Frances Raines (born July 17, 1962) is an American actress who appeared in a number of horror and exploitation films throughout the 1980s, most notably Buddy Cooper's The Mutilator as Linda, and three directed by Tim Kincaid. Raines is also the niece of Claude Raines, of Casablanca and The Invisible Man fame.

Filmography

References

External links

American film actresses
1962 births
Living people
20th-century American actresses

Frances Raines


Franz Carl Weiskopf (3 April 1900 in Prague – 14 September 1955) was a German-speaking writer. Born in Prague, then part of Austria-Hungary, he was often referred to as F. C. Weiskopf, he also used the pseudonyms Petr Buk, Pierre Buk and F. W. L. Kovacs. He died in Berlin in 1955.

The Life of a Writer

Weiskopf was the son of a German banker who was Jewish and a Czech mother. He studied at a German school in Prague and then went to university in his hometown to study Germanistik and history from 1919–1923. He traveled to the Soviet Union in 1926 and in 1928 moved to Berlin where he became editor of the Berlin am Morgen newspaper. He married Grete Bernheim. He was a member in good standing of the Confederation of Proletarian Revolutionary Writers (German: Bund proletarisch-revolutionärer Schriftsteller) and participated in a conference in 1930 with Anna Seghers in Charkow in the Soviet Union.

After the takeover by the Nazis in 1933 Weiskopf returned to Prague, where he was editor of the Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung. When Czechoslovakia fell to the invading Germans in October 1938, the newspaper was forced to shut down, and Weiskopf fled to Paris. From there, he fled to the United States in April 1939, with the help of the League of American Writers. He survived the war in New York.

After the end of the war, Weiskopf was in the diplomatic service of Czechoslovakia and worked, first at an Embassy in Washington DC, 1949 to 1950 as ambassador to Stockholm, and from 1950 to 1952 as ambassador to Beijing. In 1952 he returned to Prague, but moved in 1953 to East Berlin. In the last years of his life he was a board member of the Deutscher Schriftstellerverband, and published the magazine New German Literature (German: Neue Deutsche Literatur) together with Willi Bredel and became member of PEN.

F.C. Weiskopf wrote novels, short stories, stories, anecdotes, poetry and essays. His work was always realistic, stylistically far above the average for other authors of the Socialist realism. His narrative works were mostly set in the middle of Czechoslovakia and describe the path of solidarity of citizens and workers since the First World War.

His wife initiated a Weiskopf named Prize, which has been awarded since 1956 for contribution to the preservation of the German language.

F.C. Weiskopf and his wife are buried in Berlin's Friedrichsfelde Cemetery.

Works

Editorials

 Januartage, Prag-Karlin 1926
 Denise Leblond-Zola: Zola, Berlin 1932
 Hundred towers, New York 1945
 Kisch-Kalender, Berlin 1955

Translations

 Tschechische Lieder, Berlin 1925
 Das Herz - ein Schild, London 1937
 Gesang der gelben Erde, Berlin 1951
 Chien Tien: Des Tien Tschien Lied vom Karren, Berlin 1953
 Max Švabinský: Schmetterlingszeit, Prag 1954

Films
 1957: Lissy - Director: Konrad Wolf
 1977: Abschied vom Frieden - Director: Hans-Joachim Kasprzik

Further reading

 Franziska Arndt: Vorläufige Bibliographie der literarischen Arbeiten von und über F. C. Weiskopf  (1900–1955), Berlin 1958 (zusammen mit Achim Roscher)
 Marianne Angermüller: Vorläufiges Findbuch des literarischen Nachlasses von F. C. Weiskopf (1900–1955), Berlin
 Bd. 1. Unterlagen aus der literarischen Tätigkeit von F. C. Weiskopf, 1958
 Grete Weiskopf (Hrsg.): Erinnerungen an einen Freund, Berlin 1963
  Weiskopf, Franz Carl. In: Lexikon sozialistischer deutscher Literatur. Leipzig 1964, S. 537-540 mit Bibliografie, S. 540.
 Franziska Arndt: F. C. Weiskopf, Leipzig 1965
 Ludvík Václavek: F. C. Weiskopf und die Tschechoslowakei, Praha 1965
 Irmfried Hiebel: F. C. Weiskopf, Schriftsteller und Kritiker, Berlin [u. a.] 1973
 Petra Gallmeister: Die historischen Romane von F. C. Weiskopf "Abschied vom Frieden" und "Inmitten des Stroms", Frankfurt am Main [u. a.] 1983
 Volker Haase: "Will man nicht 70 Millionen ausmerzen oder kastrieren ...". Ein Beitrag zu F. C. Weiskopfs deutschlandpolitischen Vorstellungen im Exil. In: Literarische und politische Deutschlandkonzepte 1938-1949. Hrsg. von Gunther Nickel, Göttingen 2004, S. 239-269
 Volker Weidermann: Das Buch der verbrannten Bücher. Köln: Verlag Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 2008; . (Zu Weiskopf Seite 55/57)

External links

 F. C. Weiskopf: Umsteigen ins 21. Jahrhundert (1927)
 Biographie
 Biografie im Autorenlexikon des Adalbert Stifter-Vereins

1900 births
1955 deaths
20th-century Czech people
20th-century German writers
Czech people of German-Jewish descent
Czechoslovak people of German descent
Czech writers in German
Jewish Czech writers
Czech male writers
Writers from Prague
Ambassadors of Czechoslovakia to Sweden
Ambassadors of Czechoslovakia to China
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States
20th-century German male writers

Franz Carl Weiskopf


A funnel is an object with a wide top and a narrow tube at the bottom and this is used for pouring liquids into a container. A funnel is also a round metal chimney on top of a ship or train.

Tools
Ships

pl:Lejek (sprzęt laboratoryjny)

Funnel


Madge Bellamy (born Margaret Derden Philpott; June 30, 1899 – January 24, 1990) was an American stage and film actress. She was a popular leading lady in the 1920s and early 1930s. Bellamy's career declined in the sound era and ended following a romantic scandal in the 1940s.

Early life
Margaret Derden Philpott was born in Hillsboro, Texas on June 30, 1899 to William Bledsoe and Annie Margaret Derden Philpott. Bellamy was raised in San Antonio, Texas until she was six years old, and the family later moved to Brownwood, Texas, where her father worked as an English professor at Texas A&M.

As a child, Bellamy took dancing lessons and soon aspired to become a stage performer. She made her stage debut dancing in a local production of Aida, at the age of nine.

The Philpotts later moved to Denver, Colorado. Madge met and married Carlos Bellamy in Colorado, but they divorced when she decided to leave Colorado to pursue her acting career. In her autobiography, she later claimed that her agent suggested the name, possibly to avoid the scandal of divorce.

Career

Early years
Shortly before she was to graduate from high school, Bellamy left home for New York City. She soon began working as a dancer on Broadway. After appearing in the chorus of The Love Mill (1917), Bellamy decided to try acting. In 1918, she appeared in a touring production of Pollyanna, for which she received good reviews. Bellamy's big break came when she replaced Helen Hayes in the Broadway production of Dear Brutus opposite William Gillette, in 1918. Bellamy also appeared in the touring production of Dear Brutus. While appearing in Dear Brutus, Bellamy was cast in a supporting role in her first film The Riddle: Woman (1920), starring Geraldine Farrar.

After the tour of Dear Brutus ended, Bellamy joined a stock company in Washington D.C., where she appeared in Peg o' My Heart. While a member of the company, Bellamy shot a screen test for director Thomas H. Ince. In November 1920, she signed a three-year contract with Ince's newly formed Triangle Film Corporation. Bellamy's first film for Triangle was 1921's The Cup of Life, starring Hobart Bosworth.

Films

Bellamy's breakout role was as the title character in the 1922 film adaptation of the 1869 novel Lorna Doone. She thereafter became known as "the exquisite Madge" (Artist Penrhyn Stanlaws later called her "The Most Beautiful Girl in America"), and was cast in several melodramas by Ince. In 1924, Bellamy's contract with Ince ended and she signed with Fox Film Corporation where she would stay for the next five years. While at Fox, she appeared in two films for John Ford, The Iron Horse (1924) and Lightnin'. By 1925, Bellamy began encountering difficulties due to several "artistic differences" she had with studio executives. That year, she refused to accept a role in the highly successful silent epic Ben-Hur. She later attributed her career decline to her own choice of wanting to appear in light comedy and flapper roles that showcased her looks instead of more demanding roles.

In 1927, Fox executive Winfield Sheehan, with whom Bellamy was having an affair, attempted to cast her in the lead role of "Diane" in the romantic drama 7th Heaven. Bellamy later told author Anthony Slide that she was in fact cast as "Diane", but was replaced by Janet Gaynor (who won the first Academy Award for Best Actress for her work in the film) when she was in France shooting exterior shots. Bellamy instead appeared in the romantic comedy Very Confidential, in which she appeared as a model who impersonates a famous female sports figure. In 1928, Bellamy was cast in Fox's first part-talking film, Mother Knows Best The film was an adaptation of Edna Ferber's novel of the same name and features Bellamy as Sally Quail, a stage performer whose life is dominated by her overbearing stage mother "Ma Quail" (Louise Dresser). In the musical sequences, Bellamy impersonated several popular performers of the day including Anna Held, Sir Harry Lauder, and Al Jolson singing "My Mammy" in blackface. Reviews for the film were generally positive with critics noting that Bellamy's voice was weak.

Bellamy's final silent film, Fugitives, was released in 1929. Her first full length, all-talking feature, Tonight at Twelve, was released later that year. By the time of its release, Bellamy's career had taken a severe downturn due to several ill-advised choices she made in fits of anger (fan magazines of the day called Bellamy "Miss Firecracker" on account of her temperament). Despite her poor behavior off-set, she was still a fairly popular performer and was named an "American Beauty" by the Hollywood Association of Foreign Correspondents. In 1929, she walked out on her contract at Fox after refusing to star in the planned film adaptation of The Trial of Mary Dugan, a 1927 hit Broadway play by Bayard Veiller that the studio bought especially for Bellamy (the film was made later that year at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Norma Shearer). Bellamy later said of her career, "I got too big for my britches. I wanted too much money and when it was not forthcoming, I quit."

