Eduard Duller (18 November 1809, Vienna – 24 July 1853, Wiesbaden) was a German-Austrian writer and clergyman, very active as a poet, novelist and later as a historian.

Life
His biological father died before his birth and so he was brought up lovingly but strictly by his stepfather. A gifted child, he studied philosophy and law in his home town of Vienna as well as writing his first fiction, premiering his first play, titled Meister Pilgram, aged 17. His advanced humanist attitudes made him unsuited to Austrian education under the Metternich System and its Carlsbad Decrees, so in 1830 he left Austria for Munich, where in 1831 he premiered his play Die Wittelsbacher. A year later he mover to Trier, befriending and graduating alongside Friedrich von Sallet. In Trier he withdrew into himself, but gained the clergy's hatred through his play Franz von Sickingen.

In 1834 he moved to Frankfurt am Main and there began publishing the Phönix. Frühlings-Zeitung für Deutschland. (Phoenix - a spring magazine for Germany). This literary journal published fictional works by Georg Büchner, Christian Dietrich Grabbe and other Vormärz writers. Duller handed the editorship over to Karl Gutzkow in summer 1835 and in 1836 moved to Darmstadt, where stayed from then until 1849 and took a lively interest in the German Catholicism movement, which sought to remove papal influence on Catholicism in Germany. His most notable work from the modern perspective is his Die Jesuiten, a populist account of the history and present activities of the Jesuits - on page 109 of it, he wrote:

The work presents a negative view of the Order, writing of its alleged hidden criminal activities, showing its moral and social principles as harmful and the Catholic Church as misusing religion. On page 97 he writes:

He later moved again, to Mainz, where in 1851 he became priest to the German Catholic denomination. His grave is in the Mainzer "Hauptfriedhof", the main urban cemetery.

Works

Novels and poetry
 Kronen und Ketten (Frankfurt 1835, 3 volumes).
 Loyola (Frankfurt 1836, 3 volumes).
 Kaiser und Papst (Leipzig 1838, 4 volumes).
 Der Fürst der Liebe (Leipzig 1842, 2nd edition 1854).
 Gesammelten Gedichte (Berlin 1845; new edition, Leipzig 1877).

Histories
 Vaterländische Geschichte (Frankfurt 1852–57, 5 volumes; Microfiche-Ausgabe ), extended after Duller's death by Karl Hagen.
 Geschichte des deutschen Volkes (Leipzig 1840, 3. Ausl. 1846; newly edited by William Pierson, Berlin 1861; 6th edition 1877).
 Die Jesuiten, wie sie waren und wie sie sind (Leipzig 1845; 3rd edition, Brandenb.1861).
 a continuation of Schiller's Geschichte des Abfalls der Vereinigten Niederlande (History of the Revolt of the United Netherlands; Köln 1841, 3 volumes).
 Maria Theresia (Wiesbaden 1844, 2 Bände).
 Erzherzog Carl von Österreich (Wien 1847, Illustrations by Moritz von Schwind).
 Die Männer des Volks dargestellt von Freunden des Volks (Frankfurt 1847–50, 8 volumes) etc.

Sources

 Duller, Eduard, in Constant von Wurzbach, Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich, 3 volumes, Wien 1858.

External links

 Meyer 1888

1809 births
1853 deaths
Writers from Vienna
19th-century German poets
19th-century German novelists
19th-century Austrian historians
Austrian male poets
German male poets
19th-century Austrian novelists
German male novelists
19th-century Austrian poets
19th-century German male writers
German male non-fiction writers

Eduard Duller


Almira Skripchenko (born 17 February 1976) is a Moldovan-French chess player who holds the titles of International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She won the European Women's Individual Chess Championship in 2001, and is a seven-time French Women's Chess Champion.

Chess
Born in Kishinev to a Ukrainian father and an Armenian mother, both pedagogues and chess coaches, Skripchenko started playing chess when she was 6 years old. Her mother Naira Agababyan was 7-times Moldovan women's chess champion.

In 1991, Moldova became independent from the Soviet Union. This meant that Skripchenko could take part for the first time in the World Youth Chess Championships. She was crowned World Under-16 girls champion in 1992 at Duisburg, Germany and in 1993, she took the bronze medal at the World Under-18 girls championship.

She married French Grandmaster Joël Lautier in 1997 and consequently moved to live in France. Despite separating from Lautier in 2002, she became a French citizen in 2001 and continued to make France her home. Skripchenko then married French Grandmaster Laurent Fressinet and in January 2007, gave birth to a daughter.

In 2001, at 25 years old, she celebrated her biggest success ever, winning the Women's European Individual Chess Championship. She was at this time chosen "best sportsperson in 2001 in Moldova" and decorated with the Order of National Merit in her native country.

In 2004, she won the North Urals Cup, the second international super-tournament for female chess players. Held in Krasnoturinsk, the nine-round single round-robin tournament featured ten of the strongest female players in the world. Skripchenko finished a half point ahead of Maia Chiburdanidze, the former Women's World Champion, and also defeated her in their individual encounter. In 2005, she won the Accentus Ladies Tournament in Biel. Skripchenko reached the quarter-finals at the Women's World Chess Championship in 2000, 2001 and 2010.

Living in Paris and representing France in tournaments since 2002, Skripchenko has become a noted ambassador for the game in Europe. She competed in the Men's French Individual Championship (2002, 2003). She won the Ladies' French Chess Championship in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012 and 2015. In team play, she won the French National Chess League with NAO Chess Club (2003 and 2004) and with Clichy Echecs (2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013) and the German Chess Bundesliga with Werder Bremen (2005). Her career victories also include three Nationale ladies titles (which she earned with Baden-Oos in 2003, 2004, and 2005) and five European Club Cup victories with Cercle d'échecs de Monte-Carlo (in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013).

Almira Skripchenko has taken part in several Chess Olympiads (with Moldova, then with France), each time playing on her team's top board. She is also a member of the ACP Board (Association of Chess Professionals).

