Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai (15 September 1909 – 3 February 1969), popularly known as Anna, also known as Perarignar Anna (Anna, the scholar or Elder Brother), was an Indian politician who served as the fourth and last Chief Minister of Madras State from 1967 until 1969 and first Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for 20 days (after Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu) before his death. He was the first member of a Dravidian party to hold either post.

He was well known for his oratorical skills and was an acclaimed writer in the Tamil language. He scripted and acted in several plays. Some of his plays were later made into movies. He was the first politician from the Dravidian parties to use Tamil cinema extensively for political propaganda. Born in a middle-class family, he first worked as a school teacher, then moved into the political scene of the Madras Presidency as a journalist. He edited several political journals and enrolled as a member of the Dravidar Kazhagam. As an ardent follower of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, he rose in stature as a prominent member of the party.

Due to differences looming with Periyar, on issues of separate independent state of Dravida Nadu and union with India, he crossed swords with his political mentor. The friction between the two finally erupted when Periyar married Maniammai, who was much younger than him. Angered by this action of Periyar, Annadurai with his supporters parted from Dravidar Kazhagam and launched his own party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The DMK initially followed the same ideologies as its parent, Dravidar Kazhagam. But with the evolution of national politics and the constitution of India after the Sino-Indian War in 1962, Annadurai dropped the claim for an independent Dravida Nadu. Various protests against the ruling Congress government took him to prison on several occasions; the last of which was during the Madras anti-Hindi agitation of 1965. The agitation itself helped Annadurai to gain popular support for his party. His party won a landslide victory in the 1967 state elections. His cabinet was the youngest at that time in India. He legalised Self-Respect marriages, enforced a two-language policy (in preference to the three-language formula in other southern states), implemented subsidies for rice, and renamed Madras State to Tamil Nadu.

However, he died of cancer just two years into office. His funeral had the highest attendance of any to that date. Several institutions and organisations are named after him. A splinter party launched by M. G. Ramachandran in 1972 was named after him as All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

Early life
Annadurai was born in a Tamil Sengunthar family on 15 September 1909 in Conjeevaram, Madras Presidency, in a lower-middle-class family. His father Natarajan Mudaliar was a weaver and his mother was Bangaru Ammal. He was raised by her sister Rajamani Ammal.

At the age of 21, he married Rani while he was still a student. The couple had no children of their own, so they later adopted and raised Rajamani's grandchildren. He attended Pachaiyappa's High School, but left school to work as a clerk in the town's Municipal office to assist with the family finances.

In 1934, he graduated with a B.A. degree from Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai. He then earned an MA degree in economics and politics from the same college. He worked as an English teacher in Pachaiyappa High School. Later he quit the teaching job and began involving himself in journalism and he served as an editor in few weekly magazine and then he indulged into politics.

Religion
Though Annadurai was an atheist in his personal life as he took oath as the Chief Minister of the state in the 'name of conscience' rather than in the 'name of god', he proclaimed as "Only one race, Only one God" (Ondre Kulam Oruvanae Devan) from tamil work Thirumanthiram penned by Thirumoolar in order to unify the people of Tamil Nadu. Though secular to the core, he later described himself as a Hindu sans the sacred ash, a Christian minus the holy cross, and a Muslim without the prayer cap.

Annadurai would attack superstitions and religious exploitation but would never fight against the spiritual values of society. He once explained his stance towards God and religion as "I do not break coconuts for Pillaiyar, (a form of worship) neither do I break his idols." (Nan Thengayum udaipathillai; Pillaiyarum Udaipathillai)

Entry into politics

Annadurai's interest in politics made him join the Justice party in 1935. The Justice party was formed by non-Brahmin elites in 1917.
The Justice party originated with the Madras United League which was initially started as a work group that helped non-Brahmin students in Madras with accommodation and later grew into a political party under the efforts of leaders like C. Natesa Mudaliar, Sir Pitti Theagaroya Chetty and Dr. T. M. Nair. The party was named South Indian Liberal Federation (S. I. L. F.) – popularly known as Justice party. The party had been in power in Madras Presidency since self-governance was introduced in 1920, until it was defeated by the Indian National Congress in 1937. By the time Annadurai joined the Justice party, Periyar E. V. Ramasami was the party president. Annadurai served as the sub-editor of the Justice magazine. He later became the editor for Viduthalai (Freedom in English) and was also associated with the Tamil weekly paper, Kudi Arasu. He started his own journal Dravida Nadu (named after the Dravida Nadu –  an independent state that the party called for).  In 1944, Periyar renamed the Justice party to Dravidar Kazhagam and gave up contesting in the elections.

Differences with Periyar and birth of DMK

The Indian National Congress, which had been fighting for the independence of India from colonial British rule, was dominated by Brahmins. Periyar assumed that independent India would bring South Indians, especially Tamils, under the dominance of Brahmins and North Indians.
For these reasons Periyar called for 15 August 1947, the day of Indian independence, to be a day of mourning.
Annadurai opposed this move and the schism between his supporters and Periyar widened. He saw the gaining of independence as an overall achievement of India rather than solely that of Aryan North. Moreover, Periyar's decision on giving up participating in democratic elections was also opposed by Annadurai, in reaction to which he walked out of a party meeting in 1948. Periyar considered that candidates in elections must compromise their ideologies. Moreover, it was Periyar's idea that social reformation can be better achieved outside politics, through education and canvassing the masses, rather than governments. Eventually, when Periyar married Maniammai, who was 40 years younger than he, the personal differences between Annadurai and Periyar split their supporters. Annadurai launched his own party with his party fragment, along with E. V. K. Sampath (Periyar's nephew and until then considered his political heir). The new party was named Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. DMK's presence was initially restricted to urban centres and its surrounding areas. But by appealing to the urban lower, lower middle and working classes, students, Dalits and lower castes, Annadurai was able to accelerate its growth and spread. He fought for the social justice of the lower castes and thus rapidly gained popular support.

Protests in 1953
In 1953, Annadurai directed the DMK to undertake three protests:

 Condemning Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India, for describing the damaging Hindi letters in railway station boards by DK and DMK activists as "childish nonsense"
 Against C. Rajagopalachari (or Rajaji), the then chief minister of Madras State, for introducing a new educational system that indirectly encouraged traditional caste-based occupations called Kula Kalvi Thittam
 Against renaming Kallakkudi, Dalmiyapuram as the name Dalmiyapuram symbolised north Indian domination. He was eventually sentenced to three months imprisonment in this protest.

Dravida Nadu

During his days in Dravida Kazhagam, Annadurai had supported Periyar's call for an independent Dravida Nadu. The claim for such an independent state stayed alive in the initial days of DMK. E. V. K. Sampath, who had earlier forfeited his inheritance from Periyar to join DMK, saw the call for Dravida Nadu as an unrealistic goal. Responding to Sampath's concern, Annadurai said

Sampath's opposition to using film stars made him cross swords with many other members of the party. Eventually, with looming differences with Annadurai and other leaders on Dravida Nadu, Sampath left the DMK and formed his own party, the Tamil Nationalist Party, in 1961. In 1962, Annadurai said in the Rajya Sabha that Dravidians want the right of self-determination ... We want a separate country for southern India.

However, the reorganisation of states in India on linguistic basis removed Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam speaking regions from the Madras Presidency leaving behind a predominantly Tamil Madras State. Giving in to realities, Annadurai and his DMK changed the call of independent Dravida Nadu for Dravidians to independent Tamil Nadu for Tamils. Annadurai felt that remaining in the Indian Union meant accepting linguistic domination and economic backwardness. Nevertheless, the Sino-Indian war brought about changes in the Indian constitution. The Sixteenth Amendment (most popularly known as the Anti-Secessionist Amendment) banned any party with sectarian principles from participating in elections. When this amendment was presented in the Parliament of India, Annadurai was one of its members. He vehemently debated against the amendment, but eventually could not stop it from being passed. Faced with the new constitutional changes, Annadurai and his DMK left the call for an independent Tamil homeland on the back burner.
From then on Annadurai and his DMK aimed at achieving better co-operation between the southern states and claimed more autonomy for Tamil Nadu.
On the party's position, Annadurai said

Anti-Hindi agitations
Hindi was first recommended to be an apt language for official purposes in India by a committee headed by Motilal Nehru in 1928. This move was opposed by people and politicians of Tamil Nadu, since they considered that it would make them second class citizens when compared to that of native Hindi speaking North Indians.

Protests of 1938
In 1938, the Congress government in Madras Presidency headed by C. Rajagopalachari (popularly known as Rajaji) proposed the use of Hindi language as a compulsory language in schools. This move was opposed by Tamil leaders. Annadurai, along with other Tamil scholars including the poet Bharathidasan, held demonstrations. Annadurai participated in the first Anti Hindi imposition conference held in Kanchipuram on 27 February 1938. Two members of the protest, Thalamuthu and Natarajan, died as a consequence of police beating the same year. With overwhelming opposition, the government of Madras Presidency finally withdrew the order in 1940. he stated that "you learn English for world communication and learn Hindi for communication in India, it seems like big door for big cat and small door for small cat, why not let the small cat also enter in big door".

