The square academic cap, graduate cap, cap, mortarboard (because of its similarity in appearance to the mortarboard used by brickmasons to hold mortar) or Oxford cap is an item of academic dress consisting of a horizontal square board fixed upon a skull-cap, with a tassel attached to the centre. In the UK and the US, it is commonly referred to informally in conjunction with an academic gown as a "cap and gown". It is also sometimes termed a square, trencher, or corner-cap. The adjective academical is also used.

The cap, together with the gown and sometimes a hood, now form the customary uniform of a university graduate in many parts of the world, following a British model.

Origins

The mortarboard may have developed from the biretta, a similar-looking hat worn by Roman Catholic clergy. The biretta itself may have been a development of the Roman pileus quadratus, a type of skullcap with superposed square and tump (meaning small mound). A reinvention of this type of cap is known as the Bishop Andrewes cap. The Italian biretta is a word derived from the Medieval Latin birretum from the Late Latin birrus "large hooded cloak", which is perhaps of Gaulish origin, or from Ancient Greek πυρρός pyrrhos "flame-colored, yellow".

Tassel

United Kingdom

In the UK, the tassel is shorter and is gathered at the button at the centre of the board. The U.S. style is slightly longer, gathered at a cord attached to the button.

At the University of Cambridge, undergraduates by ancient convention used to cut their tassels very short so that the tassel does not extend beyond the edge of the board. After they graduated, they wore the square cap with the tassel at the normal length. This convention has now fallen into disuse; few people now wear headgear with academic dress at any time and undergraduates in particular have no need to wear the cap.

United States
The American Council on Education (ACE) code states that "The tassel should be black or the colour appropriate to the subject," and makes an exception only for the gold tassel. The gold metallic tassel is reserved for those entitled to wear the doctoral gown, as is the use of velvet for headwear. Only one tassel is worn at a time.

Other countries may have different colours for different disciplines.

For schools where the graduation regalia is rented or borrowed by the student, the tassel might be a part of the rental or provided separately. Some schools that do not provide a tassel for graduates to keep may offer a souvenir tassel that is not worn with the regalia.

Traditional wear

As with other forms of headdress, academic caps are not generally worn indoors by men (other than by the Chancellor or other high officials), but are usually carried.

At the University of Oxford, caps are mandatory dress for matriculation events and for all examinations. It is a commonly repeated myth at Oxford that the cap must be held and may not be worn at all except at the student's graduation; however, there is no rule in the university to this effect, and undergraduates wearing formal academic dress may either carry the cap or wear it. In particular, women undergraduates who exercise the right to wear a soft Canterbury cap must wear it on their head, rather than carrying it. Additionally, all undergraduates appearing before the Proctors' Court are required to present themselves wearing their caps, before removing them as proceedings start.

In some graduation ceremonies caps have been dispensed with for men, being issued only to women, who do wear them indoors, or have been abandoned altogether. This has led to urban legends in universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland which have as a common theme the idea that the wearing of the cap was abandoned in protest at the admission of women to the university. In Ireland, a common belief, holds that only women wear the mortarboard because a bachelor's degree was thought to be the maximum education they could attain and thus represented the 'capping' of their education, however there is little evidence for this. Dr. David Fleming of the History Department at the University of Limerick called this reason 'complete nonsense and an urban myth', while the university's gown partner, Phelan Nolan said 'Women used to wear hats in Church and that is where the tradition has come from'.

There are several types of mortarboard. The most common in the UK is the 'folding skull' in which the skull part can be folded for ease of storing and carrying. Traditionally, the mortarboard had a 'rigid skull' which is considered more aesthetically pleasing and better fitting than a folding-skull one. In addition, the rigid skull type has the advantage of being easier to doff than the folding skull version, as there is no possibility of the skull collapsing in on itself. Many degree ceremonies in British universities include the ritual doffing of caps. Both types require the wearer to wear the appropriate size to fit. In the US, an 'elasticated skull' is mostly used, which eliminates the need to make many mortarboards in different hat sizes. Some mortarboards, especially those in east Asia are laced-up at the back of the skull cap.

The correct way to wear a mortarboard is to have the larger part of the skull of the mortarboard at the back of the head with the top board parallel to the ground. A properly fitting mortarboard should not fall off easily.

Until the second half of the twentieth century, mortarboards were often worn by schoolteachers, and the hat remains an icon of the teaching profession.

Mortarboards are often seen in party supply shops in the United States in May and June, when they appear in the form of party decorations, on commemorative gifts such as teddy bears, and on congratulatory greeting cards.

Mourning cap

A version of the mortarboard is worn during mourning. Instead of a tassel and button on top of the board, there are two black ribbons that are attached from corner to corner of the board forming a cross. At the centre where the two ribbons intersect a black ribbon rosette is attached. The ribbon for the wide ribbons is grosgrain ribbon whilst the rosette can be made of either the same grosgrain or satin. This mourning cap can be worn when mourning a personal friend or a family relative.

Another version has nine ribbon bows called "butterflies" attached to the back of the skull cap (three running vertically down the back seam, two vertically on either side further towards the sides and one on either side at the sides of the skull) in addition to the above. This cap is worn during the mourning of the monarch, a member of the royal family or the university chancellor.

The mourning cap is worn with mourning bands (normal bands but with a pleat running down each band) and a mourning gown which is either a Cambridge DD undress gown with "pudding-sleeves" but in black stuff rather than silk as worn in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries or a plain black stuff gown. Hoods are not worn, as they are considered festal items. However, Cambridge proctors in the past wore their MA hoods squared, so as to conceal the lining; since the lining was white it did not clash with the black and white color scheme of mourning.

See also
 Academic dress
 Student cap

Notes

References

 Goff, Philip (1999). University of London Academic Dress. London: University of London Press.

External links

Academic dress
Caps
Graduation

Square academic cap


Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian alternative rock/heavy metal band formed in 1983 by vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throughout its career and presently consists of Cave, violinist and multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis, bassist Martyn P. Casey (all from Australia), guitarist George Vjestica (United Kingdom), keyboardist/percussionist Toby Dammit (United States) and drummers Thomas Wydler (Switzerland) and Jim Sclavunos (United States). Described as "one of the most original and celebrated bands of the post-punk and alternative rock eras in the '80s and onward", they have released seventeen studio albums and completed numerous international tours.

The band was founded following the demise of Cave and Harvey's former group the Birthday Party, the members of which met at a boarding school in Melbourne. Throughout the 1980s, beginning with their debut LP From Her to Eternity (1984), the band drew largely on post-punk, blues and gothic rock, and brought in musicians such as Blixa Bargeld, Barry Adamson and Kid Congo Powers. The band later softened their sound and incorporated other influences on albums such as The Good Son (1990) and The Boatman's Call (1997). Following Harvey's departure in 2009, the band broadened their sound further to include electronic and ambient styles, which feature prominently on the trilogy of albums Push the Sky Away (2013), Skeleton Tree (2016) and Ghosteen (2019).

History
The project that later evolved into Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds began following the demise of The Birthday Party in August 1983. Both Cave and Harvey were members of the Birthday Party, along with guitarist Rowland S. Howard and bassist Tracy Pew. During the recording sessions of the Birthday Party's scheduled EPs Mutiny/The Bad Seed, internal disputes developed in the band.

Discography
Studio albums
 From Her to Eternity (1984)
 The Firstborn Is Dead (1985)
 Kicking Against The Pricks (1986)
 Your Funeral... My Trial (1986)
 Tender Prey (1988)
 The Good Son (1990)
 Henry's Dream (1992)
 Let Love In (1994)
 Murder Ballads (1996)
 The Boatman's Call (1997)
 No More Shall We Part (2001)
 Nocturama (2003)
 Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus (2004)
 Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (2008)
 Push the Sky Away (2013)
Skeleton Tree (2016)
Ghosteen (2019)

Australian alternative rock bands
Australian heavy metal bands
Musical groups established in 1983

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds


Alfred Karl Neuland (10 October 1895 – 16 November 1966) was an Estonian weightlifter. He competed in the 1920 and 1924 Olympics and won a gold and a silver medal, respectively, becoming the first Olympic gold medalist from Estonia. He won a world title in 1922, and set three ratified world records in 1920–23: one in the snatch and two in the clean and jerk.

Born in Walk (Valga), Governorate of Livonia Neuland studied in Riga, Latvia, and Saint Petersburg, Russia. He took up weightlifting relatively early, and placed second at the Russian championships in 1913 and 1914; he won the Russian lightweight title in 1915 and middleweight title in 1916. Neuland then fought in World War I and in the Estonian War of Independence, and after demobilization he won Estonian weightlifting titles in 1921, 1923 and 1924. After that he retired from competitions and worked as a businessman, weightlifting coach and referee in his hometown of Valga from 1921 to 1940. From 1950 to 1955, Neuland headed the Estonian Experimental Soft Drinks Factory in Tallinn. In 1995 a monument in his honor was installed in Valga, and since 2000 an annual memorial weightlifting tournament has been held there.

References

External links

1895 births
1966 deaths
Sportspeople from Valga, Estonia
People from Kreis Walk
Estonian male weightlifters
Olympic gold medalists for Estonia
Olympic silver medalists for Estonia
Weightlifters at the 1920 Summer Olympics
Weightlifters at the 1924 Summer Olympics
Olympic weightlifters for Estonia
Olympic medalists in weightlifting
Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics
Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence
Burials at Metsakalmistu

Alfred Neuland


Tracy Li (born 1972, in Hong Kong) is a South African ballet dancer of Chinese origin. She trained at The Christine Liao School of Ballet before receiving a scholarship from The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club to study at the Australian Ballet School.  At age 16, she joined the Hong Kong Ballet, before she left in 1992 for Durban, South Africa. She joined Napac Dance Company; however, she left the following year to join the Cape Town City Ballet, where she is currently a senior principal. She is known for her partnership with Daniel Rajna and together they have regularly toured as guest artists in Zimbabwe and Hong Kong. They were also both invited to the 2004 Miami Dance Festival. She retired in August 2007 after performances of Camille.

Awards
 The Best Professional Ballet Dancer award in The Sanlam International Ballet Competition, 1993
 Balletomane Award for best female dancer, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003
 Nederberg Award, 1997
 Daphne Levy Award for her partnership with Daniel Rajna, 2001
She has also danced in the National Ballet Competition in China in 1986.

