Tory socialism is a term used by some historians, particularly of the early Fabian Society, a socialist British organization, to describe the governing philosophy of the prime minister Benjamin Disraeli. It has been used by Vernon Bogdanor to describe the thinking of Ferdinand Mount, and was used by Arnold Toynbee to describe the beliefs of Joseph Rayner Stephens and Richard Oastler. The phrase was also used to describe both Stanley Baldwin and Harold Macmillan in the 1930s, and by Tony Judge in his biographical study of Robert Blatchford, and in a wider study of Tory socialism between 1870 and 1940.

Online publication Country Squire Magazine published an article on Tory socialism, wherein the author described Tory socialists as being "alienated Tory radicals who denounce liberal capitalism, instead of praising it for  revolutionary role, as the destroyer of popular community and moral economy." In The Spectator, journalist and historian Tim Stanley wrote: "Call it One Nation, paternalism or, if you're feeling cheeky, Tory socialism – a philosophy, not a doctrine, because it begins by rejecting economic dogma, even materialism on the basis that man does not live by bread alone. Its genius is that it makes culture the engine of policy." He defined Tory socialism as "an approach to politics that puts the spiritual before the economic, and which situates the human being within a community that is shaped by tradition and custom." He also harkened back to when Tories were the party of protectionism and social reform.

The term is  used by many free-market advocates to describe certain strains of conservatism that are more reformist-minded and believe in a more activist government, such as paternalistic conservatism. The domestic policies of Richard Nixon were stated by some American libertarians, such as Murray Rothbard, to be Tory socialist, which they believed had much in common with what they labelled as the big government conservatism espoused by neoconservatives. It was in keeping with this that David Gelernter wrote a long essay in The Weekly Standard extolling Disraeli as the founder of modern conservatism.

See also
 Bourgeois socialism
 Conservative corporatism
 One-nation conservatism
 Red Tory
 Yellow socialism

References

Benjamin Disraeli
Conservative Party (UK) terms
Fabian Society
History of the Conservative Party (UK)
Paternalistic conservatism
Richard Nixon
Toryism

Tory socialism


Codrii Vlăsiei was the forest that once covered parts of southern Romania, including the territory of today's Bucharest and the surrounding Ilfov County.

The thick forests were used by Romanians as a retreat during the age of migrations because they were not easy to cross on horseback. In fact, the name of the forest means "the Forests of Wallachia". Codrii means "forests" in the Romanian language, while Vlăsiei is the genitive form of Vlăsia, the Slavic denomination for Wallachia.

The thick forest was also useful in the Middle Ages, being used by several voivods to defeat other armies. In 1456, Vlad Ţepeş defeated his rival Vladislav Dan at Târgșor at the edge of Codrii Vlăsiei. This was also the place where Vlad defeated the Ottoman army that came to depose him. It is also thought that Vlad was assassinated there following a plot of the boyars. The forests were later a hideout for highwaymen, haiducs and other outlaws.

Between 1692 and 1700, a paved road which linked the centre of Bucharest to the Mogoşoaia Palace of Constantin Brâncoveanu was built through the forest. Named Podul Mogoșoaiei, it was made of oak wood.
Most roads in the Balkans at that time became muddy in the spring and autumn, and the wood prevented this. Consequently, the road was one of the most important construction works of the area and a source of pride to Bucharesters. In 1842 the road was paved with cobblestone. It was later upgraded to asphalt. The road was renamed "Calea Victoriei" after the Romanian victory in the Independence War of 1877-78.

Most of the forest was intact until the 19th century, when commerce involving cereals and wood began to develop in Wallachia and the forest was razed for the land to be used in agriculture. Of the old forests only a few small areas remain, mostly north of Bucharest, in localities such as Snagov, Pustnicul, Cernica, Romaneşti and Comana. The surface of forests is currently just about. 3500 ha.
Băneasa Forest, situated in the north of Bucharest, is in danger to be transformed in a park.

The slicing of forest estates as a result of restitution of forestland to the pre-World War II owners creates major difficulties in the management of forests from the area, which imposes new rules in the unitary management of forests as well.

References

Bădicioiu, Alexandra. "Codrii Vlăsiei se întorc". Cotidianul. 8 June 2005

Geography of Ilfov County
Parks in Bucharest
Geographic history of Romania
Forests of Romania

Codrii Vlăsiei


Pulmonary edema (pulmonary oedema in British English) is fluid in the lungs ("Pulmonary" means "lungs"; "edema" means "swelling" or "fluid"). Normally, the lungs fill with air when a person breathes in. From the alveoli in the lungs, oxygen goes into the blood. The blood then carries oxygen to the entire body. Every part of the body needs oxygen to survive.

When a person has fluid in their lungs (pulmonary edema), there is not enough space left for air to get into the lungs. The person will not be able to breathe in as much air. This means not as much oxygen will get into the blood, and the body will not get the oxygen it needs.

Causes
The most common cause of pulmonary edema is heart failure on the left side of the heart. The left side of the heart is supposed to pump blood to the entire body. If the left side of the heart is too weak to do this, blood will back up into the lungs.  This is called cardiogenic pulmonary edema.  ("Cardiogenic" means "caused by the heart.")

Other, non-cardiogenic causes of pulmonary edema include:
 Fluid overload: When a person with kidney failure eats too much salt or drinks too much fluid.  Because the kidneys cannot filter out fluids like they normally do, the fluid backs up into the lungs.
 Smoke inhalation
 Drowning in salt water
 High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE), which happens when people are at very high altitudes, like climbing mountains
 Hypothermia (a very low body temperature)
 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, caused by some kind of lung illness (like pneumonia or sepsis) or injury (like smoke inhalation)
 Pulmonary embolism, where a blood clot from one part of the body travels to the lungs
 Injury to the chest or lungs
 Infections caused by viruses, like dengue fever
 Bad reactions to drugs, including illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine, and legal medicines like aspirin

Symptoms
Symptoms of pulmonary edema may include:
 Difficulty breathing
 Orthopnea (breathing is hardest when lying down)
 Paroxysmal Nocturnal Dyspnea (this means that difficulty breathing may wake the person up when they are sleeping at night)
 Pink, frothy sputum
 A medical professional will hear rales when they listen to breath sounds with a stethoscope

Flash pulmonary edema
Flash pulmonary edema is a medical emergency.  It is pulmonary edema that comes on very quickly.  Usually pulmonary edema takes a few hours to develop.  But in the worst cases of flash pulmonary edema, a person's lungs can fill completely with fluid in minutes.  Flash pulmonary edema can also be caused by moving a person with pulmonary edema, or lying them down.

Treatment
No matter what the cause is, pulmonary edema can be treated by:
 Giving the person oxygen
 Sitting the person straight up (this makes it easier to breathe)
 Forcing air into the person's lungs (this is called ventilation) if needed
 Diuretic medicines, which remove extra fluid from the body
 Medicines like nitroglycerine ("nitro"), which reduce the pressure caused by fluid going into the lungs.  Nitroglycerine can also make the blood vessels in the lungs wider, so more fluid fits into them; this can free up some extra space for air to get into the lungs.

Other treatments can focus on the cause of the pulmonary edema. For example, if a person with kidney failure has had too much salt or fluid, they can have dialysis to take away the extra fluid and salt.

References

Breathing problems

Pulmonary edema


Lisciano Niccone is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located about 25 km northwest of Perugia.

Lisciano Niccone borders the following municipalities: Cortona, Passignano sul Trasimeno, Tuoro sul Trasimeno, Umbertide.

It is of medieval origin, and belonged to the comune of Perugia and, from the 16th century, to the Papal States. In its territory are the remains of a castle (11th century) and a church from the same period, dedicated to St. Nicholas.

Demographic evolution

References

External links
 Official website

Cities and towns in Umbria

Lisciano Niccone


In enzymology, a formyltetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase () is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction

10-formyltetrahydrofolate + NADP+ + H2O  tetrahydrofolate + CO2 + NADPH + H+

The 3 substrates of this enzyme are 10-formyltetrahydrofolate, NADP+, and H2O, whereas its 4 products are tetrahydrofolate, CO2, NADPH, and H+.

This enzyme belongs to the family of oxidoreductases, to be specific those acting on the CH-NH group of donors with NAD+ or NADP+ as acceptor.  The systematic name of this enzyme class is 10-formyltetrahydrofolate:NADP+ oxidoreductase. Other names in common use include 10-formyl tetrahydrofolate:NADP oxidoreductase, 10-formyl-H2PtGlu:NADP oxidoreductase, 10-formyl-H4folate dehydrogenase, N10-formyltetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase, and 10-formyltetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase.  This enzyme participates in one carbon pool by folate.

Structural studies

As of late 2007, 7 structures have been solved for this class of enzymes, with PDB accession codes , , , , , , and .

References

EC 1.5.1
NADPH-dependent enzymes
Enzymes of known structure

Formyltetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase


Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux was a private French airline, based at Orly Airport, Paris. In 1963, it was merged with Union Aéromaritime de Transport on 1 October 1963 to form UTA French Airlines.

Operations

In the early 1950s its routes were Paris - Tunis - Damascus - Karachi - Bangkok - Saigon - Hanoi, Paris - Algiers - Fort Lamy - Douala - Brazzaville - Tananarive (Antananarivo), Paris - Casablanca - Bamako - Abidjan, and Paris - Casablanca - Bamako - Dakar.

By 1957 the route continued beyond Saigon to Darwin, Brisbane, Noumea, and Auckland. As the airport for Tahiti began construction, T.A.I. began to fly to Bora Bora on the Society Islands in French Polynesia in 1958. Until the Papeete Airport in Tahiti airport opened in 1960, the island was served by TAI Short Solent flying boats.

In the late 1950s the airline flew the Sud-Est Armagnac, a French manufactured airliner, as well as Douglas DC-4s and Douglas DC-6s with these aircraft having a light green livery with white cabin top and fin. They bought their first Douglas DC-8 jet airliners during 1960. The company extended its service to Jakarta in Indonesia. The livery changed to an attractive yellow, green, and black striped tail with "T.A.I." on it, and a green stripe down the fuselage. The February 1959 Official Airline Guide (OAG) lists eleven departures a week from Paris Orly Airport: seven DC-6Bs to mainland Africa, two to Tananarive, one to Auckland and one DC-7C to Djakarta. In 1960, the airline was serving the Bora Bora Airport in French Polynesia with Douglas DC-7C flights nonstop to Honolulu with continuing, no change of plane service to Los Angeles and was also operating direct DC-7C service between Bora Bora and Noumea via a stop in Nandi.