Bellamy attempted to find work as a freelance actress but did not work again until 1932 when she began appearing in Poverty Row films. One of her better known roles from this period was in the 1932 film White Zombie, opposite Bela Lugosi and directed by brothers Edward and Victor Hugo Halperin. The film was a moderate success but received mixed reviews while Bellamy's performance was generally panned by critics (In a 1970 letter to Classic Film Collector, Bellamy claimed her performance appeared bad because she had lost her voice due to a cold and was dubbed by another actress. This has since been proven false). She was slated to appear in the Halperin brothers' next film, Supernatural, but Carole Lombard was cast instead.

Career decline and scandal
By the early 1940s, Bellamy's career had virtually ended. She garnered considerable media attention when, on January 20, 1943, she was arrested in San Francisco and charged with assault with a deadly weapon after firing a .32 caliber revolver at her former lover, wealthy lumber executive Albert Stanwood Murphy, three times. Bellamy had been having an affair with Murphy for five years before he ended the relationship in October 1942. After learning that Murphy had married former model June Almy shortly after their breakup, Bellamy traveled to San Francisco to confront him and "... make him suffer somehow."

Bellamy later admitted that she waited around Murphy's apartment in the Nob Hill area for four days. She eventually spotted Murphy leaving the Pacific-Union Club on January 20. While Murphy was getting into his car, Bellamy fired three shots at him. She later said, "I wasn't within speaking distance [of Murphy], but he saw me and shouted something I didn't understand. Maybe it was 'don't.' Then I guess I shot at him. He ducked and ran." She fired three times, hitting Murphy's car twice while the third shot missed. Witnesses wrestled the gun out of her hand.

Shortly after the shooting, Bellamy claimed that she did not intend to harm Murphy and that she "... just wanted to see him. He wouldn't see me so I took the little gun with me. [...] I had had the little gun so long I thought it was just a toy." She was also quoted as saying, "I only winged him, which is what I meant to do. Believe me, I'm a crack shot". On February 11, 1943, Bellamy pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of violating a gun law and was given a suspended six-month sentence. She was also sentenced to one year of probation.

In July 1943, Bellamy sued Murphy for divorce in Las Vegas claiming that she and Murphy were married by "mutual consent" in April 1941 and had lived as husband and wife up until Murphy ended the relationship. She charged Murphy with "extreme mental cruelty" and asked for both temporary and permanent alimony. In December 1943, Albert Stanwood Murphy asked that the court dismiss the suit, stating that he and Bellamy "are not now and have never been husband and wife".
On January 4, 1944, a Nevada court denied Bellamy's divorce suit on the grounds that she and Murphy had never legally been married. One day after Bellamy's divorce case was dismissed, she was awarded a reported six-figure out-of-court settlement from Murphy.

The shooting and divorce filing generated publicity for Bellamy, but effectively ended her already fading career. She made her last screen appearance in Northwestern film Northwest Trail in 1945. Bellamy returned to the stage in 1946 in the Los Angeles production of Holiday Lady, after which she retired.

For her contributions to the film industry, Bellamy received a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. The star is located at 6517 Hollywood Boulevard.

Personal life
Bellamy was briefly married to bond broker Logan F. Metcalf. They married in Tijuana on January 24, 1928. They separated four days later. Metcalf filed for divorce claiming that while the two were on honeymoon, Bellamy had refused to speak to him because of his fondness for eating ham and eggs, which she considered "plebeian". Metcalf was granted a divorce on April 25, 1928.

By the time Bellamy retired from acting, she had squandered much of her fortune and lost the remaining money during the Depression. In her posthumously published autobiography, A Darling of the Twenties, Bellamy claimed that she lived in "abject poverty" after her retirement. She did, however, have some holdings in real estate and owned a retail shop in which she worked to support herself. In her spare time, Bellamy wrote screenplays and novels which were never purchased. In the early 1980s, she sold the retail shop for double the amount she had paid for it and lived in relative financial comfort for the rest of her life.

Bellamy remained out of public view until the 1980s, when film historians and silent film fans who had rediscovered her work began requesting interviews. She also began attending screenings of the low budget horror film White Zombie, which was a moderate success upon its initial release and has since become a cult classic.

Bellamy was an atheist and vegetarian. In her final years, Bellamy lived alone in Ontario, California.

Death
She suffered from chronic heart problems toward the end of her life. On January 10, 1990, she checked into the San Antonio Community Hospital in Upland, California for treatment. She died there of heart failure on January 24 at the age of 90. She is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Her autobiography A Darling of the Twenties was published one month after her death.

Filmography

References

Notes

External links

 Literature on Madge Bellamy

1899 births
1990 deaths
20th-century American actresses
Actresses from Denver
Actresses from San Antonio
American autobiographers
American film actresses
American atheists
American musical theatre actresses
American silent film actresses
American stage actresses
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
People from Hillsboro, Texas
People from Ontario, California
American women autobiographers
20th-century American singers
20th-century American women singers
20th-century American women writers
20th-century American memoirists

Madge Bellamy


Giacomo Luciani is a leading Italian expert on the geopolitics of energy often cited in the media. He is primarily known for his seminal contributions to the theory of the rentier state with Egyptian economist Hazem Al Beblawi.

Background
He is an adjunct professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and scientific advisor of the Master in International Energy the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po in Paris. Luciani is also a Princeton University Global Scholar attached to the Woodrow Wilson School and the Department of Near Eastern Studies. He is Senior Advisor to the Gulf Research Center. He holds a master's degree from Yale University.

In 2007-10 he was director of the Gulf Research Center Foundation in Geneva. He has also been adjunct professor of international relations at The Johns Hopkins University SAIS Bologna Center and professor at the European University Institute.

His research focuses on the political economy of the Middle East and North Africa and on global energy issues.

References

External links
 faculty page.

Academic staff of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
Yale University alumni
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)

Giacomo Luciani


The Military Order of Saint James of the Sword () is a Portuguese order of chivalry. Its full name is the Ancient, Most Noble and Enlightened Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, of the Scientific, Literary and Artistic Merit (Portuguese: Antiga, Nobilíssima e Esclarecida Ordem Militar de Sant'Iago da Espada, do Mérito Científico, Literário e Artístico).

History
The Order was founded in 1172, and has its origins in the Order of Santiago, founded in the Kingdom of León in 1170, probably as an order of Augustinian canons regular to escort pilgrims to the shrine of St. James the Greater in Santiago de Compostela. King Ferdinand II of León soon set it to garrison the southern frontiers of León against the Almohads of al-Andalus. In 1170, Ferdinand II granted the new order the castles of Cáceres and Monfragüe, which had been confiscated from Gerald the Fearless in 1169, and would make further donations thereafter. The new Leonese order was soon operating in neighboring kingdoms. His nephew, King Alfonso VIII of Castile granted them the castles of Mora and Oreja in 1171, and merged the arriving knights of Santiago with the older Castilian brotherhood of knights of Ávila in 1172.

The establishment of the Order of Santiago was endorsed by papal legate Cardinal Hyacinthus of Acardo on a visit to Iberia in 1172–73. The approval of the Order was confirmed three years later by Pope Alexander III in a bull issued July 1175.

In January 1174, Alfonso VIII granted them the citadel of Uclés, which would later serve as the headquarters of the Order of Santiago as a whole after the reunification of the León and Castile in 1230.

The Order expanded into Portugal when King Afonso I of Portugal donated Arruda dos Vinhos in June 1172.  This was followed up by donations of the Castle of Monsanto in September 1173 and Abrantes in September 1174. Given the poor relations between Afonso and Ferdinand II, the arrival of the Leonese order in Portugal is a little surprising. Some historians have conjectured Afonso was trying to exploit a quarrel between order's grand master Pedro Fernández and king Ferdinand II, but it is likely that the Order's entry was part of some diplomatic agreement between the two kings. Nonetheless, the donation documents explicitly name Rodrigo Álvarez as the administrator of all three Portuguese donations.  Although a founding knight of Santiago, Rodrigo Álvarez was known to be dissatisfied with its rules (Álvarez would resign shortly after and found his own separate Order of Mountjoy in Aragon). So it is possible Afonso may have been trying to encourage a switch or schism in the Order already at this stage. The foundation of the Order of Évora (future Order of Aviz) in 1175/76 reveal Afonso's keen interest in a native Portuguese order.

Expulsion from Portugal
Whatever the intentions of the original invitation, the knights of Santiago evidently did not meet Afonso's expectations. The Crown took back Monsanto in 1174, and in 1179, Afonso expelled the Order of Santiago from Portugal and cancelled all their donations, as a consequence of a war that erupted between Portugal and León that year.

Return to Portugal
In 1186, after the death of Afonso I, King Sancho I of Portugal donated to the Order of Santiago the Portuguese dominions of Palmela, Almada and Alcácer do Sal, all in the Setúbal District, south of Lisbon), thus marking their return. But in 1190–91, all three citadels were conquered in an offensive led by the Almohad caliph Yaqub al-Mansur.  They were recovered sometime between 1194 and 1204.  The Order of Santiago established its Portuguese headquarters at Palmela shortly before 1210, and definitively by 1212.

One of the most notable of Portuguese knights of St. James was Paio Peres Correia. Between 1234 and 1242, Correia led the conquest of much of the southerly Moorish dominions of Baixo Alentejo and the Algarve.  In 1242, Paio Peres Correia was elevated to Grand Master of the Order of St. James, the only known Portuguese to have held the supreme title of the Castilian-based Order.

In 1249, Paio Peres Correia and the Order of Santiago helped Afonso III of Portugal sweep up the final Moorish possessions in the Algarve.  The possessions of the Order in Portugal were expanded and confirmed by Afonso III in 1255.

Portuguese Order of Santiago

After the death of Correia in 1275, the Order of Santiago returned firmly into Castilian hands. Thus, in 1288, King Denis of Portugal separated the Portuguese branch from the Castilian-Leonese Order.  This was confirmed by Pope John XXII in 1320.

During the 1383–1385 Portuguese succession crisis, D. Fernando Afonso de Albuquerque, master of the Order of Santiago in Portugal, backed the candidacy of John, Master of Aviz, and served briefly as John's ambassador to the English Court.

Upon becoming king, having distributed much royal and seized land to reward his supporters, King John I of Portugal was left with a slim royal demesne, insufficient to maintain his many sons with princely households. But the vast wealthy domains of the military orders were an alternative option. John promptly set his mind on acquiring the masterships of all the principal military orders in Portugal for his family.

