The RCA connector is a type of electrical connector commonly used to carry audio and video signals.  The name RCA derives from the company Radio Corporation of America, which introduced the design in the 1930s.  The connector's male plug and female jack are called RCA plug and RCA jack.

It is also called RCA phono connector or phono connector. The word phono in phono connector is an abbreviation of the word phonograph, because this connector was originally created to allow the connection of a phonograph turntable to a radio receiver. RCA jacks are often used in phono inputs, a set of input jacks usually located on the rear panel of a preamp, mixer or amplifier, especially on early radio sets, to which a phonograph or turntable is attached.

In some European countries (i.e. Germany) the older English name Cinch is still used.

History

The exact release date of this connector is still a little vague.  The following dates were derived from historical RCA documentation.

By no later than 1937, RCA introduced this connector. In 1937, it was used inside a RCA model U-109 radio-phonograph and model R-97 phonograph.  In the U-109, the internal amplifier chassis had female connectors which accepted male cables from the internal radio chassis and built-in phonograph player.  Originally, the concept was intended as an easy method to unhook sources while troubleshooting the console during servicing.

By no later than 1938, RCA migrated the female connector to the rear panel of many of their desktop AM radio models to allow customers an easy method to attach an external phonograph or television at a later date.  The connector was labeled on the back of radio with one of the following terms: "Victrola", "Phono", "Pick-up", "Television".  RCA later marketed a special turntable for 45 RPM records, the model 9JY.

In 1939, RCA introduced two radio-television floor consoles (TRK-9, TRK-12) which used the same internal connection concept but the audio output of the television chassis was connected to the radio/amplifier chassis via a male to male cable. Three lower-cost 1939 television models had an audio output connector on their rear panel instead of an integrated amplifier and speaker: RCA TT-5, Westinghouse WRT-700, GE HM-171.

In the 1950s, RCA connectors began to replace the older quarter-inch ( inch) phone connectors for many other applications in the consumer audio world when component high-fidelity systems started becoming popular during the transistor revolution.  Refinement of the RCA connectors came with later designs, although they remained compatible.

Other uses

In the most normal use, cables have a standard plug on each end, consisting of a central male connector, surrounded by a ring. The ring is often segmented to provide spring gripping pressure when mated. Devices mount the socket (female jack), consisting of a central hole with a ring of metal around it. The ring on the jack is slightly smaller in diameter and longer than the ring on the plug, allowing the plug's ring to fit tightly over it. The jack has a small area between the outer and inner rings which is filled with an insulator, typically plastic (very early versions, or those made for use as RF connectors, used ceramic).

The RCA connector was initially used for audio signals. As with many other connectors, it has been adopted for uses other than originally intended, including as a DC power connector, an RF connector, and as a connector for loudspeaker cables. Its use as a connector for composite video signals is extremely common but provides poor impedance matching. RCA connectors and cable are also commonly used to carry S/PDIF-formatted digital audio, with plugs colored orange to differentiate them from other typical connections.

Connections are made by pushing the cable's plug into the female jack on the device. The signal-carrying pin protrudes from the plug, and often comes into contact with the socket before the grounded rings meet, resulting in loud hum or buzz if the audio components do not share a common ground and are powered while making connections. Continuous noise can occur if the plug partially falls out of the jack, breaking the ground connection but not the signal.  Some variants of the plug, especially cheaper versions, also give very poor grip and contact between the ground sheaths due to their lack of spring action.

They are often color-coded, yellow for composite video, red for the right audio channel, and white or black for the left channel of stereo audio. This trio (or pair) of jacks can often be found on the back of audio and video equipment. One or more sets are often found on TV sets to facilitate connection of camcorders, other portable video sources and video game consoles. Although nearly all connectors, including analog and S/PDIF audio as well as composite and component video, can use identical 75 Ω cables, sales of special-purpose cables for each use have proliferated. Varying cable quality means that a cheap line-level audio cable might not successfully transfer component video. For digital audio, as long as a connection is successfully made using the cables the sound will remain faithful to the original signal because a digital signal can only be fully received or not received at all. Cables should meet the S/PDIF specification as defined by the international standard IEC 60958-3 for assured performance.

The male plug has a center pin that is 3.175 mm (1/8 inch) in diameter, and is surrounded by an outer shell that is 8.25 mm (1/3 inch) in diameter.

Disadvantages

When connecting the male into the female, the inner hot (signal) connection is made before the ground connection has been guaranteed; this often produces a loud buzz if the equipment is active when the connection is made.

The hot signal wire and signal ground provided by an RCA connection implement an unbalanced connection. A true balanced connection is generally preferred in certain applications, particularly professional settings because it allows for the use of long cables while reducing susceptibility to external noise.

Using RCA connectors, each signal requires its own plug. Even the simple case of attaching a cassette deck may need four of themtwo for stereo input and two for stereo output. In any common setup this quickly leads to a disarray of cables and confusion in how to connect them. This situation is made worse if one considers more complex signals like component video (a total of three for video and two for analog audio or one for digital coaxial audio).

There have been attempts to introduce combined audio/video connectors for direct signals, but in the analog realm none of these has ever become common, with the exception of Europe where the SCART connector was very successful.  For a time the 5-pin DIN connector was popular for bi-directional stereo connection between A/V equipment, but it has been entirely displaced on modern consumer devices.  Though RF modulators inherently transmit combined A/V signals in video applications, they depend on broadcast television systems and RF connectors which are not universal worldwide; RF signals are also generally inferior to direct signals due to protocol conversion and the RF limitations of the three major analog TV systems (NTSC, PAL and SECAM).

Before HD television became a standard, nearly all TV sets, VCRs, and DVD players sold in Europe had SCART connectors, although these are sometimes supplemented by RCA and/or RF connectors. SCART-RCA adapters also exist, which usually allow input of composite video and stereo audio. Outside Europe, separate RCA connectors are usually used, supplemented by RF connectors for backward compatibility and simplicity. Although mini-DIN connectors are used for S-Video connections, composite video, component video, and analog audio (mono or stereo) all use RCA connectors unless the signals are sent via SCART. In the digital realm, however, combined A/V connectors are gaining ground; HDMI is commonly used today for consumer electronics, and DisplayPort, a potential competitor to HDMI, is often found on home computers and peripherals.

Color coding in consumer equipment
Plugs and sockets on consumer equipment are conventionally color-coded to aid correct connections. The standard colors for the various signals are shown below; however, beyond 7.1 audio, the standard has degraded to a more general white/yellow, red/blue, and green/yellow color scheme for each cable respectively.

Stereo audio applications use either black and red, grey and red, or white and red RCA connectors; in all three cases, red denotes right. White or purple may also be replaced by black. Some older tape recorders, and equipment like receivers designed to connect to them, use a 5-pin DIN connector to connect left and right for record and playback with a single cable. Adapters between this connector and RCA connectors have used white and red for left and right channel recording, and blue (or sometimes black) and yellow for playback, but this is not universal. Most modern equipment with RCA connectors for recording devices simply uses white and red for all stereo pairs, whether record or playback.

While these are the standard colors found on commercially made products, cables with different-colored connectors may be used, as long as the cable itself is compatible with the application (for example, cables with 75 ohms impedance for video and S/PDIF).

Examples of devices with RCA jacks

References

External links

Electrical connectors
Audiovisual connectors
RF connectors

RCA connector


The A168 is a major road in North Yorkshire, England. It runs from Northallerton to Wetherby, acting as a local access road for the A1(M).

History
The majority of it was built during A1 upgrades as parts of it between Dishforth and Walshford are originally part of the old A1 southbound carriageway until it was upgraded to the A1(M) several feet to the west.

The original route ran from Topcliffe to Northallerton, the current southern section of the A167.

Route

Heading northwards, it begins at the roundabout with the A659 (Wattlesyke for Collingham) near junction 45 of the A1(M). This section of road was built when the A1 was improved to A1(M) in the Bramham to Wetherby section of the A1 Darrington to Dishforth scheme which was completed in December 2009. At Sweep Farm it follows the route of the former A1. It meets the eastern terminus of the A58 at a roundabout, and follows the former A1 Wetherby bypass across the River Wharfe, built in 1959. It runs next to the motorway Wetherby bypass and there is a roundabout for the former B1224, for Wetherby Racecourse. There is a roundabout for an industrial estate and then one for the newly diverted B1224, and junction 46 of the A1(M), where it rejoins the former Great North Road. There is a junction for Kirk Deighton then one for Cowthorpe. At Walshford Bridge it crosses the River Nidd.

The former route of the A1 went through Walshford. The A1 Wetherby to Walshford section opened in August 2005, when the former A1 south of Walshford became the A168.  At Great Ribston with Walshford there is a roundabout for Walshford west of the A1(M), and on the eastern side, there is a roundabout for Hunsingore. The A168 from 1995 to 2005 terminated at Walshford, where the A1(M) joined the A1. The former A1 north of Walshford became the A168 when the thirteen-mile Walshford to Dishforth section was built by Alfred McAlpine and AMEC, and opened by John Arthur Watts in November 1995. At Allerton Mauleverer with Hopperton it passes under the A59, accessed from a turn to the right which leads to Allerton Castle. Flaxby Golf Club is to the left, near Flaxby. There is a left turn for Arkendale, and right turns for Marton and Grafton. At junction 48 of the A1(M) it meets the A6055 for Knaresborough, to the south-west. The former course of the Great North Road carries straight on through Boroughbridge. The A168 follows the former course of the A1 bypass, next to the current A1(M), to the west of the town. It crosses the River Ure and at Kirby Hill there is a roundabout for the B6265 for Ripon to the west.