Madras Anti Hindi agitation, 1965

When India became a republic with its own constitution in 1950, the constitution had given special status to the Hindi language, which was to gain official status after 15 years in 1965. This move was regarded with anxiety by students in Tamil Nadu. Speaking of making Hindi as official language of India, Annadurai said It is claimed that Hindi should be the common language because it is spoken by the majority. Why should we then claim the tiger as our national animal instead of the rat which is so much more numerous? Or the peacock as our national bird when the crow is ubiquitous?. In view of continued threat to impose Hindi, the DMK held an open-air conference against Hindi imposition at Kodambakkam, Chennai in August 1960, which Annadurai presided over. He gave black flags to leading functionaries, to be shown to the President of India during his visit to the state. Sensing an uprising, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru assured in the Parliament that English would continue to be the official language of India, as long as non-Hindi speaking people desire. DMK gave up the plan of showing black flags and Annadurai appealed to the Union Government to bring about a constitutional amendment incorporating the assurance.

With no constitutional amendment done, Annadurai declared 26 January 1965, the 15th Republic Day of India and also the day the Constitution, which in essence enshrined Hindi as the official language of India, came into practice, as a day of mourning. This move was opposed by the then Chief Minister of Madras State, Bhakthavatchalam, as blasphemous. Hence Annadurai, who by then had been trying to shake off the secessionist image of his party, declared 24 January as a day of mourning. He also replaced the slogan of the protests to Down with Hindi; Long live the Republic. Nevertheless, violence broke out on 26 January, initially in Madurai which within days spread throughout the state. Robert Hardgrave Jr, professor of humanities, government and Asian studies, suggests that the elements contributing to the riots were not instigated by DMK or Leftists or even the industrialists, as the Congress government of the state suggested, but were genuine frustrations and discontentment which lay beneath the surface of the people of the state.

With violence surging, Annadurai asked the students to forfeit the protests, but some DMK leaders like Karunanidhi kept the agitations going. Nevertheless, Annadurai was arrested for instigating the agitation. Although the violence were not directly instigated by the DMK, the agitation itself aided DMK to win the 1967 elections and Annadurai became the new Chief Minister of Madras State.

Literary contributions

Annadurai was known as one of the best Tamil orators during his time. He developed a style in Tamil public speaking using metaphors and pleasing alliterations, both in spoken and written language. Anna was also best known for his extempore speaking ability being very well affluent on rhetoric skills.

He has published several novels, short stories and plays which incorporate political themes. He himself acted in some of his plays during his time in the Dravidar Kazhagam.
He introduced movie media as a major organ for propaganda of Dravidian politics. In total Annadurai scripted six screen plays.

His first movie Nallathambi (Good Brother, 1948) which starred N. S. Krishnan promoted cooperative farming and abolition of zamindari system. His novels such as Velaikaari (Servant Maid, 1949) and Or Iravu, which were later made into movies, carried the hallmarks of propaganda for Dravidian politics. On Velaikari, Annadurai said that the movie
Velaikari made direct references against the suppressive landlords who were traditionally allied with Jawaharlal Nehru and Gandhi. His movies had some elements of Dravidian political ideologies like anti-Brahminism and messages differing against Congress with detailed reasons and scenarios behind. Popular stage and cine actors who stood by Anna in early years were D. V. Narayanasamy, K. R. Ramasamy, N. S. Krishnan, S. S. Rajendran, Sivaji Ganesan and M. G. Ramachandran.

Some of his books had a social approach and its content were debatable, such as "Arya Mayai" (Aryan Illusion) in which he highlighted the view point of bringing an equal living society regardless of any caste dominance and especially drawing similarities which existed by then of the upper-caste Brahmin (Aryan) people. He was fined INR 700 for sedition and was also sent to prison.

Some of his well-known works are his books Annavin Sattasabai Sorpolivukal (Anna's speeches at the state legislative, 1960), Ilatchiya varalaru (History of Ideals, 1948), Valkkaip puyal (Storm of life, 1948) and Rankon rata (Radha from Rangon). His work Kambarasam criticises Ramayana of Kamban. His works of fiction such as Kapothipura kathal (Love in the city of Blind), Parvathy B.A., Kalinga rani (Queen of Kalinga) and Pavayin payanam (Travels of a young lady) carried elements of political propaganda.

At times when Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was extensively using movies for its propaganda, censorship crippled the process. To evade censorships, DMK movies used Annadurai's popular nickname Anna, which also means elder brother in Tamil, as a pun. When praises were bestowed on the Anna on screen, the crowd would break into applause. Kannadasan has criticised Anna's works that apart from Sivaji Kanda Hindu Rajyam and Needhi Devan Mayakkam, the rest lacked even a plot

Posts held
The provincial conference of the DMK was held at Tiruchirappalli in May 1956. Annadurai stepped down from the General Secretaryship of the party, and Nedunchezhian was elected to that position. It was at the Tiruchirappalli conference that the party decided to contest free India's second general elections which were to be held in 1957. The DMK secured 15 Assembly seats and two parliamentary seats. Anna was elected from his home constituency, Kanchipuram for the first time to the Madras Legislative Assembly. In that election, the DMK won 15 seats and Annadurai became the leader of the opposition in the state. In 1962, the DMK emerged as the major political party in the state outside the Congress, winning 50 seats in the Assembly. Although Annadurai himself lost the elections, he was nominated as a member of parliament to the upper house (Rajya Sabha).

As chief minister
In 1967, the Congress lost nine states to opposition parties, but it was only in Madras state that a single non-Congress party majority was achieved. The electoral victory of 1967 is also reputed to an electoral fusion among the non-Congress parties to avoid a split in the Opposition votes. Rajagopalachari, a former senior leader of the Congress party, had by then left the Congress and launched the right-wing Swatantra Party. He played a vital role in bringing about the electoral fusion amongst the opposition parties to align against the Congress.
At that time, his cabinet was the youngest in the country.

Annadurai legalised Self-respect marriages for the first time in the country. Such marriages were void of priests to preside over the ceremony and thus did not need a Brahmin to carry out the wedding. Self-respect marriages were a brainchild of Periyar, who regarded the then conventional marriages as mere financial arrangements which often caused great debt through dowry. Self-Respect marriages, according to him, encouraged inter-caste marriages and caused arranged marriages to be replaced by love marriages. Annadurai was also the first to use subsidising of the price of rice for election victory. He promised one rupee a measure of rice, which he initially implemented once in government, but had to withdraw later. Subsidising rice costs are still used as an election promise in Tamil Nadu.

It was Annadurai's government that renamed the Madras State to its present-day form declaring officially as Tamil Nadu. The name change itself was first presented in the upper house (Rajya Sabha) of the Parliament of India by Bhupesh Gupta, a communist MP from West Bengal, but was then defeated. With Annadurai as chief minister, the state assembly succeeded in passing the bill renaming the states.

Anna was instrumental in organising the World Tamil Conference under the aegies of UNESCO in 1967. Another major achievement of Annadurai's government was to introduce a two language policy over the then popular three language formula. The three language formula, which was implemented in the neighbouring states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, entitled students to study three languages: the regional language, English and Hindi. It was during the period of his Chief Ministership that the Second World
Conference was conducted on a grand scale on 3 January 1968. Nevertheless, when a commemorative stamp was released to mark the Tamil conference, Annadurai expressed his dissatisfaction that the stamp contained Hindi when it was for Tamil. Annadurai also issued an order for the removal of the pictures of gods and religious symbols from public offices and buildings. He proceeded on a world tour as an invitee of the Yale University's Chubb Fellowship Programme and was also a guest of the State Department in the US in April–May 1968. He was awarded the Chubb Fellowship at Yale University, being the first non-American to receive this honour. The same year he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Annamalai University.

Death

On 10 September 1968 Annadurai travelled to New York for medical treatment and he was operated for cancer in the gullet at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He returned to Chennai in November and continued to address several official functions against medical advice. His health deteriorated further and he died on 3 February 1969. His cancer was attributed to his habit of chewing tobacco. His funeral had the highest number of attendees until then, as registered with The Guinness Book of Records. An estimated 15 million people attended it. His remains were buried in the northern end of Marina Beach, which is now called Anna Memorial.

Legacy

After his electoral success with his DMK in 1967, the Congress has not yet returned to power in Tamil Nadu. His government was the first in the country to be from a non-Congress party with full majority. When the DMK later split, with M. G. Ramachandran forming his own Dravidian party, the rebel fragment was named after Annadurai as Anna DMK. Anna Nagar, a residential neighbourhood in Chennai is named after him. Sri Lankan Tamil nationalist leaders and writers are considered to be influenced by Annadurai's chaste Tamil movement. Anna University, a premier institution in science and technology was named after him. DMK's current head office built in 1987 is named after him as Anna Arivalayam. One of the major roads in Chennai was named in his honour, Anna Salai—it was previously called Mount Road, and a statue of Annadurai now stands there. The central government issued a commemorative coin of   5 denomination to mark the centenary celebrations of him on 15 September 2009 in Chennai. Jawaharlal Nehru hailed him as one of the great parliamentarians for speeches in Rajya Sabha. Selig Harrison, a US-based analyst of South Asian and East Asian politics and journalism commented,
The magazine India Today has listed Annadurai in its "Top 100 people who shaped India by thought, action, art, culture and spirit". In 2010, Anna Centenary Library was established in Chennai in remembrance of Annadurai.

