The Federación Española de Pelota () is the main governing body of Basque pelota in Spain and one of the most important in the world along with the International Federation of Basque Pelota. As of 2022, the federation has 573 registered clubs and 13,831 federated pelota players.

History
Basque pelota first gained popularity during the 1920s. Several tournaments were organized and the Hand-pelota, remonte and pala championships were introduced for the first professional pelotaris.

In 1924 Basque pelota was introduced as a demonstration sport in the 1924 Summer Olympics, and the popularity of the event was the main reason for the creation of the Spanish Basque Pelota Federation.

The first typed of pelota to be included were doubles hand-pelota, pala, remonte and cesta punta. Provincial federations were set up in Álava, Aragón, Castile, Cataluña, Guipúzcoa, Navarra, Salamanca and Vizcaya.

The activities of the Federation were interrupted during the Civil War but were restarted in 1940, when singles hand-pelota and short pala categories were introduced.
The same year the first top-tier hand-pelota singles championship was organized, resulting in the win of Atano III over Txikito de Iraeta with a final score of 22-8.

In 1941 the first top-tier hand-pelota doubles championship was played, resulting in the win of Onaindia and Urcelay over Txikito de Iraeta and Gallastegui with a final score of 22-18. And in 1957 the first second-tier hand-pelota 2nd category singles was played resulting in the win of Del Val over Otxoa with a final score of 22-8.

During the 1960s, several new competitions were introduced. Most were regional, second category and youth tournaments.

In 1989, the Cuatro y Medio Euskadi Championship was introduced, resulting in a win for Retegi II over Galarza III with a final score of 22-6.

Competitions
The pelotaris in the federation are mainly under contract of the two major Basque pelota companies operating in Spain, focus in the Basque Country, Asegarce and ASPE.

Categories regulated by the Federation
Hand-Pelota Singles
Hand-Pelota Doubles
Long Pala
Short Pala
Frontennis
Share
Cesta Punta

Main tournaments held by the federation
1st Hand-Pelota singles championship
1st Hand-Pelota doubles championship
2nd Hand-Pelota singles championship
Cuatro y Medio Euskadi Championship

References

External links
 Spanish Federation of Basque Pelota official site

Basque pelota governing bodies
Basque Pelota
Sports organizations established in 1925
Basque pelota in Spain

Spanish Federation of Basque Pelota


The Comper Aircraft Company Ltd was a 1930s British light aircraft manufacturer. It was based at Hooton Aerodrome, Cheshire (1929-1933), and Heston Aerodrome, Middlesex (1933-1934).

History
In April 1929, after leaving the Royal Air Force, Nicholas Comper formed the Comper Aircraft Company Ltd, based at Hooton Park Aerodrome near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire. Company directors included his brother Adrian Comper, his colleague Flt Lt J. Bernard Allen, George H Dawson, the owner of Hooton Park Aerodrome, and others. The company's first product was the Comper Swift, a single-seat sporting monoplane. After the prototype flew in January 1930, 40 production examples were built at Hooton. In 1932, in a joint venture, the company produced a prototype of the Cierva C.25 autogyro, using major elements of a Comper Swift.

In March 1933, after producing about 41 aircraft, the company moved to Heston Aerodrome near London. The first aircraft built at Heston was the Mouse, that first flew in September 1933. Other single examples produced at Heston were the Comper Streak and Comper Kite.

After an expensive move in a financial depression, and new aircraft designs but few sales, the company ceased trading in August 1934. Most of the directors resigned, including Nick Comper, and a new board was formed, headed by Sir Norman J Watson and Brindley 'Bryn' R.S. Jones. The company was renamed Heston Aircraft Company Ltd, effective 10 August 1934.

Aircraft
 1930 - Comper Swift
 1932 - Cierva C.25
 1933 - Comper Mouse
 1934 - Comper Streak
 1934 - Comper Kite

Notes

References
Boughton, Terence. 1963. The Story of The British Light Aeroplane. John Murray

Meaden, Jack & Fillmore, Malcolm. (Winter 2003). The Comper Lightplanes. Air-Britain Archive (quarterly). Air-Britain.
Riding, Richard T. August&September 1978. British Pre-war Ultra-lights No.28: Comper Swift. Aeroplane Monthly. IPC Media
Riding, Richard T. 1987. Ultralights: The Early British Classics. Patrick Stephens
Riding, Richard T. March 2003. Database: Comper Swift. Aeroplane Monthly. IPC Media

External links

Nick Comper official website

Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1929
Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1934
1929 establishments in England
1934 disestablishments in England
British companies disestablished in 1934
British companies established in 1929

Comper Aircraft Company


The New World rats and mice are a group of rodents from the family Cricetidae. They are mammals with fur and long tails. These animals live in the wild in North and South America. The group is very large, with about 500 different species. Biologists are not sure whether the group is descended from a common ancestor, so there is no scientific name for it. There are three subfamilies, Neotominae, Sigmodontinae and Tylomyinae.

Members of the New World rats and mice have occupied different ecological niches. Because of this, they have developed different forms. Most of them resemble rats or mice in appearance, but some look like voles, moles, gerbils or shrews. The biggest of them are Kunsia, with about 16–30 cm body length, and about 8–16 cm tail. Among the smallest are Baiomys, with about 5–8 cm body length, and about 5 cm tail.

Most of the New World rats and mice live on the ground, but are good climbers. Some live in trees. Others dig holes in the ground, or live part of their life in the water. New world rats and mice do not hibernate, but on cold days in winter, they sometimes fall into a torpor.

The New World rats and mice have many predators, and usually live only a short time. In the wild, these animals usually live for less than a year, but they have reached ages of up to five years old when kept indoors and protected by people. Some species have adapted to humans, and are hemerophile. This has also shown in some common names, such as the Cotton rat, Marsh rice rat, Brown Cane Mouse or Short-tailed Cane Mouse.

Rodents

New World rats and mice


Freckles are clusters of concentrated melanin that are most often visible with a fair skin complexion. Freckles are predominantly found on the face, although they may appear on any skin exposed to the sun, such as the lips, neck, arms, neck, shoulders, back and chest.

They are an inherited trait, caused by variation in the MC1R gene that is involved in the determination of red hair, fair skin, and freckles. Freckle formation is triggered through exposure to sunlight.

Two types of melanin, the red pheomelanin and the black eumelanin, are present in human skin. Eumelanin protects against sunlight. People with red hair have mostly pheomelanin in their hair and skin and/or a reduced ability to produce eumelanin. This may explain why they fail to tan and are at risk from the ultraviolet radiation in sunlight.

About 1.5 billion people in the world have freckles. About 75 per cent of Filipino people have freckles.

References

Human body features

Freckle


In Greek mythology, Telamon (; Ancient Greek: Τελαμών, Telamōn means "broad strap") was the son of King Aeacus of Aegina, and Endeïs, a mountain nymph. The elder brother of Peleus, Telamon sailed alongside Jason as one of his Argonauts, and was present at the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. In the Iliad, he was the father of Greek heroes Ajax the Great and Teucer by different mothers. Some accounts mention a third son of his, Trambelus. He and Peleus were also close friends of Heracles, assisting him on his expeditions against the Amazons and his assault on Troy (see below).

In an earlier account recorded by Pherecydes of Athens, Telamon and Peleus were not brothers, but friends. According to this account, Telamon was the son of Actaeus and Glauce, with the latter being the daughter of Cychreus, king of Salamis; and Telamon married Periboea (Eriboea), daughter of King Alcathous of Megara.

Mythology
After killing their half-brother, Phocus, Telamon and Peleus fled Aegina and made their way to the island of Salamis, where King Cychreus welcomed Telamon and befriended him. Telamon married Cychreus' daughter Periboea, who gave birth to Ajax; sometime later, Cychreus gave Telamon his kingdom. In other versions of the myth Cychreus' daughter is named Glauce, and Periboea is Telamon's second wife, and the daughter of Alcathous.

Trojan War
Telamon also features in both versions of Heracles' sacking of Troy, which was ruled by King Laomedon (or Tros in the alternate versions). Before the Trojan War, Poseidon sent a sea monster to attack Troy.

 Tros version
In the King Tros version, Heracles (along with Telamon and Oicles) agreed to kill the monster if Tros would give him the horses he received from Zeus as compensation for Zeus' kidnapping Tros' son, Ganymede. Tros agreed; Heracles succeeded and Telamon married Hesione, Tros' daughter, by whom he sired Teucer.

 Laomedon version
In the King Laomedon version, Laomedon planned on sacrificing his daughter Hesione to Poseidon in the hope of appeasing him. Heracles rescued her at the last minute and killed both the monster and Laomedon and Laomedon's sons, except for Ganymede, who was on Mount Olympus, and Podarces, who saved his own life by giving Heracles a golden veil Hesione had made. Telamon took Hesione as a war prize and married her, and she gave birth by him to Teucer. When Ajax later committed suicide at Troy, Telamon banished Teucer from Salamis for failing to bring his brother home.

 Bibliotheca version
In Apollodorus' Library, Telamon was almost killed during the siege of Troy. Telamon was the first one to break through the Trojan wall, which enraged Hercules as he was coveting that glory for himself. Hercules was about to cut him down with his sword when Telamon began to quickly assemble an altar out of nearby stones in honor of Hercules. Hercules was so pleased, after the sack of Troy he gave Telamon Hesione as a wife. Hesione requested that she be able to bring her brother Podarces with her. Hercules would not allow it unless Hesione bought Podarces as a slave. Hesione paid for her brother with a veil. Podarces' name was then changed to Priam – which, according to Greek author Apollodorus, was derived from the Greek phrase "to buy".

In architecture
In architecture, telamons are colossal male figures used as columns. These are also called atlas, atlantes, or atlantids; they are the male versions of caryatids.

