Sir John Robert Kerr,   (24 September 1914 – 24 March 1991) was an Australian barrister and judge who served as the 18th governor-general of Australia, in office from 1974 to 1977. He is primarily known for his involvement in the 1975 constitutional crisis, which culminated in his decision to dismiss the incumbent prime minister Gough Whitlam and appoint Malcolm Fraser as his replacement, unprecedented actions in Australian federal politics.

Kerr was born in Sydney to working-class parents. He won scholarships to Fort Street Boys' High School and the University of Sydney, where he studied law. His legal career was interrupted by the Second World War, during which he served with the Australian Army's Directorate of Research and Civil Affairs (DORCA) and attained the rank of colonel. After the war's end he became the inaugural head of the Australian School of Pacific Administration. Kerr returned to the bar in 1949 and became one of Sydney's leading industrial lawyers. He joined the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and was briefly an endorsed candidate for the 1951 federal election. He let his membership lapse after the party split of 1955.

Kerr served terms as president of the New South Wales Bar Association and the Law Council of Australia. He was appointed to the Commonwealth Industrial Court in 1966, later serving on territory supreme courts and as Chief Justice of New South Wales (1972–1974). On the nomination of ALP prime minister Gough Whitlam, Kerr was appointed governor-general in July 1974. The Whitlam government did not hold a majority in the Senate, and following a series of controversies in 1975, most notably the Loans Affair, the Liberal opposition leader Malcolm Fraser called on the Senate (where his coalition had a majority) to defer consideration of the supply bills in an attempt to force an early election. Kerr regarded the situation as untenable, believing the prime minister was obliged to either resign or call a general election, which Whitlam was unwilling to do.

On 11 November 1975, Kerr used his reserve powers as governor-general to dismiss Whitlam and his ministry, appointing Fraser to lead a caretaker government. He immediately granted Fraser's request for a double dissolution, leading to a federal election that saw Whitlam and the ALP defeated in a landslide. The dismissal of the government sparked demonstrations from Whitlam's supporters, with the anger directed at Kerr a major factor in his early retirement in December 1977 and subsequent withdrawal from public life. The propriety, legality and wisdom of his actions surrounding the dismissal have been subject to considerable debate and analysis.

Early life
Kerr was born in Balmain, Sydney, on 24 September 1914. He was the eldest of three children born to Laura May (née Cardwell) and Harry Kerr; his younger brother Dudley was born in 1917 and younger sister Elaine in 1926. Kerr's parents and maternal grandparents were Australian-born, while his paternal grandparents came from Sunderland, England, arriving in Sydney in 1886. He came from a line of waterside workers—his father was a boilermaker, his grandfather was a stevedore, and his great-grandfather was a shipwright. At the time of his son's birth, Kerr's father was employed at the Eveleigh Railway Workshops. He was sacked three months later, but soon found work at the Cockatoo Island Dockyard, which were at full capacity due to the ongoing war. He was involved in the union movement, and participated in a number of strikes, including the 1917 general strike, during which he went without pay for two months. Work at the docks became irregular after the war's end, and he eventually rejoined the railways in 1925.

For the first two years of his life, Kerr and his parents lived with his paternal grandparents in a weatherboard cottage in Balmain. They later rented cottages in Rozelle and Dulwich Hill, buying the latter outright only in 1949. Kerr began his education at the Birchgrove Public School. He won a scholarship to attend the prestigious Fort Street Boys' High School, where he excelled academically. He topped the school in English, history, and chemistry in his final year. His contemporaries remembered him as quite aloof; one of his few close friends was Francis James. In deciding to pursue law as a career, Kerr found a role model in H. V. Evatt, a fellow Fortian who in 1930 became the youngest-ever High Court judge; in the same year, Evatt completed a doctoral thesis on the royal prerogative. Kerr's father knew Evatt through his membership of the Labor Party, which Evatt would eventually lead, and had helped him on his successful campaign for the state seat of Balmain in 1925. Evatt became the first in a series of patrons who helped Kerr progress in his career despite a relatively humble background.

Legal career
In 1932, Kerr began studying law at the University of Sydney. He again excelled academically, winning a number of prizes, but had little interest in extra-curricular activities. One of his closest friends was Ken Gee, who eventually joined him on the judiciary but was also known for his flirtation with Trotskyism. Kerr eventually graduated in 1936 with first-class honours and the University Medal. He was called to the New South Wales bar in 1938. The same year, Kerr married Alison "Peggy" Worstead, with whom he had three children. He spent World War II working for the Australian intelligence organisation and think tank, the Directorate of Research and Civil Affairs. In 1946 he became principal of the Australian School of Pacific Administration and the first Secretary-General of the South Pacific Commission.

Kerr returned to the bar in 1948, becoming a prominent lawyer representing trade union clients and a member of the Labor Party. He intended to seek Labor endorsement for a parliamentary seat at the 1951 election, but withdrew in favour of another candidate. After the Labor Party split of 1955, however, he became disillusioned with party politics. He disliked what he saw as the Labor Party's leftward trend under Evatt's leadership, but was not attracted to the breakaway group, the Democratic Labor Party. Later in the 1950s, he joined the anti-communist advocacy group established by the United States' CIA, the Association for Cultural Freedom, joining its executive board in 1957.

In the 1960s Kerr became one of Sydney's leading industrial lawyers. In the 1950s he had become a QC. In 1964 he was one of a group of lawyers (which also included future NSW Premier Neville Wran) who lent their expertise to the defence of the publishers of the satirical magazine Oz when they were prosecuted for obscenity.

Judicial career

In 1966 Kerr was appointed a judge of the Commonwealth Industrial Court and, later, to several other judicial positions. During this period his political views became more conservative. He became a friend of Sir Garfield Barwick, the Liberal attorney-general who became Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia in 1964. Kerr was the first chairman of the Law Association for Asia and the Western Pacific (LawAsia), founded by Justice Paul Toose and John Bruce Piggot in 1966. Kerr served as chairman of that organisation until 1970.

Kerr was appointed Chief Justice of New South Wales in 1972. Sir Paul Hasluck was due to retire as Governor-General in July 1974, and the prime minister, Gough Whitlam, needed to find a suitable replacement. His first choice, Ken Myer, declined; he then offered the post to Mr Justice Kerr (as he then was), who accepted on condition that he could expect to have ten years in the office, and that he could represent Australia overseas as head of state. These discussions commenced in September 1973. Kerr was announced as Governor-General-designate on 27 February 1974, by which time he had become Sir John Kerr. He had been knighted in the New Year's Honours of 1974, on the advice of the Premier of New South Wales, Sir Robert Askin, after Whitlam had declined to endorse his predecessor Billy McMahon's recommendation for that honour, which Hasluck had wisely held back pending the outcome of the December 1972 election. Kerr did not know Whitlam well, although they had shared legal chambers some years earlier, but he had remained friends with several ministers in Whitlam's government, such as Jim McClelland and Joe Riordan. Kerr's wife Peggy was a fellow student of Margaret Whitlam during university days. Whitlam seems to have believed that, because of Kerr's former membership in the Labor Party, he was still politically "reliable", without realising that Kerr's political views had changed and that he had come to see the role of Governor-General differently from Whitlam.

