waiting for an Italian convoy off Tripoli. They lost a cruiser and a destroyer; more than 800 British seamen died in the incident.
 Sinking of Battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Valiant in Alexandria Harbor, by Italian frogmen (19 December 1941)
 Second Battle of Sirte (22 March 1942): escort battered by Italian battleship Littorio, but still able to break contact; cargo ships destroyed by aircraft attack before they could reach Malta as result of the battle.The British had 3 light cruisers and 6 destroyers damaged.
 Battle of Mid-June (1942), also known as Operation Harpoon (destroyer HMS Bedouin, tanker Kentucky, steamer Burdwan and merchantman Chant sunk by combined air and surface action) and Operation Vigorous, when the Italian Fleet blocked a 11 cargo ships convoy (cruiser HMS Hermione and four British destroyers sunk by German E-boats and axis aircraft).
 Battle of Mid-August (1942), also known as Operation Pedestal: cruiser HMS Manchester and four merchantmen sunk by Italian Torpedo Boats. Two other cruisers and three steamers sunk by submarine and air strikes. It was the last major tactical success for the Italian forces, supported by the Germans, against the Malta convoys.
 Operation Agreement, 14 September 1942: A Royal Navy attempt against Tobruk harbour ended in disaster when aerial, coastal and naval Italian forces launched a swift counter-attack; more than 700 British servicemen were killed.

Photos

Notes

Bibliography
 Blitzer, Wolf. Century of War. Friedman/Fairfax Publishers. New York, 2001
 Buell, Hal. World War II, Album & Chronicle. Tess Press. New York, 2002 .
 De Felice, Renzo. Mussolini l'Alleato: Italia in guerra 1940-1943. Rizzoli Ed. Torino, 1990.
 Fleming, Thomas. The New Dealers' War. Perseus Books. New York, 2001
 Holland, James. Fortress Malta: An Island Under Siege, 1940-1943. England: Cassell Military, 2004 .
 Lamb, Richard. Mussolini as Diplomat. Fromm International Ed. London, 1999
 Petacco, Arrigo. Le battaglie navali del Mediterraneo nella seconda guerra mondiale Mondadori Editore. Milano, 1976
 Weinberg, Gerhard. A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II New York, 2005

Other websites
   History of the Regia Marina in World War II
  Italian Navy in the Mediterranean Sea
 Battle of Mid-August (in Italian)
 The Italian Airforce in WWII (in Italian)
 Italian Army vehicles and tanks in WWII: brief history
 History of sinkings by Italian "Maiale" human torpedo (in Italian)
  10 pages of photos of Italian Navy from www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk

World War II
1940s in Italy
Mediterranean Sea

Italian Mare Nostrum


A sequence is a word meaning "a set of related events, movements or items that follow each other in a particular order".

It is used in mathematics and other disciplines. In ordinary use, it means a series of events, one following another. In maths, a sequence is made up of several things put together, one after the other. The order that the things are in matters. For example, both (Blue, Red, Yellow) and (Yellow, Blue, Red) are sequences, but they are not the same. Sequences made up of numbers are also called progressions.

There are two kinds of sequences. One kind is finite sequences, which have an end. For example, (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) is a finite sequence. The other kind is infinite sequences, which means that they keep going and never end. An example of a sequence that is infinite is the sequence of all even numbers, bigger than 0. This sequence never ends: it starts with 2, 4, 6, and so on, and one can always keep on naming even numbers.

If a sequence is finite, it is easy to say what it is: one can simply write down all the things in the sequence. This does not work for an infinite sequence. So another way to write down a sequence is to write a rule for finding the thing in any place one wants. The rule should tell us how to get the thing in the n-th place, where n can be any natural number. This means that a sequence is really a special kind of function with natural numbers as its domain. We sometimes write a sequence as , where  stands for the n-th term of the sequence.

For example, the rule could be that the thing in the n-th place is the number 2×n (2 times n). This tells us what the whole sequence is, even though it never ends. The first number is 2×1, which is 2. The second number is 2×2, or 4. If we want to know what the 100-th number is, we can simply calculate 2×100 and get 200. No matter which thing in the sequence we want, the rule can tell us what it is.

Types of sequences

Arithmetic progressions (AP)
In an arithmetic progression, the difference between a term and the term before it is always a constant.

Example:

9 - 4 = 5, 14 - 9 = 5, 19 - 14 = 5, 24 - 19 = 5, and so on.

So if one takes the first term as a and the constant difference as D, then the general formula for arithmetic sequence is , where n is the number of term.

Geometric progressions (GP)
In a geometric progression, the ratio between a term and the term before it is always constant.

Example:

6/3 = 2, 12/6 = 2, 24/12 = 2, 48/24 = 2, and so on.

So if one takes a to be the first term and r to be the ratio, then the general formula for geometric progression is , where n is the number of term.

Harmonic Progressions (HP)
In a harmonic progression, the difference between the reciprocal of a term and the reciprocal of the term before it is a constant.

Example:

, and so on.

Series
A series is the sum of all the terms of a sequence.

The general formula for calculating the sum of arithmetic sequence is

That of a geometric sequence is , if the sequence is infinite, and, if it is finite.

