Purushottam Das (Born: 7 July 1907 – Died: 21 January 1991) was the pioneer of the Nathdwara school of Pakhawaj (a barrel-shaped, two-headed drum instrument usually played in the Indian subcontinent) playing.

Awards and recognitions
 Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Academi Award, Jodhpure in 1971
 Sahitya kala Parishad (Literary Art Council), New delhi in 1978
 Taal-Vilas by Sur Singar Samsad, Mumbai in 1978
 President's Award by Sangeet Natak Academy, New delhi in 1978
 Dagar Gharana Award by Maharana Mewar Foundation, Udaipur in 1982
 Kalani Award by Kalani organization, Jodhpur in 1983
 Padma Shri in 1984
 Traavankor Maharaj Swati Tirullu Dhrupad Award by Sire of Banaras in 1985
 Nana Panse Award by Dhrupad Organization, Indor in 1985
 Fellowship Award by Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Academy, Jodhpur in 1989
He was the son of Sri Ghanshyam Das ji and the eldest member of Nathdwara parampara. Since he was five years old he was able to recite and play various  in traditional ways. Sri Ghanshyam Das ji used to take little Purushottam along to the temple while playing for the Lord. When he was just nine, his father died and Purushottam was burdened to carry the parampara. He successfully managed to carry it on his shoulders. And served at Sri Nathdwara Temple following his ancestors for many years. Later he joined Bhartiya Kala Kendra and Kathak Kendra at Delhi and finally came back to Sri Nathdwara and left his body there. He had no son but he trained and developed many good disciples including Sri Prakash Chandra, Sri Shyamlal and Sri Ramkrishna (Nathdwara), Sri Durgalal, Maharaj Chhatrapati Singh, Sri Harikrishna Bahera, Pt Totaram Shrama etc.(by Ananya Sharma from St Kabeer Academy, Dehradun)

References

External links
 kathakensemble.com - Purushottam Das
 The Tribune - An interview: "An artiste must keep trying to change the world"

1907 births
Year of death missing
Indian male musicians
Rajasthani people
People from Rajsamand district
Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts
Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

Purushottam Das


The Yimkhiungs (formerly misspelled as Yimchunger) are a Naga ethnic group inhabiting the territories of Shamator and Kiphire District in the Northeast Indian state of Nagaland and western areas of Myanmar.

Etymology
The word Yimkhiung means "the ones who have reached their place of choice". They are also known as the Yachumi (also Yatsumi or Yachimi), which is a Sümi-influenced name. The Khiamniungans call Mongtsohai. The Chang's call Yamshong. While the Sangtam call them as Yachungre.

History
According to the Yimkhiung tradition, the ethnic group emerged at a village called Moru and then came to Jure (or Chiru) village. The Yimkhiungs and the Khiamniungans are believed to have migrated to the present-day Nagaland from Upper Burma as one group, in one wave. They separated into two groups at the Moru village.

Migration

Source: Archives of Arts and Culture Department. Government of Nagaland

The Yimkhiungs, like any other Naga ethnic group has no written record of its origin or history. The people did not have any script of their own. Thus, the Yimkhiungs may have evolved from some lost ethnic groups, wandering from place to place and finally settled in present-day locations. However, on the basis of narrated historical accounts handed down from generation to generation, the origin of the Yimkhiungs is believed to be from Thailand. The present Yimkhiungs were not known by any name as an ethnic group. They lived mostly a nomadic life spending hardly one or two generation at a certain place of settlement as a village for want of more land for cultivation to meet the growing need of food and other means of sustenance. At other times, the entire population was compelled to abandon their village and shift to a safer place to avoid plague and epidemic diseases or as victims of constant head hunting amongst the neighboring villages etc.

The route of migration of the Yimkhiungs from Thailand came through Burma (Myanmar), then from Burma to Moru (in India) and from Moru to Chiru, from Chiru to Longyang to Thunyim kiulong (literally Thunyim means fifty and Kiulong means village) - thus village of fifty (within the Indian territory). Thereafter from Thunyim kiulong to Tuphung kiulong (near Bokphur village) and from Tuphung kiulong to Thsunkioso village (presently Thonoknyu village). Then from Thsunkioso to Kemiphu - on the banks of Thurak ke or popularly known as the Zungki river. Thereafter, from Kemiphu  to Tukhea Khup village (below the present Wapher/Wungphung village on the banks of the Zungki river). At each place of settlements only a portion of the group set out in search of a better place with more natural resources they needed in their day today life, leaving behind the remaining population at such places as permanent citizens of that village.

While they were settled at Tukhea Khup, one day a group of these people while on fishing trip at the confluence of the Yayi river and the Zungki(Thurak ke) river, they discovered a burnt charcoal and partly burnt firewood floating down from the Yayi river. This discovery made them more curious of other human settlement towards the source of Yayi river. Accordingly, a large portion of the people set out on their expedition towards the farther upstream along the Yayi river in search of other human settlement. Finally, they arrived at a place where they found some signs of some other human activities, like clearing of jungle/forest for cultivation etc. Having now found signs of the existence of other human humans in and around this place, they named it Yimkhiungto - meaning "found it". With the passage of time this place got the name Yimkhiung or Yimchung and the residents were known as Yimkhiungrü and the village now stands as Yimchung Awun meaning Yimchung Old (popularly known as Y. Awun village till today). Prior to the establishment of this village there was no known name of the group as a community or as an ethnic group. At each place of the series of settlements not the entire population was on the move; it was only those strong and able people who dared to face any new adversary that might lay waiting as this nomads continued to move on from place to place after several years of residing at a place and even for two to three generations at certain place, in search of virgin soil to meet the needs of their ever growing population. At any place of their settlement, the duration of their settlement could be anywhere between 10 and 50 years at the most. Thus, it was at the Yimchung Awun village the settlers came to be called the Yimkhiungrüs.

The name Yimkhiungrü literally means "the finders". The residents who were left behind at several places of earlier settlements called the Yimchung Awun settlers as the Yimkhiungrus or Yimchungrus. The name Yimkhiungrü later got diluted to Yimchungers, Yachongre, Yachumi and Yamshong as they are called by the neighboring ethnic groups, more particularly the early Chang Scouts and Dobashis who accompanied the British explorers.

The Yimkhiungrüs thus settled here for a long period of time at Yimchung Awun. With the passage of time as the population exploded, a group of people started to venture out to establish a new village further North of the Yimchung Awun village at a place called 'Langa'village below the present Kuthur village. Some prominent people like Lakiumong, Zungyimkiu and Khushang from the Jangkhiunger clan. Pathong and Hemong from the Janger clan and Sangpun from the khiphur chan resided at Langa. The group of Yimkhiungrüs who were settled at Langa village were with well built  physic and were fierce warriors who dared to fight with spirits and other natural elements and calamities like, floods, fire, storm etc. to test their might and endurance. However, equally brave and fierce warriors, the people started fighting for supremacy amongst them not willing to submit to each other. That being so, they could not live together in harmony and unity. Finally, they parted their ways leaving the village desolate and uninhabited as on date. The remains of Langa village still stands today bearing testimony to once inhabited by hardworking and fierce Yimkhiungrü warriors. It was from this village that the people got scattered and dispersed into almost all directions. A group of people moved towards the present Chang land, while some went to Sumi areas, Ao areas, Sangtams, Konyaks, Phoms and to Kheamniungan areas. However, a bigger portion moved downwards to establish various villages of the present Yimkhiungrü inhabited areas in addition to the residents those who chose to stay behind, stretching from the Heruppong to Mount Saramati and far beyond into the Myanmar areas, speaking different dialects like Langa, Tukhi, Mokhok, Chir, Longphur and Phunung.

As it was once upon a time those days, each village had a distinct administrative entity not subjected to any other authority and each individual village having a sovereign entity under the governance of the 'Kiulongthsuru' (meaning the founder of the village who would be regarded as the Headman aided by village elders to assist him in the village administration. Each village, big or small had equal respect as far as their rights and privileges were concerned. There was hardly any concept of community as an ethnic group beyond one's village territory. Hence, headhunting for trophy and glory ruled the land and people. But, with the advent and coming of Christianity into the Yimkhiungrü land, modern civilization and the consciousness to live united and in harmony as one people, one community dawned upon the Yimkhiungrüs.

Culture
Strong ties to cultural identity in the form of their love and passion for agriculture are reflected in the hymns and beats of songs devoted to the craft.

The musical instruments of the Yimkhiungs include simple log drums, trumpets and flutes, similar to that of the Angamis.

The traditional dress of the Yimkhiungs includes colorful cane-made headgear decorated with hair and bird feathers. The Yimkhiungs both male and female have numerous traditional dresses decorated with every hue and colours. Varieties of ornaments are worn.

The Government of Nagaland has been instrumental in providing the proper tools and venues for the Yimkhiungs to properly showcase their traditions, culture, and craft with tourists. Over the last decade, an explosion of tourism in the region has catapulted attempts at preserving the culture of the relevant ethnic groups. The Yimkhiungs have been at the forefront of preserving culture in the region due to their dedicated festivals aided in part by the Naga State. The Yimkhiungs are one of the main contributors to the Hornbill Festival in the Naga State of India, the Hornbill festival showcases culture and customs from the different ethnic groupss of the Naga region. Highlights of the festival include: tribal dances across the many groups of the Naga region, spin top demonstrations by the Yimkhiung, and folk songs. Since most of the Yimkhiungs and other Naga people depend on agriculture as a main source of income: there are live harvesting demonstrations at the festival. Other demonstrations include harvest songs, cultural performances, and a very interesting traditional way of finding a bride.

Metümnyo
Metümnyo is the traditional five-day harvest festival of the Yimkhiung Naga although regarded as a solemn festival.  It is celebrated after the millet crop is harvested, usually in the second week of August.

The ceremonies are inaugurated by the village elder khiungpu. The five-day festivals include:

The Yimkhiungs pray for the souls of those who would die in the year. They invite friends home and exchange gifts. The festival is marked by engagements between the young boys and girls.  The Yimkhiungs believe that males have six souls while females have five souls.

See also
Yimkhiungrü language

References

External links

 The Yimchunger Nagas: Local Histories and Changing Identity in Nagaland, Northeast India
 Yimkhiungrutruk

Naga people

Yimkhiung Naga


Costin Miereanu (born 27 February 1943) is a French composer and musicologist  of Romanian birth.

