Glycerol (or glycerin, glycerine) is a simple organic molecule. It is a colorless, odorless, thick liquid that is widely used during the last step of preparing prescription drugs. Glycerol has three hydrophilic (water-loving) hydroxyl (oxygen-hydrogen) groups that are responsible for its solubility in water and its hygroscopic nature (which means it attracts water from the air). The glycerol backbone is central to all lipids known as triglycerides. It is used is in making nitroglycerin.

Organic compounds

Glycerol


Smoking in China is prevalent, as the People's Republic of China is the world's largest consumer and producer of tobacco. , there are around 300 million Chinese smokers, and 2.4 trillion cigarettes are sold there every year, 46% of the world total.

The China National Tobacco Corporation is by sales the largest single manufacturer of tobacco products in the world and boasts a monopoly in mainland China, generating nearly $213 billion revenue in 2022. Within the Chinese guanxi system, tobacco is still a ubiquitous gift acceptable on any occasion, particularly outside urban areas. Tobacco control exists as smoking bans, but public enforcement is rare outside the most largest cities, such as Shanghai and Beijing. Furthermore, outside the largest cities in China, smoking is considered socially acceptable anywhere at any time, even if it is technically illegal. Smoking is a social custom in the PRC, and giving cigarettes at any social interaction is a sign of respect and friendliness.

The Chinese Association on Tobacco Control () is engaged in tobacco control by members of the voluntary sector, including academic, social and mass organizations, as strong enforcement of existing tobacco control laws is not supported by the Chinese Government.

Tobacco control legislation

On May 20, 2009, the Ministry of Health of China issued a formal decision to completely ban  smoking in all health administration offices and medical facilities by the year 2011. The enactment of the May 20 initiative represented an important landmark in China's commitment to tobacco control. However, due to the Chinese government's complex relationship with tobacco policy (for instance, many localities rely upon tobacco tax revenue as a substantial source of income), there have been many concerns about the practicality of the national policy's enforcement.

In addition to the May 20 measure, numerous provincial and city-level administrations in China have also enacted policies to control the prevalence and health impacts of smoking within the last decade.

Impact of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
On October 11, 2005, China became the 78th country in the world to ratify the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), an international treaty intended to reduce tobacco-related disease and death. Under the conditions of the FCTC, China is required to completely ban "promotion and sponsorship on radio, television, print media and the Internet within five years,"  as well as to prohibit tobacco companies from sponsoring international events or activities. China has also resolved to ban all tobacco vending machines, as well as smoking in indoor work places, public areas, and public transportation vehicles.

Despite China's own widespread and complex smoking issue, the ratification of the FCTC in China represents a significant commitment to tobacco control in international public health policy. According to Dr. Shigeru Omi, the WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific region, "implementing the Convention will not be easy, as smoking is an ingrained habit in China ... but the Government has made clear its commitment to take action." In light of the FCTC, concerns about international image, and strong support from both citizens and domestic health authorities, the Chinese government has become increasingly involved in tobacco prevention and tobacco-related health promotion programs.

Ministry of Health Report
The Ministry of Health had already maintained active involvement in decrying the negative effects of smoking and striving toward decreased prevalence of tobacco use. On May 29, 2007, the Ministry released a report (2007 年中国控制吸烟报告—The 2007 China Smoking Control Report) detailing alarming levels of secondhand smoke exposure (affecting over 540 million Chinese citizens), recommendations for legislation to reduce harm from secondhand smoke, and the feasibility of implementing public smoking bans based upon polling data. Notably, the report agreed with international scientific consensus about secondhand smoke, citing numerous findings from public health authorities in other countries to assert the conclusion that "there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke", that ventilation equipment is ineffective in reducing the harm from exposure to second-hand smoke, and that the most effective protective public health measure against smoking is a legislative ban of smoking in public places. With an explicitly stated objective of "building smoke-free environments for the sake of enjoying healthy life", the report has received strong support and praise from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a U.S. health advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.

In addition, the report suggested a strong likelihood of success for the implementation of complete public smoking bans in seven major urban areas on the basis of demonstrated widespread popular support for such measures. According to an analysis by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, polling data in the Ministry of Health report revealed:

"Overwhelming public support for the enactment of totally smoke-free public spaces ... support for total smoking bans exceeds support for partial smoking bans ... Among smokers, the polls found that 93.5% support a total ban on smoking in all schools, 75.5% support a total ban in hospitals, and 94.3% support a total ban in all public transport. Among non-smokers, 95.1% support a total ban in all schools, 78.1% support a total ban in hospitals and over 93.8% support a ban in public transport. Some 70.6% of non-smokers support some type of smoking ban in bars and restaurants.

Nationwide ban
Although China still lags behind many countries in implementing tobacco control policy, the Ministry of Health's May 20 initiative helped to establish more unified smoking controls and codify public health authority at broad administrative levels. From 2009, Projects sponsored by Bloomberg Initiative and directed by Yang Tingzhong were designed as the first program to prohibit all forms of smoking in University campuses in China. The Ministry's "Decision" formally requests local governmental units to "set up multi-agency FCTC Implementation Leading Small Groups" to assist with regional strategies of enforcement, with the explicit goal that:

"by the year 2010, all health administration offices, both military and non-military, and at least 50% of all medical and health institutions should become smoke-free units, so that the goal of a total smoking ban in all health administration offices and medical and health institutions can be fulfilled by 2011."

The "Decision" also encourages health administration offices to utilize mass media resources and draw upon large-scale publicity campaigns such as World No Tobacco Day in order to "actively promote the importance of implementing a total smoking ban in military and civil health administration offices and medical and health institutions."

Popular opinion
As polls from the 2007 Ministry of Health report showed, there is widespread public approval of smoking bans among residents of urban areas. Various health experts, activists, and public advocacy groups regard the Chinese government's escalating efforts toward tobacco policy as "surely good news for the country's smoking control progress." Notable support also exists within the sphere of representative politics; allegedly, political advisors of the CPPCC have even gone so far as to call for smoke-free legislative sessions.

However, widespread apathy and tacit acceptance toward smoking policy are likely to predominate within large portions of the Chinese population. China has a relatively low social disapproval rate of smoking—according to the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (ITC), "only 59% of smokers think that Chinese society disapproves of smoking, the fourth lowest rate of 14 ITC countries surveyed."

Dissent and unresolved issues
Given the complex and multifaceted nature of political agendas in China, governmental public-health related interests often clash with economic interests. Because tobacco remains a significant source of both health risks and revenue for municipal and national governing entities, specific Chinese tobacco control policies in different contexts may betray an overall position of ambivalence or inconsistency. For instance, local exemptions to public indoor smoking bans are often made for small businesses, particularly in the restaurant and entertainment industries. Such indeterminate enforcements of supposedly well-defined public health regulations in practice may limit the impact of de jure national smoking bans. In practice, it is often the case that only some government offices, schools, museums, some hospitals, and sports venues effectively function as smoke-free areas. In addition, the cultural basis of smoking in China presents a significant barrier to de facto acceptance and integration of smoking control policies. According to Li Xinhua, an expert on tobacco-control publicity and education in the Ministry of Health, "about 60 percent of medical workers and professors are smokers [and thus in violation of the law calling for a complete public smoking ban] ... Some of them even smoke boldly in hospitals or schools." This is problematic because, regardless of whether these professionals continue to smoke out of habit, social custom, or "apparent disregard" for evidence of smoking risk, they are still expected to "behave themselves and set a good example for others in tobacco control," Li says.

Also, enforcement of national tobacco-control policies is still largely sparse in rural areas, where the state-owned China National Tobacco Corporation exerts much of its influence in tobacco production and marketing.
As a response to FCTC recommendations for reduction of access and supply-side tobacco regulation, the Ministry of Health is now targeting farmers to give up tobacco plantation and trying to "convince them that the tobacco industry can be replaced by other industries that are more healthy, sustainable and profitable."

Another potential obstacle is the Chinese tobacco industry's lack of complete compliance with nationally defined policies regarding the correct presentation of warning labels on cigarette packages, which must be readily visible and cover at least 30% of the visible area of the packaging. Wu Yiqun, vice executive director with the Beijing-based Thinktank Research Center for Health Development, criticized China's tobacco industry supervisory administration for "[failing] to oversee Chinese tobacco producers" in this aspect.

Furthermore, the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project brings up the following persistent smoking issues in its 2009 report focused on China:

 In addition to "strong social pressure placed upon Chinese men to smoke", it is also expected that female smoking will become "more socially acceptable as the tobacco industry increasingly targets female smokers."

Current tobacco control legislation in China does not explicitly address gendered or social bases for smoking.

 Smoking cessation is "relatively uncommon in China, and most smokers quit cigarette smoking because of chronic illness." Indeed, "awareness of the health risks of smoking is low in China. Only 68% of smokers believe that smoking causes lung cancer in smokers (compared to well over 90% in Western countries) and 54% believe that smoking causes lung cancer in non-smokers. Only 37% of smokers are aware that smoking causes coronary heart disease and only 17% are aware that smoking causes strokes."

In order to maintain a robust, sustainable effort in tobacco control, China will particularly need to focus upon the role of public health education in smoking prevention and health promotion.

 "Taxation is a very effective method of reducing tobacco use. However, very few smokers (5%) in the ITC China Survey reported thinking about price as a reason to quit smoking—a sign that prices are too low."

Current tax regulations in Chinese tobacco control policy are limited, inconsistent, and tied to the structural intricacies of domestic ownership and control of tobacco production and distribution.

Restriction in electronic media
On February 12, 2011, State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, announced that it will ban inappropriate smoking scenes in movies and TV shows. The announcement said smoking scenes are out of line with the country's stance on tobacco control, and are misleading to the public, especially minors. Thus it is prohibiting scenes of cigarette brands, people smoking at smoke-free places, minors buying and smoking cigarettes, and other smoking scenes associated with minors. After the announcement was done, the ban was effective immediately.

Regional and citywide initiatives

Shanghai
In light of its preparations to host the 2010 World Expo, the city of Shanghai had recently heightened its anti-smoking legislation. The Shanghai People's Congress issued the city's first smoking control law in March 2010. The law bans smoking in 12 types of public places including indoor smoking at schools, hospitals, sport stadiums, public transport vehicles and Internet cafes. Anyone caught smoking would first be given a warning and then face a fine of 50 to 200 yuan if they resist. According to Li Zhongyang, the deputy head of the Shanghai Health Promotion Committee, the smoking ban was enacted to protect citizens' health and also promote Shanghai's image as a cosmopolitan city.

