Limited liability is a legal status in which a person's financial liability is limited to a fixed sum, most commonly the value of a person's investment in a corporation, company or partnership. If a company that provides limited liability to its investors is sued, then the claimants are generally entitled to collect only against the assets of the company, not the assets of its shareholders or other investors.  A shareholder in a corporation or limited liability company is not personally liable for any of the debts of the company, other than for the amount already invested in the company and for any unpaid amount on the shares in the company, if any, except under special and rare circumstances permitting "piercing the corporate veil."  The same is true for the members of a limited liability partnership and the limited partners in a limited partnership. By contrast, sole proprietors and partners in general partnerships are each liable for all the debts of the business (unlimited liability).

Although a shareholder's liability for the company's actions is limited, the shareholders may still be liable for their own acts. For example, the directors of small companies (who are frequently also shareholders) are often required to give personal guarantees of the company's debts to those lending to the company. They will then be liable for those debts that the company cannot pay, although the other shareholders will not be so liable.  This is known as co-signing.  A shareholder who is also an employee of the corporation may be personally liable for actions the employee takes in that capacity on behalf of the corporation, in particular torts committed within the scope of employment.

Limited liability for shareholders for contracts entered by the corporation is not controversial because this could and probably would be agreed to by both parties to the contract.  However, limited liability for shareholders for torts (or harms not agreed to in advance) is  controversial because of concerns that such limited liability could lead to excessive risk taking by companies and more negative externalities (i.e., more harm to third parties) than would be produced in the absence of limited liability.  According to one estimate, negative corporate externalities on an annual basis are equal to between 5 and 20 percent of U.S. GDP.

An issue in liability exposure is whether the assets of a parent entity and the sole owner need to be subject to the subsidiary's liabilities, when the subsidiary is declared insolvent and owes debt to its creditors. As a general principle of corporate law, in the United States, a parent entity and the sole owner are not liable for the acts of its subsidiaries. However, as a caveat, they may be liable for its subsidiaries' obligations when the law supports "piercing the corporate veil".

Provided that the parent entity or the sole owner do not maintain separate legal identities from the subsidiary (through inadequate/ undocumented transfer of funds and assets), the judgment is likely to be in favor of the creditor. In the same regard, if a subsidiary is undercapitalized from its inception, that may be grounds for piercing the corporate veil. Further, if injustice/fraud to the creditor is proven, the parent entity or the owner may be held liable to compensate the creditor. Thus, there is not one characteristic that defines the piercing of a corporate veil - a factors test is used to determine if piercing is appropriate or not.

If shares are issued "part-paid", then the shareholders are liable, when a claim is made against the capital of the company, to pay to the company the balance of the face or par value of the shares.

History
By the 15th century, English law had awarded limited liability to monastic communities and trade guilds with commonly held property. In the 17th century, joint stock charters were awarded by the crown to monopolies such as the East India Company. The world's first modern limited liability law was enacted by the state of New York in 1811. In England it became more straightforward to incorporate a joint stock company following the Joint Stock Companies Act 1844, although investors in such companies carried unlimited liability until the Limited Liability Act 1855.

There was a degree of public and legislative distaste for a limitation of liability, with fears that it would cause a drop in standards of probity. The 1855 Act allowed limited liability to companies of more than 25 members (shareholders). Insurance companies were excluded from the act, though it was standard practice for insurance contracts to exclude action against individual members. Limited liability for insurance companies was allowed by the Companies Act 1862. The minimum number of members necessary for registration as a limited company was reduced to seven by the Companies Act 1856. Limited companies in England and Wales now require only one member.

Similar statutory regimes were in place in France and in the majority of the U.S. states by 1860. By the final quarter of the nineteenth century, most European countries had adopted the principle of limited liability. The development of limited liability facilitated the move to large-scale industrial enterprise, by removing the threat that an individual's total wealth would be confiscated if invested in an unsuccessful company. Large sums of personal financial capital became available, and the transferability of shares permitted a degree of business continuity not possible in other forms of enterprise.

In the UK there was initially a widespread belief that a corporation needed to demonstrate its creditworthiness by having its shares only partly paid, as where shares are partly paid, the investor would be liable for the remainder of the nominal value in case the company could not pay its debts. Shares with nominal values of up to £1,000 were therefore subscribed to with only a small payment, leaving even a limited liability investor with a potentially crushing liability and restricting investment to the very wealthy. During the Overend Gurney crisis (1866–1867) and the Long Depression (1873–1896) many companies fell into insolvency and the unpaid portion of the shares fell due. Further, the extent to which small and medium investors were excluded from the market was admitted and, from the 1880s onwards, shares were more commonly fully paid.

Although it was admitted that those who were mere investors ought not to be liable for debts arising from the management of a corporation, throughout the late nineteenth century there were still many arguments for unlimited liability for managers and directors on the model of the French société en commandite. Such liability for directors of English companies was abolished in 2006. Further, it became increasingly common from the end of the nineteenth century for shareholders to be directors, protecting themselves from liability.

In 1989, the European Union enacted its Twelfth Council Company Law Directive, requiring that member states make available legal structures for individuals to trade with limited liability. This was implemented in England and Wales in the Companies (Single Member Private Limited Companies) Regulations 1992, which allowed single-member limited-liability companies.

Justification
Some argue that limited liability is related to the concept of separate legal personality bestowed on the corporate form, which is promoted as encouraging entrepreneurship by various economists, enabling large sums to be pooled towards an economically beneficial purpose.

Limited liability has been justified as promoting investment and capital formation by reassuring risk averse investors.

Criticisms
An early critic of limited liability, Edward William Cox, a lifelong member of the Conservative Party, wrote in 1855:

Others argue that while some limited liability is beneficial, the privilege ought not to extend to liability in tort for environmental disasters or personal injury because this leads to excessive risk taking and negative externalities by corporations. Others argue that limited liability should be permitted, but should be taxed more heavily to offset the harm limited liability causes.  Such taxes could be structured to  generate information for regulators about how risky the activities companies are undertaking are to third parties.

The notion of corporate limited liability has met criticism from certain figures among the libertarian right. In For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto, Murray N. Rothbard approvingly quoted Robert Poole, a fellow libertarian who stated that '[a] libertarian society would be a full-liability society where everyone is fully responsible for his actions and any harmful consequences they might cause'.

Maritime claims

The 1957 Brussels Convention and the 1976 London Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims permit the charterer, manager, operators and salvors of a ship, and the master and members of the crew, to limit their liability for damage caused by events occurring "on board or in direct connection with the operation of the ship, or with salvage operations" and for "consequential loss resulting therefrom".

See also
 Limited liability company
 Salomon v A Salomon & Co Ltd
 Unlimited liability company
 No liability – for mining companies only
 Proprietary company

Notes

References

 , reprinted in ,  pp. ix, 406.

 Jefferys, J.B. (1954) "The denomination and character of shares, 1855–1885", in Carus-Wilson Op. cit., pp. 344–57

 Select Committee on the Limited Liability Acts (1867) Parliamentary Papers (329) X. 393, p. 31
 , reprinted in Carus-Wilson Op. cit., pp. 358–79

Business law
Shareholders
Corporate governance
Public liability

Limited liability


The Knight–Allen House is a historic house located in Provo, Utah. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

390 East Center Street

The Knight–Allen home was constructed in 1888 in the Victorian style. Containing a Moorish tin scalloped roof, an Italianate turret, distinctive lintels, Romanesque porch tiers, and several ornate window shapes, it is an excellent example of a Victorian Eclectic home. The Knight–Allen House was designated to the Provo City Historic Landmarks Registry on June 19, 1996.

Jesse Knight

Perhaps the wealthiest man in Provo at the time, Jesse Knight was born in 1845 in Nauvoo, Illinois. Knight's family migrated west, and reached Utah Territory in 1857. Twelve years later Knight married Amanda McEwan and began a ranch near Payson. Following an impression that he had, Knight began a mining operation in the Eureka area and became rich. He subsequently bought other mines, founded a bank, purchased real estate in Provo, bought the Provo Woolen Mills, and started farming and cattle interests in Canada. Throughout all of these efforts Knight remained an active supporter of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and his mines were called the "cleanest mining camps in the west" (Utah State Historical Society p. 2). Knight died in 1921, designating much of his amassed fortune to Brigham Young University and various other institutions. After his death, the house was occupied by Knight's daughter, Inez Knight Allen, and her husband.

The Victorian Mansions of Provo

Built between the years 1893 and 1908 in Provo, Utah, this group of Victorian mansions are historically significant and represent not only fine architecture but some of the most successful men of the city and state at the time.  These mansions include the Charles E. Loose House, the William H. Ray House, the Knight–Allen House, the John R. Twelves House, the Jesse Knight House, the Knight-Mangum House, and the Thomas N. Taylor House.   All of these homes derive from the high style: Eastlake, Shingle, Craftsman, Italianate, Classical, Moorish, Colonial, and Romanesque Revivals.  Made primarily of brick, these homes exhibit the finest architecture and most ornate detailing to be found in the city of Provo.

Jesse Knight and the Tintic mining industry

The successful commercial mining of precious metals and minerals transformed Utah's economy from basically an agrarian base to a more industrialized state. Within this development the Tintic Mining District, located approximately thirty miles southwest of Provo, was founded in 1869 and by 1899 became the leading mining center in Utah with a value of output placed at $5 million. A central figure in Tintic success was Jesse Knight and the Knight family who resided in Provo. Jesse Knight attained wealth with his Humbug mine in the mid-1890s. The large silver producer allowed Knight to develop other mines in the East Tintic area. Knightsville grew around the workings and became touted as the only saloon-free, prostitute-free, privately owned mining camp in the U.S. His strict adherence to doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made the town one inhabited primarily by members of that church.