Biography
Miereanu was born in Bucharest and studied at the Music Academy there from 1960 to 1966 with Alfred Mendelsohn, Tiberiu Ola, Ștefan Niculescu, Dan Constantinescu, Myriam Marbe, Aurel Stroe, Anton Vieru, and Octavian Lazăr Cosma, and later at the École des Hautes Études et Sciences Sociales, at the Schola Cantorum, and at Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis, where he was awarded first prizes in writing, analysis, music history, esthetics, orchestration, and composition) and earned a Doctor of Letters and a Doctor of Musical Semiotics. Between 1967 and 1969, he was a student of Karlheinz Stockhausen, György Ligeti, and Ehrhard Karkoschka at the Internationale Ferienkurse für neue Musik in Darmstadt. In 1977, he became a French citizen. Since 1981, he has been Professor of Philosophy, Aesthetics, and the Science of Art at the Sorbonne.

Miereanu evolved his compositional style featuring a sensuous sonic fabric by combining of Erik Satie's techniques with an abstraction of Romanian traditional music. Many of his complex and often virtuoso works include visual components. Miereanu has composed aleatoric works, compositions in the style of musique concrète, music for orchestra and chamber orchestra, often using pre-recorded tape material, as well as music for theatre. He was awarded the prize of the European Cultural Foundation 1967, the Prix Enescu (1974), and the Prix de la Partition Pédagogique of the French Composers' Association (SACEM).

Portions translated from the German and French Wikipedias

Works
Monostructure I, for two orchestras
Monostructure II, for strings, brass, and tape
Das Ende krönt das Werk, for piano and six instrumental groups
In der Nacht der Zeiten, aleatoric music for instruments and tape
Couleurs du temps I, for string orchestra
Couleurs du tempsII for string quartet and tape (1968)
Monostructures I, for brass and strings (1966)
Couleurs du temps III for double string quartet and double bass
Finis coronat opus, for piano and six instrumental groups (1966)
Espaces II for twenty stringed instruments, piano, and tape (1967–69)
Espace dernier, aleatoric music for choir, six instrumental groups, and tape (1966–69)
Rosario, for large orchestra (1973–76)
Domingo, for vocal quintet and variable instruments (1974)
Planetarium, for two flutes, trombone, and two percussionists (1975)
Raum jenseits von gestern, aleatoric music for chamber orchestra
L'Avenir est dans les œufs, opera (1980)
Le jardin de sécrets, for soprano, alto flute or viola, bass clarinet, trombone, piano, and accordion or electric organ (1980)
Cuivres célestes, for brass quintet, two percussionists, and strings (1981)
Labyrinthes d'Adrien, for soprano and ensemble (1981)
Miroirs célestes, for orchestra (1981–83)
Kammerkonzert, for saxophone and nine instruments (1985)
Doppel(kammer)konzert, for saxophone, percussion, and chamber orchestra (1985)
D'un régard moiré, for woodwind quartet, string trio, double bass, piano, and percussion (1988)
Sextuplum, for six percussionists (1988–89)
Ricochets, saxophone(s), electric guitar, bass guitar, synthesizer, and percussion (1989)
D'un source oubliée, for harpsichord and string sextet (1989)
Un temps sans mémoire, for orchestra (1989–92)
Immersion, for saxophone(s) and tape (1990)
La Porte du paradis, lyric fantasie (1991)
De humani corporis fabbrica, ballet (1992)
Les miroirs invisibles, for string sextet (1992)
Vol du temps, canticum sacrum in memoriam Jean-Pierre Ouvrard, for mixed choir a cappella, or mixed choir and three percussionists (1993)
Solo III, for solo violin (1995)
Solo IV, rythmodies, for amplified basson (1995)
Solo V, for oboe, or cor anglais, or baritone oboe (1995)
Solo VI, for solo cello (1995)
Solo VII, for solo viola (1995)
Orison, ballet (1999)
Symphony No. 3 "Blick auf die Frühe" (2001)

References

Living people
Musicians from Bucharest
Romanian emigrants to France
French classical composers
French male classical composers
University of Paris alumni
20th-century classical composers
21st-century classical composers
20th-century French musicologists
21st-century French musicologists
1943 births
Gaudeamus Composition Competition prize-winners
Pupils of Karlheinz Stockhausen
20th-century French composers
21st-century French composers
20th-century French male musicians
21st-century French male musicians

Costin Miereanu


The Apollo 11 50th Anniversary commemorative coins were issued by the United States Mint in 2019 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first crewed landing on the Moon by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Consisting of a gold half eagle ($5 coin), two different sizes of silver dollars, and a copper-nickel clad half dollar, each of the four was issued in proof condition, with all but the larger silver dollar also issued in uncirculated. The gold coins were struck at the West Point Mint, the silver at the Philadelphia Mint and the base metal half dollars at the mints in Denver and San Francisco.

All four coins have the same design. The obverse depicts a bootprint on the lunar surface, based on a photograph taken by Aldrin. That design is by Maine sculptor Gary Cooper, with engraving by Joseph Menna of the Mint. The reverse, as mandated by Congress, depicts the visor and surrounding helmet of Aldrin's space suit, with Armstrong, the U.S. Flag and the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle in the reflection. This is based on a well-known photograph taken by Armstrong, and was created and engraved by Phebe Hemphill of the Mint. The depiction of Aldrin made him the seventh individual to appear on a U.S. coin who was alive at the time the coins were struck.

The Apollo 11 coins are curved, so that the obverse is concave and the reverse is convex. Prior to the release date of January 24, 2019, there was anticipation that some denominations might sell out, as had occurred with the previous U.S. issue of curved pieces, the 2014 National Baseball Hall of Fame coins. This did not prove to be the case, and none of the coins sold out before sales ended on December 27, 2019. It was nevertheless the most successful U.S. commemorative coin program since the Baseball Hall of Fame issue, with over 600,000 Apollo 11 coins sold. The larger silver dollar won the Coin of the Year Award for 2019-dated issues, and was voted Best Collectible Silver Coin at the 2023.Mint Directors Conference.

Background

In 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy challenged his nation to land an astronaut on the Moon by the end of the decade, with a safe return to Earth. The U.S. space agency, NASA, worked towards this goal incrementally, sending astronauts into space during Project Mercury and Project Gemini, leading up to the Apollo program. NASA achieved its goal with Apollo 11, which landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the lunar surface while Michael Collins orbited the Moon. The mission returned to Earth on July 24, 1969, fulfilling Kennedy's challenge.

About an hour and a half after Armstrong first set foot on the lunar surface, Aldrin performed the Boot Print Soil Mechanics Experiment. He photographed an undisturbed area of the surface, then made two bootprints and photographed them. Those two bootprints were not disturbed by the astronauts' subsequent activity, and are visible in photographs taken from the Lunar Module Eagle prior to liftoff. About 13 minutes following the taking of the bootprint photographs, after Armstrong had collected a bulk sample of lunar regolith from the surface, Aldrin was supposed to photograph the site the material had been taken from. Instead, he offered the camera to Armstrong, perhaps feeling that as Armstrong had taken the sample, he could make better use of the camera. Armstrong took eight photographs before Aldrin resumed use of the camera; the eighth has been deemed "one of the most famous photos in history: a portrait of Aldrin, his gold-plated sun visor reflecting the photographer and the Lunar Module, the flag, and the moon's horizon against an unimaginably black sky."

Proposal and legislation
The Apollo 11 coins were the brainchild of Mike Olson, a member of the federal Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) from Iowa, who thought of it in February 2014, several months before his term on the committee ended. He had recently rewatched the film Apollo 13, and felt there should be a coin issue in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the Moon. The CCAC was preparing its annual report and he persuaded his colleagues to include a recommendation for Apollo 11 coinage. Olson had left the committee by the time the CCAC prepared its annual report, but the chair, Gary Marks, took up the cause and got it included.

In January 2015, Olson discussed his proposal with Iowa Representative Rod Blum, who referred the matter to Florida's Bill Posey, whose district included the Kennedy Space Center, and who as a young man had worked in the Apollo program. Posey obtained a bipartisan group of cosponsors and introduced legislation in June 2015. Legislation to mark the 25th anniversary of the Moon landing with coins had been introduced into Congress in 1993 but had failed, as had a bill in 2007 for the 50th anniversary of NASA. The Mint had three times previously honored the Moon landings on coins, with the reverses of the Eisenhower dollar (1971) and Susan B. Anthony dollar (1979), (both showing the Apollo 11 mission patch), and with the 2002 Ohio entry in the State Quarters series, depicting an Apollo astronaut. The 2015 bill was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services, where it sat; the website GovTrack.us gave it a 13 percent chance of enactment.

Through 2016, advocates attempted to boost support for the bill, which by November had 298 cosponsors, enough to get a floor vote during the lame-duck session of Congress. Olson continued his lobbying, as did the Astronauts Memorial Foundation and Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, each designated to receive some of the surcharges on the coins. Despite the support of Aldrin and Collins, the surviving Apollo 11 astronauts, the Senate version of the bill had only 11 cosponsors, far fewer than the 67 needed for a vote. If there was no successful vote, the bill would die at the end of the 114th Congress.

On December 5, the last day of the House session, the bill was called up for debate by Congressman Posey, who then addressed the House in support of the bill, recounting the history of Apollo 11. Nydia M. Velázquez of New York and Frederica S. Wilson of Florida spoke of the hundreds of thousands of workers who had made Apollo possible, and applauded the inclusion of the Scholarship Foundation as a beneficiary, hoping the coins would have a legacy of young people entering the sciences. Posey spoke again briefly, and the bill passed without opposition.

A final push by proponents resulted in 70 Senate cosponsors, three more than needed. Arkansas Senator John Boozman brought the bill to the Senate floor on December 9, and it passed without opposition. The bill became Public Law 114–282 with the signature of President Barack Obama on December 16, 2016, one of the final bills he signed as president.

The act required that the coins be issued "in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the first crewed landing on the Moon". They were required to have a curved shape similar to the 2014 National Baseball Hall of Fame commemoratives. These coins, with the concave design for the obverse resembling a baseball glove, had been enormously popular. There were to be up to 50,000 Apollo 11 $5 gold pieces, or half eagles, 400,000 regular-sized silver dollars, 750,000 clad half dollars, and 100,000 additional silver dollars containing five troy ounces of silver and measuring three inches in diameter. All coins would have the same design, and would be available in uncirculated and in proof condition, except the five-ounce silver dollar, which would be in proof only. The design for the concave obverse could be selected through a design competition. A surcharge of $35 on the gold pieces, $50 on the five-ounce silver dollar, $10 on the smaller silver dollar and $5 on the half dollar would be collected. Once the Mint recouped its costs, half the remainder of the money would be distributed to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum (NASM) for its "Destination: Moon" exhibit, one quarter to the Astronauts Memorial Foundation and one quarter to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. The coins could only be issued during 2019.