Governor-General
The Whitlam government had won a second term in May 1974 following a double dissolution and picked up an additional three Senate seats, leaving it on equal numbers with the Liberal-Country party coalition and with the balance of power held by two independents. The new parliament was opened by Sir Paul Hasluck on 9 July, and Kerr was sworn in as Governor-General on 11 July. The disputed bills that had led to the double dissolution were reintroduced, and, as expected, were again rejected. The conditions for a joint sitting of the parliament had now been met. On 30 July, Kerr signed a proclamation convening the historic Joint Sitting of the Australian Parliament on 6 and 7 August. All the contested bills were passed.

On 9 September his wife Peggy died after a long illness, aged 59. In April 1975, he married Anne Robson, who had recently divorced her first husband, Hugh Robson QC, a New South Wales judge and former colleague of Kerr's. Through her, Kerr acquired two stepchildren.

During 1975 the government was enveloped by a series of ministerial scandals (the "Loans Affair"), which resulted in the sacking of two senior ministers, Rex Connor and Deputy Prime Minister, Jim Cairns. The Liberal Opposition Leader, Malcolm Fraser, decided to use the Senate to block the government's budget bills, thus forcing an early election for the House of Representatives (this is called "blocking supply").

On paper, the Australian Constitution gave the Governor-General wide-ranging powers, including the power to appoint and dismiss ministers and to dissolve Parliament. However, by 1975, the office was viewed as having become almost entirely ceremonial, and it was understood that in most cases the Governor-General was bound to act on the advice of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Whitlam and others held the view that the Governor-General had no discretion in the exercise of these powers; that they must always be exercised on the advice of the Prime Minister and never otherwise. Kerr and others disagreed fundamentally with this view, arguing the Constitution very clearly set out the Governor-General's powers.

In addition to the powers normally exercised only on the advice of the Prime Minister, there are certain uncodified reserve powers, exercisable on the Governor-General's own initiative. Kerr chose to make a study of the reserve powers through his earlier professional relationship with Evatt, the author of the standard work on the reserve powers as they applied to the British Dominions, The King and His Dominion Governors (1936). Kerr was familiar with this book, and re-read it before accepting Whitlam's offer of the governor-generalship.

1975 crisis

In October 1975 the Liberal-Country party opposition coalition in the Senate (led by Malcolm Fraser) voted to defer consideration of the supply bills until the Whitlam government agreed to 'submit itself to the Australian people', and a political stalemate resulted. With the full support of caucus Whitlam announced that if the Opposition continued to block Supply in the Senate, he would call an early half-Senate election in December. For the next 4 weeks Fraser deferred any vote on these bills. On 6 November Whitlam informed Kerr that, if the Opposition continued to deny a vote on Supply in the Senate, he would call an early half-Senate election the following Tuesday—11 November 1975. The necessary paperwork was then drawn up and drafts exchanged between the Prime Minister's office and Government House over the next 4 days. On the morning of 11 November Whitlam rang Kerr and confirmed the wording of the announcement he would make in the House of Representatives that afternoon, setting the half-Senate election in train.

Fraser was also aware of these considerations. He knew that several Liberal senators were uneasy about the blocking of supply, and might not be relied on for much longer—as was indeed confirmed by Liberal Senator Reg Withers after the dismissal. He also saw evidence in the opinion polls that the public was unhappy about the action of the Senate in delaying supply with the coalition polling dropping 10% in the 4 weeks during which Supply was blocked. For this reason, he was keen to see the crisis brought to an early conclusion. Intervention by the Governor-General was the only clear remedy in the event that supply could not be legislated and the prime minister declined to advise an election.

On 16 October, the Liberal frontbencher, Robert Ellicott (a former Commonwealth Solicitor-General) published with Fraser's approval a legal opinion which he had prepared for the Shadow Cabinet, arguing that the Governor-General had both the right and the duty to dismiss the government if it could not obtain supply. Kerr told Whitlam and other government ministers that he considered Ellicott's view to be 'bullshit'. On 17 October, Whitlam told an interviewer that the Governor-General could not intervene in the crisis in view of the convention that he must always act on the advice of his Prime Minister. Whitlam said later that he intended these remarks to protect Kerr, by making clear his view that the Governor-General had no power to intervene.

Kerr saw himself as an active player in the unfolding political drama. He made it clear in several conversations with ministers that he did not accept the view that the Governor-General could play no role in the crisis until supply actually ran out: he saw it as his duty to help prevent things from getting to that stage. On 30 October, he proposed a compromise solution to Whitlam and Fraser which would have, in effect, meant a backdown by Fraser (Kerr proposed that the Opposition allow the supply bills to be passed in return for Whitlam's abandoning plans to call an early Senate election), but Fraser did not agree to this. On 2 November, Fraser offered to pass the bills if Whitlam would agree to call an election before the middle of 1976, but Whitlam in turn rejected that solution.

Kerr's personal relationship with Whitlam by this stage was not strong, he had been upset by suggestions that the Executive Council had acted improperly during the Loans Affair and, moreover, he was suspicious that if Whitlam knew he was contemplating dismissing the Government, he (Whitlam) would react by pre-emptively advising the Queen to dismiss Kerr instead. Whitlam for his part assumed with characteristic confidence that Kerr would act predictably in the conventional manner of previous vice-regal appointees, was in full sympathy with the Government's position, and would do nothing to act against him.

The dismissal
Kerr had another meeting with Fraser (with Whitlam's approval) on 6 November. At this meeting Fraser increased the pressure on Kerr, advising him that the Opposition would not back down and would not accept any compromise, warning him that, if he did not take action against Whitlam, then the Opposition would begin to make direct public criticism of him for having "failed in his duty". Fraser urged Kerr to bring about an election before the end of 1975. The provisions of the Electoral Act meant that the last date on which a 1975 election could be announced was 11 November.

On 9 November, Kerr consulted the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, Sir Garfield Barwick. Kerr asked Barwick to advise him on whether he had the constitutional power to dismiss Whitlam, and Barwick advised him, in writing, that he did. He also advised him that at least one other High Court justice, Sir Anthony Mason, concurred in this view.

Kerr appears to have made up his mind on 9 November to dismiss Whitlam. He felt it necessary not to disclose this intention to Whitlam and his ministers because of his fear that Whitlam would advise the Queen to exercise her constitutional power to terminate Kerr's commission as Governor-General. In so doing, Kerr was aware of the precedent set by Sir Philip Game, the Governor of New South Wales, who had dismissed Jack Lang's government in 1932. Game had warned Lang in advance that if he, Lang, did not withdraw certain regulations, then he, Game, would dismiss him. This allowed Lang to seek Game's dismissal if he dared, which he did not.