A life-size statue of Annadurai was unveiled on 1 October 2002 in the Parliament House by then President of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in his honour and the function was attended by notable politicians.

On 31 July 2020, Alandur metro station in Chennai has been renamed as Arignar Anna Alandur Metro by Government of Tamil Nadu to honour him.

Filmography

Annadurai's first movie script, of his play Velaikkari, fetched him a fee of  12,000, a considerable sum at that time (worth  1 crore in 2015 prices)

Apart from his stories, the names of some of Annadurai's works were used as film titles for Panathottam (1963), Valiba virundhu (1967), Kumarikottam (1971), Rajapart Rangadurai (1973), Needhi devan mayakkam (1982).

Bibliography

Fiction

Non fiction

In popular culture
A scene from the film Thangarathinam (1960) shows real footage of Annadurai and other DMK leaders speaking at the Tirāviṭa camutāya cīrtirutta mānāṭu (Dravidian Community Reform Conference) held in Palani on 17 September 1960. A group of protagonists in the film are seen attending the conference. The group is shown as belonging to a reformist organisation named Thirukkural Munnanik Kazhagam (). Its acronym in Tamil is an allusion to the DMK (திமுக).

In a scene from the film Iru Kodugal (1969), District Collector Janaki (Sowcar Janaki), meets the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The Chief Minister is not seen directly. Instead, Annadurai's voice (as imitated by Sivagangai Sethurajan) is heard. Also, a pair of glasses on the table and a pen in the foreground are seen.

The song sequence "Nee mannavana chinnavana" from the film Rudra Thandavam (1978) shows real footage of Annadurai's funeral.

In the film Walter Vetrivel (1993), Vijayakumar played Viswanathan (Tamil Nadu Minister for Home Affairs as per the plot). The actor's countenance in the film strongly resembles Annadurai.

In the film Iruvar (1997), Nassar played Ayya Veluthambi, a character whose role is reminiscent of Annadurai.

Annadurai is portrayed in the film Kamaraj (2004).

S. S. Stanley played Annadurai in the film Periyar (2007). Directed by Gnana Rajasekaran, the film had Sathyaraj in the lead role of Periyar, Annadurai's mentor. After Annadurai's death (not shown in the film), his real life photo is seen in the table of M. Karunanidhi, who succeeded him as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

The song sequence "Nee kondru kuvithatu" from the film Indiralohathil Na Azhagappan (2008) shows real footage of Annadurai.

Bharathi Kannan played Annadurai in the film Thalaivii (2021).

See also

 List of places named after C. N. Annadurai
Annadurai ministry

References

External links

 C.N.Annadurai: One Hundred Tamils of 20th Century
 C.N.Annadurai centenary: The website for C.N.Annadurai 100th birthday
 To know all about Arignar Anna visit: www.arignaranna.net
 To read all works of Arignar Anna visit: www.annavinpadaippugal.info

Annadurai, C.N.
Annadurai, C.N.
Annadurai, C.N.
Annadurai, C.N.
Politicians from Kanchipuram district
Deaths from esophageal cancer
India MPs 1967–1970
Lok Sabha members from Tamil Nadu
Indian political party founders
Anti-Brahminism
University of Madras alumni
Chief ministers from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Politicians from Chennai
Madras MLAs 1962–1967

C. N. Annadurai


Kubisa, kubvisa kana kudusa (to remove, to take away, take off) zvinoreva kusudurudza chinhu kana munhu kubva pachiri chichiendeswa kumwewo.

Kudusa (Take, or bring, away; take out or off; remove) apa kureva kubvisa chinhu panzvimbo kana panhu. Izwi iri rinotaurwa zvakare kuChiNdau neKalanga.

Kurerutsa Mutauro

...Noa wakadusa icho chaidumaidza ngarava, akaringira, wona, padera pemavhu paiya paoma: Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked; and, yes, the surface of the ground was dry. (Genesis 8:, Bhaibheri reChiNdau).
Akaurima munda, akadusa mapuwe: My friend dug the ground, removed the stones (Isaiah 5:2, Bhaibheri reChiNdau)..

Dzidzo

Kubisa


Ze'ev Wolf Goldman, later known as Ze'ev Ben-Haim () (28 December 1907 – 6 August 2013), was a leading Israeli linguist and a former president of the Academy of the Hebrew Language.

Biography
Ben-Haim was born in Mościska, Galicia, then part of Austria-Hungary and now in Ukraine). Schooled in his youth by private tutors and later completing high school at a gymnasium, where he studied classical languages, he left Galicia to study on a scholarship at the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau and, in parallel, he studied at the Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, where he received a doctorate in Semitic linguistics. He spent a year in Mandate Palestine in 1931, studying at the Institute of Jewish Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He presented his work for his doctorate in 1932 on the subject of personal names in Nabataean epigraphy. In 1933, he received Semikhah (traditional rabbinical ordination) from the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau as well as the Ph.D."

At the end of 1933 he immigrated to Palestine. The following year he was appointed secretary to the Hebrew Language Committee (forerunner of the Academy of the Hebrew Language), working closely with committee head Hayim Nahman Bialik in the last months before that poet's sudden death. Ben-Haim lectured in the Hebrew language at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from 1948, becoming a full professor in 1955 and retiring in 1976.

Between 1955 and 1965, he was editor of Leshoneynu (Our Language), the principal periodical of the Academy of the Hebrew Language. In 1961 he was appointed vice president of the Academy of the Hebrew Language and, in the same year, was appointed to head the Historical Dictionary of the Hebrew Language project, serving in such capacity until 1992. In 1973, following the death of Naftali Herz Tur-Sinai, Ben-Haim was appointed as the second president of the Academy of the Hebrew Language, holding that post until 1981. Ben-Haim lived in Jerusalem until his death at the age of 105.

Awards and honours
 In 1964 Ben-Haim was awarded the Israel Prize for Jewish studies.
 In 1966 he became a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
 In 1971 he was awarded the Rothschild Prize for Jewish studies.

Published works
Ben-Haim has published many works and authored many articles over the years. The following is a selection of such works:
 Between 1957 and 1977, he published in five volumes his monumental Hebrew work on the Hebrew and Aramaic traditions of the Samaritans,
 "Observations on the Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon from Samaritan Tradition", Hebräische Wortforschung: Festschrift zum 80 Geburtstag von Walter Baumgartner, Leiden 1967, pages 12–24.
 "Towards a New Edition of Tîbåt Mårqe", Études samaritaines: Pentateuque et Targum, exégèse et philogie, chroniques, Louvain–Paris 1988, pages 107–108.
 במלחמתה של לשון [The Struggle for a Language]. Jerusalem 1992.
 A Grammar of Samaritan Hebrew: Based on the Recitation of the Law in Comparison with the Tiberian and Other Jewish Traditions, a revised edition in English, with assistance from A. Tal, Jerusalem and Winona Lake 2000.

See also
List of Israel Prize recipients
Study of the Hebrew language

References

1907 births
2013 deaths
Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe)
Israeli Jews
Israeli centenarians
Leipzig University alumni
Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni
Grammarians of Hebrew
University of Breslau alumni
Academic staff of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Israel Prize in Jewish studies recipients
Men centenarians
Members of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Jews from Mandatory Palestine
Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine
Linguists from Israel
People from Mostyska
Israeli rabbis
Burials at Har HaMenuchot

Ze'ev Ben-Haim


The Wilmington Sea Dawgs are a professional basketball team and founding member of the Tobacco Road Basketball League. The team is based in Wilmington, North Carolina, and began play in 2006 as a member of the American Basketball Association. The team later played as a founding member of the Premier Basketball League and a founding member of the Continental Basketball League.  In 2013, they will play at Blizzard Athletics, having previously played at the Joe and Barbara Schwartz Center on the campus of Cape Fear Community College.

History

The Sea Dawgs won the ABA Blue Central division in their first year with a record of 19-8 and advanced to the playoff semi-finals, losing to the eventual champion Vermont Frost Heaves.  In their playoff run, they were scheduled to meet the defending champion Rochester Razorsharks, but weather-related travel problems caused the game to not be played.  The ABA CEO then refused to reschedule the game although the two teams had agreed to a make up date. The CEO instead tried to force Rochester to accept a forfeit.  This incident motivated the Razorsharks to leave the ABA and help form the Premier Basketball League (PBL).

The team moved to the PBL for the 2007–08 season.  They played in the East Division.  They finished the regular season at 11-9 and tied for second in the division with the Reading Railers behind the Rochester Razorsharks.  They made the playoffs and faced the Maryland Nighthawks in the first round but lost.  On April 22, 2008, Kevin Whitted resigned as head coach of the Sea Dawgs   On October 17, Dale Kuhl was named head coach.

The team took a much more defensive approach compared to previous years and after a slow start sprinted to second place in their division and a wild card berth in the PBL playoffs with a record of 15-5.  The Sea Dawgs were the first team this season to defeat the Battle Creek Knights (who finished 18-2 and were 12-0 at the time of their second meeting). The Sea Dawgs swept four games against the Detroit Panthers and five games against the Augusta Groove.  The Sea Dawgs ended their season losing in the playoff semi-finals to the Knights.

