The term "minority group" has different usages, depending on the context. According to its common usage, the term minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half, is a "minority'. Usually a minority group is disempowered relative to the majority, and that characteristic lends itself to different applications of the term minority.

In terms of sociology, economics, and politics, a demographic that takes up the smallest fraction of the population is not necessarily labelled the "minority" if it wields dominant power. In the academic context, the terms "minority" and "majority" are used in terms of hierarchical power structures. For example, in South Africa, during Apartheid, white Europeans held virtually all social, economic, and political power over black Africans. For this reason, black Africans are the "minority group", despite the fact that they outnumber white Europeans in South Africa. This is why academics more frequently use the term "minority group" to refer to a category of people that experience relative disadvantage, as compared to members of a dominant social group. To address this ambiguity, Harris Mylonas has proposed the term "non-core group", instead of "minority group", to refer to any aggregation of individuals that is perceived as an unassimilated ethnic group (on a linguistic, religious, physical, or ideological basis) by the ruling political elite of a country" and reserves the term 'minority' only for groups that have been granted minority rights by their state of residence.

Minority group membership is typically based on differences in observable characteristics or practices, such as: ethnicity (ethnic minority), race (racial minority), religion (religious minority), sexual orientation (sexual minority), or disability. The framework of intersectionality can be used to recognize that an individual may simultaneously hold membership in multiple minority groups (e.g. both a racial and religious minority). Likewise, individuals may also be part of a minority group in regard to some characteristics, but part of a dominant group in regard to others.

The term "minority group" often occurs within the discourse of civil rights and collective rights, as members of minority groups are prone to differential treatment in the countries and societies in which they live. Minority group members often face discrimination in multiple areas of social life, including housing, employment, healthcare, and education, among others.  While discrimination may be committed by individuals, it may also occur through structural inequalities, in which rights and opportunities are not equally accessible to all. Those in favour of minority rights often pursue laws designed to protect minority groups from discrimination and afford members of the minority group equal social status and legal protections as held by members of the dominant group.

Definitions
Prior to the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), the term "minority" primarily referred to political parties in national legislatures, not ethnic, national, linguistic or religious groups. Such minority parties were powerless relative to the majority (or plurality) political group. The Paris Conference has been attributed with coining the concept of minority rights and bringing prominence to it. The League of Nations Minorities Commission defined minority in 1919 as "nationals belonging to racial, religious, or linguistic minorities". Protection of minority groups, such as through careful drawing of boundaries of states and proportional representation, was seen as integral in preventing causes of future wars.

Sociological
Louis Wirth defined a minority group as "a group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination". The definition includes both objective and subjective criteria: membership of a minority group is objectively ascribed by society, based on an individual's physical or behavioral characteristics; it is also subjectively applied by its members, who may use their status as the basis of group identity or solidarity. Thus, minority group status is categorical: an individual who exhibits the physical or behavioral characteristics of a given minority group is accorded the status of that group and is subject to the same treatment as other members of that group.

Joe Feagin, states that a minority group has five characteristics: (1) suffering discrimination and subordination, (2) physical and/or cultural traits that set them apart, and which are disapproved by the dominant group, (3) a shared sense of collective identity and common burdens, (4) socially shared rules about who belongs and who does not determine minority status, and (5) tendency to marry within the group.

Criticisms
There is a controversy with the use of the word minority, as it has a generic and an academic usage. Common usage of the term indicates a statistical minority; however, academics refer to power differences among groups rather than differences in population size among groups.

The above criticism is based on the idea that a group can be considered a minority even if it includes such a large number of people that it is numerically not a minority in society.

Some sociologists have criticized the concept of "minority/majority", arguing this language excludes or neglects changing or unstable cultural identities, as well as cultural affiliations across national boundaries. As such, the term historically excluded groups (HEGs) is often similarly used to highlight the role of historical oppression and domination, and how this results in the under-representation of particular groups in various areas of social life.

Political
The term national minority is often used to discuss minority groups in international and national politics. All countries contain some degree of racial, ethnic, or linguistic diversity. In addition, minorities may also be immigrant, indigenous or landless nomadic communities. This often results in variations in language, culture, beliefs, practices, that set some groups apart from the dominant group. As these differences are usually perceived negatively, this results in loss of social and political power for members of minority groups.

There is no legal definition of national minorities in international law, though protection of minority groups is outlined by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. International criminal law can protect the rights of racial or ethnic minorities in several ways. The right to self-determination is a key issue. The Council of Europe regulates minority rights in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

In some places, subordinate ethnic groups may constitute a numerical majority, such as Blacks in South Africa under apartheid. In the United States, for example, non-Hispanic Whites constitute the majority (63.4%) and all other racial and ethnic groups (Mexican, African Americans, Asian Americans, American Indian, and Native Hawaiians) are classified as "minorities". If the non-Hispanic White population falls below 50% the group will only be the plurality, not the majority.

Examples of minority groups

Racial and ethnic minorities
Racial minorities, sometimes referred to synonymously as people of color or non-white people, are minority groups that are discriminated against on the basis of race. Though definitions vary cross-culturally, modern racism is primarily based on the European and American classifications of race that developed during the Age of Exploration, as European countries sought to categorize the nations they colonized into pseudo-scientific phenotypical groups. In the United States's system, whiteness is at the top of a hierarchy that automatically classifies mixed-race individuals as their subordinate race.

Sometimes, racist policies explicitly codified pseudo-scientific definitions of race: such as the United States' one-drop rule and blood quantum laws, South Africa's apartheid, and Nazi Germany Nuremberg race laws. Other times, race has been a matter of self-identification, with de facto racist policies implemented. In addition to governmental policy, racism may persist as social prejudice and discrimination.

There are also social groups that are usually identified through ethnicity. Like race, ethnicity is largely determined hereditarily. However, it can also be influenced by factors such as adoption, cultural assimilation, religious conversion, and language shift. As race and ethnicity often overlap, many ethnic minorities are also racial minorities. However, this is not always the case, and some people are ethnic minorities while also being classified as white, such as some Jews, Roma, and Sámi. In some cases, their ethnic identities have been seen as negating their whiteness, in both inter- and intra-group identification.

In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, there is a preference to categorise people by ethnicity instead of race. Ethnicity encompasses a mix of "long shared cultural experiences, religious practices, traditions, ancestry, language, dialect or national origins". The United Kingdom considers everyone but white British people to be an ethnic minority, including other white Europeans such as White Irish people (excluding in Northern Ireland).

National minorities
A national minority is a social group within a state that differs from the majority and/or dominant population in terms of ethnicity, language, culture, or religion, but also it also tends to have a close link with a specific territory from which the minority social group originates.

Involuntary minorities
Also known as "castelike minorities", involuntary minorities are a term for people who were originally brought into any society against their will. In the United States, for instance, it includes but is not limited to Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Puerto Ricans, African Americans, and in the 1800s, native-born Hispanics.

Voluntary minorities
Immigrants take on minority status in their new country, usually in hopes of a better future economically, educationally, and politically than in their homeland. Because of their focus on success, voluntary minorities are more likely to do better in school than other migrating minorities. Adapting to a very different culture and language makes difficulties in the early stages of life in the new country. Voluntary immigrants do not experience a sense of divided identity as much as involuntary minorities and are often rich in social capital because of their educational ambitions. Major immigrant groups in the United States include Mexicans, Central and South Americans, Cubans, Africans, East Asians, and South Asians.

Gender and sexuality minorities

The term sexual minority is frequently used by public health researchers to recognize a wide variety of individuals who engage in same-sex sexual behavior, including those who do not identify under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. For example, men who have sex with men (MSM), but do not identify as gay. In addition, the term gender minorities can include many types of gender variant people, such as intersex people, transgender people, or non-binary individuals. However, the terms sexual and gender minority are often not preferred by LGBTQ+ people, as they represent clinical categories rather than individual identity.

Though lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people have existed throughout human history, they represent a numerical and social minority. They experience numerous social inequalities stemming from their group membership as LGBTQ+ people. LGBTQ+ rights movements across many western countries led to the recognition of LGBTQ+ people as members of a minority group. These inequalities include social discrimination and isolation, unequal access to healthcare, employment, and housing, and experience negative mental and physical health outcomes due to these experiences.

Disabled people

Leading up to the Human Rights Act 1998 in the UK, a rise in the awareness relating to how disabled people were being treated began. Many started to believe that they were being denied basic human rights. This act had a section that stated if authorities did not protect people with learning disabilities from others' actions, such as harm or neglect, then they could be prosecuted.

The disability rights movement has contributed to an understanding of disabled people as a minority or a coalition of minorities who are disadvantaged by society, not just as people who are disadvantaged by their impairments. Advocates of disability rights emphasize the difference in physical or psychological functioning rather than inferiority. For example, some autistic people argue for acceptance of neurodiversity, much as opponents of racism argue for acceptance of ethnic diversity. The deaf community is often regarded as a linguistic and cultural minority rather than a group with disabilities, and some deaf people do not see themselves as having a disability at all. Rather, they are disadvantaged by technologies and social institutions designed to cater to the dominant group. (See the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.)

Religious minorities

People belonging to religious minorities have a faith that is different from that held by the majority. Most countries of the world have religious minorities. It is now widely accepted in the West that people should have the freedom to choose their religion, including the right to convert from one religion to another, or not to have any religion (atheism and/or agnosticism). However, in many countries, this freedom is constricted. In Egypt, a new system of identity cards requires all citizens to state their religion—and the only choices are Islam, Christianity, or Judaism (See Egyptian identification card controversy). Another example is the case of decreasing population of minorities in Pakistan, where they are being forcefully converted or killed.