Here, a is the first term, d is the common difference in arithmetic sequence, r is the ratio in geometric sequence and n is the number of term.

Related pages

 Cauchy sequence
 Limit of a sequence
 Series

Notes and References

Sequences and series

Sequence


Operation Predator is an initiative started on July 9, 2003 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a division of the Department of Homeland Security, to protect children from sexual predators.

Operation Predator targets foreign national sex offenders (deportable aliens), child traffickers, child-sex tourists, and people involved in all levels of child pornography, from producers to distributors to consumers.

As of January 2007, there have been over 9,300 arrests under Operation Predator.  Over 1,000 of those arrests occurred within the first three months of the operation.  More than 85% of the arrests made as part of Operation Predator have been arrests of foreign national sex offenders whose crimes make them removable from the United States. Approximately 40% of these are lawful permanent residents and approximately 40% of these are illegal immigrants.  To date, more than 5,000 of these predators have been deported.  They have also made arrests against human smugglers and child pornographers.

Operation Predator has become the main force behind President Bush's PROTECT Act, which makes it illegal for Americans to travel abroad in order to have sex with a minor.  This growing sex tourism industry is fueled by citizens of wealthy countries (mostly Americans, who make up an estimated 25% of all offenders) going to places such as Thailand, Cambodia, and Costa Rica, where they believe they will be protected by lax child protection laws or corrupt law enforcement.  Those three nations have been working with ICE and World Vision on a public awareness campaign to stop this industry. Cambodia and Mexico had already been working closely with ICE to stop child sex tourism in their countries.

Some of Operation Predator's other major successes to date include a single web portal to various sex offender registry databases and creating a National Child Victim Identification System.  On the international front, they have increased cooperation with INTERPOL and various international governments to combat child pornography and child sex tourism.

There is also an Operation Predator iPhone app to allow users to receive alerts about suspected child sex predators, share the information with friends via email and social media, and submit tips.

The Department of Justice estimates that somewhere between 300,000 and 400,000 U.S. children are sexually exploited every year. The United Nations estimates that one million children are forced into prostitution every year.  ICE estimates that child sex tourism victimizes upwards of two million children a year.

National Child Victim Identification System

The National Child Victim Identification System is a massively inter-agency system run by Operation Predator in conjunction with the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, the Justice Department, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

This system aims to provide federal and state agencies with a central database of child pornography to aid prosecution, and to positively identify children in child pornography.

The National Child Victim Identification System has been used to convict criminals by proving that the pornographic images the defendants possess are of real children, and not morphed or virtual.

See also
Operation Angel Watch

References

External links
Operation Predator Homepage
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homepage
U.S. Breaks Up Belarus-Based International Child Porn Ring
Fact Sheet: Operation Predator - July 19, 2005 (Revised)
Fact Sheet: Operation Predator - July 7, 2004
Predatory Aliens
Hunting on pedophile
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/privacy/PIAs/privacy_pia_ncvis_august_2009.pdf

See also
 Operation Delego
 Operation Joint Hammer

Predator
Child sexual abuse in the United States
Sex tourism
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Operation Predator


United 300 is an American short film that parodies United 93 (2006) and 300 (2007). It won the MTV Movie Spoof Award at the MTV Movie Awards 2007. The short was created by Andy Signore along with some of his friends. During his speech, he said, roughly, "The film was not making fun of a tragedy; it was a tribute to those who stood up against tyranny".

Synopsis

The film is about the 300 Spartans defending the passengers against German terrorists.  The Spartans defend the entryway to the cockpit of the plane in a parallel to how the Spartans in 300 defended the narrow pass of Thermopylae.

In between fighting, the terrorists' emperor Jerxes (wearing the same costume as Xerxes in 300)  holds audience with Leonidas while sitting on his "throne" (the plane lavatory's toilet). Jerxes criticizes Gerard Butler's performance as Leonidas in 300, by asking the Spartan King why he has to shout all of his dialogue, and pointing out that if he shouts less, the times when he does shout will have more dramatic impact.  Leonidas responds to this by declaring "I'm not yelling, I'm just passionate!"  Leonidas also threatens to take the plane down, to which Jerxes warns "We'll be forced to land in Ohio!"  Leonidas responds, "Then tonight, we dine in Cleveland!"  At one point, turbulence causes the plane's captain to turn on the "wear seatbelts" sign, which both sides observe and leads to a pause in the fighting, glaring awkwardly at each other from their seats. Once the turbulence passes the fight erupts again. At the end, Jerxes proclaims "This is madness!" and is kicked out of the plane's airlock. Leonidas responds, "This is United!"