Jessie Knight was able to expand farther than the Tintic mines, reaching to the power plant in Santaquin, the Tintic drain tunnel project, the Knight Dry farm, and the smelters at Silver City.  The Bonneville Mining company, the Knight Woolen Mills, Ellison Ranching Company, The American-Columbian Corporation, The Springville-Mapleton Sugar Company, The Spring Canyon Coal Company, Utah Savings Bank, The Layton Sugar Company, and the Tintic Drain Tunnel Company all represent facets of the Knight Investment Company.  As a result of all these financial successes, the Knight-Allen house was able to be built.  It was probably designed by Provo architect Richard C. Watkins.

Preservation
The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as part of a multiple property submission that nominated seven and listed six Provo houses.  The listed houses are the Knight–Mangum House, the John R. Twelves House, the Jesse Knight House, this, the Knight–Allen House, the William H. Ray House, and the Thomas N. Taylor House.  The seventh, the Charles E. Loose House, was determined to be NRHP-eligible but was not NRHP-listed due to owner objection.

References

  2002. "Historic Provo" Provo City Landmarks Commission.
  Temme, Debbie/ Cannon, Ken/ Notarianni, Phil.  National Park Service.  "National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form." Summer 1980

External links

NRHP Listings in Provo Utah

Houses in Provo, Utah
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Utah
National Register of Historic Places in Provo, Utah
Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Utah
Knight family (Latter Day Saints)

Knight–Allen House


Waltham Abbey is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, within the metropolitan and urban area of London, England,  north-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the Greenwich Meridian, between the River Lea in the west and Epping Forest in the east, with large sections forming part of the Metropolitan Green Belt.

The town borders Chingford to the south; Loughton, Theydon Bois and Buckhurst Hill to the east; Cheshunt, Waltham Cross and Enfield to the west; and the rural areas of Nazeing and Epping Upland to the north. As well as the main built-up area, the parish covers the areas of Claverhambury, Fishers Green, High Beach, Holyfield, Lippitts Hill, Sewardstone, Sewardstonebury and Upshire. As of the 2021 census, the civil parish of Waltham Abbey had a population of 22,859.

The town is named and renowned for its former abbey, the last in England to be dissolved, now the Abbey Church of Waltham Holy Cross and St Lawrence—a scheduled ancient monument and the town's parish church. A place of worship since the 7th century, it became a place of pilgrimage following the Legend of the Holy Cross in the 11th century, and was rebuilt and re-founded by King Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, in 1060. It is believed to be Harold's final resting place after his death at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Open to the public as Waltham Abbey Gardens, the grounds of the abbey and Cornmill Meadows are maintained by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. Along the town's eastern edge is much of Epping Forest, maintained by the City of London Corporation; entirely within it is the village of High Beach. In the south is Gilwell Park, which since 1919 has formed an important site for the worldwide Scout movement. Following the course of the River Lea along the town's western boundary with Hertfordshire and historic Middlesex is the Lee Valley Regional Park, where the Lee Valley White Water Centre hosted the canoe slalom events of the London 2012 Olympic Games. For over 300 years, the Royal Gunpowder Mills on the Millhead Stream were in operation, where many of the processes used in the explosives industry were invented and developed; it today forms a scheduled ancient monument site with many listed buildings, and is a site of special scientific interest.

Historically an ancient parish named Waltham Holy Cross in the Waltham hundred of Essex, it became a local government district in 1850, and was granted urban district status in 1894. It was included in the Metropolitan Police District in 1840, and the London postal district upon its inception in 1856. It formed part of the review area for the Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London, but did not become part of the Greater London administrative area in 1965. Whilst the use of the name Waltham Abbey for the town dates back to the 16th century at the earliest, the parish itself was not renamed until 1974, when the successor parish covering the former Waltham Holy Cross Urban District was named Waltham Abbey. Its administrative headquarters have been at Waltham Abbey Town Hall since 1904. The town is twinned with the German town of Hörstel.

Toponymy
The name Waltham derives from weald or wald "forest" and ham "homestead" or "enclosure". The name of the ancient parish was usually given as "Waltham Holy Cross" in civil matters and "Waltham Abbey" in ecclesiastical matters. The use of the name Waltham Abbey for the main settlement in the parish seems to have originated in the 16th century, although there has often been inconsistency in the use of the two names. Despite the similar name, the parish never included Waltham Cross on the opposite side of the River Lea, which formed part of the parish of Cheshunt in Hertfordshire. The civil parish of Waltham Holy Cross was formally renamed Waltham Abbey in 1974.

History

Early history
There are traces of prehistoric and Roman settlement in the town. Ermine Street lies only 5 km west and the causeway across the River Lea from Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire may be a Roman construction. A local legend claims that Boudica's rebellion against the Romans ended in the neighbourhood, when she poisoned herself with hemlock gathered on the banks of Cobbins Brook.

There has been a church on the site of Waltham Abbey since the 7th century. Traces of the flint rubble foundations of a 7th-century wooden church have been found under the choir of the present building; an associated burial has been radiocarbon dated to between 590 and 690. A proposed date of circa 610 would place its construction in the reign of Sæberht of Essex, who was noted for his church-building activities. Other finds included a 7th-century Kentish jewellery book-clasp depicting eagles grasping a fish.

Abbey as main landowner

The recorded history of the town began during the reign of Canute in the early 11th century when his standard-bearer Tovi or Tofig the Proud, founded (or rebuilt) a church here to house the miraculous cross discovered at Montacute in Somerset. It is this cross that gave Waltham the earliest suffix to its name. After Tovi's death around 1045, Waltham reverted to the King (Edward the Confessor), who gave it to the Earl Harold Godwinson (later king). Harold rebuilt Tovi's church in stone around 1060, in gratitude it is said for his cure from a paralysis, through praying before the miraculous cross. Waltham's people used the abbey as their parish church, and paid their tithes, worked the glebe as well any of their lord's land, and paid other dues to the canons.

Legend has it that after his death at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, Harold's body was brought to Waltham for burial near to the High Altar. Today, the spot is marked by a stone slab in the churchyard (originally the site of the high altar before the Reformation).In 1177, as part of his penance for his part in the murder of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Henry II refounded Harold's church as a priory of Augustinian Canons Regular of sixteen canons and a prior or dean. In 1184, this was enlarged so that Waltham became an abbey with an abbot and twenty-four canons, which grew to be the richest monastery in Essex. The town grew to the west and south of the abbey.

In the medieval and early Tudor periods, there were two guilds in the parish, each with an endowment for a priest: the Brotherhood of Our Lady, and the Charnel Guild, whose priest was also the parish curate. The former, which existed from at least 1375, occupied the Lady Chapel in the parochial part of the church. The Charnel Guild, which occurs as 'the Sepulchre' in 1366, probably used its crypt.

Henry VIII was a frequent visitor and is said to have had a house or lodge at Romeland, adjacent to the abbey. During their summer progress of 1532, Henry and Queen Anne Boleyn stayed at Waltham Abbey for five days.

The town's dependence on the Abbey is signalled by its decline after the Abbey was dissolved and partially demolished in 1540, the last working abbey or monastery to be dissolved. Waltham Abbey vicarage is a 17th-century timber framed and plastered building. It was given by Edward Denny, 1st Earl of Norwich to create the first curacy, but was much altered in the 18th century and later, and was more recently architecturally Grade II*listed. In the early 19th century the church held three Sunday services, including one in the evening for the local factory workers. In 1862, Holy Communion was celebrated monthly and attended by about 100.

Post-Reformation
In the 17th century there were four churchwardens (who fulfilled some roles of local government, collected and distributing poor relief): one each for the town, Holyfield, Upshire, and Sewardstone. Joseph Hall, curate from 1608, was later Bishop successively of Exeter and Norwich. A complete diocesan list of curates was printed to 1888 and Thomas Fuller, author of The Worthies of England and of the first History of Waltham Abbey, was curate 1649–58.

In the 17th century, a gunpowder factory was opened in the town, no doubt due to good river communications and empty marshland by the River Lea and this now forms the museum below.

Post-Industrial Revolution
The factory was sold to the government in 1787 and was greatly expanded during the next century, becoming the Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills. In the 19th century, searches began for more powerful and reliant propellant explosives, and guncotton was developed here by Frederick Abel, starting in 1863. Cordite production began in 1891 and the site was enlarged several times. The site was an obvious target during World War II, and a German V-2 rocket landed near the factory in Highbridge Street on 7 March 1945, causing considerable damage to property and large loss of life. The factory eventually closed in 1943, and the site was developed into an explosives research establishment. There was also a fulling mill at Sewardstone around 1777 and a pin factory by 1805. Silk and calico printing were also important industries. The River Lee Navigation was also improved, a new canal cut across the marshes was opened in 1769, bringing more trade to the town. Outside the town, the parish is largely rural and agriculture has been an important occupation.

In the first half of the 20th century, the area was extensively covered in glass-houses and market gardens. Gravel extraction has also long been a major industry in the Lea Valley, leaving a legacy of pits now used for recreation and an important wildlife habitat. In 1959–60 all of the church's houses and land were converted to stock or bank investments. No rectory has existed – the benefice before becoming the present vicarage serving four churches in the wider area was a perpetual curacy — a relevant fact for the purposes of chancel repair liability that therefore cannot exist. In the 1960s and 1970s, the population of the town increased, partly by an extensive programme of clearances and redevelopment in the town centre, and partly by the development of housing estates on the outskirts, such as Roundhills and Ninefields.

Governance

There are three tiers of local government covering Waltham Abbey, at parish (town), district and county level: Waltham Abbey Town Council, Epping Forest District Council and Essex County Council. The town council is based at Waltham Abbey Town Hall on Highbridge Street.