Notable roles
 Giselle in Giselle
 Coppélia in Coppélia
 Carmen in Carmen
 Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty
 Juliet in Romeo and Juliet
 Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker
 Camille in Camille
 Odette/Odile in Swan Lake
 Cinderella in Cinderella

External links
  Tracy Li at the Dance Directory
  Cape Town City Ballet Company
  Pas de Deux Couple Tracy Li & Daniel Rajna
 Dancers exit stage for new future

1972 births
Living people
South African ballerinas
South African ballet dancers
Australian Ballet School alumni

Tracy Li


The 2012 United States presidential election in New Hampshire took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. New Hampshire voters chose four electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan.

New Hampshire voters chose to re-elect President Barack Obama, giving him 51.98% of the vote to Mitt Romney's 46.40%, a Democratic victory margin of 5.58%. Despite Obama winning all of the state's counties in 2008, he lost three of them to Romney this election: Belknap, Carroll, and Rockingham.

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time in which the Democratic candidate won Coös County.

Primaries

Democratic

New Hampshire held its primaries on January 10, 2012.  The state is historically the first in the nation to hold presidential primaries, and moved its date up from February after Florida moved its primary date to January 31. Because New Hampshire has a proportional-delegate primary, the state's 12 national delegates will be allocated in proportion to candidates' percent of the popular vote.

Incumbent president Barack Obama won all the delegates and was renominated.

A Democratic presidential candidates debate, held at Saint Anselm College in December 2011, was attended by seven candidates; Obama did not participate.

60,659 votes were cast in the primary. Obama won with 49,080 votes. The total votes cast were more than 30% fewer than in 1996, the last time that a Democratic president ran for re-election without significant opposition.

Republican

The Republican primary took place on Tuesday, January 10, 2012. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won the primary.

Campaign
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum were heavily contesting and campaigning in the New Hampshire primary. Santorum won the Iowa Caucus on January 3, but no one knew that yet, and believed Romney had won by 8 votes.

Televised debates in New Hampshire were held on January 7, 2012, on ABC News at Saint Anselm College and the following morning on January 8, 2012, on NBC's Meet the Press and MSNBC. All major Republican candidates attended both debates.

Ballot access
In 2012, a record 33 Republican candidates filed to appear on the ballot in New Hampshire, including various single-issue activists, protest candidates, and perennial candidates. For instance, Stewart Greenleaf, who had no interest in becoming President, registered for the ballot to promote the issue of government spending in the Republican Party. Under New Hampshire's lenient ballot access laws, a candidate is only required to pay $1,000 to the state's treasury, and needs no party approval or petitions for placement.

Endorsements
Various newspapers that circulate widely in New Hampshire made endorsements ahead of the New Hampshire primary. While the conservative Union Leader, the only statewide newspaper, endorsed Gingrich, various newspapers endorsed Huntsman, with the Valley News stating that Huntsman was "a candidate whose views are solidly conservative, but not myopically so" and criticizing Romney and Gingrich, stating that "The former has raised the flip-flop to an art form, while the latter has done the same for hypocrisy" and endorsing Huntsman "in the hopes that the cooler heads will prevail in New Hampshire and elsewhere." Romney also received support, including from the Portsmouth Herald of the Seacoast Region.

The New Hampshire Union Leader endorsed Gingrich on November 27.
Foster's Daily Democrat endorsed Romney on December 4.
The Portsmouth Herald and Seacoast Media Group endorsed Romney on December 18.
The Keene Sentinel endorsed Huntsman on December 18.
The Valley News endorsed Huntsman on December 18.
The Conway Daily Sun endorsed Romney on December 21.
The Concord Monitor endorsed Huntsman on December 22.
The Boston Herald endorsed Romney.
The Salmon Press Newspapers group (the Littleton Courier, Berlin Reporter, and Coos County Democrat) endorsed Paul on January 4.
The Nashua Telegraph endorsed Romney on January 5.
The Boston Globe endorsed Huntsman on January 6.
The Eagle-Tribune endorsed Romney on January 6.

Romney led the field in endorsements from New Hampshire Republican elected officials. The New York Times reported that after losing New Hampshire in the 2008 primary to John McCain, Romney devoted considerable time and money to gain the support of New Hampshire Republican figures. Romney's political action committee (PAC) "spread thousands of dollars" to New Hampshire Republican campaigns, including that of youthful Republican state Representative D.J. Bettencourt of the Republican-heavy Salem area, elected state House majority leader in 2011, who is one of Romney's most active supporters. Romney's PAC also donated $25,000 to the New Hampshire Republican State Committee under the chairmanship of prominent New Hampshire party player John H. Sununu, a former governor and White House Chief of Staff. Republican candidates for state Senate and state House, small-town Republican committees, and county sheriffs and district attorneys were all "recipients of [Romney's] largesse." Romney was criticized by some as "buying" endorsements, who referenced "blatantly transactional terms that lie behind the announcements." A large number of officials endorsing Romney, in New Hampshire and in other early primary states, had received contributions first.

By December 11, Romney had already received the endorsement of Ted Gatsas, mayor of Manchester (New Hampshire's largest city) and former state Senate president, and 58 endorsements from state representatives. According to prominent Romney supporter Thomas D. Rath, a former state attorney general described as a Republican power broker, on the eve of the primary the Romney campaign had been endorsed by 11 of 19 Republicans in the State Senate, 73 or 74 of the Republican state representatives, and eight of the 10 sheriffs, as well as the mayor of the largest city. The New York Times reported that so many officials endorsed Romney that it took a three-page pamphlet mailed to New Hampshire Republicans to list them all. The Times reported that Romney-supporting officials "introduce him at virtually every campaign stop, flood gyms and seniors centers with crowds on short notice and attack his Republican rivals."

Of the three Republicans in New Hampshire's congressional delegation, Senator Kelly Ayotte and Representative Charles Bass endorsed Romney, while Frank Guinta declined to endorse a candidate. Executive Council members Raymond S. Burton (who has represented northern New Hampshire since the 1970s), Christopher T. Sununu, and Raymond Wieczorek; State Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, state Senators David Boutin, John Barnes, Jr., Jim Rausch, and Chuck Morse; and former state Senate President Tom Eaton endorsed Romney before December 7. Douglas Dutile, the sheriff of Grafton County, also endorsed Romney.

Senator John McCain of Arizona, who won the New Hampshire Republican primary in 2000 and 2008 and was the Republican nominee for president in 2008, endorsed Romney following the Iowa caucuses and ahead of the New Hampshire primary at a Manchester rally on January 4, despite prior tension between the two in the 2008 primary race.

After Iowa but before the New Hampshire primaries, tea party movement-aligned Buffalo, New York businessman Carl Paladino, the 2010 gubernatorial candidate in nearby New York, supported Gingrich and sharply criticized the rest of the candidates.

New Hampshire House Speaker William L. (Bill) O'Brien endorsed Gingrich, while former House speakers George Roberts, Howard Burns, John Tucker, Donna Sytek, and Doug Scamman endorsed Romney.  State Senators Jim Forsythe, Andy Sanborn, and Ray White endorsed Ron Paul.

Notably, former PA Sen. Rick Santorum gained a disproportionately high number of endorsements (when compared to his pre-Iowa polling in the single digits) in the run up to and including the NH Primary.  At one point Santorum led the entire field of GOP candidates in total number of endorsements (until the entrance of Romney and Perry), and finished with more endorsees than even Huntsman who finished third in the race. This was due in large part to the efforts of Santorum's State Co-chairs: Rep. Dan Tamburello, a current member of the NH House of Representatives from Londonderry who spearheaded the effort, Hon. Bill Cahill, a former Governor's Councilor and member of the NH House, and Claira Monier, a notable Republican party activist who was instrumental in Reagan's NH victory in 1980. Sen Santorum's national campaign manager was by Mike Biundo, who was the architect of former Manchester mayor Frank Guinta's surprising 2010 primary upset for the NH 1st Congressional district; Guinta went on to win the NH-1 district in November 2010 in a decisive victory over Democrat Carol-Shea Porter, who never conceded the race. Other notable endorsements for the Senator included Sen. Jim Luther, Sen. Fenton Groen, former candidate for Governor Karen Testerman, Rep Susan DeLemus, and NH Tea-Party luminary Jerry DeLemus. Testerman and the DeLemus' endorsed Rick after having defected from the Bachmann camp.

Polling

Results

General election

Polling

New Hampshire was rated as a toss-up to Lean D state.  Polling showed a consistent single digit polling lead for President Obama. The average of the final 3 polls had Obama leading Romney 50% to 47.3%.

Results

By county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
 Belknap (largest city: Laconia)
 Carroll (largest town: Conway)
 Rockingham (largest town: Derry)

Results by congressional district
Obama won both congressional districts.

See also
 United States presidential elections in New Hampshire
 Presidency of Barack Obama
 New Hampshire primary
 New Hampshire Republican Party
 2012 Republican Party presidential debates and forums
 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries
 Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries

References

External links
New Hampshire Republican State Committee Official Website
News coverage at the Concord Monitor
News coverage at the New Hampshire Union Leader
New Hampshire Republican primary, 2012 at Daily Telegraph
 New Hampshire Republican primary, 2012 at the Guardian UK
The Green Papers: for New Hampshire
The Green Papers: Major state elections in chronological order
Official Results for 2012 Election in New Hampshire

New Hampshire
United States President
2012


Maulana Badruddin Ajmal (born 12 February 1950) is an Indian businessman, politician, philanthropist and Islamic theologian from the state of Assam. He is the state-president of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind for Assam. He is also serving as the MP, Lok Sabha from Dhubri constituency since 2009 and the Founder and President of the All India United Democratic Front since 2005. He also served as the Member of the Assam Legislative Assembly from Salmara South constituency from 2006 to 2006 and from 2006 to 2009. He is also CEO of Ajmal Foundation since 2005.

Biography
Ajmal was born on 12 February 1950 to a Bengali Muslim family from Hojai in central Assam. His family traces their origins to the Sylhet district of eastern Bengal. He is the son of Haji Ajmal Ali, a rice farmer who moved to Mumbai in 1950 to try to succeed in the perfume industry using the oud plant. After the opening of the first store in the 1960s, the Ajmal perfume brand quickly grew to become a large brand in the Middle East.

He holds master's degrees in Theology and Arabic from Darul Uloom Deoband.

Career
The son of the founder of Ajmal Perfumes, he established the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in 2005. He is also the president of the Assam State Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. He is a three-time MP from Dhubri constituency. He has been regularly listed among "The 500 Most Influential Muslims" of the world.