Cast

Scott Burn as King Leonidas
Ken Gamble as Jerxes, terrorist emperor
Ceilidh Lamont as the Stewardess
Larry Butler as the Pilot
Jorg Sirtl as Hans, terrorist commander
Victor Fischbarg as Lars, terrorist
Bill Eegle as unnamed bald terrorist
Mikel Porter as unnamed terrorist who gets speared first

Spartans

Chris Bradley
Ryan Caldwell
Shaun Gomez as Ajax
Art Green
Bob MacColl
Travis McElory
Brad Morriston
Guy M. Nardulli
Micah Nauman
Rama
Geoff Stirling
John Theodore as bandaged Spartan
Jeff Victor
Sigmound Watkins

Passengers

Dave Bell
Alphounse Boulanger as older passenger
Ahren Boulanger
Sharon Cottrell
Daniel Hartley
Miranda Signore

References

External links

2007 films
Films set on airplanes
2000s parody films
American aviation films
2007 black comedy films
2007 short films
Cultural depictions of Leonidas I
2007 comedy films
American black comedy films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films

United 300


Orlando Figueroa (b. September 9, 1955) was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. When he was a child he loved to learn how mechanical toys worked. When he was in elementary school, he spent most of his time building things and looking for solutions to problems. In high school he was in advanced mathematics. He fell in love with space after that. He would gaze at the stars and moon and would try to imagine what it would be like to travel into space.

After high school Figueroa attended the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez and in 1978, he earned his Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering. While at school in Puerto Rico he took a few advanced courses in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Works
In 1982, Figueroa was hired by NASA and was named Head of the Cryogenics Technology Section at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Among the other positions that Figueroa has held are Lead Cryogenic Engineer for the Cryogenic Optical Assembly of the Cosmic Background Explorer, Manager for the Superfluid Helium On Orbit Transfer Shuttle Experiment, Manager for the Small Explorer Project, Manager for the Explorer Program and Director of the Systems, Technology and Advanced Concepts Directorate.

In 1997, Figueroa was a member of the Senior Executive Service of the U.S. Federal Government. On September 2003, he was the Director for the Solar Systems Division in the Space Science at NASA Headquarters and he also held the position of Director for Mars Exploration.

Accomplishments
As Director of Mars Exploration, Figueroa led a team of hundreds of scientists, engineers and program specialists in one of the agency's most important projects to determine if life ever existed on Mars. The program's plan is to put humans on Mars. Under his directorship the Mars Explorer Rover mission launched Spirit and Opportunity in 2004. The launching of two rovers within days of each other had never been done before, and it was accomplished in three years.

In August 2005, Figueroa was the Director for System Safety and Mission Assurance at the Goddard Space Flight Center. In October 2005, Figueroa was named Director of Applied Engineering and Technology at Goddard. He was responsible for 1,300 employees and provided guidance on engineering and system technology. In January 2010, he became Deputy Center Director for Science and Technology of Goddard Space Flight Center. Mr. Figueroa now lives in Maryland with his family.

1955 births
Living people
People from San Juan, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican scientists

Orlando Figueroa


A city-state is a city that has its own sovereignty, meaning that it is its own country. There were many important city-states in ancient Greece. Nowadays, cities may have differing degrees of self-governance. In order to be considered a city-state, a city must govern itself independently, by regulating its own taxes, or having independent representation at the United Nations.

Antiquity
 In Ancient Greece a polis was a city-state
 Athens
 Sparta
 Corinth
 Thebes

Modern city states

Sorted in order of area size.

  Singapore was a British colony till 1959. In 1959, it achieved autonomy in internal matters. Between 1963 and 1965, it was part of Malaysia. Singapore was removed from Malaysia on 9 August 1965 and became independent.
  The second smallest country in the world, Monaco is entirely urban, because all its territory of only 2 square kilometers is built-up.
  The smallest country in the world was created in 1929. The Vatican City is an enclave completely surrounded by the city of Rome, Italy, and is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church.

Political geography

City-state


James Thorne Erskine, 14t Earl o Mar an 16t Earl o Kellie, DL (born Mairch 10, 1949) is a Leeberal Democrat member o the Hoose o Lairds.

Educatit at Eton College, he wis Page o Honour tae Queen Elizabeth II in 1962 an 1963. As the 16t Viscoont Fentoun, he is Premier Viscoont o Scotland. He is an aw 19t Lord Erskine; 16t Lord Erskine o Dirleton; 16t Lord Dirleton an the Chief o the Name an Airms o Erskine.

In order tae remain in the Lords efter the remuival o maist hereditary peers in 1999 he wis creatit a  life peer as Baron Erskine o Alloa Touer, o Alloa in Clackmannanshire.

Syne 1991, he haes been a Deputy Lieutenant for Clackmannanshire.

He haes sat in the House o Lords syne 1994. Thare, he is Liberal Democrat spokesman on Scotland, an assistant whip an sits on the Constitution committee an the Religious Offences committee.

Awin tae a nineteent century dispute, thare is anither Earldom o Mar, held bi Margaret Alison o Mar, 31st Coontess o Mar.

1949 births
Erskine, James 14t Earl o Mar
Livin fowk

James Erskine, 14t Yerl o Mar


The word cartoon has been used in several different ways.

Types of cartoons

Cartoon for an artwork
The oldest meaning is a drawing that is a full-sized design for a finished artwork. The cartoon might be a drawing for a painting that was going to be put onto a wall or ceiling in fresco. The cartoon would be pinned against the wall and its design marked onto the plastered of the wall. Cartoons were also made to design tapestry. The most famous cartoons of this kind are a set by Raphael which show the "Life of St Peter". The cartoons are in the Victoria & Albert Museum. The finished tapestries belong to the Vatican and were made for the Sistine Chapel.

