Brane cosmology refers to several theories in particle physics and cosmology related to string theory, superstring theory and M-theory.

Brane and bulk

The central idea is that the visible, three-dimensional universe is restricted to a brane inside a higher-dimensional space, called the "bulk" (also known as "hyperspace"). If the additional dimensions are compact, then the observed universe contains the extra dimension, and then no reference to the bulk is appropriate. In the bulk model, at least some of the extra dimensions are extensive (possibly infinite), and other branes may be moving through this bulk. Interactions with the bulk, and possibly with other branes, can influence our brane and thus introduce effects not seen in more standard cosmological models.

Why gravity is weak and the cosmological constant is small
Some versions of brane cosmology, based on the large extra dimension idea, can explain the weakness of gravity relative to the other fundamental forces of nature, thus solving the hierarchy problem. In the brane picture, the electromagnetic, weak and strong nuclear force are localized on the brane, but gravity has no such constraint and propagates on the full spacetime, called the bulk. Much of the gravitational attractive power "leaks" into the bulk. As a consequence, the force of gravity should appear significantly stronger on small (subatomic or at least sub-millimetre) scales, where less gravitational force has "leaked". Various experiments are currently under way to test this. Extensions of the large extra dimension idea with supersymmetry in the bulk appears to be promising in addressing the so-called cosmological constant problem.

Models of brane cosmology
One of the earliest documented attempts to apply brane cosmology as part of a conceptual theory is dated to 1983.

The authors discussed the possibility that the Universe has  dimensions, but ordinary particles are confined in a potential well which is narrow along  spatial directions and flat along three others, and proposed a particular five-dimensional model.

In 1998/99, Merab Gogberashvili published on arXiv a number of articles where he showed that if the Universe is considered as a thin shell (a mathematical synonym for "brane") expanding in 5-dimensional space then there is a possibility to obtain one scale for particle theory corresponding to the 5-dimensional cosmological constant and Universe thickness, and thus to solve the hierarchy problem. Gogberashvili also showed that the four-dimensionality of the Universe is the result of the stability requirement found in mathematics since the extra component of the Einstein field equations giving the confined solution for matter fields coincides with one of the conditions of stability.

In 1999, there were proposed the closely related Randall–Sundrum scenarios, RS1 and RS2. (See Randall–Sundrum model for a nontechnical explanation of RS1). These particular models of brane cosmology have attracted a considerable amount of attention. For instance, the related Chung-Freese model, which has applications for spacetime metric engineering, followed in 2000.

Later, the ekpyrotic and cyclic proposals appeared. The ekpyrotic theory hypothesizes that the origin of the observable universe occurred when two parallel branes collided.

Empirical tests

As of now, no experimental or observational evidence of large extra dimensions, as required by the Randall–Sundrum models, has been reported. An analysis of results from the Large Hadron Collider in December 2010 severely constrains the black holes produced in theories with large extra dimensions. The recent multi-messenger gravitational wave event GW170817 has also been used to put weak limits on large extra dimensions.

See also
Kaluza–Klein theory
Loop quantum cosmology

References

External links
 Brane cosmology on arxiv.org
  – Cosmological consequences of the brane world scenario are reviewed in a pedagogical manner.
 Dimensional Shortcuts - evidence for sterile neutrino; (August 2007; Scientific American)
  – These notes (32 pages) give an introductory review on brane cosmology.
  – Lectures (24 pages) presented at the First Aegean Summer School on Cosmology, Samos, September 2001.

Physical cosmology
String theory
Astronomical hypotheses

Brane cosmology


Whistling in the Dark (U.S. television title: Scared!) is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy-mystery film directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Ernest Truex and Una Merkel. The plot concerns a mystery writer whose scheme for a perfect murder comes to the attention of a gangster (Edward Arnold), who plans to use it.

The film is based on the Broadway play of the same name by Laurence Gross and Edward Childs Carpenter, which played for 265 performances in 1932-33. Edward Arnold played the same role in the Broadway stage production.

In 1941, the film was remade starring Red Skelton and Ann Rutherford. Skelton then played the role of "Wallace Porter" in two sequels.

Plot
Otto Barfuss refuses to pay for protection and won't bow down to the syndicate. When they come for him, he puts the sting on them. Jake Dillon thinks its time to end Barfuss for good, but he knows it has to be done properly so that they don't get caught.

Wallace Porter and his girl Toby Van Buren are eloping when their car breaks down near Dillon's house. He's a mystery writer who brags about his abilities to write the perfect murder. He is forced to give Dillon the perfect way to kill Barfuss while he and Toby are held as prisoners.

Porter manages to connect the radio to contact the phone operator. He and Toby get a message out to save Barfuss. Dillon comes back and is caught by the police.

Cast
 Ernest Truex as Wallace Porter
 Una Merkel as Toby Van Buren
 Edward Arnold as Jake Dillon
 John Miljan as Charlie Shaw
 C. Henry Gordon as Ricco Lombardo
 Johnny Hines as Slim Scanlon
 Joseph Cawthorn as Otto Barfuss
 Nat Pendleton as Joe Salvatore
 Tenen Holtz as Herman Lefkowitz

References
Notes

External links

1933 films
American comedy mystery films
American crime comedy films
American black-and-white films
American films based on plays
Films directed by Elliott Nugent
Films directed by Charles Reisner
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
1930s crime comedy films
1930s comedy mystery films
1933 comedy films
1930s American films

Whistling in the Dark (1933 film)


The following is a list of licensed banks currently trading in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar:

Turicum Private Bank Limited
Bank Jacob Safra (Gibraltar).
Gibraltar International Bank
Gibraltar Savings Bank
Trusted Novus Bank Gibraltar
IDT Financial Services Limited trading as IDT Finance
The Royal Bank of Scotland International trading as NatWest International
SG Hambros Bank (Gibraltar) Limited
Xapo
 Moneycorp Bank

Banks no longer established in Gibraltar
 Banco Galliano
 Gibraltar Trust Bank - est. 1987 as a joint venture with Credit Suisse. In 1991 Credit Suisse wholly acquired Gibraltar Trust, which is now Credit Suisse (Gibraltar)
Barclays Bank PLC; The Anglo-Egyptian Bank (later Barclays) opened a branch in Gibraltar in 1888, but has now closed.
 Lloyds, closed in late 2019.
Newcastle Building Society, now closed
Norwich & Peterborough Building Society, has now closed
Credit Suisse (Gibraltar) Limited has now closed its operations
Leeds Building Society has now closed its operations (2019)

Between 1900 and 1940 there were also four small, family-owned banks:
Cuby Brothers
Benzecry (El Banquerito)
Rugeroni Brothers
Marrache and Sons

References

Economy of Gibraltar
Banks
Lists of companies of British Overseas Territories
Banks
Gibraltar

Gibraltar

List of banks in Gibraltar


Out of Africa is about the recent African origin of modern humans. Since the 1980s this has been supported by a study of present-day mitochondrial DNA, and other sequence analysis. There is also evidence based on the physical anthropology of archaic fossil remains. The idea is very well supported. There are differing theories on whether there was a single exodus or several. A growing number of researchers also suspect that "long-neglected North Africa" was the original home of the modern humans who first trekked out of the continent.

The first truly modern humans seem to have appeared between 200,000 and 130,000 years ago. These early humans later moved out from Africa. By about 90,000 years ago they had moved into Eurasia. This was the area where earlier species of humans, (such as Neanderthals, Homo neanderthalensis) had been living for a long time (at least 500,000 years in western Europe).

By about 42 to 44,000 years ago Homo sapiens had reached western Europe, including Britain. In Europe and western Asia, Homo sapiens replaced the Neanderthals by about 35,000 years ago. The details of this event are not known. At roughly the same time Homo sapiens arrived in Australia. Their arrival in the Americas was much later, about 15,000 years ago. All these earlier groups of modern man were hunter-gatherers.

Genetic studies and fossil evidence show that archaic  Homo sapiens evolved to anatomically modern humans solely in Africa between 200,000 and 60,000 years ago. Members of one branch of Homo sapiens left Africa at some point between 125,000 and 60,000 years ago, and that over time these humans replaced earlier populations of the genus Homo such as Neanderthals and Homo erectus.

The date of the earliest successful "out of Africa" migration (earliest migrants with living descendants) has generally been placed at 60,000 years ago based on genetics, but migration out of the continent may have taken place as early as 125,000 years ago according to Arabian archaeological finds of tools in the region.

Related pages
Early human migrations for how archaic as well as modern humans moved out of Africa.

References

Human geography
Evolution
Humans

Out of Africa


"What Is This Feeling?" is a song from the 2003 musical Wicked. It is sung between Elphaba, Galinda (later Glinda), and the students at Shiz University, expressing their loathing for each other's contrasting personalities as newly-assigned roommates.

Context
The song is performed towards the beginning of the first act. It opens with the two girls, Galinda and Elphaba, writing letters home to their parents in order to complain about their new rooming situation at Shiz University, brought about by Madame Morrible. During the song, Galinda and Elphaba graphically detail their mutual and "unadulterated loathing" toward one another. As the song progresses, the students of Shiz side with Galinda, expressing their admiration of the fact that she can even tolerate Elphaba, and referring to her as a martyr.

The students rally around Galinda and ally against Elphaba, who is universally despised. They claim they will maintain their animosity for their entire lives, stating that every little trait of Elphaba's makes their skin crawl. Elphaba makes the students aware that these feelings are reciprocated, although she does not reveal whether her hatred extends to all of the students, or is reserved exclusively for Galinda.

During the later song, "Dancing Through Life", Galinda's loathing of Elphaba is manifested yet again when, in order to embarrass her in front of everyone at the Ozdust Ballroom, she presents her with a pointed black hat, clearly representative of those traditionally associated with witchcraft, that Galinda received from her grandmother. However, Galinda's conscience soon starts to get the better of her, and in her remorse she approaches Elphaba with an invitation to dance, culminating in the pair eventually becoming friends in "Popular".

Lyrics
Stephen Schwartz meant the song's title and lyrics to be an ironic parody on love songs ("What is this feeling so sudden and new?/I felt the moment I laid eyes on you/My pulse is rushing/My head is reeling/My face is flushing/What is this feeling?/Fervid as a flame/Does it have a name?"). The irony comes in when phrases traditionally used for love songs are revealed to be expressing hate. When Galinda and Elphaba describe each other, Galinda complains about Elphaba being "altogether quite impossible to describe", while Elphaba simply calls Galinda "blonde".