In 1418, John secured the mastership of the Order of St. James for his son, John of Reguengos, the future Constable of Portugal. In 1420, he secured the mastership of the Order of Christ (ex-Templars) for another son, Henry the Navigator. After his death in 1433, John I's own Order of Aviz (ex-branch of Calatrava) was passed to a third son, Ferdinand the Saint.  The mastership of the three major orders – St. James, Christ and Aviz – would remain in the hands of princes of the royal family (infantes) for much of the next century.

After the death of John of Reguengos in 1442, his brother, the regent prince Peter of Coimbra appointed John's son Diogo as master of Santiago. But Diogo died within a year, so Peter passed the mastership on to his nephew, Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Beja, the younger brother of King Afonso V of Portugal. This was confirmed by Pope Eugene IV in 1444.  In the 1452 bull Ex apostolice sedis, Pope Nicholas V confirmed once more Ferdinand's appointment and put a definitive end to questions (up to then still being raised by Castile) about the autonomy of the Portuguese branch of Santiago.

At the death of Henry the Navigator in 1460, his title of Duke of Viseu and the mastership of the Order of Christ passed on to Infante Ferdinand, Henry's designated heir. Ferdinand was in an unusual position of holding two major military orders, but this was ratified by Pope Pius II in 1461.

At Infante Ferdinand's death in 1470, all his titles, including both the orders of Christ and Santiago, were inherited by his eldest son, João, Duke of Viseu. But the sickly João died just two years later, in 1472. The mastership of the orders was subsequently separated again: João's younger brother, Diogo, Duke of Viseu became master of the Order of Christ, while the Order of St. James passed to his brother-in-law, Infante John, the eldest son and heir of Afonso V of Portugal. (John had recently married Infante Ferdinand's daughter, Eleanor of Viseu).

With the ascension of Infante John as King John II of Portugal in 1481, the fortunes of the Order of St. James rose with him.  At the time, the Order of Christ, with their vast possessions (including the Atlantic islands), was the richest and most powerful military order in Portugal. To combat their influence, John II, a centralizing prince, doted on and deployed his Order of St. James at their expense.

The Order of Christ had been out of the explorations business since the death of Prince Henry in 1460. As A result, the Order of St.James supplied a greater share of the knights for the slate of new expeditions organized by John II in the 1480s.

The death of John II's only legitimate son and heir Prince Afonso in 1491 threw the kingdom into a succession crisis, as it left John II with only one legitimate successor, his cousin and brother-in-law, Manuel, Duke of Beja.  Manuel of Beja had become the master of the Order of Christ in 1484 (following the death of his brother, Diogo of Viseu).  John II did not trust Manuel, and suspected he might fritter away his hard-won gains.  As a result, John II launched a campaign to legitimize his natural son, Jorge de Lencastre, as royal heir. From Pope Innocent VIII, John II received authorization to appoint Jorge de Lencastre as the Master of the Order of St. James in April 1492 (and also administrator of the Order of Aviz).  However, the Pope refused to legitimize his birth, and as a result, at the death of John II in 1495, Duke Manuel of Beja ascended as King Manuel I of Portugal.

In the first decade of Manuel's reign, D. Jorge de Lencastre was the leader of what might be called the political opposition to Manuel, composed mostly of loyalists of the late King John II. The Order of St. James was his power base, and its castle in Palmela served as something akin to an 'alternative' royal  court.
.

The Order of Santiago played a leading role in the early India expeditions, a legacy project from the reign of John II. Vasco da Gama, Paulo da Gama, D. Francisco de Almeida, D. Afonso de Albuquerque and Duarte de Meneses, were leading knights of the Order of Santiago.

It is reported by chronicler João de Barros (p. 274) that just before his departure for India in 1497, King Manuel I of Portugal presented Vasco da Gama with his personal standard – not the familiar armillary sphere flag later associated with Manuel, but rather the banner of the Order of Christ, of which Manuel was the grand master.  But chronicler Gaspar Correia (p. 15) reports that as soon as the ships left sight of Lisbon harbor, Paulo da Gama pulled 'the royal standard' down from the mast.  Evidently the Gamas took the king's gesture as a calculated slight against their beloved Santiago.

Nonetheless, in subsequent years Manuel I would set his Order of Christ to poach the knights of the Order of St. James.  In January, 1505, Manuel managed to coax D. Francisco de Almeida to abandon Santiago and move over to the Order of Christ. Vasco da Gama himself eventually did the switch in 1507. Afonso de Albuquerque, by contrast, refused; he was buried in his Santiago vestments.

Master Jorge de Lencastre spent much of his career trying to defend the Order of Santiago against Manuel's encroachments. In May 1505, he actually managed to secure a royal order prohibiting knights from leaving his orders without his express permission.  But Manuel soon obtained from Pope Alexander VI two bulls to undermine him – one from July 1505, giving the King of Portugal the right to dispose of the property of all three Orders; another in January, 1506, authorizing knights to move freely from other Orders to the Order of Christ.

In 1509, D. Jorge de Lencastre introduced a new set of rules for the Order of Santiago, overhauling its administration in a centralized fashion, bringing it closer in line with the rules of their Spanish brethren.  This was done perhaps to gain the support of the Spanish monarchy and the Pope, but to no avail.  In 1516, Manuel secured from Pope Leo X the authority to appoint Jorge's successor as grand master of Santiago.

As a royal order
Manuel died in 1521, and he was succeeded by his son John III of Portugal. When Jorge de Lencastre died in July 1550, John III received a bull from Pope Julius III a couple of weeks later appointing him personally as the master of both the Order of Santiago and the Order of Aviz. This was followed by a second bull, Praeclara carissimi, issued by the pope under great diplomatic pressure by John III in December 1551, appointing the Kings of Portugal as masters in perpetuity of all three military orders (Christ, Santiago and Aviz), thus bringing an end to the independence of the military orders in Portugal.

Secularization

Pope Pius VI (1789) and Queen Maria I reformed the order into a secular institution.

As an order of merit
In 1834, when the civil government of Portugal became anti-clerical after the defeat of King Miguel in the Civil War, under the constitutional monarchy, the order lost its properties. The ancient military orders were transformed by the liberal constitution and subsequent legislation into mere orders of merit. The privileges which once had been an essential part of the membership of the old military orders also ceased.

In 1910, when the Portuguese monarchy ended, the Republic of Portugal abolished all of the orders except the Order of the Tower and Sword.

Revival

In 1917, at the end of World War I, some of these Orders were re-established to reward outstanding services to the state, the office of Grand Master belonging to the Head of State – the President of the Republic. The Military Order of St. James, together with the other Portuguese Orders of Merit, had its statutes revised on several occasions, during the First Republic (1910–1926), then in 1962, and again in 1986.

The Military Order of Saint James, together with the Military Orders of Christ and of Aviz, form the group of the "Ancient Military Orders", governed by a Chancellor and a Council of eight members, appointed by the President of the Republic, to assist him as Grand Master in all matters concerning the administration of the Order. The Order, despite its name, can be conferred to Portuguese and foreigners for outstanding services to science, literature or art. The highest grade of the Order, that of Grand Collar, is a special award, conferred only to foreign heads of state.

Domains
The Order of Santiago possessed many domains granted by the Portuguese Crown, almost all of them south of the Tagus river, clustered in the Sado region and lower Alentejo.  As the most southerly of the four Portuguese military orders, the Santiago knights were the first frontline against incursions from the Moorish Algarve in the 13th century.  These domains were partitioned into comendas, and granted by the Order in commendam to a Santiago knight () entrusted with the obligation of defending them.  After the completion of the conquest of the Algarve, the  continued to be a source of revenue for the Order, granted to distinguished individual knights of the Order, still contingent on military service, and run according to the Order's regulations.  In principle, the  was just a temporary manager of the Order's property, although over time some  treated the  as their own property.

The vast size and compactness of the domains of the Order of Santiago, its self-contained system of knights and , and the extensive privileges of the Order, including civil and criminal jurisdiction, over these domains, has led some commentators to refer to it as a "state within a state".  The grand masters of the Order were among the most powerful men in Portugal, and  stood at the peak of rural society in their districts.

By the 15th century the large  of the Order of Santiago were (from north to south): Arruda and Santos (both north of the river), then Palmela, Setúbal, Sesimbra, Cabrela, Alcácer do Sal, Torrão, Grândola, Ferreira, Santiago do Cacém, Sines, Aljustrel, Messejana, Casével, Garvão, Castro Verde, Mértola, Almodôvar, and (on the southeast Algarve coast) Cacela.

Grades
The Order of St. James of the Sword, as awarded by the Portuguese government today, comes in six classes:
Grand Collar (GColSE), which wears the badge of the Order on a special collar (chain), and the star of the Order in gold on the left chest;
Grand Cross (GCSE), which wears the badge of the Order on a gilt collar (chain), or on a sash on the right shoulder, and the star of the Order in gold on the left chest;
Grand Officer (GOSE), which wears the badge of the Order on a gilt collar (chain), and the star of the Order in gold on the left chest;
Commander (ComSE), which wears the badge of the Order on a gilt collar (chain), and the star of the Order in silver on the left chest;
Officer (OSE), which wears the badge of the Order on a gilt collar (chain), and on a ribbon with rosette on the left chest;
Knight (CavSE) or Dame (DamSE), which wears the badge of the Order on a silver collar (chain), and on a plain ribbon on the left chest.

Insignia

The insignia of the order prominently features the Cross of St. James.

The badge of the Order is a gilt cross with red enamel, similar to the Order's emblem illustrated here, but with a longer lower arm, and is surrounded by a wreath of green-enamelled palm leaves; a white-enamelled scroll, bearing the legend "Ciência Letras e Artes" (Science Literature and Art), is located at the bottom of the badge. (The Grand Collar badge has no scroll, and a laurel wreath instead of palms.) During the monarchy the badge was topped by the Sacred Heart of Christ.
The star of the Order has 22 asymmetrical arms of rays, in gilt for Grand Collar, Grand Cross and Grand Officer, and in silver for Commander. The central disc is in white enamel, with a miniature of the modern badge in it. During the monarchy the Sacred Heart of Christ was placed at the top of the star.
The ribbon of the Order is plain lilac.

