Switzerland is not a member state of the European Union (EU). It is associated with the Union through a series of bilateral treaties in which Switzerland has adopted various provisions of European Union law in order to participate in the Union's single market, without joining as a member state. All but one (the microstate Liechtenstein) of Switzerland's neighbouring countries are EU member states.

Trade
The European Union is Switzerland's largest trading partner, and Switzerland is the EU's fourth largest trading partner, after the United Kingdom, U.S. and China. Export of goods from Switzerland accounts for 5.2% of the EU's imports; mainly chemicals, medicinal products, machinery, instruments and time pieces. In terms of services, the EU's exports to Switzerland amounted to €67.0 billion in 2008 while imports from Switzerland stood at €47.2 billion.

Treaties

Switzerland signed a free-trade agreement with the then European Economic Community in 1972, which entered into force in 1973.

Switzerland is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and took part in negotiating the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement with the European Union. It signed the agreement on 2 May 1992, and submitted an application for accession to the EU on 20 May 1992. However, after a Swiss referendum held on 6 December 1992 rejected EEA membership by 50.3% to 49.7%, the Swiss government decided to suspend negotiations for EU membership until further notice. These did not resume and in 2016, Switzerland formally withdrew its application for EU membership.

In 1994, Switzerland and the EU started negotiations about a special relationship outside the EEA. Switzerland wanted to safeguard the economic integration with the EU that the EEA treaty would have permitted, while purging the relationship of the points of contention that had led to the people rejecting the referendum. Swiss politicians stressed the bilateral nature of these negotiations, where negotiations were conducted between two equal partners and not between 16, 26, 28 or 29, as is the case for EU treaty negotiations.

These negotiations resulted in a total of ten treaties, negotiated in two phases, the sum of which makes a large share of EU law applicable to Switzerland. The treaties are:

Bilateral I agreements (signed 1999, in effect 1 June 2002)
 Free movement of people
 Air traffic
 Road traffic
 Agricultural products
 Technical trade barriers
 Public procurement
 Science

Bilateral II agreements (signed 2004, in effect gradually between 2005 and 2009)
 Security and asylum and Schengen membership
 Cooperation in fraud pursuits
 Final stipulations in open questions about agriculture, environment, media, education, care of the elderly, statistics and services. This strand established the Common Veterinary Area.

The Bilateral I agreements are expressed to be mutually dependent. If any one of them is denounced or not renewed, they all cease to apply. According to the preamble of the EU decision ratifying the agreements:

This is referred to as the "guillotine clause". While the bilateral approach theoretically safeguards the right to refuse the application of new EU rules to Switzerland, in practice the scope to do so is limited by the clause. The agreement on the European Economic Area contains a similar clause.

Bilateral agreements are managed by joint Swiss-EU committees. They are responsible for ensuring that the agreements run smoothly, adapting them where possible, exchanging information and discussing any disputes. Twenty-one such committees existed in September 2021. This system is criticized by the European Union, which finds it too complex.

Before 2014, the bilateral approach, as it is called in Switzerland, was consistently supported by the Swiss people in referendums. It allows the Swiss to keep a sense of sovereignty, due to arrangements when changes in EU law will only apply after the EU–Swiss Joint Committee decides so in consensus. It also limits the EU influence to the ten areas, where the EEA includes more areas, with more exceptions than the EEA has.

From the perspective of the EU, the treaties contain largely the same content as the EEA treaties, making Switzerland a virtual member of the EEA. Most EU law applies universally throughout the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, providing most of the conditions of the free movement of people, goods, services and capital that apply to the member states. Switzerland pays into the EU budget. Switzerland has extended the bilateral treaties to new EU member states; each extension required the approval of Swiss voters in a referendum.

In a referendum on 5 June 2005, Swiss voters agreed, by a 55% majority, to join the Schengen Area. This came into effect on 12 December 2008.

In 2009, the Swiss voted to extend the free movement of people to Bulgaria and Romania by 59.6% in favour to 40.4% against. While the EU Directive 2004/38/EC on the right to move and reside freely does not apply to Switzerland, the Swiss-EU bilateral agreement on the free movement of people contains the same rights both for Swiss and EEA nationals, and their family members.

By 2010, Switzerland had amassed around 210 trade treaties with the EU. Following the institutional changes in the EU–particularly regarding foreign policy and the increased role of the European Parliament–European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and Swiss President Doris Leuthard expressed a desire to "reset" EU-Swiss relations with an easier and cleaner way of applying EU law in Switzerland. In December 2012, the Council of the European Union declared that there will be no further treaties on single market issues unless Switzerland and EU agree on a new legal framework similar to the EEA that, among others, would bind Switzerland more closely to the evolving EU legislation. José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, later affirmed this position. However, a second referendum on Swiss EEA membership isn't expected, and the Swiss public remains opposed to joining.

Schengen Agreement

In 2009, Switzerland became a participant in the Schengen Area with the acceptance of an association agreement by popular referendum in 2005. This means that there are no passport controls on Switzerland's borders with its neighbours though customs controls continue to apply.

2014 referendum

In a referendum in February 2014, the Swiss voters narrowly approved a proposal to limit the freedom of movement of foreign citizens to Switzerland. The European Commission said it would have to examine the implications of the result on EU–Swiss relations since literal implementation would invoke the guillotine clause.

On 22 December 2016, Switzerland and the EU concluded an agreement whereby a new Swiss law (in response to the referendum) would require Swiss employers to prioritise Swiss-based job seekers (whether Swiss nationals or non-Swiss citizens registered in Swiss job agencies) whilst continuing to observe the free movement of EU citizens into Switzerland thus allowing them to work there.

Swiss financial contributions
Since 2008, Switzerland has contributed CHF 1.3 billion towards various projects designed to reduce the economic and social disparities in an enlarged EU. One example of how this money is used is Legionowo railway station, Poland, which was redeveloped with CHF 9.6 million from the Swiss budget.

Proposed framework accord
Negotiations between Switzerland and the European Commission on an institutional framework accord began in 2014 and concluded in November 2018. On 7 December 2018, the Swiss Federal Council decided to neither accept nor decline the negotiated accord, instead opting for a public consultation. The negotiated accord would cover five areas of existing agreements between the EU and Switzerland made in 1999:

 free movement of persons
 air transport
 carriage of goods and passengers by rail and road
 trade in agricultural products
 mutual recognition of standards

Notably, the accord would facilitate EU law in these fields to be readily transposed into Swiss law, and the European Court of Justice would be the final and binding arbiter on disputes in these fields. If the accord were accepted by Switzerland, the country would be in a similar position with regard to imposition of EU law (albeit only in the above five fields) as that in the other EFTA countries which are members of the EEA. Further to matters of sovereignty, specific concerns raised in Switzerland include possible effect on state aid law on the cantonal banks, the potential for transposition of the  into Swiss law (and any resulting effect on social welfare, for example) and the possible effect on wages enjoyed in the country. Accepting the accord is considered by the Commission to be necessary to allow Swiss access to new fields of the European single market, including the electricity market and stock exchange equivalence.

By June 2019, the Swiss Federal Council found no meaningful compromise neither with the internal consulting partners, such as Swiss labour unions and business representatives, nor with the outgoing EU-commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. EU-member countries have also expressed that no further compromise on the text of the proposed framework accord with Switzerland would be possible. As a result, Brussels did not extend its stock market equivalence to the Swiss stock exchange because of this breakdown of Swiss-EU negotiations, and for a counter-measure, the Swiss Federal Council ordinance from November 2018 was implemented, limiting the future exchange of most EU-traded Swiss stocks to the SIX Swiss Exchange in Zurich.

The negotiations on the proposed framework accord between Switzerland the EU were restarted on 23 April 2021, when Swiss Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin and EU-commission president Ursula von der Leyen met in Brussels. The meeting took place in a friendly atmosphere, but no agreement could be attained as the federal councilor insisted on excluding key issues such as protection of Swiss wages, Citizens' Rights Directive, and state aid for cantonal banks from the agreement. The following week, Stéphanie Riso, Deputy Head of Cabinet for the EU commission, informed representatives of the 27 member countries of the progress with regard to the framework accord with Switzerland. The EU commission perceived the Swiss demands as an ultimatum, and the EU member countries expressed support for the EU-leadership in the negotiations. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told reporters that the impasse was due to a different interpretation of the "free movement of people" clause in the framework accord. In September 2020, Swiss voters clearly rejected a ballot measure by the Swiss People's Party to limit the free movement of persons, and decided to favour bilateral agreements with the EU. According to internal reports by the Swiss Federal Council, failed negotiations with the EU-commission have already been taking place on 11 November 2020 when chief negotiator Livia Leu took the podium for Swiss-EU talks.

