Cold Bay Air Force Station (AAC ID: F-26, LRR ID: A-08, DEW ID: COB-MAIN) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station.  It is located  southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.

The ground control intercept (GCI) station F-26 was closed on 1 November 1983.  A new minimally attended Long Range Radar (LRR) site, A-08 was built about 5 miles to the southeast of the closed Air Force Station as part of the Alaska Radar System.  Today, it remains active as part of the Alaska NORAD Region under the jurisdiction of the 611th Air Support Group, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska.

History
Cold Bay AFS was a continental defense radar station constructed to provide the United States Air Force early warning of an attack by the Soviet Union on Alaska.

Planning for a surveillance station at Cold Bay began in July 1956 and construction commenced later that year.  Not part of the first 25 Aircraft Control and Warning (AC&W) radar stations, Cold Bay AFS was added as part of the Aleutian extension of the Distant Early Warning Line (DEW Line).  The radar station and support base was located at the southwest end of the Aleutian Peninsula, about 7 miles west-northwest of the former Fort Randall Army Air Base (later Thornbrough Air Force Base).  The airport facilities were used as a logistics support terminal during the construction of the site, which was completed in September 1958.

The station consisted of a power/heating plant,  water and fuel storage tanks,  gymnasium and other support office buildings.  Two other buildings contained living quarters, work areas, and recreational facilities plus opportunities for such sports as skiing, skating, horseshoes, and basketball.  The station buildings were, except for the civil engineering building connected by heated hallways. As a result, personnel stationed there, with only very few exceptions, were able to wear "summer" uniforms year round, unless they had a need to go outside during the winter season. The coverings of the station's three radar towers were heated from within to keep the covering from becoming brittle from extreme cold, and thus subject to being damaged or destroyed by high winds. Tours at the station were limited to one year because of the psychological strain and physical hardships.

The 714th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (AC&W Sq) operated AN/FPS-3, AN/FPS-20A, and AN/FPS-6(-90) radars.  Cold Bay AFS operated as a long-range surveillance radar station which provided information 24/7 to the air defense Direction Center at Fire Island AFS where it was analyzed to determine range, direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile. An AN/FYQ-9 Semiautomatic Data Processing and Display System was installed and became operational in July 1965, eliminating the need to pass track data manually.

Communications were initially provided by a high frequency radio system which proved unreliable because of atmospheric disturbances.  The Alaskan Air Command, after investigating various options, decided to build the White Alice Communications System, a system of Air Force-owned tropospheric scatter and microwave radio relay sites operated by the Air Force Communications Service (AFCS). The Cold Bay site, located next to the radars, was activated in 1958.  It was inactivated in 1979, and replaced by an Alascom owned and operated satellite earth terminal as part of an Air Force plan to divest itself of the obsolete White Alice Communications System and transfer the responsibility to a commercial firm.

Over the years, the equipment at the station was upgraded or modified to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the information gathered by the radars.  In 1982, a new AN/FPS-117 minimally attended radar under Alaskan Air Command's SEEK IGLOO program was constructed about 2 miles southeast of the station . It was designed to transmit aircraft tracking data via satellite to the Alaskan NORAD Regional Operations Control Center (ROCC) at Elmendorf AFB.

No longer needed, the 714th AC&W Sq was inactivated on 1 November 1983.  In 1990, jurisdiction of the Cold Bay LRR Site was transferred to Pacific Air Force (PACAF)'s Eleventh Air Force with the redesignation of Alaskan Air Command (AAC).

In 1998 PACAF initiated "Operation Clean Sweep", in which abandoned Cold War stations in Alaska were remediated and the land restored to its previous state.  After years of neglect the facilities at the station had lost any value they had when the site was closed.  The site remediation was carried out by the 611th Civil Engineering Squadron at Elmendorf AFB, and remediation work was completed by 2005.

Current status
Today very little of the former Cold Bay Air Force Station remains.  The site is controlled by the PACAF 611th Air Support Group, based at Elmendorf AFB. It is generally unattended; a few civilian contractors access the Cold Bay LRR Site via the Cold Bay Airport for maintaining the facilities.

Air Force units and assignments

Units
 714th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
 Activated 1 January 1959
 Inactivated 1 November 1983

Assignments:
 5040th Aircraft Control and Warning Group, 1 January 1959
 10th Air Division, 1 November 1959
 5070th Air Defense Wing, 1 August 1960
 Alaskan Air Command, 1 November 1961
 531st Aircraft Control and Warning Group (later 11th Tactical Control Group), 15 July 1977 - 1 November 1983

Detached DEW Line sites
The 714th was a unique AC&W squadron, with its support for DEW Line stations in the Aleutians between 1959 and 1969. It was the only one that covered such a large area. It had five manned detachments at remote sites, each located about 130 miles apart stretching from just west of King Salmon all the way to Nikolski Island, about halfway to Shemya. In effect, they were responsible for radar coverage for all of the Aleutian Peninsula as well as the major Aleutian Islands. No other squadron had such a mission. Each site had an AN/FPS-19 search radar and troposcatter radio relay.

Staffing at the detachments included 3 cooks, one water treatment tech, one electrician, an admin/crypto specialist, one vehicle maintenance tech, the commander, three radio techs, a supply tech, a first Sgt, three radar techs, three power production techs and the remainder scope operators.  These detachments were located at:
 Detachment 1, Nikolski Radars, COB-1
 Nikolski Air Force Station
 Detachment 2, Driftwood Bay Radars, COB-2
 Driftwood Bay Air Force Station
 Detachment 3, Cape Sarichef Radars, COB-3
 Cape Sarichef Air Force Station
 Detachment 4, Port Moller Radars, COB-4
 Port Moller Air Force Station
 Detachment 5, Port Heiden Radars, COB-5
 Port Heiden Air Force Station (Former World War II Fort Morrow AAF)

Each detachment was manned by 24 enlisted, one officer and in some instances a civilian technical representative. The manning of the squadron and the detachments was part of a "minimum manning" experiment. If you were assigned to a detachment you stayed there 365 without leave. Only way to leave early was due to severe sickness or a major emergency at home such as death of immediate family member.

These five Aleutian DEW Line sites were deactivated 30 September 1969.  The main site at Cold Bay AFS was converted to a NORAD surveillance site.

References

 Alaskan Air Defenses
 Cold Bay AFS, AK

Installations of the United States Air Force in Alaska
Buildings and structures in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska
Military installations established in 1959
1959 establishments in Alaska

Cold Bay Air Force Station


The Rookie is an American police procedural crime drama television series made by Alexi Hawley for ABC and available on Hulu. The show is about John Nolan the oldest rookie, a man who from what it seems is a walking mid-life crisis, and three other rookies as they rank up in their career. The show returned for Season 5 on September 25, 2022.

Plot
John Nolan, a man in his forties joins the Los Angeles Police Department after suffering after a traumatic bank robbery. He and two other rookies, Lucy Chen and Jackson West participate in procedure crime with the help of their TO's (training officers), Angela Lopez, Talia Bishop, and Tim Bradford. As the show furthers some of the TO's improve in the ranks and some quit. John Nolan's TO, Talia Bishop did not return for Season 2 and was since replaced with Nyla Harper for the remainder of John's rookie period. Jackson West also gets a new TO for the remainder of his rookie period after Angela Lopez gets promoted to detective, Doug Stanton, a racist bad cop who wants everyone to respect the police force and sometimes abuses his power to spread his message. In the Season 3 finale, Angela Lopez and Jackson West are kidnapped during Angela's wedding. In the Season 4 premiere, Jackson West was shot and killed after attempting to save Angela. The show afterwards continues with Nyla Harper getting a new rookie, Aaron Thorsen who was involved in a murder case but was found not guilty.

Cast

 Nathan Fillion as John Nolan, the oldest rookie and the protagonist of the series.
 Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez, a previous TO who is now a detective.
 Richard Jones as Wade Grey, the current watch commander and sergeant of the series who is baffled if he should retire.
 Titus Makin Jr. as Jackson West, a rookie who's dad is commander of IA (internal affairs) and also very eager to join the police force as with a family of policemen. He is also gay and dates three guys during his time in the series.
 Mercedes Mason as Zoe Andersen, in Season 1 she is the watch commander but is killed late in the season after attempting to save Nolan from being killed.
 Melissa O'Neil as Lucy Chen, a rookie which after her family disregards her dreams becomes a policemen, in season 2 she and Jackson West become roommates.
 Afton Williamson as Talia Bishop, a TO who does not return for the second season and moves to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives instead.
 Eric Winter as Tim Bradford, a TO and former veteran who in season 4 becomes junior sergeant after taking the exam to become one.
 Mekia Cox as Nyla Harper, a TO who was an undercover detective, goes back to patrol work after instances of her being involved dangerously in her daughters life to make amends and improve her life.
 Shawn Ashmore as Wesley Evers, a criminal defense lawyer who marries and impregnates Angela Lopez.
 Jenna Dewan as Bailey Nune, a firefighter who is the current girlfriend of John Nolan.
 Eliza Faria

References

2018 television series debuts
Comedy-drama television series

The Rookie (TV Series)


The European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) is a consortium of 14 European countries and Canada that was formed in 2003 to join the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) as a single member. ECORD is now part of the International Ocean Discovery Program, which addresses crucial questions in Earth, Ocean, Environmental and Life sciences based on drill cores, borehole imaging, observatory data, and related geophysical imaging obtained from beneath the ocean floor using specialized ocean-going drilling and research vessels and platforms. As a contributing member of IODP, ECORD is entitled to berths on every IODP expedition.

Objectives
Sampling and monitoring the sub-seafloor provides access to millions of years of geological history stored in the sub-seafloor sediments and rocks.