On 2 November 2009, the Sea Dawgs announced via e-mail their move to the spring season Continental Basketball League.  The team finished with an 11-5 record and was the number one seed for (and thereby host for) the CBL Championship, which they lost in overtime to the Savannah Wildcats.

One of the team's previous co-owners left the team to found the Cary Invasion.  The Sea Dawgs's four year playoff streak was snapped in a rather mediocre campaign where the club finished 5-6 and missed the playoffs.

The team announced (with the Cary Invasion) the formation of the Tobacco Road Basketball League and their membership therein.

The TRBL added divisional play, moving the Sea Dawgs to the East Division.  The Sea Dawgs also changed their home venue to Blizzard Athletics.  Dale Kuhl was replaced as coach by Louis Defeliceantonio.  Long time player Joseph King also assumed assistant coaching duties.

Season-By-Season records

References

External links

Basketball teams in North Carolina
Tobacco Road Basketball League teams
Former Continental Basketball League teams
Sports in Wilmington, North Carolina
Former Premier Basketball League teams
Basketball teams established in 2006
Defunct American Basketball Association (2000–present) teams
2006 establishments in North Carolina

Wilmington Sea Dawgs


Sweeney Field  (previously called Finnesey Field) is a multi-use sports facility on the Saint Joseph's University campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which opened in 1929 and was originally planned to be the centerpiece to a 70,000 seat football stadium in the natural bowl of the campus.

In 1960, both the original grandstand and hillside seating were eliminated for the construction of Villiger (now Post) Building/Bluett Theater. That construction necessitated raising the field's level some five feet above its earlier location. In 1990, the facility's usage was greatly expanded with the installation of artificial turf. That expansion continued in 1994 when lights were added. During the summer of 2001, the Field received a facelift when new turf was installed. More recently, bleachers were built into the hill closest to Barbelin Hall and on either end of the field.

During the summer of 2008, the field was resurfaced with a FIFA approved surface called TigerTurf, and the track was completely resurfaced. The field will play host to men's and women's soccer and men's and women's lacrosse. The women's field hockey team played its last season on Finnesey Field in 2007. They open on a new playing surface on the Maguire Campus in 2009.

In 2014, the field was home field for the Philadelphia Spinners of Major League Ultimate for two games. Both games resulted in wins over the Boston Whitecaps. They were two of the highest attended games for the Spinners that season.

2015 boasted a new scoreboard for the field; with added information such as player number and foul counter. The new scoreboard is located to the left of the original one.

Overall, the site has seen 1,053 games entering the 2008–09 academic year, and SJU teams put together a total record of 493-518-42 in 79 years.

References

Saint Joseph's University
Sports venues completed in 1929
1929 establishments in Pennsylvania
College soccer venues in the United States
Soccer venues in Pennsylvania
Lacrosse venues in the United States
College lacrosse venues in the United States
College field hockey venues in the United States
Ultimate (sport) venues

Sweeney Field


The 9th Empire Awards ceremony (officially known as the Sony Ericsson Empire Awards), presented by the British film magazine Empire, honored the best films of 2003 and took place on 4 February 2004 at The Dorchester Hotel in London, England. During the ceremony, Empire presented Empire Awards in nine categories as well as three honorary awards. The Lifetime Achievement Award was renamed to Career Achievement Award this year but was reverted to its former name at its next and last presentation. The ceremony was televised live in the United Kingdom by Sky Movies 1 with highlights and exclusive backstage interviews airing on Sky One Mix on 5 February. English actor Bill Bailey hosted the show for the first time. The awards were sponsored by Sony Ericsson for the second consecutive year.

Love Actually and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King were tied for most awards won with three awards apiece. Love Actually won the award for Best British Film, while The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won the award for Best Film. Other winners included Kill Bill: Volume 1 with two awards and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl with one. Ray Harryhausen received the Empire Inspiration Award, Sigourney Weaver received the Career Achievement Award and Roger Corman received the Independent Spirit Award.

Winners and nominees
Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Multiple awards
The following three films received multiple awards:

Multiple nominations
The following 11 films received multiple nominations:

References

External links

Empire Award ceremonies
2003 film awards
2004 in British cinema
2004 in London
February 2004 events in the United Kingdom
2000s in the City of Westminster

9th Empire Awards


Gaetano Grado (born in Palermo, 8 March 1943) is an Italian mafioso from Palermo, Sicily. He was a member of the Santa Maria di Gesù family under Stefano Bontade until his arrest, after which he became a justice collaborator.

Biography
Gaetano Grado and his brother Antonino Grado were among the trusted men of the Mafia faction led by Stefano Bontade. Jointly with his brothers Vincenzo, Salvatore, Giacomo and Antonio, started  to import morphine base from Turkey in 1975, which was refined into heroin in laboratories run by Santa Maria di Gesù Mafia family on Sicily, and subsequently trafficked into the United States.

Gaetano was a feared killer, and once killed a group of teenagers only because they were making noise in a restaurant he was dining and interrupting his meal: two of them were strangled and the remaining three gunned down. For his reputation Grado was among the soldiers of Stefano Bontade, alongside Emanuele D'Agostino, sent to assassinate the Mafia boss Michele Cavataio in what later became known as the Viale Lazio massacre on December 10, 1969.

Grado murdered Giuseppe Graviano's father in 1982 because the Graviano were killing the Contornos and Grados.

In the following years, Grado was among the first who became suspicious of the danger of Totò Riina, and recommended to his boss Stefano Bontade that Riina be eliminated before he became a serious threat to their organization. Bontade however was not yet convinced of Riina's treachery and ordered Grado to help Riina in his attempts to hide from the state, as he was at the time wanted for murder.

When the Second Mafia War started, Grado fought the Corleonesi but soon fled for Spain when his boss, Stefano Bontade was murdered. He came back to Sicily when his brother Antonino was killed by the Corleonesi to prevent him from hiding his cousin Contorno, and he murdered several of the Corleonesi's associates such as Salvatore Zarcone and Pietro Messicati, until he was arrested by the Italian police alongside his cousin Salvatore Contorno.

While in prison he decided to become an informant for the state (pentito): he admitted all of his crimes, explaining to them in detail and revealing information that was previously unknown to prosecutors, including the dynamics of the Viale Lazio massacre, as Grado was one of the involved hitmen.

References

 Calvi, Fabrizio (1993). L'Europe des Parrains: La Mafia à l'assaut de l'Europe, Paris: Grasset & Fasquelle,

Living people
Gangsters from Palermo
Pentiti
Italian exiles
1943 births

Gaetano Grado


Minto is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Minto is located 50 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Campbelltown and is part of the Macarthur region.

History
Minto was named in honour of the Earl of Minto, Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, who was Viceroy of India from 1807 to 1814. The name was originally given to the entire district stretching from just north of Appin up to what is now Denham Court.

The area that constitutes the current suburb of Minto was originally home to the indigenous Tharawal people until the arrival of European settlers from the First Fleet. In 1811, Governor Lachlan Macquarie granted  in the area to William Redfern, the colony's first surgeon. He in turn named it Campbellfield after Macquarie's wife Elizabeth whose maiden name was Campbell. Redfern used the property as a vineyard and sheep station.

In 1810, Dr Robert Towson built his sandstock home, Varroville, in St Andrews Road, on land granted by Governor Macquarie. The house was subsequently owned by Charles Sturt and James Raymond, the first Postmaster General. In the 1820s, Colonel Parker built a Georgian bungalow called Epping Forest in Raby Road. A farm called Robin Hood Farm was built in Campbelltown Road circa 1830. These three properties are now listed on the Register of the National Estate.

In 1874, a railway station was built in the area and named Campbellfield after the property but this led to confusion with nearby Campbelltown so in 1882, it was renamed Minto. Development of the area followed shortly after and by the 1950s it was a village of around 500 people.

A large slice of land on the east side of Minto was sold to Housing Commission in 1969 to provide cheap housing. Shortly after a large industrial estate was also established in the area and Minto's transition from village to Sydney suburb was complete.

Heritage listings
Minto has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
 Lot 315 Ben Lomond Road: Stone Cottage, Minto

Transport
Minto railway station is serviced by the Airport & South Line on the Sydney Trains network. Minto also has a small inland port connected by rail to Port Botany.  The inland port consists of a single rail siding with an adjacent hard stand surface for the containers, and the siding is operated by top and tail trains with engines at both ends.

Schools
Minto is home to two high schools, Sarah Redfern High and Alfaisal College; five primary schools, Campbellfield Public, Minto Public, Sarah Redfern Public, The Grange Public and Alfaisal College; and a special school, Passfield Park, which services disabled students from pre-school through to high school.

Rugby League players, Michael Lett, Gray Vaine, Justin Brooker, John Skandalis, Ken McGuinness, Kevin McGuinness, Israel Folau, Mickey, Lopini and Lelea Paea, Tim Lafai and Byron Fruean all attended Sarah Redfern High School, a notable rugby league school.