It resumes the route of the Great North Road. At the point where it runs parallel to runway of the former RAF Dishforth at Norton-le-Clay, it joins the route of the Roman road Dere Street. The road becomes the parish boundary between Marton-le-Moor and Dishforth. At Dishforth, the road leaves Dere Street and forms part of junction 49 of the A1(M). The A1 junction was planned in the 1970s to be the northern terminus of the A6183, a motorway-standard road that bypassed Leeds to the west from Kirkhamgate, north-west of Wakefield. The scheme was eventually condensed into the A1-M1 motorway link road and the improvement of the A1 to Dishforth. The A168 becomes the main route from the A1 to Teesside, joining the short section of the A168(M), and a trunk road. The former route went through Dishforth, to the south. The South of Topcliffe and Asenby By-pass, including Dishforth by-pass section was built in 1970, connecting with the A1 at the Dishforth Roundabout. At Asenby, the A167 leaves to the left, which is the former route of the A168, and the A168 bypasses Asenby and Topcliffe, crossing the River Swale, and consequently entering the district of Hambleton. The Topcliffe and Asenby By-pass was built in the late 1960s. There is a left turn for Topcliffe, the A167, also for RAF Topcliffe (which is still operational), and access to the east for Dalton and the former RAF Dalton. RAF Dishforth, Dalton, and Topcliffe were all used by No. 6 Group RCAF during the Second World War. It rejoins the former route. The South of Thirsk By-pass to north of Topcliffe and Asenby By-pass section opened in the late 1960s. In the parish of Topcliffe, there is a left turn for Sowerby, the B1448, the former route of the A168. The road becomes part of the Thirsk bypass, and at Sowerby crosses the East Coast Main Line, then Cod Beck. At Pudding Pie Hill it meets the A170 at a grade-separated junction, where the road continues as the A19 to Teesside. The improvements from the A1 to Thirsk in the late 1960s originally included classifying that section as the A19, not the A168. The Thirsk by-pass opened as the A19 in September 1972.

At Thornbrough, at the northern end of the Thirsk by-pass, the A168 leaves to the left at a grade-separated junction. It crosses the Cod Beck, and there is a left turn for the B1448, the former A168. Thirsk and Northallerton Golf Club is to the left.  It passes through Thornton-le-Street. Thornton-le-Moor is to the left. Thornton-le-Beans is to the right. The Vale of Mowbray is to the west. It enters Romanby then Northallerton as Thirsk Road and the northern terminus of the road is with the A167 in the town centre at a roundabout.

References

External links

 Sabre Roads
 A168(M)

Roads in Yorkshire
Transport in North Yorkshire
Roads in Leeds
Borough of Harrogate
Hambleton District

A168 road


Cardinal Nation, or Redbird Nation, is a term commonly used to describe, in aggregate, the fans of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball franchise.  Cardinal Nation encompasses not just the area around St. Louis, but also a large portion of the Midwest. The team is traditionally popular in this region and Cardinals games are broadcast on radio and TV on Bally Sports Midwest. The term "Cardinal Nation" has been in use since the 1930s, when the team's success and St. Louis radio greatly increased the Cardinals' popularity over a large area of the United States. "Cardinal Nation" remains a major term in team promotion.

In addition, the team is also popular in other major league markets, most notably in Colorado, where the Cardinals were the team of choice until the creation of the Rockies franchise in 1993. To this day, the Cardinals have many fans in attendance at games on the road in Denver, as well as every other major league venue.

Historical background
Major League Baseball experienced a half-century of stability from 1902 through 1952, during which no franchises moved and none were established or closed. During this time, the Cardinals were the westernmost and southernmost major league franchise. They were geographically the closest team to anyone living southwest of a line stretching approximately from Savannah, Georgia through Central Illinois into the Dakotas, an area encompassing much the greater portion of the United States. (The Cardinals shared this distinction with the St. Louis Browns, but the Browns were generally less successful and less popular.)

Although some franchises were established at the outer periphery of this area beginning in the 1950s (The Braves in Milwaukee in 1953, teams in California beginning in 1958, the Twins in Minneapolis in 1961) it was not until the move of the A's from Philadelphia to Kansas City in 1955 followed by the establishment of the Houston Colt .45s in 1962, the shift of the Braves to Atlanta in 1966, and the creation of the Kansas City Royals in 1969 (replacing the A's, who had moved to Oakland in 1968) that significant inroads into this market began. (The Browns left St. Louis after 1953, ending whatever competition they offered for this fan base.)

During this period (1902 to 1955 and to some extent later) when the Cardinals were the closest team to a vast geographical area, baseball became firmly established as America's national pastime and by far its premier professional sport. Also during this time, commercial radio broadcasting – including broadcasting of baseball games – was widely adopted and commonplace, and broadcasting at night and on television began. Also during this period the population of the Cardinals' mediashed grew considerably, even compared to the rest of the United States (the mean center of United States population moved from Indiana to the approximate location of St. Louis during this time).

During the core of this period the Cardinals were generally successful on the field, often contending for the league title and winning two pennants in the 1920s, three in the 1930s, and four in the 1940s (the Cardinals in their overall history have the fourth-best overall percentage of baseball's 30 teams, at about .520). In the latter part of this period, the Cardinals' games began airing on the 50,000-watt clear-channel radio station KMOX, which has the power to reach almost all of the continental United States at night.

All these factors combined such that for most of the 20th century the Cardinals' listening audience, and consequently fan base, extended throughout the American south and deep into the plains and Rocky Mountain states, a state of affairs that, although diminished, has persisted into the 21st century to some degree. As of 2020, the Cardinals still had the largest radio network in Major League Baseball, with 145 affiliated stations in eight states.

In 2019, attendance at Cardinal home games grew to 3.48 million. In 2022, the Cardinals were one of four teams with over 3 million in attendance, including Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and Atlanta Braves. Cardinal fans are found in multiple states outside of Missouri such as Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Kansas.

In St. Louis
St. Louis is regarded as one of the best baseball cities in the United States. The Cardinals enjoy great popularity with a large fan base, who are loyal to their team. The Cardinals have been one of the most successful baseball franchises in history with 19 National League pennants (third only to the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants) and a National League record 11 World Series Championships. They are second only to the New York Yankees (who have 27) in total World Series Championships.

Cardinals fans are known for traveling to see their team on the road as well. This is especially true for their classic rivalry against the Chicago Cubs. It is not unheard of for Cardinal fans to fill nearly half of Wrigley Field. (The converse is true when Cubs fans go to Busch Stadium in St. Louis when the Cubs visit.) When the Royals play the Cardinals in Kansas City every season during interleague play, the games often sell out.

Many fans around the nation grew up listening to two baseball broadcasters considered among the best in history, Jack Buck and Harry Caray, call Cardinals' games starting in the mid-1940s, into the 1950s and through the 1960s. Jack Buck (with Mike Shannon, starting 1972), remained the voice of the Cardinals through 2001. KMOX dropped Cardinals' broadcasts after 2005, but resumed in 2011.

Winter Warm Up
Like many other teams, Cardinals fans have a gathering of their own before the start of the regular season.  During the Third week of January, Cardinals fans gather together at the Hyatt Regency in Downtown St. Louis at a pre-season convention called "Winter Warm Up", which is run by Cardinals Care - the charity fundraising arm of the Cardinals' organization.  The last day takes place on Martin Luther King Day.  Cardinals fans are directed to the opportunity to get autographs from many of their favorite Cardinal players - past and present.  All proceeds from the event, including those derived from the sale of autograph tickets for certain players (though some of them sign for free), go directly to Cardinals Care.

See also
Red Sox Nation
Yankees Universe
Steeler Nation
Raider Nation

References

External links
The Cardinal Nation - an independent source of St. Louis Cardinals major and minor league news

St. Louis Cardinals
Culture of St. Louis
Missouri culture
Sports in the Midwestern United States
Gatherings of baseball fans

Cardinal Nation


is ane o 24 wairds o Osaka, Japan. It is locatit in the northeast o the ceety, near the satellite toun o Moriguchi. It wis split aff frae Higashinari in 1932. Asahi-ku itself is further dividit intae the follaein auries (touns); Shimizu, Morishoji, Omiya, Nakamiya, Takadono, Akagawa, Ikue, Shinmori, Senbayashi, Taishibashi, an Imaichi.

Asahi-ku borders the Osaka wairds o:
 Higashiyodogawa
 Miyakojima
 Joto
 Tsurumi
an the ceety o
Moriguchi.

Transport
Asahi-ku is servit bi the Tanimachi Line, an the Imazatosuji Line o the Osaka Municipal Subway an bi the Keihan Main Line.

Stations:
Tanimachi subwey line: Sekime-Takadono Station, Sembayashi-Omiya Station, Taishibashi-Imaichi Station
Imazato Suji subway line: Shimmori-Furuichi Station, Shimizu Station, Taishibashi-Imaichi Station
Keihan Main Line:  Morishoji Station, Sembayashi Station

Schuils
Thare are 10 elementary schuils (years ane tae sax), fower junior heich schuils (three year), twa public an ane private heich schuil (three year), an ane private varsity.

Elementary Schuils:
Furichi, Takadono, Takadono Minami, Shirokita, Shin Morishoji, Shimizu, Taishibashi, Omiya, Omiya Nishi.

Junior Heich Schuils:
Kyokuyo, Kyokuto, Imaichi, Omiya.

Heich Schuils:
Asahi, Yodogawa Kogyo, Osaka Kogyo Varsity Heich Schuil (private).

Varsity:
Osaka Kogyo Varsity.

Places o interest
Places o interest include the Shirokita Park wi its Iris Garden, the Yodogawa Wando (puils formit bi the Yodogawa River, the Osaka Municipal Space o Airt, an Senbayashi Shotengai (shoppin arcade).

Senbayashi Shotengai is famous for its lang covered shoppin street. The shoppin street even haes a theme sang that can be heard as you walk alang the covered pairt o the street. Sembayashi-Omiya subway station can be foond at the ither end o the shoppin street. The first Daiei store opened near this station.  Some o the favorite stores hae been the Kadoya Ice Cream Parlor, a popular hangoot for students o the nearbi heich schuil, an Enomoto Confectionary Gift Shop. Thare is a fish mercat that specializes in whaul meat an aw.

Freemit airtins

Offeecial wabsteid o Asahi

Wairds o Osaka

Asahi-ku, Osaka


The North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority (NET RMA) is a Regional Mobility Authority covering several counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The NET RMA was created by the Texas Transportation Commission in 2004, originally containing the counties of Smith and Gregg. It was the 5th RMA established in the State of Texas, and is headquartered in Tyler. The authority claims to "provide solutions to expedite transportation and mobility projects that will improve the quality of life, enhance the regional economy and assure efficient mobility in the North East Texas Region."

