George Osbaldeston (26 December 1786 – 1 August 1866), best known as Squire Osbaldeston, was an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament but who had his greatest impact as a sportsman and first-class cricketer.

Early life
He was born 26 December 1786 in Westminster, London, and named for his father, George Osbaldeston, a member of parliament for Scarborough. His father, born George Wickins, inherited the Hutton Buscel estates from his uncle Fountayne Wentworth Osbaldeston and adopted his name. Squire's mother, Jane, was the daughter of  Sir Thomas Head of Langley Hall, Berkshire.

Osbaldeston spent his childhood at Hutton Buscel, the family estate in Yorkshire. His father died in 1793; from age 6, George and his three sisters were brought up by their mother, who despite being a great political hostess, was wildly extravagant and squandered much of his inheritance. He spent most of his life trying to recover from this poverty, mainly by trying to win bets and sporting competitions.

Education
He was educated at Eton from 1802 until 1803, when he was expelled. Thereafter he studied at Brighton (1803–04), where his behaviour was little improved. He matriculated at Brasenose College, Oxford in 1805. The combination of his absolute avoidance of academic work (even by the standards of the day) and his rowdy behaviour (including incidents such as pouring hot gravy over the head of a fellow student he disliked during hall) meant that he narrowly avoided being sent down. Ultimately, he left Oxford without a degree in 1807. On the other hand, during his student days he excelled in all sports, setting a pattern for the rest of his life.

Politics

From 1809 to 1811 he was lieutenant-colonel of the 5th regiment North Riding local militia.

In 1812, under pressure from his mother and the local aristocrat and Whig power-broker William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam, Osbaldeston stood as a Whig parliamentary candidate for East Retford. He won one of the two seats, despite the machinations of his agent, who, claiming he had not been paid his fees, accused his own candidate of electoral malpractice, resulting in a trial. He had little interest in politics, and rarely attended the House. In his autobiography, Osbaldeston wrote that:

"There was a general election and my mother, in her political enthusiasm persuaded me to stand. I did so much against my inclination and was returned, but not without paying dearly for the distinguished honour, as it is deemed. I did not consider it an honour at all; I thought it a great bore...  I was so entirely engrossed with hunting, shooting and athletic feats that I could not turn my thoughts to politics, and it was only in response to my mother's entreaties that I attended the House on urgent occasions."

At the next election, 1818, he resigned. In 1829 he was made High Sheriff of Yorkshire.

Sport
Osbaldeston excelled at sport, and rowed at his various schools, at Oxford and into middle age. He was particularly famous for his racing abilities, in flat, steeplechase, endurance and carriage races. In 1826, he won a celebrated steeplechase for a purse of 1,000 guineas on his horse, Clasher, against Dick Christian riding Clinker, a horse owned by Horatio Ross. On one occasion, in 1831 at Newmarket, he rode  in 8 hours and 42 minutes, using 28 horses. On another occasion he wagered 100 guineas with Paul Methuen that he could drive a stage-coach from St. Paul's churchyard to Greenwich in an hour with a full complement of passengers. Osbaldeston won his bet, although the coach was loaded with a number of hefty Life-Guardsmen and despite being sent back from the bottom of Ludgate Hill for a false start. His last race was at the age of 69, and he also bred racehorses.

A noted shot at the Old Hat and Red House clubs, Osbaldeston there used a gun with a bore of 1½ inches. Sir Richard Sutton recorded that he once shot 98 pheasants with 100 shots. He brought his marksmanship to the track; on one occasion, when the notorious gambler Lord George Bentinck fired his pistol in the air while watching a race, Osbaldeston responded by shooting Bentinck cleanly through the hat as a warning.

In cricket, he was a fine all-rounder who batted and bowled right-handed, his bowling style being fast underarm. An outstanding Single Wicket player, he was chiefly associated with Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) but he also represented Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire. He played 34 important matches between 1808 and 1830 as an amateur. His highest score was 112 for M.C.C. v Middlesex in 1816, where Osbaldeston also scored 68 in the second innings. His record in important matches was 1002 runs at 18.21, 2 centuries, 43 wickets, 15 catches and 2 stumpings.

Above all though, his passion was fox hunting. He had his own pack of hounds from the age of 16, and was later master of nine hunts, notably the Atherstone (1815–17), the Quorn (1817–21, 1823–27), and the Pytchley (1827–34). He was regarded by contemporaries as one of the best sportsmen of his generation, and became something of a folk hero in later hunting circles.

An anecdote demonstrates the passion with which he pursued "the hunt":
"Just when, in 1809, the 24 year old fourth Lord Monson was warming to the task of keeping his pack of foxhounds amongst the best blood in the country, nature accounted for him. The gentlemen of Lincolnshire cast around for a new master and up turned one of those adventurous amateurs whose exploits with hounds and the ladies either break or make a hunt. George Osbaldeston was 25 and he soon fell out with everyone except the foxes which he pursued with great noise, energy, boastfulness, courage and determination, to the far corners of the country."

Personal life

The money he made from racing wins were overshadowed by gambling debts of around £200,000 (), which eventually forced him to sell his lands in 1848 and led to his dying almost penniless. His will states that he left effects to the value of under £100.

He was also known for his romantic escapades, such as attempting to seduce a friend of his mother's, Lady Monson (an unrequited love affair, despite his claims that she was the one woman he had really loved), staying at the house of a friend and seducing both his daughters on the same night, and leaving a ball for two hours to pick flowers from his garden for a lady there. He was rumoured to have a son by a Miss Green, a prostitute, whom he sent abroad. He finally married an Elizabeth Williams in 1851 at the age of 65, most likely as he was then able to live in her Regent's Park house.

His relationship with his mother, Jane, was ambivalent. In his autobiography he claims that: "a cleverer woman never existed, not a better mother." By all accounts Jane doted on her only son. On the other hand, he resented her extravagance, her misuse of his inheritance, and her attempts to force him to pursue a political career. Ultimately, he exiled her to a house in London which he had bought.

He had a great rivalry with his fellow cricketer Lord Frederick Beauclerk. In 1818 this resulted in Osbaldeston being barred for life from membership of MCC (after an intemperate resignation in disgust at the outcome of a single-wicket match and despite the attempted intercession of E. H. Budd); this event effectively finished Osbaldeston's career in important cricket. He also fought a duel with Lord George Bentinck, in the aftermath of a race of 1831, the outcome of which was disputed. Neither was hurt and they were later reconciled.

Of his brilliant beginning and impoverished end, his great friend and rival Horatio Ross commented, "He was open-hearted and trusted others; he was constantly deceived and robbed, and when his affairs were getting into confusion, he had not the moral nerve to pull up in time; nor had he a sufficiently business-head on his shoulders to guide him safely out of his troubles."

He died on the 1st August 1866 in St John's Wood, London and was buried in the Williams family grave on the west side of Highgate Cemetery (plot no.11014).

Descendants
In about 1812, Miss Ann Green of Lincoln (born about 1786) bore him a son, named George Osbaldeston Green. Mother and son were sent to Tasmania. George Green married a woman named Mary Ann Heastwood (b. Yorkshire 1819). Eventually George Osbaldeston Green and Mary Ann moved to the Gippsland area of Victoria. George was a butcher. They had 16 children, many of whom died in infancy or childhood; nevertheless 'The Squire' spawned quite a group of grandchildren. Their many descendants live mainly in Australia today. George Osbaldeston Green died in 1887 in Maffra, Victoria, and his wife Mary Ann died in 1908 in Heyfield, in the Gippsland region of Victoria.

Family historians report that Mary Ann Green was well-travelled and made some journeys to England, so whether there was contact maintained between "The Squire" and his Australian family is subject to speculation. Certainly their existence was known about, and recorded in Osbaldeston's autobiography.

Miss Green was described in George Osbaldeston's Autobiography as' a member of the frail sisterhood' (i.e., a prostitute). She was reputedly a natural (illegitimate) daughter of one of the Monson family. The boy was 'sent abroad, has done well in the world, and is married with a family.'". No record of either the birth or death of Miss Green has been found.

Children of George Osbaldeston Green and Mary Ann Heastwood: The Squire's grandchildren
Mary Ann, born 1836 in Hobart Town, died 1926 in Sale, Victoria, married Robert Geddes
George, born 1838 in Hobart Town, died 1868 in Gippsland, Victoria, married Dorothea Lenz of Germany
Henry, born and died in 1840 in Hobart Town
William George, born 1841 in Hobart Town, died 1864 in Hobart
Charles Henry, born 1843 in Hobart Town, died 1932 in Heyfield Victoria, married Emily Ann Bennett
Agnes Esther, born 1845 in Hobart Town, died 1938 in Moonee Ponds, Victoria, married Michael Campbell
James, born 1846 in Hobart Town, died 1928 in Sale, Victoria
Henrietta, born 1848 in Hobart Town, died 1917 in Glenmaggie, Victoria
Emily Edith, born 1851 in Sale, Victoria, died 1866
Martha Alice, born 1854, died 1866
Amelia Jane, born 1856, died 1863
Sophia Louisa, born 1858 in Sale, Victoria died 1860
Anna Louisa, born 1859 in Sale, Victoria, died 1861 in Sale
Frances Ada, born 1861 in Sale Victoria, died 1940 in Bairnsdale, Victoria married Charles John Marshall
Laura Matilda, born 1863 in Sale Victoria, died 1949 in Warragul Victoria, married Thomas Collins
Edward, born and died in 1866

References

External sources
 ESPNCricInfo Profile

Further reading
 George Osbaldeston/E.D. Cummings, Squire Osbaldeston: His Autobiography, John Lane, London, 1926
 HS Altham, A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914), George Allen & Unwin, 1926
 Derek Birley, A Social History of English Cricket, Aurum, 1999
 Rowland Bowen, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
 Arthur Haygarth, Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826), Lillywhite, 1862
 John Major, More Than a Game, HarperCollins, 2007

1786 births
1866 deaths
Burials at Highgate Cemetery
People educated at Eton College
Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford
British Militia officers
People from the Borough of Scarborough
English cricketers of 1787 to 1825
English cricketers of 1826 to 1863
English hunters
Hampshire cricketers
High Sheriffs of Yorkshire
Masters of foxhounds in England
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers
Surrey cricketers
Sussex cricketers
UK MPs 1812–1818
Old Etonians cricketers
Non-international England cricketers
E. H. Budd's XI cricketers
William Ward's XI cricketers
George Osbaldeston's XI cricketers

George Osbaldeston


Hohennagold Castle is a ruined castle situated on a hill, the so-called Schlossberg (castle mountain),  overlooking the Black Forest town of Nagold. The hill consists predominantly of porphyritic rock. The ruins represent a relatively well-preserved 12th-century castle. The keep behind the curtain walls, a tower in the north-western corner of the complex as well as the outer ward with half-round and angular towers, are still visible. Around the castle there appears to have been a moat.