Women as a disadvantaged group
In most societies, numbers of men and women are roughly equal. Though women are not considered to be a minority, the status of women, as a subordinate group, has led to many social scientists to study them as a disadvantaged group. Though women's legal rights and status vary widely across countries, women can experience social inequalities, relative to men, in various societies. Women are sometimes denied access to education and access to the same opportunities as men.

Law and government
In the politics of some countries, a "minority" is an ethnic group recognized by law, and having specified rights. Speakers of a legally recognized minority language, for instance, might have the right to education or communication with the government in their mother tongue. Countries with special provisions for minorities include Canada, China, Ethiopia, Germany, India, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Croatia, and the United Kingdom.

The various minority groups in a country are often not given equal treatment. Some groups are too small or indistinct to obtain minority protections. For example, a member of a particularly small ethnic group might be forced to check "Other" on a checklist of different backgrounds and so might receive fewer privileges than a member of a more defined group.

Many contemporary governments prefer to assume the people they rule all belong to the same nationality rather than separate ones based on ethnicity. The United States asks for race and ethnicity on its official census forms, which thus breaks up and organizes its population into sub-groups, primarily racial rather than national. Spain does not divide its nationals by ethnic group or national minorities, although it does maintain an official notion of minority languages, that is one of the criteria for to determine a national minority, upon the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

Some especially significant or powerful minorities receive comprehensive protection and political representation. For example, the former Yugoslav Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina recognizes the three constitutive nations, none of which constitutes a numerical majority (see nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina). However, other minorities such as Roma and Jews, are officially labelled "foreign" and are excluded from many of these protections. For example, they may be excluded from political positions, including the presidency.

There is debate over recognizing minority groups and their privileges. One view is that the application of special rights to minority groups may harm some countries, such as new states in Africa or Latin America not founded on the European nation-state model, since minority recognition may interfere with establishing a national identity. It may hamper the integration of the minority into mainstream society, perhaps leading to separatism or supremacism. In Canada, some feel that the failure of the dominant English-speaking majority to integrate French Canadians has provoked Quebec separatism.

Others assert that minorities require specific protections to ensure that they are not marginalized: for example, bilingual education may be needed to allow linguistic minorities to fully integrate into the school system and compete equally in society. In this view, rights for minorities strengthen the nation-building project, as members of minorities see their interests well served, and willingly accept the legitimacy of the nation and their integration (not assimilation) within it.

See also

 Dominant minority
 Ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland
 Ethnic penalty
 Intangible cultural heritage
 Interminority racism
 List of active NGOs of national minorities
 List of minority political parties
 Middleman minority
 Minority influence
 Minority language
 Minority (philosophy)
 Minority religion
 Minority Rights Group International
 Model minority
 Racial Minorities in STEM Fields
 Serge Moscovici
 Social exclusion
 Social stratification
 Social vulnerability
 Tokenism

References

External links
Union of Minority Shareholders
ECMI – European Centre for Minority Issues
Minority language tool
What is a Minority Group? definitions from Dayton Law School.
From Paris to Cairo: Resistance of the Unacculturated
Minorities at Risk project at the University of Maryland
MINELRES – Minority Electronic Resources
European Academy Bozen/Bolzano (EURAC)
Eurominority – Stateless and national minorities portal
State of the World's Minorities, an annual report by Minority Rights Group International
American Psychological Association's Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs
The Protection of Minorities in Europe – Minorities ABC

Voting theory

Human rights
Disability rights
Women's rights
Linguistic rights
Youth rights
Majority–minority relations

Minority group


A long history of Vietnamese armour (, ) making exists that spanned more than two millennia. However, due to the lack of records and budget for archaeological studies, the evidence has been scarce.

Pre-history to 2nd-century

Complete absence of native history records and lack of details in Chinese records of the same eras have made tracking the development of armour in Bronze Age and Iron Age Vietnam very difficult. Instead, physical evidence has been the only source for studying of ancient Vietnamese armour.

The most common type of armour found in Northern Vietnam is mirror armour, which practically is a square or rectangular metal or wooden plate fastened to the warrior's chest. This type of armour could provide minimal protection against slashing and glancing blows. For limbs protection, there are bronze vambraces and greaves, sometimes shaped like multiple rings coiled around the wearer's forearms and legs although they were cast as single pieces. Most vambraces and greaves have small tintinnabulums attached to them. This is a feature seen also in later eras' armours.

Less common is lamellar armour, consists of small metal scales fastened together to provide protection and flexibility at the same time. Full set of lamellar armour has not yet been found but individual scales were discovered in sizable quantity. Each scale has only 2 holes for a piece of string to go through, suggesting that the method of construction may have been different from Chinese and Korean counterparts. It is not yet understood whether lamellar and mirror armours were used in conjunction or worn separately.

3rd to 19th-century

Contrary to antiquity era, physical evidence of Middle Age and Pre-modern Vietnamese armours found by far is extremely rare. The knowledge of their existence is acquired almost solely through depictions in historical texts and arts. History of Song informs that in 981, the Song was victorious over Annam and took ten thousands suits of armour as spoil.

Armour were fabricated from various types of material. Better known materials are iron and leather. Warlord Nguyễn Nộn wore a suit of iron which failed to protect him from a pike thrust in his back. The Compilation of Lê Dynasty's customs noted that each magistrate of each county or market was require to collect 100 buffalo hides and 2 horns each hide to fashion armours and weapons.

Gallery

See also
Lamellar armour
Mirror armour
Military history of Vietnam

References

Asian armour
Military history of Vietnam
Military equipment of Vietnam

Vietnamese armour


Estimates of total oil reserves in Cuba are varied, and depend mainly on estimations of undiscovered offshore deposits in the North Cuba Basin. Proved crude oil reserves were 124 million barrels as of 2013.

Cuba has three producing offshore oil fields within 5 km of its north coast.

A 2004 partnership between Spanish oil company Repsol-YPF and Cuba's state oil company Cupet estimated Cuba's off-shore reserves to be able to ultimately produce between 4.6 and 9.3
billion barrels of crude oil. Also in 2004, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that the North Cuba Basin had a 95% probability of having at least 1.1 billion barrels, and a 5% chance of having 9.4 billion barrels; the most likely volume was 4.6 billion barrels of undiscovered oil.

In October 2008, the Cuban government announced that its likely oil reserves were more than double that which was previously believed, and its total reserves were probably 20 billion barrels, mostly in the offshore. If the estimates are accurate, then Cuba would have one of the top 20 reserves in the world.

By 2010 an active leasing program for blocks of the ocean floor north and west of Cuba was underway. No U.S. companies participated due to the United States embargo against Cuba. Private companies and state-owned firms, from Brazil, India, Norway, Russia, Spain, Venezuela, Vietnam took leases. Despite the areas leased being close to tourist areas in Florida and Cuba, Cuba does not have the equipment or expertise to handle a major oil spill.

Petroleum exploration
In 2012, three deepwater (more than 300 meters of water) exploration wells were drilled by the Italian platform Scarabeo 9 (owned by Saipem, for different oil companies : one for Repsol was finished in May, one for Petronas and Gazpromneft, finished in August, and finally one for PdVSA, finished in late October. None of the three found commercial quantity of oil or gas, which jeopardized Cuba's hope to find hydrocarbons to boost its economy, and prompted Repsol to relinquish its concessions in this country  The planned departure of the only deep-water drilling rig available in the fall of 2012 set the detailed exploration program necessary back for a period of years. There remain unexplored deep-water leases held by Vietnamese and Angolan firms and drilling was planned on a shallow-water prospect east of Havana by Zarubezhneft, a Russian company, using a Norwegian rig.

References

External links

U.S. Presence in Cuba Oil? by Jorge Pinon, Latin Business Chronicle, May 4, 2009
Map Showing the Planned Off Shore Drilling Site
"Drilling Plans Off Cuba Stir Fears of Impact on Gulf" by The New York Times

Petroleum in Cuba
Cuba
Geology of Cuba

Oil reserves in Cuba


Kelly Nestor (born 22 August 1968) is an Australian television news presenter and is working for The Advertiser.

Biography
Nestor was born and raised in Broken Hill, New South Wales, but made her name as a news presenter in Adelaide.

Nestor studied for a Bachelor of Arts (Journalism) from 1987 to 1989 at the South Australian College of Advanced Education's Magill Campus, now part of the University of South Australia in Adelaide. Nestor began work as a reporter at Central TV Network (GTS BKN) in Port Pirie in 1989.

Nestor moved to the ABC in Adelaide and worked as a journalist and presenter for South Australia's ABC News as well as the presenter of Stateline for almost three years. She also worked as a reporter, producer and presenter for the Adelaide, Perth and Darwin editions of The 7:30 Report at the ABC, as well as later working on the national version in Sydney.

Nestor became the weekday presenter of ABC News in Adelaide and later moved to Melbourne to present Ten News at Five Adelaide, which was produced in Melbourne at the time. Following a number of years as presenter of Ten News at Five, Nestor left to Network Ten move to Sydney where she became a part-time presenter with Sky News Australia.

On 19 September 2007, following the death of Kevin Crease in April that year, it was announced that Nestor would return to Adelaide to present Nine News.
Nestor began as presenter of Nine News on 8 October 2007, working alongside Rob Kelvin. In February 2008, Nestor started casual radio work presenting the afternoon programme on Adelaide talk radio station (5AA) FIVEaa.