Science proposals of global relevance are welcomed from ECORD scientists. ECORD's scientific objectives (see IODP Science Plan for 2013-2023) are guided by the four major science themes to address fundamental science questions about:

 Climate and Ocean Change: Reading the Past, Informing the Future targets one of the most pressing questions about the climate, ocean and ice-sheet response to the ongoing increase in greenhouse gases. Only scientific drilling can recover samples and data having sufficient distribution and resolution to understand the causes and impacts of global climate change in Earth's past.
 Biosphere Frontiers: Deep Life, Biodiversity, and Environmental Forcing of Ecosystems includes exploration of life within the sub-seafloor, facilitated by rapidly evolving methods in microbiology and related technologies. Scientific drilling also investigates ecosystem response to environmental forcing and the impacts of climate and ocean events on individual and whole ecosystems, including hominid evolution.
 Earth Connections: Deep Processes and Their Impact on Earth's Surface Environment concentrates on the links between surface, lithospheric and deep Earth processes. Drilling is an essential tool for unravelling and understanding the geologic, tectonic, geochemical, magmatic and hydrological processes responsible for development and evolution of these solid Earth systems.
 Earth in Motion: Processes and Hazards on Human Time Scales addresses dynamic processes that occur on human time scales, including those leading to and resulting from earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis. Scientific ocean drilling, coupled with real-time observations from individual and linked networks of long-term, sub-seafloor observatories installed in boreholes addresses the frequency, magnitude, mechanisms and impacts of these events.

The ongoing climate change, the increasing demand for resources and recent geohazards demonstrate the need to better understand the Earth system. Scientific drilling may provide solutions to major societal problems and can help to sustainably use natural resources. A better understanding of the causes of natural disasters may help to improve the predictions of such events.

ECORD shares interests and closely collaborates with various international science programmes in order to meet future challenges:
 International Continental Scientific Drilling Program to better link continental and ocean drilling in order to improve the understanding of land-sea interactions and the complex processes acting on our planet
 European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and Water Column Observatory for a real-time, long-term monitoring of environmental processes from the seafloor to the sea surface
 Antarctic Geological Drilling to unravel the past glacial history from Antarctic sediments
 International Marine Process Reconstruction Study (IMPRESS) to understand the role of marine processes in the Earth's climate system

Members

Operations

The IODP scientific objectives can be only achieved by combining multiple drilling platforms. The USA and Japan operate the multipurpose drillship JOIDES Resolution and the riser drilling vessel Chikyū, respectively, to drill in the deep sea. ECORD is an independent platform provider funding and implementing mission-specific platform (MSP) operations for IODP. The advantage of the MSP concept resides with its flexible use of diverse drilling vessels and systems, depending on the scientific objectives and the environment. The MSPs are able to drill in challenging environments like shallow-water reefs and ice-covered areas, thus extending the scientific and operational capability of the programme. A wider geographical distribution can be reached and more diverse science topics can be addressed. ECORD's aim is to implement one MSP expedition per year on average for IODP over the next decade. To date, eight IODP MSP expeditions have been carried out since 2004 for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program and since 2013 for the International Ocean Discovery Program.

Ocean drill cores are available for scientists from all over the world, and are stored and curated in three core repositories: the US Gulf Coast Repository in College Station, Texas, the Bremen Core Repository at the University of Bremen, Germany (Marum), and the Kochi Core Center at Kochi University, Japan. The boreholes themselves provide important information as borehole logging can be used to get a continuous profile of numerous physical parameters along the depth of a borehole. All expedition-generated data and publications are available online (IODP, ECORD).

Structure
ECORD is funded by public money from its 15 member countries.

The consortium is structured into six entities and two Task Forces:
 The ECORD Council is the funding entity and defines the tasks and responsibilities of the ECORD entities.
 The ECORD Facility Board is responsible for the planning of the MSP operations and determines the expedition schedule.
 A managing entity (EMA) manages the participation of the ECORD member countries to IODP.
 The scientific committee is responsible for the planning and coordination of the ECORD scientific contribution to IODP.
 The ECORD Science Operator implements MSP expeditions on various platforms for IODP.
 The ECORD Industry Liaison Panel (ECORD ILP), an ad-hoc panel, which serves as a link between academia and industry.
 An Outreach Task Force coordinates ECORD communication.
 A Vision Task Force develops future strategies regarding ECORD membership and funding opportunities.

Education and outreach
ECORD offers a number of educational activities to students and early-career scientists, as well as to the science community and educators.
ECORD promotes its visibility by conveying scientific discoveries and the societal relevance of the IODP science to targeted groups including teachers, students and the general public through live videoconferences, educational videos, brochures and other materials.

 The ECORD Summer Schools aim at educating young scientists in marine-related sciences and training a new generation to participate in ocean drilling expeditions. ECORD Scholarships are provided to young scientists to attend the ( ECORD Summer Schools).
 The ECORD Research Grants consist of limited funds provided to young scientists to conduct research related to IODP and previous ocean drilling programmes ().
 The Distinguished Lecturer Programme () sheds light on scientific discoveries related to ocean drilling research to a large audience within universities and institutes in ECORD countries.
 The MagellanPlus Workshop Series Programme is co-funded by ECORD and ICDP and supports scientists in developing new and innovative science drilling proposals for submission to IODP and ICDP ().

The ECORD Newsletter is a semi-annual publication (April/May and October/November), which presents up-to-date information from the different ECORD entities and reflects the scientific activity of ECORD as part of IODP ().

Scientific Drilling, the open access ICDP and IODP Programme Journal, is a multidisciplinary journal focused on bringing the latest science and news from scientific drilling and related programmes to the geosciences community. Scientific Drilling semi-annually delivers peer-reviewed science reports from recently completed and ongoing international scientific drilling projects. The journal also includes reports on Engineering Developments, Technical Developments, Workshops, Progress Reports, and news and updates from the community.

References

External links
 ECORD official site
 IODP official site
 JOIDES Resolution official site
 Chikyū official site
 ICDP official site
 IODP Bremen Core Repository official site

Ocean
International scientific organizations based in Europe
Marine geology


John Charles Tarsney (November 7, 1845 – September 4, 1920) was an American politician from Missouri and an associate justice of the Oklahoma Territory Supreme Court (1896-1899). He then returned to Kansas City, Missouri, where he had a private law practice until he died in 1920.

Early life and service in the Union Army
Tarsney was born in Medina Township, Lenawee County, Michigan, and attended a University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. After graduation, he worked on a farm until the outbreak of the Civil War. He enlisted in the 4th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment in August 1862. During the Battle of Gettysburg he was captured and imprisoned at Belle Isle (Richmond, Virginia), later being moved to Andersonville Prison and Camp Lawton. He escaped from Camp Lawton by temporarily taking the identity of a recently deceased soldier. He returned to his regiment in January 1865 and took part in the battles at Hatcher's Run and Five Forks. He also participated in the surrender of Appomattox. Tarsney was discharged from the army in June 1865.

Education and Career
After being discharged from military service, Tarsney attended high school in Hudson, Michigan and graduated in 1867. Subsequently, he studied law at the University of Michigan Law School, from which he graduated in 1869. He was admitted to the bar in the same year and practiced in Hudson. In 1872, he moved to Kansas City, Missouri and served as city attorney of Kansas City in 1874 and 1875. In 1875, Tarsney became the attorney for Consolidated Street Railways of Kansas City, where he remained until 1888. His brother, Timothy E. Tarsney, was a U.S. Representative from Michigan. In 1888, he was elected as a representative to the U.S. Congress and re-elected three more times in 1890, 1892 and 1894.

His sister Mary married Thomas A. E. Weadock, who later became a U.S. Representative from Michigan.

Tarsney married Mary Behan, a native of Michigan.  Although the couple had seven children, none lived to the age of adulthood.

In 1888, Tarsney was elected as a Democrat from Missouri's 5th congressional district to the 51st United States Congress. He was subsequently re-elected to the 52nd and 53rd Congresses, serving from March 4, 1889, to March 3, 1895.  He was chairman of the Committee on Labor in the 52nd Congress. He presented credentials as a member-elect to the 54th Congress and served from March 4, 1895, to February 27, 1896, when he succeeded by Robert T. Van Horn, who had contested his election.

Tarsney was appointed by U.S. President Grover Cleveland to serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma Territory in 1896 where he replaced Justice John H. Burford.<ref name =  The position necessitated a move to Guthrie, Oklahoma, the then capital of the Oklahoma Territory. He served as an Associate Justice until 1899 before returning to practice law in Kansas City.

Tarsney died on September 4, 1920, and was interred in Mount St. Mary's Cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri.

Tarsney is the namesake of the community of Tarsney, Missouri.

Tarsney Act
One of Tarsney's most long-lasting contributions was the Tarsney Act, which permitted private architects to design federal buildings after being selected in a competition under the supervision of the Supervising Architect of the United States Treasury. Competitions were held for the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, Ellis Island, James Farley Post Office, Cleveland Federal Building, U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in Baltimore, Maryland, and U.S. Customhouse in San Francisco, California (which are all now on the National Register of Historic Places) among others. The competitions were met with enthusiasm by the architect community but were also marred by scandal as when Supervisory Architect James Knox Taylor picked Cass Gilbert for the New York Customs job, as Taylor and Gilbert had both been members of the Gilbert & Taylor architecture firm in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In 1913, the act was repealed.

References

External links
 The Political Graveyard
 For an article on Camp Lawton mentioning Tarnsey, see: http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/04/us/civil-war-150th-anniversary-prisons/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

1845 births
1920 deaths
People from Lenawee County, Michigan
Politicians from Kansas City, Missouri
University of Michigan Law School alumni
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri
People from Guthrie, Oklahoma
Oklahoma Democrats
Oklahoma Territorial Supreme Court justices

John Charles Tarsney


Wendy Quirk (born May 29, 1959) is a former competition swimmer who represented Canada in international swimming events during the 1970s.  Quirk won eleven medals in major international swimming championships, spanning the FINA World Championships, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games.