Millions of revenue passenger-kilometers, scheduled flights only: 300 in 1957 and 369 in 1960.

According to its 1 April 1963 system timetable, the airline was operating Douglas DC-8 jet service on a number of international routes including Paris Orly Airport - Athens - Teheran - Karachi - Rangoon - Phnom Penh - Jakarta; Paris Orly Airport - Athens - Beirut - Karachi - Bangkok - Saigon - Darwin - Sydney - Noumea; Paris Orly Airport - Marseille - Athens - Djibouti - Tananarive; Paris Orly Airport - Marseille - Bamako - Ouagadougou - Abidjan and Paris Orly Airport - Marseille - Niamey - Abidjan as well as Noumea - Nandi - Papeete, Tahiti - Los Angeles and Papeete, Tahiti - Honolulu. This same timetable also lists Douglas DC-6B propliner service between Paris Orly Airport, Marseille, Bamako, Ouagadougou and Abidjan as well as regional service in the Pacific flown with Douglas DC-4 propliners linking Noumea with Auckland, Port Vila, Espiritu Santo, Wallis Island and Papeete, Tahiti.

Accidents and incidents
On 26 October 1946, Amiot AAC.1 F-BBYL was written off at Marignane Airport.
On 6 January 1947, Amiot AAC.1 F-BBYK struck Mont Ventoux in Provence in poor weather while operating a cargo flight; all three crew on board survived, but the aircraft was written off.
On 8 December 1950, Douglas C-54A F-BELB crashed into high ground on climbout from Bangui Airport due to crew error, killing 46 of 56 on board; the accident remains the worst in the Central African Republic.
On 18 July 1951, Douglas C-54A F-BDRI crashed on climbout from Arivonimamo Airport; there were no fatalities, but the aircraft was written off.
On 20 February 1956, Douglas DC-6B F-BGOD crashed 18 mi southeast of Cairo International Airport due to crew errors (although crew fatigue was also possible), killing 52 of 64 on board.
On 24 September 1959, TAI Flight 307 (a Douglas DC-7C, F-BIAP) crashed on climbout from Merignac Airport due to pilot error, killing 54 of 65 on board (one person initially survived, but later died in the hospital).

Bibliography
R.E.G. Davies, A History of the World's Airlines, 1964, Oxford University Press, ISBN none.

References

 Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux Timetable, 1952
 Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux Timetable, 1963

Defunct airlines of France
Airlines disestablished in 1963
1963 disestablishments in France

Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux


Messe Stuttgart is a convention center next to Stuttgart Airport, 12 km south of Stuttgart, Germany.  It is the ninth-biggest convention center in Germany.

The new Messe Stuttgart site, completed in 2007, is right next to the A8  autobahn (highway). The center is accessible from Stuttgart Flughafen/Messe station on the local suburban railway network. Buses also travel to Messe Stuttgart from nearby Esslingen, Göppingen, Reutlingen and Tübingen. There are plans to link Messe Stuttgart and Stuttgart airport to the proposed Stuttgart–Wendlingen high-speed railway between Stuttgart and Ulm by 2019 as part of the Stuttgart 21 Project.

Parking garage

One of the most striking features of Messe Stuttgart is its huge parking garage, which spans the A8 Autobahn and can accommodate 4,200 vehicles on five levels. Display rights for the 4-ton logo on both sides of the garage's bridge were sold to Robert Bosch GmbH, which paid around 20 million euros for exclusive advertising space. The logo is the second-largest illuminated sign in the world and the biggest logo in the world after the unlit Hollywood Sign.

Brief history
Before completion of the new site next to Stuttgart Airport, Messe Stuttgart had been based in the Killesberg suburb of Stuttgart for more than 50 years. As nearby housing estates encroached on the old site's parking and roads, it was closed down to make way for public housing for seniors and apartments.

Criticism
Immediately after opening, Messe Stuttgart was plagued by a number of unexpected teething problems, ranging from faulty barcode readers at the entrances to poor signage.

Construction of the new site, originally approved in 1993, was subject to repeated delays. First, local farmers refused to sell their land after successful lobbying by nearby residents. After compulsory repossession of land was approved by the Baden-Württemberg State Government, demonstrations led to a string of court cases between landowners and the company hired to build the new center. An agreement was eventually reached between the local government and landowners amid cries from local residents that the farmers had "sold out" to politicians and had only gone along with lobbyists in the first place to maximize returns on the sale of land.

References

External links

 Messe Stuttgart maps (German)

1940 establishments in Germany
Buildings and structures in Stuttgart
Convention centres in Germany
Event venues established in 1940
Tourist attractions in Stuttgart

Messe Stuttgart convention center


Chris "Canuck Truck" Szarka (born February 12, 1975) is a former Canadian Football League fullback. He spent his entire professional football career with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He also served as a member of the Regina City Council.

High school years
Szarka was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and attended Terry Fox High School in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, and starred in football and Basketball.

In 1992, Szarka was a Provincial All-Star at running back and helped lead the Terry Fox Ravens to their first ever BC Boys' Basketball championship.

College career
Szarka began his college career at Simon Fraser University. After one season he transferred to the College of the Siskiyous; a junior college in Siskiyou County, California.  He finished his college career at Eastern Illinois University. He played two seasons for the Panthers. As a senior, he posted 26 carries for 101 yards (3.88 yards per carry avg.), and 35 receptions for 375 yards (10.71 yards per. rec.). His 35 receptions led the team for that season.

Professional career
Szarka was drafted in the second round and 13th overall in the 1997 CFL Draft by the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He made his Rider debut in the second week of the 1997 season and dressed for 17 games. He caught his first touchdown pass against Edmonton on July 31, 1997, also his first career touchdown. Szarka also dressed for the 1997 Grey Cup, a loss to the Toronto Argonauts. He otherwise saw most of his time on special teams.

He dressed for 17 games in 1998 seeing time as backup fullback and on special teams, finishing with 10 special teams tackles. The 1999 season was an injury-riddled one for Szarka, as he missed the week 5 game with a shoulder injury. He then re-injured the shoulder in week 8 against the BC Lions and was placed on the nine game injured list. He started in the final game of the season, also against the Lions.

In 2000, Szarka dressed in 16 games as the starting fullback, cementing his role with the team. This being his fourth season, he caught a career-high 13 catches for 174 yards and one touchdown. In the first game of the 2001 season, Szarka got his first career rushing touchdown against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He finished the season with 51 carries for 243 rushing yards and three touchdowns. In 2002, Szarka started all 18 games and finished with a career-high 105 carries and 424 rushing yards and five touchdowns. near the end of the season, Szarka was voted by the fans as the most popular Roughrider.

In 2003, Szarka led the team with 12 touchdowns. He was the Roughriders' nominee for Most Outstanding Canadian and also won the Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy as the West Division's representative for the award. After starting all 18 regular season games he finished the season with 87 carries for 324 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns and five receptions for 88 receiving yards and one touchdown. He also had two touchdowns in the West Final and was again voted the most popular Roughrider.

Szarka started 13 games in 2004, missing five due to injury. Nonetheless, he managed to score three rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown for 251 yards from scrimmage. In 2005 Szarka had similar yards rushing with 43 carries for 165 rushing yards and three touchdowns. 2006 saw a further decrease in the use of the fullback and, as such, Szarka saw fewer touches with only 11 carries for 37 rushing yards.

In 2007, Szarka finished the regular season with 25 carries for 104 yards and one touchdown. He missed the final three regular season games and the West Semi-Final in a bizarre incident where he accidentally sliced his thumb and index finger while using a table saw in his home. He returned to play in the West Final and the 95th Grey Cup where he got his first Grey Cup ring after the Saskatchewan Roughriders' win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Szarka had an uneventful season in 2008 as he had 10 touches for a combined 55 yards from scrimmage. He also had a fumble recovery for a touchdown off of a muffed punt by the Calgary Stampeders.

In the 2009 season, Szarka led the Roughriders with six rushing touchdowns, including three in an overtime October game against the Stampeders. He had 15 carries for 78 yards and three catches for 20 yards throughout all 18 regular season games in 2009.

On June 1, 2011, Szarka was released by the Roughriders. He did not wish to play for another team and announced his retirement the next day.

Political career
In 2009, Szarka was elected to Regina City Council as councilor for Ward 10. He served one term before being defeated in 2012 by the previous incumbent, Jerry Flegel.

References

External links
 City of Regina councillor profile

1975 births
Living people
American football running backs
Canadian sportsperson-politicians
Canadian football fullbacks
Canadian people of Hungarian descent
Canadian players of American football
Eastern Illinois Panthers football players
Players of Canadian football from British Columbia
Players of Canadian football from Saskatchewan
Politicians from Vancouver
Regina, Saskatchewan city councillors
Saskatchewan Roughriders players
Canadian football people from Regina, Saskatchewan
Canadian football people from Vancouver
Simon Fraser Red Leafs football players

Chris Szarka


Johannes Pieter "Jan" Pronk Jr. (; born 16 March 1940) is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Labour Party (PvdA) and activist.

Pronk studied Economics at the Rotterdam School of Economics obtaining a Master of Economics degree and worked as a researcher at his alma mater and the Economics Institute from July 1960 until May 1971 and was also active as a political activist in the New Left movement. After the election of 1971 Pronk was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives on 11 May 1971 and served as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Development Cooperation. Pronk was also selected as a Member of the European Parliament on 13 March 1973 and dual served in both positions. After the election of 1972 Pronk was appointed as Minister for Development Cooperation in the Cabinet Den Uyl taking office on 11 May 1973. The Cabinet Den Uyl fell on 22 March 1977 just before the end of its term. After the election of 1977 Pronk returned as a Member of the House of Representatives serving from 8 June 1977 until his resignation on 8 September 1977 before returning on 16 January 1978 as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Development Cooperation and Agriculture and Fisheries. In July 1980 Pronk was nominated as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) taking office on 18 August 1980. After the election of 1986 Pronk returned to the House of Representatives on 3 June 1986 serving again as a frontbencher. After the election of 1989 Pronk was again appointed as Minister for Development Cooperation in the Cabinet Lubbers III taking office on 7 November 1989. After election of 1994 Pronk continued his office in the Cabinet Kok I. After election of 1998 Pronk was appointed as Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the Cabinet Kok II taking office on 3 August 1998. In October 2001 Pronk announced that he wouldn't stand for the election of 2002 and declined to serve in new cabinet position.