On 26 May 2021, Switzerland decided to again suspend negotiations with the EU and not sign the drafted EU-Swiss Institutional Framework Agreement. The main disagreements were about freedom of movement, the level playing field and state aid rules.

On 15 November 2021, Maroš Šefčovič, EU Vice President responsible for Swiss-EU negotiations and Brexit struck a more conciliatory tone with Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, when they met in Brussels. The two sides agreed to establish a structured political dialogue at ministerial level, and re-open bilateral talks in early 2022. The Swiss Foreign minister in particular insisted that Switzerland will be integrated back into the Erasmus+ and the Horizon Europe programmes. At stake are a number of agreements between Switzerland and the EU, including future access to EU's electricity market, as well as EU citizens' availability of Swiss social security benefits.

Chronology of the Swiss votes

Chronology of Swiss votes about the European Union:

 3 December 1972: free trade agreement with the European Communities is approved by 72.5% of voters
 6 December 1992: joining the European Economic Area is rejected by 50.3% of voters. This vote strongly highlighted the cultural divide between the German- and the French-speaking cantons, the Röstigraben. The only German-speaking cantons voting for the EEA were Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft, which border on France and Germany.
 8 June 1997: the federal popular initiative "negotiations concerning EU membership: let the people decide!" on requiring the approval of a referendum and the Cantons to launch accession negotiations with the EU (« Négociations d'adhésion à l'UE : que le peuple décide ! ») is rejected by 74.1% of voters.
 21 May 2000: the Bilateral agreements with the EU are accepted by 67.2% of voters.
 4 March 2001: the federal popular initiative "yes to Europe!" (« Oui à l'Europe ! ») on opening accession negotiations with the EU is rejected by 76.8% of voters.
 5 June 2005: the Schengen Agreement and the Dublin Regulation are approved by 54.6% of voters.
 25 September 2005: the extension of the free movement of persons to the ten new members of the European Union is accepted by 56.0% of voters.
 26 November 2006: a cohesion contribution of one billion for the ten new member states of the European Union (Eastern Europe Cooperation Act) is approved by 53.4% of voters.
 8 February 2009: the extension of the free movement of persons to new EU members Bulgaria and Romania is approved by 59.61% of voters.
 17 May 2009: introduction of biometric passports, as required by the Schengen acquis, is approved by 50.15% of voters.
 17 June 2012: the federal popular initiative "international agreements: let the people speak!" (« Accords internationaux : la parole au peuple ! ») on requiring all international treaties to be approved in a referendum launched by the Campaign for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland is rejected by 75.3% of voters.
 9 February 2014: the federal popular initiative "against mass immigration", which would limit the free movement of people from EU member states, is accepted by 50.3% of voters.
 28 February 2016: the popular initiative "For the effective expulsion of foreign criminals", which would automatically expel from the country any foreigner who committed a crime (regardless of the severity of the crime), and therefore undermine EU freedom of movement, is rejected by 58.9% of voters.
 19 May 2019: an optional referendum on transposing the European gun control directive (an update to the Schengen acquis) into Swiss law, is approved by 63.7% of voters.
 27 September 2020: the popular initiative "For moderate immigration", which would require the government to withdraw from the 1999 Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons and prevent the conclusion of future agreements which grant the free movement of people to foreign nationals, is rejected by 61.7% of voters.
 15 May 2022: the adoption of the EU regulation on the European Border and Coast Guard, which would increase the Swiss government's contribution to the Frontex border agency, is approved by 71.5% of voters.

Among these sixteen votes, just three are against further integration or for reversing integration with the European Union (6 December 1992, 4 March 2001, and 9 February 2014); the other thirteen votes are in favour of either deepening or maintaining integration between Switzerland and the European Union.

Proposals for EU membership

Switzerland took part in negotiating the EEA agreement with the EU and signed the agreement on 2 May 1992 and submitted an application for accession to the EU on 20 May 1992. A Swiss referendum held on 6 December 1992 rejected EEA membership. As a consequence, the Swiss Government suspended negotiations for EU accession until further notice. With the ratification of the second round of bilateral treaties, the Swiss Federal Council downgraded their characterisation of a full EU membership of Switzerland from a "strategic goal" to an "option" in 2006. Membership continued to be the objective of the government and was a "long-term aim" of the Federal Council until 2016, when Switzerland's frozen application was withdrawn. The motion was passed by the Council of States and then by the Federal Council in June. In a letter dated 27 July the Federal Council informed the Presidency of the Council of the European Union that it was withdrawing its application.

Concerns about loss of neutrality and sovereignty are the key issues against membership for some citizens. A 2018 survey of public opinion in Switzerland found only 3% considered that joining the EU was a feasible option.

The popular initiative entitled "Yes to Europe!", calling for the opening of immediate negotiations for EU membership, was rejected in a 4 March 2001 referendum by 76.8% and all cantons. The Swiss Federal Council, which was in favour of EU membership, had advised the population to vote against this referendum, since the preconditions for the opening of negotiations had not been met.

During the history of EU-Swiss relations, the country has undergone several substantial changes in foreign policies, depending on the democratic outcomes of ballot measures. Specific agreements with the EU on freedom of movement for workers and areas concerning tax evasion were first addressed during the Switzerland–EU summit in May 2004 where nine bilateral agreements were signed. Romano Prodi, former President of the European Commission, said the agreements "moved Switzerland closer to Europe." Joseph Deiss of the Swiss Federal Council said, "We might not be at the very centre of Europe but we're definitely at the heart of Europe". He continued, "We're beginning a new era of relations between our two entities."

The Swiss population agreed to their country's participation in the Schengen Agreement and joined the area in December 2008.

The result of the referendum on extending the freedom of movement of people to Bulgaria and Romania, which joined the EU on 1 January 2007 caused Switzerland to breach its obligations to the EU. The Swiss government declared in September 2009 that bilateral treaties are not solutions and the membership debate has to be examined again while the left-wing Green Party and the Social Democratic Party stated that they would renew their push for EU membership for Switzerland.

In the February 2014 Swiss immigration referendum, a federal popular initiative "against mass immigration", Swiss voters narrowly approved measures limiting the freedom of movement of foreign citizens to Switzerland. The European Commission said it would have to examine the implications of the result on EU–Swiss relations. Due to the refusal of Switzerland to grant Croatia free movement of persons, the EU accepted Switzerland's access to the Erasmus+ student mobility programme only as a "partner country", as opposed to a "programme country", and the EU froze negotiations on access to the EU electricity market. On 4 March 2016, Switzerland and the EU signed a treaty that extends the agreement on the free movement of people to Croatia, which led to Switzerland's full readmission into Horizon 2020, a European funding framework for research and development. The treaty was ratified by the National Council on 26 April on the condition that a solution be found to an impasse on implementing the 2014 referendum. The treaty was passed in December 2016. This allowed Switzerland to rejoin Horizon 2020 on 1 January 2017.

A poll in December 2022 to mark 30 years since the 1992 EEA referendum indicated that 71% would vote for EEA participation if a referendum were held. For common Swiss people, a major difference between EEA and the Swiss agreement, is that EEA includes free movement for services including roaming prices for mobile phones. A members bill about joining EEA in 2022 was mostly rejected by the Federal council (government) considering the present treaties better for Switzerland.

Foreign policy
In the field of foreign and security policy, Switzerland and the EU have no overarching agreements. But in its Security Report 2000, the Swiss Federal Council announced the importance of contributing to stability and peace beyond Switzerland's borders and of building an international community of common values. Subsequently, Switzerland started to collaborate in projects of EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Switzerland has contributed staff or material to EU peace keeping and security missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kosovo, North Macedonia and the province of Aceh, Indonesia.

Close cooperation has also been established in the area of international sanctions. As of 2006, Switzerland has adopted five EU sanctions that were instituted outside of the United Nations. Those affected the former Republic of Yugoslavia (1998), Myanmar (2000), Zimbabwe (2002), Uzbekistan (2006) and Belarus (2006).

Use of the euro in Switzerland
The currency of Switzerland is the Swiss franc. Switzerland (with Liechtenstein) is in the unusual position of being surrounded by countries that use the euro. As a result, the euro is de facto accepted in many places, especially near borders and in tourist regions. Swiss Federal Railways accept euros, both at ticket counters and in automatic ticket machines. Also many public phones, vending machines or ticket machines accept euro coins. Many shops and smaller businesses that accept euros take notes only, and give change in Swiss francs, usually at a less favourable exchange rate than banks. Many bank cash machines issue euros at the traded exchange rate as well as Swiss francs.