International career

In her international debut as a 16-year-old, Quirk represented Canada at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City, where she won a bronze medal for her third-place finish in the 100-metre butterfly.  The following year at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Quirk placed fifth overall in the 200-metre butterfly, sixth overall in the 100-metre butterfly, and ninth overall in the 400-metre and 800-metre freestyle events.

At the 1978 Commonwealth Games held in Edmonton, Alberta, Quirk won three gold medals in the 100-metre butterfly, 4x100-metre freestyle relay, and the 4x100-metre medley relay, a silver medal in the 200-metre butterfly, and a bronze medal in the 100-metre freestyle.  Later that same year, she won bronze medals for her performances in the 100-metre butterfly and 4x100-metre freestyle relay in the 1978 World Aquatics Championships.  In her final international appearance at the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, she won a pair of silver medals as a member of the Canadian relay teams in the 4x100-metre freestyle and 4x100-metre medley events, together with two bronze medals in individual events, the 100-metre butterfly and 400-metre freestyle.

College career

Quirk attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where she swam for the Florida Gators swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition under coach Randy Reese in 1977 and 1978.  During her two-year American college career, she received five All-American honors.  She also attended and graduated from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta.

See also

 List of University of Alberta alumni
 List of University of Florida Olympians
 List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (women)

References

External links

 Official Results for Wendy Quirk

1959 births
Living people
Anglophone Quebec people
Canadian female butterfly swimmers
Canadian female freestyle swimmers
Florida Gators women's swimmers
Olympic swimmers for Canada
Swimmers from Montreal
Swimmers at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games
Swimmers at the 1975 Pan American Games
Swimmers at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Swimmers at the 1978 Commonwealth Games
Swimmers at the 1979 Pan American Games
World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada
Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada
Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada
Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming
Pan American Games medalists in swimming
Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games
20th-century Canadian women
Medallists at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games
Medallists at the 1978 Commonwealth Games

Wendy Quirk


Know Your Meme (KYM) is a website and video series where various Internet memes and other online phenomena are documented, such as viral videos, image macros, catchphrases, internet celebrities and more. It also investigates new and changing memes through research, as it commercializes on the culture. Originally produced by Rocketboom, the website was acquired in March 2011 by Cheezburger Network, which, in 2016, was acquired by Literally Media. Know Your Meme includes sections for confirmed, submitted, deadpooled (rejected or incompletely documented), researching, and popular memes.

References

Other websites

Websites

Know Your Meme


Denham Country Park is a 69-acre public park and Local Nature Reserve in Buckinghamshire and the London Borough of Hillingdon. It is part of the 42 square mile Colne Valley Regional Park, and the Colne Valley Park Visitor Centre and cafe are located in Denham Country Park.

The Colne and Misbourne rivers pass through the park and the Grand Union Canal forms its eastern boundary. It has a variety of wildlife, including herons, kingfishers, damselflies and dragonflies.

There is access from Denham Court Drive and the canal towpath.

Denham Quarry Park
Natural England lists Denham Quarry Park as a separate Local Nature Reserve in Buckinghamshire. However, this appears to be an error as the boundaries are shown as almost the same as Denham Country Park, and Denham Quarry is on the other side of the Grand Union Canal in Hillingdon.

References

Local nature reserves in Greater London
Local Nature Reserves in Buckinghamshire
Nature reserves in the London Borough of Hillingdon

Denham Country Park


Vibhishana () is the younger brother of Ravana, the King of Lanka, in the ancient Indian epic Ramayana. Though a rakshasa himself, Vibhishana turned his back on Ravana, and defected to Rama's side, owing to his dharma. After Rama defeated Ravana, the former crowned Prince Vibhishana as the King of Lanka before returning to Ayodhya.

Ramayana

Prince Vibhishana is portrayed as a pious and pure of heart in the epic. After performing a penance to invoke a boon from Brahma, he begged the deity to always set his mind on the path to righteousness, and nothing more.

Vibhishana was the youngest son of the rakshasi Kaikesi and the sage Vishrava, who was himself a son of the sage Pulastya, one of the Prajapati. Vibhishana was the younger brother of the King of Lanka, Ravana, and also the sibling of Kumbhakarna. Even though he was born as a rakshasa, he was pious and considered himself a Brahmin, since his father was a sage.

Due to Vibhishana's differences with Ravana, and because he was against the act of kidnapping Sita, he fled Lanka. His mother, Kaikesi, advised him to go and serve Rama, who was at that time assembling an army to defeat Ravana and to recover his wife. As a consequence, he divulged the secrets of Ravana's army and made sure Rama was victorious in the great battle. Rama accepted Vibhishana's fealty and anointed him the King of Lanka after Ravana's death. In some versions of the epic, he takes his slain brother's queen Mandodari as his second wife, though in others he merely seeks her blessings during his coronation.

In the Lanka War, Vibhishana's knowledge about the secrets of Lanka proved invaluable to Rama. Vibhishana freely divulged many secrets that became key to the success of Rama's attack, including revealing the secret path to the temple of Nikumbala, the family deity of the Pulastya clan. In the climactic battle between Rama and Ravana, when Rama was unable to kill Ravana, he revealed the secret of Ravana's invulnerability to Rama. He told Rama that Ravana has stored the nectar of immortality in his belly and it is necessary to dry it. With this knowledge, Rama was finally able to kill Ravana.

He had a daughter named Trijata.

When Rama was about to leave Ayodhya at the end of his reign, he assumed his true form of Vishnu, ordering Vibhishana to stay on earth and serve the people and guide them to the path of truth and dharma. Hence, Vibhishana is considered one of the eight immortals, the Chiranjivis. Vishnu also ordered Vibhishana to pray to the family deity of Solar dynasty, Ranganatha.

Characterisation
In the Ramayana, Vibhishana's characterisation assists in demonstrating the practical implications of the concept of dharma. The epic stresses that neither Vibhishana or Kumbhakarna strayed from the path of dharma and that there is no single way out of a moral dilemma. The Ramayana teaches that Kumbhakarna adhered to the dharma of loyalty to his kin when his advice fails, while Vibhishana chose to oppose his kin when his advice failed.

Regional legends

Srirangam

Vibhishana is featured in the regional legend of the Ranganathaswamy temple of Srirangam, considered the foremost of the Divya Desams, the abodes of Vishnu in Sri Vaishnavism. During the coronation of Rama, the avatar of Vishnu, Vibhishana was presented the sacrosanct Sri Ranga vimana. He decided to carry it to his kingdom of Lanka. Midway his journey, in order to rest, he placed the image on the banks of the Kaveri. After performing his routine puja, he tried to lift the vimana, but it could not be lifted. Vishnu appeared to him and said that he desired to stay as Ranganatha in the place, which went on to become Srirangam. Vishnu also desired to watch the brahmotsavam at Tirucherai. The festivals of the temple are thus considered sacred.

Sri Lanka
In some period of history Sinhalese people have considered Vibhishana as one of the Sathara Waram Deviyo (four guardian deities). This belief was more prominent in the Kotte period. According to the Ravana Katha of Wickramasinghe Adigar, after the defeat of Ravana, Vibhishana transferred the Yaksha capital from Alaka mandawa to Kelaniya. In the 15th-century poem of Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula Thera, the sælalihini sandesaya, Myna is ordered to carry the missive to Vibhishana at his temple in Kelaniya. After the 16th century, he was replaced as a God of the four warrants by the goddess Pattini. He continues to be worshipped by a diminishing number of adherents, mainly in the Kelaniya area.

References

Rakshasa in the Ramayana
Chiranjivins
Characters in the Ramayana
Sinhalese Buddhist deities

Vibhishana


Rathnure St Anne's is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Rathnure, County Wexford, Ireland. Rathnure's most famous players are the Rackards and Quigley brothers.

First AGM

At a meeting in Rathnure in the year 1931, Rathnure St Anne's GAA Club was founded. Founder members on that night were Pat Byrne, James O'Leary, Pat Doyle, Thomas Murphy, Nick Mernagh, Denis Brennan and Master O'Rielly. Also on the night, the meeting was attended by two 14-year-old boys Mikey Redmond and Ned Caulfield. The first Chairman of the club was Mr. Hugh O'Rielly, the first Secretary was Pat Byrne and the first Treasurer was Pat Doyle.

Early years
In its first year in existence, Rathnure fielded in junior hurling. However success in terms of championship medals was slow, but more important players were given the opportunity to play their native game, a game that was eventually to flourish in the parish of Rathnure. From the outset great interest was aroused in the club, and it gradually grew in strength both from a players and a supporters point of view.
After just seven years in existence Rathnure finally succeeded in making that magical breakthrough to a County Final. This was in the junior grade and with many young hurlers in the team it augured well for the future of the club. In this final Rathnure were opposed by St Fintan's, the south Wexford club with a tremendous hurling reputation, a club that had many fine achievements to its credit up to then. This match was described as the hurling spectacle of the year and signalled the arrival of Rathnure as a hurling force in the model county. The final score was St. Fintan's 4–5 Rathnure 5–0.

First success
The following year, Rathnure were represented again in the county junior hurling final. This time however, it was a winning one and proved a historic breakthrough for the club. A member of that history making team was Nicky Rackard, a man who was to lead both club and county to historic victories in the ensuing years. In the final Rathnure defeated Horeswood by 6–1 to 1–2. The winners were never seriously challenged and proved the superior team in every aspect of the game, with Nicky Rackard coming off with two splendid goals to his credit.