Pronk continued to be active in politics and in August 2002 was appointed as Special Envoy of the United Nations for the Earth Summit 2002 serving from 1 September 2002 until 31 December 2002, and also worked as a distinguished professor of International Development at the International Institute of Social Studies from January 2003 until July 2010. In June 2004 Pronk was nominated as the first Special Representative of the United Nations in Sudan serving 1 July 2004 until 10 December 2006.

Pronk retired from active politics at 66 and became active in the public sector as a non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government. Following his retirement Pronk continued to be active as an advocate and activist for Human rights, the Anti-war movement, Social justice and for more European integration. Pronk is known for his abilities as a skillful negotiator and effective debater and continues to comment on political affairs as of . He holds the distinction of as the second longest-serving cabinet member since 1850 with 17 years, 114 days.

Early life
Jan Pronk was born in Scheveningen in the Netherlands on March 16, 1940. He is the son of Johannes Pieter Pronk Sr. (1909–2005) and Elisabeth Hendrika van Geel, who were both school teachers at the Protestant elementary school Koningin Emmaschool in Scheveningen. Jan Pronk attended the Koningin Emmaschool for three years. He attended the Protestant secondary school Zandvliet Lyceum in the Hague, where he graduated the gymnasium in 1958 with a curriculum that focused on exact sciences.

Jan Pronk continued to study economics at the Netherlands School of Economics (currently Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus School of Economics) in Rotterdam, graduating in 1964. As a student, he worked as a guide on the Henri Dunant, the Dutch Red Cross's holiday ship for the disabled. He was a member of the Christian-Historical Youth Organisation, the youth organisation of the conservative Protestant Christian Historical Union party and president of the Protestant fraternity S.S.R.

In 1965 Pronk became research-assistant of professor Jan Tinbergen, the future Nobel Prize laureate, at the Centre for Development Planning and later he became associate professor at the Dutch Economic Institute. In this period he also became an active member of the social-democratic PvdA, between 1966 and 1971 he was chairman of the Krimpen aan de Lek-branch of the party. He became active in the development cooperation-movement, serving as chairman of the "X-Y"-movement: an alternative Dutch development cooperation fund.

Politics

Netherlands (1971–1977)
In 1971 Pronk was elected to the House of Representatives for the Labour Party. He was shadow minister for development cooperation in the leftwing shadow cabinet of PvdA, D66 and PPR. He served secretary of the committee Mansholt, a committee of these three parties on the implications of the Limits to Growth-report for the Netherlands. He was re-elected in 1972. In 1973 he became Minister of Development Cooperation in the cabinet Den Uyl. He changed the development cooperation-policy of the Netherlands, giving it a political goal: the equal distribution of power and wealth in the world. The development cooperation policy became oriented towards the New International Economic Order, in which developing countries would become self-reliant. In 1975 1,5% of the domestic product was spent on development aid. His proposal to include communist states as Cuba and North Yemen as recipient countries of Dutch development aid, led to some controversy, but he put his proposal through. His policy supported liberation movement in Southern Africa. His leftwing policy put him at odds with the more moderate PvdA Minister of Foreign Affairs Max van der Stoel. As Minister for Development Cooperation, Pronk held several prominent positions in international organizations: between 1973 and 1977 he was Deputy Governor of the World Bank. Because of his many international travels, he often fell asleep at Cabinet meetings, which lasted until very late in the night.

United Nations (1977–1986)
In 1977 he returned to Parliament. He combined this period in Parliament with several posts in the world of development cooperation: in 1979 he also became Professor of International Development at the Institute of Social Studies; he was a member of the committee "Church Participation in Development" of the World Council of Churches and of the Councils Commission of Advisors on Economic Affairs; he was a member of the International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems of UNESCO; and in the Netherlands he was member of the Council for Government and Social Affairs of the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1978 he became Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion. In 1980 he left Parliament to become Assistant Secretary-General of the UNCTAD. In 1985 he was Assistant UN Secretary-General.

Return to the Netherlands (1986–2002)
Pronk was re-elected to Parliament in 1986. In 1987 he was elected vice-chair of the PvdA, after first considering running for chair. In 1987 he was co-writer of the report "Moving Panels" in which the PvdA moderated its policies. In 1989 he combined his work as MP with a position as professor at the University of Amsterdam, where he occupied the Joop den Uyl chair, created by the scientific foundation of the PvdA. Although he was originally asked to become Minister of Defence, he returned to the post of development cooperation in the third Lubbers cabinet in 1989.  During his period as Minister for Development Cooperation he sought to combine economic and social development, with environmental protection. As Minister for Development Cooperation he again became deputy governor of the World Bank. In 1992 his criticism of Indonesian government's record on human rights, caused the Indonesian government to refuse development aid from the Netherlands and to conclude the long-standing international aid coordination arrangements, chaired by The Netherlands, which had been maintained since the late 1960 through the Inter-Governmental Group on Indonesia. In 1993 he was asked to become Deputy UN Secretary-General, but he declined. After the 1994 elections he remained Minister for Development Cooperation, now in the first Kok cabinet.

In 1998 he again became a minister in the second cabinet Kok but he switched to Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. During this period he focused on sustainable development. In 2000 a fire works depot exploded in the neighbourhood of Enschede. As minister he was responsible for this event, although there was considerable controversy surrounding the disaster he did not step down. In 2000 he was the Dutch candidate for the post of High Commissioner for Refugees, a post which was taken by another Dutchman, former prime minister Ruud Lubbers. In 2000 and 2001 he chaired the UN climate conference, where parties agreed upon a compliance mechanism for the Kyoto protocol for the reduction of greenhouse gases. In 2002 when the report on the Dutch involvement in the Srebrenica massacre was published, it became clear that the Dutchbat peacekeeping force had been unable to prevent the massacre. On April 10, Pronk announced that he would step down as minister because he felt politically responsible. On April 16, the entire Kok second Cabinet stepped down.  In 2002 the Labour Party lost half its seats; Pronk was re-elected to Parliament, but he refused the position because he wanted new faces to enter Parliament. In December 2002, he became Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau.

Return to the United Nations (2002–2006)

Since 2002 Pronk has held several positions in the United Nations.

In 2002 he came Special UN envoy to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Tokyo. He moderated discussions on water, hygiene, the environment and biodiversity. In 2003 he chaired the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council.

In 2003 he returned to the Institute of Social Studies as professor theory and practice of development cooperation. Pronk still holds several posts in Dutch civil society. In 2004 he came into conflict with minister Verdonk (Migration & Integration), because he characterized the way she sent asylum-seekers out of the country as "deportation".

In June 2004 Pronk was appointed UN Special Representative for Sudan by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan

On September 21, 2006, Pronk asked the warring parties in Darfur, including President Omar al-Bashir and the seven rebel movements, to observe a "month of tranquility" during Ramadan, which would begin September 23, 2006. His implicit call for a ceasefire in the western region of Sudan came after the Khartoum government withdrew its ultimatum for African Union peacekeepers to pull out. Other African states then agreed to extend their mandate until the end of 2006. By Pronk's request, they would finish the collision course, which would mean no fighting, no bombing, no changes of heart. Such a lull would help "create an atmosphere" for a new round of negotiations. The peace deal was "in a coma": not dead but dying. In addition the rejectionist factions should end the quarrel to start talking about everything related to the Darfur peace agreement to improve it.

In mid-October 2006, the army of Sudan accused Pronk of "waging psychological warfare on the armed forces" and demanded his deportation after Pronk published thoughts on army military defeats in his weblog.  On 22 October, the Sudanese government gave Pronk three days' notice to leave the country. He left Sudan the next day (October 23) when UN Secretary General Kofi Annan recalled him to New York for consultations. On October 27 the UN Security Council and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan announce that Pronk will serve out his last months as Special Representative of the Secretary-general in Sudan.

Pronk's story roughly parallels that of Mukesh Kapila, a previous UN employee who was forced to leave Sudan after making critical comments about the Darfur conflict.

Labour Party (2007–2013)
Jan Pronk was a candidate for the election of the chairman of the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA). As a candidate he wanted the party to return to a more leftwing course. He lost the election, between September 16 and September 23, 2007, to Lilianne Ploumen.

On 28 May 2013, Jan Pronk publicly announced he is ending his membership of the Labour Party.

Public perception
During his political life, Pronk was known as principled politician. Prime Minister Kok called him the "Minister for the national conscience". Because he was minister for over 17 years, he came to be known as "minister by profession".

Other positions
Pronk is a member of the Governing Council of Interpeace, an international peacebuilding organization. He is also a supporter of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, an organisation which campaigns for democratic reform in the United Nations, and the creation of a more accountable international political system.

Private life
Pronk is married to Tineke Zuurmond. They have two grown children, a daughter Carin and a son Rochus. In 1984 Pronk gave up alcohol in one day and became an avid runner.

Decorations

Honorary doctorates
Jan Pronk has two honorary degrees and he is member of five chivalric orders. A full list of all his honorary decorations:
Doctor honoris causa (1974), San Marcos University, Peru
Doctor honoris causa (2002), Institute of Social Studies, Netherlands
The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) awarded its Honorary Doctorate to Jan Pronk in 2002.

References

External links
Official

  Prof.Dr. J.P. (Jan) Pronk Parlement & Politiek

1940 births
Living people
Cold War diplomats
Dutch development economists
Dutch anti–nuclear weapons activists
Dutch anti-war activists
Dutch democracy activists
Dutch expatriates in Belgium
Dutch expatriates in France
Dutch expatriates in the United States
Dutch expatriates in Switzerland
Dutch human rights activists
Dutch humanitarians
Dutch lobbyists
Dutch nonprofit directors
Dutch nonprofit executives
Dutch officials of the United Nations
Dutch social justice activists
Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni
Academic staff of Erasmus University Rotterdam
Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians
Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands)
Ministers for Development Cooperation of the Netherlands
Ministers of Defence of the Netherlands
Ministers of Housing and Spatial Planning of the Netherlands
MEPs for the Netherlands 1958–1979
Independent politicians in the Netherlands
International relations scholars
Inter-Governmental Group on Indonesia
Peace and conflict scholars
Protestant Church Christians from the Netherlands
Academic staff of the University of Amsterdam
Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau
Officers of the Legion of Honour
Special Representatives of the Secretary-General of the United Nations
Diplomats from The Hague
20th-century Dutch diplomats
20th-century Dutch economists
20th-century Dutch educators
20th-century Dutch male writers
20th-century Dutch politicians
21st-century Dutch diplomats
21st-century Dutch economists
21st-century Dutch male writers
21st-century Dutch politicians

Jan Pronk


The Pope's Jews: The Vatican's Secret Plan to Save Jews from the Nazis is a 2012 book by the British author Gordon Thomas concerning the efforts of Pope Pius XII to protect Jews during the Nazi Holocaust. The Observer reported in 2013 that "Gordon Thomas, a Protestant, was given access to previously unpublished Vatican documents and tracked down victims, priests and others who had not told their stories before" and had uncovered "evidence on Pius XII's wartime efforts to save Jewish refugees".