According to a report by the Fudan University Media and Public Opinion Research Center, 93.5% of the 509 people they interviewed supported a smoking ban at all Shanghai Expo 2010 pavilions and also felt that smoking should not be allowed in restaurants or shopping centers near the Expo area. Another survey done by public health experts from Fudan University which involved 800 hotel guests and around 4,000 patrons and employees of restaurants, shops and entertainment venues in Shanghai found that about 73 percent of the hotel guests said Shanghai should adopt a smoking ban in public areas, 84 percent of restaurant guests reported exposure to second-hand smoke, and 74 percent of them were annoyed by the fumes and support smoking controls. While many interviewers found second-hand smoke itself toxic and damaging to citizen's health, a main reason behind popular support for the smoking ban relates to the citizen's concern for Shanghai's image. According to one citizen that the public health experts from Fudan interviewed, "Smoking has been banned in public places in several countries. We should do the same, at least during the Expo, since it is a cosmopolitan event. And of course, for the sake of the public who would be visiting." For organizers of the Expo, there was also the issue of hypocrisy if they did not deal with China's smoking problem as part of their "Healthy Expo."

Despite the popular support for the Shanghai smoking ban, many also feel skeptical about the actual implementation of the law. Shanghai residents point out that despite the fact many shopping malls and all subways and subway stations actually already banned smoking prior to this law, there is low compliance and people often smoke directly in front of NO SMOKING signs. One most basic concern Shanghai residents have regarding the ban is the lack of clarity regarding who will do the fining and who will report the offenses. Public health experts agree that it will be difficult to enforce a strict ban with the large number of smokers present in Shanghai.

In addition to passing the smoking ban, Shanghai legislators have designed a website "Smoke Free Shanghai"  to raise anti-smoking awareness. Also, the most concrete measure that has been taken is that Expo organizers refused a 200 million yuan ($29.3 million) donation from the Shanghai Tobacco Company last year to maintain their "healthy Expo" stance.

Beijing
In light of the passage of national tobacco initiatives and international publicity for the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Beijing city government extended a public smoking ban on May 1, 2008 to include sports venues and all indoor areas of government offices, transport stations, schools and hospitals. The ban had a generally strong impact, with poll results suggesting that a majority of Chinese residents (69% out of over 10000 respondents) are "not only aware of a smoking ban in Beijing, but [95% of respondents] also hope that the authorities promote the move nationwide."

According to China Daily News:
 "The survey also showed that 81.6 percent of respondents were eager to stop smoking, or had heard of family members and friends who were considering kicking the habit. 'I am delighted by such encouraging support from the public, it will help to promote legislation to control tobacco use,' [said] Jiang Yuan, vice-head of the tobacco control office under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention."

The Beijing government has also adopted a policy of persuasion, combined with a fine of up to 5,000 yuan ($730) for violating the ban, in an attempt to further encourage citizens to curtail public smoking.

A direct positive public health impact of the Beijing smoking ban has manifested in the arena of fire prevention. According to People's Daily,

"The smoking ban has cut the number of fires in the city sparked by cigarette butts by more than half ... In the first week of this month, the Beijing fire brigade put out eight cigarette-related fires, an average of 1.14 per day ... The new daily average [after the extended smoking ban] was less than half of what was reported in the first four months of this year, when the city's firefighters had to put out 325 fires caused by cigarette butts, or 2.7 per day."

Guangdong Province
In 2007, Guangzhou and Jiangmen became Guangdong's first two cities for experimental enforcement of total smoking ban at some public places. The public places for smoking ban included restaurants, entertainment outlets, schools, supermarkets, and governmental offices. However, by March 2010, the Guangzhou Municipal People's Congress prepared to lift the smoking ban in work places, including offices, conference rooms and auditoriums.

Hubei Province
In 2009, the authorities of Gongan County attempted to increase consumption of locally produced cigarettes, by demanding that local officials smoke up to 23,000 packs of Hubei-branded cigarettes per year. This measure was intended to bring much-needed revenue to local enterprise; quotas were issued by county authorities to offices under its jurisdiction, which in turn were fined if they failed to consume the demanded quota of cigarettes, or if they were found purchasing other brands of tobacco products. This decision was reversed after public outcry and coverage by international press.

Other cities
Hangzhou's people's congress had approved to ban smoking in public and working places in the beginning of 2010; smoking may be prohibited in some places and violators may be fined up to 3000 yuan. Yang Tingzhong from Zhejiang University undertook campaigns and project sponsored by Bloomberg Global Initiative to ban smoking in university campuses at a nationwide scale.

According to Medical News Today, seven provincial capitals in China are taking steps to ban smoking in workplaces and public places. The seven cities are Tianjin, Chongqing, Shenyang, Harbin, Nanchang, Lanzhou and Shenzhen. Although there are already some smoking bans in places in these cities, government officials have realized that compliance rate is low and plans to issue a strict ban.

The new ban will be run as a pilot project under the joint auspices of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease(UNION). Responding to criticism about the current legislation not being well enforced, Wang Yu, director of the China CDC explained that "This project would create strict legislation to guarantee 100-percent smoke-free public venues and workplaces and figure out a feasible and forceful working mechanism to enforce the smoking ban."

Smoking among physicians
A 2004 study conducted among 3,500 Chinese physicians found that 23% were regular smokers. There was a significant gender difference, with 41% of male physicians reporting to be smokers but only 1% of female physicians.  More than one third of current smokers had smoked in front of their patients and nearly all had smoked during their work shift.

Male surgeons were found to smoke more than any other specialty.  A study conducted among 800 Chinese male surgeons in 2004 found that 45.2% were smokers and 42.5% had smoked in front of their patients.

The smoking rates from these independent studies are lower than those reported by China's state-run newspaper. An article published in 2009 interviewed a source who claimed that 60% of Chinese male doctors were smokers, a percentage higher than any other country's doctors in the world.

, nearly more than a third male Chinese doctors are estimated to be smokers.

Comparison to other populations
Smoking rates among Chinese male physicians are comparable to the country's general population, although overall physician rates are lower. Chinese physicians have a substantially higher smoking prevalence than doctors in the United States (3.3%) or United Kingdom (6.8%).  They have a slightly higher rate than Japanese physicians (20.2%) and Japanese physicians have a smaller gender discrepancy with 27% male and 7% of female doctors smoking.

Causes and influences
High tobacco use among physicians may be attributed to several factors. In Chinese culture, smoking is connected to masculine identity as a social activity that is practiced among men to promote feelings of acceptance and brotherhood, which explains why more Chinese male doctors smoke than females. Furthermore, physicians in particular may resort to tobacco as a coping mechanism to deal with the day-to-day stress that is associated with long work hours and difficult patient interactions.

One surgeon in Kunming (Yunnan province) described smoking as a phenomenon that is an integral part of Chinese medical culture and one that improves job performance:
Smoking is such a big part of being a doctor here. The director of our hospital smokes. The party-secretary smokes. The chair of my department smokes. And whenever I walk into the duty office, most of my colleagues are smoking. And to tell you the truth, with such a pressure-filled job, smoking is extremely helpful, at times soothing, at times energizing, at times helping me focus my attention when preparing for a complex surgery or facing a stack of paperwork 10:30 at night.

Effect on patient care
A physician's personal smoking habits have been shown to influence his or her attitudes toward the dangers of tobacco. Doctors who smoked were less likely to believe that smoking has a harmful effect on health compared to nonsmokers. Fewer smokers also believed that physicians should serve as role models for their patients and that indoor smoking in hospitals should be prohibited.
Nearly all Chinese physicians (95%) believed that active smoking causes lung cancer and most believed that passive smoking causes lung cancer (89%), but current smokers were less likely to hold these health beliefs than nonsmokers were.

Gender
According to the World Bank in 2020, nearly half of men in China were smokers, compared to less than 2% of women. In 2010, smoking caused nearly 1 million (840,000 male, 130,000 female) deaths in China.

China remains one of the three leading countries (along with India and Indonesia) in total number of male smokers, accounted for 51.4% of the world's male smokers in 2015. China also remains one of the three leading countries (along with India and the United States) in total number of female smokers, although these three countries accounted for only 27.3% of the world's female smokers, indicating that the tobacco epidemic is less geographically concentrated for women than for men.

Smoking culture in China
Other than a nicotine product, cigarettes in China include different meanings. In China, the sales number of cigarettes in 2022 was 2.4 trillion cigarettes. This number means that if all people of the 1.4 billion population are smokers, one person still consumes nearly 1800 cigarettes per year. Behind such consumption of cigarettes, there is an undeniable cultural relationship between cigarettes and Chinese smokers. China's cigarettes are never only for self-pleasure, but they can be used to present respect, hospitality, and even a sign of grown-ups. Younger people can give older people cigarettes as a gift to show respect; people can give cigarettes to strangers to show hospitality; teenagers see smoking as a sign of maturity. Especially for people working in business or art, smokers make up a large proportion of the population. As long as people start to have conversations, cigarettes are a necessity for them to communicate.

Cigarette culture in the workplace
Smoking cigarettes is a booster to work efficiency and a social lubricant for many Chinese employees. In a survey targeting smokers at workplaces, over 80% of them indicated that they started smoking after they had their first job. When they were asked the reason for picking up smoking, 64.4% of them answered that smoking can help them get acquainted with colleagues and employers faster, and 53.1% of them answered that smoking can help them relax from stressful work.

Because most offices in China are located within high office buildings, smokers generally finish one to two cigarettes at restrooms or on staircases within ten minutes. Although a smoking ban has been issued for decades, there are not enough proper smoking places within the buildings. This directly causes damages to building's cleanliness and brings heavy work to cleaning personnel to clear out the cigarettes butts.

Smoking social etiquette in China
People in China generally have a lot of rules on the smoking situation. When smoking with the elders or leaders at work, if they take out their cigarettes and are ready to smoke, you should take out yours quickly and give it to them. Your cigarettes should be a similar grade or higher than theirs to show respect. Famous Chinese high-end cigarettes include Chunghwa, Huanghelou, and Liqun. When there is strict rank differentiation, you should give cigarettes to everyone in the order from the person of the highest rank to the lowest rank. However, "Ladies first" is always the first rule of smoking cigarettes in every situation.