The Telamon

The "Telamon" (also "Song of Telamon", "Telamon Song", "Telamon-song") is an ancient Greek song (fl. 5th century BC) only found referred to by name in some ancient Greek plays and later scholia or commentaries. It is usually thought to be a warlike song about Telamon's son Ajax, though some other commentaries thought it to be a mournful song about Telamon himself. It began with: "Son of Telamon, warlike Ajax! They say you are the bravest of the Greeks who came to Troy, next to Achilles."

References

Sources

External links

Argonauts
Kings in Greek mythology
Characters in the Argonautica
Aeginetan characters in Greek mythology
Salaminian characters in Greek mythology
Salaminian mythology
Columns and entablature

Telamon


Fenghuang (Chinese: 鳳凰; Pinyin: Fènghuáng; is the name of two Chinese mythological birds, that were central figures in ancient Chinese cosmology. Sometimes called the Chinese Phoenix, the Fenghuang is a symbol of summer and spiritual balance, and along with the dragon, qilin and tortoise, is one of the most highly revered creatures in Chinese tradition. Its appearance is said to indicate some great event, or to bear testimony to the greatness of a ruler.

Chinese mythology
Legendary creatures

Fenghuang


Gordon Waverly Gilkey (March 10, 1912 – October 28, 2000) was an American artist, educator, and promoter of the arts from Oregon. A native Oregonian, he served during World War II in Europe collecting art stolen by the Nazis for which he was award the Meritorious Service Medal and other accolades. He later served in the administration at Oregon State University and worked for the Portland Art Museum.

Early life
Gilkey was born in Linn County, Oregon.

He began teaching art in 1930 as a student teacher at Albany College (now Lewis & Clark College). In 1936, he was the recipient of the first Master of Fine Arts (MFA) ever to be awarded by the University of Oregon. From 1937–1939, he produced the architectural etchings for the 1939 New York World's Fair and wrote the official book for that event, published by Charles Scribner's Sons. He joined the art faculty of Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri in 1939, where he remained for three years until he began his military service.

He married Vivian E. Malone (1912–1996), also of Albany, in New York City in 1939. Vivian was by then a violin student at the Juilliard School. She was also a graduate of the University of Oregon and performed regularly in Oregon all her life.

World War II service
While serving in World War II, Gilkey wrote President Franklin D. Roosevelt, requesting a unit be established to review military tactics to help minimize damage to art and architecture in Europe. Roosevelt saw merit in the suggestion and directed General Dwight D. Eisenhower to award Gilkey command of that unit. When hostilities ceased, Gilkey was assigned to track down and confiscate Nazi propaganda art throughout the defeated Third Reich.

In the process of those duties, he made the acquaintance of many artists throughout Europe. He was able, upon returning home, to help promote those artists' work throughout the United States via the International Print Exchange, which he founded from his home in Corvallis, Oregon.

For these and subsequent efforts, he was knighted by France and given similar honors by Italy, Germany and Sweden. The United States awarded him the Meritorious Service Medal. In 1997, he was promoted in rank to Officer of the National Order of the Légion d'honneur by the French government.

Academic career
Following World War II, Gilkey became chairman of the art department at Oregon State College (now Oregon State University) in Corvallis and held that position for fifteen years. He staffed that department with many prominent artists of the Northwest School, including  Nelson Sandgren, Demetrios Jameson, Paul Gunn, and Robert Huck.

He was then appointed Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, which he developed into the College of Liberal Arts at what had by then become Oregon State University (OSU). His tenure at Oregon State lasted 30 years.

While at OSU, Gilkey was active on the state and national art scene. In 1964, he was appointed by then-Governor Mark Hatfield to establish and become the first Chair of the Oregon Arts Commission. His pioneering work lead eventually to the formation of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.  He was partially responsible, along with Virginia Fontaine (wife of painter Paul Fontaine), for bringing numerous prints from the Czech Republic to the United States for exhibition in 1968. (personal communication)

Gilkey was also a professor and printmaker-in-residence at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. He endowed the Vivian and Gordon Gilkey Print Center at the college.

Military service
He retired from the United States Air Force in 1977 as a full colonel in the Air Force Reserves, where he was attached for many years to Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). During active duty periods in the mid 1960s, he developed special projects for then-U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and for the U.S. National War College.

Later life and death
Retiring from OSU in 1977, Gilkey served as curator of prints and drawings at the Portland Art Museum for the balance of his life. He brought his collection of over 7,000 prints to the museum, which he then built into a world-renowned inventory of over 25,000 works of art on paper. The museum's Vivian and Gordon Gilkey Center for the Graphic Arts was inaugurated in 1993. He was active as a curator up until his death in 2000.

Gilkey died in Portland, Oregon at the age of 88. He is survived by his son, Gordon Spencer Gilkey, and granddaughter, Elizabeth   Mae Gilkey.

References

External links
Gordon Gilkey Oral History Interview, June 27, 1980
The Vivian and Gordon Gilkey Center for Graphic Art
Gordon Gilkey prints from Lewis & Clark College

Oregon State University faculty
1912 births
2000 deaths
People from Albany, Oregon
People from Corvallis, Oregon
Artists from Portland, Oregon
University of Oregon alumni
Stephens College faculty
Lewis & Clark College alumni
Lewis & Clark College faculty
United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
United States Air Force colonels
American printmakers
Officers of the Legion of Honour
Pacific Northwest College of Art faculty
United States Army Air Forces officers

Gordon Gilkey


The Socratic Method (or Method of Elenchus or Socratic Debate), is named after the Greek philosopher Socrates. It is a form of philosophical questioning.

The central technique of the Socratic method is called an elenchus. It means argument to disprove or refute (prove wrong).

Socrates in Plato's dialogues
Our knowledge of Socrates comes mainly from Plato, who was one of his pupils. No writing by Socrates survives.

Socrates was famous for not answering questions in a direct manner. "I know that I know nothing", he said. Socrates's stated position (as presented in Plato's dialogues) was that other person already knew the answer to a question. He (S.) only drew out what was already in the other's mind.

In Plato's early dialogues, the elenchus is the technique Socrates uses to investigate ethical concepts, such as justice or virtue. According to one scholar, it has the following steps:

Socrates' student or partner asserts a thesis, for example "Courage is endurance of the soul".
Socrates secures his agreement to further premises, for example "Courage is a fine thing" and "Ignorant endurance is not a fine thing".
Socrates then argues, and the partner agrees, that these further premises imply the opposite of the original thesis, in this case it leads to: "courage is not endurance of the soul".
Socrates then claims that he has shown that his partner's thesis is false and that its opposite is true.

The exact nature of the elenchus is subject to a great deal of debate. In particular, whether it is a positive method leading to knowledge, or a negative method used solely to refute false claims to knowledge.

According to W.K.C. Guthrie, the Socratic method was intended to demonstrate one's ignorance. Socrates, unlike the Sophists, did believe that knowledge was possible, but believed that the first step to knowledge was recognition of one's ignorance. Guthrie writes, "[Socrates] was accustomed to say that he did not himself know anything, and that the only way in which he was wiser than other men was that he was conscious of his own ignorance, while they were not. The essence of the Socratic method is to convince the interlocutor that whereas he thought he knew something, in fact he does not".

References

Human communication
Philosophy

Socratic method


Bodo (बर') or Boro is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken primarily by the Bodo people of Northeast India. It is official language of the Bodoland autonomous region and co-official language of the state of Assam in India. It is also one of twenty two languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India. The Bodo language has been written using Devanagari script since 1963. Some scholar believe that at ancient time boro language were written in Deodhai script which is now lost.

History and linguistic classification
Bodo is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Bodo group. It is closely related to the Dimasa language and Tiwa (Lalung) Language of Assam. It is also related to the Garo language of Meghalaya and the Kokborok language of Tripura. The Bodo speaking areas of Assam stretch from Dhubri in the west to Sadiya in the east. In Alipurduar, Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri and other parts of Bengal, the Boros are known as "Mech". According to the 1991 census, the population of Boro speakers was 1,984,569 (Bodo 1,324,748), (Mech 659,821). The census reports of Bodo tribe, however, includes only the Bodos. It excludes the Mech tribe. The word "Boro" means the language and the community. It is pronounced with a high tone on the second syllable.

Dialects
The dialects spoken in this area can be divided into three main groups:

The Western Boro dialect, {(Sønabari) WBD}:
The Eastern Boro dialect, {(Sanzari) EBD} and
The Southern Boro dialect, {(Hazari) SBD}.

The Western Boro dialects are spoken in the districts of Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon. The Eastern Bodo dialects are found mainly in the districts of Barpeta, Nalbari and Kamrup and some parts of Darrang. The Western Boro dialect has gained the status of a standard dialect. It has also developed a written form. The variations between these two dialect groups are mainly phonological and lexical.

The Bodo language of Assam has at least four clear-cut dialect-areas with a sufficient number of dialectal variations. There are the northeastern, southwestern, north-central and southern dialect areas. Each has distinct differences.

Geographic distribution
Ethnologue lists the following districts where Bodo is spoken. Bodo is spoken mainly in the lowlands and foothills of Assam and West Bengal.