On the morning of Tuesday, 11 November, Whitlam phoned Kerr and arranged to see him at 12:45 pm after the Remembrance Day ceremonies. Kerr also arranged for Fraser to come "a quarter of an hour later. Mr Fraser was not told why I wanted him to come." Fraser later claimed that Kerr telephoned him and asked him whether, if he were commissioned as Prime Minister, he would:
 pass the budget bills,
 call an immediate double dissolution election for both houses of Parliament, and
 make no appointments, initiate no new policies, and conduct no inquiries into the previous government, before such an election.

Fraser recalled answering "yes" to all these questions. In his memoirs Kerr denied making such a phone call to Fraser, but Fraser was adamant in all subsequent accounts that he did.

The House of Representatives was suspended at 12:55 pm for the luncheon break. Whitlam arrived at Government House at 1 pm, 15 minutes late. Fraser had arrived earlier and been shown into another room. Whitlam and Kerr met alone in Kerr's study. Kerr knew that Whitlam intended to ask for a half-Senate election, one which would need to be conducted without supply,. So, after reconfirming that Whitlam's intention was to govern without parliamentary supply, Kerr withdrew his commission and served on him the letter of dismissal. Kerr claimed Whitlam then sought to telephone Buckingham Palace to advise Kerr's dismissal, but Whitlam has always denied this. At a press conference that afternoon he said "The Governor-General prevented me getting in touch with the Queen by just withdrawing the commission immediately" In an article in Quadrant magazine (March 2005, Volume 49, Number 3), David Smith, Kerr's Official Secretary, claimed that Whitlam knew of Kerr's intentions, the Queen had already made her position of non-intervention known to Whitlam and Kerr, and Kerr had called a double dissolution to be fair to both candidates, sincerely believing that Whitlam could win back government with the necessary majority in both houses.

When Whitlam had left, Kerr summoned Fraser and asked him the same questions which Fraser claims to have answered that morning. When Fraser answered affirmatively, Kerr then commissioned him as Prime Minister.

Kerr later put forward five propositions to justify his actions:

 The Senate had the right under Section 53 of the Constitution to block supply.
 The Government had an obligation to obtain supply through Parliament.
 If the Government could not obtain supply, it had either to resign or call an election.
 If the Government refused to do either of these things, the Governor-General had a right and a duty to act to intervene.
 Since the Prime Minister could at any time advise the Queen to terminate the Governor-General's commission, the Governor-General had a right to dismiss the Government without advance warning of his intention to do so.

Kerr later stated that Whitlam represented "something that perhaps I might have been, had I stayed in the party as he did", and it has been suggested that the Dismissal was "as much a case of a thwarted ego seeking his place in history as Whitlam's mismanagement of the economy". After Kerr's death, his former embittered close friend, Whitlam cabinet member James McClelland, claimed that Kerr had long aspired to be "top dog in Australia"; that Kerr had once made a pass at him; and that the Dismissal could only be fully understood if Kerr's alleged repressed homosexuality was factored in—that an infatuation with Whitlam had become one for Fraser.<ref>Australian Biography, Series 4: James McClelland, Film Australia, Director: Frank Heimans, 1995.; https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/australian-biography-james-mcclelland</ref>

After the dismissal
The news that Whitlam had been dismissed spread across Australia during the afternoon, resulting in angry protest demonstrations by his supporters. Over the following month, leading to the double dissolution election scheduled for 13 December 1975, Whitlam and ALP supporters constantly and intensely denigrated Kerr, no doubt in the belief that the electorate would prove sympathetic to the deposed Labor government.
In the ensuing election campaign, the Australian Labor Party's focus was predominantly on the asserted illegitimacy of the dismissal (with the slogan of "Shame Fraser, Shame"), while the Coalition focused on criticism of Labor's economic management. Some expected a major backlash against Fraser in favour of Whitlam (who had launched his campaign by calling upon his supporters to "maintain your rage"), based on opinion polls in October and early November which had shown disapproval of Fraser's tactics. Once the election was called, however, the majority focused on the economy and responded to the Liberals' slogan "Turn on the lights". Despite the passion of Labor supporters, furious at what they saw as an establishment plot to destroy a Labor government, Labor suffered its greatest-ever loss (7.4% down on its 1974 vote) at the hands of the Coalition, which continued to hold power until 1983.

Labor supporters continued to voice criticism and demonstrate against Kerr. He found the personal attacks on him and his wife (whom Whitlam and others accused of having been a sinister influence) deeply wounding. For the rest of his term as Governor-General, Kerr was rarely able to appear in public without encountering angry demonstrations. On one occasion his life was thought to be endangered when he was unable to leave a speaking engagement in Melbourne except by having his car drive through an angry crowd. Labor parliamentarians, federal and state, refused to accept his legitimacy as Governor-General, shunning official functions where he was in attendance. Near the end of his term, he famously appeared drunk when he presented the 1977 Melbourne Cup.

Resignation
Concern about his health may have been one reason why he cut short his five-year term and stood down in December 1977. In fact, his resignation had already been proposed as early as March 1977, during the Queen's visit. Fraser denounced Kerr's detractors as "a hostile and bitter minority" whose actions were unjustified. Kerr was appointed to the post of Ambassador to UNESCO, an office which he felt unable to take up because of continuing bitter attacks on him both inside and outside the Parliament. Bill Hayden, the new leader of the Labor Party, now in opposition, was one of the critics of the UNESCO appointment. In the Parliament he stated, "The appointment of John Kerr as Ambassador ... is not just an indecent exercise of the rankest cynicism. It is in every respect an affront to this country."

Later life and death
According to historian Phillip Knightley, "The remaining years of Sir John Kerr's life were miserable ones. He was subject to relentless harassment whenever he appeared in public." He therefore moved to London "where he could be seen most days, usually the worse for wear, at one or other gentleman's club." Jack Waterford observed that, above all, "Sir John's legacy was to make the viceroyalty a most controversial post and himself one of the most discussed persons ever to occupy it".

In 1991, Kerr was confirmed to have died from a brain tumour at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney where he was in a coma, survived by his three children and his second wife. The family withheld announcement of the death until after Sir John's burial at Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium, Macquarie Park, New South Wales. This ensured the then Labor government would not be put in the position of deciding whether to offer a state funeral, an honour that would normally be considered automatic for a former governor-general. The second Lady Kerr died in 1997, survived by the two children of her first marriage.

Kerr's children are: Gabrielle Kibble, a town planner and later NSW State Director of Planning;"Planning chief attacks draconian harbour laws", Sydney Morning Herald, 19 October 1989. Retrieved 20 April 2014 Kristin Johnson, a psychiatrist; and Philip Kerr, a solicitor.

Honours
Kerr was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) on 1 January 1966 for services as President of the Law Council of Australia. This was done on the recommendation of the Australian Government, then led by Sir Robert Menzies.

