LaVyrle Spencer (born July 17, 1943) is an American best-selling author of contemporary and historical romance novels. She has successfully published a number of books, with several of them made into movies.  Twelve of her books have been New York Times bestsellers, and Spencer was inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame in 1988.  She retired from writing in 1997.

Biography

Personal life
Spencer was born on July 17, 1943, in Browerville, Minnesota, where she was raised. Shortly after her high school graduation Spencer married her high school sweetheart Dan Spencer. They have just celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary (married in February 1962). The two had three daughters, Sarah, Amy and Beth (Beth unfortunately passed in 1990 and Amy in 2018 unexpectedly), and are grandparents to Spencer and Logan Kimball. They lived in a Victorian house in Stillwater, Minnesota until selling their family home in 2011.  They now live in North Oaks MN, where Spencer enjoys gardening, cooking, playing bass guitar and electric piano, and photography.

Writing career

First novel
Although she showed a flair for writing during high school, Spencer didn't begin her first novel until she was in her thirties, working as a teacher's aide at Osseo Junior High School, she had read "The Flame and The Flower" by the bestselling author Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, which gave her the idea to become a novelist. She decided to try transferring to paper a recurring dream she was having about a story based on her grandmother's lifestyle on a Minnesota farm.  She awoke at 4:00 a.m. one morning, and quickly began writing down her story in a three-ring notebook.  This story became her first novel, The Fulfillment.

She sent her manuscript to best-selling novelist Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, who read it and promptly mailed it to her own editor at Avon.  The editor purchased the novel, which was published in 1979.  The Fulfillment was very different from the historical romance "bodice-rippers" which were popular at the time.  Unlike the other novels, Spencer's debut work did not include any grand adventures, and featured a "nice man" instead of a more overbearing hero.

Other works
Spencer's second novel, Hummingbird, was rejected by her editor at Avon and also by another editor at Jove, although Jove later published the novel in 1983.  Both publishing companies faulted the book for having too much humor and for being too narrow in scope, as the bulk of the book was set within a single house.  Spencer opined that "drama happens within, in the emotional impact on the characters," and refused to dramatically rewrite the book.

Avon likewise rejected Spencer's third book, The Endearment, about a mail-order bride and her husband, who, unlike most heroes, was a virgin.  Avon was leery of this book because it made the hero, not the heroine, the protagonist.  The Endearment was later published by Pocket Books.

In these early years Spencer also wrote four category romances.  She later stopped writing these shorter novels because she was disappointed with the short shelf life, generally only one month, allotted to the category romance.

Spencer's novels were highly successful, consistently selling over 1.5 million copies in paperback and over 400,000 copies in hardcover.  In 1997, she released her twenty-third and last novel, Then Came Heaven.  She told Publishers Weekly that she had always intended to write until she reached a set financial goal, at which point she would retire in order to travel and spend time with her family.  After meeting that goal, she retired.

Writing style
Spencer is known for creating realistic characters and stories that focus on families rather than only the relationship between a man and woman. These "ordinary" men and women are warm and vulnerable and are always portrayed sympathetically. Her heroines tend to be a mix of fire and warmth, strength, savvy and tenderheartedness who must overcome some sort of adversity, such as pregnancy, divorce, a lengthy separation, the loss of a loved one, and then undergo a catharsis. The stories center on themes of abiding love, family ties and strength in difficult times.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Spencer wrote twelve New York Times Bestsellers. Her books have been sold to book clubs worldwide, and have been published around the world.  Condensed versions of many of her novels have appeared in Reader's Digest and Good Housekeeping.

Recognition
Spencer has won five Romance Writers of America RITA Awards, the highest award presented to romance novelists.  Four of her wins came in the category Best Single-Title Historical Romance, and were for the novels, The Endearment (1983), Hummingbird (1984), Twice Loved (1985), and The Gamble (1988).  She also won a RITA Award in 1990 for Best Romance of 1989 for her romance Morning Glory. Because she won three RITAs in a single category, Spencer was inducted into the RWA Hall of Fame in 1988, becoming one of only twelve women (as of September 2009) to have been so honored.

Television and film
Spencer has also made the leap from page to screen. Her first novel, The Fulfillment, was developed as a CBS TV movie starring Cheryl Ladd and Morning Glory, which Spencer wrote in 1989, was released as a major motion picture under the same title, starring Deborah Raffin and Christopher Reeve. Spencer and her husband appear as extras in the film.

In a television deal that Variety called "precedent–setting," CBS TV produced two of Spencer's books for television movies, with an option on a third. Home Song, the first book produced by CBS TV, starring Lee Horsley, Polly Draper, and Deborah Raffin, aired in April 1996.  The second, Family Blessings, starred Lynda Carter, and was directed by Deborah Raffin and Nina Foch. The network also bought the rights to first look at 11 other Spencer novels, as well as pre–cable broadcast rights to the theatrical film of her novel Morning Glory.

Bibliography

Novels
The Fulfillment (1979)
The Endearment (1982)
Forsaking All Others (1982)
Hummingbird (1983)
A Promise to Cherish (1983)
The Hellion (1984)
Sweet Memories (1984)
Twice Loved (1984)
Separate Beds (1985)
Spring Fancy (1985)
A Heart Speaks (1986)
The Gamble (1987)
Years (1987)
Vows (1988)
Morning Glory (1989)
Bitter Sweet (1990)
Forgiving (1991)
Bygones (1992)
November of the Heart (1993)
Family Blessings (1994)
Home Song (1995)
That Camden Summer (1996)
Then Came Heaven (1997)
Small Town Girl (1997)

Collections
The Hellion / Separate Beds / Hummingbird (1991)
Bittersweet / Morning Glory / Vows (1991)
Gamble / Endearment / Forgiving (1992)
Years / Twice Loved / Spring Fancy (1993)
Morning Glory / Vows/ the Gamble (1994)
Bygones / Separate Beds / Bitter Sweet (1994)
Hummingbird / Twice Loved / Vows (1994)
Separate Beds / Forsaking All Others / Promise to Cherish (1995)
The Endearment / Bitter Sweet / Forgiving (1995)
Bygones / November of the Heart / Family Blessings (1996)
For the Heart: Sweet Memories / a Matter of Circumstance / Afterglow (1997)
Home Song / That Camden Summer / Small Town Girl (1999)

Omnibus in collaboration
Sweet Memories / One Tough Texan (1999)'' (with Jan Freed)

References

External links

E-Reader Biography of LaVyrle Spencer

1944 births
Living people
People from Browerville, Minnesota
American romantic fiction writers
People from Stillwater, Minnesota
RITA Award winners
Novelists from Minnesota
20th-century American novelists
20th-century American women writers
Women romantic fiction writers
American women novelists
21st-century American women

LaVyrle Spencer


The Carpet Makers (German original title: Die Haarteppichknüpfer), also published under the title The Hair Carpet Weavers, is  a science fiction novel by German writer Andreas Eschbach,  originally published in 1995.
The first English language edition, released in 2005 by Tor Books, features a foreword by Orson Scott Card.

The book is set on a planet whose sole industry is weaving elaborate rugs. The carpets are made of human hair and require a lifetime of work to complete. The book is a series of inter-related stories that give increasingly more detail on the nature and purpose of the rugs and why the universe has tens of thousands of planets solely devoted to making such a thing, each thinking they are the only one.

There is a prequel to The Carpet Makers titled Quest (2001), which has not been translated into English so far.

Plot
The first chapter, originally a short story, uses the family of one carpet-maker to describe the generations-long tradition of hair carpet-making on an unnamed world and how it was based on religious devotion to a distant, and seemingly immortal, Emperor.  The next several chapters describe more of the carpet-making culture from the viewpoints of a carpet buyer, a teacher with religious doubts, another carpet maker, a traveling peddler and a tax collector.  Some of them are aware of rumours that the reign of the Emperor may be at an end after tens of thousands of years.  As the story expands beyond one planet, we learn that a rebellion has in fact overthrown the central government and killed the Emperor and is bringing the news to the galactic region which includes the carpet-makers---a region that seems to have been removed from all official records.  The rebel leader who killed the Emperor has a secret:  the rebels' success and the Emperor's death were planned by the Emperor himself, grown weary of his long life.  Meanwhile, a distant space station near a black hole continues to serve as a delivery point for all the hair carpets, which come from not only one world, but more than ten thousand.  In an isolated bubble of space, removed from all the other stars of the galaxy, a lone planet is, over millennia, being paved flat.  Only an ancient palace remains and, within it, a captive former king kept alive by artificial means is forced to watch the destruction of his world.  The rebel leaders are astonished to learn that all the hair carpets have been sent through a hidden portal to this world and now cover most of its surface.  Back at the Imperial Archives, the still-loyal Archivist finally tells the ancient story:  the conquered king had teased the Emperor's predecessor about being unable to grow hair on his head, so in vengeance the old Emperor had decided to cover his enemy's entire planet with the hair of his former subjects, a plan which the next Emperor had allowed to continue for 100,000 years.

Reception
The original German novel won the 1996 Deutscher Science Fiction Preis as well as the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire for foreign-language novel in 2001. Writing in Emerald City, Cheryl Morgan called it "a fine example of traditional sociological science fiction, if rather unusually structured."

References

"The Carpet Makers." Kirkus Reviews 73.3 (Feb. 2005): 155-155.
"The Carpet Makers." Publishers Weekly 252.10 (07 Mar. 2005): 54-54.
Green, Roland. "The Carpet Makers (Book)." Booklist 101.16 (15 Apr. 2005): 1442-1442.

1995 German novels
1995 science fiction novels
German science fiction novels
Tor Books books
Novels by Andreas Eschbach

The Carpet Makers


The Venerable is used as a style in several Christian churches. It is also the common English-language translation of a number of Buddhist titles.

Roman Catholic

In the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, The Venerable, is the style used for a person who has been posthumously declared "heroic in virtue" during the investigation and process leading to possible canonization as a saint.  Before a person is  considered to be venerable, he or she must be declared as such by a proclamation, approved by the Pope, of having lived a life that was "heroic in virtue" – the virtues being the Theological Virtues of faith, hope, and charity and the Cardinal Virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.  The next step is beatification, at which point the person is referred to as The Blessed, and finally canonization, at which point the person is referred to as Saint. Two modern and well-known examples of those who have been declared venerable are Popes John Paul II and Pius XII, who were both declared venerable by Pope Benedict XVI in December 2009, and who are likely to be beatified soon.

The 7-8th-century English monk St. Bede was referred to as being venerable soon after his death and, by tradition, is therefore often referred to as "the Venerable Bede" despite his also having been canonized.  St Bede was the first person to be recorded as The Venerable.

Venerable


Matthew Bower is a British musician, active since the early 1980s, who has done both collaborative and solo work.