See also
Orders, decorations, and medals of Portugal

References

Bibliography

External links
Homepage of the order, with pictures of the badges and explanation of the several grades
The Cross of Saint James, history of the St James' Cross used by the Order of St James of the Sword

1172 establishments in Europe
12th-century establishments in Portugal


Lee D. Baker is an American cultural anthropologist, author, and Duke University faculty member. He is the Mrs. A. Hehmeyer Professor of Cultural Anthropology, African & African-American Studies, and Sociology. He served as Duke's Dean of Academic Affairs and Associate Vice Provost from 2008 to 2016. He taught at Columbia University from 1997 to 2000. Baker has authored two books and more than sixty academic articles, reviews, and chapters related to cultural anthropology, among other fields.

His Early life and education

Baker was born in San Diego, California, and was raised in Corvallis, Oregon. In his teen years, Baker began to "study and learn about the black experience" as he grappled with his own sense of racial identity. Portland at the time was a site of crack cocaine addiction and gang violence, particularly prevalent in the black community. During an exchange program in Australia, Baker was alarmed to observe similar problems affecting Aboriginal Australians, who were "nothing like the black folks [he] knew in the United States." Baker realized that despite their differences, Aboriginal Australians and African Americans had a significant commonality: they were blacks in a white-dominated democracy. Full of questions about society and culture, Baker decided to study anthropology.

Baker attended Portland State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology and a certificate in Black Studies in 1989. He went on to Temple University in Philadelphia to pursue graduate research. In Philadelphia, Baker found himself within a different community than he was used to in Portland. "It was good," he recalls, "to be around a lot of really hardworking, smart, attractive people who wanted to make a difference. I was not a minority, in a sense; I was just among a lot of different people trying the same thing." At Temple, his doctoral advisor was Thomas C. Patterson, who supported Baker's focus on the history of anthropology. Baker completed his thesis, Anthropology and the Construction of Race, 1896–1954, in 1994.

Career overview

After receiving his PhD, Baker became an assistant professor of cultural anthropology at Duke University between the years of 1995 and 1997. He then went on to teach at Columbia University as an assistant professor of anthropology and African-American studies from 1997 to 1999, becoming an associate professor at Columbia from 1999 to 2000. For the next ten years, from 2000 to 2010, Baker was an associate professor of cultural anthropology, sociology, and African & African-American studies at Duke University. In 2008, Baker became the Dean of Academic Affairs of Duke's Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, about which he said, "I look forward to building on the successes of the past to create new opportunities for the future." In 2010, he became a professor of cultural anthropology and African and African-American studies as well as the Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education.

Throughout his career, Baker has received a long list of grants and fellowships, including the Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship from Johns Hopkins University, a pre-doctoral fellowship at The W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research from Harvard University, and, most recently, a grant to support the Mellon/Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program from the Mellon Foundation. Baker has had scores of publications, including three books (two as an author and one as an editor), numerous articles, book chapters, and over 50 invited lectures. He has been the recipient of awards such as the Richard K. Lublin Distinguished Award for Teaching Excellence (2007) from Duke University and the Benjamin N. Duke Fellow (2003) from the [National Humanities Center]. Baker has been on twenty-five committees, councils, and panels. From 1999 to 2003, Baker was an appointed member of the [American Anthropological Association] (AAA) Centennial Commission and, from 2005 to 2007, he was appointed the AAA Commission on Governance. Baker became the chair of the Allocations Committee of the AAA Committee on the Future of Print and Electronic Publishing. In 2013, Baker was awarded the Prize for Distinguished Achievement in the Critical Study of North America by the Society for the Anthropology of North America.

Anthropological research

Baker seeks to understand how countries whose overarching narrative is about equality, justice, and democracy can have such inequality. He sees confluence between African-American studies, American Indian studies, and other indigenous studies. Much of Baker's work has been centered on contextualizing these concepts in historical terms. Although not a historian, Baker has often aimed to historicize anthropological theories and critically analyze them, particularly with regard to race and African-American studies. Within his more extensive works, as well as many articles, reviews, and essays, Baker has often used both contemporary and past anthropologists' work as the subject of his research. In particular, he has examined the work of famous thinkers such as Franz Boas.

Critique of Boas
In Baker's view, the major contribution of Boas came with his repudiation of scientific racism. Boas delineated previously blurred lines between race, culture, and linguistics and by doing so was able to argue against the comparative method used to support theories of racial inequality. Although Baker regards Boas as influential in helping shape American ideas of racial equality, Baker has devoted much of his work to critiquing Boas' ideas. In an interview with former American Anthropological Association President, Virginia R. Domínguez, Baker expressed some of his views on Boasian ideology. "One thing that still intrigues me [about Boas] is the built-in contradictions on his understanding or promotion of ideas of culture. Here was a guy who was very articulate and understood the value and the role that culture plays in people's everyday lives, but, for Jews as well as African Americans, he thought amalgamation was the most effective approach for making an effective America. He was not a pluralist or a multiculturalist, like people think."

Baker has written a number of scholarly articles and essays about this critique and other information concerning Boas, including, but not limited to: "The Location of Franz Boas Within the African American Struggle" (1994), "Unraveling the Boasian Discourse: The Racial Politics of 'Culture' in School Desegregation" (1998), "Franz Boas Out of the Ivory Tower" (2004), and "Franz Boas and his 'Conspiracy' to Destroy the White Race" (2010). In a July 2000 interview on PBS, Baker discussed Boas's work in the U.S. and the way in which his work was used by W. E. B. Du Bois and the NAACP.

Published works

Baker's writings have appeared in various scholarly publications, including The Atlanta Journal, Teaching Anthropology, Transforming Anthropology, Voice of Black Studies, The Chronicle of Higher Education, American Journal of Sociology, Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, Anthropology News, and The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. He wrote the entry on Franz Boas in the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (2008).

In addition, Baker has written for news publications such as the New York Times and Raleigh News and Observer. In July 2006, Baker published an op-ed in The Herald-Sun about a hate crime in Middlesex, North Carolina, in which a cross was burned in a black family's yard.

From Savage to Negro (1998)

Baker's book From Savage to Negro: Anthropology and the Construction of Race, 1896–1954 was published by the University of California Press in 1998 and was widely reviewed. The publisher's description of the book reads, in part:

Lee D. Baker explores what racial categories mean to the American public and how these meanings are reinforced by anthropology, popular culture, and the law. Focusing on the period between two landmark Supreme Court decisions—Plessy v. Ferguson (the so-called "separate but equal" doctrine established in 1896) and Brown v. Board of Education (the public school desegregation decision of 1954)—Baker shows how racial categories change over time).

A major theme of the book is the historical contextualization of ideas about racial inequality in the United States throughout the early 20th century. Baker also examines key individuals and events that shaped social and anthropological views on race in the decades leading up that period. Like many of his other works, From Savage to Negro emphasizes the importance of figures such as Franz Boas, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Booker T. Washington, examining how their work was linked and how they were integral in changing conceptions of race in the US. Baker also analyzes landmark court cases along with influential organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

In his review of From Savage to Negro, Gerard Fergerson wrote "Baker's study forges new intellectual and political ground" and "enables us to critique the historical relation between race and applied social science."

Vernon J. Williams, Jr., of Purdue University, called From Savage to Negro an "excellent" book that "demonstrat[es] anthropology's influence on American popular culture, through such examples as world's fairs, popular monthlies, and the 'New Negro' movement, on political trends."

Leonard Lieberman, writing in Social Forces, said that From Savage to Negro "belongs on the reading list for courses on the sociology of science, the history of anthropological theory, sociological theory, and advanced courses in race and ethnic relations. It should be required reading for instructors of these courses and would enrich all instructors of introductory courses."

Anthropology and the Racial Politics of Culture (2010)

Baker's Anthropology and the Racial Politics of Culture was published in 2010 by Duke University Press. In his introduction to the book, Baker writes: "My hope is that these stories will help to delimit the limits, understand the contradictions, and offer a better understanding of the terms and conditions of race and culture which are employed within explicitly political projects that get woven into the fabric of North American culture and become part of American history."

The narratives that unfold in the book include stories about specific anthropologists and sociocultural phenomena such as the Harlem Renaissance Movement, and the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Baker's book explores the intricate connections shared among these people and events, and the impacts they have made on shaping American ideas of race and culture. He addresses the different ways in which individuals such as Franz Boas, Frederic W. Putnam, Alice M. Bacon, and Daniel G. Brinton have either accepted or spurned anthropological notions of race and culture. It is important to point out that Baker's work in Anthropology and the Racial Politics of Culture was not exclusive to analysis of African and African-American culture. The book has a strong emphasis on the history of racial inequality concerning Native American culture as well.

Like his Baker's first book, Anthropology and the Racial Politics of Culture was widely reviewed. Brett Williams, professor at American University, wrote, "The book is rich with wonderful stories, again marking Baker's signature engaging style and making it a great read."

In a review published in American Studies, Vernon J. Williams, Jr., wrote: "Written with an ironic sense of humor, Baker succeeds in ferreting out little known material and enhances and broadens our understanding of the history of anthropology as well as the discipline's relationship to past and present political currents."

References

External links

Living people
Duke University faculty
Columbia University faculty
21st-century American anthropologists
Place of birth missing (living people)
Writers from Portland, Oregon
Portland State University alumni
Temple University alumni
1966 births

Lee D. Baker


Trossö is an island in Blekinge County, southern Sweden. It is situated within the Karlskrona archipelago. The main road, Osterleden (E22), connects the island to the mainland. The city of Karlskrona is spread over 30 islands, the main one being Trossö where the city center is located. Landmarks on Trossö include the Karlskrona naval base and Stortorget, the large town square situated in the centre of the island at its highest point. The two churches in the square, Trinity Church and Fredrik Church, were both designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, with features such as burnt orange stucco and colonnades made of grey stone. Trossö is included in Karlskrona's distinction as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

References

Islands of Blekinge County

Trossö


Prostitution in Algeria is legal but most related activities such as brothel-keeping and solicitation are criminalised. Coastal resorts, particularly Tichy, are destinations for sex tourism. As of 2017 there were two brothels in Algeria.

Legal situation
Algeria's Criminal Code prohibits soliciting in a public place, assisting or profiting from the prostitution of others, living with a person engaged in prostitution, and procuring for the purpose of prostitution. The criminal code also prohibits keeping, managing, or financing an establishment where prostitution occurs. Penalties are harsher if the offence involves a minor, or if threats or coercion are involved.

History

Ottoman rule
During Ottoman rule, prostitution was tolerated and regulated. Prior to the French takeover in 1830, it was estimated that there were 300 to 500 prostitutes in Algiers. The women were Moorish, Arab, and sub-Saharan Africans. Jews were not permitted to become prostitutes.