History

An early medieval fortification was possibly erected at the location of the future castle around 750 by Count Ruodbrecht, one of Charlemagne's uncles.

The original castle was built around 1100 by the Counts of Nagold, who became the Counts palatine of Tübingen in 1145. The castle complex was extensively expanded between 1153 and 1162.

In the middle of the 13th century the castle passed into the possession of the Counts of Hohenberg. Thereafter, one branch of this family called itself Counts of Nagold and had the castle transformed into their residence in the 13th and 14th century. In 1364 the sold the castle to the Counts of Württemberg. The new owners added bastions and towers to the outer ward and had the castle occupied by their ministeriales. Towards the end of the Thirty Years' War, the castle was conquered by Bavarian troops in 1645 and severely damaged. In 1646 the remnants of the castle were pulled down.

In 1945 the northwest tower was destroyed by a low-level attack carried out by Allied planes. The castle remains were tentatively restored after World War II, trying to preserve the castle as a ruin.

See also
 List of castles in Baden-Württemberg

References

External links

  Hohennagold Castle
  Drawing of the castle in its original state by Wolfgang Braun

Ruined castles in Germany

Hohennagold Castle


A skip zone, also called a silent zone or zone of silence, is a region where a radio transmission can not be received. The zone is located between regions both closer and farther from the transmitter where reception is possible.

Cause
When using medium to high frequency radio telecommunication, there are radio waves which travel both parallel to the ground, and towards the ionosphere, referred to as a ground wave and sky wave, respectively. A skip zone is an annular region between the farthest points at which the ground wave can be received and the nearest point at which the refracted sky waves can be received. Within this region, no signal can be received because, due to the conditions of the local ionosphere, the relevant sky waves are not reflected but penetrate the ionosphere.

The skip zone is a natural phenomenon that cannot be influenced by technical means. Its width depends on the height and shape of the ionosphere and, particularly, on the local ionospheric maximum electron density characterized by critical frequency foF2. It varies mainly with this parameter, being  larger for low foF2. With a fixed working frequency it is large by night and may even disappear by day.  Transmitting at night is most effective for long-distance communication but the skip zone becomes significantly larger.
Very high frequency waves and higher normally  travel through the ionosphere wherefore communication via skywave is exceptional. A highly ionized Es-Layer that occasionally may appear in summer may produce such Sporadic E propagation.

Avoidance

A method of decreasing the skip zone is by decreasing the frequency of the radio waves. Decreasing the frequency is akin to increasing the ionospheric width. A point is eventually reached when decreasing the frequency results in a zero distance skip zone. In other words, a frequency exists for which vertically incident radio waves will always be refracted back to the Earth. This frequency is equivalent to the ionospheric plasma frequency and is also known as the ionospheric critical frequency, or foF2.

Other
Skip zone is the subject of a film 'SKIPZONE' made in 1992 by UK artist, Peter Lee-Jones. It refers to areas in Scottish Highlands where it is difficult to obtain radio and TV reception.

In the episode "Short Wave" of Father Knows Best, the family hears a distress call from a small boat at sea. Jim explains that the reason they, and not the Coast Guard, can hear the transmission is because of a "skip".

See also
Shortwave

References

Sources

Radio frequency propagation

Skip zone


Vishvarupa (, IAST: ), also spelt as Vishwaroopa and known as Virata rupa, is an iconographical form and theophany of a Hindu deity, most commonly associated with Vishnu in contemporary Hinduism. Though there are multiple Vishvarupa theophanies, the most celebrated is in the Bhagavad Gita, given by Krishna in the epic Mahabharata, which was told to Pandava prince Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra in the war between the Pandavas and Kauravas. Vishvarupa is considered the supreme form of Vishnu, where the whole universe is described as contained within him.

Literary descriptions

Bhagavad Gita

In the climactic war in the Mahabharata, the Pandava prince Arjuna and his brothers fight against their cousins, the Kauravas, with Krishna as Arjuna's charioteer. Faced with the moral dilemma of whether or not to fight against and kill his own family, Arjuna has a crisis of conscience. To appease him, Krishna discourses with Arjuna about life and death as well as dharma (duty) and yoga in form of the Bhagavad Gita. In chapters 10 and 11, Krishna reveals himself as the Supreme Being and finally displays his Vishvarupa to Arjuna. Arjuna experiences the vision of the Vishvarupa with divine vision endowed to him by Krishna. Vishvarupa's appearance is described by Arjuna, as he witnesses it.

Vishvarupa has innumerable forms, eyes, faces, mouths and arms. All creatures of the universe are part of him. He is the infinite universe, without a beginning or an end. He contains peaceful as well as wrathful forms. Unable to bear the scale of the sight and gripped with fear, Arjuna requests Krishna to return to his four-armed Vishnu form, which he can bear to see. Fully encouraged by the teachings and darshan of Krishna in his full form, Arjuna continues the Mahabharata War.

Mahabharata

There are two more descriptions in the Mahabharata, where Krishna or Vishnu-Narayana offers the theophany similar to the Vishvarupa in the Bhagavad Gita. When negotiations between Pandavas and Kauravas break down with Krishna as the Pandava messenger, Krishna declares that he is more than human and displays his cosmic form to the Kaurava leader Duryodhana and his assembly. Vishvarupa-Krishna appears with many arms and holds many weapons and attributes traditionally associated with Vishnu like the conch, the Sudarshana chakra, the gada (mace), his bow, his sword Nandaka. The inside of his body is described. Various deities (including Vasus, Rudras, Adityas, Dikapalas), sages and tribes (especially those opposing the Kauravas, including the Pandavas) are seen in his body. This form is described as terrible and only people blessed with divine vision could withstand the sight.

The other theophany of Vishnu (Narayana) is revealed to the divine sage Narada. The theophany is called Vishvamurti. The god has a thousand eyes, a hundred heads, a thousand feet, a thousand bellies, a thousand arms and several mouths. He holds weapons as well as attributes of an ascetic like sacrificial fire, a staff, a kamandalu (water pot).

Another theophany in the Mahabharata is of a Vaishnava (related to Vishnu or Krishna) form. It misses the multiple body parts of Vishvarupa, but conveys the vastness and cosmic nature of the deity. His head covers the sky. His two feet cover all ground. His two arms encompass the horizontal space. His belly occupies the reattaining space in the universe.

Other texts
Vishvarupa is also stated as the Harivamsa, as Vishnu's consisting form of all gods. During a Devasura war, he took this form and slew the demons (inclubing Taraka and Maya).

Vishvarupa is also used in the context of Vishnu's "dwarf" avatar, Vamana in another part in the Harivamsa. Vamana, arrives at the asura king Bali's sacrifice as a dwarf Brahmin boy and asks for three steps of land as donation. Where the promise is given, Vamana transforms into his Vishvarupa, containing various deities in his body. The sun and the moon are his eyes. The earth his feet and heaven is his head. Various deities; celestial beings like Vasus, Maruts, Ashvins, Yakshas, Gandharvas, Apsaras; Vedic scriptures and sacrifices are contained in his body. With two of his strides, he gains heaven and earth and places the third on Bali's head, who accepts his mastership. Bali is then pushed to the realm of Patala (underworld).

Development
The name  () is composed from viśva and rūpa. Taken together, it refers to an omniscient form that pervades the entire universe. It first appears as a name of Trisiras, the three-headed son of Tvastr, the Vedic creator-god who grants form to all beings. In the Rig Veda, he is described as to generate many forms and contain several forms in his womb. The epithet Vishvarupa is also used for other deities like Soma (Rig Veda), Prajapati (Atharva Veda), Rudra (Upanishad) and the abstract Brahman (Maitrayaniya Upanishad). The Atharva Veda uses the word with a different connotation – a bride is blessed to be vishvarupa (all-formed) - to be showered with glory and offspring.

Then, Vishvarupa is revealed in the Bhagavad Gita (2nd century BCE) and then the Puranas (1000 BCE – 500 CE) in connection to Vishnu-Krishna. however these literary sources do not detail the iconography of Vishvarupa. The Bhagavad Gita may be inspired by the description of Purusha as thousand-headed, thousand-eyed and thousand-footed or a cosmic Vishnu ("creator of the universe").

Vishvarupa is mentioned as Vishnu's avatar in Pañcaratra texts like the Satvata Samhita and the Ahirbudhnya Samhita (which mention 39 avatars) as well as the Vishnudharmottara Purana, that mentions 14 avatars.

Vishvarupa is also interpreted as "the story of evolution", as the individual evolves in this world doing more and more with time. The Vishvarupa is a cosmic representation of gods and goddesses, sages and asuras, good and the bad as we perceive in our own particular perspective of existence in this world.

Iconography

Early depictions
The literary sources mentions that Vishvarupa has "multiple" or "thousand/hundred" (numeric equivalent of conveying infinite in literary sources) heads and arms, but do not give a specific number of body parts that can be depicted. Early Gupta and post-Gupta sculptors were faced with difficulty of portraying infiniteness and multiple body parts in a feasible way. Arjuna's description of Vishvarupa gave iconographers two options: Vishvarupa as a multi-headed and multi-armed god or all components of the universe displayed in the body of the deity. Early Vishvarupa chose the former, while Buddhist images of a Cosmic Buddha were displayed in the latter format.  An icon, discovered in Parel, Mumbai dated to c. 600, has seven figures all appearing interlinked to each other. Though the icon mirrors the Vishvarupa of Vishnu, it is actually a rare image of the Vishvarupa of Shiva.