Housing
Public housing belonging to Housing NSW has recently been demolished in the suburb to make way for a new housing estate called One Minto. This decision had been made in an attempt to break the generational cycle of a socially disadvantaged suburb that the Minto estate had infamously been known for over the past few decades. Because of this concentration of disadvantage, the One Minto Estate experienced a range of social issues including high unemployment and poor health, low income, high percentage of single parent families, a lack of access to educational opportunities and other services and high crime rates. The majority of the houses will be private with around 850 privately owned houses compared to only 360 public housing homes. The public housing has been evenly spread among the suburb, in efforts to prevent concentrated areas of welfare dependency.

Although the One Minto estate sits at approximately 30 percent public housing, the suburb as a whole has 15 percent in total.

People

Demographics

At the 2021 census, the population of Minto was 13,940.
Aboriginal  and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.1% of the population.
 49.0% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were Bangladesh 8.8%, India 5.4%, Nepal 4.7%, Philippines 3.4% and New Zealand 3.1%.
 41.7% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Bengali 12.6%, Nepali 5.7%, Hindi 3.7%, Arabic 3.4% and Urdu 3.0%.
 The most common responses for religion were Islam 22.3%, Catholic 16.1%, No Religion 15.7%, Hinduism 12.6% and Not stated 7.2%.
 The median weekly household income was $1,646, lower than the national median of $1,746.

At the 2016 census, there were 12,551 people in Minto.

Notable residents
 Rugby league players Israel Folau, Jarryd Hayne and Krisnan Inu all grew up within a few blocks of each other in Minto and played park football together. Mickey Paea and Tim Lafai also known in Minto as good helpers of the Minto Cobras team both players give up their time to help the Minto Cobras out every week in their extra time.
 Member of the Parliament of New South Wales and former Housing Minister Cherie Burton grew up in Minto.

Sport and recreation

The Minto Indoor Sports Centre is home to local basketball and netball teams. The Macarthur Heat plays in the New South Wales State Basketball League and uses the Centre as its home court. The Campbelltown District Netball Association, which is also based at the Centre, plays in the third division of the Netball NSW State League.

Minto has a rugby league team, the Minto Cobras playing in the Western Suburbs District Junior Rugby League. The Cobras home ground is Townson Oval.  They have produced a number of NRL players including Israel Folau, Michael Lett, Gray Vaine, Justin Brooker, John Skandalis, Ken McGuinness, Kevin McGuinness, Jarryd Hayne, Mickey Lopini, Lalea Paea, Krisnan Inu and Tim Lafai. Mickey Paea, a current Bulldogs forward, always gives up his extra time and helps out Minto Cobras.  The club is proud of him for doing that because not many NRL players would give up spare time to go visit the clubs where they played their junior footy.

Controversy

Minto has received negative publicity on two occasions because of a local shopping centre, Minto Mall, which has been investigated twice on the news program A Current Affair. Although it began as a boost to local business, it has more recently become dilapidated and untidy, and the management has taken no action to combat these problems. After being placed under pressure by A Current Affair and members of the community due to the rundown state of the mall, Minto Mall sold in late 2012.

Since 2014, the former Minto Mall has fully reopened and refurbished as Minto Marketplace. It is populated by major retailers and franchises such as Woolworths, Kmart, Priceline, Lowes Menswear, Gloria Jeans, Michel's Patisserie, Donut King, Ocean Master, Millers and many more.

References

External links

  [CC-By-SA]

Suburbs of Sydney
Rail yards in Australia
Populated places established in 1882
1882 establishments in Australia
City of Campbelltown (New South Wales)

Minto, New South Wales


Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power is held by the ruler, known as an autocrat. It includes absolute monarchies and most forms of dictatorship, while it is contrasted with democracy and oligarchy. Various definitions of autocracy exist. They may restrict autocracy to a single individual, or they may also apply autocracy to a group of rulers who wield absolute power. The autocrat has total control over the exercise of civil liberties within the autocracy, choosing under what circumstances they may be exercised, if at all. Governments may also blend elements of autocracy and democracy, forming an anocracy. The concept of autocracy has been recognized in political philosophy since ancient times.

Autocracies often maintain power through political repression against opposition and co-optation of other influential or powerful members of society. The general public is controlled through indoctrination and propaganda, and an autocracy may attempt to legitimize itself in the eyes of the public through appeals to ideology, religion, birthright, or diplomatic recognition. Some autocracies establish legislatures, unfair elections, or show trials to further exercise control while presenting the appearance of democracy. The only limits to autocratic rule are practical considerations in preserving the regime. Autocrats must retain control over the nation's elites and institutions for their will to be exercised, but they must also prevent any other individual or group from gaining significant power or influence. Internal challenges are the most significant threats faced by autocrats, as they may lead to a coup d'état. Autocracies are therefore often authoritarian, or despotic and sometimes totalitarian, or outright tyrannical.

Autocracy was among the earliest forms of government. It began as basic despotism, which existed throughout the ancient world in chiefdoms, city-states, and empires. Monarchy was the predominant form of autocracy for most of history. Dictatorship became more common in the 19th century, beginning with the caudillos in Latin America and the empires of Napoleon and Napoleon III in Europe. Totalitarian dictatorships developed in the 20th century with the advent of fascist and communist states. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, authoritarian and populist dictatorships have become the most common form of autocracy.

Etymology and use
Autocracy comes from the Ancient Greek auto (Greek: αὐτός; "self") and kratos (Greek: κράτος; "power, might"). The use of autocrat comes from the Greek term autokrator. This term was originally used in ancient Greece to denote monarchy, but it was later reinvented as an imperial title in the Byzantine Empire during the 7th century by translating the Latin imperator. It was subsequently adopted by rulers of medieval Russia and Serbia, translated as самодержец (samoderzhets). The term has since developed a negative connotation.

Political structure

Many attempts have been made to define the political structure of autocracy. It traditionally entails a single unrestrained ruler, known as an autocrat, though unrestrained non-democratic rule by a group may also be defined as autocratic. Autocracy is distinguished from other forms of government by the power of the autocrat to unilaterally repress the civil liberties of the people and to choose what liberties they may exercise. It is distinct from democracy and feudalism, and modern autocracy is often defined as any non-democratic government. As with all forms of government, autocracy has no clearly defined boundaries, and it may intersect with other forms of government. Though autocracy usually encompasses an entire country, it can sometimes take place at subnational or local levels, even in countries with a more democratic government, if the national government has limited control over a specific area or its political conflicts.

Autocracies impose few to no limits on the power of the autocrat, and any formal institutions that exist create only limited accountability. To maintain power, an autocrat must have the support of elites that hold influence in the country and assist the autocrat in carrying out their will. The amount of direct control that an autocrat wields in practice may vary. As an autocratic government solidifies its rule, it develops stronger institutions to carry out the autocrat's will. These institutions are necessary for maintaining control and extracting value from the state, but they can also serve as checks on the autocrat. Autocrats must also balance the affiliation that regional elites have over their jurisdiction; too little can prevent effective rule, while too much may cause the elite to favor the region's interests over the autocrat's. Some autocracies incorporate an elected legislature that has a limited ability to check the power of the autocrat, though these are not formed through free and fair elections. These legislatures may also be prone to corruption and can be influenced by the autocrat in exchange for preferential treatment. Other institutions, such as an independent judiciary or an active civil society, may also limit the autocrat's power.

Some autocracies emphasize a ruling family rather than a single autocrat. This has been the case of most monarchies. Such arrangements allow for royal intermarriage, which can join autocracies together through dynastic unions. Personalist dictatorships may also give significance to the ruling family through a cult of personality, such as the Kim family of North Korea.

Origin and development

Formation
The earliest autocracies, such as chiefdoms, formed where there was previously no centralized government. The initial development of an autocracy is attributed to its efficiency over anarchy, as it provides security and negates internal divisions. Mancur Olson introduced the term "stationary bandits" to describe the method of control associated with autocracy, as opposed to the "roaming bandits" that dominate anarchic society. Under this definition, autocrats as stationary bandits see long term investment in the society that they exploit and seek to improve it, as opposed to the bandits in stateless societies that have no incentive to improve society. This creates a Pareto efficiency in which both the autocrat and the subjects benefit over the alternative.

Douglass North, John Joseph Wallis, and Barry R. Weingast describe autocracies as limited access orders that arise from this need to monopolize violence. In contrast to Olson, these scholars understand the early state not as a single ruler, but as an organization formed by many actors. They describe the process of autocratic state formation as a bargaining process among individuals with access to violence. For them, these individuals form a dominant coalition that grants each other privileges such as the access to resources. As violence reduces the rents, members of the dominant coalition have incentives to cooperate and to avoid fighting. A limited access to privileges is necessary to avoid competition among the members of the dominant coalition, who then will credibly commit to cooperate and will form the state.

There is great variance in the types of states that become autocratic. Neither a state's size, its military strength, its economic success, nor its cultural attributes significantly affect whether it is likely to be autocratic. Autocracy is more likely to form in heterogeneous populations, as there is greater inequality and less social cohesion. Autocracies formed under these conditions are often more volatile for the same reasons.

Stability and succession

Autocracies face challenges to their authority from several fronts, including the citizenry, political opposition, and internal disloyalty from elites. As autocrats must share their power with the state's elites to see their will carried out, these elites are the greatest threat to the autocrat. Most autocratic governments are overthrown by a coup, and most are succeeded by another autocratic government. These new governments are commonly a different type of autocracy or a weaker variant of the same type.