When smoking with others, lighting others' cigarettes is also a way of being polite. The process of lighting other's cigarettes is:

 Hold the lighter in the right hand and move to the front of the other at a certain distance.
 Light the lighter by facing the left palm inside and the thumb naturally open. The whole palm should be slightly outward tilted against the lighter.
 Then slowly move to the other until the other has a reaction to gather up for the fire. If the other person doesn't move, light up his cigarette (a rare case of arrogance).
 People receiving such etiquette should slightly adjust their necks to get closer to the fire. At the same time, the receiver's right-hand palm should be above the giver's left hand to express gratitude. To show more respect, the receiver can use the index finger gently tap the left hand of the giver.

Smoking in Hong Kong

Smoking in certain public places in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has been banned from 1 January 2007 under the government's revised Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (Cap. 371), first enacted in 1982 with several amendments subsequently. The latest amendment enlarges the smoking ban to include indoor workplaces, most public places including restaurants, Internet cafés, public lavatories, beaches and most public parks. Some bars, karaoke parlors, saunas and nightclubs were exempt until 1 July 2009. Smoking bans in lifts, public transport, cinemas, concert halls, airport terminal and escalators had been phased in between 1982 and 1997. The ban in shopping centres, department stores, supermarkets, banks and game arcades has been in place since July 1998.

The overall daily smoking rate in Hong Kong is 11.8% (HK Department of Census and Statistics Household Thematic Survey 36) with 25% of males smoking whereas in China 63% of males smoke.

The government mentioned, upon the release of the budget in 2009, that a full ban of tobacco import and smoking is technically possible. However, given the decreasing smoking rate in recent years mainly due to increasing tobacco tax, the government currently has no further plans to control sales of tobacco other than by adjusting taxation.

Smoking in Macau

See also
 Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance
 Health in China

References

Further reading
 Barnett, Ross, Tingzhong Yang, and Xiaozhao Y. Yang, eds. Smoking Environments in China: Challenges for Tobacco Control (Springer Nature, 2021).
 Benedict, Carol. "Tobacco, Cigarettes, and Women's Status in Modern China." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History (2021) online

  online
 Davey, Gareth, and Xiang Zhao. "Smoking and the city: a travelogue in Yuxi." Asia Pacific journal of anthropology 22.1 (2021): 58-80.
 Kohrman, Matthew. "Filtered Life: Air Purification, Gender, and Cigarettes in the People's Republic of China." Public Culture 33.2 (2021): 161-191. online

 Liu, F. E. N. G. "Smoking in China" in Life course smoking behavior: patterns and National Context in ten countries (Oxford University Press, New York, 2015): 103-116.
 Martin, Andrew, "The Chinese Government Is Getting Rich Selling Cigarettes", Bloomberg Businessweek, December 11, 2014.
 Wu, Dan, et al. "Cigarette sharing and gifting in China: Patterns, associated factors, and behavioral outcomes." Tobacco Induced Diseases 20 (2022). online

 Yang, Xiaozhao Yousef. "Class status and social mobility on tobacco smoking in post-reform China between 1991 and 2011." Nicotine and Tobacco Research 22.12 (2020): 2188-2195. online

External links
  Chinese Association on Smoking Control
 国家烟草专卖局
 Cigarette Retail Trade in China Undergoes Drastic Changes
 STMA and the Chinese cigarette industry
 U.S. Report on Tobacco Production China
 Smoke-Free Hong Kong
 The most effective Alternative To Smoking

 China Today: Health and Medicine Information
 China's Cigarette Threat

Smoking in China


Trichotillomania (TTM) (often called "trich") is an impulse control disorder. It causes a person to habitually pull out their hair. People with trichotillomania may pull hair from anywhere on the body. Sometimes people with trich end up having large areas on the body without hair.

Trichotillomania is listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The DSM is written by the American Psychiatric Association. It lists every condition which is officially called a mental illness. The DSM puts trich in the "impulse control disorder" category. However, there are questions about what category trich should be in. At different times, it may seem to be a habit, an addiction, a tic disorder, or an obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Impulse control disorders

Trichotillomania


The Perodua Rusa is a microvan manufactured bi Malaysian automaker Perodua, an based on the Daihatsu Zebra an Daihatsu Hijet Maxx. Launcht on Mairch 6, 1996, wi a 1.3 litre ingine, follaed bi the 1.6 litre range on Mey 14, 1997, the Rusa is the first van tae be produced bi a Malaysian automotive company.

Three variations o Rusa vans are affered: The CX (1.3 litre, twa seat version), the EX (1.3 litre, five seat version) an the GX (1.6 litre, seiven seat version). The CX is primarily intendit tae serve as a freight vehicle, while the EX an GX are intendit for private uise. The van is an aa uised bi Malaysian police an fire fechtin forces.

The vehicle's name "Rusa" is a Malay translation o "Deer". Later replaced bi the Perodua logo, the van's oreeginal logo wis a gallopin deer.

Freemit airtins
 The Rusa  at the official Perodua website.
 The Perodua Rusa  at perodua.co.uk, includes exterior and interior images of the van.
 Perodua Owner Club an Forums Website

Rusa
Microvans
1990s automobiles
2000s automobiles
Vehicles introduced in 1996

Perodua Rusa


The Society of St. John the Evangelist is an Anglican order. The monks make a vow: They say they want to live in poverty and that they will not marry anyone. The order was founded by Father Richard Meux Benson, an Anglican priest in 1866. Because they were founded in Cowley, near Oxford in England they are also known as the Cowley fathers.

It has two branches, the original one in England, and one in the United States. The house in the United States was founded around the year 1874. The American branch of the society has 2 houses for their monks. Today, there are monasteries in Scotland, India, South Africa, Japan, and Canada.

The monks live under The Rule of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist. The monks spend a lot of time in prayer and they also go on missions. They are one of the first monasteries founded after the Protestant Reformation.

The Fellowship of Saint John
The fellowship of the Society of St.John the Evangelist is a group of people who want to live there lives in close a relation with the monks at the society. They give money to the society and pray for the monks there. They make a rule of life that is similar to The Rule of the Society of St.John the Evangelist. There are about 1,000 men and woman who are apart of the fellowship. One of the most famous members is Frank Griswold.

Anglicanism
Christian religious orders

Society of St. John the Evangelist


, formerly known as  or simply  until August 2008, is a Japanese anime and film production company.

History
Knack Productions was founded on September 25, 1967, by a group of former employees of Toei Animation and Osamu Tezuka's Mushi Production, including illustrator Seiichi Hayashi, animator/director Sadao Tsukioka, former Mushi producer Sakuro Koyanagi, and Seiichi Nishino, who would become the principal planner of most of the studio's works. From its early days the studio concentrated on TV production. The studio's first work, the TV series Granny Mischief (Ijiwaru Baasan), based on a manga by Sazae-san creator Machiko Hasegawa), premiered in 1970. In the late 1980s the company moved away from TV production and into OVA, finding success in the growing market for soft-core direct-to-video pornography anime. Since the late 1990s, Knack (renamed ICHI Corporation in August 2008) has focused chiefly on live-action production. The company's most recent animation work, in 1997, was on the adult anime OVA Slight Fever Syndrome and with production assistance on Gainax's The End of Evangelion.

Despite the number of anime-industry notables who worked with Knack over the years (including Go Nagai, Ken Ishikawa, Kazuyuki Okasako, Masayuki Kojima, Tetsuro Amino, Shun'ichi Yukimuro, Yoshikata Nitta, and Fumio Ikeno), the studio developed a dubious reputation for the low quality of its productions, particularly in regard to animation quality and to copying the premises of other, more popular shows, even when compared to their contemporaries in both Japan and America. Nevertheless, a number of the studio's productions did become internationally successful, including the children's anthropomorphic cartoon series Don Chuck Monogatari; The Adventures of the Little Prince; and Attacker You!, a volleyball drama which achieved a staggering level of popularity when exported to Italy and France. The studio's children's comedies Manga Sarutobi Sasuke and Cybot Robotchi were also released in the U.S. as direct-to-video feature-length edits titled Ninja the Wonder Boy and Robby the Rascal, respectively. In more recent years, the studio's 1974 series Chargeman Ken! has become an online sensation, due to mockery of its limited production values.

Animated works

TV series

 Granny Mischief (Ijiwaru Baasan, いじわるばあさん) (1970–1971)
 Moonlight Mask (Seigi wo asuru mono, Gekko Kamen, 正義を愛する人、月光仮面) (1972)
 Astroganger (アストロガンガー) (1972–1973)
 Chargeman Ken! (チャージマン研!) (1974)
 Dame Oyaji (ダメおやじ) (1974)
 Don Chuck Monogatari/Shin Don Chuck Monogatari (ドンチャック物語, 新 ドンチャック物語) (1975–1977)
 Groizer X (グロイザーX) (1976–1977, created by Go Nagai)
 The Adventures of the Little Prince (Hoshi no ojisama Puchi Prince, 星の王子さま プチ・プランス) (1978–1979)
 Ninja the Wonder Boy (Manga Sarutobi Sasuke, まんが猿飛佐助) (1979–1980)
 Sue Cat (スーキャット) (1980)
 Manga Mitokomon (まんが水戸黄門) (1981–1982)
 Robby the Rascal (Cybot Robotchi, サイボットロボッチ) (1982–1983, created by Ken Ishikawa)
 Hitotsuboshike no Ultra Baasan (一ツ星家のウルトラ婆さん) (1982–1983)
 Psycho Armor Govarian (サイコアーマー ゴーバリアン) (1983, created by Go Nagai)
 The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (ドリトルせんせいものがたり) (1984, U.S.-Japan coproduction, not aired in Japan until 1997)
 Attacker You! (アタッカーYOU!) (1984–1985)
 Oh! Family (Oh!ファミリー) (1986–1987)
 Manga Nihon Keizai Nyuumon (マンガ日本経済入門) (1987–1988)
 Momotaro Densetsu (桃太郎伝説 PEACHBOY LEGEND) (1989–1990)
 Peach Command: Shin Momotaru Densetsu (PEACH COMMAND 新桃太郎伝説) (1990–1991)
 New Attacker You (続・アタッカーYOU 金メダルへの道 Zoku atakkā YOU- kin medaru e no michi?) (2008)

Standard OVA
 Toumei Shounen Tantei Akira (透明少年探偵アキラ)  (circa 1970)
 Male Transfrom Female Mayumi chan (男変形女マユミちゃん) (1986ー1987)
 Shibuya Honky Tonk (渋谷ホンキィトンク) (1988)
 Korogashi Ryota (ころがし涼太) (1990–1991)
 Furiten-kun (フリテンくん) (1990)
 Osaka Tough Guys (Naniwa Yūkyōden , なにわ遊侠伝) series (1992–1993)
 Crows (クローズ) (1993–1994)
 Grappler Baki: The Ultimate Fighter (グラップラー刃牙) (1994)
 Submarine 707 (深海の艦隊 サブマリン707) (1997)

Adult OVAs (as Knack+)
 Ninja Transfrom Mako-Chan (忍者変身マコちゃん) (1986-1987)
 Shin Otoko Henkei Jo Mayumi chan (1989-1990)
 Bōken Shite mo ii Koro (冒険してもいい頃) series (1989–1990)
 Yaruki Manman (やるきまんまん) series (1989–1991)
 Dance Till Tomorrow (Asatte DaNCE, あさってDaNCE) (1991)
 Mellow (1993)
 Vixens (Visionary, ヴィジョナリィ) (1995–1996)
 Lunatic Night (ルナティックナイト) (1996–1997)
 Slight Fever Syndrome (Binetsu Shōkōgun, 微熱症候群) (1997)

References

External links

Japanese animation studios
Japanese film studios
Entertainment companies established in 1967
Japanese companies established in 1967

Knack Productions


The B57 nuclear bomb was a tactical nuclear weapon developed by the United States during the Cold War.