Design

Selection

From May 1 to June 29, 2017, the Mint accepted submissions for the coins' obverse design. Those whose concepts made the first cut would be notified by July 31, with revised submissions to be made by September 8. The obverse was not to include the image of any living person, including an astronaut, and was to be "emblematic of the United States space program leading up to the first crewed Moon landing". A total of 119 proposals were submitted, and a jury consisting of three members each of the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and the CCAC winnowed them down to 18 finalists.

When the CCAC met on October 18, 2017, members were unenthusiastic, with some predicting a sales disaster and wanting to discard all the designs, but the chair, Mary N. Lannin said that one of them must be selected. The Fine Arts Commission met the following day; its members expressed some enthusiasm about the proposed designs.  The jury members met and viewed the designs on October 20.

From the finalists, a design by Maine sculptor and medalist Gary Cooper was selected, depicting the bootprint of an astronaut on the Moon. Cooper had a longtime interest in coinage, and had submitted an unsuccessful entry in the 1998 Sacagawea dollar design competition, as well as an entry, also unsuccessful, for Maine's coin in the State Quarters series. The CFA had commented on the bootprint design, saying that it "may seem overly familiar". During the second round of the Apollo 11 competition, Mint officials had him submit modified versions of his entry, altering the position of elements of the design. It was one of these alternatives that won the competition. For his efforts, Cooper was paid a total of $5,500, with $500 an award for participation in the second round and the remainder the prize for winning. Cooper's concept was adapted for die production by Mint Sculptor-Engraver (now Chief Engraver) Joseph F. Menna.

Artists at the Mint produced three designs for the reverse, and in June 2017, both CFA and CCAC agreed on one of them. That design was by U.S. Mint Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill, who also engraved her side of the coin. The two winning designs were unveiled on October 11, 2018, at the NASM in Washington, DC, in the presence of dignitaries such as Mint Director David J. Ryder and Apollo 7 astronaut Walt Cunningham. At the unveiling, Ryder stated the five-ounce silver dollars, once placed on sale, could sell out in ten minutes.

Description

The shared obverse for the coins, created by Cooper, adapts the well-known photograph of an astronaut's bootprint, taken by Aldrin with a Hasselblad film camera, symbolizing the first step on the Moon. Cooper stated, "I recall seeing those first footprints, and it made so many people feel like that was their own footprint. I've never seen anything like that since." He noted that the original photograph had darkness in the recesses of the bootprint, forcing him to be creative. Along the rim are the words ,  and , separated by depicted phases of the Moon progressing toward full as NASA's programs advance towards the Moon landing.  is at the bottom, with above and to each side, the date 2019 (to left) and  to the right. The initials of Cooper and Menna, and the mint mark of the facility where the coin was struck also appear on the obverse.

Congress required that the reverse be a "close-up of the famous 'Buzz Aldrin on the Moon' photograph taken July 20, 1969, that shows just the visor and part of the helmet of astronaut Buzz Aldrin, in which the visor has a mirrored finish and reflects the image of the United States flag and the lunar lander and the remainder of the helmet has a frosted finish." Although it is not usual for a living person to appear on a U.S. coin, Congress mandated it be done in this case, making Aldrin the seventh person depicted on a U.S. coin to be alive at the time it was struck by the Mint—the sixth, Nancy Reagan in 2016, was still alive at the time her entry in the First Spouse gold coin series was minted, but died before the official release.

The convex shape of the reverse is meant to evoke the curvature of the visor on an astronaut's helmet. Hemphill stated, "I over-emphasized the curvature [in the scene] to create the illusion of the curved visor." On the coins, the visor is framed by the words  and , with the denomination appearing in its upper left; the Solar Wind Composition Experiment, visible in the original image, is omitted. In the reflection on the visor may be seen the Lunar Module Eagle, the United States flag (made more prominent than in the original), and the photographer, Neil Armstrong.

Striking
On December 13, 2018, ceremonial first strikes of both sizes of the silver dollar took place at the Philadelphia Mint. Offspring of the Apollo 11 astronauts, Mark Armstrong, Andy Aldrin and Ann Collins struck both size coins. The dignitaries who struck coins would be allowed to purchase them once sales opened to the public. Mint Director Ryder also struck a five-ounce piece and predicted the coinage program would sell out. Such a sellout would generate $14.5 million in surcharges for the beneficiary organizations.

The Mint had difficulty in determining the proper angle for the curves so that the coins would strike fully, working out techniques on the five-ounce dollar and adapting them for the smaller coins. Each die was created using cutting equipment, followed by hand finishing—no master die was used. Early attempts showed die cracks along the legs of the lunar lander, and problems with metal flow at Armstrong's hands. Adjustments, and a switch from .900 silver to .999, alleviated these problems. The two Apollo 11 silver dollars were the first U.S. commemoratives to be struck in .999 silver, with earlier silver commemoratives struck in .900. The change from the Mint's historic standard of .900 occurred because it had become little-used, causing the Mint to place custom orders with refineries; several years earlier, the Mint had obtained permission from Congress to strike coins of not less than 90 percent silver, allowing it to align with other world mints in using .999.  The three-inch silver dollar was struck on the Philadelphia Mint's only Graebener GMP 1000 press, obtained to strike the America the Beautiful three-inch quarters. Each die for the five-ounce silver dollar initially took 14 hours to make and would strike about 100 coins; this figure was later reduced to 11.5 hours.

In advance of the opening of sales on January 24, 2019, it was anticipated that some or all of the different varieties of the new coins might quickly sell out, marking the first time that had occurred since the Hall of Fame issue in 2014. That issue had seen the 50,000 gold coins sell out in a matter of minutes, with the 400,000 silver dollars gone in less than two weeks. The clad half dollars had not sold out, but more than 400,000 of the 750,000 had been sold, leading to surcharges totaling nearly $8 million for the designated beneficiary, the Baseball Hall of Fame.

On January 18, introductory prices for the non-gold coins were announced; prices for the gold coins, which would fluctuate based on the market, would be determined closer to the opening of sales. The five-ounce silver dollar, from the Philadelphia Mint, would cost $224.95, with an initial household order limit of one. The smaller silver dollar would cost $54.95 for the proof coin and $51.95 in uncirculated, with a household order limit of 100. The half dollar in uncirculated condition, struck at the Denver Mint, was $25.95 each, and the proof coin (struck at the San Francisco Mint) was $27.95, with no order limit. A set containing both the proof Apollo 11 half dollar and a 2019–S Kennedy half dollar in enhanced reverse proof condition, restricted to 100,000 sets and with an order limit of five, cost $53.95. The set with the Kennedy half was issued to mark the connection between President Kennedy and the American space program. Prior to the January 24 opening of sales, prices for the gold pieces, struck at the West Point Mint, were set at $418.50 in proof and $408.50 in uncirculated, with an initial limit of one gold coin per household, regardless of condition. These prices were set from the Mint's Pricing of Numismatic Gold, Commemorative Gold, and Platinum Products table.

Distribution

Release

A ceremony to mark the release of the Apollo 11 coins was held at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on January 24, 2019. The CAPCOM during Eagle'''s landing, Apollo 16 Lunar Module Pilot Charles Duke, spoke at the ceremony, stating the new issue would bring back memories of the day Apollo 11 landed on the Moon. Duke commended that the issue would raise money for worthy causes and stated he planned to buy some of the gold coins. Ryder had been scheduled to speak at the Florida event, but could not attend due to the ongoing partial government shutdown.

The Apollo 11 coins went on sale to the public on January 24, 2019, at 12 noon EST through the Mint's website and via telephone; they were also available at the sales center at Mint headquarters in Washington, at the mints in Philadelphia and Denver, and at the ceremony site at Kennedy Space Center. Collectors reported minimal difficulties in placing their orders online, and although the three-inch dollar went into backorder status within an hour, figures released by the Mint showed that none of the coins had come near sellout on the first day of sales.

The fact that none of the coins sold out on the day of issue brought varied reactions. Dave Harper, editor of Numismatic News, suggested the program might be a failure, and that the sales figures "do show a lack of early enthusiasm already." Olson expressed pleasure with the first day's sales, predicted all would sell out by the end of the year, and noted that no collector had been shut out from getting coins. Coin forum bloggers deemed the sales to be dismal, and that they foretold a poor future for numismatics in the United States.

A total of 296,311 Apollo 11 coins were sold in the first 24 hours, with the five-ounce silver dollar the leader both in number sold (51,271) and percentage of the mintage authorization sold (51.3 percent). At noon EST on January 25, the limit on the number of coins that could be sold to a single household was waived.

 Continued sales

On January 29, the Mint announced that the packaging for the 70,000 half dollar sets that had been shipped, containing a 2019-S Apollo 11 half dollar in proof condition and a 2019–S Kennedy half dollar in enhanced reverse proof finish, contained a factual error. The packaging credited former chief engraver Gilroy Roberts with the design of both sides of the Kennedy half dollar when in fact he had designed only the obverse, with Frank Gasparro responsible for the reverse. The Mint halted shipments and made plans to print corrected packaging. The set was limited to 100,000 as that was the mintage limit of the special Kennedy half. Replacement sleeves were made available beginning in late May to customers who had purchased the half dollar set.

Sales of the half dollar set reached 94,119 by February 10 and it showed as unavailable on the Mint's website. This foretold a sellout of the special Kennedy piece, which was only issued in the set, but not of the Apollo 11 half dollar—only 163,434 of these had been sold as of that date, just over a fifth of the authorized mintage. By February 21, the proof half dollar set had sold out entirely. On February 25 at 3 pm EST, introductory pricing ended, and prices increased by $5.

Ryder had pledged at the December 2018 first strike ceremony to have some of the coins sent into space, and this came to pass on May 4, 2019, when a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft was launched with two 2019-S proof clad half dollars included in the payload for the International Space Station. They returned to Earth on June 3, also aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo craft. One flown coin was to form part of the "Destination: Moon" exhibit at the Smithsonian and the other to be displayed at Mint headquarters.