Poker
Skripchenko has also played in major poker tournaments. In 2009, she finished seventh in a World Series of Poker No Limit Texas hold 'em tournament, winning $78,664. In 2011, she won $50,000 when she finished second in the World Poker Tour celebrity invitational tournament. Her poker tournament winnings exceed $250,000.

Shogi
Skripchenko also plays shogi.

Notes

References

External links

1976 births
Living people
French chess players
French female chess players
Moldovan chess players
Moldovan female chess players
Chess International Masters
Chess woman grandmasters
European Chess Champions
World Youth Chess Champions
Chess players from Chișinău
French poker players
Female poker players
Moldovan emigrants to France
Moldovan people of Armenian descent
Moldovan people of Ukrainian descent
French people of Armenian descent
French people of Ukrainian descent
Naturalized citizens of France

Almira Skripchenko


Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each country.

In Canada, the highest level is major junior, and is governed by the Canadian Hockey League, which itself has three constituent leagues: the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and the Western Hockey League. The second tier is Junior A, governed nationally by the Canadian Junior Hockey League and is composed of several regional leagues.

In the United States, the top level is Tier I, represented by the United States Hockey League. Tier II is represented by the North American Hockey League. There are several Tier III and independently sanctioned leagues throughout the country. A limited number of teams in the Canadian major junior leagues are also based in the United States.

In Europe, junior teams are often sponsored by professional teams, and act as development and feeder associations for those organizations.

In Canada, junior hockey is one level above minor ice hockey, the level of ice hockey played by younger players. Minor hockey is often called "youth hockey" in the United States to avoid confusion with professional minor league ice hockey.

Hockey Canada
Junior hockey in Canada is broken into several tiers, and players aged 16–20 at the beginning of the season are eligible. Hockey Canada has enacted rules designed to limit the number of 16-year-olds allowed to play junior hockey, preferring most remain at the minor level.

Additionally, there are 12 American teams that play in the Canadian junior system, with nine in the Canadian Hockey League and five in junior A leagues. The CHL includes five teams in Washington and one in Oregon in the Western Hockey League, and two teams in Michigan and one in Pennsylvania in the Ontario Hockey League. At junior A level, one in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League is from Michigan, one in the Ontario Junior Hockey League is from New York, and one team in the Superior International Junior Hockey League is located in Wisconsin.

Major junior
Major junior hockey is overseen by the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), which acts as the governing body for its three constituent leagues:
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League – operating in Quebec and Atlantic Canada  with 18 teams
Ontario Hockey League – operating in Ontario, Pennsylvania, and Michigan with 20 teams
Western Hockey League – operating in Western Canada, Washington, and Oregon with 22 teams

The CHL currently places a cap of three 20-year-old-or-over players per team, commonly known as "overage players". The CHL also allows up to four 16-year-olds on each roster. While fifteen-year-old players were formerly permitted to play a limited number of games per season at the CHL level, they are now permitted to play only if they are deemed exceptional by Hockey Canada. , seven players have qualified under this rule: centre John Tavares in 2005, defenceman Aaron Ekblad in 2011, centre Connor McDavid in 2012, defenceman Sean Day in 2013, centre Joe Veleno in 2015, centre Shane Wright in 2019, and forward Connor Bedard in 2020. CHL teams are currently permitted two "imports" (players from outside Canada or the US, generally from Europe or Russia) each.

Due to paying players stipends and allowing junior players that have signed entry-level contracts with the NHL, all CHL teams are considered professional by the NCAA; thus any player who plays a game at the Major Junior level loses his eligibility to play for universities in the United States. The player retains eligibility for Canadian universities however, and all three leagues have programs in place to grant scholarships for any player who plays in these leagues provided he does not turn professional once their junior career ends. Many of the National Hockey League's (NHL) top prospects play in the CHL.

The champion of each league competes in an annual tournament with a predetermined host team for the Memorial Cup, Canada's national major junior championship.

Up until 1970, the leagues that were classified as Major Junior and "Junior A" today were both part of Junior A. In 1970 they were divided into "Tier I Junior A" or "Major Junior A" and "Tier II Junior A". In 1980, the three Major Junior A leagues opted for self-control over being controlled by the branches of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and became Major Junior hockey, Tier II Junior A became the top tier of hockey in the CAHA and became Junior A hockey.

Junior A
Junior A (junior AAA in Quebec) hockey is one level below the CHL. Junior A was referred to as Tier II Junior A in the 1970s, until what was called Major Junior A broke away from their regional branches in 1980 and formed the Canadian Hockey League, becoming Major Junior hockey. At that time, the term Tier II was dropped from what is now Junior A hockey. It is governed by the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), which oversees nine constituent leagues across Canada as of 2021. The national championship is the Centennial Cup.

From 2021 to 2023, there was one Hockey Canada sanctioned Junior A league that was not a member of the CJHL: the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). However, the BCHL withdrew entirely from Hockey Canada to become an independently sanctioned league in 2023, leading to Hockey Canada sanctioning the three existing British Columbia Junior B leagues as a new "Tier 2" Junior A status to fill the void left by the BCHL.

Junior A teams are considered amateur by the NCAA, thus players intending to go to American universities tend to choose this route rather than play in the CHL. Junior A teams tend to play in much smaller markets than CHL teams, and thus play to smaller crowds.

Junior B, C, D
Junior B (junior AA in Quebec) was created in 1933, to differentiate between teams eligible for Memorial Cup competition and those who were not. The major championships across Canada are the Sutherland Cup in Southern Ontario, the Barkley Cup in the Ottawa District, the Coupe Dodge in Quebec, the Don Johnson Cup in the Atlantic Provinces, and the Keystone Cup that represents all of Western Canada, from British Columbia to Northwestern Ontario.