While popular support for revolution is often necessary to overthrow an autocratic government, most revolts are accompanied by internal support from elites who believe that it is no longer in their interest to support the autocrat. Overthrow of an autocratic government purely through popular revolt is virtually nonexistent throughout history, but popular support for democracy is a significant indicator of challenges to autocratic rule. Modernization and increased wealth are often associated with stronger support for democracy, though failing to provide these things also reduces support for the autocratic regime. Popular revolt is most likely to occur during periods of reform. Government reform can provide an impetus for stronger opposition, especially when it does not meet expectations, and it can weaken the centralization of power through poor implementation. When revolt appears likely, an autocrat may grant civil rights, redistribute wealth, or abdicate from power entirely to avoid the threat of violence.

Some autocracies use hereditary succession in which a set of rules determines who will be the next autocrat. Otherwise, a successor may be handpicked, either by the autocrat or by another governmental body. Pre-determined successors are incentivized to overthrow and replace the autocrat, creating a dillema for autocrats wishing to choose a successor. The threat of overthrow is greater for appointed successors over hereditary successors, as hereditary successors are often younger and less influential. Other autocracies have no appointed successor, and a power struggle will take place upon the death or removal of the autocrat. These methods of succession are the primary distinction between monarchical rule and dictatorial rule; monarchies use an established system of succession such as hereditary succession, while dictatorships do not. Autocratic rule is most unstable during succession from one autocrat to another. Orders of succession allow for more peaceful transition of power, but it prevents meaningful vetting of successors for competence or fortitude. When rule passes between autocrats, the incoming autocrat often inherits an established bureaucracy. This bureaucracy facilitates the transfer of power, as the new ruler gains immediate control over the nation without having to conquer its people or win their popular support.

Legitimacy
Autocrats may claim that they have legitimacy under a legal framework, or they may exert influence purely through force. Opinion on whether an autocratic government is legitimate can vary, even among its own population. An autocracy's approach to legitimacy can be affected by recognition from other nations. Widely accepted autocratic governments are more able to convince their own populations of their legitimacy. Less widely accepted autocracies may rally internal support by attirubting their lack of recognition to malevolent foreign efforts, such as American imperialism or Zionism.

Historically, the most common claim of legitimacy is birthright in an autocracy that uses hereditary succession. Theocratic governments appeal to religion to justify their rule, arguing that religious leaders must also be political leaders. Other autocrats may use similar claims of divine authority to justify their rule, often in absolute monarchy. This includes the Mandate of Heaven in ancient China and the divine right of kings in 17th century England and France. When an autocratic government has a state ideology, this may be used to justify the autocrat's rule. This is most common in communist or ethnonationalist governments. Autocracies with unfair elections will cite election results to prove that the autocrat has a mandate to rule. Some autocracies will use practical considerations to legitimise their rule, arguing that they are necessary to provide basic needs to the population.

Types of autocracy
Autocracy encompasses most non-democratic forms of government, including dictatorships, monarchies, and dominant-party regimes. Historically, monarchies have been the most common of these types, but dictatorship is more common in the modern era.

Autocratic governments are classified as totalitarian when they engage in direct control of citizens' lives, or as authoritarian when they do not. Totalitarian governments do not allow political or cultural pluralism. Instead, citizens are expected to devote themselves to a single ideological vision and demonstrate their support of the state ideology through political engagement. Totalitarian governments are revolutionary, seeking to radically reform society, and they often engage in terror against groups that do not comply with the state's vision. Totalitarianism is associated with communist states and Nazi Germany. Authoritarian governments maintain control of a nation purely through repression and controlled opposition rather than mandated adherence to a state ideology. These include most traditional monarchies, military dictatorships, theocracies, and dominant party states.

An absolute autocracy may be referred to as despotism, in which the autocrat rules purely through personal control without any meaningful institutions. These were most common in pre-industrial societies, when large bureaucracies had not yet become standard in government. Sultanism is a type of personalist dictatorship in which a ruling family directly integrates itself into the state through a cult of personality, where it maintains control purely through rewards for allies and force against enemies. In these regimes, there is no guiding ideology or legal system, and the state serves only to bring about the leader's own personal enrichment. Other descriptors, such as tyranny and absolutism, may also be associated with variations of autocracy.

Though autocracies often restrict civil and political rights, some may allow limited exercise of some rights. These autocracies grant moderate representation to political opponents and allow exercise of some civil rights, though less than those associated with democracy. These are contrasted with closed autocracies, which do not permit the exercise of these rights Several forms of semi-autocratic government have been defined in which governments blend elements of democracy and autocracy. These include limited autocracy, semi-autocracy, liberal autocracy, semi-liberal autocracy, anocracy, and electoral autocracy. These governments may begin as democratic governments and then become autocratic as the elected leader seizes control over the nation's institutions and electoral process. Conversely, autocratic governments may transition to democracy through a period of semi-autocratic rule.

History

Early history

Autocracy has been the primary form of government for most of human history. One of the earliest forms of government was the chiefdom that developed in tribal societies, which date back to the Neolithic. Chiefdoms are regional collections of villages ruled over by tribal chief. They are an emergent form of governance, originating from societies that previously lacked a centralized authority. Historical chiefs often held only tenuous power over the chiefdom, but they trended toward autocracy as heterarchical governance was replaced with hierarchical governance.

Early states were formed by warlords ruling over conquered territory. The first states were the city-states of Mesopotamia, which first developed around the 35th century BCE. These early states were ruled by kings who were both political and religious leaders. These were followed by the first empire, the Akkadian Empire, when they were conquered by Sargon of Akkad in the 24th century BCE. The blending of autocratic rule with religious significance continued under the Akkadian Empire, as the king Naram-Sin of Akkad was the first of several kings to be recognized as a god over the following centuries. Ancient Egypt also existed as an autocratic government for most of its early history, first developing states at the end of the fourth millennium BCE.

China has been subject to autocratic rule almost without interruption since its ancient feudal society was replaced by the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE, and even its feudal government had stronger elements of autocracy than other instances of feudalism. The early Chinese philosophy of Confucianism emphasized the importance of benevolent autocratic rule to maintain order, and this philosophy heavily influenced future Chinese thought.

City-states in Ancient Greece and the Etruscan civilization were often ruled by tyrants, though myth and historical revisionism later re-imagined these tyrants as kings with hereditary succession. The Roman Republic introduced the concept of the Roman dictator who would be temporarily invested with unchecked power to restore stability during periods of crisis. This temporary dictatorship was eventually subverted by Julius Caesar when he became dictator for life in 44 BCE, ending the Roman Republic and ushering the creation of the autocratic Roman Empire.

Several early military dictatorships formed in East Asia during the post-classical era. These include the rule of the Goguryeo kingdom by Yeon Gaesomun in 642, the Goryeo military regime beginning in 1170, and the shogunate in Japan between the 12th and 19th centuries.

Parliamentary monarchies became common in the 13th century as monarchs sought larger advising bodies that were representative of the kingdom. European nations moved away from feudalism and toward centralized monarchy as the primary form of government in the 14th century.

Modern era

Absolutism became more common in European monarchies at the onset of the 16th century as the continent struggled with weak leadership and religious conflict. Legislatures during this period were often tailored to enforce the king's will but not challenge it. This was sometimes justified through the divine right of kings, particularly in the kingdoms of England and France.

The idea of dictatorship as a form of tyrannical rule first developed in the 18th century as republicanism became a prominent ideology. The French Revolution marked a significant shift in this perception, as revolutionaries justified their actions as a means of combatting tyranny. In Europe, the original forms of dictatorship were Bonapartism, a form of monarchism that rejected feudalism, and Caesarism, imperial rule reminiscent of Julius Caesar. These were primarily used to define the First and Second French Empires. European monarchies moved away from autocracy in the 19th century as legislatures increased in power. In 19th century Latin America, regional rulers known as caudillos seized power in several nations as early examples of dictators.

The 19th and 20th centuries brought about the decline of traditional monarchies in favor of modern states, many of which developed as autocracies. The upheaval caused by World War I resulted in a broad shift of governance across Europe, and many nations moved away from traditional monarchies. Most European monarchs were stripped of their powers to become constitutional monarchs, or they were displaced entirely in favor of republics. Totalitarianism first developed as a form of autocracy during the interwar period. It seized power in many of these republics, particularly during the Great Depression. This saw the establishment of fascist, communist, and military dictatorships throughout Europe.

The communist state first developed as a new form of autocracy following the Russian Revolution. This type of autocratic government enforced totalitarian control over its citizens through a mass party said to represent the citizens. While other forms of European dictatorship were dissolved after World War II, communism was strengthened and became the basis of several dictatorships in Eastern Europe. Communist states became the primary model for autocratic government in the late-20th century, and many non-communist autocratic regimes replicated the communist style of government.

The decline in autocracy across Western Europe affected autocratic government elsewhere in the world through colonization. Regions with historically strong autocratic states were able to resist European colonization or otherwise went unchanged, allowing autocracy to be preserved. Societies without a state were readily colonized by European nations and subsequently adopted democracy and parliamentary government after it became common in Europe.