History
The NET RMA was established October 28, 2004 by a unanimous vote from the Texas Transportation Commission originally covering Smith and Gregg counties. In June 2006, the NET RMA became the first RMA in Texas to expand beyond its original county members, adding Cherokee, Harrison, Rusk, and Upshur counties, bringing the total number of member counties to six. In July 2007, the RMA expanded once again when the Texas Transportation Commission passed a resolution approving six additional counties—Bowie, Cass, Panola, Titus, Van Zandt and Wood. This brought the total membership to 12 counties. In November 2013, Kaufman County joined the RMA around the same time Cass County withdrew its membership, leaving the NET RMA at a 12 county membership.

Board of directors
The NET RMA is led by a Board of Directors with at least one board member representing each member county. The Board is currently chaired by Linda Thomas. The board members are appointed by each county's Commissioners' Court. Board members serve staggered two year terms that expire on February 1 of each year. Board members can be reappointed.

Projects
The NET RMA undertakes various projects to meet its goal of enhancing mobility and creating economic opportunity in the north East Texas Region. Projects the NET RMA may undertake include tolled or non-tolled roadway, passenger or freight rail, airport, intermodal hub, parking garages, pedestrian or bicycle facilities, border crossing station (except in Laredo, TX), automated conveyor belt for movement of freight, air quality improvement initiative, public utility facility, and projects listed in the State Implementation Plan.

Roadways
The flagship project of the NET RMA is Loop 49, a halfway completed tollway designed to improve connections and relieve congestion in the cities of Tyler, Longview, and Marshall. Loop 49 is being built in several phases, including:
	Toll 49 in Tyler, from I-20 west of Lindale to SH 110 southeast of Tyler
	The Lindale Relief Route, from I-20 West of Lindale to US 69 north of Lindale
	The East Texas Hourglass, a connection between the Tyler and Longview, going to the west and north of Longview and, connecting to US 59 north of Marshall
The first segment of Loop 49, which stretches from US 69 to SH 155, opened in August 2006. The second segment of Toll 49, from US 69 to FM 756 (Paluxy Road) opened in January 2008.

References

External links
 Official NET RMA Website
 Net RMA - About

Regional mobility authority
Transportation in Gregg County, Texas
Transportation in Smith County, Texas


The Union of Workers' Trade Unions of Niger (USTN) is a national trade union center in Niger. Formed in 1960 as the Union Nationale des Travailleurs du Niger (UNTN), the union was renamed in 1978 as the USTN.

The 1988 establishment of the National Movement of the Development Society (MNSD) in Niger saw close ties between the USTN and the MNSD. However, the USTN's support for the pro-democracy movement lead to tension, including police raids, and the 1990 detention of then secretary general Laouali Moutari.

The USTN is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation, and the Organization of African Trade Union Unity.

Notable members

 Fatou Djibo - Treasurer, 1971.

See also

Trade unions in Niger

References

Trade unions in Niger
International Trade Union Confederation
Organisation of African Trade Union Unity
1960 establishments in Niger
Trade unions established in 1960

Union of Workers' Trade Unions of Niger


Donald James Woods  (15 December 1933 – 19 August 2001) was a South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist. As editor of the Daily Dispatch, he was known for befriending fellow activist Steve Biko, who was killed by police after being detained by the South African government. Woods continued his campaign against apartheid in London, and in 1978 became the first private citizen to address the United Nations Security Council.

Early life

Woods was born at Hobeni, Cape Province, where his family had lived for five generations. His ancestors arrived in South Africa with the 1820 Settlers. Woods was born and raised in what has since become the Eastern Cape province, as were both of his parents, all four of his grandparents, all eight of his great grandparents and all sixteen of his great, great grandparents. All thirty-two of his great great great grandparents emigrated to the Cape Colony from England and Ireland. His parents ran a trading post in Transkei, a tribal reserve, which the South African government would later designate a bantustan. As a boy Woods had extensive regular contact with the Xhosa people. He spoke fluent Xhosa and Afrikaans, as well as his mother tongue, English.

Woods and his brother, Harland, were sent to the Christian Brothers College in Kimberley in the predominantly Afrikaner Northern Cape for their secondary education. The school was academically rigorous, and the Irish Christian Brothers had a reputation for neutrality on questions of politics. While Woods was away at school, the National Party came to power in 1948 and began to build the apartheid structure. When he started his law course at the University of Cape Town in 1952, Woods supported government policies that separated the races, but was wary of the heavy hand of the Afrikaner National Party. During his legal studies he started to question the separatist views he grew up with, becoming politically active in the Federal Party, which rejected apartheid and drew its support from liberal English-speaking whites.

Woods spent two years as a legal apprentice, with the goal of becoming a barrister, but gravitated toward journalism. Just as he was about to embark on his career as a journalist, the 23-year-old Woods was approached by the Federal Party to run for a seat in parliament. His campaign was unsuccessful, and he went back to his job as a cub reporter for the Daily Dispatch newspaper in East London. For two years during the late 1950s, he honed his skills as a journalist by writing and sub-editing for various newspapers in England and Wales. It was while working in Wales that he developed a love and respect for the Welsh people that endured all his life. While working on the Western Mail in Cardiff, Woods became friends with colleague Glyn Williams, who later joined him on the Daily Dispatch and eventually became editor himself. Before returning to South Africa, Woods served as a correspondent for London's now defunct Daily Herald, travelling throughout the eastern and southern United States, eventually arriving in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he filed stories comparing U.S. segregation with South Africa's apartheid.

Woods went back to work at the Dispatch and married Wendy Bruce, whom he had known since they were teenagers in their hometown. They had six children: Jane, Dillon, Duncan, Gavin, Lindsay, and Mary. Their fourth son, Lindsay, born in 1970, contracted meningitis and died just before his first birthday. The family had settled into a comfortable life in East London, and in February 1965, at the age of 31, Woods rose to the position of editor-in-chief of the Daily Dispatch, which held an anti-apartheid editorial policy. As editor, Woods expanded the readership of the Dispatch to include Afrikaans-speakers as well as black readers in nearby Transkei and Ciskei. Woods integrated the editorial staff and flouted apartheid policies by seating black, white, and coloured reporters in the same work area. He favoured hiring reporters who had had experience working overseas. Woods had several scrapes with the South African Security Police regarding editorial matters and on numerous occasions ruffled the feathers of Prime Minister B. J. Vorster in frank, face-to-face exchanges regarding the content of Dispatch editorials. Woods found himself tiptoeing around, and sometimes directly challenging, the increasingly restrictive government policies enacted to control the South African press.

Relationship with Steve Biko

Under Woods, the Daily Dispatch was very critical of the South African government, but was also initially critical of the emerging Black Consciousness Movement under the leadership of Steve Biko. Mamphela Ramphele, Biko's partner, berated Woods for writing misleading stories about the movement, challenging him to meet with Biko.

The two men became friends, leading the Security Police to monitor Woods's movements. Nevertheless, Woods continued to provide political support to Biko, both through writing editorials in his newspaper and controversially hiring black journalists to the Daily Dispatch.

On 16 June 1976, an uprising broke out in Soweto, in which predominantly 13- to 16-year-old students from Soweto participated in a march to protest against being taught in Afrikaans and against the Bantu Education system in general. The police ordered the children to disperse, and when they refused, the police opened fire, killing scores (and by some estimates, hundreds) of them, as the children pelted the police with stones. The government responded by banning the entire Black Consciousness Movement along with many other political organisations, as well as issuing banning orders against various people. Donald Woods was one of them and was effectively placed under house arrest.

Returning to his home on the evening of 18 August 1977, from a trip to Cape Town, Biko was arrested, imprisoned and mortally beaten. He was killed on 12 September. Woods went to the morgue with Biko's wife, Ntsiki Mashalaba, and photographed Biko's battered body. The photographs were later published in Woods's book, exposing the South African government's cover-up of the cause of Biko's death.

Life in exile

Soon after Biko's death, Woods was himself placed under a five-year ban.  He was stripped of his editorship, and was not allowed to speak publicly, write, travel or work for the duration of his ban.  Over the next year, he was subjected to increasing harassment, and his phone was tapped.  His six-year-old daughter was severely burned by a T-shirt laced with ninhydrin. Convinced that the government was trying to have him killed, Woods decided to flee South Africa.

Woods and friends Drew Court and Robin Walker devised a plan for him to be smuggled out of his house. Disguised as a Roman Catholic priest, Father "Teddy Molyneaux", on 30 December 1977, Woods hitchhiked out of town then drove in convoy with Court  before attempting to cross the Telle River, a tributary of the Orange River, between South Africa and Lesotho. Following days of steady rain, the river had flooded, leaving him to resort to crossing at the Telle Bridge border crossing in a Lesotho Postal Service truck driven by an unsuspecting Mosotho man, who was merely giving the "priest" a lift.

He made it undetected by South African customs and border officials to Lesotho, where, prompted by a prearranged telephone call, his family joined him shortly afterwards. Once they arrived in Lesotho, Bruce Haigh, a diplomat of the Australian Embassy in South Africa, drove him to Maseru. With the help of the British High Commission (in Maseru) and from the Government of Lesotho, they flew under United Nations passports and with one Lesotho Government official over South African airspace, via Botswana to London where they were granted political asylum.

After arriving in London, Woods became an active spokesman against apartheid. Acting upon the advice of Oliver Tambo, the President of the African National Congress (ANC), Woods became a passionate advocate of nations imposing sanctions against South Africa. He toured the United States campaigning for sanctions against apartheid.  The trip included a three-hour session, arranged by President Jimmy Carter, to address officials in the U.S. Department of State. Woods also spoke at a session of the United Nations Security Council in 1978.

On 11 February 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison after serving twenty-seven years, 17 of those years on Robben Island. That Easter, Mandela came to London to attend a concert at Wembley Stadium to thank the anti-apartheid Movement and the British people for their years of campaigning against apartheid. Woods gave Mandela a tie in the black, green and gold colours of the African National Congress to celebrate the event, which Mandela wore at the concert the next day.

Return to South Africa

Woods returned to South Africa in 1994 to support the fundraising efforts for the ANC election fund. His son Dillon was one of the organizers of the fundraising appeal in the United Kingdom. On 27 April 1994, Woods went to vote at the City Hall in Johannesburg. A cheering crowd took him to the head of the queue, giving him the place of honour so that he could be one of the first to vote in the new South Africa. Following the election, Woods worked for the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism in Johannesburg.