He is the managing trustee of Haji Abdul Majid Memorial (HAMM) Public Trust, Hojai. This trust is best known for the charitable hospital Haji Abdul Majid Memorial Hospital and Research Center at Hojai, Assam. He also established a hospital at Malua near Badarpur of Karimganj, named as Badarpur Hospital. In 2005, he established Ajmal Foundation, a non-governmental organization based in Assam, India, and operating 25 educational institutions across the state.

Political activities
He was the president of Hojai session reception committee of Assam Sahitya Sabha, 2004 and Darul Hadith, Jayanagar Madrassa. Assam Ajmal's political debut came in 2005 after the Supreme Court struck down the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act. Ajmal founded the Assam United Democratic Front, which was renamed the All-India United Democratic Front in 2013.

Before the 2006 Assam assembly elections, Ajmal was politically insignificant. During the 2006 elections however, his party managed to win 10 seats fighting the Congress. he was elected simultaneously from two constituencies – South Salmara and Jamunamukh – by a large margin of votes. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Ajmal won from Dhubri constituency.

In the 2011 Assembly polls, AIUDF won 18 seats and emerged as the largest opposition party in Assam.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Ajmal was re-elected from Dhubri and his party won 3 Lok Sabha seats. In the 2016 assembly elections, however, the BJP swept the polls and Ajmal himself lost the Salmara South constituency. His party was reduced to 13 seats.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Ajmal was the only candidate from his party to keep his seat, winning again from Dhubri. With 7 children, he has most children for any Member of Parliament in India. In 2020, Ajmal announced he and Congress would be in alliance for the 2021 polls.

Controversy
Ajmal's statements have often courted controversy for polarizing Bengali Muslims. Following the 2012 Assam riots, Ajmal claimed the violence was between Bodos and Muslims. The remarks were criticised by an Assamese Muslim group, the Sadou Asom Gariya – Moria Desi (SAGMJ), along with the All Assam Students Union, for ignoring that Assamese Muslims were not involved at all.

On 22 January 2021, at a rally in Dhubri, Ajmal claimed the BJP had a list of 3500 mosques it would destroy if returned to power at the Centre and that "they will not let women go out wearing 'burqa', grow a beard, wear a skullcap or even offer azaan at mosques." The BJP claimed he was making "communal statements" out of "nervousness" since BJP "will get majority share of Muslim votes" this election. Congress, with whom Ajmal is in alliance, as well as NDA party Asom Gana Parishad also condemned the remarks.

References

External links

People from Dhubri district
India MPs 2009–2014
Living people
1950 births
21st-century Indian Muslims
Lok Sabha members from Assam
India MPs 2014–2019
All India United Democratic Front politicians
India MPs 2019–present
Indian businesspeople
Darul Uloom Deoband alumni
21st-century Bengalis
20th-century Bengalis

Badruddin Ajmal


Asterix was a small tug/mooring launch which capsized and was a total loss in March 2015 while operating at the marine terminal of Fawley Refinery in Southampton Water, England

Description and service
Asterix was a small tug, used for towing and mooring at ExxonMobil's Fawley oil refinery in Hampshire, England. She was a standard "StanTug 1205" built in 2013 by Damen Group of Gorinchem, Netherlands and one of a pair of tugs they delivered to Fawley in 2014.

The tug measured 25 gross tons and was 13.08 metres in length, 5.28 metres beam and with a service draught of 1.85 metres. Her twin engines totalled 442 kW giving a towing power of 9 tons bollard pull. Asterix was normally operated by a crew of two and was in service with Solent Towage Ltd, a UK subsidiary of Norwegian shipowner Østensjø Rederi AS of Haugesund.

Capsizing and loss
On the evening of 30 March 2015, while assisting the Luxembourg-registered oil tanker Donizetti to sail from Fawley, Asterix was "girted" and capsized, later sinking. One crew-member was thrown clear and quickly rescued, despite high winds, but the other was trapped in the partially flooded wheelhouse for more than one hour. He was subsequently seen when the tug briefly rolled upright and only then rescued by breaking a wheelhouse window. The successful raising of Asterix was announced on 12 April 2015, though she was subsequently declared a total loss.

See also
List of shipwrecks in 2015

Notes

References

Tugboats of the United Kingdom
2014 ships
Ships built in the Netherlands
Maritime incidents in 2015
Maritime incidents in England
2015 in England
History of Southampton
2015 disasters in the United Kingdom

Asterix (tug)


Vic Berton (born Victor Cohen; May 7, 1896 – December 26, 1951) was an American jazz drummer.

Berton was born, Victor Cohen, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. His father was a violinist and began his son on string instruments around age five. He was hired as a percussionist at the Alhambra Theater in Milwaukee in 1903 when he was only seven years old. By age 16, he was playing with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. While serving in World War I he played drums for John Philip Sousa's Navy band.

Early in the 1920s, Berton played in Chicago bands, including those of Art Kahn, Paul Beise, and Arnold Johnson. He led his own ensemble as well, which played at the Merry Gardens club. In 1924, he became the manager of The Wolverines, and occasionally played alongside Bix Beiderbecke in the ensemble. Later in the decade, he played with Roger Wolfe Kahn, Don Voorhees, and Red Nichols, and worked extensively as a session musician. In 1927, he played with Paul Whiteman, and then moved to Los Angeles later that year.

In Los Angeles, Berton played with Abe Lyman and recorded in studios for film soundtracks. He served as director of Paramount Films's music division for a time, and worked in the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. In the 1940s, he worked as a percussionist in the studios for 20th Century Fox.  He died in Hollywood from lung cancer.

Berton's brother, Ralph Berton, also became a jazz drummer, in addition to his writings on jazz.

References
Footnotes

General references
[ Vic Berton] at AllMusic

1896 births
1951 deaths
American jazz drummers
Jazz musicians from Chicago
American session musicians
Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
20th-century American drummers
American male drummers
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
The Charleston Chasers members
The Wolverines (jazz band) members

Vic Berton


Yisrael Bar-Yehuda (, 15 November 1895 – 15 May 1965) was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician.

Biography

Born Yisrael Idelson in Konotop, in the Chernigov Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Sumy Oblast, Ukraine) in 1895, Bar-Yehuda attended an Academic High School and the Mine Engineering Institute in Ekaterinoslav. During that time he was the mathematics tutor of the future Lubavitcher Rebbe, when the later was 17 years old.
In 1909 joined Tze'irei Zion (later to be merged into Hashomer Hatzair) and was made a member of its central committee in Russia in 1917. He was Secretary of the Central Committee of the "Socialist Zionists", where he met and married Beba Idelson (whom he would later divorce). In 1922 they were arrested by the Soviet authorities and exiled to Siberia. In 1924, thanks to an intercession by Maxim Gorki's wife, their banishment was converted to deportation to Mandate Palestine. They traveled to Lithuania and from there to Berlin by way of Danzig. For the next two years in Berlin they were active in establishing the World Union of Socialist Zionists and became the Movement's Secretary.

In 1926 he immigrated to Palestine. He was Secretary of the Petah Tikva Workers Council and organized sentries to protect Jewish workers. He also did roadwork on the Tel Aviv-Petah Tikva road. In 1930 he joined kibbutz Yagur, and became its secretary six years later. During the 1936-39 Arab revolt he was among the first to call for "active defense".

He was a delegate to the Assembly of Representatives and a member of the Constituent Assembly. He was one of the leaders of the "B" faction in Mapai and one of the leaders of the Ahdut HaAvoda after the split in 1944. From 1960 to 1962 he was secretary general of Ahdut HaAvoda.

He was elected to the first and second Knessets for Mapam and for Ahdut HaAvoda to the third through fifth. He was a member of the House, Constitution, Law and Justice, Foreign Affairs & Defense, Constitution, Law and Justice, Labor, and Finance Committees, as well as Chairman of the Subcommittee for Basic Laws. Bar-Yehuda was also Deputy Speaker of the third Knesset. He was Minister of Internal Affairs from 1955 to 1962 and then Minister of Transportation until his death in 1965.

The Bar Yehuda Airfield was named after him, as is the road from Yagur to the HaKerayot intersection.

References

External links

1895 births
1965 deaths
Ahdut HaAvoda politicians
Deputy Speakers of the Knesset
Israeli Jews
Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Israeli trade unionists
Jewish Israeli politicians
Jewish socialists
Jews from Mandatory Palestine
Mapam politicians
Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine)
Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951)
Members of the 2nd Knesset (1951–1955)
Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959)
Members of the 4th Knesset (1959–1961)
Members of the 5th Knesset (1961–1965)
Ministers of Internal Affairs of Israel
Ministers of Transport of Israel
People from Chernigov Governorate
People from Konotop
Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine
Soviet Jews
Ukrainian Jews
Kibbutzniks
Russian exiles in Siberia
Soviet expellees
Ukrainian Zionists
Zionist activists

Yisrael Bar-Yehuda


Cania Gorge is a national park in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia, in the locality of Cania.

Geography

The park is 373 km northwest of Brisbane. The nearest town is Monto. Three Moon Creek is the name of the waterway that runs along the length of the gorge.

The park's most dominant features are the 70 m sandstone cliffs. Wildlife native to the park include rock wallabys, bettong, platypus, geckos and over 90 bird species. The flora is diverse, with more than 150 species found in the region, including cypress pine woodland, eucalypt woodland, brigalow forest, dry rainforest and grassland.

Aboriginal rock art on the cliff walls is an indication of indigenous settlement of at least 19,000 years.

A picnic area is located alongside the main road into the park, 8 km from the Burnett Highway. Facilities here include covered picnic tables, toilets and gas-powered barbecues. The majority of the park's walking tracks lead from this picnic area, including the 1.1 km trail to Dripping Rock, 1.6 km trail to The Overhang, and the 1.3 km trail to Bloodwood Cave. The longest track in the park leads from a small car park 500 metres south of the picnic area. This 5.6 km circuit takes in Giants Chair Lookout, with views across the gorge; and Fern Tree Pool, a permanent waterhole. Only walkers with moderate levels of fitness should attempt this track. Another walk leads visitors to a former mine site.

See also

 Cania Dam
 Protected areas of Queensland
 Boyne Valley, Queensland

References

External links

National parks of Queensland
Protected areas established in 1977
Wide Bay–Burnett
1977 establishments in Australia

Cania Gorge National Park


Reichsvogt (; Imperial Advocate) was the term for the office of a Vogt that was nominated by the king of the Holy Roman Empire as his representative. Especially in what is now Switzerland, the Reichsvogt was a very influential position in the High Middle Ages.