On May 6, a product packaging a 2019-S Apollo 11 U.S. half dollar with a curved Australian $5 piece in commemoration of the  Moon landing went on sale by the Royal Australian Mint (RAM), with production limited to 10,000. The RAM purchased the coins from the U.S. Mint at a bulk discount; the U.S. Mint provided publicity on its website and a link to the RAM's site. The Mint also partnered with Spain's Royal Mint in issuing sets of coins—both Australia and Spain hosted tracking stations for Apollo. 1,969 of the smaller silver dollar in proof condition were offered by the Royal Canadian Mint, with each coin encased in a silver bar, at a price of C$369.95 or $296.00 in U.S. currency.

By June 30, the Mint had sold 28,068 of the proof half eagles and 11,168 of the uncirculated. Sales of the smaller silver dollar were 171,957 in proof and 52,870 in uncirculated; of the larger, 61,037 had sold. The 2019–S Apollo 11 half dollar, a proof coin, had sold 99,997 units as part of the half dollar set and 55,297 by itself; the uncirculated half dollar from Denver had sold 36,820 pieces. Stories about the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing boosted sales in July; four of the Mint's ten highest-selling items for the week ending July 21 were Apollo 11 coins as the series enjoyed its best week's sales since February.

Beginning on August 7, the Mint sold sets containing either the $5 piece or the smaller silver dollar in proof condition with a print in honor of Apollo 11 from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Prices were set at $78.95 for the print and silver dollar set and $19 above the price of the gold coin for the print/$5 piece set. Due to the rising price of gold, the Mint was selling the $5 piece for $485 by itself. The two new sales options went into backorder status the same day sales began. After 19 days of sales, through August 25, a total of 681 of the print/$5 piece sets and 2,570 of the print/silver dollar sets had sold. As of September 29, sales totaled: 31,331 proof half eagles by themselves (plus 825 sold with the print) and 11,713 uncirculated; 65,463 three-inch silver dollars; 200,712 smaller proof silver dollars by themselves (plus 3,122 with the print) and 56,960 uncirculated; 99,998 half dollar sets; 62,470 additional proof half dollars; and 40,170 uncirculated half dollars. At the Mint's Numismatic Forum held in Philadelphia in October, Mint Director Ryder predicted sales of 90,000 for the five-ounce silver dollar.

 Conclusion of sales

The Mint did not report weekly sales figures after November 3, 2019, due to the departure of the employees responsible for them, and the need to train a replacement. The next update was for sales through December 16, issued by a Mint spokesperson who indicated that regular weekly reports would not resume until January 2020. The report showed sales as: 32,597 proof half eagles by themselves (plus 1,095 sold with the print) and 11,969 uncirculated; 67,683 three-inch silver dollars; 216,077  smaller proof silver dollars by themselves (plus 4,683 with the print) and 59,158 uncirculated; 99,998 half dollar sets; 66,041 additional proof half dollars; and 41,449 uncirculated half dollars. By this time, the uncirculated half eagle was selling for $462.75 and in proof for $472.75. The Apollo 11 coins, as well as the other 2019 commemorative issue, the American Legion Centennial coins, went off sale on December 27, 2019, at 11:59 pm EST. Sales figures through January 12, 2020, released shortly afterwards, were subject to further adjustment by the Mint, but subsequent figures as of 2021 revealed no changes. The Apollo coins outsold the American Legion ones, which included a half dollar, smaller dollar and half eagle, each with the same mintage limits, by vast margins.

William T. Gibbs, managing editor of Coin World, had predicted that the five-ounce silver dollars would sell out in 24 hours, and revisited his prediction in January 2020: "I obviously overestimated interest in the coin, which admittedly had strong selling points: It commemorated a truly significant event and was the nation's first 5-ounce silver convex/concave coin." Writing in early December, Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez of CoinWeek'' deemed the Apollo 11 coins "easily the US Mint's most successful commemorative program since the aforementioned Baseball Hall of Fame coins in 2014. Obviously, the Apollo 11 initiative struck an emotional chord with many folks—the strong numbers clearly suggest many of the people buying these coins are from outside the numismatic community."

In February 2021, the larger silver dollar was named Best Silver Coin and Best Contemporary Event Coin in the annual Coin of the Year competition. The Coin of the Year Award for 2019-dated issues, from among the various category winners, was announced on March 1, 2021, with the Apollo 11 coin the winner. In October 2023, the larger silver dollar was voted Best Collectible Silver Coin at the 2023 Mint Directors Conference.

Summary of sales
Per Mint report of February 14, 2021:

All pieces on sale January 24, 2019, and off sale after December 27, 2019, except as noted. Prices increased by $5 on February 25 for all options then on sale. Options including $5 pieces had a sales price that fluctuated based on the market price of gold.

See also
 Apollo 11 in popular culture

Notes

References

External links
 The Apollo 11 issue at the United States Mint
 NASA Astronaut Christina Koch with one of the coins aboard the International Space Station at YouTube

Anniversaries
Apollo 11
Articles containing video clips
Cultural depictions of Buzz Aldrin
Cultural depictions of Neil Armstrong
Flags on coins
Modern United States commemorative coins
Moon on coins
United States gold coins
United States silver coins


Juan Sebastián Elcano (1476 – 4 August 1526) was a Spanish explorer of Basque origin. He completed the first circumnavigation of the world started by Ferdinand Magellan. After Magellan's death in the Philippines, Elcano took command of the expedition and completed the voyage to Spain. The voyage proved that the Earth was round. When he returned to Spain the king gave Elcano his own Coat of arms. He also received a pension of 500 ducats.

Early life
Elcano was born in 1476 in Getaria, Gipuzkoa in the Basque Country of northern Spain. His parents were Domingo Sebastián de el Cano and Catalina de el Puerto. From his childhood he was a sailor and fisherman. He later smuggled contraband into French ports. He was part of an expedition against Algeria in 1509. In 1519 he was in Seville when Charles V of Spain was sending a major expedition to find a shortcut to the Indies.

Magellan's voyage
Charles V had selected the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan to lead an expedition made up of five ships and 239 men. Their mission was to find a shortcut to the Far East by going around the tip of South America.

When the expedition wintered on the coast of Brazil the crews joined in a mutiny because they did not want to go any further. By this time Magellan and  Elcano no longer trusted each other. Magellan blamed Elcano for the mutiny and placed him in chains. One of Magellan's ships was wrecked in Brazil. By the time they reached the passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, afterwards named the Strait of Magellan, one more ship had turned back. Magellan started through the strait in October 1520 taking a month to get through.

The three ships reached Guam in March 1521. Later in the month they reached Homonhon Island in the Philippines. By this time they had only 150 men. Magellan formed a friendship with the island's king and soon joined in a war between the king and a rival. On April 27, 1521 Magellan was killed in a battle. The remaining men and ships quickly escaped the Philippines arrived at the Spice Islands in November 1521. By this time Elcano commanded the last ship in the expedition. They left the Spice Islands in December. On September 8, 1522 Elcano and his crew reached Spain completing Magellan's expedition. Elcano was surprised to learn they had lost a day in circumnavigating the globe.

Later years
He spent about three years at Valladolid. He fell in love with María Vidaurreta. Together they had a daughter. He joined the expedition of Garcia Jofre de Loaísa to colonize the Spice Islands. They left with seven ships and 450 men. the expedition was scattered by bad weather near Cape Horn. The expedition lost six of its seven ships. The remaining ship continued to the Spice Islands. On July 30, 1526 Loaísa died of scurvy. Elcano took command but he died of the disease himself on August 4, 1526.

Tall ship
The Sailing ship Juan Sebastián de Elcano is named for the explorer. It is a four-masted, topsail schooner, one of the largest in the world. It had sailed around the earth six times by 1986. The ship has participated in three Operation Sail events in New York harbor. It has probably been sailed more than any other major tall ship. Her home port is Cadiz, Spain. The ship is owned by the Spanish Navy.

References

Spanish explorers
1476 births
1526 deaths

Juan Sebastián Elcano


Primitive Irish or Archaic Irish (), also called Proto-Goidelic,  is the oldest known form of the Goidelic languages, and the ancestor of all languages within this family.

This phase of the language is known only from fragments, mostly personal names, inscribed on stone in the Ogham alphabet in Ireland and western Great Britain between the 4th and the 6th century AD, before the advent of Old Irish. These inscriptions are referred to as Orthodox Ogham, although scholastic use of the script continued residually until the early 19th century.

Written records
Primitive Irish is the oldest recorded form of the Goidelic languages. It was written in the Ogham alphabet, the usage of which can be divided into two phases, Orthodox Ogham and Scholastic Ogham. The former represents the original Druidic tradition of memorials, whereas the latter resulted from a tradition of scholarly restoration of the writing system as part of the development of a Celtic style of Catholic art, in parallel with the use of the Latin alphabet in ordinary writing. Primitive Irish is known only from Ogham fragments, usually personal names, the earliest being dated by academics to the 4th century, although some estimates for the earliest inscriptions range between the 1st and 5th centuries. Scholars agree that the orthodox written tradition is older than the surviving inscriptions. The latest inscriptions of the orthodox tradition appear to come from the 6th century. The scholastic use of Ogham continued until the early 19th century, the last inscription being found on the tomb of Mary Dempsey at Ahenny in County Tipperary, which is written in both Irish and English.

Transcribed Ogham inscriptions, which lack a letter for , show Primitive Irish to be similar in morphology and inflections to Gaulish, Latin, Classical Greek and Sanskrit. Many of the characteristics of modern (and medieval) Irish, such as initial mutations, distinct "broad" and "slender" consonants and consonant clusters, are not yet apparent.

More than 300 ogham inscriptions are known in Ireland, including 121 in County Kerry and 81 in County Cork, and more than 75 found outside Ireland in western Britain and the Isle of Man, including more than 40 in Wales, where Irish colonists settled in the 3rd century, and about 30 in Scotland, although some of these are in Pictish. Many of the British inscriptions are bilingual in Irish and Latin; however, none show any sign of the influence of Christianity or Christian epigraphic tradition, suggesting they date from before 391, when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Only about a dozen of the Irish inscriptions show any such sign. There is speculation about the orthodoxy of one inscription in Hampshire and two in Scotland, but there is no academic consensus on the matter.

The majority of ogham inscriptions are memorials, consisting of the name of the deceased in the genitive case, followed by , "[the stone] of the son" (Modern Irish mic), and the name of his father, or , "[the stone] of the grandson", (Modern Irish uí) and the name of his grandfather, e.g. , "[the stone] of Dalagnos son of Dalos". Sometimes the phrase , "of the son of the tribe", is used to show tribal affiliation. Inscriptions demonstrating additional information are rare, such as , "[the stone] of the priest Ronán son of Comgán". Some inscriptions appear to be border markers.