At the end of the song, Elphaba scares Galinda, by saying "Boo", with Galinda letting out a high-pitched squeal.

Songs from Wicked (musical)
2003 songs
Songs written by Stephen Schwartz (composer)
Idina Menzel songs
Kristin Chenoweth songs

What Is This Feeling?


Edwin Forrest Durang (April 17, 1829June 7, 1911) was an American architect. He kept offices in Philadelphia and specialized in ecclesiastical and theatrical design.

Life and career
Durang was born in New York City, into a distinguished theatrical family. His grandfather, John Durang (1768–1822), has been credited with being the first native-born American actor, and his parents, Charles Durang (1791–1870) and Mary White Durang (b. London, England, 1802), were also well known for their contributions to the stage. His father and uncle, Richard Ferdinand Durang, were the first to perform "The Star-Spangled Banner", and his father also worked as the director and prompter at both the Chestnut Street Theater and the American Theater in Philadelphia. After his retirement in 1853, Charles Durang taught dancing and wrote several books on dance and a history of the Philadelphia stage. In addition to her stage work, Edwin Durang's mother wrote six children's books. Durang was named for his father's friend, noted actor Edwin Forrest.

Little is known of Durang's youth or education, but by 1855 he had set up as an architect in Philadelphia. By 1857 he had begun working with John E. Carver, a residential and ecclesiastical architect. On Carver's death in 1859, Durang succeeded him, emulating his practice by also specializing in ecclesiastical design, mostly for the Roman Catholic Church. He designed many churches, rectories, convents, and schools throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and elsewhere during a practice of more than fifty years.

In November 1909, Durang was joined by his son Francis Ferdinand Durang (1884–1966), who, in turn, succeeded him after his sudden death in Philadelphia in June 1911.

Edwin Forrest Durang's great-grandson is the American playwright and actor Christopher Durang (1949–).

Works
In addition to the buildings listed below, which were almost entirely his own projects, he made interior alterations to the Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. He contributed to the interior of the Academy of Music, 1854. He was also responsible for substantial additions and alterations to the Pro-cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul in Scranton, Pennsylvania prior to the building's reconsecration as the Cathedral of St. Peter in 1883.

Philadelphia

All Saints Roman Catholic Church, Bridesburg.
St. Agatha – St. James Church (formerly St. James Church), 38th and Chestnut Streets, University City.
St. Agatha's Roman Catholic Church, 38th and Spring Garden Streets, Powelton Village.
St. Joseph Hall (1903) and Main Chapel (1884–1891), Chestnut Hill College.
St. Joachim Church, Frankford.
Disston House  (1881), 1530 N. 16th Street, North Philadelphia.
St. Laurentius Church, Fishtown
St. Charles Borromeo Church, 900 S. 20th Street; also convent and school.
Arch Street Opera House (NRHP added 1978 — Building — #78002442), now known as the Trocadero Theatre, 1003–1005 Arch St. (later modified by George W. Plowman and others).
Church of the Gesú and school.  It is a contributing building to the Girard Avenue Historic District.
Monument to the Signers of the Declaration of Independence (1860).
Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Port Richmond (1882).
Roman Catholic High School for Boys (1890), Broad and Vine Streets

Philadelphia suburbs

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, completed 1882, in Media, Pennsylvania
Our Mother of Good Counsel R.C. Church (1896), Bryn Mawr. Also rectory, school and convent.
Sisters of Mercy Convent, Merion.
Saint Thomas of Villanova Church and Augustinian Monastery, Villanova.
Waldron Mercy Academy, 511 E. Montgomery Ave., Lower Merion Township.

Elsewhere in Pennsylvania
Fulton Opera House, Lancaster. (NRHP, NHL)
Hampden Firehouse, Reading, Pennsylvania (1887).  (NRHP)
Holy Infancy Church, South Bethlehem.
St. Mary's Catholic Church, Lancaster (1868).
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, 134 South Washington Street, Wilkes-Barre.
York Opera House, York.
St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Archbald, Pennsylvania (dedicated 15 August 1875).

Elsewhere

 St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Centenary Methodist Episcopal church, Lambertville, New Jersey.
Saint John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, Lambertville, New Jersey.
Church of the Immaculate Conception (NRHP), 145 S. King St., Halifax, North Carolina.
Summit Country Day School, Cincinnati, Ohio
Trinity College (now Trinity Washington University), Washington, D.C.; also art gallery and Trinity Hall.

References

External links
Biography and portrait at The Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Project
Biography at Plattsburgh State University of New York

1829 births
1911 deaths
Architects of Roman Catholic churches
Architects from Philadelphia
Architects from New York City
19th-century American architects
20th-century American architects

Edwin Forrest Durang


Maximilian Harden (born Felix Ernst Witkowski, 20 October 1861 – 30 October 1927) was an influential German journalist and editor.

Biography
Born the son of a Jewish merchant in Berlin he attended the Französisches Gymnasium until he began to train as an actor and joined a traveling theatre troupe. In 1878 Harden converted to Protestantism and started his journalistic career as a theatre critic in 1884. He also published political essays under the pseudonym Apostata in several liberal newspapers like the Berliner Tageblatt edited by Rudolf Mosse.

From 1892 Harden published the journal Die Zukunft (The Future)  in Berlin. His baroque style was mocked by former friend Karl Kraus, who wrote a satire about "translations from Harden".

Initially a monarchist, Harden became a fierce critic of Kaiser Wilhelm II and his entourage including Philipp, Prince of Eulenburg, and General Kuno von Moltke. His public accusations of homosexual behaviour – according to Paragraph 175 a criminal offence at that time – from 1906 on led to numerous trials and did sustained damage to the reputation of the ruling House of Hohenzollern and the German jurisdiction (the Eulenburg affair). In reaction Karl Kraus, disgusted by the public display of intimate details, wrote an obituary: Maximilian Harden. Eine Erledigung (A Settlement).

By 1914, Harden had again moved sufficiently to the right that he welcomed the German invasion of Belgium. During the war, Harden was an annexationist who wrote numerous articles demanding that Germany win the war to annex most of Europe, Africa and Asia to make the Reich the world's greatest power. However, after the war he became a pacifist and supported the Weimar Republic. In 1921, he devoted two issues of Die Zukunft to covering the assassination of Talat Pasha and subsequent trial of the assassin, harshly criticizing Germany's failure to take action against the Armenian genocide.

In the following years Harden's readership diminished. On 3 July 1922, a few days after the assassination of Walther Rathenau, he was severely injured in an assault conducted by Freikorps members. In the following trial the court ruled that his writings had provoked the two assailants, Bert Weichardt and Albert Wilhelm Grenz. Both were charged and sentenced to two years and five months, and four years, respectively.

Harden abandoned the publishing of Die Zukunft and in 1923 retired to Montana, Switzerland, where he died four years later. His grave is located in Berlin at the Friedhof Heerstraße (Feld 8-C-10 (Reg. 335) (Ehrengrab)). The British historian A. J. P. Taylor wrote: Harden was certainly the most brilliant political writer during the reign of Wilhelm II. His paper, Die Zukunft, had a unique influence despite its small circulation. But Harden's spirit was essential critical and destructive. He always took up men when they were down-Bismarck after his fall and Holstein after his resignation. Equally he denounced those were up-Wilhelm II when in power, and even Ebert. His outstanding achievement was to hound Eulenburg from public life-not much to be really proud of. In international affairs, he swung from one extreme to another: at one time a Big Navy man, later an advocate of a naval agreement. At the beginning of the First World War he was a violent annexationist, towards its end a Wilsonian democrat and internationalist. He remained constant only in his high opinion of himself and contempt for everybody else.

See also
 Harden–Eulenburg Affair

References

Further reading
 Norman Domeier: The Eulenburg Affair. A Cultural History of Politics in Imperial Germany (German History in Context 1), New York 2015, .

External links

 Maximilian Harden, Krieg und Friede, Berlin: Erich Reiss, 1918.
 "The Controversy of Zion", Geoffrey Wheatcroft, 1996, ; pp. 203–4 deal with Harden

Journalists from Berlin
German male journalists
19th-century German journalists
19th-century German male writers
20th-century German journalists
German people of Jewish descent
Converts to Lutheranism from Judaism
1861 births
1927 deaths
Lutheran pacifists
Jewish German writers
Französisches Gymnasium Berlin alumni
German newspaper founders
German newspaper publishers (people)

Maximilian Harden


WGNE-FM (99.9 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Middleburg, Florida, and serving the Jacksonville metropolitan area.  It is owned by Renda Broadcasting and airs a country music radio format as "99.9 Gator Country", and primarily competes against iHeartMedia-owned WQIK.

WGNE's studios and offices are in the Arlington district of Jacksonville.  The transmitter is downtown on a tower that also broadcasts WTLV and other Jacksonville TV and FM stations.

History
On July 14, 1972, the station first signed on as WIYD, licensed to Palatka, Florida, a town about 50 miles south of Jacksonville.  It aired a beautiful music format as "Wide FM," and was the FM sister station to WWPF, both stations owned by Hall Communications.  Because it broadcast from a tower only 180 feet tall, it was limited to serving the Palatka-St. Augustine area.

In 1978, the AM station switched its call sign to WIYD, while the FM station was sold to the Sis Radio Company and became WIYD-FM.  The new owners got a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission to construct a tower more than 900 feet tall, making 99.9 audible from Jacksonville to Daytona Beach.

In 1981, the station was sold to the Ronnette Communications Corporation, with studios and offices moving to Ormond Beach, and flipped to Top 40 outlet WNFY.  In the Jacksonville radio market, it competed with long time Top 40 AM radio leader WAPE (now WOKV) and FM challenger WIVY (now WEZI).  In about a year, WAPE left the Top 40 format for Oldies.

In 1983, the station switched its call letters to WNFI, while remaining Top 40.  Its tower was now nearly 1,300 feet tall, with a power of 100,000 watts, allowing WNFI to be heard over much of the northern section of Florida's Atlantic coast.  In 1993, the station was sold again, this time to the Daytona Beach Broadcasting Corporation.  The station remained Top 40, but the call letters were switched to WFKS to fit the new moniker "Florida's Kiss-FM."

In 1996, Renda Broadcasting paid $6.5 million for WNFI and WKQL (now WMUV).  Renda switched WNFI's format to Country, renaming the station WGNE-FM and using the moniker "99.9 Froggy-FM."   In 2005, the station's studios and offices moved to Atlantic Boulevard in Jacksonville.