Senior success
1941 was Rathnure's first year in senior hurling ranks and it is notable that the club has fielded in the Wexford Senior Hurling Championship every other year to date, a feat not equalled by any other club in the county and very few in Ireland. In 1948 Rathnure St Anne's won our first of 20 Wexford Senior Hurling Championships. There were celebrations lasting for a full week after that County Final. Further victories came in 1950, '55, '61, '67, '71, '72, '73, '74, '77, '79, '80, '86, '87, '90, '96, '98, '02, '03 and 2006. Following 6 of the above county successes, Leinster Club titles were also won.

Other successes
Other titles won over the years include Senior football, Intermediate hurling, Junior A & B football, Junior A hurling (3), Junior B hurling (3), U21 hurling (9), including 6 in a row, Minor hurling (14), Juvenile hurling (14), Under 14 hurling (7), Under 12 hurling (3), All Ireland Feile na nGael, Minor football and U14 football.

Nicky Rackard Park
A large indoor arena, two full-sized playing pitches and an underage pitch at Nicky Rackard Park caters for all ages of girls and boys. Its sports complex consists of four full-sized dressing rooms, squash court, fully equipped gymnasium, sauna and a well-stocked GAA shop. The clubhouse also contains an historic trophy and meeting room dedicated to Syl Barron.

Camogie
Rathnure camogie club won the All-Ireland Senior Club Camogie Championship in 1995. They won further Leinster club championships in 1992, 1996 and 2000
The club was founded in 1968 by Teddy O'Connor, Larry Cahill, Marcella Redmond, Tish Codd and Syl Barron.
The club won Community Games and Féile na nGael titles were won. The late Jim Shiels and his wife Margaret were great workers for the club. Cloughbawn joined forces with Rathnure in 1988 and, in the following year, Rathnure won the Wexford senior championship title

Honours

Hurling

All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championships:
 Winner (0):
 Runner-up (5): 1972, 1974, 1978, 1987, 1999
Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championships:
 Winner (6): 1971, 1973, 1977, 1986, 1987, 1998
 Runner-up (2): 1970, 1972
Wexford Senior Club Hurling Championships:
 Winner (20): 1948, 1950, 1955, 1961, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006
 Runner-up (9): 1942, 1949, 1957, 1965, 1978, 1988, 1999, 2004, 2011
 Wexford Intermediate Hurling Championships: 1
 1971
 Wexford Junior Hurling Championships: 3
 1940, 1981, 1983, 2018
 Wexford Under-21 Hurling Championships: 10
 1970 (with Duffry Rovers), 1971 (with Duffry Rovers), 1983 (with Cushinstown), 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2016.
 Wexford Minor Hurling Championships: 14
 1941, 1942, 1945, 1963, 1964, 1973 (with Duffry Rovers), 1980 (with Cushinstown), 1983 (with Cushinstown), 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2013.

Gaelic football

 Wexford Senior Club Football Championships:
 Winner (1): 1972
 Runner-up (2): 1953, 1974
 Wexford Junior Football Championships: 1
 1950

Notable players
 Martin Codd
 Paul Codd
 Jim English
 Rod Guiney
 Nigel Higgins
 Séamus Murphy
 Brendan O'Leary
 Dan Quigley
 John Quigley
 Martin Quigley
 Billy Rackard
 Bobby Rackard
 Nicky Rackard

References

External links
Wexford GAA site
Rathnure St. Anne's GAA site

Gaelic games clubs in County Wexford
Hurling clubs in County Wexford
Gaelic football clubs in County Wexford

Rathnure GAA


In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification", often in contrast to other possible sources of knowledge such as faith,  tradition, or sensory experience. More formally, rationalism is defined as a methodology or a theory "in which the criterion of truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive".

In a major philosophical debate during the Enlightenment, rationalism (sometimes here equated with innatism) was opposed to empiricism. On the one hand, the rationalists emphasized that knowledge is primarily in-born and the intellect, the inner faculty of the human mind, can therefore directly grasp or derive logical truths; on the other hand, the empiricists emphasized that knowledge is not primarily in-born and is best gained by careful observation of the physical world outside the mind, namely through sensory experiences. Rationalists asserted that certain principles exist in logic, mathematics, ethics, and metaphysics that are so fundamentally true that denying them causes one to fall into contradiction. The rationalists had such a high confidence in reason that empirical proof and physical evidence were regarded as unnecessary to ascertain certain truthsin other words, "there are significant ways in which our concepts and knowledge are gained independently of sense experience".

Different degrees of emphasis on this method or theory lead to a range of rationalist standpoints, from the moderate position "that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge" to the more extreme position that reason is "the unique path to knowledge". Given a pre-modern understanding of reason, rationalism is identical to philosophy, the Socratic life of inquiry, or the zetetic (skeptical) clear interpretation of authority (open to the underlying or essential cause of things as they appear to our sense of certainty). In recent decades, Leo Strauss sought to revive "Classical Political Rationalism" as a discipline that understands the task of reasoning, not as foundational, but as maieutic.

Background

Rationalismas an appeal to human reason as a way of obtaining knowledgehas a philosophical history dating from antiquity. The analytical nature of much of philosophical enquiry, the awareness of apparently a priori domains of knowledge such as mathematics, combined with the emphasis of obtaining knowledge through the use of rational faculties (commonly rejecting, for example, direct revelation) have made rationalist themes very prevalent in the history of philosophy.

Since the Enlightenment, rationalism is usually associated with the introduction of mathematical methods into philosophy as seen in the works of Descartes, Leibniz, and Spinoza. This is commonly called continental rationalism, because it was predominant in the continental schools of Europe, whereas in Britain empiricism dominated.

Even then, the distinction between rationalists and empiricists was drawn at a later period and would not have been recognized by the philosophers involved. Also, the distinction between the two philosophies is not as clear-cut as is sometimes suggested; for example, Descartes and Locke have similar views about the nature of human ideas.

Proponents of some varieties of rationalism argue that, starting with foundational basic principles, like the axioms of geometry, one could deductively derive the rest of all possible knowledge. Notable philosophers who held this view most clearly were Baruch Spinoza and Gottfried Leibniz, whose attempts to grapple with the epistemological and metaphysical problems raised by Descartes led to a development of the fundamental approach of rationalism. Both Spinoza and Leibniz asserted that, in principle, all knowledge, including scientific knowledge, could be gained through the use of reason alone, though they both observed that this was not possible in practice for human beings except in specific areas such as mathematics. On the other hand, Leibniz admitted in his book Monadology that "we are all mere Empirics in three fourths of our actions."

Political usage
In politics, rationalism, since the Enlightenment, historically emphasized a "politics of reason" centered upon rational choice, deontology, utilitarianism, secularism, and irreligionthe latter aspect's antitheism was later softened by the adoption of pluralistic reasoning methods practicable regardless of religious or irreligious ideology. In this regard, the philosopher John Cottingham noted how rationalism, a methodology, became socially conflated with atheism, a worldview:

Philosophical usage
Rationalism is often contrasted with empiricism. Taken very broadly, these views are not mutually exclusive, since a philosopher can be both rationalist and empiricist. Taken to extremes, the empiricist view holds that all ideas come to us a posteriori, that is to say, through experience; either through the external senses or through such inner sensations as pain and gratification. The empiricist essentially believes that knowledge is based on or derived directly from experience. The rationalist believes we come to knowledge a priorithrough the use of logic and is thus independent of sensory experience. In other words, as Galen Strawson once wrote, "you can see that it is true just lying on your couch. You don't have to get up off your couch and go outside and examine the way things are in the physical world. You don't have to do any science."

Between both philosophies, the issue at hand is the fundamental source of human knowledge and the proper techniques for verifying what we think we know. Whereas both philosophies are under the umbrella of epistemology, their argument lies in the understanding of the warrant, which is under the wider epistemic umbrella of the theory of justification. Part of epistemology, this theory attempts to understand the justification of propositions and beliefs. Epistemologists are concerned with various epistemic features of belief, which include the ideas of justification, warrant, rationality, and probability. Of these four terms, the term that has been most widely used and discussed by the early 21st century is "warrant". Loosely speaking, justification is the reason that someone (probably) holds a belief.

If A makes a claim and then B casts doubt on it, As next move would normally be to provide justification for the claim. The precise method one uses to provide justification is where the lines are drawn between rationalism and empiricism (among other philosophical views). Much of the debate in these fields are focused on analyzing the nature of knowledge and how it relates to connected notions such as truth, belief, and justification.

At its core, rationalism consists of three basic claims. For people to consider themselves rationalists, they must adopt at least one of these three claims: the intuition/deduction thesis, the innate knowledge thesis, or the innate concept thesis. In addition, a rationalist can choose to adopt the claim of Indispensability of Reason and or the claim of Superiority of Reason, although one can be a rationalist without adopting either thesis.

The indispensability of reason thesis: "The knowledge we gain in subject area, S, by intuition and deduction, as well as the ideas and instances of knowledge in S that are innate to us, could not have been gained by us through sense experience." In short, this thesis claims that experience cannot provide what we gain from reason.

The superiority of reason thesis: '"The knowledge we gain in subject area S by intuition and deduction or have innately is superior to any knowledge gained by sense experience". In other words, this thesis claims reason is superior to experience as a source for knowledge.

Rationalists often adopt similar stances on other aspects of philosophy. Most rationalists reject skepticism for the areas of knowledge they claim are knowable a priori. When you claim some truths are innately known to us, one must reject skepticism in relation to those truths. Especially for rationalists who adopt the Intuition/Deduction thesis, the idea of epistemic foundationalism tends to crop up. This is the view that we know some truths without basing our belief in them on any others and that we then use this foundational knowledge to know more truths.