Skullflower

Skullflower was formed when Bower joined up with Stefan Jaworzyn, Gary Mundy and Stuart Dennison in 1987 having previously worked under the name Pure with Alex Binnie and Alex Windsor. Unlike most of their immediate contemporaries in the London-based industrial underground, they used traditional rock instruments such as guitars and drums as well as  tapes, synths etc.  The line-up could be fluid, with members of contemporaries such as Whitehouse, Coil and Ramleh contributing. The group are often cited as having been a strong influence on Justin Broadrick of Godflesh and, indeed, Broadrick later released two Skullflower albums on his HeadDirt label. Jaworzyn left the band with bassist Anthony DiFranco and guitarist Russell Smith (formerly of Terminal Cheesecake) joining. The unit moved further and further away from any recognisable rock genre with albums such as Obsidian Shaking Codex and Transformer showcasing a free-flowing, rootless brand of drone music, often adding reeds and strings, sometimes played by John Godbert. Skullflower was put on hold around 1997 with Bower pursuing other activities, and triumphantly revived in 2003, with Bower enlisting people like Mark Burns, Neil Campbell, Michael Flower and Colin Potter (of Nurse With Wound) for new material. Although he recorded some of these albums (including Tribulation) alone, many of the group's live commitments were fulfilled by a duo of Bower and Lee Stokoe (who records solo as Culver). A show at the 2008 Colour Out Of Space festival saw Bower and Stokoe being joined by Alex Binnie and Stuart Dennison. At April 2009, the full line-up of Skullflower was Bower, Stokoe, Dennison and Samantha Davies. He and Samantha Davies also record together as Voltigeurs. 2011 saw the release of 'Fucked on a Pile of Corpses' more visceral/Black Metal/and an almost return to the industrial sounds of Total. Fittingly, it was released on long running English Industrial label Cold Spring. At the close of 2011 the full band line up is Bower, Sokoe, Davies and West Yorkshire Patriot, George Proctor (Mutant Ape).

Total
Bower recorded under the name Total, from 1984-7, and then as a solo vehicle from 1991-2000, on labels such as Majora, VHF, American Tapes (run by John Olson of Wolf Eyes), Self Abuse and Freek as well as appearing on Virgin's Isolationism compilation. Initially a more drone/neo classical/industrial counterpart to Skullflower's harsher work, the roles slowly reversed, reaching a peak with the noisy Merzbow Mixed Total cassette being released around the same time as the mostly gentle, fluid "This Is Skullflower" CD. Bower coincidentally stopped using the name, adopting Sunroof! for his solo work, at the same time the US R&B group of the same name appeared; there was no connection between these events.

Other projects
With Skullflower officially resting and Total retired,  Bower began a more inclusive project called Sunroof!  which, on occasion, could feature Richard Youngs, Neil Campbell, John Godbert, Phil Todd and other friends. More melodic and keyboard based than his previous work, albums were issued on VHF, Giardia and his own Rural Electrification Project label. In addition, he also guested with Vibracathedral Orchestra on a number of occasions and has issued 2 albums with Richard Youngs.
Bower's discography of visceral, free drone-rock is one of the most formidable of its kind and he was considered in 2005 by The Wire to be one of the "map co-ordinates for much of what passed for a post-punk UK underground during most of the 80s and 90s" (issue 259).

References

External links
VHF Records website - sound samples of their many Bower and related releases are available here
Matthew Bower at Discogs
 https://skullflower-skullflowertruth.blogspot.com/-bower-davies blog
 https://skullflower.bandcamp.com/ many digital only releases since 2015

1962 births
Living people
British experimental musicians
English punk rock guitarists
Place of birth missing (living people)

Matthew Bower


Simon Crane (born 1960) is a British stuntman, stunt coordinator, second unit director and film director.

Biography
Born in Twickenham, Middlesex, England. Crane was originally a law student, but not liking it, he dropped out after one year and worked as an acrobat in a circus for three years. To fulfill English requirements for stuntmen to achieve instructor level in six sports, Crane became an instructor in gymnastics, parachuting, scuba diving, high diving, karate, and fencing. When he could not obtain a union card as a stuntman fast enough, he became an instructor in three more sports, including hang gliding. His father, Dr. John Crane, was the doctor for Arsenal F.C and the England national football team.

Career
Crane's first major work came in the 1985 Bond film A View to a Kill. In 1987 he became Timothy Dalton's stunt double in The Living Daylights. He also played the character of Che Che in a reenactment of the "gatecrasher" fight scene from On Her Majesty's Secret Service traditionally used to test the fighting skills of actors up for the part of James Bond. Vic Armstrong coordinated the fight. Actors believed to have tested opposite Crane in the screen tests include Mark Greenstreet, Sam Neill and Pierce Brosnan.

After spending five years as the apprentice to an experienced stunt coordinator, Crane was allowed to act as second unit stunt coordinator on Licence to Kill. In 1993, Crane performed the dangerous-looking aerial transfer for the film Cliffhanger, for which he earned an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for being part of the most expensive stunt ever performed. It cost $1 million to have Simon Crane descending on a rope between two planes at an altitude of 4,572 m (15,000 ft).

In 1995 he became the overall stunt coordinator for GoldenEye – the opening bungee jump was voted the greatest film stunt ever in a poll for Sky Movies. After a four-year break from the Bond franchise, during which he coordinated stunts for the Academy Award-winning films Titanic (in which he happened to play fourth officer Joseph Boxhall, and had two lines) and Saving Private Ryan, Crane returned to handle the stunts for The World Is Not Enough, with Vic Armstrong as second unit director.

Crane also took the role of stunt coordinator in Will Smith's Hancock (2008).
He was to make his directorial début directing a film adaptation of the popular video game, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men but departed from the project. Crane directed the 3-D supernatural thriller The Peak, which was based on a screenplay from Neal Marshall Stevens and Crane worked with Will Smith again as second unit director and stunt coordinator on Men in Black 3.

Partial filmography
 The Living Daylights (1987) – Gibraltar Soldier #1 (uncredited)
 Blue Ice (1992) – Secret Serviceman (uncredited)
 GoldenEye (1995) – Lt. François Brouse – Tiger Helicopter Pilot (uncredited)
 Titanic (1997) – 4th Officer Joseph Boxhall

References

External links

Living people
British stunt performers
1960 births

Simon Crane


Yehuda Elkana (Hebrew: ; 16 June 193421 September 2012) was a historian and philosopher of science, and a former president and rector of the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary.

Life and career

Born as László Fröhlich to Hungarian-speaking Jewish parents in Yugoslavia, Elkana moved with his family to Szeged in 1944. That same year, Elkana and his parents were dispatched to Auschwitz. His family escaped the gas chambers when the Nazis transferred them to Austria as corvée labourers for the reconstruction of war-torn cities. In 1948, at the age of 14, he immigrated to Israel. He took up residence in Kibbutz HaZore'a, but health problems impeded Elkana from performing physical tasks. The kibbutz helped him acquire a scholarship to The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium in Tel Aviv. Soon after beginning his studies, Elkana decided he wished to be a philosopher and a historian of science. In 1955 he took up the study of mathematics and physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He taught at Gymnasia Rehavia while undertaking his Master's degree, which meant that it took him 11 years to complete it. He then obtained a PhD from Brandeis University with a thesis on On the Emergence of the Energy Concept in 1968, under the supervision of Stephen Toulmin; a dissertation which formed the basis for his book, The discovery of the conservation of energy (1974). After his PhD, he taught at Harvard University for a year. When he returned to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he was named chairman of the department of the history and philosophy of science, becoming in the meantime Director of the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute in 1968, a post he held until 1993.

He taught at Harvard University, and was a Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University (1973–1974), a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford (1977–1978), a visiting researcher at the Einstein Papers Project at Caltech and was Director of the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas at Tel Aviv University from 1981 to 1991. In 1985 he established the Interdisciplinary Program for Outstanding Students at Tel Aviv University. He led this special program for fostering excellence until 1994. From 1995 to 1999 he was professor of Theory of Science at ETH Zurich. He was a permanent fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin (Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin).

Elkana was a corresponding member of the International Academy for the History of Science as well as, since 1997, member of the Science Board of Advisors of the Collegium Helveticum in Zürich. He was a co-founder and editor of the scientific journal Science in Context.

During his tenure at the Wissenschaftskolleg in 2009/10 he began to work on a global initiative to reform undergraduate university curricula, in order to tackle the problems he outlined in earlier public appearances. This resulted in the foundation of the Curriculum Reform Forum. Until shortly before his death he worked with his co-author Hannes Klöpper on his last major work entitled: "Die Universität im 21. Jahrhundert: Für eine neue Einheit von Lehre, Forschung und Gesellschaft", which was published in October 2012. An English version is in the works.

President of Central European University

In 1999, Elkana began his tenure as president and rector of the Central European University, succeeding Josef Jarab. The third rector of the university in nine years, Elkana held the post until being replaced in August 2009 by John Shattuck. Early in his tenure, Elkana came under fire for his handling of the dismissal of the head of the Program for Gender and Culture and the firing of a part-time professor in that program. Describing himself as a "lifelong feminist", Elkana said that while he understood the furor over the incident as he felt that women are often treated unfairly, his decision was sound. He oversaw the reorganization of the department of environmental sciences, halving the ratio of students to professors by both decreasing the number of students within the program and hiring additional professors. By the end of Elkana's term the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy had become one of the most successful Departments at CEU in terms of the number of applicants and external research funding.

During Elkana's term five new Departments: Philosophy, Mathematics, Sociology and Social Anthropology, and Public Policy as well as 15 research centers including the Center for Cognitive Science (from 2010 the Department of Cognitive Science), the Center for Ethics and Law in Biomedicine (CELAB) and the Center for Policy Studies (CPS) were established at CEU. CEU received its institutional accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education ) and was legally recognized as a Hungarian University, which allowed it to participate in various European Union research and education programs. In particular, three prestigious Erasmus Mundus programs in Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management (2005), Public Policy (2006) and Gender Studies (2007) were launched at CEU.

Following his retirement in 2009, Elkana was granted the title of President and Rector Emeritus.

Views on the Holocaust, Jewish Memory and Israel

In 1988, in an article published in Haaretz, Elkana challenged the role of memories of the Holocaust, which he called 'the central axis of our national experience,' in Israeli identity. He criticized the custom of repeatedly taking schoolchildren to Yad Vashem. For Elkana, Holocausts can happen to any people, and the message is universal. When "anomalous incidents" are reported, referring to things done to Palestinians, the initial reactions of his acquaintances, he claimed, were to deny such things happened, or to dismiss them as symptomatic of a reciprocal hatred between Israelis and Palestinians. Elkana's own view is that:

there is no "anomalous incident" that I have not seen with my own eyes. I mean this literally: I was an eye-witness to incident after incident; I saw a bulldozer bury people alive, I saw a rioting mob tear away the life-support system from old people in the hospital, I saw soldiers breaking the arms of a civilian population, including children. For me all this is not new. At the same time I do not generalize: I do not think that they all hate us; I do not think that all Jews hate the Arabs; I do not hate those responsible for the "anomalies" – but that does not mean that I condone their acts or that I do not expect them to be punished with the full severity of the law.