On 9 September 1997, on the twentieth anniversary of the death of Steve Biko, Woods was present in East London when a statue of Biko was unveiled by Nelson Mandela and the bridge across the Buffalo River was renamed the "Biko Bridge". Woods also gave his support to the Action for Southern Africa event in Islington, London honouring Biko, helping to secure messages from Ntsiki Biko, Mamphela Ramphele (then the Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Town) and Mandela.

Cry Freedom

Director Richard Attenborough filmed the story of Woods and Steve Biko, based upon the books which Woods had written, under the title Cry Freedom. Donald and Wendy Woods became involved in the project, working closely with the actors and crew. The film was shot largely on location in Zimbabwe (South Africa still being under apartheid at the time). It was released in 1987 to critical acclaim, and won several awards.  Woods was portrayed by Kevin Kline, who became friends with Woods and his wife and family during the filming. The friendship continued until Woods' death in 2001. Wendy Woods was played by Penelope Wilton. Biko was played by Denzel Washington, who was Oscar-nominated for the role. At nearly three hours long, the film also featured appearances by John Thaw, Timothy West, Julian Glover, Ian Richardson and Zakes Mokae.

It closes with a list of deaths of black activists in police custody in South Africa, with the official explanations of cause of death.

Final years

In the last year of his life, Woods gave his name to support an appeal to erect a statue of Nelson Mandela in Trafalgar Square outside the South African High Commission, where anti-apartheid campaigners had demonstrated during the period of the apartheid regime.

Woods was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000. He died of cancer on 19 August 2001 in London.

The nine-foot (3 m) high bronze statue of Mandela was eventually erected on nearby Parliament Square, Westminster City Council. It was unveiled by the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, on 29 August 2007, in the presence of Woods' widow, Wendy, Nelson Mandela and his wife Graça Machel, and Richard Attenborough.

Wendy died in 2013.

Donald Woods's eldest son Dillon Woods is currently the Chief Executive of the East London-based Donald Woods Foundation, which is an educational foundation in South Africa. His son Gavin appears on the Johnny Vaughan show on Radio X.

Awards

 Conscience-in-Media Award, from the American Society of Journalists and Authors, in 1978
 World Association of Newspapers' Golden Pen of Freedom Award, in 1978

Memorials

 Donald Woods Gardens – A street in Tolworth, Surrey
 Donald Woods Foundation – An NGO assisting the South African National Department of Health in the management and treatment of HIV/AIDS in rural populations.

Works

, later edition published by Henry Holt, New York, 1987
 Filming with Attenborough

See also

 List of people who took refuge in a diplomatic mission

References

External links

Donald James Woods – South African History Online

 Donald Woods 4 April 1988 speech at George Washington University on C-SPAN (@ 12 minutes)

1933 births
2001 deaths
Deaths from cancer in England
South African Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
South African emigrants to the United Kingdom
South African newspaper editors
South African people of British descent
South African Roman Catholics
Steve Biko affair
University of Cape Town alumni
White South African anti-apartheid activists
Writers from Cape Town

Donald Woods


The economy of Rawalpindi and the surrounding district has a diverse industrial base. With a population exceeding 3.2 million, Rawalpindi is the third largest city of the Punjab province of Pakistan, and the fourth largest city in the country. It is located in the northernmost part of Punjab, strategically connecting the region with Kashmir to the east and the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the north. It also borders Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, of which it is considered a sister city of. It has historically been an important industrial and commercial center of the Punjab region. Besides having an important railroad junction, the city has been one of the most important military cantonment areas in South Asia since the British Raj era. The main industries of the city include oil refineries, gas processing, steel manufacturing, iron mills, railroad yards, a brewery, sawmills, tent factories, textiles, hosiery, pottery, leather goods production., transport and tourism.

Overview

After the decline of the Mughal Empire in the South Asia, the Sikhs invaded, sacked and occupied Rawalpindi. The land, houses and businesses belonging to the local Muslims were occupied and settled by the invading Sikhs in 1765 and they also invited the Hindu traders to settle in the city. Slowly the economy recovered as the Muslim traders returned to the city and this was significant economic milestone in the Rawalpindi's history, and the city gradually became a regional trade hub owing to its location between Punjab and Kashmir.

During the British Raj, a military cantonment was established in the area. The army township aided in promoting commercial activity.

References

Rawalpindi District
Economy of Punjab, Pakistan

Economy of Rawalpindi


Karelians (, Finnish: , , ) are a Finnic ethnic group who are indigenous to the historical region of Karelia, which is today split between Finland and Russia. Karelians living in Russian Karelia are considered a distinct ethnic group closely related to Finnish Karelians, who are considered a subset of Finns. This distinction historically arose from Karelia having been fought over and eventually split between Sweden and Novgorod, resulting in Karelians being under different cultural spheres.

In Russia, Karelians mostly live in the Republic of Karelia, where they are the designated ethnic group, and in other adjacent north-western parts of the country. They traditionally speak the Karelian language and are Eastern Orthodox Christians. There are also significant Karelian enclaves in the Tver and Novgorod oblasts, as some Karelians migrated to those areas after the Russo-Swedish War of 1656-1658.

In Finland, the term Karelian generally refers to the Finnish Karelians, who are a subset of Finns. There were Karelian-speaking Karelians living in the easternmost parts of Finnish Karelia, known as "Border Karelia" (Raja-Karjala). As Finland had to cede parts of Karelia to the Soviet Union in World War II, evacuated Karelians and Finnish Karelians settled elsewhere in Finland. A minority of them, about 38,000, were Border Karelian Orthodox Christians, who traditionally spoke Karelian. However, owing to Karelian not being recognized as its own language by the Finnish government until recently, most of these Karelians had no choice but to learn Finnish and now speak mostly Finnish.

History
During the Early Middle Ages, settlers from western Finland mixed with the local population to form the Karelian ethnic group. Possible migration from elsewhere may also have contributed to the Karelian ethnic composition.

Archeological evidence indicates that Karelian inhabitation was highest along the western shore of Lake Ladoga and the Karelian Isthmus, with multiple cemeteries and other archeological discoveries dating from AD 600 to AD 800. In South Karelia, the number of archeological discoveries from this time period is lower, though permanent inhabitation was nonetheless present. Lappee, South Karelia has been continuously inhabited for approximately 2,000 years. In North Karelia, only one archeological discovery from this time period has been found, dating to the eighth century. The considerably higher number of archeological discoveries in these regions from AD 800 to AD 1050 indicates that the Karelian population grew and expanded rapidly during this time.

The first written mention of Karelia and Karelians occurs in Scandinavian sources. Several old Scandinavian sagas and chronicles refer to Karelia sometimes as Karjalabotn, Kirjalabotnar, or Kirjaland, which means that Karelians and Karelia were known to the Vikings as early as the 7th century. Another mention of Karelians in Scandinavian sources is The Chronicle of Erik. Part of the Chronicle mentions a Karelian raid to the then notable Swedish town of Sigtuna in 1187 and its subsequent pillage. This mention of Karelian raids on Sweden in the chronicle is given as the main reason to found Stockholm, the current capital of Sweden.

The first mention of Karelians in ancient Russian chronicles dates to 1143 when the Novgorod chronicle mentions that Karelians raided neighbouring Tavastia (Häme). Ancient Russian chronicles referred to ancient Karelians as Koryela. Until the end of the 13th century, Karelians enjoyed a period of relative independence and self-government. However, as Karelians came in contact with Novgorod some of them started to take part in the Novgorodian internal and external politics. Russian chronicles mention a joint raid of Novgorod and Karelians on Tavastia in 1191. In the 13th century, the Karelian relationship with Novgorod underwent significant changes, from partnership and alliance to gradual dominance by the latter.

In 1227, an attempt was made to convert Karelians to Eastern Orthodoxy. In 1253, Karelians aided Novgorod in its wars with Estonians. In 1269 AD, the Duke of Novgorod prepared a raid against Karelians, but he abandoned his plans as he was advised against it by his councilors. In 1278, Novgorod made war against Karelians and, according to the chronicle, put Karelian lands "to sword and fire", which significantly reduced Karelian military power.

While Novgorod unsuccessfully tried to subdue Karelians, Sweden achieved its goals over the neighbouring Finnish tribes. The Swedes raided Karelian lands, began to convert the local population to Roman Catholicism and attempted to ensure their complete dominance with the foundation of castles, in 1293 at Vyborg and in 1295 at Kexholm (Käkisalmi in Finnish, Koryela in Russian chronicles), on the sites of ancient Karelian settlements. However, Novgorod managed to repel the Swedish attack by capturing and burning down Kexholm Castle. After this, Sweden and Novgorod engaged in the long conflict for rule over the Karelians and their lands.

In 1314, Karelians rose up against efforts made to convert them to Christianity, according to the Novgorod chronicle. The first rebellion started against Russian Orthodoxy with Käkisalmi captured and the killing of all Christians there. Then the rebellion spread over all Karelian lands, which sufficiently weakened Novgorodian influence.

In 1323 AD, Karelians suffered a forceful sundering as Sweden and Novgorod divided Karelian lands and their inhabitants by signing a peace agreement. The agreement transferred governance of all western Karelian lands to Swedish sovereignty, while eastern Karelian lands fell under Novgorodian rule. This sundering started a long process of separation of Karelians into two different halves, with the main difference being religion, as western Karelians became first Roman Catholic and later Lutheran, while eastern Karelians were converted to Eastern Orthodoxy.

Subsequent wars had Karelians fighting on both sides of the conflict and often against each other. Meanwhile, Karelians on the Novgorodian and later Russian side of the border continued to settle northward towards the White Sea. By the late 14th century, Russian Karelians established control over White Karelia and came in conflict with the Norwegians on the peninsula of Kola.

As the struggle for power in the region continued over the next centuries the borderline between Sweden and Russia moved several times with most of the changes happening in Northern Karelia and Kainuu. However, in 1617, the history of Karelians underwent a significant change as Russia ceded to Sweden, along with other territories, the eastern part of the Karelian Isthmus, Ladoga Karelia and modern-day North Karelia. This meant that the majority of Karelians were again living in one country, yet it did not bring peace to the Karelian people. As Sweden commenced the process of conversion of population of the ceded territories to Lutheran Protestantism, resistance appeared among Old-Believer Orthodox Karelians and neighbouring Orthodox Izhorians.