Assam
Darrang district
Chirang district
Barpeta district
Bongaigaon district
Kokrajhar district
Nagaon district
Kamrup district
Goalpara district
Sibsagar district
Lakhimpur district
West Bengal
Kolkata
Jalpaiguri district
Cooch Behar district
Manipur
Chandel district (in Tengnoupal)
Meghalaya
7 villages in Tikrikilla block of West Garo Hills district
East Khasi Hills district

History
Although the Bodo language is a rich and ancient language, it did not have any written literature until the second decade of the 20th century. Christian missionaries, who entered the Bodo speaking areas to preach their religion, published some books on religion, tales, rhymes and songs. These missionaries also published some books on grammar and dictionary. Reverend Sidney Endle compiled An Outline of the Kachari Grammar in 1884. The grammar is based on the dialect of Darrang district. Endle also wrote an important book on the Bodos. It is titled The Kacharis. The book was published in 1911 and it contains chapters on social customs, agriculture practices, festivities, food habits, rituals, crafts and textiles of the Bodos. The book also included examples of Bodo folktales, rhymes and grammars. J.D. Anderson's Collection of Bodo Folktales and Rhymes (1895) included seventeen Bodo folktales translated into the English language. This is in addition to the original versions in the Bodo language.

In 1963 the language was used in teaching in the primary schools in Bodo dominated areas. The Bodo language is used in schools up to the secondary level. The language has become a matter of pride with the opening of the post-graduate course in the Bodo language. Bodo literature has been used in the University of Guwahati since 1996. The Bodo language now has a large number of books of poetry, drama, short stories, novels, biography, travel, children's literature and literary criticism. Though the spoken language has been affected by other communities and dialects, it is still to be heard in its pure form in and around the Udalguri district.

Writing system
The language is officially written using the Devanagari script. It also has a long history of using the Latin script and the Assamese script.  Some researchers have suggested that at one time the language used a now-lost script called Deodhai.

Related pages
Bodo people
Bodo Grammar
Bodo Sahitya Sabha
Kokborok language

References

Other websites

Abley, Mark (2006) The Verbs of Boro , Lost Magazine , March 2006
Bodoland.org
Boro Language
Bodo computing resources at TDIL
Language Information Service – India

Languages of India
Sino-Tibetan languages

Boro language (India)


Braveheart (Gallus Hert) is an American film fae 1995. The film wis directit an produced bi Mel Gibson, wha played the main role an aw. The film is foondit on the life o the Scots hero William Wallace, thare haes been muckle creeticeesm o the heestorical richtness o the film. The film wis mainly merkit for its recreation o the battles. Braveheart won mony Oscars, amang them for the Best Film an Best Directin.

On the hail the film is aboot the Scots hero William Wallace (Mel Gibson) that, wi the help o Robert the Bruce (Angus MacFadyen), gart the Scots gaither thegither for tae fecht agin the Ingles owerins unner Keeng Edward I "Langshanks" (Patrick McGoohan). At the beginin o the film the faither an brither o William wis kilt bi Ingles sodgers. Twinty year syne William cam back an mairriet on his belovit Murron (Catherine McCormack). At first he didna want ocht adae wi fechtin agin the Ingles. Murron wis murthert bi Ingles sodgers. In a raptur William kilt a group o sodgers, efter that he becam leader o the uprisin agin the Ingles. It cam tae a fecht atween the Ingles an the Scots, wi an attack on the Ingles toun o York an a bluidy battle follaed. In the hintend William wis taen preesoner an fower-quartert. He saw the last meenits o his life, Murron staundin atween the onleukers. E'en his freends howpit that he wad speir efter forgieness, but wi his last braith William cried: "Freedom!"

See an aa
Sophie Marceau

Fremmit airtins

1995 films
1990s biographical films
20th Century Fox films
American epic films
American war films
Biographical films aboot militar leaders
Feection narratit bi a deid person
Epic films
Best Pictur Academy Awaird winners
Baist Film Empire Awaird winners
Inglis-leid films
Films directit bi Mel Gibson
Films set in Scotland
Films shot anamorphically
Films shot in Hieland, Scotland
Films shot in Coonty Wicklow
Films that wan the Academy Awaird for Baist Makeup
Films that's director wan the Best Directin Academy Awaird
Films that's director wan the Best Director Gowden Globe
Icon Productions films
Paramount Pictures films
War drama films
War epic films
Films set in the 13t century
War films based on actual events
Wars o Scots Unthirldom
William Wallace
Biographical films
Films shot in Coonty Kildare
Films shot in Coonty Meath
Films shot in Fingal
Film scores bi James Horner
Films that wan the Best Soond Eeditin Academy Awaird

Braveheart


Poynings' Law (official title 10 Henry 7.c22) was a law passed by the Irish Parliament in 1495 during the reign of Henry VII of England, King of England and Lord of Ireland sponsored by his Lord Deputy Sir Edward Poynings at a session in Drogheda. It limited the power of the Irish Parliament and gave the English Parliament and monarch veto power over its legislation. The overall points of the law were:
no Parliament in Ireland would convene until the King of England and the English Parliament had been informed of its reasons for meeting and its legislation and its laws would have to then be approved by both King and the English Parliament to become.
All previous English Parliament laws would also become law in Ireland, although new English Parliament laws would not
the Statute of Kilkenny was restored, except for the ban on using the Irish language
it was a felony to allow anti-government rebels on march lands
coyne and livery were outlawed
Irish war cries were now outlawed.

The primary reason for its passage was because the Wars of the Roses had weakened England's stance in Ireland and Sir Edward wanted to restore order and English control to Ireland. It was repealed in 1782.

References

History of Ireland
1495
1490s in England

Poynings' Law


Barocco is a 1976 French romantic thriller film, directed by André Téchiné. The film stars Isabelle Adjani, Gérard Depardieu and Marie-France Pisier. Identity, redemption and resurrection are the themes of the film. The plot follows a young woman who convinces her boxer boyfriend to accept a bribe to tell a lie that discredits a local politician. When the boyfriend is murdered, she is racked with guilt until she meets the killer and plans to remake him into the image of her slain lover. The film won three César Awards: Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Cinematography and Best Music. The film had a total of 678,734 admissions in France.

Plot
In a French speaking port in Northern Europe, Laure, an aimless young woman, goes to see her boyfriend, Samson, a washed up boxer. While posing for photographs, that are going to illustrate an interview for a newspaper, Samson is offered to take a huge amount of money if he lies, confessing in the interview to have a homosexual relationship with a politician, who is a candidate in an oncoming election. The smearing campaign has been hatched by political rivals involved with gang members. Samson is hesitant, but Laure pushes him to take the offer. The money would allow them to have a better future somewhere else. Members of the campaign of the politician in question, informed of the impending interview and outrageous revelations, contact Samson and Laure and made them changed their minds, offering them an equal amount of money if they just leave for a trip  abroad.

Laure goes to her house located in the city's red light district. Her roommate, Nelly, a goodhearted prostitute, advertises her trade from a show window. She has a baby daughter and is looking for a name for her newborn. Nelly tries to persuade her friend from leaving and an argument starts between them. Jules, Nelly's husband, intervenes and Nelly, discovering the money hidden in Laure's bag, lets her leave but insist that Jules escort her to the train station.

At the station, Samson has been followed by two hired assassins. Laure buys the train tickets and hides the money at the station's lockers, but prevented by Samson they go separate ways. She waits for him at a local diner, but  ends ups falling sleep and spending the night there. The next morning she is awaken not by Samson but by one of the killers for hire, who demands the  money. While she tries to run, Samson shows up on the snowy street and he is immediately shot by the assassin. Samson falls dead while a train approaches the station.

After the assassination, Samson's killer, a brunette dead ringer for the murdered man, looks for Laure and the money. Returning from helping the police with the murder investigation, Laure bravely confronts the killer who is smitten by her. Walt, the editor of the newspaper that was going to run the scandalous revelations about the politician, gets involved in Samson's murder investigation. He is helped by Antoinette, his assistant, a newspaper reporter who is secretly in love with him. Walt goes as far as to contact both Gauthier, the leader of the gang that ordered Samson's assassination and members of the campaign of the politician object of the smear campaign.

The murderer is now in hiding from his former employees and the police. The gang members have already killed the other man who followed Samson. Looking for Laure and a place to hide, Samson's killer (his name is never given) holes up with Nelly who taking him for a client, offers him her specialty: la radical, that includes a dance and song number, but he is more interested in having something to eat. Watching the news, Nelly realizes that he is Samson's killer.

Atoinette and Walt invite Laure for dinner and they watch a show of a torch singer. Deeply moved by the song Laure heads home, but the killer is still there waiting for her. The next morning, Nelly has left to Samson's wake and Laure confronts the killer once again. He wants to be love by her, but she would accept him only at the condition that he looks like the boxer he killed. Eventually the killer accepts Laure's need to "reinvent" him as her dead boyfriend - literally transforming his identity. Laure remodels him in Samson's image and they decide to take the money and escape the city together. The day of the elections, while the results are given, in the midst of celebrations the couple manage to escape on a liner evading the gangsters, when these by mistake, shot Walt, instead of Samson's killer.

Cast
 Isabelle Adjani as Laure
 Gérard Depardieu as Samson and Samson's Killer
 Marie-France Pisier as Nelly
 Jean-Claude Brialy as Walt
 Julien Guiomar as Gauthier
 Hélène Surgère as Antoinette
 Claude Brasseur as Jules

Title
Téchiné took the title of his film from the work Barroco (1974) written by Severo Sarduy, a Cuban poet and cultural theorist exiled in Paris.
The director was also inspired by the Baroque painting, the Exchange of Princesses (1621–1625) by Rubens, in which one figure is becoming the copy of the other.

Production
Téchiné's third feature had a bigger budget than Souvenirs the France, his previous film, and it was produced by Alain Sarde with finance from Les Films de la Boetie, which made many of Claude Chabrol's films of the period, and Sara Films. The screenplay was written by Téchiné with Marilyn Goldin, they had collaborated also in Souvenirs d'en France. Barocco was shot in Amsterdam.