Intuition/deduction thesis

Generally speaking, intuition is a priori knowledge or experiential belief characterized by its immediacy; a form of rational insight. We simply "see" something in such a way as to give us a warranted belief. Beyond that, the nature of intuition is hotly debated. In the same way, generally speaking, deduction is the process of reasoning from one or more general premises to reach a logically certain conclusion. Using valid arguments, we can deduce from intuited premises.

For example, when we combine both concepts, we can intuit that the number three is prime and that it is greater than two. We then deduce from this knowledge that there is a prime number greater than two. Thus, it can be said that intuition and deduction combined to provide us with a priori knowledgewe gained this knowledge independently of sense experience.

To argue in favor of this thesis, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a prominent German philosopher, says,

Empiricists such as David Hume have been willing to accept this thesis for describing the relationships among our own concepts. In this sense, empiricists argue that we are allowed to intuit and deduce truths from knowledge that has been obtained a posteriori.

By injecting different subjects into the Intuition/Deduction thesis, we are able to generate different arguments. Most rationalists agree mathematics is knowable by applying the intuition and deduction. Some go further to include ethical truths into the category of things knowable by intuition and deduction. Furthermore, some rationalists also claim metaphysics is knowable in this thesis. Naturally, the more subjects the rationalists claim to be knowable by the Intuition/Deduction thesis, the more certain they are of their warranted beliefs, and the more strictly they adhere to the infallibility of intuition, the more controversial their truths or claims and the more radical their rationalism.

In addition to different subjects, rationalists sometimes vary the strength of their claims by adjusting their understanding of the warrant. Some rationalists understand warranted beliefs to be beyond even the slightest doubt; others are more conservative and understand the warrant to be belief beyond a reasonable doubt.

Rationalists also have different understanding and claims involving the connection between intuition and truth. Some rationalists claim that intuition is infallible and that anything we intuit to be true is as such. More contemporary rationalists accept that intuition is not always a source of certain knowledgethus allowing for the possibility of a deceiver who might cause the rationalist to intuit a false proposition in the same way a third party could cause the rationalist to have perceptions of nonexistent objects.

Innate knowledge thesis

The Innate Knowledge thesis is similar to the Intuition/Deduction thesis in the regard that both theses claim knowledge is gained a priori. The two theses go their separate ways when describing how that knowledge is gained. As the name, and the rationale, suggests, the Innate Knowledge thesis claims knowledge is simply part of our rational nature. Experiences can trigger a process that allows this knowledge to come into our consciousness, but the experiences don't provide us with the knowledge itself. The knowledge has been with us since the beginning and the experience simply brought into focus, in the same way a photographer can bring the background of a picture into focus by changing the aperture of the lens. The background was always there, just not in focus.

This thesis targets a problem with the nature of inquiry originally postulated by Plato in Meno. Here, Plato asks about inquiry; how do we gain knowledge of a theorem in geometry? We inquire into the matter. Yet, knowledge by inquiry seems impossible. In other words, "If we already have the knowledge, there is no place for inquiry. If we lack the knowledge, we don't know what we are seeking and cannot recognize it when we find it. Either way we cannot gain knowledge of the theorem by inquiry. Yet, we do know some theorems." The Innate Knowledge thesis offers a solution to this paradox. By claiming that knowledge is already with us, either consciously or unconsciously, a rationalist claims we don't really learn things in the traditional usage of the word, but rather that we simply use words we know.

Innate concept thesis

Similar to the Innate Knowledge thesis, the Innate Concept thesis suggests that some concepts are simply part of our rational nature. These concepts are a priori in nature and sense experience is irrelevant to determining the nature of these concepts (though, sense experience can help bring the concepts to our conscious mind).

In his book Meditations on First Philosophy, René Descartes postulates three classifications for our ideas when he says, "Among my ideas, some appear to be innate, some to be adventitious, and others to have been invented by me. My understanding of what a thing is, what truth is, and what thought is, seems to derive simply from my own nature. But my hearing a noise, as I do now, or seeing the sun, or feeling the fire, comes from things which are located outside me, or so I have hitherto judged. Lastly, sirens, hippogriffs and the like are my own invention."

Adventitious ideas are those concepts that we gain through sense experiences, ideas such as the sensation of heat, because they originate from outside sources; transmitting their own likeness rather than something else and something you simply cannot will away. Ideas invented by us, such as those found in mythology, legends and fairy tales, are created by us from other ideas we possess. Lastly, innate ideas, such as our ideas of perfection, are those ideas we have as a result of mental processes that are beyond what experience can directly or indirectly provide.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz defends the idea of innate concepts by suggesting the mind plays a role in determining the nature of concepts, to explain this, he likens the mind to a block of marble in the New Essays on Human Understanding,

Some philosophers, such as John Locke (who is considered one of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment and an empiricist), argue that the Innate Knowledge thesis and the Innate Concept thesis are the same. Other philosophers, such as Peter Carruthers, argue that the two theses are distinct from one another. As with the other theses covered under the umbrella of rationalism, the more types and greater number of concepts a philosopher claims to be innate, the more controversial and radical their position; "the more a concept seems removed from experience and the mental operations we can perform on experience the more plausibly it may be claimed to be innate. Since we do not experience perfect triangles but do experience pains, our concept of the former is a more promising candidate for being innate than our concept of the latter.

History

Rationalist philosophy in Western antiquity

Although rationalism in its modern form post-dates antiquity, philosophers from this time laid down the foundations of rationalism. In particular, the understanding that we may be aware of knowledge available only through the use of rational thought.

Pythagoras (570–495 BCE)

Pythagoras was one of the first Western philosophers to stress rationalist insight. He is often revered as a great mathematician, mystic and scientist, but he is best known for the Pythagorean theorem, which bears his name, and for discovering the mathematical relationship between the length of strings on lute and the pitches of the notes. Pythagoras "believed these harmonies reflected the ultimate nature of reality. He summed up the implied metaphysical rationalism in the words 'All is number'. It is probable that he had caught the rationalist's vision, later seen by Galileo (1564–1642), of a world governed throughout by mathematically formulable laws". It has been said that he was the first man to call himself a philosopher, or lover of wisdom.

Plato (427–347 BCE)

Plato held rational insight to a very high standard, as is seen in his works such as Meno and The Republic. He taught on the Theory of Forms (or the Theory of Ideas) which asserts that the highest and most fundamental kind of reality is not the material world of change known to us through sensation, but rather the abstract, non-material (but substantial) world of forms (or ideas). For Plato, these forms were accessible only to reason and not to sense. In fact, it is said that Plato admired reason, especially in geometry, so highly that he had the phrase "Let no one ignorant of geometry enter" inscribed over the door to his academy.

Aristotle (384–322 BCE)

Aristotle's main contribution to rationalist thinking was the use of syllogistic logic and its use in argument. Aristotle defines syllogism as "a discourse in which certain (specific) things having been supposed, something different from the things supposed results of necessity because these things are so." Despite this very general definition, Aristotle limits himself to categorical syllogisms which consist of three categorical propositions in his work Prior Analytics. These included categorical modal syllogisms.

Middle Ages

Although the three great Greek philosophers disagreed with one another on specific points, they all agreed that rational thought could bring to light knowledge that was self-evidentinformation that humans otherwise could not know without the use of reason. After Aristotle's death, Western rationalistic thought was generally characterized by its application to theology, such as in the works of Augustine, the Islamic philosopher Avicenna (Ibn Sina), Averroes (Ibn Rushd), and Jewish philosopher and theologian Maimonides. The Waldensians sect also incorporated rationalism into their movement. One notable event in the Western timeline was the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas who attempted to merge Greek rationalism and Christian revelation in the thirteenth-century. Generally, the Roman Catholic Church viewed Rationalists as a threat, labeling them as those who "while admitting revelation, reject from the word of God whatever, in their private judgment, is inconsistent with human reason."

Classical rationalism

René Descartes (1596–1650)

Descartes was the first of the modern rationalists and has been dubbed the 'Father of Modern Philosophy.' Much subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day.

Descartes thought that only knowledge of eternal truthsincluding the truths of mathematics, and the epistemological and metaphysical foundations of the sciences could be attained by reason alone; other knowledge, the knowledge of physics, required experience of the world, aided by the scientific method. He also argued that although dreams appear as real as sense experience, these dreams cannot provide persons with knowledge. Also, since conscious sense experience can be the cause of illusions, then sense experience itself can be doubtable. As a result, Descartes deduced that a rational pursuit of truth should doubt every belief about sensory reality. He elaborated these beliefs in such works as Discourse on the Method, Meditations on First Philosophy, and Principles of Philosophy. Descartes developed a method to attain truths according to which nothing that cannot be recognised by the intellect (or reason) can be classified as knowledge. These truths are gained "without any sensory experience," according to Descartes. Truths that are attained by reason are broken down into elements that intuition can grasp, which, through a purely deductive process, will result in clear truths about reality.

Descartes therefore argued, as a result of his method, that reason alone determined knowledge, and that this could be done independently of the senses. For instance, his famous dictum, cogito ergo sum or "I think, therefore I am", is a conclusion reached a priori i.e., prior to any kind of experience on the matter. The simple meaning is that doubting one's existence, in and of itself, proves that an "I" exists to do the thinking. In other words, doubting one's own doubting is absurd. This was, for Descartes, an irrefutable principle upon which to ground all forms of other knowledge. Descartes posited a metaphysical dualism, distinguishing between the substances of the human body ("res extensa") and the mind or soul ("res cogitans"). This crucial distinction would be left unresolved and lead to what is known as the mind–body problem, since the two substances in the Cartesian system are independent of each other and irreducible.

Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677)

The philosophy of Baruch Spinoza is a systematic, logical, rational philosophy developed in seventeenth-century Europe. Spinoza's philosophy is a system of ideas constructed upon basic building blocks with an internal consistency with which he tried to answer life's major questions and in which he proposed that "God exists only philosophically." He was heavily influenced by Descartes, Euclid and Thomas Hobbes, as well as theologians in the Jewish philosophical tradition such as Maimonides. But his work was in many respects a departure from the Judeo-Christian tradition. Many of Spinoza's ideas continue to vex thinkers today and many of his principles, particularly regarding the emotions, have implications for modern approaches to psychology. To this day, many important thinkers have found Spinoza's "geometrical method" difficult to comprehend: Goethe admitted that he found this concept confusing. His magnum opus, Ethics, contains unresolved obscurities and has a forbidding mathematical structure modeled on Euclid's geometry. Spinoza's philosophy attracted believers such as Albert Einstein and much intellectual attention.

Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716)

Leibniz was the last major figure of seventeenth-century rationalism who contributed heavily to other fields such as metaphysics, epistemology, logic, mathematics, physics, jurisprudence, and the philosophy of religion; he is also considered to be one of the last "universal geniuses". He did not develop his system, however, independently of these advances. Leibniz rejected Cartesian dualism and denied the existence of a material world. In Leibniz's view there are infinitely many simple substances, which he called "monads" (which he derived directly from Proclus).

Leibniz developed his theory of monads in response to both Descartes and Spinoza, because the rejection of their visions forced him to arrive at his own solution. Monads are the fundamental unit of reality, according to Leibniz, constituting both inanimate and animate objects. These units of reality represent the universe, though they are not subject to the laws of causality or space (which he called "well-founded phenomena"). Leibniz, therefore, introduced his principle of pre-established harmony to account for apparent causality in the world.

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804)

Kant is one of the central figures of modern philosophy, and set the terms by which all subsequent thinkers have had to grapple. He argued that human perception structures natural laws, and that reason is the source of morality. His thought continues to hold a major influence in contemporary thought, especially in fields such as metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, and aesthetics.

Kant named his brand of epistemology "Transcendental Idealism", and he first laid out these views in his famous work The Critique of Pure Reason. In it he argued that there were fundamental problems with both rationalist and empiricist dogma. To the rationalists he argued, broadly, that pure reason is flawed when it goes beyond its limits and claims to know those things that are necessarily beyond the realm of every possible experience: the existence of God, free will, and the immortality of the human soul. Kant referred to these objects as "The Thing in Itself" and goes on to argue that their status as objects beyond all possible experience by definition means we cannot know them. To the empiricist, he argued that while it is correct that experience is fundamentally necessary for human knowledge, reason is necessary for processing that experience into coherent thought. He therefore concludes that both reason and experience are necessary for human knowledge. In the same way, Kant also argued that it was wrong to regard thought as mere analysis. "In Kant's views, a priori concepts do exist, but if they are to lead to the amplification of knowledge, they must be brought into relation with empirical data".

Contemporary rationalism
Rationalism has become a rarer label  of philosophers today; rather many different kinds of specialised rationalisms are identified. For example, Robert Brandom has appropriated the terms "rationalist expressivism" and "rationalist pragmatism" as labels for aspects of his programme in Articulating Reasons, and identified "linguistic rationalism", the claim that the contents of propositions "are essentially what can serve as both premises and conclusions of inferences", as a key thesis of Wilfred Sellars.

Outside of academic philosophy, some participants in the internet communities surrounding Less Wrong and Slate Star Codex have described themselves as "rationalists." The term has also been used in this way by critics such as Timnit Gebru. OnlyFans star Aella has been described as a "rationalist" of the contemporary sort.

Criticism

Rationalism was criticized by American psychologist William James for being out of touch with reality. James also criticized rationalism for representing the universe as a closed system, which contrasts with his view that the universe is an open system.

See also

References

Sources

Primary
 Descartes, René (1637), Discourse on the Method.
 Spinoza, Baruch (1677), Ethics.
 Leibniz, Gottfried (1714), Monadology.
 Kant, Immanuel (1781/1787), Critique of Pure Reason.

Secondary
 Audi, Robert (ed., 1999), The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1995. 2nd edition, 1999.

 Blackburn, Simon (1996), The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1994. Paperback edition with new Chronology, 1996.
 Bourke, Vernon J. (1962), "Rationalism," p. 263 in Runes (1962).
 Douglas, Alexander X.: Spinoza and Dutch Cartesianism: Philosophy and Theology. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015)

 Förster, Eckart; Melamed, Yitzhak Y. (eds.): Spinoza and German Idealism. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012)
 Fraenkel, Carlos; Perinetti, Dario; Smith, Justin E. H. (eds.): The Rationalists: Between Tradition and Innovation. (Dordrecht: Springer, 2011)
 Hampshire, Stuart: Spinoza and Spinozism. (Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005)
 Huenemann, Charles; Gennaro, Rocco J. (eds.): New Essays on the Rationalists. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999)
 Lacey, A.R. (1996), A Dictionary of Philosophy, 1st edition, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1976. 2nd edition, 1986. 3rd edition, Routledge, London, 1996.
 Loeb, Louis E.: From Descartes to Hume: Continental Metaphysics and the Development of Modern Philosophy. (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1981)
 Nyden-Bullock, Tammy: Spinoza's Radical Cartesian Mind. (Continuum, 2007)
 Pereboom, Derk (ed.): The Rationalists: Critical Essays on Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz. (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999)
 Phemister, Pauline: The Rationalists: Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz. (Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2006)
 Runes, Dagobert D. (ed., 1962), Dictionary of Philosophy, Littlefield, Adams, and Company, Totowa, NJ.
 Strazzoni, Andrea: Dutch Cartesianism and the Birth of Philosophy of Science: A Reappraisal of the Function of Philosophy from Regius to 's Gravesande, 1640–1750. (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2018)
 Verbeek, Theo: Descartes and the Dutch: Early Reactions to Cartesian Philosophy, 1637–1650. (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1992)

External links

 John F. Hurst (1867), History of Rationalism Embracing a Survey of the Present State of Protestant Theology

Epistemological theories
Philosophical schools and traditions
Reasoning

Rationalism


Esophageal inlet patch or heterotopic gastric mucosa of the upper esophagus or gastric inlet patch is one or more areas of tissue resembling stomach tissue which is found in the upper portion of the esophagus.

Description and etiology
Esophageal inlet patches are well defined areas of mucosa which resemble stomach tissue and are pink or salmon colored. The mucosal surface of an esophageal inlet patch are typically flat, but may be slightly raised or slightly depressed.

The development of an esophageal inlet patch may occur due to the misplacement of endoderm from the stomach early in development.

Signs and symptoms
Often esophageal inlet patches causes no symptoms and are identified incidentally during upper endoscopy.  However, when present, symptoms may include difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), pain while swallowing (odynophagia), cough or globus sensation. Sympomts

Whether esophageal inlet patches may cause other symptoms, such as chronic cough, globus sensation, laryngitis is unclear.

Occasionally, esophageal inlet patches may be seen during barium esophagram. Findings may include an irregular outline or indentation suggestive of an inlet patch.

Diagnosis
Esophageal inlet patches are diagnosed by upper endoscopy (esophagogastroduodenoscopy or EGD). Detection of esophageal inlet patches may be improved by the use of specialized imaging techniques such as narrow-band imaging (optical chromoendoscopy).

Treatment
Often treatment for esophageal inlet patch is not necessary.  However, when symptoms occur, treatment may consist of ablation.  Ablation may be performed with argon plasma coagulation or radiofrequency ablation. When performed by an experienced physician, side effects from ablation appear to be neglible.

When symptoms occur, treatment with a proton pump inhibitor may be considered.

Epidemiology
The prevalence of esophageal inlet patch is between 1% and 12%.

Esophageal inlet patches are associated with Helicobacter pylori infection. Although reports are conflicting, some studies have found an association between esophageal inlet patches and Barrett's esophagus.

References

Congenital disorders of digestive system
Diseases of oesophagus, stomach and duodenum

Esophageal inlet patch


NHS Digital is the trading name of the Health and Social Care Information Centre, which is the national provider of information, data and IT systems for commissioners, analysts and clinicians in health and social care in England, particularly those involved with the National Health Service of England. The organisation is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Role
NHS Digital provides digital services for the NHS and social care, including the management of large health informatics programmes. They deliver national systems through in-house teams, and by contracting private suppliers. These services include managing patient data including the Spine, which allows the secure sharing of information between different parts of the NHS, and forms the basis of the Electronic Prescription Service, Summary Care Record and Electronic Referral Service.

NHS Digital is also the national collator of information about health and social care, and publishes over 260 statistical publications each year, including Official Statistics and National Statistics. It also runs "The NHS Website" (www.nhs.uk, formerly NHS Choices), which is the national website for the NHS in England.

NHS Digital has taken on the roles of a number of predecessor bodies including the NHS Information Centre, NHS Connecting for Health, and parts of NHS Direct. The organisation produces more than 260 official and national statistical publications. This includes national comparative data for secondary uses, developed from the long-running Hospital Episode Statistics which can help local decision makers to improve the quality and efficiency of frontline care.

History
The organisation was created as a special health authority on 1 April 2005 by a merger of the National Programme for IT, part of the Department of Health, the NHS Information Authority, and the Prescribing Support Unit.

Following the Health and Social Care Act 2012, the HSCIC changed from a special health authority to an executive non-departmental public body on 1 April 2013. Effective at this time, HSCIC took over parts of the troubled NHS National Programme for IT from the agency NHS Connecting for Health (CfH) which ceased to exist. It also runs the Health Survey for England.

On 20 April 2016, it was announced that HSCIC would be rebranding, changing its name to NHS Digital in July 2016.

NHSX, created in February 2019, has oversight of digital strategy and policy in NHS England. As a budget-holder, NHSX commissions projects from NHS Digital.