The book
The book examines the actions taken by Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church in Italy to protect Jews and escaped Allied Prisoners of War during World War II. According to The Pope's Jews, Pius XII appointed a priest supplied with funds to provide food, clothing and medicine, while more than 4,000 Jews found safety in hidden monasteries and convents in Italy. Catholic priests were told to supply baptism certificates to hundreds of hidden Jews across Italy during the war, and more than 2,000 Jews in Hungary were given Vatican papers identifying them as Catholics, while a Church network rescued German Jews by bringing them to Rome.

Thomas also examines the relationship between the papacy and the diplomatic community situated in Rome and the Vatican, and their relationships with groups such as Rome's Jewish community, the pro-papal Italian aristocracy, local bishops and priests. Other than the Pope himself, Thomas gives accounts of the city's Chief Rabbi, Israel Zolli; the Gestapo Chief Herbert Kappler; the famous Vatican rescuer of Jews and PoWs, Hugh O'Flaherty; the Pope's secretary and housekeeper Sr. Pascalina Lehnert; and the British Ambassador to the Vatican, Sir D'Arcy Osborne.

Critical reception
In a review for The Irish Times, Emeritus Professor of History Peter C. Kent wrote that the book is a "good read" and that Thomas' style is journalistic narrative, which centres on the Pope attempting to lead his Church through the "chaos of war" and "provide humanitarian assistance" to its victims and while "unprepared to challenge the perpetrators of these cruelties, he was concerned that the suffering should be contained and lent his secret support and funding to the work of a variety of people who helped Jews to escape the Holocaust and anti-fascist soldiers and politicians to hide from their pursuers. The pope encouraged the creation of a network to hide the fugitives in church buildings, monasteries and convents in Italy. Thomas writes that the Pope was kept informed by his secretary and his housekeeper of the way the Vatican was able to help people in Rome during this trying time."

In a review for the Jewish Book Council, professor emeritus of history Jack Fischel described the book as "riveting narrative, which reads like a novel rather than a work of scholarship (conversations are recorded without footnoting sources)". Fischel noted that the actions of Pius XII during the war have become one of the more contentious issues in Holocaust historiography, and that Thomas' book adds a further examination of the controversy of whether Pius "by ordering the use of convents and monasteries as sanctuaries for Jews, had done all in his power to confront the Nazi perpetrators of the Holocaust". Fischel wrote that Thomas reveals that the Pope devised a strategy of "silence" in the belief that denunciation would provoke further reprisals against the Jews. Fischel added this assessment of the topic:  "Pius's 'silence,' however, was deafening during the deportation of Rome's Jews (let alone the rest of European Jewry) to Auschwitz and other death camps. Thomas recreates the agony of the Nazi roundup and deportation of Rome's Jews, which took place almost under the pope's window, thus raising the question why he had not warned the Jews that mass extermination was about to happen? The Pope's strategy of silence also does not explain other questions dealing with his response to Hitler's war against the Jews: When it was apparent that the strategy of "silence" was not effective, why didn't the Pope issue an encyclical condemning the Holocaust? Why did he not excommunicate Nazi Catholics, including Hitler and Himmler? Why did the pope's Christmas message both in 1942 and 1943 not address the deportation of the Jews?"

See also
Catholic resistance to Nazism
Catholic Church and Nazi Germany
Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust
Hitler's Pope

References

Further reading
 Thomas, G. (2012). The Pope's Jews: The Vatican's Secret Plan to Save Jews from the Nazis. Thomas Dunne Books. p. 336. .

External links
 Kirkus Review
 Media Spin and The Pope's Jews, Paul O' Shea
 From a Prolific Writer, Review by Hal Sacks

Books about Pope Pius XII
History books about World War II
2012 non-fiction books
Thomas Dunne Books books

The Pope's Jews


Niccolò de' Niccoli (1364 – 22 January 1437) was an Italian Renaissance humanist.

He was born and died in Florence, and was one of the chief figures in the company of learned men which gathered around the patronage of Cosimo de' Medici. Niccoli's chief services to classical literature consisted in his work as a copyist and collator of ancient manuscripts; he corrected the text, introduced divisions into chapters, and made tables of contents.

Achievements
His lack of critical faculty was compensated by his excellent taste; in Greek (of which he knew very little) he had the assistance of Ambrogio Traversari. Many of the most valuable manuscripts in the Laurentian library are by his hand, amongst them those of Lucretius and of twelve comedies of Plautus. The pursuit of ancient manuscripts was a dangerous and expensive task; agents working in the field at the time included Poggio Bracciolini. Thanks to the patronage of Cosimo de' Medici, Niccoli was able to build up his personal library of 800 manuscripts. He was generous with lending out his books since he had multiple copies of several Classical texts. This would be the basis of the library that Cosimo de' Medici built in San Marco.

Niccoli's private library was bettered only by that of Cosimo de' Medici who was the pioneer of the first Florentine public library which was the largest in Europe at that time. Niccoli also possessed a small but valuable collection of ancient works of art, coins and medals. He regarded himself as an infallible critic, and could not bear the slightest contradiction; his quarrels with Francesco Filelfo, Guarino da Verona and especially with Traversari created a great sensation in the learned world at the time.

His hypercritical spirit (according to his enemies, his ignorance of the language) prevented him from writing or speaking in Latin; his sole literary work was a short tract in Italian on Latin Orthography, which he withdrew from circulation after it had been violently attacked by Guarino. His fame as a Latin stylist was extensive, and many authors would submit to him their manuscripts prior to publication for correction; Leonardo Bruni called him the "censor of the Latin tongue".

He is also regarded as the inventor of the cursive script, known today as Italic or Cancelleresca. This came about from his enduring study of ancient manuscripts and the numerous copies he made. Niccoli decided he would vary his copied manuscripts by using tilted lettering and as a result later on, when Italian printers first used Italic type, they chose Niccoli's lettering style.

Niccoli was buried in the Basilica of Santo Spirito in Florence. He was extremely indebted prior to his death, after which Cosimo offered to cover all of his outstanding payments to debtors in exchange for control over his collection of 800 manuscripts valued at around 6,000 florins. He never married, preferring to fill his houses with manuscripts, coins, statuary, vases, and gems.

See also

 Codex Ravennas 429

References

External links

Italian Renaissance humanists
Book and manuscript collectors
1364 births
1437 deaths
15th-century people from the Republic of Florence

Niccolò de' Niccoli


Tavernelle is a small village in the hills of the Lunigiana, at 450 metres (1,480 ft) above sea level. It has a medieval centre with a restaurant, bar and campsite.

The village of Tavernelle belongs to the municipality of Licciana Nardi, in the province of Massa-Carrara in Tuscany, Italy. It is  from the town of Licciana Nardi.

Tavernelle has 154 inhabitants (2008).

Licciana Nardi
Frazioni of the Province of Massa-Carrara

Tavernelle, Licciana Nardi


The Belltower of the Maryborough Fire Station in Maryborough, Victoria was built in 1888, and is important as one of a small group of fire station towers erected in Victoria. It is an example of a rare building type, essential to the nineteenth century city, made redundant by the advent of electric communications.

The design of the brick part of the tower is eclectic, with a wide arched base, battered walls, diagonally placed windows, and an Italianate arcaded belfry. This is topped by a most unusual, very tall timber superstructure.

The Belltower is attached to the fire station which was built in 1861, and now used as the Maryborough Art Gallery.

The belltower is listed on the Register of the National Estate and was classified at the Regional level in 1975 by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria).

References

Fire stations in Victoria (state)
Victorian Heritage Register

Belltower, Maryborough Fire Station


Nashik, also spelled as Nasik is a city in the northwest of Maharashtra State, India. It has 1,620,000 people. Nashik is about  from Mumbai.

Nashik is a district on Maharashtra State. Nashik has 15 Talukas. Following are talukas of nashik.
 Nashik
 Igatpuri
 Sinner
 Deola
 Chandwad
 Malegaon
 Kalwan
 Baglan
 Trimbkeshwar
 Dindori
 Niphad
 Peth
 Surgana
 Yeola
 Nandgaon

Following are important cities in Nashik District
 Lasalgaon
 Deolali Camp
 Saptashrugi Gad
 Manmad

Nashik was previously just a holy place but now it has turned into industrial, educational centre. Due its close location to Mumbai it is developing fast.

Cities in Maharashtra

Nashik


Sir Horatio (Horace) Mann, 2nd Baronet (2 February 1744 – 2 April 1814) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1807. He is remembered as a member of the Hambledon Club in Hampshire and a patron of Kent cricket. He was an occasional player but rarely in first-class matches.

Early life
Mann was the only surviving son of Galfridus Mann, an army clothier, of Boughton Place in Boughton Malherbe, Kent and his wife, Sarah Gregory, daughter of John Gregory of London. He was educated at Charterhouse School and entered Peterhouse, Cambridge in 1760. His father died on 21 December 1756 and he succeeded to his estates at Boughton and Linton. He also inherited over £100,000 from his father. Mann married  Lady Lucy Noel, daughter of Baptist Noel, 4th Earl of Gainsborough, on 13 April 1765.

Cricket

Mann had a number of influential friends including John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset, with whom he shared a keen cricketing rivalry. He owned Boughton Place in Boughton Malherbe and Linton Park in Linton, both near Maidstone, and  later had his family seat at Bourne Park House, near Canterbury. Within its grounds he had his own cricket ground Bourne Paddock which staged many first-class matches in the 1770s and 1780s. He later moved to Dandelion, Kent, near Margate, and established another ground there which was used for some first-class games towards the end of the 18th century.

Mann was a member of the Committee of Noblemen and Gentlemen of Kent, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex and London. He was a member of the committee at The Star and Garter in Pall Mall, which drew up a new revision of the Laws of Cricket on 25 February 1774.

Political career
Mann was nephew of Sir Horace Mann, 1st Baronet who was a British diplomat in Tuscany from 1738 to 1786. He was knighted on 10 June 1772, to act as proxy for his uncle at the installation of the Bath.