In the early 2010s, the station's city of license was moved to Middleburg, Florida, an unincorporated community in Clay County, which borders Jacksonville.  WGNE switched to a tower on Gator Bowl Boulevard in Jacksonville used by WTLV and other Jacksonville TV and FM stations.  While the move improved the station's signal to office towers and apartment buildings in Jacksonville, as well as its northern suburbs, it reduced coverage to the south.  The power was cut by more than half and the antenna height was reduced by 300 feet.  WGNE switched its moniker to "99.9 Gator Country."

On-air personalities
Steve Sutton- Sutton's radio career began in 1993 at WJRX in MacClenney. Sutton went on to the Hoyle & Fizz Show on WAPE in the morning, hosted a talk show on WCRJ-AM at lunch, and continued traffic reporting in the afternoon with Trane on the Radio at WAPE. In 1995, he began working full time at WAPE on Big Ape Morning Zoo alongside Eden Kendall, Amadeus, Hoyle, and Ashley King. After almost 12 years of the Big Ape Morning Zoo being on air, in December 2006 Sutton, Kendall, and Amadeus left WAPE. After about 6 months of being off the air, on June 20, 2007, the trio took over the morning show at 99.9 Gator Country.

Eden Kendall- Kendall is a graduate of the University of Florida and the mother of two children. Kendall worked on Big Ape Morning Zoo alongside Steve Sutton, Amadeus, Hoyle, and Ashley King. After almost 12 years of the Big Ape Morning Zoo being on air, in December 2006 Sutton, Kendall, and Amadeus left WAPE. After about 6 months of being off the air, on June 20, 2007, the trio took over the morning show at 99.9 Gator Country. As well as working on Gator Country's "Hometown Morning Show" Kendall also hosts WJXT's daytime broadcast, River City Live. During the Jacksonville Jaguar's football season Kendall can also be seen on WCWJ's "The Mark Brunell Show.

Amadeus- Amadeus moved to Jacksonville when he was in the 4th grade. After high school, Amadeus began working at Publix and took a part-time job at Turtle's Records & Tapes. On January 1, 1990, Amadeus left Turtle's Records and Tapes to work part-time at 95.1 WAPE. In 1996, Amadeus got the opportunity to join the Big Ape Morning Zoo. in December 2006 Sutton, Kendall, and Amadeus left WAPE. After about 6 months of being off the air, on June 20, 2007, the trio took over the morning show at 99.9 Gator Country. Amadeus also hosted the CW-17 Weekend Showplace for 17 years.

Brian Jordan- Jordan was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. Jordan worked at WAPE for 4 years. After taking a 2-year break Jordan began working at 99.9 Gator Country.

Matt Basford- Basford was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida and attended Hofstra University in New York. His career in radio began at the age of 16 years old when he worked WJAX, now known as WAPE. He has worked in radio in Chicago, Salt Lake City, New Orleans, and NPR in Los Angeles. While in Los Angeles, Basford worked as an actor in television and film as well as doing some improv and stand up comedy. Basford moved back to Jacksonville in 2000 and now works on 99.9 Gator Country and WEJZ.

References

External links
 99.9 Gator Country

GNE-FM
Country radio stations in the United States
Renda Broadcasting radio stations
1972 establishments in Florida
Radio stations established in 1972

WGNE-FM


Friesoythe (Saterland Frisian: Ait or Äit) is a town in Cloppenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, on the river Soeste,  northwest of Cloppenburg, and  southwest of Oldenburg.

References

Bibliography
 G. L. Cassidy, Warpath; the Story of the Algonquin Regiment, 1939–1945. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1948.
 Ferdinand Cloppenburg, Die Stadt Friesoythe im zwanzigsten Jahrhundert. Friesoythe: Cloppenburg, 2003.  Limited to 1,000 copies.
 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals. Toronto; New York: Methuen, c1986.
 Robert L. Fraser, ed. Black Yesterdays; the Argylls' War. Hamilton, ON: Argyll Regimental Foundation, 1996. A work of 608 pp., numerous photographs, many illustrations, (some col.) limited to 1,000 copies.  A lavish, massive, even monumental history of the Canadian Argylls during World War II and a model of its kind.
 Friesoythe 25 Jahre danach: 1945-1970. Friesoythe: Stadt Friesoythe, 1970.
 Landkreis Emsland. Wege aus dem Chaos; Das Emsland und Niedersachsen 1945-1949. Begleitbuch zur Ausstellung. 2. Aufl. Hrsg. vom Landkreis Emsland. Meppen: 1988.
 C. P. Stacey, A Date with History; Memoirs of a Canadian Historian. Ottawa, ON: Deneau, c1983?
 C. P. Stacey, Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War. Vol. III. The Victory Campaign; the Operation in North-West Europe, 1944–1945. Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1960.
 Chris Vokes, Vokes, My Story. By Major General Chris Vokes with John P. Maclean. Memorial Edition. Ottawa, ON: Gallery Books, 1985.
 War Diary, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, April 14, 1945, pp. 10–11. Ottawa, ON, Canada. National Archives of Canada, RG 24, v. 15,005
 War Diary, 1st Battalion, The Lake Superior Regiment (Motor), April 12, 1945, sheet 15. Ottawa, ON, Canada. National Archives of Canada, RG 24, Vol. 15,099.
 War Diary, General Staff, 4th Canadian Armoured Division, April 14, 1945, p. 15. Ottawa, ON, Canada. National Archives of Canada, RG 24, no. 13,794.
 August Wöhrmann, "Die Kämpfe 1945 in und um Friesoythe," IN Friesoythe 25 Jahre danach: 1945-1970 (Friesoythe: Stadt Friesoythe, 1970) 8-29. Wöhrmann was the first to make a serious examination of the issue, and this work is a ground-breaking study of great value which identifies many of the relevant sources.  Unfortunately Wöhrmann, a former soldier  himself, reports he was unable to make any contact with the German paratroopers who defended Friesoythe.

Other websites

Cloppenburg (district)

Friesoythe


Oton Kučera (1 January 1857, Petrinja – 29 December 1931, Zagreb) was a Croatian astronomer. He played a crucial role by popularizing science and technology in Croatia. He was also the president of Matica hrvatska and the author of several physics handbooks for primary school and a series of popular scientific works from the areas of physics, astronomy and electrical engineering.

Youth
He was born in Petrinja as the first of thirteen children of Ida Bošnjaković and Franjo Kučera, a teacher. His son Vlaho later claimed that Oton was born on December 31, 1856, but that pragmatic reasons (such as the army service) prompted his parents to move the date by one day. Oton celebrated his birthday on January 1, as shown by the celebration of his 70th birthday in 1927. Through his paternal grandfather Václav Kučera, who moved from Staré Hamry to Glina, Oton was of Czech descent.

Oton's father was soon transferred, so the family left Petrinja and settled in Otočac, where Oton spent his childhood and completed five years of primary school. He attended the secondary school in Senj. Traveling over the mountain range of Velebit to reach Senj from Otočac, the young man discovered his love and interest for mountains and the starry sky. He continued his studies in Vinkovci, where he completed his secondary education in 1873.

As an excellent and talented student, Oton was given the Military Frontier grant. He went to Vienna, where he studied physics, mathematics and astronomy, attending the lectures of the famous scientists Jožef Stefan, Ludwig Boltzmann and Johann Josef Loschmidt. He also went to the Vienna Observatory, which was managed by Karl von Litrow.

He was offered the post of the assistant, but patriotic and family reasons brought him back to Vinkovci, where he started lecturing at the local Gymnasium at the age of 19. Two years later he passed the required teacher exam in Vienna.

Early works
In 1881 he published his first scientific works. Together with Spiridon Brusina and Gjuro Pilar, he founded the Croatian Society of Natural Sciences in Zagreb in the late 1885. He was still a teacher in Vinkovci. The Society published its Glasnik (Herald), where Kučera's first article, Man and Natural Science, can be found in 1886. It described the development of natural sciences.

Having moved to Požega, Kučera started popularizing science, which he would do until his death. He founded the first observatory in Požega. In 1892, his first book of popular science was printed, Notes on Magnetism and Electricity.

Popular science flourished in the 19th century Croatia, especially because the Croatian language became prominent in local science. Kučera played a crucial role in popularizing science. He is popularly called the "Croatian Flammarion" after his famous French counterpart.

Kučera believed that man has the same relationship towards the stars as towards his homeland, and that astronomy makes people think about the fundamental questions of life and forget the low passions, which endows it with great educational value.

The peak of his career
When Kučera moved to Zagreb in 1892, it was the start of his most prolific period. He taught at the Realna Gymnasium, where he created the first modern lecture room for physics in 1893. In the same year, he published another book, Weather: Notes on Meteorology. In 1895, he wrote Our Sky, a book of popular astronomy published by Matica hrvatska in a printing run of 12,000 copies. It was received enthusiastically and printed two more times during his life (1921, 1930). It earned him the award of the foundation of the count Ivan Nepomuk Drašković. In 1995, a hundred years after it was first published, the book had its fourth edition in Zagreb.

In 1899, Kučera wrote Physics for Beginners, a textbook with an appendix of astronomy and chemistry. He got his Ph.D. from the University of Zagreb with a work on Marin Getaldić and became a lecturer of higher mathematics, theoretical physics and mechanics at the Academy of Forestry in Zagreb, where he stayed until retirement in 1915. At the Academy, he introduced a two-year course of geodesy, which he managed during the first year. That course would later evolve into the Zagreb Faculty of Geodesy.

In 1902, Kučera published Experimental Physics for Secondary Schools and initiated the astronomy section at the Croatian Society of Natural Sciences. Still lecturing at the academy, he accepted the position of the head of the Zagreb Observatory, created in 1903, which he had helped found. The astronomy section and the observatory were a great success, since they boosted the membership in the Society from 95 to 230. In 1924, Kučera became a member of the French Astronomical Society in Paris.

His book Waves and Rays was published in 1903. In 1907 he translated two textbooks, Scheiner's Structure of Space and Walentin's Advanced Physics for Secondary School. Kučera was active in many other areas: he was the president of the first radio club, a member of the literary committee of Matica hrvatska, and the president of Matica from 1909 to 1917. From 1908 to 1911, he was the president of the Secondary School Teacher Society. He was a regular and popular lecturer at the Open University of Zagreb. Kučera was an editor of the Herald of the Croatian Mountaineering Society since its first issue. From 1892 to 1913 he was the secretary and then president of the Croatian Mountaineering Society. He was also a member of the Brethren of the Croatian Dragon, with the honorific title "Dragon of Petrinja", and a working member of the Croatian Literary Society of St. Jerome.