Entering production in 1963 as the Mk 57, the bomb was designed to be dropped from high-speed tactical aircraft. It had a streamlined casing to withstand supersonic flight. It was 3 m (9 ft 10 in) long, with a diameter of about 37.5 cm (14.75 in). Basic weight was approximately 227 kilograms (500 lbs).

Some versions of the B57 were equipped with a parachute retarder (a 3.8 m/12.5 ft diameter nylon/kevlar ribbon parachute) to slow the weapon's descent, allowing the aircraft to escape the blast (or to allow the weapon to survive impact with the ground in laydown mode) at altitudes as low as 15 m (50 ft). Various fuzing modes were available, including a hydrostatic fuze for use as a depth charge for anti-submarine use.

The B57 was produced in six versions (mods) with explosive yields ranging from 5 to 20 kilotons. Mod 0 was 5 kt, Mod 1 and Mod 2 were 10 kt, Mod 3 and Mod 4 were 15 kt, and Mod 5 was 20 kt. The depth bomb version of the B57, for the U.S. Navy, replaced the Mk 101 Lulu and had selectable yield up to 10 kt.

The B57 used the Tsetse primary design for its core design, shared with several other mid- and late-1950s designs.

The B57 was produced from 1963 to 1967. After 1968, the weapon became known as the B57 rather than the Mk 57. 3,100 weapons were built, the last of which was retired in June 1993.

The B57 could be deployed by most U.S. fighter, bomber and Navy antisubmarine warfare and patrol aircraft (S-3 Viking and P-3 Orion), and by some U.S. Navy helicopters including the SH-3 Sea King.  The B57 was also deployed with Canada's CF-104s in Germany, and the Royal Air Force's Nimrod from RAF St Mawgan and RAF Kinloss in the United Kingdom and Malta in the Mediterranean.

See also
 Tsetse primary
 List of nuclear weapons

References

External links
 Allbombs.html list of all US nuclear weapons at nuclearweaponarchive.org
 Beware the old story by Chuck Hansen, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, March/April 2001 pp. 52–55 (vol. 57, no. 02)
 A guide to British nuclear weapons by Brian Burnell
Video showing shipboard handling procedures for the B57 bomb

Cold War aerial bombs of the United States
Cold War anti-submarine weapons of the United States
Tactical nuclear weapons
Nuclear bombs of the United States
Depth charges
Nuclear weapons of Canada
Military equipment introduced in the 1960s

B57 nuclear bomb


A hat is a type of covering for the head, and there are many types of hats.

Hats are different in different parts of the world. Some hats are worn by women, other hats by men, others by both; infants and children may also wear hats, and some hats are not worn by anyone at all. These hats are just used for decoration. People who make hats for men are called hatters, and those who make hats for women are called milliners. The kinds of hats (or caps, which are like hats) worn by different groups within various societies in different countries are very numerous.

Some types of hats or caps are worn as a sign of social roles. For example, bishops wear mitres and some lawyers wear wigs. In these cases the special headware is only worn on specific occasions. Monarchs wear crowns on special occasions.

All kinds of clothing send social messages as to what the person is. For years workmen in Britain wore caps, but foremen (supervisors) wore bowler hats. So, in traditional societies it was expected of a person that he or she would dress appropriately. Other people would know from their clothes what kind of person was on view. That aspect of hats and clothing in general is much less true today.

Examples
Some examples of hats:
 baseball cap, for baseball players and many others
 beaver hat, made of beaver skin
 beret, for fishermen or peasants in parts of western Europe
 bowler hat, for men practising some traditionally middle class occupations
 coonskin cap, for some hunters or trappers
 cowboy hat, for cowhands
 fedora, a felt hat of a particular shape
 fez, similar to a tarboush, found in many Islamic countries
 helmet, either for those serving in the armed forces or for sportsman (e.g. motorcyclists)
 mitre, for formal use by bishops
 riding helmet, a helmet for horse riders
 sombrero, for the Latin American peasant
 ten-gallon hat, a type of cowboy hat
 top hat, for the smart men of the world

Etiquette and dress codes

Traditionally during the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was considered bad form to wear hats indoors, except in barns and the most public spaces inside public buildings. Women traditionally were exempt during church services and formal dinners. Today, certain establishments such as banks, schools and military facilities ban hats, and many companies ban hats as part of their employee dress codes.

Related pages

 wig
 cap
 hair
 headgear

Basic English 850 words

Hat


The Boston Police Strike happened in Massachusetts during 1919. Over a thousand police officers went on strike. They wanted to  be paid more money. The Governor of Massachusetts, Calvin Coolidge, said it was wrong to "strike against the public safety". Coolidge fired the police officers who went on strike.  He hired veterans from World War I to replace them and gave them same bonuses that the striking policemen asked for to the veterans. This was the event which made Coolidge popular enough to become Vice President of the United States and then President of the United States of America after the death of Harding.

1919 in the United States
20th century in Boston
Law enforcement in the United States
1910s protests

Boston Police Strike


Nelle Harper Lee (born 28 Aprile 1926 an deid 19 Februar 2016) wis a American writer maist kent fur writin the beuk To Kill a Mockingbird, which is set in her native Alabama, aroond Scout Finch an her faither Atticus, a lawer, concentratin on the issue o racism in the Soothren states in the 1930s - the beuk wis published in 1960; a prequel, Go Set A Watchman, wis published in 2015. She is fae the South o the kintra an wisna in the haunt o shawin her nameliheid. She dee'd in her native Monroeville, Alabama, on 19 Februar 2016, agit 89.

References

1926 births
2016 daiths
20t-century American novelists
20t-century American writers
20t-century weemen writers
Alabama Academy o Honour members
American novelists
American weemen novelists
American Methodists
Huntingdon College alumni
Fowk frae Alabama
Fowk frae Monroeville, Alabama
Presidential Medal o Freedom recipients
Pulitzer Prize for Feection winners
To Kill a Mockingbird
Unitit States Naitional Medal o Airts recipients
Varsity o Alabama School of Law alumni
Writers frae Alabama
Writers o American Soothren leeteratur

Harper Lee


The naitional banner o Albanie (Albanian: Flamuri i Shqipërisë) is a reid banner wi a silhouette black twa-heidit eagle in the centre. It is the ae reid an black banner o a recognised sovereign state. It is claimed tae be derived frae the seemilar seal o Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg, a 15t century Albanian who led the revolt against the Ottoman Empire that resultit in brief unthirldom for some regions o Albanie frae 1443 tae 1478. The current banner wis offeecially adoptit on 7 Aprile 1992, but previous Albanian states sic as the Kinrick o Albanie an the post-war communist state haed uised muckle the same banner, wi the umwhile sportin the "Helmet o Skanderbeg" abuin the eagle an the latter a reid starn wi a yellae rim.

The Naitional Assembly o Vlora which proclaimed Albanian unthirldom on 28 November 1912 approved the banner as a seembol o the Albanian naition.

The horizontal open-winged eagle seembolises the lack o submission o the hieland Albanians tae foreign conquest. The communist regime addit a yellae five-pointit starn tae the banner, which wis removed bi the first Albanian pluralist parliament in 1992 efter the communist collapse.

Albanie's civil ensign an naval ensign, baith maritime banners are different frae the naitional banner.  The civil ensign consists o three horizontal baunds o reid, black, an reid.  The naval ensign is seemilar tae the naitional banner, except that the eagle is on a white field, an the lawer portion o the banner haes a reid stripe.

The presidential banner o the Republic o Kosova an proposals regardin the banner o Kosovo, which is ethnically lairgely Albanian are an aa based on the banner o Albanie.

The eagle o the banner o Albanie is depictit on the reverse o the Albanian 5 lekë coin, issued in 1995 an 2000.

References

Naitional seembols o Albanie
Albanie

Banner o Albanie


D. António Luís de Sousa, 4th Count of Prado and 2nd Marquess of Minas (6 April 1644 – 25 December 1721) was a Portuguese general and governor-general of the Portuguese colony of Brazil.

He was the son of Dom Francisco, the first Marquês das Minas, and his second wife D. Eufrásia Filipa de Lima.

From a very young age on, he was destined for a military career.
At the age of 14, he was present with his father at the Battle of the Lines of Elvas.
The following years, he fought the Spanish in the northern Minho province, becoming a general in 1665 after the conquest of the galician town of A Guarda.

After the Peace Treaty of Lisbon he became military governor of Minho in the absence of his father, who was sent as ambassador to Rome.
He assumed the title of Marquês das Minas after the death of his father in 1674.

Between 1684 and 1687 he was governor-general of Brazil. He had to restore the peace after the mismanagement of his predecessors, and was confronted with a serious epidemic in the Bahia province.

In 1687 he returned to Portugal and was appointed counsellor of war.

War of the Spanish Succession
At the outbreak of the War of Spanish Succession (1702–1715), King Peter II of Portugal initially supported France but on 16 May 1703, Portugal and England signed the Methuen Treaty.  This trade accord was followed in December 1703 by a military alliance between Portugal, Austria, the Netherlands and Great Britain against Philip, the French candidate for the Spanish throne.

Minas was sent to the border to prepare the Portuguese army for war, but in 1704 the Franco-Spanish troops attacked first.
The Duke of Berwick conquered Salvaterra, Segura and Beira. Tilly invaded Alentejo and took Portalegre, and the Spanish general Villadarias took Castelo de Vide.