Vishvarupa becomes crystallized as an icon in the early Vishnu cult by the time of Guptas (6th century CE). The first known image of Vishvarupa is a Gupta stone image from the Mathura school, found in Bhankari, Angarh district, dated c. 430-60 CE. The Gupta sculptor is inspired by the Bhagavad Gita description. Visvarupa has three heads: a human (centre), a lion (the head of Narasimha, the man-lion avatar of Vishnu) and a boar (the head of Varaha, the boar avatar of Vishnu) and four arms. Multiple beings and Vishnu's various avatars emerge from the main figure, accompanying half of the 38 cm (high) X 47 cm (wide) stela. Another early image (70 cm high) is present in the Changu Narayan temple, Nepal, dated 5th-6th century. The central image is ten-headed and ten-armed and is surrounded by the three regions of Hindu cosmology, Svarga (heavenly realms, upper portion of the stone relief), Prithvi (the earth, the middle) and Patala (the underworld, the bottom) and corresponding beings gods, humans and animals and nagas and spirits respectively. The figures on his right are demonic while on the left are divine, representing the dichotomy of his form. A similar early image is also found at and the Varaha Temple, Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh. A 5th century Garhwa image shows Vishvarupa with six arms and three visible heads: a horse (centre, Hayagriva-avatar of Vishnu), a lion and a boar. Possibly a fourth head existed which popped up from the horse head. An aureole of human head surround the central heads. Flames emitting from the figure, illustrating its blazing nature as described by Arjuna. Three Vishvarupa icons from Shamalaji, Gujarat dated sixth century have three visible animal heads and eight arms, with a band of beings emanating from the upper part of the deity forming an aureole. Unlike other icons which are in standing position, the Shamalaji icons are in a crouching position, as though giving birth and is similar to icons of birth-giving mother goddesses in posture. The posture may convey the idea that he is giving birth to the beings radiating from him, though none of them are near his lower area.

Scriptural iconographic descriptions

The Vishnudharmottara Purana prescribes that Vishvarupa have four arms and should have as many as arms that can be possibly depicted. A 12th-century sculpture of Vishvarupa from Rajasthan shows a fourteen-armed Vishnu riding his mount Garuda. The image has three visible human heads, unlike the early sculptures which include animal ones. Some iconographic treatises prescribe a fourth demonic head at the back, however this is generally not depicted in iconography.

Another iconography prescribes that Vishvarupa be depicted with four faces: male (front, east), lion/Narasimha (south), boar/Varaha (north) and woman (back/west). He should ride his Garuda. He has twenty arms: a left and right arm outstretched in pataka-hasta and another pair in yoga-mudra pose. The other fourteen hold hala (plough), shankha (conch), vajra (thunderbolt), ankusha (goad), arrow, sudarshana chakra, a lime fruit, danda (staff), pasha (noose), gada (mace), sword, lotus, horn, musala (pestle), akshamala (rosary). A hand is held in varada mudra (boon-giving gesture).

In the Bhagavata Purana, another description of this cosmic form is given by Suka to Parikshit. This form is known as Vairājaḥ Puruṣaḥ. This cosmic form is described as having the sole of his feet as patāla, his heels and toes as rasātala, ankles form the mahātala, while his shanks are talātala, sutāla is the knees, lower part of thigh is vitala and the upper part is atala. The earth (bhuloka) is his hips and the navel vault is the sky (bhuvarloka). His chest is the svargaloka, with stars. His neck is maharloka, his mouth the janaloka, his forehead the tapaloka and his head the satyaloka, abode of Brahma.

Depictions in Nepal

The artistic imagination of Hindu artists of Nepal has created iconic Vishvarupa images, expressing "sacred terror", as expressed by Arjuna. Vishvarupa has twenty heads arranged in tiers. They include Vishnu's animal avatars Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (boar), Narasimha (lion) as well as heads of vahanas (mounts) of Hindu deities: elephant (of Indra), eagle (Garuda of Vishnu), swan (Hansa of Brahma) and bull (of Shiva). Among the human heads, Vishnu's avatars as Parashurama, Rama, Krishna and Buddha. His two main hands hold the sun and the moon. He has ten visible legs and three concentric rings of hands accounting to 58. Other artistic representations of Vishvarupa in Nepal have varying number of heads, hands and legs and some have even attributes of Mahakala and Bhairava, such as flaying knife and skull bowl. Other attributes shown are arrows, bows, bell, vajra, sword with shield, umbrella and canopy. Another terrifying feature is a face on the belly that gorges a human being.

Modern depictions
In modern calendar art, Vishvarupa is depicted having many heads, each a different aspect of the divine. Some of the heads breathe fire indicating destructive aspects of God. Many deities are seen on his various body parts. His many hands hold various weapons. Often Arjuna features in this scene bowing to Vishvarupa. Jyotisar, where Krishna revealed the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna, has a  tall statue of Krishna in viratswaroop (vishvarupa) made of ashtadhatu (eight metals).

See also
 Macranthropy
 Microcosm–macrocosm analogy

References

Sources

External links

Forms of Vishnu
Forms of Krishna
Theophany

Vishvarupa


The Rights of Englishmen is an assumed group of rights that had its roots in the basic rights granted in the Magna Carta. The idea reached its peak during the British settlement of North America. By this time colonial Englishmen felt they were entitled to certain additional rights and liberties. These were over and above those already granted them by the English Monarchy. One of these perceived rights was the idea of no taxation without representation. This was a grievance of British colonists who believed that they were not directly represented in the British Parliament. They believed that any laws it passed affecting the colonists (such as the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act) were illegal under the Bill of Rights 1689, and were a denial of their rights as Englishmen. This led to the American Revolution and is expressed in the Declaration of Independence as "certain unalienable rights". They stopped thinking of themselves as Englishman and became Americans.

References

Human rights
Colonial Americans

Rights of Englishmen


Alms/Tiergarten (Spree) is a live album by Cecil Taylor with the Cecil Taylor European Orchestra recorded in Berlin on July 2, 1988, as part of month-long series of concerts by Taylor and released on the FMP label.

Critical reception
The AllMusic review by "Blue" Gene Tyranny states "This set is interesting primarily to hear European musicians interpret Taylor's kinesthetic directing...mostly an intense density of "free playing" (actually following specific internalized instructions and images) with almost everyone going on different gestures at once, with slow unison melodies emerging from the environment". Describing the album as "deeply moving", The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings says it is "a monumental event, the colossal sonic impact tempered by Taylor's own unflinching, instinctual control and a grasp of dynamics and dramatic possibility which is breathtaking."

Track listing
All compositions by Cecil Taylor.
 "Involution/Evolution" – 58:51
 "Weight-Breath-Sounding Trees" – 63:48
 Recorded in Berlin on July 2, 1988

Personnel
 Cecil Taylor – piano, voice
 Enrico Rava, Tomasz Stanko – trumpet
 Peter van Bergen – tenor saxophone
 Peter Brötzmann – tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, tarogato
 Hans Koch – soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
 Evan Parker – soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone
 Louis Sclavis – soprano saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
 Hannes Bauer, Christian Radovan, Wolter Wierbos – trombone
 Martin Mayes – French horn
 Gunter Hampel – vibraphone
 Tristan Honsinger – cello
 Peter Kowald, William Parker – double bass
 Han Bennink – drums

References

1989 live albums
Cecil Taylor live albums
FMP Records live albums

Alms/Tiergarten (Spree)


Terence Lloyd "Tebbs Lloyd" Johnson  ('7 April 1900, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire – 26 December 1984, Coventry, West Midlands) was a British speed-walker.

Lloyd-Johnson won the bronze medal in the 50-kilometre walk at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London at the age of 48 years and 115 days, becoming the oldest Olympic medal-winning athlete.  He had also competed in the same event at the 1936 Summer Olympics, finishing 17th behind younger teammate Harold Whitlock.

Johnson and Whitlock crossed paths in their career many times.  Earlier in 1936, Johnson defeated Whitlock in the British Racewalking Association 50K walk by a mere 4 seconds only to be disqualified for loss of contact in the final stages of the race.  Johnson had won the championship in 1931, 1934 and again in 1949.  After losing to Johnson in 1931, Whitlock won in 1933 and 1935-1939 (including the 1936 race) until the outbreak of World War II when the race was discontinued.  Whitlock's official time from that 1936 race 4:30:38 was the British record for 20 years, which would have been Johnson's had he not been DQed.  Johnson had also won the RWA 20 mile walk in 1927, 1931 and 1934.  Johnson succeeded Whitlock as the national coach.  He also served as RWA president.

Johnson continued walking until he was 70.

External links
 Tebbs Lloyd Johnson at sports-reference
 Picture of Lloyd-Johnson at the finish line
 Article about Tebbs Lloyd-Johnson

1900 births
1984 deaths
British male racewalkers
Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain
Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes for Great Britain
Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)
British masters athletes

Tebbs Lloyd Johnson


Charles Richard Maxwell (born April 8, 1927) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Boston Red Sox (1950–52, 1954), Baltimore Orioles (1955), Detroit Tigers (1955–62) and Chicago White Sox (1962–64).

Career overview
Maxwell was an agile left fielder who led all American League outfielders in fielding percentage in 1957 (.997) and 1960 (.996).  He had only one error in both years. He was also one of the top power hitters in baseball during his peak years with the Detroit Tigers from 1956 to 1960, finishing four times among the league leaders in home runs.  Maxwell was elected to the American League All-Star team in 1956 and 1957. He batted and threw left-handed, and was listed as  tall and .

Maxwell's nicknames included "The South Paw From Paw Paw," (given by the Detroit Tigers announcer Van Patrick because of Maxwell's unusually-named hometown of Paw Paw, Michigan), "Smokey," "Sunday Charlie", and "the Sabbath Smasher," the latter two given in recognition of his propensity for hitting home runs on Sundays.

Early career
Born in Lawton, Michigan, in 1927, Maxwell played baseball for Western Michigan University in 1945 before being drafted into the U.S. Army. After two years in the military, Maxwell played parts of seven seasons in the minor leagues (1947–53) before reaching the majors on a full-time basis. Signed by the Boston Red Sox, Maxwell spent three years (1947–49) playing for the Red Sox minor league team in Roanoke, Virginia. In 1949, Maxwell won the Triple crown in the Class B Piedmont League, with a .345 batting average, 29 home runs, and 112 RBIs. On May 25, 1949, Maxwell capped a comeback from 13–4 deficit with a two-out, three-run homer in the ninth inning.

In 1950, Maxwell hit .320 with 25 home runs for Birmingham in the Double-A Southern Association. After hitting four home runs in the post-season for Birmingham, Maxwell was called up to the big leagues for the last week of the 1950 season. Maxwell went hitless in nine plate appearances for the Red Sox in 1950. In 1951, Maxwell remained with the Red Sox but saw limited playing time as the backup left fielder for Ted Williams. His batting average in 1951 was .188. Things went from bad to worse in 1952, as Maxwell managed only one hit in 15 at-bats. In 1953, Maxwell turned things around, playing the full season for Louisville of the Triple-A American Association, and finishing the year with a .305 batting average, 23 home runs and 107 RBIs. Maxwell's strong performance in Louisville and Williams' broken collarbone resulted in Maxwell being the Red Sox starting left fielder at the start of the 1954 season. In mid-May, Williams returned to the lineup, and Maxwell to the bench. In the off-season, the Red Sox sold Maxwell to the Baltimore Orioles, but Maxwell had only four at-bats for the Orioles before being sold to the Detroit Tigers on May 9, 1955.