Later life and family
Kučera went into retirement in 1915. In 1920, after the fall of Austria-Hungary, he returned to work, becoming the government officer for secondary schools. He managed the Zagreb Observatory again from 1920 to 1925, when he went into retirement for the second time. From 1924 to 1926, he was the editor of Bošković, an astronomical calendar.

Among many books he published in later life, the most important were published in the series of Modern Age Inventions: Movement and Forces. Notes on the Mechanics of Sky and Earth (1915) and Wireless Telegraph and Telephone (1925).

His daughter from his first marriage, Elza, became a renowned psychologist. When his first wife Vilma Stenzl died, he remarried with Jelka Sakač and had three more children: daughters Mara and Nevenka and son Vlaho. In the last years of his life, family reasons made him sell the family house at Jurjevska Street 14 in Zagreb and move to a rented apartment in Mallinova Street. He died in Zagreb and was buried in Mirogoj, the main city cemetery.

Kučera made many contributions to the development of science and technology in Croatia, especially astronomy. When the Višnjan Observatory discovered its first asteroid on May 22, 1996, they named it (7364) Otonkucera. Matica hrvatska has an annual science award that bears his name.

Works
Crte o magnetizmu i elektricitetu (Notes on Magnetism and Electricity, 1892)
Vrieme, crtice iz meteorologije (Weather: Notes on Meteorology, 1893)
Naše nebo (Our Sky, 1895)
Valovi i zrake (Waves and Rays, 1903)
Gibanja i sile. Crtice iz mehanike neba i zemlje (Movement and Forces. Notes on the Mechanics of Sky and Earth, 1915)
Telegraf i telefon bez žica (Wireless Telegraph and Telephone, 1925)

References

Sources
 Muljevic, V. Physicist Dr. Oton Kucera promoter of technical sciences in Croatia, Hrvatski patentni glasnik, III, No. 5, 1996, Zagreb
 Kutleša, S. Oton Kučera (Petrinja, 1856 - Zagreb, 1931), Priroda No. 7-8, 1991–1992, Zagreb
 Oton Kučera : znanstvenik, popularizator prirodoslovlja i tehnike : 1856. - 1931., ed. by A. Getliher, Tehnički muzej, 1998, Zagreb

1857 births
1931 deaths
People from Petrinja
Croatian educators
Croatian astronomers
Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery
Croatian people of Czech descent
Astronomers from Austria-Hungary

Oton Kučera


The private rented sector (PRS) is a classification of United Kingdom housing tenure as described by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, a UK government department that monitors the national housing supply.

Other classifications are:

 Owner-occupied
 Rented from registered social landlords (housing association)
 Rented from local authorities

In 2014 the private rented sector consisted of 2.7 million dwellings in the United Kingdom, or some 10 percent of the total housing stock. Of this total, 2.4 m were in England, representing 12 percent of the English housing stock. The sector had grown by over 10 percent in the previous ten years and, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, was forecast to grow by a further 40 percent over the coming ten years . However, government measures introduced by George Osborne as Chancellor of the Exchequer were aimed at reducing its size, and the sector began to shrink in 2017.

History
For the greater part of the 20th century the private rented sector was in long-term decline.  The combination of growth in owner-occupation and the role of city councils, borough councils, and district councils as social landlords, through public housing and latterly the housing association movement, contributed to a decline in the private rented sector.

Rising prosperity and pro home-ownership HM Government policies brought owner-occupation to its peak between 1985 and 1987, whilst reducing the private rented sector. During this period owner-occupied dwellings rose by 24 percent whilst the private rented sector contracted by 10 percent.

Growth in the PRS was inhibited by a regulatory regime that discouraged landlords. Because of regulated rents, limited profitable returns and tenant legislation, the right of landlords to recover their property from a defaulting tenant, had become extensively limited.

Regulatory change
This long-term decline was arrested by the Housing Act 1988. This introduced a radical reshaping of landlord and tenant law, and in particular introduced the assured shorthold tenancy (AST), and the Section 21 and Section 8 aspects.  This arrangement made the contractual relationship between landlord and tenant clearer and allowed landlords to recover their property relatively easily from a defaulting tenant. However, the process still often requires recourse to Her Majesty's Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), and sometimes can go to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), if there is an appeal by the landlord or tenant concerning a Section 21 notice, or a Section 8 possession order. The growth was met by tenant demand as improvements in the quality of the rental stock made being a tenant a viable option.

In 2014 Electrical Safety First and Shelter released a joint report examining current electrical conditions in the private rented sector. The report found that sixteen percent of renters have experienced problems with electrical hazards in the last year alone. The report calls for mandatory five-yearly checks of electrical installations and electrical appliances supplied with private rented sector properties by a competent person.

Economic and social change
Of equal importance to the changes in legislation have been the economic and social changes that took place over the next decade.  The recession which lasted from 1991 to 1992 reduced the appeal of home ownership as a complete solution for housing need, and the impact of unprecedented levels of arrears, possessions and falls in value remain etched on the national consciousness.

More recently, social changes, especially an increase in student numbers, old age pensioners (OAPs), greater labour mobility amongst young people and a rise in immigration, added to the demand for rented accommodation, causing a second growth period.

With local housing authorities unable to expand council rented housing to fill the gap and limited funding for housing associations, the newly reinvigorated private rented sector expanded in response to demand and grew by 27 percent in the 15-year period to 2004.

In 2010, the British government ran a large scale survey of the private rented sector and analysed the social and economic spread of private landlords. Some key findings were:

 89 percent of landlords were private individual landlords responsible for 71 percent of all private rented dwellings, with a further 5 percent of landlords being company landlords responsible for 15 percent of dwellings.
 More than three quarters (78 percent) of all landlords only owned a single dwelling for rent, with only 8 percent of landlords stating they were full-time landlords.
 Over three-quarters (77 percent) of all dwellings in the private rented sector were purchased by landlords, 9 percent were inherited, and 8 percent were built by landlords.
 51 percent of all dwellings had been acquired since 2000, 25 percent in the ten years between 1990 and 1999 and 24 percent prior to this date.
 A mortgage was used when acquiring 56 percent of dwellings in the private rented sector, with personal savings being the next most common means of finance used to acquire 21 percent of dwellings.
 89 percent of landlords were private individual landlords, 5 percent were company landlords, and 6 percent were 'other organisation' landlords. These were responsible for 71 percent, 15 percent and 14 percent, respectively, of all dwellings in the sector.
 22 percent of landlords had let properties for three years or less with two-thirds (69 percent) for 10 years or less. Only 5 percent had let for more than 40 years.
 In terms of formal letting and management practices, nearly all landlords and agents (97 percent) made use of a written tenancy agreement, with 91 percent requiring a deposit, and 84 percent requiring tenants to provide a reference.

Arrival of institutional involvement in sector
Institutions such as pension funds and insurance companies have been very active in residential investment in countries such as Germany and the United States where private rented residential property accounts for a much larger part of the overall residential stock (Germany 60 per cent and US 32 per cent).

In contrast, the United Kingdom saw limited involvement until more recently, due to a long-standing fear of rent control and other reputational concerns related to the ownership of rented residential property.  Since January 1990, the percentage of UK housing stock in the private rented sector has grown from 9 per cent to 19 per cent but mostly due to the growth in the residential buy to let investor, who either purchases the property outright, or applies to a bank or building society, and gets a buy-to-let mortgage on the property.

Since 2010, UK institutions have taken a serious interest in the private rented sector, in part encouraged by their positive experiences in the private student accommodation market.  The potential for high and continued rental streams, linked to general inflation, has attracted institutions seeking to match their liability profiles.

Investors have looked to other more established private rental markets to identify the best practices adopted.  This has seen the development of the build-to-rent (B2R) concept into the UK which follows the service-led culture of the multi-family sector in the United States.

The involvement of different investors now ranges from the individual landlords owning buy-to-let properties and houses of multiple occupation (HMO), through to various housing associations, which now provide properties for around 6 million tenants in the United Kingdom, and the property companies who operate large scale rentals, that have become the UK institutions which created the new investment market for build-to-rent properties to extensively develop. Altogether these different kinds of involvement have created a rather complex spectrum within the private rental sector.

Decline in property investment from 2017
Following changes to the taxation of landlords, with Section 24 of the Finance Act 2015, that came into effect in April 2017, the private rented sector therefore peaked at 2.88 million households and began to steadily shrink. The introduction of Section 24 removed the right of the landlord to deduct mortgage interest and other finance costs, which included mortgage arrangement fees, from their rental income before calculating their Income Tax liability, to Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

In August 2018, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors warned that smaller BTL landlords were being pushed out of the UK housing market by the removal of mortgage interest tax relief, stricter lending criteria, and higher Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), and that rents would need to rise by some 15 percent.

By 2019, the total number of dwellings in the private rented sector had fallen by 222,570, reaching its lowest level since December 2012, when the total had been 2.58 million. As a result, three landlord associations urged the government to take action to reverse this trend.

References

Housing in the United Kingdom

Private rented sector


Elias Tahan (born September 11, 1986) is an American photographer currently located in Los Angeles.

Elias Tahan has been featured in publications such as Flaunt, Interview, and Nylon. His celebrity subjects include Jennifer Lopez, Malin Åkerman, Shirley Manson, Solange Knowles, Kristen Bell, Jena Malone, Nicole Richie, Ashley Tisdale, Rachael Leigh Cook, Sara Paxton, Shenae Grimes, Melanie Brown, and Shay Mitchell.

References

External links

 Elias Tahan's blog

American photographers
1986 births
Living people
Photographers from Los Angeles

Elias Tahan


Halfdan Wexel Freihow (born 7 May 1959) is a Norwegian literary critic, novelist, editor and book publisher.

A son of diplomat Håkon Wexelsen Freihow, Halfdan Freihow was born in Mexico City and grew up in Mexico, Spain and Belgium. He graduated from the University of Oslo with a cand.mag. degree. He was a translator, publishing house consultant and literary critic for Morgenbladet, Arbeiderbladet and NRK P2 in his early career. In 1985, together with fellow literary critics André Savik and Lasse Tømte, he published an anthology named Ord for andre. The proceeds would go via the Norwegian Church Aid and Norwegian Red Cross to Ethiopia. In 1989 he became editor-in-chief for the literature periodical Vinduet. In 1990 he quit his literary critic job in Arbeiderbladet to become acting editor of Bokklubben Dagens Bok. In 1991 he went on to the publishing house Aschehoug. He remained editor of Vinduet until 1992. From 1996 to 2000 he was the director of the publishing house J. M. Stenersen Forlag.