Grammar
The brevity of most orthodox ogham inscriptions makes it difficult to analyse the archaic Irish language in depth, but it is possible to understand the basis of its phonology and the rudiments of its nominal morphology.

Morphology
Surviving Ogham inscriptions are written exclusively with nouns. It is possible to deduce some morphological features of Primitive Irish nouns from these inscriptions. With the exception of a few inscriptions in the singular dative case, two in the plural genitive case and one in the singular nominative case, most known inscriptions of nouns in orthodox Ogham are found in the singular genitive, so it is difficult to fully describe their morphology. The German philologist Sabine Ziegler, however, drawing parallels with reconstructions of the Proto-Celtic language's morphology (whose nouns are classified according to the vowels that characterize their endings), limited the archaic Irish endings of the singular genitive case to , ,  and .

The first ending, , is found in words equivalent to the so-called Proto-Celtic category of *o-stem nouns. This category was also recorded in the dative case using , with an inscription possibly in the nominative case also using . , in turn, is equivalent to Proto-Celtic *i-stems and *u-stems, while  corresponds to *ā-stems. The exact function of  remains unclear.

Furthermore, according to Damian McManus, Proto-Celtic nasal, dental, and velar stems also correspond to the Primitive Irish  genitive, attested in names such as, , and .

Phonology
It is possible, through comparisons with other languages, to reconstruct a phonemic inventory for the properly attested stages of the language using the names used in the scholastic tradition for each letter of the Ogham alphabet, which are recorded in the Latin alphabet in later manuscripts.

Vowels
There is a certain amount of obscurity in the vowel inventory of Primitive Irish: while the letters Ailm, Onn and Úr are recognized by modern scholars as representing ,  and  respectively, there is some difficulty in reconstructing the values of Edad and Idad. They are poorly attested, and scholars believe the distinction between them might be arbitrary, in the same way as the runes peorð and cweorð in the Anglo-Saxon alphabet, but they are transcribed as  and , respectively, and probably had the respective pronunciations of  and . There were also two diphthongs, transcribed as  and .

In later stages of the language, scholastic Oghamist traditions incorporated five new letters for vowels, called forfeda (supplementary), corresponding to digraphs of the orthodox spelling, but these no longer corresponded to Primitive Irish sounds.

Consonants
The consonant inventory of Primitive Irish is reconstructed by Celticist Damian McManus as follows:

The letters Cért, Gétal and Straif, respectively transliterated as ,  (or ) and , respectively, were known by the ancient scholastic Oghamists as foilceasta (questions) due to the obsolescence of their original pronunciations: the first two,  and , had merged with plain velars in Old Irish, and the third, probably , merged with . However, evidence of the original distinction between straif and sail was still present into the Old Irish period, as the séimhiú (lenition) of  produced  for lexemes originally represented by Straif but  for lexemes originally represented by Sail.

The letter Úath or hÚath (transliterated as), although not counted among the foilceasta, also presented particular difficulties due to apparently being a silent letter. It was probably pronounced as  in an early stage of Primitive Irish, disappearing before the transition to Old Irish.

Consonant lenition and palatalisation, which feature heavily in later stages of the language, may already have existed in an allophonic form, i.e., they were not phonemically contrastive yet.

Transition to Old Irish
Old Irish, written in the Latin alphabet, has its earliest recorded texts possibly in the late 6th century, which is the traditional date of composition for the Amra Coluim Chille, a poetic elegy to St Columba of Iona by St Dallán Forgaill, the first identifiable author in the Irish language. This work, however, survives only in heavily annotated manuscripts from a later time, in an old-fashioned form of the Irish language bearing little similarity to formal Old Irish. The first text which are widely accepted to have been written in Old Irish date from the 7th century, at the inception of a national textual tradition which was cultivated alongside that of Latin by the Catholic Church in Ireland, and which supplanted the archaic literary traditions.

The radical changes that characterize the transition from Primitive Irish to Old Irish are not uncommon in the development of other languages, but appear to have occurred rapidly in the case of Irish. John T. Koch, an American Celticist, theorized that these changes coincide with the conversion of the island to Christianity and the introduction of Latin as a literary language. The Irish language would then have derogated from the formal register of the language used by druids in their ceremonies and teachings. Koch believed that with the decline of paganism and the corresponding loss of influence by the druids, the language of the Irish Christian nobility would have supplanted the ancient Primitive Irish register of the pagan priests, eclipsing it completely in the 7th century. This would give the impression of rapid linguistic development, while actually representing a shift in literature to a vernacular register which had previously been obscured by the conservative influence of the druidic language. This new phase of the language shows influence from Latin, the language having been introduced to pre-Christian Ireland, which became more pronounced following St Patrick's ministry.

Features
Primitive Irish has a morphology similar to other Indo-European languages, however it did not display the most distinctive characteristics of other phases of the language including velarized ("broad") and palatalized ("slender") consonants (such consonant alterations may have existed, but they would have been allophonic), initial mutations, some loss of inflectional endings, but not of case marking, and consonant clusters. Old Irish does carry with it these distinctive features, as well as the loss of grammatical suffixes, the introduction of the letter p through loanwords and proper names, the simplification of the inflectional system, the alteration of some short vowels through vowel harmony, and, most notably, vowel elisions which resulted in distinctive consonant clusters.

This last phenomenon, especially marked in the genesis of Old Irish proper, began with an application of secondary stress to the third syllable of most words with four or more syllables, and also to the fifth syllable of words with six or more, in addition to the primary stress, which fell on the first syllable, as is typical of Celtic languages. This caused apocope of (final) syllables, syncope of stressless (internal) syllables, and the shortening of all long vowels in non-initial syllables, around 500 AD and the middle of the 6th century, respectively. This loss of vowels caused consonant clusters to develop.

As an example, a 5th-century king of Leinster, whose name is recorded in Old Irish king-lists and annals as Mac Caírthinn Uí Enechglaiss, is memorialised on an Ogham stone near where he died. This gives the late Primitive Irish version of his name (in the genitive case), as . Similarly, the Corcu Duibne, a people of County Kerry known from Old Irish sources, are memorialised on a number of stones in their territory as . Old Irish filed, "poet (gen.)", appears in ogham as . In each case the development of Primitive to Old Irish shows the loss of unstressed syllables and certain consonant changes.

Gradually, the grammaticalization of consonant mutations introduced a new characteristic that Irish would eventually share with all other modern Celtic languages. Old Irish phonetic conditions generated different allophonic mutations over time, and with the diachronic loss of the conditions which caused the mutations, those mutations became the only way to distinguish between different grammatical forms. Thus, the mutations became differentiated phonemes with their own morphosyntactic functions. For example, in the Primitive Irish phrase  ("of the son",  being a form of the definite article), originally pronounced , the initial  would have lenited to  due to the influence of the  ending of the preceding word. The variation in the pronunciation of the word would not have caused a difference in meaning; it would be allophonic. In a later stage of the language, the Primitive Irish word  became Old Irish in, losing the final vowel which caused the lenition. However, in the Old Irish phrase in maicc ("of the son"), the m is still lenited, so the pronunciation would be . The lenition was 'reinterpreted' as being caused by the fact that maicc follows the definite article in, a rule of morphosyntax (grammar) rather than phonology. What was originally a phonological feature of the language therefore became grammaticalized.

See also
 Irish language
 Early Irish literature
 Goidelic substrate hypothesis

Notes

References

Bibliography

History of the Irish language
Ancient Ireland
Irish, Primitive

Primitive Irish


The River Dart is an English river in Devon. It rises on Dartmoor, and reaches the English Channel at Dartmouth. The Dart begins at Dartmeet where the separate rivers East Dart and West Dart flow into each other.

Watercourse
The river's name may be Celtic meaning 'river where oak trees grow'. The banks of the lower Dart are covered in ancient woods of native oak.

The East and West Dart are crossed by a number of "clapper bridges" which are big slabs of stone laid on the river bed. At Totnes the river becomes tidal, and there are no bridges below the town.

The Dart estuary is a large 'ria' (coastel inlet). It is popular for sailing. The entrance to the river from the sea is rocky with cliffs either side. On the East side Kingswear Castle sits very close to the water's edge, and on the west side Dartmouth Castle is built on a rocky promontory at sea level.  The castles once operated a defensive chain across the estuary. It was raised at dusk to destroy enemy ships attempting to attack the harbour.  The remains of the operating mechanisms for the chain are still visible in Dartmouth castle.

The lower section of the River Dart forms Dartmouth Harbour, a deep water natural harbour with a long history. It is still a busy port for local fishing boats and a variety of yachts and other private boats. Several local companies do shipbuilding and repairs to small tonnage craft.

References

Dart
Dart

River Dart


The Hoankyoku ( Hiragana: ほあんきょく) was an intelligence agency established in the State of Manchuria.

Background
The State of Manchuria was founded in 1932, but within the country there were many anti-establishment forces operating. As well as bandits and remnants of former military parties, there were Kuomintang, Communist Party of China, and Soviet underground groups operating. Above all else, members of the Kuomintang had infiltrated the Manchurian bureaucracy.

The police, whose job it was to crack down on anti-establishment forces, was made up of many ethnicities, making the concealing of classified information difficult. Therefore, a secret organisation that possessed a level of confidentiality higher than even the Tokkō, and whose existence itself was also secret, was considered.

The Hoankyoku was established in December 1937 (Kokutoku 4). As it was a secret organisation it was disguised as a division of the police. It had a close relationship with the Kwantung Army, and received guidance from members of the Kwantung Army's secret police. All heads within the organisation were Japanese.

Structure
As at 1944 (Kokutoku 11)
 Division 1 (general affairs)
 Division 2 (investigations)
 Division 3 (general counterintelligence)
 Division 4 (foreign counterintelligence)
 Division 5 (secret information)
 Division 6 (wireless counterintelligence and unauthorised radio-wave search)
 Division 7 (communication counterintelligence)
 Division 8 (secret war science)
 Ryokuen Institute (training)

Bibliography

 満州国史編纂刊行会編『満州国史 各論』満蒙同胞援護会、1970年

Defunct intelligence agencies
Military branches of Manchukuo
Secret police

Hoankyoku


Never for Ever is the third studio album by English art rock singer Kate Bush, released on 8 September 1980 by EMI Records, it was Bush's first No. 1 album and was also the first album by a British female solo artist to top the UK Albums Chart, as well as being the first album by any female solo artist to enter the chart at No. 1. It has since been certified Gold by the BPI. It features the UK Top 20 singles "Breathing", "Army Dreamers" and "Babooshka", the latter being one of Bush's biggest hits. Bush co-produced the album with Jon Kelly.