On 26 November 2009, one day after the axing of the local A Current Affair was announced, Nestor announced live on air that her contract with NWS9 was not going to be renewed next year and she would finish on 18 December 2009.

In 2017, in the wake of the 2015-16 Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission and subsequent Citizens' Jury, Nestor wrote an opinion piece for The Advertiser urging South Australian opposition leader Steven Marshall to reconsider his party's opposition to considering the future importation and storage of international nuclear waste in South Australia. She claimed that she was neither for nor against the proposal but wanted to be informed.

References

External links
Nine News
Network Ten
Sky News Australia
hottestontv.com Profile

ABC News (Australia) presenters
Nine News presenters
10 News First presenters
Australian television journalists
Mass media people from Adelaide
People from Broken Hill, New South Wales
1968 births
Living people
University of South Australia alumni
Journalists from South Australia

Kelly Nestor


"Captain" Eamonn Cooke (died 4 June 2016) was a former owner of pirate radio station Radio Dublin. He was a convicted paedophile, and a suspect in the disappearance of Philip Cairns. He assumed ownership of the station in 1977.

Pirate radio
As owner of Radio Dublin he went by the name "Captain Cooke". Having first got involved with Radio Dublin in 1973 as an engineer, he assumed ownership of the station in 1977 (which had been operating for over a decade prior under various other owners)  and established  the operation as a limited company (based in Cardiff)  he continued to operate the station until some months before its closure in 2003. Despite numerous (but highly intermittent) raids by the authorities on the station in which large amounts of equipment were seized he was only successfully prosecuted for broadcasting offences on one occasion  for which he received an IR£35 fine.

Trials

1952
An unnamed teenager (probably Cooke) was sentenced to 12 months probation after a bomb attack on a Monument in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.

1957
Cooke is sentenced to 5 years penal servitude after he pleaded guilty to shooting at four gardaí during an attempted robbery at a petrol station near Bray.

1978
In March Cooke is convicted in the District Court of a breach of the 1926 Wireless Telegraphy Act following raids on the station January and February of the same year

1986
Cooke (along with four accomplices) is convicted of assault and arson in relation to a 1984 firebombing incident and received a four-year suspended sentence

2001
Cooke was jailed for six months for dangerous driving and 21 days for contempt of court in relation to a car chase in the Dublin mountains.

2003
His first trial in relation to sex offences was in 2003, where he was convicted of the attempted rape and indecent assault of four girls. This conviction was quashed due to a technicality and he was released in 2006.

2007
He was put on trial again in 2007, where two complainants from the previous trial were witnesses. He had threatened and bribed his victims, who nicknamed him "The Cookie Monster". Cooke pleaded not guilty to all 42 charges, which covered dates from the mid to late 1970s. Garda Inspector Gerard Kelly testified that Cooke had eight previous convictions, including one for an arson attack on the home of one of the complainants from the 2003 trial. He was found guilty and sentenced to ten years imprisonment, with prison authorities to take into account 1,300 days he had served due to a previous conviction.

In 2015 he applied for an appeal for his conviction on a point of law but it was denied.

Death
He died in June 2016. He was granted temporary release from Arbour Hill Prison and had stayed in a hospice due to deteriorating health.

Alleged connection to Philip Cairns disappearance
In May 2016 a woman contacted Gardaí about the disappearance of Philip Cairns which they believed to be credible. According to her Cooke may have killed Philip Cairns at the studios of his pirate radio station in October 1986. Cooke was questioned by Gardaí and it was reported that he had confirmed some of the claims, but did not disclose the location of Philip's remains. It later emerged that at the time of questioning Cooke had dementia.

In August 2016 it was announced that DNA samples taken from Philips' schoolbag did not match Cooke, but he had not been ruled out as a suspect. Gardaí also sought to identify two people who may have left Philips' schoolbag in the laneway.

References

External links
1978 Magill article

1936 births
2016 deaths
20th-century criminals
21st-century criminals
Irish DJs
Irish people convicted of child sexual abuse
Irish people who died in prison custody
People convicted of arson
Irish people convicted of assault
People convicted of attempted rape
Irish people convicted of indecent assault
Prisoners and detainees of the Republic of Ireland
Pirate radio personalities
Electronic dance music DJs
20th-century Irish businesspeople

Eamonn Cooke


Paul Robert John Bryson (born 6 July 1968) is a former English cricketer.  Bryson was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm off break.  He was born in Liverpool, Lancashire.

Bryson made his debut for Cheshire in the 1994 Minor Counties Championship against Dorset.  Bryson played Minor counties cricket for Cheshire from 1994 to 2001, including 51 Minor Counties Championship matches and 24 MCCA Knockout Trophy matches.  In 1995, he made his List A debut against Essex in the NatWest Trophy.  He played eight further List A matches for Cheshire, the last coming against Lincolnshire in the 2nd round of the 2003 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy which was held in 2002.  In his nine List A matches, he scored 138 runs at a batting average of 17.25, with a single half century high score of 59 coming against Lincolnshire in 2002, with his steady half century coming from 84 balls before he was dismissed by Martyn Dobson.

He played Second XI cricket for the Lancashire Second XI in 1995.

References

External links
Paul Bryson at ESPNcricinfo
Paul Bryson at CricketArchive

1968 births
Living people
Cricketers from Liverpool
English cricketers
Cheshire cricketers

Paul Bryson


Shluhot (, lit. Branches) is an Orthodox kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley in northern Israel. Located about three kilometres south of the city of Beit She'an, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council. In  it had a population of .

History
Shluhot was founded in 1948 by former members of the Bnei Akiva Zionist youth movement on the land that had belonged to the depopulated Palestinian village of al-Ashrafiyya. Initially, a temporary joint camp was set up with a group from the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement. Shortly thereafter, when each group received land to build separate kibbutzim, the secular members of the group formed the adjacent kibbutz of Reshafim. The kibbutz is one of four religious kibbutzim that are located in a cluster south of Beit She'an stretching from Shluhot at the base of Mount Gilboa through Ein HaNatziv and Sde Eliyahu until Tirat Zvi adjacent to the Jordan River.

Today, the kibbutz population numbers about 120 families, including 350 people.

Since 2007 it is used for the special needs school Kulanu Academy for trips usually run by Dvora Liss, Kenny Goldman, and Evan Wollis and a coteacher that is changed every year. They go learn skills for adulthood as well as tour Israel.

Economy

In the early years of the kibbutz, virtually all activity was centred on the various agricultural branches. In the last few decades though, talented kibbutz members have initiated new endeavours in order to vary revenue sources, as well as providing different employment options. Today the kibbutz employs mainly kibbutz members and kibbutz youth (after school and during the summer), residents who are not members, residents of Beit Shean and surrounding areas, and temporary volunteers. The kibbutz revenues come from agriculture, light manufacturing, and tourism.

The majority of Shluhot's revenues come from various agricultural branches, produce and livestock, due to the expertise of kibbutz members and continuing improvement in efficiency and productivity. The dairy farm, poultry (turkey and chicken coops), date farming, fish farming, orchards, and vegetable farming are still an important part of the kibbutz revenues and kibbutz employment opportunities. Shluhot also has a new carrot processing factory and enjoys a significant minority market share in the local carrot market. In 2007, a cow from the dairy farm broke the Israeli record for most births, 14.

The kibbutz has a number of factories; one of the oldest is Microvue which produces microfilm readers/scanners, mostly for export. Microvue is one of the few microfilm reader manufacturers left in the world. Sheletron, founded in 1996, produces electronic display solutions through text, pictures, video, and animation on LCD screens. Remote control of the displays is possible through unique software developed in the company development centre.

In the early nineties, the kibbutz renovated a small former residential apartment building and turned it into a bed and breakfast, mainly geared for the Orthodox Jewish market. The kibbutz has since added a wider variety of rooming accommodations, now ranging from single rooms to multiple-room housing units. In the year 1996, several former immigrants (olim) from North America founded a summer camp called Kayitz Bakibbutz, (in Hebrew "Summer on the kibbutz"), based on the typical 'American' sleepaway summer camp experience geared toward youth, something virtually unheard of in Israel at that time. The camp provides multiple week sessions based on overnight rooming, and including sports, swimming, arts and crafts and various other activities.

The kibbutz also has a metalwork shop, which designs and produces a variety of machines mainly for agricultural use.

References

External links
Official website
Kayitz Bakibbutz Summer Camp
 Sheletron
Microvue

Kibbutzim
Religious Kibbutz Movement
Populated places established in 1948
Populated places in Northern District (Israel)
1948 establishments in Israel

Shluhot


Nightcrawler is a Marvel Comics superhero and mutant created by Len Wein in 1975. He can teleport through fog.

Fictional biography
Kurt Wagner was a circus performer known as Nightcrawler until he became an X-Man.

Portrayals
Nightcrawler has been played by Alan Cumming and Kodi-Smitt McPhee in the movie series.

Fictional characters introduced in the 1970s
X-Men characters

Nightcrawler (comics)


Lourens Jacobus Erasmus (born 14 June 1993) is a South African professional rugby union player for the in Super Rugby and NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes in the Japanese Top League. His regular position is lock.

Career

Erasmus attended Hoërskool Garsfontein in Pretoria between 2007 and 2011, but never represented the  at any high school rugby tournaments. After matriculating in 2011, he made the move to Johannesburg to join the  academy prior to the 2012 season. He started in twelve of the  side's matches during the 2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship, scoring two tries in an 83–3 victory over  in their final match of the regular season as the Golden Lions finished in fourth position on the log to qualify for the semi-finals. One of his starts came in the semi-final against , but he could not prevent the side from Cape Town winning the match 24–14.