Function and rights
The Reichsvogt was patron, chairman of the blood court and administrator of the king of the Holy Roman Empire acting with imperial rights. These included the territory under the direct reign of the king, and the imperial cities and imperial monasteries, among them medieval Zürich and the Fraumünster Abbey, that were directly subordinate to the king, and not to individual dominions or churches and monasteries.

Switzerland

In addition to the imperial cities of Basel, Bern, St. Gallen, Schaffhausen, Solothurn and Zürich, as well as the imperial monasteries , Einsiedeln, Fraumünster and Grossmünster in Zürich, and the St. Gallen Abbey territories, the Reichsvogt acted as the secular court. These extensive imperial complexes were directly subordinate to the king, especially in the Old Swiss Confederacy and in the Western Switzerland.

By the 12th century, the latter were grouped into imperial bailiwicks respectively imperial fiefs to local barons, among them the houses of Zähringen, Kyburg, Rapperswil and Toggenburg. In the 13th century, imperial bailiwicks were propagated fiefdom of large dynasties, Savoy and Habsburg, alongside their officials perceived the imperial rights as Reichsvögte (plural). Zürich, for instancee, in 1218 received the status as Reichsstadt, an imperial city, and chose its first Reichsvogt from the urban citizenry, which exercised the advocacy of the two pins and the city. Zürich mostly sat his counselors as Reichsvogt and county judge in personal union, but from the middle of the 13th century the town's rights were ousted more and more by the Habsburg family.

In general, the Reichsvogt and comparable Schultheiß increasingly dealt, in addition to the jurisdiction, and walked up to the mayors at the head of the city's council. In the 15th century the office of Reichsvogt successively was acquired e.g. in 1400 in Zürich, St. Gallen in 1415, Schaffhausen in 1415/29, and the Reichsvogt became the chairman or executive officers of the blood court. The title Reichsvogt survived in St. Gallen and Appenzell Innerrhoden (1606–1872) by the late 19th century.

See also
 Vogt (Switzerland)

Literature
 Erwin Eugster: Adlige Territorialpolitik in der Ostschweiz. Kirchliche Stiftungen im Spannungsfeld früher landesherrlicher Verdrängungspolitik. Zürich 1991, .
 Roger Sablonier: Gründungszeit ohne Eidgenossen: Politik und Gesellschaft in der Innerschweiz um 1300. hier + jetzt, Baden 2008, .

References

External links

History of Zürich
Old Swiss Confederacy
Feudalism in Switzerland
Reichsvogt
German feudalism
Swiss noble titles
Legal history of Switzerland

Reichsvogt


Theodore H. "Ted" Lillie (born December 30, 1956) is an American politician and a former member of the Minnesota Senate who represented District 56, which included portions of Washington County in the eastern Twin Cities metropolitan area. A Republican, he and his cousin are the co-publishers of Lillie Suburban Newspapers.

Lillie was first elected in 2010. He was one of four assistant majority leaders, and was a member of the Jobs and Economic Growth, the State Government Innovation and Veterans, and the Transportation committees. The 2012 legislative redistricting changed Lillie's Senate District from 56 to 53. He lost his bid for reelection in 2012 to DFLer Susan Kent. His brother, Leon, is a Democratic member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. He was named President of the Taxpayers League of Minnesota in September, 2013.

Lillie graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter. Active in the eastern Twin Cities community through the years, he serves on the board of directors of the Healtheast Foundation, the Oakdale Business and Professional Association, Platinum Bank, and the Co-Action Academic Resources Foundation, an organization providing scholarship opportunities for post-secondary education to residents of North St. Paul, Maplewood, Oakdale, Lake Elmo and Woodbury. He has also served on the board of the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, the School District 622 Education Foundation, the Thrive Youth Asset Building Initiative, the Boy Scouts Gateway District, and the School to Careers Local Council.

References

External links

Senator Ted Lillie Web Page
Project Vote Smart - Senator Ted Lillie Profile
Ted Lillie Campaign Web Site

1956 births
Living people
People from Lake Elmo, Minnesota
Gustavus Adolphus College alumni
Republican Party Minnesota state senators
American newspaper publishers (people)
21st-century American politicians
People from Oakdale, Minnesota

Ted Lillie


Gustáv Husák (, , ; 10 January 1913 – 18 November 1991) was a Slovak politician who served as the long-time  First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1969 to 1987 and the President of Czechoslovakia from 1975 to 1989.

His rule is known for the period of normalization after the Prague Spring.

Early life
Gustáv Husák was born as a son of an unemployed worker in Pozsonyhidegkút, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary (now Bratislava-Dúbravka, Slovakia). He joined the Communist Youth Union at the age of sixteen while studying at the grammar school in Bratislava.

In 1933, when he started his studies at the law faculty of the Comenius University in Bratislava, he joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) which was banned from 1938 to 1945. During World War II, he was periodically jailed by the Jozef Tiso government for illegal Communist activities, and he was one of the leaders of the 1944 Slovak National Uprising against Nazi Germany and Tiso. Husák was a member of the Presidium of the Slovak National Council from 1 to 5 September 1944.

After the war, he began a career as a government official in Slovakia and party functionary in Czechoslovakia. From 1946 to 1950, he was the head of the devolved administration of Slovakia, and as such he strongly contributed to the liquidation of the anti-communist Christian democratic Democratic Party of Slovakia. The Democratic Party of Slovakia established in 1944 had taken 62% in the 1946 elections in Slovakia (whereas in the Czech part of the republic of then-Czechoslovakia, the clear winners were the Communists), thus complicating the Communist ambitions for a swift taking of power. Husák's loyalty to the central organs of the Czechoslovak Communist party as well as his considerable talent for body politics and a ruthless approach to political opponents contributed largely to the crushing of the Democratic Party's dissent in Slovakia and releasing the popular opinion in the country to the whims of prevailing political currents.

In 1950, he fell victim to a Stalinist purge of the party leadership, and was sentenced to life imprisonment, spending the years from 1954 to 1960 in the Leopoldov Prison. A convinced Communist, he always viewed his imprisonment as a gross misunderstanding, which he periodically stressed in several letters of appeal addressed to the party leadership. It is generally acknowledged that the then party leader and president Antonín Novotný repeatedly declined to pardon Husák, assuring his comrades that "you do not know what he is capable of if he comes to power".

As part of the De-Stalinization period in Czechoslovakia, Husák's conviction was overturned and his party membership restored in 1963. By 1967, he had become a critic of Novotný and the KSČ's neo-Stalinist leadership. In April 1968, during the Prague Spring under new party leader and fellow Slovak Alexander Dubček, Husák became a vice-premier of Czechoslovakia, responsible for overseeing reforms in Slovakia.

Leader of Czechoslovakia
As the Soviet Union grew increasingly alarmed by Dubček's liberal reforms in 1968 (Prague Spring), Husák, originally Dubček's ally and a moderate supporter of the reform programme, began calling for caution.

After the Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia in August, Husák  participated in the Czechoslovak-Soviet negotiations between the kidnapped Dubček and Leonid Brezhnev in Moscow. Husák changed course and became a leader among those party members calling for the reversal of Dubček's reforms. An account for his pragmatism was given in one of his official speeches in Slovakia after the 1968 events, during which he ventured a rhetorical question, asking where the opponents of the Soviet Union wished to find allies of Czechoslovakia that might come to support the country against Soviet troops.

Supported by Moscow, he was appointed leader of the Communist Party of Slovakia in as early as August 1968, and he succeeded Dubček as first secretary (title changed to general secretary in 1971) of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in April 1969. He reversed Dubček's reforms and purged the party of its liberal members in 1969–1971. In 1975, Husák was elected President of Czechoslovakia. During the two decades of Husák's leadership, Czechoslovakia became one of Moscow's most loyal allies.

In the first years following the invasion, Husák managed to appease the outraged civil population by providing a relatively satisfactory living standard and avoiding any overt reprisals like was the case in the 1950s. His regime was not a complete return to the heavy-handed Stalinism that prevailed during the first 20 years of Communist rule in the country. At the same time, the people's rights were somewhat more restricted than was the case in János Kádár's Hungary and Josip Broz Tito's Yugoslavia. Indeed, on the cultural level, the level of repression approached that seen in Erich Honecker's East Germany and even Nicolae Ceauşescu's Romania. There was a campaign of repression by the secret police (StB) targeting dissidents represented later by Charter 77 as well as hundreds of unknown individuals who happened to be targets of the StB's pre-emptive strikes. The repression intensified over the years as Husák grew more authoritarian.

Starting in the early 1970s, Husák allowed those who had been purged in the aftermath of Prague Spring to rejoin the party. However, they were required to publicly distance themselves from their past support for reform.

The latter part of Husák's tenure saw a struggle within the Politburo over whether to adopt Gorbachev-style reforms. While the hardliners, led by Vasiľ Biľak, opposed any restructuring, moderates led by Prime Minister Lubomir Strougal strongly favoured reform. Husák himself stayed neutral until April 1987, when he announced a somewhat half-hearted reform program scheduled to start in 1991.

Later that year, however, Husák yielded his post as general secretary to Miloš Jakeš in response to a desire for younger leaders (Jakeš and Ladislav Adamec) to share in power.

On 24 November 1989, the entire Presidum of the Communist Party, including Husák, resigned in the wake of the Velvet Revolution. The party officially abandoned power four days later. On 10 December, Husák swore in a new government. Although it was headed by a communist, Marián Čalfa, it had a non-communist majority; the first in 41 years that was not dominated by communists and/or fellow travelers. He resigned later that day, just hours after presiding over the formal end of the regime he had largely created. In an attempt to rehabilitate its image ahead of the first free elections in 44 years, the Communist Party expelled him in February 1990.

He died on 18 November 1991, at the age of 78, and was buried at the Cimetière de Dúbravka.

Legacy

There is still some question about Husák's moral culpability for the last two decades of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. After its collapse, Husák kept saying that he was just trying to diminish the aftermath of the Soviet invasion and had to constantly resist pressure from hard line Stalinists in the party such as Biľak, Alois Indra and the like. In the early 1970s, he personally pushed for an early withdrawal of the Soviet troops from Czechoslovak territory, which did not happen until 1991; this may be ascribed to his pragmatic attempts to ease the situation and to give an impression that things were leaning toward "normality".

However, there are many ways in which he personally contributed to the Communist government's longevity and policies. As the General Secretary of the Party, he was the nominal leader of the repressive state apparatus. There are many documented cases of appeals from politically persecuted persons, but almost none of them was given Husák's attention. As the overall decay of Czechoslovak society was becoming more and more obvious in the 1980s, Husák became a politically impotent puppet of events.