On 6 September 2011, the Swiss franc effectively became fixed against the euro: the Franc had always floated independently until its rapid currency appreciation during the eurozone debt crisis. The Swiss National Bank set an CHF/EUR peg that involved a minimum exchange rate of 1.20 francs to the euro, with no upper bound in place. The Bank committed to maintaining this exchange rate to ensure stability. The peg was abandoned on 15 January 2015, when renewed upward pressure on the Swiss franc exceeded the Bank's level of tolerance.

Diplomatic relations between Switzerland and EU member states

See also
Enlargement of the European Union
Potential enlargement of the European Union
Enlargement of Switzerland
Liechtenstein–Switzerland relations
Foreign relations of Switzerland
German immigration to Switzerland
Italian immigration to Switzerland
Schengen Area
Borders with EU members
Austria–Switzerland border
France–Switzerland border
Germany–Switzerland border
Italy–Switzerland border

Notes

References

Third-country relations of the European Union

Switzerland–European Union relations


An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the title, such as the addition of The, to wholesale changes.  Film titles are also often changed when they are released on DVD or VHS.

Reasons
The reasons for this are varied, but usually point towards marketable, linguistic or cultural differences. Some titles may not be easily understood in other parts of the world, and may even be considered offensive. Most title changes are commercial. An example is Italian director's Sergio Leone's 1971 film Duck, You Sucker!, initially released with this title as he was convinced it was a well-known English saying. When the film performed poorly, it was subsequently rebranded as A Fistful of Dynamite, similar in name to his 1964 film A Fistful of Dollars, part of the successful Dollars Trilogy.

When Scholastic Corporation bought the U.S. rights to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, they thought that a child would not want to read a book with the word "philosopher" in the title and, after some discussion, the American edition was published in September 1998 under the title author J. K. Rowling suggested, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Rowling claimed that she regretted this change and would have fought it if she had been in a stronger position at the time. Academic Philip Nel, who specialises in children's literature, has pointed out that the change lost the connection with alchemy.

References

Film and video terminology

Alternative title


Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke, GCMG, KCVO, KBE (; 20 October 1892 – 17 December 1978) became the third Governor-General of Ceylon (1954-1962). He was the first Ceylonese to hold the vice-regal post. Goonetilleke played an important role in the war of independence for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from Britain.

Goonetilleke was Governor-General from July 17, 1954 to March 2, 1962. He served for 8 years. The monarch during his term as Governor-General was Queen Elizabeth II.

Personal details
Goonetilleke was born on October 20, 1892 in Trincomalee, Ceylon. He died on December 17, 1978 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Goonetilleke had a wife named Esther Goonetilleke and had three children.

1892 births
1978 deaths
Governors-General of Ceylon

Oliver Goonetilleke


Chapman is an unincorporated community located in Lawrence County, Kentucky, United States on the eastern bank of the Levisa Fork River. It is served by KY Route 2037.  A high volume railway line, operated by CSX Transportation, extends through its limits and continues in a southerly direction throughout southeastern Kentucky to western Virginia and points south.  Although its location is many miles from the nearest industrial employer, the railroad has served the community as a source of employment.  The railroad was first built through the community in 1880 by CSX's predecessor, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.  C&O employees who resided in Chapman caught the train as it passed through on its multiple daily runs where they reported to work.  Chapman, Kentucky is named after its first settler and prominent landowner David Chapman (1803–1845), a native of Montgomery, West Virginia.  Many of Chapman's descendants still reside in the community at this time.  Chapmansville, West Virginia, a city located on U.S. Route 119 about forty miles east of Chapman, was established in 1800 by David Chapman's uncle Ned Chapman, as he was its first postmaster and general store operator.  The Chapman surname is an anglicized version of the German name Kaufmann, the German word for merchant.  David Chapman's ancestors originally emigrated to North America from Kaufmann, Germany.  Chapman is located  south of Louisa, Kentucky.

References

Unincorporated communities in Lawrence County, Kentucky
Unincorporated communities in Kentucky

Chapman, Lawrence County, Kentucky


"Won't Go Home Without You" is the third single off the album by pop-rock band Maroon 5 called It Won't Be Soon Before Long. The song is also the 5th track on the album. The music video for the song has to do with Adam Levine (lead singer) trying to get one more chance for his ex-girlfriend to come back to him, but she was already taken by another man.

Chart Rankings
"Won't Go Home Without You" peaked #1 in Israel, #16 in Canada's Hot 100, and #3 on the U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40.

Maroon 5 songs
2007 songs

Won't Go Home Without You


The Embroidery Machine Museum has historical and regional importance in the City of Plauen, Germany. The exhibit is located in a small group of buildings consisting of a home and a small factory with original embroidery machines. Because of the historic and authentic nature of the structures and the originality of the machinery, this exhibit offers insight into Saxony textile industry as it existed in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

History
In 1889 the embroidery entrepreneur, Max Vollstädt, built a house in an underdeveloped district of Plauen called Reusa.  Until the turn of the century, it was used as a contract machine embroidery business. In 1902 during the boom in the Plauen embroidery industry, Vollstädt expanded his embroidery business. He ordered the construction of a one-story courtyard building to accommodate 10 shuttle embroidery machines. In keeping with the embroidery manufacturing methods developed during this time, he constructed his new building with windows, up-to-date layout, and transport lanes for the embroidery goods he produced. Over the following decades the ownership of this business changed hands several times, but the original intent of this business to produce embroidery remained the same, including the original home and work areas.

The embroidery production stopped in 1997, but the structures and the machinery were preserved. In December, the association " Vogtländische Textilgeschichte Plauen e.V. " took over the buildings and machines. Since then, the association runs the exhibit as a "functioning museum factory".

Exhibitions

The permanent exhibition demonstrates the working processes and the conditions under which this historic embroidery operated. The running and maintenance of the machines, the various techniques employed, the type of embroidery goods produced, and the emergence of the world-famous Plauen lace (as a form of Chemical lace) are fully explained while touring this museum. The museum staff will discuss the role of the Vogtländische Maschinen Fabrik (VOMAG) which manufactured embroidery machines in Plauen from 1881 to approx. 1938. They will explain how this factory developed technical innovations for the embroidery industry under the directorship of Robert Zahn, at the time.

Together with their support organization, "Vogtländische Textilgeschichte Plauen e.V.", the Museum offers embroidery exhibitions, lectures, and events on topics about industrial and textile history, fashion and design.

Offers
The Embroidery Machine Museum offers unique embroidery and fashion items for sale in its museum shop. As part of the educational program, creative and educational courses are offered to children and teens. Participants study the regional textile history through assigned embroidery projects at the museum.

External links
 Official homepage of the Embroidery Machine Museum
 The Embroidery Machine Museum on Plauen-Website

Industry museums in Germany
Museums in Saxony
Embroidery in Germany

Embroidery Machine Museum, Plauen


Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back is a 1997 platform video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is a sequel to Crash Bandicoot (1996), and is part of the Crash Bandicoot series.

Taking place on a fictional group of islands near Australia, Crash Bandicoot 2 follows the adventures of the anthropomorphic bandicoot named Crash. Crash is abducted by series villain Doctor Neo Cortex, who tricks him into thinking he wants to save the world. Crash is thrust into several parts of N. Sanity Island in order to gather crystals that will allow Cortex to contain the power of an upcoming planetary alignment and keep the planet from being destroyed. Crash's sister Coco and Cortex's former assistant Doctor Nitrus Brio try to warn him about Cortex, with the latter urging Crash to gather gems instead of crystals.

Cortex Strikes Back received positive reviews from critics and is widely considered to be superior to its predecessor. Much of the praise went to the game's graphics, controls and music, while criticisms focused on the trial-and-error gameplay, lack of level variety, easy boss levels and lack of innovation as a platform game. The game went on to become one of the best-selling PlayStation video games of all time and replaced its predecessor as the highest-selling Western title in Japan at the time, selling more than 800,000 copies in the country by April 1998. A remastered version was included in the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy collection, released on the PlayStation 4 in June 2017, and ported to other platforms in June 2018.

Gameplay

Cortex Strikes Back is a platform game in which the player character is the titular Crash Bandicoot. The goal of the game is to gather 25 crystals for Crash's nemesis Doctor Neo Cortex. The crystals are scattered between 25 different levels, accessible via "Warp Rooms", which are hub areas of the game. A level is cleared by collecting its respective crystal and reaching the end of its path, which returns Crash to the Warp Room. Each Warp Room contains five levels. When all five levels are cleared, the player must defeat a boss character before gaining access to the next Warp Room. The player is given a certain amount of lives, which are lost when Crash is attacked by an enemy, or falls into water or a pit. If the player runs out of lives, the game is over. However, it can be continued by selecting "Yes" at the "Continue?" screen.