By the mid 17th century, the tension between the Lutheran Swedish government and Orthodox Karelians led to yet another conflict between Sweden and Russia. From 1656 to 1658, Russian armed forces waged war on Karelian territories and tried to recapture them with the aid of some of the sympathizing local Orthodox population, but after two years of fighting both sides came to a stand-still.

Many of the Karelians who remained Orthodox by 1658 AD were unwilling to remain in Sweden and convert to Lutheranism, which triggered a mass migration of many Orthodox Karelians from these areas into other parts of Russia, some going to the region of Tver and forming the Tver Karelians minority, while others moved to the region of Valdai in the Novgorod region and yet others to White Karelia by the White Sea.

As some of the lands in the eastern Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia became partially depopulated Sweden decided to move settlers from Savonia to those Karelian lands which resulted in a mixture of local Karelians with Savonians in some areas. However, as Savonians themselves are of Karelian origin, this migration mostly affected local Karelians religiously (as the majority of the population became Lutheran) and to some extent linguistically, but it did not bring major changes to the ethnic map of Karelia.

The next change happened in 1721 as Russia won the great northern war against Sweden (1700–21), which forced Sweden to cede the entire Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia to Russia, with its now mostly Lutheran population. Although there were attempts to convert the local population to Orthodoxy these did not meet with any success.

After Russia conquered the entire Finnish territories in yet another Russo-Swedish war in 1808–09, it was decided to join the Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia to the newly formed Grand Duchy of Finland in 1812, which brought all western Karelians into the same state with Finns, while eastern Karelians remained under independent Russian administration. Although Karelians ended up in the same country the religious difference between eastern and western Karelians remained a dividing factor, which somewhat affected the linguistics but even until the beginning of the 20th century both groups could understand each other. Yet eastern Karelians managed to preserve traditions and folklore better than western Karelians.

As the Grand Duchy of Finland was formed, its inhabitants struggled to properly identify themselves ethnically, some being Finnish, some Swedish and some Karelian. As the Fennoman movement started and the new Finnish nation commenced its forming and shaping process, attempts were made to restore the lost Finnish identity. The process of "finnisation" of Finland started. As part of that process during the 19th century, Finnish folklorists including Elias Lönnrot traveled to different parts of Eastern Karelia to gather folklore and epic poetry. The Orthodox Karelians in North Karelia and Russia were now seen as close brethren or even a sub-group of the Finns. The ideology of Karelianism inspired Finnish artists and researchers, who believed that the Orthodox Karelians had retained elements of an archaic, original Finnish culture which had disappeared from Finland. This led to numerous confusions with some claiming that western and eastern Karelians were different nations.

As Finland gained its independence in 1917 the process of "finnisation" continued, but now even eastern Karelians were viewed as part of the Finnish nation. From 1918 to 1922, Finland made several attempts to expand into Eastern Karelia with some support by local Karelians. Several thousands of eastern Karelians migrated to Finland by 1922 from different parts of Eastern Karelia.

After the Winter War, Finland had to cede the Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia to the USSR. As the local Karelian population was unwilling to end up under Soviet rule, over 400,000 people were evacuated across Finland's new border from the territories that were to be ceded. After the Continuation War (1941–1944), in which Finland temporarily held most of Eastern Karelia, several thousands of Karelians chose to migrate west as Finnish forces retreated. The Karelians who migrated to Finland in the 20th century were initially Karelian speakers, but due to minor lingual differences and in order to assimilate into the local communities soon adopted the Finnish language after the war. Some of the evacuees later immigrated, mainly to Sweden, Australia and North America.

Russian Karelians, living in the Republic of Karelia, are nowadays rapidly being absorbed into the Russian population. This process began several decades ago. For example, it has been estimated that even between the 1959 and 1970 Soviet censuses, nearly 30 percent of those who were enumerated as Karelian by self-identification in 1959 changed their self-identification to Russian 11 years later.

Language

The Karelian language is closely related to the Finnish language. There are the dialects of what can be classified of Karelian language

 North Karelian (northern parts of the Karelian republic and in some villages near the Russian border in the Kainuu region even today)
 South Karelian  (Southern parts of the Karelian republic, before World War II also in the easternmost part of what was Finland before the  war, and in different locations in the current area of Finland and elsewhere after WWII)
 Tver Karelian (In Tver area, Russia)
 Olonets Karelian or Livvi (in southeastern parts of Karelian republic, before World War II also in the easternmost part of What was Finland before the war, and in different locations in the current area of Finland and elsewhere after the WWII)

Ludic in the easternmost part of Karelian republic is currently considered as language of its own.

In addition to that, dialects of Karelian language are also spoken in different locations in the current area of Finland and elsewhere after WWII and in some villages near the Russian border in Kainuu region the northern dialect of Karelian language has been spoken continuously until now.

Religion
The majority of Russian Karelians are Eastern Orthodox Christians. Karelian shamanism is still practiced by some Karelians. Folk-beliefs have also been widely incorporated into Christianity by Orthodox Karelians. Karelian tales, along with some Finnish ones, have been collected to form Kalevala.

Demographics

Significant enclaves of Karelians exist in the Tver oblast of Russia, resettled after Russia's defeat in 1617 against Sweden — in order to escape forced conversion to Lutheranism in Swedish Karelia. The Russians also promised tax deductions if the Orthodox Karelians migrated there. Olonets (Aunus) is the only city in Russia where the Karelians form a majority (60% of the population).

Karelians have been declining in numbers in modern times significantly due to a number of factors. These include low birthrates (characteristic of the region in general) and especially Russification, due to the predominance of Russian language and culture.

In 1926, according to the census, Karelians only accounted for 37.4% of the population in the Soviet Karelian Republic (which at that time did not yet include territories that would later be taken from Finland and added, most of which had mostly Karelian inhabitants), or 100,781 Karelians. Russians, meanwhile, numbered 153,967 in Karelia, or 57.2% of the population. Adding the Tver Karelian population of 140,567 at the time to the statistic gives a total of at least 241,348 Karelians in the whole USSR, if not far more.

By 2000, there were 65,651 Karelians in the Republic of Karelia (65.1% of the number in 1926, including the Karelian regions taken from Finland which were not counted in 1926), and Karelians made up only 9.2% of the population in their homeland. Russians, meanwhile, were 76.6% of the population in Karelia.

Genetics

The Y-chromosome haplogroup N1c is common (43 %) among Karelians. It has high frequencies among Uralic-speaking and other North Eurasian populations. The mtDNA haplogroups among Karelians are predominantly West Eurasian. While their autosomal ancestry is mostly European, Karelians also carry some Siberian-related admixture (6–12 %), that is commonly found in Uralic-speaking groups.

Karelians cluster with Finns and Vepsians. They share more IBD (identity-by-descent) segments with several other Uralic-speaking groups, including geographically distant ones from Volga-Ural and Siberia, than with their non-Uralic-speaking neighbours. They are found to have significant IBD sharing with some non-Uralic-speaking peoples from the same distant regions, such as the Volga Tatars, Yakuts and Evens, as well.

See also
 List of Karelians
 Tornedalians
 Ingrians
 Forest Finns
 Sweden Finns
 Finland-Swedes
 Kvens
 Kalevala
 Karelian pony

References

External links
 Russian Karelians (The Peoples of the Red Book)
 Saimaa Canal links two Karelias (ThisisFINLAND from Ministry for Foreign Affairs)
 Tracing Finland's Eastern Border(ThisisFINLAND from Ministry for Foreign Affairs)
 Finno-Ugric media center

Notes

Ethnic groups in Russia
Ethnic groups in Finland
Baltic Finns
Indigenous peoples of Europe
Karelian people

Karelians


Christian Wilhelm Walter Wulff (born 19 June 1959) is a German politician and lawyer. He is member of the conservative Christian Democratic Union. He was elected to be the President of Germany on 30 June 2010. Wulff was sworn in two days after the election on 2 July 2010. He served as Minister-President of the state of Lower Saxony from 2003 to 2010. On 17 February 2012, Wulff announced his resignation of the position as President of Germany.

Early life and education
Wulff was born in Osnabrück and is Roman Catholic. His father left the family, and he grew up with his mother. As a teenager, he had to take responsibility for the care of his younger sister, after his mother developed multiple sclerosis. After completing his Abitur at the Gymnasium in Osnabrück, Wulff went to study law. He specialised in economic law at the University of Osnabrück. In 1987 and 1990, he passed the first and second state examinations in law. He started to work as a lawyer.

Political career
Since 1975, Wulff has been a member of the CDU. From 1978 to 1980, he served as federal chairman of the Schülerunion. This was a political high school student organization connected to the Christian Democrats. He became the regional chairman of the Junge Union in Lower Saxony in 1983. In 1986, he was elected a city councillor in his hometown. Since 1984, he has sat on the CDU's regional party council of Lower Saxony, serving as its chairman since 1994.

The Christian Democrats made Wulff candidate for state Prime Minister in 1994. However, the popular office holder Gerhard Schröder won. After four years in opposition, the election in 1998 brought another opportunity for Wulff to become Prime Minister. Indeed, the federal Christian Democrat party, led by Chancellor Helmut Kohl, made Wulff another time the candidate.

Wulff has been one of the four deputy chairmen of the CDU party at the federal level since 7 November 1998. He has also been a board member of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation since 2003.

2003 state election
Lower Saxony announced deeper cuts of education and municipal services. This set a stage for the 2003 election campaign. Wulff entered the race as the favourite to win the election. The Christian Democrats, in the political wilderness since 1990, were returned to power in the Legislative Assembly, gaining 48.3% of the vote. Wulff was sworn in as Prime Minister on 4 March 2003, as the head of a coalition between centre-right Christian Democrats and liberal Free Democrats (FDP).

Policies
As Minister-President, Wulff has made a several reforms. This includes a restructuring of the primary education system in Lower Saxony, as well as an increase of police officers. When Wulff took office, Lower Saxony faced a severe budget crisis. It was the result from years of public deficits. Painful cuts to public expenditure were enacted and implemented against considerable political resistance. The measures included cuts in university funding and in benefits for the blind. Other policies concern the reform of the administration. Many measures have remained controversial.