He moved up to Under-21 level in 2013 and played in seven matches for the . He once again finished the regular season by scoring two tries in a match, this time in a 76–7 victory over the s, and once again suffered a semi-final defeat at the hands of Western Province, who beat the Golden Lions U21s 44–41 after extra time.

In 2014, Erasmus was included in the  squad for the 2014 Vodacom Cup competition. He made his first class debut by coming on as a late replacement in a match against near-neighbours the  in a 23–22 victory. After another appearance off the bench against the , Eramus scored his first senior try in a 40–37 victory over the  in Johannesburg. He made his first start in their Round Six match against the  in Polokwane and scored one of the Golden Lions' sixteen tries in a 110–0 victory. The Golden Lions finished in fourth spot on the Northern Section log to secure a place in the quarter finals, where they met a  that topped the Southern Section. Erasmus played off the bench in a 27–20 victory in the match in Durban and also in their 16–15 victory over trans-Jukskei rivals the . He started the final against the  in Kimberley in an unfamiliar Eighth man role and could not prevent his side losing the match 6–30 to finish the competition as runners-up. He was named in the  squad for the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship, but failed to make any appearances in the competition.

He returned to action for the Golden Lions in the 2015 Vodacom Cup. He made three appearances as a replacement during the regular season of the competition and started their 29–21 quarter final victory over the . He didn't feature in the semi-final, which saw eventual champions the  win the match 43–20. Erasmus was included in the Golden Lions' Currie Cup side for the first time in 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division and was named on the bench for their Round Five match against the  in Johannesburg.

In the Golden Lions' opening match of the 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division against the , Erasmus scored a try after just 8.5 seconds, the fastest try in the history of the competition.

Statistics

References

1993 births
Living people
Golden Lions players
Lions (United Rugby Championship) players
NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Osaka players
Rugby union locks
Rugby union number eights
Rugby union players from Pretoria
South African rugby union players
Urayasu D-Rocks players

Lourens Erasmus


Athanasius V Gabriel Matar was Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church for a few months in 1813.

Life
Gabriel Matar was born in Damascus. He was the brother of patriarch Agapius II Matar and, as his brother, he too entered in the religious order of the Basilian Salvatorians. Gabriel Matar studied in Rome for a short period and was ordained priest in 1782. In 1798 he was consecrated bishop of Hauran by his brother patriarch Agapius II Matar, and in 1800 he was transferred to the diocese of Saida.

On 14 August 1813 Gabriel Matar was elected patriarch, under the name Athanasius, by a synod of bishops held at Ain Traz Seminary. His election had no time to be confirmed by the Roman Congregation of Propaganda Fide because he died on 20 November 1813.

Notes

Syrian Melkite Greek Catholics
Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchs of Antioch
1813 deaths
Eastern Catholic monks
Year of birth unknown
Religious leaders from Damascus

Athanasius V Matar


Miriam Yalan-Shteklis (also Miriam Yalan-Stekelis) () (21 September 1900 – 9 May 1984) was an Israeli writer and poet famous for her children's books. Her surname, Yalan, was an acronym based on her father's name, Yehuda Leib Nissan.

Biography
Miriam Wilensky (later Yalan-Shteklis) was born in the town of Potoki, near Kremenchuk in the Russian Empire (modern Ukraine). She was the daughter of Hoda (Hadassah) and Yehuda Leib Nissan Vilensky, a Zionist leader descended from a long line of rabbis, and learned Hebrew as a child.

After the failed Russian Revolution of 1905, the family moved from place to place: Berlin, Minsk, Petrograd and finally Kharkiv. In 1912, when she was 12, her brother Mulya (Shmuel) was sent to Ottoman Palestine to study at the Herzliya Hebrew High School.  Yalan-Shteklis attended high school in Minsk and Petrograd, and studied psychology and social sciences at the University of Kharkiv. She also pursued Judaic studies at  the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums in  Berlin.

In 1920, she immigrated to Mandatory Palestine and settled in the Rehavia neighborhood in Jerusalem. In 1928, she went to Paris to study library science. From 1929, she joined the staff of the Jewish National University Library at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She headed the Slavic department for 30 years. In 1929, she married Moshe Stekelis, a professor of archaeology. She died in Haifa on May 9, 1984, at the age of 83.

Literary career
Yalan-Shteklis published her first poem in Hebrew in 1922. In 1933, she turned to writing poems and stories for children, and published her work in the children's weekly Davar Leyeladim. The pain of losing her mother at the age of 16 permeates many of her poems.

She had no children of her own, but displayed an unusual gift for writing for the young and became Israel's leading children's poet. She used to say that "poems emanate from the suffering soul and like children, they are born in suffering." She challenged one of the central conventions of modern children's literature — the "happy ending". She portrayed happy children at play, but also their anger and pain, often pointing an accusing finger at adults. An example is her famous poem Levadi (All alone), written in 1957.

In addition to poetry, Yalan-Shtelis translated children's literature into Hebrew from Russian, English, German and Dutch, as well as works by Samuel Marshak, Erich Kastner, Leo Tolstoy, P. L. Travers, and others.

Literary themes and style
Yalan-Shteklis' work is permeated with positive educational values but avoids the trap of didactic preaching. Incorporating nationalist Zionist ideology, but also the traditions of Russian and European literature, her work is nevertheless original and Israeli.

The poetry, fiction, and translations of Yalan-Stekelis were collected in three volumes published  between 1957 and 1963, with illustrations by Zila Binder: Shir ha-Gedi (Song of the kid); Yesh Li Sod (I have a secret); and Ba-Halomi (In my dream). The works were organized by age level, with a separate volume for each level. In 1986, this collection was reprinted in a single-volume special edition. The first volume contains songs and stories for preschoolers and non-readers. It includes play-songs (an innovation in Hebrew children's poetry), rhymes for finger-play, lullabies, nature poems, poems aimed at the inculcation of good habits, and poems just for amusement and expressing emotions. The second volume, for children with reading skills, offers longer stories that probe the relationships between children and parents, and between children and their peer group. The third volume, for older children, contains Zionist poems about the Land of Israel, bereavement and losing parents in the Holocaust. Alongside poems filled with hope for peace and redemption are lyrical-confessional poems about the fears and emotions of a child trying to come to terms with his/her identity and living in society.

Awards
In 1956, Yalan-Shteklis was awarded the Israel Prize for Children's Literature. It was the first time this category was included. In their decision, the judges wrote: "…Whatever she wrote, she wrote for children, and whatever she wrote bore no hint of deliberate infantilization but rather of true childhood, genuine and realistic, that embraces joy and innocence but also sorrow and tears, life's wisdom and life's evils, disappointment and consolation. She flavored her poems for children with all the key ingredients that mark good children's poetry. Her work possesses a wonderful sense of the world of children. Language that draws upon sources both ancient and modern, admirable poetic skills and perfect musicality are a rare phenomenon in any nation and language, and not every literature is so blessed" (Editorial, Davar li-Yeladim).
In 1968, she was made an Honorary citizen of Jerusalem and granted the Yakir Yerushalaim award.

Musical collaboration
Many of her poems were set to music and have become Israeli children's classics. In 1975 Israeli singers Shmulik Kraus and Josie Katz put out an album of songs based on her poems.

Published work

 Hurry, Hurry Dwarfs!, 1939 [Atzu Ratzu Gamadim]
 Danny, 1943 [Danny]
 Rain, 1944 [Geshem]
 Tol-Tol and His Sand, 1944 [Tol-Tol Ba'al Ha-Hol]
 The Journey to the Maybe Island, 1944 [Ha-Masah La Ee Ulai]
 The Girl Millik and Aunt Phillik, 1945 [Ma'ase Ba-Yaldah Millik U Ba-Doda Phillik]
 Once There Was a Girl, 1946 [Ma'aseh Be-Yaldah]
 How Songs Come to the Heart, 1947 [Eich Ba'im Shirim Le-Lev Ha-Adam]
 The Story of a Curtain, Paris, 1952 [Ma'aseh Be-Parochet]
 Bimmi, 1953 [Bimmi]
 Birthday, Dvir, 1962 [Yom Huledet]
 Wheels, Hadar 1957 [Galgalim]
 Kid's Song, Dvir, 1958–63 [Shir Ha-Gdi]
 I Have a Secret, Dvir, 1958–63 [Yesh Li Sod]
 In My Dream, Dvir, 1958–63 [Be-Halomi]
 Lie?, Ekked, 1966 [Sheker?]
 Two Legends, Dvir, 1972 [Shtei Agadot]
 Brave Danny and Other Poems, 1975 [Danny Gibor Ve-Shirim Aherim]
 A Paper Bridge, 1978 [Gesher Shel Niyar]
 Life and Words, Kiryat Sefer, 1978 [Hayim Ve-Milim]
 The Soap Cried Loudly, [Hasabon Bakha Me'od]

Translated
 Selected Poems
French: Jerusalem, Departament de la Jeunesse du Keren Hayesod, 1946
Russian: Tel Aviv, Am Oved, 1966

 A Paper Bridge
Spanish: Jerusalem, Miriam Yalan-Shteklis & Esther Solay-Levy, 1978

 The Journey to the Maybe Island
Arabic: Jerusalem, Al-Sharq, 1972

See also

List of Israel Prize recipients
Women in Israel
Israeli literature

References

1900 births
1984 deaths
People from Kremenchuk
Ukrainian Jews
Jews from Mandatory Palestine
20th-century Israeli Jews
Hebrew-language poets
Israeli children's writers
Israel Prize in children's literature recipients
Israel Prize women recipients
Israeli women poets
Israeli women children's writers
20th-century Israeli women writers
20th-century Israeli writers
20th-century Israeli poets
Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums alumni
Jewish women writers
Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Librarians at the National Library of Israel

Miriam Yalan-Shteklis


In organic chemistry, the Schmidt reaction is an organic reaction in which an azide reacts with a carbonyl derivative, usually an aldehyde, ketone, or carboxylic acid, under acidic conditions to give an amine or amide, with expulsion of nitrogen. It is named after Karl Friedrich Schmidt (1887–1971), who first reported it in 1924 by successfully converting benzophenone and hydrazoic acid to benzanilide. The intramolecular reaction was not reported until 1991 but has become important in the synthesis of natural products.
The reaction is effective with carboxylic acids to give amines (above), and with ketones to give amides (below).