He confessed that his personal conviction was that:

the deepest political and social factor that motivates much of Israeli society in its relations with the Palestinians is not personal frustration, but rather a profound existential "Angst" fed by a particular interpretation of the lessons of the Holocaust and the readiness to believe that the whole world is against us, and that we are the eternal victim,

and in this sense had come to the conclusion that this was 'the tragic and paradoxical victory of Hitler.' For Elkana, 'any philosophy of life nurtured solely or mostly by the Holocaust leads to disastrous consequences,' and Thomas Jefferson was correct in his view that democracy and worship of the past were incompatible. While it may be the duty of the world to remember the Holocaust, he argued, 'we' must learn to forget, for the penetration of such memories deep within Israeli national consciousness, in his view, was the greatest threat to the state of Israel.

Delivering the opening address, 'Einstein's Legacy', for Germany's Einstein Year (2005) celebrating the centenary of Einstein's annus mirabilis, Yehuda remarked:

I love Israel and feel a deep loyalty towards it, and hope for its continued existence, and at the same time I warn against strong nationalist tendencies which may endanger the democratic character of the state (I never accepted that there can be such a thing as a genuinely democratic Jewish state, nor can any other religion-based state be fully democratic) ... when I publicly called for 'The need to forget', against the political manipulation of the Holocaust in Israel (by right-wing and left-wing governments equally), and at the same time I oppose tendencies by some in Germany who wish to 'close the chapter' of the Holocaust, I do not think that I am being inconsistent ... Israel should leave to the individual the memory he or she wishes to keep up or even to cultivate, while Germany must continuously, publicly, remember that this chapter can and should not be closed.

Personal life

Elkana was married to Dr Yehudit Elkana. They had four children, including Amos Elkana (born 1967), composer, improviser, guitarist and electronic musician.

Works

Footnotes

References

Jewish philosophers
Jewish historians
Israeli philosophers
2012 deaths
Auschwitz concentration camp survivors
Serbian Jews
Hungarian Jews
1934 births
Writers from Subotica
Academic staff of Central European University
Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences fellows
Yugoslav emigrants to Israel
Academic staff of ETH Zurich

Yehuda Elkana


The term baby boomer most commonly refers to people born during the years 1946 to 1964 worldwide. In Canada it is anyone born between 1960 and 1980. Australia identifies baby boomers as those born between 1946 and 1961. Generally, after 1960 the birth rate started falling. In 1951, Sylvia F. Porter, a columnist for the New York Post, first used the term baby boom for the rapid rise in birthrate after Word War II.

Economic impact
From 1945 to 1964 about seventy-seven million babies were born in the United States. In the 1950s baby boomers bought Mouse-ear hats after they watched "The Mickey Mouse Club". They danced to rock and roll and idolized singers like Elvis Presley. Hula hoops and Barbie dolls were wildly popular.

By the 1960s many baby boomers were teenagers. They spent nearly $20 million on things including food, clothing, and recorded music. Businesses were eager to find ways to meet their demands. By the 1970s entire industries were changing because of baby boomers.

Aging and end-of-life issues
In 1998 the baby boomers began to discuss about their end-of-life issues; but many commentators think they have became burdens for their children and society. According to the 2011 Associated Press and LifeGoesStrong.com surveys:

60% lost value in investments because of the economic crisis
42% are delaying retirement
25% claim they will never retire (currently still working)

Baby boomer today
The oldest baby boomers were 76 years old in 2022 and one in five Americans will be 65 years old in 2030. Many people believe they will become a stress on social welfare systems.

References

Cultural anthropology
Time People of the Year
Demography

Baby boomer


Fletcher Knebel (October 1, 1911 – February 26, 1993) was an American author of several popular works of political fiction.

Knebel was born in Dayton, Ohio, but relocated a number of times during his youth. He graduated from high school in Yonkers, New York, spent a year studying at the University of Paris and graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio during 1934. Upon graduation, he received a job offer from the newspaper Coatesville Record of Coatesville, Pennsylvania. He spent the next 20 years working for newspapers, eventually becoming the political columnist for Cowles Publications. Knebel served in the United States Navy during World War II, attaining the rank of lieutenant. From 1951 to 1964, he satirized national politics and government in a nationally published column named "Potomac Fever".

During 1960, he wrote a chapter on John F. Kennedy for the book Candidates 1960.  This seemed to begin a passion for writing books and he began authoring book-length works. He wrote fifteen books, most of them fiction, and all of them dealing with politics, intrigue and social upheaval. His best-known novel is Seven Days in May (1962, co-authored with Charles W. Bailey), about an attempted military coup in the United States. The book was a great success, reaching number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and was made into a successful movie also named Seven Days in May during 1964.

Knebel was married four times from 1935 to 1985. He committed suicide after a long bout with cancer, by taking an overdose of sleeping pills in his home in Honolulu, Hawaii, during 1993. He is the source of the quote: "Smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics."

Bibliography
Seven Days in May (1962) (described above).
Convention (1964), also written with Charles Bailey, about a woman from the Midwest United States who serves as a delegate at a major political convention.
Night of Camp David (1965), about a President of the United States who may be insane.
The ZinZin Road (1966), about Peace Corps workers in Africa caught in an incipient revolution.
Vanished (1968), about the political effects of the sudden, mysterious disappearance of the main aide to the President of the United States during a contentious re-election campaign.
Trespass (1969), about black militants occupying homes owned by rich Caucasians and demanding that title be given to the militants as the beginning of the creation of a black nation in the American South.
Dark Horse (1972), about a minor official chosen to replace a Presidential candidate who died shortly before the election.
Poker Game (1973), a story set in the world of computers.
The Bottom Line (1974), a novel about a business company convention and a man who found there's also a bottom line in private lives.
Dave Sulkin Cares! (1978), a story of love between two con artists, Gail and Johnny.
Crossing in Berlin (1981), about an American man assisting an East German woman escape from East Germany.
Sabotage (1986), about sabotage of oil tankers by Japanese organized crime mobsters.
Generally, Knebel's works are products of the times during which they were produced. For instance, the delegate in Convention changes her vote after learning that the candidate she had originally favored is using a computer to track personal information about the delegates. Vanished involved concerns about superpower nuclear proliferation during the Cold War. Trespass concerns black militancy of the type that largely ended during the late 1970s. Knebel was also a staunch liberal who was "suspicious of the size and power of the American military" and intelligence community, as he wrote in Dark Horse; many of his novels represented that opinion.

References

External links

1911 births
1993 suicides
20th-century American novelists
Drug-related suicides in Hawaii
Miami University alumni
Writers from Dayton, Ohio
Writers from Honolulu
University of Paris alumni
American male novelists
20th-century American male writers
Novelists from Ohio
Novelists from Hawaii
1993 deaths

Fletcher Knebel


The Boston Mountains area is a high and deeply dissected plateau. They are located in northern Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. The Oklahoma portion of the range is locally called the Cookson Hills. The rocks of the region are sedimentary layers of the Paleozoic age. The highest ridges and peaks are capped by Pennsylvanian sandstone and shale. The deeply eroded valleys are cut into Mississippian limestones and below that layer Ordovician dolomites.

The Boston Mountains form the southwestern part of the Ozark plateau. They are the highest and most rugged part of the Ozarks. This is because of their young age relative to the other sections. The highest point is 2,578 feet. It has valleys 500 to 1,550 feet deep. Turner Ward Knob (TWK) is the highest named peak. It is in western Newton County, Arkansas and rises to .

The Boston Mountains are the source of several rivers and streams. They flow out from the mountains in all directions. The Boston mountains are the sources of the White River, the Buffalo River, the Kings River and War Eagle Creek. Other rivers and streams having their headwaters in the Boston Mountains include the Illinois River, the Mulberry River, Lee Creek, Frog Bayou, Big Piney Creek, Illinois Bayou, and the Little Red River.  To the south, the Arkansas River valley separates the Boston Mountains from the Ouachita Mountains.

References

Mountains of Oklahoma
Geography of Arkansas
Ozarks

Boston Mountains


The Juno Awards of 2002 were presented in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada during the weekend of 13–14 April 2002.

Nominations were announced 11 February 2002 at a news conference hosted by Mike Bullard. Awards for the secondary categories were presented in a non-televised gala on 13 April.

The primary ceremonies were conducted on 14 April at Mile One Stadium and televised by CTV, the first time for the private broadcaster. CBC Television had previously held the broadcast rights for the primary Juno ceremonies. The telecast was hosted by members of Barenaked Ladies and attracted the highest ratings in several years (approximately 1.4 million viewers).

Diana Krall won awards three categories based on her album The Look of Love. Nickelback also won three Junos on the strength of their album Silver Side Up, whose recording engineer won an additional Juno. Daniel Lanois was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Nominees and winners

Best Artist

Winner: Diana Krall

Other Nominees:
Leonard Cohen
Nelly Furtado
Garou
Amanda Marshall

Best New Solo Artist
Winner: Hawksley Workman

Other Nominees:
Gabrielle Destroismaisons
Jelleestone
Maren Ord
Thrust

Best Group
Winner: Nickelback

Other Nominees:
Matthew Good Band
Our Lady Peace
Sum 41
The Tea Party

Best New Group
Winner: Default

Other Nominees:
Joydrop
Smoother
Sugar Jones
Wave

Best Songwriter

Winner: Jann Arden,  "Never Mind", "Thing for You" (with co-songwriter Russell Broom)

Other Nominees:
Leonard Cohen, "Boogie Street", "In My Secret Life", "You Have Loved Enough" (all with co-songwriter Sharon Robinson)
Sarah Harmer, "Don't Get Your Back Up", "Hideout", "Uniform Grey"
Ron Sexsmith, "April After All" (by Elvis Costello and Anne Sofie von Otter), "Just My Heart Talking", "This Song"
Rufus Wainwright, "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk", "Grey Gardens", "Poses"

Best Country Artist/Group
Winner: Carolyn Dawn Johnson

Other Nominees:
Paul Brandt
Lisa Brokop
Jimmy Rankin
The Wilkinsons

Best New Country Artist/Group
Winner: The Ennis Sisters

Other Nominees:
Steve Fox
Aaron Lines
J. R. Vautour
Doc Walker

Best Producer
Winner: Daniel Lanois with co-producer Brian Eno, "Beautiful Day" and "Elevation" by U2

Other Nominees:
Ben Dunk with co-producer Rick Neigher, "California" and "Think It Over" by Wave
Justin Gray, "Days Like That" and "I Got U" by Sugar Jones
Mark Makoway, "Alone in the Universe" and "Too Close to the Sun" by David Usher
Bob Rock, "Flavor of the Weak" by American Hi-Fi and "Make It Right" by Econoline Crush

Best Recording Engineer
Winner: Randy Staub, "How You Remind Me" and "Too Bad" by Nickelback