Prior to the 2005 Federal Election, Wulff had been mentioned as a potential candidate for the German chancellorship. Surprisingly, in a spring 2005 poll, 28 percent of all respondents named Wulff as their preferred candidate for the Christian Democrat nomination for Chancellor in the 2006 election. As Wulff only began his first term as Prime Minister in early 2003, he is likely to dismiss such speculations. in December 2014, Wulff was re-elected deputy leader of the federal party with about 86 per cent of all delegates supporting him.

In a speech, Wulff expressed his opposition to euthanasia and warned of a retreat of moral values. This can be seen as the first attempt to formulate a value-based agenda for the 2008 legislative assembly, and the 2009 federal elections. In this context, it is important to note that Chancellor Angela Merkel had been severely criticized for a lack of emotional warmth during the 2005 federal election campaign.

Wulff and the 2005 federal elections
Due to his popularity in Lower Saxony, and in federal opinion polls, Wulff was considered to be a contender for the office of Chancellor.

After the 23 May announcement that federal elections will be advanced to September 2005, Wulff announced that he was not a candidate for the CDU nomination for Chancellor. He has not completed his first term as Premier of Lower Saxony. Instead, Wulff declared his support for Angela Merkel. She was the CDU leader in the Bundestag. It was expected that the Christian Democrats would win the election and form a government, and that Wulff would be given a position in this government. However, with the September 18 election resulting in a hung parliament, the outcome is unclear. Wulff continued to be named as a possible CDU candidate for Chancellor, particularly if Chancellor Merkel failed to secure a decisive mandate in the 2009 federal election.

President of Germany

Christian Wulff was elected President of Germany on 30 June 2010. He gon 625 of 1242 votes in the third ballot of the Federal Convention. He is Germany's youngest President (51 years) and the first Roman Catholic President in more than forty years (the last Roman Catholic President was Heinrich Lübke). Wullf was sworn in on 2 July 2010 in front of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat.

His main rival in the election was Joachim Gauck, a civil rights activist from East Germany and a former Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Archives. Not a member of any party, Gauck was nominated by the opposition SPD and Greens as their presidential candidate on 3 June.

Wulff is succeeded as Prime Minister of Lower Saxony by David McAllister. Wulff's candidacy for President of Germany in the 2010 presidential election was formally confirmed by Angela Merkel, Guido Westerwelle and Horst Seehofer. They are the heads of the CDU, FDP and CSU parties.

Family
Christian Wulff met his first wife, lawyer Christiane Wulff (born 1959), when they were both law students in Osnabrück in 1983. They married in March 1988, and have a daughter, Annalena (born 1993). In June 2006, Wulff announced that he would divorce his wife. In 2008, Wulff married an aide from the Prime Minister's Office, Bettina Körner (born 1973 in Hanover). She has a son from a previous relationship. On 12 May 2008, she gave birth to their first child together, also a boy.

References

Other websites
 Personal website
 Curriculum vitae of Prime Minister Christian Wulff
 Office of the Prime Minister

1959 births
Living people
Ministers-President of Lower Saxony
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
People from Osnabrück
Politicians from Lower Saxony
Presidents of Germany

Christian Wulff


A cream is a preparation usually for application to the skin.  Creams for application to mucous membranes such as those of the rectum or vagina are also used.  Creams may be considered pharmaceutical products as even cosmetic creams are based on techniques developed by pharmacy and unmedicated creams are highly used in a variety of skin conditions (dermatoses).  The use of the finger tip unit concept may be helpful in guiding how much topical cream is required to cover different areas.

Creams are semi-solid emulsions of oil and water.  They are divided into two types: oil-in-water (O/W) creams which are composed of small droplets of oil dispersed in a continuous water phase, and water-in-oil (W/O) creams which are composed of small droplets of water dispersed in a continuous oily phase.  Oil-in-water creams are more comfortable and cosmetically acceptable as they are less greasy and more easily washed off using water.  Water-in-oil creams are more difficult to handle but many drugs which are incorporated into creams are hydrophobic and will be released more readily from a water-in-oil cream than an oil-in-water cream.  Water-in-oil creams are also more moisturising as they provide an oily barrier which reduces water loss from the stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the skin.

Uses

 The provision of a barrier to protect the skin
 This may be a physical barrier or a chemical barrier as with sunscreens
 To aid in the retention of moisture (especially water-in-oil creams)
 Cleansing
 Emollient effects
 As a vehicle for drug substances such as local anaesthetics, anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs or corticosteroids), hormones, antibiotics, antifungals or counter-irritants.

Creams are semisolid dosage forms containing more than 20% water or volatile components and typically less than 50% hydrocarbons, waxes, or polyols as vehicles.  They may also contain one or more drug substances dissolved or dispersed in a suitable cream base. This term has traditionally been applied to semisolids that possess a relatively fluid consistency formulated as either water-in-oil (e.g., cold cream) or oil-in-water (e.g., fluocinolone acetonide cream) emulsions. However, more recently the term has been restricted to products consisting of oil-in-water emulsions or aqueous microcrystalline dispersions of long-chain fatty acids or alcohols that are water washable and more cosmetically and aesthetically acceptable. Creams can be used for administering drugs via the vaginal route (e.g., Triple Sulfa vaginal cream). Creams are also used to treat sun burns.

Composition
There are four main ingredients of the cold cream:
 Water
 Oil
 Emulsifier
 Thickening agent

Topical medication forms

There are many types of preparations applied to a body surface, such as:
 ointments - consist of a single-phase in which solids or liquids may be dispersed. There are hydrophobic, water-emulsifying, and hydrophilic ointments.
 creams - consist of a lipophilic phase and an aqueous phase. There are lipophilic (W/O) and hydrophilic (O/W) creams, depending on the continuous phase.
 gels - consist of liquids gelled by suitable gelling agents. There are lipophilic gels (oleogels) and Hydrophilic gels (hydrogels).
 pastes - contain large proportions of solids finely dispersed in the basis.
 poultices - consist of a hydrophilic heat-retentive basis in which solids or liquids are dispersed. They are usually spread thickly on a suitable dressing and heated before application to the skin.
 topical powders - consist of solid, loose, dry particles of varying degrees of fineness.
 medicated plasters - consist of an adhesive basis spread as a uniform layer on an appropriate support made of natural or synthetic material.

See also
 Lotion topical

References

External links

Dosage forms
Drug delivery devices

Cream (pharmacy)


Bisma Karisma (born 27 November 1990 in Bandung) Bisma is well known as a member of boy band SM*SH. Before joining SM*SH, was a national Bboy and also a drummer, percussionist and vocalist. With SM*SH Bisma has released two albums and has achieved more than forty achievement. Their first album was awarded Platinum for being sold for more than one million copies within six-month.
In mid 2014 Bisma begin his solo career with the first single "#LAKUKANLAH", he composed and write the song by himself. He also appeared in television soap opera, Cinta Cenat Cenut, along with his bandmates SM*SH, in 2016, he has become the co-producer, original soundtrack writer and singer, as well as the main cast of JUARA.

Early life

Bisma was born in Bandung, West Java to Karyana Sugiharta, an Indonesian Air Force, and Ati Casmawati. He has an older sister Mega Puspita Sari, a pharmacist. When he was ten years old, he joined Dance Dance Revolution Competition and within a year he finally came out as the first winner of the national competition. At the age of eleven, he started his path in breakdance by joining DAWN SQUAD a famous breakdance team from Bandung. He was given MURI Achievement as a longest head spinner.

He has grown his interest in playing instrument since he was invited on stage by COKLAT when he was in elementary school, he also was raised in local indie musician society in bandung, one of them is Aska Pratama from Rocket Rockers whom he considers as a relative. He was performing in an indie-rock band and a Motown band as well.

Music career

Bisma started his professional dance career during his high school times and as a visual communication design college student he formed a band with his childhood friends. They performed regularly in some cafes, art stages, and big events. In 2009 his senior choreographer Geri Krisdianto offered him to join for a new boy band in Indonesia. Bisma and the other six members was trained for six-month before their debut on 10 October 2010 with the song titled "I Heart You". SM*SH has taken Bisma to reaching his stardom. November 2014 Bisma produced a song titled Lakukanlah as his solo debut under MDG Production. Following the success of his first single he produced Cukup with Widi Purwadireja of Maliq & d'essentials and co-writer Sheryl Sheinafia. He wrote Pemeran Pengganti for JUARA original soundtrack and the song became top charts in many radio station.

Acting career

Bisma acting career begin when he acted in the television soap opera Cinta Cenat Cenut together with SM*SH. The series became a success, resulting in TRANS TV producing it for 3 seasons. In 2014 Bisma played the main role in ABG Jadi Manten, a television soap opera aired on SCTV.

1 year later, Bisma worked along with MagMA Entertainment to produce a drama-action movie titled JUARA (Champion). In this movie he had a role as the co-producer, original soundtrack singer-songwriter, and main cast, where he acted with some senior actors such as Cut Mini Teo, Tora Sudiro, Cecep Arif Rahman (The Raid 2 villain cast). He won many awards as Best New Actor for his role in JUARA The Movie. His next movie project is SILARIANG a movie that highlights elopement and Bugis culture.