Gustáv Husák was awarded the title Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic three times, in 1969, 1973, and 1982. In 1983 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Husák allegedly confessed to a Catholic priest before his death, having previously been an atheist. On his deathbed in 1991, Husák received the sacrament of reconciliation from a Catholic archbishop, Ján Sokol. Author Michal Macháček has argued that the story of the confession is false, and the product of Catholic propaganda.

Awards and honors
:
 Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, thrice (1969, 1972, 1982)
 Order of Klement Gottwald, four times
 Order of Victorious February

:
 Hero of the Soviet Union (1983)
 Orders of Lenin, four times (1969, 1973, 1983, 1988)
 Order of the October Revolution (1978)
 Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (1969)

Other countries:
 Grand Cross of the Order of May (Argentina)
 Order of Georgi Dimitrov, twice (Bulgaria)
 Order of the Balkan Mountains (Bulgaria)
 Order of Jose Marti (Cuba)
 Order of Playa Girón (Cuba)
 Order of Karl Marx, twice (East Germany)
 Grand Cross of the White Rose of Finland (Finland)
 Order of the Flag of the Republic of Hungary (Hungary)
 Order of Pahlavi (Iran)
 Order of Sukhbaatar, thrice (Mongolia)
 Order of the National Flag 1st class, twice (North Korea)
 Order of the Grand Cross of the Rebirth of Poland (Poland)
 Order of the Star of the Romanian Socialist Republic 1st class (Romania)
 Order of Victory of Socialism (Romania)
 Order of Civil Merit (Syria)

Functions
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia/KSČ (prohibited 1938, dissolved 1939–1945)
1933-1938/1939 and 1989(December)-(February)1990: common member
spring 1945: member of its Provisional Central Committee (established in the parts of Czechoslovakia liberated by the Red Army)
1949-1951 and 1968 (31 August)-1989: member of its Central Committee
1968 (31 August)-1989 (24 November): member of its Presidium
1969 (April) -1987 (December): one of its secretaries
1969 (April)-1987: party leader (First Secretary, since 1971  Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia)
1987 (17 December): resigned as party leader (replaced by Miloš Jakeš)

Communist Party of Slovakia/KSS (illegal 1939–1944/1945)
1939-1945: one of its leaders
1943-1944: member of its 5th illegal Central Committee
1944-1950 and 1968–1971: member of its Central Committee and (except for 1970–1971) member of its Presidium and (except for 1944–1948) one of its secretaries
1944-1945: vice-chairman
1968 (28 August)-1969: party leader ("first secretary")

Slovak National Council (Slovenská národná rada) (during World War II a resistance parliament-government, since 1968 the Slovak parliament)
1943-1944: one of its main organizers
1944-1950 and 1968 (December)-1971: its deputy
1944-1950: member of its Presidium
1944-1945: vice-chairman

Council of Commissioners (Zbor povereníkov) (a quasi government responsible for Slovakia)
1944-1945: Commissioner of the Interior
1945-1946: Commissioner of  Transport and Technology in Slovakia
1946-1950: President of the Council of Commissioners, in which he contributed to the suppression of the influential Democratic Party of Slovakia by the Communists (1947–1948)
1948-1950: Commissioner of Agriculture and Land Reform in Slovakia
1949-1950: Commissioner of Alimentation in Slovakia

Czechoslovak Parliament (called National Assembly and since 1968 Federal Assembly)
1945-1951 and 1968–1975: deputy
1969-1975: member of its Presidium

Czechoslovak government
1968 (April–December): a vice-premier of the Prague Spring Czechoslovak government

President of Czechoslovakia
1975-1989: President of Czechoslovakia
1989 (10 December): resigned as the President of Czechoslovakia within the Velvet Revolution

Other important data
1929–1932: member of the Communist Youth Union (prohibited in 1932)
1933–1937: studies at the law faculty of the Comenius University in Bratislava,
1938 received a title Dr. (of law) and started to work as a lawyer in Bratislava
1936–1938: member of the Slovak Youth Union (1936 founder and secretary)
1937–1938 vice-president of the Slovak Students Union and secretary of the Association for the Economic and Cultural Cooperation with the Soviet Union
1940–1944: four times shortly jailed by the government of Jozef Tiso for illegal Communist activities
1943–1944: member of the 5th illegal KSS Central Committee, one of the main organizers of the anti-Nazi Slovak National Uprising (1944) and of its leading body, the Slovak National Council
late 1944–February 1945: he fled to Moscow after the defeat of the Slovak National Uprising
1950: charged with "bourgeois nationalism" with respect to Slovakia (see History of Czechoslovakia)
1951: arrested
1954: sentenced to life imprisonment
1954–1960: imprisoned
1960: conditionally released through an amnesty
1963: his conviction was overturned and his party membership restored and he was rehabilitated
1963–1968: scientific employee of the State and Law Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
1969 (April)–1987 (December): chief commander of the Popular Militia
1971 (January)–1987 (December): president and member of the Presidium of the National Front Central Committee

See also
Husakism
Husák's Children
History of Czechoslovakia
Lennon Wall

References

Literature
 MACHÁČEK, Michal. Gustáv Husák. Prague : Vyšehrad 2017, 632 pp. .
 MACHÁČEK, Michal. The Strange Unity. Gustáv Husák and Power and Political Fights Inside the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia as Exemplified by Presidency Issue (1969–1975), in: Czech Journal of Contemporary History, 2016, vol. 4, 104–128 pp. .

External links

Speeches and Writings, a publication from 1986.
 Kim Ir sen v Praze 1984/Kim Il-sung in Prague 1984

|-

|-

|-

1913 births
1991 deaths
Politicians from Bratislava
People from the Kingdom of Hungary
Leaders of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
Presidents of Czechoslovakia
Members of the Interim National Assembly of Czechoslovakia
Members of the Constituent National Assembly of Czechoslovakia
Members of the National Assembly of Czechoslovakia (1948–1954)
Members of the Chamber of the Nations of Czechoslovakia (1969–1971)
Members of the Chamber of the People of Czechoslovakia (1971–1976)
Communist Party of Slovakia (1939) politicians
Prime Ministers of Slovakia
Prague Spring
People of the Cold War
People of the Velvet Revolution
Czechoslovak prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Czechoslovakia
Comenius University alumni
Heroes of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
Foreign Heroes of the Soviet Union
Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Collaborators with the Soviet Union
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic rehabilitations

Gustáv Husák


Banasura Hill Resort is a nature resort in Wayanad District of North Kerala, India; located  away from Kalpetta, the district headquarters. It stands at an altitude of  above sea level on a  plot amidst the mountains of the Western Ghats declared as one of the traditionally preserved sites in the world by UNESCO.

Etymology
The resort is so named because it is located at the foot of the Banasura Hill which is the second highest mountain in Wayanad that often attracts climbers to attempt to reach the summit. Besides this, the Banasura Sagar Dam, which lies just 18 km from the resort and shares its architectural antecedents also had an influence in naming the resort.

Architecture
The resort's architectural design follows a construction based on rammed earth. The various living structures within the resort complex is constructed using mud excavated from the very site where it stands on. The main building has an area of nearly 20,000 square foot spread over two floors, and is made entirely out of mud, with a roof of bamboo and coconut palm fronds.

BBC News considers it as a mud haven – India's only "earth" resort and possibly the largest of its kind in Asia.

The idea behind Banasura

A considerable amount of research went in before deciding on the type of architecture to be used in construction. "Earth" architecture was chosen because it would cause the least amount of ecological damage while blending harmoniously with the micro environment around the site. "Earth" (mud) that is used for construction can be recycled indefinitely or left to disintegrate without causing any environmental degradation.

Research also threw up striking examples of large earthen structures that had withstood the test of time and survived for centuries. The Great Mosque of Djenné in Mali built in 1907, the Citadel of Rayen in Iran built during the Parthian rule (248 BC–224 AD); and the ancient city of Shibam in Yemen built in the 2nd century A.D are some such structures.

Inspired by these examples, rammed earth (or pise) was chosen as the architecture to be adopted for constructing the resort. This construction technique was developed in ancient China around 2,000 B.C and used predominantly to build protective walls around small settlements. The Great Wall of China is one of the best examples where rammed earth was used. Closer to the resort, the Banasura Sagar Dam, which is India's largest earthen dam, and the second largest in Asia, also prompted adoption of this eco-friendly design.

Size and challenges

Fairly large single-storied earthen structures are common in different parts of the world, but building a two-storied structure of such enormous proportions as that of the main building at the resort, was quite a challenge. Since the building was designed without any concrete pillars, extra attention had to be paid to load bearing and load balancing aspects to ensure stability.

Climatic conditions are a major concern while building earthen structures.  Typically, earthen buildings are found in areas where the climate is dry and arid. Wayanad, where Banasura Hill Resort is located, has a tropical wet climate – also known as a tropical monsoon climate – with an annual average rainfall of well over 2,300mm. While the heavy monsoon rains are responsible for the tropical rain forests and the rich bio-diversity found in these parts, building a rammed colossal earth structure under such climatic conditions is a challenge. Despite this, construction of the main building was completed within 18 months.

Indigenous sustainable architecture
Banasura Hill Resort makes optimal use of environmental resources. As it is built using mud; the structures of the resort gel seamlessly with the natural surroundings. The design itself contributes actively to energy conservation. The thick earthen walls provide thermal insulation, keeping the interiors cool during the day and warm and cozy during the night, obviating the need for air-conditioning. The ambience that the interiors of the earthen structures provide is one of cool comfort.

Environmental conservation
Being an Eco Resort, Banasura Hill Resort has taken measures to conserve the ecological balance of the place and preserve its natural heritage and biodiversity. For example, Guadua bamboo saplings have been planted in and around the resort to create a bio-fencing. Its environmental benefits include regulating water levels, absorbing huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, producing oxygen, preventing soil erosion and conserving bio diversity. Also planted in thousands are seedlings of the highly aromatic Vetiver grass whose cluster roots run vertically like a mesh to a depth of almost 5m, effectively preventing soil erosion and arresting water run-off. These measures help to conserve the ecological balance of the place and preserve its natural heritage and biodiversity.

Plantations at the resort
The resort stands in the middle of a Tea estate. Large areas have also been devoted to the cultivation of pepper, coffee and arecanut. Tall Rosewood and Eucalyptus trees are a common sight throughout the resort.