Reaction mechanism
The reaction is closely related to the Curtius rearrangement except that in this reaction the acyl azide is produced by reaction of the carboxylic acid with hydrazoic acid via the protonated carboxylic acid, in a process akin to a Fischer esterification.  An alternative, involving the formation of an acylium ion, becomes more important when the reaction takes place in concentrated acid (>90% sulfuric acid).  (In the Curtius rearrangement, sodium azide and an acyl chloride are combined to quantitatively generate the acyl azide intermediate, and the rest of the reaction takes place under neutral conditions.)

The carboxylic acid Schmidt reaction starts with acylium ion 1 obtained from protonation and loss of water. Reaction with hydrazoic acid forms the protonated azido ketone 2, which goes through a rearrangement reaction with the alkyl group R, migrating over the C-N bond with expulsion of nitrogen. The protonated isocyanate is attacked by water forming carbamate 4, which after deprotonation loses carbon dioxide to the amine.

In the reaction mechanism for the Schmidt reaction of ketones, the carbonyl group is activated by protonation for nucleophilic addition by the azide, forming azidohydrin 3, which loses water in an elimination reaction to diazoiminium 5.  One of the alkyl or aryl groups migrates from carbon to nitrogen with loss of nitrogen to give a nitrilium intermediate 6, as in the Beckmann rearrangement. Attack by water converts 6 to protonated imidic acid 7, which undergoes loss of proton to arrive at the imidic acid tautomer of the final amide.  In an alternative mechanism, the migration occurs at 9, directly after protonation of intermediate 3, in a manner similar to the Baeyer-Villiger reaction to give protonated amide 10.  Loss of a proton again furnishes the amide.  It has been proposed that the dehydration to 3 to give 5 (and, hence, the Beckmann pathway) is favored by nonaqueous acids like conc. H2SO4, while aqueous acids like conc. HCl favor migration from 9 (the Baeyer-Villiger pathway).  These possibilities have been used to account for the fact that, for certain substrates like α-tetralone, the group that migrates can sometimes change, depending on the conditions used, to deliver either of the two possible amides.

Reactions involving alkyl azides
The scope of this reaction has been extended to reactions of carbonyls with alkyl azides R-N3. This extension was first reported by J.H. Boyer in 1955  (hence the name Boyer reaction), for example, the reaction of m-nitrobenzaldehyde with β-azido-ethanol:

Variations involving intramolecular Schmidt reactions have been known since 1991. These are annulation reactions and have some utility in the synthesis of natural products; such as lactams and alkaloids.

See also
Curtius rearrangement
Hofmann rearrangement
Lossen rearrangement

References

Rearrangement reactions
Name reactions
Amide synthesis reactions

Schmidt reaction


John Gerson was deputy head of MI6. He studied Art History at the University of Freiburg and then went to King's College, Cambridge.  He went to India on the Commonwealth Expedition (COMEX) in 1965.

He was HM Consul in Beijing from 1974 to 1977 and interpreted for and advised Margaret Thatcher on China. Later he worked as a consultant in Brazil, Tanzania, and North Korea and was an Associate Member of University College London's Centre for the Study of Socialist Legal Systems. In 1992, he was visiting fellow in East Asian studies at Princeton University.

In 2001, he left MI6 and joined BP as a senior political adviser; he became their Head of Government and Public Affairs from 2007 to 2012. He joined the company in 2000. Gerson also chaired BP China Ltd and BP South East Asia Ltd.

On 24 April 2012, he has been appointed in the Board of Directors of the Handeni Gold Inc., a mineral exploration company which is mainly active in Tanzania.

He became CMG im 1999. He is a bird-watcher.

References

Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
British diplomats in China
British political consultants
Birdwatchers
British expatriate academics

John Gerson


Fillyra () is a village and a former municipality in the Rhodope regional unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Arriana, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 236.502 km2. In 2011 its population was 7,583. The Turkish name of Fillyra is Sirkeli, meaning "with vinegar".

References

Populated places in Rhodope (regional unit)
Arriana

Fillyra


The Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID) is an agency of the state of Oklahoma under the Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner, a statewide elected official. The Oklahoma Insurance Department is responsible for supervising and regulating all insurance business in Oklahoma.

The current Insurance Commissioner is Glen Mulready. Glen Mulready was sworn in as Oklahoma's 13th Insurance Commissioner on January 14, 2019.

Responsibilities
The Oklahoma Insurance Department is responsible for regulating and reviewing all insurance companies within Oklahoma to make sure they are solvent and comply with all insurance laws and regulations. The department also educates consumers about insurance by publishing information, providing rate guides on homeowners and auto insurance, hosting community events and answering general insurance inquiries. The OID is also responsible for helping consumers when they have disputes with insurance companies.

Another duty of the department is to register and license agents who sell insurance products. The department also requires agents to meet ongoing continuing education requirements. Other professions regulated by the department include bail bond professionals, real estate appraisers, funeral directors, and insurance adjusters.

Budget
The revenue for Oklahoma Insurance Department's budget is generated from the fees associated with the licenses. Since 2016, the OID has been non appropriated. According to the OID's 2018 Annual Report, the department's operations have produced $46.5 million to be given back to the State of Oklahoma budget for use by other state agencies.

Organization
Insurance Commissioner
Deputy Insurance Commissioner
Anti-Fraud Unit - investigates insurance-related crimes and regulatory violations; educates the public about insurance fraud
Bail Bond Division - licenses, regulates and supervises all bail bond professionals
Consumer Assistance/Claims Division - investigates all complaints lodged against insurance companies by the public; answers general insurance questions and educates policyholders through various of outreach efforts
Communications Division - handles media relations, public relations, crisis communications, employee communications, and event planning
Comptroller Division - manages the internal fiscal affairs of the Department
Insurance Service Office - evaluates, educates and helps fire departments throughout the state improve their ISO rating.
Financial Division - monitors the financial condition of all domestic and foreign insurance companies operating in Oklahoma; oversees securities deposited by domestic insurance companies; and performs market conduct examinations and financial examinations of insurance companies and regulated entities
Public Policy Division - works closely with state lawmakers to represent the interests of the OID at the State Capitol
Legal Division - responsible for providing internal legal advice to the department and prosecuting violations of the insurance laws
Medicare Assistance Program - provides counseling and assistance on Medicare and other related health coverage plans
Producer Licensing & Education Division - responsible for licensing of resident and non-resident agents and adjusters to ensure they meet all legal requirements; responsible for administering and regulating continuing education credits
Rate and Form Division - responsible for approving all life, accident, health, property, marine, vehicle and casualty insurance products to ensuring policies and rates are in compliance with the law
Real Estate Appraiser Board - ensures that appraisers and appraisal management companies meet federal requirements; supervises continuing education

Staffing
The Oklahoma Insurance Department, for fiscal year 2018, was authorized 121 full-time employees.

See also
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner
Governor of Oklahoma

References

External links
Oklahoma Insurance Department official website

Insurance, Department of
Government agencies established in 1907

Oklahoma Department of Insurance


Aston Rowant Woods is a  biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Aston Rowant in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Part of it is in Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve, and a large part is in the Chiltern Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation. The site is also in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The site is described by Natural England as "of national importance as a large, unfragmented area of ancient semi-natural woodland characteristic of the Chilterns scarp". It is composed of Grove Wood, Aston Wood, Juniper Bank, Kingston Wood, High Wood and Crowell Wood. Flora include 52 species indicative of ancient woods, and there are over 100 species of fungi, while damp hollows and fallen trees provide diverse habitats for invertebrates. Uncommon species include the herb Paris quadrifolia and the flower green hellebore. There are small areas of scrub and chalk grassland.

References

Chiltern Hills
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Buckinghamshire
Forests and woodlands of Buckinghamshire
Nature Conservation Review sites

Aston Rowant Woods


Thirumazhapadi Vaidyanathaswami Temple
is a Tamil temple located at Thirumazhapadi in Ariyalur district, Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is dedicated to Shiva, as the moolavar presiding deity, in his manifestation as Vaidyanathaswami. His consort, Parvati, is known as Sundarambikai. The historical name of the place is Mazhuvadi.

Significance
It is one of the shrines of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams - Shiva Sthalams glorified in the early medieval Tevaram poems by Tamil Saivite Nayanars Tirugnanasambandar, Tirunavukkarasar and Sundarar.

It is one of the tourist places in Ariyalur. This temple is famous for its "Nandikesvarar thirukalyanam " (March/April) which is conducted yearly. The people of thirumalapadi celebrate the festival grandly. It also has a statue of Thiruvalluvar, which was made with 750 kg of Bronze. It is the biggest metallic statue of Thiruvalluvar in Tamil Nadu. The temple is counted as one of the temples built on the northern banks of River Kaveri.