Political cartoon

In the 1700s, artists such as William Hogarth often made sets of humorous (funny) drawings that were about political subjects, such as poverty, elections, war and riots. The drawings were made into prints and were sold cheaply. These prints were not called cartoons at that time, but they led to the idea of modern political cartoons in newspapers.

Nowadays many newspapers publish a different political cartoon in the paper, every day. The word "cartoon" was first used in this way in 1843 in an English magazine called Punch.

A political cartoon does not always show real people. Sometimes it may use a personification of a country or organization as a person, an animal, or a monster. For example, Britain might be shown as a woman holding a baby Australia in her arms. Russia might be shown as a baby bear or a dolphin. The United States might be shown as a Bald Eagle.

Comic strips

Political cartoons were often drawn to show several different stages of the same story. Many of Hogarth's famous political cartoons do this. From this came the idea of telling funny stories in a series of pictures. Comic strips are a type of "cartoon" that is published in newspapers, but they are usually just called "comic strips".

Comic books assemble many strips in a book. The book may tell a long story, longer than a newspaper would want to print, or several stories.

Comic strips posted on the internet are web comics. Some use animation and sound for special effects. Like comic books they may be large, and most offer a large collection of earlier strips for new readers, so longer stories can be told. Many webcomics are published (shown to people) by independent artists.

Movie Cartoons
 Main article: Animated cartoon

From the beginning of the movie industry, some artists began experimenting with making drawings that seemed to move. These moving drawings also became known as "cartoons". They often depict animals rather than humans. They were often just for fun, but sometimes, particularly during World War II, were used for political reasons, just like the cartoons in newspapers.

At first, movie cartoons were quite short. When a person bought a movie ticket, they would see a news program, two or three cartoons in black and white and a movie. Walt Disney then got the idea to tell a long story as a "cartoon". The first example made was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Movie cartoons soon became a popular type of entertainment. Modern movie cartoons are sometimes created using computer graphics, rather than hand-drawn cartoons. The popular stars of animated cartoons include Tom and Jerry, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy.

References

Cartoons

Cartoon


Whipped cream is a dairy food used in many desserts. It is made with heavy cream, a type of cream that contains a large amount of fat.

Preparation
To make whipped cream, a person whips or beats the heavy cream with a whisk or an electric mixer until it becomes fluffy and filled with air. For some desserts, icing sugar can be added as a sweetener. Some people also add flavourings to whipped cream, such as vanilla.

Serving
Whipped cream is used in many types of desserts. Some desserts, such as apple pie or strawberry shortcake, are often served with whipped cream on top. Whipped cream is also served in milk shakes, Alex's coffee, and on ice cream sundaes. Some desserts have whipped cream inside them, such as cream puffs and eclairs.

Dairy products
Desserts

Whipped cream


The Hound of the Baskervilles is a novel.

The story
Dr James Mortimor comes to Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson to seek their help with the Baskerville family of Devon. Sir Charles Baskerville, the last of his Baskerville family was an elderly man. He believed that there was a curse on the family. In 1647 his ancestor, Hugo Baskerville, had attempted to catch a young woman whom he carried off; the girl had died of fear while Hugo was killed by a gigantic hound. Sir Charles Baskerville died of a heart attack while apparently fleeing a gigantic hound. As he was unmarried with no heirs, his estate goes to his nephew, Henry Baskerville, of Canada who is arriving in London. Although Holmes is not superstitious he does decide to take the case. Upon meeting the heir, several odd things happen: an unsigned note is delivered to Henry Baskerville warning him to stay away from the moor; then Henry's shoes beginning missing and turning up; first a new shoe and then an old one;  lastly Holmes spots a stranger in a cab following Henry and Dr Mortimor.

Holmes cannot go to Devon so he sends Dr Watson in his place as both a bodyguard to Sir Henry and as a spy. Dr Watson reports the eccentric happenings in Devon: the Baskerville's butler Barrymore and his wife who act strangely; Jack Stapleton an ex-schoolmaster and eccentric butterfly collector and his sister Beryl;  a local busybody/and crank Frankland and his estranged daughter Laura Lyons. Lastly there is a deranged convict escapee named Sheldon on the moor.  Beryl Stapleton first mistakes Watson for Sir Henry, warning him to go away; when she meets Sir Henry who begins to be attracted to her; although her brother strongly objects to their meeting together. Watson and Sir Henry find out the reason for the Barrymores strange actions, they are secretly helping Mrs Barrymore's brother, the escaped convict. Barrymore does reveal that he accidentally found a burned note to Charles Baskerville asking him to meet outside the hall from someone named L.L.