The strength of autocracy in global politics was significantly reduced at the end of the Cold War with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, but it saw a resurgence over the following decades through regional powers such as China, Iran, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. The fall of totalitarian regimes led to authoritarianism becoming the predominant form of autocracy in the 21st century.

Political activity

Political repression is the primary method by which autocrats preserve the regime and prevent the loss of power. This repression may take place implicitly by coercing and intimidating potential opposition, or it may involve direct violence. Autocratic governments also engage in co-optation, in which influential figures are provided benefits by the regime in exchange for their support. Coercing these elites is usually more efficient for the autocrat than intimidating them through violence. Political parties are a common method of co-optation and coercion, as they provide a mechanism to control members of the government, initiate new members, and discourage a military coup. Autocratic governments controlled through a political party last longer on average than other autocratic governments.

Control over the public is maintained through indoctrination and propaganda. Autocratic governments enjoy similar levels of public support to democratic governments, and a state's status as autocratic is not a significant indicator in whether it is supported by its citizens. Autocrats often appeal to the people by supporting a specific political, ethnic, or religious movement.

The different forms of autocratic government create significant variance in their foreign policy. Overall, autocratic governments are more likely to go to war than democratic governments, as citizens are not part of the selectorate to which autocrats are accountable. Totalitarian autocracies have historically engaged in militarism and expansionism after consolidating power, particularly fascist governments. This allows the autocracy to spread its state ideology, and the existence of foreign adversaries allows the autocrat to rally internal support.

Autocratic regimes in the 21st century have departed from the historical precedent of direct rule in favor of institutions that resemble those of democratic governments. This may include controlled liberties for citizens such as the formation of opposition parties to participate in unfair elections. Elections provide several benefits to autocratic regimes, allowing for a venue to restrain or appease the opposition and creating a method to transfer power without violent conflict. Many autocrats also institute show trials to carry out political repression rather than carrying out direct purges. This may be done to more publicly discourage future dissidents. Prior to this trend, autocratic elections rarely invited public participation. They were instead used by elites to choose a leader amongst themselves, such as in an electoral monarchy. The creation of a constitution is another common measure used by autocrats to stay in power; as they are able to draft the constitution unilaterally, it can be tailored to suit their rule.

Study and evaluation

Autocratic government has been central to political theory since the development of Ancient Greek political philosophy. Despite its historical prominence, autocracy has not been widely recognized as its own political theory in the way that democracy has. Autocratic government is generally considered to be less desirable than democratic government. Reasons for this include its proclivity for corruption and violence as well as its lack of efficiency and its weakness in promoting liberty and transparency.

Historically, data on the operation of autocratic government has been limited, preventing detailed study. Study of postcolonial autocracy in Africa has been particularly limited, as these governments were less likely to keep detailed records of their activities relative to other governments at the time, and they frequently destroyed the records that did exist. Study of citizen support for autocratic government relative to democratic government has also been infrequent, and most studies conducted in this area have been limited to East Asia. Collection of information on autocratic regimes has improved in the 21st century, allowing for more detailed analysis.

Autocratic government has been found to have effects on a country's politics, including its government's structure and bureaucracy, long after it democratizes. Comparisons between regions have found disparities in citizen attitudes, policy preferences, and political engagement depending on whether it had been subject to autocracy, even in different regions within the same country. Citizens of postcommunist nations are more likely to distrust government and free markets, directly hindering the long term economic prosperity of these nations. Xenophobia is generally more common in post-autocratic nations, and voters in these nations are more likely to vote for far-right or far-left political parties.

Many democracy indices have been developed to measure whether countries are democratic or autocratic, such as the Polity data series, the Freedom in the World report, and the Varieties of Democracy indices. These indices measure various attributes of a government's actions and its citizens' rights to sort democracies and autocracies. These attributes might include enfranchisement, freedom of expression, freedom of information, separation of powers, or free and fair elections, among others. Both the choice in attributes and the method of measuring them are subjective, and they are defined individually be each index. Despite this, different democracy indices generally produce similar results. Most discrepancies come from the measurement of anocratic governments that blend democratic and autocratic traits.

The concepts of tyranny and despotism as distinct modes of government were abandoned in the 19th century in favor of more specific typologies. Modern typology of autocratic regimes originates from the work of Juan Linz in the mid-20th century, when his division of democracy, authoritarianism, and totalitarianism became accepted. The first general theory of autocracy that defined it independently of other systems was created by Gordon Tullock in 1974 through applied public choice theory. At the end of the Cold War, Francis Fukuyama's theory of the end of history became popular among political scientists. This theory proposed that autocratic government was approaching a permanent decline to be replaced by liberal democracy. This theory was largely abandoned after the increase in autocratic government over the following decades. In the 2010s, the concept of "autocracy promotion" became influential in the study of autocracy, proposing that some governments have sought to establish autocratic rule in foreign nations, though subsequent studies have found little evidence to support that such efforts are as widespread or successful as originally thought.

See also
 Centralisation
 Democratic backsliding
 Kleptocracy
 Mafia state
 Monocracy
 Oligarchy
 Statism
 Triumvirate

Notes

References

Books

Journals

External links

Authoritarianism
Authority
Dictatorship

Autocracy


Marvin Lee Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Macoya, Trinidad and Tobago which is housed together with the Dr. João Havelange Centre of Excellence.  It is used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Joe Public F.C.  The stadium holds approximately 6,000 people.

The stadium was named after defender and national Under-20 football captain Marvin Lee, who sustained head and neck injuries suffered in a collision with Landon Donovan in an U-20 game versus the USA. He was left paralysed after the incident and later succumbed to illness as a result of his weakened state. Lee was later recognised by the government of Trinidad for his service to the nation.

In 2007, the stadium became the first in the Caribbean to have an artificial playing surface, costing TT$8 million, which was made possible through a FIFA development grant. The first game was a TT Pro League encounter, where Caledonia AIA scored a narrow win over Joe Public F.C. It was also host on June 15, 2008 to a World Cup qualifier between Trinidad and Bermuda which Bermuda won 2–1.

References

Football venues in Trinidad and Tobago
Multi-purpose stadiums in Trinidad and Tobago
Joe Public F.C.

Marvin Lee Stadium


Lendon Howard Smith (June 3, 1921 – November 17, 2001) was an American Ob/Gyn, pediatrician, author, and television personality. He was notable for his advice on parenting and advocating children's health and eating issues. He was known to fans as "The Children's Doctor" for his expertise on the issues and an outspoken proponent of the use of vitamins for children.

Smith was criticized by nutritionists for promoting the dangerous belief that large megavitamin dosages would help cure any disease or disorder.

Background

Born in Portland, Oregon, Smith was a second generation doctor (his father was also a pediatrician), having received his M.D. in 1946 from the University of Oregon Medical School. He served as captain in the United States Army Medical Corps from 1947 to 1949, went on to a pediatric residency at St. Louis Children's Hospital in Missouri, and completed it at Portland's Doernbecher Memorial Hospital in 1951. In 1955, Smith became Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Oregon Medical Hospital. He would practice pediatrics for 35 years before retiring in 1987 to lecture, to write, and to continue to help make "megavitamin" a household word and promote megavitamin therapy, in which he advocated the uses of Vitamin A and Vitamin C in massive amounts.

Smith was also among the first to caution against sugar, white flour, and junk food known to contribute to sickness, hyperactivity, obesity, allergies, and many illnesses in children and adults. He was also vocal about his feelings towards the use of vaccines and modern drugs: "Modern drugs and vaccines have proven to be a hoax in attaining health. They have brought false hopes......The vaccinations are not working, and they are dangerous.. We should be working with nature." He also argued against the use of experimental treatment in children with ADHD.

Smith was also a fixture on television, which is where he would receive the nickname "The Children's Doctor", which was also the title of his 5-minute ABC daytime show that ran from 1967 to 1969. He also appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson a record 62 times and on The Phil Donahue Show 20 times. But he would become more famous for appearing in a 1977 ABC Afterschool Special called My Mom's Having a Baby, about a 10-year-old boy's curiosity about how babies are born. The special proved to be popular with viewers and was awarded a Daytime Emmy. Smith would return in 1980 for the sequel Where Do Teenagers Come From?, which dealt with a 12-year-old girls' puberty.  He also authored or co-authored more than 15 books, ranging from parenting and children's issues to nutrition.

Controversies

Smith was placed under probation by the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners in 1973 for prescribing medication that was "not necessary or medically indicated" for six adult patients, one diagnosed as hyperactive and the other five as heroin addicts. He was restricted to practicing pediatrics by the board that same year but was allowed to authorize prescriptions again in 1974. He was placed on probation again in 1975 after the board determined that he was prescribing Ritalin to "too many children," only to be reinstated in 1981. This would be one of the many issues that would result in him surrendering his license in 1987, as he was under pressure from insurance companies and the Board of Medical Examiners over his ethical practices, in which he had signed documents authorizing insurance payments for patients he had not seen. The patients had actually been seen by chiropractors, homeopaths, and others whose treatment was not covered at the clinics in which he had worked.