Mann's ownership of Linton gave him electoral interest at  Maidstone. At the 1774 general election he contested Maidstone, having deferred a planned journey abroad for his wife's health. He topped the poll and was returned as Member of Parliament for the seat.  In 1775 his uncle made over to him the family estate at Bourne, in return for an annuity.  He did go abroad and after visiting France, Tuscany, and Austria, returned to England in November 1778. From then on he travelled to his uncle in Florence nearly every summer. At the 1780 general election he was again returned for Maidstone at the head of the poll. He  joined Brooks in 1780, and was a member of the St. Alban's Tavern group of country gentlemen who tried to reconcile Fox and Pitt.  He did not stand in the  1784 general election.

Mann was in Florence when his uncle died on 6 November 1786 and succeeded to the baronetcy as second baronet. He acted as chargé d'affaires in Florence for six months. He was angered by the poor recompense he received for his services and returned to Italy in 1788 ostensibly to sort out the financial problems which resulted from running his uncle's establishment.

Mann joined the Whig Club in January 1790 and at the following 1790 general election was elected in a contest as MP for Sandwich.  He was returned unopposed in 1796 and 1802. By this time he was becoming increasingly absent in parliament mainly through ill-health when gout struck him. He avoided a contest and was returned in the 1806 general election, but was defeated in 1807.

Later life and legacy
Mann was described by Samuel Egerton Brydges  as a wild, fickle, rattling man, who made no impression. In 1811 it was said that his estate would have been the largest in Kent but by his extravagance he reduced his income to not more than £4,000 a year. He died on 2 April 1814. He had three daughters, but no son and the baronetcy became extinct. His property went to his nephew James Cornwallis. Cornwallis's father wrote soon after "My son has had a great deal of trouble in consequence of succeeding a person really ruined. The sums Sir Horace expended are beyond all belief, or rather squandered."

Mann is variously called Sir Horatio and Sir Horace in the sources. Horace was used as a diminutive of Horatio so both names can be regarded as correct usage. He was always called Horace in Scores and Biographies, the main source for his cricketing activities.

References

Further reading
 A Dictionary of British and Irish Travellers in Italy, 1701–1800, Compiled from the Brinsley Ford Archive by John Ingamells, Yale, 1997.

1744 births
1814 deaths
People from the Borough of Maidstone
People educated at Charterhouse School
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
British MPs 1774–1780
British MPs 1780–1784
British MPs 1790–1796
British MPs 1796–1800
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
UK MPs 1801–1802
UK MPs 1802–1806
UK MPs 1806–1807
Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain
English cricketers
English cricketers of 1787 to 1825
English cricketers of 1701 to 1786
Kent cricketers
Cricket patrons
People from Boughton Malherbe

Sir Horatio Mann, 2nd Baronet


Military retirement in the United States is a system of benefits designed to improve the quality and retention of personnel recruited to and retained within the United States military. These benefits are technically not a veterans pension, but a retainer payment, as retired service members are eligible to be reactivated. The United States has maintained a military retirement program in one form or another since the mid-1800s. The Blended Retirement System (BRS) is the current iteration of military retirement for the United States Armed Forces. The Blended Retirement System combines the defined-benefit retirement system known as "High-3" with an employer matching supplement. Service members on active duty prior to January 1, 2018 are eligible to continue service under the previous system or may elect to join the BRS. All new recruits to the United States military joining on or after January 1, 2018 will automatically be enrolled in the BRS.

Military retirement prior to World War II
In the years before the Second World War, the retirement systems of the United States military were highly varied between the different branches of service. In 1916, the military instituted new "up or out" policies, forcing the retirement of members who were not selected for promotion in a prescribed amount of time. In conjunction with these reforms, the military began using what has become the "standard" calculation for retirement compensation of 2.5% of base pay, multiplied by years of service, with a maximum payout of 75% of base pay in retirement. For example, a soldier retiring after 25 years of service would be eligible for a payment equal to 62.5% of his base pay at the time of his retirement. This method of calculation has remained ingrained in the military retirement system to present day.

Post-World War II retirement
Since the Second World War, the baseline of military retirement has been the 20-year retirement. Under such a program, service members have been eligible for retirement payments after 20 years of active duty. Service members received a defined benefit payment upon retirement, payable until the death of the beneficiary. The benefit received was calculated using 2.5% of a member's base pay at the time of retirement, multiplied by years of service. This basic calculation would remain in place until after the Vietnam War.

Retirement reforms
Mounting costs led Congress to pursue reforms to the military retirement system during the 1980s. Under the National Defense Authorization Act of 1981, the military moved from calculating retirement benefits based on the "final pay," or base pay on the final day of active service, to the "High-3" system. Under "High-3," the retirement payment of a service member would be based upon the average of the highest 36 months of base pay earned within a career. This allowed the government to reduce payments and realize some savings, without major structural changes to the "twenty year retirement".

Under the Military Retirement Reform Act of 1986, efforts were made to further reduce the burden of military retirement payments by introducing the "REDUX" system. The legislation reduced the multiplier for years of service up to 20 years from 2.5% to 2.0%. As such, a member retiring with 20 years of service would rate a monthly payment equal to 40% of the highest-paid 36 months of service. This represented a 20% drop in compensation from the preceding system. Years of service beyond 20 years applied a multiple of 3.5%, which allowed long-serving members who achieved 30 years of service to continue to receive the maximum 75% of their pay in retirement. This system remained in place until 1999, when President Clinton repealed the "REDUX" system as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2000. This legislation gave service members the option to retain the REDUX system or fall under the old "High-3" model.

Blended Retirement System
After years of fighting the Global War on Terror, the cost of military health care and retirement benefits were growing at a rate defense officials found concerning. In an era in which employers offered fewer traditional pensions, the military provided defined benefit retirement to service members who retired at an average age of 47 and younger, which was viewed by fiscal hawks as overly generous. Additionally, service members who failed to reach the 20-year vesting mark left the service with no accrued benefits, unlike the typical civilian.  As a result, Congress instituted the most comprehensive reforms to military retirement in since World War I.

With the backing of influential Senators such as John McCain, civilian and military leaders created a hybrid retirement system designed to leverage civilian investment vehicles to reduce costs. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 created the "Blended Retirement System" (BRS), which combines a reduced defined benefit with an employer-matched contribution. Under the BRS, service members will still receive a defined benefit retirement payment after 20 years of service, at a reduced multiplier of 2.0% per year of service. The Defense Department contributes 1% of a member's base pay automatically, and will match service member contributions up to 5% of the base salary. These funds are managed within the pre-existing Thrift Savings Plan, and vest after two years of service, allowing separating service members who do not serve a full career to 'roll-over' earned benefits to their next civilian retirement plan. The Department of Defense estimates saving $2 billion per year from these reforms on the $150 billion currently spent on military retirement and healthcare.

References

Retirement in the United States
Military pay and benefits
Military of the United States

Military retirement (United States)


The Harrisonburg Road was an old wagon train road in Louisiana which connected the Natchez Trace to the El Camino Real in Texas. In modern times the route has been called the Natchez Trace on some highway markers and the El Camino Real in other places, but the original name would have been the Harrisonburg Road.

Route
The route ran from the Mississippi Natchez Trace to Harrisonburg to Manifest following the current path of LA 8 turning at Manifest onto the current path of Old Jena Road where it becomes LA 722 at Jena. It then followed US 84 to Trout and then turning at the location of LA 500 running to Ganneyville and then to Georgetown. Crossing US 165, it ran near the current LA 500 to Packton, crossing US 167 and running down what is now a forest service road called the Packton-Alexandria Rd. It went through Five Forks crossing LA 1228 to Atlanta, then ran to Clarence near LA 6 to Natchitoches. It then went to Texas via LA 6 through Robeline and Many . It connected to the El Camino Real.

Markers
Markers exist at Clarence on US 84

Current Political
US 84 has been designated by five state legislatures as part of the El Camino East/West Corridor. The designation was in recognition of its history as a migration route from the Atlantic coast to the present U.S.-Mexico border. The designation is intended to promote the route for both tourism and NAFTA-facilitated trade with Mexico. However the route designated US 84 Is nowhere near the actual path of the Harrisonburg Road as it did not pass through the same towns US 84 passes through. The states involved are asking for federal funds to 4 lane the US 84 El Camino East/West Corridor.

Roads in Texas
Roads in Louisiana

Harrisonburg Road


"The Route of All Evil" is the twelfth episode in the  third season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 44th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 8, 2002. In the episode, Dwight and Cubert form their own delivery company in an attempt to impress their fathers.

Plot
Having been suspended from school for salting the bully Bret Blob (who appears to have the same weakness as slugs), Dwight and Cubert find themselves stuck with their fathers Professor Hubert Farnsworth and Hermes Conrad. They do some annoyances to the staff. Meanwhile, Fry, Leela and Bender brew beer inside Bender, then they treat Bender like an expectant mom. Using Professor Farnsworth's invention that makes anyone sound like him, Dwight and Cubert fool Fry, Leela, and Bender into doing a pizza delivery to Dogdoo 8 at the end of the universe.

One week later, Leela, Fry, and Bender return. Upon breaking Dwight's hand-held game with her hand, Leela states to Cubert and Dwight that if she was their mother, she would "give them a stern talking to by their father when he got home from the Senate". When Professor Farnsworth asks what the boys did, Bender states that they sent them on a fake pizza delivery as Fry states that the address was Dogdoo 8 where the universe actually ends at Dogdoo 7. As Cubert and Dwight claim that Fry and Leela were brewing beer in Bender, Professor Farnsworth and Hermes discipline the boys by ordering them to get jobs. Cubert and Dwight decide to start up a company to rival Planet Express: a paper route.

They become so successful that they take over Planet Express when it is discovered that the Professor was declared legally dead three years ago (he was really taking a nap in a ditch in the park). The name of the company is then changed to the name of the boys' delivery route, 'Awesome Express'. Humiliated, Hermes and the Professor leave Planet Express.

Dwight and Cubert end up taking on too many customers and cannot deliver the papers. In a panic, they run to Hermes and the Professor to solve the problem.  All the papers are successfully delivered; however, as they pass Bret Blob's house the boys admit that they broke his window last week. Hermes and the Professor take the boys to apologize. When Mr. Blob does not accept the apology and insults them, the boys' fathers take offense and start a fight. Blob beats them up.

At the hospital, Mr. Blob apologizes Hermes and the Professor. Bender comes in with his beers to enjoy, and everything ends happily except for Cubert and Dwight who are swallowed by Bret Blob.