In 2001 he released the report Den edle hensikt—helliger den midlene? about the book business for the Arts Council Norway. In 2004 Freihow wrote a book about his own son, Kjære Gabriel. It was nominated for the Brage Prize. In 2007 he was writing an authorized biography about Crown Princess Mette-Marit, but the project was stopped. Freihow issued his debut novel, Du er ikke sann, in 2009. The book was issued on Freihow's own publishing house Font Forlag, which was started in 2006.

He has been deputy leader of the Norwegian PEN. He resides in Karmøy.

References

1959 births
Living people
Mexican people of Norwegian descent
Norwegian expatriates in Mexico
Norwegian expatriates in Spain
Norwegian expatriates in Belgium
University of Oslo alumni
Norwegian literary critics
Norwegian magazine editors
Norwegian book publishers (people)
Norwegian translators
21st-century Norwegian novelists
21st-century translators
People from Karmøy

Halfdan W. Freihow


Walter Oswald Watt,  (11 February 1878 – 21 May 1921) was an Australian aviator and businessman. He served as a pilot during World War I with, firstly, the French Foreign Legion and, secondly, the Australian Flying Corps (AFC).

The son of a Scottish-Australian merchant and politician, Watt was born in England and moved to Sydney when he was one year old, returning to Britain at the age of eleven for education at Bristol and Cambridge. In 1900 he returned to Australia, and enlisted in the Militia, before acquiring cattle stations in New South Wales and Queensland. He was also a partner in the family shipping firm.

The first Australian to qualify for a Royal Aero Club flying certificate, in 1911, Watt joined the Aviation Militaire of the French Foreign Legion as a pilot on the outbreak of World War I.  He transferred to the Australian Flying Corps in 1916, quickly progressing from flight commander with No. 1 Squadron in Egypt to commanding officer of No. 2 Squadron on the Western Front. By February 1918, he had been promoted to lieutenant colonel and taken command of the AFC's 1st Training Wing in England.

A recipient of France's Legion of Honour and Croix de Guerre, and twice mentioned in despatches during the war, Watt was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1919. He left the military to pursue business interests in Australia, and was lauded for his generosity to other returned airmen. In 1921, at the age of 43, he died by accidental drowning at Bilgola Beach, New South Wales. He is commemorated by the Oswald Watt Gold Medal for outstanding achievement in Australian aviation, and the Oswald Watt Fund at the University of Sydney.

Early career
Born on 11 February 1878 in Bournemouth, England, Oswald Watt was the youngest son of John Brown Watt, a Scot who had migrated to New South Wales in 1842 and became a successful merchant and politician, frequently representing his state on overseas missions. Oswald's Australian-born mother, Mary Jane, died when he was one and shortly afterwards the family relocated to Sydney. Oswald was sent back to England at the age of eleven to complete his schooling at Clifton College, Bristol, before going on to study at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1899.  Returning to Sydney in 1900, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the New South Wales Scottish Rifles, a Militia unit, and in 1902 was appointed an aide-de-camp to the Governor of New South Wales.  On 27 September that year, he married Muriel Williams at St. John's Anglican Church in Toorak, Victoria; the couple had one son.

Watt's family was wealthy, and he was able to establish himself as a grazier by purchasing several cattle stations in New South Wales and Queensland. Travelling abroad again, he obtained his Master of Arts degree from Cambridge in 1904.  In October the following year he was promoted to captain in the Scottish Rifles. On a subsequent trip to England he took flying lessons at the Bristol aviation school on Salisbury Plain, where his fellow students included Eric Harrison. Watt attained his Royal Aero Club certificate, no. 112, on 1 August 1911, becoming the first Australian citizen so qualified. Upon his return to Australia later that year, he publicly declared that the time was "rapidly approaching when an aero corps [would] have to be inaugurated" as part of the country's "military defence scheme".

In March 1912, Watt recommended a location in Canberra near the Royal Military College, Duntroon, as a base for the Army's proposed Central Flying School. Owing to its altitude and nearby mountainous terrain, the site was rejected by the school's nominated commanding officer, Lieutenant Henry Petre. Petre eventually chose 297 hectares at Point Cook, Victoria, an area suitable for seaplanes as well as land-based aircraft, to become the "birthplace of Australian military aviation". Watt also advocated manufacturing foreign-designed aircraft under licence in Australia, but this would not be pursued until after World War I. In 1913 he was divorced on the grounds of "misconduct" with actress Ivy Schilling, and lost custody of his son in the judgment. He then went to Egypt, where he purchased and practised flying a Blériot XI monoplane; while there he met leading French aviators Louis Blériot and Roland Garros.

World War I

In May 1914, the francophile Watt left Egypt with his aeroplane and took up employment at the Blériot factory and airfield in Buc, outside Paris. Fired by the widely held conviction that Britain would stay out of a European conflict, Watt offered his services and his plane to the French government on 2 August, the day France declared war on Germany. This gesture was welcomed and he joined the Aviation Militaire section of the Foreign Legion as a pilot. Though he was ranked an ordinary soldier, his colleagues in Bleriot Squadron No. 30 referred to him as "Capitaine" in deference to his previous status in the Australian Militia. Posted to Maurice Farman Squadron No. 44 in April 1915, he earned the Legion of Honour badge after he and his observer crash-landed in no man's land and succeeded in making their way back to French lines with valuable intelligence under intense fire from German positions. Soon afterwards, Watt was awarded the Croix de Guerre—with palm leaves personally presented by General Joffre—and promoted to the provisional rank of captain. He was not eligible to command a French unit because he was a foreigner. Watt always proclaimed his antipodean connection while serving France, painting a kangaroo on the nose of his plane, which he named Advance Australia. Considered a no-nonsense type, he once introduced himself to a British pilot with the words "I am an Australian and I haven't got any manners".

The French recognised that Watt's talents were not being fully utilised due to his ineligibility to lead a squadron, and recommended that he transfer to the Australian Flying Corps. Watt did so on 1 March 1916, with the rank of captain. Posted to Egypt in May, he was made commander of B Flight, No. 1 Squadron, and took charge of the unit's first contingent of Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s the following month. No. 1 Squadron was engaged mainly in aerial reconnaissance and army co-operation duties, but the two-seat B.E.2 proved inferior to German Fokkers and Rumplers in speed, time-to-climb, and manoeuvrability.  In September 1916, Watt was promoted to major and given command of No. 2 Squadron, which was formed in Kantara. He was mentioned in despatches by General Archibald Murray, Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, on 13 October; the commendation was promulgated in the London Gazette on 1 December. No. 2 Squadron's personnel was composed largely of former Lighthorsemen, as well as thirteen mechanics from the Australian Flying Corps' first combat formation, the Mesopotamian Half Flight, led by Flight Sergeant George Mackinolty. Watt personally trained the force in England commencing in January 1917, before deploying it to the Western Front that September.  He was "a born leader of men", according to one officer; another recalled that "In the things that mattered, his men knew he stood for absolute obedience. They also knew that when discipline could be safely relaxed he would be quick to grant them some relief from the strain."

In the vicinity of Saint-Quentin on 2 October, No. 2 Squadron became the first AFC unit in Europe to see aerial combat when one of its patrols engaged some German two-seaters, which managed to escape. Because the Airco DH.5s in the squadron were handicapped as fighters by engine problems and low speed, the squadron was employed mainly in ground support duties. During the Battle of Cambrai that commenced on 20 November 1917, Watt led his pilots on daring low-level bombing and strafing attacks against enemy fortifications and lines of communication. Their loss rate reached 30%, but morale remained high. After visiting the squadron, the Royal Flying Corps' Major General Hugh Trenchard described its airmen as "really magnificent" and Charles Bean, war correspondent and future editor of the Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918, commented on their "remarkably high level of conduct and general tone". Six of Watt's officers were awarded the Military Cross for gallantry during the battle, prompting General Sir William Birdwood to send him a personal message of congratulation on 16 December, declaring: "... This is indeed a magnificent record for your squadron, and one of which I am sure everyone of you must rightly be extremely proud; I doubt if it has been beaten anywhere ..."  By this time, No. 2 Squadron had begun converting to Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s, though it could achieve little in the winter months due to inclement weather. Watt himself, now almost forty, was beginning to show the strain of frontline command. Bean found him looking "very worn" and noticed him shivering even while seated in front of the mess hall fire.

In February 1918, Watt was promoted to lieutenant colonel and given command of the AFC's 1st Training Wing (Nos. 5, 6, 7 and 8 Squadrons) headquartered at Tetbury in Gloucestershire, England; the wing's role was to train replacement pilots for the four operational AFC squadrons in Palestine and France. Watt proposed moving the wing to France, but it remained in England. He was mentioned in despatches by Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig on 7 April, and the commendation was gazetted on 28 May. Shortly after the end of hostilities in November 1918, novelist William John Locke visited 1st Training Wing and found that "there was not one [of Watt's men] who ... did not confide to me his pride in serving under a leader so distinguished". A pilot later opined that as well as having "courage, determination, and an immense capacity for work", Watt possessed "the greatest factor in leadership, a genius for endearing himself (without conscious effort) to all who served under him".

Post-war career and legacy

Watt was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 1 January 1919, in recognition of his war service. He returned to Australia on 6 May with the rest of 1st Training Wing's personnel, aboard the troopship Kaisar-i-Hind, on which he was the ranking officer. Leaving the AFC soon afterwards, he was elected president of the New South Wales section of the Australian Aero Club. He also served as senior delegate on a committee of veteran military pilots examining applications for appointment to a proposed independent Australian air service. Watt was esteemed as a man who did not forget old comrades, providing former AFC members with financial aid and helping them re-establish themselves in civilian life. He maintained an interest in commercial flying but refused an offer to take up the position of controller of civil aviation in 1920 owing to his business interests, which included partnership in the family shipping firm of Gilchrist, Watt & Sanderson Ltd, and directorships of mining, rubber, and art corporations. He also turned down invitations to stand for parliament, and to join the fledgling Royal Australian Air Force.