Watson confronts Laura Lyons who admits that Charles Baskerville had financed her typewriting business and says she did not meet him on the night of his death. Watson is also confronted by Franklin who claims that he saw the escaped convict on the moor hiding in a old stone hut.  Watson decides to investigate and finds the stranger is none other than Holmes!  Holmes reveals that his prime suspect is Stapleton, who is the husband not the brother of Beryl. When they hear a scream they run out to find a dead man at the foot of a cliff. It is Sheldon the convict who was wearing Henry Baskerville old clothes. After meeting Stapleton, Holmes and Watson go to Baskerville  Hall where Holmes tells Sir Henry to keep his dinner engagement with the Stapletons for the next night, although neither Holmes or Watson can go with Sir Henry as they must leave for London. Instead of leaving for London, Holmes and Watson confront Laura Lyons who is forced to admit that Stapleton had promised marriage to her. The meeting with Sir Charles was to have been a loan connected with her divorce expenses. It was Stapleton who persuaded her not to meet with Sir Charles at the last second and also to keep quiet about the note. Holmes and Watson meet Inspector Lestrade who has a arrest warrant. That night the three men spy on Stapleton and Sir Henry;  when Sir Henry leaves to walk home, a gigantic glowing hound nearly attacks him but is killed by Holmes and Watson. At Stapleton's house they find Beryl who has been tied up and beaten by Stapleton. Stapleton flees to the moor but falls into the Grimpen Mire.

Holmes reveals his deductive reasoning: the warning note had a woman's perfume scent; the theft of the shoes gave a clue that the dog was real; Stapleton, who was a spiritual and physical throwback to Hugo Baskerville  (Holmes noticed the resemblance to the family portraits); his real name was Rodger Baskerville Jr (his father was the youngest of the Baskerville brothers and had to flee England for Central America). After marring a local beauty Beryl Garcia, he had stolen public money and fled Central America to England in 1885 where he used the money to start a public school in Yorkshire. The tutor he had hired died of consumption and the school which Baskerville then tried to use to teach his pupils crime was forced to close after an epidemic killed three students. In 1887 He then fled to his ancestrial home in Devon with the remains of his fortune, his wife and his taste for Entomology; Holmes cannot prove it but he theorizes that Baskerville supported himself by burglaries and in the process committed a murder. When he found out that one life was between him and a valuable estate and that Sir Charles had both a weak heart and took the family legend seriously, he bought a large savage dog and hid it on the moor. He tricked Laura Lyons into writing the appointment note for Sir Charles and sent the dog, coated with phosphorous, after the old man who died of a heart attack. He tried the same trick on his cousin Henry twice-the first time however it was the convict wearing Henry clothing that fell victim. He had tied up his wife so she could not warn Sir Henry of the danger he was in. In Holmes words: Roger Baskerville aka Jack Stapleton has for years been a dangerous and desperate man and one of the few foes worthy of confronting Sherlock Holmes The others being Dr Grimesby Roylott and Professor Moriaty).

Plot

Other websites
 Read The Hound of the Baskervilles  at Sir Arthur Conan Doyle–His Life, All His Works and More

 The Hound of the Baskervilles–in HTML format.
 The Hound of the Baskervilles (Part I)  at BFRonline.biz.
 The Hound of the Baskervilles (Part II)  at BFRonline.biz.
 The Hound of the Baskervilles (Conclusion)  at BFRonline.biz.
 The Hound of the Baskervilles as an audiobook on LibriVox

Crime fiction books
Horror novels
Books by Arthur Conan Doyle
1902 books

The Hound of the Baskervilles


The Saint Steps In is a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris featuring his creation, Simon Templar, alias The Saint. The book was first published in serialized form in November 1942 in Liberty, with its first bound publication in 1943 in an American edition by The Crime Club. Hodder and Stoughton published the first British edition in 1943.

Plot summary
In Washington, D.C., a young woman whose father has invented a new form of synthetic rubber requests Simon Templar's aid when she receives a threatening note. Before long, The Saint is drawn into a web of war-related intrigue involving what appear to be gangsters, but soon turns out to be groups with differing opinions as to what it takes to be patriotic. The book reveals that, instead of enlisting to fight in the war, Templar has instead been working behind the scenes, carrying out quiet missions against enemy agents and, unusually for the character, his efforts in this case are actually supported by law enforcement.

This is the third Saint book in a row to be set in the United States (previously most of Templar's adventures took place in England), following The Saint in Miami and The Saint Goes West, and direct reference is made to the Miami novel.

References to other works
As was the case with the previous book, The Saint Goes West, The Saint Steps In includes in-jokes related to Simon Templar's "second career" as a B-movie hero (as a series of films featuring the character made by RKO Pictures was underway at the time of its publication). The start of Chapter 5 includes a character referring to The Falcon, another character appearing in B-movies at the time, as "a bargain-basement imitation" of Templar. The Falcon was in fact created as a competitor for the Saint and the film series even used some of the same actors who played Templar.

References
 Burl Barer, The Saint: A Complete History in Print, Radio, Film and Television 1928-1992. Jefferson, N.C.: MacFarland, 2003 (originally published in 1992), pp. 71–73.

1943 British novels
Simon Templar books
Novels by Leslie Charteris
Novels set during World War II
Novels first published in serial form
Works originally published in Liberty (general interest magazine)
Novels set in Washington, D.C.
The Crime Club books

The Saint Steps In


Salome or Salomé (Hebrew: שלומית Shlomit)  (c AD 14  between 62 and 71), is the name of a character in the New Testament. Her name is not actually given there, but she was an entirely historical person. She was the daughter of Herod Antipas and Herodias. Her name is pronounced with a short 'o', and the 'e' at the end is sounded.

This Salome is not the same Salome who is said to be a witness to the Crucifixion of Jesus in Mark 15:40.