Cultural references
 While Bender, Leela and Fry are buying beer near the beginning of the episode, one brand is called Klein's and is in a Klein bottle. One other brand on the shelf is St. Pauli's Exclusion Principle. The brand "Pabst Blue Robot" is a parody on the brand Pabst Blue Ribbon.
 When Dwight and Cubert deliver the paper the first time round, they also deliver one to The Little Prince. He even yells "Au Revoir", after he is shot off his planet by Hermes in the end, referencing to the French origin of the novella.
When Dwight and Cubert are being chased by the dog over the asteroid, an Exogorth comes up from the hole in the asteroid and eats the dog. This is a parody of the Exogorth trying to eat the Millennium Falcon in The Empire Strikes Back.
 Bender's naming ideas for his beer, "Benderbrau" and "Botweiser" are both parodies on the popular alcoholic brands Baderbräu and Budweiser respectively.

Broadcast and reception
In its initial airing, the episode received a Nielsen rating of 2.6/4, placing it 97th among primetime shows for the week of December 2–8, 2002.

References

External links

 The Route of All Evil at The Infosphere.

Futurama (season 3) episodes
2002 American television episodes

The Route of All Evil


Epichorista lindsayi is a species of moth in the family Tortricidae. It is endemic to New Zealand. This species is classified as Nationally Endangered by the Department of Conservation.

Taxonomy
This species was first described by Alfred Philpott in 1928 and named after its collector Stuart Lindsay. Lindsay collected two males of the species at Little River on 29 January 1928. George Vernon Hudson described and illustrated the species in his 1939 publication A supplement to the butterflies and moths of New Zealand. The genus level classification of New Zealand endemic moths within the genus Epichorista is regarded as unsatisfactory and is under revision. As such this species is currently also known as Epichorista (s.l.) lindsayi. The type specimen is held at the Canterbury Museum.

Description

E. lindsayi is very similar in appearance to Eurythecta eremana but can be distinguished by the differences in the venational structure of its wings.

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand. It has only ever been found on the Banks Peninsula.

Habitat
This species occurs in grassy glades dominated by the species Microlaena polynoda in lowland mature podocarp forest.

Biology and life history
This species is a day flying moth.

Host plants
This species is associated with Microlaena polynoda and this plant likely hosts E. lindsayi.

Conservation status
E. lindsayi has been classified under the New Zealand Threat Classification system as being Nationally Endangered.

References

External links

 Image of moth can be found on page 17

Epichorista
Moths described in 1928
Moths of New Zealand
Endemic fauna of New Zealand
Endangered biota of New Zealand
Endemic moths of New Zealand

Epichorista lindsayi


Alice Perrin or Alice Robinson (15 July 1867 – 13 February 1934) was a British novelist who wrote about the British in colonial India. She became successful after the publication of her short ghost story collection East of Suez.

Life
Perrin was born in the hill station of Mussoorie in Anglo-India in 1867. Her parents were Bertha and her second husband John Innes Robinson. Her father would become a Major General in the Bengal Cavalry. and her great grandfather, Sir George Robinson, 1st Baronet had been a director of the East India Company. She was sent to England where she went to school and when she returned she married an engineer named Charles Perrin on 26 May 1886 in Dehra. Once married and after the birth of their only child she took to writing to relieve the boredom of life in India for a British woman. She published a short story titled Caulfield's Crime in the 1892 Belgravia Annual.

Her debut books were Into Temptation and Late in Life which were both two volume novels and published in 1894 and 1896. She would eventually publish seventeen novels.

Her writing became popular after the first of her collections of short ghost stories was published. East of Suez sold well and her writing was compared to Rudyard Kipling where in places Punch considered her writing better.

Perrin wrote about the missionaries in India and she was not enthusiastic about them. The History of British India considers three books significant on missionaries to India. These were The Old Missionary by William Wilson Hunter, The Hosts of the Lord (1900) by Flora Annie Steel and Perrin's 1909 book Idolatry.

Perrin and her husband moved to Switzerland in 1925 and three years later her only child died in London. She died in Vaud in 1934.

Selected works

Into Temptation (1894)
Late in Life (1896)
East of Suez (1901) - anthology of short stories
The Spell of the Jungle (1902)
Idolatory (1909)
The Anglo-Indians (1912)
The Happy Hunting Ground (1914)
Woman in Bazaar (1914)
Star of India (1919)
Government House (1925)

References

External links
 Alice Perrin by Melissa Edmundson

1867 births
1934 deaths
Ghost story writers
People from Mussoorie
19th-century British novelists
20th-century British novelists
British women novelists
20th-century British women writers
19th-century women writers
Writers from British India
British people in colonial India

Alice Perrin


Wesley Stace (born 22 October 1965) is an English folk/pop singer-songwriter and author who has used the stage name John Wesley Harding. Under his legal name, he has written four novels. He is also an occasional university teacher and the curator of Wesley Stace's Cabinet of Wonders.

Early life
Stace was born in Hastings, East Sussex, England, the son of educators Christopher Stace and Molly Townson. His mother was also an opera singer and for many years was the director of the Hastings Musical Festival. His sister, Melanie Stace, is a performing artist. His given name, Wesley, comes from John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, who preached one of his last sermons near the town where Harding was born. As a child, he taught himself how to play guitar and eventually starting writing his own songs as a teenager, citing John Prine, Loudon Wainwright III, and Bob Dylan as influences. His education included the boarding school St. Andrews School (Pangbourne, Berkshire); Milbourne Lodge (Claygate, Surrey); The King's School Canterbury; and university at Jesus College, Cambridge. He left Cambridge with a First in English Literature, but left before completing his PhD in Social and Political Science to pursue a career in music.

Music career
Stace began his musical career using the stage name John Wesley Harding, which he took from the 1967 Bob Dylan album John Wesley Harding, for which Dylan misspelled the outlaw John Wesley Hardin's name, adding a final 'g'. He attracted notice after opening a concert for John Hiatt, leading him to sign with Demon Records, who released his critically acclaimed live album It Happened One Night in 1988. The success of the album led to a record deal with Sire Records, with whom he released Here Comes the Groom in 1990. The album featured members of The Attractions, and this association caused critics to frequently compare Stace to Elvis Costello for much of his career. He released The Name Above the Title and Why We Fight for Sire in 1991 and 1992 respectively, but despite critical acclaim and a strong cult following from his engaging live shows, he was not able to find a larger audience, leading Sire to drop him from the label. He continued to release music as John Wesley Harding throughout the 90s and early 2000s on various independent labels, including the song "I'm Wrong About Everything", featured on the soundtrack for the movie High Fidelity. In 1995, he was chosen by Bruce Springsteen as his first opening act in 20 years for his solo shows at the Berkeley Community Theatre in 1995. In the mid 2000s he took a temporary hiatus from music to focus on his burgeoning writing career, returning in 2009 with Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead, a collaboration with The Minus 5. After 2011's The Sound of His Own Voice, he began releasing music under his given name, the most recent being 2021's Late Style.

"John Wesley Harding's Cabinet of Wonders", his series of variety shows, began in Spring 2009 in New York City at (Le) Poisson Rouge, before moving to City Winery, and has included appearances by Rosanne Cash, Graham Parker, Josh Ritter, Rick Moody, Colson Whitehead, Jonathan Ames, A.C. Newman, Rhett Miller, Steven Page, Eugene Mirman, Kristin Hersh, David Gates, John Roderick, Jon Auer, Tanya Donelly, Martha Plimpton, Todd Barry, Steve Almond, and Stephen Elliott. The spring 2010 series featured, among others, Sarah Vowell, Sondre Lerche, Buffalo Tom, Janeane Garofalo, Robbie Fulks, and Paul Muldoon.  Artists in the series included Andrew Bird, Tift Merritt, and David Wax Museum. Podcasts of the series can be heard on NPR's "Cabinet of Wonders." and recently on Salon.com. Live shows continue in New York City and across the country.

Writing career
In 2005, Stace published his first novel, Misfortune, under his real name, based upon lyrics to his song "Miss Fortune" from his 1998 album Awake. It was nominated for the Guardian First Book Award, and shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the James Tiptree, Jr. Award. Misfortune was also chosen by Amazon.com as one of the Ten Best Novels of 2005, and was one of the Washington Post's Books of the Year. Misfortune, translated as L'infortunée, became a best-seller in France, and has also been translated into many languages including Hebrew, Chinese, and Japanese. The movie rights to "Misfortune" were sold in 2008. His 2005 album Songs of Misfortune comprises songs written for, or appearing in, that book.

His second novel, By George, was published in August 2007; it was one of the New York Public Library's "Books To Remember" of 2007, and Booklist Editor's Choice for books of the year. A third, Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer, was published by Jonathan Cape in the UK in July 2010 and Picador in the United States in February 2011, and was one of the Wall Street Journal's Top Ten Books of the Year. Wonderkid, his fourth novel, followed in 2014. He then worked with choreographer Mark Morris on his memoir Out Loud, which was released in 2019.

Stace has reviewed for the Times Literary Supplement,  The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Other writings include chapbooks for some of his albums, and essays for various music publications from Creem to Raygun. His essay, "Listerine: The Life and Opinions of Laurence Sterne," published in Post Road No. 5, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Personal life
Stace has lived in the United States since 1991. He currently resides in Philadelphia with his wife Abbey, a visual artist. They have two children, Tilda and Wyn. In addition to his writing and music careers, Stace has also taught college courses about creative writing and songwriting at Swarthmore College, Princeton University, and Fairleigh Dickinson University.

In Spring 2013 at Central Connecticut State University, the English Department offered a course dedicated to Stace's songs and novels ("The Allusive John Wesley Harding/Wesley Stace," ENG 214).