An official called the Mezouar was in charge of regulating prostitution. This official was always a Moor. The position was lucrative as he collected a monthly levy per prostitute. He kept a register of prostitutes and the women were not allowed to leave the brothels and public baths they worked in.

French rule

After French colonization in 1830, the French authorities regulated prostitution to try to prevent the spread of STIs. The regulation system was based on the Ottoman regulations that were previously in place, and the Mezouar was retained, although he had to pay an annual fee of 2,046 francs. Compulsory medical examinations for prostitutes were introduced by decree in July 1830. The main articles of the decree read:

"We, Civil Intendant of French possessions in North Africa; Having regard to Articles 10 and 46 of Title I of the Law of 19–27 July 1791, considering that experience has made it necessary to revise the regulations in force concerning public girls; have stopped and stop the following:
Art. 1. Any girl known to be engaged in prostitution shall be registered by the Commissioner of Police, Head of the Central Office, in a register kept for that purpose in the said office.
Art. 6. As of 1 October, all public women will be required to be visited twice a month and at intervals of fifteen days to have their state of health ascertained.
Art. 7. This visit will take place at the clinic. However, public women who wish to be visited at home may obtain the faculty by paying an extraordinary fee of 3 francs per visit, as a fee, in favor of the doctor.
Art. 11. The public girls visited at the clinic and recognized as suffering from venereal diseases will be held in this establishment for immediate treatment. As for those who would be visited in their homes and who would be in the same situation, they will be taken to the dispensary by the Police Commissioner.
Art. 12. To meet the expenses which will result from both the visit and the treatment of the public wives, it will be paid for and by each of these women, at the time of the visit, a remuneration of 5 francs, or 10 francs a month.
Art. 22. No public girl will be able to leave the city to visit the surrounding tribes without the written permission of the Police Commissioner, head of the Central Office; the same permission will be required to go to the feasts that are given either in the interior or outside the city.
Art. 24. The remuneration to be paid for each of the girls whose application will be made remains fixed, for the exterior, at 10 francs, and for the interior, at 5 francs."

In spite of the regulations, there were women who worked on the streets illegally. As there was no longer a prohibition for Jewish women, some turned to prostitution.

Brothels were established in all the main garrison towns, generally in the Muslim quarters so as not to offend the European residents. In 1942, the morality police recorded 46 brothels, 79 hotels, 600 furnished apartments, and a hundred clandestine houses used for prostitution in Algiers alone. These numbers remained about the same until independence in 1962.

Ouled Naïl
Some historians claim that the Ouled Naïl were dancers only and that the French authorities' preconception that dancers were also prostitutes led to the Ouled Naïl's reputation for prostitution.

Originally their dancing was fully clothed in their traditional clothing. Later it became topless and then fully nude. American dancer Ted Shawn saw them in 1900 and said that the dancing wasn't sexy as it left nothing to the imagination.

Registered prostitutes were referred to as Nailiyas (from Ouled Naïl), and in the latter 19th century, prostitutes in general were referred to as daughters of Ouled Naïl irrespective of their origins. In Biskra, the centre of prostitution in colonial days was the Rue des Ouled Naïl.

Many of the Ouled Naïl women were pressed into service as prostitutes in the mobile brothels (Bordel militaire de campagne) during the Algerian War of Independence and also transported with mobile brothels to Indochina for the use of the troops in Điện Biên Phủ.

Rahbat al-Jammal
During Ottoman rule, resting stops, khans, were built for travellers and their horse and camels. In Constantine, the khans were located at Rahbat al-Jammal. Following the French occupation, the buildings were turned into brothels for the French soldiers. The city elders forbade Algerian women from entering the street. Although the brothels closed down in the 1980s, the ban on women entering the street continues to the present times.

Post-independence
As a result of Arabization of the country, the rise of Islamism and the civil unrest following the economic downturn caused by the 1980s oil glut, brothels were banned in 1982, forcing many of the prostitutes to work on the streets. However, some of the counties 171 brothels were allowed to remain open under the close scrutiny of the police. In 2011 there were 19 supervised brothels operating. By 2015 the number of brothels operating with the complicity of the Algerian authorities had reduced to two.

Sex trafficking

Human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Algeria for sex trafficking. Undocumented sub-Saharan migrants, primarily from Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Guinea, Liberia, and Nigeria, are most vulnerable to sex trafficking in Algeria, mainly due to their irregular migration status, poverty, and language barriers. Unaccompanied women and women travelling with children are also particularly vulnerable to exploitation.

Sub-Saharan African women, often en route to neighbouring countries or Europe, enter Algeria voluntarily but illegally, frequently with the assistance of smugglers or criminal networks. Many migrants, impeded in their initial attempts to reach Europe, remain in Algeria until they can continue their journey. While facing limited opportunities in Algeria, many migrants illegally engage in prostitution to earn money to pay for their onward journey to Europe, which puts them at high risk of exploitation.

Some migrants become indebted to smugglers, who subsequently exploit them in sex trafficking upon arrival in Algeria. For example, female migrants in the southern city of Tamanrasset, the main entry point into Algeria for migrants and for the majority of foreign trafficking victims, are subjected to debt bondage as they work to repay smuggling debts through forced prostitution.

Some migrants also fall into debt to fellow nationals who control segregated ethnic neighbourhoods in Tamanrasset; these individuals pay migrants' debts to smugglers and then force the migrants into prostitution. Foreign women and children, primarily sub-Saharan African migrants, are exploited in sex trafficking in bars and informal brothels, typically by members of their own communities, in Tamanrasset and Algiers.

The government did not investigate, prosecute, or convict any perpetrators for sex trafficking crimes in 2018, despite reports that sex trafficking occurred in Algeria, especially among the migrant population.

In 2020, the United States Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons downgraded Algeria's rank from "Tier 2 Watch List" to a "Tier 3" country.

Further reading

References

External links

Society of Algeria

Prostitution in Algeria


Jamie Chancellor Brewington (born September 28, 1971) is an American former professional baseball player.  The right-handed pitcher played for the San Francisco Giants in 1995 and the Cleveland Indians in 2000.  He stood  tall and weighed  during his active career.

Career
Brewington attended Junius H. Rose High School in Greenville and Virginia Commonwealth University.  Selected by the Giants in the tenth round of the 1992 Major League Baseball draft, Brewington was recalled from the Double-A Shreveport Captains in July 1995 and made 13 starts from July 24 through season's end.  He won his first two Major League starts, on July 24 against the Florida Marlins and July 30 against the eventual 1995 world champion Atlanta Braves.  Altogether, as a rookie he compiled a 6–4 win–loss record, allowing 68 hits (including eight home runs) in 75⅓ innings pitched; he had the same number of walks and strikeouts (45).

However, Brewington failed to make the  Giants and was ineffective in Triple-A, posting a 6–9 record and poor 7.02 ERA with the Phoenix Giants.  He then was traded to the Kansas City Royals during the off-season. His struggles continued during the 1997 minor league campaign, with his earned run average ballooning to 7.84 in 23 games pitched. He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers' organization on July 29 and then released on April 25, 1998.  Brewington did not pitch professionally during the 1998 season.

He then signed with the Indians and struggled through another difficult season in the minors in 1999, going 1–10 with the Class A Kinston Indians. But Brewington lowered his ERA to a respectable 3.84 and earned a promotion in 2000 to the Indians' Triple-A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons of the International League.  Pitching exclusively in relief for the 2000 Bisons, he won his only decision, and further improved his earned run average to 3.02.  Cleveland recalled him in June and used him in 26 games (all in relief).  Brewington won his three decisions with Cleveland, with no losses, but allowed 56 hits and 19 walks in 45⅓ innings pitched (he struck out 34). He had no saves and his ERA was a high 5.36.

Granted free agency at the end of the 2000 season, Brewington signed with the Minnesota Twins, but never returned to the Majors. He spent his last year in minor league baseball in 2002, then played one more professional season, in the independent leagues, in 2004.

He remains in baseball as a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As a Major Leaguer, Brewington won nine games, losing four (.692), with an ERA of 4.85 in 39 games and 120⅔ innings pitched. He gave up 124 hits and 64 bases on balls, striking out 79.

External links
, or Retrosheet, or Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)

1971 births
Living people
African-American baseball players
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Baseball players from North Carolina
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Cleveland Indians players
Clinton Giants players
Clinton LumberKings players
Edmonton Trappers players
Everett Giants players
Gulf Coast Twins players
Kinston Indians players
Long Island Ducks players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Navegantes del Magallanes players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Omaha Royals players
Pawtucket Red Sox players
Sportspeople from Greenville, North Carolina
Phoenix Firebirds players
Pittsburgh Pirates scouts
San Francisco Giants players
San Jose Giants players
Shreveport Captains players
Tucson Toros players
VCU Rams baseball players
Wichita Wranglers players
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American sportspeople

Jamie Brewington


Atul Chitnis (20 February 1962 – 3 June 2013) was an Indo-German consulting technologist. He was one of the organizers of FOSS.IN (formerly Linux Bangalore), which was one of Asia's free and open source software (FOSS) conferences.

Career
In 1989, Chitnis set up a Bulletin Board System (BBS) called CiX which provided an entry point for many users to online communities. He was the author of a PCQuest magazine column – COMversations. Chitnis gave talks on data communication in Indian industry, the Internet and intranets. As a Consulting Editor for PCQuest, he worked on the PCQuest Linux Initiative.

Working as a volunteer in the FOSS community such as the Bangalore Linux User Group, and through seminars and articles, he encouraged use of FOSS technologies. Chitnis was one of the organizers of the Linux Bangalore series of FOSS community driven conferences. FOSS.IN is said to have been one of Asia's largest annual FOSS events. Atul also served as one of the members of the faculty committee at the National Resource Centre For Free/Open Source Software. He often spoke at various fora on FOSS technology and adoption.

Death
Atul Chitnis was diagnosed with intestinal cancer in August 2012. He died on 3 June 2013.

References

External links

Chitnis' personal website

1962 births
2013 deaths
Place of death missing
Indian technology writers
Marathi people
People from Berlin
Deaths from cancer in India
Deaths from colorectal cancer
Writers from Bangalore

Atul Chitnis


A carhop is a waiter or waitress who brings fast food to people in their cars at drive-in restaurants. Carhops usually work on foot but sometimes use roller skates, as depicted in movies such as American Graffiti and television shows such as Happy Days. Carhops have long been associated with hot rods.