In 1972, the Prime Minister, William McMahon, had recommended Kerr for a promotion within the order to Knight Commander (KCMG), to be announced in the 1973 New Year's Honours. In view of the impending federal election scheduled for 2 December 1972 and the knowledge that the Labor Party's longstanding policy was not to support Imperial honours, Governor-General Sir Paul Hasluck chose not to forward such recommendations to the Queen, pending the result of the election. After Gough Whitlam's election, Hasluck asked him if he were willing to endorse McMahon's recommendation for Kerr's knighthood, but he declined. Kerr was appointed KCMG in the New Years Honours of 1974, for services as Chief Justice of NSW, on the recommendation of the UK Foreign Secretary on behalf of the Premier of New South Wales, Sir Robert Askin.

In 1974 he was made a Knight of the Order of St John of Jerusalem.

On the establishment of the Order of Australia on 14 February 1975, as Governor-General he was made Principal Companion of the Order (AC). When the category of Knight was added to the Order on 24 May 1976, he was made Principal Knight of the Order (AK).

In 1976 he was elevated to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG). He had asked Gough Whitlam for this appointment shortly after becoming Governor-General in 1974, but was rebuffed.

On 30 March 1977 he was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO), an award within the personal gift of the Sovereign, for services as Governor-General. This award was made by the Queen during an official visit to Australia, and was conferred on board HMY Britannia in Fremantle Harbour.

Kerr was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1977 on the instigation of Malcolm Fraser; this was another appointment he had unsuccessfully sought from Whitlam in 1974. In Whitlam's book The Truth of the Matter'' he claimed that Fraser also asked the UK Prime Minister, James Callaghan, to grant Kerr a peerage, specifically a viscountcy, but that Callaghan refused.

References

Books, letters, articles

 House of Representatives Hansard, 11 November 1975
The Kerr Palace Letters at the National Archives of Australia

1914 births
1991 deaths
Governors-General of Australia
1975 Australian constitutional crisis
Knights of the Order of Australia
Australian Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Australian Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Australian Knights Bachelor
University of Sydney alumni
Australian King's Counsel
Chief Justices of New South Wales
Lieutenant-Governors of New South Wales
Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
20th-century King's Counsel
Australian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
20th-century Australian lawyers
People educated at Fort Street High School
Australian people of English descent
20th-century Australian judges
Judges of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory
Judges of the Commonwealth Industrial Court
Australian monarchists
Australian Army personnel of World War II
Australian colonels

John Kerr (governor-general)


The pulwar or pulouar is a single-handed curved sword originating in Afghanistan.

Origin
The pulwar originated alongside other scimitar-type weapons such as the Arab saif, the Persian shamshir, the Turkish kilij, and the Indian talwar, all of them ultimately based on earlier Central Asian swords. Originally, the Khyber Knife (a type of short sword) served as the weapon of the common people while upper-classes could afford to import swords from neighbouring Persia and India. Over time, the Afghans combined characteristics of the imported swords and adapted it to create the pulwar. Most existing pulwars date back to the early 19th century.

Characteristics

Borrowing features from the swords of neighboring lands, the pulwar may be described as an Afghan version of the Indian talwar. Pulwar blades tend to be more elaborately fullered than those of the talwar. Some pulwar hilts were fitted to Persian blades which are slimmer and more curved and tapered towards the tip than the more typically robust pulwar blades. The hilt is characterized by two quillons which are short and turned to point in the direction of the blade in the manner of some shamshir and saif, a feature typical of swords produced in Qajar period Iran. Like the tulwar, the hilt is made of iron, and is attached to the tang of the blade by a very strong adhesive resin. Unlike the flat disc surrounding  the pommel of the tulwar, the pommel of pulwar exhibits a cup-shape. Both hilt and blade can be ornately engraved with inscriptions, designs, and images.

See also
 Khanjar
 Sabre
 Zulfiqar

Notes

References
 Evangelista, N. and Gaugler, W. M. (1995). The encyclopedia of the sword. Greenwood Publishing Group. .

Weapons of Afghanistan
Single-edged swords
Pashtun culture

Pulwar


Video chat is a way of communicating online using the Internet. It uses a camera and microphone in a computer or smart phone. This allows people to see and hear each other.

For streaming video a speed of at least 2 Mbps is needed, to prevent a choppy signal and disconnects. For sound transmission, much less speed is required, so people often turn off video when the internet connection is slow.

Video chat is a very popular form of communication in the 21st century. It is often used for many reasons;

 To communicate with family or friends
 Real time business communication
 Real time education / teaching

Telecommunications

Video chat


Leigh Hobbs (born 18 April 1953) is an Australian artist and author. He is best known in Australia and the United Kingdom for the humorous children's books which he has written and illustrated, although he has produced works across a wide range of mediums. His books principally feature the characters Old Tom, Horrible Harriet, Fiona the Pig, Mr Badger and Mr Chicken, and characters from the 4F for FREAKS books. He was the Australian Children's Laureate for 2016–17.

Life and career

Leigh Hobbs was born in Williamstown in Victoria, Australia and grew up in the town of Bairnsdale. After graduating from Caulfield Institute of Technology art school (now Monash University) in 1973, he was employed as an artist at Sydney's Luna Park, an amusement park located adjacent to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. While there he designed the colour scheme for the antique carousel, and created two large three-dimensional characters called Larry and Lizzy Luna, which now reside at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum. Between 1978 and 2002 Hobbs supported his artistic career by working as a secondary school art teacher.

In 1980 Hobbs held a one-man show of caricature sculptures at the Rex Irwin Gallery in Sydney. Between 1985 and 2010 he was a freelance contributing cartoonist for The Age newspaper in Melbourne, Victoria. Since 1999 time a number of major profiles of Hobbs and his work have been published. In 1983 Leigh Hobbs created a series of glazed ceramic tea pots in the shape of Melbourne's Flinders Street Station. These are in the collection of a number of galleries including the National Gallery of Victoria. In 1999 Hobbs designed the colour scheme for the entrance to Melbourne's Luna Park in St. Kilda.  Between 1998 and 2002 a French/Australian co-produced animated cartoon TV series Old Tom was created based on his Old Tom books, and over 50 episodes were broadcast in Australia on ABC TV. In 2013 Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) adapted Hobbs' book Mr Chicken Goes To Paris for the stage and the book is a popular title in the Musée du Louvre bookshop in Paris.