Waltham Abbey has formed part of the Epping Forest parliamentary constituency since 1974, represented by Dame Eleanor Laing MP of the Conservative Party since 1997. Prior to 1974, the town formed part of the Epping constituency, served by Sir Winston Churchill as its Member of Parliament between 1924 and 1945.

Administrative history
The ancient parish of Waltham Holy Cross was in the Waltham Hundred of Essex. The parish was divided into the township of Waltham Abbey and the hamlets of Upshire, Holyfield, and Sewardstone. The parish was included in the Metropolitan Police District in 1840.

The whole parish was made a local board of health district in 1850, governed by a local board. Such districts were reconstituted as urban districts in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894, so it became the Waltham Holy Cross Urban District. The urban district council built itself the Town Hall in 1904 to serve as its headquarters.

Following the Local Government Act 1929, in 1932 it was proposed that it should be merged with Chingford to form a new urban district of 'Chingford and Waltham Abbey'. The amalgamation was supported by Chingford Urban District Council but was not supported by the Waltham Holy Cross Urban District Council, who feared increased rates and the potential loss of the annual fair and market. The lack of a direct rail connection between the districts was also highlighted. The review resulted in no amalgamation, and only a small transfer of territory from Waltham Holy Cross to Chingford following a county review order in 1934.

As it formed part of the Registrar General's definition of the Greater London Conurbation, the urban district formed part of the review area for the Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London. However, it did not subsequently become part of the Greater London administrative area created in 1965, because it was surrounded by the Metropolitan Green Belt and had limited connection to the London built-up area.

The urban district was abolished in 1974 to become part of the new Epping Forest District. A successor parish was created covering the former Waltham Holy Cross Urban District, but with the new parish being named Waltham Abbey rather than Waltham Holy Cross. The new parish council created in 1974 resolved that the parish should have the status of a town under the Local Government Act 1972, allowing it to take the name Waltham Abbey Town Council.

Geography
The River Lea, which forms the county boundary with Hertfordshire, is the town's western boundary, and the eastern boundary runs through Epping Forest. The land rises gradually from the marshes and meadows by the river to a small plateau of london clay in the east, 60–90 metres above sea level, capped in the highest parts by the sand and gravel of Epping Forest. On the river the elevations range from 22m in the northwest to 13.5m in the southwest. To the southwest, occupying a former course of the River Lea, is the King George V Reservoir, opened in 1913. Cobbins Brook, a tributary of the River Lea, crosses the parish from east to west. Waltham Abbey parish includes in its 41 km2 the villages and hamlets of High Beach, Holyfield, Sewardstone and Upshire. The M25 motorway runs to the south of the town through the middle of the parish and can be accessed east of the town at Junction 26 via Honey Lane or the rural relief road, the A121 directly south of the motorway.

The north-west of the parish contains part of the Lee Valley Park. Most of the parish, and the majority of its population, are within the Waltham Abbey post town of the EN postcode area. However, lightly populated parts to the south are within the Loughton post town of the IG postcode area, and the Sewardstone and Gilwell Park areas to the southwest are within the E postcode area of the London post town.

The main settlement in the parish is the town of Waltham Abbey, and the other smaller settlements are the hamlets of Claverhambury, Fishers Green, Holyfield, High Beach, Sewardstone and Upshire.

Claverhambury consists of approximately 15 homes and farms by two woods, Deerpark Wood and Stockings Grove, to the north-east of the town centre.  Its bounds are the eastern slopes of Galley Hill. The western side of this hilltop is wooded. It is directly south of Epping Long Green, a tall ridge topped by the Stort Valley Way footpath between the towns of Epping and Harlow.

Fishers Green is a locality  north of the town of Waltham Abbey on the B194 road on the section known as the Crooked Mile.

Holyfield consists of approximately 11 homes and farms and is mostly on the western slopes of Monkham's Hill, near the top of which is situated Monkham's Hall. Seven buildings in the hamlet are architecturally listed. In the west are plant nurseries above lakes of the River Lea, and an arboretum and tree nursery separate the hamlet from the town to the south.  It is located at grid reference .

Following a county review order in 1934, an area of 58 acres with a population of 23 (in 1931) was transferred to Chingford Urban District.

The Enfield Island Village area was transferred from Waltham Abbey to the London Borough of Enfield in 1994.

Watercourses
Over the centuries many channels have been dug to divide the River Lea and drain the westernmost land. These channels flow southward across Cheshunt Marsh and part of Waltham Abbey parish;
Cornmill Stream
Old River Lea
Millhead Stream
River Lee Flood Relief Channel, the southern distributary of the Old River Lea and Horsemill Stream
River Lee Navigation
Small River Lea

Tributaries of the Lea River System
Cobbins Brook flows through the town from the east and northeast.

Demography
As of the 2021 census, the population of the built-up area of Waltham Abbey was 18,645, an increase from 17,746 in 2011. The population of the wider civil parish was 22,859, an increase from 21,149 in 2011. 82% of the population of the parish live in the built-up area of Waltham Abbey.

As of the 2021 census, the population of the civil parish was 22,859, an increase from 21,149 in 2011. The majority of the population (82%) resides in the main built-up area, which had a 2021 population of 18,647. The 2021 census showed that 74.6% of the civil parish population identified as White British. 63.8% of the civil parish population was Christian at the 2011 census, with 25.3% declaring themselves irreligious. Minority religious groups include the Muslim and Jewish populations, forming 1.7 and 1.1 percent of the population respectively.

Landmarks

Abbey Church

The medieval Waltham Abbey Church was kept as it was close to a town and is still used as a parish church. In addition there are other remains of the former abbey – the Grade II*listed Midnight Chapel, the gatehouse, a vaulted passage and Harold's Bridge – all in the care of English Heritage.
 These grounds are notable for the reputed grave of Harold II or "Harold Godwinson", the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.

Local museum
Housed in a building dating back to 1520 is the Epping Forest District Museum, which tells the story of the people who have lived and worked in this part of south Essex from the earliest times to the present.

Royal Gunpowder Mills
On the site of a former gunpowder factory another museum illustrates the evolution of explosives and the development of the Royal Gunpowder Mills (an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage) through interactive and traditional exhibitions and displays. The site hosts living history and battle re-enactment events most summer weekends and also offers a self-guided nature walk that shows visitors the ecology that has reclaimed much of the remaining .

Architecturally notable buildings

The Welsh Harp in the Market Square is a half-timbered inn, mostly dating from the 15th century. The Lychgate passage beside the inn leads to the churchyard.
A former inn, at the corner of Sun Street and the Market Square, is now a barbers. A carved wooden bracket in the form of a hermaphrodite holding a jug supports the projecting upper storey.
Waltham Abbey Town Hall in Highbridge Street, dating from 1904, is a fine and rare example of an Art Nouveau public building.
Two notable 18th-century buildings are Essex House in Sewardstone Street and St. Kilda's in Highbridge Street.
At Upshire is a group of cottages known as the Blue Row. They are weatherboarded and with bark still visible on the roof.

Regional park
The former gravel pits in the Lea Valley and parts of the former Abbey Gardens are now in the care of the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority for recreational use and nature conservation.

Tourism Centre
The Epping Forest Conservation Centre in High Beach provides information, maps, books, cards, displays and advice for visitors to the area.

Transport
There are no railway lines or stations in Waltham Abbey itself, although there are several located nearby. Waltham Cross railway station opened in 1840. It is less than a mile from the centre of Waltham Abbey but lies over the border in Hertfordshire. That station was called "Waltham" from 1840 to 1882 when it was renamed "Waltham Cross". It was renamed again in 1894 to "Waltham Cross and Abbey", but reverted to "Waltham Cross" in 1969.

Other nearby stations include Chingford and Cheshunt. The nearest London Underground station is Loughton, on the Central line.

Several bus routes are operated in Waltham Abbey, some of which were originally operated by London Transport.

The last remaining London Buses route that runs through Waltham Abbey is route 215 from Lee Valley Camp Site to Walthamstow Central. Other current bus routes include Arriva 66 (Waltham Cross to Loughton, previously 250/255/555), Arriva 251 (Hammond Street to Upshire), Vectare 505 (Harlow to Waltham Cross. Harlow to Waltham Abbey Saturdays only), Vectare 13/13A/13B/13C (Waltham Cross to Epping/North Weald)

Former London Buses routes in Waltham Abbey include route 242 (Chingford Station to Potters Bar via Cheshunt), route 250 (Waltham Cross to South Woodford via Loughton), route 317 (Enfield Town to Upshire) and route 279/night bus N279 (Smithfield or Victoria to Upshire, nightly).

The M25 motorway runs through the town, with Junction 26 at Waltham Abbey.

Religion

The Anglican abbey church is dedicated to St Lawrence. The town has long had a Catholic church. For some decades this was in a former Methodist chapel, an irregularly shaped Edwardian building of stone-dressed red brick with a roof of Welsh slate tiles in free late gothic style with a belfry. In 2008 the congregation moved to a more modern building, and sold the former building to an Evangelical Free church.

Sport
Waltham Abbey has one senior non-League football club, Waltham Abbey F.C. which plays at Capershotts.

Waltham Abbey is also home to the Essex Arrows Baseball Club, founded by local resident, Louis Courtney in 1981 and later affiliated to the British Baseball Federation in 1984 by Phil Chesterton.