Analysis
The film is rooted in the world of cinema rather than the real.  Hence contains references to a number of films. The terrorized city recalls Fritz Lang's M (1931). The murk, fog and dreams of escape Marcel Carné's Le Quai des brumes (1938). The northern city and the casting of Marie-France Pisier recall Alain Robbe-Grillet's Trans- Europe Express (1966). A railway carriage scene recalls the murder in Jean Renoir's La Bête Humaine (1938). A dialogue between Laure and Samson's killer is lifted from Nicholas Ray's Johnny Guitar (1953). Barocco, above all, makes references to the films of Alfred Hitchcock. The relentless score by Philippe Sarde is reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann scores for Hitchcock. The working class street scape and a hair dyeing sequence are similar to some in Marnie (1964). Samson 's death a gunshot puncturing his eye and witnessed through the window of a train, recalls a scene in The Birds (1963). Laure's failing arms echoing the gestures of Tippi Hedren when she is attacked. Vertigo (1958) is the most clear referent, in a neat gender reversal, for Laure's transformation of Samson's killer.  The curl in the hair of Antoinette (Hélène Surgère) recalls that of Madeleine/ Carlotta (Kim Novak) in Hitchcock's film.

DVD release
The film was released on DVD in the US in 2003. The film is in French with English subtitles. The special features includes a commentary by film critics Andy Klein (The New Times) and Wade Major (Boxoffice Magazine). It is the earliest of Téchiné's films available on DVD in the United States.

Awards and nominations
Barocco was great favorite, at the 1977 César Awards leading with nine nominations. However, the film lost in the major categories (Best film and director) won by Joseph Losey's drama Monsieur Klein.
César Awards (France)
Won: Best Actress – Supporting Role (Marie-France Pisier)
Won: Best Cinematography (Bruno Nuytten; tied with Meilleure façon de marcher)
Won: Best Music (Philippe Sarde)
Nominated: Best Actress – Leading Role (Isabelle Adjani)
Nominated: Best Director (André Téchiné)
Nominated: Best Editing (Claudine Merlin)
Nominated: Best Film
Nominated: Best Production Design (Ferdinando Scarfiotti)
Nominated: Best Sound (Paul Lainé)

Notes

References
Marshall, Bill, André Téchiné, Manchester University Press, 2007,

External links

1970s thriller films
1976 films
Films directed by André Téchiné
1970s French-language films
French thriller films
Films produced by Alain Sarde
Films scored by Philippe Sarde
1970s French films

Barocco


The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (also called the Battle of Châlons-sur-Marne or Battle of Châlons) was a battle in 451 AD. It took place in Châlons-sur-Marne, in northeast Gaul (nowadays France).  Roman legions commanded by Flavius Aetius allied with Visigoth soldiers led by Theodoric I, to defeat the armies of Attila the Hun.

Attila's armies consisted mainly of horsemen. The battle ended as a stalemate - and thus a victory for the West, the Huns having suffered too many losses to continue their attack. The battle of the Catalaunian Plains crushed Attila's dreams of invading the Roman empire, and ultimately was the end of his empire in Europe. But the battle also weakened the already fragile Western Roman Empire, which collapsed 25 years later, in 476.

451
Gaul
Wars and battles of Ancient Rome
Marne

Battle of the Catalaunian Plains


Wakichäwi (Graduation ceremony)

Jallu qallt phaxsin kimsaqalq ur saraqataruw Colegio Nal. Mixto Callamarca-n niya chika urur wakichäwix qalltasiwayäna. Qalltatatx kunjamatï taqikunas amtatäkan ukjamarjamarakiw  lurt'apxäna. Ukat akax niya pä pacharakiw apasiwayi. Ukañkamax aksät uksat jilanak kullakanakax aywthapinisipkakïnwa. Yaqhipanakax awtuta, maynirinakasti, kayukirakiw awayur q'ipt'at jan ukax wulsar wayt'at ukjam purintanipxarakïna. Chiqans akax wali chuymar ch'allxtaykirïnwa.

In "Callamarca" High School, the graduation ceremony started at about 12:00 o'clock on December 8th, 2012. After starting, they did it according to the customs. And it lasted about 2 hours. In the meantime, many locals were still arriving from everywhere. Others by car and another people came on foot carrying their 'aguayo' loads or bags. It was really exciting!

Katuqt'äwi (Warm welcome)

Akjan janiw khithis ukjamak qhiphaqtañ munkänti, ukat sapa mayniw yatiqañ tukt'ayirirus irpkatiriparus ukat awk taykarus ukjam qhumant'apxäna, misturamp jach'xatt'apxäna ukat mä rijalus kunrak churapxäna. Ukjamïpan  taqiniw k'uchik jikxatasipxarakïna.
Uk tukutatx  mä manq'äwirakiw taqi jutirinakatak utjäna. Akatakix Tatitun may may q'uchunakap ucht'apxäna, mäwjarkam  muythaptapxäna, ukat mä wawakiw manq'art'asipxarakïna. Ukapachparakiw mayninakas akjän ukjan qut qut samart'apxäna. Jayp'utuqirux jaqinakax juk'at juk'at mistsuniwayxapxarakïna, ukat juk'anikiw qhiphaqtxapxäna.

Here, nobody wanted to stay back, and each one congratulated Jhenny, her godfather and parents, put them on with mixture, and gave her a present. For that, everyone was very happy.

After that, there was a meal for everybody, for this, they played all kinds of Christian music, got close, and shared among us. Likewise, other people ate lunch and drink Sodas. In the afternoon, the people went back home little by little, only stayed some of them.

Ipu Francisco-mpin ipa Sofia-mpin katuqañ utapa (Uncle Francisco & aunt Sofia's living room)

Ukat thayäxipan utjäwiparurakiw sarxapxayätana. Akan wila masikamakixapxänwa; qalltañtakix irpsuripaw mä qhawqha arunak arst'äna, ukjarux sapa maynirurakiw ar churäna. Jupanakax jan kuna pächasisaw kunayman suma arunakamp yatiqañ tukt'ayirirux ch'amancht'apxäna. Qhipharux Jhenny kullakaw akjam arst'äna: "Walikpin jichhürux kumpañt'awapxistaxa, ukjamaraki tatajarus mamajarus yuspajararaktwa… isturyujar apuyt'awapxitu… Naya uka kunsijunak churawäpkistä uk janiw armaskäti…"

Yatiqäwipan Jhenny-x maynïr suma yatiqirïtapat urucht'añ munayätana, ukat ukx kunjamatï ninkharax sisxtan ukjam lurt'awayapxtana. Jichhax Jach'a Yatiqañ Utankxan ukjaxa, taqiniw nayrar sartaskakiñap muntana.

It was cold and we all went back uncle Francisco's house. Here, everyone was member of the family; to start with, Jhenny's godfather gave a speech, then he wanted each one expresses his / her feelings. Without any doubt, all guests encouraged her to continue with her studies. And finally, Jhenny was very grateful and told us: "Thank you very much for coming today. I also thank my parents because they supported me to study… I will not forget your suggestions…"

We all wanted to celebrate Jhenny's Graduation because she has been one of the best students in her class, and we did it in this way. Now we all hope she goes ahead with the same enthusiasm when she is at the university.

Jhenny-n Yatiñ Utat Tukt’ayäw Urupa (Jhenny’s Graduation Day )


Life Before Man is a novel by Canadian writer Margaret Atwood. It was first published by McClelland and Stewart in 1979 and was a finalist for the Governor General's Award.

The novel has three principal characters: Nate, Elizabeth and Lesje. Nate and Elizabeth are an unhappily married couple, with both husband and wife involved in extramarital affairs. Lesje, pronounced 'Lashia,' is Nate's lover of mixed (Ukrainian and Jewish) ancestry and works along with his wife in the department of paleontology in Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto as a paleontologist fascinated by dinosaurs, giving the book its title. (Both the museum and the city are described in the book in great detail and are immediately recognizable. The author also pays a lot of attention to Lesje's search of identity; her mixed ethnic roots caused her in the past and continue to cause her considerable anguish.) Elizabeth, said to have been inspired by Shirley Gibson, ex-wife of Atwood's partner Graeme Gibson, also takes a lover, Chris, who recently committed suicide. All three of the novel's main characters influence the narration, with each chapter presenting events from a particular character's perspective.

Reception and reviews
Feminist author Marilyn French gave the novel a positive review in the New York Times, calling it a "splendid, fully integrated work."

References

1979 Canadian novels
Novels by Margaret Atwood
McClelland & Stewart books
Novels about museums
Novels set in art museums and galleries
Novels set in natural history museums
Novels set in the 1970s
Novels set in Toronto

Life Before Man


Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná (11 January 1801 – 3 September 1856) was a politician, diplomat, judge and monarchist of the Empire of Brazil. Paraná was born to a family of humble means in São Carlos do Jacuí, in what was then the captaincy of Minas Gerais. After attending the University of Coimbra in Portugal and having returned to Brazil, Paraná was appointed a judge in 1826 and later elevated to appellate court justice. In 1830, he was elected to represent Minas Gerais in the Chamber of Deputies; he was re-elected in 1834 and 1838, and held the post until 1841.

In the aftermath of Dom Pedro I's abdication in 1831, a regency created to govern Brazil during the minority of the former Emperor's son, Dom Pedro II, soon dissolved into chaos. Paraná formed a political party in 1837 that became known as the Reactionary Party, which evolved into the Party of Order in the early 1840s and in the mid-1850s into the Conservative Party. He and his party's stalwart and unconditional defence of constitutional order allowed the country to move beyond a regency plagued by factious disputes and rebellions that might easily have led to a dictatorship. Appointed president of Rio de Janeiro Province in 1841, Paraná helped put down a rebellion headed by the opposition Liberal Party the following year. Also in 1842, he was elected senator for Minas Gerais and appointed by Pedro II to the Council of State. In 1843, he became the de facto first president (prime minister) of the Council of Ministers, but resigned after a quarrel with the Emperor.