Crash has the ability to jump into the air and land on an enemy character, spin in a tornado-like fashion to knock enemies off-screen, slide across the ground, and perform a body slam to break certain objects. Crash can jump higher than he normally can if he jumps immediately following a slide. All of these techniques can be used as offensive measures against most enemies, who serve to deter Crash's progress. Enemies with deadly topsides cannot be jumped on, while enemies that attack from the front or have side spikes must be jumped on or undergo a body slam. Enemies with sharp necklines (such as frill-necked lizards or long-legged robots with heated circumferences on their upper) can only be defeated if Crash slides into them.

Boxes play a prominent role in Cortex Strikes Back and can be broken with all of Crash's techniques. Most boxes in the game contain "Wumpa Fruit", which give the player an extra life if 100 of them are collected. Some boxes contain a Witch Doctor's Mask, which shields Crash from one enemy's attack while it is in his possession. If three masks are collected in a row, Crash is given temporary invulnerability from all minor dangers. If jumped upon, boxes with arrows pointing up propel Crash further into the air than he can ordinarily reach, and such boxes can be broken only with Crash's spin attack. Boxes with an exclamation mark (!) on them cause previously intangible objects in the area to solidify. TNT Boxes explode after a three-second fuse when jumped on, while Nitro Boxes explode upon any physical contact. All of the Nitro Boxes in a level can be detonated at once if a green-colored box with an exclamation mark (!) on it is touched. Checkpoint boxes allow Crash to return to the point where the first checkpoint box has been opened upon losing a life. If more than one checkpoint box has been opened in a stage, Crash returns to the last checkpoint box that has been opened. The player will earn a gem if they manage to destroy all the boxes, including Nitro Boxes and boxes on alternate routes, in a level. Certain gems can be acquired by other means, like reaching the end of a level within a certain time parameter, or completing a level without breaking any boxes.

"Bonus Paths", signified by platforms with a question mark on them, lead Crash to a secret region of the level. In these areas, numerous Wumpa Fruit and extra lives can be collected if the player successfully navigates to the end of the path. If Crash falls off-screen or is otherwise killed off, the player loses whatever was collected in the Bonus Path and is returned to the level from which the Bonus Path was accessed, keeping all lives the player had previously collected.

Plot
Crash Bandicoot sends Doctor Neo Cortex falling from his airship into a cavern filled with glowing crystals. Convinced that they hold tremendous power, he takes one and gets back onto his laboratory. One year later, Cortex and his new assistant Dr. N. Gin rebuild an upgraded, crystal-powered Cortex Vortex in outer space; N. Gin says that they need 25 more crystals to reach the Vortex's maximum capacity and they do not have any of their operatives left on Earth. Cortex then devises a plot to manipulate Crash into retrieving the crystals for him.

Meanwhile, Crash's younger sister, Coco, has him retrieve a new battery for her laptop, but Crash is abducted. Finding himself in an ancient Warp Room that has access to several places all over the world, Crash meets Cortex via his holographic projection. Cortex tells Crash that he discovered that the upcoming alignment of the planets will create a solar flux capable of catastrophic proportions and urges Crash to retrieve pink power crystals through each of the Room's doors to help Cortex harness the crystal's energy to dissipate the massive power unleashed. Unbeknownst to Cortex, his former assistant Dr. Nitrus Brio also appears in hologram form and tells Crash that, scattered across the world, there are several clear and colored gems that serve as an alternative form of energy that Brio is planning to use against Cortex. However, Brio also warns Crash that he will use his forces to prevent Crash from collecting more crystals. As such, while collecting crystals, Crash battles Brio's mutant allies: the demented Ripper Roo, the scimitar-wielding Komodo Brothers and the ravenous Tiny Tiger.

Meanwhile, Coco uses her technology expertise to hack into Cortex's hologram communication to advise Crash to be careful trusting Cortex. Cortex eventually tells Crash to return the crystals he collected to his current assistant, N. Gin, but when Crash destroys N. Gin's mecha suit and defeats him, Cortex gets furious. After gathering all 25 crystals, Coco manages to hold a steady connection to reveal Cortex's ultimate plan; with the energy harnessed from the planetary alignment, Cortex will power the gigantic Cortex Vortex built onto his space station and brainwash everyone on Earth into serving his army. Crash reaches Cortex in outer space and incapacitates him once again before the crystals can be used, leaving him drifting through outer space, but leaves the Cortex Vortex intact. However, with Dr. Brio's aid, Crash uses all the gems he gathered throughout the Warp Room and learns that Brio built a laser beam machine powered by the gems' energy. With Crash's help, the laser beam breaks the Cortex Vortex apart, with one of the pieces falling back to Earth.

Development
Production of Cortex Strikes Back began in October 1996. Development took place over the course of 13 months on a budget of $2,000,000. The concept art for the game's environments was mainly created by Naughty Dog employees Bob Rafei, Eric Iwasaki, Erick Pangilinan, Charlotte Francis and Jason Rubin. The jungle levels were originally to have featured ground fog, but this was abandoned when magazines and the public began to criticize other developers for using fog to hide polygon count. Sunlight and depth accentuation was experimented with for these levels. Naughty Dog created the sewer levels as a way to work some "dirty" locations in the game. Color contrast was added to the levels to show depth and break up the monotony of sewer pipes. The character of Coco Bandicoot was created by Naughty Dog as a counterbalance to Tawna (Crash's girlfriend in the first game) that would appease Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, who were uncomfortable with a "super sexy" character being alongside Crash. Character designer Charles Zembillas drew the first sketches of Coco on March 18, 1997.

For the game, Crash Bandicoot co-creator Andy Gavin programmed a new engine named "Game-Oriented Object LISP 2" (GOOL 2); being three times faster than the previous game's engine, it could handle ten times the animation frames and twice the polygon count. A flat plane z-buffer was created for the game; because the water surfaces and mud in the jungle had to be a flat plane and be exactly flat on the Y-axis, there could be no waves and the subdividing plane could not be at an odd angle. The effect only worked on objects in the foreground and was only used on Crash, some enemies and a few boxes at the same time.

The soundtrack of Cortex Strikes Back was written by Josh Mancell from Mutato Muzika, while the sound effects were created by Universal Sound Studios (consisting of Mike Gollom, Ron Horwitz and Kevin Spears). The characters were designed by Charles Zembillas of American Exitus, Incorporated. Clancy Brown provided the voice of Doctor Neo Cortex, Vicki Winters voiced Coco Bandicoot, and Brendan O'Brien voiced Crash Bandicoot, Doctor N. Gin, and Doctor Nitrus Brio. The game was unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Atlanta, Georgia in June 1997 to a positive response from the game industry.

The game went into the alpha stage in August 1997. Around that time, Dan Arey, the lead designer of Gex: Enter the Gecko, joined Naughty Dog and streamlined the level design. A "Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment" system was added, which would adjust elements of the game in response to player activity to balance difficulty. IGDA considers the testing process for Crash Bandicoot 2 the moment where the field of Games User Research "came of age". The game was released in North America on November 6, 1997.

A death animation in which Crash is squashed into a stunned head and feet was altered for the Japanese version of the game due to its resemblance to the severed head and shoes left by a serial killer loose in Japan at the time.<ref name="AndyGavin2">{{cite web |url=http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/2011/02/06/making-crash-bandicoot-part-5/ |title=Making Crash Bandicoot - part 5 |author=Andy Gavin |date=February 6, 2011 |publisher=All Things Andy Gavin |access-date=February 7, 2011 |quote=Naughty Dog would do a huge amount of work after this on the game for Japan, and even then we would always release a Japanese specific build. Whether it was giving Aku Aku pop up text instructions, or replace a Crash smashing "death" that reminded them of the severed head and shoes left by a serial killer that was loose in Japan during Crash 2'''s release, we focused on Japan and fought hard for acceptance and success. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707112653/http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/2011/02/06/making-crash-bandicoot-part-5/ |archive-date=July 7, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

ReceptionCrash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back was released to critical acclaim. Major Mike of GamePro said that while the fundamental gameplay mechanics were the same as the first title, "its graphical enhancements and added moves catapult it to the top of the PlayStation action/platform heap." He gave it a 4.5 out of 5 in both control and fun factor, and a perfect 5.0 in both graphics and sound. John Broady of GameSpot considered the game to be superior to its predecessor, commenting positively on the Warp Room concept, improved game-saving system and variety of the levels. Of the four reviewers in Electronic Gaming Monthlys review team, Shawn Smith and Kraig Kujawa hailed it as an outstanding sequel, citing its advanced graphics and heavy challenge, while Dan Hsu and Kelly Rickards said it is an excellent game but overly similar to the original. The staff of IGN praised the "spot on" control and noted the decreased linearity of the game and increased intuition of the bonus levels compared to the first game. Mark Cooke of Game Revolution described the game as "undeniably fun". Next Generation stated that "Crash 2 is a tempting gameplay treat, one that frustrates at times, but it always rewards a job well done – and that is an addictive combination for any serious platform gamer. Recommended."