Notable residents
 Harriadnie Beau (born 1993), fashion model and brand ambassador
 Lady Victoria Buxton (1839–1916), philanthropist
 Archibald Corble (1883–1944), fencer
 Thomas Dangerfield (c.1650–1685), conspirator, born in Waltham Abbey
 Lawrence of Durham (c.1110–1154), poet and prior, was born at Waltham
 John Foxe (1516/17–1587), author of Foxe's Book of Martyrs, lived in a street now called Foxes Parade. The book was hung in chains on a pillar in Waltham Abbey Church
 Sir George Gardiner (1935–2002), Conservative and Referendum Party Member of Parliament for Reigate
 Terry Lawrence (1910–1989), cricketer
 Thomas Leverton (c.1743–1824), architect
 Albert Monk (1900–1975), Australian trade unionist, born in Waltham Abbey
 Connor Ogilvie (born 1996), footballer, was born in Waltham Abbey, currently playing for Portsmouth in League One, England's 3rd tier of football
 Fiona Pennie (born 1982), Olympic slalom canoeist, lives in Waltham Abbey
 Thomas Reeve (1594–1672), Anglican divine
 Roy Shaw (1936–2012), author, businessman and former East End gangster, lived in the area
 W. E. Shewell-Cooper (1900–1982), organic gardener and pioneer of no-dig gardening, was born in Waltham Abbey
 Kate Silverton (born 1970), journalist and BBC News presenter, was born and raised in Waltham Abbey
 Tony West (born 1972), darts player

Coat of arms

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

Waltham Abbey Town Council

Towns in Essex
Market towns in Essex
Civil parishes in Essex
Epping Forest District

Waltham Abbey


To kafe tis Charas (Greek: Το καφέ της Χαράς lit. Joy's café) is a Greek comedy-drama TV series that broadcast on ANT1 for three seasons from September 2003 to mid-2006, before being revived for a fourth and a fifth season since December 2019. The show was originally broadcast at 21:00 local time immediately after ANT1 NEWS, while the fourth season was broadcast on Fridays at 21.45. Together with Romas' previous show Konstantinou kai Elenis, episodes of the first three seasons of Kafe tis Charas have been re-run almost daily since the end of the show's original run, making it one of the most popular and recognisable shows in the history of Greek television. The show is produced by Kostas Lychnaras and written and directed by Charis Romas and Anna Chatzisofia.  The show stars Charis Romas (who also wrote and starred in Mama Mia, Oi Men Kai Oi Den and Konstantinou kai Elenis) as the ultraconservative mayor of a fictional village in Arcadia, who is obsessed with preventing Chara (lit. Joy) Chaska, an Athenian single mother, played by Renia Louizidou, from opening a café (the eponymous Kafe tis Charas) in his village. The series also stars Joyce Eveidi, Vassilis Chalakatevakis, Kostas Flokatoulas, Christina Tsafou, Foteini Demiri, Haris Grigoropoulos, Stelios Goutis, Rania Ioannidou, Sofia Moutidou, Periklis Lianos, Dimitris Tsakalas, Hara/Chara Ismirou/Ismyrou, Dimitrios Macheras and Giannis Papathanasis.

Reruns of Kafe tis Charas were one of the first Greek programs to air with closed captioning for the hearing impaired. In August 2018, Haris Romas announced that "To Kafe tis Charas" will return for a 4th Season in 2020.
The new season premiered on New Year's Eve 2019, to record ratings., and it ended on December 11, 2020.The success of 4th season lead to the production of one more season which premiered on January 15, 2021 and it consists of 20 episodes. The 5th season is the last season of the series.

Opening sequence
The instrumental opening of "Beautiful Eggs" by Spike Jones serves as the opening and closing theme song in Seasons 1-3 and as the opening theme as of Season 4.

The original opening credits show photos of the cast as children inside children's drawings of the village's buildings (the town hall, Chara's cafe, the bakery etc.), while a drawing of a hot air balloon flies above. The Season 4 opening credits feature the same children's drawings (without the childhood photographs), transforming one by one into updated 3D cartoon renderings, with exception of Chara's cafe, which is shown burning down (reflecting the fourth season's central plot point).

For the show's return in 2019, a new closing theme called "Put on a coffee" (Βάλε ενά καφέ), was recorded by Michalis Hatzigiannis, with lyrics by Haris Romas, and was a released as a single to coincide with the premiere of Season 4.

Plot

The story begins in Athens, with Chara Chaska (Renia Louizidou), a single mother who works at an advertising agency. When her boyfriend and fellow co-worker steals her ideas for a campaign and gets promoted instead of her, she decides to quit her job and move with her 10-year-old daughter Valia (Effie Rassia) to the remote mountain village of Kolokotronitsi (Κολοκοτρωνίτσι, named after Theodoros Kolokotronis), in Arcadia, where she has just inherited some property.

Chara's hopes for a peaceful life away from the cutthroat environment of the big city are quickly dashed when she meets the village's traditionalist and misogynist mayor Periandros Popotas (Περίανδρος Πώποτας), who has a pathological hatred of everything "modern" and views the very presence of an Athenian woman with an illegitimate child in his village as a threat to his idyllic community's motto of "Order and Morality" (Τάξις και Ηθική). A British-educated folklorist with a mysterious past, Periandros lives with his ten-year-old son Emmanuel, who develops a crush on Valia, and their housekeeper Tasia.

Popotas is particularly outraged at Chara's plans to open a modern cafeteria (which she calls "To cafe tis Charas", literally "The cafe of joy", a pun on her name) and rallies the villagers to boycott her.

The first season focuses on Chara's struggle to open her café against Periandros' machinations and follows her slowly winning the villagers over to her side, culminating in her attempt to unseat Popotas at municipal elections in the penultimate episode. The second season explores the protagonists' backstories, through the arrival in the village of various characters from their past. The third season has Chara and Periandros develop feelings for each other, and follows their doomed efforts to find a way to live to together despite their deeply contrasting beliefs. Season 4, set 14 years after the third season's cliffhanger ending, follows a now adult Valia returning to the village to investigate the cafés destruction in a mysterious fire.

Other characters include Periandros' sister, Stavroula, her adulterous, lazy and linguistically challenged husband, Vangellis, who as the village's coffee house owner is also Chara's main competitor, the village idiot Trelantonis whom Chara takes in, the bakers, Lefteris and Kanella, who have a long-running feud with the greengrocers, Tasos and Chaido over a fig tree (only to have their feud resolved when their children, Billy and Gogo get together and eventually marry), the village's priest Papa-Triantafyllos and his gossiping wife Marika and Aglaia, the wacky teacher who is madly in love with Periandros and fantasizes about marrying him.

About the village
The village features a square where its bakery, its greengrocers, its primary school and the city hall are all located. A number of neighboring villages are also mentioned many times in the series: Megalochori (lit. Big Village), the biggest village of the region, Ano and Kato Kremasta (lit. Upper and Lower Dangling) and Pera Rachoula.

Trivia
 The fictional village of Kolokotronitsi is portrayed by Karia village in Argolis in the Peloponnese
 Effie Rassia, the actress who plays Chara's daughter Valia, is the niece of protagonist Haris Romas in real-life
 The scenes for the café were in fact shot in Kallithea, Athens
 The actor who plays Trelantonis, Charis Grigoropoulos is actually married to Foteini Demiri that plays Kanela

Music
The show features an eclectic soundtrack which makes heavy use of tracks from classic movies, as well as mid-20th century Greek and foreign hits and classical music. Alan Silvestri, Joaquin Rodrigo and Jon Brion play a lot through the series. For example, in a scene where Aglaia performs voodoo, in order to make Periandros fall in love with her, Halloween (1978 movie) theme song plays in the background. A number of songs were also composed and recorded by various prominent Greek artists especially for the series, with lyrics written by Haris Romas.

Cast

References

External links

2003 Greek television series debuts
2006 Greek television series endings
2000s Greek television series
2010s Greek television series
2020s Greek television series
2019 Greek television series debuts
Greek-language television shows
ANT1 original programming
Greek comedy television series
Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic

To kafe tis Charas


Hānshān Déqīng (, Wade Giles: Han-Shan Te-Ch'ing, "Crazy Mountain, Virtuous Clarity", c. 1546–1623), was a leading Buddhist monk and poet of the late Ming dynasty China. He was also posthumously named Hongjue chanshi (弘覺大師). Hanshan was known for studying and teaching Pure Land, Huayan and Chán Buddhism. He is known as one of the four great masters of the Wanli Era Ming Dynasty, along with Yunqi Zhuhong (1535-1613) and Zibo Zhenke (1543-1603) both of whom he knew personally. He also wrote their biographies after their deaths.

Hanshan has remained an influential figure in Chinese Chan Buddhism down to the twentieth century. His works are widely printed and published in various editions. His teachings were most recently promoted by modern figures like Xuyun (1840?-1959) and his disciple Charles Luk (1898-1978).

Life

Early life
Hanshan was born in Quanjiao, thirty miles west of modern Nanjing (in modern Anhui). His mother was a great devotee of Guanyin and encouraged his studies. He became a monk at 11 and was fully ordained as a bhiksu at 18 at Bao'en temple. While there he studied literature as well as religious subjects and began writing poetry when he was 17. Two years later he was ordained as a Chan monk under the Buddhist name of Cheng Yin. He studied under Yungu Fahui (at Mt. Xixia) and Fangguang.

He also studied Huayan Buddhism under Wuji Mingxin (1512-1574), a great Huayan master of the time and a student of Lu'an Putai (fl. 1511) of Da Xinglong monastery in Beijing. After hearing Wuji's lectures on the Avatamsaka sutra, Hanshan became very interested in Huayan and the thought of patriarch Qingliang Chengguan. In 1565 Hanshan also took part in a meditation retreat led by Yungu Fahui. Hanshan practiced nianfo (buddha name recitation) for around three months, after which he had a great insight. After this, he started the Chan-practice of focusing on the question "Who iz repeating the Buddha's name?"

Bao'en monastery burned down in 1566 after being struck by lightning. Hanshan busied himself for some years in keeping the community together, teaching, and raising money for the monastery's debts.