Junior C (junior A in Quebec) generally consists of local competitions, but is considered competitive in some regions, and serve as seeding or farm-teams for Junior B teams. Ontario Junior C Hockey has six rounds of best-of-seven playoffs (up to 42 games per team) for the Clarence Schmalz Cup which was first awarded in 1938. The Ontario Junior C playoffs are played for between six of the Province's seven different regional leagues. In Quebec and West of Manitoba, Junior C hockey tends to be an extension of the local minor hockey system and is sometimes called Juvenile or House League. In Ontario, Manitoba, and the Maritimes, Junior C is run independently of minor hockey systems, though with the same mostly recreational purpose.

Junior D was popular in the 1960s and 1970s in dense population centers, but fell off in the early 1990s. In Quebec, Junior D is now known as Junior B and is run strictly by minor hockey associations. The last Junior D league was the OHA's Southern Ontario Junior Hockey League, the result of the merger of the Northern, Western, and Southern Junior D leagues in the late 1980s. The SOJHL moved to Junior C league in 2012.

USA Hockey
As in Canada, junior hockey in the United States is subdivided into several levels sanctioned by USA Hockey.

Tier I
The United States Hockey League (USHL) is currently the only Tier I league in the country, consisting of teams in the central and midwestern United States. The USHL provides an alternative to the Canadian Hockey League, which pays its major junior hockey players a stipend, for players who wish to maintain NCAA eligibility for later in their career.

While playing in the USHL, all player expenses are paid for by the team; no membership or equipment fees are charged. Unlike major junior teams, free-college stipend does not exist. Historically, professional leagues have drafted less directly from USHL teams, although this trend has shifted in recent years, coinciding with the USNTDP moving to the USHL in 2009-10. In the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, 17 of the 44 players drafted out of the USHL played for the USNTDP. Those 44 draft picks were 16 more than any of the three leagues in the Canadian Hockey League, and included 9 first round picks (8 of which came from the USNTDP) and 7 second round picks.

For most of its existence the USHL was considered inferior in quality of play to the major junior levels. But it continued to improve and as of 2019 about 21 percent of NHL players had played USHL in their career. Between 80 and 90 percent of USHL players continued into NCAA hockey, with 33 percent advancing to the NHL as of 2019.

Tier II
Currently, the North American Hockey League is the only USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier II league in the United States. The NAHL consists of teams spread across the western two thirds of the United States with a significant concentration of teams in the central and southwestern parts of the United States, although the league began to expand to east coast as of 2015. In October 2016, the Tier III United States Premier Hockey League, a league predominately located on the east coast, applied to USA Hockey for approval of a Tier II league to begin in the 2017–18 season, however, the league was denied that December and decided to operate its Tier II league independently.

The NAHL, like the USHL, provides young players an alternative to major junior hockey, although the skill level is considered significantly lower than major junior hockey and typically filled with those who would not or did not make the roster of a Tier I team. Unlike Tier I, the NAHL does not pay for all players' expenses, such as room and board, but there is no tuition cost to the player as in Tier III.

Tier III
In addition to paying for room and board, players at the Tier III level pay a fee or tuition, commonly ranging from $4,000 to $9,500. This is for all accounts and purposes an amateur level, although some players go directly to NCAA Division I schools. Most Tier III players are looking to increase their skills in hopes to move up to Tier I or II, while other players go directly to NCAA Division III, ACHA and CHF schools.

Prior to July 2011, USA Hockey split Tier III into Junior A and B divisions. USA Hockey currently has one sanctioned Tier III league, the North American 3 Hockey League

Independent leagues (Canada and US)
Some leagues that refer to themselves as Junior A also operate outside the control of the Hockey Canada and USA Hockey, typically due to restrictions from the governing bodies over player recruitment and finances. While a league can claim to be comparable to Junior A leagues, due to the lack of regulation the actual level of play may vary. In addition to independent leagues, there are also independent teams, such as the Jamestown Jets, although these usually result from league problems or other disputes. These leagues are often referred to as "outlaw" leagues due to their lack of sanctioning or oversight from an outside governing body.

AAU
The Amateur Athletic Union returned to sanctioning the sport of ice hockey in 2011. Prior to the 2011–12 season, the Western States Hockey League became the first large-scale junior league to exit USA Hockey in favor of the AAU. In 2012, the AAU formed the United Hockey Union for managing its hockey leagues and held a championship tournament in 2013 and 2014. All junior hockey leagues under the UHU umbrella operated under a similar pay-to-play USA Hockey Tier III and Hockey Canada's Junior A structure, although the WSHL was later considered Tier II within the UHU hierarchy. The UHU announced that starting in 2017 it would launch a free-to-play Tier I league called the Central One Hockey League; however, plans for the league were later called off and the people behind the C1HL launched the non-sanctioned USA Central Hockey League in 2018.

One of the main reasons that some teams and leagues chose the AAU was for the looser player import restrictions. In most USA Hockey sanctioned leagues, each team has been limited to a maximum of four non-US citizen players (with a loophole for non-US citizens that have been registered USA Hockey members for three seasons). However, under AAU sanctioning, teams have been allowed up to 14 non-North American players (meaning players from Canada and the United States are not counted as imports in either country). The increased import limit led to more competitive teams where it was more difficult to recruit local talent. It also allowed more European players opportunities to play in the junior level of North American hockey leagues that would normally be limited under Hockey Canada and USA Hockey restrictions.

, there were no junior leagues still operating with AAU sanctioning after both the Canadian Premier Junior Hockey League and Western States Hockey League appeared to have ceased operations.

Self-sanctioned leagues
Other leagues have their own guidelines for team and player restrictions with no outside oversight by a governing body.

Since 2006, the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League has operated as an independent league in Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta. The league widely recruits players from outside of North America.

In late 2016, the United States Premier Hockey League, an organization composed of several USA Hockey Tier III junior as well as many youth hockey leagues, applied for a Tier II league. The Tier II status was denied in December 2016 but the USPHL moved forward with the new league anyway, creating the National Collegiate Development Conference. In response, the USPHL has removed all their junior level leagues (the NCDC and the Tier III-level Premier and Elite Divisions) from USA Hockey sanctioning since the 2017–18 season.