References

External links

Banasura Hill Resort Official website
THE HINDU
MSN | Lifestyle
The Indian Express Indulge
Khaleej Times
Arab News
Deccan Herald
Yahoo News

Populated places in the Western Ghats
Resorts in India
Rammed earth buildings and structures
Sustainable buildings and structures
Buildings and structures in Wayanad district
Hill stations in Kerala
Organic architecture

Banasura Hill Resort


The Somersville Historic District encompasses the historic components of the mill village of Somersville in western Somers, Connecticut, United States.  The district is centered on a mill complex on the Scantic River, which divides the district. The most significant years of development were between about 1835 and 1935, although the area has a history (and surviving structures) dating to the 1760s.  The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.  The Mill itself has since burned down and as of October 2018 is currently open field, although the canal structure remains in place.

Description and history
The town of Somers was settled in the 17th century as part of the Agawam Plantation (now Springfield, Massachusetts), was separately incorporated in 1739, and transferred to the jurisdiction of the Connecticut Colony in 1749. The area that became Somersville village grew around a sawmill and gristmill established on the Scantic River, but remained little more than a rural crossroads village until 1835. In that year, Spencer & Chaffee were the first in a series of proprietors to use the mill privilege for the production of textiles.  In 1853 the business was acquired by Holmes & Reynolds, which expanded the mill. It operated through the American Civil War, producing satinet, but closed a few years later.  In 1879 the mill was purchased by the Somersville Manufacturing Company, which built the present three-story brick building, and greatly expanded and modernized its production capacity over the next decades. The company also built large numbers of surviving mill housing beginning about 1885, including a significant number of multiunit and tenement-style buildings.

The historic district is roughly T shaped, the base of the T extending along Maple Street on either side of the mill complex.  At its northern end it meets Main Street (Connecticut Route 190), which forms the top of the T, extending westward from the Maple Street junction and eastward just beyond School Street (whose section between Main and Maple Streets is also included in the district).  Most of the district consists of vernacular residential architecture built for housing mill workers, although there are a few houses that date to the area's 18th-century period.  The district also includes 19th-century retail buildings, two churches, and a school.

See also

 Somers Historic District, also NRHP-listed in Somers
 National Register of Historic Places listings in Tolland County, Connecticut

References

External links

Colonial Revival architecture in Connecticut
Greek Revival architecture in Connecticut
Historic districts in Tolland County, Connecticut
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in Tolland County, Connecticut
Somers, Connecticut

Somersville Historic District


Transpulmonary pressure is the difference between the alveolar pressure and the intrapleural pressure in the pleural cavity. During human ventilation, air flows because of pressure gradients.

Ptp = Palv – Pip. Where Ptp is transpulmonary pressure, Palv is alveolar pressure, and Pip is intrapleural pressure.

Physiology
Since atmospheric pressure is relatively constant, pressure in the lungs must be higher or lower than atmospheric pressure for air to flow between the atmosphere and the alveoli.
If 'transpulmonary pressure' = 0 (alveolar pressure = intrapleural pressure), such as when the lungs are removed from the chest cavity or air enters the intrapleural space (a pneumothorax), the lungs collapse as a result of their inherent elastic recoil. Under physiological conditions the transpulmonary pressure is always positive; intrapleural pressure is always negative and relatively large, while alveolar pressure moves from slightly negative to slightly positive as a person breathes. For a given lung volume, the transpulmonary pressure is equal and opposite to the elastic recoil pressure of the lung.

The transpulmonary pressure vs volume curve of inhalation (usually plotted as volume as a function of pressure) is different from that of exhalation, the difference being described as hysteresis. Lung volume at any given pressure during inhalation is less than the lung volume at any given pressure during exhalation.

Measurement
Transpulmonary pressure can be measured by placing pressure transducers. The alveolar pressure is estimated by measuring the pressure in the airways while holding one's breath. The intrapleural pressure is estimated by measuring the pressure inside a balloon placed in the esophagus.

Measurement of transpulmonary pressure assists in spirometry in availing for calculation of static lung compliance.

References

Respiratory physiology

Transpulmonary pressure


Franjo Ksaver Kuhač (November 20, 1834 – June 18, 1911) was an Austro-Hungarian piano teacher, choral conductor, composer, and comparative musicologist who studied Croatian folk music.  Kuhač did a great deal of field work in this area, collecting and publishing 1,600 folk songs.  Like Cecil Sharp, who did similar work in Britain and Appalachia, Kuhač published the folk songs with a piano accompaniment.

Biography
Kuhač was born in Osijek on 20 November 1834 in a German family as Franz Xaver Koch. In Osijek he finished elementary school and Gymnasium. From 1848 to 1851 he was training to become a teacher in Donji Miholjac. After becoming a teacher, Kuhač went to study music in Pest, Hungary. Later, he went to Vienna, Leipzig and Weimar where Franz Liszt taught him piano playing. While analyzing different kinds of traditional music and discussing with his teachers about the relationship of folk music  and classical music, he found out the value of folk music. From 1858 to 1871 he taught piano playing and singing in Osijek. He also was the chairman of the Osijek singing society where he conducted works of Slavic composers. In that period, he traveled across  Europe, from Bulgaria to Germany and from Slovenia to Macedonia. He probably collected over 5000 folk songs in that period. In 1871 he changed his name to Franjo Ksaver Kuhač. In 1871 he moved to Zagreb where he taught piano at the Croatian Musical Institute (HGZ). From 1878 to 1881 he published his magnum opus, Južnoslavenske narodne popjevke (Southslavic folk songs). Most of the Croatian musicological etymology was introduced by Kuhač when he translated Johann Christian Lobe's Katechismus der Musik. He published the following books:

 Južnoslavenske narodne popjevke (South-Slavic Folk Songs), Zagreb, 1871
 Uputa u glasoviranje (Instruction in Piano-Playing), two volumes, 1896 and 1897
 Valpovo i njegovi gospodari (Valpovo And Its Proprietors), Zagreb, 1876
 Ilirski glazbenici (Illyrian Musicians), Zagreb, 1893

Kuhač became well known for tracing similarities between the Croatian folk tunes he collected and various themes in the music of Joseph Haydn.  He also was known for his conjecture that Haydn was not Austrian but Croatian, a member of the Croatian ethnic minority resident in the Burgenland region of Austria.  For more on both of these aspects of Kuhač's research, see Haydn and folk music.  He died in Zagreb.

Sources
Kuhač, Franjo Ksaver

External links
 www.kuhac.net (The web site promotes Kuhac through a biography, a digital archive of his works with sound recordings, a photo gallery, extensive bibliography of Kuhac's works and works written about Kuhac)
 https://hgz.academia.edu/FranjoKsaverKuhac Repository of writings by Franjo Ksaver Kuhač

1834 births
1911 deaths
Choral composers
Composers from Austria-Hungary
Croatian musicologists
Haydn scholars
Musicians from Austria-Hungary
People from Osijek
Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery

Franjo Kuhač


Fagerborg Church (Fagerborg kirke) is located south of Stensparken at Fagerborg in Oslo, Norway.

The building
Construction of the church began in 1901 and was completed in 1903. The church was consecrated on 22 December 1903 by Bishop Anton Christian Bang. The structure is a three-aisled church built of brick, with constructive joints made of quarried granite and has 480 seats. The church is in neo-Gothic style with elements of Jugendstil and built in granite from Skjeberg.  The church was redecorated inside for the 50th anniversary in 1953. On this occasion, the church received new chandeliers designed by architect Harald Hille.

The church is built to a design by architect Hagbarth Martin Schytte-Berg (1860-1944), after a competition in which 54 entries were submitted. The style church is the result of art nouveau treatment of the historic eclecticism. The basic features are derived from the Neo-Romanesque and neo-Gothic, but filtered through the Jugendstil styled shapes and materials. Church doors are executed in a national romantic medieval-inspired style

Interior
The pulpit and altar are both designed by the church architect.

Stained glass is made of imperial and royal court stained glass artist Max Roth from the studio Miksa Roth in Budapest, Hungary, with Art Nouveau features.

Pulpit is also Art Nouveau style and made of American Oregon pine.  It is decorated with carvings from drawing by Schytte-Berg. The font is in white marble, has an octagonal base and is in neo-Romanesque style.

The altarpiece was designed by the architect and executed by sculptor Jo Visdalen (1861-1923). The altarpiece has over the years undergone a number of changes.

Church organs
The old church organ at the side of the choir was completed in 1903. The church received a new organ in 1932 consisting of 2728 pipes. In 2007 a newer organ was dedicated. The new organ was built by Orgelbau Goll based in Lucerne. The organ has 54 voices and is among the largest in Oslo.

References

Lutheran churches in Oslo
1903 establishments in Norway
20th-century Church of Norway church buildings
Art Nouveau architecture in Oslo
Art Nouveau church buildings in Norway
Churches completed in 1903

Fagerborg Church


Sabata (, lit. "Hey friend ... that's Sabata. You're finished!"), is a 1969 Italian Spaghetti Western directed by Gianfranco Parolini. It is the first film in The Sabata Trilogy by Parolini, and stars Lee Van Cleef as the title character. Parolini had previously had a major success with the first Sartana Spaghetti Western If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death (1968), but the sequels were given to Giuliano Carnimeo. Producer Alberto Grimaldi contacted Parolini for a similar series of Sabata.

Synopsis
In Daugherty, Texas, a group of thieves disguised as Army soldiers steal a safe with $100,000 of the Army's money in it by having a pair of acrobats vault up to the second floor entrance.  They haul the vault away in a wagon.  During the robbery, Sabata befriends Carrincha, a Confederate veteran.  Sabata chases the thieves and shoots them all down from long range.  He returns the safe and accepts a $5,000 reward from the Army.  On the way back in to town, he notices the acrobats' circus wagon.  While relaxing in the hotel, he meets Banjo, a mysterious bard who claims to know him.

In a private room, Stengel, Judge O'Hara and Ferguson lament the return of the safe.  They conceived the theft to use the money to purchase land that would soon be wanted for railroad development, vastly increasing its value.  Stengel commissions a man named Oswald to kill the acrobats and dispose of their wagon - the only evidence of their involvement.  Though Oswald kills the acrobats, Sabata stops them from taking the wagon, and confirms Stengel's involvement by identifying one of the men sent to destroy the wagon.  Sabata goes to Stengel's ranch to negotiate, and demands $10,000 to turn over the wagon.  He rides into the ranch and Stengel's men open fire; a dummy was propped up in the wagon.  For this betrayal, Sabata demands $20,000 and rides off.