Travels, religious activities and influence at court
Then in 1571, at the age of 26, Hanshan set out as a religious wanderer, traveling to different regions and Buddhist temples and monasteries in search of instructions. He visited different regions, including Beijing, where he studied various subjects like Pure Land, Chan, pramana, and Weishi with various Beijing area masters.

After four years he traveled to and explored Mount Wutai always carrying with him biography of Huayan patriarch Qingliang. During this period he saw the mountain peak called Hanshan (foolish mountain) and he adopted the name as his own style name. Hanshan then continued his travels, visiting Beijing again. He read the works of Sengzhao and had a powerful awakening experience afterwards and had an insight into the non-duality of all things.

Hanshan then went back to Mt. Wutai in 1575, staying at an abandoned house and focusing on meditation. He developed strong samadhi (meditative absorption) and had some powerful experiences, called his major awakening or satori by Charles Luk. He did not have a teacher to guide him and instead made use of the Surangama sutra to verify his meditative experiences.

In 1577, while on Mount Wutai he decided to copy the entire Avatamsaka Sutra in his own blood (mixed with gold powder). When the Empress Dowager Xiaoding heard of his intention, she provided gold papers for the project, which was the beginning of the close but complicated relationship between Hanshan and the Empress Dowager. The copying of the sutra took two years, and at every stroke Hanshan recited the name of Amitabha Buddha, attaining great concentration and reportedly being able to converse during this practice. He had various dreams related to the Avatamsaka during this time, in which he saw Qingliang Chengguan, Maitreya and Manjusri. The project was finished in 1581 and a ceremony was held to have the sutra installed into a pagoda.

By 1583 he had become famous as a Buddhist Master and set out traveling to remote areas again. It was at this time that he prefixed his name with that of Hanshan Peak so as to return to anonymity. In consequence of having organized a successful ceremony to ensure the birth of a male heir to the throne while he was still at Mount Wutai, Hanshan obtained the patronage of the emperor's mother. With her support he was able eventually to establish a new monastery at Mount Lao on the coast of the Shandong Peninsula. This new monastery was called Haiyinsi (Ocean Seal) and it was granted a full copy of the Buddhist canon by the empress dowager. By this time Hanshan was described by his friend Miao-feng as being unable to walk alone, suggesting by this point in his life he had become partially paralysed from his intense meditation practice, an affliction which would remain with him for the rest of his life. During his stay at Haiyinsi, Hanshan studied, lectured and composed various commentaries, including commentaries on the Surangama sutra and the Heart Sutra.

Exile period and life in the south

When relations between the Wanli Emperor and his mother broke down over the choice of heir, Hanshan was caught in a conflict which also included tensions between Daoists and Buddhists. In 1595, he was put on trial, tortured, and imprisoned. This was due to his close relationship with the empress Dowager and as such mainly served as a scapegoat. After this the monastery at Haiyin was destroyed (as Hanshan had been found guilty of building it without government approval). Hanshan was defrocked and exiled to a border region in Guangdong. He traveled there under military supervision with three disciples, dressed as a common prisoner with hair and beard grown.

While in Guandong, he visited various places, including Guangzhou, where he met with various important scholars, including Chou ju-teng, a teacher of Wang Yangming's philosophy. During this time Hanshan also attracted many Confucian students who studied his Buddhist interpretations of Confucian classics (during this time he wrote a commentary on the Doctrine of the Mean). During this period he also visited Lei-chou temple and wrote commentaries to the Lankavatara sutra and the Lotus sutra. He also started a campaign against killing animals during local festivals.

Hanshan also visited and stayed at Caoxi where the sixth patriarch Huineng had resided. He spent some years (1601 to 1609) working to restore and revive Nanhua Temple (of the Sixth Patriarch) at Caoxi. Since the time that Huineng was entombed there, the area had been converted into a meat market by local gangs and the temple's monks were unable to do anything. Hanshan appealed to the supreme commander at Guanzhou for help. Some of the local monks at the temple also made a false accusation of embezzlement of the restoration funds against him in 1610, although he was later acquitted. Hsu Sung-Peng says these monks may have been supported by the local shop keepers and merchants driven away by Hanshan.

Hanshan became officially a free man in 1611. From that period onwards he remained in Guangdong teaching until 1613.

At Hengshan and Lushan
In 1613 Hanshan left for Hengshan in Hunan Province. He also spent his time traveling across Hunan province and teaching. From 1616 to 1617 Hanshan undertook what became known as his 'Journey to the East' wherein he travelled from Hunan to the regions of Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the rough region of his upbringing. This journey carried not only a personal significance for Hanshan but also a religious significance, since 'west' is the general direction from which Buddhism entered China, and also the direction of Sukhavati in which the Buddha Amitabha and Bodhisattva Guanyin both reside, placing Hanshan firmly in the role of a traveling Bodhisattva. Everywhere he traveled he was welcomed enthusiastically by laypeople, monks and especially government officials. During this period he focused his teachings more towards Pure Land teachings since his friend Zhuhong who was prominent in the region was most well remembered for his Pure Land teachings. He is recorded as having used Buddhist means to heal the sick particularly through nianfo practice.

From 1617 to 1621 he lived at Lushan in Jiangxi province, helping build a monastery there (Fayun monastery). During his time at this mountain, he edited and condensed the teachings of master Qingliang on the Avatamsaka sutra. This led to Hanshan's Hua-yen kang-yao (Outline of the Avatamsaka sutra). He also devoted himself to Pure Land practice at this time, inspired by master Huiyuan.

At the request of his disciples, Hanshan moved back to Nanhua Temple at Caoxi in 1622 to spend his final years. His disciples record the final year of his life teaching to large gatherings in Caoxi and maintaining the temple there. On the day he died he called a large gathering of his students and they collectively recited Amitabha's name before Hanshan said:Be not disturbed. You must act according to the Buddhist regulations. Do not [when I die] wear hempen cloth or mourning garment [as secular people do]. Do not weep or cry. Recite Amitabha's name with all your heart. At 4pm on 5 November 1623, Hanshan died at age 78, seated upright. His body was enshrined at Nanhua temple (right next to Huineng's) where it continued to be venerated until the present day with various offerings.

Teaching

Hanshan Deqing is regarded as one of the great scholars and reformers of Chinese Buddhism during the later Ming dynasty. He is renowned as a lecturer and commentator and was admired for his strict adherence to the precepts. Hanshan drew on the Chan and Huayan doctrine of the "One Mind" (drawn from the Awakening of Faith) as a way to unify all Buddhist schools and all of the three teachings (Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism). While Hanshan saw the Huayan teachings and the Avatamsaka sutra as the most fundamental and supreme teaching of the Buddhadharma, he also drew on the teachings of the Tiantai and Weishi schools.

Hanshan held that all the three teachings taught about the same ultimate truth of Mind, though they differed in how deep their insight into the Mind went. Indeed, Hanshan saw the study of all three teachings as essential and wrote commentaries on both Daoist classics (like the Laozi and the Zhuangzi) and Confucian classics (like the Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean).

Ultimate reality
Hanshan's view of the ultimate truth is a synthesis of Huayan, Yogacara and Tiantai, with a focus on the ultimate enlightened mind (xin, or "One Mind") as the non-dual essence (tǐ 體) of all things, which is also empty, and is the source of all phenomena and characteristics. His metaphysics is thus similar to the syncretic view of Yongming Yanshou and the thought of Fazang and Qingliang Chengguan. Hanshan's view of the One Mind also strongly relies on the Awakening of Faith.

For Hanshan, the One Mind (i.e. the Buddha-nature) is the most important Buddhist teaching. Hanshan wrote:The fundamental teaching of Buddhism is nothing but the doctrine of One Mind. This Mind is originally perfect and vastly illuminating. It is clear and pure, containing nothing, not even a fine dust. There is neither delusion nor enlightenment, neither birth nor death, neither saints nor sinners. Sentient beings and Buddhas are of the same fundamental nature (ti). There are no two natures to distinguish them. This is why Bodhidharma came from the west to teach the Chan method of "direct pointing" to the original true Mind.  Hanshan also describes the One Mind as follows:This wisdom is the Buddha-nature that we originally posses. It is also called Self-Mind (tzu-hsin) or Self-Nature (tzu-hsing). This essence (t'i) is originally undefiled, so it is called "clear and pure". It is originally without darkness, so it is called "bright". It is originally vast and all inclusive, so it is called "void and empty". It is originally without delusion, so it is called "the one truth". It is originally immutable, so it is called tathata. It is originally illuminating everywhere, so it is called "perfect enlightenment". It is originally calm and extinct, so it is called "nirvana".

View of Buddhist practice
For Hanshan, all Buddhist methods are but skillful means which point to the One Mind and are to be seen as medicinal treatments to cure the sickness of samsara. They are not to be clung to as ultimate. Regarding practice, Jiang Wu writes that for Ming era Chan masters like Hanshan, meditative practice was seen as something that had to be combined with the study (chiang) of scripture and doctrine. Hanshan was a student of Chinese Buddhist thought, especially Huayan school philosophy. Indeed, according to Hsu Sung-Peng, Hanshan used Huayan philosophy "as the harmonizing and integrating principle of all other schools of thought and scriptures....his philosophy of Mind is essentially the Hua-yen philosophy, as he understood it."

For Hanshan, the study of Buddhist literature goes together with meditative practice, and he criticized those who only focused on one without the other. For example, Hanshan criticized certain Chan monks of his time who rejected study of the scriptures in favor of simply discussing koans and acting in bizarre ways which just mimicked koan stories or made use of witty remarks. According to Hanshan, these people "only know how to condemn scriptural studies, and do not know that the Mind expounded in the scriptures is the foundation of the Ch'an teaching." However, Hanshan also criticized those who studied scriptures without getting the true meaning, becoming caught up in language and solving intellectual puzzles. As such, he focused on the practical and meditative aspects of the scriptures over and above the theoretical elements.