Other Nominees:
Richard Chycki,  "Jaded" by Aerosmith and "When You Know" by Shawn Colvin
Pierre Marchand,  "Evil Angel" and "Greek Song" by Rufus Wainwright
Jeff Martin and Nick Blagona, "Angels" and "Lullaby" by The Tea Party
Brad Nelson,  "Followed Her Around" and "You and Me" by Jimmy Rankin

Canadian Music Hall of Fame
Winner: Daniel Lanois

Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award
Winner: Michael Cohl

Nominated and winning albums

Best Album
Winner: The Look of Love, Diana Krall

Other Nominees:
All Killer No Filler, Sum 41
Silver Side Up, Nickelback
Spiritual Machines, Our Lady Peace
Whoa, Nelly!, Nelly Furtado

Best Blues Album
Winner: Big Mouth, Colin Linden

Other Nominees:
Breakfast at Midnight, Rita Chiarelli
Drive On, Michael Jerome Browne
Double Shot!, Mel Brown (guitarist) and Snooky Pryor
Rattlebag, Paul Reddick and The Sidemen

Best Children's Album
Winner: A Classical Kids Christmas, Susan Hammond

Other Nominees:
Call of the Wild, Aaron Burnett
Chase a Rainbow, The Just Kidding Band
Red's in the Hood, Judy & David
Songs from the Boom Box, Judy & David

Best Classical Album (Solo or Chamber Ensemble)
Winner: Bach Arrangements, Angela Hewitt

Other Nominees:
Beethoven: Sonatas for Piano & Violin, Jane Coop (piano), Andrew Dawes (violin)
Schumann: Fantasy in C Major, Marc-Andre Hamelin
Somers String Quartets, Accordes String Quartet
Transcendental Liszt, Janina Fialkowska

Best Classical Album (Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment)
Winner: Max Bruch, Concertos 1 & 3, James Ehnes (violin), Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal

Other Nominees:
Concert Francais, James Ehnes (violin), Orchestre Symphonique de Québec
English Piano Concerti: Britten, Rawsthorne, Ireland, Finzi, Jane Coop (piano), CBC Radio Orchestra
J.S. Bach: Art of the Fugue, Les Violons du Roy
Myaskovsky - Schinittke - Denisov, Stepan Arman (violin), I Musici de Montreal

Best Classical Album (Vocal or Choral Performance)
Winner: Airs Francais, Ben Heppner

Other Nominees:
Exsultate, Jubilate, Karina Gauvin (soprano), CBC Radio Orchestra
Forgotten Songs, Forgotten Loves, Wendy Nielsen
Handel: Sacred Arias, Daniel Taylor
Singing Somers Theatre, Monica Whicher (soprano), Robert Cram (flute), various soloists

Best Album Design
Winner: Sebastien Toupin, Benoit St-Jean, Michel Valois, Martin Tremblay, Disparu by La Chicane

Other Nominees:
Garnet Armstrong, Lionel Drew, The Audio of Being by Matthew Good Band
Carylann Loeppky, Poem by Delerium
Our Lady Peace, Catherine McRae, Oli Goldsmith, Spiritual Machines by Our Lady Peace
John Rummen, Sam Findlay, H-Wing by Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle

Best Gospel Album
Winner: Downhere, Downhere

Other Nominees:
Imagerical, Matt Brouwer
Love Letters, Londa Larmond
Travelers, Carolyn Arends
Waiting for Aidan, Steve Bell

Best Instrumental Album
Winner: Armando's Fire, Oscar Lopez

Other Nominees:
Angel's Embrace, Dan Gibson, David Bradstreet
Fiesta Del Sol, Kenny Vehkavaara
Inspiration Classique, Richard Abel
The English Country Garden, Dan Gibson, John Herberman

Best Selling Album (Foreign or Domestic)
Winner: Hot Shot, Shaggy

Other Nominees:
All That You Can't Leave Behind, U2
Black & Blue, Backstreet Boys
Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water, Limp Bizkit
Survivor, Destiny's Child

Best Traditional Jazz Album - Instrumental
Winner: Live at the Senator, Mike Murley, Ed Bickert and Steve Wallace

Other Nominees:
And It Really Was..., The Brigham Phillips Big Band
Forgotten Memories, Don Thompson
Spectacular, Campbell Ryga
Street Culture, Paul Tobey

Best Contemporary Jazz Album - Instrumental
Winner: Live, François Bourassa Trio and Andre LeRoux

Other Nominees:
Nuage, Jeff Johnston
Of Battles Unknown Mysteries, Chris Tarry
Sigame, D.D. Jackson
The Recline, Metalwood

Best Vocal Jazz Album
Winner: The Look of Love, Diana Krall

Other Nominees:
Image in the Mirror the Triptych, Jeri Brown
I Saw the Sky, Melissa Walker
It's Wonderful, Susie Arioli Swing Band
Tribute, Emilie-Claire Barlow

Best Roots or Traditional Album - Group
Winner: Cordial, La Bottine Souriante

Other Nominees:
Petit fou, Matapat
Post Atomic Hillbilly, Undertakin' Daddies
Sin & Other Salvations, The Wyrd Sisters
Songs of Work & Freedom, The Brothers Cosmoline

Best Roots or Traditional Album - Solo
Winner: Far End of Summer, David Francey

Other Nominees:
Beyond the Storm, Eileen McGann
For a Song, Maria Dunn
Gather Honey, Penny Lang
Verchuosity, April Verch

Best Alternative Album
Winner: Poses, Rufus Wainwright

Other Nominees:
Constantines, The Constantines
Down at the Khyber, The Joel Plaskett Emergency
(Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves, Hawksley Workman
Night of the Shooting Stars, Rheostatics

Best Selling Francophone Album
Winner: Les vents ont changé, Kevin Parent

Other Nominees:
Cordial, La Bottine Souriante
Disparu, La Chicane
Du coq à l'âme, Lynda Lemay
Etc..., Gabrielle Destroismaisons

Best Pop Album
Winner: Morning Orbit, David Usher

Other Nominees:
Girl Versions, Emm Gryner
Open, Cowboy Junkies
Saturday People, Prozzäk
Ten New Songs, Leonard Cohen

Best Rock Album
Winner: Silver Side Up, Nickelback

Other Nominees:
All Killer No Filler, Sum 41
Brothers and Sisters, Are You Ready?, Big Sugar
Pretty Together, Sloan
Purge, Bif Naked

Nominated and winning releases

Best Single
Winner: "How You Remind Me", Nickelback

Other Nominees:
 "California", Wave
 "Everybody's Got A Story", Amanda Marshall
 "If It Feels Good Do It", Sloan
 "Life", Our Lady Peace

Best Music of Aboriginal Canada Recording
Winner: On and On, Eagle & Hawk

Other Nominees:
Crazy Maker, Marcel Gagnon
Dark Realm, Nakoda Lodge
My Ojibway Experience, Strength & Hope, Billy Joe Green
Riel's Road, Sandy Scofield

Best Classical Composition
Winner: "Par-ci, par-la", Chan Ka Nin, Nouveaux Territoires by Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal

Other Nominees:
"Concerto for Viola and Orchestra", Peter Paul Koprowski, Redemption: Peter Paul Koprowski Concerti
"Love Songs", Owen Underhill, Celestial Machine
"Serinette", Harry Somers, Serinette
"Suite for Klezmer Band and Orchestra", Sid Robinovitch, Klezmer Suite: Music of Sid Robinovitch

Best Dance Recording
Winner: "Spaced Invader", Hatiras

Other Nominees:
"Absolutely Not", Deborah Cox
"Innocente", Delerium
"It Doesn't Matter", The Underdog Project
"The Light", Elissa

Best Rap Recording
Winner: Bad Dreams, Swollen Members

Other Nominees:
"Easy to Slip", Solitair
Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1, Kardinal Offishall
Jelleestone Thirteen, Jelleestone
"Still Too Much", Ghetto Concept with Snow, Kardinal Offishall, Maestro, Red-One, and Ironside

Best R&B/Soul Recording
Winner: "Don't You Forget It", Glenn Lewis

Other Nominees:
"Day Dreaming", Chin Injeti
"Never Leave Hurt Alone", Sugar Jones
"The Day Before", Baby Blue Soundcrew featuring Jully Black, Baby Cham
"Unforgettable", Jamie Sparks

Best Reggae Recording
Winner: "Love (African Woman)", Blessed

Other Nominees:
"A Friend for Life", Iley Dread
"Breathe", Sonia Collymore
"Never Let Jah Go", Chester Miller
"They Called Me Madness", Peculiar I

Best Global Album
Winner: The Journey, Alpha Yaya Diallo

Other Nominees:
Alma De Santiago, Jane Bunnett
Distant Wind, Mei Han, Randy Raine-Reusch
Havana Remembered, Hilario Durán
Kashish Attraction, Kiran Ahluwalia

Best Video
Winner: Sean Michael Turrell, "Jealous of Your Cigarette" by Hawksley Workman

Other Nominees:
Oli Goldsmith, "In Repair" by Our Lady Peace
Josh Levy, "I Hear You Calling" by Gob
Stephen Scott, "Plumb Song" by Snow
Floria Sigismondi, "In My Secret Life" by Leonard Cohen

References

External links
Juno Awards site

2002
2002 music awards
2002 in Canadian music
2002 in Newfoundland and Labrador
April 2002 events in Canada
Music festivals in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

Juno Awards of 2002


The Central Politburo of the Communist Party of China is a group of 25 people who oversee the Communist Party of China. It is formally called the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. It was previously called the Central Bureau () before 1927. Unlike politburos (political bureaus) of other Communist parties, power within the politburo is centralized in the Politburo Standing Committee. The members of the Politburo are nominally elected by the Central Committee.

The power of the Politburo is mostly due to the fact that its members generally also hold positions within the government of the People's Republic of China. It also appoints people to high-ranking jobs. The topics for discussion at the meetings appears to be controlled by the General Secretary. Decisions are made by consensus rather than by majority vote.

Political organizations in the People's Republic of China

Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party


A droll is a short comical sketch of a type that originated during the Puritan Interregnum in England. With the closure of the theatres, actors were left without any way of plying their art. Borrowing scenes from well-known plays of the Elizabethan theatre, they added dancing and other entertainments and performed these, sometimes illegally, to make money. Along with the popularity of the source play, material for drolls was generally chosen for physical humor or for wit.

Francis Kirkman's The Wits, or Sport Upon Sport, 1662, is a collection of twenty-seven drolls. Three are adapted from Shakespeare: Bottom the Weaver from A Midsummer Night's Dream, the gravedigger's scene from Hamlet, and a collection of scenes involving Falstaff called The Bouncing Knight. A typical droll presented a subplot from John Marston's The Dutch Courtesan; the piece runs together all the scenes in which a greedy vintner is gulled and robbed by a deranged gallant.