The game's graphics were positively received. Major Mike considered the graphics to be "a quantum leap" over its predecessor, and cited Crash's detailed animations and level effects such as reflective ice surfaces as highlights. GameSpot's Broady described them as "in a league of their own among PlayStation games", while the IGN staff praised the high-resolution graphics as "beautiful". Shawn Smith of Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the colorfulness, lack of breakup, animation, reflections, and lighting effects, as well as the texture morphing when Crash burrows. Game Revolution's Mark Cooke noted the absence of cutscenes brought about by the entirety of the game being "rendered on the fly beautifully" and that the game could "really set some new standards in Playstation graphic quality." He went on to describe the animation as "flawless" and of "cartoon quality" and added that the game's "creatures, environments, and story building scenes are absolutely perfect." The game's audio was also well-received; Broady simply stated that the music "couldn't be better", while Cooke said that Clancy Brown's "hilarious satirical" performance as Doctor Neo Cortex added to the game's cartoonish quality. Major Mike also singled out Brown's performance for commendation, and remarked that the music, which he felt was "perfect for every stage", "sounds like a cross between the Pulp Fiction soundtrack and the B-52s".

Minor criticisms varied amongst critics. Broady noted that the semi-3D setup is "sometimes hard to navigate" and elaborated that "you'll find yourself missing jumps because you're unable to judge distances properly." Additionally, he criticized the trial-and-error aspect of the gameplay as "just plain cheap" and stated that "in some areas you must sacrifice many lives until you memorize a level's layout." Smith and Rickards both said that while the control works well with the analog pad, it is somewhat loose with the digital gamepad, which was still the standard for the PlayStation. Contrarily, Major Mike contended that the digital pad "works just as well, if not better." The IGN staff said that the level design "isn't as varied as it could be" and added that the "jungle, snow and water" environments are recycled from the previous game and reused multiple times in Cortex Strikes Back. They also described the boss levels as "insultingly easy". Major Mike similarly commented "Although [the bosses] look awesome, they have easy-to-recognize patterns and present no challenge." Cooke observed that, like its predecessor, the game did not add anything to the genre and summarized that "the first Crash was dauntingly similar to the 16-bit platform games of yester-yore, only with better graphics, and Crash 2 doesn't deviate much from this formula". He also described the "bizarre" lenticular 3D cover art of the game as "unnecessary and evil" and "a device of unprecedented agony", claiming to have contracted a massive headache after "looking at it in [his] car for about 15 seconds".Crash Bandicoot 2 was nominated for "Console Game of the Year" and "Console Action Game of the Year" at the inaugural Interactive Achievement Awards.Crash Bandicoot 2 was a commercial hit. By late February 1998, its sales has reached 1 million units in the United States, 800,000 units in Japan, and 340,000 units in Europe. By February 1999, 4.08 million copies of Crash Bandicoot had been shipped to retailers worldwide; the NPD Group reported sell-through of 1.49 million copies in North America alone. By December 2007, Cortex Strikes Back had sold 3.78 million units in the United States and 1.3 million in Japan. This makes it one of the best-selling PlayStation video games of all time. The game's success resulted in its re-release for the Sony Greatest Hits lineup on August 30, 1998, and for the Platinum Range in 1999. The game replaced Crash Bandicoot as the highest-selling non-Japanese title in Japan, selling over 800,000 copies by April 1998. Cortex Strikes Back was initially released on the European PlayStation Network on July 26, 2007, but was withdrawn on August 7, 2007, along with Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer and MediEvil'', as a precautionary measure when the latter two games experienced technical problems. The game was released on the North American PlayStation Network on January 10, 2008, and re-released on the European PlayStation Network on February 2, 2011.

References

Bibliography

External links

1997 video games
Crash Bandicoot games
Naughty Dog games
3D platform games
PlayStation (console) games
PlayStation Network games
Single-player video games
Sony Interactive Entertainment games
Universal Interactive games
Video game sequels
Video games scored by Josh Mancell
Video games set in Australia
Video games set on fictional islands
Video games developed in the United States

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back


Ballast is dense material used as a weight to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship, submarine, or other floating structure that holds water is called a ballast tank. Water should move in and out from the ballast tank to balance the ship.  In a vessel that travels on the water, the ballast will remain below the water level, to counteract the effects of weight above the water level. The ballast may be redistributed in the vessel or disposed of altogether to change its effects on the movement of the vessel.

History
The basic concept behind the ballast tank can be seen in many forms of aquatic life, such as the blowfish or members of the argonaut group of octopus. The concept has been invented and reinvented many times by humans to serve a variety of purposes.
In the fifteenth and sixteenth century, the ballast "did not consist entirely of leakage, but of urine, vomit, and various foul food leavings that lazy sailors discharged into the ballast contrary to orders, in the belief that the pumps would take care of it." In the nineteenth century, cargo boats returning from Europe to North America would carry quarried stone as ballast, contributing to the architectural heritage of some east coast cities (for example Montreal), where this stone was used in building.

During World War 2 ships returning from Great Britain to the United States used rubble as ballast. The ballast would be dumped in New York and used for construction projects such as FDR Drive and an outcrop colloquially named Bristol Basin since it was made from rubble from bombed-out Bristol.

Uses

Ballast takes many forms, for example:
 Sailing ballast, or ship's ballast, used to lower the centre of gravity of a ship to increase stability
 Ballast tank, a device used on ships and submarines and other submersibles to control buoyancy and stability
 Ballast (car racing), metallic plates used to bring auto racing vehicles up to the minimum mandated weight
 in underwater diving, a diver weighting system is blocks of heavy material, usually lead, used to compensate for excess buoyancy of the diver and their equipment.
 in gliding, weights added to maximise the average speed in cross-country competition, especially when thermal convection is strong
 in a balloon, as part of a buoyancy compensator

Sailing ballast is used in sailboats to provide moment to resist the lateral forces on the sail. Insufficiently ballasted boats will tend to tip, or heel, excessively in high winds.  Too much heel may result in the boat capsizing. If a sailing vessel should need to voyage without cargo then ballast of little or no value would be loaded to keep the vessel upright. Some or all of this ballast would then be discarded when cargo was loaded.

Ballast weight is also added to a race car to alter its performance. In most racing series, cars have a minimum allowable weight. Often, the actual weight of the car is lower, so ballast is used to bring it up to the minimum. The advantage is that the ballast can be positioned to affect the car's handling by changing its load distribution. This is near-universal in Formula 1. It is also common in other racing series that ballast may only be located in certain positions on the car. In some racing series, for example the British Touring Car Championship, ballast is used as a handicap, the leading drivers at the end of one race being given more ballast for the next race.

Ballast may also be carried aboard an aircraft. For example, in gliding it may be used to increase speed and/or adjust the aircraft's center of gravity, or in a balloon as a buoyancy compensator.

References

Sources

Mechanisms (engineering)
Watercraft components
Weights

Ballast


Food contains nutrients. The diet of a person is made of different kinds of food. Nutritionism is the idea that only the nutritients found in different foods determines their value for the diet. The value of a diet can be calculated by adding up the values of all nutritients of the individual food items. According to nutritionism, people only eat to stay healthy. In general, the term has a negative connotation.

Nutrition

Nutritionism


In 1999, The Blood-Horse magazine assembled a seven-person panel of distinguished horse racing people: Keeneland racing secretary Howard Battle, Maryland Jockey Club vice president Lenny Hale, Daily Racing Form columnist Jay Hovdey, Sports Illustrated senior writer William Nack, California senior steward Pete Pedersen, Louisville Courier-Journal racing writer Jennie Rees and Gulfstream Park steward Tommy Trotter. Each of the experts compiled a list of what they considered to be the top 100 Thoroughbred racehorses of the 20th century, which was then combined into a master list. The list was expanded into a book with complete biographies.