In 2022, the Eastern Hockey League, which was operating two Tier III leagues, also left USA Hockey sanctioning.

Europe

In Europe, junior teams are usually associated with a professional team, and are used by professional teams to develop their own prospects. One example of this is the J20 SuperElit league in Sweden or the Minor Hockey League in Russia. Such leagues are sometimes dubbed major junior hockey leagues.

The lack of an amateur draft in Europe means that the onus is on the teams to sign the most talented young players they can get, and the presence of an affiliated junior team provides a place for young players who are not yet ready for the rigours of the professional game to develop. However, not all players on a European junior team are necessarily property of their professional club, and may elect to sign elsewhere.

At the World Hockey Summit in 2010, nations in Europe expressed concern about the number of junior players leaving to play in North America, despite the improved talent level and the increasing popularity of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Junior Championships. Slavomir Lener, a director with the Czech Ice Hockey Association, felt that junior-aged players were enticed to play in North America before maturation, with a negative effect on the development of the player and the European system. He stated that of the 527 Czech Republic players who went to North American junior hockey, only 22 of them played more than 400 NHL games. He sought to establish a European system that was competitive enough to deter players from entering into the CHL Import Draft.

See also
2007 Super Series (Canada versus Russia challenge)
List of ice hockey leagues
Junior Hockey League (Russia)
World Junior A Challenge
World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
World Junior Club Cup

References

External links

Canadian Hockey League (CHL) official site
Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) official site
USA Hockey: Junior Hockey
United Hockey Union

Junior ice hockey


The Bureau of Prohibition (or Prohibition Unit) was the United States federal law enforcement agency formed to enforce the National Prohibition Act of 1919, commonly known as the Volstead Act, which enforced the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution regarding the prohibition of the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. When it was first established in 1920, it was a unit of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. On April 1, 1927, it became an independent entity within the Department of the Treasury, changing its name from the Prohibition Unit to the Bureau of Prohibition. In 1930, it became part of the Department of Justice. By 1933, with the repeal of Prohibition imminent, it was briefly absorbed into the FBI, or "Bureau of Investigation" as it was then called, and became the Bureau's "Alcohol Beverage Unit," though, for practical purposes it continued to operate as a separate agency. Very shortly after that, once repeal became a reality, and the only federal laws regarding alcoholic beverages being their taxation, it was switched back to Treasury, where it was renamed the Alcohol Tax Unit.

Mission
The Bureau of Prohibition's main function was to stop the sale and consumption of alcohol. Agents would be tasked with eliminating illegal bootlegging rings, and became notorious in cities like New York and Chicago for raiding popular nightclubs. Agents were often paid low wages, and the Bureau was notorious for allowing many uncertified people to become agents. Doing so strengthened the bureau, as they were able to hire agents in greater numbers. In 1929, the Increased Penalties Act or Jones Law was passed. The Jones Law increased penalties for violations previously set in the Volstead Act. First time offenders were now expected to serve a maximum of five years and a $10,000 fine as opposed to the previous six months and $1,000 fine. This strengthened animosity toward Prohibition agents, as many of them (such as Major Maurice Campbell, Prohibition administrator of New York City), were already hated for their raids on popular clubs frequented by New York City's elite.

Famous agents
Its investigators were called prohibition agents, or more colloquially 'Prohis' . Its most famous agent was Eliot Ness. Some of the other famous lawmen who, at some point, carried a Prohi's badge include former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, full-blooded Cherokee Tom Threepersons, James L. "Lone Wolf" Asher, Chicagoan Pat Roche, and Richard James "Two-Gun" Hart, the eldest brother of Al Capone, who had lost communication with his family at age 16, after fleeing New York City, following a gang brawl.

The two-agent team of Isidor "Izzy" Einstein and Moe Smith, working out of the New York City office, compiled the best arrest record in the history of the agency. Izzy and Moe, as they would later be called, had 4,932 arrests while confiscating over five million bottles of alcohol. The duo would disguise themselves as street vendors, fishermen and many other undercover roles. Both investigators were also able to speak multiple languages, and this skill was also helpful when they were working undercover. The first woman agent was Georgia Hopley.

The Untouchables
The Untouchables were by far the most famous group of prohibition agents, because they were tasked with capturing infamous gangster Al Capone. They earned their nickname after members of the Chicago Outfit repeatedly failed to bribe or intimidate them, proving they were not as easily corrupted as other prohibition agents. Through their efforts, Capone was indicted on 5000 separate counts of conspiracy to violate the National Prohibition Act, though it was ultimately decided not to bring these charges to trial, but rather to concentrate on income tax violations. Nevertheless, the Untouchables gained national acclaim, in particular, Eliot Ness, who ran the group.

Corruption and public opinion
Despite their mandate to stop consumption of alcohol, many prohibition agents reportedly accepted bribes in exchange for ignoring illegal trade in liquor, which has been ascribed, in part, to their relatively low wages. It was rumored that many agents imbibed the alcohol which they were responsible for confiscating. The public perception of Bureau agents was not favorable. Some prohibition agents became notorious for killing innocent civilians and harassing minor bootleggers, while ignoring gangsters and their rich customers.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms

On July 1, 1930, the Prohibition Bureau was transferred from the Treasury Department to the Department of Justice.  Early in 1933, as part of the Franklin D. Roosevelt-sponsored Omnibus Crime Bill, the Prohibition Bureau was briefly absorbed into the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), or Division of Investigation as the agency was then called. At this point, it became the Alcohol Beverage Unit.  Though part of the FBI on paper, J. Edgar Hoover, who wanted to avoid liquor enforcement and the taint of corruption that was attached to it, continued to operate it as a separate, autonomous agency in practice.