Just under half of the drolls in Kirkman's book are adapted from the work of Beaumont and Fletcher. Among the drolls taken from those authors are Forc'd Valour (the title plot from The Humorous Lieutenant), The Stallion (the scenes in the male brothel from The Custom of the Country), and the taunting of Pharamond from Philaster.  The prominence of Beaumont and Fletcher in this collection prefigures their dominance on the early Restoration stage. The extract from their Beggar's Bush, known as The Lame Commonwealth, features additional dialogue, strongly suggesting it was taken from a performance text. The character of Clause, the King of the Beggars in that extract, appears as a character in later works, such as the memoirs of Bampfylde Moore Carew, the self-proclaimed King of the Beggars.

Actor Robert Cox was perhaps the best-known of the droll performers.

References
 Kirkman, Francis. The Wits, or Sport Upon Sport. ed. John James Elson (Cornell University Press, 1932)
 Baskervill, C. R. "Mummers' Wooing Plays in England." Modern Philology, Vol. 21 No. 3  (February 1924),pp. 225–272; see pp. 268–272,  folkplay.info

History of theatre
Theatre in the United Kingdom

Droll


Anthony Franciosa (Anthony George Papaleo October 25, 1928 – January 19, 2006) was an American movie, TV, and stage actor, usually known as Tony Franciosa during his career.

He made some movies such as; Career (1959) for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor/Drama. In television he is known for his lead roles in five well-known TV shows as; the sitcom Valentine's Day (1964–65), the drama series The Name of the Game (1968–71), Search (1972–73), Matt Helm (1975) and Finder of Lost Loves (1984). Franciosa received a Tony Award nomination for his role in the play A Hatful of Rain.

Franciosa was born in New York City, New York on October 25, 1928.

Franciosa was married to Beatrice Bakalyar from 1952 until it ended in divorce in 1957. Secondly he married Shelley Winters from 1957 until they divorced in 1960. Thirdly he married Judy Balaban from 1961 until they divorced in 1967. Lastly he married Rita Thiel from 1970 until his death in 2006.

Franciosa suffered a stroke on the day his ex-wife Shelley Winters died on January 14, 2006. Franciosa died five days after Winters' death on January 19, 2006 from a stroke at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, he was 77 years old. He is survived by his wife Rita, his three children, and his two grandchildren. His remains were later cremated.

References

Other websites

1928 births
2006 deaths
American movie actors
American television actors
American stage actors
Golden Globe Award winning actors
Emmy Award winning actors
Deaths from stroke
Actors from New York City

Anthony Franciosa


Eugène Gigout (23 March 1844 – 9 December 1925) was a French organist and composer of European late-romantic music for organ.

Early life
Gigout was born in Nancy, and died in Paris.

A student of Camille Saint-Saëns, he served as the organist of Saint-Augustin Church in Paris for 62 years. He became known as a teacher. Also, his output as a composer was large and of high quality. Renowned as an expert improviser, he also founded his own music school. His nephew-by-marriage, Leon Boëllmann, became another fine organist and composer for the organ (but died at the very young age of 35).

Works
The 10 pièces pour orgue, composed in 1890, are Gigout's most famous compositions. They are the Toccata in B minor, his best-known composition, which turns up as a common encore at organ concerts. Also fairly often performed, and to be found in the same collection, is a Scherzo in E major.

Other compositions by Gigout sometimes played nowadays are Grand Choeur Dialogué and Marche Religieuse. Gigout's works are now available on many commercial recordings.

References

Other websites

1844 births
1925 deaths
20th-century French composers
People from Nancy

Eugène Gigout


Kirata Kingdom in Sanskrit literature and Hindu mythology refers to any kingdom of the Kirata people, who were dwellers mostly in the Himalayas (mostly eastern Himalaya). They took part in the Kurukshetra War along with Parvatas (mountaineers) and other Himalayan tribes.

References in Mahabharata
The Kambojas, Gandharas, Kiratas and Barbaras were mentioned together as northern tribes at (12,206).

The Yavanas, the Kiratas, the Gandharvas, the Chinas, the Savaras, the Barbaras, the Sakas, the Tusharas, the Kankas, the Pathavas, the Andhras, the Madrakas, the Paundras, the Pulindas, the Ramathas, the Kamvojas were mentioned together as tribes beyond the kingdoms of Aryavarta. The Aryavarta-kings had doubts on dealing with them. (12,64)

Kiratas as a Mlechha tribe
Kiratas were mentioned along with Pulindas and Chinas, Hunas, Pahlavas, Sakas, Yavanas, Savaras, Paundras, Kanchis, Dravidas, Sinhalas and Keralas. All these tribes were described as Mlechha tribes. Here they were described as the protectors of sage Vasistha and his cow against the attack of the king Viswamitra. (1,177).

Territories of Kiratas
Kirata territories extended along the eastern Himalayan belt of the mountain ranges.

Kiratas of diverse regions in ancient India
Numerous chiefs of the Kiratas, armed with hunting weapons and ever engaged in hunting activities, eating of fruits and roots and attired in skins (animal-skins or tree-barks), were mentioned to dwell on the northern slopes of the Himavat and on the mountain from behind which the sun rises (Arunachal Pradesh) and in the region of Karusha on the sea-coast (could be the mouths of Ganges in Bangladesh or the mouths of Sindhu in Pakistan) and on both sides of the Lohitya mountains (in eastern Assam and western Arunachal Pradesh). They were mentioned as bringing tribute to Yudhishthira during his Rajasuya sacrifice. They brought with them, loads upon loads of sandal and aloe as also black aloe, and heaps upon heaps of valuable skins and gold and perfumes, and ten thousand serving-girls of their own race, and many beautiful animals and birds of remote countries, and much gold of great splendour procured from mountains (2,51). The Kairatas (Kiratas), the Daradas, the Darvas, the Suras, the Vaiamakas, the Audumvaras, the Durvibhagas, the Kumaras, the Paradas along with the Vahlikas, the Kashmiras, the Ghorakas also were mentioned, here as bringin tributes

The various tribes of Kiratas were mentioned along with the Pahlavas and the Daradas and Yavanas and Sakas and the Harahunas and Chinas and Tukharas and the Sindhavas and the Jagudas and the Ramathas and the Mundas and the inhabitants of the kingdom of women and the Tanganas and the Kekayas and the Malavas and the inhabitants of Kasmira. They were described as accepting the sway of Yudhishthira, performing various offices in his palace. (3,51)

The Kiratas who were fierce in battles mostly dwelled in the vastness of the Himavat.It is believed by some scholars that they were vanquished by Karna.

Kiratas under the Himalayan kingdom called Pulinda
Pulinda king is described as the king of Kiratas also at (2,4). He is said to attend the inauguration of the new court of Pandava king Yudhishthira at Indraprastha along with many other kings of Ancient India (Bharata Varsha). His kingdom lay close to the Kailas range in Tibet.

Domains of king Suvahu, the lord of the Pulindas, is mentioned as situated on the Himalayas abounding in horses and elephants, densely inhabited by the Kiratas and the Tanganas, crowded by hundreds of Pulindas, frequented by the exotic tribes, and rife with wonders. Pandavas stayed here for some time on their onward-journey to the Himalayan regions (3,140).

Then all those warriors, viz the Pandavas having in due course happily lived at Badari (Badrinath, Uttarakhand), for one month, proceeded towards the realm of Suvahu, king of the Kiratas, by following the same track by which they had come. And crossing the difficult Himalayan regions, and the countries of China, Tukhara, Darada and all the climes of Kulinda, rich in heaps of jewels, those warlike men reached the capital of Suvahu (3,176).

Their final destination was the source of Yamuna. Thus they could have made a circular path, from Badari (Badrinath) to Tibet and Kashmir and finally to Himachal Pradesh.

Kiratas under Paundraka Vasudeva
There was a king named Paundraka Vasudeva, who was an enemy of Vasudeva Krishna. This king used to dress like Vasudeva Krishan and mock him. He mentioned to rule over the kingdoms of Vanga (West Bengal), Pundra (north-Bangladesh) and Kiratas (2,14). The Kiratas mentioned here were those living in the vicinity of Darjeeling Himalayan region.

Kiratas under Bhagadatta
Kiratas and Chinas were mentioned as forming the army of Pragjyotisha (Assam) king Bhagadatta (5,19). This army took part in the Kurukshetra War for the sake of Kauravas and its size was one Akshouhini (a huge army unit).

Kiratas conquered by Bhima
Bhima, during his military campaign in the eastern countries to collect tribute for Pandava king Yudhishthira's Rajasuya sacrifice, conquered Kirata kings, close to the Videha Kingdom

Bhima, the son of Pandu, sending forth expeditions from Videha Kingdom, conquered the seven kings of the Kiratas living about the Indra mountain (2,29). These were considered to be the Kiriatas in Nepal.

Kiratas conquered by Nakula
Nakula during his military campaign in the western countries to collect tribute for Pandava king Yudhishthira's Rajasuya sacrifice, conquered Kiratas in the western hills

Nakula, the son of Pandu, then reduced to subjection the fierce Mlechchas residing on the sea coast (in Karachi area), as also the wild tribes of the Palhavas (an Iranian tribe), the Kiratas, the Yavanas and the Sakas (2,31).

Kiratas in Kurukhsetra War
Kiratas and Chinas were part of the one Akshouhini of troops of Pragjyotisha (Assam) king Bhagadatta who joined the side of the Kauravas(5,19).

Western Kiratas were mentioned along with the Sakas, and Yavanas, the Sivis and the Vasatis as marching in the huge army of Kauravas (5,198). The Sakas, the Kiratas, the Yavanas, and the Pahlavas were mentioned in a battle-array formed by the Kauravas (6,20). Similarly, they are mentioned in another battle-array formed on another day at (6,50).

Words of Satyaki a Yadava chief on the side of Pandavas, during Kurukshetra War:- Those other elephants 700 in number, all cased in armour and ridden by Kiratas, and decked with ornaments, the king of the Kiratas, desirous of his life, had formerly presented to Arjuna.  These were formerly employed in doing good to Yudhishthira. Behold the vicissitudes that time brings about, for these are now battling against Yudhishthira. Those elephants are ridden by Kiratas difficult of defeat in battle. They are accomplished in fighting from elephants and are all sprung from the race of Agni. Formerly, they were all vanquished in battle by Arjuna. They are now waiting for me carefully, under the orders of Duryodhana. Slaying with my shafts these Kiratas difficult of defeat in battle, I shall follow in the track of Arjuna (7,109).

The Tusharas, the Yavanas, the Khasas, the Darvabhisaras, the Daradas, the Sakas, the Kamathas, the Ramathas, the Tanganas the Andhrakas (obviously not the southern Andhras), the Pulindas, the Kiratas of fierce prowess, the Mlecchas, the Mountaineers, and the races hailing from the sea-side, were all united in battle for the purpose of the Kaurava king Duryodhana. (8,73) The ruler of the Kiratas died in battle (8,5).