Peak years with Detroit (1956–1960)
Maxwell remained with the Tigers from 1955 to 1962, serving as the teams' regular left fielder from 1956 to 1960. After being platooned in Detroit's outfield in 1955, the 1956 season was Maxwell's first as an every-day player, and his performance won him a spot on the 1956 American League All-Star team. Maxwell played 141 games for the Tigers in 1956 and finished among the American League leaders in most batting categories with a .534 slugging percentage (3rd in the AL behind Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams); a .326 batting average (4th in AL); a .414 on-base percentage (4th in the AL); 96 runs (4th in the AL); 28 home runs (5th in the AL); and 87 RBIs (5th in the AL). Maxwell also excelled in the field in 1956, with a .987 fielding percentage. He often gave a pregame show for the fans, especially on Saturdays when the Tigers hosted kids from the "Knothole Gang." "Shagging fungoes in left field, Maxwell would grin, clown around, and catch the ball behind his back or between his legs." ("Charlie Maxwell," by Jim Sargent)

At age 30, Maxwell followed up with another strong season in 1957, winning a spot on the American League All-Star team for the second straight year. Having committed only four errors in 1956, Maxwell improved his performance in 1957, committing only one error in over 300 chances. He led all AL outfielders with a .997 fielding percentage. And his 2.36 Range factor in left field was 0.39 points above the average for all outfielders. Maxwell also continued his strong hitting in 1957. Though his batting average dipped by 50 points to .276, he finished with a .377 on-base percentage (8th in the AL), .482 slugging percentage, 24 home runs (7th in the AL). "I was a tougher clutch hitter late in the game," Maxwell recalled. "Sportswriter Hal Middlesworth told me that I led the team in game-winning hits in 1956 and 1957, even though other guys hit for higher averages." ("Charlie Maxwell," by Jim Sargent)

After a less than stellar performance in 1958 (13 home runs and 65 RBIs), the Tigers acquired Larry Doby to replace Maxwell for the 1959 season. Doby fizzled with the Tigers (.218 in 18 games), however, and was traded on May 13, leaving the left field spot open for Maxwell to reclaim. Maxwell posted career-highs in 1959 with 31 home runs (4th in the AL) and 95 RBIs (5th in the AL). Maxwell hit home runs in four consecutive at-bats during a Sunday afternoon doubleheader in May and hit 12 of his 31 home runs in 1959 on Sundays—leading fans, writers and broadcasters to refer to him as "Sunday Charlie" and "the Sabbath Smasher." In 1960, Maxwell's batting average dropped to .237, though he still hit 24 home runs and batted in 84 runs. Maxwell's defensive performance remained strong in 1960, as he led all American League outfielders in fielding percentage for the second time in his career. He committed only one error in over 1,000 innings in left field, for a .996 fielding percentage.

Later years (1961–1964)
In 1961, slugger Rocky Colavito took over Maxwell's spot in left field. Colavito hit 45 home runs and 140 RBIs, and Maxwell was relegated principally to a pinch hitting role. After batting .194 in 30 games in 1962, the Tigers traded Maxwell to the Chicago White Sox on June 25, 1962. Maxwell had a late season revival with the White Sox in 1962. By the third week of August, Maxwell was batting .352 for Chicago, and had a 13-game hitting streak, the team's longest that year. Maxwell wound up hitting .296 for the White Sox in 1962 with nine home runs. Maxwell also continued his "Sunday Charlie" tendencies with the White Sox, hitting five of his nine home runs in 1962 on Sundays, including 3 home runs during a Sunday doubleheader in July.

Maxwell's batting average dropped to .231 in 1963, and he managed only three home runs. The White Sox released Maxwell in April 1964 after Maxwell went hitless in two pinch-hitting appearances. In a 14-season career, Maxwell was a .264 hitter with 148 home runs and 532 RBIs in 1,133 games. Excellent defensively, Maxwell posted a .988 fielding percentage playing at first base and left and right field.

Life after baseball
After his baseball career ended, Maxwell returned to his home in Paw Paw, Michigan, where he sold automobile parts. In 1997, Maxwell was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. Charlie Maxwell Days were celebrated in August 2010 in Paw Paw with the renaming of the Paw Paw field to the "Charlie Maxwell Ball Diamond".

References

External links

 Charlie Maxwell - Baseballbiography.com

 Official Web Site for Bound Stems

1927 births
Living people
American League All-Stars
Baltimore Orioles players
Baseball players from Michigan
Birmingham Barons players
Boston Red Sox players
Chicago White Sox players
Detroit Tigers players
Louisville Colonels (minor league) players
Major League Baseball left fielders
People from Longboat Key, Florida
Baseball players from Manatee County, Florida
People from Paw Paw, Michigan
People from Van Buren County, Michigan
Roanoke Red Sox players
Scranton Red Sox players
United States Army personnel of World War II
Wellsville Nitros players
Western Michigan Broncos baseball players

Charlie Maxwell


P-type asteroids are asteroids that have low albedo and a featureless reddish spectrum. It has been suggested that they have a composition of organic rich silicates, carbon and anhydrous silicates, possibly with water ice in their interior.  P-type asteroids are found in the outer asteroid belt and beyond. There are about 33 known P-type asteroids, depending on the classification, including 46 Hestia, 65 Cybele, 76 Freia, 87 Sylvia, 153 Hilda, 476 Hedwig and, in some classifications, 107 Camilla.

Taxonomy
An early system of asteroid taxonomy was established in 1975 from the doctoral thesis work of David J. Tholen. This was based upon observations of a group of 110 asteroids. The U-type classification was used as a miscellaneous class for asteroids with unusual spectra that did not fit into the C and S-type asteroid classifications. In 1976, some of these U-type asteroids with unusual moderate albedo levels were labeled as M-type.

Around 1981, an offshoot of the M-type asteroid branch appeared for minor planets that have spectra that are indistinguishable from M-type, but that also have low albedo not consistent with the M type. These were initially labeled X-type asteroids, then type DM (dark M) or PM (pseudo-M), before acquiring their own unique classification as P-type asteroids (where the P indicates "pseudo-M").

Properties
The P-type asteroids are some of the darkest objects in the Solar System with very low albedos (pv<0.1) and appear to be organic-rich, similar to carbonaceous chondrites. Their colors are somewhat redder than S-type asteroids and they do not show spectral features. The red coloration may be caused by organic compounds related to kerogen. The reflectance spectra of P-type asteroids can be reproduced through a combination of 31% CI and 49% CM groups of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, plus 20% Tagish lake meteorites, after undergoing thermal metamorphism and space weathering.

The density of the only two well-characterized P-type asteroids, 87 Sylvia and 107 Camilla P-type asteroids appears to be low, at  – lower even than C-type asteroids. It is not clear what this tells us about their compositions. Both Sylvia and Camilla have moons and indications that they have been be disrupted, but they are also quite massive, at over  kg, and so are unlikely to have much internal porosity affecting their densities.

The outer part of the main asteroid belt beyond 2.6 AU from the Sun is dominated by low-albedo C, D and P-type asteroids. These are primitive asteroids that may have had their materials chemically altered by liquid water. There are 33 known P-type asteroids. In addition to this, P-type asteroids are thought to be found in the outer asteroid belt and beyond. The distribution of P-type asteroids peaks at an orbital distance of 4 AU.

References

See also
Asteroid spectral types

Asteroid spectral classes

P-type asteroid


Fred Meyer is an American chain of hypermarket superstores founded in 1922 in Portland, Oregon, United States, by Fred G. Meyer. The stores are found in the northwest U.S., within the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. The company was acquired by Kroger in 1998, though the stores are still branded Fred Meyer. The chain was one of the first in the United States to promote one-stop shopping, eventually combining a complete grocery supermarket with a drugstore, bank, clothing, jewelry, home decor, home improvement, garden, electronics, restaurant, shoes, sporting goods, and toys. The Fred Meyer division is headquartered in Portland.

History

1920s–1950s: beginnings

In 1922, the first Fred Meyer store opened in Portland at the corner of SW 5th & Yamhill. The store combined separate shops under one roof such as meat, produce, cheese, and other merchandise. Mr. Meyer's vision was to give customers more reasons to shop in his store than in any other.

The first suburban one-stop shopping center opened in 1931 in the Hollywood District of Portland, a neighborhood he deliberately chose through an application of market research: he would pay customers' overtime parking tickets that they incurred while shopping at his downtown store, just to obtain their home addresses. The store's innovations included a grocery store alongside a drugstore plus home products, off-street parking, gas station, and eventually, clothing. Fred G. Meyer would base store locations on planned highway construction.

In 1951, the Fred Meyer Company built a large warehouse near Providence Portland Medical Center in Laurelhurst, despite complaints and controversy from neighbors and the city council. Neighbors did not want large truck volume in their city, but the area was already zoned for industrial and commercial east of 44th Avenue. The huge warehouse was built to the detriment of the Banfield Expressway, built in Sullivan's Gulch less than five years later. The warehouse had to be condemned and partially destroyed for the freeway, with the state highway commission selling the remaining sections to the Bemis Company. The Fred Meyer Company moved to Swan Island on land formerly occupied by wartime housing for Kaiser Shipyards.

1960s–1970s: first acquisitions and founder's death

In the 1960s, Fred Meyer entered the Seattle market by acquiring Seattle-based Marketime Drugs. Fred Meyer also acquired a Spokane-based grocery wholesaler, The Roundup Company. Roundup owned no stores in Spokane but owned Kalispell, Montana-based B&B stores in northwest Montana and Consumer Warehouse Foods in Soap Lake, Washington.

By March 1968, Fred Meyer, Inc., was operating in four states Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana and had 48 retail stores. Later in 1968, the first full-fledged Fred Meyer in the Seattle area opened, in Lynnwood, Washington. It was the largest Fred Meyer for about a decade.