Following the repeal of Prohibition in December 1933, the Alcohol Beverage Unit was removed from the FBI and the Justice Department, and returned to Treasury, where, coming full circle, it became the Alcohol Tax Unit of the IRS, ultimately evolving into the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, or ATF. The present-day ATF deals mostly against illegal firearms, explosives and conducts arson investigations.

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush signed into law the Homeland Security Act of 2002. In addition to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the law shifted the ATF from the Department of the Treasury to the Department of Justice. The agency's name was changed to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, or BATFE; however, it continues to be referred to as the ATF.

The task of collecting federal tax revenue derived from the production of tobacco and alcohol products and the regulatory function related to protecting the public in issues related to the production of alcohol, previously handled by the ATF and the IRS, was transferred to the newly established Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), which remained within the Treasury Department. These changes took effect January 24, 2003.

In popular culture
 Eliot Ness's memoir, The Untouchables, went on to become a bestseller and was later adapted into two television series (in 1959 and 1993) and a feature film.
 Izzy and Moe, a TV-movie starring Jackie Gleason and Art Carney, was loosely based on the real life Isador Einstein and Moe Smith.
 The Bureau of Prohibition is featured prominently in the HBO period crime series Boardwalk Empire, particularly through the character of Agent Nelson Van Alden.

See also

 Drug Enforcement Administration
 Jouett Shouse
 Mabel Walker Willebrandt
 United States House Committee on Alcoholic Liquor Traffic
 William Harvey Thompson

References

External links

 "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives." ATF. N.p., 29 Dec. 2008. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. <

 "Prohibition." Prohibition. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. <http://mailer.fsu.edu/~jmrichar/amh1000/fa02/prohibition.htm.

Alcohol policy
Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition

Bureau of Prohibition


Project Renewal (Hebrew: פרויקט שיקום שכונות, Proyect shikum shchunot) is the joint program of the government of Israel and the Jewish Agency for Israel for rehabilitation of distressed neighborhoods. It was announced in 1977 by the Eighteenth government of Israel headed  by Prime Minister Menachem Begin, in which 160 underprivileged areas in Israel were upgraded.

Since the decision was taken on the project, 210 neighborhoods were identified as underprivileged neighborhood, in 70 neighborhoods the project was completed, and will be performed in dozens of other neighborhoods. In the 160 of the first neighborhoods in which the project was implemented, the Population is about one million. Among the neighborhoods that participated in the project one may find: Pat, Baka, Talpiot, and Ramat Amidar.

External links
 PROJECT RENEWAL, Jewish Virtual Library

References

Society of Israel
Social history of Israel
Neighborhoods in Israel

Project Renewal (Israel)


R. P. M. is a 1970 American drama film directed by Stanley Kramer, starring Anthony Quinn and Ann-Margret. As the film's poster notes, the title is an initialism for "revolutions per minute", which at the time was a common term for the variable speed of a record player's turntable.

Plot
Set against the political turmoil of the 1960s, radical student activists occupy a university's administration building with a list of 12 demands. Unable to resolve the situation, President Tyler resigns, so the Board of Trustees considers a student-made shortlist of recommended professors to take over the job of university president. The board finalizes the choice of Professor F.W.J. "Paco" Perez, despite his radical beliefs, given his close past relationship with students.

After midnight, Perez, along with his sociology graduate student girlfriend Rhoda, is awakened by a phone call by Dean George Cooper, requesting a meeting. Perez is appointed "acting president" of the college campus. Later that morning, Perez arrives to the campus on a motorcycle. Attempting to negotiate with the activists, Perez reads their demands, which include 20 inner-city scholarships, a college reinvestment program, no military research on campus, and an African American on the all-white Board of Trustees. Perez disagrees with three of the 12 demands, including the students' right to hire and fire the faculty.

Perez tells the activists he will deliver on the first nine demands. A brief conflict between the leader, Roositer, and Steve Dempsey, leads to the eighth demand changed to the hiring of a black admissions officer. Perez nominates Dempsey for the position, which the young black activist accepts. Perez serves as mediator between the faculty and the unwavering student body over the unresolved three demands, while being berated at home by Rhoda for his hypocrisy.

Perez notifies the faculty of an audio-recorded message that Roositer will destroy the school's computer hardware if the demands are not met. With no options left, Perez sends in a squadron of police officers led by Police Chief Henry J. Thatcher. Thatcher orders the activists to evacuate the facility in three minutes, but they refuse to comply. The officers invade the building, releasing tear gas, and violently arrest several students. At the police station, Perez sees that Rhoda also has been arrested.

Perez meets with the faculty in the administration building, now back under their control. He signs a bail grantee, defending the outcome of the rebellion. Upon leaving the building, Perez walks through the crowd and is loudly booed by the activists.

Production
The movie was filmed on location at the main campus of the University of the Pacific (UOP) in Stockton, California. The student "extras" were actual members of the student body of the university at that time.

It was the first film Ann-Margret made in the US for a number of years.

Cast

Anthony Quinn as Prof. F.W.J. "Paco" Perez
Ann-Margret as Rhoda
Gary Lockwood as Rossiter
Paul Winfield as Steve Dempsey
Graham Jarvis as Police Chief Thatcher
Alan Hewitt as Hewlett
Ramon Bieri as Brown
John McLiam as Rev. Blauvelt
Don Keefer as Dean George Cooper
Norman Burton as Coach McCurdy
John Zaremba as President Tyler
 Ines Pedroza as Estella
 Linda Meiklejohn as Student
 David Ladd as Student
 Jose Brad as Student
 Henry Brown as Student
 Frank Alesia as Student

Soundtrack
The soundtrack album for the movie was released in the US and Canada in 1970 on Bell Records (BELL 1203).  The songs were written by Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin, Jr. except "We Don't Know Where We're Goin'", which they wrote with Melanie.
Melanie sang two tracks on the album: "We Don't Know Where We're Goin'" and "Stop! I Don't Wanna Hear It Any More".