Arjuna's conquests after Kurukhsetra War
Countless was the fete of Kshatriyas, of kings in myriads, who fought with Arjuna on the occasion of his military campaign to collect tribute for Yudhishthira's Ashwamedha sacrifice, for having lost their kinsmen on the field of Kurukshetra. Innumerable Kiratas also and Yavanas, all excellent bowmen, and diverse tribes of Mlechechas too, who had been discomfited before (by the Pandavas on the field of Kurukshetra), and many Arya kings, possessed of soldiers and animals, encountered Arjuna in battle (14,73). He battled with the Kasis, the Angas, the Kosalas, the Kiratas, and the Tanganas (14,83)

Absence of Brahmins among Kiratas
The Mekalas, the Dravidas, the Lathas, the Paundras, the Konwasiras, the Saundikas, the Daradas, the Darvas, the Chauras, the Savaras, the Varvaras, the Kiratas, the Yavanas, Kambojas, Hunas, Sakas and numerous other tribes of Kshatriyas, have become degraded into the status of Sudras through the absence of Brahmanas.

See also
Kirātārjunīya, poem about Arjuna and Shiva (disguised as a Kirata) in southern India
Kingdoms of Ancient India
Kimpurusha Kingdom
Yalambar, legendary king of the modern Kirati people

References

Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated to English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli

Kingdoms in the Mahabharata
Himalayan kingdoms (Puranas)

Kirata Kingdom


Hiji jack-up rig atawa hiji unit anu bisa naék sorangan (self-elevating) nyaéta jenis anjungan usik anu diwangun tina lambung ngambang dilengkepan kalayan sajumlah suku nu bisa usik,is a type o fitted with a number of movable legs, sanggup naékeun lambung di luhureun permukaan sagara. Lambung apung matak unit bisa ngangkut sarta kabéh mesin kapasang ka lokasi anu dipikahayang. Sanggeus di lokasi lambung ditaékkeun nepikeun ka posisi anu diperlukeun di luhur permukaan sagara dirojong ku sukuna anu nicak kana dasar sagara. Suku ti unit éta bisa dirarancang pikeun nembus dasar sagara, bisa dilengkepan bagéan rada ngagedéan atawa mangrupa pondasi. Umumna rig Jack-up henteu bisa maju sorangan gumantung kana kapal atawa kapal angkat beurat pikeun transportasi.

Anjungan Jack-up dipaké minangka anjungan pengeboran eksplorasi sarta layanan anjungan leupas basisir. Jackup platforms have been the most popular and numerous of various mobile types in existence. Anjungan Jack-up usik geus jadi anu pangpopulérna sarta sagala rupa jenis. Total jumlah rig Jack-up 'Pangeboran' anu operasi baris kira-kira 540 dina ahir taun 2013.

Ngaran
Jack-up rigs are so named because they are self-elevating—with three or four movable legs that can be extended ("jacked") above or below the hull. Jack-ups are towed to the site with the hull, which is actually a water-tight barge that floats on the water's surface, lowered to the water level, and the legs extended above the hull. When the rig réaches the drill site, the crew jacks the legs downward through the water and into the séa floor (or onto the séa floor with mat supported jack-ups). This anchors the rig and holds the hull well above the waves.

Operasi

A jackup is a floating barge fitted with long support legs that can be raised or lowered. The jackup is maneuvered (self-propelled or by towing) into location with its legs up and the hull floating on the water. Upon arrival at the work location, the legs are jacked down onto the séafloor. Then "preloading" takes place, where the weight of the barge and additional ballast water are used to drive the legs securely into the séabottom so they will not penetrate further while operations are carried out. After preloading, the jacking system is used to raise the entire barge above the water to a predetermined height or "air gap", so that wave, tidal and current loading acts only on the relatively slender legs and not on the barge hull.

modérn jacking systems use a rack and pinion géar arrangement where the pinion géars are driven by hydraulic or electric motors and the rack is affixed to the legs.

Jackup rigs can only be placed in relatively shallow waters, generally less than  of water. However, a specialized class of jackup rigs known as premium or ultra-premium jackups are known to have operational capability in water depths ranging from 500 to 625 feet.

Tipe

Mobile offshore Drilling Units (MODU)
This type of rig is commonly used in connection with oil and/or natural gas drilling. There are more jackup rigs in the worldwide offshore rig fleet than other type of mobile offshore drilling rig. Other types of offshore rigs include semi-submersibles (which float on pontoon-like structures) and drillships, which are ship-shape vessels with rigs mounted in the centers. These rigs drill through holes in the drillship hulls, known as moon pools.

Turbine Installation Vessel (TIV)

This type of rig is commonly used in connection with offshore wind turbine installation.

Barges
Jackup rigs also refer to specialized barges that are similar to an oil and gas platform but are used as a base for servicing other structures such as offshore wind turbines, long bridges, and drilling platforms.

Tempo ogé
 Crane vessel
 TIV Resolution

Tumbu kaluar
 Jackup Units: A technical Primer for the Offshore Industry Professional

Référénsi

Oil platforms
Ship types

Jackup Rig


Rouputuan, also known as Huiquanbao and Juehouchan, and translated as The Carnal Prayer Mat or The Before Midnight Scholar, is a 17th-century Chinese erotic novel published under a pseudonym but usually attributed to Li Yu. It was written in 1657 and published in 1693 during the Qing dynasty. It is divided into four volumes of five chapters apiece. It was published in Japan in 1705 as Nikubuton with a preface proclaiming it the greatest erotic novel of all time.

The novel had a controversial status in Chinese literature, and has long been banned and censored; recent scholarship treats the work as an allegory which uses its unabashed pornographic nature to attack Confucian puritanism. The prologue comments that sex is healthy when taken as if it were a drug, but not as if it were ordinary food.

Plot summary
Set during the Yuan dynasty in the 14th century, the novel's protagonist, Weiyangsheng (未央生; lit. "Unrealised One" or "Unfinished One"), visits a Buddhist temple, where he meets a monk, who notes that he exhibits wisdom but also lust. Weiyangsheng says that the monk's purpose in life is to sit on a zafu (or prayer mat) and meditate, while his desire is to marry a beautiful woman and sit on a "carnal prayer mat" (肉蒲團). The title of the novel comes from this line said by Weiyangsheng.

Weiyangsheng is an egoistic young scholar who often boasts of his aspiration to marry the most beautiful woman in the world. He seeks neither fame nor glory, and prefers to indulge in women and sex. A monk called "Budai Heshang" (布袋和尚; lit. "Monk with a Cloth Sack") once urged him to give up on his philandering ways and follow the path of Buddhism, while his father-in-law, Taoist Tiefei (鐵扉道人), also attempted to persuade him to be more decent, but Weiyangsheng ignored both of them.

On a trip to the capital city, Weiyangsheng encounters Saikunlun (賽崑崙), a bandit, and becomes sworn brothers with him. Saikunlun introduces Weiyangsheng to Tianji Zhenren (天際真人), a Taoist magician, who surgically enhances Weiyangsheng's penis by splicing strips of a dog's penis into it, causing it to be enlarged and become more 'powerful'. With Saikunlun's help, Weiyangsheng gets involved in illicit sexual relationships with many married women, including: Yanfang (艷芳), the wife of Quan Laoshi (權老實); Xiangyun (香雲), the wife of Xuanyuanzi (軒軒子); Ruizhu (瑞珠), the wife of Woyunsheng (臥雲生); Ruiyu (瑞玉), the wife of Yiyunsheng (倚雲生).

When Quan Laoshi learns of his wife's relationship with Weiyangsheng, he is furious and is determined to take revenge. He disguises himself and infiltrates Weiyangsheng's household, where he has an affair with Weiyangsheng's wife, Yuxiang (玉香), and makes her pregnant. Quan elopes with Yuxiang and sells her to a brothel to be a prostitute. Later, he realises that he has committed grave sins and decides to show penitence by becoming a monk and studying under Budai Heshang.

Meanwhile, in the brothel, Yuxiang is trained in a special technique – writing calligraphy by clutching a brush with her genitals. Later, she meets Xuanyuanzi, Woyunsheng and Yiyunsheng, and has sex with each of them. When Weiyangsheng visits the brothel, Yuxiang recognises her husband and commits suicide in shame. Weiyangsheng is given a good beating, which makes him come to his senses. He decides to follow in Quan Laoshi's footsteps and become a monk under Budai Heshang. He also castrates himself to avoid being distracted from this calling by his surgically enhanced penis.

The alternative Chinese titles of the novel – Huiquanbao (The Karmic Cycle) and Juehouchan (Zen After Awakening) – reflect the overarching theme of the story, specifically on Zen and the Buddhist concept of karma: Weiyangsheng had improper sexual relationships with the wives of Quan Laoshi and others, and later he received his karmic retribution when these men had sex with his wife; his sexual escapades came to an end when he finally 'awakened' (i.e. came to his senses) and decided to pursue Zen by following Budai Heshang.

Analysis
The novel is part of the development away from earlier story-tellers' conventions toward a self-conscious original literary composition. The author's stance allows "refined interplay of irony between the characters, the plot, the readers, and, less perceptibly, the author himself". While story is "clearly an allegory", it does "not pretend to hide its realistic, pornographic nature". The structure of the narrative, a "rake's progress of a sort", is "neatly woven towards a climax", the outcome of which is an "apt, artificial conclusion of the ironical Buddhist framework" in the body of the narrative which follows the prologue in the first chapter. However, the first chapter seems to express the view that "sex is healthy, not devitalising, as in the traditional Chinese assertion, so long as it is 'taken' as if it were a drug, and not 'consumed' as if it were an ordinary food". The "moralistic, Buddhist stance, which leads to self-emasculation, need not be taken seriously. Yet its assistance in denouncing the stingy Confucian puritanism it attacks, is certainly intended."

Authorship

The scholars Chun-shu Chang and Shelley Hsueh-lun Chang discuss the problems of authorship. They point out that the attribution to Li did not come until 1715, 35 years after Li's death, and was offered with no evidence, and no new evidence was added in the following years of the Qing dynasty. They further point out that in modern times Lu Xun suggested that the novel had a spirit and style akin to Li's, but he did not elaborate. The Changs acknowledge Patrick Hanan's conclusion that "so distinctive is his brand of fiction that although the novel has never actually been proved to be by Li Yu, one has only to read it alongside his stories to feel the truth of the attribution." However, they themselves argue that "we cannot conclude that Li Yu was the author of Prayer Mat of Flesh. Andre Levy in the Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature says that the author is "probably" Li Yu. The literary historians Wilt Idema and Lloyd Haft simply say Li is "often considered" to be the author.

Analysis
Robert E. Hegel wrote that The Carnal Prayer Mat was intended to satirise the imperial examination system and parody the patterns in caizi jiaren novels.