Nandi Kalyanam

Nandi kalyanam, the celestial wedding of the Nandi (bull), is celebrated in a grand manner in this temple during the Tamil month of Panguni (mid-March to mid-April). At that time Lord Nandeeswara, the bridegroom of Aiyarappar temple marries Goddess Swayambikai of Thirumazhapadi and is brought in a palanquin. He is accorded a reception by the presiding deity of the temple Vaidyanathasami.

References

External links

Photo gallery

Shiva temples in Ariyalur district
Padal Petra Stalam

Thirumazhapadi Vaidyanathaswami Temple


A sociable (short for sociable coach) or barouche-sociable is an open, four-wheeled carriage described as a cross between a barouche and a victoria, having two double seats facing each other. It might be controlled from the interior by an owner-driver or have a box for a coachman. A pair of folding hoods protect the passengers. The carriage is drawn by either a single horse in shafts or a matching pair in pole gear.

The Balmoral Sociable is a carriage of the Royal Mews (so named because its interior is lined with Balmoral tartan); it is still used on occasion.

See also
Barouche

References

External links
 Seabrook Coaching Stable Dispersal Auction: Sociable or Double Victoria Carriage Association of America (official site); illustrated.

Sources
 Discovering Horse-drawn Vehicles, D. J. Smith, Shire Publications 1994

Carriages

Sociable (carriage)


The eastern short-eared rock-wallaby or Wilkins' rock-wallaby (Petrogale wilkinsi) is a species of rock-wallaby found in the northernmost parts of the Northern Territory of Australia, and is common in the Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks. It was thought to be a subpopulation of the short-eared rock-wallaby Petrogale brachyotis found in the Kimberley (Western Australia), but recent genetic and morphological studies have shown it to be distinct. Wilkins' rock-wallaby is smaller, has more distinct grey/brown markings on its head and sides, and more colourful limbs than the western species.

Taxonomy
A species that emerged in results during examination of a poorly studied taxonomic complex, known as the brachyotis species group of the macropod genus Petrogale. The description of the cryptic species was published in 2014 as part of a study of the phylogeny of the genus of rock-wallabies.
The specific epithet commemorates the European explorer G. H. Wilkins, who had collected a specimen that was later assigned to the new species. Wilkins obtained his specimen in southeast Arnhem Land in 1925.

Two common names have been assigned to the species, Wilkins' rock-wallaby and the eastern short-eared rock-wallaby.

Description
A species of Petrogale, a diverse and widespread genus of macropods related to kangaroos and wallabies. They superficially resemble the species Petrogale brachyotis, but are darker in coloration, exhibit brighter fur at the limbs and display more distinct stripes at the head and flanks. The weight range is 2.6 to 3.5 kilograms, smaller than the western species, and discovered to have deep divergence in their mitochondrial DNA that strongly supports the separation of their ancestral lineages.
The overall colour of the pelage is dark brown and grey.

Distribution and habitat
The distribution range of P. wilkinsi extends across the Top End of the Northern Territory.

References

Macropods
Mammals of the Northern Territory
Marsupials of Australia
Mammals described in 2014

Eastern short-eared rock-wallaby


A drill is a type of electrical tool that has a spinning tip. It can be used for many different jobs depending on the attachment. If a drill bit is attached, the drill can be used to make holes in material. A driver bit can also be attached, allowing the drill to put screws into the desired material. A drill can run on a battery or be plugged into the wall, depending on the drill.

Cutting tools
Woodworking tools

Drill


Miranda () is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is known as a commercial centre for the southern suburbs. Miranda is 24 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the Sutherland Shire.

History
Thomas Holt (1811–88) owned the land that stretched from Sutherland to Cronulla. James Murphy, the manager of the Holt estate named the area after Miranda, a character in the William Shakespeare play The Tempest. In a 1921 letter, James Murphy said "the name Miranda was given to the locality by me as manager of the Holt Sutherland Company which I formed in 1881. I thought it a soft, euphonious, musical and appropriate name for a beautiful place." It is believed that the character in the play was named after Miranda de Ebro, a town in Spain.

Early Australian explorer Gregory Blaxland was promised a significant parcel of land in the area as a reward for discovering a passage through the Blue Mountains.  He had not selected his parcel by 1816, when he chose to sell that promise to John Connell for £250. However, in 1831 he also selected a parcel of land and claimed it under the original promise of reward, at which Connell stepped forward to claim the land. The matter was taken to court, where Connell was recognised as the owner.

In the 1860s the parcel was sold to Holt, who planned a sheep and cattle farm. The plan failed but the fertile ground was leased to market gardeners instead.

In 1918, the Miranda War Memorial was built in the grounds of the then Miranda Public School (now part of Miranda Westfield).

By the 1920s, steam trams operated between Cronulla and Sutherland, via Miranda. The trip from Miranda to Sutherland took fifteen minutes and cost three pence (2.5 cents). In 1923 there were five shops in Miranda, including a post office and butcher, at the intersection of the main road from Sutherland and Port Hacking Road. Settlements of returned soldiers from World War I were well established in Miranda at this time and the area was considered to be one of the best fruit-growing and poultry farming areas.

In 1955, Miranda Library opened.

In 1968, the war memorial moved to the cul-de-sac at the end of Central Road.

Miranda will receive FTTC technology as the National Broadband Network is rolled out.

Commercial areas

Miranda is the main retail and commercial centre of the Sutherland Shire with shops located on either side of the railway line.

Westfield Miranda (previously known as Miranda Fair) is large shopping centre in the middle of the suburb, adjacent to the Miranda railway station.

There are also two smaller shopping centres nearby, Lederer Shopping Centre Miranda (previously known as Parkside Plaza) and The Kiora Centre. Miranda also has a shopping strip, running along Kingsway and Kiora Road. Numerous commercial developments are also located on these roads and surrounding streets.

Miranda also has a light industrial area located in the north part of the centre and is located on Port Hacking and Box Roads.

The Miranda Hotel is also located on Kingsway and was formerly the Miranda Rex. It was originally designed in the 1950s by Lipson & Kadd who also designed the Padstow Hotel.

Transport

 Kingsway, Port Hacking Road, The Boulevarde and Kiora Road are the main roads through Miranda. Until 2002 a Miranda landmark was called "the number one black spot in the State for minor accidents," the five-ways roundabout which intersected The Boulevard, Kiora Road and Port Hacking Road. An AUD$8m project was completed from 25 February 2002 – 20 November 2002 to remove the roundabout and implement a series of traffic lights at the intersection.  Collisions at the intersection fell from 222 in 2002 to 13 in 2003.
 Miranda railway station is on the Cronulla branch of the Illawarra railway line on the Sydney Trains network. The railway station gives quick access to Cronulla Beach by train.
 Maianbar Bundeena Bus Service, Transit Systems and U-Go Mobility provide bus service to Miranda. For full route details see Miranda station.

Population
According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 15,284 residents in Miranda. 68.3% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 3.6%, China 3.0%, New Zealand 2.3%, India 1.5% and Philippines 1.2%. 73.8% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 3.0%, Greek 2.2%, Cantonese 1.6%, Italian 1.4% and Spanish 1.3%. The most common responses for religion were Catholic 28.8%, No Religion 23.6% and Anglican 17.7%.

Sport
Miranda is home to several sports teams, including:

 Miranda Magpies FC (Soccer)
 Miranda Magpies Cricket Club (Cricket)
 Miranda Magpies Netball Club (Netball)
 Miranda Magpies AFC (Australian Rules Football)
 Miranda Magpies Football Club (Rugby League)

Gallery

References

Suburbs of Sydney
Sutherland Shire

Miranda, New South Wales


The 1910 News of the World Match Play was the eighth News of the World Match Play tournament. It was played from Tuesday 4 to Thursday 6 October at Sunningdale Golf Club. 32 players competed in a straight knock-out competition, with each match contested over 18 holes, except for the final which was over 36 holes. The winner received £100 out of a total prize fund of £240. James Sherlock defeated George Duncan 8 & 6 in the final to win the tournament.

Qualification
Entry was restricted to members of the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA). Qualification was by a series of 36-hole stroke-play competitions; one for each of the eight PGA sections. The Southern section had 13 qualifiers, the Northern section 7, the Midland section 4, the Scottish, Welsh and Western sections 2 and the Eastern and Irish sections 1. Compared to 1909 one entry was allocated to the new Eastern section while the Western and Welsh sections were increased from one to two. The Scottish section was reduced to two and the Irish section to one. In the event of a tie for places there was a playoff.

The qualifiers were:

Eastern section: Ernest Riseborough
Irish section: Hugh McNeill
Midland section: Eric Bannister, William Jeffries, Roland Lewis, George Tuck
Northern section: James Douglas Edgar, Horace Fulford, Jack Gaudin, Sandy Herd, Cyril Hughes, Ted Ray, Charles Roberts
Southern section: Tom Ball, George Duncan, Ernest Gaudin, Rowland Jones, Fred Leach, Charles Mayo, Willie Park Jr., Fred Robson, James Sherlock, James Souter, J.H. Taylor, Harry Vardon, Tom Vardon
Scottish section: John Hunter, Robert Thomson
Western section: Ernest Foord, Ernest Whitcombe
Welsh section: Alfred Matthews, Sam Whiting

Format
The format was unchanged. Matches were over 18 holes except for the final which was over 36 holes. Extra holes were played in the event of a tied match. Two rounds were played on the first day, two more on the second day with the final on the third day.