In 1973, Fred Meyer acquired all five Oregon stores of the Valu-Mart discount chain (formerly known as Villa-Mart in Oregon) from its parent company, Seattle-based Weisfield's, Inc. The following year, Weisfield's leased its remaining stores (renamed "Leslie's"), in 1975. According to an article published in the business section of The Seattle Times on August 10, 1975, Fred Meyer signed long-term leases with most of the 21 Weisfield's-owned stores (Tacoma and Everett locations were not acquired). Some of the properties may have been purchased by Fred Meyer at the time in the Oregon market but Weisfield's maintained existing leases on properties in the Seattle/Tacoma market since leases for the grocery sections (leased to Associated Grocers in 1973) and other smaller businesses within the stores were kept. Kroger acquired these properties from Weisfield during the 1990s and 2000s. Some of these properties such as the Greenwood and Midway locations were demolished to rebuild the locations. In 1975, Fred Meyer opened its first stores in Alaska as a result of acquiring Leslie's/Valu-Mart and changed the Leslie's/Valu-Mart stores to the Fred Meyer banner. As Fred Meyer became better known in the Seattle area, the Marketime Drug chain became known as Fred Meyer-Marketime. While Fred Meyer was building new stores in Washington state some smaller discount stores in the state would lease a portion of their stores to Fred Meyer as well such as The Hi-Ho Shopping Center in Puyallup and the Yard Birds Shopping Center in Centralia.

In January 1976, as part of a pressure campaign to support the eight-lane design of I-205, businessman Fred G. Meyer announced plans to build a Fred Meyer store and motel in the Gateway area.

In 1977, Marketime was renamed Fred Meyer. In the mid-1980s, the northwest Montana B&B stores also acquired the Fred Meyer name.

On September 2, 1978, Fred G. Meyer died at the age of 92. Until his death, Mr. Meyer continued to play an active role in the day-to-day operation of his company. Also in 1978, Fortune placed Fred Meyer as the 45th largest retail company by sales. The chain had over $1 billion in sales in 1979.

1980s–1990s: additional expansion and California retreat

In 1981, the company was purchased by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in what was one of KKR's first major leveraged buyouts. As of May 1988, the chain had 99 stores in six states.

In 1984, Fred Meyer acquired Grand Central of Salt Lake City, Utah. The Grand Central stores in Utah and Idaho were converted to Fred Meyer stores, although most did not receive full supermarket departments until the mid-1990s.

In the 1990s Fred Meyer expanded into California by opening a store in Chico. Plans had been made to open a store in Redding and expand into Sacramento with several sites having been acquired. Eventually, the Chico location was closed and sold, and the Sacramento sites sold; the Redding site eventually became a Wal-Mart store in 1996.

In 1997, Fred Meyer acquired Smith's Food and Drug of Salt Lake City, though both companies maintained separate operations. The same year, Fred Meyer acquired Ralphs of Los Angeles, California, and QFC of Seattle. Both acquisitions also maintained separate operations with Fred Meyer as the holding company. In that fast string of mergers, Fred Meyer quickly became the nation's fifth largest food and drug store operator.

In 1997, Fred Meyer converted its Columbia Falls and Kalispell stores in Montana into Smith's Food & Drug Stores and closed its Polson location. In 2001, the Kalispell store was demolished and replaced with a newer Smith's location adjacent to the older, obsolete store. The Columbia Falls store retained the Fred Meyer decor (with Smith's logos over the old Fred Meyer logos) but only contained a grocery department, with none of the other departments or product offerings.

In 1998, Fred Meyer was acquired by Kroger of Cincinnati, Ohio. Before the acquisition, it traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FMY.

2000s–2010s: Fred Meyer as a Kroger subsidiary
In 2000, the Arizona Fred Meyer stores, all of which were formerly Smith's stores that Fred Meyer acquired in the Smith's merger, were rebranded as Fry's Marketplace.

In 2004, Smith's Food and Drug assumed the operations of the Utah Fred Meyer stores, which were rebranded as Smith's Marketplace. Also, since the acquisition of the Fred Meyer Company, Kroger has been unifying standards across the company, adopting many of the Fred Meyer store standards, and implementing their own standards to the Fred Meyer stores. Kroger and Fred Meyer stores are slowly becoming more similar in management and merchandising.

Additionally, one Fred Meyer in Seattle in the Capitol Hill neighborhood merged its operations with QFC which had a grocery store across the street from the Broadway Market. This particular Fred Meyer, probably the smallest one in the chain, had only personal care and home health items, along with general merchandise, but no food or apparel. This store is now a QFC Marketplace, the only one of its kind, but it is not signed as such.

In March 2018, Fred Meyer dropped guns and ammunition from product offering. Shortly before the discontinuation, it limited the sale to 21 and over.

Private label brands
Fred Meyer employs Kroger's manufacturing by adding its own private label brands alongside national brand products. Aside from products labeled Kroger or Fred Meyer, one might also find the following brands at a Fred Meyer store: Kivu Coffee, Country Oven, Everyday Living (and the more upscale EL2), Kroger Value, Moto Tech, Private Selection, HD Designs, Dip, Kidz Korner, Splash Spa, Simple Truth, Psst, Homesense, and Naturally Preferred. Former brands associated with Fred Meyer were My-Te-Fine, President's Choice, Fred Bear, F. G. Meyer First Choice, Personal Choice, and Perfect Choice.

In 2018, Fred Meyer stores used Geoffrey's Toy Box name for toy departments in the Christmas season.

Rewards program
On May 4, 2004, Fred Meyer introduced Fred Meyer Rewards, a program that rewards customers for shopping in their stores. To participate, a customer completes a registration form and receives three purple cards (a credit card-sized card and two key tags). When the program was introduced, participating customers received one point for every $5 they spent in a single transaction (transactions totaling under $5 did not receive a point). If a customer earned 100 points (spending at least $500) during a 13-week rewards cycle, they would receive about $5 in rebate vouchers. The rewards mailer also typically included percentage discount coupons on specific items.

On April 29, 2007, the company revised the program somewhat, simultaneously with the launch of their Fred Meyer Rewards MasterCard. Effective on that date (which was the beginning of a 13-week cycle), customers receive a point for each dollar spent, but the value of each point decreased proportionally, and a customer must earn 500 points in a 13-week rewards cycle to receive a rebate voucher. Customers who use the MasterCard version of Rewards earn double points at Fred Meyer (2 points per dollar spent), and single points everywhere else where MasterCard is accepted (1 point per dollar spent).

In 2011, the company switched from MasterCard to Visa, which uses the same points format as the MasterCard program. In addition to reward points, Visa rewards cardholders receive 15 cents off fuel per 100 fuel points.

In August 2020, Fred Meyer revised the program to match other Kroger divisions. The card is now required to purchase items in the store at sale prices.

Plastic bag ban
In July 2010, Fred Meyer announced that effective August 1, it would no longer offer plastic bags at any of its 10 Portland stores, due to their negative environmental impacts. Until the City of Portland banned the use of plastic bags in grocery and certain big box stores in October 2011, Fred Meyer was the largest retail chain in the Portland metropolitan area to adopt such a policy. A spokesperson indicated that an increasing number of the chain's customers have been choosing to use reusable bags, noting that Fred Meyer's own sales of such bags at its check stands had increased 30 percent from 2008 to 2009. During the COVID-19 pandemic, baggers were still able to bag with paper bags, but customers with reusable bags were advised they would have to bag on their own.

Gun and ammunition policy
In March 2018, Fred Meyer announced it would cease the sale of all firearms and ammunition to people under the age of 21, as a response to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Later that month, it was announced that the ban would be extended to sales of firearms in general. Additionally, the company stopped selling magazines that feature "assault rifles", although the company did not specify how it would screen publications.

References

External links

 Fred Meyer Stores

Companies based in Portland, Oregon
Retail companies established in 1922
Economy of the Northwestern United States
Hypermarkets of the United States
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts companies
Kroger
Supermarkets of the United States
1931 establishments in Oregon
1981 mergers and acquisitions
1998 mergers and acquisitions
Culture of the Pacific Northwest

Fred Meyer


Animato is a compilation of short films by Mike Jittlov, making extensive use of stop motion, pixilation,  kinestasis, animation, and multiple exposures. It features the films The Interview, Swing Shift, Rocketman, The Leap, Time Tripper and Fashionation.

It was screened at Filmex in 1977. Regis Philbin was so impressed by the short Time Tripper that he had it televised.

Fashionation is one of the well-known animated segments. The short was made using kinestasis and cutout animation, mostly from fashion magazines illustrating the lyrics of the song "I Know a Place" by Petula Clark. It also extensively used multiple exposures, pixilation and stop motion for the brief live-action sequence.

See also
 The Wizard of Speed and Time
 Mike Jittlov
 1977 in film

References

External links

 Animato on YouTube

American independent films
1970s stop-motion animated films
1977 films
Animated anthology films
1970s American animated films
American animated short films
Compilation films
Films directed by Mike Jittlov
1977 short films
1977 animated films

Animato


Tucker Pierre Edward Power Gougelmann (January 24, 1917 – June 23, 1975) was a United States Marine Corps colonel, World War II veteran, and a Central Intelligence Agency officer in their Special Activities Division who died in Vietnam in 1975.

World War II and entry into the CIA
During the war he served in the Pacific, participating in battles such as Guadalcanal.  During the Solomon Islands campaign he suffered a severe wound as the result of being shot in the right leg by a Japanese sniper while he was helping to move his fellow soldiers who were wounded out of danger.

Although the military doctors told him that his leg would have to be amputated as part of his treatment, Gougelmann was intent on returning to service and therefore refused to give his permission for the doctors to proceed with the amputation.  He wound up keeping his leg but as a result his convalescence lasted for two years.  During this time he was decorated with a Purple Heart in recognition of his having sustained the injury in combat.

By the time he had recovered and was returned to active duty the war was drawing to a close.  Regardless, Gougelmann remained in the Corps until his honorable discharge in 1949.  Wanting to continue in service to his country, Gougelmann joined the then nascent Central Intelligence Agency, which had been created from the embattled Central Intelligence Group ("CIG") following the National Security Act of 1947 which Truman had signed into law only two years earlier.

Although the CIG had a record of difficulty with attracting "the best and the brightest," the newly formed CIA had no such difficulties in its early years.  It was in fact a magnet for many of the nation's privileged youth who were recent graduates of top educational institutions, such as Ivy League universities.  It was viewed as presenting a unique set of challenges, interesting work, and the opportunity to serve the country at the beginning of the Cold War.

Cold War service
Gougelmann's first assignment was to Korea during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. There he participated in covert operations, including helping agents to infiltrate the North.  His experience in covert operations was subsequently put to use in the CIA's attempts to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba during the mid/late 1950s and early 1960s.  Gougelmann may have been involved in the botched Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961, although this is not confirmed.  Following the CIA's failed attempts to remove Castro from power, and the public relations problems that it caused for the Kennedy Administration, the CIA's role with respect to Cuba was severely curtailed as the Cold War's active theater moved from Cuba back to other parts of the world, including Southeast Asia.  Gougelmann's assignments during that time took him to Afghanistan as well as various locations in Europe.