All the horses on the list raced in the United States, though several such as Phar Lap, Northern Dancer, Dahlia and Miesque began their careers in another country. Ruffian was the top-ranked filly.

The small body of voters meant that any individual ballot had the potential to disproportionately influence the final tally, which ended up coming to pass.  At the time of the list's unveiling, Blood-Horse managing editor Evan Hammonds spoke to the Associated Press.  Hammonds revealed that Secretariat and Man o' War had both received three of the seven first-place votes.  (Citation received the other first-place vote.)  Man o' War was listed in first, second or third place on all seven ballots; six of the voters gave the same placement to Secretariat.  However, Hammonds noted, a single voter left Secretariat out of that person's top 10 "because he got beat a few times". The result was that Secretariat became second, rather than first, in the aggregated final list.

Blood-Horse promotes its top two selections as a ranking that "will generate debate for years to come".  After the results became available, panel-member William Nack criticized the voting process as "skewered" because one of the seven voters had ranked Secretariat 14th, thus costing him the top slot. "That's an outrage," Nack told the New York Daily News. "You mean this one person thought Secretariat would finish last in a 14-horse race?"

The electoral friction was reflected in the introduction to the Top 100 Racehorses book produced by Blood-Horse, which conceded, "For all the work and dreaming that went into it... one approaches the list... with a nagging sense of its folly as a rational exercise and of the maddening arbitrariness of its outcome."

A total of 192 horses received at least one vote for inclusion in the list.

Also in 1999, the Associated Press asked a panel of six voters a similar question; four chose Man o' War as best, one named Secretariat, and the sixth picked Tom Fool, which finished 11th on the Blood-Horse list. Additionally in 1992, Sports Illustrated conducted a poll of a panel of seven experts: (Joe Hirsch, executive columnist, Daily Racing Form; Woody Stephens, thoroughbred trainer for more than 50 years; Jim McKay, broadcaster, ABC Sports; Jim Bolus, secretary-treasurer, National Turf Writers Association; Frank E. Kilroe, retired California racing official; Tommy Trotter, Arlington International Racecourse steward; and William F. Reed, turf writer for 28 years) with Man o' War also voted No. 1 greatest horse (with Secretariat No. 2) in racing history.

See also
 List of racehorses

References

Further reading

Horse racing
Horse racing in the United States

Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century


Aymane Bouras is a Moroccan composer born on August 8, 2000 in Safi, Morocco . Since he was a child, Aymane had a good inspiration for music and because of that, he makes some instrumental music. He debuted in early July 2021 with his first Album "Sunshine".

Biography
Aymane Bouras was born on August 8, 2000 in Safi, Morocco , He lived in Casablanca between 2004 until moving to safi 2012

He attended Khalil Gibran School  for his primary level of Education from 2006 - 2012 and ibn khaldoun high school for his secondary level of Education and that was from 2012 - 2017. He joined Cadi Ayyad University in 2018 to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Development Economics

Bouras began posting videos to YouTube in early 2018 at the age of 18, under the handle "Aymane Bouras Gaming"; his early content Let's Plays Pubg Mobile . He went viral in 2021 after his "hecker leaves Beluga" video earned Millions of views in just a few days, and has become increasingly popular ever since. In 2021 Aymane Bouras Gain More than 500k Subscribers in his Youtube Channel heckler

Aymane Bouras is one of the emerging artists today. In addition to being a successful music producer, his music and his songs with Young CEOs make him a popular face in his circles and fans. His expertise in singing various songs increased his popularity in the world before.

He is a YouTube content creator and Facebook digital media assistant. By 2021, Aymane Bouras Social Networks will be gaining huge popularity in managing the digital media of the artist brands he has identified. He runs a company called Aymane Bouras Productions and provides a wide range of services including music production, video editing, remixing and audio compose and mustering, photography and photo editing, social media manager and strategist

Popular tracks

 Sin
 Clup
 Hell
 Heaven
 Dancing Night

External links

 Aymane Bouras on Facebook
 Aymane Bouras stream on Spotify

References

Aymane Bouras


Pittsburg is a former mining town from the late 19th century located about 9 miles north of Crested Butte, Colorado. While Pittsburg is sometimes considered a ghost town, none of the original structures still exist. The only cabins that still exist in the area were built after 1973 and are strictly summer vacation homes, as the area is inaccessible by cars during the winter.

Pittsburg was named in honor of the industrial heritage of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A nearby mountain summit is named Schuylkill Mountain in honor of the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania.

Pittsburg originally served several mining operations in the late 19th century, including the nearby Pittsburg Mine and the much larger and more well known Augusta Mine.

External links
 Description of Pittsburg, CO history

Ghost towns in Colorado
Former populated places in Gunnison County, Colorado
Colorado Mining Boom

Pittsburg, Colorado


Satya (nominative satyam) is a Sanskrit Concept  in Indian religions that loosely translates into English as "Truth".

Satya, Sathya, Satyam or Sathyam may refer to:

Film and television
 Satyam (1976 film), a Tamil language film, starring Sivaji Ganesan & Jayachitra
 Sathyam (1980 film), a 1980 Malayalam film starring Sreenath and Shanthi Krishna
 Sathya (1988 film), a 1988 Tamil language film, starring Kamal Haasan
 Satya (1998 film), a 1998 Hindi film directed by Ram Gopal Varma, initiating his Gangster film series
 Satya 2, a 2013 sequel to the 1998 film, fourth in the series overall
 Satyam (2003 film), a 2003 Telugu film directed by Surya Kiran, starring Sumanth and Genelia D'Souza
 Sathyam (2004 film), a 2004 Malayalam film starring Prithviraj and Priyamani
 Satyam (2008 film), a Tamil language film
 Sathya (2010 film), an Indian Kannada romance drama film
 Sathya (2017 Tamil film), an Indian Tamil crime thriller
 Satya (2017 film), an Indian Bhojpuri action-romance-drama
 Sathya (2017 Malayalam film), an Indian Malayalam action thriller
 Sathya (TV series), a Tamil soap opera which premiered in 2019

Religion
 Nagnajiti, a queen-consort of Hindu god Krishna
 Sacca, Theravada Pali term
 Satya Mahima Dharma, religious tradition in Hinduism in India
 Satya Pir, belief system created by the fusion of Islam and local religions in Bengal
 Satya Yuga, Era of Truth in Hinduism

Other
 Satya (magazine), an American animal rights magazine
 Satya Wacana Christian University, private university located in Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia
 Mahindra Satyam, a defunct Indian computer services company, formerly known as Satyam Computer Services

People

People with the surname
 Habel Satya (born 1987), Indonesian footballer
 Tatineni Satya, Indian film maker

People with the given name
 Satya Narayana Charka, Indian-American dancer, teacher, and choreographer
 Satya Pal Jain (born 1952), Indian politician from Punjab
 Satya Krishnan, Indian actress
 Satya Nadella (born 1967), Indian-American business executive, CEO of Microsoft
 Satya Nandan,  Fiji diplomat and lawyer
 Satyam Patel (1932–2005), Indian social worker and activist
 Satya Prabhakar (born 1963), Indian-American entrepreneur, engineer and writer
 Satya Prakash (born 1929),  Indian physicist
 Sathya (Tamil actor), Indian Tamil actor
 Satya (Telugu actor), Indian Telugu actor
 Satyam Rajesh, Indian Telugu actor and comedian
 Satyam Sankaramanchi (1937–1987), Indian Telugu writer
 Satya Sarkar, Indian cricketer
 Satya Vrat Shastri (born 1930), Indian Sanskrit scholar, writer, grammarian and poet

See also
 Satyam (surname)
 Satyameva Jayate, "truth alone triumphs", Indian national motto

Satya (disambiguation)


Andon L. Amaraich (August 24, 1932, on the island of Ta, in what is now Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia – January 26, 2010, in Honolulu, Hawaii) was a Micronesian public servant, politician, diplomat and judge. He was, at the time of his death, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He has been described by the Micronesian government as "one of the founding fathers of the Federated States of Micronesia".

Studies and public service
Having graduated from the Pacific Islands Central School, Amaraich worked briefly as a primary school teacher in Chuuk from 1951 to 1952, before entering civil service. He was Assistant Clerk to the Truk (Chuuk) District Court from 1955 to 1956, then served for ten years as Chief Public Defender. He subsequently served as Assistant District Administrator for Public Affairs in the government of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, under United States colonial administration.

Political career
In 1959, he entered the colonial district legislative Council, before serving in the Chuuk District Senate from 1965 to 1974. There, he served as chairman on the Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations, as well as being a member of the Ways and Means Committee. From 1962, he was an advisor to the United States administration in the Trusteeship Council.