The invasion was stopped by lack of support from Madrid, allied invasions of Barcelona and Gibraltar and the resistance organised by Minas (who won a minor battle at Monsanto). Berwick had to withdraw his troops to Spain.

In October 1705 a first invasion of Spain was launched under the command of Henri de Massue, 1st Earl of Galway and the Marquess of Minas. The aim was to conquer Badajoz, thus opening a second front to support Peterborough in Catalonia.
But the relationship between the two allied commanders was so bad, and the coordination so poor, that it wasn't too difficult for the experienced French commander de Tessé to repel the invasion.

In 1706 de Tessé was beaten near Barcelona, and it became apparent that the border with Portugal was unprotected.
Minas took his chance and marched his army all the way to Madrid, bypassing Badajoz. The stiffest resistance was met at Alcántara, where the garrison of 4200 resisted for 5 days until it had to capitulate. The army of the Duke of Berwick was in the vicinity, but wasn't strong enough to risk a battle.

On 28 June 1706 the Portuguese army entered Madrid and Archduke Charles was acclaimed King of Spain. But very soon it became clear that the allies in Madrid were very isolated. The population was hostile and the Duke of Berwick was cutting off communications with Portugal and Aragon.
The decision was made to abandon Madrid and to join the allied troops in Valencia.
The Duke of Berwick was waiting for them and inflicted a crushing defeat in the Battle of Almansa.
Minas was replaced as commander of the Portuguese troops in Spain by his nephew Pedro Manuel de Ataíde.

On his return to Portugal he was appointed estribeiro-mor (chief equerry) to the queen, for the rest of his life.
As Marquis of Minas, he was succeeded by his son João de Sousa, 3rd Marquis of Minas.

1644 births
1721 deaths
Portuguese generals
Counts of Prado
Margraves das Minas
Portuguese army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession
Portuguese colonial governors and administrators
Portuguese nobility
Colonial Brazil
17th-century Portuguese people
18th-century Portuguese people
Portuguese military commanders of the Portuguese Restoration War
17th-century Portuguese military personnel
18th-century Portuguese military personnel

António Luís de Sousa, 2nd Marquis of Minas


Christian Fenger (November 3, 1840 – March 7, 1902) was a Danish-born surgeon, pathologist, and medical instructor. In the later half of his life, he worked at several medical institutions in Chicago, and became one of the most highly regarded surgeons in the United States.

Early life and education
Born to a farming family, Fenger studied engineering at the Copenhagen Polytechnic Institute before his father convinced him to pursue a medical degree at the University of Copenhagen. He gained experience as a surgeon during the Danish-Prussian War and Franco-Prussian War and received his MD in 1874.

Career
From 1875 to 1877, Fenger worked in Egypt, where he studied trachoma and schistosomiasis. However, he did not cope well with the Egyptian climate, and at the advice of a group of Americans he met in Cairo, he set off for the United States. He eventually settled in Chicago, which had a prominent Scandinavian community.

Fenger was invited to perform some autopsies at Cook County Hospital, and soon joined that hospital's surgical staff with a distinguished record conducting experimental skin grafts. He worked there until 1893, while also holding various teaching positions at the Chicago Medical College and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago. From 1893 to 1899, Fenger worked as chair of surgery at the Chicago Medical College; he then became a professor of surgery at Rush Medical College. Fenger's lectures were very popular, and over the years, he trained several prominent physicians, including William James Mayo, Charles Horace Mayo, Nicholas Senn, James B. Herrick, Ludvig Hektoen, and Howard Taylor Ricketts.

In Chicago, Fenger helped demonstrate the bacterial origins of endocarditis and developed techniques for cleft palate repair, vaginal hysterectomy, and the relief of ureteral strictures. He also became one of the first surgeons to remove an intramedullary tumor from the spinal cord. He performed thousands of autopsies, and used his knowledge of about twelve languages to keep abreast of medical literature. A writer in the Journal of the American Medical Association declared, "There is nothing that he has written, at least nothing with which we are familiar, that does not contain something of value, valuable at least for the time at which it was produced."

Awards and honors
In 1901, Fenger was named to the Order of the Dannebrog by the king of Denmark. He died of pneumonia a year later. Christian Fenger Academy High School in Chicago is named in his honor.

References

External links

1840 births
1902 deaths
Danish surgeons
Danish pathologists
Order of the Dannebrog
Rush Medical College faculty
Northwestern University faculty
University of Copenhagen alumni
Danish emigrants to the United States
Deaths from pneumonia in the United States

Christian Fenger


Roman Vlad (29 December 1919 – 21 September 2013) was a Romanian-born Italian composer, pianist, and musicologist.

Biography
Born in Cernăuți, Kingdom of Romania (now Chernivtsi, Ukraine), he studied with Titus Tarnawski and Liviu Russu in Romania earning a piano diploma. He moved to Rome in 1938 to study at the University of Rome and later the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He eventually became an Italian citizen in 1951.

Vlad's early career was as a performer and composer; he won the Enescu Prize in 1942 for his Sinfonietta, and the Silver Ribbon Award for his film music. He was the artistic director of  Accademia Filarmonica Romana from 1955 to 1958 and again from 1966 to 1969. As well, he was the president of the Italian Society for Contemporary Music in 1960 and musical consultant for the third RAI national radio and television network. He was later a member of the Directory Council of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia and artistic consultant for the Ravenna Festival and the Spoleto Festival.

Vlad was an eclectic composer whose works range from symphonies to operas to chamber music to "The Japanese Seasons, 24 Haiku." He was a noted composer of film music, including the scores to René Clair's La Beauté du diable (1950), Pictura: An Adventure in Art (1951), Romeo and Juliet (1954), I Vampiri (1957), Son of the Red Corsair (1959), Ursus (1961) and The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962).

Vlad wrote significant books about music, including The History of Twelve-Tone Music (1958) and biographies of Igor Stravinsky and Luigi Dallapiccola. Works for the general public include Understanding Music and Introduction to Musical Civilization.

Vlad died, aged 93, in Rome on 21 September 2013.

Selected filmography
 Tragic Spell (1951)
 I Chose Love (1953)
 The Three Thieves (1954)
 I Vampiri (1957)
 The Son of the Red Corsair (1959)
 The Crossroads (1960)

References

Roberta Costa. The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, edited by Stanley Sadie (1992).  and

Relevant literature
 Pasticci, Susanna. "Hermeneutics and Creative Process: Roman Vlad's Reception of Stravinsky." Archival Notes: Sources and Research from the Institute of Music 2 (2017): 41–63.

External links

1919 births
2013 deaths
Romanian classical composers
Italian classical composers
Italian male classical composers
Italian opera composers
Male opera composers
Sapienza University of Rome alumni
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia alumni
Romanian emigrants to Italy
Italian classical pianists
Male classical pianists
Italian male pianists
Italian musicologists
Musicians from Chernivtsi
Nastro d'Argento winners
Italian film score composers
Italian male film score composers
20th-century classical pianists
20th-century Italian musicians
Enescu Prize winners
Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
20th-century Italian male musicians
Stravinsky scholars

Roman Vlad


Switchblade wur a five-piece metal baund frae Sydney, Australie, formed in 2001 an endin in 2011. Switchblade wur the support act for baunds sic as Slayer, Machine Head, Exodus, Trivium an Nevermore. Thay released twa studio albums, an an' a'  appeared at Metal for the Brain an the Come Together Music Festival.

History

Formation (2001–2003)

Switchblade wis formed bi guitarist Andrew Najdek, drummer Mat Piccolotto an bassist Ben Bessant in 2001. The trio spent the better pairt o thair feenal heich schuil years playin metal cover sangs an writin a haundful o oreeginals which wad acome early Switchblade demos. Vocalist Chris Apps jynt the baund prior tae the recordin o the baund's vera first demo, but split frae the group directly follaein the recordin.

In early 2002 Switchblade recordit a new an muckle hivier demo an began tae audeetion vocalists. The auditions wur unsuccessful, an the group struggled tae find a frontman till Piccolotto answered an internet messageboard post bi vocalist Colin "Sway" Druery, who shared a seemilar muisical vision an jynt the baund in 2002. Switchblade began wirkin thegither on oreeginal material, but a few short months intae rehearsals, Sway wad permanently damage his vocal cords an wis forced tae leave. Switchblade wis ance again leukin for a suitable frontman. Durin this downtime Najdek began uisin a seven-string guitar, an tunin hintle lawer than he previously did. As a result of this the baund's muisical style muivit away frae its thrash metal an daith metal core an teuk on a hintle mair groove metal approach, seemilar tae baunds lik Pantera, Machine Head an Fear Factory.

Switchblade again foond thairsels recordin anither instrumental demo at the end o 2002, the first o the new material written completely on a seiven string guitar. Sway got a copy o the demo an wis compelled tae return tae the baund. Inspired bi this new soond, Sway quickly wrote leerics for the new Switchblade material, recordit his vocals on the instrumental tracks, an Switchblade's 2003 demo Incoming wis released in early 2003.

Incoming (2003–2004)

Switchblade then began doin the roonds on the Sydney metal scene an wis suin tourin interstate an supportin heicher profile local baunds lik Daysend, Sunk Loto an Dungeon. Meanwhile, Piccolotto an aa briefly jynt local thrash metal baund Descend, who disbandit shortly efter, an Najdek became a member o local pouer metal baund Friar Rush.

In mid 2004 the baund realised its muisical output wis leemitit bi anly haein ane guitarist, sae a seicont guitarist wis addit in Scott Bernasconi, who played his first shaw wi Switchblade on 19 Juin 2004. The baund's material wis re-wirked tae mak room for a seicont guitarist. Suin efter, Switchblade played a string o shows wi nou Los Angeles based tech-metal ootfit Devolved, Sydney baund Daysend, an Machine Head. Switchblade then beukit thairsels intae the studio tae record thair debut album wi Astennu producin.

The End of All Once Known (2005)

The End of All Once Known wis released on 12 Mairch 2005, showcasin a mair melodic an technical approach than previously.

Switchblade then began a series o shows aroond Australie tae support the album, but Bernasconi an Sway left the baund efter a feenal performance Sydney on 29 October 2005. Durin the feenal sang o the set, Sway wis jynt on stage bi a guid friend o the baund, Adam Helmrich, who wis asked tae jyne Switchblade amaist immediately.

In late 2007 Bernasconi wis the temporary live guitarist for industrial daith metal baund The Amenta on thair 2007 Australie an New Zealand tour, replacin Psycroptic guitarist Joe Haley.