Vietnam
In 1962 Gougelmann was assigned to South Vietnam.  He continued to specialize in covert paramilitary operations work, coordinating Nasty boat raids against the North using Taiwanese nationals posing as civilians as part of Operation 34A.  Following the conclusion of the raiding program, Gougelmann was assigned to the CIA's Saigon Station where his knowledge of covert operations methods was put to use in the domestic counter-intelligence work of a local governmental entity.  Being settled in a location for the first time in a long while, Gougelmann began a family life there with a local woman.

Gougelmann retired from the CIA in 1972 and had departed South Vietnam before the Fall of Saigon and was living in Bangkok, Thailand as a civilian.  When his family could not be evacuated from Saigon prior to the impending North Vietnamese victory, he returned on his own. Once there, he established contact with his family, but had difficulty finding a way to get them out of the country.  In the environment of that time, his continued presence was very unsafe, as an American CIA Officer would be a prime catch for the triumphant North Vietnamese.

Although he tried his best to hide, including stuffing himself into an alcove behind a refrigerator, he was eventually found during a search conducted by the police on the advice of a local Vietnamese on March 29, 1975.

Capture, interrogation and torture
Gougelmann was immediately taken into custody and kept in the main prison of the area, Chí Hòa Prison. A French reporter had witnessed his arrest and he was reportedly seen by Vietnamese prisoners in Wing ED, where he was being kept. The Vietnamese government denied that they were holding him, despite being presented with evidence to the contrary.  Details of his imprisonment are limited and unconfirmed, and his treatment by the Vietnamese during his captivity is based on examination of the evidence after the fact.

He was removed from the prison several times to be taken for interrogation, and government officials believe he was tortured during this time.  The Vietnamese government continued to deny that they were holding Gougelmann for the remainder of 1975 and 1976, but in 1977 they released his remains to U.S. authorities. Postmortem examination by U.S. government officials indicated that Gougelmann was tortured during his captivity, as evidenced primarily by a very large number of broken bones which appeared to have been broken and re-broken after healing.

According to Bien Hoa CIA spymaster Orrin DeForrest in his book Slow Burn: The Rise and Bitter Fall of American Intelligence in Vietnam, Gougelmann had been retired and living in Saigon since 1973 with his Vietnamese wife.  DeForrest stated:

After death
Before leaving Bangkok for Vietnam, Gougelmann asked a friend to try to get his family, including his youngest son, Edward who was born after Gougelmann's's arrest, out of Vietnam and to America if he ran afoul of the Vietnamese authorities. After contacting American government officials in the CIA, Congress, and other high-ranking government offices, the friend succeeded in obtaining visas which allowed the family to emigrate to the United States.

After Gougelmann's remains were returned to the United States, he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. His grave is located next to that of Francis Gary Powers.

Though not serving in an official capacity at the time of his arrest in 1975, the CIA decided that Gougelmann's death was a result of the official CIA activity that he had been involved with previously in Vietnam and granted him a star on the CIA Memorial Wall at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia which commemorates those CIA staff who died in the line of duty.

See also

Special Activities Division

References

External links
C.I.A.: Stars on the Wall, a 2002 Discovery Channel documentary on members of the CIA killed while on duty.

1917 births
1976 deaths
People of the Central Intelligence Agency
United States Marine Corps officers
Prisoners who died in Vietnamese detention
American people who died in prison custody
American people imprisoned abroad
American torture victims
United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II
American people of the Korean War
CIA personnel of the Vietnam War
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
Vietnam War casualties

Tucker Gougelmann


St. Mary's Band or St. Mary's First Nation () is one of six Wolastoqiyik or Maliseet Nations on the Saint John River in Canada.

The St. Mary's Band lands comprise two reserves (Saint Mary's # 24, 1 ha; Devon # 30, 131.5 ha). The Saint Mary's reserve, established in 1867, lies on the northeast bank of the Saint John River, opposite downtown Fredericton.  A second, larger reserve, purchased in 1929, lies 3 km NNE of the St. Mary's reservation. Recent (2002) acquisitions have expanded the reserve lands to 308 ha. Roughly half the members of the St. Mary's First Nation reside on the reserve lands.

The founding of the 1867 Reserve is attributed to Gabriel Acquin, a Maliseet hunter, guide and interpreter.

References

External links
Saint Mary's First Nation website

Maliseet
Communities in York County, New Brunswick
Greater Fredericton

St. Mary's First Nation


Galveston Pirate SC is an American soccer team based in League City, Texas. Founded in 1916, the team played until the 1940s, then reemerged in the 1960s and 1970s for a period of about seven years each time.

In 2010 the team was again reborn and played in the fourth-tier National Premier Soccer League as an expansion team in 2011–12, a season they finished as the champions of the South Central Conference. Team owner Brendan Keyes relocated and re-branded the NPSL franchise for the 2013 season as Houston Hurricanes FC, but stated he will continue to use the Pirate brand in local leagues and tournaments.  On March 11 Brendan Keyes announced that William Alsobrook had been named sole owner of the franchise.

The team's colors are Navy Blue, Gold and White.

History
Galveston Pirate SC has a long history in the Galveston area going back to the original soccer team of 1916. The team came back in the 1960s and 70s, but lost momentum.

Galveston Pirate SC joins NPSL
On June 1, 2010, the National Premier Soccer League introduced Galveston Pirate SC as the thirty-fifth team to join the league and the second team to join the Texas Division. Regals FC, Corpus Christi Fuel,  and FC Tulsa. Pirate SC, Regals FC, Corpus Christi Fuel, and FC Tulsa would have made up the Texas Division of the National Premier Soccer League and would have begun play in the 2010–2011 season in October 2010 and continued into March 31, 2011. The Winter League would have complemented the already existing NPSL Premier Season which runs yearly from April 1 to August 1. Galveston Pirate SC announced they would play their home games at Kermit Courville Stadium (owned by the Galveston Independent School District). NPSL named Brendan Keyes as the owner of Galveston Pirate SC.

Galveston Pirate SC, NPSL South Central create SPSL
Before the NPSL Winter League could start, FC Tulsa left the division at the last minute. National Premier Soccer League's remaining three South Central teams, Galveston Pirate SC, Regals FC, and Corpus Christi Fuel, joined with Texas Lonestrikers, Tulsa Lobos FC, and Houston-based Club América Academy,  to form the Southern Premier Soccer League to play later that year for the 2010–11 SPSL Winter Season.

Rise to Division 4
On October 12, 2011, the National Premier Soccer League announced that five new teams, including Galveston Pirate SC, would join the league for the 2012 season in the Southeast Division in the Western Conference.

Galveston Pirate SC joins the TPSL
Galveston Pirate SC was a founding member of the Texas Premier Soccer League.

Galveston Pirate in the Houston Football Association
In July 2015, Galveston Pirate announced, that they were going to continue playing in the Houston Football Association, (HFA).  The HFA is sanctioned by United States Specialty Sports Association and US Soccer.

Galveston Pirate SC official affiliations
Galveston Pirate SC have announced official affiliation partnerships with Alloway FC, Queensland Australia; Monmouth Town FC, Monmouth, Wales, United Kingdom, Walsall Football Club, and Walsall Supporters Trust, Walsall, England, United Kingdom and The West Indies Football Association, Walsall Football Club (Sierra Leone), and Atlentico Stars FC in Kisumu Nyalenda Kenya.

Notable matches

Galveston Pirate SC v San Antonio Scorpions
On March 9, 2012, Galveston Pirate Soccer Club made the trip to San Antonio to face off in a scrimmage match against new North American Soccer League side, San Antonio Scorpions.

The kickoff was scheduled for Friday 9th at 8pm but due to torrential rain, the start was delayed until the following morning at 9.30. The venue was also rearranged, with Heroes Stadium now being the preferred choice thanks to the artificial turf being more durable in the weather conditions.

The match ended 3–0 for the Scorpions but proved to be a worthwhile run out for both sides as they headed towards both their upcoming inaugural respective NASL & NPSL seasons.

Pirate v Monterrey Rayados
On April 20, 2012, Galveston Pirate Soccer Club announced the details of possibly the largest sporting event that the City of Galveston has ever seen.

The club revealed that after extensive talks, they had secured an international challenge match with 2 time, re-crowned, CONCACAF Champions, Club de Futbol Monterrey who ply their trade in the Liga MX.

The match was played at Galveston's stadium, Kermit Courville which has a capacity of 10,000.

July 2, 7pm kickoff, Kermit Courville Stadium, 1307, 27th Street, Galveston.

Admiral Sports Texas State Cup

February 8, 2015, An improbable run saw Pirate SC advance to the finals of the Texas State Cup where they fell 4–2 to Austin Real Cuauhtémoc.

Crest and jersey
The colors of Pirate SC's crest are navy blue, yellow and white. The Est. 1916 ribbon in the crest is a nod to the original Galveston Pirate Soccer Club first formed in 1916.

Admiral join as kit supplier
On January 24, 2012, the Pirate were proud to announce a 5-year deal with UK Sports apparel giant, Admiral Sportswear.

Uniform unveiling
On March 5, 2012, Galveston Pirate proudly unveiled their new Admiral supplied uniform for the upcoming NPSL South-South Central Conference season.

Home uniform sponsor
Pirate Soccer Club has not announced a shirt sponsor for 2015/16 Season
Pirate Soccer Club were sponsored by Miller Lite in 2014/15

Away uniform sponsor
Pirate SC have not announced an Away Shirt Sponsor for 2015/16 Season
Pirate Soccer Club were sponsored by Miller Lite in 2014/15

Stadium

Current
Galveston Pirate SC has not announced a home field for the 2015/16 season.

Previous
 Kermit Courville Stadium; Galveston, Texas (2010–2011)
 Weis Middle School Stadium; Galveston, Texas (2012)
 Dow Park; Deer Park, Texas (2013/14)

Team officials
Owner: William Alsobrook
Equity Partners: Bethany Alsobrook, James Baird

Senior Club Staff
Chief Executive Officer: William Alsobrook
Chief Human Resources Officer: Bethany Alsobrook
Chief Financial Officer: Bethany Alsobrook
Chief Operating Officer: Ernie Alsobrook
Senior Vice President: Linda Alsobrook
Executive Vice President for Soccer Operations: James Baird
Executive Vice President of Marketing: Tyler Cambell
Executive Vice President:
General Manager:
Assistant General Manager:

Coaching Staff
Head coach:
Assistant coach:
Assistant coach:
Assistant coach:
Goalkeepers Coach:

Trivia
Roy Hernandez is the first Pirate SC player to score a hat-trick, doing so in the third preseason match on July 10, 2010 against Houston Football Association's Houston Rangers by a score of 3–1 in Pirate SC's inaugural season. Hernandez got the team's and his second hat-trick, against the Corpus Christi Fuel two games later in a 3–3 tie.
Galveston Pirate SC is the oldest soccer club in Texas.