From 1976 to 1987, he was chairman the Commission on the Future Political Status and Transition, before being appointed chief negotiator on the Compact of Free Association with the United States – described as "one of his greatest accomplishments".

As the country prepared for independence, in 1975, he served on the legal staff of the Micronesian Constitutional Convention, "where he personally drafted many of the provisions of the FSM Constitution".

Diplomatic career
From 1979 to 1990, Amaraich was the first-ever Secretary of the F.S. Micronesia's Department of External Affairs, under Presidents Tosiwo Nakayama and John Haglelgam. In that function, he "played an instrumental role in developing diplomatic relationships with other nations" around the world, and "almost single-handedly organized the Department of External Affairs".

Career as judge
He was appointed Associate Justice on the Supreme Court in 1990, then Chief Justice in 1993, following the resignation of Chief Justice Edward C. King. He was only the second Chief Justice in the country's history, and the first Micronesian citizen to hold that post – King being an American.

As Chief Justice, Amaraich was "an active member" of the Pacific Judicial Council, and also served as Vice Chairman of the Pacific Judicial Development Program Executive Board.

Death
Suffering from "pneumonia and other complications", Amaraich travelled to Honolulu on January 15 for "medical tests and treatment". He died eleven days later in Straub Clinic & Hospital.

He received a state funeral.

References

External links
 Biography / necrology by the F.S.M. government

1932 births
2010 deaths
People from Chuuk State
Federated States of Micronesia judges
Chief justices of the Federated States of Micronesia
Federated States of Micronesia diplomats
Foreign Ministers of the Federated States of Micronesia
Members of the Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia
Deaths from pneumonia in Hawaii
Government ministers of the Federated States of Micronesia
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands politicians
Members of the Congress of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Public defenders

Andon Amaraich


Kevin A. Roberson (October 25, 1970 – May 8, 1993) was an American basketball player known for his collegiate playing career at the University of Vermont from 1988 to 1992. He etched himself into the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) record book for blocks; Roberson's 409 career blocks was the third-highest total in Division I history at the time of his graduation, and as of the 2013–14 season it remains the 21st highest. Five different times he recorded 10 or more blocks in a single game, including a career-high 13 against New Hampshire on January 9, 1992. Roberson also scored 1,503 points and grabbed 1,054 rebounds, which were second and first in school history, respectively, at the time of his graduation. Roberson recorded five triple-doubles in his career as well. In his junior and senior seasons he was a two-time All-North Atlantic Conference (NAC) First Team selection, and his senior year in 1991–92 saw him be named the NAC Player of the Year. He averaged 18 points and 11.2 rebounds en route to the award.

Death and legacy
Roberson went undrafted in the 1992 NBA draft, and less than a year after graduating from the University of Vermont, he was killed in a car accident in his hometown of Buffalo, New York on May 8, 1993. He and his sister, Michelle, were hit head-on in an intersection by a drunk driver. Basketball fans throughout the region were stunned. Roberson's coach, Tom Brennan, said "Looking back, what really sticks out is the reaction of everyone to Kevin and I mean everyone. As brilliant as Kevin's career was; as electric a player as he was; everyone talked about Kevin as a person."

Roberson was immediately inducted into the University of Vermont Hall of Fame in 1993. The conference player of the year award was later renamed the "Kevin Roberson America East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year." Since fall 1993, there has been an annual Kevin Roberson 5K Memorial Run/Walk dedicated to him. Roberson's jersey number (33) also became the first men's basketball number ever retired by the school.

See also
 List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 13 or more blocks in a game
 List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career blocks leaders
 List of NCAA Division I basketball career triple-doubles leaders

Further reading
Remembering the Lion; Brennan, Tom. Vermont Quarterly Online Magazine (Winter 2003).

References

1970 births
1993 deaths
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Buffalo, New York
Centers (basketball)
Road incident deaths in New York (state)
Vermont Catamounts men's basketball players

Kevin Roberson (basketball)


Kadinjool Kalyanam () is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language family drama film directed by Rajasenan and starring Jayaram, Urvashi and Innocent. The film marks the first collaboration of Rajasenan and Jayaram. The film was dubbed in Tamil as Ennavale Adi Ennavale with actor Vikram lending his voice for Jayaram.

Plot

Sudhakaran is a manager in an interstate bus office. He loves Ramani and they hope to marry when she finishes her studies. Sudhakaran's father, a palmist, reads Ramani's hand one day and predicts that a marriage between her and Sudhakaran will end in Sudhakaran's death. Ramani is heart broken but decides that she will not marry Sudhakaran. Sudhakaran is angry with his father for whom he has only contempt. Ramani marries another man and Sudhakaran becomes depressed.

Panicker notices his favorite employee's state of mind and promises to find him a bride worthy of his respect and love. Sudhakaran though hesitant gives into the suggestion and marries Hridayakumari.

Hridayakumari, the new bride is a simple girl with the stubbornness and willfulness of a child. Her behaviour vexes Sudhakaran and his mother. They suspect she is mentally challenged. One thing leads to another and one day, Sudhakaran's accepts the telemarketing tactics of a contract killer and pays to get Hridayakumari killed. But afterwards, Sudhakaran comes home to see that Hridayakumari has had a change of heart. He now wants to back out from this decision to kill Hridayakumari. He also learns that she is pregnant. Sudhakaran desperately tries to contact the contract killers to ask them to back out, but he couldn't contact them again. He totally panics and tries to protect Hridayakumari from unknown possibility of a murder attempt. The climax of the film reveals the characters' multi-dimensional natures.

Cast

 Jayaram as Sudhakaran
 Urvashi as Hridayakumari
 K. P. A. C. Lalitha as Chinnamalu (Sudhakaran's mother)
 Innocent as Pathira Panicker
 Jagathy Sreekumar as Sivaraman
 Suchitra Murali as  Ramani
 Oduvil Unnikrishnan as Pothuval
 Mamukkoya as Imbichi Koya
 Krishnankutty Nair as Veerabhadran (Sudhakaran's father)
 Kuthiravattam Pappu as Mathai
 Jagadish
 Rajan P. Dev as Thalaivar Vellai Chami
 Valsala Menon as Bhavaniyamma
 Unnimary as Kadambari (Panicker's wife)
 Sadiq as Prakashan (Mandhan Prakashan)
 T. R. Omana
 Sangeetha as Pothuval's wife
 Bobby Kottarakkara as Sankaran
 Kalabhavan Rahman as Gangadharan

Soundtrack
The film had musical score composed by Raveendran and lyrics by Bichu Thirumala, who won his second Kerala State Film Award for this movie.

 Manassil Ninnum Manassilekk - K. J. Yesudas
 Pulari Viriyum Mumbe - K. J. Yesudas

Awards
Urvashi was awarded the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress.

Bichu Thirumala was awarded the Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyricst

References

External links

1991 films
1990s Malayalam-language films
Films directed by Rajasenan

Kadinjool Kalyanam


In computing, a process is an instance of a computer program that is being executed. A process always exists in exactly one process state. A process that is blocked is one that is waiting for some event, such as a resource becoming available or the completion of an I/O operation.

In a multitasking computer system, individual tasks, or threads of execution, must share the resources of the system. Shared resources include: the CPU, network and network interfaces, memory and disk.

When one task is using a resource, it is generally not possible, or desirable, for another task to access it. The techniques of mutual exclusion are used to prevent this concurrent use. When the other task is blocked, it is unable to execute until the first task has finished using the shared resource.

Programming languages and scheduling algorithms are designed to minimize the over-all effect blocking. A process that blocks may prevent local work-tasks from progressing. In this case "blocking" often is seen as not wanted. However, such work-tasks may instead have been assigned to independent processes, where halting one has no or little effect on the others, since scheduling will continue. An example is "blocking on a channel" where passively waiting for the other part  (no polling or spin loop) is part of the semantics of channels.   Correctly engineered any of these may be used to implement reactive systems.

Deadlock means that processes pathologically wait for each other in a circle. As such it is not directly associated with blocking.

Once the event occurs for which the process is waiting ("is blocked on"), the process is advanced from blocked state to an imminent one, such as runnable.

See also
Concurrent computing
Data dependency
Deadlock
Non-blocking algorithm
Race condition
Scheduling (computing)

References

Computing terminology
Inter-process communication
Input/output
Scheduling (computing)

Blocking (computing)


"Wee Cooper O'Fife" (Roud 117) is a Scottish folk song about a cooper who has "a braw new wife" who will not cook, clean, and sew in case she "spoil her comely hue". A town in Fife is called Cupar; this is a pun.