Banjo confronts Sabata and tells him that the conspirators will never pay him, because they believe he will keep increasing the bounty no matter what.  Immediately thereafter, Stengel's men ambush Sabata, but he kills or subdues them and agrees to meet with Stengel.  At dinner, he raises the price to $30,000.  Ferguson hires a series of hitmen to kill Sabata, all of whom are unsuccessful.  Sabata then raises the price to $60,000 and agrees to accept delivery the next day at Los Palos.  A group of men from Banjo's past try to kill him, but he dispatches them with expert skill using a rifle concealed in his instrument.  Sabata then enlists his help as protection for the delivery in exchange for the Army's $5,000 reward, which he shows him.

At Los Palos, Banjo double-crosses Sabata and shoots him.  Sabata shields himself with the bag of money, which was full of sand underneath the $5,000.  He shoots away Banjo's weapon but lets him leave, unharmed.  Ferguson, who witnessed the exchange, sends men to chase Sabata.  With the help of Charrincha's Indian acrobat friend, they trick the men into entering a canyon and trap them there with dynamite.  Sabata, Indio and Carrincha then plant dynamite throughout Stengel's ranch at night, culminating in a large-scale attack and showdown in which Sabata kills Stengel.

The next day, however, Sabata and Banjo duel, and Banjo kills Sabata.  Carrincha loads his body into Banjo's wagon and they ride off.  Outside of town, Banjo takes the money bag and unhitches his horse from the wagon.  Sabata, only playing dead, shoots the money bag off of his horse and takes it back - their agreement was 50/50.  For this final betrayal, Sabata offers Banjo only the original $5,000 bundle, which he then shoots, scattering it to the wind.

Cast
 Lee Van Cleef as Sabata, a gunman of almost superhuman accuracy.  He solves the majority of his problems with a combination of superior firepower and accuracy. His weapons of choice are a peculiar four-barreled Derringer and a rifle with an extended barrel which he uses to make shots thought impossible.
 William Berger as Banjo, a mysterious bard.  He claims to know Sabata and says that he is in Daughtery because he had "some trouble in Denver."  Initially employed by Sabata for information, he is eventually enlisted for protection, but betrays Sabata twice.
 Ignazio Spalla (as Pedro Sanchez) as Carrincha, a Confederate Civil War veteran.  Sabata befriends him after hearing his story of heroics in the war, for which he earned a "worthless" medal.  He makes himself useful by throwing knives on occasion and is loyal to Sabata.
 Aldo Canti (as Nick Jordan) as Indio/Alley Cat.  Carrincha's only friend, Alley Cat is a silent Indian who performs amazing acrobatics and can escape any pursuer.
 Linda Veras as Jane, a saloon girl and Banjo's lover.
 Franco Ressel as Stengel, the effeminate villain of the story.  He engineered the robbery that set the whole plot in motion. Very smug in the belief that he is superior to the rest of humanity, he kills people with a dart gun concealed in a cane.
 Antonio Gradoli (as Anthony Gradwell) as Ferguson, one of Stengel's increasingly reluctant partners in crime.
 Claudio Undari (as Robert Hundar) as Oswald, one of the conspirators' hitmen.
 Gianni Rizzo as Judge O'Hara, another of Stengel's increasingly reluctant partners in crime.

Release
Sabata was released in Italy in September 1969.

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

 Sabata at Shobary's Spaghetti Westerns

Sabata films
1969 Western (genre) films
1969 films
Films about bank robbery
Films directed by Gianfranco Parolini
Films produced by Alberto Grimaldi
Films scored by Marcello Giombini
Films set in Texas
Films shot in Almería
1960s Italian-language films
Spaghetti Western films
United Artists films
1960s English-language films
1960s Italian films

Sabata (film)


A Brief History of the Future is a speculative futurology book about the next 50 years by Jacques Attali. The original edition was published by Fayard in 2006.

Themes

History
The first third of the book retraces Human history from prehistory to today, with an emphasis on the rise of capitalism around 1200. It describes Dumézil's three Orders (religious, military and economic) as the "ritual order", the "imperial order" and the "merchant order", noting that the "merchant order" came to supersede the two others.

The book hypothesizes that "merchant order" went through nine successive geographical "cores" associated with a characteristic technology. The core cities were:

 Bruges with the central rudder stock (1200–1350)
 Venice with the caravel (1350–1500)
 Antwerp with printing (1500–1560)
 Genoa and accounting (1560–1620)
 Amsterdam with the fluyt (1620–1788)
 London and the steam engine (1788–1890)
 Boston and the piston engine (1890–1929)
 New York City with the electric engine (1929–1980)
 Los Angeles and the microchip (1980–present)

A city would then become a "core" when it able to transform a service into an industrial product. The close vicinity becomes the "environment", and the rest of the world becomes the "periphery".

Speculation

Fall of the US empire
The speculation as to how the future will unfold begins one third into the book, which predicts the fall of the US Empire before the end of the ninth form of capitalism, estimated to take place around 2035.

It would be followed by a polycentric world, with nine dominating nations on all continents: the United States, Brazil, Mexico, China, India, Russia, the European Union, Egypt and Nigeria. Some of them, notably China, India and Nigeria, as well as other countries artificially created after colonization, could undertake an explosion process similar to that of USSR in 1991, with as many as 100 new countries emerging. Japan, Indonesia, Korea, Australia, Canada and South Africa would also play important roles as major regional powers.

A process of "nomadisation" would stem from technological factors, like the Internet; from demographic factors, like aging of developed populations which would entail massive immigration from Southern countries to pay retirements; and from development of megapoles.

Increase of world population would entail a doubling of global farming production. Urbanisation would make forest disappear everywhere, except for Europe and Northern America where artificially maintained ones would subsist. This would cause further increases of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and accelerate global warming. Consecutive droughts would make water a rare resource, and greatly reduce biodiversity.

Hyperempire
The "nomadisation" process would make nation-States irrelevant, transforming the world into a chaotic market called "hyperempire". The entire planet would work according to an ultra-liberal economy and a form of democracy with "revisited" standards. The citizens would see themselves as "global citizens" who want their work to serve a "higher purpose".

The ruling class, called "hypernomads", would ground its power on a middle class of 4 billion "virtual nomads" comprising technicians, scientists, managers, engineers, etc. The "virtual nomads" would live a sedentary life, but work in networks for companies without a central location. 3.5 billion "infranomads" would subsist in misery.

"Infranomads" are expected to revolt violently against their condition, stemming a resurgence of national entities and crystallising conflicts around traditional borders of ethnicities, religions, etc. Technological improvements in weaponry would put Humanity at risk of destroying itself in this conflict.

Hyperdemocracy
Opportunities of more constructive developments are detailed under the term "Hyperdemocracy", based on solidarity networks, participative democracy, "responsible companies", NGOs, micro-credits and collective intelligence.

Present day
The end of the book details reforms defended by Attali for present France, as a partial remedy to her decline which threatens her ability to survive to the competition of the "hypermarket".

Reception
A review in The Guardian complimented Attali's book but also said that "the author's prose is burdened by a habit of self-congratulation".

References

2006 essays
Futurology books
English-language books

A Brief History of the Future


Diamond Bus Ltd., trading as Diamond West Midlands, and also operating under the West Midlands Bus brand identity, is a bus operator in the West Midlands. It is a subsidiary of Rotala.

History

Birmingham Coach Company & Diamond Bus
In 1984 Geoff Howle commenced a coach operation trading as the Birmingham Coach Company. Following deregulation of the bus industry in 1986, Howle applied to operate route 16 between Hamstead and Birmingham in competition with West Midlands Travel. Other services subsequently operated included service 120 (now service 12) between Dudley and Birmingham and service 50 between Birmingham and Druids Heath. Service 16 and 50 are still operated by successor Diamond Bus. Buses used were predominately Leyland Nationals. From 3rd January 2023, service 16 will be renumbered 16A.

In 2000 Birmingham Coach Company was re-branded as Diamond Bus, replacing many of their existing Leyland Nationals, expanding their network in Birmingham and the Black Country. By 2003 Diamond Bus had become a National Express contractor and opened a depot in Bradford.

Go West Midlands
In December 2005 the Go-Ahead Group purchased Diamond Bus and in February 2006 Probus Management with over 100 vehicles and merged the two companies to form Go West Midlands.

Rotala Group
In March 2008 Go West Midlands was sold to Rotala who also owned Central Connect and North Birmingham Busways. Rotala originally kept the Diamond business separate from Central Connect and Ludlows (purchased later), instead switching a number of routes between the three operators. From November 2011 Central Connect was re-branded as Blue Diamond.

Red Diamond & Black Diamond
In July 2008 new buses were put into service in Redditch on routes 57 and 58, branded as Red Diamond. Since then a number of routes in North Worcestershire have been re-branded as Red Diamond along with new routes in competition with First Midland Red's in Redditch. At the same time new buses were allocated to a number of Black Country routes, branded as Black Diamond. First Midland Red subsequently sold both its Redditch and Kidderminster depots to Diamond Bus.

Diamond Staffordshire
The Diamond Staffordshire brand was introduced in late 2012 for the company's services around the Lichfield area.

Following the purchase of Central Buses Diamond took on operations in Lichfield such as 35 to Walsall.  This service was subsequently taken over by Arriva Midlands and operated from their Wednesfield depot acquired with the purchase of Liyell Limited (t/a Midland) until operations from there were sold to Diamond Bus which brought Diamond back on to the 35 route.

The 35B service through Stonnall was scrapped in 2019 and replaced by 36 operated by Select Bus Services until 2023 as 35A/36 are now operated by Chaserider.

Diamond West Midlands
In late 2012 Blue Diamond, Black Diamond and Signature became Diamond West Midlands and operate services across the West Midlands.

Black Diamond

In 2008, upon takeover by Rotala, Diamond started to "localise" their operations. In the Black Country, this meant that the brand became Black Diamond with 20 new Plaxton Centros (eight of which moved to Wessex Bus due to service cuts). These were new for routes 401, 402, 404, 404E and 404H.

In 2009, Diamond launched eight more Plaxton Centro buses on route 9, these using Royale Black Diamond branding. Route 202 Halesowen - Bromsgrove and 4H Hayley Green - West Bromwich uses Royale Black Diamond buses.

Most of the routes these buses were new for have since either had new buses (404E), withdrawn (404/H) or had older stock transferred to them (401/2) .