After years in opposition, in 1849, Paraná was appointed by the national government as president of Pernambuco Province to investigate a Liberal rebellion that had taken place a year earlier, and seek a fair trial for the rebels. Blamed by his party colleagues for the years in opposition and having lost much of his influence within his own party, Paraná accepted the post, believing he could regain his place among his peers. With the nation internally pacified, he was sent to Uruguay in 1851 to forge an alliance with that country, and with the rebel Argentine provinces of Corrientes and Entre Ríos, against the Argentine Confederation. The alliance triumphed, and the Emperor elevated Paraná to the ranks of the titled nobility.

In 1853 Paraná was again appointed president of the Council of Ministers, at the head of a highly successful cabinet, and became the most powerful politician in the country. The electoral reform he ushered in was credited with undermining national political processes and causing severe harm to the system of parliamentary government. For his role in pushing through restructuring, Paraná met with fierce opposition from the majority of his colleagues, leading to a virtual split in the Conservative Party over his policies. On 3 September 1856, while still in office and at the height of his political career, he died unexpectedly of an unknown febrile condition. He is widely regarded by historians as one of the most influential statesmen of his time.

Early years

Birth and childhood
Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão was born on 11 January 1801, in the freguesia (civil parish) of São Carlos do Jacuí, Minas Gerais, then a captaincy (later province) of the Portuguese colony of Brazil. Named after Saint Honorata, Honório Hermeto was the son of Antônio Neto Carneiro Leão and Joana Severina Augusta de Lemos. On his father's side, he was descended from Portugal's powerful Carneiro Leão clan, which had settled in Brazil in the 17th century. Antônio Neto, however, was much less prosperous than his relatives. An impoverished military officer in 1801, he held the rank of furriel (third sergeant). Advancement of his career was thwarted by his character flaws. Antônio Neto was hotheaded and had a strong personality which once led to his arrest for insubordination.

Honório Hermeto first lived in Paracatu, then moved to Vila Rica (now Ouro Preto), at that time the capital of Minas Gerais, where he spent his childhood and adolescence. His father was widowed on 10 February 1806; on 11 January 1807 he wed Rita de Cássia Soares do Couto, the daughter of his late wife's sister. Honório Hermeto regarded Rita de Cássia as his mother and her father, Colonel Nicolau Soares Couto, actually raised him. Honório Hermeto had an elder sister, Balbina, and three half-sisters and a half-brother, Nicolau Neto Carneiro Leão (later Baron of Santa Maria), from his father's second marriage.

Education

At age 16, Honório Hermeto was commissioned as a lieutenant and standard-bearer of the 2nd Militia Cavalry Regiment, 1st Company, in Vila Rica. Antônio Neto made great efforts to provide Honório Hermeto with an education of much higher quality than would normally have been expected in a family of their limited financial means. The promotion to captain in 1819 increased Antônio Neto's income, allowing his eldest son to go to Portugal and enroll in the University of Coimbra's law school in 1820, thus ending Honório Hermeto's brief military career. He was an excellent student and struck up acquaintances among his fellow Brazilians in Coimbra, including Paulino Soares de Sousa (who would become one of his greatest allies and later the 1st Viscount of Uruguai) and Aureliano de Sousa Oliveira Coutinho (later Viscount of Sepetiba).

During the Portuguese Liberal Revolution of 1820, he supported the constitutionalists, who advocated a national constitution to limit the powers of the Portuguese monarchy, against the absolutists, who preferred an absolute monarchy. It is unknown whether he actively took part in the uprising, however, and if so, to what degree. Honório Hermeto was a member of a secret society called A Gruta (The Den), founded by Brazilian students at Coimbra with the primary goal of changing Brazil from a monarchy into a republic. His republicanism would fade with time and eventually be replaced by staunch support for monarchism.

Honório Hermeto received a bachelor's degree in Law in 1824, and his masters diploma on 18 June 1825. He was also employed in a law firm for a few months. He returned to Brazil on 8 August 1825 aboard a ship with other Coimbra graduates, among them Aureliano Coutinho and Joaquim Rodrigues Torres (who would later found the Conservative Party with Honório Hermeto and become the Viscount of Itaboraí). During Honório Hermeto's time in Europe his native country had gained independence from Portugal and become the Empire of Brazil.

Entry into politics

Magistrate and politician

On 20 May 1826, Honório Hermeto married his 17-year-old first cousin Maria Henriqueta Neto, the daughter of his father's brother João Neto Carneiro Leme. Unlike his brother, João Neto was a rich and influential man. Honório Hermeto and Maria Henriqueta had five children: Honório, Henrique (later Baron of Paraná), Maria Emília, Maria Henriqueta and Pedro. The advantageous marriage allowed Honório Hermeto to become a slave owner, assume his uncle's business, which included domestic slave trading, and later, in the 1830s, purchase a coffee farm in the province of Rio de Janeiro. Coffee was quickly becoming Brazil's most important export commodity and was a highly lucrative crop.

Honório Hermeto pursued a typical course open to 19th century Brazilians who became affluent through family connections and patronage: a judicial career, with expectations of entering politics. On 14 October 1826, he was named to a three-year term as juiz de fora (external judge) with jurisdiction over the three villages in the province of São Paulo. On 25 August 1828, Honório Hermeto left São Paulo upon being promoted to the post of auditor da marinha (admiralty judge) in Rio de Janeiro, the imperial capital located in the province of same name. His tenure in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro helped expand his connections. Emperor Dom Pedro I appointed him ouvidor (superior judge) in late 1828 and desembargador (regional appeal judge) in 1829, an office Honório Hermeto held until his retirement in 1848.

Well established in the imperial capital, Honório Hermeto campaigned in 1829 to become a general deputy (member of the Chamber of Deputies, the national lower house) as a representative for his native Minas Gerais. He was elected to a seat in the legislature for the term beginning April 1830. He became a member of the Liberal Party, which stood in opposition to Pedro I and his policies. As a general deputy, Honório Hermeto had an unobtrusive role for the first couple of years, having been overshadowed by Bernardo Pereira de Vasconcelos, the leader of the deputies representing Minas Gerais. Short, slim and with a speech impediment, the dark-haired Honório Hermeto appeared an unimpressive figure at first glance. Like his father, he was headstrong, opinionated and often scathing. However, he had self-confidence and a powerful charisma, and was energetic, intelligent, perspicacious and a natural born leader.

Political crises

Due to the weakening of his political position and his own concomitant motives, Pedro I abdicated on 7 April 1831 and departed for Europe. Without a common cause in the person of the former Emperor, the radical wing of the Liberal Party seceded. Honório Hermeto remained in the Liberal Party, which changed its name to Moderate Party to differentiate itself from its estranged radicals. Meanwhile, as the new emperor, Dom Pedro II, was only a child of five, a regency—with little effective authority—was created. This resulted in nine years of chaos, during which the country was plagued by rebellions and coup attempts initiated by unruly political factions.

On 19 July 1831, radicals and insubordinate military officers presented the Chamber of Deputies with a list of 89 Brazilians, including senators, whom they demanded be deported. Honório Hermeto gave a speech in which he said that "neither a senator nor the most humble citizen belonging to the lowest class may be deported without having been prosecuted and convicted... Even when a citizen is an evildoer, his rights must be respected..." All the deputies but one agreed with him, and the incident was settled, with several battalions being disbanded. As an adult, Pedro II would later remember that his "style of speaking was inelegant, and he had a stutter; but it vanished when he was aroused and at all times his arguments were tight knit, and somebody wittily remarked that [Honório Hermeto,] the marquis of Paraná, when he stuttered, stuttered arguments."

A second crisis arose on 30 July 1832. A constitutional amendment effecting greater reforms was voted on and approved in the Chamber of Deputies, but still faced major opposition in the Senate. Diogo Antônio Feijó and Aureliano Coutinho, both Moderates, planned a coup d'état. Feijó would assume dictatorial powers and immediately enact the constitutional amendment, thus bypassing the Senate entirely. Honório Hermeto called on his fellow deputies to uphold the Constitution: "We need not hurt the legal order and [constitutional] principles: we can make fair laws ... and in the respected Constitution we have safe and legal ways of giving the nation what it wants... let us not violate it [the Constitution], as it is our only safeguard." He rallied the deputies to his view, and in defeating the unconstitutional proposal, the coup attempt was crushed.

Path to conservatism

Genesis of the Conservative Party

Honório Hermeto, by then a leading politician, was appointed Minister of Justice on 13 September 1832, effectively becoming the head of the cabinet. He resigned after eight months to avoid becoming entangled in the aftermath of an uprising in Minas Gerais, in which one of his relatives had been involved. Vasconcelos mounted a challenge to Honório Hermeto's position among his constituency, and by circulating rumors that the latter had links to the uprising, undercut his reputation at home and in the Chamber of Deputies. Honório Hermeto relinquished his post on 14 May 1833 to concentrate on shoring up his position in Minas Gerais, and won another term as general deputy.

The constitutional amendment known as the Additional Act, which effected greater reforms that served as the catalyst for the 1832 coup attempt, was promulgated on 12 August 1834. The Act had unpredicted and catastrophic results. Local self-government opened new avenues of conflict between political parties. The party that dominated the provinces would gain control over the electoral and political system. Parties that lost by ballot, unwilling to be shut out, rebelled and tried to take power by force. Honório Hermeto and several other Moderates voted against the Additional Act, as they believed that its far-reaching reforms would cause far more harm than good. Honório Hermeto led the conservative Moderate dissidents to secede from the party when Feijó successfully ran for the position of sole regent in early 1835. Honório Hermeto was eager to forestall what he described as the "triumph of the same traitor who made 30 July [1832 coup attempt] to ignominiously tear down the Regency which had appointed him."