References

External links

1970 films
1970 drama films
American drama films
Columbia Pictures films
Films directed by Stanley Kramer
Films produced by Stanley Kramer
Films scored by Barry De Vorzon
Films scored by Perry Botkin Jr.
Films set in universities and colleges
1970s English-language films
1970s American films
English-language drama films

R. P. M.


is a Japanese light novel series by Kaya Kizaki, with illustrations by Itsuki Akata. As of March 2011, thirteen volumes have been published by Shueisha under their Super Dash Bunko imprint. An anime adaptation by Studio Deen aired in 2011.

Plot
The series revolves around Ryūji Kisaragi, a seemingly ordinary teenager who is living a peaceful life while also attending high school. However, his peaceful life gets interrupted after his second cousin, Eriko returns from abroad. With no time to waste, Eriko drags Ryūji to a black marketing organization called Fang, led by an evil black dragon named Onyx. They steal a large relic box from the criminals.

After opening the box, Eriko and Ryūji find a young, girl-like dragon with long, blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. The girl instantly recognizes Ryūji and becomes attracted to him. They decide to name the girl Rose, due to the rose-like pattern on her left hand. Suddenly, the very same organization who kept Rose captive arrive to take her back. But Ryūji is not ready to let her go without a fight!

From that moment on, Ryūji and Eriko embark on an unexpected yet exciting adventure as they strive to protect Rose from Fang and other evil people who are after her. Ryūji relies on his powers as a Level 10 breaker to fend these bad guys off. On the way, they meet other dragons who share troubled relationships with each other along with a research group called the Society. Also, Ryūji comes face to face with a truth long kept hidden from him since his birth.

Characters

Ryūji is a 15 year old boy and the series' main protagonist. His parents are Lost Precious hunters like the rest of his family and since they are often away from home, he lives mostly on his own. He meets Rose after rescuing her from Fang with the help of his cousin Eriko. At first, he cannot explain why Rose knows him; however, he eventually remembers a vague memory of seeing Rose hatch from her egg when he was much younger and her saving him from an untimely death. Ryūji is a Level 10 Breaker, the most skilled of those who search for and use Lost Precious'. Besides Ryūji, there are only seven other Level 10 breakers in the world, all older than he is. As the story progresses, Ryūji is recognized by some of the dragons as Rose's fiancé, although this is due to a misunderstanding. Ryūji has feelings for Rose and does care about her. This is evident when he first "Engaged" with Rose, which allowed him to borrow Rose's power and achieve unbelievable power. Ryūji begins to feel embarrassed around Rose after he performs the dragon's coming of age ceremony with Rose (a simple kiss on the dragon scale birthmark on her hand). According to Onyx, Ryūji is not human, but the corporeal form of a Lost Precious called "Dragon Crisis" that can exert a great influence over dragons, thus he is able to wield the Lost Precious "Slash Breath" - a powerful weapon made from a dragon tooth and feared by all dragons. Onyx also claims that this is the reason why Rose became weaker after performing the coming of age ceremony with him. This is later proven to be false by Maruga; it was all a ploy set up by Onyx to get Rose from him. After Onyx is defeated, he returns to school life alongside his friends.

Notably, Ryūji means "Dragon Ruler", in Japanese.

Little is known about Rose beyond the fact that she is a young dragon, and thus still unable to change form. Prior to the series, she is captured and sealed in a relic box by the crime syndicate Fang. While transporting the case to their leader Onyx, Ryūji and Eriko steal it from the criminals and release her. She knows nothing but Ryūji's name, but soon picks up a few words. Since she is unable to communicate at first, Ryūji gives her the name Rose because the dragon scales on the back of her left hand resemble a rose. Rose is aggressive towards nearly everyone except Ryūji, to whom she clings, even insisting on sleeping beside him in his bed. She deeply loves Ryūji, but is unsure of his feelings for her. Rose and Ryūji first met when he was young. He found her when she hatched from her egg and Eriko believes that she fell in love with him at first sight. Later, some of the dragons acknowledged Ryūji as Rose's fiancé due to misunderstanding of the term "Engage". After Ryūji kisses her birthmark as part of her coming of age ritual, Rose becomes flustered and embarrassed around him. When she becomes inexplicably weaker after the ritual. Onyx claims that it is because Ryūji is the corporeal form of the Lost Precious "Dragon Crisis". In the final episode, Maruga reveals that this was a lie and that Rose was sick because her intense feelings for Ryūji manifested themselves physically; Onyx set the whole thing up in order to take Rose for himself. Following Onyx's defeat, she now attends school alongside Ryūji.

Ryūji's busty 19-year-old second cousin and a Level 7 Breaker. She has been studying abroad for some time, but returns to Japan to intercept a Lost Precious that Fang will be transporting through the city docks. Despite the danger of taking anything that Fang believes is theirs, she does not back down because she believes the contents, which she suspects to be an S rank Lost Precious, will prove her worth to the other Lost Precious hunters, but what was in the case is actually a young girl that would later be named Rose. Initially unable to identify what or who Rose is, she is shocked when she discovers that Rose is a Red Dragon. She wields a staff that can create luminescent butterflies or fireflies, which can blind or stun opponents. It is revealed that her staff is a Lost Precious that once belonged to a magician. Following the defeat of the evil black dragon Onyx, she attends school along with Ryūji and Rose.

Ryūji's classmate. She has feelings for Ryūji, but is shy whenever she is around him, making it hard for her to approach him casually and express her feelings. Also, she has little to no success in getting his attention. She is in shock after misunderstanding Ryūji and Rose being engaged, but is nevertheless supportive towards them. At the end of the series, she still makes attempts to win Ryūji over.