Comeback (2006)

Follaein the depairtur o Sway an Bernasconi, Switchblade teuk a break tae focus on fyndin a seicont guitarist. Wi Helmrich awready confirmed as new vocalist, Anthony Delvecchio wis annoonced as the new Switchblade guitarist in early 2006. The new lineup wis then beukit tae mak its first appearance at the annual Metalstock Festival, held in Scone, New Sooth Wales ower the Easter weekend. Twa weeks afore the shaw Bessant relocatit tae Perth an cut aff aw contact wi the baund. Symon Alhaddad, guitarist for Sydney daith/thrash metal baund Vaticide temporarily filled in on bass guitar, eventually joinin Switchblade permanently.

Wi the baund's lineup nou solidifee'd, Switchblade went on tae play a nummer o key local shows includin the 2006 Come Together Music Festival, an a shaw at the Marquee, Sydney, which wis filmed an recordit for a futur live DVD. The baund endit 2006 bi appearin at Metal for the Brain an then supportin Nevermore in Sydney on the same day.

At the stairt o 2007, Switchblade haed oreeginally planned tae cease aw live shows. Housomeivver thay wur then affered the openin spot on a tour bi Trivium. Tae caipitalise on this appearance, Switchblade then played some tour dates aroond the kintra an featurt on a naitional tourin metal event billed as the Festival o the Dead.

Invictus Infinitum (2008 - 2011)

In 2008 Switchblade optit tae put aw live shows on hauld an focus on the writin an recordin o the new album. In a 30 Julie 2008 MySpace blog, Switchblade revealed the title o thair follae-up album tae be Invictus Infinitum. Thay an aa revealed that Alhaddad wad be leavin the baund, replaced wi Gerard Dack o Infernal Method.

Invictus Infinitum wis released in Australie on 6 Juin 2009 on Melbourne-based label AmpHead Music, an wis supportit bi a naitional tour which included shows wi Psycroptic, The Amenta, Daysend, Alarum, Frankenbok an mony mair. The album wis mixed bi Grammy Awaird-winnin producer Neil Kernon in the US an featurt Nevermore guitarist Jeff Loomis on the track "Reflective Curse."

On 15 October 2009 Switchblade capped aff a massive year bi supportin thrash metal baund Slayer, for thair ane-aff Australian performance o the seminal album Reign in Blood. It wis an aa annoonced that the baund wad be supporting the newly reformed Wollongong-based baund Segression, who wur ane o the maist prolific Australian metal baunds durin the 90's, but haed braken up in 2002.

In 2010 Switchblade played a sma nummer o select shows includin a Sydney festival for the 30t anniversary o lang-runnin hivy metal store Utopia Records, wi baunds sic as The Amenta, Daysend an mair, an an' a' supportit thrash metal legends Exodus in Sydney. Suin efter it wis annoonced that the baund wis wirkin on a new release due in 2011, an wad be takin a short break frae live shows.

In Mey 2011, housomeivver the baund postit an offeecial annooncement statin the members o Switchblade wur pairtin ways, an muivin on tae ither muisical projects. Andrew Najdek an Gerard Dack are members o new Sydney melodic daith metal baund "Icon of Deceit" an Delvecchio plays in Sydney black/melodic daith metal baund "Sanctium".

Members

Last Active Lineup

 Adam Helmrich – vocals (2006 - 2011)
 Andrew Najdek – guitar (2001 - 2011)
 Mat Piccolotto – drums (2001 - 2011)
 Anthony Delvecchio – guitar (2006 - 2011)
 Gerard Dack – bass guitar (2008 - 2011)

Past members

 Colin "Sway" Druery – vocals (2002–2005)
 Scott Bernasconi – guitar (2004–2005)
 Ben Bessant – bass guitar (2001–2005)
 Chris Apps – vocals (2001)
 Symon Alhaddad – bass guitar (2006–2008)

Discography
Incoming (EP, 2003)
The End of All Once Known (2005)
Invictus Infinitum (2009)

References

   - Album Review frae Pyromusic.net
   - Album Review frae Blistering magazine
   - Album Review frae Metalasfuck.net
  - Album Review frae Metalobsession.net
  - Album Review frae TheMetalForge.com
   - Album Review frae NoiseTheory.com
   - Album Review frae Blastwave.co.uk
   - Live Review frae FasterLouder.com
  - Live Review frae TheMetalForge.com
   - Live Review frae Pyromusic.net
  - Interview wi Mat frae TheMetalForge.com
   - Interview wi Mat frae Pyromusic.net

Freemit airtins
 Offeecial wabsteid
 Switchblade MySpace
 Switchblade Facebook

Muisical groups established in 2001
Muisical groups disestablished in 2011
New Sooth Wales muisical groups
Australie melodic daith metal muisical groups
Australie metalcore muisical groups
Muisical quintets

Switchblade (baund)


Ōpaekaa Falls  is a waterfall located on the ʻŌpaekaʻa Stream in Wailua River State Park on the eastern side of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. It is a  waterfall that flows over basalt from  volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. Below the ridge down into the ravine through which  the water falls  can be seen the vertical dikes of basalt that cut through the horizontal Koloa lava flows. The name "Ōpaekaa" means rolling shrimp, "opae" being  Hawaiian  for "shrimp," and "kaa" for "rolling". The name dates back to days when the native freshwater shrimp Atyoida bisulcata were plentiful in the stream and were seen rolling and tumbling down the falls and into the churning waters at the fall's base.

Visually, this is a spectacular waterfall and  is one of the island's few waterfalls that can be seen from the road. It  flows year round and therefore is not seasonal. Most of the time it falls in a double cascade but the two sides may become one after a heavy rain.
There is a highway overlook which provides a panoramic view of the  wide falls and the valley below. The best time of day to see the falls is in full sunlight when the water sparkles the most. If the day is cloudy the view is less spectacular.

View from highway
The highway parking lot offers an excellent overview of the double Ōpaekaa Falls. The tops of the Makeleha Mountains can be seen in the background  while tropical birds soar through  the valley below. The best view of the falls is  seen by  taking the sidewalk  past the parking  lot and walking toward the bridge.  The Wailua River can be viewed by crossing the road at the pedestrian crossing sign.

Trail closures
It is not possible to climb down to where the water falls into a pool. The trail has been blocked by a steel fence since 2006 when two women fell off an unofficial but well-publicized  rocky path to the pool. Two other hikers found their bodies  away from the pool. At the time they fell from the path the state had already posted a sign at head of trail saying "Danger Keep Out — Hazardous Conditions". This means that currently neither the top nor the bottom of the waterfall can be accessed on foot. However, unofficially there are paths to both places, so-called "secret trails", which circulate via guide books, websites and by word of mouth. "It's clear that anything that may look like a trail around Ōpaekaa is not a state-sanctioned trail," said the head of the island's official trails system. State park officials have made it clear that the trail was never part of the park's official trail system and that the steel blockade to the trail will remain in place for the foreseeable future. Violating the blockade is  considered a  misdemeanor with a possible penalty of a  fine of up to $1,000 and up to 30 days in jail.

The closing of these "unofficial" trails is very controversial and many hikers think that people should be allowed to take their chances. They feel that warning sign and other state measures are merely an attempt for the state to  avoid lawsuits.

There are rumors that  there is an unkempt  hunter trail leading to the bottom, where there is access to the large, deep pool at the bottom of the falls. Many deny the existence of the trail due to the danger in following these trails.

Directions
Once on island, the falls can be accessed by Route 580. At the milepost 6, 580 heads inland for three miles (5 km).  Route 580 is called Kuamoo Road at this point and it is  to the Ōpaekaa Falls parking lot and overlook. Route 580 goes through a   notch in the ridge that the Wailua River has eroded. There are no state-maintained trails to either the top or the bottom of the waterfall from the Kuamoo Road overlook.

Nearby sights
On the opposite side of the road near the falls  is the relatively well-preserved ancient temple of Poliahu Heiau, also thought to have once been a luakini. It is  named after the snow goddess, Poliahu, sister of Pele, the goddess of fire, lightning, volcanoes and violence. Also nearby is the bell stone believed to have been used by ancient Hawaiians to ward off danger. Striking the bell with another stone results in a distinctive low frequency sound that can be heard for at least a mile down the valley.

Wailua Falls is also nearby.

Footnotes

External links

 Brief explanation of Opaekaa Falls

Waterfalls of Kauai
Tourist attractions in Kauai County, Hawaii

ʻŌpaekaʻa Falls


Fingal's Cave is a sea cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, part of a National Nature Reserve owned by the National Trust for Scotland. It is formed entirely from hexagonally jointed basalt columns. These are part of the same ancient lava flow as the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland and those of nearby Ulva.

In both cases, the cooling surface of the mass of hot lava cracked in a hexagonal pattern in a similar way to drying mud cracking as it shrinks. These cracks slowly extended down into the mass of lava as it cooled and shrank to form the columns, which were later exposed by erosion.

The breakup of Pangaea separated the two parts of the same rock formation.

The size of the cave, and its naturally arched roof, and the eerie sounds produced by the echoes of waves, give it the atmosphere of a natural cathedral. The cave's Gaelic name, Uamh-Binn, means "cave of melody."

In art and literature

Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn visited in 1829 and wrote Die Hebriden (in English, Hebrides Overture Opus 26, commonly known as Fingal's Cave overture), inspired by the weird echoes in the cave. Mendelssohn's overture popularized the cave as a tourist destination. Other famous 19th-century visitors included author Jules Verne; poets William Wordsworth, John Keats, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson; and Romantic artist J.M.W. Turner, who painted "Staffa, Fingal's Cave" in 1832. Queen Victoria also made the trip.

References

Geography of Scotland
Igneous rocks

Fingal’s Cave


Orlando Voorn (born 25 April 1968, in Amsterdam) is a Dutch DJ and electronic music producer. As a solo artist he has released work since the early 80s under a large amount of aliases containing Balance, Frequency, Baruka, Basic Bastard, Fix, Dope Dog, Boy, Stalker and The Nighttripper. He also produced tracks with Blake Baxter under the name Ghetto Brothers and with Jeff Porter as Designer Loops.

Voorn won the Dutch DMC DJ Championships in 1986 which meant the beginning of a large number of released tracks. As a professional DJ he released his first club tracks under the record label Lower East Side Records. Together with Detroit techno music pioneers Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Blake Baxter he produced tracks under various labels. Voorn's music is characterized by its variety of styles such as Techno, Drum n bass, Ambient, Hip hop and Electro.
By many people Orlando Voorn is considered the first one to establish a connection (in music) between Detroit and Amsterdam.