Leigh Hobbs's children's books are often described as working on a number of levels and could be seen as gently subversive. For example, Hobbs's most popular creation, Old Tom, is a grotesque one eyed cat, but the word cat is never used in the books. Old Tom's 'owner' a prim matron like character called Angela Throgmorton thinks of Old Tom as her 'son' and the stories revolve around her efforts to socialise this creature who is in fact like a seven-year-old boy trying to break free of a mothers constraints. Hobbs has frequently been shortlisted for the CBCA's Picture Book of the Year award, his books have won many of the major children's choice awards in Australia, and in 2010 Old Tom was short-listed for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards. In Australia his works are published by Allen & Unwin

Leigh Hobbs's artwork, paintings, drawings, prints, illustrations and ceramics are to be found in numerous private collections, public art galleries, and institutions including the National Gallery of Victoria and the State Libraries of Victoria, and Western Australia. A 1993 photo-portrait by Francis Reiss of Hobbs at work is held in Australia's National Portrait Gallery.

Leigh Hobbs was the Australian Children's Laureate for 2016 & 2017.

In 2019 Australia Post featured Leigh and his character Mr Chicken on an 'Australian Legends of Children's Literature' postage stamp

Personal life
He lives in Melbourne with his partner the writer Dmetri Kakmi.

Bibliography
The following books were written and illustrated by Leigh Hobbs:
 Old Tom (1994)
 Old Tom at the Beach (1995)
 Old Tom goes To Mars (1996)
 Old Tom's Guide to Being Good (1998)
 Horrible Harriet (2001)
 Old Tom's Holiday  (2002)
 Old Tom Man of Mystery (2003)
 Fiona The Pig  (2004)
 Hooray For Horrible Harriet (2005)
 4F For Freaks (2006)
 Fiona The Pig's Big Day (2006)
 Freaks Ahoy (2007)
 Old Tom's Big Book of Beauty (2007)
 A Friend For Old Tom (2008)
 Mr Chicken Goes To Paris (2009)
 Mr Badger and The Big Surprise (2010)
 Mr Badger and The Missing Ape (2010)
 Mr Badger and The Difficult Duchess (2011)
 Mr Badger and The Magic Mirror (2011)
 Horrible Harriet's Inheritance (2012)
 Mr Chicken Lands on London (2014)
 Mr Chicken arriva a Roma (2016)
 Mr Chicken All Over Australia (2019)
 Horrible Harriet and The Terrible Tantrum (2021)

References

External links
 Leigh Hobbs' website

1953 births
Living people
Australian children's writers
Australian illustrators
Australian gay writers
Australian gay artists
People from Bairnsdale
Artists from Victoria (state)
Australian cartoonists
Monash University alumni
20th-century Australian LGBT people
21st-century Australian LGBT people

Leigh Hobbs


Electroelution is a method used to extract a nucleic acid or a protein sample from an electrophoresis gel by applying a negative current in the plane of the smallest dimension of the gel, drawing the macromolecule to the surface for extraction and subsequent analysis. Electroblotting is based upon the same principle.

DNA extraction
Using this method, DNA fragments can be recovered from a particular region of agarose or polyacrylamide gels. The gel piece containing the fragment is excised (cut out from the whole gel) and placed in a dialysis bag with buffer. Electrophoresis causes the DNA to migrate out of the gel into the dialysis bag buffer. The DNA fragments are recovered from this buffer and purified, using phenol–chloroform extraction followed by ethanol precipitation. This method is simple, rapid and yields high (75%) recovery of DNA fragments from gel pieces.

References

Genetics experiments

Electroelution


Desmond Hoebig is a Canadian cellist with a career as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician. Hoebig has held the chair of Principal Cellist in the Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Hoebig is currently Professor of Cello at The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, in Houston, Texas, US. He is also on the faculty of The Glenn Gould School at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. From 1989 to 1991 he was an associate professor at the University of Toronto in Canada.

Hoebig was born in 1961 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He studied with James Hunter, Jack Mendelsohn and Ian Hampton.  In 1979, Hoebig, his sister, violinist Gwen Hoebig, and pianist David Moroz, formed the Hoebig-Moroz Trio. The trio won first prize in the 1983 CBC Radio Talent Competition. The trio has toured in Canada, the USA, and England.

Hoebig studied with David Soyer at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He received his BM and MM at the Juilliard School with Leonard Rose and Channing Robbins, and participated in master classes with Janos Starker and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi at the Banff Centre.

Hoebig won the First Prize at the Munich International Competition (1984), the Grand Prize of the CBC Talent Competition (1981) and the Canadian Music Competition (1980). He was also an award winner at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1982).

As a chamber musician, Hoebig was the cellist with the Orford String Quartet of Canada when they won a Juno award for the best classical music album in 1990. He has also performed for 30 years with the Hoebig-Moroz Trio and a duo with Andrew Tunis. Hoebig has taught and performed at festivals throughout North America, including; Banff, La Jolla, Marlboro, Music Bridge, Orcas Island, Sarasota and Steamboat Springs.

Discography
Hoebig has recorded as a soloist with orchestras and in ensembles. He is featured on at least eight CDs, including Quartet For The End Of Time by Olivier Messiaen, as a member of the Houston Symphony Chamber Players.

Free Canadian Broadcasting Corporation recordings of several works are available at http://music.cbc.ca/#/artists/Desmond-Hoebig

References

Canadian cellists
Texas classical music
1961 births
Living people
Rice University faculty
Academic staff of the University of Toronto
Musicians from Vancouver

Desmond Hoebig


Patrick Gideon Wolff (born February 15, 1968) is an American chess Grandmaster. He is the son of philosopher Robert Paul Wolff and brother of law professor Tobias Barrington Wolff. Wolff won the United States Chess Championship in 1992 and 1995.

Chess career

In addition to his two United States championships (1992 and 1995), Wolff also had a distinguished scholastic chess career, winning the 1983 National High School Championship and the 1987 U.S. Junior Championship.

In 1988, in a game played in New York City, Wolff defeated the world champion Garry Kasparov during a simultaneous exhibition in just 25 moves with the black pieces:1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c6 4.d4 exd4 5.Qxd4 d5 6.cxd5 cxd5 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.Qa4 Be7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Be3 Ng4 11.Bd4 Nxd4 12.Nxd4 Qb6 13.Nc3 Qh6 14.h4 g5 15.Nxd5 Bd8 16.Rac1 gxh4 17.Rxc8 hxg3 18.Nf3 Nh2 19.Rfc1 Rxc8 20.Rxc8 Nxf3+ 21.exf3 gxf2+ 22.Kf1 Qd2 23.Nf6+ Kg7 24.Ne8+ Kh8 25.Qe4 Bh4 0–1

This game, although played as part of a simultaneous exhibition against five other masters, was one of Kasparov's shortest losses in his career.

In 1995, the same year he won his second United States championship, Wolff served as a second to challenger Viswanathan Anand in preparation for the Classical World Chess Championship 1995 match against champion Kasparov. Although Anand led the match after nine games, Kasparov eventually prevailed 10.5 to 7.5.

Wolff is also the author of the Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess. He graduated from Harvard College in 1996, and the trophy of the annual Harvard-Yale intercollegiate chess match is named the Wolff Cup in his honor, as he remains the only grandmaster to participate in the match as a member of both colleges (beginning at Yale University and graduating from Harvard).