Hanshan also emphasized the importance of the basic Buddhist precepts (for laypeople) and the full Vinaya precepts (for monastics) as an essential foundation for all Buddhist practice. For laypersons he recommended the bodhisattva precepts of the Brahmajala sutra.

Hanshan taught various means of Buddhist practice which he saw as useful. These include studying scriptures to understand the meaning, reciting the scriptures with concentration (which he saw as a kind of meditative practice), recitation of dharanis (like the Śūraṅgama Mantra), nianfo (recitation of the Buddha name), śamatha-vipaśyanā (zhiguan), Chan huatou - gong'an practice and even some esoteric methods. One of Hanshan's meditation methods was the Śūraṅgama Sūtra's meditation on hearing practiced by Guanyin, and it is this method which led to Hanshan's enlightenment in 1575.

On Chan practice
Regarding Chan Buddhism, according to Wu, Ming era Chan masters like Hanshan and Yunqi Zhuhong emphasized self-cultivation instead of reliance on "formulaic instructions from pretentious masters". Certain Ming figures like Hanshan also de-emphasized dharma transmission and instead lauded masters who practiced meditation and asceticism on their own. The idea was that one could obtain "wisdom without teachers" (wushizhi). Jiang Wu writes that Deqing questioned the value of Dharma transmission and believed that the enlightenment of the mind was more important than nominal claims of transmission. Due to this attitude, despite becoming a famous figure of Ming Buddhism, Hanshan never himself received formal dharma transmission (nor did he pass on any transmission himself). Hanshan also criticized the Linji lineage of his time, which he saw as a recent re-creation instead of an actual transmission of an ancient lineage.

Hanshan saw the truth of Chan as not being different from the teachings on Mind found in the Mahayana scriptures. He was also uninterested in the Linji school's "beating and shouting" teaching methods. While he made use of the huatou method, he did not see it as supreme like the Linji school did, drawing instead on numerous skillful means found in the sutras. Hanshan saw the fundamental method of Chan as "only to understand and realize your own mind." He saw this fundamental teaching reflected in the Lankavatara, which states "sitting quietly in mountains and forests, cultivate your-self in all aspects, and you can see the flowing of illusory thoughts in your own mind," and in a quote by Bodhidharma which states "you have only to stop all external sensations, put to rest all internal turmoil, and keep your mind like a wall, then you can enter the path". Hsu Sung-Peng notes that Hanshan saw the practice of huatou as a useful method for those who, in this degenerate age, were unable to make use of the direct method taught by the ancients of contemplating the Mind.

According to Hanshan, the Chan huatou method is useful because Chan students have numerous karmic seeds that produce endless trains of thought and without a tool we cannot cut this flow of thoughts off. So "a meaningless sentence is given to the student to "put his teeth on" (as a stabilizing point), so that all the external and internal conditions and thoughts can be put to rest. Since he cannot put them to rest at once, he is taught to hold the huatou (like a sword) and cut the web of illusion as he would cut a knotted net. The flow of consciousness is then broken down. This was exactly Bodhidharma's method..." Hanshan also warns that,this method is not meant for you to think about the meaning of a kung-an as if the kung-an were a question for intellectual solution. Speaking of the hua-t'ou method, Ta-hui taught his disciples to kill the "sneaky mind" with a cold-blooded hand. According to him, the first principle of Ch'an practice is to empty one's mind. One must first paste the two words "life-death" on the forehead, and regard them as seriously as if one owed a debt of a million taels. In day or night, while drinking or eating, traveling or staying at home, sitting or lying, entertaining friends, in a quiet moment or at a noisy hour, you must hold on to the hua-t'ou. After much determined and uninterrupted contemplative practice, which Hanshan calls "a long fight", this method can lead to a breaking down of all concepts and illusions. Hanshan describes this enlightenment experience as follows: "suddenly you will find that the Lotus-mind breams with a bright light, illuminating the ten directions of the universe." Hanshan saw the Chan method as a way to awaken to the one pure mind in this very life (as opposed to seeing nianfo as merely a way to reach the Pure Land after death). Hanshan saw this method as something which could be applied to classic huatou or to the practice of nianfo (reciting the Buddha's name).

Chan and Pure land
Like many of his contemporaries, Hanshan advocated the practice of both Chan and Pure Land methods, the dual practice of which became known as Nianfo-Chan. He may have been influenced on this topic by the work of Yongming Yanshou (whom Hanshan praised) who likewise synthesized Pure-land and Chan from the perspective of the One Mind doctrine.

While Hanshan certainly saw the Chan way as the superior method for those of higher faculties, he did not reject the method of simple recitation of the Buddha's name with a wish to be reborn in the pure land of the Amitabha. While he saw this simple Pure Land path as a valid method which can enhance one's faith and purify the mind, he also saw it as a method for beginners (if it was practiced as a mindless oral recitation without greater understanding and insight). Hanshan criticized this lesser way of practice as follows:The practice of nianfo seeking rebirth in the Pure Land aimed originally at penetrating the great matter of samsara. That is why it was phrased, "nianfo and penetrate samsara" (niànfó liǎo shēngsǐ 念佛了生死). People of today generate the mind to penetrate samsara, but they are only willing to nianfo. [They think that by] merely saying "buddha," they will penetrate samsara. If one does not know the roots of samsara, then in what direction can you nian? If the mind that engages in nianfo cannot cut off the roots of samsara, then how can it penetrate samsara?However, Hanshan also saw the Pure land path as the more useful and expedient path for most people of his time, which he saw as having entered the degenerate age. Since the Chan path was mostly for people of the highest spiritual capacity as well as for those who had the time to practice this under competent masters, Hanshan recommended the much easier pure land way to most people, especially to most laypersons. Hanshan describes this path as follows: "the primary method of Buddha-recitation, the practice of contemplating the pure realm, the guidance of reciting Mahayana scriptures, the determination of making the wish (to be born in the Western paradise), and the charitable deeds that bring about blissful reward."

In a letter to a vassal prince, Hanshan recommends a simpler form of practice which entails homage to the Buddha, reciting a sutra (like the Pure land sutra), reciting the Buddha Amitabha's name (three, five, or ten thousand times with a mala) and then dedicating all the merit to be reborn in the pure land. Hanshan taught the use of niànfó (念佛), the Pure Land method of recitation of Amitabha's name and applied it to the Chan "critical phrase" (huatou) method. According to this method which Hanshan learned from Chan master Yungu Fahui (1500–1579), one recites the name of Amitabha and questions "who is reciting the name of the Buddha?", while letting go of any attempts to find an intellectual or conceptual answer to the question. Hanshan describes this nianfo Chan method as follows:At the very moment the name is uttered, it must be the point at which all doubts and delusions are put to rest. At the same time, you ask "Who is it that recites the Buddha's name"? You ask the same question every time you utter the name. When you rely steadily on the hua-t'oum all illusions and confused thoughts will be instantly broken down as the in the cutting of knotted threads. When there is no longer any place for them to arise, all that is left is one thought (of Amitabha). The thought becomes to clear and brights that it is like the shining sun in the empty sky. When illusion does not arise and when defilement disappears, all is calm and transparent.

Hanshan also taught a pure land visualization meditation which he describes as follows:In your quiet meditation, you constantly visualize the appearance of a large lotus flower as large as a wheel, no matter whether it is green, yellow, red, or white. Meditating on the clear form of the flower, you imagine yourself quietly sitting upright on it. Then visualize that the Buddha sends out his bright light on your body. In so doing, you can either walk, stay, sit or lie down. This goes on day after day, month after month, and year after year. You need only to keep your visualization clear and distinct. There should be no blurring of the image whether you close or open your eyes. Even in your dreams you can also clearly see Amitabha residing in the flower and flanked by Kuan-yin and Tai-shih-chih. Hanshan says that through this meditation one will see Amitabha at death and the Buddha will welcome you to the pure land at that time.

Other practices
Hsu Sung-Peng writes that the way Hanshan understood the practice of reciting dharanis is similar to how he understood the practice of nianfo. He recommended various dharanis, like the Cundi dharani, which he saw as effective in clearing karmic obstacles since they are the "vajra mind seals of the Buddha" which can break all things into dust. While advising a Chan monk, Hanshan taught the recitation of dharanis as a huatou, a practice to be done in the same way the nianfo Chan method is done.

Regarding the recitation of scriptures, Hanshan similarly held that one should recite them as a kind of meditation or contemplation to realize the Mind. Similarly, the copying of scripture was taught as a contemplative exercise. In some cases Hanshan taught the recitation of the Buddha's name with each stroke of the pen.

Hanshan also practiced Buddhist rituals, such as the Liberation Rite of Water and Land.

Self-cultivation and enlightenment
For Hanshan, enlightenment could only be achieved through cultivation (xiū) of the mind. And this cultivation must be done before and also after the experience of enlightenment. As such, Hanshan follows the doctrine of Zongmi of sudden enlightenment, gradual cultivation. Hanshan explains the key points of self-cultivation as follows:There is no fixed order for gradual cultivation. In our daily life, we need only to hold our mind in constant watch at the moment before the mind is stirred or a thought takes place. We keep our feet steady and introspect the inner state. When a thought occurs, we must thoroughly examine it and trace it to its origin. When it is found that the thought arises from the realm of no-birth, then all illusory notions, feelings, and anxieties will at once disappear just like the melting of ice. The only danger is the lack of great determination to stop the flow of thought as in killing an animal by breaking its neck. In this way, one continues to be in the unawakened state, and the flow of thought cannot be returned to the origin (of no-birth).

Works
Hanshan was a prolific writer, his entire collected works was compiled by his students in the Hānshān lǎorén mèngyóu jí (憨山老人夢遊集, A record of Elder Hanshan's dream travels, CBETA X.1456).