Verses get added, with one version having him put a sheep skin jacket on her and beating it. It was recorded by Burl Ives on 11 February 1941 for his debut album Okeh Presents the Wayfaring Stranger. It has also been recorded by Hedy West, Ed McCurdy, and Ian Campbell.

The Wee Cooper O'Fife is also the name of a Scottish country dance devised by Hugh Foss to fit the tune of the folk song, which is unusual in having ten-bar rather eight-bar phrases.

Similar songs
Other versions of the song are known as "Dan Doo", "The Wife Wrapt in Wether's Skin" or "Little Old Man  Lived Out West".

The Wife Wrapt in Wether's Skin
"The Wife Wrapt in Wether's Skin" is an English Child ballad 277. In this song, a man has married a woman of higher birth than him.  She scorns the household labor.  The man kills a wether (castrated male sheep), skins it, and wraps her in it.  He declares that he can not beat her, but he can certainly beat a wether's skin.  She recants her refusal and works.

In other variants, such as "Ruggleton's Daughter of Iero", he does not have a pretext for beating her.

Dan Doo
Dan Doo is a British folk song that was brought to the United States. It was recorded by the Wisconsin Folk Song Recording Project. Max Hunter also recorded the song. The version he recorded is part of the Max Hunter Song Collection at the University of Missouri. Frank Proffitt recorded it on Frank Proffitt Sings Folk Songs on Folkways Records. It has been published as a children's ballad and a folk song. Versions performed by Fred Smith and Frank Payne have also been recorded.

The Library of Congress has a version of the song sung by Charles Dietz and recorded in Monroe, Wisconsin by Leland Coon in 1946.

The Library of Congress has a recording of it.

Risseldy Rosseldy
An American variation of the song, entitled "Risseldy Rosseldy", was sung by the school children in the 1963 film The Birds right before they were attacked by a swarm of birds. "Risseldy Rosseldy" was also featured as a musical number in Wee Sing in Sillyville.

Popular culture
The song was part of the South Park Season "The Scoots", which is the fifth episode of the 22nd season.

See also
Peat Fire Flame, an album by The Corries
 List of Scottish country dances

References

External links

"The Wife Wrapt in Wether's Skin"
"Ruggleton's Daughter of Iero"

Burl Ives songs
Traditional children's songs
Year of song unknown
Scottish folk songs
Scottish country dance
Songwriter unknown

Wee Cooper O'Fife


Wakoku was the name used by early China and its neighboring states to refer to what is now known as Japan. There are different ideas about how much power the early kings of Japan had.

According to ancient Chinese books like the Book of Sui and the History of the Northern Dynasties, the borders of Japan were described as being five months from east to west and three months from north to south.

The Wajin, who were people from Japan, were mentioned in historical documents like the Book of Han and the Geographical Survey of Japan, dating back to around the 2nd century BC.

In the late 7th century, the Yamato kingdom, which was also known as Yamato, changed its external name to Japan, but its relation to Japan mentioned in the Book of the Later Han is not clear. There are differences in the descriptions found in the Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang.

See also

 Wa (Japan)
 Wajin
 Yamato Kingship
 Goguryeo–Wa War
 Yayoi period
 Kofun period
 Yamatai
 Five kings of Wa
 Al-Wakwak

Pages with unreviewed translations
Articles containing Japanese-language text
History of Japan

Wakoku


Gu Zhutong ( or Wade-Giles Ku Chu-tung; 1893 – January 17, 1987), courtesy name Moshan (墨山), was a military general and administrator of the Republic of China.

Biography

Early life and career

Gu was born in Lianshui, Jiangsu province and attended army elementary academy at age 19, When the Chinese Revolution of 1911 broke out, he soon joined the Revolution. In 1912, he joined the Chinese Nationalist Party, and enrolled in Wuhan reserve officer candidate school, and then attend the Baoding Military Academy. In 1922, he went to Canton and became a staff officer of Second Cantonese Army. When Whampoa Military Academy was founded in 1924, he became one of the academy instructors. When the newly formed nationalist government launched a campaign against a local warlord, he became a battalion commander. During the Northern Expedition, Gu was promoted division commander and then corps commander. In the Central Plains War, he was the commander of the 16th route army. In 1931, he became garrison commander of Nanjing, the capital of the nationalist government. In 1933 he participated in the anti-communist Encirclement Campaigns. In 1935 he was promoted to general and put in charge of three southwestern provinces, meanwhile he was also the chairman of Jiangsu province. After the breakout of the second Sino-Japanese war, he was named commander-in-chief of the third war zone, during the New Fourth Army Incident in 1941 nationalist units under his command destroyed a large contingent of communist troops, and Chiang Kai-shek decorated him with the Order of Blue Sky and White Sun, one of the highest honors for a Chinese commander at the time.

Chinese Civil War
In 1946, he was named commander-in-chief of the nationalist army and pacification director of Zhengzhou, and was put in charge attack communist-controlled areas in Shandong province. In 1947, he lost the critical Menglianggu Campaign, in which the elite 74th independent enhanced division was wiped out by the communist forces. Chiang Kai-shek relieved him of command, and appointed him as Chief of Staff instead.

In Taiwan
In March 1950, he arrived in Taiwan and was appointed as defense minister, and in 1954 he was promoted to four-star general. In 1956, Gu was appointed as secretary general of the National Defense Council; in 1967 he was named as deputy head of the strategic advisory committee. In 1972, he became an advisor to Chiang Kai-shek and died on January 17, 1987.

Private Life
His son was the artist Ku Fu-sheng.

References

 http://www.generals.dk/general/Qiu_Qing-quan/_/China.html
 Ministry of National Defense R.O.C
US Naval War College
 https://web.archive.org/web/20090326011824/http://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/bjorge_huai.pdf

People of the Northern Expedition
National Revolutionary Army generals from Jiangsu
1893 births
1987 deaths
Recipients of the Order of Blue Sky and White Sun
Recipients of the Order of Chiang Chung-Cheng
People from Huai'an
Chinese Civil War refugees
Taiwanese people from Jiangsu

Gu Zhutong


The Old Rotation is a soil fertility experiment on the Auburn University campus in Auburn, Alabama. The Old Rotation experiment, which started in 1896, is the third-oldest ongoing field crop experiment in the United States and the oldest continuous cotton experiment in the world. It was the first experiment to show that a cotton/legume crop rotation would allow soil to support a cotton crop indefinitely. The Old Rotation is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

For much of the latter part of the 19th century, cotton yields in the Southern United States suffered declines caused by planting the same crop on the same land year after year, a process which caused significant soil nutrient loss. In 1896, Professor J. F. Duggar of the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College set up the Old Rotation experiment on a one-acre (1,600 m²) plot of land one mile (1.6 km) south of the campus to test whether soil nutrient levels could be maintained by growing a crop of legumes on the same land as cotton, but in the winter months when cotton doesn't grow.   This rotation of cotton and soybeans has continued uninterrupted since.  In addition to the cotton/legume rotation, additional rotations have been added in adjacent plots consisting of a cotton/corn, cotton/corn/legume and cotton/corn/legume/soybean rotation.  It became evident within a few years that adding the winter legume crop as a rotation was sufficient to restore adequate nutrients to the soil to maintain a yearly cotton crop indefinitely.

Experiment

The Old Rotation consists of 13 plots of six planting systems:

 A control test where cotton is planted without rotation or fertilizer
 Cotton rotated with winter legumes but not fertilized
 Cotton just fertilized
 Cotton rotated with corn and winter legumes
 Cotton rotated with corn, winter legumes, and fertilizer
 Cotton rotated with corn, winter legumes, and soybeans

After 110 years of continuous plantings, cotton yields remain high for the rotated plots, producing nearly three times the yield of the unrotated plots.

Miscellaneous

The Old Rotation is located adjacent to the Donald E. Davis Arboretum on Lem Morrison Drive in Auburn.  The Rotation was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 14, 1988.

Photo gallery

See also
 Long-term experiment
Cullars Rotation - A similar nearby agricultural rotation experiment.
National Register of Historic Places listings in Lee County, Alabama

References

Elstein, David (2003). ARS improves yields in 100-year-old experiment; the 106th cotton crop grown on the Old Rotation—the world's oldest cotton experiment.  Agricultural Research, May 2003.
Logue, Mickey & Simms, Jack (1996). Auburn: A Pictorial History of the Loveliest Village, Revised. Auburn, Ala.

Auburn, Alabama
National Register of Historic Places in Lee County, Alabama
Auburn University
Alabama Cooperative Extension System
Farms on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama

Old Rotation