References

External links
 Orlando Voorn on Facebook
 Orlando Voorn on Myspace
 Orlando Voorn discography Discogs.com.

1968 births
Living people
Dutch DJs
Musicians from Amsterdam

Orlando Voorn


A  is a type of very expensive and elegant Japanese restaurant. Traditionally they only accept new customers who are recommended by known and trusted clients. They usually include entertainment by geisha, but not always in modern times. Ryōtei are usually a place where very important business or political meetings can take place in private.

Other websites
New York Times article:  In Tokyo's Ryotei, The Art of Service
The Traditional Ryotei Are in Danger at japaninc.com

Asian restaurants
Japanese culture

Ryōtei


W1WX is Boston's second former television station (the first being W1XAY). This station started up in April 1929, and was owned by Shortwave and Television Laboratory, Inc., (which was founded on December 5, 1928 by A.M. "Vic" Morgan, Hollis Baird, and Butler Perry).

The station started broadcasting on 2.12 MHz, alternating between 48 and 60 vertical lines and 15 frames per second. In 1930, it moved over to 2.1-2.2 MHz and broadcast at 48 lines only, still at 15 frames per second.

In 1934, the station switched back to 60 vertical lines only, running at 20 frames per second until it shut down.

Timeline
 April 1929: Station is founded as W1WX by Shortwave and Television, broadcasting two times a day at 100 watts power, until December.
 September 30, 1929: W1XAV Boston is listed in the Radio Service Bulletin at 2.1-2.2 MHz, with 500 watts of power.
 December 1930: station call-sign is changed to W1XAV.
 January 1930: W1XAV Boston officially goes on air.
 late March 1930: W1XAY (Lexington, Massachusetts), leaving W1XAV temporarily as the only mechanical TV station in Boston.
 December 7, 1930: W1XAV Boston broadcasts a video portion of a CBS Radio program, The Fox Trappers orchestra program, sponsored by I. J. Fox Furriers. Included was what is sometimes called the first television commercial, which was prohibited by FRC regulations, however, other experimental television stations such as W1XAY may have done so before W1XAV signed on the air. Regardless, the FRC advised against this, since there was no agreement on whether experimental stations could air commercials, or sponsored network programming.
 March 8, 1934: Baird, Perry, and Morgan had all moved to General Television Corp, which they acquire the same day.
 June 27, 1934: W1XAV goes off the air. The FCC told Shortwave and Television Laboratory that two mechanical TV stations were not needed. One license was accepted, the other was denied, effective July 13, 1934. By now, Shortwave and Television changed its name to General Television Corporation. and switched from a mechanical to an electronic system.
 January 1, 1935: General Television Corp is officially dissolved.

See also
 Oldest television station
 List of experimental television stations

External links

Experimental television stations
History of television in the United States
Television pioneers
Television channels and stations established in 1929
1929 establishments in Massachusetts
1934 disestablishments in Massachusetts

Defunct mass media in Boston
Defunct television stations in the United States

W1WX


The Order of the Solar Temple (or Ordre du Temple Solaire, International Chivalric Organization of the Solar Tradition) was a secret society that existed in the second half of the 20th century and that was based on the belief that the Knights Templar still existed. OTS was started by Joseph Di Mambro and Luc Jouret in 1984 in Geneva as l'Ordre International Chevaleresque de Tradition Solaire (OICTS) and renamed Ordre du Temple Solaire. OTS is considered to be a sect. The organisation was involved in mass suicides in France, Switzerland and Canada. The beliefs of the society were a mix of protestant Christianity and New Age philosophy; it also used and changed different Freemason rituals.
 The sect was made in Schweiz at Joseph's yard.

Secret societies
Organizations based in Geneva

Order of the Solar Temple


Chocó Department is a department of Colombia known for its large Afro-Colombian population. It is in the west of the country. It is on the border to Panama. The capital is Quibdó.

The Chocó Department makes up most of the ecoregion known as El Chocó that extends from Panama to Ecuador.

Departments of Colombia

Chocó Department


Dante Alighieri (), known simply as Dante (, , ; c. 1265 – September 14, 1321), was a major Italian poet of the Late Middle Ages/Early Renaissance. His central work, the Commedia (Divine Comedy), is considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature. In Italian he is known as il Sommo Poeta (the Supreme Poet). Dante and the Divine Comedy have been a source of inspiration for artists for almost seven centuries. Dante, alongside Petrarch and Boccaccio, is known as one of "the three fountains", and is often referred to as "the Father of the Italian language". The first biography written on him was by his contemporary Giovanni Villani. The most famous section in The Divine Comedy is the first third of it, the first 34 cantos of the poem, called Inferno, which features Dante's vision of Hell.

Life
Dante Alighieri was born in 1265, between May 14 and June 13, under the name Durante Alighieri. ca. 1450 (Uffizi Gallery). His family was important in Florence, and supported the Papacy.
The poet's mother was Bella degli Abati. She died when Dante was seven years old, and Alighiero soon married again, to Lapa di Chiarissimo Cialuffi. Lapa had two children, Dante's brother Francesco and sister Tana ( short version of Gaetana).

Dante fought in the front of the  troops in the battle of Campaldino (June 11, 1289). After the victory Dante gained an important part in public life.

When Dante was 12, in 1277, he married Gemma di Manetto Donati. Dante had already fallen in love with another girl, Beatrice Portinari that is mentioned same in "Divine Comedy", (known also as Bice). Years after Dante's marriage to Gemma he met Beatrice again. He had become interested in writing poems.

Dante had six children with Gemma: Jacopo, Pietro, Giovanni, Gabrielle Alighieri, and Antonia.

Education, youth and poetry

Not much is known about Dante's education, and it is presumed he studied at home. It is known that he studied Tuscan poetry. His interests brought him to discover the Occitan poetry of the troubadours and the Latin poetry of classical antiquity (with a particular devotion to Virgil).
At 18, Dante met Guido Cavalcanti, Lapo Gianni, Cino da Pistoia, and soon after Brunetto Latini; together they became the leaders of Dolce Stil Novo ("The Sweet New Style"). Brunetto later received a special mention in the Divine Comedy (Inferno, XV, 28), for what he had taught Dante.

According to his work, La Vita Nuova, when he was nine years old he met Beatrice Portinari, daughter of Folco Portinari, with whom he fell in love "at first sight", and apparently without even having spoken to her. He saw her frequently after age 18, often exchanging greetings in the street, but he never knew her well—he effectively set the example for the so-called "courtly love". Dante gave his imprint to the Stil Novo. Love for Beatrice (as in a different manner Petrarch would show for his Laura) would apparently be the reason for poetry and for living, together with political passions. In many of his poems, she appears such as semi-divine, watching over him constantly.

When Beatrice died in 1290, Dante tried to find consolation in Latin literature.

He then dedicated himself to philosophical studies at religious schools like the Dominican one in Santa Maria Novella. This fervent passion for philosophy would later be criticized by the character Beatrice, in the Purgatorio (Purgatory), the second book of the Divine Comedy.

Exile and death
Boniface quickly dismissed the other delegates and asked Dante alone to remain in Rome. At the same time (November 1, 1301), Charles de Valois entered Florence with Black Guelphs, who in the next six days destroyed much of the city and killed many of their enemies. A new Black Guelph government was installed and Messer Cante dei Gabrielli di Gubbio was appointed Podestà of Florence. Dante was put in exile for two years, and ordered to pay a large hill of money.

Dante did not pay the money, in part because he believed he was not guilty, and in part because all his needs in Florence had been stolen by the Black Guelphs. He was condemned to exile for life, and if he returned to Florence without paying the money, he could be burned at the stake.

In exile he began searching the foundation for the Divine Comedy, a work in 100 cantos, divided into three books of thirty-three cantos each, with a single introductory canto.

He went to Verona as a guest of Bartolomeo I della Scala, then moved to Sarzana in Liguria. Later, he is supposed to have lived in Lucca with Madame Gentucca. Some not sure sources say that he was also in Paris between 1308 and 1310. In 1310, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII of Luxembourg, marched 5,000 troops into Italy. Dante saw in him a new Charlemagne who would restore the office of the Holy Roman Emperor for re-take Florence from the Black Guelphs. He wrote to Henry and several Italian princes, demanding that they destroy the Black Guelphs. Mixing religion and private concerns, he invoked the worst anger of God against his city, suggesting several particular targets that coincided with his personal enemies. It was during this time that he wrote the first two books of the Divine Comedy.

When Dante died at Ravenna, the custodians of the body at Ravenna put the bones in a false wall of the monastery. Nevertheless, in 1829, a tomb was built for him in Florence in the basilica of Santa Croce. That tomb has been empty ever since, with Dante's body remaining in Ravenna, far from the land he loved so dearly. The front of his tomb in Florence reads Onorate l'altissimo poeta – which roughly translates as "Honour the extraordinary poet".

Gallery

Other websites
 "Dante Alighieri on the Web", about the Dante's life, and (complete) work.
 The Banquet (Il Convito)
 The Divine Comedy: A Study Guide about Divine Comedy
 The Divine Comedy
 Dante Alighieri  and his Divine Comedy in English on Read Print
 The Online Library of Liberty: Dante's Divine Comedy Italian text with English translation, Cambridge, 1918.
 Società Dantesca Italiana (bilingual site) manuscripts of Dante's works, images and text transcripts
 Guardian Books: small "Author Page"
 LitWeb.net: Dante Alighieri Biography
 Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Another biography, on his works and bibliography

1265 births
1321 deaths
Italian poets
Medieval poets
Writers from Florence

Dante Alighieri


The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009  (LLFPA) is an Act of Congress about pay discrimination that was signed into law by President Barack Obama on January 29, 2009.

The bill amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 stating that the 180-day statute of limitations for filing an equal-pay lawsuit regarding pay discrimination resets with each new discriminatory paycheck. The law was a direct answer to the Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., , a U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that the statute of limitations for presenting an equal-pay lawsuit begins on the date that the employer makes the initial discriminatory wage decision, not at the date of the most recent paycheck, as a lower court had ruled.

A first bill to amend the statutory limitations period and supersede the Ledbetter decision was introduced in the 110th United States Congress but was never enacted, as after having been passed by the House it failed to survive a cloture vote in the Senate due to the opposition of most of the Republican Senators.

During the campaign for the 2008 elections, the Democrats criticized Republicans for defeating the 2007 version of the bill, citing Republican presidential candidate John McCain's opposition.  Then-candidate Barack Obama supported the bill.