Background
Beginning production after her 1979 tour, Never for Ever was Bush's second foray into production (her first was for the On Stage EP the previous year), aided by the engineer of Lionheart (1978), Jon Kelly. Bush was keen to start producing her work and felt that this was the first album she was happy with, since it was more personal.

The first two albums had resulted in a particular sound, which was evident in every track, with lush orchestral arrangements supporting the live band sound. The range of styles on Never for Ever is much more diverse, veering from the straightforward rocker "Violin" to the wistful waltz of hit single "Army Dreamers". Never for Ever was the first Kate Bush album to feature digital synthesizers and drum machines, in particular the Fairlight CMI, which was programmed by Richard James Burgess and John L. Walters. Like her previous two albums, it was initially composed on piano.

Bush's literary and cinematic influences were again to the fore. "The Infant Kiss", the story of a governess who is frightened by the adult feelings she has for her young male charge (who is possessed by the spirit of a grown man), was inspired by the 1961 film The Innocents, which in turn had been inspired by The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. "The Wedding List" drew from François Truffaut's 1968 film The Bride Wore Black. "Delius (Song of Summer)" was inspired by the 1968 Ken Russell television film Song of Summer, which portrays the last six years of the life of English composer Frederick Delius, when Eric Fenby acted as his amanuensis. Fenby is mentioned in the lyrics ("in B, Fenby"). "Blow Away (for Bill)" commemorates her lighting director Bill Duffield, killed in an accident at Poole Arts Centre during her 1979 tour. The song links his name to those of several music stars who died in the previous decade—Minnie Riperton, Keith Moon, Sandy Denny, Sid Vicious, Marc Bolan—and one earlier icon, Buddy Holly.

Never for Ever is the only studio album by Bush up to Director's Cut (2011) not to have a title track. According to Bush, the title alluded to conflicting emotions, good and bad, which pass, as she stated: "we must tell our hearts that it is 'never for ever', and be happy that it's like that".

The album cover is an illustration (in pencil) by artist Nick Price, who had also designed the cover for the programme for her 1979 tour. Bush was pleased with the results (it depicts a multitude of animals and monsters emerging from under her skirt). Of the concept, Bush said that it reflects the title, depicting good and bad things that emerge from one's self. The album was released on compact disc in Japan in 1987 with the cover art modified. A section of the original cover art was enlarged, creating two different booklet covers: the outer one modified; and underneath the original. The album's cover was voted 'Greatest Album Cover of 1980' by Record Mirror.

"Violin" and "Egypt" were performed live during The Tour of Life in April-May 1979. "The Wedding List" was aired in a BBC Christmas Special on 28 December 1979.

Release and critical reception

With work on the album completed in May, Never for Ever was released on 8 September 1980. Over the following week, Bush undertook a record signing tour of the UK including London, which resulted in lengthy queues down Oxford Street. During October she also undertook promotional appearances for the album throughout Europe, most prominently in Germany and France. In the US, the album was initially unreleased following the failure of her debut. As Bush gained a cult following over the coming years, however, Never for Ever was belatedly released in 1984 following the entry into the charts of her fourth album The Dreaming.

Never for Ever entered the UK Albums Chart on (week-ending) 20 September 1980 at No. 1. It remained there for one week, staying in the top 75 for a total of 23 weeks. The album became Bush's first record to reach the top position on the UK Albums Chart, also making her the first female British solo artist to achieve that status. Technically, Never for Ever is the first studio album (i.e. not a greatest hits compilation) by any solo female artist to reach number 1 in the UK as only Barbra Streisand and Connie Francis had achieved the feat prior to 1980 but with compilation albums (Diana Ross had also achieved three UK number 1 albums by then but these were also compilations and were credited to Diana Ross & The Supremes, and were therefore not solo albums).

Three singles were released from the album—all of which fared well in the charts. The first, "Breathing", reached No. 16 in the UK, as did the third, "Army Dreamers". The second single, "Babooshka", became one of Bush's biggest hits, peaking at No. 5 in the summer of 1980 in the UK and faring even better in Australia, where it reached No. 2 and was the 20th best-selling single of the year.

The album was favourably received by music critics at the time, save for a curiously critical review in Record Mirror, which appears to criticise the album (and Bush herself), while complimenting a number of tracks. Based largely on this album, Bush was voted "Best female artist of 1980" in polls taken in Melody Maker, Sounds, the Sunday Telegraph, and Capital Radio. Bush herself has said that it was her favourite album to date. More recently, AllMusic gave the album a favourable review, complimenting the three singles most highly but said that Bush would improve on the formula on later albums. In 2020, Rolling Stone included Never for Ever in their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising Bush for her songwriting and her imagination.

Track listing

Personnel
Credits are adapted from the Never for Ever liner notes.

 Kate Bush – vocals; piano; keyboards; harmony vocals; Fairlight CMI digital sampling synthesizer; Yamaha CS-80 polyphonic synthesizer (1, 4); arranger
 John L. Walters and Richard James Burgess – Fairlight CMI programming
 Max Middleton – Fender Rhodes piano (1, 3, 5, 6, 11); Minimoog (5); string arrangements (3, 6)
 Duncan Mackay – Fairlight CMI (4, 10)
 Michael Moran – Prophet-5 synthesizer (5)
 Larry Fast – Prophet synthesizer (11)
 Alan Murphy – electric guitar (1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 11); electric guitar solo (7); acoustic guitar (4, 10); bass (10)
 Brian Bath – electric guitar (1, 6, 7, 11); acoustic guitar (3, 4, 10); backing vocals (6, 10)
 Paddy Bush – backing vocals (1, 4, 5, 6, 10); balalaika (1); sitar; bass vocals and voice of "Delius" (2); koto (4); strumento de porco (psaltery) (5); harmonica and musical saw (6); banshee (7); mandolin (10)
 Kevin Burke – violin (7)
 Adam Skeaping – viola da gamba (8); string arrangements (8)
 Joseph Skeaping – lironi (8); string arrangements (8)
 John Giblin – bass (1); fretless bass (11)
 Del Palmer – fretless bass (3); bass guitar (5, 6, 7)
 Preston Heyman – drums (3, 5, 6, 7); percussion (2, 3, 5); backing vocals (4, 6)
 Stuart Elliott – drums (1, 11); bodhrán (10)
 Roland – percussion (2)
 Morris Pert – timpani (4); percussion (11)
 Ian Bairnson – bass vocals (2)
 Gary Hurst – backing vocals (1, 4)
 Andrew Bryant – backing vocals (4)
 Roy Harper – backing vocals (11)
 The Martyn Ford Orchestra – strings (3, 6)

Production
 Kate Bush – producer
 Jon Kelly – co-producer; recording engineer
 Jon Jacobs – assistant engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

See also
 Kate Bush discography
 List of awards and nominations received by Kate Bush

References

External links

Kate Bush albums
1980 albums
Albums produced by Jon Kelly
EMI Records albums
EMI America Records albums
Harvest Records albums
New wave albums by English artists
Progressive rock albums by English artists
Albums recorded at AIR Studios

Never for Ever


Oh Johnny, How You Can Love is a 1940 American film directed by Charles Lamont and starring Tom Brown and Peggy Moran. It was an early appearance of Laird Cregar.

The film cost $100,000.

Plot
Kelly Archer, an heiress trying to escape her controlling father and elope with an archeologist, runs into the truck of traveling salesman Johnny Sandham. She hitches a ride with Johnny. A bank robber known as The Weasel commandeers the truck and takes the two hostage. That night, stopping to have the truck's brakes fixed, Johnny dupes the Weasel into helping him win over Kelly: Johnny pretends to be gangster "Jersey Joe", and says they should kidnap Kelly for ransom. Kelly overhears their plan, and helps innkeeper Thistlebottom subdue both men. Kelly's father arrives to take his daughter home, but she rides off with Johnny.

References

External links

Oh Johnny How You Can Love at TCMDB

1940 films
American musical films
Films directed by Charles Lamont
1940 musical films
American black-and-white films
Universal Pictures films
1940s English-language films
1940s American films

Oh Johnny, How You Can Love


Scrophularia ningpoensis, commonly known as the Ningpo figwort or Chinese figwort, is a perennial plant of the family Scrophulariaceae (the figwort family). It reaches 1 m by 0.4 m. Its flowers are hermaphrodite, insect-pollinated and the plant usually flowers in late spring.

This plant has been known to traditional Chinese medicine for as long as 2000 years. Its root is harvested in autumn in Zhejiang province and neighboring areas, then dried for later use.

References

ningpoensis
Flora of Asia
Medicinal plants
Flora of China

Scrophularia ningpoensis


The Epistle to Philemon is the fifty-seventh book in the Christian Bible, and the eighteenth in the New Testament. Almost everyone agrees that letter was written by the Saint Paul to Philemon. It is the shortest of Paul's letters, consisting of only 335 words in the Greek text.

Why Paul wrote the letter

Paul wrote this letter on behalf of Onesimus, who may have been a runaway slave who had wronged his owner Philemon. We don't know what Onesimus had done, but perhaps he ran away after stealing money. Paul says in verse 18 that if Onesimus owes anything, Philemon should charge it to Paul's account. It is thought that Philemon lived in Colossae; in the letter to the Colossians, Onesimus (the slave who fled from Philemon) and Archippus (whom Paul greets in the letter to Philemon) are said to be members of the church there.

Paul says that Onesimus has been very helpful to him while he was in prison in Rome.  He would like for Philemon to free him and send him back to Rome.  Paul says that Philemon should receive him not as a slave but as a brother. Paul did not seem to think that Onesimus should be punished, even though Roman law allowed the owner of a runaway slave to punish or even kill them.

Importance

Some see this letter as a step towards thinking of slaves as fully human. Before Paul, Ruden argues, a slave was considered subhuman, and entitled to no more consideration than an animal.  Others think that Paul and the early Christians should have done more to combat the evil of slavery. In history, some Christians used the book to justify slavery. Pope Benedict XVI refers to this letter in the Encyclic, Spe salvi, to tell of the power of Christianity to improve society. He says that Christianity was very important to the large decrease of slavery during the Middle Ages and after.