References

External links

Association football clubs established in 2010
Soccer clubs in Texas
Sports in Galveston, Texas
Soccer clubs in Houston
2010 establishments in Texas

Galveston Pirate SC


The Afrotropical realm is one of Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopian Zone or Ethiopian Region.

Major ecological regions
Most of the Afrotropical realm, with the exception of Africa's southern tip, has a tropical climate. A broad belt of deserts, including the Atlantic and Sahara deserts of northern Africa and the Arabian Desert of the Arabian Peninsula, separate the Afrotropic from the Palearctic realm, which includes northern Africa and temperate Eurasia.

Sahel and Sudan
South of the Sahara, two belts of tropical grassland and savanna run east and west across the continent, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ethiopian Highlands. Immediately south of the Sahara lies the Sahel belt, a transitional zone of semi-arid short grassland and vachellia savanna. Rainfall increases further south in the Sudanian Savanna, also known simply as the Sudan, a belt of taller grasslands and savannas. The Sudanian Savanna is home to two great flooded grasslands, the Sudd wetland in South Sudan, and the Niger Inland Delta in Mali. The forest-savanna mosaic is a transitional zone between the grasslands and the belt of tropical moist broadleaf forests near the equator.

Southern Arabian woodlands
South Arabia, which includes Yemen and parts of western Oman and southwestern Saudi Arabia, has few permanent forests. Some of the notable ones are Jabal Bura, Jabal Raymah, and Jabal Badaj in the Yemeni highland escarpment and the seasonal forests in eastern Yemen and the Dhofar region of Oman. Other woodlands scatter the land and are very small and are predominantly Juniperus or Vachellia forests.

Forest zone

The forest zone, a belt of lowland tropical moist broadleaf forests, runs across most of equatorial Africa's intertropical convergence zone. The Upper Guinean forests of West Africa extend along the coast from Guinea to Togo. The Dahomey Gap, a zone of forest-savanna mosaic that reaches to the coast, separates the Upper Guinean forests from the Lower Guinean forests, which extend along the Gulf of Guinea from eastern Benin through Cameroon and Gabon to the western Democratic Republic of the Congo. The largest tropical forest zone in Africa is the Congolian forests of the Congo Basin in Central Africa.

A belt of tropical moist broadleaf forest also runs along the Indian Ocean coast, from southern Somalia to South Africa.

Somali–Masai region
In northeastern Africa, semi-arid Acacia–Commiphora woodlands, savannas, and bushlands are the dominant plant communities. This region is called the Somali-Masai centre of endemism or Somali-Masai region. It extends from central Tanzania northwards through the Horn of Africa, and covers portions of Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, and Eritrea. Thorny, dry-season deciduous species of Acacia and Commiphora are the dominant trees, growing in open-canopied woodlands, open savannas, and dense bushlands and thickets. This region includes the Serengeti ecosystem, which is renowned for its wildlife.

Eastern Africa's highlands

Afromontane region, from the Ethiopian Highlands to the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa, including the East African Rift. Distinctive flora, including Podocarpus and Afrocarpus, as well as giant Lobelias and Senecios.
 Ethiopian Highlands
 Albertine rift montane forests
 East African montane forests and Eastern Arc forests

Zambezian region

The Zambezian region includes woodlands, savannas, grasslands, and thickets. Characteristic plant communities include Miombo woodlands, drier mopane and Baikiaea woodlands, and higher-elevation Bushveld. It extends from east to west in a broad belt across the continent, south of the rainforests of the Guineo-Congolian region, and north of the deserts of southeastern Africa, the countries are Malawi, Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and the subtropical.

Deserts of southern Africa

Southern Africa contains a number of deserts. The Namib Desert is one of the oldest deserts in the world and extends for over 2,000 kilometers along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa. It is characterized by towering dunes and a diversity of endemic wildlife. Further inland with respect to the Namib Desert, the Kalahari Desert is a semi-arid savanna spanning Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. The Kalahari is known for its diversity of mineral resources, particularly diamonds, as well as a variety of flora. South of the Namib and Kalahari deserts is the Karoo. A semi-desert natural region, the Karoo desert spans across parts of the Western and Eastern Cape in South Africa and contains vast open spaces and unique vegetation, such as certain species of Asteraceae flowering plants. Within the boundaries of the larger Karoo, the Tankwa Karoo is a more arid sub-region known for harsher conditions and starker landscapes. Further to the west, the Richtersveld, a mountainous desert in the north-western corner of South Africa, presents a rugged landscape. It is celebrated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its unique biodiversity and cultural significance to the local Nama people.

Cape floristic region
The Cape floristic region, at Africa's southern tip is a Mediterranean climate region that is home to a significant number of endemic taxa, as well as to plant families like the proteas (Proteaceae) that are also found in the Australasian realm.

Madagascar and the Indian Ocean islands

Madagascar and neighboring islands form a distinctive sub-region of the realm, with numerous endemic taxa like the lemurs. Madagascar and the Granitic Seychelles are old pieces of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana, and broke away from Africa millions of years ago. Other Indian Ocean islands, like the Comoros and Mascarene Islands, are volcanic islands that formed more recently. Madagascar contains a variety of plant habitats, from rainforests to mountains and deserts, as its biodiversity and ratio of endemism is extremely high.

Endemic plants and animals

Plants
The Afrotropical realm is home to a number of endemic plant families. Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands are home to ten endemic families of flowering plants; eight are endemic to Madagascar (Asteropeiaceae, Didymelaceae, Didiereaceae, Kaliphoraceae, Melanophyllaceae, Physenaceae, Sarcolaenaceae, and Sphaerosepalaceae), one to Seychelles (Mesdusagynaceae), and one to the Mascarene Islands (Psiloxylaceae). Twelve plant families are endemic or nearly endemic to South Africa (including Curtisiaceae, Heteropyxidaceae, Penaeaceae, Psiloxylaceae, and Rhynchocalycaceae) of which five are endemic to the Cape floristic province (including Grubbiaceae). Other endemic Afrotropic families include Barbeyaceae, Dirachmaceae, Montiniaceae, Myrothamnaceae, and Oliniaceae.

Animals

The East African Great Lakes (Victoria, Malawi, and Tanganyika) are the center of biodiversity of many freshwater fishes, especially cichlids (they harbor more than two-thirds of the estimated 2,000 species in the family). The West African coastal rivers region covers only a fraction of West Africa, but harbours 322 of West Africa's fish species, with 247 restricted to this area and 129 restricted even
to smaller ranges. The central rivers fauna comprises 194 fish species, with 119 endemics and only 33 restricted to small areas.

The Afrotropic has various endemic bird families, including ostriches (Struthionidae), the secretary bird (Sagittariidae), guineafowl (Numididae), and mousebirds (Coliidae). Also, several families of passerines are limited to the Afrotropics; These include rock-jumpers (Chaetopidae) and rockfowl (Picathartidae).

Africa has three endemic orders of mammals, the Tubulidentata (aardvarks), Afrosoricida (tenrecs and golden moles), and Macroscelidea (elephant shrews). The East-African plains are well known for their diversity of large mammals.

Four species of great apes (Hominidae) are endemic to Central Africa: both species of gorilla (western gorilla, Gorilla gorilla, and eastern gorilla, Gorilla beringei) and both species of chimpanzee (common chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes, and bonobo, Pan paniscus). Humans and their ancestors originated in Africa.

Afrotropical terrestrial ecoregions

Habitats
The tropical environment is rich in terms of biodiversity. Tropical African forest is 18 percent of the world total and covers over 3.6 million square kilometers of land in West, East and Central Africa. This total area can be subdivided to 2.69 million square kilometers (74%) in Central Africa, 680,000 square kilometers (19%) in West Africa, and 250,000 square kilometers (7%) in East Africa. In West Africa, a chain of rain forests up to 350 km long extends from the eastern border of Sierra Leone all the way to Ghana. In Ghana the forest zone gradually dispels near the Volta river, following a 300 km stretch of Dahomey savanna gap. The rain forest of West Africa continues from east of Benin through southern Nigeria and officially ends at the border of Cameroon along the Sanaga river.

Semi-deciduous rainforests in West Africa began at the fringed coastline of Guinea Bissau (via Guinea) and run all the way through the coasts of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, continuing through Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon, and ending at the Congo Basin. Rainforests such as these are the richest, oldest, most prolific, and most complex systems on Earth, are dying, and in turn are upsetting the delicate ecological balance. This may disturb global hydrological cycles, release vast amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and lessen the planet's ability to store excess carbon.

The rainforest vegetation of the Guinea-Congolian transition area, extending from Senegal to western Uganda are constituted of two main types: The semi-deciduous rainforest characterized by a large number of trees whose leaves are left during dry season. It appears in areas where the dry period (rainfall below about 100 mm) reach three months. Then, the evergreen or the semi-evergreen rainforest, climatically adapted to somewhat more humid conditions than the semi-deciduous type and is usually there in areas where the dry period is shorter than two months. This forest is usually richer in legumes and variety of species and its maximum development is around the Bight of Biafra, from Eastern Nigeria to Gabon, and with some large patches leaning to the west from Ghana to Liberia and to the east of Zaïre-Congo basin.

Among rainforest areas in other continents, most of the African rainforest is comparatively dry and receives between 1600 and 2000 mm of rainfall per year. Areas receiving more rain than this mainly are in coastal areas. The circulation of rainfall throughout the year remains less than other rainforest regions in the world. The average monthly rainfall in nearly the whole region remains under 100 mm throughout the year. The variety of the African rainforest flora is also less than the other rainforests. This lack of flora has been credited to several reasons such as the gradual infertility since the Miocene, severe dry periods during Quaternary, or the refuge theory of the cool and dry climate of tropical Africa during the last severe ice age of about 18,000 years ago.