Translations
 Manchu: In the Qing dynasty, the book was translated into Manchu as  (Wylie: Jeo p'u tuwan i bithe Möllendorff: žeo pu tuwan i bithe). Edition: H. Walravens, L. Bieg, Martin Gimm (eds.), Der chinesische Roman Rou putuan 肉蒲團 in manjurischer Übersetzung der Berliner Handschrift aus der Zeit um 1700, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (Neuerwerb. d.Ostasienabt., Sonderheft 27, Berlin, 2011).
 English: Patrick Hanan, The Carnal Prayer Mat (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1996).
 English: Richard Martin, translated from the German of Franz Kuhn,  Jou Pu Tuan (The Prayer Mat of Flesh) (New York: Grove Press, 1963), published in the United Kingdom as The Before Midnight Scholar (London: André Deutsch), 1965.
 French: Pierre Klossowski, Jeou p'ou t'ouan ou la chair comme tapis de prière (Paris, J.-J. Pauvert) 1962.
 German: Franz Kuhn, Jou Pu Tuan: ein erotisch-moralischer Roman aus der Ming-Zeit mit 62 chinesische Holzschnitten (Zürich: Verlage Die Waage, 1959).
 Czech: Oldřich Král, Rouputuan - Meditační rohožky z masa, Maxima 2011,
 Hungarian: Kiss Imre, A szerelem imaszőnyege - Erotikus regény a Ming-korból, 1989
 Hebrew: Dan Deor, מחצלת הבשרים (Makhtselet Habesarim), 2005
 Italian: Anna Maria Greimel, translated from the German, Il tappeto da preghiera di carne (Milano: Bompiani), 1973.

Later popular culture
The novel was loosely adapted into the Hong Kong erotic films Sex and Zen and 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy.

References
 Song, Geng. The Fragile Scholar: Power and Masculinity in Chinese Culture. Hong Kong University Press, January 1, 2004. , 9789622096202.

Notes

External links

 Full text in Traditional Chinese (contents page)
 Full text in Simplified Chinese

Chinese erotic novels
17th-century Chinese novels
Qing dynasty novels
1657 books
1693 books
1650s novels
Sex and Zen
Novels published posthumously
Works by Li Yu

The Carnal Prayer Mat


Nazism (Nationalsozialismus, Naitional Socialism; alternatively spelled Naziism wis the ideology an practice o the Nazi Party an o Nazi Germany. It wis a unique variety o fascism that involved biological racism an antisemitism. Nazism presented itself as politically syncretic, incorporating policies, tactics an philosophies frae right- an left-wing ideologies; in practice, Nazism wis a far right form o politics.

The Nazis believed in the supremacy o an Aryan master race an claimed that Germans represent the maist pure Aryan naition. Thay argued that Germany's survival as a modren great naition required it tae creaut a New Order — an empire in Europe that wad gie the German naition the necessar land mass, resoorces, an expansion o population needed tae be able tae economically an militarily compete wi ither pouers.

The Nazis claimed that Jews wur the greatest threat tae the Aryan race an the German naition. Thay considered Jews a parasitic race that attached itself tae various ideologies an movements tae secure its self-preservation, sic as: the Enlightenment, liberalism, democracy, parliamentary politics, capitalism, industrialisation, Marxism an trade unionism.

Tae rescue Germany frae the effects o the Great Depression, Nazism promoted an economic Third Position; a managed economy that wis neither capitalist nor communist. The Nazis accuised communism an capitalism o bein associated wi Jewish influences an interests. Thay declared support for a nationalist form o socialism that wis tae provide for the Aryan race an the German naition: economic security, social welfare programs for workers, a juist wage, honour for workers' importance tae the naition, an pertection frae capitalist exploitation.

Denazification

Efter Nazi Germany wis defeatit in Warld War II, The Allied kintras embarked on a campaign tae rid German an Austrian society, cultur, press, economy, judiciary, an politics o ony remnants o Nazism. Thay removed those involved frae poseetions o influence an disbandit or rendered pouerless the organisations associatit wi the Nazi regime.

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Adolf Hitler
Anti-communism
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Naitionalism
Politics o Nazi Germany
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Johannes "Joe" Modise (23 May 192926 November 2001) was a South African political figure. He helped to found uMkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the African National Congress, and was its longest serving Commander in Chief, deputised at different points in time by Joe Slovo and Chris Hani. Modise headed MK for a 25-year period, from 1965 to 1990. He served as South Africa's first black Minister of Defence from 1994 to 1999 and led the formation of the post-independence defence force.

As a PUTCO bus driver from Sophiatown, Gauteng, he became interested in the struggle against apartheid at an early age. He at first chose only non-violent means, being arrested with Nelson Mandela and 154 others and tried for treason. All were acquitted. In the 1960s, the South African government were using increasingly violent means to suppress anti-Apartheid activists, and Modise became a guerrilla fighter. He organized resistance groups and trained many other guerrilla fighters. Modise became Commander in Chief of Umkhonto we Sizwe ("MK") following the Rivonia Trial during which other MK high command members such as Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, Walter Sisulu, Dennis Goldberg, Ahmed Kathrada, Raymond Mhlaba, Andrew Mlangeni and Elias Motsoaledi's were sentenced to life imprisonment.

By 1990, Modise and other representatives of the African National Congress met with the white government. When Mandela was elected president in 1994, he chose Modise as his Defense Minister. Modise was charged with integrating the many sections of guerrilla fighters into the new South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

Early life and education
An African of Tswana descent, Modise or Joe (or JM), as he is known to family, friends and comrades, was born in Doornfontein, Johannesburg, on 23 May 1929. He was the only child of Miriam and Ezekiel Modise. Modise completed his Junior Certificate at the Fred Clark Memorial School in Nance Field. He had to leave school in order to work and contribute to his family's income. His parents impressed the importance of education on the young Modise and, consequently, he obtained his matric certificate through private study. His first job was as a driver for various companies.

Contrary to apartheid regime-led claims and conspiracy theories; Modise was never a member of the Alexandra Township gang, the Spoilers. Instead he spent his time away from work (as a PUTCO bus driver) working for the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). Modise joined the ANCYL in about 1947 in Newclare and became one of the organisation's organisers. When the Strijdom government declared Sophiatown a White area the residents who were threatened by the demolition of their homes and political organisations, such as the African National Congress (ANC), organised themselves in the Western Areas Protest Committee. Modise was very involved in the one-day work stoppage in 1955. His political activities as an organiser against the Sophiatown removals led to his first arrest in 1954. He was also actively involved in the political campaigns against the introduction of Bantu Education in 1953.

Career

Freedom Charter Movement and the founding of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK)
Modise was one of the 156 people whom the South African state identified as leading figures in the Freedom Charter movement. They were charged with treason. The government claimed that they were working systematically towards the overthrow of the South African state. Modise was amongst the 73 trialists against whom charges were dropped.

By 1960 many of the acts of resistance were directed against the implementation of the Pass Laws. On 21 March 1960 the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) organised an anti-pass campaign. The ANC and the PAC were banned in the wake of the brutal crushing of the campaign by the South African police.

Modise was part of the group that included his long-time friend Nelson Mandela, Wilton Mkwayi, Ronnie Kasrils, Govan Mbeki, Walter Sisulu, Denis Goldberg, Ahmed Kathrada, Raymond Mhlaba, Andrew Mlangeni, Elias Motsoaledi and others who founded Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK).  After warning the South African government in June 1961 of its intent to resist further acts of terror if the government did not take steps toward constitutional reform and increase political rights, MK launched its first attacks against government installations in Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Durban on 16 December 1961. In January 1962, Nelson Mandela left South Africa for military training while most of the other MK members continued underground activities inside the country with meeting being held at Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia. As soon as ties with other countries had been established, Modise played a key role in recruiting people for Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and arranging for them to leave the country for military training. As of 1962 he was instructed to leave his job as a driver to work as an organiser for MK on a full-time basis.

On 11 July 1963, 19 ANC and MK leaders, including Arthur Goldreich and Walter Sisulu, were arrested at Liliesleaf Farm, Rivonia. Modise and other key leaders such as Oliver Tambo, Moses Kotane were not at the farm at the time of the arrests. The Rivonia trail, resulted in MK high command members Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, Walter Sisulu, Dennis Goldberg, Ahmed Kathrada, Raymond Mhlaba, Andrew Mlangeni and Elias Motsoaledi's being sentenced to life imprisonment. The charge sheet at the trial lists 193 acts of sabotage. Wilton Mkwayi, head of MK at the time, escaped during trial.

Building of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the people's army
When the Soviets opened an embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 1962, more direct links between the Soviets and the ANC were cemented. The embassy, formally through the Soviet Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee, invited Oliver Tambo in December 1962 to visit the Soviet Union for a period of rest. Tambo went to the country in March 1963, accompanied by Moses Kotane and they presented an overview of events in South Africa, and met with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). On 5 April 1963 Tambo and Kotane had talks with Ponomarev, which was the beginning of a long relationship between the men and during the meeting, parties set out radical plans for the overthrow of the apartheid regime, using armed and political struggle. Tambo also motivated the urgent need to train ANC cadres in the Soviet Union.

Tambo's request for military training was approved by the Soviet government, and in Summer of 1963, two groups of 20 cadres arrived in Moscow to begin studies at the Northern Training Centre. The first group arrived in November 1963, and they were joined by a larger group that included Modise (who had taken name the guerrilla name Thabo More) and Moses Mabhida, who was recalled from the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) headquarters in Prague. The recruits underwent training in guerrilla warfare, military strategy and tactics, topography, drilling and the use of firearms.  Because the number of recruits had increased significantly, training was moved to a larger facility in the city of Odesa in the Ukraine. Between 1963 and 1965, 328 cadres were trained at Odesa including Chris Hani who arrived in 1964. Other leaders of the ANC and SACP also underwent aspects of military training, including Moses Kotane, Duma Nokwe, Joe Slovo and Ambrose Makiwane.

Following his training, MK's executive determined that Modise should undergo further military training in order to lead its military personnel. He was also charged with the additional responsibility of the procurement of arms. Modise's training took him to the former Soviet Union, the former Czechoslovakia, Cuba and Vietnam. In 1964 he returned to Tanzania, from where he was involved in the re-organisation of MK and its training programmes and began a lifelong commitment to the struggle in which he established MK bases in Tanzania, Angola and Zambia. Training in the Soviet Union, especially for MK's staff officers continued in the USSR and Tambo and Modise led another delegation to the USSR in August 1965 with the aim of expanding these programmes.

Commander in Chief of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK)
Modise was appointed Commander in Chief of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in 1965. In the same year, he was also appointed to the National Executive Committee of the ANC, an explicitly political office. Between 1965 and 1990, he led every tactical and strategic action by the MK including the acts of sabotage, bombings and landmine campaigns.