He remained involved with medicine through writing and lecturing, this time promoting alternative medicine. In 1993 he did a video that promoted him as a physician, even though he was not licensed to practice as one, and later helped to promote the Life Balances International Program. In 2001 he was involved with the Church of Scientology as he appointed himself as the commissioner of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights.

Smith was featured in a marketing video "Homeopathic Care of Infants and Children", 1993. It has been described by medical experts as dangerous. In the video Smith promoted dubious homeopathic remedies for chicken pox, colds, constipation, coughs, diarrhea, earaches, flu, headaches, measles and sore throats.

Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch has noted that Smith advocated for pregnant women, "daily supplements of 20,000 to 30,000 units of vitamin A, a dosage high enough to cause birth defects." Nutritionist Kurt Butler described Smith as a quack who promoted dangerous medical advice. According to Butler:

Besides encouraging people to poison themselves and their kids with toxic doses of supplements, he recommends raw milk, avoiding foods you are allergic to because they cause obesity, diagnosis by hair analysis and cytotoxic testing, taking thyroxin pills, taking glandulars, fasting to the point of feeling weak and sick, and lots of other nonsense. Smith's books are hoaxes because there is not a scrap of scientific evidence to support his claims.

In his book Dr. Lendon Smith's Low-Stress Diet, he recommended his readers to practice fasting and take only distilled water and supplements for several days to cleanse the liver. He was criticized for this erroneous belief. During fasting the liver is not cleansed but overworks by saturating it with toxins produced by starvation.

Death

Smith died on November 17, 2001, after having open heart surgery. He was 80.

Selected publications

Feed Your Kids Right (1979)
Dr. Lendon Smith's Low-Stress Diet Book (1988)
Feed Your Body Right: Understanding Your Individual Body (1993)
How to Raise a Healthy Child (1998)

See also

Orthomolecular medicine
Vitamin C megadosage

References

External links

"Pediatrics: TV Doctor" from Time (June 16, 1967)

1921 births
2001 deaths
American gynecologists
American male non-fiction writers
American medical writers
American pediatricians
American Scientologists
American television personalities
Orthomolecular medicine advocates
Pseudoscientific diet advocates
United States Army Medical Corps officers
University of Oregon alumni
Writers from Portland, Oregon

Lendon Smith


Stanley Floyd (born June 23, 1961) is a retired track and field sprinter from the United States. He was a 1979 graduate of Dougherty High School in Albany, Georgia. In 1980, he was considered one of the favorites for the 100m title but was denied his chance due to the United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics.

Career

Floyd attended the University of Houston where he studied for a degree in communications. There he hoped to train towards Olympic success - originally he was aiming for 1984 not 1980 - before turning to American football to earn fame and fortune. He originally attended Auburn University, but left after a year.

In 1980 achieved the best time globally in the 100 metres, at 10.07 s. This time improved the World junior record (the record of Mel Lattany from 1978).

Floyd won the 100 m at the USA Olympic Trials for the 1980 Olympic team but did not compete due to the U.S. Olympic Committee's boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia. He had already won the NCAA and USA National Championships in the men's 100 metres. This was a triplet of wins last achieved 24 years previously in 1956 by Bobby Morrow. He was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal instead.

It is debatable whether Floyd would have beaten the eventual champion Allan Wells at the Olympics. He had the faster time for the year and in post-Olympic meetings he beat Wells by 2 to 1. However, Wells won the psychologically important first meeting in Cologne and clearly suffered from declining form as his long season ended.

In 1981, Floyd became United States champion indoors at 60 m.
Later in the year outdoors, Floyd was second in the US National Championships at 100 metres.
He was thus reserve at the 1981 Athletics World Cup to Carl Lewis, and even warmed-up for the event in case Lewis was injured competing in the long jump, whose start preceded the 100 m scheduled run time by only 40 minutes. In the end he wasn't required to run, but in retrospect maybe he should have because Lewis was injured in the race and finished last.

He had a scintillating 1982 indoor season, establishing world records at 50 yards ( 5.22 s), 60 yards (6.09 s), and 55 metres (6.10 s). Floyd's top performance in the 100 m occurred on June 5, 1982, when winning the 1982 NCAA 100 m title in Provo, Utah, where he clocked 10.03. This was the NCAA meet record until 1990.

Floyd in 1983 retired from track and field to try his luck at American football in the National Football League (NFL). At the time he has stated he felt he lacked the necessary motivation required to continue his sprinting career and try for another Olympics.

He achieved little success with American football - he was dropped by the Atlanta Falcons, then by the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League (USFL), and then failed to make the cut with the Houston Oilers. So in 1987 he successfully fought for the right to run again as an athlete.

Rankings

Floyd was ranked among the best in the US and the world in the 100 m sprint events over the period 1980 to 1987, according to the votes of the experts of Track and Field News.

Floyd also showed early promise as 200 m runner, and in 1981 was ranked seventh in the world and fifth in the US by those same experts of Track and Field News.

Personal life
Floyd's wife, Delisa Walton-Floyd, was a former world-class middle-distance runner for Detroit-Mackenzie High School and the University of Tennessee. Walton-Floyd placed fifth in the 800 meter run at the 1988 Summer Olympics; her personal best (1:57.80) still ranks fifth all-time among American 800 meter runners.

Stanley and Delisa have two daughters, Ebonie and Kalyn. Ebonie, who is coached by her father, was an NCAA All-American sprinter at the University of Houston; producing the fourth fastest 200 meters (22.32) in the world during 2007. By virtue of her sixth-place finish (400 meters) at the 2008 US Olympic Trials, Ebonie earned a position on the Olympic Team as a member of the 4x400 meter relay squad. Younger sister, Kalyn Floyd, was a three-time All American sprinter for the University of Houston track team.

Floyd was accepted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Albany Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. After retiring again from athletics, Floyd became a police officer on the Houston Vice Squad. He is now retired from the police service and resides in Houston, Texas.

References

Further reading

External links

Track & Field News Official World Rankings - Mens 100 meters
 Track & Field News Cover, February 1981.

1961 births
Living people
American male sprinters
Sportspeople from Albany, Georgia
Track and field athletes from Georgia (U.S. state)
Houston Cougars men's track and field athletes
Place of birth missing (living people)
Congressional Gold Medal recipients
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners

Stanley Floyd


Genzano di Roma is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome, in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is one of the Castelli Romani, at a distance of  from Rome, in the Alban Hills.

History
The origin of the name Genzano is still disputed. According to one version, the hill overlooking the Lake of Nemi on which the city is situated was once devoted to the goddess Cynthia, whose cult was associated to that of Diana Nemorensis. Another version relates its origin to the Gentiani family. For others the presence on the hills, at that time of the "tribus or gens Cynthia" originators and custodians of the cult of courage, in "Castrum Gentianum" from them the derivation of the name Genzano.

From Roman Republican times the area was inhabited by wealthy Roman citizens who wished to benefit from the cleaner air, uncontaminated water and cooler temperatures during the hot summer months. The remains of many ancient Roman villas are to be found in the surroundings. The most impressive being the walls of the "Villa of the Antonini" where the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius (r. 138–161 AD) was born. The Herculean Sarcophagus of Genzano, currently in the British Museum was found here.

In the 12th century a tower of the Genoese Gandolfi family, lord of Castel Gandolfo, existed in the site. In 1183 Pope Lucius III gave it to the Cistercian monks of St. Anastasius of Aquae Salviae in Rome. In 1235 they built a large castle around which the town later grew. In 1378 the Popes assigned it to Giordano Orsini. The Cistercians and the Colonna alternatively ruled Genzano until 1563, when the castle was ceded for 150,000 scudos to the Massimi, from which it was bought by Giuliano Cesarini.

Livia Cesarini, the last exponent of the family and wife of Francesco II Sforza, together with architect Giovanni Iacobini, designed and built Genzano Nuova (New Genzano) in 1708, according to the most modern urban planning of that time.
The painter Maratti was one of the citizens who settled in Livia Sforza-Cesarini's new town.

In 1873 it was decided that the name of the town should be changed to Genzano di Roma to avoid confusion within the postal service as there are two towns in Italy called Genzano.

In the 19th and early 20th century it was seat of numerous peasant revolts; during World War II it suffered heavy damage under Allied bombings, which destroyed 90 percent of its buildings.

Main sights
 Baronial Palace Sforza Cesarini
 The English garden of Palace Sforza Cesarini
  Church of St. Mary of the Capuchins
 Fountain of St. Sebastian
  Cathedral of St. Mary of the Hilltop

Infiorata

In June, a folkloristic and religious exhibition, the "Infiorata" is held. A whole street (Via Italo Belardi) is covered with allegorical carpets of flowers and a masked parade walk on these, with medieval and traditional clothes realized by the town's women. The event was held for the first time in 1778. Each year the artists suggestions must conform to a previously agreed upon theme, such as "The Colours of Michelangelo", or "The Designs of Bernini". In Spring it has recently become traditional a "mini Infiorata" made by the children from the local schools.

Twin cities
 Châtillon, France
 Merseburg, Germany
 Mokotów, Poland

References

External links
 Official website of Infiorata

Castelli Romani
Roman villas in Italy

Genzano di Roma