A dragon whom Ryuji' meets during his trip to the beach. She is the princess of the ice dragons. Initially, she has a haughty attitude towards Ryuji, but she warms up towards him. It is implied that she likes Ryuji, as she blushes when Ryuji is around. She asks Ryuji for a favor - to take a cursed Lost Precious from another Level 10 Breaker, George Evans. After the incident, she shows up in the last two episodes of the anime, where she convinces Ryuji to go save Rose after the black dragon Onyx tricks him into handing her over. Since Onyx used to live in her land, they have known each other since childhood, but it does not mean they are friends. Following Onyx's defeat at the hands of Ryūji and Rose, she starts attending school with Ryūji and his friends.

She is 15 years old and is a famous thief of Lost Preciouses, called Odd Eye (because of her one golden eye). Her tattoo is really a Lost Precious which allows her to transform into a half-wolf. Furumori (Ai's master) placed it inside her as an experiment in integrating a person and a Lost Precious, and trains her to be a thief. She was taken from her home by Furumori and grew up believing that her family was dead and that she was born a half-wolf. She later finds out that Furumori lied to her with the help of a Lost Precious that allows her to hear a person's true thoughts and rebels against him before he dies in battle against Ryuji, who then reveals that she was only a tool to him; despite this, Ai shows pity for him before his death. After her story arc, she finds and returns to her real parents after learning from the Society that they are still alive, but also chooses to keep her abilities. She likes Ryuji for saving her from her life of thievery as well as accepting her unusual appearance and continues to visit him in later episodes. After she and her friends defeat Onyx, she attends school alongside them. Her birthname is Aika.

Onyx is a black dragon who uses black magic and the series' main antagonist. He is also a wanted man hunted by the Society. He claims to be Rose's fiancé, but only wishes to marry her for his own gain. He is the leader of the crime syndicate Fang. Five years ago, he met Sapphie and became her fiancé. He later had his men capture Rose and deliver her to him, but Ryūji and Eriko steal her from them when they mistaken her for an S rank Lost Precious, forcing him to retrieve Rose himself. However, Rose chooses not to marry him, earning his wrath as he disapproves of humans and dragons living together. Ryūji defeats him Rose's help, forcing him to retreat. He later makes another attempt to get Rose by staging her age ritual so to wipe her memories of Ryūji and escape Japan with her and Sapphie, but his deception is revealed by Maruga while Sapphie turns on Onyx (albert without him knowing) as she is unwilling to support Onyx's misdeeds any further, leading Ryūji and his friends to go after him and get Rose back. In the final confrontation, he is killed by Ryūji and Rose's powerful magic that they unleash upon kissing each other, ending his and Fang's reign of terror for good.

A blue dragon girl who seeks to find love. She has lived with Onyx since hatching five years previously. She is jealous of Rose for taking the attention of Onyx away from her. She is also Onyx's fiancée; however, Onyx doesn't like her as much as Rose. She has power over water, but has very little control over it, so her attempts to use water typically end up backfiring on her. Sometime after befriending Rose, her loyalty to Onyx diminishes, eventually leading her to secretly betray him after seeing how antagonistic he is with his determination to get Rose. After Onyx's defeat, she attends school along with Ryūji, Rose, Maruga, Eriko, Bianca, and Ai, all while attempting to find another lover. At that point, Ryūji's classmate Masato seems to have developed feelings for her.

Kai
Onyx's assistant. She is very calm in most situations and loyal to her boss. Following Onyx's defeat, she becomes Ryuji's new teacher.

Bianca Alexandra Lou
Bianca is a young scientist who works for the Society. She comes to Ryuji's school to evaluate him and later befriends him. She is also a big fan of Ryuji's parents. In the final episode, she starts attending school alongside Ryūji and his friends.

Furumori
A criminal and Ai's master who, like Onyx, is also a wanted man hunted by the Society. He also goes by the name Saiki and possesses five Lost Preciouses. Prior to the events of the series, he kidnaps Ai, uses a Lost Precious to turn her into a half-wolf, and trains her into becoming a thief, all while lying to her that her family has died and that she was born as a half-wolf. He only pretended to care for her so that he can use her for his own gain. Once she learns that truth, she turns on him and after being defeated, he commits suicide by dissolving into the atmosphere.

George Evans
A Level 10 Breaker who considers all dragons to be a threat, even though he had never seen one personally. After learning from Kai that Rose and Maruga are dragons and being influenced by a cursed Lost Precious, he becomes dangerously hostile until being freed by Ryūji. Afterwards, he finally lets go of his hatred of dragons. He has feelings for Maruga.

Tokura
A Society researcher who studies dragons and Lost Preciouses. He is good friends with Ryuji and Eriko and even helped them defeat Onyx.

Masato
One of Ryuji's classmates. In the final episode, he appears to have developed a crush on Sapphie.

Mao
Another one of Ryuji's classmates. She always tries to help Misaki win over Ryuji.

Ryūji's Parents
They are a pair of Lost Precious hunters who are always away from home searching for Lost Preciouses, leaving their son on his own. They debut in the final episode where they help take down the black dragon Onyx.

Anime
Dragon Crisis! was adapted into a 12-episode anime television series by Studio Deen under the direction of Hideki Tachibana and with screenplay by Hideyuki Kurata. The series began its broadcast run on Chiba TV on January 11, 2011 and was scheduled to end on March 29, 2011. However, the last three episodes were temporarily put on hold after a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11. The series was rebroadcast by Chukyo TV, KIDS STATION, Tochigi TV, Tokyo MX, TV Kanagawa, TV Saitama and Yomiuri TV days later and simulcast by Crunchyroll to audiences in Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.

Episode list

Music
The opening theme of the anime is  by Yui Horie, and the ending theme is  by Momoiro Clover.

Notes

References

External links
Light novel official website - archive April 23, 2011
Anime official website

2007 Japanese novels
2011 anime television series debuts
2011 Japanese television series endings
Action anime and manga
Anime and manga based on light novels
Light novels
Romantic comedy anime and manga
Shueisha franchises
Studio Deen
Super Dash Bunko
Tokyo MX original programming
Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation original programming

Dragon Crisis!


Rudolf Johann Schock (4 September 1915 – 13 November 1986) was a German tenor.