After the 2008 election gave the Democratic Party control of both the House and Senate, a new version of the bill was introduced in the first session of the 111th United States Congress and quickly passed both bodies.  It became the law signed by the new President Obama after he took office on January 20.

Court rulings

Lilly Ledbetter, a production supervisor at a Goodyear tire plant in Alabama, filed an equal-pay lawsuit seeking back pay for pay discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She worked for that company for many years without learning that she was paid much less than the men holding the same job. She filed the lawsuit six months before her early retirement in 1998. The District court said her lawsuit was filed on time, but the Court of Appeals said her lawsuit was too late. Ledbetter appealed the decision to the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled in 2007 by a 5-4 majority vote that Ledbetter's complaint was filed too late because the discriminatory decisions relating to pay had been made more than 180 days prior to the date she filed her charge, as explained by Justice Samuel Alito. The minority position explained by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg proposed an interpretation according to which the law runs from the date of any paycheck that contains an amount affected by a prior discriminatory pay decision.

The Ledbetter decision was cited by federal judges in 300 cases before the LLFPA was passed. These cases involved not only Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, but also the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Fair Housing Act, Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act and Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.

The case had never received much attention before going to the Supreme Court, but the Court's ruling ignited legal groups on the left and Democrats that took action to transform the Ledbetter case into a rallying issue for the left. Some activists saw Lilly Ledbetter as an ideal standard-bearer in their attempt to persuade the public that the Supreme Court was moving too far to the right.

Among the first to criticize the Court's decision was Marcia Greenberger, president of the National Women's Law Center, that saw in the ruling a "setback for women and a setback for civil rights" and called Ginsburg's opinion a "clarion call to the American people that this slim majority of the court is headed in the wrong direction." Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, also condemned the decision, saying, "If employers can keep the discrimination hidden for a period of time, they can continue to discriminate without being held accountable." On the other side, the majority's findings were applauded by the US Chamber of Commerce, that called it a "fair decision" that "eliminates a potential wind-fall against employers by employees trying to dredge up stale pay claims."

The Bill

The House Democrats were fast to react. On June 12, the caucus spoke against the Supreme Court decision. Claiming lead from Justice Ruth Ginsburg's minority opinion, which invited the Congress to take action by amending the law, the Democrats announced their intention to intervene: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller said that a bill was to be passed to avoid future court rulings in line with Ledbetter, clearly putting that "a key provision of the legislation will make it clear that discrimination occurs not just when the decision to discriminate is made, but also when someone becomes subject to that discriminatory decision, and when they are affected by that discriminatory decision, including each time they are issued a discriminatory paycheck", as said by Rep. Miller.

Republicans immediately opposed the bill as drafted, with Education and Labor Committee ranking member Howard McKeon raising the issue that companies would be held liable for actions taken by managers who were not leading the company anymore: "At the end of the day, such a loophole conceivably could allow a retiring employee to seek damages against a company now led by executives who had nothing to do with the initial act of discrimination".

The issue divided lawyers. The American Bar Association passed a resolution supporting the new bill. Other lawyers, such as Neal Mollen, argued that extending the term limit would put a strain on the chances of an adequate defense for the employers, as to defend themselves one "has to rely on documents and the memory of individuals, and neither of those is permanent. If a disappointed employee can wait for many years before raising a claim of discrimination ... he or she can wait out the employer, that is ensure that the employer effectively unable to offer any meaningful defense to the claim".

Organizations that supported the bill included the: American Civil Liberties Union, AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, American Rights at Work, American Library Association, People For the American Way, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, National Employment Lawyers Association, Hadassah, National Women's Law Center, National Network to End Domestic Violence, Center for Inquiry - Washington DC
American Association of University Women, Alliance for Justice, Legal Momentum, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, National Partnership for Women and Families, Coalition of Labor Union Women, Moms Rising, National Organization for Women, American Association of Retired Persons, Women's Voices, Women Vote Action Fund, 21st Century Democrats, 9to5, National Association of Working Women, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and Women Employed.

Organizations that opposed the bill include the: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Eagle Forum, Society for Human Resource Management, National Association of Manufacturers, American Bakers Association, College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, Associated Builders and Contractors, and American Housing & Lodging Association.

Legislative history

The bill ( and ) was defeated in April 2008 by Republicans in the Senate who cited the possibility of frivolous lawsuits in their opposition of the bill and criticized Democrats for refusing to allow compromises.

The bill was re-introduced in the 111th Congress (as  and ) in January 2009. It passed in the House of Representatives with 247 votes in support and 171 against. The vote was nearly perfectly split along party lines, with only three Republicans voting in favor (Ed Whitfield of Kentucky, Don Young of Alaska and Chris Smith of New Jersey) and three Democrats voting nay (Travis Childers of Mississippi, Allen Boyd of Florida,  and Parker Griffith of Alabama).
The Senate voted 72 to 23 to invoke cloture on S. 181 on January 15, 2009. (The vote to invoke cloture ends debate on a bill, and usually leads to a final vote within a few days.) The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act passed the Senate, 61-36, on January 22, 2009. The votes in favor included every Democratic senator (except Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, who was absent from the vote because of health issues) and five Republican senators.

As president, Obama actively supported the bill. The official White House blog said:
President Obama has long championed this bill and Lilly Ledbetter's cause, and by signing it into law, he will ensure that women like Ms. Ledbetter and other victims of pay discrimination can effectively challenge unequal pay.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced that the House would vote on S.181 (the bill passed by the Senate) during the week of January 26, getting the bill to President Obama's desk sooner rather than later. On January 27, the House passed S.181 by a 250-177 margin.

On January 29, Obama signed the bill into law. It was the first act he signed as president, and it fulfilled his campaign pledge to nullify Ledbetter v. Goodyear. However, some newspapers criticised him for signing it only two days after it was passed by the House. The St. Petersburg Times which mentioned his campaign promise to give the public five days of notice to comment on legislation before he signed bills. The White House through a spokesman answered that they would be "implementing this policy in full soon", and that  currently they were "working through implementation procedures and some initial issues with the congressional calendar".

References

American civil rights
Discrimination
2009 in the United States

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009


Johann Fortner (25 November 1884 – 26 February 1947) was a German Generalleutnant during World War II who commanded the 718th Infantry Division from its formation in May 1941 until he was relieved in March 1943. During his command the division engaged in anti-Partisan operations throughout occupied Yugoslavia, mainly within the Independent State of Croatia. The Nazi security warfare conducted by the division whilst under his command involved brutal and widespread massacres and burning of villages. He was retired from active duty in 1944. After the war, Fortner was extradited to Yugoslavia, convicted in a war crimes trial and executed.

Early life
Fortner was born in Zweibrücken in the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1884. In 1903, Fortner joined the 5th Bavarian Regiment of the Royal Bavarian Army as a Fahnenjunker (officer cadet). During World War I Fortner served on the Western Front with the 5th Bavarian Infantry Regiment (as part of the 4th Bavarian Infantry Division. He started the war as an Oberleutnant and was promoted to Hauptmann, commanded a company of his regiment and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class. He was captured by the British Army during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette on 15 September 1916 and remained a prisoner of war for the remainder of the war.

Soon after he was released from internment in November 1919, Fortner transferred from the Reichswehr to the Bavarian State Police and over a period of 15 years rose to the rank of Polizei-Oberst (Police Colonel) before joining the Wehrmacht soon after its creation in 1935 with the rank of Oberst (Colonel), and was appointed as the commander of the Kassel military district.

World War II
In 1939 Fortner was appointed as the director of training in Landeck in Tyrol, Austria. In May 1941 he was appointed to command the newly raised 718th Infantry Division, and this was followed by his promotion to Generalmajor in June 1941.

While Fortner was based in Sarajevo, he visited the Bosnian National Museum and demanded that the museum custodians hand over a 14th-century illuminated Jewish manuscript known as the Sarajevo Haggadah. The chief librarian of the museum, a Bosnian Muslim, told Fortner that the manuscript had already been handed over to another German officer. The librarian then smuggled the manuscript to a village in the mountains, where the local imam secreted it amongst the Korans in his library. The manuscript survived the war and was returned to the museum.

Between May 1941 and June 1942, Fortner's division was the only permanent German garrison in the Independent State of Croatia. While under Fortner's command, members of the division executed Jews and Romani in the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia.

In November 1942, Fortner was promoted to Generalleutnant. On 15 March 1943, Fortner was relieved and placed on the reserve list of generals. On 31 March 1944, he was retired from military duties. Fortner was extradited to Yugoslavia after the war ended, tried and found guilty of the murder of Yugoslav civilians during his command of the 718th Infantry Division. He was sentenced to death on 16 February 1947 and was hanged less than two weeks later.

Notes

References

1884 births
1947 deaths
Executed German mass murderers
Executed military leaders
Executed people from Rhineland-Palatinate
German Army personnel of World War I
German police officers convicted of murder
German prisoners of war in World War I
Holocaust perpetrators in Yugoslavia
Romani genocide perpetrators
Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht)
Military personnel of Bavaria
Nazis executed by Yugoslavia by hanging
People extradited from Germany
People extradited to Yugoslavia
People from Zweibrücken
Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class
World War I prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom

Johann Fortner


Alfred Herbert (1818-1861), was an English watercolour painter.

Herbert was born in Christchurch area of Southwark the son of a Thames waterman, who apprenticed him to a boatbuilder, but, yielding to a strong natural inclination, he became an artist. He began to exhibit with the Society of British Artists in 1844, and at the Royal Academy in 1847, his subjects being coast scenes, with fishing-boats and figures, and views in the lower reaches of the Thames. He sent an oil picture to Suffolk Street in 1855, and continued a regular contributor of water-colours at the Royal Academy until 1860. Though he was entirely self-taught, his works displayed remarkable vigour and genius, but they failed to meet with general appreciation, and he could only dispose of them to the dealers at extremely low prices. He died suddenly at the beginning of 1861, leaving a widow and seven children in distressed circumstances. The South Kensington Museum possesses two examples of his art.

References

1818 births
1861 deaths
English watercolourists
19th-century English painters
English male painters
19th-century English male artists

Alfred Herbert (painter)


Horse training describes what people do to get horses to do particular tasks. This includes training them to let people ride on their backs, or to pull carts and wagons. Horses have to be trained to accept a bridle or a saddle. Historically, horses were trained for transport, farm work, warfare and sport. In modern times, sport and recreation are the main reason horses are trained.

There is a lot of argument about horse training. Some ways are now thought to be cruel, and terms like horse breaking are also out of favour.

Training

Horse training