Biblical character

According to Mark 6:21-29, Salome was the stepdaughter of Herod Antipas, and danced before Herod and her mother Herodias at the occasion of Herod's birthday. The New Testament suggests that Salome caused John the Baptist to be executed because his spoke out that Herod's marriage to Herodias was adulterous. Herodias put her up to the demand that John be executed, something the king was initially reluctant to do.

And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.  And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.

And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger [a large serving plate] the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.

And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. (Mark 6:21-29, King James Bible)

The version in Matthew (Chapter 14, verses 311, is perhaps clearer:
For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife.
For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.
And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.
Wereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.
And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.
And the king was sorry: nevertheless, for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.
And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.
And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.

 Her name
Her name is established by being mentioned in the account by Flavius Josephus in Josephus's Jewish Antiquities (Book XVIII, Chapter 5, 4). Despite the early date of this account, she was not always called Salome until the nineteenth century, when Gustave Flaubert (following Josephus) referred to her as Salome in his play Herodias'' (1876).

There is a coin with her name on it. This rare coin bears the inscription BACIΛIC ΣΆΛΩΜΉ (Queen Salome). It is the reverse side of her later husband's coinage of Chalcis and Armenia Minor He was Aristobulus of Chalcis.

Adaptations
The story above has been adapted to various forms of art. Innumerable paintings about it exist. There is a play by Oscar Wilde. Operas about it have been composed by Richard Strauss and Jules Massenet. Ballets by Florent Schmit and Flemming Flindt. Various films have also been made between 1918 and 2006. The antagonist character in the bluegrass musical The Robber Bridegroom is named Salome.

References

Other websites
Salome II entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith

14 births
60s deaths
Ancient Israeli people
New Testament people

Salome


Jamie Redknapp (born 25 June 1973) is an English footballer. He was born in Barton on Sea, Hampshire. He played for Liverpool F.C., Tottenham Hotspur F.C., A.F.C. Bournemouth and Southampton F.C..  His father, Harry Redknapp, is the manager of Portsmouth F.C.

Redknapp married R&B singer Louise Nurding in 1998.

1973 births
Living people
English footballers
Sportspeople from Hampshire
Louise Redknapp
Premier League players

Jamie Redknapp


The Michelangelo virus is a computer virus first discovered on 4 February 1991 in Australia. The virus was designed to infect DOS systems, but did not engage the operating system or make any OS calls. Michelangelo, like all boot sector viruses, operated at the BIOS level. Each year, the virus remained dormant until March 6, the birthday of Renaissance artist Michelangelo. There is no reference to the artist in the virus, and it is doubtful that the virus's developer(s) intended a connection between the virus and the artist. The name was chosen by researchers who noticed the coincidence of the activation date. The actual significance of the date to the author is unknown. Michelangelo is a variant of the already endemic Stoned virus.

On March 6, if the PC is an AT or a PS/2, the virus overwrites the first one hundred sectors of the hard disk with nulls. The virus assumes a geometry of 256 cylinders, 4 heads, 17 sectors per track. Although all the user's data would still be on the hard disk, it would be irretrievable for the average user.

On hard disks, the virus moves the original master boot record to cylinder 0, head 0, sector 7.

On floppy disks, if the disk is 360 KB, the virus moves the original boot sector to cylinder 0, head 1, sector 3.

On other disks, the virus moves the original boot sector to cylinder 0, head 1, sector 14.
 This is the last directory of the 1.2 MB disks.
 This is the second-to-last directory of the 1.44 MB disks.
 The directory does not exist on 720 KB disks.

Although designed to infect DOS systems, the virus can easily disrupt other operating systems installed on the system since, like many viruses of its era, the Michelangelo infects the master boot record of a hard drive. Once a system became infected, any floppy disk inserted into the system (and written to; in 1992 a PC system could not detect that a floppy had been inserted, so the virus could not infect the floppy until some access to the disk is made) becomes immediately infected as well. And because the virus spends most of its time dormant, activating only on March 6, it is conceivable that an infected computer could go for years without detection — as long as it wasn't booted on that date, while infected.

The virus first came to widespread international attention in January 1992, when it was revealed that a few computer and software manufacturers had accidentally shipped products, for example Intel's LANSpool print server, infected with the virus. Although the infected machines numbered only in the hundreds, the resulting publicity spiraled into "expert" claims, partially led by anti-virus company founder John McAfee, of thousands or even millions of computers infected by Michelangelo. However, on March 6, 1992, only 10,000 to 20,000 cases of data loss were reported.

In subsequent years, users were advised not to run PCs on March 6, waiting until March 7, or else reset the PC date to March 7 at some time on March 5 (to skip March 6). Eventually, the news media lost interest, and the virus was quickly forgotten. Despite the scenario given above, in which an infected computer could evade detection for years, by 1997 no cases were being reported in the wild.

See also

Timeline of notable computer viruses and worms

References

External links
http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-1992-02.html official advisory (by CERT)
, a chapter in an IBM research report
Michelangelo Fiasco: a Historical Timeline at Vmyths

 http://www.f-prot.com/virusinfo/descriptions/michhelangelo.html

Boot viruses
Hacking in the 1990s

Michelangelo (computer virus)


The Landgraviate of Hesse () was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed as a single entity from 1264 to 1567, when it was divided among the sons of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse.