The first carhops appeared in 1921 when automobiles were beginning to be a common sight in Dallas, Texas. Two men, a businessman named J.G. Kirby and a physician named R.W. Jackson, decided to take advantage of the fact that many people owned cars and more were coming.  They realized that many of the drivers would rather not get out of their cars to eat. They opened a restaurant called the Pig Stand, which had male carhops from its inception. The A&W corporate website actually claims to have opened the first carhop restaurant in 1923, just two years after the Pig Stand initiated carhops. The term itself, a play on the word "bellhop", was not used in print until 1937.

Women soon replaced male carhops during World War II, because most American men left their jobs to join the military and restaurants quickly discovered that a pretty girl sold more food. This declined in the late 1940s and 1950s, when men returned to the civilian workforce and pretty girls were seen as having an adverse effect of attracting loiterers.

During the mid 1960s, as newer drive-ins began offering drive-through service, the number of  carhops declined dramatically and they are seldom seen today. Carhops can still be found at a few remaining original drive-in stands and nostalgic fast food establishments, mostly in smaller and rural towns with local ownership. Sonic Drive-In still employs carhops at most of their over 3,600 restaurants. In recent years, there has been a carhop resurgence, with some franchises cashing in on the nostalgia and memories of baby boomers. The aluminum window trays used by carhops are still manufactured and sold today.

The uniforms of early carhops were important, as many drive-ins were competing and something eye-catching was seen as gamesmanship. There was often a military, airline, space age, or cheerleader theme, or any other concept an owner thought would bring customers in.

In popular culture
A carhop was the most prominent image on the poster for the film American Graffiti. Marsha and Wendy, carhops at Arnold's Drive-in, were recurring characters during the early seasons of the TV series Happy Days. The decline of the carhop was shown in the film The Founder, where Ray Kroc (portrayed by Michael Keaton) is complaining of a wrong order to one carhop at an unnamed drive-in, who ignores his grievance and skates off to flirt with nonpaying customers. Later in the film, when Maurice McDonald is telling of the advent of his titular restaurant, he says he and his brother laid off all their carhops due to said issues, superseding them with the Speedee System where customers were better served.

See also
A&W Restaurants
Dog n Suds
Stewart's Restaurants
Swensons
Drive-in
Sonic Drive-In

References

Food services occupations
Roller skating
Drive-in restaurants
Restaurant staff

Carhop


The 2014 GCI Great Alaska Shootout was the 36th Great Alaska Shootout, the annual college basketball tournament in Anchorage, Alaska that features colleges from all over the United States. The event was scheduled from November 26 through November 29, 2014, with eight colleges and universities participating in the men's tournament and four universities participating in the women's tournament. Most of the games in the men's tournament were televised on the CBS Sports Network.

Brackets
* – Denotes overtime period

Men's

Women's

References

External links
 Great Alaska Shootout official site

Great Alaska Shootout
Great Alaska Shootout
Great Alaska Shootout
Great Alaska Shootout
Great Alaska Shootout

2014 Great Alaska Shootout


The Caribbean Tourism Organizations main objective is the development of sustainable tourism for the economic and social benefit of Caribbean people.

Operations
The CTO, with headquarters in Barbados, is the Caribbean's tourism development agency. Its member countries and territories include the Dutch, English, French and Spanish, as well as a myriad of private sector allied members.

The CTO's vision is to position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year round, warm weather destination, and its purpose is "Leading Sustainable Tourism - One Sea, One Voice, One Caribbean."

Among other benefits, the organization provides specialized support and technical assistance in sustainable tourism development, marketing, communications, advocacy, human resource development, event planning and execution, and research and information technology.

The CTO is a marketing and business development entity dedicated to promoting the Caribbean brand worldwide.

History
The CTO was established in 1989 with the merger of the Caribbean Tourism Association (founded in 1951) and the Caribbean Tourism Research and Development Center (founded in 1974)

The body is primarily involved in the joint promotion and marketing of Caribbean tourist destinations in North America and Europe.

Member countries

French overseas departments:

Kingdom of the Netherlands:

British overseas territories:

United States territories:

See also
 World Tourism Organization

References

CTO: Region earned over US$23b from tourism
The Caribbean Tourism Organization pushes for a more sustainable tourism product
CTO Conference on sustainable tourism
Statement by the Caribbean Tourism Organization

External links

Business organisations based in Barbados
Traveling business organizations
Travel-related organizations
Tourism in the Caribbean

Caribbean Tourism Organization


Boscastle is a village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom, and 14 miles (23 km) south of Bude and 5 miles (8 km) north-east of Tintagel.

The name of the village derives from Bottreaux Castle, a 12th-century fortress, of which little survives. There is no church in Boscastle but there are churches at Forrabury and Minster. Boscastle harbour is a natural inlet protected by two stone harbour walls built in 1584 by Sir Richard Grenville. The oldest part of Boscastle surrounds the harbour; more modern residential building extends up the valleys of the Rivers Valency and Jordan.

A flash flood on 16 August 2004, caused extensive damage to the village. Residents were trapped in houses and elsewhere as the roads turned into rivers. In the largest peacetime rescue operation ever launched in the UK, 91 people were rescued and there were no deaths.

References

Villages in Cornwall

Boscastle


Master of Business Administration (often shortened to MBA) is a postgraduate academic degree. People who study for an MBA already have a degree in another field of study and study management. Very often, a master's degree is required, but sometimes bachelor's degree-holders with work experience are also accepted. Unlike other areas of study, MBA courses are often targeted at people who work, and can be done in a part-time fashion, including distance learning. MBA programs usually take two years, full-time. The main target group for MBAs are engineers, lawyers, doctors of medicine, and other with a background form the humanities. The idea of the MBA is to give those people qualifications in management positions.

The MBA is a terminal degree and a professional degree.

References

Academic degrees

Master of Business Administration


Special visceral afferent fibers (SVA) are afferent fibers that develop in association with the gastrointestinal tract. They carry the special sense of taste (gustation). The cranial nerves containing SVA fibers are the facial nerve (VII), the glossopharyngeal nerve (IX), and the vagus nerve (X). The facial nerve receives taste from the anterior 2/3 of the tongue; the glossopharyngeal from the posterior 1/3, and the vagus nerve from the epiglottis. The sensory processes, using their primary cell bodies from the inferior ganglion, send projections to the medulla, from which they travel in the tractus solitarius, later terminating at the rostral nucleus solitarius.

References

External links
 Overview at mmi.mcgill.ca

Neuroanatomy

Special visceral afferent fiber


Andrew Johnston (born 23 September 1994) is a British singer who rose to fame when he appeared as a boy soprano on the second series of the UK television talent show Britain's Got Talent in 2008. Although he did not win the competition, he received a contract to record with Syco Music, a label owned by the Britain's Got Talent judge Simon Cowell. Johnston's debut album, One Voice, was released in September of the same year, and reached number four on the UK Albums Chart. Although Johnston originally performed as a treble, his voice has since matured to baritone, and he is now a member of the National Youth Choir.

Johnston was born in Dumfries, Scotland, and his parents separated when he was an infant. He and his mother moved to Carlisle, where they lived in "poverty". He became head chorister at Carlisle Cathedral, and was bullied at school because of his love of classical music. While some journalists have argued Britain's Got Talent producers took advantage of Johnston's background, others have hailed his story as inspirational. In 2009, he graduated from Trinity School. Johnston now studies full-time at the Royal Northern College of Music.

History

Early life and Carlisle Cathedral Choir
Johnston was born on 23 September 1994 in Dumfries, Scotland, the son of Andrew Johnston and Morag Brannock. He was given the extensive name Andrew Aaron Lewis Patrick Brannock John Grieve Michael Robert Oscar Schmidt Johnston. Johnston's parents separated when he was eight months old, and from that time he lived with his mother and three older siblings in Carlisle, Cumbria, in the north of England, where he attended Trinity School. Johnston tried out for Carlisle Cathedral Choir at the age of six at the recommendation of Kim Harris, a teacher at his primary school. He was auditioned by the choirmaster Jeremy Suter and accepted into the choir at the age of seven. Johnston's mother, who had no previous association with the cathedral, described her feelings of being overwhelmed by emotion at having her boy singing in such a "stunning building among those extraordinary voices". His mother also described Johnston's busy regimen of practice four times a week and all day Sundays, saying that it took up all of their spare time. However, she said that the cathedral staff became like a family to her son, and that "it was such a lovely, safe, close feeling for him". Johnston, who attended Trinity School, was subject to abuse and threats from bullies which drove him to contemplate quitting the choir, but he was helped through the ordeal by his choirmaster and the dean and canons of the cathedral. By the time of his participation in Britain's Got Talent, Johnston was head chorister.

In September 2008, after his appearance on Britain's Got Talent but before the release of his first album, Johnston embarked on a tour of Norway with the choir, performing at Stavanger Cathedral and Utstein Abbey, among other places. The tour was conceived because the Diocese of Stavanger is connected with the Diocese of Carlisle through the Partnership for World Mission. This was Johnston's last tour with the choir. Johnston features as head chorister on one of the choir's albums, The Choral Music of F.W Wadely, released in November 2008.

Britain's Got Talent

Johnston was entered as a competitor in the second series of Britain's Got Talent by his mother. He passed the first public audition, singing "Pie Jesu" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem. Amanda Holden, one of the competition's judges, was brought to tears, and the audience offered Johnston a standing ovation. Johnston was tipped as the favourite to win the competition. Later, Johnston described his initial audition as daunting, saying that "it was scary singing in front of 2,500 people. I had never sang on stage before – then there was also Simon, Amanda and Piers". He won his semi-final heat on 27 May 2008, receiving the most public votes on the night and thereby qualifying for the final. He sang "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton; judge Holden told him he had "a gift from God in [his] voice". At the final on 30 May, he again sang "Pie Jesu". He finished in third place, behind the winner, the street dancer George Sampson and runners-up, the dance group Signature. Johnston left the stage in tears, later saying that he "was upset. But when you see the talent that was there, it was an honour just to be in the final". The day after the final, Cowell's publicist Max Clifford said that it was "quite possible" that Cowell would be offering record contracts to some of the finalists, including Johnston. Johnston and other contestants then embarked on a national arena tour.