The conservative Moderate opposition to Feijó had close links to coffee and sugar cane planter families and merchants in the Brazilian southeast and northeast. These groups wielded great political, social and economic influence. They began to see their interests more in alignment with men like Honório Hermeto, who were planters like themselves—people who supported the slave trade with Africa and desired a centralized state able to impose order. The often strongheaded Honório Hermeto, swallowing his pride, set aside his enmity toward Vasconcelos in pursuit of an alliance. Dubbed the Reactionary Party by Feijó and his allies in 1837, the conservative Moderate opposition born in late 1834 was the genesis of what would evolve into the Party of Order (c. 1843) and finally into the Conservative Party (c. 1853).

Party leader in the Chamber of Deputies

Feijó's administration was unable to suppress the uprisings in both the north and south. By 1837, his government's credibility and support had vanished. Feijó resigned in August 1837 and Pedro de Araújo Lima (later the Marquis of Olinda), a Reactionary from Pernambuco Province, became interim regent and was elected to the office the next year. He appointed his colleagues to ministry portfolios. Honório Hermeto, who had been reelected to another term as general deputy until 1841, remained in the Chamber as the party's leader to bolster the new Reactionary cabinet. The ever-weak Moderate Party collapsed, and Feijo's Moderates allied with other groups with which they shared no common principles or ideology. During the late 1830s and early 1840s, this alliance evolved into the second Liberal Party.

The Reactionary Party (the former dissident conservative elements within the Moderate Party) began by passing the Interpretation of the Additional Act, which was followed by the reform of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Both laws, built upon the 1834 Additional Act, would allow the national government to reassert its control over provincial police and courts. They would provide the means to deal effectively with provincial rebellions and inevitably grant the national government greater sway over the provincial governments. In turn, the party in power would gain greater ascendancy in national politics through patronage and office appointments. Fearful that their adversaries would stay in power indefinitely, the Liberals began to call for Pedro II to attain majority at a younger age. They hoped to regain their influence by doing away with the regency and dealing directly with a pliable young emperor. Towards that end, the Liberals allied themselves with the Facção Áulica (Courtier Faction), led by Aureliano Coutinho (Feijó's ally in the 1832 coup attempt).

Honório Hermeto saw this new majority movement as an "attempt ... equal to that of 30 July [1832 coup]." As he had in 1832, Honório Hermeto took up a defence based on the Constitution against this threat to the political system. In May 1840, he proposed a constitutional amendment that would allow the monarch to attain majority, and assume full powers, at an earlier age. The slow process of passing a constitutional amendment ensured that the Reactionary Party would control the government at least until 1842, when Araújo Lima's term as regent would end. Facing fierce resistance from Liberals—the Chamber sessions had become embroiled in heated, often chaotic, debates—Honório Hermeto withdrew his proposal. Political and popular pressure, and even physical threats, led to the unconstitutional declaration of Pedro II's majority at age 14 on 23 July 1840.

Rise to power and fall

Liberal rebellions of 1842

The Liberal-Courtier coalition's cabinet, formed upon Pedro II's assumption of full powers, convoked national elections for seats in the legislature convene in 1842. The voting was accompanied by so much violence and fraud that it became known as Elections of the club (or Elections of the truncheon). For Honório Hermeto, this meant the loss of his seat as general deputy after his bid for reelection failed. The Liberal-Courtier cabinet did not survive long, however, and its ministers presented their resignations in turn. On 23 March 1841, a new cabinet was nominated that included Aureliano Coutinho from the Courtier Faction and other ministers drawn from the Reactionary Party.

Following the return of the Reactionary Party to the government, Honório Hermeto was appointed by Pedro II to the prestigious Council of State. Under advice from the Council of State, Pedro II in May 1842 dissolved the new Chamber of Deputies, elected in the fraudulent 1840 elections, before it could be convened. Instead of attempting to get reelected, Honório Hermeto ran for a Senate seat, and being among the three candidates with the most votes, in late 1842 he was selected by the Emperor as the senator representing Minas Gerais. On 2 January 1843, he took his seat next to his rival, Aureliano Coutinho, who had been elected senator for the province of Alagoas. Having already secured two lifetime positions (councillor and senator), on 4 October 1841 Honório Hermeto received an appointment as president (governor) of the province of Rio de Janeiro, and assumed this office on 1 December.

The Liberals did not take their loss of power gracefully. In May and June 1842, three uprisings broke out, in the provinces of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. The rebels went so far as to arrest and hold hostage both Honório Hermeto's elderly father and uncle (who was also his father-in-law). As president, he commanded the provincial National Guard, and traveled through the province to organize a response. On 1 July, he advanced with troops towards Ouro Preto, where, after defeating the rebels, he freed his father and uncle. He joined forces there with Luís Alves de Lima e Silva (then-Baron and later Duke of Caxias), who commanded the National Guard of São Paulo and Minas Gerais and was also married to one of Honório Hermeto's distant cousins. The remaining rebels were easily defeated, and by late August, the uprisings had been quelled. Among the rebel leaders was the former regent, Feijó, who was arrested. He died shortly afterwards in 1843. As Honório Hermeto returned from Minas Gerais to Rio de Janeiro, he was welcomed with celebrations and demonstrations of joy by the authorities and populace of the districts he traversed.

First presidency of the Council of Ministers

Sometime around 1843 (and certainly by 1844), the Reactionary Party was renamed to the Party of Order to distinguish itself from what the Reactionaries perceived as the "unruly" Liberals. Members of the Party of Order became known as saquaremas. The new name also reflected the maturation of principles the party had long advocated: liberalism, exceptionalism, preserving the authority of the state and a representative parliamentary monarchy. On 20 January 1843, Pedro II appointed Honório Hermeto to head a new cabinet. By personally selecting the cabinet members, Honório Hermeto became Brazil's de facto first prime minister. Prior to this time, the Emperor himself or the regents had always designated the cabinet ministers. Four years later, following Honório Hermeto's precedent, the office of prime minister would be formally instituted under the title of "president (prime minister) of the Council of Ministers".

A year later, in January 1844, Honório Hermeto requested that Pedro II dismiss the inspector of the Rio de Janeiro customs house, Saturnino de Sousa e Oliveira Coutinho, a younger brother of Aureliano Coutinho. Honório Hermeto had been in the same university class as Aureliano Coutinho and Saturnino Coutinho in Coimbra during the 1820s. However, his strained relationship with Aureliano Coutinho was not entirely the result of political rivalry between two ambitious men. Honório Hermeto nursed a sheer hatred toward him because of the role he had played both in the July 1832 coup and in the Majority movement. Honório Hermeto again pressed to have Saturnino Coutinho fired in late January, and when rebuffed yet again, said, "A boy does not have the right to mock men worn out in the service of the Nation, even if this boy is the Emperor." Pedro II was offended and steadfastly refused to dismiss Saturnino Coutinho.

Instead of accepting the Emperor's decision, Honório Hermeto offered his resignation, along with those of his colleagues. Astonished by his behavior, the Emperor would say years later when recalling the incident: "Paraná não se curvava!" ("[Honório Hermeto, the Marquis of] Paraná did not bow down!") Pedro II asked the Liberals to form a new cabinet. For most of the next five years, Honório Hermeto and his Party of Order stood in opposition to the Liberals and the Courtier Faction. For the saquaremas, it meant enduring "new elections, fixed results, partisan reprisals and policy shifts". Only a few saquaremas managed to get themselves elected to the Chamber during this period. All the blame for this disaster fell upon Honório Hermeto. He lost much of his influence within the party, even though Vasconcelos alone in the Party of Order possessed the qualifications to challenge Honório Hermeto as the party's elder statesman.

Special missions abroad

Praieira

The Courtier-Liberal alliance held near absolute sway over Brazilian politics for several years. By 1847, however, Pedro II had carefully removed members of the Courtier Faction from key positions. Aureliano Coutinho's influence was destroyed after the Emperor implicitly banned him from participation in political decision making. The monarch then moved against the Liberals. From 1844 through 1848, the country saw several successive Liberal cabinets, all plagued by internal divisions. Pedro II called upon the Party of Order to form a new cabinet in September 1848.

The rise of the saquaremas ensured a purge of Liberals who had been appointed to executive and judicial posts at the national, provincial and local levels, as was normal when a new party was tapped to form a government. The most radical Liberal faction in the province of Pernambuco, known as the Partido da Praia (Party of the Beach), made open preparations to revolt and retake power by force. The rebellion was limited in extent and was crushed by February 1849. Honório Hermeto was appointed president of the province, from 2 July 1849 until 8 May 1850, with the purpose of pacification by restraining acts of revenge and throwing his support behind fair trials for all rebels. He had observed the effect that ostracism, by both Pedro II and other saquarema party leaders, had had on the career of Vasconcelos. Honório Hermeto accepted the office, eager "to regain the favor of his Emperor and to strengthen his position among his party colleagues."

He was disheartened with what he saw in Pernambuco, a province far away from the imperial capital, but one of the most important in the country. Local political bosses were aligned with the Party of Order or the Liberal Party, but these were mostly nominal affiliations. Local oligarchs had vied among themselves for centuries over power. To them, political principles, such as those preached by the national leaders of the Party of Order, meant little or nothing. Their political ambitions focused on patronage and the annihilation of their local rivals. Honório Hermeto found himself embroiled in an ongoing power struggle between the aristocratic planters, who sought to exercise control over provincial affairs.