On November 22 2021, it was announced that NHS Digital would be merged with NHSX and incorporated into NHS England. The merger was completed on 1 February 2023.

Business areas

Handling patient data
NHS Digital runs the Spine service for the NHS, which is a central, secure system for patient data in England.   This enables a number of services for patients, including:
 the Electronic Prescription Service, which sends prescriptions digitally from GP surgeries and other NHS providers to pharmacies, without needing a printed prescription
 the Summary Care Record which allows authorised NHS staff (such as hospital or ambulance staff) to see a summary of important information about a patient, to help give the best care.
 the e-referral service which manages the booking of first time appointments with hospitals and specialists
 the Child Protection - Information Sharing system, which helps ensure that any child protection concerns are known by the NHS when they are treated

As the HSCIC, the organisation ran the care.data programme, which was cancelled in 2016.

NHS Digital collects the national 'Hospital Episode Statistics' (HES), which is a record of every 'episode' of admitted patient care (counted by completing care with a consultant, meaning that more than one episode can be associated with a single stay in hospital) delivered by the NHS in England, including those done under contract by private providers.  This involves the tracking of around 16 million 'episodes' of care every year.  This information is used for a range of statistical analysis, as well as for determining payments to providers. In addition to admitted patient care, HES also provides data for outpatient and emergency care encounters. The Emergency Care Data Set has been created to replace HES A&E data and provide better data on emergency care encounters.

In November 2019 it launched the National Record Locator, which spans different health economies and is intended to enable paramedics, community mental health nurses, children's health teams and maternity services to access the records of mental health patients across England.

In August 2020 it launched a pilot electronic prescription service in three hospital trusts, where hospital prescriptions were sent electronically to the patient's community pharmacy, as during the COVID-19 pandemic in England most outpatient consultations were held remotely.

Central technology team
A troubleshooting operation was established in 2018 to help NHS trusts when major IT deployments go wrong. Eight trusts needed emergency assistance in 2018 after a deployment led to severe service disruptions.  Funding of £2 million a year for the service has been allocated and expansion is expected.

Statistics and data
NHS Digital compiles national data about the NHS and social care, with over 260 publications every year.  In addition, they provide data analysis, and access to data and clinical indicators.

Public-facing services
The NHS website www.nhs.uk, formerly NHS Choices, is the public website for the NHS Services in England, and is run by a team at NHS Digital, mandated by DOH with input from Public Health England.  In November 2022 it had  been visited more than one billion times in the previous 12 months.

Key people
Simon Bolton, formerly chief information officer at Jaguar Land Rover and NHS Test and Trace, was appointed as interim chief executive officer in June 2021. He replaced Sarah Wilkinson, CEO from August 2017 until she decided to step down in March 2021.

References

External links

 NHS.UK, the NHS website

2005 establishments in the United Kingdom
Government agencies established in 2005
Department of Health and Social Care
Health in Yorkshire
Health informatics in the United Kingdom
Non-departmental public bodies of the United Kingdom government
Organisations based in Leeds
NHS special health authorities
Health informatics organizations
Databases in England
Medical databases
National Health Service (England)

NHS Digital


The 2003 British Grand Prix (formally the LVI Foster's British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 20 July 2003 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Northamptonshire, England. It was the eleventh round of the 2003 Formula One season. The 60-lap race was won by Rubens Barrichello driving for Ferrari after starting from pole position. Juan Pablo Montoya finished second in a Williams car, and Kimi Räikkönen third driving for McLaren.

Jarno Trulli, driving for Renault, started alongside Barrichello on the front row and led the first eleven laps of the race, until a track invasion by a later-to-be-defrocked priest, who ran along Hangar straight, running opposite to the 280 km/h train of cars, wearing a saffron kilt and waving religious banners. As a result, the vast majority of cars pitted under safety car conditions, which led to the Toyota drivers Cristiano da Matta and Olivier Panis, who had elected not to pit, leading the field until Räikkönen assumed the lead on lap 30 when Da Matta pitted.

Race report
The race began with Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello on pole, alongside Renault's Jarno Trulli. Kimi Räikkönen of McLaren-Mercedes started from third, while world champion and championship leader Michael Schumacher started from fifth. Barrichello made a poor start, allowing both Trulli and Räikkönen past on an incident-free first lap. Ralf and Michael Schumacher retained their starting positions of fourth and fifth. On the sixth lap, the headrest of David Coulthard dislodged while traversing the first corner (Copse), forcing him to pit for a replacement under safety regulations, and causing a safety car period to allow marshals to clear the track. Upon the resumption of green flag racing, Barrichello closed the gap to Räikkönen before passing him on lap 11. On the following lap, a man invaded the circuit and another safety car period was necessitated. As it was close to the period when the drivers would be making their scheduled pit stops, the vast majority of cars decided to pit under the safety car. The second placed cars from the respective teams were forced to queue up in the pit lane waiting for service, causing them to drop many places. Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and Juan Pablo Montoya were all outside of the top ten. Of the leading contenders, Trulli was in fourth place while both Räikkönen and Ralf Schumacher had jumped Barrichello when in the pits.

The Toyotas of Cristiano da Matta and Olivier Panis – who had opted not to pit – were leading, while Coulthard was in third, having not required a pit stop after his earlier unscheduled headrest replacement. Räikkönen passed Trulli immediately after the restart before clearing team-mate Coulthard on the same lap. Barrichello then passed a slowing Ralf Schumacher on the 17th lap while Räikkönen also passed Panis before chasing down the leading da Matta. Ralf Schumacher was forced to pit after encountering difficulties, while at the same time Michael Schumacher was unable to pass Alonso. By the 26th lap Barrichello was still trying to pass Trulli, and the two leaders continued to extend their lead. Barrichello and Montoya eventually passed Trulli by the end of the 27th lap, before Panis fell victim to both on the 29th. Da Matta eventually ceded the lead after pitting on the 30th lap to Räikkönen. Barrichello then set the fastest lap after being cleared of traffic, taking the lead after Räikkönen pitted for the second time. Barrichello continued to cut the advantage, but Räikkönen regained the lead with a reduced margin following the Brazilian's second stop. After closing in, Barrichello passed Räikkönen after pressuring him into a mistake. Michael Schumacher eventually passed Trulli on the 46th lap, but an unforced error by Räikkönen allowed Montoya to seize second position. In the closing phase of the race, Coulthard passed both da Matta and Trulli to earn fifth place.

Track invasion

On the 11th lap, as the procession of cars exited the Becketts corner onto the Hangar straight, Neil Horan cleared the fence wearing a kilt, waving banners with statements "Read the bible" and "The Bible is always right", and ran towards the sequence of cars, forcing several cars to swerve to avoid him. He eventually returned to the grass runoff area at the side of the track after the cars had passed for the lap, and was tackled by a track marshal. He was later charged with aggravated trespass and pleaded guilty in a Northampton court, stating that he took the open gate as a sign from God, although the prosecution contended that his act was premeditated as he had already prepared the banners prior to attending the Grand Prix. He was later jailed for two months.

The incident prompted comparisons to the events at the 1977 South African Grand Prix, where volunteer track marshal, Frederick Jansen van Vuuren, ran across the main straight to aid a car and was hit at 170 mph by Tom Pryce, who could not see him until it was too late because of the steep crest on the straight. Both Van Vuuren and Pryce were killed by the impact. A similar incident occurred at the 2000 German Grand Prix when a disgruntled ex-Mercedes employee walked along part of the circuit in protest before being arrested. This caused a safety car, which eliminated the lead of Mika Häkkinen, driving for McLaren-Mercedes. Unlike the German protester, Horan ran directly down the middle of the track, and intentionally towards oncoming cars and lurching towards some of them. Stephen Green, the marshal who handled Horan, was later awarded the BARC Browning Medal for "outstanding bravery in tackling a track invader during the 2003 British Grand Prix at Silverstone", the second recipient after David Purley 31 years previously.

The race led to fears that Formula One bosses Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone, who had been highly critical of the media and corporate facilities of Silverstone, would use the incident to drop the race from the Formula One calendar, with Ecclestone saying: "It wasn't necessary – the race was exciting enough without it. But the security wasn't good enough." Drivers and team officials defended the circuit, with Montoya stating: "This was one of the best races of the year, even with the spectator. It was so much fun today." Sauber boss Peter Sauber stated: "When a man sets himself on fire in the street in Paris, no one blames Paris". McLaren-Mercedes boss Ron Dennis said: "There is no way you can prevent it happening."

Classification

Qualifying

Race

Notes
This was Antônio Pizzonia's last race of the season. He was dropped due to a string of poor results, and replaced by Minardi's Justin Wilson, who was himself replaced by Danish driver Nicolas Kiesa at Minardi.

Championship standings after the race
Bold text indicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.

Drivers' Championship standings

Constructors' Championship standings

Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

British Grand Prix
British Grand Prix
Grand Prix
British Grand Prix

2003 British Grand Prix


Vojtech Tuka was a Slovak politician who lived from 1880 to 1946. He was one of the leaders of the Slovak People's Party and became the prime minister of Slovakia in 1940.

Tuka was a strong advocate of Slovak nationalism and worked towards greater autonomy for Slovakia within Czechoslovakia. However, during World War II, he became a supporter of Nazi Germany and helped to establish the puppet state of Slovakia under the control of the Nazis.

As prime minister, Tuka oversaw the implementation of anti-Semitic policies and the deportation of Slovak Jews to concentration camps. He was also involved in the persecution of political opponents and dissenters.

After the war, Tuka was arrested and tried for war crimes and collaboration with the Nazis. He was found guilty and executed in 1946.