During his initial audition, Johnston claimed that he was bullied and victimised from the age of six because of his singing. When asked how he dealt with the issue, he stated "I carry on singing." In The Times, Johnston's success story was described as "the stuff of fairytales", as he was successful despite having been raised in "poverty". Johnston said he did not talk about being bullied because he was told to do so by producers, but "because I believed it would help people who were going through what I had gone through be stronger". Johnston has subsequently visited schools and elsewhere to help other victims of bullying. He said "I want to use my experience of bullies to help other kids".

One Voice

On 12 June 2008, while Johnston was travelling with the Britain's Got Talent Live Tour, it was announced that Johnston had signed a record deal with Syco Music, a division of Sony BMG, and that his first album would be produced after the tour. The deal was reportedly for £1 million. After signing with Syco, Johnston made public appearances, including performing at Andrew Lloyd Webber's birthday celebrations on 14 September, and at Carlisle United's Brunton Park.

Johnston's debut album, One Voice, was released on 29 September 2008. It includes a cover of "Walking in the Air", performed with Faryl Smith. The album was recorded over a six-week period in London, and the track listing was chosen by Cowell. Johnston described the recording process as "brilliant", and that it was "really good – just to be in a recording studio and meet the different people". The album debuted in the British charts at number five, and finished the week at number four. The album was later certified gold, having sold 100,000 copies, and Johnston was presented a gold disc by daytime television presenter Penny Smith. Critics responded positively to the album, with Kate Leaver, writing for the Korea JoongAng Daily, saying Johnston "has truer talent than hordes of his musical elders" and that "the vulnerability" of Johnston's performance on the album "makes for a haunting musical experience". In Music Week, the album was described as "highly-anticipated", and Johnston was called "exceptionally-talented".

After the album's release, Johnston became involved in the Sing Up campaign, appearing in schools around the country to encourage other young people to join choirs. In December 2008, Johnston made a guest appearance at Whitehaven's Christmas fair, and performed at a carol service in Bradford. Johnston was also invited to turn on the Carlisle Christmas lights and perform at the celebrations. Mike Mitchelson, of Carlisle City Council, described Johnston as "one of our local heroes".

Hiatus and 2010s
In September 2009, Johnston announced that he would be taking a year off from singing as his voice had broken, changing him to a tenor. He had previously performed as a treble. He said "the tutors at [the Royal Northern College of Music] said they'll be able to train my voice up again. It's the same as it ever was, just deeper". Johnston's voice then changed from a tenor to a baritone. After remaining out of the spotlight for two years, he joined the National Youth Choir. In 2011, he was awarded a Royal School of Church Music Gold medal; public performances that year included a charitable concert, alongside organists John Bromley and Tony Green, at St Paul's Church, Helsby in November.

In September 2013, Johnston began to study for a Bachelor of Music degree at the Royal Northern College of Music, under the tutelage of Jeff Lawton, who had previously tutored him at the Junior College. He immediately joined the college's Chamber Choir and the Manchester Cathedral choir, but said that he intended to still sing with the Carlisle Cathedral choir where possible. While a student, Johnston's singing was adversely affected by a broken nose, the result of an unprovoked attack in a Carlisle nightclub on New Year's Day, 2014.

Personal life
Johnston's family home is in Stanwix, Carlisle. His mother, Morag Brannock, worked for the Office for National Statistics before giving up her job to support her son's career. Prior to his Britain's Got Talent appearances, he attended Trinity School, and later received tuition from a personal tutor. Johnston said that he "had a lot of support from local people when ... taking part in Britain's Got Talent", and was given a civic award for outstanding achievement by Carlisle City Council in March 2009.

Johnston's interests include jujitsu, in which he has a black belt. The Carlisle newspaper News and Star reported in September 2012 that Johnston had become the youngest person in the world to be granted a licence to teach the sport.

In 2019, Johnstone said that he had been working full-time as a roofer since 2017.

Rape charges
Johnstone appeared before Westminster Magistrates' Court in 2022 charged with three sexual offences, including two charges of rape, dating between November 2019 and March 2020.  Johnstone did not enter any pleas, with the case being sent on for a pre-trial hearing on 7 September 2022.

Discography

Studio albums

References

External links

1994 births
Anglo-Scots
English people of Scottish descent
Boy sopranos
British baritones
Britain's Got Talent contestants
British child singers
Living people
Musicians from Carlisle, Cumbria
Musicians from Dumfries
21st-century British singers
21st-century British male singers
People charged with rape

Andrew Johnston (singer)


Mbandzeni (also known as Dlamini IV, Umbandine, Umbandeen; 1855–1889) was the King of Swaziland from 1875 until 1889. He was the son of Mswati II and Nandzi Nkambule. His mother, the wife of King Mswati, died when he was very young.

Mbandzeni became king because his half brother Ludvonga II died before he could become the king. Ludvonga's death resulted in his mother Inkhosikati Lamgangeni adopting Mbandzeni, who was motherless, as her son. That made him king and her the queen mother of Swaziland.

His royal capital was at Mbekelweni. During his kingship, Mbandzeni granted many mining, farming, trading and administrative concessions to white settlers from Britain and the Transvaal. These concessions granted with the help of Offy Sherpstone eventually led to the conventions of 1884 and 1894. Those reduced the overall borders of Swaziland and later made Swaziland a protectorate of the South African Republic. During a period of concessions preceded by famine around 1877 some of the tindvunas (governors) from within Swaziland like Mshiza Maseko and Ntengu kaGama Mbokane were given permission by King Mbandzeni to relocate to farms towards the Komati River. Mshiza Maseko later settled in a place called eLuvalweni, where he was later buried.

Mbandzeni, still in command of a large Swazi army of more than 15000 men aided the British in defeating Sekhukhune in 1879 and preventing Zulu incursion into the Transvaal during the same year. As a result, he guaranteed his country's independence and international recognition despite the Scramble for Africa which was taking place at the time.

Mbandzeni died after an illness in 1889 and is quoted to have said in his deathbed "the Swazi kingship dies with me". He was buried at the royal cemetery at Mbilaneni alongside his father and grandfather Sobhuza I. Mbandzeni was succeeded by his young son Mahlokohla and his wife Queen Labotsibeni Mdluli after a 5-year regency of Queen Tibati Nkambule.

Today a number of buildings and roads in Swaziland are named after Mbandzeni. Among these are the Mbandzeni house in Mbabane and the Mbandzeni Highway to Siteki.
1855 births
1889 deaths
Kings of Swaziland

Mbandzeni


Northern India, also known as Hindustan, is a land and cultural region of India. In traditional Indian geography, India is pieced into five major zones: North India, North-east India, East India, West India and South India.

As a linguistic-cultural and political region, North India consists of six Indian states: Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan also The National Capital Territory of Delhi is also a part of northern India. It shares some of its cultural, historical, musical, and linguistic heritage with neighboring Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir, which was part of British India empire prior to the 1947 Independence. The North Indian Plain is a large part of it.

Related pages
Church of North India

Other websites
 Ampur: A Virtual Village
 More Info about Northern India
 North India - New Delhi (Capital) City Guide

Regions of India

North India


Crystal Blaze was a Finnish metal band.

Biography
The band was formed in 1995 and started first playing power metal under the name Guardian Force. Over the years, the group has gone through changes and the band started to take its current form in 2001, when Lari Sorvo (keyboards) and Lauri Koskenniemi (guitar) joined the founding members Mikael Grönroos (guitar), Max Obstbaum (vocals) and Gustaf Standertskjöld (drums) with the bassist Eerik Purdon. Now that the band performs and records under the name Crystal Blaze, the musical genre has also changed. The group is not afraid of combining different styles and genres with metal. Crystal Blaze's first demo Dreams was published in 2004 and was recorded at the MusaMuusa studios. The second demo The Punishment was released in 2006. In 2007, Crystal Blaze parted ways with one of the founding members of the band, drummer Gustaf Standertskjöld. Crystal Blaze was the winner of 2007 Wacken Metal Battle Finland and also performed at Wacken Open Air 2007 festival in Germany. In March 2008, the band released its third release named Beneath the Sands. At the same time the band also announced Juhana Karlsson as a new drummer. The band was split up in 2010.

Band members
Max Obstbaum - vocals
Mikael Grönroos - guitar
Lauri Koskenniemi - guitar
Eerik Purdon - bass
Lari Sorvo - keyboards
Juhana Karlsson - drums

Discography
Dreams (2004)
The Punishment (2006)
Beneath the Sands (2008)

External links
Crystal Blaze @ Mikseri
Crystal Blaze @ MySpace

Finnish power metal musical groups

Crystal Blaze


The phialide ( ; , diminutive of phiale, a broad, flat vessel) is a flask-shaped projection from the vesicle (dilated part of the top of conidiophore) of certain fungi.  It projects from the mycelium without increasing in length unless a subsequent increase in the formation of conidia occurs.

It is the end cell of a phialosphore.

See also
Ascomycete

References

Fungal morphology and anatomy

Phialide


Persuasion is a form of influence.  It is the way to get people to agree with an idea, attitude, or action by rational and emotional means.  It is a problem-solving strategy and relies on "appeals" rather than force.

Dissuasion is the process of convincing someone not to believe or act on something.

Methods of persuasion
 Evidence
 Logic
 Rhetoric
 Scientific method
 Advertising
Moral Appeal
 Faith
 Presentation and Imagination
 Propaganda
 Tradition
Manipulation

Aids to persuasion:
 Body language
 Communication skill or Rhetoric

Other techniques, which may or may not work:
 Hypnosis

Coercive techniques, some of which are highly controversial and/or not scientifically proven to be effective:
 Brainwashing
 Torture

Psychology

Persuasion


A sky lantern (), also known as Kǒngmíng lantern (), or Chinese lantern, is a small hot air balloon made of paper, with an opening at the bottom where a small fire is suspended.

Sky lanterns have been made for centuries in cultures around the world, to be launched for play or as part of long-established festivities. The name sky lantern is a translation of the Chinese name but they have also been referred to as sky candles or fire balloons.

Several fires have been attributed to sky lanterns, with at least one 21st-century death caused. Sky lanterns have been made illegal in several countries such as Vietnam which has banned the production, sale, and release of sky lanterns throughout the country since 2009. Many areas of Asia do not permit sky lanterns because of widespread fire hazards as well as danger to livestock.