Wolff's game against Vassily Ivanchuk from the Biel Invitational in 1993 was featured in the 2020 Netflix limited series, The Queen's Gambit (miniseries). Kasparov, who acted as a chess consultant for the series, selected and modified the 1993 game to serve as the game played during the series' climax.

Investing career
Wolff was previously a managing director at San Francisco hedge fund Clarium, a $3B global macro hedge fund. He left Clarium to launch Grandmaster Capital Management, a hedge fund that received seed capital from Peter Thiel, the founder of Clarium and a strong chess player himself.

Hedge Fund Alert reported that Wolff started the wind-down process of Grandmaster Capital in June 2015.

Over the past several years, Wolff has given a blindfolded simultaneous exhibition for all comers at the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska headed by CEO Warren Buffett and Vice-Chairman Charlie Munger.

Personal life
While originally from the Boston area, Wolff currently resides in San Francisco.

References

External links

 Kasparov vs Wolff, 0-1 (requires Java plugin)
 "American Gambit: Kasparov vs US Juniors", Chessbase News, 13 April 2010

1968 births
20th-century American Jews
21st-century American Jews
American chess players
Chess grandmasters
Harvard College alumni
Jewish chess players
Living people
Sportspeople from Boston

Patrick Wolff


The Battle of Ortona was a small, very violent battle fought between German and Canadian troops. It was fought on December 20–28, 1943. It was part of World War II.

The battalion of German paratroops were from the German 1st Parachute Division under Generalleutnant Richard Heidrich. The Canadian forces were from the 1st Canadian Infantry Division under Major General Chris Vokes.

It was part of the fighting on the Adriatic area in Italy. The battle has been called "Little Stalingrad" because of the violent, close fighting. The battle took place in the Adriatic Sea town of Ortona, with a population of 10,000.

Background
The Eighth Army's attack on the Winter Line defences started on 23 November. By the end of the month, Allied troops broke through the Gustav Line defences.  The Allied troops were fighting towards the Moro river, near Ortona.

Ortona was one of Italy's few deep water ports on the east coast. The Allies wanted to capture the port. The Germans had constructed a series of defensive positions in the town.

The battle

The Canadians had to battle the  German 1st Parachute Division. These soldiers were experienced after many years of war. Adolf Hitler ordered them to defend Ortona.

The Canadian attack on the town was on December 20. The Germans had hidden machine guns and anti-tank guns in the town. This made it hard for Canadian tanks and infantry to move. The fighting was very violent. The soldiers fought for every house.

After six days fighting, 2nd Brigade's third battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, joined the battle. Tanks from 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade also joined the battle.

On 28 December, after eight days of fighting, the Germans withdrew from the town. The Canadians had 1,375 dead.

Notes

References

Bibliography

Ortona
1943 in Italy
December events

Battle of Ortona


Fernando Reinares (born 1960 in Logroño) is a specialist in terrorism, especially the process of radicalization. Currently, he is Professor of Political Science and Security Studies at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, Spain.

Career
He served a term as Senior Adviser on Antiterrorist Policy to the Spanish Minister of Interior following the 2004 Madrid train bombings, where he was engaged in adapting national security structures to the challenges of international terrorism. Afterward, he was appointed Director of the Program on Global Terrorism at the Real Instituto Elcano, a Spanish think tank. He also teaches postgraduate courses at General Gutiérrez Mellado University Institute and Ortega y Gasset University Institute.

Reinares is an advisor to the Center for Global Counter-Terrorism Cooperation, and he belongs to the United Nations roster of experts on terrorism prevention. The terrorism studies program board at the University of St. Andrews. Reinares is a member of the Council on Global Terrorism established by the Atlantic Monthly Foundation and of the academic committee of the Queen Sofía Center for the Study of Violence. He is Chairman of the European Commission expert group on violent radicalization and Academic Director of the Permanent Seminar on Terrorism Studies at Ortega y Gasset Foundation.

He is a Contributing Editor to Studies in Conflict and Terrorism and belongs to the editorial boards of Terrorism and Political Violence, Democracy and Security, Cultures et Conflits, and Sécurité Globale.

He was invited to join the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., as Public Policy Scholar in 2011.

Works

References

Sources
 Real Instituto Elcano: Investigadores, ayudantes de investigación y colaboradores
 International Security Forum - Fernando Reinares

Living people
Spanish political scientists
1960 births
Experts on terrorism

Fernando Reinares


Andrew Bain is the principal horn player of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the horn instructor at the Colburn School in Los Angeles.

Biography

Education

Bain was born and raised in Adelaide, Australia. Remaining in his home town, he studied music at Brighton Secondary School's Special Interest Music Centre where he was 'Dux of Music' in 1990.  Subsequently, he graduated from the Elder Conservatorium of Music at the University of Adelaide for his undergraduate studies. He left Adelaide in 1994 to study with Geoff Collinson in Sydney and Hector McDonald in Vienna. He earned a Graduate Degree in 2003, from the Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe, Germany, studying with Will Sanders and specializing in Chamber Music.

Musical career

Bain's career began when he won the Associate Principal horn position in Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, his hometown orchestra. He played there from 1997 to 2000, until he won the job in the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, where he was Principal horn from 2000 to 2001. In 2001, when he began pursuing graduate work in Karlsruhe, Germany, he was Principal Horn in the Münchner Symphoniker. Upon returning to Australia in 2003, Andrew Bain was Principal horn in the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House until 2005. In 2003, Bain also joined the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra as Principal horn, as holder of the Avenir Foundation Endowed Chair, and as a featured soloist. In 2005, Bain returned to the Queensland Symphony Orchestra until he was hired by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 2009.

In 2004, Bain founded the New Sydney Wind Quintet. Bain can be heard on their discography 'NSWQ Debut CD." He remained with the group until 2010.

In May 2011, Bain was hired by Gustavo Dudamel as the principal horn player of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He holds the John Cecil Bessell Chair. He has played with the orchestra in the Walt Disney Concert Hall on significant concert series such as the Mahler Project of the 2012 season. He was principal horn on the soundtrack of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Bain was a lecturer in Horn at the Sydney Conservatorium from 2004 to 2009. Since 2012, He has been on faculty as the horn instructor at the Colburn School.

During his studies in Germany and his career in Australia, Bain played on a Gebr. Alexander 103. While auditioning in the United States, however, he switched to an Atkinson Geyer AG2000.