Platine War

By mid-1850, Honório Hermeto was back in Rio de Janeiro. He had found the months in Pernambuco excruciating. Being named provincial president would have been considered a great achievement for a young politician, but it added no luster to the reputation of a seasoned politician and a founding member of his party. Instead of being at the center of power, he was put in the humiliating position of having to submit to a cabinet composed of men with less political experience, such as Joaquim Rodrigues Torres, Paulino Soares de Sousa (Honório Hermeto's colleague along with Rodrigues Torres in Coimbra) and Eusébio de Queirós. It was particularly grating being subordinated to Paulino Soares and Eusébio de Queirós, protégés whom Honório Hermeto had advanced during the 1830s. While in Pernambuco, Honório Hermeto's actions were frequently reviewed and overturned by the cabinet, often with Eusébio de Queirós leading the criticism.

As Brazil had been pacified after the end of the last rebellion (the Praieira revolt), Brazil's government turned its attention to the growing tensions with its neighbor to the south, the Argentine Confederation. Paulino Soares, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, decided to forge alliances with Uruguay and Paraguay, nations which also saw a threat in the ambitions of Juan Manuel de Rosas, dictator of the Argentine Confederation. An army commanded by Caxias crossed into Uruguay in September 1851. More than a year had passed since Honório Hermeto returned from Pernambuco, when he was named by Paulino Soares as special minister plenipotentiary in the Plata region. On 12 October 1851, Honório Hermeto and an Uruguayan envoy signed a treaty in Rio de Janeiro setting the international border between Brazil and Uruguay. The agreement required Uruguay to abandon some claims to disputed areas in exchange for Brazilian aid in the war against Argentina.

Honório Hermeto departed for Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, on 23 October. He chose José Maria da Silva Paranhos (later Viscount of Rio Branco) to assist him. Paranhos was a brilliant young man who had once been a Liberal Party member and protégé of the disgraced Aureliano Coutinho. This surprising choice was a clear signal from Honório Hermeto to his colleagues in the cabinet of his independence. On 21 November, Honório Hermeto signed a treaty of alliance with Uruguay and the rebel Argentine provinces of Entre Ríos and Corrientes. On 3 February 1852, the allies defeated Rosas, who fled to the United Kingdom. As a reward for his role, the Emperor granted Honório Hermeto the title of Visconde de Paraná (Viscount of Paraná) in July 1852. The title was derived from the Paraná River, a tributary of the Río de la Plata, upon which free passage rights for Brazilian shipping was secured after Rosas' downfall.

Conciliation cabinet

Second presidency of the Council of Ministers

After years of frustration, Honório Hermeto (or Paraná as he became known) had largely recouped the prestige he had formerly possessed among his peers. He had liquidated his uncle's domestic slave trading business and used the proceeds to become a coffee plantation owner in 1836. The land he acquired was located in the hills between Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. Although Paraná staunchly opposed the abolition of the transatlantic African slave trade, the importation of slaves was abolished in 1850 by the Eusébio de Queirós Law. The ban on slave imports seems to have had no impact over Paraná's private affairs; by 1852, he had become a very wealthy man. He also married his son Honório to a niece of Rodrigues Torres, thus establishing a link between his family and the province of Rio de Janeiro's planter aristocracy.

Around 1853 (certainly by 1855), the old Party of Order had become widely known as the Conservative Party. On 6 September 1853, Pedro II called Paraná to the Imperial Palace in São Cristóvão and asked him to organize a new cabinet. After nearly ten years, the two men had made peace with one another. The Emperor wished to advance his own ambitious program: the conciliação (conciliation) and melhoramentos (material developments). Pedro II's reforms aimed to promote less political partisanhip, and forward infrastructure and economic development. Rather than ushering in a government led by the Conservative Party, the Emperor had appointed the leading Conservative "to lead a non-partisan reform administration to realize material developments".

Paraná appointed politicians who had few, or no, links to the saquaremas to fill the new cabinet's ministry portfolios. These men were either more loyal to the Emperor than to the party, too new to the Conservative Party to have formed close ties with the older saquarema establishment or former Liberals who had defected to the Conservatives following the Praieira revolt in the late 1840s. Two former Liberals found seats in the cabinet, including Paranhos, for whom Paraná secured a seat in the Chamber of Deputies. Other nominations went to saquaremas whose personal fealty to Pedro II was paramount. Among these was Caxias, with whom Paraná had developed a working relationship and then a close friendship. The resulting "Conciliation cabinet" owed its chief loyalties to Pedro II and Paraná, rather than to the Conservative Party. The cabinet thus represented a break with the Reactionary views of the old Party of Order, albeit under a party banner which still included members of the old guard.

Struggle over electoral reform

Formed in late 1853, the Conciliation cabinet faced the Parliament only when it gathered in May 1854. Paraná presented a bill to reform the Code of Criminal Procedure, which had already been reformed in 1841. In search of support, Paraná went as far as to aid Liberal candidates in the 1854 provincial elections. The opposition by most saquaremas to this judicial reform was so fierce that a year later, Paraná (who had been raised from Viscount to Marquis in late 1854) backed down and implicitly withdrew the bill.

Almost concurrently, he presented a project of electoral reform that was also vehemently opposed by the saquaremas. Historian Jeffrey D. Needell states that the saquaremas "had seen him, one of their own chieftains, pick a cabinet of relatively weak men, men he could dominate. They saw an explicit attack on party government and party deals, using patronage alone to secure support. They saw that the loyalty of the ministers was principally toward Paraná, the Emperor, and a non-partisan approach to patronage (which ipso facto, undercut their party and strengthened the cabinet)." Saquaremas found it harder to accept the cabinet's aid being diverted—in an attempt to secure more support for cabinet initiatives—from themselves to Liberal candidates in provincial and general elections.

During his time in Pernambuco (1849–1850), Paraná had experienced first-hand how the party's principles were seen as irrelevant and ignored at local and provincial levels. A cabinet could gain the backing of local bosses for its national candidates using patronage alone. Paraná did not need the support of the saquaremas, he could find it elsewhere. Throughout his life, Paraná managed to set aside past grievances when doing so could further opportune alliances. As Eusébio de Queirós said of Paraná, "like all men of strong temperament, he tends more to exaggerate his generosity towards his conquered enemies than in accommodations to conquering friends."

Apogee and unexpected death

In the end, both the Senate and the Chamber passed the electoral reform—which became known as Lei dos Círculos (Law of the Circles)—by a bare margin. The majority of the saquaremas voted against the bill. Paraná succeeded because, as founder and leader of the Conservative Party, he "had enormous charisma and a broad personal clientele in the Chamber" and "could (and did) dispense power, prestige, and patronage." Some saquaremas voted in favor of the reform out of fear, believing that, should the cabinet fall, the Emperor might turn to the Liberals to form a new cabinet, resulting in reprisals and loss of offices throughout the country. On the other hand, the Liberals supported the reform as a means to further weaken the divided Conservative Party.

The electoral reform had given Paraná unassailable dominance over the cabinet and in parliament. By September 1855, with the sole exception of the Emperor, Paraná had become the most prominent figure in the empire. He was nicknamed El Rei Honório (Honório the King) by his foes. However, he would not live long to enjoy his supremacy. At the end of August 1856, enraged by an offensive speech by Pedro de Araújo Lima, Marquis of Olinda (former regent in the late 1830s) in the Senate, Paraná rose to respond. As he spoke, Paraná fell to the ground in pain. Days passed and his condition worsened. On 3 September 1856, at 07:15 in the morning, he died. In a fever-induced delirium, Paraná believed himself to be still delivering a speech to Olinda. His last words were, "Skepticism ... the noble senator ... fatherland ... freedom." The exact cause of Paraná's death was never established. Doctors could not agree whether the illness was a consequence of hepatitis, pneumonia, disease in the liver, lungs, intestines or something else.

Pedro II lamented the death of Paraná, saying, "I can see no one else possessed of the energy with which the late Marquis was endowed, and joined to it uncommon talents, even if they were unpolished." His death had a profound impact on the government and the Brazilian people. He was honored with a grand funeral procession attended by a huge crowd, then a rare event in Brazil. His remains were interred in the Cemitério São João Batista (Cemetery of Saint John the Baptist) in Rio de Janeiro city.

Legacy
By the early 1850s, Paraná had seen both his main foes–Aureliano Coutinho and Feijó–and their political factions fall into oblivion, while he rose to power. Eusébio de Queirós, his main rival within the Conservative Party, had attempted to rally the saquaremas against his project, and failed. Eusébio de Queirós and Paraná carried on their power struggle during debates in the Senate, and in the end, Paraná emerged victorious. His success came at the expense of his weakened and deeply divided party. Just as serious were the consequences of the Law of the Circles. In theory, Paraná's initiatives for judicial and electoral reform would have ensured fairer elections, since they attempted to curtail the corrupting influence of political parties on elections. In practice, however, the opposite happened; tampering by parties was merely replaced by greater interference by the cabinet. Paraná probably knew that the reform, as enacted, had the potential to do more harm than good, as it gave him unprecedented control over national politics. According to Needell, "Paraná might well have seen the cabinet and its victory as his personal vindication before the party rivals and his monarch, his political triumph after the dismissal of 1844 and the second-rank status and saquarema disrespect of 1850."

Since his death, Paraná has been widely praised by historians and others for his political achievements, although the detrimental consequences of the electoral reform in his Conciliation cabinet were generally ignored by historians until recently. This oversight can be seen in the writings of many renowned writers and historians since the 19th-century cabinet. Conservative politician and writer José de Alencar called Paraná a "distinguished statesman". Writer Joaquim Manuel de Macedo said that "the marquis of Paraná was a politician well suited to the great State crises, and to a time of most difficult and contentious political strife." Joaquim Nabuco, who viewed him a statesman, summarized his character as that of a man "made not only to dominate, but also to lead." José Paranhos, Baron of Rio Branco regarded him an "illustrious statesman". Euclides da Cunha, who also called him a statesman, labeled him a "great man" who "demarcates a decisive stretch in our [Brazilian] Constitutional History".