Construction

The general design is a thin paper shell, which may be from about 30 cm to a couple of metres across, with an opening at the bottom. The opening is usually about 10 to 30 cm wide (even for the largest shells), and is surrounded by a stiff collar that serves to suspend the flame source and to keep it away from the walls.

When lit, the flame heats the air inside the lantern, thus lowering its density and causing the lantern to rise into the air. The sky lantern is only airborne for as long as the flame stays alight, after which the lantern sinks back to the ground.

In China, Taiwan and Thailand, sky lanterns are traditionally made from oiled rice paper on a bamboo frame. The source of hot air may be a small candle or fuel cell composed of a waxy flammable material.

In Brazil and Mexico sky lanterns were traditionally made of several patches of thin translucent paper (locally called "silk paper"), in various bright colors, glued together to make a multicolored polyhedral shell. A design that was fairly common was two pyramids joined by the base (a bipyramid, such as the octahedron) sometimes with a cube or prism inserted in the middle. Only the smaller models had a full frame made of bamboo or thin wire; the slight overpressure of the hot air was sufficient to keep the larger ones inflated, and the frame was reduced to a wire loop around the bottom opening. The "candle" was usually a packet of paraffin or rosin tightly wrapped in cloth and bound with wire.

History
China is considered to have developed the first simple hot-air balloons. According to the sinologist and historian of science Joseph Needham, the Chinese experimented with small hot air balloons for signaling from as early as the 3rd century BC. Their invention is, however, traditionally attributed to the sage and military strategist Zhuge Liang (181–234 AD), whose reverent term of address was Kongming. He is said to have used a message written on a sky lantern to summon help on an occasion when he was surrounded by enemy troops. For this reason, they are still known in China as Kongming lanterns (, , kǒngmíng dēng).

Another suggested origin is that the name actually comes from the lantern's resemblance to the hat Kongming is traditionally shown to be wearing.The Mongolian army studied Kongming lanterns from China and used them in the Battle of Legnica during the Mongol invasion of Poland. This is the first time ballooning was known in the western world.

In the history of military ballooning, the lanterns were also used for military signals, In the history of ballooning, these became the first hot air balloons used in the West, in Europe, during the Mongol Invasion of Poland.  Sky lanterns could be a possible explanation for some UFO sightings through the years.

Use in festivals

China
In ancient China, sky lanterns were strategically used in wars, in a similar way as kites were used in ancient Chinese warfare, such as military communication (transmitting secret messages), signaling, surveillance or spying, lighting the sky when laying siege on the city at night etc. However, later on, non-military applications were employed as they became popular with children at festivals. These lanterns were subsequently incorporated into festivals like the Chinese Mid-Autumn and Lantern Festivals.Although, nowadays they are used as objects within traditional festivals to emphasize the unity of family coming back together during the first full moon. This is represented by the lanterns all coming together in the sky upon being released and the roundness of the lanterns express the wholeness of family. Before Sky Lanterns were used in a cultural manner in their society, they were used as a means of communication in the military. However, with the passing of time, it shifted to symbolizing a family reunion. Hence, the importance of Sky Lanterns during the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Lantern Festival where they promote reconciliation, peace and forgiveness alongside the unity of family.

India

One traditional account says that Diwali commemorates the return of Rama after 14 years of exile and victory over Ravana, just before the start of the winter season, as part of celebrations sky lanterns are released into the night sky with hopes towards a new year. Although fireworks have been lit for a longer period, Chinese lanterns gained popularity in Diwali in the 21st century. One of the most famous sky lantern festivals is celebrated at Udaipur, Rajasthan.
In Bengal and Northeast India, Buddhist people celebrate their Probarona Purnima which signifies the end of their three-month lent by releasing lighted sky lanterns (), it is the second-largest festival of the Buddhist community. During Diwali festival (The festival of Light) eco-friendly sky lanterns are used for celebrations along with fireworks. It is a ritual of warding away bad energy and beginning a new (enlightened) path to righteousness.

Japan

An annual sky lantern festival known as the  is held in Semboku, Akita, on February 10 each year. Hundreds of very large lanterns, known as , are flown for good luck in the coming year. Lanterns are made of washi, traditional Japanese glassine paper. The festival has mythical origins, and was suspended during World War II. It was revived in 1974.

Portugal and Brazil
In Brazil, sky lanterns (balão in Portuguese) were a traditional feature of the winter holidays (Festas Juninas) at the end of June. It is claimed that custom was brought to Brazil from Portugal by colonists in the 16th century, and is still strong in Portugal, especially in Porto. The June holidays tradition also includes firecrackers and fireworks, another Chinese invention; so it is conjectured that these elements may have been brought from China by Portuguese explorers around 1500. The design and customs of Brazilian sky lanterns are modified to suit their festivals.

Bartolomeu de Gusmão, using a large-scale version of these lanterns, was the first man to fly a hot air balloon on 8 August 1709, in the hall of the Casa da Índia in Lisbon, Portugal, long before the Montgolfier brothers.

Brazilian sky lanterns are usually made by small groups of children and adolescents; but adults sometimes joined the effort, especially for the larger and more elaborate balloons. The launching of a large lantern, which could be one or two metres across, would usually require the cooperation of several people, to hold the balloon fully stretched until it was fully inflated. Lanterns with 20 metres or more and loaded with firecrackers and large flags are not uncommon.

Since 1998 launching lanterns has been an environmental crime in Brazil, punishable by up to 3 years in jail.

Taiwan

Pingxi District in New Taipei City of Taiwan holds an annual Lantern Festival in which sky lanterns are released into the night sky with people's wishes written, to send the wishes and messages to God. The Lantern Festival is also known as the 15th day of Chinese New Year, the last day of celebration for Chinese New Year.

Thailand

The Lanna people of northern Thailand use "floating lanterns" (, khom loi, ) year round, for celebrations and other special occasions. One very important festival in which sky lanterns are used is the Yi Peng festival, which is held on a full moon of the 2nd month (, Yi Peng, ) of the Lanna calendar (which coincides with Loi Krathong, the traditional festival on the 12th month of the Thai lunar calendar). During the Yi Peng festival, a multitude of lanterns are launched into the air where they resemble large flocks of giant fluorescent jellyfish gracefully floating by through the sky. The most elaborate Yi Peng celebrations can be seen in Chiang Mai, the ancient capital of the former Lanna kingdom. The festival is meant as a time to obtain Buddhist merit (, tham bun). In recent times, floating lanterns have become so popular with all Thai people that they have become integrated into the festival in the rest of the country.

In addition, people will also decorate their houses, gardens and temples with intricately shaped paper lanterns (, khom fai) of various forms. It is considered good luck to release a sky lantern, and many Thai people believe they are symbolic of problems and worries floating away.

Dangers

A sky lantern may land when the flame is still alight, making it a fire hazard. In typical designs, as long as the lantern stays upright the paper will not get hot enough to ignite, but if the balloon is tilted (say, by the wind or by hitting some object), it may catch fire while still in the air. All the paper will usually burn in a few seconds, but the flame source may remain lit until it hits the ground. After the balloon lands, the leftover thin wire frame will rust away very slowly, remaining a hazard to animals that may swallow it. Sky lanterns have also been alleged to pose a danger to aircraft. In 2009 British company Sky Orbs Chinese Lanterns developed lanterns using bio-degradable fireproof wool.

Early in 2009, a lantern set fire to a house in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, resulting in the death of a ten-year-old boy. In July the same year, a lantern set fire to two houses in the German town of Dieburg, near Darmstadt.

On 1 July 2013 the 'largest fire ever' in the West Midlands of England, involving 100,000 tonnes of recycling material and causing an estimated £6 million worth of damage, was started by a sky lantern which landed at a plastics recycling plant in Smethwick. Images of the lantern starting the fire were captured on closed-circuit television. In response to the fire, Poundland, a national retail chain whose headquarters are in nearby Willenhall, decided to stop selling sky lanterns and recalled their entire stock on 6 July 2013.

In 2018 a pavilion at Riocentro Convention Center, near downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, fully burned after a sky balloon landed on its roof.

In the early hours of 1 January 2020, more than 30 animals, primarily apes and monkeys, were killed at Krefeld Zoo in Germany in a fire believed to have been caused by sky lanterns used in New Year's celebrations. Many of the species involved are endangered in the wild.

Legal status

There has been growing concern by some about the potential danger to cause crop or building fires and even harm animals that may eat their remains. Some places have banned them for these reasons.

The city of Sanya in China banned sky lanterns as hazardous towards aircraft and airspace navigation.

In 1936 sky lanterns were made illegal in the Gau Thuringia, Germany, based on the  (State police regulation on fuel powered paper balloons of 30 November 1936). The regulation prohibited the manufacturing, distribution and launch of paper balloons powered by fuel or candles. Violations were punishable by a fine of up to  or imprisonment of up to two weeks.

Since 2009 it has been illegal to launch a sky lantern in most parts of Germany, with fines of up to 5000 euros being possible; in some German states, local authorities may give special permission on application. In Austria, it is illegal to produce, sell, import, or distribute them. In Argentina, Chile, and Colombia it is illegal to launch lanterns, as well as in Spain and Vietnam. In Brazil launching lanterns is an environmental crime, punishable by up to three years in jail since 1998.

Retail sale (but not possession and use) of sky lanterns that "rely on an open flame to heat the air inside the lantern" was banned in Australia on 1 February 2011.

Sky lanterns have also been banned since 20 June 2013 in Kittitas County, Washington, in the United States, because of fire concerns. In 2015, Washington state later banned their use statewide, with the adoption of the 2015 International Fire Code.

In Louisiana, the state fire marshal issued a ban on the distribution, sale, and use of sky lanterns in the state in 2013.

Ruth George, then Labour MP for High Peak, introduced a Ten Minute Rule bill calling for the banning of sky lanterns in the UK's House of Commons on 27 March 2019. The bill passed its first reading. However the Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. (This means the Bill will make no further progress.)

See also
 Balloon-carried light effect
 Hot air balloon
 Incendiary balloon
 Kamifūsen
 Lantern
 Paper lantern
 Tangled (2010 film that uses Asian-style sky lanterns in a pseudo-European/fairy-tale setting)
 Unidentified flying object

References

External links

Balloons (aeronautics)
Mid-Autumn Festival
Chinese culture
Chinese inventions
History of aviation
Japanese culture
Light fixtures
Taiwanese culture
Thai culture
Chinese traditions

Sky lantern