Rudolf Schock was born in Duisburg, in the Prussian Rhine Province. He sang a wide repertoire from operetta to Lohengrin, recording among others opera and lieder, doing television, radio and film work. Slim and handsome, he made many films.

His voice fell almost into the heldentenor fach but was smaller and more ardent than many voices in that category. Colored distinctly with a rich baritonal quality, Schock is described by Grove as a "lyric tenor" with a warm flexible voice, and a "strong top voice" which suited him to "heroic roles". However the same source feels that his acting left something to be desired.

When he was 18 and still continuing his musical studies that took him to Cologne, Hanover and Berlin, Schock joined the opera chorus at Theater Duisburg in the city of his birth. The Staatstheater Braunschweig cast Schock in solo roles in 1937, but his career was interrupted by his being enlisted into the army in 1940. It resumed after the war in 1945 in Hanover. In 1946, he appeared with two of the Berlin-based opera companies and in 1947 he joined the Hamburg State Opera where he was a member until 1956.

He was one of the first Germans to sing at Covent Garden in 1949. Appearing as Rodolfo, Alfredo, Pinkerton and Tamino in his first season. He sang the title role at Idomeneo at the Salzburg Festival and took part in the premiere there of Rolf Liebermann's, Penelope and the Vienna State Opera's first staging of Lulu. Schock made repeat visits to the Edinburgh International Festival and sang Walther at Bayreuth in 1959.

In 1953 he played and sang the role of Richard Tauber in the film  (released in English-speaking countries as either You Are the World for Me or The Richard Tauber Story). He was often compared to the older tenor and was spoken of as his successor. He was also considered the most successful German film singer of his generation.

He sold over three million records and his German films made him almost a superstar of his day. Schock's most impressive performances include the roles of Paul in Die Tote Stadt (Korngold), and multiple Puccini principals.

Schock was also interested in the development of younger singers by judging vocal competitions. After discovering Karl Ridderbusch at one of these, Schock part-funded the bass's musical training.

Rudolf Schock continued making concert appearances into his sixties. Aged 71, he died suddenly of a heart attack in Gürzenich a district of the town of Düren where he had made his home.

Selected filmography
 , as Richard Tauber
 The Happy Wanderer (1955), as Axel Wendt
 Ten on Every Finger (1954) as Himself
 The Csardas King (1958), as Janos
 Gräfin Mariza (1958), as Michael
 The House of Three Girls (1958), as Franz von Schober
As himself
Not Without Gisela (1951)
Big Request Concert (1960)

References

External links
 Rudolf Schock Website
 History of the Tenor / Rudolf Schock / Sound Clips and Narration

1915 births
1986 deaths
People from Duisburg
Musicians from the Rhine Province
German operatic tenors
Österreichischer Kammersänger
20th-century German male opera singers
German Army personnel of World War II
Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany

Rudolf Schock


The Dalat Palace (, ) is a historic luxury hotel in Da Lat, Vietnam. It was frequented by the colonial French as a popular get-away. The hotel is located at 12 Tran Phu Street.

History
Originally called the Lang-Bian Palace Hotel, it was completed and opened in 1922, at the height of an economic boom, and was designed to be a site of colonial leisure and power. 'The hotels monumentalism, modernity, luxury and location made it a conspicuous symbol of French domination over the Indochinese central highlands.' It was positioned at the centre of a European business and administrative quarter, dominated the "native quarters" and served as a buffer between them and the European villas. As a luxurious establishment it could act also as a serene base from which to explore highland minority villages or conduct big-game expeditions, and meant to compete with the poshest colonial hotels of Southeast Asia, such as the Oriental Hotel, Bangkok and the Raffles Hotel, Singapore. It initially featured thirty-eight luxury rooms, as well as an orchestra, a cinema, tennis courts, private fruit and vegetable gardens, a dance hall, riding facilities, gymnastic equipment and a French restaurant. Architectutrally the Palace followed metropolitan French resort styles, merging elements of spa towns like Vittel with seaside architectural elements borrowed from towns like Cabourg or Cannes. French novelist w:fr:Morgan Sportès, in his depiction of Indochina during WW2, has described it as reminiscent of the Negresco Hotel, in Nice. When economic circumstances changed, later in the 1920s, most plans for government structures in Dalat were abandoned, leaving the town with a Palace Hotel as its monumental centerpiece.

In 1925 a city health inspection reported that the kitchens and their surroundings exhibited, "a condition of considerable filth".

In 1943, under the Vichy governor general of Indochina, Admiral Decoux, the façade was altered, and changed to a starker exterior. This was 'almost certainly inspired by architect Paul Vesseyre's two other 'Palaces' in Dalat, Bao Dai's and the governor generals, built in 1934 and 1937 respectively, in a style more of art deco or even Bauhaus than of the fin-de-siècle spa style.'  Decoux did not like what he regarded as out-dated ornamentation and was part of a movement at this time to simplify complex lines and to cut out rococo elements. Other examples of Decoux's attitude were the  treatment he visited upon the palace of the governor general of Cochinchina in Saigon, removing the two caryatids, and the celebrated Saigon theatre, whose statues and bas-reliefs were destroyed on Decoux's orders.

The Lang-Bian/Dalat Palace became the Dalat Palace after the Second World War, -although earlier uses of the latter also exist.

In the early 1990s reclusive  tycoon Larry Hillblom set out upon a lavish restoration project - a rather plain dining room was converted into a grand restaurant for example, and the hotel was aimed at attracting high-end tourism. Hillblom, (the 'H' of the DHL courier empire), invested around forty million dollars into reviving the hotel, that had languished since the end of the Vietnam war in 1975.

Literature

References

External links

Dalat Palace Homepage

Hotels in Vietnam
Da Lat
French colonial architecture in Vietnam
Buildings and structures in Lâm Đồng province
Hotels established in 1922
Hotel buildings completed in 1922
1920s establishments in Vietnam

Dalat Palace Hotel