Many historians praised Paraná. Maurílio de Gouveia regarded him as a statesman who revealed "himself to posterity as an example of tenacity, energy, patriotism and honor". To Heitor Lira, Paraná "was one of the pillars responsible for the political stability of Pedro II's reign. His policy of conciliation ended a period of rebellions, and led to the appearance of a new generation of monarchist politicians raised "in the school of tolerance, mutual respect and public interest"; which produced "the constitutional environment where the two great [political] parties of the Monarchy would take turns [in power] without excluding each other." Fernando da Cruz Gouvêa called him an "authentic statesman". Aldo Janotti considered Paraná, alongside Vasconcelos, responsible for the maintenance of Brazilian unity and preventing its territorial dismemberment. According to Hermes Vieira, he was a "great statesman". "Of all politicians of imperial Brazil, it is without a doubt," said historian Hélio Viana, "Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná, the one who deserves to be called statesman". Ronaldo Vainfas considered him one of the greatest statesmen in Brazilian imperial history.

Titles and honors

Nobility
 Viscount of Paraná (Grandee) on 26 June 1852.
 Marquis of Paraná on 2 December 1854.

Other
 Member of the Brazilian Council of State.
 Member of the Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute.
 Provedor (steward) of the Santa Casa de Misericórdia (Holy House of Mercy) in Rio de Janeiro city (1854–1856).

Honors
 Grand Cross of the Brazilian Order of Christ awarded on 18 March 1851.
 Grand Cross of the Portuguese Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa awarded on 26 January 1856.
 Grand Cross of the Russian Order of the White Eagle.
 Officer of the Brazilian Order of the Southern Cross awarded on 10 August 1841.
 Officer of the Brazilian Order of the Rose.

Endnotes

Footnotes

References

External links

1801 births
1856 deaths
Brazilian diplomats
Brazilian monarchists
Brazilian nobility
Conservative Party (Brazil) politicians
Prime Ministers of Brazil
Foreign ministers of Brazil
Finance Ministers of Brazil
Government ministers of Brazil
Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Empire of Brazil)
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia)
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa
University of Coimbra alumni
Ministers of Justice of Brazil
People from Ouro Preto
People from Paracatu, Minas Gerais


Malden Island is an island in the Pacific Ocean. Today, the island belongs to Kiribati. It is one of the Line Islands. In the 19th century the island used to be called Independence Island at times. The island is uninhabited today, it has been made into a nature reserve for breeding seabirds.

Geography

Malden Island is located 242 nautical miles (nmi) south of the equator, 150 nmi south of Honolulu, Hawaii. The coast of South America is more than 4,000 nautical miles (5,000 statute miles or 8,000 km)  to the east.

The nearest land is uninhabited Starbuck Island, 110 nmi to the southwest. The closest inhabited place is Tongareva (Penrhyn Island),243 nmi to the southwest. The nearest airport is on Kiritimati (Christmas Island), 365 nmi to the northwest. There are other uninhabited islands nearby. They include Jarvis Island, 373 nmi to the northwest, Vostok Island, 385 nmi to the south-southeast, and Caroline (Millennium) Island, 460 nmi to the southeast.

The island has roughly the shape of an equilateral triangle, with  on a side, aligned with the southwest side running northwest to southeast. The west and south corners are slightly truncated, shortening the north, east and southwest coasts to about , and adding shorter west and south coasts about 1 to 2 km (–1 mi) in length.

There is a large lagoon with many small islets in the east-central part of the island. The lagoon is completely sourrounded by land.  It is connected to the sea by underground channels, and is quite salty. Most of the land area of the island lies to the south and west of the lagoon. The total area of the island is about 39.2 square kilometers.

The island is very low, no more than  above sea level at its highest point. The highest elevations are found along a rim that closely follows the coastline. The inside forms a depression that is only a few meters above sea level in the western part and is below sea level (filled by the lagoon) in the east central part. Because of this topography, the ocean cannot be seen from much of Malden's interior.

There is no standing fresh water on Malden Island, though a fresh water lens may exist.

A continuous heavy surf falls all along the coast, forming a narrow white to gray sandy beach. On the west coast, the white sandy beach is bigger. On the rest of the coast there  is a strip of dark gray coral rubble, forming a ridge. This makes the beach itself smaller.

History

George Anson Byron, a British captain, discovered Malden Island on 30 July 1824. He named it after Charles Robert Malden who was the first to land on the island. At the time of its discovery, the island was uninhabited, but there were ruins. Archeologists discovered that the island was inhabited by between 100 and 200 Polynesians, a few centuries earlier.

The ancient stone structures are located around the beach ridges. Most of them are on the north and south sides. Overall, twenty-one sites are known. Three of them are larger than the others. They can be found on the northwest side of the island.  The sites are either temples, houses or graves. The temple ruins are referred to as marae. Similar marae have also been found on other islands, such as Raivavae, one of the Austral Islands.

The inhabitants had also made wells, but later settlers found them to be dry, or too salty.

In 1828, guano was discovered on the island. In 1856, the United States wanted to get the Island, but Australian firms had already started to mine the guano deposits. Guano mining stopped about 1927. In 1956 and 1957,  Great Britain tested H-bombs on the island. The tests were called Operation Grapple.

References

Pacific islands
Islands of Kiribati
Uninhabited islands

Malden Island


Arthur W. Benson (c.1798–1889) was a president of Brooklyn Gas Light who developed the New York City suburbs of Bensonhurst and Montauk.

Benson founded the Brooklyn Gas Light company in 1823, when Brooklyn had 9,000 people.

He began buying farmland that was formerly owned by the Polhemuses family in 1835. Between 1830 and 1850 Benson divided the farmland into lots that were sold in the newly created suburb of Bensonhurst.

In 1869 Benson was one of only nine individual investors in the Brooklyn Bridge with the first planning meetings held at the Brooklyn Gas Light headquarters.

In 1879 Benson paid US$151,000 for  of government land around Montauk in an auction (with Benson paying 10% down). In the middle of the land was Indian Field which was the home for the Montaukett tribe. The land had been held in trust for the tribe. Benson moved to get clear title to the land with promises of buying it from tribesmen for $10 each; in one case one of the tribesmen houses was burned. The legitimacy of the transaction is still being contested in court by the tribe. The transaction cleared the way for Austin Corbin to bring the Long Island Rail Road to Montauk with the first train pulling on December 17, 1895.

Benson envisioned the Montauk area as a playground for the rich. Stanford White and his McKim, Mead, and White firm designed seven houses at the Ditch Plains area of Montauk. Frederick Law Olmsted and his sons designed a private park system. Tick Hall, one of the houses owned by television personality Dick Cavett, was destroyed by a 1997 fire. Its reconstruction was followed in a Public Television documentary.

See also
Montauk Point land claim

References

External links
Brooklyn Eagle article
Gurney's Quarter Article on Tribe
Vincent Seyfried lecture on Benson

People from East Hampton (town), New York
1798 births
1889 deaths
American energy industry executives
19th-century American landowners
19th-century American businesspeople

Arthur W. Benson


The Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR) is an alliance made up of chief executive officers representing nine humanitarian networks or agencies (CARE International, Caritas Internationalis, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, International Save the Children Alliance, Lutheran World Federation, Oxfam, ACT Alliance, and World Vision International).

Background
The SCHR was created in 1972 to improve cooperation among humanitarian agencies involved in disaster assistance.  The five founding agencies were Oxfam, the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (later to become the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies), the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Lutheran World Federation, and Catholic Relief Services (CRS).  In 1983, Caritas Internationalis took over the seat held by CRS, and the International Save the Children Alliance joined in 1992. Care International and Médecins sans frontières (MSF) were added in 1997 and the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1999.  In January 2007, MSF decided not to renew its membership, leaving the SCHR. The most recent new member is World Vision International which joined in July 2008. The ACT Alliance now represents the WCC. Andrew Morley, the World Vision International President and Chief Executive Officer is the current Chair of the SCHR.

All of its members are internationally focussed and involved in humanitarian emergency assistance. The SCHR was the founder of the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief and its members are all signatories to the code.

Implementing humanitarian assistance
The SCHR agencies implement most of international humanitarian assistance either directly or as operational partners with intergovernmental humanitarian agencies such as the UNHCR or the WFP.  An important role of the SCHR is to introduce the  field experience of its members into humanitarian decision making process of the United Nations, particularly through the UN's Inter-agency Standing Committee (IASC) which is made up of the heads of the principle UN agencies involved in humanitarian assistance.

Standards
In addition to drawing up the Red Cross and NGO Code of Conduct for Disaster Response, the SCHR, together with the US based NGO consortium, InterAction, set up the Sphere Project in 1997 to develop minimum standards for humanitarian assistance in four major sectors, water and sanitation, food, shelter, and health, as well as framing a humanitarian charter for disaster response.

Peer reviews
In 2003, the SCHR embarked on an internal peer review process.  In order to improve accountability, the members agreed to process for reviewing each other on important issues related to humanitarian response.  The first issue examined was the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse by member agencies in their work.

Issues
Some of the most important  issues addressed by the SCHR have included: land mines, international sanctions, humanitarian coordination, the promotion of humanitarian principles, relations with military actors in a complex emergency,  humanitarian access, internally displaced people, humanitarian impact of small arms, field security coordination, international protection, and the relationship between humanitarian assistance and human rights.

References

External links
 SCHR
 Red Cross and NGO Code of Conduct for Disaster Response
 Sphere Project
 IASC
 InterAction

Humanitarian aid organizations
Organizations established in 1972
Emergency organizations
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
International charities