History
In the early Middle Ages the territory of Hessengau, named after the Germanic Chatti tribes, formed the northern part of the German stem duchy of Franconia, along with the adjacent Lahngau. Upon the extinction of the ducal Conradines, these Rhenish Franconian counties were gradually acquired by Landgrave Louis I of Thuringia and his successors.

After the War of the Thuringian Succession upon the death of Landgrave Henry Raspe in 1247, his niece Duchess Sophia of Brabant secured the Hessian possessions for her minor son Henry the Child. In 1264 he became the first Landgrave of Hesse and the founder of the House of Hesse. The remaining Thuringian landgraviate fell to the Wettin's Henry III, Margrave of Meissen. Henry I of Hesse was raised to the status of prince by King Adolf of Germany in 1292.

From 1308 to 1311, and again from 1458, the landgraviate was divided into Upper Hesse and Lower Hesse. Hesse was re-unified under Landgrave William II in 1500. The Landgraviate rose to primary importance under his son Philip I, also called Philip the Magnanimous, who embraced Protestantism following the 1526 Synod of Homberg and then took steps to create a protective alliance of Protestant princes and powers against the Catholic emperor Charles V. When Philip I died in 1567, Hesse was divided between his sons from his first marriage, which decisively enfeebled its importance.

The new Hessian territories were:
 Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel, the Electorate of Hesse from 1803, which was eventually incorporated into the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau in 1866) to William IV;
 Hesse-Marburg (whose line became extinct in 1604, and was then incorporated into Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Darmstadt) to Louis IV;
 Hesse-Rheinfels (whose line became extinct in 1583, and was then incorporated into Hesse-Kassel) to Philip II;
 the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (known as the Grand Duchy of Hesse from 1806 and the People's State of Hesse from 1918) to George I
The Hessian territories were not re-united until the formation of Greater Hesse (though without Rhenish Hesse) as part of Allied-occupied Germany in 1945.

See also
 Rulers of Hesse

External links
 Map of the Landgraviate of Hesse under Philip I the Magnanimous

Medieval Germany
Hesse
Upper Rhenish Circle
Landgraviate
 Landgraviate of Hesse
States and territories established in 1264
States and territories disestablished in 1567
1260s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
1264 establishments in Europe
1567 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire
Former monarchies of Europe

Landgraviate of Hesse


The Southern Islands of Singapore is a group of islands at the south of Singapore. It features famous islands like Sentosa(pictured), the Sisters Islands and Kusu Island.

Development
The Singapore Tourism Board has spent close to S$300 million and took about 15 years to develop the southern islands of Singapore. This whole project is to bring gas, water, electricity and telecommunication supplies to the southern islands.

Geography of Singapore

Southern Islands


The Birmingham Oratory is a Catholic religious community of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, located in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham. The community was founded in 1849 by John Henry Newman as the first house of that congregation in England.

Part of the complex of the Oratory is the Parish Church of the Immaculate Conception, commonly referred to as the Oratory Church. It now also serves as the national shrine to Newman.

History

Saint John Henry Newman, the founder of the Birmingham Oratory, after his conversion to the Catholic Church was seeking a way of life to live out his vocation. In common with a colleague from the Oxford Movement and fellow convert, Frederick William Faber, he had felt drawn to the way of life of the community founded by St. Philip Neri in Italy in the 16th century. When Newman went to Rome in 1845 to become a Catholic priest, he was authorised by Pope Pius IX to establish a community of the Oratory in England.

Returning to England in 1847, Newman gathered a small community of his followers who also wished to live this life. They initially found a home in Birmingham at the Church of St. Anne on Alcester Street, which became the first house of an Oratorian community in England in 1849. A more suitable location was eventually located in Birmingham, and construction was begun of a residence and church. The Oratorian community relocated there in 1852. It became a parish church for the local area and has served the congregation in various ways through the decades.

Upon the second death within the Oratorian community, Newman realised that they needed a cemetery. Through a donation given to him by the Catholic population of New York City in a show of support, he had been able to acquire property in the rural location of Rednal, where the community established a cemetery for the deceased of the congregation and also built a small summer house.

Music
The Oratory has a heritage of the promotion of great music in its worship. This goes back to its founder, St. Philip Neri, who believed strongly in the power of music for bringing out the good in people. The original Oratory in Rome was one of the great centres of sacred music for the city. The most celebrated singers and composers of the day would perform there. From this heritage comes the word oratorio. Right from its founding, the Birmingham Oratory has been noted for the high level of its music, due largely to the active interest of Newman himself. The parish continues to provide services which use the music of Palestrina, William Byrd, Tomás Luis de Victoria, Haydn, Mozart, as well as modern composers.

Education
Newman also founded the Oratory School there in 1859, as a Catholic alternative to Eton College. It relocated to near Reading in 1922. In 1887 two priests of the Oratory took over an existing school intended to provide an education to the poor Catholic boys of the area. This became St. Philip's School, which operated until 1995.

Current church

The current church was constructed between 1907 and 1910 in the Baroque style to replace the original structure as a memorial to Newman. It was designed by the architect Edward Doran Webb.