References

Notes

Pauline epistles
New Testament books

Epistle to Philemon


Viktorija Golubic (; ; born 16 October 1992) is a Swiss professional tennis player. Golubic has won one singles title on the WTA Tour, three singles WTA Challenger titles, as well as ten singles and 15 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit so far. On 28 February 2022, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 35. On 15 January 2018, she peaked at No. 63 in the doubles rankings.

Professional career

2008–15: ITF Circuit
Golubic started playing on the ITF Women's Circuit at the $10k event in Budapest in June 2008. She played her first two WTA qualifying tournaments at the Hungarian Open and Gastein Ladies in 2010. She made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the Gastein Ladies in 2013, where she recorded her first WTA win and reached second round. However, all of her attempts to qualify for a major failed.

2016: Breakthrough, WTA Tour title, top 100

After winning her eighth ITF title at the $25k event in Hong Kong, Golubic reached her first Grand Slam main draw at the Australian Open through qualifying and lost to Carla Suárez Navarro in the first round of the tournament. She then reached the quarterfinals of another ITF event before failing to reach the main draw of her next three tournaments. At the Katowice Open, Golubic entered the main draw as a qualifier and beat Paula Kania in the first round before losing to Tímea Babos.

Prior to the French Open, Golubic played in the qualifying of the WTA Prague Open but lost to Viktória Kužmová in the first round. After a quarterfinal appearance at the $50k Open Saint-Gaudens, she entered French Open through qualifying and earned her first Grand Slam main-draw win with a three-set victory over Alison Riske. She lost to Lucie Šafářová in round two.

Golubic started her grass-court season at the Rosmalen Championships, entering the main draw as a qualifier and defeating Anna-Lena Friedsam and Risa Ozaki en route to her first WTA quarterfinal, before losing to Belinda Bencic. Her next two tournaments (the Mallorca Open and Wimbledon) ended in qualifying. She also lost in the first round of her next ITF tournament in Budapest.

At the inaugural Ladies Championship Gstaad, Golubic beat No. 7 seed Mona Barthel, Evgeniya Rodina, Carina Witthöft and Rebeka Masarova en route to her first WTA tournament final. She then defeated third seed Kiki Bertens to lift her first WTA trophy. With the title, Golubic entered the top 100 for the first time. Golubic reached another final at the Linz Open, in which she was defeated by Dominika Cibulková. On her way to the final, she made her first top-10 win by defeating world No. 6, Garbiñe Muguruza, in the quarterfinal. She ended the season as No. 57 in the WTA rankings.

2017–20: Struggle with form, first major third round, WTA 125 title

In 2017, Golubic could not emulate her results of the previous year. Despite winning only four matches in the first half of the season, she reached a new career-high singles ranking of 51, in April 2017. After that, she started to fall in the ranking and dropped out of the top 100 again. However, she had good results again in the late season. In October, she reached semifinals of the Linz Open, before losing to Magdaléna Rybáriková. It was her first singles semifinal on WTA Tour since October 2016. She then played on the WTA Challenger Tour, where she reached two semifinals, at the Hua Hin Championships and the Taipei Challenger.

Golubic's most significant results in 2018 came at the ITF Circuit and WTA Challenger Tour. In the early season, she reached the final of the $60k Burnie International, losing there to Marta Kostyuk. Later, she reached quarterfinals of the Indian Wells Challenger, $100k Open de Cagnes-sur-Mer, Bol Open and Manchester Trophy. In October, she won the $80k Poitiers event, defeating Natalia Vikhlyantseva in the final. In June 2018, Golubic after almost one year reentered the top 100. She finished the year as world No. 92.

In the early 2019 season, Golubic reached the quarterfinal of the Thailand Open, where she lost to Tamara Zidanšek. She then won her biggest title since 2016 at the Indian Wells Challenger, saving a championship point against Jennifer Brady in the final. On her way to the title, she knocked out top seed Wang Qiang to mark her first top-20 win since October 2016.

At Wimbledon, she reached the third round of a major for the first time by defeating Iga Świątek and Yulia Putintseva, but then lost to Dayana Yastremska.

In September, she reached quarterfinals of the Jiangxi International Open, losing there to Elena Rybakina. She followed this with a semifinal appearance at the Guangzhou International Open, before losing to Samantha Stosur.

Golubic struggled with form during the following season. Her most significant result came at the $80k Open de Cagnes-sur-Mer in September, when she reached quarterfinals and lost to Sara Sorribes Tormo. She suffered first-round losses at the Australian Open and US Open, while she failed in the qualifying of the French Open. Golubic fell out of the top 100 in late February and finished the year as world No. 137.

2021: First Grand Slam quarterfinal, top 50 debut
Ranked world No. 66 at Wimbledon, Golubic reached a major quarterfinal for the first time defeating en-route two seeded players, 23rd seed American Madison Keys in the fourth round and 29th seed Veronika Kudermetova, plus two more Americans, Danielle Collins and Madison Brengle, respectively. Having won 43 matches already in 2021, Golubic guaranteed herself a top-50 debut with this breakthrough run, moving 18 places to world No. 48 on 12 July 2021, having never passed the third round of this major before.

2022–23: Indian Wells fourth round, out of top 100
At the 2022 Indian Wells Open, she reached the fourth round at a WTA 1000-level for the first time in her career, before losing to Elena Rybakina. Because she could not defend her points at Wimbledon, she fell out of the top 100 on 18 July 2022.

National representation

Fed Cup
Playing for Switzerland at the Fed Cup, Golubic has a win–loss record of 11–8 (as of July 2023). During the 2016 Fed Cup semifinals, Golubic earned surprising wins over Karolína Plíšková and Barbora Strýcová, defeating both in three sets. Although Switzerland was not able to beat the Czech Republic, Golubic was praised for her performance.

Olympics
In her first participation at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Golubic advanced to the doubles final with Belinda Bencic by defeating Brazilian pair Laura Pigossi and Luisa Stefani.

Performance timelines

Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup, Hopman Cup, United Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.

Singles
Current after the 2023 Guangzhou Open.

Doubles

Significant finals

Olympic Games

Doubles: 1 (silver medal)

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 4 (1 title, 3 runner–ups)

Doubles: 2 (2 runner–ups)

WTA Challenger finals

Singles: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner-up)

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 22 (12 titles, 10 runner–ups)

Doubles: 32 (15 titles, 17 runner–ups)

Record against other players

Top 10 wins

Notes

References

External links
 Official website

1992 births
Living people
Tennis players from Zürich
Swiss female tennis players
Swiss people of Serbian descent
Swiss people of Croatian descent
Olympic tennis players for Switzerland
Tennis players at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists for Switzerland
Olympic medalists in tennis
Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Viktorija Golubic


The Catholic Near East Welfare Association (abbreviated CNEWA, pronounced "k-NAY-wah" ) is a papal agency established in 1926 and dedicated to giving pastoral and humanitarian support to Northeast Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and India. CNEWA operates specifically in areas of concentrated mass poverty, war, and displacement, providing human dignity and addressing basic needs for vulnerable populations. As a Catholic organization CNEWA utilizes the network of Eastern Catholic Churches and devoted religious sisters to provide the most effective and holistic humanitarian support regardless of creed or religious affiliation. As sisters with CNEWA have stated, "We don't help people because they're Christian. We help [them] because we are."

CNEWA's regional offices employ locals who collaborate with local churches and Christian institutions to identify needs and implement solutions as a means of 'working from the ground up.'  CNEWA has held a presence in areas that have been recently volatile, such as Syria, Iraq and Palestine, and its operations respond rapidly to the constantly-shifting needs of the people. CNEWA provides 86.9% of its funds raised for programmatic support.

In June 2011, Monsignor John E. Kozar was appointed President of CNEWA and the Pontifical Mission for Palestine by Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan, the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York. The appointment was confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2011. Kozar retired in June 2020 and was succeeded by Msgr. Peter Vaccari, as president of CNEWA/PMP. The headquarters of CNEWA are in New York City.

History

Early years
In the wake of the destruction of World War I, Pope Benedict XV and later Pope Pius XI, recognized the need for spiritual and material aid across Europe. This push for relief was specifically oriented towards Russia and Eastern Europe as they experienced a series of famines between 1921 and 1923.

In 1924, a dynamic Irish chaplain who had served British troops during World War I, Monsignor Richard Barry-Doyle arrived in New York at the behest of Father Paul Wattson, a Franciscan Friar of the Atonement, who enlisted the priest to raise funds for the humanitarian activities of Greek Catholic Bishop George Calavassy, the apostolic exarch in Constantinople.

In 1926, Pope Pius XI united Catholic organizations working in the region under the "Catholic Near East Welfare Association," centralizing and strengthening Catholic relief. Rather than being specifically oriented to Russia, the organization rapidly expanded to cover the entirety of what was then known as the "Near East."

Pontifical Mission for Palestine
Pope Pius XII in 1949, in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, formed the Pontifical Mission for Palestine to focus relief efforts in Palestine, under the administration of CNEWA. Temporary emergency operations continued as the region only further destabilized, while CNEWA expanded to Lebanon and Iraq in response to their own respective national crises.

Present Day
In June 2011, Monsignor John E. Kozar was appointed by Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan, the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, as President of CNEWA and the Pontifical Mission for Palestine. The appointment was confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2011.

Mission
CNEWA's mission states that it exists to "build up the church, affirm human dignity, alleviate poverty, encourage dialogue — and inspire hope."

Accompanying the Church
CNEWA helps form church leadership by funding seminaries and religious houses of formation, university chaplaincies, lay catechist formation programs, advanced studies for clergy and religious leaders, and scholarships for priests and religious leaders. CNEWA also aids local churches by repairing damaged parish facilities, funding local church assistance programs, funding pastoral initiatives for refugees, and by funding youth formation programs.

Responding to human needs
Throughout the numerous different areas that CNEWA works, there are some common needs that CNEWA repeatedly addresses. For example, child care initiatives such as schools, orphanages, food programs, centers for children with special needs, and child health care practices are funded by CNEWA's programs. CNEWA also helps care for the marginalized in society by funding hospice programs, programs for refugees and immigrants, and initiatives for the elderly, abandoned, and neglected. CNEWA helps provide emergency relief, such as food packages, bedding, first aid, and sanitary kits for areas impacted by warfare, social upheaval, or natural disaster. Lastly, CNEWA helps fund sustainability programs that are geared towards helping society in the long-term, such as vocational training schools or programs, entrepreneurial initiatives, and self-reliance initiatives.