Fauna

The Tropical African rainforest has rich fauna, commonly smaller mammal species rarely seen by humans. New species continually are being discovered. For instance, in late 1988 an unknown shrub species was discovered on the shores of the Median River in Western Cameroon. Since then many species have become extinct. However, undisturbed rainforests are some of the richest habitats for animal species. Today, undisturbed rainforests are remnant, but rare. Timber extraction not only changes the edifice of the forest, it affects the tree species spectrum by removing economically important species and terminates other species in the process. The species that compose African rainforests are of different evolutionary ages because of the contraction and expansion of the rainforest in response to global climatic fluctuations.
The pygmy hippopotamus, the giant forest hog, the water chevrotain, insectivores, rodents, bats, tree frogs, and bird species inhabit the forest. These species, along with a diversity of fruits and insects, make a special habitat that allow for a diversity of life. The top canopy is home to monkey species like the red colobus, Black-and-white Colobus, and many other Old-World monkey species. Many of these rare and unique species are endangered or critically endangered and need protection from poachers and provided ample habitat to thrive.

Flora
In Tropical Africa, about 8,500 plant species have been documented, including 403 orchid species.

Species unfamiliar to the changes in forest structure for industrial use might not survive. If timber use continues and an increasing amount of farming occurs, it could lead to the mass killing of animal species. The home of nearly half of the world's animals and plant species are tropical rainforests. The rainforests provide economic resources for over-populated developing countries. Despite the stated need to save the West African forests, there are varied opinions on how best to accomplish this goal. In April 1992, countries with some of the largest surviving tropical rainforests banned a rainforest protection plan proposed by the British government. It aimed at finding endangered species of tropical trees in order to control their trade. Experts estimate that the rainforest of West Africa, at the present rate of deforestation, may disappear by the year 2020.

Africa's rainforest, like many others emergent in the world, has a special significance to the indigenous peoples of Africa who have occupied them for millennia.

Region protection
Many African countries are in economic and political change, overwhelmed by conflict, making various movements of forest exploitation to maintained forest management and production more and more complicated.

Forest legislation of ATO member countries aim to promote the balanced utilization of the forest domain and of wildlife and fishery in order to increase the input of the forest sector to the economic, social, cultural and scientific development of the country.

Deforestation

Tropical rainforests are distributed across West African countries. However, it is becoming clear that the area is experiencing a high rate of deforestation. The term deforestation refers to the complete obstruction of forest canopy cover for means of agriculture, plantations, cattle-ranching, and other non-forest fields. Other observed changes in these forests are forest disintegration (changing the spatial continuity and creating a mosaic of forest blocks and other land cover types), and selective logging of woody species for profitable purposes that affects the forest subfloor and the biodiversity.

Several conservation and development demographic settings indicate that maximum loss of rainforests has occurred in countries with higher population growth. Lack of dependable data and survey information in some countries has made the account of change in areas of unbroken forest and/or land under use and their relation to economic indicators difficult to ascertain. Hence, the amount and rate of deforestation in Africa are less known than other regions of tropics.

One reason for forest depletion is agriculture of cash crops. West African countries depend on cash crop exports. Products like gum, copal, rubber, cola nuts, and palm oil are an important source of steady income revenue for the West African countries. Land use change spoils entire habitats with the forests. Converting forests into timber is another cause of deforestation. Over decades, the primary forest product was commercial timber. Urbanized countries account for a great percentage of the world's wood consumption, that increased greatly between 1950 and 1980. Simultaneously, preservation measures were reinforced to protect European and American forests. Economic growth and growing environmental protection in industrialized European countries made request for tropical hardwood to become strong in West Africa. In the first half of the 1980s, an annual forest loss of  was note down along the Gulf of Guinea, a figure equivalent to 4-5 per cent of the total remaining rainforest area. By 1985, 72% of West Africa's rainforests had been transformed into fallow lands and an additional 9% had been opened up by timber exploitation.

Tropical timber became a viable choice to European wood following World War II, as trade with East European countries stop and timber noticeably became sparse in western and southern Europe. Despite efforts to promote lesser known timber species use, the market continued to focus on part of the usable timber obtainable. West Africa was prone to selective harvesting practices; while conservationists blamed the timber industry and the farmers for felling trees, others believe rainforest destruction is connected to the problem of fuel wood. The contribution of fuel wood consumption to tree stock decline in Africa is believed to be significant. It is generally believed that firewood provides 75% of the energy used in sub-Sahara Africa. With the high demand, the consumption of wood for fuel exceeds the renewal of forest cover.

The rainforests which remain in West Africa now greatly differ in condition from their state 30 years ago. In Guinea, Liberia, and the Ivory Coast, there is almost no primary forest cover left unscathed; in Ghana the situation is much worse, and nearly all of the rainforest being removed. Guinea-Bissau loses  of forest yearly, Senegal  of wooded savanna, and Nigeria 6,000,050,000 of both. Liberia exploits  of forests each year. Extrapolating from present rates of loss, botanist Peter Raven pictures that the majority of the world's moderate and smaller rainforests (such as in Africa) could be destroyed in forty years. Tropical Africa is comprises 18% of the world's total land area covering  of land in West and Central Africa. The region has been facing deforestation in various degrees of intensity throughout the recent decades. The actual rate of deforestation varies from one country to another and accurate data does not exist yet. Recent estimates show that the annual pace of deforestation in the region can vary from  in Gabon to  in Cote d'Ivoire. Remaining tropical forest still cover major areas in Central Africa but are abridged by patches in West Africa.

The African Timber Organization member countries eventually recognized the cooperation between rural people and their forest environment. Customary law gives residents the right to use trees for firewood, fell trees for construction, and collect of forest products and rights for hunting or fishing and grazing or clearing of forests for maintenance agriculture. Other areas are called "protected forests", which means that uncontrolled clearings and unauthorized logging are forbidden. After World War II, commercial exploitation increased until no West African forestry department was able of making the law. By comparison with rainforests in other places of the world in 1973, Africa showed the greatest infringement though in total volume means, African timber production accounted just one third compared to that of Asia. The difference was due to the variety of trees in Africa forests and the demand for specific wood types in Europe.

Forestry regulations in east Africa were first applied by colonial governments. The Tropical Forestry Action Plan was conceived in 1987 by the World Resources Institute in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization, the United Nations Development Program and the World Bank with hopes of halting tropical forest destruction. In its bid to stress forest conservation and development, the World Bank provided $111,103 million to developing countries, especially in Africa, to help in developing long range forest conservation and management programs meant for ending deforestation.

Historical temperature and climate
In early 2007, scientists created an entirely new proxy to determine annual mean air temperature on land—based on molecules from the cell membrane of soil inhabiting bacteria. Scientists from the NIOZ, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research conducted a temperature record dating back to 25,000 years ago.
In concordance with their German colleagues at the University of Bremen, this detailed record shows the history of land temperatures based on the molecular fossils of soil bacteria. When applying this to the outflow core of the Congo River, the core contained eroded land material and microfossils from marine algae. That concluded that the land environment of tropical Africa was cooled more than the bordering Atlantic Ocean during the last ice-age. Since the Congo River drains a large part of tropical central Africa, the land derived material gives an integrated signal for a very large area. These findings further enlighten in natural disparities in climate and the possible costs of a warming earth on precipitation in central Africa.

Scientists discovered a way to measure sea temperature—based on organic molecules from algae growing off the surface layer of the Ocean. These organisms acclimatize the molecular composition of their cell membranes to ambient temperature to sustain regular physiological properties. If such molecules sink to the sea floor and are buried in sediments where oxygen does not go through, they can be preserved for thousands of years. The ratios between the different molecules from the algal cell membrane can approximate the past temperature of the sea surface. The new "proxy" used in this sediment core obtained both a continental and a sea surface temperature record. In comparison, both records shows that ocean surface and land temperatures behaved differently during the past 25,000 years. During the last ice age, African temperatures were 21 °C, about 4 °C lower than today, while the tropical Atlantic Ocean was only about 2.5 °C cooler. Lead author Johan Weijers and his colleagues arrived that the land-sea temperature difference has by far the largest influence on continental rainfall. The relation of air pressure to temperature strongly determines this factor. During the last ice age, the land climate in tropical Africa was drier than it is now, whereas it favors the growth of a lush rainforest.

See also
 African Rainforest Conservancy (ARC)
 Global 200
 Plant Resources of Tropical Africa

References

Bibliography
 Burgess, N., J.D. Hales, E. Underwood, and E. Dinerstein (2004). Terrestrial Ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: A Conservation Assessment. Island Press, Washington, D.C.
 Thieme, M.L., R. Abell, M.L.J. Stiassny, P. Skelton, B. Lehner, G.G. Teugels, E. Dinerstein, A.K. Toham, N. Burgess & D. Olson. 2005. Freshwater ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: A conservation assessment. Washington D.C.: World Wildlife Fund.

Further reading
 Production Land use study

External links

 Terrestrial ecoregions of the world
 African Invertebrates — A journal of Afrotropical biodiversity research
 Manual of Afrotropical Diptera
 CGIAR Research Program on integrated systems in the humid tropics

Biogeographic realms
Biota of Africa
.
.
Tropics
Biogeography
Natural history of Asia
Natural history of Africa
Regions of Africa

Afrotropical realm


Heartburn is a 1986 romantic comedy drama movie directed by Mike Nichols and stars Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, Stockard Channing, Miloš Forman, Jeff Daniels and Kevin Spacey in his cinematic debut. It was distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Plot
Manhattan food writer Rachel Samstat and political columnist Mark Forman quickly marry after meeting at a friend's wedding. Settling in Washington, D.C., they navigate marital stresses from home renovations and Rachel's adjustment to the city's elite society. After giving birth to their daughter, Annie, Rachel learns of Mark's affair with socialite Thelma Rice during her second pregnancy. Moving to New York with Annie, Rachel tries to rebuild her life but gets briefly entangled with Mark again. However, upon discovering he's still involved with Thelma, Rachel finally leaves Mark, selling her wedding ring, and establishing a new life in New York with her two children.

Other websites

1986 romantic drama movies
1986 romantic comedy movies
1986 comedy-drama movies
American romantic drama movies
American romantic comedy movies
American comedy-drama movies
Movies directed by Mike Nichols
Paramount Pictures movies
Movies about journalists
Movies about marriage
Movies set in New York City
Movies set in Washington, D.C.

Heartburn (movie)


Ulman is an unincorporated community in southern Miller County, Missouri, United States. It is located on Missouri Route C, approximately three miles southwest of Missouri Route 17 and about five miles south of Tuscumbia and the Osage River.

The community bears the name of Joseph Ulman, a first settler. An early variant name was "Ulman's Ridge". A post office called Ulman's Ridge was established in 1857, and the name was changed to Ulman in 1895.

References

Unincorporated communities in Miller County, Missouri
Populated places established in 1896
Unincorporated communities in Missouri

Ulman, Missouri