Results
Source:

Prize money
The winner received £100 and a gold medal, the runner-up £30 and a silver medal, the losing semi-finalists £15 and a bronze medal, while the third round losers received £10 and the second round losers received £5.

References

Golf tournaments in England
News of the World Match Play
News of the World Match Play
October 1910 sports events

1910 News of the World Match Play


A national Antarctic program is any government operated or supported program which is mandated with managing the support of scientific research and contributing to the governance and protection of the Antarctic environment on behalf of its nation and in the spirit of the Antarctic Treaty.  The Antarctic Treaty, the international agreement that regulates Antarctic activity, has been signed by 54 countries. Of those, 38 have national Antarctic programs. 31 of these programs have a permanent presence in Antarctica and are members of Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP). Six countries have no permanent presence in Antarctica, but have programs that are observers to COMNAP. Only one country, Pakistan, maintains a national Antarctic program with no affiliation to COMNAP.

List of programs

References

Antarctica-related lists
Government research
Science and technology in Antarctica
Antarctic research
Research-related lists

National Antarctic Program


Myla Goldberg (born November 19, 1971) is an American novelist and musician.

Biography
Goldberg was born into a Jewish family.  She was raised in Laurel, Maryland, and graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School, where she was one of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards winners in 1989.  She majored in English at Oberlin College, graduating in 1996. She spent a year teaching and writing in Prague (providing the germ of her book of essays Time's Magpie, which explores her favorite places within the city), then moved to Brooklyn, New York, where she still lives with her husband (Jason Little) and two daughters.

Goldberg is an accomplished amateur musician.  She plays the banjo and accordion in a Brooklyn-based indie rock quartet, The Walking Hellos.  She has performed with The Galerkin Method and the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus.  She formerly collaborated with the New York art collective Flux Factory.  She has contributed song lyrics to the musical group One Ring Zero.

Career

While in Prague, Goldberg completed her first novel, Kirkus, a story of an Eastern European circus troupe engulfed by the onset of World War II.  She gave it to an agent who shopped it for 18 months, but it was not published by the time she had begun working on Bee Season, so it was shelved.

After returning to Brooklyn Goldberg took several jobs, including working on a production of a Stephen King horror movie.  She was let go from that job, which brought an unforeseen benefit - the six months of unemployment benefits checks gave her sufficient time to finish Bee Season ("It was a grant, as far as I was concerned", she told an Oberlin student interviewer in 2005).

Goldberg's first published novel was Bee Season (2000), portraying the breakdown of a family and the spiritual explorations of its two children amid a series of spelling bees.  It was a popular and critical success, and was adapted into a film in 2005. She has also published short stories in Virgin Fiction, Eclectic Literary Forum, New American Writing, McSweeney's and Harpers Magazine.  She reviews books for The New York Times and Bookforum.

In 2005 Goldberg published a second novel, Wickett's Remedy (2005), which is set during the 1918 influenza epidemic.  Her third novel, The False Friend, was published in 2010.  It describes a woman whose memory is jogged, causing her to revisit a tragic event in her youth.  "It's about memory, hometowns and the adults children turn into," Goldberg told an interviewer. Feast Your Eyes was published in 2019.

"Song for Myla Goldberg" is track six on The Decemberists' album Her Majesty The Decemberists. It makes a handful of allusions to Bee Season.

References

External links

 Myla Goldberg at Random House.

1971 births
Living people
21st-century American novelists
American satirists
American women short story writers
American women novelists
Jewish American writers
Oberlin College alumni
People from Laurel, Maryland
Place of birth missing (living people)
21st-century American women writers
Women satirists
21st-century American short story writers
American women non-fiction writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American Jews

Myla Goldberg


Philip Wyndham Friend (20 February 1915 in Horsham, Sussex – 1 September 1987 in Chiddingfold, Surrey) was a British film and television actor.

Career

Britain
Friend went to Bradfield College where he became interested in acting. He began appearing in musical comedies in 1935, and was soon working on the West End. He was in a production of French Without Tears that was on Broadway. He returned to London and was busy on the stage until war broke out after which he joined the Royal Fusiliers.

Friend had small roles in British films like Inquest (1939), The Midas Touch (1940), and Old Bill and Son (1941).

He was in Dangerous Moonlight (1941), 'Pimpernel' Smith (1941), Sheepdog of the Hills (1941), Back-Room Boy (1942), The Day Will Dawn (1942), The Next of Kin (1942), In Which We Serve (1942), The Young Mr. Pitt (1942), and We Dive at Dawn (1943).

Friend had bigger parts in The Bells Go Down (1943) with Tommy Trinder, Warn That Man (1943) with Gordon Harker and The Flemish Farm (1943), and could be seen in Two Thousand Women (1944). He had a decent sized role in Great Day (1945).

Friend returned to the stage with Pink String and Sealing Wax and The First Gentleman.

Hollywood
In February 1946 Friend signed a contract with David O. Selznick who brought the actor to Hollywood. Selznick wound up not using Friend in any of his films.

Friend had a support part in My Own True Love (1948) with Phyllis Calvert. He could also be seen in Enchantment (1948).

Friend was a British soldier in Sword in the Desert (1949) at Universal. They liked his work and signed him to a contract, casting him in the lead of Buccaneer's Girl (1950) with Yvonne de Carlo. Friend was kept at Universal for Spy Hunt (1950), then the studio dropped him. They hired him back to play the villain in Smuggler's Island (1951). He was in Thunder on the Hill (1951).

Friend had the star role in The Highwayman (1952) for Monogram Pictures.

Friend began appearing on TV in such shows as The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse and Kraft Theatre. On Broadway he was meant to join the cast of Faithfully Yours but Equity objected. Instead he starred in Jane in 1952.

Return to Britain
Friend returned home to be in Desperate Moment (1953). He had support roles in Background (1952), The Diamond (1954), Dick Turpin: Highwayman (1956), Cloak Without Dagger (1956) and The Betrayal (1956). He also appeared regularly on British TV shows such as The Errol Flynn Theatre.

Friend's later work included Son of Robin Hood (1958), The Solitary Child (1958), Web of Suspicion (1959), The Fur Collar (1962), Stranglehold (1962), and The Vulture (1966).

One of his last appearances was in the TV movie Suez 1956 (1979).

Personal life
Friend was married to the actress Eileen Erskine, and they had two sons.

Partial filmography

 Inquest (1939)
 The Midas Touch (1940)
 "Pimpernel" Smith (1941)
 The Day Will Dawn (1942)
 The Next of Kin (1942)
 In Which We Serve (1942)
 The Bells Go Down (1943)
 Warn That Man (1943)
 Enchantment (1948)
 Sword in the Desert (1949)
 Buccaneer's Girl (1950)
 Spy Hunt (1950)
 Smuggler's Island (1951)
 Desperate Moment (1953)
 Background (1953)
 The Diamond (1954)
 Cloak Without Dagger (1956)
 The Betrayal (1957)
 The Son of Robin Hood (1958)
 The Solitary Child (1958)
 Danger List (1959)
 The Fur Collar (1962)
 Stranglehold (1963)

References

External links

 Philip Friend at TCMDB

1915 births
1987 deaths
English male television actors
English male film actors
People from Horsham
20th-century English male actors

Philip Friend


Franz Freiherr von Werneck (13 October 1748 – 17 January 1806), enlisted in the army of Habsburg Austria and fought in the Austro-Turkish War, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars. He enjoyed a distinguished career until 1797, when he lost a battle and was dismissed as punishment. He was only reinstated in 1805. In that year he surrendered his command and was later brought up on charges. He died while awaiting a court-martial.

Early career
Born in the Württemberg royal residence on 13 October 1748, Werneck entered the service of Habsburg Austria in 1764 as an Oberleutnant in the Weid-Runkel Infantry Regiment Nr. 28. Shortly afterward, he transferred to the Stain Infantry Regiment Nr. 50 as a Hauptmann (captain). After 20 years of service in the regiment he became its Oberst (colonel) in 1784. During the war with Ottoman Turkey, he led his troops in the first of several actions at Slatina-Timiş on 13 September 1788, where he captured a hill. The following year he fought at Mehadia. Werneck made his reputation on 30 September 1789 while leading the 1st Assault Column at the Siege of Belgrade. On this occasion his command included a battalion of the Stain Regiment, a battalion of grenadiers, and a company of volunteers. On 9 October after the siege was successfully concluded, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor appointed him General-major. On 19 December 1790, he was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa.

French Revolutionary Wars
After the outbreak of the War of the First Coalition, Werneck led a contingent of grenadiers with distinction at the Battle of Jemappes on 6 November 1792. In December 1792, Pierre de Ruel, marquis de Beurnonville led 20,000 French troops to overrun the Electorate of Trier. He was opposed by a force commanded by Friedrich Wilhelm, Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Kirchberg. The defenders were surrounded by 4 December, but thereafter they repelled repeated French attacks. In this stage of the fighting, Werneck commanded the Reserve at Grevenmacher which included single battalions of the Matheson Infantry Regiment Nr. 42 and Murray Infantry Regiment Nr. 55, plus two squadrons of the Latour Chevau-léger Regiment Nr. 31. By 17 December, the French effort collapsed and Beurnonville's army melted away.