Discography

Albums
As John Wesley Harding
 It Happened One Night (1988) (live)
 God Made Me Do It: The Christmas EP (1989)
 Here Comes The Groom (1990)
 The Name Above the Title (1991)
 Why We Fight (1992)
 Pett Levels: The Summer EP (1993)
 John Wesley Harding's New Deal (1996)
 Dynablob (studio outtakes, fan club release, later commercially released) (1996)
 Awake (1998)
 Dynablob 2 (live recordings, fan club release, later commercially released) (1998)
 Trad Arr Jones (a tribute to Nic Jones) (1999)
 Dynablob 3: 26 March 1999 (live, fan club release) (1999)
 The Confessions of St. Ace, Mammoth Records (2000)
 The Man With No Shadow (unreleased, later issued as Adam's Apple with slightly different tracks) (many promotional copies exist) (2002)
 Dynablob 4: Swings & Roundabouts (studio, new material, fan club release) (2002)
 Garden of Eden: The Fall EP (EP) (2003)
 Adam's Apple (2004)
 Songs of Misfortune (as the Love Hall Tryst) (2005)
 Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead (with The Minus Five) (2009)
 John Wesley Harding Sings to a Small Guitar, Volumes I & II (previously unreleased demos) (2010)
 The Sound of His Own Voice (2011)
 * The Man With No Shadow (Record Store Day release) (Combines unreleased version with Adam's Apple) (2020)
As Wesley Stace
 Self-Titled (2013)
 Ovid in Exile (2014) (Record Store Day vinyl only release)
 Wesley Stace's John Wesley Harding (2017)
 Greatest Other People's Hits (Covers compilation) (2018)
 Late Style (2021)

Singles

Contributions
Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson (1990) — "If You Have Ghosts"
20 More Explosive Fantastic Rockin' Mega Smash Hit Explosions!  (1992) – "A Little Bit Country, a Little Bit Rock and Roll" w/ Kelly Hogan
 Live At the Iron Horse Vol. 1 (1997) – "Old Rock N' Roller"
 If I Had a Song: Songs of Pete Seeger Vol. 2  (2001) – "Words, Words, Words"
 Song of America (2007) – "God Save the King"
 Awake, My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp (The Original Soundtrack) (2008) "Columbus", (Help Me to Sing)
 Just Say Da (1990) -  "When the Beatles Hit America"
 Just Say Roe (1994) -  "Right to Choose"
 30 Days, 30 Songs (2016) - "Mr. Tangerine Man [live]"

Bibliography
Misfortune (2005)
By George (2007)
Charles Jessold, Considered As A Murderer (UK – July 2010), (US – Feb 2011)
Wonderkid (2014)
Out Loud (2019) with Mark Morris

References

External links
 Official site
 Wesley Stace's Cabinet of Wonders

1965 births
Living people
Singers from Brooklyn
English folk musicians
English male singer-songwriters
English singer-songwriters
21st-century English novelists
British expatriates in the United States
Sire Records artists
Musicians from Hastings
People educated at The King's School, Canterbury
Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge
English folk singers
Musicians from Kent
English male novelists
21st-century English male writers

John Wesley Harding (singer)


Murchad mac Máele Dúin (flourished 819–833) was a King of Ailech and head of the Cenél nEógain branch of the northern Uí Néill. He was the son of Máel Dúin mac Áedo Alláin (died 788), a previous king and grandson of Áed Allán (died 743), a high king of Ireland. He ruled from 819–823.

He succeeded to the throne of Ailech upon the death of his cousin, the high king Áed Oirdnide in 819. However the high kingship passed back to the Clann Cholmáin of the southern Ui Neill in the person of Conchobar mac Donnchada (died 833). Murchad meanwhile had to deal with a challenge for supremacy among the northern Ui Neill. In 819 he defeated Máel Bresail mac Murchada of the rival Cenél Conaill who was slain in the skirmish.

In 820 Murchad made a bid for the high kingship and led a hosting of the northern Uí Néill to Druim ind Eich (near modern Dublin) while Conchobor with the southern Uí Néill and the Laigin moved northwards. However no battle ensued. In 822 Murchad made another bid for the high kingship and advanced with the men of the north to Ard Brecáin (County Meath). The men of Brega led by Diarmait mac Néill (died 826) of the Uí Chernaig sept of Síl nÁedo Sláine then went over secretly to Murchad and submitted to him at Druim Fergusa. Conchobor son of Donnchad invaded Brega and camped at Gualu. He invaded southern Brega again and a vast number of the men of southern Brega fell by him, and the Uí Chernaig submitted under compulsion. Murchad had Cumuscach son of Tuathal, king of Ard Ciannachta assassinated in 822 probably in retaliation for his failure.

In 823 Murchad's failures led to his deposition by his second cousin Niall Caille (died 846). Murchad seems to have accepted his fate and he is last heard of cooperating with Niall in routing out the Vikings in Daire Calgaig (Derry) in 833.

Murchad may have had a Norse wife and the genealogies name Erulb as his son which corresponds to old Norse Herulfr. Another son Ruadrí was father of Birn, ancestor of Clann Birn (or Muinter Birn) in the barony of Dungannon, County Tyrone.

Notes

References

 Annals of Ulster at  at University College Cork
 Charles-Edwards, T. M. (2000), Early Christian Ireland, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
 Ó Cróinín, Dáibhí (2005), A New History of Ireland, Volume One, Oxford: Oxford University Press

External links
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork

8th-century births
9th-century deaths
Kings of Ailech
9th-century Irish monarchs

Murchad mac Máele Dúin


The 560th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, based at the Cumming Regional Readiness Center in Cumming, Georgia, was a major command of the Georgia Army National Guard. It was organized as the first battlefield surveillance brigade in the Army National Guard.

Overview
Since its inception on 1 October 2007, the brigade's mission has been to provide command and control of reconnaissance, surveillance, and intelligence operations in support of a division, corps or joint task force. The headquarters provides command, control and supervision of the tactical operations of the brigade and attached units, while the headquarters company provides unit administration and logistical support for the brigade staff sections. The 560th is authorized an estimated 1,100 soldiers with which to carry out that mission.

In October 2010, the 560th BFSB changed command for the first time since its formation, with Colonel Peter VanAmburgh relinquishing full-time command of the 560th to Colonel Thomas Carden, JFHQ's former military personnel officer.

An article in the June 15, 2016 edition of the Forsyth County News noted that the 506th BfSB was inactivated in a ceremony held on June 11 "at the Cumming Regional Readiness Center, where the unit had operated since the center opened in 2013. The 3d Battalion, 121st Infantry will now use the center."

Commanders
2007-2010 Colonel Peter VanAmburgh

2010–2013 Colonel Thomas Carden

2013–2015 Colonel Raymond D. "Boz" Bossert Jr.

2015-2016 Colonel Jeffery Dickerson

Accomplishments

 October 2007 became the first BFSB to organize in the army
 In 2008 conducted first BFSB capability exercise (CAPEX0 at Fort Knox with 560th BFSB members leading doctrine development.
 In 2008 conducted the army's first bilateral task force operation using a BFSB - see Northwind 2008 in Japan http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/call/call_10-06.pdf
 in 2010 conducted the army's first joint and coalition task force operation using a BFSB - see Natural Fire 10 in Uganda http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/call/docs/10-51/ch_2.asp
 In 2010 all units of the 560th BFSB were federally recognized
 Dedication of Blair Drop Zone at Catoosa Training Area in honor of 1st Sgt. John Blair
 Taught the first intelligence officer basic courses in Rwanda and the country of Georgia
 Conducted airborne operations every quarter
 Opened language training center at Clay National Guard Center in June, 2010 and taught 12 classes
 Conducted five iterations of pre-deployment training at Fort Stewart, GA, over a five-month period in preparation for overseas operations.
 The October and November 2011 XCTC rotation was the first exercise to conduct classified operations, to include a classified command post exercise (CPX).
 The October and November 2011 XCTC rotation was the first XCTC exercise to use active component observer controllers. This was also the first exercise where national guard, active duty, and reserve soldiers and military intelligence subject matter experts (SMEs) worked together to evaluate national guard soldiers in preparation for deployment.

Exercises
The 560 BFSB has been involved in a number of exercises since its inception.

Northwind 2008
During the period of 27 Feb–18 Mar 2008, the 560th BFSB sent a command and control (C2) cell to participate in U.S. Army Japan Exercise North Wind 2008. The operation was a bilateral field training exercise with active army and ARNG soldiers training with the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF). The 560th BFSB exercised overall command and acted as the higher headquarters for the exercise and the brigade response cell for the staff exercise and collective training. The units involved included the 35th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion; 1-297th Infantry (Alaska ARNG); various ARNG soldiers from California, Florida, and Nebraska; and the 5th Regiment/9th DIV, JGSDF. North Wind 2008 was held in the Iwatesan training area in a remote and mountainous part of north Japan. This was the first known U.S. Army exercise to employ a BFSB as a higher headquarters and as part of a bilateral operation.

Natural Fire 2010
In October 2009, the 560 BFSB participated in Exercise Natural Fire 10, a 13-day exercise oriented on conducting a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise from 16 – 25 OCT 09 in the Republic of Uganda in order to enhance interoperability and the capability to respond to complex humanitarian emergencies. The exercise consisted of three events: a table top exercise (TTX) focused on pandemic influenza response, senior manager disaster response, and multinational involvement; a field training exercise (FTX) consisting of area security, entry control point, vehicle control point, convoy security, non lethal weapons, and weapons training; and a humanitarian civic action (HCA) focused on providing medical and dental assistance to the local population. During the exercise, the BFSB – as part of Task Force Kitgum – performed command and control operations in Kitgum, Uganda, in order to synchronize multinational forces conducting field training exercises and humanitarian civic assistance operations to enhance interoperability among participating forces. the 560 BFSB served as a joint and multinational task force headquarters of over 1000 army, navy, air force, marines and personnel from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. This was the largest exercise of its kind in East Africa and the first test of a BFSB as a joint and multinational HQs.

Yama Sakura 57
In 30 Nov - 13 Dec 2009, 560 BFSB soldiers traveled to Kumamoto, Japan, and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, to participate in Yama Sakura 59 – an annual bilateral joint training exercise intended to strengthen the working relationship and combat readiness of the two nations – alongside the Japan Self Defense Force and other U.S. military forces. The simulation-based command post exercise underscores the United States' commitment to Japan's defense in accordance with a mutual defense treaty that was implemented in 1951 and revised in 1960. Yama Sakura was held first in 1982.

KFOR 13
In April 2010, 221 MI mobilized and deployed 32 soldiers as the KFOR 13 Analytical Control Element (ACE) in support of Multinational Division - East located at Camp Bondsteel.

Mulberry Tree 2010
In July and August 2010, a contingent of 100 soldiers from the 51st Scottish Brigade participated in 3-108 Cav's annual training at Camp Merrill and the Catoosa Training Area in the North Georgia Mountains. Training consisted of military operations in urban terrain, weapons familiarization and firing, drivers training, airborne operations and a wing exchange, and the Combat Tracker MTT.

Prickly Pear 2010
In August and September 2010, 3-108 CAV participated in Operation Prickly Pear in Scotland, a 14-day training exchange between the 3-108 CAV (Task Force Recce) and the 51st Scottish Brigade, consisting of weapons training, live fire training, field craft, patrolling, and platoon and below maneuver training. Training was conducted in the Otterburn Training Area and the Kirkcudbright Training Area.