Prior to a final determination regarding the beatification of Newman, the Holy See gave instructions that his remains were to be transferred from the Oratorian cemetery in the West Midlands to the Oratory Church. A marble tomb was constructed to receive them, but not installed in the church. When the church and civil authorities opened the grave in October 2008, they found no human remains.

The Grade II* listed church continues to serve the Congregation of the Oratory there. Elsewhere in England, there are also communities of the Congregation at the Brompton Oratory in London and the York Oratory.

In February 2012, the church suffered the theft of a large metal cross from its roof. The loss was valued at £30,000.

Tolkien and the Oratory
The Birmingham Oratory was to play a major role in the life of J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings, who was a parishioner there for about nine years during his childhood.

After the unexpected death of their father in South Africa, their mother, Mabel Suffield Tolkien, began to seek a spiritual home where she could find support in her struggle as a widow and single mother of little financial means. Fifty years after the establishment of the Oratorian community there, she started to attend the Church of St. Anne. The family was received into the Catholic Church in the spring of 1900, provoking opposition from the Tolkien family as well as her own.

A small gift from a relative enabled the young Ronald Tolkien (as he was called by his family) to enroll in the prestigious King Edward's School in Birmingham. This required the family to relocate. Not finding the spiritual support she needed in the local Catholic parish there, Mabel Tolkien began to take her two boys on long walks into the country on Sundays. Through these she came to know the Oratory, and found a friend in the community in the person of Fr. Francis Xavier Morgan, Cong.Orat.

The young Ronald had enrolled in the school without having been given a scholarship, and the tuition and fees weighed heavily upon the family income. When Father Morgan became aware of this, he made arrangements for the boy to transfer to the St. Philip's School. That, along with tutoring by his mother at home, allowed Ronald to gain a scholarship and to return to King Edward's School.

When Mabel Tolkien's health began to decline as a result of diabetes, Francis Morgan used his personal income to provide a home for the family in the vicinity of their rural house. After her death in 1904, fearing that their relations might force the boys to give up their Catholic faith, Mabel Tolkien appointed Father Morgan as their legal guardian.

Morgan then supported the Tolkien boys out of his own pocket, paying Mabel's sister to house the boys. They found a real home, however, in the parish community of the Oratory, taking part in activities such as scouting there, which gave them an outlet for their youthful energies and companionship.

Newman's beatification

The Oratory was visited by Pope Benedict XVI, immediately after the beatification Mass of John Henry Newman, which was held at Cofton Park in Birmingham on 19 September 2010. It was the first beatification ceremony ever held in England.

Oratory House

The living quarters of the community is called the Oratory House (1850–51), fronting Hagley Road. Except for four years spent in Ireland, it served as Newman's home from 1852 to 1890. His personal papers are located here.

Organ

The organ dates from 1909 and was installed by Nicholson of Worcester. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

Controversy

After a canonical visitation by the Holy See, in May 2010 the Rev'd Fr. Paul Chavasse, Cong.Orat., was removed from his position as Provost of the Oratory. This came after it was learned that he had entered a "close but chaste" relationship with a younger man. He had also served as the Postulator for the cause of Newman's canonisation.

Shortly thereafter, two priests and a lay brother were transferred from the Oratory. This is a highly unusual step, as the members of the Oratory make their commitment to a particular community, where they then spend their lives. The two priests were assigned to live in two different monasteries, while Bro. Lewis Berry, Cong.Orat., who was preparing for ordination, was sent to the Port Elizabeth Oratory, a newly founded Oratory in South Africa, for an indefinite period. The reason given for this was that the African Oratory would provide him "greater opportunities for a varied programme of pastoral work" needed for service as a deacon. This resulted in his not being present for Newman's beatification ceremony, although he had run the website of Newman's cause for canonisation. One of the priests, the Rev'd Fr. Dermot Fenlon, Cong.Orat., was reported to have exclaustration imposed on him, as he was unwilling to agree to his move.

The Birmingham Post reported that the three were popular with parishioners and that a campaign group, "Free The Birmingham Oratory Three" was formed. Berry, however, called upon the protests to stop, saying that he welcomed the move as providing new possibilities in his vocation.

In 2012 the Oratory paid an undisclosed sum to former director of music Nicholas Johnson after he was unfairly dismissed when the Oratory faced financial problems.

References

External links
 Official website
 The Latin Mass Society of England and Wales
 "Free the Birmingham 3: Justice for Fr. Fenlon" blog

Religious organizations established in 1849
1849 establishments in England
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1910
Oratory, Birmingham
Oratory, Birmingham
Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom
20th-century churches in the United Kingdom
Oratorian communities in the United Kingdom
Edwardian architecture
Roman Catholic national shrines
Church buildings with domes
J. R. R. Tolkien
Edgbaston
Articles containing video clips
Roman Catholic shrines in the United Kingdom

Birmingham Oratory


Tlaxcala de Xicoténcatl is the capital of the Mexican state of Tlaxcala. About 84.000 people live in the city itself. Its urban area has about 250.000 people. The city has a historic center. The church of St. Francis was consecrated in 1521. It is the oldest church on American soil.

Capital cities in Mexico
Tlaxcala

Tlaxcala de Xicoténcatl