Slovakian politicians
World War II political leaders
Holocaust perpetrators
War criminals
1880 births
1946 deaths
Executed people

Vojtech Tuka


Altaria is the brand name of a group of fast long-distance passenger railway services operated by Spanish national railway company Renfe Operadora and connecting Madrid to Algeciras, Alicante, Barcelona, Cádiz, Cartagena, Granada, Irún, Logroño, Murcia, Pamplona, and San Sebastián.

Altaria trains are composed of locomotive-hauled Talgo coaching stock equipped with gauge-changing technology which enables the carriages to run on both conventional () track and the narrower international  track which is used for the newer high-speed network in Spain. Altaria trains are currently able to achieve speeds of up to 200 km/h on the high-speed lines.

Notes

Renfe
Regional rail in Spain

Altaria (Renfe Operadora service)


Muhammad Zakir Qureshi () better known as Chef Zakir is a Pakistani television chef, host, hotelier and food personality who has appeared on cooking programs on Indus TV, Hum TV and Masala TV.  He is an expert on Pakistani cuisine as well as international cuisine.

Life and career
He was born as Muhammad Zakir Qureshi in Karachi, Pakistan on 16 February 1967. His father's name was Mr. Abdul Aziz Qureshi who was a great chef of his time. He studied at the Qulsoom Bai Valika School, Govt. Boys School of Santabad and Allama Iqbal College. He travelled to work and study in Dubai, Singapore, South Africa and Botswana.

He started his professional career in 1980 at the Sheraton Hotel in Karachi. He also worked in the Avari Hotel and the Pearl Continental Hotel in Karachi.

He first appeared on Indus TV. In 2006, he worked for Hum TV. Since 2007, he has hosted a show called Dawat on Masala TV.

He owns a Cz Restaurant, Block 7، Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi, Karachi City, Sindh, Pakistan He is married with five children. His son Ahsan is also a television chef.

References

External links
 Official Website of Chef Zakir

Pakistani television hosts
Pakistani television chefs
Living people
People from Karachi
1967 births

Zakir Qureshi


Azlan McLennan (born 1975 in the United States) is a visual artist and socialist activist based in Melbourne, Australia. He is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts. His art is known for its political content and has been the subject of considerable debate and media attention in Australia.

Art

Conceptually, McLennan's work tends to be unambiguous and antagonistic from a left-wing perspective, loosely following the traditions of agitprop, anti-art and Institutional Critique, incorporating elements of détournement, readymade or installation. His works have often been characterised as controversial by conservative politicians, journalists and art critics, usually portraying the artist in a negative light. Alternatively, various liberal lawyers, academics and activists have defended his works, usually on the basis of free speech, due to the offence sometimes caused by his art for its often overt left-leaning bias. The artist has expressed public criticisms over Zionism, the War on Terror, Australian nationalism and racism, the mandatory detention of asylum seekers, various political figures and the managerial class of the art world.

McLennan has cited the artists John Heartfield and Leon Kuhn as influences. He has work in collections of the National Gallery of Australia and the National Library of Australia.

Political affiliations
McLennan is a member of the Trotskyist organisation Socialist Alternative. Previously, he has been associated with the Socialist Alliance, the Stop the War Coalition, Students for Palestine, the Refugee Action Collective, the University of Melbourne Graduate Student Association, the Victorian College of the Arts Student Union and the United Voice trade union. He regularly produces posters for the Australian far left's various political demonstrations and meetings. He has written articles for the publications of both Socialist Alternative and the Socialist Alliance.

Controversy

Victorian College of the Arts
In August 2003, McLennan hired a Group 4 Securicor guard to keep gallery punters out of an exhibition opening at the VCA. Group 4 run immigration detention centres in Australia, such as Baxter Detention Centre and the now closed Woomera Detention Centre. The security guard was reportedly humiliated due to the incident which occurred at a time of high criticism of the John Howard government's treatment of asylum seekers.

24seven
In May 2004, McLennan produced Fifty-six, an exhibition designed to coincide with Nakba Day, the title drawing on the number of years since the establishment of Israel. The public exhibition in the shop front window space of 24seven Gallery on one of Melbourne CBD's busy streets, was censored by the City of Melbourne days after it was installed. The installation consisted of a large wall painting of an Israeli flag, with "debatable" statistics on the gallery's window about Israel's treatment of Palestinians. The scandal made international news, many pro-Israel individuals and groups accusing McLennan of antisemitism. This put a number of Victorian political figures such as former Premier Steve Bracks, Lord Mayor John So and former City of Melbourne councillor Kimberley Kitching under pressure to respond. The use of taxpayer's money to fund the space fuelled a lot of the debate. McLennan also deeply outraged some critics by insinuating that the Nazis had a similar position on what they termed degenerate art. McLennan maintains a strong criticism of Israeli policies.

Citylights
In August 2004, McLennan displayed State Sponsored, a collection of portraits of Hamas militants, including Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Dr. Abdul Aziz Rantisi and the dates they were assassinated. The work was exhibited at Citylights project – a public art space in a Melbourne CBD lane way. McLennan was accused of glorifying terrorism by Ted Lapkin, a senior policy analyst of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council. Andrew Mac, Citylights' curator and director defended the work on the grounds of diversity of opinion stating the artist's use of "state sponsored" referred to state terrorism.

Platform Artists Group
In September 2005, the City of Melbourne intervened to terminate McLennan's Canberra's 18 exhibition shortly before it was scheduled to be shown at the Platform artists group's Artist-run initiative (ARI), Platform 2. The exhibition was to include images of the then 18 Islamic organisations proscribed as terrorists by the Australian Government and the basis for their formation. City of Melbourne Deputy Mayor Gary Singer claimed the proper guidelines were not followed. Human rights campaigner and barrister Julian Burnside claimed the censorship was about governments testing how much Australians would tolerate such occurrences. McLennan accused City of Melbourne of political censorship and appeasing Zionists. Singer's areas of special interests ironically include civil liberties.

Monash University
Monash University Art and Design Faculty in Melbourne withdrew McLennan's video Mind the Gap in October 2005, ironically made for the same exhibition Monash had agreed to show the censored Canberra's 18 work. The video contained graphic footage of the beheading of British contractor Kenneth Bigley by Tawhid and Jihad in 2004. The video criticised former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for his role in the Iraq war. The censorship is likely to have been motivated by the Australian Anti-Terrorism Bill 2005, particularly the controversial return to the crime of sedition introduced by the Howard government some weeks later and passed into law the following month; a move highly unpopular amongst the arts sector.

Urban Art
City of Melbourne and acting Transport Minister Bob Cameron censored Pay Your Way in January 2006 while McLennan was in residency in Indonesia. The posters – part of the Urbanart ARI program – were displayed in public tram shelters and pulled down only hours later due to complaints. The works featured images of Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian man shot dead by London police and accused Muslim terrorist, Jack Thomas. The works were characterised as racist and Islamophobic, yet McLennan claimed the works were satirising the post 9-11 racism and Islamophobia perpetuated by pro-US governments. McLennan is also a Muslim himself. Thomas' lawyer, Rob Stary attacked the work for jeopardising the trial yet weeks later would defend McLennan publicly against the Footscray police.

Trocadero Art Space
Only weeks after the Pay Your Way affair, McLennan's Proudly UnAustralian was removed by the Victoria Police in Melbourne. The exhibition – featuring a burnt Australian flag – took place at Trocadero Art Space who rents a public billboard to exhibiting artists. It was to coincide with the 2006 Australia Day in January. The work was removed some days prior this date and McLennan arrived back in Australia days later to a media furore. The scandal had been criticised as offensive by those such as Federal Liberal Party MP Bronwyn Bishop who attempted to introduce a ban on flag burning, and the national president of the Returned and Services League. Free speech advocates such as the National Association for the Visual Arts and criminal defence lawyer Rob Stary denounced the police's actions as an attack on civil rights. This took place only a few short months after the 2005 Cronulla riots and fuelled the broader debate about racism in Australia.

Australian Centre for Contemporary Art
McLennan wrote an article in 2006 criticising the Artistic Director of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA), Juliana Engberg over her reaction to artist and VCA student, Ash Keating and his appropriation of ACCA's waste disposal for the use of his art. The Engberg/Keating scandal became widely known amongst Melbourne art circles from the ACCA exhibition opening where it took place and later through the independent electronic magazine Crikey. McLennan's polemic further fuelled debate over Engberg's credentials.

Anna Schwartz Gallery
McLennan featured in Rules of Engagement at Melbourne ARI West Space in May 2007, which dealt with "relationships, power and exchange within the art system" according to the show's curator Mark Feary. McLennan's contribution, Art in a Capitalist Society depicted an authoritative picture of leading private Australian gallerist Anna Schwartz, linked to a quote about exploitation from the Karl Marx treatise Das Kapital. Schwartz has previously criticised McLennan and some have accused McLennan of taking revenge.

University of Melbourne
In a July 2009, Farrago interview, McLennan attacked the University of Melbourne over the merger with the Victorian College of the Arts, the Melbourne Model, the liquidation of the VCA Student Union and likened the Vice-chancellor, Glyn Davis' perceived political censorship to Adolf Hitler's use of Fascist Art and Joseph Stalin's use of Socialist Realism. He also depicted Davis and the Provost, Peter McPhee, as Sex Pistols musicians, Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious in a parody of the Never Mind the Bollocks album cover as well as depicting Davis as the violent psychopath, Alex DeLarge in Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of A Clockwork Orange. McLennan had previously attacked Davis and the university administration as the former General Secretary of the VCA Student Union.

See also
 Victorian College of the Arts Alumni
 Socialist Alternative

References

External links
 Azlan McLennan's web site

Living people
1975 births
American emigrants to Australia
Australian artists
Censorship in the arts
Art controversies
Activists from Melbourne
Australian Trotskyists
Victorian College of the Arts alumni
Australian Muslims
Political artists
Artists from Washington, D.C.

Azlan McLennan