Discography

As SM*SH member
 "I Heart You" (2010)
 "Senyum Semangat" (2011)
 "Ada Cinta" (2011)
 "Akhiri Saja" (2011)
 "Selalu Bersama" (2011)
 "Pahat hati" (2013)
 "Rindu Ini" (2013)
 "Selalu Tentang Kamu" (2013)
 "Hello" (2014)
 "Story of My Life"/"Unconditionally" (One Direction/Katy Perry cover) (2014)
 "Terhebat" (Coboy Junior cover) (2014)
 "Fortune Cookie" (JKT48 cover) (2014)
 "#Lakukanlah" (2015)
 "Thinking Out Loud" (Ed Sheeran cover) (2015)
 "Cukup" (2015)
 "Pemeran Pengganti" (2016)

TV shows
 SMASH Ngabuburit (season 1) Host
 SMASH Ngabuburit (season 2) Host
 Dahsyat (2015–present) Host

Soap Opera
 "Cinta Cenat Cenut" (2011) as Bisma Rusdiantoro
 "Cinta Cenat Cenut 2" (2011) as Bisma Rusdiantoro
 "Cinta Cenat Cenut 3" (2012) as Bisma Rusdiantoro
 "ABG Jadi Manten" (2014) as Bisma

Movie
 "Juara" (2016) as Bisma

References

External links

Living people
1990 births
Indonesian dance musicians
21st-century Indonesian male singers
Indonesian male television actors
Indonesian pop singers
Indonesian rhythm and blues singers
Musicians from Bandung
Sundanese people

Bisma Karisma


Véra Gibson-Amado, known professionally as Véra Clouzot, (30 December 1913 – 15 December 1960) was a Brazilian-French film actress and screenwriter. She is known for playing Linda in The Wages of Fear (1953), Christina Delassalle in Les Diaboliques (1955), and Lucie in Les Espions (1957). Clouzot also co-wrote the screenplay for La Vérité (1960). Her husband, director Henri-Georges Clouzot, named his production company after her, Véra Films.

Early life
Clouzot was born Véra Gibson-Amado in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Alice do Rego Barros and , a Brazilian congressman, writer, journalist, lawyer and ex-President of the United Nations' International Law Committee. Writer Jorge Amado was her second cousin.

In 1941, Véra met French actor , a member of the theater company of Louis Jouvet who toured in Brazil during World War II. Vera married the actor, taking part in the company's South American tour that lasted almost four years.

Career in France
After World War II, Vera settled in Paris. Louis Jouvet took over the direction of the Athenée Theater, while she continued to do small roles.

Véra met film director Henri-Georges Clouzot through her then-husband, Léo Lapara, who had minor parts in Quai des Orfèvres (1947) and Return to Life (1949), in the segment directed by Clouzot, "Le Retour de Jean".

Véra worked as a continuity assistant on Clouzot's Miquette (1950), and they married in 1950. Clouzot named his production company, Véra Films, after his wife. She made only three films, all directed by her husband. The sole female role in The Wages of Fear (1953), Linda, is played by Véra. Clouzot wrote the role specifically for his wife, as the character does not exist in the original novel. The Wages of Fear is about a South American town where a group of desperate men are offered money to drive trucks carrying nitroglycerin through rough terrain to put out an oil well fire. The Wages of Fear was the 4th highest-grossing film in France in 1953, and was seen by nearly 7 million spectators.

The most notable of Clouzot's films starring Véra was the classic thriller, Les Diaboliques (1955), co-starring Simone Signoret. She also starred in Les Espions (1957) and co-wrote the screenplay for the film, La Vérité (1960), which was also directed by her husband.

Clouzot and Véra took a film crew with them to Véra's homeland in Brazil for their honeymoon, where Clouzot made his first attempt at directing a documentary film. The Brazilian government took issue with Clouzot filming the poverty of people in the favelas rather than the more picturesque parts of Brazil. The film was never finished because the costs became too high. Clouzot became fascinated with the region and wrote a book, Le cheval des dieux, recounting his trip.

Death
Véra died in Paris in 1960, aged 46, from a heart attack, shortly after the filming of La Vérité. Henri-Georges Clouzot fell into a depression over her death. After her funeral, he moved to Tahiti but returned to France in December 1961. She is buried in the Montmartre Cemetery in Paris.

Filmography

References

Sources

External links

1913 births
1960 deaths
Brazilian film actresses
Actresses from Rio de Janeiro (city)
French film actresses
20th-century Brazilian actresses
20th-century French actresses
Brazilian expatriates in France
Burials at Montmartre Cemetery
Henri-Georges Clouzot

Véra Clouzot


Henry Doubleday (1 July 1808 – 29 June 1875) was an English entomologist and ornithologist.

Henry Doubleday was the eldest son of Quaker and grocer Benjamin Doubleday and his wife Mary of Epping, Essex. He and his brother Edward Doubleday spent their childhood collecting natural history specimens in Epping Forest. He lived at the same time as his cousin Henry Doubleday (1810-1902) the scientist and horticulturist. There is a blue plaque to him at the corner of High Street and Buttercross Lane, Epping.

He was the author of the first catalogue of British butterflies and moths, Synonymic List of the British Lepidoptera (1847–1850). He named a number of new species of moths, including the pigmy footman, Ashworth's rustic and marsh oblique-barred. His moth collection remains intact at the Natural History Museum.

References

Sources
 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. OUP (2004).

External links
Full text of Andrew Murray's Catalogue of the Doubleday Collection of Lepidoptera Part I. British Lepidoptera and Part II. European Lepidoptera
A Synonymic List of All the British Butterflies and Moths
Dunning, J.W. (March 1877) "Biographical Notice". The Entomologist.

1808 births
1875 deaths
19th-century British biologists
19th-century English people
English lepidopterists
English ornithologists
English naturalists
English Quakers
People from Epping

Henry Doubleday (entomologist)


The year 1538 in science and technology included a number of events, some of which are listed here.

Botany
 William Turner's Libellus de re herbaria novus, the first essay on scientific botany in English, is published in London.

Earth sciences
 September 29–October 6 – The last significant volcanic eruption in the Phlegraean Fields of Italy creates Monte Nuovo.

Births
 March 25 – Christopher Clavius, German mathematician and astronomer (died 1612)
 Matthias de l'Obel, Flemish-born physician and botanist (died 1616)

Deaths
 May 27 – Sir Anthony Fitzherbert, English judge and agriculturalist (born 1470)
 Federico Crisogono, Italian scientist (born 1472)

16th century in science
1530s in science

1538 in science


Hüsnü Şenlendirici (born 12 July 1976 in Bergama, Turkey) is a Turkish musician of Romani Background. He comes from a family of musicians: his grandfather Hüsnü Şenlendirici played clarinet and trumpet, his other grandfather Otmar Köfteci used to play clarinet, and his father Ergün Şenlendirici played trumpet.

Life and work
In 1988 Hüsnü Şenlendirici studied at the State Conservatory of Turkish Music of the Istanbul Technical University which he left in 1992 without a degree. He played in the "magnetic tape" with the percussionist Okay Temiz and performed at hundreds of festivals in Turkey.

He also was a member of the band "Laço" with his father Ergün Senlendirici. With his own ensemble Sulukule, he plays traditional belly dancing music. He also founded the bands "Laço Tayfa" and "Hüsnü Şenlendirici & Saz Arkadaşları" with which he has given numerous concerts at home and abroad and has participated in festivals. He has accompanied many musicians of Turkish music. With the group "Laço Tayfa" he released the album "Bergama Gaydası". In 2005 he released his solo album "Hüsn-ü Klarnet".

In Istanbul, in July 2012, he performed with Dhafer Yousseff, Aytaç Doğan and others.

Discography
 Brooklyn Funk Essentials & Laço Tayfa – In the Buzzbag (Doublemoon, 1998)
 Hüsnü Şenlendirici & Laço Tayfa – Bergama Gaydası (Doublemoon, 2000)
 Laço Tayfa – Hicaz Dolap (Doublemoon, 2002)
 Hüsnü Şenlendirici – The Joy of the Clarinet (Doublemoon, 2005)
 Hüsnü Şenlendirici & Trio Chios – Ege'nin yanı iki ("Both sides of the Aegean") (Doublemoon, 2010)
 Hüsnü Şenlendirici – Hüsn-ü Hicaz (Sony Music, 2011)
 Hüsnü Şenlendirici – Hüsn-ü Avare (Sony Music, 2015)

References

External links
 Official Website (Turkish / English)

1976 births
Living people
People from Bergama
Turkish musicians
Turkish Romani people
Turkish clarinetists
21st-century clarinetists

Hüsnü Şenlendirici


The TL Ultralight TL-3000 Sirius is a conventional single engine high wing ultralight and Light-sport aircraft seating two side-by-side. It was designed and is produced in the Czech Republic.

Design and development
The Sirius programme was announced early in 2007 and an unflown prototype or mock-up appeared at Aero '07 that year. Development continued into 2010 before it was ready for production.

The TL-3000 is a mostly composite aircraft with a carbon fibre wing and glass- and carbon-fibre fuselage. It shares many components with its TL-2000 Sting low wing stablemate.  The high wing has a constant chord centre section and tapered outer panels with downturned tips and is braced to the lower fuselage with a pair of forward-leaning lift struts.  The fin is swept, with a wide dorsal fillet, and carries a horn-balanced rudder. The tapered, mass-balanced elevators are set at mid-fuselage.

The underwing cabin of the Sirius has a single piece windscreen, glazed side doors, rear side windows and an upper rear transparency. A choice of flat four engines offers either the 59.6 kW (80 hp) Rotax 912UL or the 73.5 kW (98.6 hp) Rotax 912 ULS. The Sirius is fitted with a fixed tricycle undercarriage with mainwheels fuselage mounted on composite cantilever spring legs.  The nosewheel is steerable and the mainwheels have brakes; all wheels are almost completely enclosed in spats. The company has also developed a float installation for the TL-3000 to allow water operations.

The Sirus first flew on 21 May 2008 but the prototype was lost in a fatal accident in July.

The design has been accepted by the US Federal Aviation Administration as an approved special light-sport aircraft.

Operational history
The Sirius was designed to fit into both the European ultralight and U.S. LSA categories.  Twenty-two aircraft had been sold by September 2010 to customers in Angola, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and the United States.  Only four appeared on the European (Russia excluded) civil aircraft registers in mid-2010, three in the Czech Republic and one in Norway.

Specifications

See also

References

TL-3000 Sirius
Ultralight aircraft
2000s Czech civil aircraft
Light-sport aircraft

TL Ultralight TL-3000 Sirius


Joe Buff is an American author of naval techno-thrillers, including the bestseller Tidal Rip. Before becoming a full-time writer in 1997, he was an actuary for 20 years.

Jeffrey Fuller series
Buff's novels take place in the years 2011–2012. In his novels, Boer reactionaries seize control of the government of South Africa. The UN places economic sanctions on South Africa. In response, South Africa begins to sink merchant shipping belonging to the United Kingdom and the United States. NATO immediately mobilizes and a large convoy sets sail towards South Africa with only Germany holding out due to "social unrest".