Reviews by music critics

"The slow movement, with its eloquent horn solo (beautifully played by Andrew Bain), erupts into grotesque weirdness."
– Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times Music Critic(12-2-2012)

"Andrew Bain's rich and nuanced horn solos became a highlight."
– Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times Music Critic (10-27-2012)

Andrew Bain's horn solos soared high.  The horns were magnificent in trio, and their moment was brilliant, a hallmark memory."
– Theodore Bell, Culture Spot LA (10 August 2012)

"When principal horn player Andrew Bain took a solo bow, huge roars came from what were obviously horn players in the audience."
– Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times Music Critic (2 December 2012)

"There was elegant horn playing from Andrew Bain."
– Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times Music Critic (1-14-2012)

Media links
 Music Lovers with Andrew Bain
 This Is My Downtown – Andrew Bain

"Being a member of the LA Phil is amazing. We get to play, of course, in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and with musicians all over the world of the highest level. And we also, of course get to work with Gustavo Dudamel who is probably the most famous conductor in the world at the moment, and an amazing person actually."

 – Andrew Bain

References

Living people
Australian classical horn players
Musicians from Los Angeles
Orchestra leaders
21st-century classical musicians
21st-century American musicians
Year of birth missing (living people)

Andrew Bain (horn player)


Leukotriene D4 (LTD4) is one of the leukotrienes. Its main function in the body is to induce the contraction of smooth muscle, resulting in bronchoconstriction and vasoconstriction. It also increases vascular permeability. LTD4 is released by basophils. Other leukotrienes that function in a similar manner are leukotrienes C4 and E4. Pharmacological agents that inhibit the function of these leukotrienes are leukotriene receptor antagonists (e.g., zafirlukast, montelukast) and are useful for asthmatic individuals.

References

Eicosanoids

Leukotriene D4


The seventh season of The Real Housewives of New York City, an American reality television series, is broadcast on Bravo. It aired April 7, 2015 until September 3, 2015, and is primarily filmed in New York City, New York. Its executive producers are Andrew Hoegl, Barrie Bernstein, Lisa Shannon, Pam Healy and Andy Cohen.

The Real Housewives of New York City focuses on the lives of Bethenny Frankel, Luann de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan, Carole Radziwill, Heather Thomson, Kristen Taekman and Dorinda Medley. It consisted of 23 episodes.

Production and crew
It was announced that The Real Housewives of New York City was renewed for a seventh season on October 20, 2014 when it was revealed that former housewife, Bethenny Frankel, would be returning to the series.
In March 2015, the full cast, trailer and premiere date for season seven were announced.

The season premiere "The B Is Back" was aired on April 7, 2015, while the nineteenth episode "New Beginnings, My Ass" served as the season finale, and was aired on August 11, 2015.
It was followed by a three-part reunion that aired on August 18, August 25 and August 27, 2015,
and a "Secrets Revealed" episode on September 3, 2015, which marked the conclusion of the season.
Andrew Hoegl, Barrie Bernstein, Lisa Shannon, Pam Healy and Andy Cohen are recognized as the series' executive producers; it is produced by Ricochet and is distributed by Shed Media.

Following the final episode of the season, "Secrets Revealed", a special was aired on Watch What Happens Live tiled "100th Episode Watch What Happens Live Special". The special was hosted by Andy Cohen with many housewives, past and present, returning to discuss the series, the drama that occurred and how it affected their lives.
Jill Zarin declined to participate in the special, but appeared on her own during an episode of Watch What Happens Live the following month in October, 2015. Zarin was shown footage of the special and spoke on her feud with Frankel.

Cast and synopsis

Cast
Five of the six wives featured on the sixth season returned for the seventh. It was revealed that Aviva Drescher had been fired from the series, shortly after the conclusion of season six. Andy Cohen later spoke of the firing of Drescher on a segment called Ask Andy, saying "I think that that was a situation where we listened to the fans."

De Lesseps returned to being a full-time cast member after recurring in season six.

Shortly after reports circulated on Bethenny Frankel's return to the series, on October 1, 2014 Frankel revealed to SiriusXM Radio host, Jennifer Hutt, that she was working with Andy Cohen on two different projects as well as revealing that Bravo have been asking her to return for years.
October 2014, it was announced that Bethenny Frankel was returning to the series in season seven after a three-year hiatus from the series. Frankel returned to the series despite claiming she had quit reality television for her talk show Bethenny and that she wouldn't return to 'The Real Housewives of New York City. Frankel stated that she was excited for her return, saying "It feels like the first season when it was fresh and new and unknown."

Cohen later spoke of how he convinced Frankel to return during one if his Ask Andy videos, relaying the story he said, "The thing transpired in her kitchen...I went over there to convince her to come back to the show and she had different ideas about things she wanted to do...I kind of said, 'I don't think that those are good ideas.'" Continuing he then proceed to convince her with his reasons for her return and after a few more talks between the two, Frankel agreed with saying, "I'm in."
With the return of de Lesseps and Frankel, Ramona Singer was no longer the only remaining original cast member.

A new cast member was also introduced the seventh season, Dorinda Medley. With the addition of Medley, the returning wives from season six; Singer, Sonja Morgan, Heather Thomson, Carole Radziwill and Kristen Taekman, and the wives returning to the series; de Lesseps and Frankel, this marked the first time in The Real Housewives franchise that there were eight full-time cast members.

Medley returned to New York, after spending over a decade in London running her and her former husband's cashmere company, DCL Cashmere. She and her Daughter Hannah returned after the divorce, Medley navigated life in New York as a single mother. Medley eventually met a man named Richard Medley, they fell in love and married and together they raised money for charitable causes. Medley was devastated by the passing of Richard in 2011. After her and daughter found strength from their loved ones, Medley climbed the social ladder in New York. At the height of her social status, Medley met her current boyfriend, John Mahdessian who is owner of New York's legendary couture restoration house, Madame Paulette. Medley is described as being known for her "trademark sequins, humor and exuberant perspective" as well as "there's never enough glitz, glam and sparkle for this true New York City Housewife."

Synopsis
The season begins with the introduction of Bethenny Frankel, revealing her new transition in life. Frankel continues to go through a chaotic divorce, and left homeless from it. Frankel looks for a place to live and a place to belong. Luann de Lesseps begins the season after changing her name from "LuAnn" and is relishing in her new home in the Hamptons and invites the ladies to see it during a party. Ramona Singer copes with her divorce from Mario and tries to navigate life as a single woman. Carole Radziwill continues her work as an author as she is pressured by a deadline. Introduced is Dorinda Medley, Medleys struggles to live to separate lives- one with her Daughter Hannah and the other with her boyfriend John.

Kristen Taekman finds herself not invited to Frankel's last minute birthday party and isn't happy about it. Taekman attempts to resolve her issues on the night of the launch of Singer's sports bar but Frankel is uninterested.
Taekman continues with her fashion blog and has a photo shoot in the streets for it. Taekman expands her realm of fashion when she takes part in a new nail polish line. Her new nail polish line, Pop of Color, is featured during fashion week as a part of the Elie Tahari presentation.