Between 1965 and 1996 the leadership group moved to Morogoro, which became ANC HQ, with MK becoming the ANC's military wing. In 1967, OR Tambo became Acting President, after the death of Chief Albert Luthuli. The ANC's secretary-general was Duma Nokwe, Moses Kotane filled the post of treasurer, and modise was commander in chief of MK. The primary task before them was the reorganisation of the ANC's severely disrupted structures.
As Commander in Chief of MK, Modise together with Dumiso Dabengwa of Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZAPU, ZIPRA) led the Wankie Sipolilo Campaign. The "Luthuli Detachment" comprising ANC and ZAPU guerrillas crossed the Zambezi river into the then Rhodesia and engaged joint Smith-Vorster troops during the infamous battles. Under Modise's command, the troops who included Chris Hani (Commissar), Mavuso Msimang (MK Co-Chief of Communications), Lennox Lagu, Peter Mfene, Douglas Wana, Mbijana, the late Victor Dlamini, Castro, Mashigo (the ANC Chief Representative to Lusaka), Paul Sithole, Desmond, Wilson Msweli, Shooter Makasi, Eric Nduna, Basil February, James April fought raging battles with the enemy which until late 1968.

Tambo and James Chikerema, the head of ZAPU in exile, directed the campaign at the political level, while Modise (MK Commander in Chief), Akim Ndlovu (ZIPRA commander), Archie Sibeko (Zola Zembe, MK Chief of Operations), Dumiso Dabengwa (ZAPU chief of intelligence), Mjojo (General Tshali, MK Chief of Staff), Walter Mavuso (Mavuso Msimang, MK Chief of Communications) and Chris Hani (MK Commissar) assumed responsibility at the military level for personnel, reconnaissance, intelligence and logistics.

The latter involved the acquisition of ammunition and food supplies for the mission, as well as the means to transport them. Intelligence was left to ZAPU, due to their knowledge of the terrain and its people. ZAPU also undertook to conduct an awareness campaign in the area of the proposed operation so as to ensure a good reception for the MK guerillas by local residents. Other ZIPRA cadres who were involved included John Dube and Moffat Hadebe (ZIPRA commanders) as well as Phelekezela Mphoko (former vice-president of Zimbabwe).

Morogoro conference
In 1969 Chris Hani authored the 'Hani Memorandum' which was strongly critical of the direction of the armed struggle. At the Morogoro Conference later that year, the ANC formed the Revolutionary Council which was chaired by OR Tambo. This was a move intended to reinforce the supremacy of political leadership also ensure that the task of mass mobilisation and underground organisation received the necessary emphasis - to reinforce the links between the armed struggle the mass base and the underground structures of the ANC.

During the conference, Tambo resigned but was unanimously re-elected as deputy president of the ANC. There was also a decision to have new, reduced NEC and Duma Nokwe lost his position as secretary-general to Alfred Nzo and was also removed from the NEC. Modise received a massive vote of confidence and retained his post and title as Head of MK, although OR Tambo as ANC president then took on the title of Commander in Chief.

The military headquarters was dissolved, and Modise was elevated to membership of the newly constituted Revolutionary Council. Separate regional headquarters, also called staff commands, for Zambia and Tanzania were established under their own chiefs of staff. The other major decision of the conference was to open membership of the ANC in exile to people of all races. This went some way towards resolving the anomaly that while membership of MK had been open to people of all races, the ANC had not taken that step. It also facilitated the political integration of MK into the ANC and brought MK back under the ANC's control – the apparent independence of MK and the lack of political control over it had been one of the main complaints of Hani and his fellow signatories.

The conference did not, however, go so far as to allow non-African membership of the ANC's national executive committee. As a compromise solution, a Revolutionary Council with open and non-racial membership was established as a nominal sub-committee of the NEC. In the long run the Morogoro Conference probably strengthened the ANC in exile. Chris Hani himself said that 'after Morogoro we never looked back'. He said that the 'Strategy and Tactics' document that emerged from the conference became 'the lodestar of the movement' and that, with the establishment of the Revolutionary Council there was a shift in emphasis away from international solidarity and towards 'building [the] ANC inside South Africa'. Between 1970 and 1975 MK reconsolidated its underground structures. Among others, Chris Hani returned to South Africa.

Escalation of MK activity within South Africa
On 25 June 1975, the People's Republic of Mozambique was created after a protracted 10-year battle by FRELIMO troops against the Portuguese colonialists in which MK troops participated. On 11 November 1975 the People's Republic of Angola was born and within months, after the defeat of the invading South African army by the Angolan people's armed forces, MK was invited to train its cadres on Angolan soil. Between 1975 and 1976, early MK commanders who were active in the early 1961-64 sabotage campaign were released from Robben Island. Among them are Joe Gqabi, Indres Naidoo, Ismael Ebrahim and Andrew Masondo who re-assimilated into MK under Modise's leadership. Between 1976 and 1978, MK under Modise dramatically increased in operations inside South Africa, including sabotage of railway lines, attacks on police stations and so on.

MK operations temporary went through a hiatus in 1982 after Modise and Cassius Make were captured and jailed in Botswana after they were caught with an assortment of arms. In the process, MK's plans were seized and therefore an order was given to suspend any planned actions. In 1983, the Revolutionary Council was disbanded as the ANC's main operational organ and was replaced by a Politico-Military Council (PMC). The PMC, like the old RC, was to be chaired by ANC president Oliver Tambo, deputised by secretary general Alfred Nzo. Like the RC, it had two main operational arms, one political and one military.

On the political side, the PMC hierarchy consisted of a political committee chaired by Joe Jele, with Mac Maharaj as secretary.  The newly created military headquarters was commanded by Modise (Commander in Chief), deputised by Chris Hani, who was also MK political commissar. Third in the military hierarchy was Joe Slovo, who was Chief of Staff. The ANC's security and intelligence organ, Nat, headed by Mzwai Piliso, was also represented on the PMC

MK, under Modise and Hani's command participated in the 1983 bombing of Church Street, in Pretoria near the South African Air Force Headquarters, resulting in 19 deaths and 217 injuries. During the next 10 years, the people's army conducted a series of bombings the country including the 1985 Amanzimtoti bombing on the Natal South Coast where five civilians were killed and 40 were injured. The attack was conducted by MK cadre, Andrew Sibusiso Zondo who detonated an explosive in a rubbish bin at a shopping centre shortly before Christmas. In a submission to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), the ANC stated that Zondo's act, though "understandable" as a response to a recent South African Defence Force raid in Lesotho, was not in line with ANC policy. Zondo was subsequently executed. In the 1986 Durban beach-front bombing, a bomb was detonated in a bar, killing three civilians and injuring 69. Robert McBride received the death penalty for this bombing which became known as the "Magoo's Bar bombing". The subsequent Truth and Reconciliation Committee called the bombing a "gross violation of human rights". McBride received amnesty and became a senior police officer. Other attacks carried out by MK include the 1987 attacks on courts in Johannesburg, Newcastle, a bank in Roodepoort (1988), Ellis Park rugby stadium (car bomb) and several others which resulted in multiple casualties.

Modise continued to expand MK's capabilities by training younger promising guerrillas as executive officers and in 1985, after the ANC's Kabwe conference, General Siphiwe Nyanda went to Moscow with a group including Charles Nqakula and Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula to study military combat work. By 1986 there was an intake of 60 South Africans every year. By the latter half of the decade, Modise was asking the Soviets to train MK cadres for taking up positions in a regular army – by now negotiations were envisaged and a political settlement was beginning to be seen as a real possibility. In 1986 ANC members began a three-year course for motorised infantry officers in Perevalnoye, and the next year many were to embark on five-year courses to become helicopter and jet pilots, flight engineers or naval officers.

Preparations for a post-apartheid South Africa
In 1987, Modise as head of MK requested the assistance of the Cubans at meetings in Lusaka and Harare. These relations were maintained throughout the 1980s. Further talk included the Russians and discussions were held regarding the shape of the expected political settlement in South Africa. The ANC delegation, led by Oliver Tambo, included Modise, Joe Slovo, Alfred Nzo, and Thabo Mbeki. The Cubans were represented by Jorge Risquet, and the Soviets by Anatoly Dobrynin, who had become the replacement for Boris Ponomarey. In May 1990 under Modise's orders, Chris Hani, then Chief of Staff of MK (and Joe Modise's deputy), asked the Cubans to help train officers for the post-apartheid army.

Suspension of the armed struggle
In an exclusive interview with "The Herald", on Wednesday, 14 March 1990, the ANC military commander, Modise, stated that the organisation could consider the suspension of the armed struggle but not the laying down of arms, to facilitate negotiations.

Upon the release of Nelson Mandela, and the subsequent unbanning of the liberation movements, Modise was one of the advance group of ANC leaders who were tasked with entering into discussions with the National Party (South Africa) government at Groote Schuur. This meeting resulted in the formulation of a document, the Groote Schuur Minute, which prepared the way for the return of exiles and a negotiated an end to the apartheid system.

The building of the new South Africa Defence Force (SADF)
During 1993 Modise was instrumental in negotiating the integration of officials of the South African Defence Force (SADF) and those of the liberation armies. Apart from this task Modise served on the defence sub-council of the Transitional Executive Council from December 1993 to April 1994. After the first democratic elections in April 1994 President Nelson Mandela appointed him as South Africa's Minister of Defence where together with his comrades General Siphiwe Nyanda (Defence Chief from 1998) and Ronnie Kasrils (deputy minister of defence) gallantly led the integration of the liberation armies and former colonial forces into a new, professional defence force.

In the new South Africa, Modise also founded the Umkhonto we Sizwe Veterans Association and was elected "Life President". Modise's professional contribution to overthrowing apartheid and to establish a new democracy has been recognised. On 22 November 2001 President Thabo Mbeki awarded Modise the country's highest civilian honour, the Order of the Star of South Africa (non-Military), Class 1: Grand Cross (Gold). In addition, numerous roads and human settlements have been named after him.

Corruption

At the Sereti Commission of inquiry, Gavin Woods made accusations that Joe Modise had benefited from the South African Arms deal. However, upon cross-examination, he failed to provide any evidence of any such benefits. Joe Modise's family has consistently supported all investigations into the arms deal and have challenged anyone to come forward with evidence of any money or any benefits that flowed to Joe Modise or any of his family members. In fact, to date, no investigation or court of law has found any evidence of wrong-doing against Joe Modise, even though there have been numerous allegations levelled against him, and his peers, fellow South African liberation icons and cabinet members at the time, Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki as well as the ANC.

Death

In 2001, Modise died of cancer in Pretoria at the age of 72.  He was buried at Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is survived by his two wives Eva Modise and Jackie Sedibe, a former MK chief of communications and first SANDF female general who led the transformation agenda of the post-apartheid defence force; and his five daughters. She was one of MK's first female recruits the only living recipient of the Order of Mendi for Bravery (nine other recipients were posthumous) which South African President Jacob Zuma presented to other members of MK's Luthuli detachment on 29 April 2016.

Legacy

On 6 December 2003, Mandela said the following about Modise:

Awards and decorations

Notes

References

External links

 Joe Modise, 72, Fighter Against Apartheid, New York Times

1929 births
2001 deaths
Politicians from Johannesburg
South African Sotho people
African National Congress politicians
Defence ministers of South Africa
People acquitted of treason
Deaths from cancer in South Africa
Burials at Westpark Cemetery
UMkhonto we Sizwe personnel

Joe Modise