Hanshan also wrote an autobiography, which is the first full autobiography ever written by a Chinese Buddhist monk. In this autobiography, the Hanshan dashi nianpo (Annalistic Biography of Great Master Hanshan), various events of Hanshan's life are narrated, including his important dreams, one of which contains an encounter with master Qingliang.

Some of Hanshan's key works include:

 Shou lengyan jing yuanjing 首楞嚴懸鏡 (Explanation of the Shurangama Sutra)
 Bore boluomiduo xinjing zhishuo 波若波羅蜜多心經直說 (Commentary on the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra)
 Guan lengqie eboduoluo baojing ji 觀楞伽阿跋多羅寶經記 (Contemplation of the Lankavatara sutra)
 Miaofa lianhua jing jijie 妙法蓮華經擊節 (Remarks on the Lotus Sutra)
 Jingang jueyi 金剛決疑 (Interpretation of Doubt in the Diamond Sūtra)
 Fahua pinjie 法華品節 (Stages of the Lotus Sūtra)
 Lengyan tongyi 楞嚴通議 (General Dissertation on the Shurangama Sutra)
 Fahua jing tongyi 法華經通議 (General Dissertation on the Lotus Sūtra)
 Dacheng qixing lun shulüe 大乘起信論疏略 (Commentary on the Treatise on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana)
 Zhaolun lüezhu 肇論略注 (Brief Annotations on the Writings of Sengzhao)
 Canchan qieyao 參禪切要 (Essential Points of Chan Contemplation)
 Xingxiang tongshuo 性相通說 (General Dissertation on the Nature of All Things and Their Phenomenal Manifestations)
 Zongjing tang ji 宗鏡堂記 (Notes on the Zongjing Temple)
 Yuanjue jing zhijie 圓覺經直解 (Direct Exposition of the Sūtra on Perfect Enlightenment)
 Qixing lun zhijie 起信論直解 (Direct Dissertation on the Treatise on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana)
 Bashiba zu daoying zhuanzan 八十八祖道影傳讚 (Apology on the Path of the Eighty-Eight Patriarchs)
 Huayan gangyao 華嚴綱要 (Essentials of the Flower Ornament Sūtra)
 Hanshan xuyan 憨山緒言 (Prologue by Hanshan)

Poetry
Hanshan Deqing's poetry is also made an instrument of religious instruction through the use of an elegant and accessible style. It spans from the long doctrinal reflection "Contemplating Mind" to antithetical quatrains composed of balanced couplets:
When the bow's stiff, its string is first to snap;
The sharper a blade is, the easier to chip.
Trouble results from a talkative tongue,
Harmful deeds reflect a hardened heart.
Several of these poems describe the experience of meditation in the hard conditions of a mountain hermitage; others are moral in tone, counselling an attitude of acceptance and the way to social and inner harmony.

Notes

Sources

 Cheung, Richard, trans. (1993). The Autobiography and Maxims of Master Han Shan, Honolulu: Hsu Yun Temple; Hong Kong: H.K. Buddhist Book Distributors OCLC 473731126
 Jones, Charles B. (2019), Chinese Pure Land Buddhism, Understanding a Tradition of Practice. University of Hawai'i Press / Honolulu.

 Hsu Sung-Peng (1979), A Buddhist Leader in Ming China. The Life and Thought of Han-shan Te-Ch'ing, University Park and London: The Pennsylvania State University Press
 To, Lok (1993). Pure Land of the Patriarchs, Zen Master Han-Shan Te Ch'ing, NY: Sutra Translation Committee of the US and Canada
 Wu, Jiang (2008). Enlightenment in Dispute: The Reinvention of Chan Buddhism in Seventeenth-Century China. Oxford University Press, USA.
 Zhuang, Yunyan Hiu (2014). La pensée de Hanshan Deqing (1546-1623) : une lecture bouddhiste des textes confucéens et taoïstes, Religions. Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales- INALCO PARIS - LANGUES O', 2014. Français. NNT : 2014INAL0014. tel-01155109

Links
An online selection of translations of Hanshan's works

Chan Buddhist monks
Chinese Zen Buddhists
Zen Buddhist spiritual teachers
1546 births
1623 deaths
Rinzai Buddhists

Hanshan Deqing


Richard Lewis Arnowitt (May 3, 1928 – June 12, 2014) was an American physicist known for his contributions to theoretical particle physics and to general relativity.

Arnowitt was a Distinguished Professor (Emeritus) at Texas A&M University, where he was a member of the Department of Physics.

His research interests were centered on supersymmetry and supergravity, from phenomenology (namely how to find evidence for supersymmetry at current and planned particle accelerators or in the guise of dark matter) to more theoretical questions of string and M theory.

In the context of general relativity, he was best known for his development (with Stanley Deser and Charles Misner) of the ADM formalism, roughly speaking a way of describing spacetime as space evolving in time, which allows a recasting of Einstein's theory in terms of a more general formalism used in physics to describe dynamical systems, namely the Hamiltonian formalism. In the framework of that formalism, there is also a straightforward way to globally define quantities like energy or, equivalently, mass (so-called ADM mass/energy) which, in general relativity, is not trivial at all.

Arnowitt was also known for his work (with Ali Chamseddine and Pran Nath) which developed the theory of supergravity grand unification (with gravity mediated breaking). This work allowed for the unification of the three forces of microscopic physics at a very high mass scale (a result subsequently indirectly verified at the CERN LEP accelerator). The simplest version, called mSUGRA, is now commonly used to search for new physics at high energy accelerators. In addition, Arnowitt's work (with Marvin Girardeau) on many body theory of liquid Helium has stimulated many applications in that field.

References

External links
 Arnowitt's homepage at Texas A&M

1928 births
2014 deaths
American relativity theorists
Harvard University alumni
Northeastern University faculty
Texas A&M University faculty

Richard Arnowitt


Couma macrocarpa, known by the common names avichure, leche caspi, leche huayo, sorva (a name it shares with its smaller relative Couma utilis), and cow tree, is a species of tropical plant native to tropical, humid Central and South America from Belize to Bolivia.

Ideal environmental conditions for Couma macrocarpa are:
 average annual maximum temperature of 25.1 °C
 average annual minimum temperature of 17.2 °C
 average annual precipitation: 3,419 mm. (max) and 1,020 mm (min).

It is found at variable altitudes from sea level to 1000 metres, in non-flooding areas with good drainage and in soils of good fertility. It adapts well to ultisols and oxisols and can tolerate long dry periods.

In the Peruvian Amazon it is cultivated for its latex. It is grown in Loreto, San Martín, Ucayali, Madre de Dios, Huánuco, and Pasco. The sticky white latex is eaten for treating diarrhea and skin ailments. It is used for patching, sealing and to waterproof canoes. The latex has been harvested for use in plastics and rubber. The fruits are chewy, milky, and sweet-tasting and attract monkeys.

References

External links

USDA Forest Service Info Sheet: Couma Macrocarpa

macrocarpa
Flora of Central America
Flora of Southern America
Plants described in 1891

Couma macrocarpa


The Philippine National Broadband Network controversy (also referred to as the NBN–ZTE deal or NBN–ZTE mess) involved allegations of corruption in the awarding of a US$329 million construction contract to Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE for the proposed government-managed National Broadband Network (NBN).

The contract with ZTE was signed on April 20, 2007, in Hainan, China. Following the emergence of irregularities, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo cancelled the National Broadband Network project in October 2007. On July 14, 2008, the Supreme Court dismissed all three petitions questioning the constitutionality of the national broadband deal, saying the petitions became moot when the project was cancelled.

History

Background
In April 2007, Philippine Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Secretary Leandro Mendoza and ZTE Vice President Yu Yong entered into a US$329.5 million contract for a National Broadband Network (NBN) that would improve government communications capabilities.

On August 29, Nueva Vizcaya Congressman Carlos Padilla hinted in a privilege speech that Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairman Benjamin Abalos went to China to broker a deal for the NBN project. The following day, Abalos denied brokering for the NBN project, although he did admit going to China four times.

On September 5, Senator Aquilino Pimentel called for a Senate investigation about the NBN project. As a result, three committees held joint hearings about the issue: the Accountability of Public Officers & Investigations (aka the Blue Ribbon Committee) headed by Alan Peter Cayetano, the National Defense and Security committee headed by Rodolfo Biazon and the Trade and Commerce committee headed by Mar Roxas.

Senate investigations

De Venecia's testimony
Jose "Joey" de Venecia III, son of House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr., testified on September 10 that he was with Abalos in China and that he heard Abalos "demand money" from ZTE officials. The younger de Venecia was president of Amsterdam Holdings, the company that lost its bid to ZTE for the NBN project.

On September 11, the Supreme Court of the Philippines promulgated a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the $329-million national broadband network (NBN) contract between the Philippine government and China's ZTE based on separate certiorari suits filed by Iloilo Vice-Governor and former Representative Rolex Suplico and Joey de Venecia III. Under political pressure from the opposition group, the court gave ZTE fifteen days to comment on the injunction. Suplico, a former opposition congressman, alleged that the agreement was sealed without public bidding and violated the Telecoms Policy Act, which required privatization of all telecommunications facilities. Congressman Padilla sued DOTC and ZTE officials of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the Telecommunications Policy Act, the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Act and the Government Procurement Act at the Office of the Ombudsman. AHI also petitioned the Court to direct the DOTC to provide copies of the contract, since it should have won the same. The younger de Venecia testified on September 18 that Mike Arroyo, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's husband, personally told him to "back off" from pursuing the NBN project.

Neri's testimony
On the September 20 Senate hearing, Cabinet officials attended the hearing except for former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Chairman (now Commission on Higher Education Chairman) Romulo Neri, who was sick. On September 22, 2007, president Arroyo suspended the broadband contract with ZTE after the bribery scandal sparked major problems in her government.