Halfway to South Africa, there is a revolt in Germany. The Hohenzollern family is crowned as Kaiser, but the Kaiser is nothing more than a figurehead. The German government declares its support for South Africa and both nations form the Boer-Berlin Axis.

In a pre-planned move, Germany and South Africa use tactical nuclear warheads to destroy a NATO convoy, Warsaw, and Tripoli. These moves force Continental Europe to surrender out of fear of being in a nuclear war. Most of the world stays neutral out of fear or greed or both. Cash-strapped Russia is selling the Boer-Berlin Axis weapons and intelligence. On the side of the allies, only America, the United Kingdom, Mexico, the Republic of Ireland, Chile, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and several unnamed African nations are still fighting, with Cuba quietly supporting them. Although through the course of the war, Brazil, Egypt, Israel, Jordan,  Turkey, India, Indonesia, most of the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Russia join the Allies. Tactical nuclear warheads are now the weapon of choice with a gentleman's agreement not to hit any civilians. The story then starts with Deep Sound Channel on the high-tech ceramic-hulled submarine the U.S.S. Challenger outside of Diego Garcia.

The novels in the series are:

 Deep Sound Channel, 2000
 Thunder in the Deep, 2001
 Crush Depth, 2002
 Tidal Rip, 2003
 Straits of Power, 2004
 Seas of Crisis, 2005

Personal life
Buff is a graduate of New York University, where he received his BA in mathematics, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received his MA in mathematics. He lives in Dutchess County, New York with his wife Sheila Buff, who is herself a writer and whom he met in college.  Buff has five siblings; they work in the field of medicine.

References

External links

Living people
American military writers
American male novelists
American male non-fiction writers
Year of birth missing (living people)

Joe Buff


Todo modo (also known as One Way or Another) is a 1976 Italian drama film directed by Elio Petri. Loosely based on the novel of the same name by Leonardo Sciascia, it is the last of the cinematographic, but also political and ideological union of the director Elio Petri and the actor Gian Maria Volonté, a partnership that contributed to the success of Italian political cinema of the seventies. It represents the portrait of the deviant men of power of the Christian Democrats. The premiere of the film was 30 April 1976.

Made in the same period of Illustrious corpses (1976) by Francesco Rosi, also inspired by a work by Sciascia, Todo modo contributes to the efforts of Italian cinema in questioning the political future of a country in crisis. In 2014 the film was restored thanks to the work of the Bologna Film Library and the National Cinema Museum of Turin.

Plot
I forced Sciascia's hands even in the tone of the film...and so it seemed to me, not only to follow an indication from Sciascia, but to evoke that climate of very black farce that one breathed and still continues to breathe in Italy.
—Elio Petri, 1979

During a mysterious epidemic that claims numerous political leaders, big industrialists, bankers, and business leaders of the ruling party, the Christian Democrats arrive in a hotel/hermitage/prison called Zafer. They gather for an annual three-day retreat (inspired by the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola) to atone for their past crimes of corruption and unethical practices. These exercises are practiced under the guidance of the unusual Don Gaetano (Marcello Mastroianni), a very influential but corrupt priest, who dominates all those at the retreat.

The retreat acts as a sort of renewal of the party's structure, leaders, and interests in order to maintain power in the country. Between constant violent quarrels, mutual accusations, and little actual spiritual practice, a series of crimes develop that eliminate the leading figures of the party one by one.

Cast
 Gian Maria Volonté as M.
 Marcello Mastroianni as Don Gaetano
 Mariangela Melato as Giacinta, M.'s wife
 Ciccio Ingrassia as Voltrano
 Franco Citti as M.'s driver
 Tino Scotti as the cook
 Renato Salvatori as Dr. Scalambri
 Michel Piccoli as He
 Cesare Gelli as Arras, Vice Commissioner

Production
The character of the President openly resembles Aldo Moro (who, at the time of the film's release, had been the head of the Italian government for two years). In the film, he is a conciliatory, good-natured leader who tries to please everyone but secretly hungers for power and domination. Moro isn't ever mentioned directly; but the President's physical appearance and behavior are similar.

Volonté closely studied Moro's speeches and learned to imitate his facial and body language as well as the inflections of his voice when speaking in a conciliatory tone. Petri recalled that the first two days of filming were discarded by mutual agreement because the resemblance between the two "was so embarrassing, you felt it in the pit of your stomach." Petri and Volonte decided that he did not have to imitate Moro exactly, but to provide him with a mask, like a caricature. Petri also realized that if the character had been explicitly Aldo Moro, the film would never have been distributed.

Among the other actors involved in the film is Marcello Mastroianni in the role of Don Gaetano, a shrewd and calculating priest who is very influential in politics and also thirsty for power.

References

External links

1976 films
1976 comedy films
1976 drama films
1976 comedy-drama films
Italian black comedy films
Films about politicians
Films based on Italian novels
Films based on works by Leonardo Sciascia
Films critical of the Catholic Church
Films scored by Ennio Morricone
Films directed by Elio Petri
Italian comedy-drama films
1970s Italian-language films
Italian political satire films
Films à clef
Depictions of Aldo Moro on film
1970s Italian films

Todo modo


I Lost My Body () is a 2019 French adult animated fantasy drama film directed by , based on the novel Happy Hand by Guillaume Laurant. It premiered in the International Critics' Week section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Nespresso Grand Prize, becoming the first animated film to do so in the section's history. The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 92nd Academy Awards, but lost to Toy Story 4.

Plot
A severed hand escapes from a refrigerator in a laboratory and begins a journey across the suburbs of Paris to reunite with its body, Naoufel. His story is told via flash-backs.

Being very little in Morocco, Naoufel aspires to be a pianist and an astronaut and records his day-to-day life on a tape recorder. During a car journey, he distracts his father while he is driving, causing a crash. He survives, but both of his parents are killed. He is forced to live in France with his emotionally distant uncle and his crude cousin. Now, Naoufel works as a pizza deliveryman, often criticized by his boss for being late. On one occasion, Naoufel delivers a pizza to Gabrielle, at her apartment block. They never see each other, as Naoufel is unable to get through the lobby's malfunctioning security door, but have a conversation through the intercom, and Naoufel becomes infatuated with her and is ready to make everything in order to seduce her.

Naoufel tracks Gabrielle to the library where she works and follows her to a near-by neighborhood where she drops off medicine to a carpenter, her uncle Gigi. Naoufel, seeing an ad for an apprentice in the window, quickly uses this as an excuse for why he is there. Gigi is reluctant but accepts after learning that Naoufel is an orphan. Naoufel moves out of his uncle's house and into an attic apartment provided by Gigi. He learns the tools of the trade and edges closer to Gabrielle, though he never mentions their first encounter.

After a conversation about the arctic, Naoufel builds a wooden igloo on a rooftop of a near-by building for Gabrielle. Returning home one day, he finds his cousin talking to Gabrielle, and finds that he has invited them both to a party. That evening, Naoufel takes Gabrielle to the rooftops, where they discuss fate and Naoufel wonders if it can be changed by doing something unexpected, such as leaping from the roof onto a near-by crane. Naoufel shows Gabrielle the igloo he built and reveals that they had met before when he delivered pizza. Gabrielle is upset, fearing that Naoufel had taken advantage of Gigi solely in order to pursue her. Gabrielle leaves in a rage. Hurt, Naoufel goes to his cousin's party alone and gets into a drunken fight. The next morning, Naoufel goes to work hung-over, sporting a black eye. While cutting wood on a bandsaw, Naoufel is distracted by a fly and tries to catch it, snagging his watch on the blade and severing his hand.

The hand eventually reaches Naoufel and lies on his bed while he sleeps, but it cannot re-attach itself and eventually hides under the bed. Naoufel, depressed and hopeless, revisits his old tape recorder, which still has recordings of his parents – including the fatal car ride. Gigi attempts to talk to him, but Naoufel does not respond. Gabrielle comes to see him and finds his room empty. Inside the cupboard, she finds an igloo that his severed hand had built out of sugar cubes. After searching the empty igloo on the roof, Gabrielle finds Naoufel's old, abandoned tape recorder and discovers a new recording on it. Listening, she learns he had leapt off the ledge and onto the crane as he had once discussed.

After making the jump, Naoufel lies in the crane and smiles to himself as he looks out at the city. His severed hand retreats into the snow.

Voice cast

Release
In May 2019, following its Cannes premiere, Netflix acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the film, excluding France, Turkey, China and the Benelux region.

The film was released in France on 6 November 2019 by distributor Rezo Films. Netflix also gave the film a theatrical release in some countries, including the United States on 15 November and the United Kingdom on 22 November.

Reception

Box office
I Lost My Body grossed $1,106,777 in France and $29,654 in Turkey, bringing its total box office earnings to $1,136,431.

Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, I Lost My Body has an approval rating of  based on reviews from  critics, and an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads, "Beautifully animated and utterly unique, I Lost My Body takes audiences on a singularly strange journey whose unexpected contours lead to a wholly satisfying destination." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100 based on reviews from 19 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter called the film "A highly original and rather touching account of loss, both physical and emotional."
Peter Debruge of Variety magazine wrote: "I'd hazard to say it's one of the most original and creative animated features I've ever seen: macabre, of course — how could it be otherwise, given the premise? — but remarkably captivating and unexpectedly poetic in the process."

Accolades

References

External links

2010s French animated films
2010s fantasy drama films
2019 animated films
2019 films
2019 fantasy films
2019 drama films
Animated films based on novels
Annecy Cristal for a Feature Film winners
Annie Award for Best Animated Feature – Independent winners
Belgian animated films
Films about amputees
Films based on French novels
Films based on speculative fiction novels
French animated feature films
French animated speculative fiction films
French fantasy drama films
French animated fantasy films
French-language Netflix original films
Films produced by Marc du Pontavice
Xilam films
French adult animated films
2010s French-language films
Animated films set in Paris
Animated films set in Africa

I Lost My Body


In polymer physics, Maltese Cross is a set of four symmetrically disposed sectors of high extinction that is displayed when a polymer is observed under polarized lights. This is usually observed when trying to observe spheruliltes in polymers.
Polymer physics

Maltese cross (optics)