Werneck was present at Aldenhoven on 1 March 1793 where Henri Christian Michel de Stengel's column was defeated by two Austrian cavalry regiments. He fought in the Battle of Neerwinden on 18 March. He served at the successful Siege of Valenciennes from 25 May to 27 July and at the failed Siege of Dunkirk from 24 August to 8 September. He led a brigade in József Alvinczi's Reserve at the Battle of Le Cateau on 29 March 1794. Promoted to Feldmarschall-Leutnant on 28 May, he served in the army of William, Hereditary Prince of Orange. In 1795 he led troops in François Sébastien de Croix de Clerfayt's army on the middle Rhine. The actions included the Battle of Mainz on 29 October, where he led the Reserve, and the Battle of Pfeddersheim on 10 November.

Werneck served in Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen's brilliant Rhine Campaign of 1796. At the Battle of Würzburg on 3 September, he led a division of 12 grenadier battalions in Wilhelm von Wartensleben's Reserve. His brigade commanders were Johann Kollowrat, Joseph von Schellenberg, and Ludwig von Vogelsang. On 18 September he was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. When Charles took troops to join Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour, Werneck was left in command of the independent Army of the Lower Rhine beginning in September. His position remained unmolested by the French during the winter. On 18 April, Lazare Hoche and 38,000 French troops from the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse caught Werneck's 21,000 Austrians by surprise in the Battle of Neuwied. After heavy fighting, his soldiers were driven from the field with losses of 1,000 killed and wounded, plus 3,000 captured. In addition, 24 artillery pieces, 60 wagons, and five colors became trophies of the French. Total French losses were 2,000. On 17 April, when Jean Etienne Championnet's division threatened Werneck's right wing, the Austrian general weakened his left under Pál Kray in order to bolster his right. When the divisions of Paul Grenier and François Joseph Lefebvre began crossing the Rhine at 3:00 AM, Werneck hurriedly ordered Kray's troops back to defend his left. Lefebvre defeated the Austrian left flank, while Grenier broke through Kray's line of redoubts at Heddersdorf after repeated assaults. Hoche's offensive forced the Austrians into a deep withdrawal which ended only with news of the Treaty of Leoben. After the defeat, Werneck was placed in retirement on half-pay.

Napoleonic Wars

At the start of the War of the Third Coalition in 1805, Werneck was reactivated and appointed to the army in Germany. Despite some attempts at reform, the Austrian army remained wedded to 18th century concepts of warfare. The army's brigades and divisions were only semi-permanent units, and corps-sized formations were organized on an ad hoc basis. There were no corps and division staffs such as existed in the French army, which had permanent brigades, divisions, and corps. The French armies had won notable victories in 1800, but under Emperor Napoleon I of France they were even more powerful and effective in 1805. To Austria's greater disadvantage, the nominal army commander, Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este was at odds with his deputy, Karl Mack von Lieberich. The archduke and Mack's chief of staff Anton Mayer von Heldensfeld wanted to halt at the Lech River as originally planned, while Mack desired to keep marching to the Iller River at Ulm. After Emperor Francis I of Austria upheld Mack and sacked Mayer, the Austrian army began concentrating on the Iller. The flanks were held by Franz Jellacic's 11,000 troops near Lake Constance and Michael von Kienmayer's 12,000 men at Ingolstadt on the Danube.

While Jean Lannes's V Corps and Joachim Murat's Cavalry Corps moved directly east on Ulm, the rest of Napoleon's  army swept past Ulm on the north bank of the Danube. Crossing the river to the east of the Austrians, the French I, II, III, IV, and VI Corps got between Ulm and Vienna. Austrian defeats at the battles of Wertingen and Günzburg followed on 8 and 9 October. A breakout attempt failed on 11 October at the Battle of Haslach-Jungingen. Finally, on 13 October, Mack ordered Werneck to march his corps northeast from Ulm in order to escape from the trap. His south flank was covered by Johann Sigismund Riesch's corps which held Elchingen. Archduke Ferdinand fled from Ulm with some cavalry.

Michel Ney's VI Corps smashed Riesch on 14 October in the Battle of Elchingen and forced the survivors to retreat to Ulm. Murat set out in pursuit of Werneck. On 16 October, there was a clash between Ney's cavalry and Prince Friedrich Franz Xaver of Hohenzollern-Hechingen's division at Langenau. Murat caught a 5,000-man brigade under Rudolf Sinzendorf at Herbrechtingen on 17 October and wiped out half of it. On the same day, Ferdinand's cavalry fought off the French cavalry at Nördlingen and there was another clash with Werneck's troops at Neresheim. Murat and Ney with 28,000 troops cornered their adversary at Treuchtlingen on 19 October. On that day Werneck capitulated with 15,000 troops, 28 guns, 12 colors, two standards, and four generals. Murat demanded that the terms include nearby Austrian units and Werneck accepted. Because of this the artillery reserve also surrendered. Hohenzollern refused to join in the capitulation and got away with 10 squadrons of cavalry. Ferdinand also managed to escape to Bohemia with Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg and 12 squadrons of horsemen. On 20 October Mack surrendered at Ulm with 20,000 infantry, over 3,000 cavalry, and 59 guns.

For his surrender, charges were brought against Werneck. On 17 January 1806, he died of a stroke while awaiting court-martial at the fortress town of Hradec Králové (Königgrätz).

Family
Werneck's son Reinhard von Werneck briefly joined the Austrian military before transferring to the army of the Electorate of Bavaria. In between his military duties, he became noted as a gardener.

Notes
Footnotes

Citations

References

 Rickard, J. historyofwar.org Battle of Neuwied, 18 April 1797

 Smith, Digby, compiled by Leopold Kudrna napoleon-series.org Austrian Generals: 1792-1815 Franz Werneck

1748 births
1806 deaths
Military personnel from Stuttgart
People from the Duchy of Württemberg
Austrian generals
Barons of Austria
Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars
Austrian Empire military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars
Austrian Empire commanders of the Napoleonic Wars
Commanders Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa
People of the War of the First Coalition

Franz von Werneck


The Taping River, known as Ta Hkaw Hka in Kachin and Daying River () in Chinese, is a river in Yunnan province, China and northern Myanmar (Burma). It is the first tributary of the country's chief river, the Irrawaddy, and the watersheds between it and the N'mai Hka river to the northwest and the rivers Shweli and Salween to the southeast form part of the boundary between China and Myanmar. Its source lies in Yingjiang County of Yunnan, and it enters the Irrawaddy near Bhamo, Kachin State.

History
In 1277 King Narathihapate of Bagan had an ambassador from Kublai Khan executed and then invaded the state of Kanngai along the Taping river, 70 miles north of Bhamo, for submitting to the Mongols. The Chinese defeated the Burmese in the Battle of Ngasaunggyan, a vivid account of which was reported back to Europe later by Marco Polo. The Chinese army advanced to Kaungsin but turned back because of excessive heat. They returned however in 1283, destroying Kaungsin and advancing into the Irrawaddy valley culminating in the fall of Bagan.

Trade with China had taken place along the Taping river for centuries through Kaungsin until Bhamo became more important from the 15th century onwards.

During the Second World War the Allies built the Ledo Road from India to China across northern Burma, and before Christmas 1944, completed 354 miles to reach Myothit on the Taping river in order to link up with the old Burma Road at Bhamo. American GIs in the road gang had pleasant recollections of their time along the river trading with locals for souvenirs and hunting in the jungle. Pontoon bridges were built by engineers across 10 major rivers including the Taping.

Earlier in the war, the Chinese 38th Division led by General Sun Li-Jen under the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) had fought the Japanese 56th Division along the Taping in a successful attempt at capturing Myothit in late October and subsequently driving the enemy out of their main defense positions in Bhamo, thus spearheading the drive in the construction of the Ledo Road.

Flora and fauna
A rhinoceros was shot in 1946 after it had crossed the Irrawaddy and then the Taping river.

The Americans hunted sambar (deer), pheasants, and bear during the war, and a tame pet otter was traded for 2 boxes of matches.

The Irrawaddy dolphin has been known to enter the upper tributaries of the Irrawaddy including the Taping especially when the rivers are flooded. They were observed in the 19th century up to 30 km above Bhamo called "Dolphin Point". More recent surveys in 2002-2004 reported sightings in the deep pool area at the confluence of the Taping and the Irrawaddy, and up to 36 km upstream to Sinkan at the upstream end of the second defile of the Irrawaddy. Dam building upstream along the Taping is causing concerns as the reduced flow during the dry season could lead to loss of habitat and decline in their numbers.

Development
Hydropower projects are under way in the region along the Taping, and 3 dams are being built - one on the Chinese side of the border, and 2 in Burma jointly by China Datang Corporation (CDT) and the Burmese military government namely Taping 1, 33 miles from Bhamo (240 MW), and Taping 2, 26 miles from Bhamo (168 MW).

References

External links

Satellite map GeoNames
The Ledo Road: Myitkyina to Mong-Yu
Photos of dams under construction text in Chinese

Rivers of Myanmar
Rivers of Yunnan
International rivers of Asia
China–Myanmar border
Geography of Baoshan, Yunnan
Geography of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture

Taping River


The SIAI Savoia S.9 was an Italian reconnaissance flying boat, manufactured by Societa Idrovolanti Alta Italia (S.I.A.I.) from 1918. The wing structure was unusual by being a single-bay biplane wing, with additional struts mounted mid-bay at the junction of the flying and landing wires, so that it appeared to have a two-bay wing. The S.9 was also licence-built in France by CAMS (Chantiers Aéro-Maritimes de la Seine) as the CAMS C.9.

Operators

Finnish Air Force

Corpo Aeronautico Militare
Regia Aeronautica

Specifications (S.9)

References

Further reading

S.09
1920s Italian military reconnaissance aircraft
Biplanes
Flying boats
Single-engined pusher aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1918

SIAI S.9