Neri and Abalos finally faced each other on the September 26 Senate hearing; Neri testified that Abalos told him "Sec, may 200 ka dito (You have 200M pesos in this deal)" while playing golf at Wack Wack Golf Club; they had been discussing the ZTE deal at that time. Abalos denied making the apparent bribe attempt. Neri later invoked executive privilege in response to some Senators' questions. He later shunned succeeding Senate hearings still citing executive privilege

On September 27, 2007, ZTE petitioned the Supreme Court to lift the TRO alleging, in its urgent omnibus motion, inter alia, that the injunction cost the company millions.

Abalos announced his resignation as COMELEC chairman on October 1; Resurreccion Borra succeeded him as COMELEC chairman. President Arroyo on her October 2 trip to China, said to Chinese President and General Secretary of the Communist Party Hu Jintao her "difficult decision" to cancel ZTE Corp.'s contract for the NBN project.

On May 26, 2008, a Supreme Court decision (Neri vs. Senate) nullified the citation of contempt against Neri, ruling that conversations between Neri and President Arroyo are considered classified information.

Lozada's kidnapping and testimony
On January 30, 2008, the Senate produced warrants of arrest to Neri and Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada, Jr., former chief executive officer of the government-run Philippine Forest Corporation and a consultant of the NEDA. Neri then went into hiding while Lozada skipped the Senate hearing and went to Hong Kong. Meanwhile, House Speaker de Venecia lost a motion of confidence vote on February 5, which unseated him as House Speaker; his partymate at Lakas-CMD, Prospero Nograles of Davao City, succeeded him as speaker.

On February 5, as the Senate arresting team waited at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) during Lozada's arrival, Lozada was taken by unidentified people "out of town" and Lozada's kin appealed for help on his whereabouts. On February 7, Lozada finally surfaced as police took him to La Salle Green Hills, Mandaluyong. Lozada linked Mike Arroyo and Abalos to the ZTE scandal. On the same day, the Supreme Court stopped the Senate from arresting Neri, ordering a status quo; Neri then resurfaced after the threat of arrest was taken off.

The next day, on a Philippine Senate hearing, Lozada confirmed his NEDA boss Romulo Neri's testimony that Commission on Elections (COMELEC) chairman Benjamin Abalos and Arroyo's husband Mike Arroyo were behind the kickbacks in the deal. Lozada's statement was made after he was "abducted" on the orders of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) secretary Lito Atienza, Neri, former Presidential Management Staff head Michael Defensor, Secretary for Special Concerns Remedios Poblador and Deputy Executive Secretary Manuel Gaite.

On February 11, upon continuation of Senate hearings, the government denied on kidnapping Lozada. Lozada claimed he was driven around Metro Manila and even reached Los Baños, Laguna, before he was transported to the La Salle Green Hills seminary. According to DENR Secretary Atienza, Lozada, who is his boss as the Philippine Forest Corp. is under the DENR, asked for his help as "he feared for his life" as he returned from Hong Kong. Joey de Venecia later claimed that ZTE advanced US$1 million to Abalos; senators pointed out that this qualifies as "plunder" under Philippine criminal law since the advance was given when the foreign exchange was at about PHP 50 to $1, thus equaling the PHP 50 million floor for plunder.

Deputy Executive Secretary Manuel Gaite appeared on the February 26 hearing. He had previously said that the P500,000 he gave to Lozada's brother was for Lozada's expenses while staying at Hong Kong. Gaite said he "can't rationally justify" the reason why he gave Lozada the hefty amount. He said that his action "was moved by my conscience and my faith." Lozada earlier claimed that the P500,000 was a bribe.

The Philippine Court of Appeals dismissed Jun Lozada's writ of amparo petition for lack of evidence on his claim that there were threats to his life and security. On September 23, 2008, Lozada asked the Supreme Court of the Philippines to re-open and reconsider his case, thereby arguing for the protection of his siblings, Violeta and Arturo.

On August 23, 2016, the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court found Lozada and his brother guilty of graft in connection to the Philippine Forest Corp, and were sentenced to six to 10 years of imprisonment.

Countersuit
Mike Defensor, on July 4, 2008, filed a 6-page perjury lawsuit Friday versus Rodolfo Noel Lozada for "testifying under oath that he had paid Lozada P 50,000 to change his statement that he was not kidnapped at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) when he arrived from Hong Kong at the height of the Philippine National Broadband Network controversy (ZTE Zhong Xing Telecommunication Equipment Company Limited scandal)."

Madriaga testimony
Also on the February 26 hearing, Dante Madriaga, a ZTE-employed engineer, claimed that US$41 million was sought as "advances". ZTE then withheld more money, saying they needed to see President Arroyo's face at the signing of the contract.

Ombudsman cases
The Ombudsman Ma. Merceditas N. Gutierrez subpoenaed First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, Neri, the de Venecias and Abalos to hear their side of the story. The case was filed by former vice president Teofisto Guingona, Jr., several lawyers, Fr. Jose Dizon and party-list representatives Joel Villanueva and Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel, among others.

The Office of the Ombudsman indicted Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Jose Miguel Arroyo, Abalos, and former Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza for graft concerning alleged unlawful intervention in the ZTE national broadband project on December 28, 2011. Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales affirmed the indictment in March 2012. Party-list representatives Neri Colmenares and Walden Bello called for a banning of ZTE operations in the country until its record in the scandal had been clarified.

The Sandiganbayan dismissed graft charges against Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her co-accused in September 2016.

Judgment
President Arroyo decided to cancel the National Broadband Network project on October 2, 2007, in a meeting with Chinese leader Hu Jintao. On July 14, 2008, the Supreme Court dismissed all three petitions questioning the constitutionality of the national broadband deal, saying the petitions became moot when President Arroyo decided to cancel the project.

Reactions
Following the testimony of Jun Lozada, several sectors and prominent people such as Joey de Venecia and Senator Panfilo Lacson have called for President Arroyo's resignation, while Senate President Manuel Villar and senator Alan Peter Cayetano called for her to take a leave of absence. Vice President Noli de Castro has said that President Arroyo and other government officials "should be charged" if they would be found directly involved in the alleged anomalies.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines called an emergency meeting on February 25, 2007, wherein they formed a collective stance which refused to call for Arroyo's resignation, instead calling on her to be part of a "moral reform process".

On February 29, 2008, a rally was held in the Makati Central Business District to protest corruption and call for the resignation of President Arroyo. The rally's attendees, which included former Presidents Corazon Aquino and Joseph Estrada, were estimated by police and rally organizers to be around 15,000 people.

See also
Neri vs. Senate

References

External links
Related policy papers and NBN contract review at Action For Economic Reforms website
De Venecia son's team claims overprice in NBN deal - Experts report P8-B discrepancy, Inquirer.net
The Madriaga file on broadband deal
Derivation of the ZTE scandal $329 Million 'BUKOL', The so-called dissection of $329 Million
abs-cbnnews.com, The limits of executive privilege, By JUSTICE ANTONIO CARPIO

2007 in the Philippines
2008 in the Philippines
Political scandals in the Philippines
Internet in the Philippines
Presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
ZTE

NBN–ZTE deal corruption scandal


The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is a political group that advocates for the creation of a state for the Palestinian people. The group was created in 1964. It represents Palestinians in diplomatic relations to other countries. It has held observer status at the United Nations since 1974. Since the First Intifada, it has ran the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

Founded as a result of the Israel–Palestine conflict, the PLO originally used violence and terrorism to try and defeat Israel and liberate the Palestinian territories. It was initially founded by Ahmad Shukeiri in 1964, but thrived under the leadership of Yasser Arafat from 1969 to 2004. Under Arafat, Fatah became the largest faction of the PLO. The group became involved in Black September, the Lebanese Civil War, the First Intifada, and the Second Intifada during the Arafat years. After the First Intifada, the PLO and Israel signed the Oslo Accords, creating the PNA and transitioning the PLO into a political party. Arafat died during the Second Intifada, causing Mahmoud Abbas to become the current leader.

Since the Second Intifada, Fatah has maintained control over the PLO and the group has largely avoided violent combat. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sometimes clash with the PLO during incursions into the West Bank, although no official war has been declared. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), minor factions of the PLO, went to war with Israel in 2023, but it does not represent the majority consensus of the group.

Notes

References

Politics of Palestine
Nationalist organizations in Palestine
1964 establishments in Asia
Arab–Israeli conflict

Palestine Liberation Organization


Adam Orris House is a historic home located at Mechanicsburg in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. It was built about 1887, and is a three-story, rectangular brick building in the Second Empire style.  It features a tin mansard roof, projecting three-story bay, corner tower, and full-width front porch. Also on the property is a contributing carriage house, also built about 1887.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

References

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
Second Empire architecture in Pennsylvania
Houses completed in 1887
Houses in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
National Register of Historic Places in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania

Adam Orris House


The dollar was the currency of Tobago until 1814. The currency comprised various cut Spanish dollars and countermarked French colonial coins. The dollar was subdivided into 11 bits, each of nine pence. In 1814, sterling was established as the official currency of the island. Since 1905, dollars have once more circulated on Tobago, first the Trinidad and Tobago dollar, then the British West Indies dollar, before the Trinidad and Tobago dollar was reintroduced.

Coins
In 1798, eight-reales coins were holed, with the plug countermarked with a script letter "T" to make 1½ bits coins and the holed dollar issued as 11 bits pieces. Some French colonial coins were countermarked with "TB" to produce 1½ and 2¼ pence pieces.

References

Modern obsolete currencies
Economy of Grenada
1814 disestablishments in North America
Currencies of Trinidad and Tobago

Tobagonian dollar