In October 2010, Diamond bus branded 10 MCV Evolution bodied MAN 14.240s for the 404 Walsall – West Bromwich service under the branding Black Country Connection, the service operates every 6 to 8 minutes. These buses displaced the Black Diamond branded buses of which 2 were transferred to Wessex Bus and the rest have been cascaded to other routes, e.g. the 56 (which is now operated by National Express West Midlands as service 937).

On 23 April 2017 the Wednesfield operations of Arriva Midlands were purchased with nine vehicles.

On 28 July 2017, the business of Hanson's Local Buses that operated services in Stourbridge, Dudley and surrounding areas was purchased. Hanson's Local Buses was formed in the 1980s by Margaret Hanson as a coach operator. Following deregulation of the bus industry in 1986, Hansons diversified into operating bus services.

In Early 2018 Diamond Bus ceased the Droitwich Network with the local routes been taken over by LMS Travel & Astons Coaches while 354 to Redditch was taken over by Finesse Travel & 133 was taken over by Worcesteshire County Council Woosh.
Then in March the 580 service which operated between Kinver & Kidderminster 2 trips a day was taken over by Coniston Coaches along with 294/295 Kidderminster To Worcester but the 295 was scrapped and a new 296 service was introduced to replace in part of the 295 and integrating it with the former 16 Stourport To Bewdley which was operated by Worcestershire County Council Woosh.

In September 2018 the 318 service from Stourbridge To Bromsgrove was passed onto the hands of Kevs Cars & Coaches Then in October the same year the 287 service that operated between Stourbridge & Merry Hill was extended onto the former 14 service Brierley Hill To Fatherless Barn and added onto Halesowen was re-numbered 28 omitting Dunns Bank and was operated by National Express West Midlands.

In 2019 the 208 service which operated between Merry Hill & Dudley via Brickhouse Farm on Sundays was withdrawn and at the same time the 24 was taken over by National Express West Midlands it was short lived to Foxyards Estate then it got added onto their 14 service from Halesowen and 208 was re-numbered 14A, The 267 Stourbridge To Wall Heath (Briarscroft) was re-numbered 5 until 2020 from when it got replaced by the revised 17 service, and the 657 to Kingswinford (Manor Park) from Stourbridge was re-numbered 17A replacing half the 267 but then got re-numbered 57 in 2020.

Blue Diamond
Blue Diamond was formed from the merger of Zak's Buses, North Birmingham Busways and Birmingham Motor Traction. In January 2008 Ludlows, Halesowen was purchased. Originally branded Central Connect, in November 2011 it was rebranded as Blue Diamond.

Blue Diamond, Red Diamond and Black Diamond branding have since been replaced by the simpler Diamond fleetname.

Signature

On 7 June 2010, Central Connect launched the Signature brand with two Solihull routes that were taken over from National Express West Midlands, the S2 (S2/S2A/S2C) and S3 were operated with Optare Solo SRs with leather seating and on-board WiFi.

On 26 July 2010, the Signature brand took over route 82 from National Express Coventry but following a more direct route between Solihull and Coventry using Mercedes-Benz Citaros and service S4 (taken over from Grosvenor) using MCV Evolutions, again both feature leather seating and free on-board WiFi. In 2019, service 82 was lost to Johnson's of Henley-in-Arden who subsequently linked the service to their existing service X20 providing a direct service between Coventry, Solihull and Stratford-upon-Avon.

On 27 March 2011, the Signature brand expanded again with the addition of route 30 Solihull-Acocks Green which was withdrawn by National Express West Midlands. This route is now operated by LandFlight as the A12.

When Central Connect was rebranded as 'Blue Diamond' in late 2011, the Solihull Signature brand was retained. Following loss of many contracts and reorganisation of bus routes in the Solihull area, the Signature brand was dropped in 2019.

In August 2021, the Diamond 32 service was withdrawn as the coordinated timetables on selected routes operated by Diamond and NXWM came to an end.  However, on 5 December 2021, the partnership was resumed along with service 32.

Diamond Worcestershire

In early 2013 Red Diamond was rebranded as Diamond Worcestershire.

In a working partnership with Worcestershire County Council, a new fleet of Red Diamond bus services were introduced to operate in Redditch. These buses are mainly Diamond owned Wright Eclipse bodied Volvo B7RLEs but there have been several re-painted Dennis Darts in operation.

From 22 January 2007, Diamond were forced to withdraw their evening services on routes 57 and 58 in Redditch, which were under contract to Worcestershire County Council, due to persistent vandalism and violence on the routes. The company told the council that they would no longer risk operating in the evenings. A month later on 25 February 2007, Diamond also withdrew the evening services on route 246 between Redditch and Evesham due to low passenger numbers.

On 8 June 2008, the company introduced 57A and 58A journeys alongside their existing 57 and 58 routes, the new journeys would serve the Alexandra Hospital, after First Midland Red withdrew links to the hospital.

The operations in Redditch were rebranded as Red Diamond in July 2008 to coincide with the launch of six new buses, with a livery designed to be similar to what was used on Midland Red buses. By September 2008 a further six new buses were in operation, along with 10 older buses in the new livery.

From 31 August 2008, Diamond Bus stepped up their operation of commercial and non-commercial services in Redditch significantly, to the point where they operated more buses in Redditch than main rival First Midland Red.

In February 2009, Red Diamond won Worcestershire County Council contracts to operate a number of services around Droitwich and Redditch starting in April 2009, these are routes 19 to Meadows Estate, 20 to Westlands, 20A to New Chawston, 137 to Dunhampstead, 140/141 to Bromsgrove and 157 to The Ridings. In addition to this, extra daytime journeys are to be provided on Redditch services 50, 64 and 70. The company will also once again operate evening services in Redditch on routes 55A, 56A, 57 and 58. Service 64 between Bromsgrove and Birmingham will also be renumbered to 144 and re-routed to follow the same numbered service operated by First. Droitwich residents were unhappy about the changes, showing concern about losing the known and respected drivers from the local routes, however, Diamond Bus entered into an agreement with the former operator of the routes, allowing them to continue operating with the same drivers, while Diamond Bus provide the buses and uniforms.

In 2010, amid much criticism of the poor performance of the existing buses from Worcestershire County Council and passengers, Diamond brought nine MCV Evolutions for services 362, 363 and 382.

In January 2013 Red Diamond purchased First Midlands's Kidderminster and Redditch depots and re-branded the operations as Diamond Worcestershire.

Acquisitions
After Rotala purchased Diamond Bus in 2008, the Diamond Bus operation was expanded to include the operations of four companies operating in the same region which were already owned by Rotala. It took many of the Arriva Midland routes such as 36 Walsall to Alumwell and 28E from Wolverhampton to Willenhall in April 2017.

Birmingham Motor Traction
Birmingham Motor Traction operated a number of services in Birmingham with a varied fleet of buses, mostly Dennis Darts in a dark blue and white livery, although many buses ran in dealer all-white. They operated a number of services under contract to the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive. It was purchased by Rotala in 2007.

Central Buses
Central Buses was a bus company based in Birmingham, England. In February 2018, Central Buses was purchased by Rotala with its 23 services and 31 buses merged into Diamond. Operations ceased at the conclusion of services on 24 February 2018.

Hanson's

Hanson's was a family-owned bus company operating services in the West Midlands and Worcestershire. Hanson's Local Buses was formed in the 1980s by Margaret Hanson as a coach operator. Following deregulation of the bus industry in 1986, Hanson's diversified into operating bus services. In July 2017 it was purchased by Rotala.

Routes:
14-Brierley Hill To Fatherless Barn-Service was integrated into NXWMs 28 service from Stourbridge To Halesowen via Merry Hill in 2018.
20/21-Oldbury To Bearwood
24 Merry Hill To Foxyards-Service was subsequently taken over by NXWM in 2019 but Foxyards was withdrawn on this service.
55 Cape Hill To Brandhall-Service was withdrawn in 2019 and integrated with NXWM 54/A services. Following new tender awards in January 2023, Diamond have returned to operating certain of these services or their replacement route. For example the Stourbridge to Merry Hill section of service 28 has been replaced by an extension of existing service 142/142A creating a new service from Halesowen to Merry Hill via Stourbridge.

Ludlows
Ludlows operated a number of services in Halesowen. It operated a varied fleet of around 20 white buses, all of which were low-floor.
It was purchased by Rotala in 2007

In January 2009, Diamond announced that the Ludlows operation was to be integrated with the Diamond operations, with all routes and vehicles moving to the Tividale depot and running under the Diamond brand.

North Birmingham Busways
North Birmingham Busways was a small bus operator established in the mid-1990s, and based near Erdington. Its services operated throughout North Birmingham, using, in the main, a distinctive livery of green and cream.
In addition to bus services, the company also offered PCV training.

On 18 June 2007 it was purchased by Rotala. On 20 August 2007 the bus service operations and vehicles transferred to Rotala's Central Connect subsidiary.

Zak's
Zak's Bus and Coach Services was founded in Great Barr by Kevin Fazakarley in 1978. In October 2006 the business was purchased by Rotala subsidiary Flights Hallmark, and although the original plan was to transfer the assets and operations to Flights Hallmark, contract issues necessitated the continuation of the Zak's legal entity, the company being renamed Central Connect Limited in April 2007.

Rotala relocated the operation to Flights Hallmark's Aston depot, merging with an existing West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive contracted service previously awarded to Flights.  The Aston depot has since closed with all operations being moved to other Diamond Bus depots across the West Midlands.

Claribel Coaches

In January 2022, the purchase of Claribel Coaches of Birmingham was announced allowing the current owners to focus on the associated Birmingham International Coaches business. Diamond confirmed that the Claribels name would not be retained and all services and buses would be operated under the Diamond Bus name from April 2022. A number of routes, however, were transferred to National Express West Midlands due to the expiration of the tenders operated on behalf of TfWM.

Johnsons Excelbus

In April 2022, the bus operations of Johnsons Coaches, which operates under the Excelbus brand, were purchased. All bus operations will operate under the Diamond Bus brand from 29 May 2022 and will be operated from Redditch depot. The private hire and coach operations are not included in the deal and will continue to trade as Johnsons Coaches. Some Johnsons routes were started early "to assist Johnsons with some of their current operational difficulties".

Following loss of contracts in September 2022, a number of services operated by Johnsons were lost to other operators, chiefly Stagecoach.

References

External links

 Company website

Bus operators in the West Midlands (county)
Bus operators in Worcestershire
Rotala

Diamond West Midlands