Oswald Watt drowned at Bilgola Beach, near Newport, New South Wales, on 21 May 1921. Cuts and bruising on his body indicated that he had slipped on rocks, struck his head, and rolled unconscious into relatively shallow water. Survived by his 15-year-old son, he was accorded a military funeral two days later at St Jude's Church, Randwick. Members of the AFC, Royal Air Force, and Australian Aero Club formed a guard of honour at the service, one of the largest in the suburb's history, which also included representatives of the Royal Australian Navy and Australian Army. Among the tributes was a floral wreath from an anonymous group of French admirers, and another that was dropped by parachute from a low-flying plane. On 31 May, Watt's body was cremated and his ashes interred in the family vault at St Jude's.

In his will, Watt left two bequests to the Australian Aero Club, one of which was used to establish the Oswald Watt Gold Medal for outstanding achievement in Australian aviation. Winners of the award have included Charles Kingsford Smith, Bert Hinkler, Henry Millicer, Ivor McIntyre, Jon Johanson and Andy Thomas. He also bequeathed a sum to the Royal Military College, Duntroon, to award annually a set of binoculars for the best cadet essay on military aviation or aeronautics. The award was founded as the Oswald Watt Prize later in 1921. Most of the residue of Watt's estate went to the University of Sydney. Considered one of the university's great benefactors, he was commemorated by the Oswald Watt Fund. In May 1923, the Oswald Watt Wing of the Havilah Home for Orphans, Wahroonga, was opened by the Governor-General of Australia. Watt was acknowledged as both a source and a reviewer by F.M. Cutlack in the latter's volume on the Australian Flying Corps that was first published in 1923 as part of the Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918. During World War I, Oswald Watt had been the only AFC officer to command a wing apart from Lieutenant Colonel Richard Williams, who was later to become known as the "Father of the RAAF". In 2001, military historian Alan Stephens noted that "had fate drawn him to a post-war career in the Air Force instead of to business and an untimely death, 'Toby' Watt might have challenged Richard Williams as the RAAF's dominant figure in its formative years".

Notes

References

Further reading

1878 births
1921 deaths
Accidental deaths in New South Wales
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Australian aviators
Australian military personnel of World War I
Deaths by drowning in Australia
French military personnel of World War I
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
Members of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Clifton College
British emigrants to Australia
Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)
Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion

Oswald Watt


Thomas Murphy (: born 26 August 1949), also known as Slab, is an Irish republican, believed to be a former Chief of Staff of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. His farm straddles County Armagh and County Louth on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In December 2015, Murphy was found guilty on nine counts of tax evasion following a lengthy investigation by the Criminal Assets Bureau of the Republic of Ireland. In February 2016, Murphy was jailed and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
One of three brothers, Murphy is a lifelong bachelor who lived on the Louth side of his farm before his imprisonment.

IRA involvement
Murphy was allegedly involved with the South Armagh Brigade of the IRA before being elected chief of staff by the IRA Army Council. Toby Harnden (ex-correspondent for the Daily Telegraph) named him as planning the Warrenpoint ambush of 1979, in which 18 British soldiers were killed, and he was also allegedly implicated in the Mullaghmore bombing the same day, which killed four people (including two children and Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma). Murphy was involved in smuggling huge stockpiles of weapons from Libya in the 1980s and was a member of the Army Council that decided to end its first ceasefire with the 1996 Docklands bombing in London that killed two men.

Accused by the Sunday Times of directing an IRA bombing campaign in Britain, in 1987 Murphy unsuccessfully sued the paper for libel in Dublin. The original verdict was overturned by the court of appeal because of omissions in the judge's summing up and there was a retrial, which Murphy also lost. At the retrial, both Sean O'Callaghan and Eamon Collins, former members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, testified against Murphy, as did members of the Gardaí, Irish customs officials, British Army and local TD Brendan McGahon. Collins, who had also written a book about his experiences, Killing Rage, was beaten and killed by having a spike driven through his face, near his home in Newry eight months later. In 1998, a Dublin court dismissed Murphy's case after a high-profile trial, during which Murphy stated that he had: "Never been a member of the IRA, no way" and claimed not to know where the Maze prison was. The jury ruled, however, that he was an IRA commander and a smuggler.

The Sunday Times subsequently published statements given by Adrian Hopkins, the skipper who ferried weapons from Libya to the IRA, to the French authorities who intercepted the fifth and final Eksund shipment. Hopkins detailed how Murphy met a named Libyan agent in Greece, paid for the weapons to be imported, and helped unload them when they arrived in Ireland. According to A Secret History of the IRA by Ed Moloney, Murphy has been the IRA Army Council's chief of staff since 1997. Toby Harnden's Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh also details Murphy's IRA involvement.

On 20 September 2016 the BBC's Spotlight aired a programme in which an alleged British spy who had infiltrated the IRA claimed that in 2006, Murphy had demanded the killing of Denis Donaldson – an IRA member and British informer – in order to maintain discipline. The BBC said it had tried to contact Murphy but had received no reply. He has yet to respond to the allegation. On 23 September 2016, the Donaldson family's solicitor said that the allegation was "absolute nonsense." He also said that "It does not marry in any way with the lines of inquiry that have been progressed by the Garda or by the Police Ombudsman".

Smuggling allegations and denials
In October 2005, officers of the British Assets Recovery Agency and the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau carried out raids on a number of businesses in Manchester and Dundalk. It was extensively reported in the media that the investigation was aimed at damaging the suspected multi-million-pound empire of Murphy, who according to the BBC's Underworld Rich List, has accumulated up to £40 million through smuggling oil, cigarettes, grain and pigs, as well as through silent or partial ownership in legitimate businesses and in property.

A large, purpose-built underground chamber that Gardaí believe the IRA used for interrogation was discovered close to Murphy's home.

In his first-ever press release, issued on 12 October 2005, Murphy denied he owned any property and denied that he had any links with co-accused Cheshire businessman Dermot Craven (Frank Murphy, Thomas' brother, was a client of Cravens). Thomas Murphy stated:

Furthermore, Murphy claimed that he had to sell property to cover his legal fees after his failed libel case against the Sunday Times, and that he made a living from farming. He went on to say:

On 9 March 2006, police, soldiers and customs officials from both sides of the Irish border launched a large dawn raid on his house and several other buildings in the border region. Three persons were arrested by the Gardaí, but were released three days after. A fleet of tankers, computers, documents, two shotguns, more than 30,000 cigarettes and the equivalent of 800,000 euros in sterling bank notes, euro bank notes and cheques were seized. Four diesel laundering facilities attached to a major network of storage tanks, some of which were underground, were also found. The Irish Criminal Assets Bureau later obtained seizure orders to take possession of euro cash and cheques and sterling cash and cheques, together worth around one million Euros.

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams made a public statement in support of Murphy following the March 2006 raids. Under political and media pressure over allegations of the IRA's continued presence in South Armagh, Adams said:

He also said:

Commenting in Armagh on Murphy's imprisonment for tax fraud, Arlene Foster, First Minister of Northern Ireland said:

Assets seizure and settlement
Murphy was arrested in Dundalk, County Louth on 7 November 2007 by detectives from the Criminal Assets Bureau, on charges relating to alleged revenue offences. The following day, he was charged with tax evasion under the Tax Consolidation Act. Murphy was later released on his own bail of €20,000 with an independent surety of €50,000.

On 17 October 2008, in an agreed legal settlement, Murphy and his brothers paid over £1 million in assets and cash to the authorities in Britain and the Republic in settlement of a global crime and fraud investigation relating to proceeds of crime associated with smuggling and money laundering. After an investigation involving the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau and the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency, more than 625,000 euros (£487, 000) in cash and cheques was confiscated by the Republic's courts, while nine properties in northwest England worth £445,000 were confiscated by British courts. Murphy was still fighting a claim in the Republic's courts for tax evasion, relating to non-completion of tax returns for eight years from 1996.

On 26 April 2010, he was further remanded on bail.

In 2011, there were claims that Murphy had become disillusioned with the Northern Ireland peace process and that he had fallen out with Sinn Féin. However, there is no evidence to support he is sympathetic to any dissident republican groups. In March 2013, the Garda and the PSNI, along with members of the Irish Customs Authority and HMRC, raided Murphy's farm on the Louth-Armagh border. The Sunday World reported that two hours prior to the raid, at approximately 4am, fire was seen coming from Murphy's yard. There were serious concerns within the Garda and PSNI that a mole may have tipped off Murphy about the raid hours prior to it, as "Laptops, computer disks and a large amount of documentation had been destroyed in the fires." As a result, an internal Garda investigation took place.

Tax evasion conviction
On 17 December 2015, Murphy was found guilty on nine charges of tax evasion by a three-judge, non-jury Special Criminal Court trial sitting in Dublin, lasting nine weeks. He was tried under anti-terrorist legislation due to the belief by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) that there would not be a fair trial because of the potential of the intimidation of prosecution witnesses and jurors, and the security surrounding the trial (in 1999, a man who testified against Murphy in court was bludgeoned to death after a trial).

Murphy was found guilty on all charges of failing to furnish tax returns on his income as a "cattle farmer" between 1996 and 2004. He was prosecuted following a 14-year-long CAB investigation, which during a raid of his property uncovered bags with more than €250,000 and more than £111,000 sterling in cash, along with documents, diaries and ledgers. He was remanded on bail until early 2016 for sentencing.

On 26 February 2016, Murphy was sentenced to 18 months in prison. None of the jail term was suspended. Following sentencing, he was immediately transferred from court to Ireland's highest-security prison, Portlaoise Prison, reserved for terrorists, dissident republicans and serious gangland criminals, under a heavily armed Garda and Irish Army escort due to security concerns.

Murphy appealed against the conviction in November 2016. His lawyer, John Kearney, claimed that the tax Murphy hadn't paid had in fact been paid by his brother, Patrick. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal on all grounds in January 2017.

In January 2017, and scheduled for release in April 2018, Murphy was moved from Midlands Prison in Portlaoise to the Loughan House low-security prison in County Cavan.

References

External links
"Is 'Slab' Murphy's bloody reign drawing to an end?" Guardian report on the raid of Murphy's farm, as well as brief background on the allegations surrounding Murphy
"CAB probes Slab Murphy's UK property portfolio" A Times Online report about the Criminal Asset Bureau's investigation of a property folio belonging to Thomas 'Slab' Murphy

1949 births
Living people
20th-century Irish farmers
Irish people convicted of tax crimes
Irish prisoners and detainees
Irish republicans
People from County Louth
Prisoners and detainees of the Republic of Ireland
Provisional Irish Republican Army members

Thomas Murphy (Irish republican)


Platycryptus undatus, also called the tan or familiar jumping spider, is a species of jumping spider.