MDMP training
In May 2010 and December 2010, soldiers of the 560th worked specifically with the Ugandan army to set up a military decision making process (MDMP) training event. The idea was to familiarize the Ugandans with U.S. Army Light Infantry MDMP at the tactical battalion level. Uganda's military is highly interested in understanding how the American Army conducts the MDMP based on their operational lessons learned in both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia. The seminar assisted the process by establishing a basic understanding of roles and responsibilities of a light infantry battalion staff in the MDMP process, MDMP timelines and sequence of events, products or deliverables, and an understanding of how this product aids the field commander. This, in turn, set the foundation for a follow-on MDMP, which will familiarize the Ugandan army with the light infantry decision making process at the brigade level. Such training events also help the U.S. by enhancing awareness in the U.S. military of Ugandan infantry battalion practices, thereby improving interoperability. They also elicit lessons learned from the audience's peacekeeping operations.

KFOR 14
In December 2010, 221 MI mobilized and deployed 32 soldiers as the KFOR 14 Analytical Control Element (ACE) in support of Multinational Division - East located at Camp Bondsteel.

Eurosatory 2010
In June 2010, soldiers from the 560 BFSB participated as liaison officers for senior DOD personnel who attended the 2010 Eurosatory International Land, Airland, and Homeland Defense Exhibition, a U.S. Embassy supported Office of Defense Cooperation joint, combined, and multinational event held in Paris, France.

Yama Sakura 59
In January 2011, 28 soldiers from the 560 BFSB traveled to Kumamoto, Japan to participate in Yama Sakura 59. Exercise Yama Sakura is an annual command post exercise (CPX) that continues to further strengthen the national security interests of Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. The largest bilateral engagement event USARJ facilitates and is the Japan Ground Self Defense Force's (JGSDF) most important bilateral exercise. Particular gains achieved in Yama Sakura are the opportunity  to exchange ideas on force structure, doctrine, and  equipment with counterparts through: practical and realistic warfighting training in command and staff activities through the use of simulations; and continued improvement of bilateral interoperability. Yama Sakura also contributes to the success of  future CPXs by providing opportunities for training and observation by other JGSDF armies. The CPX also enhances the operational readiness of U.S. forces stationed in or destined for Japan.

Atlas Drop 11
In April 2011, the 560th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade were part of a team of guardsmen and airmen who had been training and living together in the bush north of Soroti as part of Atlas Drop 11. The training conducted during the iteration of the annual exercise, sponsored by U.S. Army Africa, sought to increase the capability of both Uganda People's Defence Force and U.S. forces to resupply soldiers operating in remote areas. After completion, all military operations and training exercises were assessed to determine the successes and failures within the mission.

KFOR 15
In August 2011, 221 MI mobilized and deployed soldiers as the KFOR 15 Analytical Control Element (ACE) in support of Multinational Division - East located at Camp Bondsteel.

KFOR 15
In October 2011, 3-108 CAV mobilized and deployed soldiers as the KFOR 15 Tactical Maneuver Force in support of Multinational Division - East located at Camp Bondsteel and Camp Novo Selo.

GTST 2
In January 2012,  soldiers from the 560 BFSB deployed to the Republic of Georgia to support the Georgian training mission with maintenance, medical, and communications instructors. The soldiers were deployed for a period of six months.

Eurosatory 2012
In June 2012, soldiers from the 560 BFSB participated as liaison officers for senior DOD personnel who attended the 2010 Eurosatory International Land, Airland, and Homeland Defense Exhibition, a U.S. Embassy supported Office of Defense Cooperation joint, combined, and multinational event held in Paris, France.

GTST 3
In August 2012, soldiers from the 560 BFSB deployed to the Republic of Georgia to support the Georgian training mission with maintenance, medical, and communications instructors. Additionally, personnel served as the camp commandant. The soldiers were deployed for a period of 12 months.

Units
221st Military Intelligence Battalion, Gillem Enclave, Forest Park, Georgia.
3rd Squadron, 108th Cavalry, Atlanta Readiness Center, Atlanta, Georgia.
165th Quartermaster Company, Clay National Guard Center, Marietta, Georgia.
230th Brigade Support Company, Cumming Regional Readiness Center, Cumming, Georgia.
420th Network Signal Company, Cumming Regional Readiness Center, Cumming, Georgia.
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 560 BFSB, Cumming Regional Readiness Center, Cumming, Georgia.

References

External links
 Georgia Department of Defense Official Website
 3-108 Cav participates in Leap Fest 2011
 560th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade Flickr
 SSG Mondaca becomes a US Citizen
 Atlas Drop 2011
 560th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade Facebook

Battlefield surveillance brigades of the United States Army
Military units and formations established in 2007
Military units and formations disestablished in 2016

560th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (United States)


Attavyros () is a former municipality on the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it is a municipal unit.

Geography
The population is 2,433 (2011 census); the land area is 234.350 km². It is the westernmost municipal unit on the island, occupying the central portion of its western coast. The seat of the municipality was in Emponas (pop. 1,061). Its largest other towns are Ágios Isídoros (355) and Kritinia (454). In land area it is the second-largest municipal unit on Rhodes and the second-least densely populated, after South Rhodes (Notia Rodos).

The municipal unit is composed by five communities:

Gallery

References

External links

Populated places in Rhodes

Attavyros (municipality)


The Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin, also known as St Mary the Virgin Church and St Mary's Church, is the Church of England parish church of Sompting in the Adur district of West Sussex. It stands on a rural lane north of the urban area that now surrounds the village, and retains much 11th- and 12th-century structure. Its most important architectural feature is the Saxon tower topped by a Rhenish helm, a four-sided pyramid-style gabled cap that is uncommon in England. English Heritage lists the church at Grade I for its architecture and history.

History

Settlement of the area now covered by Sompting began in the Bronze Age and continued through the Iron Age and into the Roman era. By the 11th century, two distinct villages had formed: Sompting, based on the main east–west trackway from the cathedral city of Chichester to Brighton, and Cokeham to the south (later subdivided into Upper Cokeham and Lower Cokeham). At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 they were separate manors, but were both held on behalf of William de Braose, 1st Lord of Bramber.

There was a church on the site of the present building by the early 11th century, and some structural elements remain from that era. William de Braose held the advowson at the time of the Domesday survey, but in 1154 his grandson William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber passed it to the Knights Templar, who made many structural changes.  They widened the church by rebuilding the nave and chancel to the same width as the Saxon-era tower. In about 1180, they erected a large chapel—effectively a separate church in its own right until the 19th century, when an arch linked it to the nave and made it a de facto south transept. At the same time, they added a north transept with an aisle and two chapels. They also paid for a vicar and his accommodation.

After the Knights Templar were emasculated in 1307, Pope Clement V conveyed ownership of the church to the Knights Hospitaller, another religious order, in 1324. They extended the nave on the northwest side—forming a chapel which had openings into the nave and the tower— built a porch on the south side and carried out work on the nave walls. Although the advowson later passed out of the Knights' control, it was restored to the order in 1963 by Major G. H. Tristram.  They had been dissolved in 1538 but were re-established in 1831 as the Venerable Order of Saint John and later founded the St. John Ambulance organisation.

The church fell into decay during the 18th century, when the living was poor and the villages of Sompting and Cokeham still supported only a small population.  Repairs in the 1720s and 1760s were not enough, and two bells had to be sold to pay for proper repairs in 1791. Richard Cromwell Carpenter undertook more restoration in 1853: this included re-roofing the church and replacing the shinglework on the spire, rebuilding the Knights Templars' chapel into a south transept, improving the aisle in the north transept and cleaning the stonework.

The tower is the most important feature of the church and is known nationally and internationally as an exemplar of Saxon architecture—although recent analysis suggests that its upper stage may have been renewed in early Norman times to an identical design. The spire—a design known as the Rhenish helm because of its prevalence in the Rhineland area of Germany—is unique in England. The design comprises a cap of four shingled gables rising steeply in a pyramid formation.

Architecture

The church is a flint building with dressings of Caen stone and a slate roof.  The tower, at the west end, incorporates some reused Roman-era brickwork, and was built in two parts; it assumed its current appearance by the end of the 11th century. The "elegant" structure has stone pilasters at each corner, but lacks buttresses. The tower arch dates from the Saxon period and is offset; an altar would originally have stood next to it. The base of the tower may have served as the original entrance porch.

The nave and chancel form a single entity: they are not demarcated by a chancel arch. They were widened in the 12th century (without the addition of aisles) to the same width as the tower. Masonry from the walls of the original nave is believed to have been incorporated in the rebuilt walls. The north transept has an aisle of two bays, intricate rib vaulting and small bosses. The aisle has circular piers with square abaci and delicate capitals. The south transept—formerly the separate chapel of the Knights Templar—is linked to the rest of the church by a 19th-century arch and doorway. The chapel, built at a lower level than the church, is rib-vaulted and has a series of foliated capitals in a style similar to the Corinthian.

Remnants of Saxon- and Norman-era sculpture can still be seen in the church. In the south transept, near the 12th-century font, is a carved abbot in good condition. A 13th-century Christ in Majesty incorporates older decorative stonework.  Some frieze-work is visible on the chancel wall.

The church today

The Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin was listed at Grade I by English Heritage on 12 October 1954. Such buildings are defined as being of "exceptional interest" and greater than national importance. As of February 2001, it was one of seven Grade I listed buildings, and 119 listed buildings of all grades, in Adur district. The Sompting headmistress, Harriet Finlay-Johnson, who became known for her innovative education was buried in the churchyard in 1956.

The parish covers Sompting village and the surrounding urban area, as far as the boundaries with Lancing and Worthing; it also extends a long way to the north on to the southern slopes of the South Downs.  The eastern boundary is formed by Boundstone Lane and Upper Boundstone Lane in Lancing, while the western boundary is Charmandean Lane on the edge of the Worthing built-up area.  The parish covers . St Peter the Apostle's Church, a modern brick building in the Lower Cokeham area of Sompting, is within the parish.  It was consecrated in 1966 and serves as a multi-purpose church hall as well as a place of worship.

There is a service at St. Mary's at 9am on the third Sunday of each month, as well as a 5pm Evensong on any fifth Sundays of the month. St. Mary's is open for visitors on Tuesday mornings each week. The Church also holds a festival in August of each year. One the first, second and fourth Sundays of the month there is a 9am service at the church of St. Peter's Sompting.

See also
List of places of worship in Adur
List of works by R. C. Carpenter

References

Notes

Bibliography

11th-century church buildings in England
Church of England church buildings in West Sussex
Grade I listed churches in West Sussex
Adur District
Standing Anglo-Saxon churches

Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin, Sompting