Pontifical Mission for Palestine

History
The Pontifical Mission for Palestine is a special agency of the Holy See, founded by Pope Pius XII in June 1949 to assist Palestinian refugees. The founding president of the Mission was Monsignor Thomas McMahon.

The Mission became the Holy See's relief and development agency for Israel, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. The Mission is administered by CNEWA, whose headquarters are in New York City. The Mission also has an office in Vatican City and field offices in Beirut, Jerusalem, and Amman.

On July 16, 1974, Paul VI sent a letter to the President of the Pontifical Mission for Palestine, Monsignor John G. Nolan, in which he referred for the first time to the Palestinians, stating:

The work of the Mission for Palestine has been one of the clearest signs of the Holy See's concern for the welfare of the Palestinians, who are particularly dear to us because they are people of the Holy Land, because they include followers of Christ and because they have been and still are being so tragically tried. We express again our heartfelt sharing in their sufferings and our support for their legitimate aspirations. May our paternal solicitude bring comfort and encouragement, especially to the refugees, who for years have been living under inhuman conditions.

Unfortunately such a state of affairs has produced in many Palestinians a sense of frustration and, in some, such anguish and desperation as to move them to acts of violent protest which with sorrow we have been constrained strenuously to deplore. It seems to us, nevertheless, that this is the moment for all Palestinians to look to the future with a constructive, like-minded and responsible attitude, as the hope becomes ever stronger that their particular problems will be them will be found during the peace in the Middle East.

As at 2006, the President of the Mission was Archimandrite Robert L. Stern, and the Vice President was Chorbishop John D. Faris.

Areas

Middle East
CNEWA has offices in Beirut, Lebanon, Amman, Jordan, and in Jerusalem which oversee work in Lebanon, Jordan, Israel-Palestine, Egypt, Iraq, and Syria. CNEWA works with local churches and religious sisters to deliver the most effective on the ground support, delivering a total of $36,568,166 to the region.

Northeast Africa

CNEWA works across Egypt and the horn of Africa. CNEWA has an active role in providing aid during droughts and bad harvests, as well as mudslides, and has led efforts in the educational field in Ethiopia and beyond.  CNEWA's office in Beirut leads its initiatives in Egypt while its office in Addis Ababa leads initiatives throughout the Horn of Africa.

India
CNEWA has been a leading nonprofit across India with its office based out of Ernakulum providing basic necessities to those in need such as food, clothing, education and healthcare. At the same time, CNEWA works to train seminarians and novices to lead the spiritual community.

Eastern Europe
CNEWA supports programs throughout Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Romania, caring for the marginalized and revitalizing their spirit. The agency's focus within this region tends to be on abandoned elderly populations and seminarian formation.

References

Further references

External links

Non-profit organizations based in New York City
Christian organizations established in 1926
Eastern Catholicism
Catholic organizations established in the 20th century
Catholic charities

Catholic Near East Welfare Association


William West (1 February 1612 – December 1670) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1653 and 1660. He fought on the Parliamentary side in the English Civil War.

West was a colonel in the Parliamentary army by 1653 and served as MP for Lancashire in the Barebones Parliament. In 1659, he acquired the manor of Middleton, Lancashire.

Also in 1659, West was elected member of parliament for Lancaster in the Third Protectorate Parliament. He was re-elected MP for Lancaster for the Convention Parliament in 1660.

West died at the age of 58 and was buried on 7 December 1670.

West's first wife Juliana died in 1666. He subsequently married Frances Kirkby, daughter of Roger Kirkby of Kirkby Ireleth.

References

1612 births
1670 deaths
Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Lancashire
English MPs 1653 (Barebones)
English MPs 1659
English MPs 1660

William West (1612–1670)


Cephalium is a frequently brightly coloured structure of wool and bristle at the growing tip of certain cacti. It is most commonly found on cacti of the genus Melocactus and can take a number of colours, forms and shapes.
The cephalium will only begin growing after a cactus has reached a certain size or age. Once flowering begins the flower buds will form from the cephalium.

References

External links

 http://www.cactus-art.biz/note-book/Dictionary/Dictionary_C/dictionary_cephalium.htm

Cacti
Plant morphology

Cephalium


Samuel Hackleton (December 22, 1804 – July 6, 1848) was a farmer, trader, soldier, and politician.

Born in Marblehead, Massachusetts, Hackletom moved to Jay, Maine in 1828. In 1830, he settled in Fulton County, Illinois. Hackleton returned to Marblehead, Massachusetts briefly and then returned to Fulton County, Illinois. He was a farmer and trader. Hackleton served in the Illinois House of Representatives in 1832, 1834, and 1842; he served as Speaker of the Illinois House of Refresentatives in 1842. From 1836 to 1840, Hackleton served in the Illinois State Senate. He fought in the Black Hawk War. In 1847, he fought in the Mexican–American War and killed near what is now Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Notes

1804 births
1848 deaths
People from Fulton County, Illinois
People from Jay, Maine
People from Marblehead, Massachusetts
Farmers from Illinois
American people of the Black Hawk War
American military personnel of the Mexican–American War
Speakers of the Illinois House of Representatives
Members of the Illinois House of Representatives
Illinois state senators
19th-century American politicians
19th-century American farmers

Samuel Hackleton


Marlene Mortler (née Hengelein; born 16 October 1955) is a German politician of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) who has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. She was a member of the German Parliament from 2002 until 2019. She also served as Commissioner on Narcotic Drugs at the Federal Ministry of Health in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2014 until 2019.

Early life and career
Mortler attended the agricultural school in 1981, in Roth and gained a master's certificate. In 1983, she took over her parents' farm in Dehnberg with her husband and focused on the production of grain and renewable resources.

Political career
In 1989, Mortler joined the CSU, and in 1996, she became a member of the Women's Union.

From 1990 Mortler belonged to the district council of the district of Nürnberger Land. From 1996 to 2004 she served as first deputy district administrator of the district.

Member of the German Parliament, 2002–2019
In the 2002 national elections, Mortler became a member of the German Bundestag, representing the Roth district. In the Bundestag, she was a full member of the Committee on Food and Agriculture and Deputy Member of the Committee on Tourism. From 2004 to 2005, she served as the CSU group's spokesperson on agricultural and consumer protection policies. From 2005 to 2009, she was the chairwoman of the Committee on Tourism. She was also the CDU/CSU parliamentary group's spokeswoman on tourism from 2009 until 2013.

In addition to her committee assignments, Mortler was a member of the German-Maltese and German-Hungarian Parliamentary Friendship Group since February 2010.

Since June 2009, Mortler has been serving as deputy chairwoman of the CSU district association Middle Franconia, and in October 2011 she was elected as a member of the CSU Board under then chairman Horst Seehofer. In November 2011, she was appointed chairwoman of the party's working group on agriculture.

In the negotiations to form a coalition government following the 2009 federal elections, Mortler was part of the working group on the environment, agriculture and consumer protection, led by Ilse Aigner and Michael Kauch.

In addition to her parliamentary work, Mortler also served as Commissioner on Narcotic Drugs at the Federal Ministry of Health in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2014 until 2019; she was succeeded by Daniela Ludwig. In the negotiations to form a coalition government under the Merkel's leadership following the 2017 federal elections, she was part of the working group on municipalities and rural areas, led by Reiner Haseloff, Kurt Gribl and Michael Groschek.

Mortler was always elected as a directly elected representatives of the Roth constituency in the Bundestag. In the 2005 elections, she received 51.0% of the vote.

Member of the European Parliament, 2019–present
In late 2018, Mortler announced that she would run for a parliamentary seat in the 2019 European elections. Since becoming a Member of the European Parliament, she has been serving on the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. In 2020, she also joined the Committee of Inquiry on the Protection of Animals during Transport.

In addition to her committee assignments, Mortler is part of the Parliament's delegation for relations with South Africa. She is also part of the European Parliament Intergroup on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs).

Other activities

Regulatory agencies
∗ Bavarian Regulatory Authority for Commercial Broadcasting (BLM), Member of the Supervisory Board

Non-profit organizations
 Versicherungskammer Bayern, Member of the Agricultural Advisory Board (-2012)

From 1982 until 2004, Mortler served as chairwoman of the rural women in the district Nürnberger Land and belonged from 1992 to 2012 as a district of the farmer Farmers Union Central Franconia and second deputy country farmer to the Bureau of the Bavarian Farmers Association (until 1997) on. From 1997 to 2012, she was the first deputy country farmer.

Political positions
In her role as a Commissioner on Narcotic Drugs, Mortler soon became the target of diverse criticism. Given her previous focus on agriculture, she was criticized as unqualified for the position.

The German Cancer Aid has responded with praise to Mortler's initiative to ban tobacco advertising in Germany. Her initiative failed and nothing happened in this issue until April 2015. By 2014 they wanted to "hold intensive discussions in the federal government", she said in a Die Zeit article. In 2018, Mortler criticized the portrayal of smoking in television and film programs that received public funds and urged the German film industry to produce fewer scenes involving cigarettes.

By early 2015, Mortler came under heavy criticism which mostly arose from social media. Under the Twitter hashtag #Mortler and on Facebook many concerned individuals and organizations voiced their discontent with the commissioner. A petition which called for her resignation garnered over 14,000 votes within a few days. She was criticized for incompetence, an inappropriate qualification in "rural home economics" (German: ) for the job, having a double standard (because of her promotion of alcohol consumption) and a preoccupation concerning suggestions about cannabis legalization. A main point of criticism are her justifications for the illegality of cannabis in contrast to the legality of alcohol - in interviews she stated that (translated) "in contrast to Cannabis alcohol is part of our culture" and "Because Cannabis is an illegal drug. Full stop." Due to the severe criticism, Mortler deleted her Facebook account.

Personal life
Mortler is Protestant. She was married to her husband Siegfried Mortler from 1975 until his death in June 2017. She is the mother of three children.

References

External links

, Ein Porträt des Senders Franken TV, 2009
, Barrierefreier Tourismus in Deutschland, 8–10 June 2009

Living people
1955 births
Members of the Bundestag for Bavaria
Female members of the Bundestag
20th-century German farmers
20th-century women farmers
German women farmers
MEPs for Germany 2019–2024
People from Lauf an der Pegnitz
Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021
Members of the Bundestag 2013–2017
Members of the Bundestag 2009–2013
Members of the Bundestag 2005–2009
Members of the Bundestag 2002–2005
21st-century women MEPs for Germany
Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Social Union in Bavaria
21st-century farmers
21st-century women farmers

Marlene Mortler