Heather Thomson attends a lunch between de Lesseps and Frankel, but it appears that Thomson and Frankel are both opinionated. The two women find themselves in a heated discussion of a war of words at Frankel's birthday dinner. The tension between the two women escalates after Bethenny surprisingly attends Medley's birthday in the Berkshires and Thomson is quick to fix a situation. In Turks and Caicos tensions arise when Thomson thinks Frankel is a know-it-all.=

Sonja Morgan meets Frankel after Frankel is warned by the other ladies of her questionable business aspirations and later in Atlantic City Frankel accuses Morgan of not listening and leaves her in tears.
Morgan defends herself and her actions after refusing to let the ladies in her townhouse while it was raining. Frankel is still annoyed with Morgan's drunken behavior she later attempts to have a no-holds barred conversation with her Morgan is continued to be supported by Frankel when Frankel invites her to a business summit.

Morgan celebrates life being debt-free but inviting the ladies to Turks and Caicos. On the trip Morgan defends herself against the other ladies' allegations of drinking too much and making advances at other peoples' boyfriends. Morgan tries to explains herself to Frankel but it leads to a fiery argument between them. In the morning, Morgan is reminded by Medley to stand up for herself. Later Singer informs Morgan that the other ladies think she's an alcoholic, which bring Morgan to a boiling point and forces her to confront them.

Frankel is taken aback when she is reintroduced to the group at de Lessep's housewarming in the Hamptons.
Frankel continues to renovate her new apartment and on a shopping trip for furniture she invites Radziwill and opens up about the struggles of parenting and having a social life. Frankel's apartment is finally complete and Radziwill comes to see it.
Having hard time opening up to the other ladies, Frankel takes a trip to Miami to reconnect with her estranged father which leads to new revelations. Back in New York after meeting her father, Frankel seeks the support of her therapist to help her tap into her feelings so she can move forward with her relationships.

Singer continues to struggle will the separation from Mario, at her house Morgan and Medley affirm that she is better off. The ladies reach a consensus that Singer is a lot softer and less chaotic without Mario and appears better off. Singer reaches out to de Lesseps to discuss the past and apologize. Singer feels conflicted when Mario reveals to her that he wants to get back together and reunite their family. Singer's decisions are made easier when her daughter, Avery, arrives home from college and gives an adult perspective on the situation. Singer bonds with the unlikely Frankel over their failed marriages. Singer endeavors in to a new business of a sports bar, and finds herself flirting with her business partner Peter. With a decision of her future made, Singer hosts a "new beginnings" party.

De Lesseps heads to Miami to support her daughter Victoria as she featured in the art festival, Art Basel. De Lesseps invites all the ladies along to a photo shoot for her new clothing line but Taekman confronts Frankel on her timing issues which leaves Frankel in tears. De Lesseps continues with business by hosting a launch party for her clothing line, but Singer confronts Taekman on her treating of Frankel. Later at the party, Taekman is again at odds with Frankel. The newly single de Lesseps finds herself in an argument after a fun-filled night in Turks and Caicos when Thomson is outraged after finding a naked man in the room next to hers that Singer is responsible for.

Radziwill flirts with de Lesseps' younger chef Adam while at de Lesseps' house. The two meet away from de Lesseps' home for a date. Radziwill and her new relationship with Adam heats up as they host a dinner party for Taekman and Thomson. Radziwill's newfound friendship with Frankel reaches a new level after a sex dream. Radziwill invites Medley to London as she is going to pick up her late husband's ashes which turns out to be an emotional experience and the two bond over their woes of being widows.

Medley struggles balancing keeping the distance between her daughter and boyfriend. Medley also finds herself having to defend John after a cocktail party she hosts where he gets flirty with some of the other ladies. The struggle for Medley is made worse when Singer and de Lesseps call each other out on talking about John and Medley is left wondering who she should really be around and if the ladies should be invited to her birthday in the Berkshires. During the birthday dinner, Medley once again finds herself defending John over Taekmans's claims of inappropriate touching. In Turks and Caicos, Medley and Thomson find themselves in a confusing argument over etiquette. Medley is later conflicted after John reveals he wants to take the relationship to the next level.

Episodes

References

External links

2015 American television seasons
New York City (season 7)

The Real Housewives of New York City (season 7)


Davis Strait  is a northern arm of the Atlantic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The strait was named for the English explorer John Davis (1550–1605), who explored the area while seeking a Northwest Passage. By the 1650s it was used for whale hunting.

Extent
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Davis Strait as follows:
On the North. The Southern limit of Baffin Bay [The parallel of 70° North between Greenland and Baffin Land].

On the East. The Southwest coast of Greenland.

On the South. The parallel of 60° North between Greenland and Labrador.

On the West. The Eastern limit of the Northwestern Passages South of 70° North [the East coast of Baffin Island to East Bluff, its Southeastern extremity] and of Hudson Strait [A line from East Bluff, the Southeast extreme of Baffin Island (), to Point Meridian, the Western extreme of Lower Savage Islands, along the coast to its Southwestern extreme and thence a line across to the Western extreme of Resolution Island, through its Southwestern shore to Hatton Headland, its Southern point, thence a line to Cape Chidley, Labrador ()].

Geology

The Davis Strait is underlain by complex geological features of buried grabens (basins) and ridges, formed by strike-slip faulting of the Ungava Fault Zone during Paleogene times about 45 million to 62 million years ago. The strike-slip faulting transferred plate-tectonic motions in the Labrador Sea to Baffin Bay. It is the world's broadest strait.

Depth
With a water depth of between one and two thousand meters the strait is substantially shallower than the Labrador Sea to the south.

Tides
The strait is famous for its fierce tides that can range from , which discouraged many earlier explorers.

Oil and gas

US Geological Survey has estimated that at least 13% of the world's undiscovered oil deposits and 30% of the world's undiscovered gas pockets are located in the Arctic, with the seas around Greenland potentially holding large amounts of natural gas and lesser amounts of crude oil and natural gas liquids. This has led Greenland's minister and provincial council to offer a large number of off-shore concessions to potential hydrocarbon (oil and gas) extraction. The largest concessions areas are located in seas west of Greenland, primarily the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, but with several smaller concessions in the Greenland Sea in the east also.

References

Further reading

 Boertmann, David. Mapping of Oil Spill Sensitive Areas in the Davis Strait, West Greenland A Review of Biological Data in Relation to Oil Spill Sensitivity Mapping, with an Identification of Data Gaps. Copenhagen, Denmark: Greenland Environmental Research Institute, 1992.
 Crawford, R. E. Life History of the Davis Strait Greenland Halibut, with Reference to the Cumberland Sound Fishery. Winnipeg: Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans, 1992.

 Ross, W. Gillies. Arctic Whalers, Icy Seas Narratives of the Davis Strait Whale Fishery. Toronto, Canada: Irwin Pub, 1985.

External links
June 2005 satellite photograph of Davis Strait from MODIS, showing meltwater ponds

Bodies of water of Baffin Island
Canada–Greenland border
International straits
Straits of Canada
Straits of Greenland
Straits of Qikiqtaaluk Region
Seas of Canada
Seas of Greenland
Seas of North America
Geography of North America

Davis Strait