Description

The bodies of these spiders are rather compressed in the vertical direction, which allows them to hide themselves under the loosened bark of trees and in other tight places. They have a prominent chevron-like pattern on their abdomens which may make them more difficult to distinguish on mottled surfaces.

Females of this species are between 10 and 13 mm in body length, and males range from 8.5 to 9.5 mm.

It favors vertical surfaces such as fences, walls, etc. and because of its habits it is easily seen. These spiders are not inclined to bite, but even though they are rather small they can deliver a defensive bite if they are pinched or squeezed.

Eggs are laid and hatch during the summer, and adults and other stages overwinter in their individual silken shelters. Although the shelters are built separately and keep the spiders out of direct contact with each other, Kaston reports that as many as fifty of them may crowd their shelters for hibernation together so tightly that they form a continuous blanket under the loose bark of a standing tree.

Distribution

Platycryptus undatus occurs in North and Central America. The distribution of this species ranges from the Eastern States and adjacent Canada, to Texas and Wisconsin.

References

  (2008): The world spider catalog, version 8.5. American Museum of Natural History.

External links

 Picture of P. undatus (free for noncommercial use)
 Good information on spiders' lifestyles from the University of Kansas.
 Lucian K. Ross: A jumping spider feeding on an earthworm. Peckhamia, 71, 1, S. 1-2, September 2008 PDF

Salticidae
Spiders of North America
Spiders of Central America
Spiders described in 1778

Platycryptus undatus


Julius Caesar Watts Jr. (born November 18, 1957) is an American politician, clergyman, and athlete. Watts was a college football quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners and later played professionally in the Canadian Football League. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003 as a Republican, representing Oklahoma's 4th Congressional District.

Watts was born and raised in Eufaula, Oklahoma, in a rural impoverished neighborhood. After being one of the first children to attend an integrated elementary school, he became a high school quarterback and gained a football scholarship to the University of Oklahoma. He graduated from college in 1981 with a degree in journalism and became a football player in the Canadian Football League until his retirement in 1986.

Watts became a Baptist minister and was elected in 1990 to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission as the first African-American in Oklahoma to win statewide office. He successfully ran for Congress in 1994 and was re-elected to three additional terms with increasing vote margins. Watts delivered the Republican response to Bill Clinton's 1997 State of the Union address and was elected Chair of the House Republican Conference in 1998. He retired in 2003 and turned to lobbying and business work, also occasionally serving as a political commentator.

Early life and career
Watts was born in Eufaula in McIntosh County, Oklahoma to J. C. "Buddy" Watts Sr., and Helen Watts (d. 1992). His father was a Baptist minister, cattle trader, the first black police officer in Eufaula, and a member of the Eufaula City Council. His mother was a homemaker. Watts is the fifth of six children and grew up in a poor rural African-American neighborhood. He was one of two black children who integrated the Jefferson Davis Elementary School in Eufaula and the first black quarterback at Eufaula High School.

While in high school, Watts fathered a daughter with a white woman, causing a scandal. Their families decided against an interracial marriage because of contemporary racial attitudes and Watts' family provided for the child until she could be adopted by Watts' uncle, Wade Watts, a Baptist minister, civil rights leader and head of the Oklahoma division of the NAACP.

He graduated from high school in 1976 and attended the University of Oklahoma on a football scholarship. In 1977, Watts married Frankie Jones, an African-American woman with whom he had fathered a second daughter during high school.

Watts began his college football career as the second-string quarterback and left college twice, but his father convinced him to return, and Watts became starting quarterback of the Sooners in 1979 and led them to consecutive Orange Bowl victories. Watts graduated from college in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism. Watts was drafted by the New York Jets of the National Football League. The Jets tried Watts at several positions and could not guarantee that he would play quarterback, so he opted to sign with the Canadian Football League's Ottawa Rough Riders. As Ottawa's quarterback, he helped the team reach the 1981 Grey Cup game, which they nearly won in an upset. Watts stayed with the Rough Riders from 1981 to 1985 and played a season for the Toronto Argonauts before retiring in 1986.

Watts returned to Oklahoma and became a youth minister in Del City and was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1993. He is a teetotaler. Watts opened a highway construction company and later cited discontent with government regulation of his business as reason to become a candidate for public office. Watts' family was affiliated with the Democratic Party and his father and uncle Wade Watts were active in the party, but it did not help Watts when he ran for public office and he changed his party affiliation in 1989, months before his first statewide race. Watts later stated he had first considered changing parties when, as a journalism student, he covered the 1980 U.S. Senate campaign of Republican Don Nickles. Watts' father and uncle continued to strongly oppose the Republican party, but supported him. Watts won election to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in November 1990 for a six-year term as the first African-American elected to statewide office in Oklahoma. He served as a member of the commission from 1990 to 1995 and as its chairman from 1993 to 1995.

U.S. House of Representatives

1994 congressional election
Watts ran for Congress in 1994 to succeed Dave McCurdy, who had announced his retirement from the House of Representatives to run for the Senate. He positioned himself as both a fiscal and social conservative, favoring the death penalty, school prayer, a balanced budget amendment and welfare reform, and opposing abortion, gay rights, and reduced defense spending. After a hard-fought primary campaign against state representative Ed Apple, Watts won 49 percent to Apple's 48 percent of the vote in August 1994, and 52 percent in the resulting run-off election in September 1994 with the support of Representative Jack Kemp and actor and National Rifle Association president Charlton Heston. Watts started his race against the Democratic nominee, David Perryman, a white lawyer from Chickasha, with a wide lead in several early polls and 92 percent name recognition in one poll. Watts hosted former President George H. W. Bush, U.S. Senator Bob Dole, and Minority Whip Newt Gingrich and focused on welfare reform and the necessity of capital formation and capital gains, as well as a reduction in the capital gains tax as beneficial for urban blacks. Some voters were expected to not vote for Watts because of race, but the editor of a local political newspaper argued Watts' established Christian conservative image and his popularity as a football player would help him win. On November 8, 1994, Watts was elected with 52 percent of the vote as the first African-American Republican U.S. Representative from south of the Mason–Dixon line since Reconstruction. He and Gary Franks of Connecticut were the only two African-American Republicans in the House. Oklahoma's Fourth District at the time was 90 percent white and had been represented by Democrats since 1922.

As Congressman, Watts was assigned to the Armed Services Committee and the Financial Services Committee. Watts emphasized moral absolutes and was considered in line with Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich's agenda, the Contract with America, and at the time was the only African-American who did not join the Congressional Black Caucus. He initially supported ending affirmative action, declaring inadequate education the main obstacle for racial equality, but subsequently opposed legislation banning the practice for the federal government. Watts focused on promoting his party, attending NAACP meetings and meeting with representatives from historically black colleges. In 1995, Watts was named national co-chairman for the presidential campaign of Republican Bob Dole.

Reelection and successive terms
Watts' 1996 reelection campaign featured state representative Ed Crocker as the Democratic candidate in a negative campaign. Crocker questioned Watts' business dealings because of tax issues for a real estate company of which Watts was the principal owner, and whether he was paying child support for one of his daughters born out of wedlock. Crocker suggested Watts might use drugs or sanction their use because he declined to participate in a voluntary drug screening in the House of Representatives. Watts denied the charge, took the test, and accused Crocker of draft dodging during the Vietnam War and later living at the "center of the West Coast drug culture." Watts was given a featured speaking role at the 1996 Republican National Convention and was re-elected with 58 percent of the vote in the 1996 U.S. House election.

Following the election, Watts switched from the Financial Services Committee to the House Transportation Committee. He was the only African-American Republican in the House and was chosen to deliver the Republican reply to President Bill Clinton's State of the Union address in February 1997, the youngest congressman and first African-American to do so. In his response, Watts focused on providing a positive vision of the Republican Party and advocated deficit and tax reduction and faith-based values. Watts had previously spoken to The Washington Times and created controversy by criticizing "race-hustling poverty pimps" as keeping African-Americans dependent on government. These remarks were viewed as critical of activist Jesse Jackson and Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry, and Jesse Jackson Jr. demanded a public apology. Watts stated he did not speak about Barry and Jackson but about "some of the leadership in the black community."

In his 1998 reelection campaign against Democrat Ben Odom, Watts faced accusations about debts, unpaid taxes and over actions in a federal bribery investigation in 1991, where he arranged to receive campaign contributions from a lobbyist for telephone companies that were investigated during Watts' membership on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. Odom used portions of a transcript to try to discredit Watts, and the accusations were widely publicized in Oklahoma. Watts argued he had been exonerated from any criminal conduct and that his financial problems were a result of losses for Oklahoma oil and gas businesses during the 1980s. He was re-elected with 62 percent of the vote.

From 1995 until 1997, Watts was only one of two black Republicans in Congress (along with Gary Franks of Connecticut). From 1997 until 2003, Watts was the only black Republican Congressman. There would not be another until the elections of Tim Scott and Allen West in 2010.

Leadership position and retirement
In Congress, Watts had established himself as a "devoted conservative." He had a lifetime 94 percent rating from the American Conservative Union and a lifetime "liberal quotient" of 1 percent from Americans for Democratic Action, and was regarded as a team player by Republicans. Watts was elected House Republican Conference Chair in 1998, replacing John Boehner, after a vote of 121–93. Watts assumed the position in 1999 and was the first African-American Republican elected to a leadership post.

In his leadership position, Watts opposed government regulations and President Clinton's attempt to restore the ability of the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products. He voted to impeach Bill Clinton, was appointed by Speaker Dennis Hastert to lead a group of House Republicans to investigate cybersecurity issues, and became a member of a presidential exploratory committee for George W. Bush. Watts argued for using tax reduction to improve education, job training and housing in poor urban and rural settings, and advocated letting religious institutions carry out the work. Watts worked to make his party more inclusive, promoted African trade, supported historically black colleges and universities, and was opposed to federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

To keep a majority of House seats in the 2000 election, Watts advised Republicans to moderate their language and criticized the party for creating the perception it favored a view of "family values that excluded single mothers." Watts opposed the Confederate battle flag flying over the South Carolina State House and advised Republicans to go slowly on opposing racial quotas. By then, Watts had become involved in a contest with other members of the Republican House leadership, including Tom DeLay, over control of the party's message and nearly announced retirement in early February 2000, due to strains on his family, who remained in Oklahoma during his tenure in Washington, but changed his mind after consultations with constituents, Hastert, and his family. He ran, despite an earlier pledge to serve not more than three terms. Watts won re-nomination with 81 percent against James Odom and was re-elected by his largest margin yet against Democratic candidate Larry Weatherford.

After George W. Bush took office as president, Watts co-sponsored a bill to create tax incentives for charitable donations and allow religious charities to receive federal money for social programs, and proposed several new tax reductions in addition to Bush's tax cut plan, targeting the estate tax and marriage penalty. Watts was one of ten congressional leaders taken to an undisclosed location following the September 11 attacks.

In 2002, Watts stated he would not seek reelection, citing a desire to spend more time with his family, but stated the decision was difficult because Rosa Parks asked him to stay. Republicans argued Watts complained about the party message and the cancellation of an artillery system in his district by the Bush Administration, which Watts denied. Watts supported the candidacy of Tom Cole, who won the election to fill his seat.

Post-congressional career

After he left Congress, Watts was appointed by President Bush to be a member of the Board of Visitors to the United States Military Academy for a term expiring December 30, 2003. Watts founded a lobbying and consulting firm, J. C. Watts Companies, in Washington, D.C., to represent corporations and political groups and focus on issues he championed in Congress. The John Deere Company hired Watts as lobbyist in 2006 and Watts later invested in a Deere dealership and sought financial support from United States agencies and others for a farm-related project in Senegal. Watts wrote an autobiography, wrote regular opinion columns for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and joined the boards of several companies, including Dillard's, Terex, Clear Channel Communications, and CSX Transportation, and served as chairman of GOPAC.

Watts supported the Iraq War in 2003, stating: "America did not become the leader of the free world by looking the other way to heinous atrocities and unspeakable evils." He was later hired as a political commentator by CNN and following the 2006 House election, Watts argued the Republican Party had lost seats because it failed to address the needs of urban areas and did not offer a positive message. He stated: "We lost our way, pure and simple."

In 2008, Watts announced he was developing a cable news network with the help of Comcast, focusing on an African-American audience, and that he considered voting for Barack Obama, criticizing the Republican party for failing in outreach to the African-American community. Reports showed he contributed to John McCain, but not to Obama.

Watts considered running to succeed Brad Henry as Governor of Oklahoma in the 2010 gubernatorial election, but declined in May 2009, citing his business and contractual obligations.

On April 7, 2015, Watts joined U.S. Senator Rand Paul on stage during Paul's announcement speech for U.S. president. Watts endorsed Paul in his presidential bid.

For most of 2016, Watts served as the president and CEO of Feed the Children (FTC). The board of directors announced his appointment on January 21. On November 15, the organization and Watts announced that he was no longer serving in those roles. The following April, Watts sued both FTC and its board of directors for wrongful termination. According to Watts, he was fired after uncovering rampant financial mismanagement at the charity and notifying the state's Attorney General Office of potentially illegal practices. Feed The Children denied there was any validity to Watts' claims and preceded to file a counter-suit against him. The case was settled in 2019, after FTC agreed to drop their counter-suit and pay Watts $1 million to resolve all his claims against them.

In 2019 Watts began plans to start the Black News Channel, which launched on February 10, 2020, as a 24-hour news channel aimed at an African American audience. The channel went out of business in April 2022, in the face of lagging cable and satellite provider subscriptions and an unsuccessful 2021 revamp that added commentators at odds with Watts's views.

Writings

Electoral history

Football statistics

See also
List of African-American Republicans
List of African-American United States representatives

References

External links

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1957 births
Living people
People from Eufaula, Oklahoma
20th-century African-American politicians
21st-century African-American politicians
20th-century American politicians
21st-century American politicians
21st-century Baptist ministers from the United States
Black conservatism in the United States
African-American members of the United States House of Representatives
African-American people in Oklahoma politics
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma
Baptists from Oklahoma
African-American players of American football
African-American players of Canadian football
American football quarterbacks
Canadian football quarterbacks
Players of American football from Oklahoma
Oklahoma Sooners football players
Ottawa Rough Riders players
Toronto Argonauts players
American athlete-politicians
Corporation Commissioners of Oklahoma
Members of Congress who became lobbyists
American radio executives
IHeartMedia

J. C. Watts


Devon Seron (born May 20, 1993) is a Filipina actress and television personality.

Personal life
Seron grew up in Cebu, Philippines. Despite their financial issues, her parents decided to move her to an expensive private school close to their home to minimize her walking distance.  Big Brother offered to pay the remainder of her tuition so she could graduate high school. Devon was chosen among thousands of other contestants from different regions of the country to enter the PBB house. On week 6, her mother joined her inside the house disguised as a house player in return of her college scholarship funds.

Devon is very much engaged in her showbiz commitments while managing her school work to finish her degree in Business Management.

Career
Seron started as a contestant in a reality TV show dubbed as "Bubbly Promdi ng Cebu" and was voted as the Teen Big 4th Placer on the final night of Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Clash 2010. Following her success, Devon signed exclusively to be one of the members of ABS-CBN contracted talents.

After her stint in PBB, she was cast in ABS-CBN's teen variety show Shoutout!. She then was in the hit youth oriented dance-drama series Good Vibes. Devon played the role of Mariel on the 2011 remake of the TV series, Mula sa Puso.

She was also part of ABS-CBN's afternoon TV series, Angelito: Batang Ama and Angelito: Ang Bagong Yugto in 2011–2012. She then played young Bernadette on the TV series, Apoy Sa Dagat. Devon was cast as Rosario in Maria Mercedes remake topbilled by Jessy Mendiola. She played the role of Riri in Moon of Desire.

In 2016, Seron was part of It's Showtime girl group "Girl Trends" and recently left the group to focus more on her career. She had one of the lead roles in Regal Film's horror movie, "Pwera Usog" that was released on March 8, 2017.

She was chosen to play the role of Kim Soriano in the recently released movie entitled "You with Me" where she got her first lead role. She spent almost a month in South Korea to shoot this film.

In 2018 she was among the lead stars of the Regal Film's coming-of-age Teen flick "WalWal" and top billed the musical film "Bakwit Boys".

In March 2018, Devon confirmed she didn't renew her contract with ABS-CBN and has decided to sign an exclusive contract with GMA Artist Center.

Seron is also the longest brand endorser of the Filipino phone brand, MyPhone since 2012.

Filmography

Films

Drama Series

Variety Shows

Reality Shows

Online Show

Accolades

References

External links

1993 births
Living people
Actors from Cebu City
Actresses from Cebu
Cebuano television actresses
Cebuano film actresses
21st-century Cebuano actresses
ABS-CBN personalities
Star Magic
Pinoy Big Brother contestants
GMA Network personalities

Devon Seron


John P. Milton is a meditation and Qigong instructor, author, and environmentalist.  He is the founder of Sacred Passage and the Way of Nature.

He pioneered vision questing in contemporary Western culture in the 1940s. In 1945, at the time he began his sacred solo retreats in the wilderness, vision quests were unknown in the Americas outside Native American culture. He received his M.S. in ecology and conservation from the University of Michigan in 1963. Milton is also known for organizing and leading dozens of expeditions into some of the wildest areas left on Earth, starting in his late teens. A founding father of the environmental movement in the early 1960s, he was a professor of environmental studies and a Woodrow Wilson Center scholar at the Smithsonian Institution. He was one of the first ecologists on staff at the White House as a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, and was a founding member of the environmental organization Friends of the Earth.

He is a frequent lecturer and workshop leader, and sought-after meditation and Qi Gong teacher. Thousands of people have sought his instruction since he began teaching in the 1950s. He has developed unique practices for uniting inner and outer nature through training in Buddhist, Taoist, Vedantic, Tantric, and Native American spiritual traditions, and he incorporates T'ai chi and yoga in his work. The book Discovering Beautiful: On The Road To Somewhere includes several sections detailing a student's apprenticeship with John.

His books and articles focus on inner development, Qi Gong and ecology. He recently published the book Sky Above, Earth Below. Devotees of Milton say his programs inspire Earth stewardship by cultivating natural wisdom and an open, loving heart in the wild.

John Milton lives in Crestone, Colorado.

Sources
Milton, John P., Sky Above Earth Below: Study Guide, Sentient Publications, Boulder CO, .
Wilson, Bud and Jennifer Lennon, John P. Milton, Sacred Passages Teachers, retrieved March 2007.

External link
https://www.WayOfNature.com/founder
John's Bio on Way of Nature website
John's work on the Transition United States web site

John P. Milton on Sacred Earth Conference - 1 of 4
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0oLX-Hf4Dw

 John P. Milton on The Value of Solo Time in Nature - 2 of 4

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTJeO9wT9sg

John P. Milton on Sacred Earth Origins & Sacred Sites 3 of 4
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOQMTraMdTY

John P. Milton on "Ecological Spirituality" - 4 of 4
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdnncQiKGpc

Sacred Land: Healing Through Immersion in Nature – John Milton at U of Florida
 http://www.ufspiritualityandhealth.org/assets/wmv/miltonStream.wmv

Night in Nature at Tällberg Forum – John P. Milton & Goran Gennvi
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_UkDTdt8cU

John Milton's Bus Stop Meditation
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlFLOfwjHVI

Cultivate Longevity Clip – John P. Milton
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYErCchAyVI

Develop Qi Strength and Power – John P. Milton
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMrIjLvPTLA

Cleanse and Build Inner Qi – John P. Milton
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ7DrhdKE8U
Get Wild – Nature Quest in Sweden
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZKYS0I6Ux0

References

Future environments of North America: Transformation of a Continent. (1966).  Eds: F. Fraser Darling &  John P. Milton Garden City, NY:  The Natural History Press.

The Careless Technology: Ecology and International Development (1969).  Eds.  Farvar, M. T., Milton, J. P. Washington D.C.: The Conservation Foundation and The Center for the Biology of 	Natural Systems, Washington Univ.

Milton, John P. 1969.  Nameless Valleys, Shining Mountains: the Record of an Expedition into the Vanishing Wilderness of Alaska's Brooks Range. New York: Walker & Co.

Dasman, R. F., Milton, J. P., & Freeman, P. H. (1973).  Ecological Principles for Economic Development.  NY:  John Wiley & Sons.

Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
American ecologists
American environmentalists
Qigong practitioners
Smithsonian Institution people
University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment alumni

John P. Milton